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Highlands Today

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Trucks Not Welcome

Ann Askin

Published: January 17, 2008

It's easy to see why there are so many truck drivers in Highlands County. There is no real industry in the area and an abundance of low-paying service jobs. I wish I had the money to start a truck stop in the area.

Most truckers would love to have a place to park, get some much needed rest, a shower and some coffee somewhere along the way between Miami and Haines City, especially since counties like ours are making it difficult for those of us who make our living by driving big rigs just to find a place to park.

You need a second mortgage to pay for the approximate $75,000 for a used truck and trailer, you carry around $700 of diesel fuel (liquid gold at $3.50 per gallon in a vehicle that only gets about 6 miles per gallon,) and whatever personal belongings you carry on a daily basis, then you have to leave the truck in some abandoned plaza overnight in a questionable part of town, because there is no other place to park in the area. Now imagine that when you come back you find that Sebring's Code Enforcement has had your truck towed to some towing company who is holding your livelihood hostage for $650 cash on a Sunday afternoon.

It is hard enough to scrape out a living with the price of fuel, insurance, truck and trailer payments, and maintenance without having to worry about the truck and trailer being towed. Where are we supposed to park? We brought our truck home one time to clean it out, parked it completely off the road in our own yard overnight, and got a ticket. Any of you entrepreneurs out there with the money and the resources should really take a ride around 5 a.m. on U.S. 27 to see what I mean. A truck stop would be a gold mine.

If Highlands County wants to continue to run businesses like mine out of the county with these petty ordinances, the only jobs left will be McDonald's, Wal-Mart and the over-paid county positions. Not good news for those of us who aren't lucky enough to be retired or county employees.

Ann Askin Lake Placid

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