Newtown Florist Club opens environmental conference

GAINESVILLE - The Center for Disease Control's Associate Director on Environmental Health and Toxic Substances Dr. Darrell Rogers told Newtown Florist Club members Thursday to keep on doing what they've been doing for 60 years and that is fighting for environmental justice and quality.

Dr. Rogers was featured luncheon speaker and Newtown Florist Club founder Faye Bush said that is exactly what the club will keep doing.

"I think we still have work to do and we have to keep fighting for the rights of our people to have free air and live in a good environmental place," Bush said. "He made a statement that we should not give up, should keep fighting and ask questions and we have a right to know and to continue to get policies changed."

"That is the main thing," Rogers said. "What they've done here with respect to the environmental movement is astounding over a 60 year period. It sets an example for other communities that need to do the same thing that find themselves in a situation where they don't know what to do, where they're being exposed to chemicals and nobody's telling them anything and they don't know where to turn."

The club has been fighting for over 30 years to remove a scrap yard from their neighborhood; it is still there but Bush said she has not given up on getting rid of its environmental impact on her neighborhood.

"We believe and trust in the Lord that the scrap yard will eventually be gone, that's one thing we're going to work hard on," Bush said.

Rogers said an investigation of Newtown's environmental complaint produced a published report, but there could be a follow-up.

"That does not mean that it can't happen again as more information comes available sometimes it's required to come back and take a second look," Rogers said. "All the information is not always known; the conclusions that were drawn ten years ago might not be the same conclusions that we come up with today."

The club's three day Environmental Justice conference celebrates its 60th anniversary and continues through Saturday at the Hilton Garden Inn in Gainesville.