When Sarita died, she gave the Kenedy family home and the surrounding area to the Missionary Society of the Oblate Fathers of Texas.

Sunday, July 8, 2001
Kenedy Foundation comes out against bombing range
Foundation owns some of the targeted land; board cites community's concerns

By Stephanie L. Jordan
Caller-Times

England

A significant player has joined the roster of those opposed to the Navy opening a bombing range on ranch land in Kenedy County.
But local supporters of the proposal say the deal's not dead unless the Navy says it has lost interest in the 222,000-acre tract.
Citing overwhelming local opposition, board members of the John G. and Marie Stella Kenedy Memorial Foundation, which owns some of the targeted land, on Friday wrote a letter to Navy Secretary Gordon England objecting to the proposed military training area.
"It has become quite apparent that the local community is overwhelmingly opposed to the suggested proposal," wrote foundation Vice President Dr. E.B. Groner."The foundation requests their wishes be respected."
Groner

Copies of the letter were sent to President Bush, Vice President Dick Cheney, Gov. Rick Perry and 11 other officials.
Open-minded at first
Foundation members were surprised by news that the Navy was considering Kenedy County as possible site to replace a controversial range on the Puerto Rican island of Vieques, but remained open minded about the idea at first, said Richard Leshin, the foundation's attorney.
"The foundation was just learning about this and was leaving all of the options open," Leshin said.
"But because of the local opposition the board decided to (write the letter)."
The foundation and the John G. Kenedy Jr. Charitable Trust own more than 400,000 acres of land combined. Both donate profits to area charities.
The foundation owns about 40,000 acres of the 222,000-acre site, said Kenedy County Judge J.A. Garcia Jr., who was named the foundation board's president in February.
Nine of the board's 13 members held a special meeting Friday both in person and by telephone to discuss the issue.
'An area of concern'
Actual Letter
The Honorable Gordon R. England
Secretary of the Navy
Washington, D.C., 20350-1000

Re: Suggested Navy Training Area Kenedy County, Texas

Dear Secretary England:

On behalf of The John G. and Marie Stella Kenedy Memorial Foundation, please be informed that the Foundation respectfully objects to the suggested military training area in Kenedy County, Texas. The reasons for this objection, among others, center around the general consensus of the local citizens of Kenedy County and surrounding areas as well as the consensus of the Kenedy County Commissioners Court.

It has become quite apparent that the local community is overwhelmingly opposed to the suggested proposal. The Foundation requests their wishes be respected.

Thank you for the consideration of the Foundation’s objections.

Sincerely,

E.B. Groner, M.D.
Vice President
Cc: President George W. Bush
Vice-President Dick Cheney
Secretary of Defense Donald Rumsfeld
Secretary of Interior Gayle Norton
Director of EPA Christine Todd Whitman
Senator Phil Gramm
Senator Kay Bailey Hutchison
Representative Solomon Ortiz
Governor Rick Perry
Land Commissioner David Dewhurst
Senator Carlos Truan
Representative Irma Rangel
Attorney General State of Texas John Cornyn
J.A. Garcia Jr. County Judge - County of Kenedy

"We felt this was an area of concern, especially with it being so close to Sarita," Garcia said. "I think the foundation was sensitive to the residents of Sarita and also the county. I didn't hear from anyone who was for the (practice range)."
President Bush decided to stop training on Vieques by 2003 and England is expected to soon appoint a committee to study possible replacements.
The foundation's letter was only the latest in a series of hits the proposal has taken.
'Deeply troubled'
Kenedy County Commissioners voted last week to oppose the idea. Sen. Kay Bailey Hutchison said last week she would not support the idea and Gov. Rick Perry on Friday said he was "deeply troubled" by the environmental damage a bombing range might cause.
A coalition of environmental groups has vowed to fight the idea and a study commissioned by the Navy rated the Kenedy County site lower than some other options.
Calling it quits
Some local supporters of the proposal called it quits after Hutchison's statement and said the foundation's letter was just more proof that the deal was dead.
"We were expecting (the letter) because Judge Garcia is chairman of the board of the Kenedy foundation," said Corpus Christi Mayor Loyd Neal.
'Closing the loop'
"As soon as the commissioner's court said what they did, as far I was concerned, it was dead. As soon as I saw that and what Senator Hutchison did, I thought it was over. I assume that's just closing the loop for them."
Navy officials have said they are still interested in the Kenedy County site and some proponents say the deal's alive as long as that's true.
"The Navy has known for a couple of months that the land would have to be condemned. It looks to me that the Navy is still interested in the site," said Pat Vetetoa retired Marine Corps officer and one architect of the proposal.
Power of eminent domain
Gary Bushell, a consultant with the Corpus Christi Chamber of Commerce who was an early proponent of the idea, said he didn't want to comment about the foundation's letter.
To put the bombing range in Kenedy County, the federal government would have to use its power of eminent domain and condemn the ranchland.
Both the trust and the foundation are prohibited from selling the land.
Foundation's largest asset
The land in Kenedy County is the foundation's single largest asset, said Daniel Meaney, who has been on the foundation's board since it began and now serves as the board's treasurer.
Meaney said he didn't know what would happen to the foundation if the government were to condemn the land and pay the foundation market value for it.
"When you get rid of your assets, there's no telling what would happen," said Meaney, who was acquainted with Sarita Kenedy East, who had owned the land.
Meaney said that over the years there has been interest from people wanting the buy pieces of the land.
Land's worth
"You can't own a large ranch without speculation and proposals," Meaney said. "But (the proposals have) always been nebulous, nothing positive."
The San Pedro Kenedy Ranch, one of Kenedy County's largest employers, is located on the proposed bombing site.
The land is filled with valuable oil and gas drilling operations and cattle.
Estimates of the land's worth run into the hundreds of millions of dollars.
By targeting Kenedy County, the government is getting involved in the intricate Kenedy family history.
Kenedy family history
The massive Kenedy Ranch, founded by former steamboat operator Mifflin Kenedy, was split in two after the death of John G. Kenedy Sr. and his wife Marie Stella Turcotte.
Half of the almost half-million-acre ranch went to his daughter, Sarita Kenedy East, while the other half went to John G. Kenedy Jr., who died in 1948, and his wife Elena, who died in 1984.
Sarita and Elena were deeply religious women, neither had children, and both willed their estates to charitable endeavors.
When Sarita died, she gave the Kenedy family home and the surrounding area to the Missionary Society of the Oblate Fathers of Texas.
"I don't think Sarita would have liked this," Meaney said of the proposal.


Contact Stephanie L. Jordan at 886-3724 or jordans@caller.com