Members of the community occupied almost every seat at the quarterly meeting of the Back Creek Civic League held on Monday at Back Creek Fire Station #11. The agenda included recognition of two long-time law enforcement officials, who were recently promoted, the long awaited road-widening project on Bent Mountain and the controversial plan to install wind turbines on Poor Mountain.
Widening a one-mile stretch of Route 221 (also known as Bent Mountain Road) from Crystal Creek Drive to Cotton Hill Road is no longer sitting on the shelf. “We are getting ready to build a road,” confirmed VDOT Construction Engineer Robbie Williams. The project has been on and off the transportation’s six-year plan. Funding has been the major issue.
A contract for more than $20 million has been awarded by VDOT to WC English, a construction company in Lynchburg. Funding came by the way of stimulus money.
VDOT hopes to have the Notice to Proceed with Construction by September 1. The road will be expanded from a two-lane to a four-lane highway, up to Cotton Hill.
There is a landscaping plan in place and the footprint of the roadway has been kept narrow with a small median. According to VDOT, there will be an additional 14 feet on each side, which will not leave the scar that some wider roadways have left. It is anticipated that the project will be completed in its entirety by August 2013.
Poor Mountain Wind Turbines
Several members of the community also voiced concerns about Invenergy Wind Development’s proposal to construct 18 wind turbines on 2000 acres it has leased on Poor Mountain from local property owners.
Invenergy plans to sell the electricity generated from the turbines to American Electric Power and tap into its transmission line to upload the power created. It has been estimated that the 37.5 megawatts generated could power 8,000 homes in Roanoke County.
Ed Kinzer, a resident of Bent Mountain since the 1980’s and a retired science teacher from Glenvar High School, presented a slideshow on the potential adverse effects of wind turbines. Kinzer stated that there could be far reaching damage in the community to the environment, health, public safety as well as an adverse economic impact. “Ultimately, we need to look at an ordinance to protect ridge tops in this area,” said Kinzer.
“I’m here as a pilot and as a citizen of Roanoke Valley. I have knowledge as to how our air space works,” said Matthew Broughton, an aviation attorney and President of the IFR Pilots’ Club. He voiced a concern that has been raised by pilots in recent weeks.
“We have high minimums in Roanoke and can only go so low. If we can’t see the airport, we have to land elsewhere. We don’t want minimums to go higher to make it harder to get into Roanoke,” said Broughton of flying higher to avoid towers that could be 400’ tall. “If we want jobs to come into Roanoke, don’t make it harder to get into Roanoke. Every time we go higher, ice is more of an issue. No one wants to sit up there in the air in more ice.”
Bent Mountain Civic League President Eldon Karr, an architect, said he had installed four wind turbines in the past. He questioned the return on investment. “Every time on a residential installation, we go through the cost benefit analysis. With wind turbines, cost [to install] couldn’t be recouped any sooner than 10 years and then, the savings is minimal because wind comes and goes.”
Another community member said that the History Channel did a story on the issue, which indicated that people with wind turbines are very disappointed. It will be necessary for The Roanoke County Board of Supervisors to review all relevant data and give permits before the wind turbines can be built.
Like their Back Creek neighbors down the hill, the Bent Mountain Civic League also has a meeting coming up “and will be doing fundraising to help with expenses we’ll incur in this fight [against turbines],” said Karr.
Holt / Winston Recognized
In May the United States Senate confirmed retired Roanoke County Sheriff Gerald Holt to serve as U.S. Marshal for the Western District of Virginia. Having worked in law enforcement for four decades, Marshal Holt brings a wealth of knowledge and experience with him to his new position.
“I drove over 4,000 miles in the first month just getting to my offices,” said Holt. The seven court divisions within the Western District include Abingdon, Big Stone Gap, Charlottesville, Danville, Harrisonburg, Lynchburg and Roanoke. The headquarters office is located in Roanoke and there are four manned sub-offices in Abingdon, Charlottesville, Harrisonburg and Lynchburg.
The functions of the U.S. Marshal’s Service include apprehending fugitives, protecting the federal judiciary, operating the witness security program, transporting federal prisoners and seizing property acquired through illegal activities.
Mike Winston has been serving as Sheriff since the departure of Holt and is the Democratic Party candidate for Sheriff for the upcoming November election. Winston previously served as Chief Deputy for the Roanoke County Sheriff’s Office for 18 years and has worked in law enforcement for 40 years.
Winston and Holt worked together for several years. “I’ve had some “big shoes” to fill. It’s a good organization. We built it together and had some exciting times,” recalled Winston.
By Susan Ayers [email protected]