Sun, Jul 05 2009
|
Published April 25, 2007 09:59 pm - A disagreement between some county residents and a mining company led to heated words at this week’s county commission meeting, including accusations of extortion against the county engineer. Residents, company clash at meeting By Karen Williamson The Cullman Times A disagreement between some county residents and a mining company led to heated words at this week’s county commission meeting, including accusations of extortion against the county engineer.
Twin Pines Coal Company has been mining in the southwest portion of Cullman County for about five years, according to engineer Steve Ingle. They are requesting that a portion of Country Road 27 be relocated so they can begin a new mining operation. But commissioners told company representatives they had to resolve some complaints by residents living on County Roads 12 and 14 first. Residents were surprised to learn during the meeting that County Road 14 had been vacated by previous commissioners in 2002. Terry and Carolyn Calvert and Randy McClendon own land off of former County Road 14 and will need access to their property when the work is done, which Twin Pines will have to provide, according to county commissioners. Martha Johnson, whose family has owned their land for 102 years, said Twin Pines stripped through streams that fed into their streams on property adjoining their land. She said their water supply was broken off and told commissioners that her father’s complaint was that they had never paid for water in the past for their livestock. “Why should we pay for water just because they stripped through?” asked Johnson. Rand Linton, attorney for Twin Pines Coal Company, responded strongly. “We deny that we are responsible for this,” said Linton. “We have done everything,” referring to obligations to Johnson. Johnson said Twin Pines offered her three temporary solutions to remedy the problem. They offered to let her cows feed at a pond on neighboring property, but the cattle couldn’t maneuver the steep decline to the pond, according to Johnson. “When they moved out of here, we lost the use of the pond,” she said. The company offered to put in a well, but the family would have to pay for the electricity to operate the pump. They also offered to pay the water bill for two years until the strip mining moved. Paulene Parker, Johnson’s mother, said during the meeting that it cost them $100 a month to purchase water for their cows. Johnson said later in a phone conversation that during the summer, water could cost as much as $200 a month. When county engineer Fred Penn told Linton and Ingle that they would have to work with the residents to meet their needs, Linton exploded, accusing Penn of extortion several times. After the meeting, Penn said, the county would not relocate County Road 27 until the residents’ requests are met. 
More from the Local News section
Holly Pond man arrested on child sex abuse charges Holly Pond WWII veteran receives Bronze Star |
Print this story
Post to del.icio.us
 |
 |
 |
||||||||
|
||||||||
 |
|
|
|
|
© 2007, The Cullman Times
300 4th Ave. SE; Cullman, AL 35055 Phone: (256) 734-2131; Fax: (256) 737-1006 Send us your news tips & comments. 
|
Popular Business directory links - Cullman Apartments | Cullman Attorneys | Cullman Auto Dealers | Cullman Auto Parts | Cullman Auto Repair | Cullman Beauty Salons | Cullman Car Rental | Cullman Dentists | Cullman Doctors | Cullman Flowers | Cullman Hotels | Cullman Insurance | Cullman Loans | Cullman Mortgages | Cullman Movers | Cullman Pizza | Cullman Realtors | Cullman Restaurants | Cullman Storage | Cullman Tax Preparation | Cullman Travel | Cullman Featured | More...
|
|
Community Newspaper Holdings, Inc. • CNHI Classified Advertising Network • CNHI News Service |
