Rhonda
Photo: Lewis Loflin
By Lewis Loflin
Bristol, Virginia, and Washington County blew $2 million fighting over Exit 7 annexation, and a trailer park got crushed in the mess. Fifty mostly poor families were kicked out of Clear Creek Mobile Home Park for a strip mall that’ll cost taxpayers $10 million. Many landed in public housing. The woman pictured above—Rhonda—I got moved with an out-of-town donation, while Washington County sat on its hands. As of July 2005, no work’s even started. These people could’ve had two years to move, not 90 damn days.
Washington County’s government hid the warning, then cried broke when it came to helping. They partnered with the developer, handed over $10 million in corporate welfare—including $3 million borrowed and gifted outright—all in secret “closed sessions” with no minutes, no oversight. Legal, sure, but it’s one of the worst cases of criminal indifference I’ve ever seen.
Update April 2006: The project’s dead—moved elsewhere. The site’s a garbage dump now. Big thanks to the Bristol Herald Courier for exposing this travesty.
Extract from “A Change of Scenery at Exit 7,” Bristol Herald Courier, June 5, 2006: Mack Trammell cleared the rotting hulks of Clear Creek Mobile Home Park, fencing off the mess just outside Bristol near Exit 7. For two years, it was a dump—rusted trailers, trashed appliances, tires, beer cans, broken glass. Washington County finally forced the cleanup last month, says Stephen Richardson, county recycling manager. “It was a solid waste violation. We told Trammell to haul off the junk.”
Look at that picture—Clear Creek’s a wasteland, still untouched as of May 2005. Fifty poor folks got 90 days to move trailers averaging $2,000 to haul. Even with cash, most parks were full or snubbed older homes. Affordable housing’s scarce—local officials want trailer parks gone for ritzy retirees.
Washington County pledged up to $50 million in subsidies to developers but wouldn’t lift a finger for these people. Worse, they knew a year ahead and kept it hushed. Politicians here don’t give a damn about regular folks. I volunteered to help, but some residents gave up, others lost homes to vandals. The county made it harder.
Below are my letters and news reprints—a black eye for Bristol and Washington County, who burned $2 million in legal fees over this fiasco.
Printed Bristol Herald Courier, December 5, 2004
This Clear Creek Trailer Court mess could’ve been avoided. Is Bristol even worth living in? I salute the Bristol Herald Courier for shining a light—a good soul in Charlottesville donated $1,250 to save one family’s home. Thanks to a small Presbyterian church and others who stayed anonymous, too.
Washington County Social Services deserves props—underfunded and ignored by the county, they still showed heart. Compare that to the Board of Supervisors. Records show they knew a year out. These folks could’ve had two years to move if work started in March 2005.
Most couldn’t scrape up the cash, and trailer parks rejected older units. Vultures swooped in, buying homes for nothing—$300 for one couple, not even first month’s rent. Another woman begged the power company not to cut her off, bill paid or not. Chaos reigned—vandals and thieves piled on. Deposits? Gone.
My supervisor wouldn’t touch it—wouldn’t even raise it at a June meeting. But in May, he and the board unanimously threw millions at Mack Trammell, no clue on the real cost. At the July Exit 7 hearings, they bragged about our “progressive” community to the state panel—never mentioned Clear Creek. I did. The panel begged them to look into it—they dumped it on Social Services with zero backing.
I’d already sent tenants there—no one else bothered to tell them what help existed. Yet supervisors found $800,000 for arts and road beautification. This ain’t over—future sales taxes won’t cover the $20 million in sewer and water lines. Bristol could’ve handled it, but a few supervisors sparked this legal shitshow—$800,000 in fees, no Home Depot. We don’t need this “progressive” crap. Poor folks shouldn’t face this contempt—end secret deals and serve everyone.
Lewis Loflin
Bristol, VA
Update May 2005: I was right—the press proved it.
Bristol Herald Courier, August 17, 2004
This summer exposed this region’s rotten core. Bristol and Washington County brawled over Exit 7, but their silence on Clear Creek Trailer Court screams depraved indifference. They knew since March 2003—didn’t care.
Washington County, partnered with Mack Trammell, shamed us all. We’re paying to bulldoze his dirt, plus they voted over $1 million in June for waste—nothing for the folks they displaced. Property taxes will rise to cover it.
Rural Area Medical shows tourism, retirement, and retail—the only gigs officials chase—leave people broke. Wise sets records for misery. Kids on free lunch, 75% of food stamp folks working—can’t live on it (Bristol Herald Courier, March 26). Rick Boucher got $2 million for Wise Airport’s fancy landing gear for rich assholes, claiming jobs (Coalfield Progress, Feb. 12, 2003). Where are they?
$500,000 on Carter’s Fold, $1 million on Stanley’s house—show me the jobs. RAM was too embarrassing—they moved it. Stop the waste. Jobs matter, not strip malls and country music hype.
Lewis Loflin
Bristol, VA
The following (shortened in print) ran in the Bristol Herald Courier, December 2004, blasting Bristol City Attorney Jim Bowie and leaders for their callous indifference to residents they tossed out. Here’s Angela’s full letter, as she requested:
Dear Editor,
As a former Clear Creek resident, I’m pissed as hell. To Jim Bowie: How dare you! Who do you think you are, you cold-hearted bastard, saying me and my neighbors are “probably better off”? You don’t know us and don’t give a shit!
Here’s what you and Trammell did to me. I had to ditch my nearly paid-off home—couldn’t raise moving cash by July 20. Sold stuff to file bankruptcy, avoiding a lawsuit for the balance. Worked two jobs then—most stressful, gut-wrenching time of my life.
My nerves were shot juggling jobs and moving—I needed meds from my doctor. That cost me a restaurant gig on Mother’s Day when I took them at work. Thieves hit, too—my dad’s hard-earned trailer, everything stolen. Cops said tough luck.
I got into a training program in Wytheville—could’ve tripled my pay. Had great credit before bankruptcy, maxed out from two jobs. Now it’s trashed—no $5,000 loan for school, just pre-approved car loans for $17,000-$22,000. Useless!
Apartment living’s pricier—BVU and gas heat jack it up more. I scrape by, can’t land a second job, but drag myself to work daily to hold on. Tell me how I’m “better off,” Bowie. If I’d known in November 2003—you did—I could’ve saved to move or buy land. That was my plan.
Trammell screwed 50 broke families when he could’ve picked empty lots for sale nearby. No help offered—but we’re “better off,” right?
Sincerely,
Angela
Acknowledgment: Thanks to Grok, an AI by xAI, for formatting. The rage and truth are mine and Angela’s. —Lewis Loflin
