A Sad Tale to Tell

<body topmargin=0 leftmargin=0 marginheight=0 marginwidth=0> <table cellpadding=0 cellspacing=0 border=0><tr> <td valign="top" colspan=2 height=90 BGCOLOR="#006699" TEXT="#080000" background="04b085a3.jpg"> <div> <FONT SIZE="5" COLOR="#000000" FACE="Arial" ><B>The Historic Sharp Farm's Preservation Blog</B></FONT><B>    </B><B> |     </B><A HREF="index.html" TARGET="_top" TITLE="The Historic Sharp Farms Preservation Bl"><U><B>home</B></U></A></div> <div> <A HREF="id38_m.html" TARGET="TRLX_Middle" TITLE="A Sad Tale to Tell"><U><B><IMG SRC="03b0e0e0.png" border=0 width="14" height="14" ALT="up" ALIGN="BOTTOM" HSPACE="0" VSPACE="0"></B></U></A><B>   </B><A HREF="id19.html" TARGET="_top" TITLE="Chronos"><U><B><IMG SRC="03e0e0e0.png" border=0 width="14" height="14" ALT="down" ALIGN="BOTTOM" HSPACE="0" VSPACE="0"></B></U></A><B>     </B><A HREF="id37.html" TARGET="_top" TITLE="Eminent Domain Proposal"><U><B><IMG SRC="02f0e0e0.png" border=0 width="14" height="14" ALT="previous" ALIGN="BOTTOM" HSPACE="0" VSPACE="0"></B></U></A><B>  </B><A HREF="id39.html" TARGET="_top" TITLE="WVMR Radio"><U><B><IMG SRC="0300e0e0.png" border=0 width="14" height="14" ALT="next" ALIGN="BOTTOM" HSPACE="0" VSPACE="0"></B></U></A></div> <div> </div> </td> </tr><tr> <td valign="top" width=210 BGCOLOR="#FFFFFF" TEXT="#080000" background="04cd2e83.jpg"> <div> <A HREF="id87.html" TARGET="_top" TITLE="Challenges of 2005 2008 Eminent Domain "><U>Return To Challenges Log</U></A></div> </td> <td valign="top" height=390 BGCOLOR="#FFFFFF" TEXT="#080000" background="04d07073.jpg"> <div> <I>A Sad Tale to Tell</I></div> <div> A sad tale to tell today. I won’t divulge the whole tale but the moral of the story has been weighing on my mind for some time. </div> <div> An employee of a state agency confided that they had been taken off their Pocahontas County ‘beat’ due to their efforts to uphold the laws of the land up on top of the mountain. After some time away on another ‘assignment’ as penalty for taking the resort to task for violations, this person was given ‘another chance’. They were told by a high official appointed by the governor to ‘go soft on Snowshoe’ if they wanted to keep the Pocahontas County beat. </div> <bR> <div> A sad story, to be sure. But, when added to story after story after story….the stories begin to speak volumes. You see, this is not the first employee of the state of West Virginia to come to Slatyfork to share their concerns. In fact, we have been visited by more than a handful whom have risked their jobs to quietly confide, apologize and offer advice. Why apologize? Well, it seems these individuals have come to terms with their respective agency’s lack of due diligence, power under the law or yielding to political pressure. </div> <bR> <div> Do I make this up? No. Will I elaborate with names, dates and examples? No. Why? Because I would rather lose my farm and the hopes and dreams of our entire family than cause any person with a conscience to lose their jobs…to keep them from their livelihood. Yet, that is exactly what Intrawest/Snowshoe, the Pocahontas County Public Service District and the Pocahontas County Commission intend to do to us. Our way of life, our livelihood and, thus, our farm will be taken from this unnecessary act of EMINENT DOMAIN. </div> <bR> <div> Bill Rock, the general manager for Intrawest’s Snowshoe Resort, told me to my face that it was his fiduciary responsibility to the stockholders of Intrawest to see the treatment plant on our farm. Why? Because Intrawest was under the gun of the DEP for violations of their NPDES permit. Failing to live up to the responsibilities and privilege that the State of West Virginia vested in Intrawest when they granted them their own utility is a reason to put this on our backs? The answer, sadly, is yes. If they have to move the location of the sewer treatment plant to a safe location, Intrawest may find themselves in hot water with the Department of Environmental Protection. They have been given only so long for the ‘regional’ plant to be constructed until they have to take responsibility for their violations. That might include building a plant on their property AND allowing their neighbors to hook on this time AND having to foot the bill for it. After all, with the new regional system, about 100 people will be added to the rosters that would not have otherwise been served had Snowshoe lived up to its responsibilities when granted the privilege of operating their own utility, Snowshoe Water and Sewer, INC. But with those 100 people, Intrawest does not have to foot the bill! </div> <bR> <div> Indeed, even the response from the West Virginia director of Tourism, in response to my letter explaining the sewer treatment plant would be right along Scenic Highway 55/219 with the stench possibly discouraging tourists, wrote to tell me that she contacted Snowshoe and they say it is alright with them. So it seems Intrawest dictates the policies of our state agencies. Did that director take into consideration if this sewer plant along Scenic Route 55/219 would be good for everyone in the state…and for the tourists passing by? </div> <bR> <div> The fact is that not even the property owners at Snowshoe want this to happen to us down here. Owners of major businesses up on the mountain support us. In the ‘valley’, real estate developers who will benefit greatly from the raised property values when the sewer comes through stand with us. So who is driving this? It seems about 10 powerful people, all with interests and/or ties to Intrawest/Snowshoe. </div> <bR> <div> Others have come forward to employees at the Pocahontas County Courthouse confessing they are being pressured to rubber stamp the Commission’s wishes to long-time state workers in various regulatory agencies. They offer advise off the record and wish us good luck, but reluctantly admit the right thing might not be done. These people have risked their jobs and spent their own money to come here to witness what is going on and to speak their minds. </div> <bR> <div> If I had any naivety left in me, it is now long gone. However, I still have hope. If the thousands who support us continue to press the governor’s office and remain vocal, we (Sharp’s, local community, environment, fishermen, tourists) just may WIN! </div> <bR> <div> Tom Shipley</div> <bR> </td> </tr></table></body>