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here for original article published in The Gallatin News Examiner 7-20-2011
This past Thursday evening, July 14, hundreds of Castalian Springs residents, friends, relatives and other anti-quarry supporters flocked to the Sumner County Administration Building. As many as could fit squeezed into the Bethel Brown Commission Chambers, SRO, with the overflow pouring out into the lobby area.
They were there for the county’s Zoning Board of Appeals to hear a request by Hoover Inc., to stick a quarry operation into Castalian Springs. Dozens wore red T-shirts that had “Crush the Quarry” written on back. For the most part they were well-behaved; no stones were pitched.
The Quarry Crushers were there to show, applaud and at times yell their support for anyone or anything bent on preventing Hoover from breaking ground on its proposed quarry operations in Castalian Springs. Speakers during the hearing included quarry opponents State Rep. Mike McDonald (D-Portland), Tennessee Director of Historic Sites Martha Akins, Sumner County Executive Anthony Holt and state historian extraordinaire Walter Durham.
The most compelling pitch was a visual – citizens’ attorney Kevin Williams showing PowerPoint slides of an SVU parked next to a monstrous rock-hauling truck, its tires taller than the top of the full-size SVU. Another showed a Ford F-150 pickup, looking like a Matchbox toy in comparison, parked in the well of another humongous quarry truck. This, Williams was saying, is the kind of daily traffic Castalian Springs will be cozy to if this quarry deal goes through.
The quarry’s most visible and vocal opponent is retiree Tom Neal, a pesky and demonstrative sort on the high five of 65 and quickly becoming a local celebrity. His impassioned podium-pounding speech, worthy of the ESPYs and including multiple renditions of “A rock is a rock is a rock!!!”, beseeching the zoning board to reject the quarry, might have been the evening’s highlight. If Castalian Springs ever needs a mayor, it could do a lot worse than Neal. If Notre Dame ever needs a new leprechaun mascot to lead cheers on the football sideline, the diminutive Neal, Scotch/Irishman through and through, would be a natural.
The zoning board took all of about 15 minutes to unanimously reject Hoover’s request to plant a quarry operations, complete with rock-crushing operations, an asphalt plant and a concrete plant, into the lushest gut of Castalian Springs. At that, a loud chorus of cheers rocked the inner sanctum of the administration building. One spectator standing in the back of the room let out a sigh of relief heard all the way to Corum Hill Road. That was Clay Haynes, son of Michelle Haynes and the late Charles Haynes. It was Michelle Haynes who sold the biggest parcel in Hoover’s local land grab to the tune of $2 million, unwittingly, she and the family have insisted, that they were selling to a quarry operation.
For the last month or so, hordes of naysayers have buzzed Clay Haynes, questioning his family’s loyalties and accusing them of what-not. The hot potato has now been passed to the local court system.
“I think tonight will be a good night’s sleep,” said Haynes, looking like someone whose systolic had just dropped 50 points. “Strands of history is what makes our (Castalian Springs) community great, and that was shown tonight.”
Where did Hoover go wrong in getting to this point? A big part of it was in how it went about buying the land, tiptoeing in under cover, their Trojan horse an LLC land-buying front innocently named Western Farm Products. It’s a good guess Sumner has its share of resident sinners who think they are saints when it comes to business deals, but for an outside company to come in under another name, knowing their operations could be revealed as a potential mess maker in an area decorated with historical landmarks, well, that’s asking for trouble.
This story isn’t over. The worst-kept secret throughout all this is that Hoover will likely pursue a legal challenge. Their argument Thursday night, as expressed by attorney Tom White, is that the 350 acres they bought for a total of about $2.3 million, carries a land-use classification in which mining and quarrying operations are recognized. In his “closing argument” before the vote went to the board, White said that Hoover’s operations would have no damaging impact on historical sites in the area, such as Wynnewood.
After the board’s turndown vote, White said, “We’re disappointed, but we feel the board did not follow the law.”
It will likely be weeks or months before all the dust settles. Chancery court or circuit court looms ahead.
Better keep those red “Crush the Quarry” T-shirts laundered, folks. You’ll need them again.
Mike Towle
Published in The Gallatin News Examiner 7-20-2011
