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Tuckasegee residents organize to fight planned quarry
By Lynn Hotaling
Tuckasegee residents, alarmed at the prospects of a gravel quarry in their community, have formed an organization to fight the proposed mining effort.
Some 25 founding members of the United Neighbors of Tuckasegee gathered Sunday at Tuckasegee Baptist Church to map out their strategy in opposing Carolina Boulder and Stone LLC’s application to remove “unconsolidated material and crushed stone” from the 56-acre site owned by Jim Vander Woude of Franklin. Vander Woude purchased the property, which is part of the old Junie Hooper place, for $450,000 in January.
Rumors began circulating within the community in March that Vander Woude planned to develop a gravel quarry or asphalt plant at the site. When contacted by The Herald at that time Vander Woude said he had sold some landscape boulders from the property but had no other plans for the tract.
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Carolina Boulder and Stone LLC of Franklin has filed an application to place a rock quarry near the intersection of N.C. 107 and N.C. 281. The cliff in the center of the photo is part of a 56-acre tract purchased by Jim Vander Woude of Franklin. Vander Woude said said last week that he has leased the parcel to Carolina Boulder, which is seeking a permit from the N.C. Department of Environment and Natural Resources to remove stone from the property. Adjacent property owners, who have received certified letters notifying them of the application, have formed a group – United Neighbors of Tuckasegee – to oppose the planned quarry. A community meeting is set for 7 p.m. Saturday, July 29, at Tuckasegee Baptist Church, according to organizer Beverly Turrentine.
When specifically asked about an asphalt plant or rock quarry, Vander Woude in March stopped short of ruling those uses out, instead saying he had “no plans at this time for an asphalt plant or rock quarry.”
Last week The Herald received a statement from Vander Woude saying he’s leased the tract to Carolina Boulder and Stone, a limited liability corporation fronted by L.C. Jones of Tuckasegee and Leland Ryske, who members of the community group think is Vander Woude’s son-in-law.
Jones listed his business number on the mining application that has been submitted to the N.C. Department of Environment and Natural Resources, but was not available for comment. He also failed to return the newspaper’s calls to his cell phone. Efforts to reach Ryske also proved fruitless.
Vander Woude’s letter to The Herald indicated that Carolina Boulder and Stone had applied to NCDENR for a permit to “remove stone from the property” and added that Vander Woude had been assured by his tenant (Carolina Boulder) that the operation “will comply with all environmental and safety regulations and will attempt to be a good neighbor to the adjacent property owners and communities.”
A quarry operation on the site would require both county and NCDENR permits, according to Jackson County planner Linda Cable. While Carolina Boulder has not contacted the county, the company filed an application with NCDENR for a new surface mining permit.
Cable said she received notice from Assistant State Mining Specialist Judy Wehner that Carolina Boulder had made the application. Such “heavy” industrial uses are regulated under Jackson County’s 2002 Industrial Development Ordinance, Cable said, and prevent any such industry from locating within a quarter-mile (1,320 feet) of a commercial lot or residential structure. The ordinance is geared toward controlling polluting industries, including asphalt plants and mining operations, which include quarries.
Cable said she had reviewed the site at the time of the earlier rumors, and that in her opinion a quarry on the Vander Woude property would not be permitted by the county because it fails to meet the setback requirements.
“It won’t meet the distance requirements for a mining operation based on the Jackson County Industrial Development Ordinance,” Cable said. “Regardless of state action, as far as I can tell right now, Jackson County’s ordinance would not allow (a quarry) on that site.”
However, the fact that Jackson County has such an ordinance will not preclude state officials from issuing a mining permit, Wehner said. NCDENR’s decision on the matter will be governed solely on the provisions of the Mining Act of 1971; should a mining permit be issued to Carolina Boulder, it would be up to Jackson County to enforce its ordinance, Wehner said.
Wehner confirmed that Carolina Boulder’s application had been received and was currently under review. The application process requires Carolina Boulder to notify adjacent landowners by registered letter of its intent to extract stone from the site. Interested parties have 30 days, or until Aug. 18, to file comments with NCDENR’s Land Quality section. The agency then has 30 days to make a decision. Should there be sufficient interest, according to one of the letters, NCDENR will schedule a public hearing within 60 days.
Despite assurances from county officials, members of United Neighbors of Tuckasegee say they plan to keep the pressure on both state and local officials because of the effect a rock quarry would have on their community.
“We’d be ruined,” said lifelong Tuckasegee resident Buck Stewart. “It would be horrible for everybody concerned.”
Stewart said his elderly parents live even closer to the proposed quarry site than he does, and that his mother has respiratory problems.
“It wouldn’t be good at all,” he said. “I don’t think the community would be benefitted at all – in fact, I know it wouldn’t.”
Retired Western Carolina University professor Tom Wilcox shares Stewart’s view.
“As of now Tuckasegee is a residential and farming community,” Wilcox said. “I don’t see why the complexion of our community should be sacrificed by those outside of our community who want less expensive rock or by those who want big boulders in their yards.”
Wilcox also said others in the county should be mindful of what’s taking place in Tuckasegee.
“It’s important for those outside Tuckasegee to realize that this may not affect them now, but their community may be next,” he said said.
Margo Wilcox echoed her husband’s sentiments.
“Our property abuts the site on the west side,” she said. “We don’t want the noise or the rock dust.”
Award-winning author Thomas Crowe, who lives less than 100 yards from the property line of the proposed quarry site, said he is worried about the effects of this sort of “heavy industry mining operation” on the quality of life in the Tuckasegee valley.
“The way I see it, this is just indicative of what happens when big developers invade a region,” Crowe said. “They lay waste to the landscape and the lifestyles of everyone around them, with no consideration for anyone but themselves and the use of their bank accounts. A lot of money is not enough for these people. They seem to want more and more regardless of the consequences to the land and lives of others.
“I, for one, don’t intend to lay down for these land-grabbing, money-mongers, and will fight for my right to live a decent and healthy life in these mountains,” Crowe said.
Another lifetime resident, Beverly Turrentine, is spearheading the formation of UNOT and coordinated community efforts to place an ad in this week’s newspaper.
“It’s time we stand up and say ‘we don’t want that here,’” Turrentine said.
Nola Brown, who spent her Tuckasegee childhood hunting and fishing with her father, George Powell, first raised the issue with county commissioners in April.
“My family has been here since the 1700s, but pretty soon there won’t be anything left of our beautiful mountains for my 9-month-old son and his cousins to enjoy,” she said Tuesday. “We have to stand up to those who want to come in from outside and destroy our way of life.”
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