This article was published in the Country Courier.
The King William Circuit Court is a deciding factor for whether or not Governors Run Sports Park is built in King William County.
A Hanover-based corporation, KW Morrison, LLC, plans to put the motocross park on land along Route 30, about four and a half miles west of Route 360 in King William County.
The land is zoned agricultural conservation. KW Morrison has been thinning trees and doing other preparatory work for months.
“They’re right behind me. I can hear them,” said Diana Jones-Walsh, a King William resident who owns adjoining land and opposes the park.
The easement KW Morrison uses to access its land is property of Judith Gwathmey.
In November 2008, the King William Board of Zoning Appeals decided that KW Morrison needed to include Gwathmey on the application for a conditional use permit because of the location of the easement.
KW Morrison filed an appeal in King William Circuit Court which should be heard within the next couple of months, said Daniel Wright, a member of the King William County Board of Supervisors.
In the meantime, plans are still moving forward, said Marshal Campbell, one of the owners of the park.
KW Morrison chose the site because of the increasing number of participants in motocross and similar sports in the county and because there are no sports parks nearby.
Some residents got together last year and formed Citizens for King William County to address issues like this by keeping the public informed and protesting certain matters.
“We’re trying to educate the community as to negative environmental impacts that the motocross will have,” said Perrin Gower, who works with Citizens for King William County by helping to oversee the meetings and get the word out.
He said one of his concerns is ground water contamination from spilled fuel, whether spilled accidentally or as the result of a wreck.
Jones-Walsh, who also works with Citizens for King William County to inform the public, said she doesn’t think the chosen location is the right place for a motocross park.
“I think it’ll be too much traffic on a small road,” she said, adding that the curve in the road at that location will only make it worse. She also said that she is concerned about the noise level.
Campbell said that the corporation is taking steps to avoid these problems.
“We have secured the services of various professionals to detail the best practices to follow to protect our property and the environment,” he said in an e-mail.
Campbell also said the park will incorporate features to minimize sound transmission beyond their property lines.
“We have made many changes to our original plan, to address concerns that have been brought to our attention … ,” Campbell said. “We have also received numerous great suggestions from citizens that we have incorporated into our planning.”
Gower, Jones-Walsh and others in opposition to the park hold meetings, write letters and articles, and hand out fliers in the county.
“We need to keep the issue in front of the community,” said Jean Girves, who sends out newsletters for Citizens for King William County via e-mail.
On their Web site, the group asks people to contact the county board of supervisors in opposition to the motocross park. The motocross park also asks for help from the citizens on their Web site.
The board so far has been indifferent, said Gower, but citizens have generally been anti-motocross.
Campbell said many citizens have supported the efforts to build the park.
“The number of those supporting our project continues to grow as more people learn what motocross is, and of our desire to bring a high-quality, family-friendly sports park to the area.”
Wright said he has received hundreds of phone calls and letters to state opposition to what he thinks is the most controversial subject in his four years of being on the board.
“I’d say close to 700 people have contacted me,” he said. “I haven’t heard much on the other side saying ‘we want it.’”
What people don’t seem to understand, Wright said, is that there isn’t anything the board can do right now.
“As of today, it’s in legal limbo. Nothing can be done until the judge rules,” said Wright. “The board of supervisor members have not touched it or looked at it.”
The other board members agree. Tom Smiley and Cecil Schools, also on the board of supervisors, said they don’t know any more about the park than other residents.
If the circuit court judge rules in favor of KW Morrison, the corporation may submit an application to the board.
Tuesday, October 13, 2009
Thursday, October 8, 2009
Ress gives advice to student journalists
Dave Ress, an investigative reporter at the Richmond Times-Dispatch, gave interviewing advice to a class of student journalists on Thursday afternoon at Virginia Commonwealth University.
The most important thing when interviewing, Ress said, is to keep a conversation going.
“It’s possible to be too fussily precise and too constrained and you’re not going to find out a whole lot,” he said.
He said that it’s important to put the person at ease because too often people become wary or nervous while being interviewed.
“Don’t let either the notepad or the tape recorder get in the way of the conversation,” Ress said.
Ress said it’s also important to be completely up-front and honest without trying to hide why information is being sought.
“It’s not like you’re going to sneak up on anyone – you’re a reporter,” he said.
Not only is it necessary to be honest about being a reporter, but also about what information is needed, Ress said. He advised that students be careful of using certain terms.
“There’s a lot of games people play, a lot of words people use,” he said, especially in Washington. Ress said reporters must know when and how to use phrases such as “on the record” and “off the record,” and how they are different from “background.”
If a source wants to remain off the record, be honest about whether that will be allowed or not, Ress said. He said reporters must know when a source may remain anonymous and when he may not.
To avoid any problems that a source might have with any of these issues, Ress said reporters must have the ground rules laid out with their sources before the interview.
Reporters should not be jerks, Ress said, but polite to their sources. He said there is nothing wrong with having emotions.
“It’s perfectly legitimate to empathize with someone you’re interviewing,” Ress said. “It’s perfectly legitimate to walk out of there saying, ‘How do I feel about that?’”
Ress advised students not to let their emotions get in the way of good reporting. If a reporter finds that he is growing too close to a source to write objectively, he should consider whether to keep doing that beat. He must confront the issue with a clear mind.
Reporters also should not allow their nervousness to influence their reporting, Ress said. He said it’s normal to feel nervous and intimidated, but the only way to deal with it is just to do the job anyway and eventually reporters will learn how to handle it.
“If you examine what you do honestly and often enough, you’re going to know your strengths and weaknesses,” Ress said.
Reporters need to be aware of what is a good story and what is not.
“I get tips sometimes. I get suspicions sometimes. I get an itch under my skin sometimes,” Ress said about his story ideas. “Sometimes you just get lucky. Stuff just kind of happens.”
Whenever working on a story, Ress said, it’s important to get to the heart of the issue and not to focus too hard on getting that one good quote.
“Think about what you do. Don’t go out there just to grab a quote. Go out there to talk to people.”
The most important thing when interviewing, Ress said, is to keep a conversation going.
“It’s possible to be too fussily precise and too constrained and you’re not going to find out a whole lot,” he said.
He said that it’s important to put the person at ease because too often people become wary or nervous while being interviewed.
“Don’t let either the notepad or the tape recorder get in the way of the conversation,” Ress said.
Ress said it’s also important to be completely up-front and honest without trying to hide why information is being sought.
“It’s not like you’re going to sneak up on anyone – you’re a reporter,” he said.
Not only is it necessary to be honest about being a reporter, but also about what information is needed, Ress said. He advised that students be careful of using certain terms.
“There’s a lot of games people play, a lot of words people use,” he said, especially in Washington. Ress said reporters must know when and how to use phrases such as “on the record” and “off the record,” and how they are different from “background.”
If a source wants to remain off the record, be honest about whether that will be allowed or not, Ress said. He said reporters must know when a source may remain anonymous and when he may not.
To avoid any problems that a source might have with any of these issues, Ress said reporters must have the ground rules laid out with their sources before the interview.
Reporters should not be jerks, Ress said, but polite to their sources. He said there is nothing wrong with having emotions.
“It’s perfectly legitimate to empathize with someone you’re interviewing,” Ress said. “It’s perfectly legitimate to walk out of there saying, ‘How do I feel about that?’”
Ress advised students not to let their emotions get in the way of good reporting. If a reporter finds that he is growing too close to a source to write objectively, he should consider whether to keep doing that beat. He must confront the issue with a clear mind.
Reporters also should not allow their nervousness to influence their reporting, Ress said. He said it’s normal to feel nervous and intimidated, but the only way to deal with it is just to do the job anyway and eventually reporters will learn how to handle it.
“If you examine what you do honestly and often enough, you’re going to know your strengths and weaknesses,” Ress said.
Reporters need to be aware of what is a good story and what is not.
“I get tips sometimes. I get suspicions sometimes. I get an itch under my skin sometimes,” Ress said about his story ideas. “Sometimes you just get lucky. Stuff just kind of happens.”
Whenever working on a story, Ress said, it’s important to get to the heart of the issue and not to focus too hard on getting that one good quote.
“Think about what you do. Don’t go out there just to grab a quote. Go out there to talk to people.”
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