In a blatant display of arrogance, incompetence, and apathy of constituents, the
"leaders" of Putnam County
pulled a no-show on the neighbors of the Wal-Mart project Thursday night.
"Remember this when Jim Caruthers wants your vote at the election," says a furious John Clay. "He doesn't care about us. I'm in his party, but I won't vote for him."
Putnam County Development Authority Board of Directors President Bob Pennington, Putnam County Commissioners Stephen Andes, Raymond "Joe" Haynes, Commission President James H. "Jim" Caruthers, Putnam County Administrator Brian Donat, Hurricane Mayor Raymond Peak, and Hurricane City Manager Ben Newhouse were all invited by letter and telephone to meet at the home of Dolores Martin to discuss the purchase of homes adjoining the proposed Wal-Mart location near Hurricane Creek Road where the old Landers Hotel used to be located.
None of government "leaders" bothered showing up.
Martin, Clay, and Mike McDonald, have lived in the neighborhood for a combined 65 years. Clay's son, Jay, lives next door with his wife and son. Another neighbor at the meeting, Jerry Wolfe, is "The new kid on the block." He and his wife moved in about two years ago.
All of them want the PCDA, Putnam County, or the City of Hurricane to purchase their homes, or find buyers for their homes in the now-quiet neighborhood before noisy tractors and Wal-Mart construction destroy their lifestyle.
While birds chirped outside, rabbits ran around the yard, and deer nibbled off of Martin's apple trees, they discussed how they have invested thousands of dollars, and many hours of labor, fixing up their homes not knowing that the PCDA was secretly negotiating to bring in a SuperCenter across the road.
"I've spent $50,000 remodeling my house," says Clay. "Now they want me to sell it for less than it's worth. That won't happen."
"We put a $10,000 kitchen in," says Martin, who hosted the meeting in her remodeled living room, "And remodeled other rooms at the same time. Had the PCDA been honest about their Wal-Mart deal, we wouldn't have put the money in. No one will want to buy this house to live in. It will only be used for commercial property-but no one has made an offer."
Up the hill from Clay and Martin is where Jerry Wolfe added an expensive work shop when he bought his home. Now he is faced with staring down at a Wal-Mart 24-hours-a day, and he isn't happy.
"This was going to be our last stop, our retirement home," says Wolfe. "We don't want to live here when they come in."
"They've sold out," says Clay. "All they care about is tax revenue. We've been here for years. They don't care about us."
"They want the Wal-Mart, then buy us out and move us out," says Martin. "Don't leave us in a construction zone. Show us some respect. But they haven't done that."
"That's a lie," says Hurricane Mayor Raymond Peak, who beat Clay in an election years ago. Peak took this reporter's telephone call after the meeting ended. "We do care about the homeowners. We'd love to buy them out. We don't have the money. This isn't Hurricane's project. It's the PCDA who put together this deal."
But while Peak says he cares, he didn't show up, or send a city representative to the meeting. None of the government agencies sent a representative.
Though he did not specifically use the word "greedy," earlier in the day Newhouse accused homeowners of "Wanting too much money for their homes." He also says they "Should work together with one developer."
Those comments only infuriated the homeowners who vowed not to be intimidated by the new City Manager who failed to show and arrived on the scene recently.
"Just because Ben Newhouse wants me to sell cheap doesn't mean I'm stupid enough to do it," says Clay. "We aren't a bunch of idiots."
"We aren't going to give up our homes at a low price," concurs Martin. "We expect fair commercial value."
And, the homeowners say, they can't replace living in a quiet neighborhood surrounded by woods, with deer and other wildlife around them, for the low-ball prices developers have offered. Nor should they have to give up tranquility.
"I bought this home because of the quiet neighborhood," says Martin. "I can lay in my hammock and watch the deer eat off my apple trees. My niece loves the tire swing in the front yard. My nephews and brothers toss horse-shoes when we have family events. This is a nice neighborhood. A Wal-Mart across the street will destroy everything."
Friday morning, after the meeting, Donat vainly attempted to justify failing to show up to meet the homeowners. "I have nothing to do with the process. They should contact the PCDA. I'm not going to show up at someone's house when there is nothing I can do about the situation."
Pennington, Newhouse, and the Putnam County Commissioners have not returned calls to PutnamLIVE.com seeking comment as to why they no-showed the homeowners. Nor have they sent a written statement.
Publisher's Note:
Dolores Martin is the wife of PutnamLIVE.com Publisher Mark Hallburn.
