For the past six months or more I have listened to countless people tell me that “you can’t fight the government” regarding the Foreign Affairs Security Training Center (FASTC) and that we were just wasting our time and energy thinking that we could make a difference. Even those who were in this fight to save their farms, quality of life and livelihood would at times become so discouraged. It sounded like the story of David and Goliath, and, in reality, I guess it was.
I have stood steadfast through this entire ordeal on the belief that our God is bigger than this government and I watched as each new fact was brought to light about the devastation that this area and the people and animals in it would suffer if this was ever brought to Ruthsburg.
Obviously, many thought that FASTC was a Godsend. Even as government officials were informed of the flaws of FASTC at Ruthsburg, they too got on board with us about the wasteful spending this project would incur and the fact that it just made no sense putting it in Queen Anne’s County.
On a personal note, we are confident that living so close to this type of installation would have ruined our quality of life, caused the property value of our home that we have poured our hearts into to plummet and destroyed the beauty that we have come to enjoy and look forward to on a daily basis, but more importantly it would have also proven itself to be the beginning of the end of the county in that many residents would have moved away, our schools would have been even more burdened than they already are and the much promised jobs would never have come to fruition.
With such a low unemployment rate, it just makes better sense to place a FASTC in an area that will welcome it due to a much higher rate and away from an area where it can do so much irreparable harm.
As FASTC moves on to another location, I do hope that the GSA/DS has at the very least learned a lesson or two to be straight forward with the public and not misrepresent facts to “sugar coat” the truth or to “protect” the residents.
I think we can all agree that these past few months have been a prime example of honesty is the best policy.
In closing, I would like to thank Senator Mikulski for sitting down with residents of Ruthsburg and listening to our concerns and re-instilling our faith in our government. She was the ONLY elected official that would sit down with us one-on-one and hear our concerns. Thank you again, Senator.
Remember, what you believe…you can achieve! Thank you to all who have worked tirelessly to keep Queen Anne’s County the beautiful, bucolic location that we all love and enjoy.
SHERRY ADAM
Ruthsburg