Published: June 18, 2009 02:39 pm      

EDITORIAL: Clink, clink, clink

You don't recognize the sound coming from the courtroom of the Cumberland County Courthouse Monday night?

It is the sound of 30 pieces of silver hitting the table as the Cumberland County Commission sold out our county for a promise and a whim.

Can you say hypocrisy?

A county that spends thousands on attracting tourists and retirees to come and enjoy our natural beauty might as well save its money in the future. The so-called Golf Capital of Tennessee can now add to the water tank the moniker, Ash Tray of Tennessee.

We don't believe the plan was ever to bring the TVA's fly ash from the spill to Cumberland County. We believe the plan was to haul in toxic waste from other places, including that produced in the future by TVA's Kingston Steam Plant.

There are more questions than answers and we do not think that some of our county officials were up front and honest with us about this proposal from the start.

We also believe that members of the county commission were not up to speed on just what they were approving since they did not receive the proposed agreement until late Friday, only days before it was acted upon.

Being less than candid breeds suspicion and the fact that this was fast-tracked on us grows suspicion even more. There should have been no rush to judgment on this.

This vote came on the heels of weekend news that the Obama administration is not identifying fly ash dump sites because of their toxicity and the fact that they could become terrorist targets.

That speaks volumes to the issue at hand.

In today's world of electronic media, news of the Smith Mountain plan has already circled the globe a few times. We even received a letter from a Californian who wrote that they were considering retiring to Crossville until this hit the news. Crossville is now scratched off their list.

And what about this statement that such sites could be targets of biological terrorism? Did the county commission just put a bull's eye on Cumberland County?

The county commission could have voted no and put this off for another day when more answers were available. Voting no under the Jackson Law is not a final answer. Voting yes is.

It might be an OK proposition, although we can't imagine it being under any circumstances

All it will take now is one "environmental accident" and this county will be toast to the rest of the nation.

Our apologies and condolences to our friends on Smith Mountain. It is a sad day for all of us.

And for what? Three million dollars? Maybe $5?

Clink, clink, clink.