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Landfill Proposal Defeated - John Dunn
FOX 17 News – John Dunn
After weeks of strong opposition, Marshall County residents are celebrating.
That’s because plans to build a new landfill have been trashed.
Waste Management says the local opposition played a big part in its decision to withdraw the plan.
The landfill would have been located in the town of Cornersville in southern Marshall County, and almost everyone there was against it.
There’s a word that describes the way people in rural Cornersville are feeling.
"Fantastic," says Cornersville Mayor Amos Davis.
From the very beginning they have organized against a proposal to build a new landfill here.
"It's been a tremendous effort on everybody's part to get it all together," says Kathy Fox.
Kathy Fox was president of the group that painted Marshall County green with signs against the plan.
And now, with a single letter, the landfill has been defeated.
Waste Management writes, “Based upon a combination of technical and local concerns, we have decided to withdraw our request.”
"I called my husband by name and I said come in here, you have to read this, I can't believe this," says Fox.
It’s no surprise the letter comes days after people packed a public hearing to speak out against the garbage dump.
"There was probably 1000 people there, we had a convoy that was two miles long, and it was a show of force," says Mayor Davis.
"So I think they may have had the divine ah-hah," says landfill opponent Sis Osborne.
Sis Osborne was one of the first people to openly oppose the landfill by posting a simple sign in front of her farm.
Now, she’s one happy lady.
"Tonight we might actually have time for a little glass of wine after dinner," says Osborne.
Some still wear their green “Stop the Landfill” shirts. They call them a symbol of victory.
"Just elated, just a feeling of joy, and relief, and happiness," says Osborne.
Kathy Fox chose to make a slight correction on her sticker. Now it says “We Stopped the Landfill,” still she takes nothing for granted and says if Waste Management tries again, Marshall County is prepared.
"We'll be ready when the come back, and we'll be a step ahead of where we were when we started this time," says Fox.
People in Giles County are also happy that Waste Management has withdrawn its request.
The proposed landfill site was bordered by a creek that Giles County residents depend on for water.
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