Black Bears and City Council

This is NOT a Black Bear!

The above picture is, of course, my sweet dog Bella and my not so sweet cat Pumpkin. Pumpkin has taken over Bella's bed and managed to convince Bella that she should sleep there. Pumpkin has no less than three other "beds" to sleep in but loves to continue her work of being the "household administrator" here on Ivy Lane!

But about that black bear...Yesterday I was driving home from town on Hwy 21 south. I was about a mile north of Pull Tail Road when a black bear, about the size of a refrigerator, loped across the road in front of my car. I stopped and the car behind me also stopped and watched in amazement as the bear continued it's journey into the woods. I have had all sizes of deer cross my path on the roads around here but this is my first bear. Maybe the road construction on Hwy 21 has disturbed the bears...or maybe they just can't resist taking a closer look at those orange barrels along the road!

These pictures are from the hike I took on Tuesday with a friend. We were on the Mountains to Sea Trail near Laurel Fork. We hiked with Bella through this beautiful forest of trees and ferns. Bella is a great trail dog and as you can see from the picture below she loves being outdoors. 

Tuesday evening I attended a Sparta City Council Meeting to support Christ Church's efforts to avoid the placement of a meat processing plant across the highway from us. It was like watching a bad comedy portrayal of small southern town politics. The lack of ability by the Council members to disguise their "need to please" one well known resident over the legal and practical concerns of many was embarrassing. I came home and wrote a letter to the editor of the Alleghany News. Here is an excerpt:

During the “limited time” that the council gave to discussion of this issue, much was made of the connection that each person had to Alleghany County. This small segment of “deeply rooted” Allegheny County residents present at the meeting was however, not representative of the people of this county. I cannot help but believe that the majority of the residents of Sparta and Alleghany County would have reacted negatively to the way that the City Council members dismissed the rights of property owners in this neighborhood to have prior knowledge of a Rezoning Committee’s intention to rezone property in their neighborhood. Most I believe would have shaken their heads in disbelief at the Council’s dismissal of Christ Church’s expressed opposition to the meat processing plant by saying, “your Church is only used once a week”. This said to a Church whose grounds include a Memorial Garden where ashes of loved ones are interred; grounds where a Labyrinth, built by the youth is used for prayer and meditation. Christ Church’s work to help those in need in this county goes well beyond Sunday morning worship. I have no doubt that the residents of Alleghany County who were not present would have been saddened by this City Council’s “good ole boy” rubber stamp of approval for this meat processing plant. Their action was reactive to one resident of the county’s wishes; it showed an enormous lack of planning for the development of Alleghany County; and dismissed as unimportant the care of this county’s residents.

The meat processing plant seems to be a “done deal”. But the residents of Sparta and the citizens of Alleghany County will, I hope, pay attention to the actions of their leaders and remember those actions at election time. It is clearly time for new leadership as we seek to plan for the future of Sparta and Alleghany County. We need forward thinking people who can listen, and who see the need for clear planning in land use issues so that we do not make these same mistakes again. 

No, I am not going to run for City Council but I am sure hoping that the younger citizens of Sparta will step up and offer their gifts of leadership. That's my prayer on this 4th of July....