November 15, 2018
By:
Concerned residents of DeKalb County are circulating and signing petitions to relocate a proposed 200 foot cell tower beyond Dowelltown, away from the Snows Hill Battlefield, the county’s most historic site, and out of the valley from Snows Hill, a local scenic landmark.
The fact they can even exercise that right is a fluke. When an alert citizen was surprised to see sections of the Dowelltown tower on site, he inquired when and where the required public notice and invitation for comments had appeared. He learned the engineering firm had run that notice in the Carthage newspaper, rather than the Smithville Review, DeKalb County’s paper of record.
He immediately contacted the FCC, asserting citizens here were being denied their right to know and weigh in on a project which would impact their lives, as required in the application process. The agency agreed, put the project temporarily on hold and opened up the comment period. The public notice appeared in the the classified section of this week’s Smithville Review, page 5C and the delivery deadline for comments is November 28, 2018.
Anyone interested in signing or obtaining a paper petition can text Amy Potter for Dowelltown(615 418-6220), or Lucas Antoniak(754 227-3064) for the battlefield/scenic landmark petition. You can also sign a digital petition here (or visit http://www.tinyurl.com/savethevalley) It has already been signed by more than 200, including visitors to our area from around the nation and the world.
Unfortunately for those in the Alexandria area, the tower on Old Liberty Road was already up and operating before it was discovered the required public notice ran in Carthage, rather than the Smithville Review, thereby denying local citizens their right to know and comment .
And, public notice for a third tower from the same company, NTCH-West, appeared in this week’s paper. It is planned for Choctaw Ridge Road near the intersection of Highways 70 and 53 and Liberty’s Historic District, listed in the National Register of Historic Places.
Anyone concerned about these projects is encouraged to check the public notices and comment within the deadline period.
For additional photos of the valley, please visit http://www.instagram.com/snowshillvalley