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Join the Little Orleans effort On March 28, the Racing Commission's hearings on the licensing of Bill Rickman's proposal for a horse racing-gambling establishment in Little Orleans, will finally re-convene. These hearings have been recessed since early January, mainly because Rickman could not defend his proposal. The long recess has given him plenty of time to contact his many political allies to gain some arm twisting. The requirements to build a track, clearly states that the track operation must be profitable. Rickman's track will lose large amounts per year. His argument is that he must also be given licenses for at least 3 off track betting establishments. The profits from the off-track parlors will cover the loses of the horse racing. This is NOT a horse racing proposal - it is clearly a proposal to establish full time, professional gambling in Western Maryland - long a dream of Rickman's most powerful ally, Casper Taylor. The track makes absolutely NO SENSE, and will prove to be a financial drain on the County and probably, even the State. Last year alone, the State of Maryland subsidized the racing industry with over ten million tax payer's dollars. Rickman's promises of over one hundred well paying jobs for the region were blatent lies His official testimony for the racing hearings, is that there will be 100 employees on the grounds on the 21 racing days. Many of these employess are employed by the horse owners-not Rickman. On the remaining 340 days, by Rickman's own testimony, there will be no more than 25 employees - mainly waitresses, bus boys and kitchen help. His testimony of a plentiful water supply at the sight just doesn't hold water. The very first hours of the hearings were spent by Rickman's lawyer arguing that testimony on water should not even be heard. Thankfully, through the arguements of representitives from Little Orleans, and the legal team of The Md.Jockey Club, the Commission decided that water IS an issue. When I was allowed to present the evidence collected by The Citizens Against the Racecourse, it was shown that Rickman's water report contained no information on the water resources on his, or any adjoining property. Instead, their "evidence" of a plentiful water supply, was based on wells from as much as 6 miles from the sight-on Green Ridge, not Town Hill where the track would be located. Rickman needs as much as 32,000 gallons of water/day in an area where 43% of the wells were either dry, or had other serious problems each of the last 3 years. Cas Taylor, and the County Commissioners are quite willing to sell-out an entire community, to cozy up to multi-millionaire Rickman. The people of Orleans, will not hesitate in their struggle. We have won full legal status at the hearings, even though we are there with-out legal council. Our funding has come from donations from our community, not from tax payer funds. We are presenting facts, Rickman's side is presenting lies and/or theories. We need the help of all of those in this County that are concerned about this project, and the way it has been handled politically. For complete details, please go to: www.littleorleans.org, and then, contact the Racing Commission at: |
