| There are two sides to every story, and the question of whether or not this Special Use Permit applcation is no different. The Franklin Times gives voice to both sides and we have heard comments, both in the paper and in the streets, from those who favor approval of the SunRock Quarry application. Unlike some of our opponents, we put our real names with our comments in the paper, both online and in print, while many of those who voice their approval of the application use only non-identifying screen names. While we certainly respect your right to disagree with our stand, we urge those who disagree with our position to have the backbone and strength of character to do so openly and without hiding behind screen names. Otherwise, it's difficult for anyone to take you or your argument seriously.
Regardless of the reasoning or veracity of our opponents or their position(s), we have no problem responding to their comments. Here is a sampling of what we've heard from those folks, as well as our answers to their comments and accusations. You'll notice that they really only boil down to two things, which is interesting all by itself. There are listed here with the general accusations against us listed in tan italics and our response following in normal text.
FC Stop the Rock and its supporters are all a bunch of NIMBY's (not in my backyarders) who only care about protecting their views.
We certainly wish it could be that simple, but it's not. In fact, many of those who oppose the project live far enough away that their views will not be impacted. It is their overall quality of life, both on and off their properties, that will suffer. Other Sunrock projects emit tons of carbon monoxide, nitrogen oxide, sulphur dioxide, and particulate matter every year. There can be no denying the fact that these emissions must be carried to properties and public areas both near and far because the wind can't be contained or restrained. We travel the same roads that SunRock's trucks will travel and we have only two lanes (at most) to choose from in each direction even on Bickett Boulevard. We are all familiar with the impatience that takes hold when one slow driver mucks up the works for everyone on Bickett Boulevard during rush hours. Where will we go to get away from slow start, slow-gearing dump and semi trucks when we are sharing those same roads with them during their 200+ trips through town each day? How much damage will they do to the elderly folks in our area who don't always move as fast as they should when turning and they suddenly get T-boned by a truck carrying tons of gravel? Where will all of the traffic go while the gravel is cleared and wrecked vehicles are removed from the intersections in front of Farmer's Foods or Food Lion shopping centers? What will happen to traffic when there's a truck hauling sand in one lane and a farm tractor in the other? Who will pay for the road repairs that constant heavy construction-type vehicles necessitate and what happens to traffic while those repairs are made? What do well-owner's do when they find that their wells have dried up or the Tar River and it's tributaries become contaminated? How many of us can afford to have our drinking and cooking water trucked in for the rest of our lives? This project will impact every Franklin County resident that drives on Bickett Boulevard or it's north and south Hwy 39/401 extensions as well as Highways 561, 56 and 581; everyone that pays taxes which go towards road repairs; everyone that breathes local air; everyone that enjoys looking up at the dark and starry skies; everyone that owns a home whose value is compared against others in the county when appraised or put up for sale - Everyone in the county will be impacted in one way or another. Who needs a quarry when those who favor this application seems to have more than enough rocks in their heads and sand in their ears to supply us all for a long time to come?
The needs of the many outweigh the needs of the few, so why should our county turn down money when our economy is so bad?
The explanation in the previous response should make it abundantly clear that it is the needs of the many that we are trying to address by opposing issuance of a Special Use permit. Our economy is bad, there's no denying that fact, but a project that won't start bringing in any significant revenues for up to 10 years is hardly a help in an economy that's suffering now. Any accountant will tell you that the first step in getting control of debt and bringing expenditures back into line with income is to examine where the money is going and get rid of unnecessary expenses like lobster dinners, business trips with "guests" in tow, business trips that have no immediate useful purpose to the taxpayers, etc.. Keeping our county attractive, getting rid of vacant business buildings to make room for new businesses in our business districts, making new businesses and their owners feel welcome and supported by both local government and the community, improve the quality of education in our public schools to make it easier for potential businesses to envision bringing their employees and families to Franklin County to live, clean up the crack-houses and meth labs so that visitors considering the idea of bringing their operations to the county feel safe making the massive investment that opening a business entails... Here again, the list goes on and on and we've fallen into the trap of treating the symptoms rather than the causes for our economic woes. Maybe some fresh blood is needed in our local government offices to rejuvenate the community and get past the weariness of trying to fight a "good-ole-boy" network that often seems to be most interested in maintaining the status quo and can't understand why that attitude isn't drawing new businesses to the community. The fact is that residents of the county WANT new businesses because they need jobs, but that doesn't mean that they're willing to blindly accept anything that comes down the pike offering a few bucks to the county and a small handful of jobs for area residents but requires that we sacrifice our health, safety, lifestyle, and values to get those few crumbs of payoff. We may live in the south and some of us may be a bit eccentric or old-fashioned, but that doesn't mean we're stupid.
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