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| This Is Our Future on Pageland Lane |
Prince William County officials for more than two years sat on their hands while one traffic incident after another occurred on Catharpin Road involving dump truck traffic headed to the Smith Dump.
Cars forced off the road, speeding dump trucks swerving over the center line on a narrow rural road, and trucks being driven in a dangerous manner were daily routine occurrences. A school bus sideswiped and the dump truck driver did not even slow down to see if any kid was hurt.
A car was forced off the road, over the narrow shoulder, and into a ditch by a swerving dump truck and the dump truck driver never even slowed down. A witness followed the dump truck into the Smith Dump but was chased off by the landfill operator. When the police arrived they got no cooperation from the landfill operators, and everyone pled ignorance and acted like they had no clue about the problem.
On that score, they didn't have to act.
Two and a half years later, the culture of farmers being "untouchable" in the Prince William County bureaucracy started to crack.
A Zoning Violation was issued against the Smith landfill owners and the dirt mover who operated the earth moving operation on what is euphemistically known as the Smith Dump -- a nickname given to the project by the dump truck drivers themselves.
But the money and the operation involved in accepting dirt is too lucrative, and the Smith owners filed a lawsuit contesting the Zoning Violation, and all the while the Smith landfill operators claim there is no money being paid to the Smith property owners.
It is a strange argument. In a personal conversation this blogger had with Brad Smith several months ago, Brad explained that it was tough in the farming business in Prince William County, and he had to adapt to a changing marketplace. His "farm" had to find ways to generate income.
That is why there was an application to put a cell tower on the Smith property (a proposal that has since been withdrawn by T-Mobile because of local homeowner opposition and the "bad image" held by the Smith landowners in the community), and that is why Brad Smith argued he had to change directions.
He explained that he envisioned a large horse boarding operation in the future made possible by flatter grazing pastures and water ponds for livestock.
Brad did admit that he had received a loan from the dirt moving operator, and that the loan had been "ripped up" by the dirt mover when the heat was put on the operation by local residents.
And Brad admitted that the dirt mover company had made various improvements to his farm operations on an in-kind basis, including building a new road he needed connecting some outbuildings and some other small construction based projects. But certainly no money.
The economic plight of small farmers in Prince William County is real. But the price for helping them make ends meet should not be heaped upon the general public in the form of unsafe roads that are death traps for families who have to use those roads.
Supervisor Pete Candland is dead right when he said Western Prince William County is becoming the "Dump Capitol of Northern Virginia."
On November 15, 2011 the argument changed dramatically.
The claims of dump truck traffic being a ticking time bomb for a fatality to occur moved from the hyperbolic theoretical posture to reality.
It came in the form of a head-on collision on southbound Route 29 where a driver was killed by a dump truck that was fully loaded and headed to the Smith Dump.
It was only this past week that Prince William County officials confirmed that fact.
On Tuesday, at the public forum portion of the Board of Supervisors Meeting, citizens need to express their views on stopping the new proposal the will put up to 250 dump trucks a day on Pageland Lane and all of the feeder roads onto that road (Route 29 and Route 234).
It is an absolute outrage.
It speaks to pure greed putting public safety at risk.
Gainesville District Supervisor Pete Candland is literally pounding on the County bureaucracy to stand up and protect the safety of families who are threatened by this outrage.
The entire Board of Supervisors needs to send a clear message to the County staff: Do everything you can within your powers to protect the public safety.
It is that simple.
Now we need to act to let the Board know we stand solidly behind Supervisor Pete Candland, and we want our roads back.
The Board of Supervisors Meeting convenes at 2 pm on Tuesday, and there is 30 minutes allocated for 'Citizens Time" for us to speak out -- the Citizens Time is the 5th item on the Agenda.
These meetings are held at the McCoart Administration Building at 1 County Complex Court, Prince William, Va 22193.
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