Nearly 100 people turned out Sunday evening in Apalachicola to take part in a March to draw attention to the need to protect the Apalachicola Bay, especially in light on the ongoing Deepwater Horizon oil spill in the Gulf of Mexico.
The March was sponsored by the Franklin County Democratic Executive Committee it brought out people from all walks of life some carrying signs, others with oyster sacks.
The march went from Apalachicola City Hall to the Franklin County courthouse and was attended by a number of local, state and federal politician including US Congressman Allen Boyd and State Senator Al Lawson. Local county and city commissioners also attended the event to show their support for protecting the bay.
Apalachicola Mayor Van Johnson spoke to the crowd about the need to sound the alarm because of the potential impacts of the oil spill which he said has the capability “of destroying our ecosystem and economy, which is already on life support due to decades of restricted freshwater flow by the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers down the Apalachicola River System.”
Mayor Johnson said he would sound the alarm because of the appearance that BP has centered all of their efforts on saving the oil, instead of saving the ecosystem and because “our already embattled environment will not be able to withstand yet another imbalance brought on at the hand of man.”
His speech led to chants from the crowd to “sound the alarm.”
Mayor Johnson added that the small City of Apalachicola will do everything within its power to hold those responsible, accountable.
You can see a full transcript of the mayor’s speech at mayorvanjohnson.blogspot.com.
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