COMMENTARY

Workers from Mastec, a Florida-based company sub-contracting for AEP, send excessive noise into our home while working on electrical power for the new retail stores. Our electricity is cut several times and they wake our baby more than once. They leave behind tracks damaging our hillside grass.

This Post-Driving Machine Sent Excessive Noise Into Our Home. It Is Owned By An Ohio Company, M.P. Dory, Ironically Located On "Integrity" Drive. Why Doesn't Cleveland Construction Hire West Virginia Companies To Do More Work Here?

A Photo Of The Street Sweeper That Woke My Family Up At 3:30 a.m. December 10th. Hurricane PD Refused To Cite The Inconsiderate Driver.

This Politician Favors Putting A Wal-Mart In Our Neighborhood While Refusing To Enforce Hurricane's Noise Ordinance.

ENDURING THE NEW HURRICANE WAL-MART
A Daily Diary Of What It's Like To Have A Massive Supercenter Built In A Formerly Quiet Neighborhood
Commentary                                                         By Mark Hallburn
Publisher
PutnamLIVE.com

A beautiful tree-covered hill and a quiet Hurricane neighborhood have been destroyed in order to build the new Wal-Mart and                                                      Hurricane Marketplace.

Neighbors, including me,
are being subjected to
loud noise that I can hear                                                 inside my home with the                                              windows closed, bright                                                      lights shining in my                                                      bedroom window before sunrise, and several cases of our water being cut off.

Greedy city and county officials looking to grab more property and Business and Occupancy taxes are refusing to enforce city and state noise ordinances, and are also refusing to buy out the homeowners that are living next to the construction site.

Hurricane City Manager Benjamin Newhouse, and Cleveland Construction Supervisor David Koon have both demanded that homeowners move if we don't like the noise. However neither is willing to cut a check for our homes.

The Putnam County Development Authority, which created this mess, has also refused to buy us out.

P.C.D.A. Board of Director and Hurricane City Council member Scott Edwards has made an unsatisfactory offer of "appraised value plus 10 percent-pre Wal-Mart." Sorry Scott, we aren't stupid.

Local realtors are suggesting we sell our homes at low-ball prices because one neighbor sold his home and acreage at below-market value.

Wal-Mart has been given six notices of violations by the West Virginia Department of Environmental Protection for stream pollution and construction workers burned hundreds of trees on the site adding to air pollution that is already bad from Interstate 64. Another Notice of Violation was issued to Kanawha Stone in January for burning very close to neighbor's homes.

The tree-covered hill that used to buffer noise from the railroad whistles as well as noise and air pollution from Interstate 64 is gone. Our quiet neighborhood has been destroyed.

We have been told we will endure blasting through June of 2007 on a six-day-per week schedule. That is unacceptable.

Through the construction process we are learning plenty about the arrogance of city officials and contractors who only care about their selfish interests instead of the homeowners who have paid taxes in this neighborhood for decades. And none of them have seized the opportunity to trade homes during the construction period, which, according to Cleveland Construction executive Keith Ziglar, "Will only be for a short time, until September." If Ziglar thinks 11 months of construction is short, let HIM live next to his construction site. Even that turned out to be untrue. Now the Wal-Mart construction is continuing past mid-October.

All of this could have been avoided. Years ago our neighbors and me signed a petition asking Hurricane Mayor Raymond Peak (who has stopped returning calls about noise complaints) and City Council to zone the hill to prevent a Wal-Mart from moving in. Now Peak says the zoning can't be done because Wal-Mart already purchased the property. What the old man selectively forgets is the petition that we gave him years ago.

And let us not forget that the PCDA lied about the option to buy that it signed with Wal-Mart's developer. Then it hired attorneys to fight our Freedom of Information Act Requests, wasting our tax dollars to try to circumvent the law.

The PCDA, under Walton's leadership, has wasted nearly $650,000 in loan interest and legal fees on the Wal-Mart land and project-money that should be paid back to Putnam County taxpayers immediately!

Throughout the process the PCDA Board of Directors has refused to show some ethics and refused to fire Walton.

And Putnam County Commissioners, Steve Andes, Jim Caruthers, and Raymond "Joe" Haynes have thrown ethics out the window by refusing to replace the PCDA Board of Directors. Fortunately Putnam County voters can see through the Commissioner's lack of ethics and voted Caruthers out. Andes and Haynes should be next. Neither have showed any concern for the neighbors living next to the Wal-Mart project.

Since complaining about the noise, lights, pollution, and water outages is falling on deaf ears, I decided to publish this diary of what it's like to live near a Wal-Mart construction zone.

"This is a common-sense issue about not being a nuisance to your neighbor." Hurricane City Manager Ben Newhouse about the town's ordinance limiting two dogs per home.

Newhouse's comments about dogs are laughable considering the nuisance of construction noise that he allows!

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Big Box Mart-A Funny Video Animation

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Eight Fun Things To Do At Wal-Mart

1. When there are people behind you, walk really slowly, especially in thin aisles.

2. Walk up to an employee and tell him in an official tone,  “I think we’ve got a code 3 in house wares,” and see what happens.

3. Follow people through the aisles, staying about 5 feet behind them. Do this until they leave the store.

4. When someone steps away from his or her cart to look at something, quickly make off with it without saying a word.

5. Set all the alarm clocks to go off at 5:00 p.m.

6.  Hide behind a clothes rack and when someone walks by start saying "PICK ME! PICK ME!"

7.  Go into a changing room, and after a few minutes loudly shout, "THERE’S NO TOILET PAPER IN HERE!"

8.  Move around the aisles while humming the tune to Mission Impossible. When you come upon a person, roll across the isle, pretending to dodge the oncoming cart.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

One Small Town's Development Dilemma

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Wal-Mart Sues Brain-Damaged Ex-Employee. Wal-Mart later dropped the suit after the media, including PutnamLIVE.com, exposed the issue.

 

May 9th, 2008: At 5:49 a.m., a delivery truck and a car wake me up as each take different routes into Wally World. I don't know when the leaders of Hurricane expect us to sleep. This is only a few hours after I was awakened twice late last night, once by a car alarm, once by the street sweeper. This store is a nuisance!

May 8th, 2008: Another day of excessive construction and Wal-Mart traffic noise. It runs into the night as cars charge up the hill, radios blaring. For the second night in a row I am awakened after 11:00 p.m. by noise from Wal-Mart's parking lot. Last night it was the street sweeper in the rain. Tonight is a car alarm. I call the store and an Assistant Manager named Joey apologizes then hangs up. Too late, I am already awake! Then, shortly after I go back to sleep, the street-sweeper returns and wakes me shortly before midnight. Another call to Joey and he says, "I'll go talk to them." Too late. I'm awakened again by a street sweeper on a rainy night when it isn't needed!

May 7th, 2008: At 3:48 a.m., a pair of cars storm up Wal-Mart hill waking me up in the middle of the night. Another day of abuse allowed by Silly Scotty! Excessive construction and traffic noise continues day and night as workers continue with the new KFC, City National Bank, and are starting another fast-food restaurant down the hill from our home. I leave a voice mail for Mary Jo Thompson in Governor Manchin's office challenging her to stop the personal attack on me and deal with the excessive noise issue. Another voice mail is left for Phyllis Harris at Wal-Mart. Neither return my call. I speak with a woman at Frito-Lay about the very early deliveries that wake me up. But all she wants to do is tell me that "she will look into it." All that needs to be done is to tell delivery trucks not to arrive until after sunrise. It's REALLY that simple! At 11:15 p.m., Wal-Mart's street sweeper wakes me up. It is raining outside. There is no need for a street sweeper during the rain when any dirt is already being washed away. What happened to Scott Edwards' Kyoto Protocol for less emissions? I call Wal-Mart and the Assistant Manager, Scott, hangs up on me. These people just don't get it! We SHOULD be allowed to sleep at night! Keep in mind that cars on the Wal-Mart lot woke me up at 3:48 this morning!

May 6th, 2008: I am awakened early by the "motion beeps" of construction equipment. Excessive traffic noise soon follows as I endure another day of living near a Wally World. The excessive noise continues through the day, including Scott Edwards honking his horn for no reason as he enters the parking lot. This from the guy that wants Hurricane to sign on to the Kyoto Protocol for environmental reasons.

May 5th, 2008: Excessive construction noise from the KFC and City National Bank sites ruin my morning as the noise is combined with excessive traffic noise from the Wal-Mart. As I come home from an early appointment, my neighbor, riding his motorcycle on the wrong side of the road nearly collides with my car. Don't people have any common sense or courtesy?

May 4th, 2008: We return home from Columbus to find my car covered with dust. It was only parked overnight. This is an example of how much dust has been blowing onto our yard and home since the hill was blasted down and the Wal-Mart was opened. No doubt some of that dust is particulates from I-64 and is not healthy to breathe! Tomorrow is Cinco de Mayo. I wonder if I can order pinatas with Mayor Peak's face, along with the former Hurricane City Council, Gary Walton's face, Silly Scotty Edwards' face, Ben Newhouse's face, and faces of the current Hurricane City Council. We can line up the Wal-Mart neighbors to take swings! We can also allow Scott Edwards' ex-wives!

May 3rd, 2008: Excessive traffic noise to Wal-Mart wakes me up early, ruining another Saturday morning. I guess common courtesy is too much to ask for in Hurricane. One of the Charleston Newspapers prints a story about the City of Hurricane taking environmental steps with more electrical efficiency, etc. However, the reporter fails to point out that Hurricane allowed a pond to be filled in and a hillside to be destroyed to build a Wally-World. Oh the Hypocrisy of Disputed Mayor Silly Scotty Edwards and his cronies! These guys have turned doubletalk into a way of life! Sick and tired of the excessive noise, we take off for a weekend in Columbus. For the first time since Wal-Mart opened, we get a very peaceful night of sleep in our hotel room without a Wal-Mart in sight. Later we learn there is a Wal-Mart in a shopping center about 1/4 of a mile away. Even though it is under expansion, we couldn't hear the construction noise from our hotel, indoors or outside. The leaders of Columbus were smart and allowed that Wal-Mart to be built next to an interstate, NOT in a neighborhood! Silly Scotty needs to take a trip to Columbus and learn how to do things properly!

May 2nd, 2008: At 4:35 a.m., a train rolls through Hurricane waking me up. The train noise was never a problem until the hill in front of our home was destroyed to build Silly Scotty's Wally World!

May 1st, 2008: We start another month today of excessive construction noise and excessive traffic noise. At Governor Manchin's direction, I call Mary Jo Thompson in his office. She attacks me personally and refuses to deal with the issue. Then she hangs up. This bureaucrat is a disgrace to the State of West Virginia and should be fired. She is defying her governor's orders and is a part of the problem, not the solution. This will be personally conveyed to Manchin the next time I see him. I will NOT tolerate someone who earns a living with my taxes being abusive and uncooperative! At the recommendation of a reader who lives near a Wal-Mart in another state, I contact the EPA in Washington, D.C. to see if Wal-Mart is violating any air pollution laws and can be shut down. Adam Kushner, the head of the air pollution division for the entire United States, takes my call and promises to look into the issue. He also refers me to Phyllis Harris, a former colleague who now works for Wal-Mart. She handles environmental issues and is not happy that our calls to Wal-Mart's district manager are not being returned. I send her a link to this story and a story about the contractors not being paid, a copy of the citation for the blaster not having a license, and other photos that show how close our home is to the store. She promises to get back to me. I hope she does and that a solution can be worked out for Wal-Mart to do business while allowing us the peace and quiet in our home and on our property that we deserve! But that was wishful thinking. Excessive traffic noise continues well into the night. A guest stops by for a visit and is stunned to learn how close we are to the Wal-Mart. He thought we were on a hill above the store. About an hour after I retire for the night, I am awakened by Wal-Mart's street sweeper at 11:25 p.m. When does Wal-Mart expect us to sleep?

April 30th, 2008: Excessive construction and traffic noise starts early with traffic noise continuing well past 10:45 p.m. as cars roar up Wal-Mart hill. During the day, tractors restrict access and exit from our home as they do work on the road next to the KFC. I don't know why they are working on the road as they did plenty of that last fall and winter. I guess they didn't have enough fun disrupting our neighborhood then, so they've come back for more!

April 29th, 2008: At 4:24 a.m., a Lay's Potato Chip delivery truck charging up Wal-Mart hill disrupts my early morning. When does Wal-Mart expect its neighbors to be able to sleep? I call the store and am disconnected while being transferred to a manager. Coincidence? I doubt it. I call back and Scott apologizes, then hangs up. I am sure his apology is genuine. So is my need to sleep through the night. I call Putnam Dispatch which promises to send Hurricane PD. A lot of good that will do. They let Wal-Mart wake us up on a regular basis! Meanwhile I will try to go back to sleep. THANK YOU WAL-MART!!! THANK YOU SCOTT EDWARDS!!!!! Shortly after 10:00 a.m., our neighbor fires up his crane and sends obnoxious and excessive noise into our home. These construction people need to understand that they are working in a neighborhood, surrounded by homes! I make a telephone call to someone at Frito Lay's corporate office near Dallas and he promises to investigate why their delivery truck was waking our neighborhood at 4:24 a.m. It's amazing that one has to call corporate offices to get common courtesy! Excessive Wal-Mart traffic noise continues well past 10:00 p.m. Typical!

April 28th, 2008: Excessive traffic noise continues day and night. Fortunately, the KFC construction crews stay off the site when I am at home before I leave for work. Unfortunately, my wife has had ENOUGH of the excessive traffic noise, and has joined her mother, who moved out of our home weeks ago, at her mother's other home in Charleston. That 4:00 a.m. false fire alarm at Wal-Mart was "The straw that broke the camel's back." They will return here on the weekends, but are tired of being awakened in the middle of the night by excessive traffic noise from the Wal-Mart. It's tough enough dealing with a seven-month-old baby's sleeping schedule without some idiot blowing their car horn, car alarms, and false fire alarms from an inconsiderate Wally World across the street! I wish I could leave, but someone has to stay home and watch our house as well as take care of the dogs during the week. The incompetent RUDE AND ARROGANT DISPUTED MAYOR SILLY SCOTTY EDWARDS, STEVE ANDES, AND JOE HAYNES ARE ALL TO BLAME! In fact, they ARROGANTLY refused to meet with us tonight about buy our home to get us out of the MESS that they created! Andes wants your vote on May 13th. Send the RUDE, ARROGANT, AND INCOMPETENT STEVE ANDES BACK TO PENNSYLVANIA! HE IS THE WORST COMMISSIONER IN THE HISTORY OF PUTNAM COUNTY! 

April 27th, 2008: We are awakened at 3:59 a.m. by a fire truck charging up the hill to Wal-Mart. The building is not on fire and there is only one truck, so apparently this is yet another false alarm. A group of people, apparently employees, stand out in the parking lot and can be heard laughing from our home. At 4:15 a.m., a "Big John" hook and ladder truck from Teays Valley Volunteer Fire Department charges up the hill directly in front of our homes, siren wailing, But it parks away from the northeast section of the building and the firemen casually walk across the front as we hear more laughter from the group of employees. I am NOT laughing and want to go back to sleep! I drive over to take pictures and get some information. TVFD Firefighter Steve Connolley, (who is also one of the City of Hurricane's attorneys and one of Putnam County Prosecutor Mark Sorsaia's assistant prosecutors that falsely charged me with telephone harassment last year) tells me that there "isn't an active fire" and never was. Instead, a sprinkler system meter set off the alarm. No water was sprayed. Lights flash into our windows for more than an hour. For no good reason! Instead, a group of innocent neighbors were harassed by unnecessary sirens at 4:00 a.m. due to a nuisance called Wal-Mart! And volunteer firefighters were called out of bed very early on a Sunday morning due to a nuisance called Wal-Mart! Scott Edwards, the PCDA, and Hurricane's City Council members should be forced to live next to this monster that they created! Wal-Mart is a nuisance to our neighborhood! The company needs to show more consideration to its neighbors! The store should have been built next to Home Depot where it would not disrupt homes at 4:00 a.m.!!! Later in the day, I do some more shopping at Dollar Tree. As long as Wal-Mart abuses us with excessive traffic noise and false fire alarms I will shop at their competition. When I arrive back at home around 1:00 p.m., my neighbor who was complaining to WSAZ about "boom boxes" in cars has his motorcycle, and one belonging to a friend, idling loudly in his driveway closest to our home. As they finally drive away, revving the engines, they wake our baby. This town needs a new motto: "HURRICANE: Uncivilized, Rude, Disruptive, and Proud of It!" Mayor Edwards should put that on the city's web site! Since my neighbor hates "boom boxes," maybe I will burn a Tupak CD, place a boom box in my window facing his house, crank it up REAL LOUD, and take a long drive to Lexington. Since he doesn't understand consideration, maybe a little street justice will get the point across! Wal-Mart starts running its street sweeper again around 10:00 p.m., sending excessive noise into our home. This despite numerous REASONABLE requests that it run during the day or in the morning after 8:00 a.m. I call the store and an assistant manager who identified herself as Kathy hangs up on me. These people JUST DON'T GET IT! I try calling 1-800-Wal-Mart to file another complaint, however, it closed at 6:00 p.m. How CONVENIENT for the neighborhood abusers! They can make our lives miserable at 10:00 p.m. or 4:00 a.m., but we can't file a complaint at those hours! We've had enough of the excessive noise waking our baby, so starting tonight, our child and my wife will spend the night at her mother's Charleston home during the week, instead of here. It's a pretty sad commentary that Wal-Mart's rudeness has driven a baby, a mother, and a grandmother out of their home. My wife and her mother bought this home to have a wonderful place to raise a family. Now, because of the abuse of Silly Scotty Edwards and Wal-Mart, we can't enjoy our home and have to evacuate most of our family due to the excessive and UNNECESSARY noise! Worse, I will only see my child on the weekends because I work in Huntington during the week when I am not publishing PutnamLIVE.com. At about 11:15 p.m., someone repeatedly honks a car horn in the Wal-Mart parking lot waking me up. I call assistant manager Scott at Wal-Mart who promises to take care of things. However, shortly after we finish talking, the same car horn sounds again. This is ABUSE at the hands of Disputed Mayor Scott Edwards! Welcome to Hurricane, Scott Edwards version of Hell on Earth!

April 26th, 2008: Some MORON in the Wal-Mart parking lot wakes us up in the middle of the night honking a car horn. More excessive traffic continues through the day with ANOTHER MORON blasting his car alarm shortly after noon. I call Wal-Mart and ask for a manager. An assistant named Clemens hangs up on me, refusing to take responsibility for what happens on his parking lot. I leave a voice mail for Disputed Mayor Silly Scotty Edwards to meet at our home at 1:00 p.m. to put together a plan to leash his Wally World monster. We will see if he has enough integrity to show up. Of course, Edwards doesn't have enough integrity to show up or even call back. He no-shows his constituents because he stopped caring about us a long time ago. All the greedy politician wants is revenue for his town. Meanwhile, a KFC representative calls me. Tim Rook promises to work on the construction noise issue and talk to Lisa Hughes Monday to try to provide a way for us to get the peace and quiet we deserve. We have even provided them with our work schedules so that there are huge windows of time where they can work without having to worry about disturbing us! Let's see if KFC cares enough about its neighbors to do the right thing next week. Fortunately, today, there isn't any excessive construction noise coming from that work site. Unfortunately, excess traffic noise from Wal-Mart disrupts our home and makes enjoying our front yard impossible! I go to A to Z Supermarket and do my weekly grocery shopping. It's nice to support local businesses that treat their neighbors with respect and dignity. Wal-Mart should take notes! At 10:35 p.m., I am awakened by Wal-Mart's street sweeper-again! This street sweeper, the store, its excessive traffic noise, the Hurricane City Council, crappy Disputed Mayor Silly Scotty Edwards, and the PCDA are menaces to a civilized society! I leave a voice mail for Edwards, who of course, has his head in the sand and ignores the reality of hell for this neighborhood that he has created and fails to return the call. An assistant manager named Joey says he will note the complaint, "see what I can do," and rudely hangs up. These people are OBNOXIOUS!

April 25th, 2008: Right around 5:15 a.m., I am awakened by the excessive noise of large trucks charging up Wal-Mart hill. Yet another day of rude treatment of our neighborhood begins! When I call KFC's Lisa Hughes about noisy construction, she rudely hangs up on me! So I call KFC's corporate office in Louisville. A woman in the President's office is VERY concerned about the issue. I get a call back from a KFC representative, however, we play telephone tag and don't hook up. We will see if there is a difference tomorrow and if crews give us the peace and quiet that we deserve. Hughes should be forced to live in this neighborhood and listen to the crap we put up with everyday! So should Mary Jo Thompson in Joe Manchin's office. She becomes the latest bureaucrat to betray West Virginians in favor of Arkansas-based Wal-Mart. Despite Governor Joe Manchin's directive to call her about the excessive Wal-Mart traffic noise, Thompson turns her back on our neighborhood and refuses to take my call today. Manchin needs to set his staff straight. It's about property rights and the rights of West Virginians, not about the rights of the Walton family! And Manchin wonders why people leave West Virginia! Had the DOH allowed the entrance/exit to be built on Orchard Park Road, neighbors would have far less traffic noise to endure each day! Manchin will be in town soon, and I will let him know what I think of his incompetent office staff. At 11:30 at night Wal-Mart's street sweeper wakes us up. I call the store and the operator gives me the run-around. Finally, I am transferred to an assistant manager who gives me the usual too-late and lame apology, passes the buck to Lloyd Atkinson, claims he doesn't have his district manager's phone number (which I promptly provide) and says nothing can be done. You can plant 100 rows of corn in the Wal-Mart parking lot with the fertilizer that their management spreads regarding the noise issue! Hurricane PD should arrest whoever is behind scheduling the street sweeper late at night and permanently impound the offending vehicle.

April 24th, 2008: I call back Wal-Mart as instructed (last night) to speak with Lloyd. However, I am told he isn't in the store today and unavailable. An assistant manager hangs up on me-twice. I call back and ask to speak with CEO Lee Scott. I am put on a line that rings endlessly. Then an operator comes back on the line and hangs up on me! These idiots would rather play with someone than solve a problem! I finally reach Lisa Hughes at KFC's local office in Charleston. She says she will contact the contractor to see about the noise issue. She also lists the typical lame excuses of 1) The project must be finished. (Oh REALLY? It's a KFC, not a hospital or school There's one 7 miles away. Life will go on if a KFC isn't built in Hurricane!) 2) Construction noise will happen. (No kidding, we only want it to stay on the job site which is about 100 yards from our home. Let US have peace and quiet). 3) A sound wall is expensive. (That's the cost of doing business near people that don't want to hear your loud construction noise. Don't like it? Build far away from people's homes.) And, like everyone else, Hughes is unwilling to live hear while the work is being done. She turns down the offer to trade homes until the project is finished! SHOCKING! Just another corporate person who is willing to tell US to live with their construction mess and isn't willing to live with it themselves! Meanwhile we can't enjoy our front yard, hear construction noise in our home, and know that this mess will continue for MONTHS! I receive another nasty email from a (Chicken crap) idiotic  anonymous source telling me that if I stopped complaining about the noise, people would make less noise. What a MORON! If people stop disrupting our home, I will be HAPPY to end this blog! After an afternoon and evening in Huntington, I return home after 9:00 p.m. and am greeted with excessive traffic noise from Wal-Mart's customers. There is NO reason why they have to use the entrance directly in front of our home! The lack of consideration is terrible!

April 23rd, 2008: Excessive construction and traffic noise starts very early in the morning, continues through the day, and extends into the evening. I finally run out of patience and drive down to the KFC site after 9:00. A supervisor is still working past 9:00 p.m. and has the audacity to tell me that "We'll be done in a few months." Where do these people get off telling us that we should put up with their excessive noise for "a few more months?" If "A few more months" is a short time, then they won't mind quieting their work for only "A few more months!" I call the Teays Valley store and ask to speak with the owner, who, of course, I am told "Isn't available." Amazing how they will allow their contractors to disrupt our homes past 9:00 p.m., but don't stick around to listen to the complaints! Later, about 9:35 p.m., I am watching a baseball game on ESPN in my living room. Unfortunately, Wal-Mart traffic, including cars with "booming" radios, disrupt the game. I call Wal-Mart and am told by an assistant manager to call Lloyd in the morning. A lot of good THAT will do! These clowns all think the same way: Disrupt now, complain to someone else later!

April 22nd, 2008: At 3:30 a.m. I am awakened by "motion beeps" from some sort of equipment. Also, a utility truck roars up the hill in front of our home right past the no truck sign to Wal-Mart's front door. Wal-Mart needs to show more consideration for its neighbors! Excessive traffic and construction noise continues through the day. Even past 8:30 at night, workers on the new KFC disrupt our neighborhood. It is amazing what the City of Hurricane allows these guys to get away with!

April 21st, 2008: Another day of excessive Wal-Mart traffic noise. It starts early and continues until after 10:30 p.m. when a large pickup truck races up the road in front of our home, sending noise past our closed windows. During the day I receive an e-mail from someone promising not to drive up the hill directly in front of our home. It is too bad that others don't show as much consideration and common sense. Wal-Mart should block the roadway overnight so that no traffic runs up and down the hill in front of neighborhood homes. Hurricane PD should also vigorously enforce both the speed limit and the stop sign. Each would slow down cars and trucks that run over steel grates that are very noisy when tires hit them! A little common sense would make things better for the neighbors who are enduring Silly Scotty's STUPID plan to put a Wally World in a 35-year-old neighborhood! Edwards is the WORST mayor in West Virginia!

April 20th, 2008: Excessive Wal-Mart traffic disrupts our home day and night. At about 10:00 p.m., the street sweeper sends excessive noise into our home. Why won't Wal-Mart be a good neighbor and let us enjoy our homes?

April 19th, 2008: The train wakes us up as it rolls through at about 7:25. We never were disturbed by the train until the hill in front of our home was blasted down to build the Wally World. I call Joe Miller from the PPSD and advise him that he must have grass put back on our property today. He hangs up on me. I will file ANOTHER complaint and, if necessary, get a court injunction to get the grass replaced and have him removed from the board. These arrogant jerks that thing they can needlessly destroy someone's property and fail to repair it properly must be removed from power. Excessive traffic noise continues through the day. I meet again with Governor Manchin at another candidate forum. He promises to put me in touch with someone at Wal-Mart to work with about the noise issue. I also meet with several District 19 Delegates about a state-wide noise ordinance. This is also discussed with Manchin. After the forum, I run an errand then return home and listen to traffic noise in my home which keeps me from sleeping until nearly midnight.

April 18th, 2008: The abusive construction and traffic noise starts in very early in the morning. It's going to be another miserable day brought to us by the corrupt City of Hurricane and Putnam County "leaders." I call Joe Miller of the PPSD about the damage to my yard. Against my wishes, they put down seed and straw-again-to replace the GRASS that was torn out, against my wishes, last October. Miller arrogantly tells me that "You're not going to get grass, it's too expensive." Sorry, Joe, but I WILL get grass if I have to get a court order! Your crews tore grass out and they will REPLACE IT WITH GRASS! Well past 8:30 p.m., excessive "motion beeps" from the KFC site send noise into our home. This is in addition to the excessive traffic from the Wal-Mart. I call Putnam Dispatch, however, nothing is done. I leave a voice mail for Mayor Edwards, but, as usual, he throws his constituent's rights out the window in favor of rude construction workers! Councilwoman Hager fails to answer her telephone. SHOCKING!!!

April 17th, 2008: A car on Wal-Mart's lot wakes me at 1:00 a.m. Early in the morning, a pizza delivery truck wakes me again as it drives down the road where trucks are banned. Then shortly after 8:30, John Clay, the neighbor that complained about cars with "boom boxes" to WSAZ, revs up his loud motorcycle right next to our home and wakes our baby! Hurricane neighbors are a piece of work!!! Why can't people be polite and not disrupt their neighbors? Excessive traffic and construction noise continues throughout the day and night as Silly Scotty Edwards and the City of Hurricane continue to allow their citizens to be abused!

April 16th, 2008: A typical day of excess traffic. I can't enjoy our front yard, and am disrupted all day in our home. Shortly after I retire for the night, a bright red sports car leaving Wal-Mart's parking lot wakes me up.

April 15th, 2008: Our morning starts with a delivery truck waking us up at 5:30 a.m. as it arrives at Wal-Mart. I can't make out the logo, however, it appears to be a beer truck. Again, there is NO reason to make deliveries so early and so noisy that it wakes a neighborhood! I call Wal-Mart to complain and am told they take early deliveries and that companies deliver early to Wal-Mart because Go-Mart and other stores only take deliveries after 8:00 a.m. Well, if the other stores stay in business and take deliveries during sensible hours, Wal-Mart should do the same. I leave another message for Manchin's aide bout the excess traffic and noise. She did not return the last call!

April 14th, 2008: A big-rig leaving Wal-Mart's parking lot wakes our baby, who wakes me, at 5:39 a.m. This is EXACTLY why the state DOH needs to add an exit onto Orchard Park Road, so that traffic leaving and coming to Wal-Mart doesn't come into our neighborhood! However the "rocket scientists" at DOH failed to do this and now WE suffer! Excessive traffic continues all day and night. After 10:15 p.m., construction noise from the KFC location disrupts our home. I call dispatch but don't anticipate anything being done!

April 13th, 2008: At 12:45 a.m., I am awakened by the repeated honking of a car horn from the Wal-Mart parking lot as well as a woman yelling at someone. It's quarter-til-one a.m.!!! I call Putnam Dispatch and ask that the culprits be arrested. I also call Wal-Mart and speak with a manager-on-duty, Scott, who is very nice, and says he is sorry, however, it is too late. Apologies do LITTLE good AFTER we are awakened in the MIDDLE OF THE NIGHT! Wal-Mart simply needs to stop the EXCESSIVE NOISE COMING FROM ITS PROPERTY! IT'S THAT SIMPLE!!!!! RIGHT after I get off the phone with Scott, his street-sweeper arrives sending MORE excessive noise into our home at 1:06 a.m.! After I call Scott back, and leave a voice mail on the district manager's cell phone, the street sweeper leaves. However, the damage is done. Another situation of wake us up first, apologize second! I DO call Scott back and thank him for making the street sweeper leave. He says it's company has been asked before not to come in the middle of the night. Why it's company would even THINK about street-sweeping at 1:00 a.m. next to a neighborhood-ESPECIALLY on a weekend is unbelievable! Still, excessive traffic noise continues at 1:38 a.m. as I update this blog entry! Later in the day I call Wal-Mart's customer relations and get the proverbial, "I'll make a note of that." Well, Wally-World, talk is cheap! Let's see some ACTION! And speaking of cheap talk, I stop at KFC for lunch. As I am driving out, some Neanderthal shouts, "Shut up about Wal-Mart!" I make the standard offer, "Here's my house key, give me yours, and let's trade until my house is sold." The Neanderthal is slapped by his wife who says, "No way am I living next to Wal-Mart!" A CLASSIC moment! More idiots who tells us to put up with the crap but refuses to put up with it themselves. Right around midnight, I am awakened by a car roaring on Wal-Mart hill. Apparently, the abuse of our neighborhood will never end!

April 12th, 2008: We awake to a beautiful West Virginia Saturday morning destroyed by excessive construction and traffic noise. Cars are streaming into the Wal-Mart, and City National's rock-breaking tractor sends noise into our home about 1/4 of a mile away. Why these businesses don't learn to be more considerate to their neighbors is astounding! I leave a voice mail for Disputed Mayor Scott Edwards and call City Councilwoman Patty Hager. She does not answer. I meet with Governor Joe Manchin and discuss the excessive traffic noise as well as construction noise issues. He gives me the name of an assistant to call on Monday. I can't wait to talk with her. Hopefully, with the governor's office working on this we will make some progress so that Wal-Mart can do business, City National can get built, and we can get some peace and quiet! I will also give the aide's name to my neighbors. Excessive traffic noise continues day and night up until midnight, coming from the Wal-Mart parking lot and entry road. As I type this, I hear tires squeal from the Wal-Mart parking lot at 11:55 p.m. Yes, it's a madhouse, alright, brought to us by the Madman Mayor at Hurricane City Hall!

April 11th, 2008: City National Bank's construction workers continue the abuse of our neighborhood with more rock breaking starting at 7:00 a.m. This is despite an email earlier in the week from Executive Vice President Craig Stilwell promising the excessive noise would end by Wednesday! Meanwhile the excessive traffic noise going to Wal-Mart and the other stores continues late into the evening, destroying what SHOULD be a quiet Friday night! Channel 3 interviews my neighbor, John Clay, about the excessive noise from Wal-Mart traffic. A camera sweeps from our front yard to Wal-Mart showing how close we are to this monster! "It's a madhouse," says Clay, who has lived in our formerly quiet neighborhood for 37 years before Silly Scotty Edwards and the PCDA destroyed it! Of course, what John Clay doesn't tell WSAZ is how loud his motorcycle is compared to those "boom boxes" that he refers to in the news report. I learn that Hillary Clinton was on Wal-Mart's Board of Directors. So Silly Scotty, Patty Hager, Lana Call, C. Brian Ellis, Steve Andes, and Joe Haynes, by supporting Wal-Mart are also supporting Billary! And they WANT you to think they are Republicans. In reality, they are RINO's, (Republicans In Name Only) and are REALLY closet liberals!

April 10th, 2008: Despite a promise that rock breaking at the CNB site would be finished by yesterday-at the latest, our baby was awakened again this morning by excessive noise. Wal-Mart traffic continues to be a problem while Hurricane's Disputed Mayor Silly Scotty Edwards continues to bury his head up his ugly backside to protect his pet project while he allows citizens to be abused! Neither AEP or the PPSD have properly repaired the damage that was done to our property by their sub-contractors. It looks like I will have to take this to a full hearing before the Public Service Commission where I will ask for both agencies to be dissolved in Putnam County. When I come home in the afternoon, more excessive rock-breaking noise from the CNB site continues. At about 7:20, a crane pulls into the storage yard next door waking our baby. When I walk out with the video camera, one of the men starts screaming at me. That doesn't surprise me, he has done this before. What DOES surprise me is that he is actually stringing together multiple syllables between his grunts!

April 9th, 2008: I am awakened very early in the morning by Wal-Mart traffic before construction work kicks in at 7:00 a.m. At about 12:45 p.m., a tractor in front of our home wakes up our baby early. Workers are FINALLY "repairing" our front yard from the damage that was done SIX MONTHS AGO! Trouble is, instead of replacing the grass that was ripped out with GRASS, they are, again, putting down seed and straw. I advise them that we want GRASS installed. A worker puts me on the telephone with "Josh," his boss, who tells me that I am "an idiot" and being "ridiculous" for expecting our yard to be put back the way it was SIX MONTHS AGO! Even worse, across the way at Wal-Mart, their grass is being replaced with REAL GRASS! I call the PPSD and am given the runaround by Dave Mercer who tells me I should be satisfied with seed and straw. News bulletin: I AM NOT SATISFIED! They tore out real grass and they should put BACK real grass! I call the Public Service Commission in Charleston who will send out an engineer tomorrow. However, they are doing the work today! Excessive traffic noise from Wal-Mart continues throughout the day. At about 8:45 p.m., a pair of cars honk their horns at each other and race down the hill, tires squealing. This is NOT the type of life we envisioned when we moved here. I call Wally World and the manager says he will look into it. While I was on hold, they drove away. A lot of good "We will look into it" will do. I call the police. They will give me BS and do nothing. Trust me. Wally World gets away with being a nuisance in our neighborhood!

April 8th, 2008: Shortly after 5:00 a.m., a vehicle charging up Wal-Mart hill wakes our baby. When will Wal-Mart start showing appropriate consideration for its neighbors? Loud traffic at 5:00 a.m. is NOT APPROPRIATE for a neighborhood! Construction work starts at about 7:00 a.m., sending excessive noise into our home. I go to the site and speak with a rather nice supervisor named Jay. He asks me to "be patient" for another day or so, "a short time," he says. I remind him that we have been enduring excessive noise for 19 months and "another day or so" only adds to that unreasonable time period. I tell Jay that I EXPECT him to keep the noise down for "a short time" of another day or so, and to put up a sound wall. Trouble is, while Jay is here for a short time, someone else comes along and will want "patience" for "a short time" and the excessive noise continues. I also notice that Jay's truck has Ohio plates and he is doing business in West Virginia. I ask him why he doesn't register his truck here and he doesn't have an appropriate answer. I call his corporate office, DEI, in Cincy, and actually get a recording talking about a "comfortable and friendly environment." That's all we are asking for in our neighborhood! Trouble is, we are not getting that! During a candidate forum I ask Putnam County Commission candidates Bob Leslie, Jerry Lilly, and Commission President Steve Andes about bring the promised Marshall satellite campus to Hurricane. The land is paid off, and when the PCDA bought it, we were promised Marshall. Leslie and Lilly say they want to bring Marshall. Andes says the land is owned by the PCDA. What Andes DOES NOT SAY is that he served on the PCDA Board of Directors and that as Putnam County Commissioner, he helps appoint the PCDA Board of Directors. It's painfully apparent that Steve Andes is incapable of intelligent responses to important questions and is incapable of telling the whole truth! Shortly after 10:00 p.m., a very inconsiderate neighbor roars his Harley up our hill in front of our home. Shortly after 11:00, a truck roars up Wal-Mart hill disrupting our home!

April 7th, 2008: Another early day of traffic noise. This onslaught will never end. On top of that, I hear construction noise through our closed windows starting early in the morning. It's coming from a rock-breaking machine at the City National Bank site about 1/4 mile away. When I go there and ask for peace and quiet in my home- a 1/4 of a mile away, the supervisor laughs at me. These people don't have a clue about common courtesy! I contact CNB's corporate office and am told they are sorry about the noise and they will contact the contractor. However, the excessive noise doesn't stop. And I get no apology from the contractor. A sub-contractor, Alan Conway, tells me to "Get a hobby." I get an email from a CNB executive telling me that the noise isn't as bad as what we experienced from Wal-Mart's construction and that the excavation will be done in a few days. Translation: We won't give you peace and quiet, and you have to deal with it. All they need to do is put up a sound wall. Why won't City National Bank show more courtesy to its neighbors? These companies claim they want to be good neighbors, however, good neighbors don't make excessive noise!

April 6th, 2008: Excessive traffic noise starts early on Sunday morning and continues into the day. We are showing a movie to our seven-month-old son and some idiot charging up the hill with his heavy-bass radio blasting overrides the surround-sound in our living room. This happens a second time later on. All of our double-paned windows are shut, our home is at least 120 from Wal-Mart's roadway, and our home is well insulated. Wal-Mart's traffic noise is out-of-control and Silly Scotty Edwards needs to pull his head out of his fat backside and deal with his monster! It's a beautiful day to lay in the hammock-except for the excess noise. I spend part of the afternoon mowing our large lawn and wonder why? It's not like we can enjoy it anymore! Construction work on the new KFC adds to the excessive construction noise. PutnamLIVE.com sets a new weekly record for readership, breaking 10,000 for the first time in our history. More people appreciate reading the truth about what happens in Putnam County! One of my clients pays a visit to Wal-Mart hill. He can't believe that "planners" were STUPID enough to put a Wally World so close to homes.

April 5th, 2008: Early morning traffic noise invades our home this Saturday morning. Our neighborhood is in its 19th straight month of abuse at the hands of the incompetent PCDA and Hurricane City Council. They all should be disbanded. Anyone who thought putting a Wally World in a neighborhood needs a permanent suite at Mildred Mitchell Bateman Hospital.

April 4th, 2008: The abuse of our neighborhood continues with delivery trucks before sunrise. These people apparently don't care about our desire for peace and quiet in our homes! There is nothing that Wal-Mart stocks that needs to be delivered during sleeping hours!

April 3rd, 2008: Just another day of excessive traffic and noise. While picking up our mail a car runs the stop sign coming out of Wal-Mart and nearly collides with my car! The PPSD and AEP have failed to fix the damage to our property caused by their crews. I may have to file a lawsuit in Circuit Court to get those idiots' attention! At about 10:20 at night I am awakened by a honking car horn coming from the Wal-Mart lot. When do we get to sleep???

April 2nd, 2008: Less than one day after Pepsi promised to change its delivery schedule so that we weren't awakened by its delivery truck, that's exactly what happened. At about 5:30 a.m., Pepsi wakes me up as its truck exits the Wal-Mart parking lot. This is ridiculous! There is NO  REASON to wake neighbors to deliver cola!!! It's not a life-saving ambulance or something! When I call the store to complain, an assistant manager rudely hangs up on me. I call Buddy Lewis from Pepsi and leave a voice mail. I do the same for Mayor Scott Edwards. Councilwoman Hager doesn't answer her phone, even though I wait until much later in the morning to call her with my complaint, not that she deserves such courtesy. All day long Buddy Lewis doesn't return my call. When I return, I get the dual effect of Wal-Mart traffic as well as construction hammers and "motion beeps" from the fast food restaurant being built down the hill. What a WONDERFUL neighborhood to live in-(SARCASM!) Councilwoman Hager has FINALLY had the ugly boxes removed from outside her home/business. I call Joe Miller one of the PPSD Commissioners and tell him I want our lawn repaired. It's been SIX MONTHS since crews tore part of it up to install a sewer line that is now SINKING! Miller has the AUDACITY to tell me that I need to wait until it is convenient for HIS PEOPLE to repair OUR YARD-SIX MONTHS after it was damaged? Where do they find these people? I call Commissioner Callahan and he refuses to do anything about it today. "I will meet with the board at its next meeting." Sorry, Callahan, that isn't good enough! Ditto for Commissi