I asked many questions before I agreed to allow a cell tower on my property. I also made it clear there were certain conditions I would never allow. The following pictures and those in the gallery Steve's Folley show how seriously my conditions and questions were treated. (View Pictures at www.sandyjordan.us/Dispute with Montgomery County.)
My hay field is off limits. As Steve's Folley shows, that was a joke.
How will the road be put in? How will the road go in? What will be done with the trees? What about erosion during construction? Will the access road tie in with my exhisting road so that no damage will be done to my road? Who will maintain the exhisting road up to the cut-off of the access road?
I was told that the cell tower company would maintain the road. Today I was told they weren't even going to put gravel on the exhixting road, no matter, because the cranes putting up the tower were going to tear everything up anyway. I was told the access road would be tied in to the exhisting road so that it would not cause any problems. One rain will clog and overfill the little culvert pipe installed and cause damage to my road. Don't worry, I'll take pictures when it happens. I was told all construction equipment would use the access road. I got a call today from Cell Tower Guy begging to go through my yard because the trucks and equipment could not make it up the access road because it is too steep. Tuff nuts! They should have done better planning! I was told there would be a fabric laid down on the road that would prevent erosion. As it was described, it was to go on the road bed under the gravel. None went down, and none will. The gravel trucks, I told the construction guy to stay clear of Sisson and Ryan Quarry and use Acco. He didn't listen. He got tan gravel that is half dirt instead of the clean stone used by Acco. The trucks couldn't get up the grade and refused to allow their trucks to be towed up the access road, so they dumped all the gravel in my road and the construction guy had to rent another piece of heavy equipment to haul the gravel up the road a bucket at a time. The trees? They weren't cut and stacked neatly, but pushed over with a backhoe and shoved into piles of usless trash all around the tower site and along the access road. So much for fire wood easily accessable.
Every promise given me has been broken. The call I received today promised that my yard would be put back to it's original condition if I would please let them drive their trucks through my yard. No! I'm not falling for that. I was told the same thing about the five foot split rail fence in the middle of my hay field. "We'll take it down after construction and make everything right." And frogs have wings!
It is human nature to want to trust people. Is that a bad thing? No. Is it wise to be skepticle? You bet! Is it foolish to make the same mistake twice? I think so. I don't care if they have to hire helicopters to get that blasted tower in. I don't care if they spend a fortune doing it. After they last email I got from Cell Tower Guy, I don't give a hoot in H E double hockey sticks how they get the job done so long as they stay the H E double hockey sticks away from anything on this property that is outside of their right of way!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
And I wish them all a wonderful Thanksgiving!
Wednesday, November 26, 2008
Saturday, November 15, 2008
What a Life
When I was in high school, in 1968, I saw my first computer. It filled a room. Today I am sitting on my couch holding a computer, better than that one, on my lap. I can search any subject anywhere from my den. I can talk with people all over the world.
My father grew up on an east Tennessee farm using horses and mules to log and work the land. He never owned a tractor. I loved to listen to his stories about cutting hay and piling it on the big hay wagon, where it didn't always stay for the entire ride to the barn, and I used to enjoy his telling about the corn shucking where everyone gathered to get this immense job completed. They would tell stories and sing hymns and laugh. He showed me my first computer but he never owned one.
Life is so much easier physically these days, but at what cost? I grew up sitting on front porches drinking sweet tea dreaming of the future, never imagining what would become of the world I loved. Most of the quiet places I enjoyed are gone, bulldozed for houses and shopping centers, destroyed for all time for more people, more stuff, more ways to put ourselves in debt, to have the latest gadget, the most up to date techno goodies, to keep up with our friends and co-workers.
Sometimes I sit and watch my chickens and goats. Their only worries are when I bring the good food and fill the water containers and where are the newest tasty treats in the yard. I sit and relax and feel the rhythm of the real world, God's world, the world where sweet tea is a real treat after a long day of just doing. I watch my animals and see how they live just in the moment, regardless of wind, rain, weather, the stock market, and the price of gas and every day is good. When I was young, I was like the chickens and the goats, running, exploring, tasting the goodness of life. Where did it all go? And for what?
As I write, I watch the late afternoon sun hit the mountain. Most of the trees have lost their leaves and the shadows are long. I love the gentle colors of winter, the mauves and lavenders, the soft yellows caressing the leafless trees. If I did not have this computer on my lap I could not tell anyone about these beautiful things and how important they are to the human soul. I could not pass on how important these things are for that part of us that never dies but goes on and on for all time.
My father grew up on an east Tennessee farm using horses and mules to log and work the land. He never owned a tractor. I loved to listen to his stories about cutting hay and piling it on the big hay wagon, where it didn't always stay for the entire ride to the barn, and I used to enjoy his telling about the corn shucking where everyone gathered to get this immense job completed. They would tell stories and sing hymns and laugh. He showed me my first computer but he never owned one.
Life is so much easier physically these days, but at what cost? I grew up sitting on front porches drinking sweet tea dreaming of the future, never imagining what would become of the world I loved. Most of the quiet places I enjoyed are gone, bulldozed for houses and shopping centers, destroyed for all time for more people, more stuff, more ways to put ourselves in debt, to have the latest gadget, the most up to date techno goodies, to keep up with our friends and co-workers.
Sometimes I sit and watch my chickens and goats. Their only worries are when I bring the good food and fill the water containers and where are the newest tasty treats in the yard. I sit and relax and feel the rhythm of the real world, God's world, the world where sweet tea is a real treat after a long day of just doing. I watch my animals and see how they live just in the moment, regardless of wind, rain, weather, the stock market, and the price of gas and every day is good. When I was young, I was like the chickens and the goats, running, exploring, tasting the goodness of life. Where did it all go? And for what?
As I write, I watch the late afternoon sun hit the mountain. Most of the trees have lost their leaves and the shadows are long. I love the gentle colors of winter, the mauves and lavenders, the soft yellows caressing the leafless trees. If I did not have this computer on my lap I could not tell anyone about these beautiful things and how important they are to the human soul. I could not pass on how important these things are for that part of us that never dies but goes on and on for all time.
Tuesday, November 4, 2008
A Sad Day, the Election
I am ashamed of my birth state, Virginia. I am ashamed of the people of America. We are going to suffer for the election of Obama. We are in deep trouble.
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