The Daily News Journal-Quiet communities fear substation will ruin rural lifestyle
The Daily News Journal
Originally published May 7, 2006
Quiet communities fear substation will ruin rural lifestyle
By BYRON HENSLEY
hensley@dnj.com
- Byron Hensley - 278-5162
TVA's plans to build a 500-kilovolt substation either in Eagleville or the Patterson community may be a necessary response to growing demand for power in the region.
But there are many potential neighbors of the power plant and its adjacent power lines who are fearful of the effect on their communities.
"It's a very quiet community," said Anita Scott of Patterson. "A substation would turn it into an industrial nightmare."
TVA, when it makes its final selection, would purchase the homes and farms that would constitute the 60 acres of the substation site, of which 40 acres would constitute the station's actual footprint. Scott fears the effects on property values of surrounding properties.
"The people who live around will be pushed out without adequate compensation," Scott said. "People who live across the street from it, even if it doesn't touch their property, they're still definitely going to be impacted.
"All four sites that are being considered are being used for some farming," Scott said. "There's a lot of land in Rutherford County that doesn't have any alternative use. Wouldn't that be a great place for a substation?"
Barbara Montgomery has had a presence on her farm in the Patterson community all her life. Although she lived in Nashville as a girl, she spent summers on the farm with her aunt and uncle.
"The most devastating proposal is the substation," Montgomery said. "It's not within visibility of my house, but we have neighbors and friends who would be so affected by this."
TVA's plans call for the plant to be constructed by 2010. Affected families only learned of the plans at an open house held by TVA on April 11.
"That is so terrible that they could come in here and do this," she said. "This is not something they thought of overnight. It's probably been on the drawing board for a couple of years, and we knew nothing about it until two weeks ago.
"It just seems as though we don't have any say so as far as our own property is concerned," she said. "It's going to devaluate the whole community."
Montgomery's neighbor Marcie Silverman said she and her husband, David, love the 15-acre horse farm where they live on Rehobath Road in the Patterson community. Most of the farm would probably be taken for the substation.
"I don't like the idea at all," she said.
The Silvermans moved to Tennessee seven years ago because of David's job in Franklin, and found the farm, called Sterling Farm, two years ago. Marcie, a stay-at-home mom with a 4-year-old son and another on the way, thinks it would be a good place to raise kids.
"This is our dream home," she said. "We like having horses here. It's a lovely property. We made a lot of improvements to it. We totally remodeled the kitchen. The house is about six or seven years old, it's a brand new home. It's sad.
"From our community's perspective, it doesn't seem right to put a huge power station here," Silverman said. "It's all farmland out here, and it's really going to be an eyesore. We just can't believe they would choose this site."
Silverman said it's their understanding that there was a public hearing on the project last July, but neither they nor their neighbors were notified.
Meanwhile, in Eagleville, Jim and Julie Vaughn are waiting to see if TVA will choose their 55 acre property as part of the site for the new substation.
Julie Vaughn remembers the feelings that went through her at the April 11 open house, where the members of the Eagleville and Patterson communities learned TVA's plans for the new substation.
"I guess a shock would be the first thing, then kind of unbelievable sense that this was happening to us, that you can live in America, work hard for a dream, and it can be permanently taken away," she said.
"I understand it's a good cause, everybody needs electricity, but it's hard to think that somebody who doesn't know who you are can take your dream away.
"We're a diversified family farm, a second generation family farm," Julie Vaughn said. "My father-in-law has lived here all his life, he's been on this road for 70 years." Jim has a job, but they get much of their income from the farm, which they call Rocky Glade Farm.
"We raise grass fed beef, pork and lamb, naturally grown vegetables which we sell directly to customers in Murfreesboro and Franklin through the Farmer's Market and on-farm pick up," Julie Vaughn said. "We've been following the direct marketing aspect of it for eight years."
"Basically, they're looking for an open spot, and they want really good soil because they're going to have to dig footers for the transformers. Our soil is good, with few rock outcrops on it. I understand why they picked it. If it's good for farming, it's good for building."
The Vaughns have been told they can stay and continue to farm on the parts that won't be taken by TVA, but they believe having the substation there would destroy their business.
"We're not really interested in living next to a 500 kilovolt substation. We can't continue to farm and sell to our customers. Our customers are health conscious, and they are not interested in buying foods that are grown close to that much voltage.
"It's hard to think that something you can't control would harm something you've worked so long to achieve," she said.
"We enjoy living here," she said. "We're not really interested in moving. We haven't even thought about that."
Originally published May 7, 2006
Quiet communities fear substation will ruin rural lifestyle
By BYRON HENSLEY
hensley@dnj.com
- Byron Hensley - 278-5162
TVA's plans to build a 500-kilovolt substation either in Eagleville or the Patterson community may be a necessary response to growing demand for power in the region.
But there are many potential neighbors of the power plant and its adjacent power lines who are fearful of the effect on their communities.
"It's a very quiet community," said Anita Scott of Patterson. "A substation would turn it into an industrial nightmare."
TVA, when it makes its final selection, would purchase the homes and farms that would constitute the 60 acres of the substation site, of which 40 acres would constitute the station's actual footprint. Scott fears the effects on property values of surrounding properties.
"The people who live around will be pushed out without adequate compensation," Scott said. "People who live across the street from it, even if it doesn't touch their property, they're still definitely going to be impacted.
"All four sites that are being considered are being used for some farming," Scott said. "There's a lot of land in Rutherford County that doesn't have any alternative use. Wouldn't that be a great place for a substation?"
Barbara Montgomery has had a presence on her farm in the Patterson community all her life. Although she lived in Nashville as a girl, she spent summers on the farm with her aunt and uncle.
"The most devastating proposal is the substation," Montgomery said. "It's not within visibility of my house, but we have neighbors and friends who would be so affected by this."
TVA's plans call for the plant to be constructed by 2010. Affected families only learned of the plans at an open house held by TVA on April 11.
"That is so terrible that they could come in here and do this," she said. "This is not something they thought of overnight. It's probably been on the drawing board for a couple of years, and we knew nothing about it until two weeks ago.
"It just seems as though we don't have any say so as far as our own property is concerned," she said. "It's going to devaluate the whole community."
Montgomery's neighbor Marcie Silverman said she and her husband, David, love the 15-acre horse farm where they live on Rehobath Road in the Patterson community. Most of the farm would probably be taken for the substation.
"I don't like the idea at all," she said.
The Silvermans moved to Tennessee seven years ago because of David's job in Franklin, and found the farm, called Sterling Farm, two years ago. Marcie, a stay-at-home mom with a 4-year-old son and another on the way, thinks it would be a good place to raise kids.
"This is our dream home," she said. "We like having horses here. It's a lovely property. We made a lot of improvements to it. We totally remodeled the kitchen. The house is about six or seven years old, it's a brand new home. It's sad.
"From our community's perspective, it doesn't seem right to put a huge power station here," Silverman said. "It's all farmland out here, and it's really going to be an eyesore. We just can't believe they would choose this site."
Silverman said it's their understanding that there was a public hearing on the project last July, but neither they nor their neighbors were notified.
Meanwhile, in Eagleville, Jim and Julie Vaughn are waiting to see if TVA will choose their 55 acre property as part of the site for the new substation.
Julie Vaughn remembers the feelings that went through her at the April 11 open house, where the members of the Eagleville and Patterson communities learned TVA's plans for the new substation.
"I guess a shock would be the first thing, then kind of unbelievable sense that this was happening to us, that you can live in America, work hard for a dream, and it can be permanently taken away," she said.
"I understand it's a good cause, everybody needs electricity, but it's hard to think that somebody who doesn't know who you are can take your dream away.
"We're a diversified family farm, a second generation family farm," Julie Vaughn said. "My father-in-law has lived here all his life, he's been on this road for 70 years." Jim has a job, but they get much of their income from the farm, which they call Rocky Glade Farm.
"We raise grass fed beef, pork and lamb, naturally grown vegetables which we sell directly to customers in Murfreesboro and Franklin through the Farmer's Market and on-farm pick up," Julie Vaughn said. "We've been following the direct marketing aspect of it for eight years."
"Basically, they're looking for an open spot, and they want really good soil because they're going to have to dig footers for the transformers. Our soil is good, with few rock outcrops on it. I understand why they picked it. If it's good for farming, it's good for building."
The Vaughns have been told they can stay and continue to farm on the parts that won't be taken by TVA, but they believe having the substation there would destroy their business.
"We're not really interested in living next to a 500 kilovolt substation. We can't continue to farm and sell to our customers. Our customers are health conscious, and they are not interested in buying foods that are grown close to that much voltage.
"It's hard to think that something you can't control would harm something you've worked so long to achieve," she said.
"We enjoy living here," she said. "We're not really interested in moving. We haven't even thought about that."
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