PUBLIC VIEWPOINT

Noisy, Small-Town Nightmare

My husband and I moved to a small town in Northwest Arkansas in September 2012.

Things were great, small-town atmosphere and all. Five months later in February, you could hear the faint sound of a bulldozer. We really didn’t think much of it. There was a pasture behind our house, from which we had a nice view. We knew the land was zoned agriculture and that it was in the city limits, as was our subdivision. The noise of the bulldozer continued.

Then May arrives, noise gets worse. We hear it weekends and holidays. Mother’s Day we decide to grill out. Our plans had to change. Yes, it was Mother’s Day, Sunday, and the equipment was working!

By this time, not only did we have a bulldozer, but an excavator, dirt sifter and dump trucks. We made a call to our mayor. The call with the mayor went somewhat like this: Oh, that’s the quarry. Don’t worry about it.

I will take care of it.

This was the first we had heard of this. There was never a public hearing on this quarry, nothing for the public to express their concerns. After talking with some of our neighbors, the City Council, and the Planning Commission we learned that no one really knew about this operation.

It had never gone before the Planning Commission or the City Council and in fact there was never a public hearing. Apparently proper due process was not followed. We would later find out the mayor himself gave the company a business license application and the approval to operate.

The nuisance would continue. At one point the operation continued until 2 a.m. It was now summer.

The noise would start about 7 a.m. and continue all day.

The constant noise of heavy equipment and the dust would not allow us to enjoy much time outside at all. We went to City Council meetings to express our concern and frustration. How could we live in a subdivision in the city limits and have a dirt mine just 100 yards from our property?

It is now January and the noise continues. I estimated in excess of 100 dump trucks entering the mine property in just one day. The company continues to profit off this operation and the citizens of my subdivision continue to have to put up with the nuisance. It’s like no one really gets it: We can’t enjoy our time in our own home.

I wanted to write this letter, just to let you know what our experience has been like living in this small town, where politics and pocketbooks apparently go hand and hand. If you are thinking about moving to a small town, I urge you to go to city council meetings, talk to the mayor and your potential new neighbors before you make that move.

You could be moving to your dream home or your nightmare on Dirt Mine Drive.

CLYLA CARROLL

Cave Springs

Opinion, Pages 5 on 01/15/2014

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