The readers' forum - Financial limbo

By: Letters To the editor | Winston-Salem Journal
Published: May 28, 2010

Recent news about the Northern Beltway has me asking, in a democracy, is it legal to hold property owners in financial limbo for decades and deny them the use of private property ("Property owners split," May 21)? This is the most un-American practice I can recall. It rates up there with forced annexation (taxation without representation and the questionable uses of eminent domain). If these practices aren't illegal or unconstitutional, they should be.

If a hold is put on private property, it should be for one year. After that, if Big Brother can't get his house in order, then the hold on the property should end.

It is a disgrace that these people have lived with this situation for this long, and still no one knows when it will end.

ROGER L. NICHOLS SR.

Kernersville

Protecting the river

I want to set the record straight following the May 21 letter "Yadkin Riverkeeper."

In my 18-month tenure as Yadkin Riverkeeper, we have worked to address multiple threats facing the river. I serve on the High Rock Lake Technical Advisory Committee, as well as the Winston-Salem Stormwater Appeals Board. I work with community groups to prevent industries, such as Fibrowatt, from polluting our air and water.

We created the statewide Muddy Water Watch program, an effective tool to monitor sediment pollution. We are also making sure Thomasville addresses its failing sewage system. And yes, because ALCOA refuses to address its toxic contamination, we have legally challenged its certification for the 50-year re-licensing.

My job is to protect the Yadkin River and the drinking water it provides to hundreds of thousands, including many Winston-Salem residents. I make no apologies if that job requires legal action to enforce rights granted under the Clean Water Act. Profits from hydroelectric power should not benefit a corporation that no longer provides jobs locally, sells the electricity out-of-state and has contaminated our water and land. I have spent nearly two decades studying North Carolina water issues and it is my opinion that the "negotiated benefits" the letter writer refers to are a bad investment for the river and High Rock Lake property owners.

I hope citizens will join the numerous bipartisan elected officials, including Gov. Bev Perdue and Sens. Richard Burr and Kay Hagan, who support recapturing control of the Yadkin River.

DEAN NAUJOKS

YADKIN RIVERKEEPER

Winston-Salem