News Articles – 2007

12/12/07, The News Observer
DOT unfazed by I-40 repairs
"The state Department of Transportation says it felt no pain when it was forced by the General Assembly to absorb $22.4 million in repair costs for a bungled paving job on Interstate 40 in Durham County. DOT officials could not put their finger Tuesday on any projects that were delayed, jobs that were eliminated or services that were curtailed because of the punitive budget reduction." Read more...

11/29/07, The State
Nuke waste shipments opposed
'Two state senators want to block shipments of Italian nuclear waste through South Carolina — and they’ve asked congressional leaders for help. Democratic Sens. Joel Lourie of Columbia and Vincent Sheheen of Camden wrote the state’s congressional delegation Wednesday, saying they are concerned about “this unpredictable and potentially dangerous plan.’’ “The more people find out about this, the more they are going to become outraged,’’ Lourie said. Their letter asked South Carolina congressional members to join them in opposition to the proposal by Energy Solutions of Utah. Energy Solutions, which operates low-level atomic waste landfills in Utah and South Carolina, wants to bring in up to 20,000 tons of nuclear waste from Italy for disposal or recycling. The company says it has no plans to dispose of the material in Barnwell County, only in Utah or at an incinerator in Tennessee. Any material that is not suitable for disposal or recycling would be shipped back to Italy, records show.' Read more...

11/29/07,Chattanooga Times Free Press
Momentum gains on Chattanooga-Asheville road
"Widening Corridor K has been debated since it first was listed as an economic development corridor by the Appalachian Regional Commission in 1965. Proponents of the road say it would bring economic prosperity to a historically poor region. Environmentalists say a road would damage the environment, destroy artifacts and cost billions of dollars better spent elsewhere." Read more...

11/23/07, Aiken Standard
EnergySolutions wants to bring nuclear waste through S.C., La.
"A company that disposes of radioactive nuclear waste by burying it wants to ship 20,000 tons of the material from overseas through ports in Charleston and New Orleans, raising fears because of the large amount. EnergySolutions Inc. wants to ship about 200,000 cubic feet of waste into the United States, process it in Tennessee before burying it at a site in Clive, Utah, where the company is based." Read more...

11/18/07, Chattanooga Times Free Press
Corridor K study coming to an end
"An economic study showing the impact of a Chattanooga-to-Asheville, N.C. highway on a 23-county area will be completed by mid-December, officials said. Ed Cole, chief of environment and planning for the Tennessee Department of Transportation, said U.S. Highway 64, or Corridor K, could be part of a three-year work plan handed to the Tennessee General Assembly in May." Read more...

READ ALL ABOUT IT!

10th District Candidates: ALL opposed I-3, definitely above I-85!

Summer, 2007, North Georgia Mountains Magazine
Interstate Impasse: Where I-3 Met the Mountains
"Affection for the mountains of North Georgia, western North Carolina and east Tennessee is proving to be a unifying force. Once the news broke in June 2005 of proposed legislation to fund a $400,000 feasibility study for the two new interstates in Georgia, citizen opposition began organizing within days. Chapters of the Stop I-3 Coalition were springing up in Georgia, North Carolina and Tennessee. By the time the feasibility funding was approved in August as part of the Transportation Equity Act of 2005, the amount had tripled to $1,200.000, and officials in Georgia’s northeastern counties of Habersham, Rabun and White had already publicly resolved to fight." Read more...

Note: STOP I-3 was unable to endorse a candidate or publish candidate positions on I-3 because of our 501(c)3 status and our focus on this one issue. Now that Dr. Broun has been certified as winner of the 10th District race with no recount, we are free to publish quotes from any official. Contact your Senators and Representatives, let them know your opposition and the overwhelming opposition to I-3 in this recent race. Please send us their quotes along with info about when and where the comment was made. Help stop the I-3 study NOW!

August 2007, TIGHT LINES, Newsletter of the Rabun Chapter (522) of Trout Unlimited, page 8, col. 1. L.
Re-printed with permission of the Editor, Doug Adams.

“What's New Elsewhere”

GA – New 10th Dist Congressman, Dr Paul Broun, is a Life member of TU and enjoys the Chattooga backcountry solitude. (7/18/2007) Dr. Paul Broun Jr. won a narrow upset over Jim Whitehead, 50.4 percent to 49.6 percent. Broun will replace the late Charlie Norwood as 10th District congressman. Before the election, Broun was asked his position on 2 important Rabun County issues.

Subject: I-3: Paul Broun replied Friday, June 29, 2007
“I am totally against I-3. I would like to de-fund the study. I will work to get GA 17 completed from US 441 to Hartwell and made into a federal highway. I discussed this issue with Dr. Lucy Bartlett of Tiger Ga. yesterday. She can fill you in with greater detail. Please vote for me Thank you. Paul Broun”

Subject: Management of the National Wild and Scenic (WSR) Chattooga River.
If elected to represent the 10th District, what is your position?

a. I believe it is public land and should be available to all recreation activities as long as it does not damage the physical environment.
b. I believe that conflicting recreation activities should be zoned so that visitors seeking to avoid conflicts and/or interference while seeking solitude and quietness will have a place to go.
c. I believe that the Forest Service process will arrive at the proper management plan and I will not interfere in the ongoing process.

Paul Broun replied Tuesday, July 03, 2007 “I am a trout fisherman. One of my favorite places to fly fish is to hike into the remote areas of the Chattooga River. I like wild fish and solitude. I fish in any stream where I can find such. I have had the experience in other places of dodging boats and rafts. I have even had some to just about run over me. There is plenty of water so that activities can be separated. I have been a life member of Trout Unlimited since the late 60's or early 70's. I'm in multiple other conservation organizations, a life member in most. I hope this answers your questions. Paul Broun”

7/25/07, Atlanta Journal-Constitution
Georgia Sending Doctor to Congress
"Republican Paul Broun was ready to be sworn in as the newest member of Congress after his opponent declined a recount, even though the margin was just 394 votes. Former state Sen. Jim Whitehead was entitled to a recount but he said Tuesday he had decided against it because the process could take up to a week." Read more...

7/24/07, The Northeast Georgian
Broun 'eager to serve' district
"With 100 percent of precincts reporting across Georgia's 10th Congressional District, Paul Broun edged out fellow Republican Jim Whitehead in last week's special election runoff. Across the district, Broun received 23,549 votes (50.4 percent) to Whitehead's 23,135 votes (49.6 percent). That's a difference of only 394 votes." Read more...

7/20/07, Atlanta Journal-Constitution
Idea of Northern Arc rides again
"Gainesville -- The Northern Arc, or some version of it, may be resurrected. State Department of Transportation Commissioner Harold Linnenkohl told the DOT board Thursday that his engineers are searching for an east-west corridor farther north than the one that fell to public pressure in 2003, and they're getting close." Read more...

7/16/07, Atlanta Journal-Constitution
Rail returning to importance
A high-speed corridor from the Southeast to D.C., more and faster commuter trains in the offing
"Across the country, the overall use of public transportation has shown considerable gains. According to the American Public Transportation Association, an industry trade group, Americans took more than 10 billion trips on buses and trains in 2006, the first time that's happened in nearly 50 years." Read more...