When I was growing up in Pensacola, the local radio station often ran ads for a tire repair business whose slogan was, “Tires ain’t pretty.” I thought of that simple declaration this week when I heard the story of a big fight in Dunnellon over used tire disposal.

The person who told me the story is a woman in her 70s named Rita Gomez . She lives on a 30-acre parcel of land with a horse, a herd of cattle known as Zebu, and quite a few gopher tortoises. She’s far enough out in the country that her driveway is a mile long.

Next door to her is a 15-acre homesite whose owner has posted a sign calling it his “Black Fortress.” The primary feature of Black Fortress: its walls. They are made of stacks and stacks of black tires — truck tires, tractor tires, you name it.

It looks like someone in

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