Stand with the People

Last weekend at Boydton Day our Citizens for Democracy group and Southside Virginia Native American Descendants Association, had a booth.  In a few hours, we collected over a thousand  signatures of people from Clarksville, Boydton and Chase City who are opposed to the privately owned golf course being placed in Occoneechee State Park.  This included Clarksville business people. We had many people that would sign and then bring their friends by for them to sign.  Some people did this many times.  We had people searching us out saying they’d been looking for a way to sign the petition.  We only had a handful of people; out of a 1,000 people say they support the golf course.  We had a few more from out of state that said they did not want to get involved and some who said they could not sign because they feared for their jobs.  Some did not sign because they’d already signed before.  However, the numbers that we have been reporting of 80 to 90% of local citizens being opposed to the golf course were again verified.  And this time we had witnesses. 

Contrary to what Clarksville town leaders have said regarding Citizens for Democracy being a two-person organization, everyone got to see a crowd of people working the Citizens for Democracy booth.  People got to see the Southside Virginia Native American Descendants Association—Mecklenburg Occoneechee Band win first place in the parade and get local support from our home community. We happened to bump into Corp of Engineer officials and we asked them to stand at a distance and verify for themselves how many people signed the petition and how many walked away.  I saw U.S. Representative Virgil Goode and told him that I needed to talk to him regarding the golf course.  We wanted him to observe the opposition to the golf course first hand.  Our desire is to show the politicians as well as State Park and Corp of Engineer officials that Mecklenburg County citizens do not want the golf course on the pubic land.  We did our part with a public event where everyone was free to witness the number that signed and the number that did not. 

This brings the total count of petition signatures against a private corporation in Occoneechee State Park to approximately 3,500.  On Oct 15^th we provided the Department of Conservation and Recreation (DCR) with nearly 2,000 signatures.  On Oct 25^th we provided the DCR with approximately 500 signatures collected at the taste of Brunswick Festival and in Mecklenburg County.  Now with the 1,000 signatures from Boydton Day we have a total count of approximately 3,500.

The supporters for the golf course have their own petition, with preprinted cards being mailed to the DCR.  They have used significant resources, likely including taxpayer dollars, the formal local governmental structure and local business structure.  They have had town governments in Mecklenburg and businesses in Mecklenburg distribute cards far and wide.  However, the DCR has received relatively few of these cards—289 to be exact. The reason is that the citizens simply don’t want this privately-owned golf course in Occoneechee State Park.  One lady told us that she was given a package of cards supporting the golf course and she threw them in the trash when she got home. She then searched us out at Boydton Day to sign our opposing petition. 

Three thousand five hundred compared to 289 comes to over 90% opposed to the golf course in Occoneechee State Park—again validating the numbers that we have been stating for months.  Now that the citizens have CLEARLY spoken it is time for our politicians to take the pressure off of the DCR and allow them to make their own decision free of political pressure.  The DCR is charged with being the stewards of the State Park public lands and doing with these lands what the citizens desire. The Corp of Engineers is charged with the same mission for the lake property.  Based upon what we have seen, there appears to be a great deal of political pressure on the DCR from state politicians and on the US Army Corp of Engineers from federal politicians.  

Why would these politicians be applying pressure on the DCR and Corp to approve the golf course when 80 to 90% of the local citizens oppose it and hardly anyone outside of Mecklenburg County support it?  Perhaps the politicians initially did not understand the overwhelming public opposition before they took their position.  Perhaps they thought that they were supporting the local citizens’ desires.  In any case they NOW KNOW beyond a shadow of a doubt that 80 to 90% of the local citizens OPPOSE the privately-owned golf course in Occoneechee State Park and we are asking them to rethink their position.

Now that it is clear where the people stand, the only issue is where do you, the politicians, stand?  Do you stand with the people or against the people?  We, the people, are asking Virginia Senator Frank Ruff, Virginia Delegate Tommy Wright, US Representative Virgil Goode, US Senator John Warner, US Senator George Allen and the Mecklenburg County Board of Supervisors to stand with the people.  We are asking that you support the DCR and US Army Corp of Engineers in doing the will of the people based upon the evidence they have available to them.  All we are asking is that you, the politicians, do the will of the people and take ALL pressure off of stewards of the public land and allow them to do their jobs!!!

 Barry Carter, Citizens for Democracy