State Funding May Save Sharp Farm

<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="id43_m.html" TARGET="TRLX_Middle" TITLE="State Funding May Save Sharp Farm"><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="id50.html" TARGET="_top" TITLE="Groups Share Concerns with Lawmakers Ove"><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="id33.html" TARGET="_top" TITLE="Upper Elk Native Trout Danger"><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>State Funding May Save Sharp Farm</I></div> <div> Original Source: <FONT SIZE="3" COLOR="#0000FF" FACE="Arial" ><A HREF="http://theintermountain.com/include/articles.asp?articleID=10658" TARGET="_blank" TITLE="http://theintermountain.com/include/arti"><U>http://theintermountain.com/include/articles.asp?articleID=10658</U></A></FONT></div> <bR> <div> Friday, February 16, 2007</div> <div> The Inter-Mountain</div> <bR> <bR> <div> Groups fighting the use of eminent domain in taking over the historic Sharp Farm in Pocahontas County for a sewer plant received good news this week when the County Commission asked Sen. Walt Helmick, D-15th District, for help.</div> <bR> <div> They want Helmick to try and secure state funds on behalf of the public service district to conduct two alternative site surveys.</div> <bR> <div> Several residents, conservation groups and owners of the farm at Slatyfork don’t want the 1.5 million-gallon-per-day sewage plant at that site. The nine-acre plant would be located directly across from the historic Sharp Country Store, which is on the main road to Snowshoe Mountain Resort on U.S. 219, plus opponents say the ground is unsafe to handle such a large sewer plant.</div> <bR> <div> The County Commission is hoping two other sites can be surveyed for possible locations of the facility: No. 5, Boarding House, and No. 6, Beckwith.</div> <bR> <div> The state funding would also be used to hire a full-time site coordinator to head the project.</div> <bR> <div> Opponents to the Sharp Farm location say the proposed site is a shallow karst floodplain. They say the site has several sinkholes, springs, underground water channels and caves.</div> <bR> <div> Other opponents fear a plant on the Sharp Farm would threaten the Upper Elk Watershed. And the Sharp family doesn’t want their land being taken by eminent domain and have the historic significance of the land destroyed.</div> <bR> <div> It’s true there is nothing there but farmland at the proposed site, but it was the scene of several Civil War events. In fact, Confederate Gen. Robert E. Lee ate dinner in a log cabin located next to the country store. The cabin is still standing.</div> <bR> <div> Civil War buffs and tourists visiting Pocahontas County may not want to see an enormous sewer treatment plant in such a pristine area of the county.</div> <bR> <div> Hopefully, funding can be obtained and studies can be done on alternative sites.</div> <bR> <div> While a sewer treatment plant is needed, we hope the PSD won’t follow through with its plans to ruin the historic Sharp Farm — surely there are other sites that will cause the least amount of environmental and historical harm</div> <bR> </td> </tr></table></body>