I just walked about two hundred yards barefoot, down to the end of my driveway and back to put some mail my mailbox. On the walk, I could hear crickets and birds making serene forest sounds. I was very happy about the peacefulness of the rural setting I live in. My home – a place I’ve grown accustomed to. A place where memories of raising our children will last in my mind until I die. A place I chose with my wife to live in and have made many financial sacrifices to have and to own. In the Courtland District of Spotsylvania, I know my feelings of enjoying our rural setting and surrounding are not alone.
Yesterday was not a good day for our family. Our back door was accidentally left open and our outside dog, Ranger got into the house alone. Ranger, a bird dog, went straight to Blitz’s cage and Blitz did not fare well in the confrontation. Blitz is my daughter's parakeet . . . He’s dead, and the cage is ruined.
My heart went out to my daughter as I told her the news and comforted her. As any parent knows, when a child suffers, the parent’s heart breaks as well. She cried for a very long time, and all I could do was hold her and attempt to feel the pain she was feeling to somehow make it better, but I couldn’t make it better. It has occurred to me, that this same feeling of loss that my daughter was feeling is what a property owner must feel like when he/she looses property against his/her will.
When my daughter left for school yesterday morning – she had no reason to worry about her property, Blitz the parakeet. But the pain of loss was more than she could bear. I believe this same feeling / anxiety is produced when the government exercises one of its most powerful anti-liberty powers, Eminent Domain – taking private citizen’s property. I belive Eminent Domain shoud be used only as a very last resort for the common good, not as the first choice. In the case of the toll road that is proposed to run through the Courtland and Chancellor Districts of Spotsy, property owners physical property will be taken but also the property rights the the peace of our rural setting provides, will be taken for many more who do not actually lose physical property. I personally will consider moving, which as a Marine no longer in uniform, I’ve had enough moving in my life already.
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| This is not potential any longer - but is indeed going forward TODAY - see news articles below |
I spent several hours on August 29th and 30th 2011 with both the Spotsylvania County Advanced Planning section, Mr. Jacob Pastwik and the George Washington Regional Commission, Fredericksburg Area Metropolitan Planning Organization (FAMPO) Mr. Lloyd Robinson and staff. I spent this time researching the proposed toll road from I95, through Celebrate Virginia South, to Gordon Road on Rt 3.
I will write more about what I’ve found out in my next post, but would encourage you to take the time to read the Freelance Star Articles below. Before you start reading, I’d like to bring two things to your attention 1), the initial Michael Baker Jr. Incorporate Study, which started in 2008 and was completed in October of 2010 and became the Interstate Justification Report (IJR) cost $600,000 (FAMPO interview with me on 30 August 2011). $200,000 of this amount was funded by Celebrate Virginia Development Authority (Silver Cos). and 2) A Harrison Road exit / on ramp off of I95 was never considered or modeled by FAMPO. They have stated that the Michael Baker Jr. study’s purpose was not just to relieve route 3 traffic but also to tie commercial properties together (page 60 of report) (please think about properties this ties together and commercial properties in Spotsy it avoids as you read).
Stay informed – I’ve tried to consolidate my research below to make it easy for you to read – please take the time to read articles below. An informed resident is a key to moving forward in the right direction. Don’t you agree?
Thanks – David Ross
December 12th, 2010 – “Spotsy paving way for tolls?” Announcing 13 December meeting at Mount Hope Baptist Church
Announcing 13 December meeting at Mount Hope Baptist Church. Although holiday season with many gone, 50-60 people showed up at this who had a clear majority that were against the toll road. A petition of over 300 Courtland and Chancellor resident’s of Spotsylvania County against toll road was presented to County. The County’s minutes of this meeting are still in draft format as of 29 August 2011.
January 30th, 2011, - “Interchange and Parkway Ahead,
Quote from article above, “But Beard and some of his neighbors disagree, and intend to make their objections known when the project is discussed at a public hearing before the Spotsylvania Planning Commission this spring. A date has not been announced. (My note (David), this meeting never occurred)An informational meeting on the project held Dec. 13 by Spotsylvania drew 50 to 60 people, according to Kathy Smith, county spokeswoman. County officials are working to answer questions residents asked at the meeting and post them on the county website, she said. The commission will hear comments on whether to add the interchange and parkway project to the county's Comprehensive Plan”
April 22nd, 2011 – “Celebrate Va. Hits hard times – The Silver Cos. And its investment partners owe about $5 million in back taxes and special assessment payments in Fredericksburg and Stafford County”
May 3rd, 2011 – “New Interchange clears hurdle” http://fredericksburg.com/News/FLS/2011/052011/05032011/1304440197fls
This article was a surprise to Spotsy County Planning when it came out. They were still under the impression the Comprehensive Plan needed to be amended, per the 12 December 2010 article above.
May 4th, 2011 – “Parkway project finally moving – George Washington Toll Road Authority notified it is in line to get $15 million to further study potential Interstate 95 interchange”
June 8th, 2011 – “I-95 Interchange proposal takes another step”
June 9th, 2011 – “Toll-road study plan OK’d by area panel. GWTRA puts out bids for proposed $300 million Interstate 95 rest area exit.”
The October 22nd, 2010 FAMPO Michael Baker Jr. Inc Study ($200,000 funded by Celebrate Virginia, Silver Cos) that has become the Interstate Justification Report (IJR) that was approved by the Federal Highway Administration on 28 April 2011 per the article dated May 3rd, 2011 above may be found at
It's one 155 pages long but includes detailed maps of project.
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