Cookbook gone to press

Last week, I took this picture to use for the front pages of the cookbook the Concerned Citizens of Giles County has put together to use for fundraising. The book has gone to press and will be available for purchase next month, hopefully.


The town of Narrows is just around the corner....

This is what I wrote about the New River for the cookbook:

Giles County is home to 37 miles of the New River, designated a National River in 1998 by President Clinton. As the river meanders through the county, scenic sights abound including Eggleston Cliffs and Castle Rock. The New River cuts a fifteen hundred feet deep gap through the East River and Peters Mountains and through the town of Narrows, close to the site of the controversial Cumberland Park Project. New River is considered to be one of the best fishing rivers, attracting outdoor enthusiasts from across the country.

Now, why would anyone want to put 256,000 cubic yards of coal ash on such a beautiful river?

Clear choice for Giles County School Board

An editorial in the New River Current of The Roanoke Times today (see link "Editorial: Fly ash dirties Giles schools") calls for the Giles County School Board to make a clear choice: Either distance itself from the Giles County Partnership for Excellence or exercise its oversight responsibilities to stop the Cumberland Park Project. I couldn't have said it better!

Still Fighting

This week's The Virginian Leader (local paper serving Giles County in Virginia and Mercer County in West Virginia) published an ad paid for by the Concerned Citizens of Giles County. The ad highlights some of the major issues regarding the Cumberland Park Project focusing on the lack of public input and questionable legal activities of the Giles County Partnership for Excellence which owns the project.

Also in the paper were two letters to the editor by Judy Brown and me. My letter focused on similar projects which have failed and have spawned lawsuits. In the "Learn More" section on this blog, there are several news articles on these lawsuits. I also addressed some longterm issues for the project which the Partnership has not addressed.

Judy's letter talked about the environmental impact of the heavy metals in the fly ash. These metals will eventually leach into the groundwater. Her letter also invited anyone concerned about the project to visit the Concerned Citizens of Giles County website (link under "Learn More").