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I found this posted on Civil War historian Eric Whittenburg's blog by Mike Clem (original post is at http://civilwarcavalry.com/?p=1593#comments):
Mike Clem // Jun 26, 2009 at 6:08 pm
As if this decision wasn’t enough of a blow to battlefield preservation, the Frederick County, Md., Commissioners landed another sucker punch this same week to the site of the “Battle That Saved Washington.”
In late April the five-member board suspended deliberations on building a trash incinerator at a county site across the Monocacy River from the battlefield in search of waste disposal alternatives. But this month Commissioner Charles Jenkins moved to reconsider the plan and in a 3-2 vote on Tuesday, the board approved construction of the $512 million plant literally within yards of the Worthington-McKinney Ford used by McCausland’s cavalry brigade and later Gordon’s division to outflank Lew Wallace’s handful of federals blocking Jubal Early’s drive down the Georgetown Pike to Washington.
(See story at http://www.fredericknewspost.com/sec...?StoryID=91817)
Not only will the garbage-burning plant sit within the designated National Historic Landmark boundary for the battlefield, but the 350-foot smokestack and 100-foot tall facility will dominate the skyline from any point in the park. Then there’s the constant traffic, noise, lights and odor produced by the plant’s 24-hour operation required to incinerate 1,500 tons of trash seven days week that will confront the park’s visitors.
Superintendent Susan Trail said that since 2000, the park expenditures total about $4.5 million to stabilize historic buildings, rehabilitate the battlefield landscape and remove non-historic structures. An additional $4 million was spent for its new visitor center, which opened last June. Trail said visitation last year was 22,225, up from 18,579 in 2006. The park is projecting about 30,000 visitors this year.
A recent independent survey conducted by Michigan State University on the economic impact of the park found that the total contribution to the local economy in 2006 was 35 jobs and $2.1 million in added value — before the new visitor’s center opened.
Even if the commissioners are so cold-bloodedly callous and uncaring about the destruction of our nation’s historic sites and dishonoring the 2,300 Americans who made the river run red with their blood on that hot July day in 1864, you’d think in this economic climate they’d be more sensitive to protecting a revenue-producing major tourist attraction that was funded by our tax dollars!
I hope you can use your bully pulpit to help make fellow preservationists aware of this desecration and urge your many readers to contact the Frederick Board of County Commissioners about this outrageous desecration, especially “Flip-Flop Charlie” Jenkins (chjenkins@fredco-md.net) and his colleagues John L. “Lennie” Thompson (lthompson@fredco-md.net) and Vice President David Gray (dgray@fredco-md.net) who voted for the incinerator. Board President Jan Gardner (jgardner@fredco-md.net) opposes the location and Kai Hagen (khagen@fredco-md.net) is against the entire project. They can also be reached at Winchester Hall, 12 East Church St., Frederick, MD 21701, phone: (301) 600-9000; fax: (301) 600-1849; web site: http://www.co.frederick.md.us/index.aspx?NID=27
I apologize for my verbosity and for standing on your soapbox to make my speech, but I know you have a soft spot for this small, little remembered field that’s overshadowed by its more famous Civil War neighbors at nearby Gettysburg and Antietam. Thank you for your support to save the site of the Battle That Saved Washington.
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Mike Clem // Jun 26, 2009 at 6:08 pm
As if this decision wasn’t enough of a blow to battlefield preservation, the Frederick County, Md., Commissioners landed another sucker punch this same week to the site of the “Battle That Saved Washington.”
In late April the five-member board suspended deliberations on building a trash incinerator at a county site across the Monocacy River from the battlefield in search of waste disposal alternatives. But this month Commissioner Charles Jenkins moved to reconsider the plan and in a 3-2 vote on Tuesday, the board approved construction of the $512 million plant literally within yards of the Worthington-McKinney Ford used by McCausland’s cavalry brigade and later Gordon’s division to outflank Lew Wallace’s handful of federals blocking Jubal Early’s drive down the Georgetown Pike to Washington.
(See story at http://www.fredericknewspost.com/sec...?StoryID=91817)
Not only will the garbage-burning plant sit within the designated National Historic Landmark boundary for the battlefield, but the 350-foot smokestack and 100-foot tall facility will dominate the skyline from any point in the park. Then there’s the constant traffic, noise, lights and odor produced by the plant’s 24-hour operation required to incinerate 1,500 tons of trash seven days week that will confront the park’s visitors.
Superintendent Susan Trail said that since 2000, the park expenditures total about $4.5 million to stabilize historic buildings, rehabilitate the battlefield landscape and remove non-historic structures. An additional $4 million was spent for its new visitor center, which opened last June. Trail said visitation last year was 22,225, up from 18,579 in 2006. The park is projecting about 30,000 visitors this year.
A recent independent survey conducted by Michigan State University on the economic impact of the park found that the total contribution to the local economy in 2006 was 35 jobs and $2.1 million in added value — before the new visitor’s center opened.
Even if the commissioners are so cold-bloodedly callous and uncaring about the destruction of our nation’s historic sites and dishonoring the 2,300 Americans who made the river run red with their blood on that hot July day in 1864, you’d think in this economic climate they’d be more sensitive to protecting a revenue-producing major tourist attraction that was funded by our tax dollars!
I hope you can use your bully pulpit to help make fellow preservationists aware of this desecration and urge your many readers to contact the Frederick Board of County Commissioners about this outrageous desecration, especially “Flip-Flop Charlie” Jenkins (chjenkins@fredco-md.net) and his colleagues John L. “Lennie” Thompson (lthompson@fredco-md.net) and Vice President David Gray (dgray@fredco-md.net) who voted for the incinerator. Board President Jan Gardner (jgardner@fredco-md.net) opposes the location and Kai Hagen (khagen@fredco-md.net) is against the entire project. They can also be reached at Winchester Hall, 12 East Church St., Frederick, MD 21701, phone: (301) 600-9000; fax: (301) 600-1849; web site: http://www.co.frederick.md.us/index.aspx?NID=27
I apologize for my verbosity and for standing on your soapbox to make my speech, but I know you have a soft spot for this small, little remembered field that’s overshadowed by its more famous Civil War neighbors at nearby Gettysburg and Antietam. Thank you for your support to save the site of the Battle That Saved Washington.
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