Letter: RDAs are a loss of our freedoms

To my fellow citizens of Dubois, Spencer and Martin Counties, greetings. 

I write this regarding RDAs in the State of Indiana. Specifically, to those of you who live in this state and believe that you are not affected by current RDA projects going on not only locally but throughout the state as well.

Full disclosure-I am against the Mid-States Corridor as it will take my property. But this is what led me to do some research. But if you are a citizen who supports it, I respect that, as it is your right as an American. And that is not the point of this letter.

My opinion is that by the state allowing the creation of these RDAs, we have all lost our voices in matters that should be decided by public referendum. But my perception of RDAs (although it is portrayed as a “public/private” relationship) is that this has created an environment now where there is only a handful of wealthy individuals who have any voice in the matter. It has created a breeding ground for corruption by its very nature.  They refuse to answer questions in a public forum. There is no accountability. They simply don’t care about us. 

And our good ol’ boy politicians that we elected and sent to Indy, Good luck getting a logical response, if any, from these people.     

What I’m seeing is an alarming trend here in our state. We are losing valuable farmland for unneeded and unwanted projects. Yet, our voices have been silenced. I don’t know about anyone else, but I like to eat and drink, so I’m pretty fond of farmers! And, once the farms are gone, they don’t come back.  

For those thinking this doesn’t affect them, please ask yourselves this: What’s next if we allow these RDAs to continue? Think about the BIG picture here. Hypothetically, imagine the Mid-States Corridor being built. Years down the road, no pun intended, a wealthy group that funds certain organizations decides that their industry or logistics businesses suddenly want four-lane highways built going west out of Huntingburg. You may think the current project doesn’t affect you. But what if you’re a property owner near Huntingburg, Holland and Ireland? That’s what our future generations need to think about.  

Agriculture is far too valuable not to be protected. It’s who we are in the Midwest. 

To quote President Reagan, We are all Americans. But what we are all witnessing is the most anti-American process that I’ve ever seen by our state government.  

This is NOT how our governments are meant to function. Nor should we tolerate it. We deserve and demand better. Remember, they work for us.

Doug Hettinger
Bainbridge Township