County deems dump clean
FILE PHOTO BY JEN FARIELLO
The long-running saga of the illegal junkyard in Cismont apparently is over. An Albemarle County release today says Cecil and Doris Gardner's 16-acre property on Campbell Road is no longer in violation of county ordinances. The clean-up of their property began in 2005 following a major conflagration, but the dump had been in operation since the 1970s when the county mistakenly said it was grandfathered. Albemarle took the couple to court for repeatedly missing deadlines, and in June, the Gardners were fined $200. However, they continued their clean-up and October 17, the county judged the property abated.
33 comments
What encouraging news this is!It seems the county could have moved faster on this one though.The people involved were simply let off the hook for too long.Great the neighborhood folks rallied and demanded action from the county.I know Citizens in Cismont are relieved they no longer see a junkyard.Landfills can leach poisons for decades.I hope the local water table stays pure for the future.
I hope they go out and buy a few piece of crap cars, put "antique" tags on them and park them out by the road for a year just to piss off the crybabies.
The landowner most probably will never be trusted. The county will watch them and so will the residents. I will say, Albemarle county will never allow a similar horrible incident to ever happen again. The court and neighbors and HOOK made them jump, and they will watch. Good they were taught a lesson.
paul You too funey.them peple in cismount love antigue cars. they jus did not like treshy dumps.Noboby cryen now, so move on boy.
The crybabies will never be happy regardless. Some people spend there whole lives hounding something or someone.
I'm guessing those you deem crybaby are perfectly content. The protesters also engineered a huge win in my opinion. Citizens were well within their right to challenge those stinking up the neighborhood or the county allowing violations. Of course the government paints a picture that all is well now.The newspaper says there was no cost to county. Any idiot realizes the costs for longterm government management of this case were significant.
quote: "Any idiot realizes the costs for longterm government management of this case were significant."
Divide the cost by the number of taxpayers in Albemarle County, and I will personally issue you a refund for your small amount. But you'll never be able to whine and say your taxes paid for the enforcement again, OK? It's a good thing the penny wasn't done away with by the federal government, I might have to pay you 45 cents rather than your 42 cents.
quote: "The crybabies will never be happy regardless."
A few posts in this topic have already proved this.
quote: "paul You too funey.them peple in cismount love antigue cars. they jus did not like treshy dumps.Noboby cryen now, so move on boy."
I hate to be so critical, but I'm crying. After seeing what our public schools have pumped out, as evidenced by your spelling and your attempt in forming a complete sentence.
quote: "I know Citizens in Cismont are relieved they no longer see a junkyard."
What will they whine about now? I have a suggestion. They can back up now and whine about the speed limits and numerous crashes again. If the entire community pulls together, perhaps they can have the roadways blocked off and converted to dead ends.
what a crock,The only one whining and cryin here,is you.Whats your beef?
SOLR, Amen I agree with you 100%
Sick, I hear you, but you're unconvincing as far as a real cost accounting goes. I hear the county and state spent years providing these country boys with their own government funded staff. Do you think putting the large fires out, happened for free? The county would probably tell you they don't know what the price tag was. I doubt they keep tabs on entire costs.
quote: "The county would probably tell you they don’t know what the price tag was. I doubt they keep tabs on entire costs."
You do have a valid point there. In a recent lawsuit, I doubt they can tell the taxpayers how much money they spent while fighting it tooth and nail for almost 7 years. Only to end up paying out a large sum settlement as soon as a judge set a definite jury trial date to hear the plaintiff's case. It would have been much much cheaper for the taxpayers if Albemarle had admitted wrongdoing and paid the settlement in the first year. They don't care how much of the taxpayers money they spend, or how they spend it.
Sick, Yes, you are correct. My opinion, the county doesn't want the public to know the whole story here. I am told many county resources went into funding and management of the case, and for decades. Time and funding was taken away from other important needs. The county and state should be accountable to public, in reporting associated costs. Known violators should also be held responsible to reinburse the government for costs associated with crimes.
Yes good Idea let create another goverment job to collect exact cost and time the goverment agencies spend on each incident. The county has already created a job for FOIA request. What's one more waste of time job that the tax payers pay for.
i think the government should give them a little slack becouse i HAVE been in a similar situation but not as extreme and cleaning it up can be expensive and people still have other bills to pay.
perhaps the county should have taken responsibility for telling them the dump was legal back in 1976 and when the county changed their minds they should paid for the clean up themselves which probably would have cost the taxpayers LESS in the long run.
Love it, Keeping the books IS part of the existing job. Isn't it? Every effective business organization knows how much is spent and where the money goes. Why should the county record keeping be any different? Hmmm. county has created a job to juggle the FOIA requests. This news is very telling. Most FOIA situations arise because citizens aren't provided enough detail or given the true facts. The county screws up too much, just as they did in this case. I suggest they fire those who can't get it together. This would save taxpayer dollars.
Love it, you provided the laugh of the week. What else is going on at the county office?
I can tell you that the land owners in many violations usually don't know that they are doing anything wrong. I agree the county was correct in working with the land owners and not spending thousands of dollars to go in and clean up the property. I'm sure the neighbors would have liked the county to do this and I for one think it would have been wrong. I haven't heard any news that the county zoning and fire had to hire more employee's for this one incident, so to me they did what the tax payers pay them to do thier JOB.
Love it, do you really expect us to believe they didn't understand what they were doing? I think they knew exactly what they were doing. They just didn't care they were fouling their own bed and negatively affecting others in the process. I also think the county spent too much time and money pampering the people or covering their own errors. I wouldn't have expected the county to hire additional staff for this case. It seems they were already overstaffed. The real truth, much taxpayer $$ was actually used, in order to settle it all. You provide so much information concerning the county. If you work there, I suggest you also get to work.
Love It, Sorry but your statement (many don't know they're doing anything wrong), just doesn't hold water.Maybe some mentally challenged folks wouldn't know, but your average run of the mill wrongdoer, makes a personal choice to break the law for reasons of personal gain. The reason we have crimes and violations, is because people like you dig up reasons to excuse bad behavior.
quote: "I also think the county spent too much time and money... covering their own errors."
Yes. They are experts at this.
From what i read, the people "who didn't know what they were doing", continued to push their luck and avoid compliance until the judge slapped them with a fine. Funny how people finally straighten up when the court rules. This point further demonstrates, people can be forced to change their ways.
No I dont work for the county. I live in the Keswick area and have heard so much regarding this from certain people it has made me sick. My neighbor HAD a friend that lives on the same road and I have to tell you the amount of time and information she has spent on this is mind blowing.
I'm sure alot of people don't know thing they are doing and or have on thier own property made be in violation with the county. For example I witnessed a little old lady (Mrs. S in case you are reading this) cleaning out her ditch line and carting it across the road to someone elses ditch line - this is illegal dumping. My boss has a car that he no longer drives and it has dead tags on it - this is a violation unless it is covered or out of site. My best friend recycles all of her metals (alum, tin, copper etc.) and has it stacked behind her garage she plans to take off when she has a truck load - this is a violation and could be considered a dump. Maybe her pile isn't as big as the property owners in cismont.
The bottom line is alot of people aren't as smart as plog and no way. We are talking about junk/recycling not someone commiting a crime against others.....
Love It,if you're so irked by others breaking the law, why don't you report them? All this belly aching gossiping gets you no where.Seems you have an axe to grind with someone. Of course, it is your right to defend the Cismont landfill owners and the county, but I do suggest you go back and reread the facts. DEQ and the county found abnormal foul substances, other than recycling pieces. I am told, DEQ changed their mindset and did not go back to check for the "real story" on the land. My guess, this was a money issue. Read the earlier HOOK reports. This plaCE WAS HOME TO dangerous business. The judge ruled it a crime, didn't he? Lets keep our posts accurate.
loveit, the people who opposed the dump did not have a goal of making friends. They were in no mood to defend the violators or county either. Obviously, there wasn't a popularity contest in mind. They were successful in accomplishing a mission.
Unlike others, I dont stick my noise in others business. I was
simpley making a statement of the ignorance of others when it comes to what some consider "breaking the law". If the DEQ found "abnornal foul substances" as you say why aren't they doing their job? I don't believe they found anything but a bunch of metals, as I've been told by many and as far as foul substances I dont think that counts. As far as the court/judge thing goes I believe when that story came out every one thought 200.00 was a joke considered the county was asking for thousands. So it's a crime but only a small 200.00 fine crime. WOW..... My neighbor would probably be fined a dollar.
And what mission was that? Do you have a better view from your front yard, Is the air lacking the foul smell....
love it, First of all, most know DEQ is short on funding. They close cases right and left without properly remediating. The county and state probably wanted a monkey off the back, in this instance. In fact, the county was afraid of a law suit, I am told. That is why they decided to go light on the offenders. All are assuming something won't leach later. If I were the landowner and the county, I would be nervous for the future. Most residents have the means to continue testing wells, etc. All I was saying, is the protesters won because they held firm and didn't blink.
QUOTE: "Unlike others, I dont stick my nose in others business."
You should teach classes on this in and around the Cismont area.
Life was so pleasant in the Charlottesville and Albemarle area before the (insert whatever) started retiring and moving into this area, building $750,000 homes, and thinking people should confirm to their standards.
Sotlr, I thought she said noise. Didn't she?
Most are grateful someone someone put a "nose" in. Doing so prompted a cleanup.
Most are grateful "someone someone" (haha) I ment noise as in sticking my mouth in others business. Slang sorry you didn't understand.
love it, Did you mean "ment" or "meant"?
NW, ment look it up if you need to know the meaning.
so mush happened at this place. more to come later. at least this is what I hear.Dumpin was deep.