Gulf Oil Spill Hits Close to Home for CCA Employees
When news of the oil spill in the Gulf of Mexico reached CCA employees, like many other Americans, they reacted with shock, dismay and tremendous concern.
“Honestly, I couldn’t believe it,” says Lauren Cappelli, payroll and scheduling coordinator at Lake City Correctional Facility, located in Lake City, Fla. “The more I heard about it, the more unreal it became. The fact that no one can figure out how to stop it is very unsettling to me.”
Cappelli shares national anxieties about the spill’s economic impact on coastal cities, and environmental damage. “I think we will be facing the consequences of this disaster for generations to come,” she says.
Of all the communities where CCA facilities are situated, Citrus County – located in the Gulf Coast area – is one of the hardest hit.
“In Citrus County, there are a lot of businesses tied to saltwater, like shrimping, fishing, crabbing, seafood restaurants, boat sales and more,” says Derik Touchton, unit manager at Citrus County Detention Facility in Lecanto, Fla. “I don’t see a happy ending.”
Cheryl Cerase, senior correctional officer at Citrus, says she hasn’t made any lifestyle changes as a result of the spill, but she doesn’t plan to buy Gulf shrimp anytime soon.
“There really should have been a better check or double or triple check system in place to avoid such a catastrophe,” Cerase adds. “I’m most concerned about contamination to the environment and long-term effects on humans.”
Cathy Sullivan, safety manager at Hernando County Jail in Brooksville, Fla., owns a beachfront home in a small Gulf coast community that’s considered a fishing village.
“My husband and I have worked all our lives and built our home on a pristine property that overlooks the Gulf of Mexico and a protected wetlands area,” Sullivan says. “We both believe that our home value today is $1, due to the oil.”
As a dietary precaution, Sullivan and her husband are no longer eating fish.
“Whether right or wrong, we’re afraid that the fish products may be contaminated as we hear that marine life is moving towards the west coast of Florida where there is oxygen,” she says.
Likewise, Caylyn Wade, medical records clerk at Lake City, has a cabin on the Gulf that she and her family visit each year for the 4th of July. She believes the oil spill’s blow to small fishing towns and businesses will be increasingly fatal and cause a shift in tourism.
“A lot of people will stop going fishing or to the beach and instead go to the Atlantic side of Florida,” Wade says.
But whether or not oil washed up on the beach near Wade’s cabin, she and her family opted to vacation there again this year. In fact, if nearby shores had been hit, she intended to spend her vacation helping clean up. Fortunately, though, the Gulf waters near her cabin were clear.
“I’ve bought a lot of Dawn dish detergent to help with the spill and I’ve thought a lot more about the environment since then,” Wade says. “I hope people realize that our environment is fragile and we need to take care of it. So many animals and wildlife have died because of a situation that could have been avoided.”
When Lake City inspector Joseph Rhoden first got word of the oil spill, he thought the worst would be over within a couple of weeks. But now he worries that food prices will rise.
“A friend of mine owns Sam’s Crystal River, a seafood restaurant in Macclenny, Fla. and has problems getting seafood,” Rhoden says. “I hope that in the future, before putting a plan in action such as the oil well, companies will have a plan to cover any problem that may arise.”
Jason Howell, registered nurse and clinical supervisor at Lake City, is an avid fisherman who typically fishes out of the mouth of the Suwannee River, which feeds into the Gulf.
“It’s only matter of time before my fishing grounds will be affected,” he says. “Plus, we have to start considering the contamination factor long before the visible evidence becomes apparent. My family and I have always used the coastal waters near the mouth of the Suwannee for recreation as well as great source of fresh seafood, from mullet and oysters, to grouper, shrimp and scallops.”
Lake City business manager Kenneth Watson says the spill’s consequences could be more widespread than some might imagine.
“It could trickle on down to Florida having lost revenue and budget cuts statewide,” he says. “This oil spill is a reminder of how precious our environment is and that we shouldn’t cut corners to make a profit.”
Cleveland Collins, administrative sergeant at Lake City, hopes that, going forward, stricter safety regulations will be observed on all off-shore drilling sites. He adds, “Keep in mind, folks, we only have one earth and we need to treat it as such instead of our own money machine.”
Have you been personally affected by the Gulf oil spill, or do you know someone who has? Share your thoughts by sounding out.
By DeAndra Mack
Sound Out
Chris Knight at Winn Correctional Center:
Alot of my family members live and work on the Gulf coast of LA. They are getting hit hard with lay-offs, and economic troubles. BP Oil is not going to be able to come off the money it would take to set things right. They've destroyed Southerner's economy and their attitude is "We'll just throw more money at this and it will go away..."