We have warned for years that the East Fork (Howes) mess that Helmick got us into would be a major problem for the county. Well here it is:
This is from martinsaffer.com
Martin Saffer
Today
6:48 am
East Fork Debacle
Well the DEP came out to East Fork and looked it over and said in effect "Let's spend more money to do more unneeded work and bankrupt the county". Are we getting the same treatment that Snowshoe got with their "environmental issues". Is the DEP as concerned about the effects of mountain top removal as they seem to be about our tiny hill of dirt? I say to Senator Helmick "Step up and fix the problem you created".
Linda gibb
Today
6:54 am
Re: East Fork Debacle
What are they saying needs done now??
Martin Saffer
Today
7:15 am
Re: East Fork Debacle
DEP is not satisfied with the present sod cover and wants an extravagant plastic top costing hundreds of thousands of dollars the Commission simply does not have. I am advised that the ground water is now protected and the problem is essentially resolved.
We were "given" Howe's Leather along with a "gift" of $250,000 to take the gift. Now it may cost us a bundle of money to fix the problem. As you can see from the above the county is now going to face the consequences. The grants are gone and the county now must foot the bill themselves.
And this guy would like to be governor? He couldn't run a chickenhouse!
Mr. "Always stirring in the STINKWELL TATER",
Enough about the Howes leather property already!
Why are you so concerned about? The county commission is gonna do what they want with it anyway, and there is nothing you can do about it.
It seems that you are the only one that is really concerned about, and always against anything that anybody has to do with it.
Is it just me, or has everyone else noticed?
I didnt hear you or anyone else complaining when Howes Leather was one of the biggest employers in the county, making jobs for 150-200 people.
Nobody complained about that!
The only thing that was ever said was that a few chemicals got dumped in the river,(for which Howes paid fines for).
As a former employee at Howes leather I worked in every department in the plant, and used probably every chemical in the plant, and I can tell you that the same chemicals that was used when the plant was open, are some of the same chemicals that are buried at the howes site. The same chemicals that were used there for years, most of which were dumped in lagoons at the lower end of the property (towards Durbin). They have since been covered with dirt and leveled off and are used for a hay field now. Imagin that, feeding that hay to cows and sheep knowing it was grown on "chemicly tainted" ground.
While you're ******** about the stuff that the county commission is doing with the land, why dont YOU use your "know-how" and "influence" to try and help the county get another plant or mill to open at the site to pruduce more jobs in the area?
All the video shows is burning buildings at Howes Leather. The plant was already shut down and a local business man was cutting and removing some of the old metal equipment with a torch and accidently started the fire. Most of the buildings were very old and the wood in them were very dry (from the heat used to dry leather), eespecially in the shipping department where the fire started.
I guess you're gonna try to blame that on "politics" and the county too.
I think you're the one with early Alzeimers!
Say, Mountain Dew: what interest would you et.al have in establishing some type of memorial plaque ,or monument to the hundreds of men, who worked under harsh conditions at the old Howes Leather-Pocahontas Tanning Co? The Art Department of the local high school could come up with a suitable format,or maybe the Historical Society. It could also be a project of the 20-20 group. What are your thoughts?
The county is not going to let anything in the upper end of Pocahontas County that will bring real jobs. This land is going to be left for ball babies to cry over when they can't find anything else.
