Thanks Steve, I saw this earlier today. It's a shame.......Brad On Sun, Jan 15, 2012 at 5:45 PM, Steve Chamberlain < steveraychamberlain@xxxxxxxxx> wrote: > If you follow the link 'no more time to work out the bugs' you would get > this: > > For a quarter of a century, Sunray Bugs was a destination for Volkswagen > aficionados from around the world. > > If you had a VW Bug from the summer of love and you needed a windshield > wiper, there was one man to call: Corky Yager. Rest assured, he'd jump in a > golf cart and scoot across his 10-acre VW graveyard until he found the > part. Then he'd restore it and ship it anywhere. > > "A lot of VW enthusiasts only want original German parts," office manager > Paul Zappulla said. "They're superior to the duplicates they make in China > now." > > But the VW graveyard, on U.S. 301 just north of Dade City, has been > scraped bare. Pasco County Code Enforcement spent five days in December > clearing the southern half of the property. Yager, 83, estimates the hauler > removed 200 tons of metal from the site. > > For county officials, the cleanup was a victorious end to a protracted > legal battle. They had successfully removed a longstanding eyesore at > virtually no cost — because the scrap hauler agreed to clear the site at no > charge. He earned his fee by keeping and selling all of the scrap metal. > > "It's the largest site I've ever dealt with, and I've been with the county > since 2000," Code Enforcement Supervisor Patrick Phillips said. "It took > five and half days. We were out there, it seemed like, the whole holidays. > Some nights we didn't get out of there until 10 or 11 o'clock at night." > > Yager said he is devastated. > > "They stripped me of almost everything," he said. "They didn't just take > my cars. They took motor homes and trailers that were full of parts. They > crushed my forklifts and equipment. > > "It was my life." > > Sunray started as a hobby. Yager was 58 when he said he had a vision that > led to his own field of dreams. A lifelong Cadillac owner, Yager had > recently bought his first VW Beetle. He was at a veterans hospital in North > Miami and had just undergone surgery for kidney stones. As he emerged > groggily from the anesthesia, he began muttering something to the nurse. > > "They're everywhere, everywhere," he said. "Fields full of Volkswagens." > > So he started collecting every Beetle, Bus and Thing he could get his > hands on. After 25 years, he had a field so full of Volkswagens it could be > seen on Google Earth. > > "I would estimate there was anywhere from 800 to 1,000 vehicles," Phillips > said. "It was a bona fide junkyard." > > One problem: He didn't have the proper zoning. Code enforcement wasn't > aware of the violation until someone filed a complaint in 2009, Phillips > said. > > Yager hired a lawyer and tried to keep the business. He took the county to > court but eventually acquiesced and agreed to clean up the property. He > crushed and sold 150 cars, but it barely made a dent in the horde, Phillips > said. > > "There was no way to count them all," Phillips said. "When he crushed 150, > you couldn't tell a difference." > > Tina Mazzarra, Yager's daughter, said her father tried his best to comply > with the court order. "Dad was in the hospital four times during all this," > she said. "He had hired an attorney who he felt was looking out for his > best interest. I don't think anyone involved ever dreamed (the county) > would come in and seize half his business." > > The judge set a new deadline, Feb. 15, for Yager to clean up the rest of > the property. He and his staff have spent the last several weeks pulling > parts from the remaining vehicles and removing them from the site. > > Zappulla said the staff is trying to organize the inventory so Yager can > keep the parts and repair business going. > > "I think the real test for my dad will come once the adrenaline wears off > and he realizes everything he's worked for a huge part of it is gone," > Mazzarra said. "He's got to recreate his business." > > Yager always had a steady stream of loyal customers, according to Carol > Jeffares Hedman, who organizes the annual Bug Jam. The event draws > thousands of Volkswagen hobbyists to Dade City every November. > > After the festival, one of the largest VW events in the nation, a few > collectors would always head over to Sunray Bugs, and there would be Corky > — with a flashlight — helping them find a door handle and side mirror or > factory-installed radio. > > "For those people, it's not a car — it's an obsession," said Hedman, a > Tribune correspondent. > > You don't have to do facebook to follow the link. > > On Sun, Jan 15, 2012 at 4:58 PM, sammie smith < > bugcollections@xxxxxxxxxxxxx> wrote: > >> Steve: Some of us do not do Facebook, and therefore can't determine what >> the problem is. Can you enlighten us? I have also been to the Pasco >> County Bug Jam (once), didn't like it and haven't been back. Though the >> Bulli Brigade was good. >> ------------------------------ >> *From:* Steve Chamberlain <steveraychamberlain@xxxxxxxxx> >> *To:* tcb@xxxxxxxxxxxxx; jack stratton <jjflashfl2003@xxxxxxxxx> >> *Sent:* Sun, January 15, 2012 4:14:19 PM >> *Subject:* [tcb] Fwd: [Arkansas VolkswagenVolksmeisters] sickening >> >> I have attended the Pasco County Bug Jam (day after the Bulli Brigade) >> several times and was planning to go again in November. I would hope that >> some Florida residents would start a organized ban on Dade City and the Bug >> Jam. i will no longer support them. >> >> ---------- Forwarded message ---------- >> From: David Bruce Ellis <notification+y2m4mmr@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx> >> Date: Sun, Jan 15, 2012 at 3:59 PM >> Subject: [Arkansas VolkswagenVolksmeisters] sickening >> To: Arkansas VolkswagenVolksmeisters <273828575961635@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx >> > >> >> >> ** >> David Bruce Ellis posted in Arkansas >> VolkswagenVolksmeisters<http://www.facebook.com/n/?groups%2F273828575961635%2F349363968408095%2F&mid=57d4977G1fa8ef92G1153bd67G96&bcode=SH0ftTUA&n_m=steve%40texasairheads.com> >> . >> [image: >> sickening]<http://www.facebook.com/n/?profile.php&id=773407574&mid=57d4977G1fa8ef92G1153bd67G96&bcode=SH0ftTUA&n_m=steve%40texasairheads.com> >> David >> Bruce >> Ellis<http://www.facebook.com/n/?profile.php&id=773407574&mid=57d4977G1fa8ef92G1153bd67G96&bcode=SH0ftTUA&n_m=steve%40texasairheads.com> >> 3:59pm >> Jan 15 >> sickening >> No more time to work out the >> bugs<http://www.facebook.com/n/?l%2FIAQGZG73aAQGQZqMyh7gJ30j2S223heO4VYiPiwY1_legIA%2Ftbo.com%2Far%2F347217%2F&mid=57&n_m=steve%40texasairheads.com> >> >> www2.tbo.com<http://www.facebook.com/n/?l%2FIAQGZG73aAQGQZqMyh7gJ30j2S223heO4VYiPiwY1_legIA%2Ftbo.com%2Far%2F347217%2F&mid=57&n_m=steve%40texasairheads.com> >> For a quarter of a century, Sunray Bugs was a destination for >> Volkswagen aficionados from around the... >> ** >> View Post on >> Facebook<http://www.facebook.com/n/?groups%2F273828575961635%2F349363968408095%2F&mid=57d4977G1fa8ef92G1153bd67G96&bcode=SH0ftTUA&n_m=steve%40texasairheads.com>· >> Edit >> Email >> Settings<http://www.facebook.com/n/?groups%2F273828575961635%2F&view=notifications&mid=57d4977G1fa8ef92G1153bd67G96&bcode=SH0ftTUA&n_m=steve%40texasairheads.com>· >> Reply to this email to add a comment. >> >> > -- http://www.volksmeisters.com http://den-a.plr.liquidcompass.net/player/flash/audio_player.php?id=KTHXFM&uid=278