...over her failure to take Sharp's Farm. It is time to let the past be the past and look to the future of Slatyfork. Saffer and Fleming are doing a good job with their efforts to get sourthernhighland.

Reta is on deck next time for reelection. Wouldn't it be a nice thing if we could get Tom Shipley to run for county commissioner against Retta. That would be "sweet revenge" in a wonderful positive way. Callison and Carpenter gone because of eminent domain. Then along comes Tom Shipley and actually defeats Reta in the election because of eminent domain.

Reta is a goner in the next election. She can be beaten in the primary just like Carpenter was. Trying to take someone's private property for a poop plant was the ultimate insult to the free-spirited people of Pocahontas County. Reta deserves to lose because of her bad attitude about private property.

Don't you just love the thought.

I didn't hear any "taters" calling in questions to the county commissioners on the radio just now. There was extensive discussion of the proposed legislation to study the Elk for Scenic designation (a study that will take at least 3 years if it is approved and funded). Most of the discussion was by Marty and David, with Reta weighing in on the rights of property owners.

Is Tom Shiply a native born Pocahontas Countian? Norman why don't you run let's see how many people support your viewpoints.

Norman you are not seeking a representative of the people, you are looking for someone who will represent you personal opinions 100% of the time.

I believe that by the time that Saffer and Fleming come back up for election they will be gone too. Since you and the county commission have become aligned you need have "beer summit" only you will need Kool Aid, warn them not to disagree with you on the flavor or it will have to be cancelled.

I do support property rights but you only support when it suits you. You don't support property rights when it comes to wind farms. I wonder how the commissioners would vote if the government wanted private property to designate wild and scenic? We know it is all about tourism which certainly is a business where the rich get richer and the poor get poorer

what about the protection of the people that own property in the elk watershed.there are lot of rules and reg. that apply to scenic rivers and the property that surround them.tom didn't like someone trying to take his property but he has no problem trying to take other people property.nom and tom wants to be part of marty's mighty zoners.everyone knows how the gov screws everything up.

There are no new federal laws or regulations with Wild and Scenic designation. First, there is a study, which Commissioner Griffith voted in favor of. Then, the community takes the info from the study and creates legislation that is written to address any issues that remain a concern, including property rights. Hunters can hunt, fisherman can fish, farmers can farm and timber can still be harvested. The main thing Wild and Scenic designation does is prohibit federal money or licensing from being used on projects that would alter the free flow or unique natural resource characteristics of the river. So, it is a protective measure vs. a restrictive one. Use of the land continues. Eminent Domain is not used. The designation applies only to 1/4 mile on either side of the river segment to be considered. The County Commission received scores of letters in favor of Wild and Scenic from property owners on and around this river segment. They seem to not have the concerns that you express. Not sure you are right about all of the people you mentioned agreeing all the time. The study period is set up so that you can participate in it and learn just exactly what is and is not a real concern.

It is amazing that Rita is so concerned about property rights when she helped lead the charge to take the Sharp farm. She was in agreement with the other commissioners when they requested that the Elk River study be done. So where does she really stand on the issue?

the boundaries of a designated river are determined by the physical and biological characteristics of the river corridor.the corridor BOUNDARY MUST BE SUFFICIENT to protect the important river-related resources,and may not extend beyond the river influence.boundaries are set according to the specific conservation needs of the river.DURING THE STUDY PERIOD,AN INTERIM BOUNDARY IS SET AT ONE QUARTER MILE FROM THE MEAN HIGH WATER LEVEL OF THE RIVER.this is different from the above post about 1/4 mile boundary.when all is said and done it will run from ridge line to ridge line.it also states that"the river management plan should identify types of land uses and developments that are considered compatible or incompatible with protecting the rivers values."this means someone will tell you can build something,if you can cut timber,if you have to fence the streams to keep livestock out or anything else they deem incompatible.it also states"the act does call on federal agencies to encourage local land use planning."outside where do you stand on property rights,i think this is just an excuse for you to get zoning started.you are singing the same song as rita and james but with a different tune

No new laws or regulations, period. The main focus in the designation is that federal money will not be spent on projects that negatively affect the river.

If there is no existing law requiring a farmer to fence animals then there will be no new one created with this designation, for example.

You might be confusing this with Wilderness designation or a National Park. Wild and Scenic has three categories...if the uses of the river include industry, timbering, farming, tourism, etc....then the river will be classified as such.

Seems like you have concerns and that is fine, but take the time to learn a bit more and you might not freak out so much. If your goal is to understand this in a factual way there will be many opportunities to do so in the near future.

you state in your last post no new laws or regulations,period.in another post you state the community takes the info from the study and creates legislation that is written to address any issues that remain a concern,including property rights.will this legislation not include laws or regs,and if not why write it.the act also states"the river management plan should identify types of land uses and developments that are considered compatible or incompatible with protecting the rivers values."will this not put restrictions on what you can do with your property.the act also states"the corridor boundary must be sufficient to protect the important river-related resources,and may not extend beyond the river influence."the 1/4 mile you stated above is an interim boundary during the study period only and not the corridor boundary.under the wild and scenic rivers act,the federal government is prohibited from condemning land for acquistion AS LONG AS the municipal or county government has an ordinance in place that implements the river management plan to the extent possible under local government jurisdiction.this does not rule out the use of eminent domain.maybe this will help you understand more