The "Enduring Walmart" blog in chronological order

ENDURING WALMART BLOG
December 4th, 2006: I attend the Hurricane City Council meeting to complain about the
excessive construction noise. Mayor F. Raymond Peak is apparently in Orlando and Silly
Scott Edwards is apparently on a honeymoon with his (third) wife. The remaining members
listen, nod their heads, Recorder Linda Gibson thanks me for coming... And I wonder if
they will do anything to fix the problem... I doubt it, but time will tell.
December 23rd, 2006: I contact Hurricane Mayor F. Raymond Peak and complain about the
excessive noise. He promises to call me back “Thursday or Friday.” I ask him to deal with
the issue sooner. Peak declines.
December 24th, 2006: Family members arriving for Christmas Eve comment about how
ugly the Walmart site is. What used to be beautiful woods is now barren dirt. Ugly tractors
sit on top of a mound of dirt facing our house. There are 25-plus acres. Why don’t they park
the tractors out of sight?
Christmas Day, 2006: It used to be a nice, quiet neighborhood. Instead, we now hear
noise from Interstate 64 and train whistles. Merry Christmas from the PCDA, Walmart, and
Cleveland Construction! Dolores tells me that this is the first year that she doesn't spend any
money at Walmart for Christmas gifts.
December 26th
2006: I wake up to bright lights shining into my upstairs window. It’s
only 6:35 a.m. There is no reason to shine lights into my window. I wait 45 minutes to
call Mayor Raymond Peak to complain. He doesn't appreciate my courtesy. "Why the
hell did you call?" asks Peak as he slams down the telephone. I call Scott Edwards. "I was
sleeping," says Edwards as he hangs up. Funny how Mayor Peak and Edwards want their
sleep but do nothing when construction crews interrupt my sleep. Later in the day I call
Michael Shaw of Walmart. He says Cleveland Construction told him the lights are coming
from service vehicles, not tractors. I advise him I have pictures that prove differently. He

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declines to provide me with an email address leading me to believe he doesn’t want to see
the evidence. A call to James Davis of Walmart is not returned. Later I call Scott Edwards of
the Hurricane City Council. He says he doubts anyone else on council will be receptive to
adopting a noise ordinance that outlaws noise outside of construction areas. I publish a
story on PutnumLIVE.com about the lights. One reader sends me a note complaining about
the Walmart stories but declines to give his last name so that I can publish the note in our
letters section. I purchase a digital camera at one of Walmart's competitors with some
Christmas gift money. It's time for me to punish Walmart by spending money at its
competitors.
December 27th, 2006: The lights are back. This time between 6:45 and 7:00 a.m. But the
tractors still are not moved. I call up the corporate ladder. A Patrick Hamilton and Robert
Bray offer to contact the construction company but try to convince me that construction
noise and lights in my window are “part of construction” and are “reasonable.” WRONG! Peace
and quiet on your own property and in your home is reasonable. Construction noise and
lights are invasive. Most of us learned in kindergarten not to disturb our neighbors.
December 28th, 2006: No lights, and quiet in the morning. Could Walmart and
Cleveland Construction finally be getting the message? Later, more noise returns. I talk to
Putnam County Prosecutor Mark Sorsaia who says he believes the motor vehicle noise
ordinance will get laughed out of court. I invite Sorsaia to simply prosecute the law and let
the judge and jury decide. Sorsaia says it is a civil issue and that he is worried that
prosecuting contractors for making too much noise will guibut (sic) more unacceptable noise
during the day. I want to go out and enjoy my hammock in our yard, but the tractor noise is
prohibitive. I call Scott Edwards with the PCDA Board of Directors, also a Hurricane City
Councilman. Again, he is sympathetic about the noise but says he is one councilman and
that no one else on council will do anything. Again, I ask him to have the city or PCDA that
created this mess buy us out. He declines. He offers to instead pay for my “psyche exam.”
I advise him that the only nuts are those that put a Walmart next to homes and expect
people to tolerate noise every day. I tell Edwards he has 24-hours to get an acceptable
resolution to the noise issue or I will go public with how bad things are. I contact the
WVDEP and learn that Walmart was written up five times for environmental violations on
the site this past fall. Edwards tries to downplay the violations. “That’s old news,” he says.
December 29th, 2006: Mayor Peak has not fulfilled his promise to call back. I call Ben
Newhouse at Hurricane City Hall. “That’s the price of progress,” he snaps, then hangs up. I
call back but when a receptionist transfers me, no one picks up. Not even Newhouse’s voice
mail. He is ducking the issue. The man doesn’t even live in Hurricane but expects longtime
residents to put up with noise from a Walmart that he wants and we don’t. Unbelievable! I
call back an hour later. A lady gives me his home number and says “
I can’t stand Newhouse.”
A woman at Newhouse’s home says my call for him is "
an invation (sic) of privacy.” If she
thinks ONE phone call is bad, try living next to noise from construction for a Walmart for
months! Scott Edwards won’t take my call. Walmart’s Patrick Hamilton says that I must live
with the noise. That his neighbor’s car makes noise when it starts. I point out that there is a
huge difference between a car starting and a group of tractors. I call Walmart executive
John Menzer. His “assistant” hangs up on me a couple of times. Menzer never calls back. I
call a couple of hours later and his “assistant” says that the construction department is who I
must speak with. I advise her that I am not satisfied. She hangs up again. Menzer never
calls. Walmart needs to learn how to treat its customers and people that live next to a
construction site. Edwards never returns my call. I decide to start publishing this “Living
with Walmart Construction” diary.
January 2nd, 2007: I go to take a shower. But workers for the City of Hurricane have
accidentally cut the water line leading into our neighborhood. They were working on a
water tap into the Walmart construction site. So we are without water for some time. People
need water more than a Walmart. Calls to Hurricane City Hall for City Manager Ben
Newhouse and Mayor Raymond Peak are not returned. I'm guessing they have water at their

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homes and offices. I contact Michael Shaw, a construction manager from Walmart. He blames
the city workers. What Shaw doesn't seem to realize is that if he wasn't building a
supercenter in a neighborhood, the water line would not have been cut.
January 3rd, 2007: It's 6:45 a.m. and a train whistle wakes me up. I am sure the whistle
blows every morning, but there used to be a hill in front of our home with thousands of trees
protecting us from the noise. Now the train whistle wakes me up. I guess this is what
Hurricane City Manager Ben Newhouse sarcastically calls "The price of progress." At 7:09
another train whistle blows. I never used to hear them. At 7:25 add the noise of tractor
reverse-alarms. It's a symphony of noise to greet me in the morning. I can hear all of this
noise in my bedroom with my window shut. The PCDA and City of Hurricane need to buy out
all of us living next to this mess. They created the problem, they need to fix the problem! I
call Pam Nixon of the DEP who says the state needs to pass noise legislation. Bill
Timmermeyer of the DEP returns a call made to his office last week and confirms that the
DEP has not been given the authority by the state to take action for loud construction noise. I
send an e-mail to every member of the Putnam County delegation asking them to pass a bill
restricting construction noise to job sites. I am not hopeful that they will take action on
the issue.
January 4th, 2007: More tractor noise that I can hear inside my home. I come home
from a hearing and discover a huge tank has been moved onto the property near the road.
It's tall, it's ugly, and it should have been put elsewhere on the property where we don't
have to look at it every day. At night I notice Cleveland Construction has lit up the front of
their field office alongside Hurricane Creek Road. I don't understand what they have to be
proud of, disturbing a neighbor inside his home?
January 5th, 2007: More tractor backup alarms that I can hear with my windows shut.
And I still haven't heard word one back from the Putnam County delegation about a state
noise ordinance. Do they care about their constituents? Apparently not enough to respond to
an email. When I come home late Friday night, parked in back of my home, I can smell
smoke coming from the Walmart site where they are apparently burning trees that were
torn from what was a beautiful wooded area and is now the construction site. I am standing
in back of my house. It's hypocritical how the City of Hurricane doesn't allow residents to
burn tree debris and trimmings but allows this at a construction site. Also, with all of the air
pollution coming from I-64, the last thing we need is more smoke from trees. Better to grind
the trees into mulch and donate that mulch to the school system or homeowners. Walmart
claims to be eco-friendly but trees are being burned at its construction site. This doesn't
make sense to me.
January 6th, 2007: I purchase an XM Satellite radio unit from one of Walmart's
competitors. I am sure multi-billion dollar Walmart won't miss the $100 purchase, but I
refuse to spend money at a company that treats me and my family so rudely.
January 7th, 2007: The tractors wake me up about 7:30. Loud engines and reverse alarms
pierce what was a quiet Saturday morning. Most of Putnam County has the right to sleep in
on a Saturday morning. But not us. My wife's two-year-old grand niece is staying with us.
I worry the noise will wake her as well, but she is sleeping in a back bedroom. Our
bedroom is in the front part of the upstairs portion of our home. I go downstairs to let
my dog out for his morning "business" and the noise is terrible. Also, I can smell more of the
smoke. It's a Saturday morning. Construction crews should give us a break on Saturday
morning. Of course, City Hall is closed and so is the office of Cleveland Construction giving
us no recourse to complain.
January 8th, 2007: Another visitor to our home comments about the ugly property across
the road where the Walmart is being constructed. Several times over a gathering in our
kitchen we are interrupted in mid-conversation by tractor engine noise and reverse

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alarms. Perhaps Walmart executives would like to rent our kitchen as a conference room and
see how many meetings are interrupted by tractor noise. I place another call to Walmart
executive John Menzer and make the offer. His assistant, a woman named Terry, hangs up
on me. I guess Walmart doesn't want to hold meetings in a noisy kitchen-even when the
noise is caused by the construction company that Walmart hired. Later in the day, my wife,
Dolores, is taking a nap in our remodeled living room. Blasts from the job site shake the
house, the sofa, and rock her world. Her mother, Margaret, is startled as she is loading the
dishwasher. This is a terrible way to treat people, but when I call Hurricane City Councilman
Scott Edwards and Kanawha Stone President Art King, they tell me we should expect more
noise, more blasts, and have to live with it. Pretty lame excuses from people that claim to
have integrity. Both turn down offers to buy our home. Neither will put their money where
their mouths are. When I pull into my driveway at 11:15 p.m., I nearly choke on smoke from
burning trees. I look up and smoke is drifting over our property from the Walmart
construction site. So now we can add air pollution to the noise and light pollution. I stay up
and watch the end of the Florida-Ohio State game and hope I will be allowed to sleep in
during the morning.
January 9th, 2007: It's 7:10 a.m. and I am awakened by more tractor noise. So much for
my plans of sleeping in and enjoying my morning. Later in the evening I read about a
North Carolina town that bans Walmart because they say it will ruin the small-town
atmosphere. It's too bad Hurricane Mayor Peak and the Hurricane City Council don't have as
much integrity as Waxhaw, North Carolina. The leaders of that town know the difference
between right and wrong. All Hurricane understands is greed.
January 10th, 2007: Shortly after 7:00 a.m. more bright lights are being shined into my
upstairs bedroom window by a tractor parked on the hill on the Walmart property. There is no
reason to shine tractor lights into someone's bedroom window to build a Walmart.
January 11th, 2007: Shortly after midnight I am arrested by Hurricane PD on a
misdemeanor telephone harassment charge. I am released several hours later on my own
recognizance. In the afternoon I walk out of my house and choke on smoke blowing over
from the property. Why don't they burn the trees away from neighbor's homes? I hope a spark
doesn't fly onto someone's roof. There are ashes on our cars parked in back of our home. There
are 25 acres to the Walmart site. Move the trees somewhere else. Or better yet, grind them
into mulch and donate the mulch to the Putnam County Parks and Recreation Department or
Putnam County Schools. More tractor noise heard indoors is overriding our TV. It's pretty sad
that construction workers are so inconsiderate of their neighbors. AEP workers ARE
considerate. They are moving electrical poles for the Walmart project. A VERY NICE man
knocks on our door and asks when it will be convenient for us to have our power cut for an
hour or two. He stops at every house and actually works around the neighbor's needs.
Construction workers need to take lessons in how to be polite from these AEP workers.
As I am typing this a blast rocks the whole house. It reminds me of an earthquake in Los
Angeles. How in the world can anyone justify shaking a two-story home in order to make a
buck? There are plenty of flat -land areas in Putnam County that don't need to be blasted.
The house rocked from the blast. These guys take rude to a new level.
January 12th, 2007: More tractor noise and more smoke. I find more ash on my car
from trees being burned on the site. At about 1:35 the house rocks with another blast. I'm
getting tired of feeling like I live in a war zone. Fred Teel of the West Virginia DEP stops
by later in the afternoon after he is called because of the excessive smoke and ash
coming from the site. He shuts down the burning and orders crews to move the
apparatus. Neighbor John Clay shows me ashes all over his home and truck. I photograph
them for an upcoming story and evacuate my 81- year-old mother-in-law because of the
smoke. Teel has to cover his ear to make a phone call while on our property because of the
noise from the burning machine.

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January 13th, 2007: Finally some peace and quiet. Because Teel has ordered crews not
to burn on Saturday, the burning machine's blower is silenced. And construction crews don't
run tractors in the morning. I am gone most of the day. Sometimes it is easier to leave
than deal with the noise. Pretty sad when inconsiderate construction crews are allowed to
drive you out of your home. But such is life in the "People's Republic of Hurricane" where
the government doesn't believe in the freedom of individuals.
January 14th, 2007: My pastor tells me a neighbor is experiencing cracks in his foundation
from the blasts. This is the second person that I know of. The other has been sending me
anonymous e-mails. I hope they both come forward so we can tell their story. I am STILL
waiting for Art King from Kanawha Stone to provide me the blasting schedule that he
promised me last year. He blames Cleveland Construction for banning him from speaking
with PutnumLIVE.com.
January 15th, 2007: It's Martin Luther King Day, but construction crews aren't celebrating.
Instead my chance to sleep in is ruined by noise. They wake me up before 8:00 a.m.
The WVDEP refers me to the West Virginia Fire Marshal's office about the blasting. I call
and leave a message.
January 16th, 2007: Another day, more tractor noise that I can hear inside our home.
It is ridiculous that the City of Hurricane refuses to enforce its noise ordinance.
Unfortunately there is no recall system to get rid of the deadbeat "leadership" in Putnam
County. I leave another message with the Fire Marshal's office about the blasting. I am
still waiting for a return call. Our tax dollars appear to be hard at work.
January 17th, 2007: More tractor noise. I contact the West Virginia Fire Marshal's office
about blasting issues. I am told that because an inspector's state car is in the shop that he
cannot come out to the site until late in the week. However, the office has other vehicles
that he can drive. Then they hit me with the punch line. "How will he get to work?" I
suggest that he use his own vehicle to drive to the office just like millions of Americans do
every day. I am hung up on. I call back and leave a message for Fire Marshal Sterling
Lewis, Jr. He returns my call and tells me to call Governor Joe Manchin as Lewis "runs his
department as I see fit." I will send the governor a letter. At 12:20 another blast goes off
shaking our home. I don't hear a warning whistle which I am told is required by law. Of
course the tractor noise may have drowned out the whistle. In 30-plus years of living in
Southern California I wasn't shaken as much by earthquakes as I am being shaken by these
blasts. Lewis needs to get off his backside, check his obnoxious attitude, and send an
inspector. Our Fire Marshal is an embarrassment (sic) to West Virginia. We all remember
when his office cited a middle school teacher for having a classroom door open.
January 18th, 2007: At 6:30 a.m. tractor lights are shining through our upstairs bedroom
window. What happened to common courtesy? I see no reason to shine lights into
people's windows before sunrise. At 6:49 a.m. I hear workers banging with what sounds
like a hammer on metal. Some people would like to sleep in their homes. But we can't. This
is what we have to put up with "in the name of progress." The Walmart should be built in a
retail zone away from homes-such as next to the Home Depot. Later in the day I receive an
E-mail from the Anthony Carrico, Deputy West Virginia Fire Marshal confirming that one of
his inspectors issued a citation to Kanawha Stone for using a blaster with an expired license.
Everything else is in compliance, claims Carrico. But we still don't get warnings about the
blasts. I file a Freedom of Information Act Request asking for a copy of the citation for future
publication.
January 19th, 2007: We start our day with more lights shined through our upstairs windows
shortly after 7:00 a.m. Tractor noise including engines and reverse alarms follow shortly
thereafter.

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January 20th, 2007: I receive a pair of anonymous E-mails criticizing my coverage of the
Walmart project and construction noise. Neither person has the guts to sign their name.
Neither offers to buy our home and live across the street from all of the noise. I guess they
want us to put up with all of the noise so that they can shop at a Walmart. Buy us out and
move us and I won't have to do a blog called "Living With Walmart Construction."
January 21st, 2007: A light snowfall covers the future Walmart site. But it can't hide the
ugly of bare land where beautiful woods used to be. This Walmart should have been built
next to the Home Depot where land was already cleared.
January 22nd, 2007: More early morning tractor noise that I can hear indoors. This noise is a
nuisance.
January 23rd, 2007: Shortly after 7:00 tractor noise wakes me up. Including reverse
alarms. It isn't even sunrise yet but crews are disrupting our peace.
January 24th, 2007: Snow is falling. It's a postcard day looking out my window. A great day
to sit inside and sip hot cocoa while the snowflakes float silently to the ground. But not in
my neighborhood. Starting early in the morning, tractor noise destroys the idyllic setting.
And the noise continues into the day. In the past, the snow would cover the trees in the
woods across our road. But they are gone now. A barren hillside crawling with machines has
replaced the beautiful site that we moved here to enjoy. Some call this progress. We know
what it really is: Civic greed to get more tax dollars.
January 25th, 2007: Another snowy morning, more loud construction noise. It amazes me
that City of Hurricane officials expect longtime residents to put up with this racket. But
then the City of Hurricane has sold out to tax revenue. City officials don't care about its
citizens. This has become obvious.
January 26th, 2007: Tractor noise disrupts our peaceful morning at 6:44 a.m. It doesn't do
any good to call Hurricane PD. I've been told construction noise is "necessary." Would
someone please explain to me the "necessity" of running a tractor before sunrise? Later
in the morning my wife points out a "gorgeous" sunrise to the east of our home and
suggests I shoot a photo from our upstairs bedroom window. I would except for the fact
that an ugly crane from a construction yard is blocking the view. Could someone please
explain to me the necessity of parking a crane with its mast extended?
January 28th, 2007:I take my wife out on a nice date for a Sunday evening. But our
enjoyment is shattered by a business manager that says a couple of customers are
complaining about our coverage of the Walmart construction. Apparently these people are
pressuring him not to support PutnumLIVE.com. I guess they would rather support a
construction project next to homes that disrupt a neighborhood, a construction project that
has been given six Notices of Violation by the West Virginia Department of Environmental
Protection and a project that was cited by the West Virginia Fire Marshal's office for
using a blaster who did not have a license. Personally, I won't sell out my integrity to
get a discount store into Hurricane. Even if a few people have sold out their integrity. If
they don't like our legitimate complaints about noise and environmental pollution, they can
buy our home and live with the problem. In other words, they need to put their money
where their mouths are. Put up or shut up! I also find a story (and link it) about a Utah
town that scaled down a Walmart at the request of nearby residents. Those residents still
want a smaller store. They may not get what they want, but the city did respond by
scaling it down by about 50,000 square feet from the original plans. I challenge City of
Hurricane officials to do the same. Listen to the longtime residents that you are hurting in
your greedy request for more tax dollars.
January 29th, 2007: Another beautiful morning. Snow blankets the ground, with a few

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flakes still falling. Construction noise interrupts the tranquil setting. Tractors, reverse alarms
pierce the sky, ruining the picture-postcard day. A reader emails me saying I complain too
much about construction noise. I invite him to meet me to buy our home. He says he can't
make the "1,000 mile drive in 20 minutes." Imagine that. Someone that lives 1,000 miles
away from the construction noise tells ME to stop complaining. Classic!
January 30th, 2007: Another morning, more construction noise. With another seven
months of work scheduled. This is crazy! When I arrive home at the end of the day I find an
e-mail from a listener questioning why I "rail" against the construction noise when the
"community" has told me to stop. First of all, a FEW e-mails do not make a "community."
Second, like the other e-mails, there is no offer to buy our house and live in it with the
construction noise and other pollution. A FEW people apparently think it is OK for US to live
with the noise but are not willing to move into the same situation. Oh the hypocrisy!
January 31st, 2007: At 6:15 a.m. tractor reverse-alarms wake me up inside my home.
The sun isn't even up yet. What happened to common decency? Tractor engine noises
join the chorus later in the morning. I receive two e-mails complementing me on my
complaints about construction noise. Both are from people that lived near construction areas
in Putnam County. Both say that Putnam County needs a noise ordinance. I agree. But here in
Hurricane we have a noise ordinance. What we don't have is ethical city leaders that will
enforce the noise ordinance.
February 1st, 2007: A new month brings us slightly closer to the projected September
completion date, but also brings more disruption. At 6:15 a.m. a truck is shining its lights
into our upstairs bedroom window. Later in the morning I discover (another anonymous) e-
mail. It asks why I haven't disclosed that my mother-in-law owns the "$80,000 home..."
And why I haven't disclosed a "$300,000 offer to buy the home." Several reasons" 1) My
mother-in-law only owns PART of the home. 2) We have never been offered $300,000. 3)
The home was appraised at $200,000 BEFORE the Walmart construction started. Now that
we are next to a Walmart site, the commercial value of the land has increased. I don't
know who starts these rumors. (City of Hurricane officials, perhaps?) But no one has made
us ANY formal offer. Including the person that sent the anonymous e-mail... Another case
of someone afraid to put their money where their mouth is! Shortly after 1:15 p.m. a huge
blast rocks our home. No one should have to put up with this! I put in a call to Senator Mike
Hall's office. I have been asking him for MONTHS to author legislation restricting construction
noise to the construction site. I also speak to Senator Karen Facemyer who promises to speak
with Hall. A voicemail message is left for Delegate Patti-Ann Schoen. I also call Dep. Fire
Marshal Anthony Carrico. I am waiting for some action from any of them.
February 2nd, 2007: Another day, more construction noise. The Fire Marshal tells me that
the blast from the other day was barely within allowed levels. I guess the only time a law is
broken is when they knock your house down with you in it. Anything else is "acceptable"
by a government that allows construction workers to run over people's rights. So much for
living in a civilized society.
February 3rd, 2007: No construction noise today. What a relief! I still haven't heard
back from the Putnam County state delegation about a noise ordinance. I feel like the
lawmakers don't care because THEY don't live next to the construction site and only want
more tax revenue. While doing our weekly housecleaning both my wife and I comment on
the added dust since the construction started. Thankfully the snow on the ground helps that
issue-but only temporarily. They should be required to build a wall around the construction
site to stop noise, blast waves, and dust. Why should neighbors have to put up with all of
this?
February 5th, 2007: It's frigid cold and we are hoping construction workers will show
some common sense and take a day off. No such luck. Schools are closed from the Kentucky

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border past Charleston due to sub-freezing temperatures. But these guys are out working. I
give them credit for their toughness. But not for common courtesy. We can hear the noise
inside with our windows closed-again. When I return home at night, I see burning at the site.
According to WVDEP Inspector Fred Teel burning is not allowed at night at the site. I can
smell the smoke as I get out of my car parked in back of my home.
February 6th, 2007: As the sun rises, smoke continues to come from the construction
site where burning occurred the night before. At about 1:40 another blast rocks our
home. No one should have to live like this. I send an e-mail to West Virginia Deputy Fire
Marshal Anthony Carrico, Senator Mike Hall, Senator Karen Facemyer, and Delegate Patti Ann-
Schoen asking them to do something to cease the blasting or restrict the shockwaves to the
construction site. It's a matter of property rights, common courtesy, and common sense.
February 7th, 2007: Another day, more construction noise that we can hear indoors.
Calls to Senator Mike Hall and Senator Karen Facemyer about a noise ordinance are not
returned. When I stop for breakfast at a local restaurant, two people approach me and
thank me for reporting all of the problems with the Walmart project.
February 8th, 2007: At 6:40 a.m. more bright lights from construction equipment are
pointed into our upstairs bedroom window. Once again, I ask, why, on a 25 acre project,
can't the lights be pointed away from our window? Shortly after 1:00 p.m. our home is
rocked by a blast. We don't deserve this daily abuse. The PCDA and City of Hurricane should
buy our home and relocate us. But that would take ethics and common sense.
February 9th, 2007: At 6:24 a.m. the dogs start barking and run to the front of the house.
I open the door and they are barking at construction workers on the hill shining lights at
our house. Now they are even disrupting our dogs. I call and leave a message for PCDA Board
of Directors President Linda Williams.
February 10th, 2007: It's Saturday, and surprisingly we don't hear any construction work.
What a relief!
February 12th, 2007: It isn't even sunrise yet, but I can hear construction vehicle noise
inside my home. Lights are shined through my upstairs window at 6:37. More construction
noise coming into our home disrupts my morning. What happened to common courtesy?
February 13th, 2007: At 6:13 a.m. I am awakened by a construction vehicle making its
way up the hill on the Walmart site. At 6:30 a.m. lights are being shined through my
window. I send off an e-mail complaining about the situation to the City of Hurricane Police
Department as well as Senator Mike Hall and Delegate Jeff Eldridge and Walmart
Construction Manager Michael Shaw. But I doubt they will do anything about the noise/lights
issue. Hall and Eldridge have not returned my calls about the noise issue recently. We need
a state law restricting construction noise to the work site. I try to go back to sleep but the
construction vehicle noise keeps waking me up. I stop by City Hall and run into Chief of
Police Joe Sisk who whines about the negative comments in this column. It's very simple:
Enforce the noise ordinance properly and I will have no complaints. I speak with City
Manager Ben Newhouse who promises to look into the noise and light situation. I hope
some positive action is taken. Go ahead and build the Walmart. Just don't bother the
neighbors with noise, pollution, or lights. I call and leave another message for PCDA Board of
Directors President Linda Williams. My last call to her office was not returned.
February 14th, 2007: Happy Valentine's Day. Now celebrate somewhere else. The
construction noise that can be heard indoors makes celebrating at home out of the question.
February 15th, 2007: West Virginia Senator Mike Hall tells me that state lawyers have

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determined that a noise ordinance is unnecessary. Funny, I didn't see any lawyers in my
home listening to the noise. Perhaps THEY will purchase our home. Since they don't believe
the noise is a problem, it should be no problem for them to live here!
February 16th, 2007: More construction noise disrupts our morning. Shortly after 12:30
p.m. another blast rocks our home. This has to stop.
February 19th, 2007: More construction noise heard inside our home disrupts my day. I
place another call to Linda Williams. This time a man answers and says she won't take calls
from PutnumLIVE.com because of our previous reporting about this issue. Obviously he
doesn't like the truth reported. He refuses to put the call through to Linda Williams who is the
head of the PCDA Board of Directors. He hangs up the telephone. One way to cover up
problems is to refuse to answer hard questions about the issues. This seems to be a way
of life with Putnam County officials. I stop by the office of our Real Estate Broker to find
out what is being done to sell our home. The broker isn't in his office and does not return
my call. I'd love to sell and move away from the construction zone.
February 20th, 2007: I take a break from the incessant construction noise to go to the
Post Office. There I run into Hurricane Mayor Raymond Peak. But when I attempt to talk
with him about a tougher noise ordinance, his son, Doug, keeps interrupting. Doug is on the
Hurricane payroll. Instead of earning his living at city hall, he keeps interrupting my
conversations with the mayor. Doug needs to get off the city payroll and get a job in the
real world.
February 21st, 2007: Another morning, more construction noise before sunrise. More
lights are shined into our upstairs windows. This is rude no matter how you cut it. People
deserve peace and quiet inside their homes. I contact new delegate Ted Ellis who promises
to look into a state noise ordinance. When I call Commissioner Steve Andes, he says the
commission decided not to do anything about a countywide noise ordinance because I
live in Hurricane. Because he is not at the commission office during business hours I
have to reach Andes at his other job. Then Andes does something incredible. He objects to
my call at his second job. Commissioner Andes needs to serve the people that elected him
and be in his commission office during business hours. After all, he just accepted a $6,000 a
year raise as Commissioner.
February 22nd, 2007: More construction noise disrupts our day. I place another call to
our Real Estate Broker. Once again I reach voice mail. If we could sell this place we could
move away from the construction zone. My pregnant wife takes the day off from work
because she is feeling ill. The construction noise can be heard in our bedroom where she is
trying to sleep. I e-mail a letter to Walmart's construction company asking them to contain
the noise to their work-site so she can get some rest. But the noise continues. I CC the
letter to Putnam County Senators, Delegates, and Governor Joe Manchin so they realize
how bad the situation is. We will see if they respond.
February 23rd, 2007: Another typical day of disruptive construction noise. I speak with
Senator Hall who promises that he will get me information about a Clarksburg case where a
nuisance law was applied to a construction site.
February 26th, 2007: At 6:13 a vehicle driving across the Walmart construction site
sends noise into our home. Why is it necessary to disrupt a neighborhood at 6:13 a.m.?
It isn't even light outside!
February 27th, 2007: More construction noise disrupts our morning. Senator Mike Hall
returns a call saying the politicians at the Capitol won't vote for a noise ordinance. I
contact Putnam County Administrator Brian Donat and learn that Putnam County
Commissioners declined to put the issue on the agenda. I invite all of them to buy us out and

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live with this noise.
February 28th, 2007: It's before 7:00 a.m. and construction workers are already making
noise that I hear indoors. When are these people going to start showing some basic
consideration for neighbors?
March 1st, 2007: We are entering our sixth month of enduring excessive construction
noise. Again, we can hear the tractors and the alarms inside our home. So far, the City of
Hurricane, its police department, Putnam County Commissioners, and the West Virginia
lawmakers have been derelict in their duties to enforce or pass stricter noise ordinances to
protect neighbors against this abuse. The PCDA also continues to refuse to buy out the
homeowners living next to the project that this unethical agency created. Voters need to
remember this in the next election and vote out the Hurricane City Council members and
Commissioners Steve Andes and Raymond "Joe" Haynes. All are incompetent and unfit to
serve in public office. They have sold out their constituents for a Walmart. There is no
reason why they can't pass and enforce noise ordinances to build the store and protect the
neighbors at the same time!
March 2nd, 2007: More construction noise is too much to bear. For the first time since the
construction began, we leave town for the weekend. My wife bought our home 15 years ago.
She liked the quiet neighborhood. She hung a hammock in our front yard between two
large trees. But the enjoyment is gone. Thanks to the unethical PCDA, Commissioners Jim
Caruthers, Steve Andes, and Raymond "Joe" Haynes, as well as Hurricane Mayor F. Raymond
Peak and City Manager Benjamin Newhouse, our quiet neighborhood is gone. All should be
recalled or fired! We leave town for the weekend. I hope these unethical leaders are proud
of themselves. They sold out their constituents for a Walmart! Voters took care of
Caruthers in November. Peak isn't running again. Andes and Haynes need to resign as well as
Newhouse.
March 5th, 2007: After spending a peaceful weekend visiting family, we are back to the
disruption of construction noise. Tractor sounds are in our living room, our kitchen, and
our bedrooms. If you stand in our front yard you can't carry on a conversation. I call Senator
Karen Facemyer on her cellphone and ask about the noise ordinance issue. Facemyer
threatens me with a harassment charge if I call her cellphone again. Of course she has
never returned a call to her senate office. Facemyer needs to spend more time
protecting her constituents instead of threatening them. Voicemails left for Senator Mike
Hall and Delegate Patti-Ann Schoen have not been returned.
March 6th, 2007: More construction noise disrupts our morning. I don't know how any
reasonable person expects a neighborhood to put up with six months of this noise. We
told our broker, John Deitz, to make presentations to the Hurricane City Council last night
and the Putnam County Commission today about buying out the neighbors. Deitz refused. If
our home isn't sold by March 15th we will find a more aggressive broker.
March 7th, 2007: Another day of construction noise. I will continue to look for an attorney
to file a nuisance lawsuit. Neighbors should not have to put up with all of this noise just
so construction companies can build a project. I contact Congresswoman Capito's as
well as Senator Byrd and Senator Rockefeller's offices. Since the local politicians won't do the
right thing, maybe the feds will find a way to adopt a noise ordinance that will protect
residents. It's a long shot, but something needs to be done. Rockefeller's aide contacts
Cleveland Construction. He says they politely tell him nothing can be done. He refers me to
the EPA which promises to look into the issue.
March 8th, 2007: I receive an e -mail from a national web site,
www.WalMartWatch.com/battlemart. They are adding a link to this blog to their web site. This
means the issue will get some national attention. It's about time the country knows how

11
bad Hurricane and Putnam County allows its citizens to be treated by construction
crews. Meanwhile the construction noise continues. At 4:30 p.m. a huge blast rocks our
home. I call the WV Fire Marshal's office but they closed at 4:00. How convenient is that?
Massive blasts after business hours so people can't complain until the next day! It seems
nothing will stop these crews from disrupting our neighborhood.
March 9th, 2007: I am interviewed on the Tom Roten Show on 800 WVHU/1600 AM about
the Walmart construction. I extend an invitation to Tom to attempt to do his show from our
front yard so listeners can know how bad this noise really is. Later I send a similar invitation
to the Putnam County Commission, PCDA, Putnam County Health Department Board state
delegation, Governor Manchin, and Senator's Rockefeller and Byrd as well as
Congresswoman Shelley Moore-Capito to hold their committee hearings in our front yard.
Once these lawmakers realize how bad this construction noise is (and have to move their
meetings inside-where it is ALSO noisy) they will have a clue as to what we are putting up
with. Time will tell if they have the integrity to show up and hear the noise.
March 10th, 2007: It should be a peaceful Saturday but more construction
equipment noise disrupts our home.
March 12th, 2007: Construction equipment noise wakes me up in the morning. At 1:44
p.m. another large blast rocks our home. This is ridiculous! Build your Walmart but leave us
alone! I immediately change the name of this blog to ENDURING Walmart construction.
Because you can't live with it, you must ENDURE it! It's been several months since I appeared
before the Hurricane City Council to complain about the noise. The incompetents have done
nothing to solve the issue. It's time to throw them all out in the spring election! My wife
comes home from work at 5:30 p.m. She's three months pregnant in a high-risk
pregnancy. (We have had one stillborn and miscarried three babies). She can't sit in
peace and quiet in our living room at 5:30 p.m. because of all of the noise. She bought our
home because it was in a quiet neighborhood. Now that neighborhood is destroyed. She isn't
the type to call city hall and complain but she has finally had enough.
March 13th, 2007: For six months we have endured the excessive construction noise.
My wife has remained quiet. But, finally, she has had enough of the abuse. She calls
Hurricane City Manager Benjamin Newhouse, (who doesn't live in Hurricane) and leaves
him a voice mail complaining about the noise. She is furious. We will see if Newhouse has
the integrity to return her call. And if he has the integrity to finally enforce the
Hurricane noise ordinance. I doubt he will do either. If he had integrity he would have
enforced the noise ordinance months ago. At 1:03 p.m. a huge blast rocks our home. I was
talking to Bob Duff on the speakerphone. His reaction was, "What the hell was that?" THAT
was more harassment by crews building the Walmart. Today I also learn that the Miller family
is moving out of our neighborhood this week. This is the second family that has been driven
out of our community by construction. It is sad to see nice people abused by the work of
greedy politicians. Our home is also for sale. I hope it moves tomorrow. I can't wait to get
out of this mess. I take pictures of what used to be the Fitzwater pond. A beautiful site is
destroyed for a supercenter. It's a sorry site.
March 14th, 2007: It isn't even light outside, but noisy construction equipment is crawling
up the hill destroying our quiet morning. My wife says Benjamin Newhouse hasn't returned
her call. She is three months pregnant in a high-risk pregnancy but cannot sleep because of
the noise. Newhouse won't even pick up the phone and call her back. However, a noisy
machine that disturbed us yesterday has been moved away from a hill next to our home. I
receive a pair of nasty e-mails from an anonymous person upset of my criticism of the
construction noise. The e-mail speaks of how the person is looking forward to the
convenience of a Hurricane Walmart. I invite the writer to cut us a check and buy our home.
It is amazing how these chickencrap people send anonymous e-mails expect US to put up
with the noise.

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March 15th, 2007: It's 6:30 a.m. and I was asleep after working past midnight. But
construction machinery wakes me up, ruining my morning. It is still dark outside. There is
no reason to wake up a neighborhood before sunrise. This is harassment by construction crews
and the City of Hurricane which refuses to enforce its noise ordinance.
March 16th, 2007: For some reason there isn't any construction work today. The peace
and quiet is wonderful! Of course there still is the added noise from I-64 because
workers removed the hill that acted as a buffer from our neighborhood. Delegate Jim Morgan
calls me and tells me that I won't get a noise ordinance. He says the construction industry
has always been exempt. No kidding, Jim, that's the problem! I invite Morgan to come and
listen to the noise. He declines. Morgan doesn't get it. Either he introduces a noise
ordinance restricting construction and blasting noise to the work site or he is part of the
problem. We don't need legislators that don't protect the rights of people on their
property against disruptive businesses.
March 17th, 2007: Two quiet days in a row. This is almost too good to be true! But it is
what we deserve EVERY day! We moved into this neighborhood because it was quiet. We
should be able to keep our quiet neighborhood.
March 19th, 2007: The quiet is over. Construction noise disrupts our morning. I am home
sick. I call Hurricane Chief of Police Sonny "Joe" Sisk and ask him to PROPERLY enforce both
the noise and nuisance ordinance. I reach voice mail. A call to City Manager Benjamin
Newhouse reaches silence when it is transferred to his extension. Apparently Newhouse
believes that ignoring the noise problem is the best way to earn his $61,000 a year
salary. Late in the day I receive a rather vulgar e-mail from an anonymous source. It seems
a few people don't like our objection to construction noise. The same offer applies to
everyone. If you don't like our objection to the noise, come buy us out and move us!
March 20th, 2007: I am home sick again and would love some peace and quiet-inside our
home. But the noise coming through our closed windows makes sleeping impossible. I receive
an e-mail from Delegate Morgan and a letter from Delegate Schoen. Both say they can't help
us with a noise ordinance. Both are wrong. What they won't say in their correspondence
is that they don't want to make the construction industry behave. No other industry would
be allowed to disrupt the lives of neighbors. Morgan and Schoen need to pass a bill that
simply restricts construction noise and blasting shockwaves to the work site. Until they
actually promote such a bill and make an effort to do the right thing, their correspondence
is a bunch of empty rhetoric. I receive an anti-Walmart book in the mail from a reader. We
aren't the only people that have endured Walmart construction while local townships turn
their back on constituents in order to make a fast buck!
March 21st, 2007: At 6:30 a.m., before the sun comes up, we are disrupted by the sound
of trucks arriving at the Walmart site. They have built a road to the work area a few feet
from the edge of the property. They COULD have the road on the other side, where there
aren't any home, many acres away. But, no, they choose to drive within a few feet of the
edge of the property, waking us up. We are beginning the interview process for a new Real
Estate agent. We are looking for someone to aggressively sell this property and get us away
from this mess. There seems to be a collective chorus coming from the agents: "You have a
great location, but it could take a year to sell it." That's not what we need. We need this
place sold NOW! One agent says he MAY have a buyer and will let us know today. Now
THAT would be great news! But then he calls and says the prospect says we are too far from
the Interstate and cannot be seen. However, once the Walmart parking lot is put in
where the dirt hill is, we will be visible from the freeway. I am home sick all day listening to
a chorus of construction noise. Miserable! There is SOME good news... This blog, along
with the rest of PutnumLIVE.com's coverage of news and events has this web site setting
readership records.

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March 22nd, 2007: A parade of trucks across the construction site at 6:45 a.m. disrupts
our morning. The noise continues throughout the day. My wife is pregnant and not feeling
well. I am still home sick. Yet we have to endure loud construction noise in our home with
the windows shut all day. This is how the City of Hurricane and the PCDA abuse the
citizens.
March 23rd, 2007: Apparently this parade of loud trucks and equipment before sunrise is
going to be a daily thing. These crews are showing zero consideration for this
neighborhood. All day we are disrupted by construction noise.
March 24th, 2007: It's the first Saturday of spring, 2007. A beautiful day to kick back in
our front yard, lay in the hammock, and enjoy a peaceful day. Instead, the noise of tractors,
reverse alarms, and other construction sounds ruin the day. My wife takes her 82-year-
old mother elsewhere. The disruption of the construction noise is too much to put up with.
They park an ugly tractor on the hill directly across from our property and leave it for us to
look at all weekend.
March 25th, 2007: It's Sunday. Workers are on the site. You would think that on Sunday
we would get a break.
March 26th, 2007: Workers are making noise before sunrise. It is amazing how rude
these people are each day. They show zero consideration for our neighborhood. Shop at
Target. The noise continues through the day. No one should have to live like this.
March 27th, 2007: At 6:30 in the morning, construction crews wake us up. It is still dark
outside. There is no reason to wake up a neighborhood at 6:30 a.m. NONE! A Realtor looks at
the property for a commercial venture. It's the right-sized property and a perfect location but
he can't talk to his buyer until Friday. An emotional roller-coaster.
March 28th, 2007: Trucks parked on the dirt hill directly opposite our home wake me up
at 6:27. There are 25 acres involved in this project. Park the vehicles somewhere else-
not directly across from our home. Please show some consideration for the neighbors!
Apparently that is too much to ask. There is some good news for the day. PutnumLIVE.com
breaks our monthly record for readership, passing 19,000 readers for a month for the first
time.
March 29th, 2007: No construction noise this morning. Apparently workers are taking off
for the day due to rain. I can actually hear the birds chirping outside our bedroom window.
THIS is how a neighborhood is SUPPOSED to sound!
March 30th, 2007: They're baaaaaaack!!! The peace and quiet is over as
construction crews return and disrupt the sanctity of our home. The noise is unnecessary
and intolerable. Mayor Peak and Gary Walton should have to live here and listen to the
racket that their project is causing! I talk with Putnam County Commissioner Gary Tillis. He
says the county won't buy out homeowners, and won't pass a noise ordinance. Tillis doesn't
get it. He and the commissioners are protecting an out-of-state construction company and an
out-of-state retailer while ignoring the needs of Putnam County residents who should be
protected against excessive noise.
March 3 1st, 2007: Add Hurricane City Councilman Scott Edwards to the list of politicians
that don't take care of their constituents. He says Hurricane won't enforce its noise
ordinance and won't buy out homeowners next to its beloved Walmart project. Edwards'
refusal to enforce the noise ordinance allows businesses to trample on the rights of
homeowners who want peace and quiet in their homes. This sounds like a liberal stance.
Fortunately today's rain has construction crews staying away giving us peace and quiet-for

14
day.
April 1st, 2007: My wife puts on a birthday party for her mother. Nothing is
purchased at Walmart. We are voting with our wallets.
April 2nd, 2007: The construction equipment noise isn't as bad as in past days. But it still
can be heard inside our home. This is unacceptable. If Walmart wants our business the
company should make sure construction noise stays away from our home.
April 3rd, 2007: At 6:18 a.m. a construction vehicle driving on the work site wakes me
up. It is dark outside, people are trying to sleep in their homes. There is NO REASON to wake
up people at 6:18 a.m. Later in the morning my pregnant wife has to go to the emergency
room. Doctors tell her to cut back on the stress. The construction and Walmart issue is a
major cause of stress for her. I call Hurricane Mayor Raymond Peak and ask him "Which is
more important to you, a baby or a Walmart?" The politician properly answers "The
baby." So I ask him to simply properly enforce Hurricane's noise ordinance. He says
"The police "feel" they are doing that." I remind him that "feelings" aren't the issue-
noise is the issue. Peak says he will see what can be done.
April 4th, 2007: The evidence is in. For the City of Hurricane, a Walmart is more important
than a baby. Mayor Peak's promise to do something about the construction noise is
drowned out by the tractors in the morning. Peak has had since October to do something
about this noise-and failed. I understand he is running for City Council under Scott Edwards
for Mayor. They should put up signs all over town: "Welcome to Hurricane. Where Walmart Is
More Important Than Babies!" These Hurricane politicians are sickening. All they care about
is money. They don't care about their citizens! We never hear from Mayor Peak throughout
the day. But we hear PLENTY of construction noise. There is some good news. We sign a Real
Estate listing agreement with David Bledsoe of Family First Realty. The name is ironic since
Hurricane doesn't put families first. Hopefully Bledsoe will get our house sold so that we
can get out of here!
April 5th, 2007: Lights and noise from the construction vehicles invade our
neighborhood before 6:30 a.m. The sun isn't even up yet but workers are disrupting our
morning. "Another day in paradise" brought to us by Mayor Peak, Scott Edwards, Gary
Walton, and the PCDA. All are poster children for a law to recall politicians!
April 6th, 2007: Before sunrise crews are tearing up the hill across the road from our
home. There is no reason to do this before sunrise. Crews should wait for neighbors to
wake up before making noise that penetrates our homes. The lack of consideration by
construction crews is horrible. Shop at K-Mart and Target!
April 7th, 2007: Saturday brings us a break from the racket. Construction crews take the
day off giving us some peace and quiet. I receive a copy of a lawsuit stopping Walmart
construction in a town in another state. Someone sent it to me anonymously. It's an
injunction using the nuisance law. This is very tempting. While I hate to stop jobs from
coming to Putnam County, this project should be stopped because of the noise and other
issues. I am strongly considering using the injunction to bring this project to a stop unless the
crews start working without disrupting our neighborhood.
April 8th, 2007: This is probably our last Easter Sunday in this home. We have about a
dozen family members over. Most comment about the ugly Walmart construction site. My
wife bought this house about 15 years ago. There have been many Easter egg hunts in our
yard. Today is the last one. That's more than a dozen years of Easter memories that will
fade away thanks to Mayor Raymond Peak and the PCDA.

15
April 9th, 2007: At 5:54 a.m. I am awakened by construction vehicles. It's time to review that
injunction that was mailed to me and stop this project until crews show some consideration.
April 10th, 2007: More construction noise disrupts our day. The Realtor puts up the For Sale
sign. I hope we can sell this place and get away from this mess. Mayor Peak, bring your
checkbook!
April 11th, 2007: Another day of excessive construction noise brought to us by Mayor
Raymond Peak, and the PCDA-poster children for recall laws that West Virginia should
have. Crews are up early destroying our peace and quiet. Why don't politicians force
construction crews to show consideration for neighbors? The construction noise for this
neighborhood is destroying our neighborhood. Shop at Target, a company that supports
communities instead of destroying communities!
April 12th, 2007: More excessive construction noise throughout the day. I get an
anonymous e-mail accusing me of "whinning" (sic) about the Walmart construction. (Don't
these anonymous people have spell-check?) I offer to sell the person our home. No response.
Perhaps a local politician sent it? I speak with a local construction company. He advises
that the Leslie Company sells tractor equipment that is "so quiet you can barely hear it
when you are standing next to it." I leave voice mails for Senator Mike Hall, Delegate Pattie
Schoen, and Commissioner Gary Tillis about this equipment. I reach Delegate Jim Morgan
who says he is in Nashville this week and will look into it when he gets back. I invite
Morgan to do something this week since he neglected to deal with the issue during the last
legislative session. I reminded him that though he can't hear the noise in Nashville, we will
be disrupted all week. Morgan rudely hangs up the telephone. Typical lame politician!
April 13th, 2007: Prior to 7:00 a.m. construction trucks wake me up inside my home.
This is rude. But it gets worse. Construction workers are driving large trucks up the dirt
road in front of our home. They are tearing up the gravel. For years we begged the City of
Hurricane to pave this road. Mayor Peak promised pavement but only put down crushed
gravel. Mud is also being tracked down onto Hurricane Creek Road. This is a mess that is
getting worse, not better.
April 14th, 2007: A quiet Saturday. We actually get to enjoy our neighborhood for a day
or two. It's too bad we aren't shown some proper consideration on the weekdays.
April 16th. 2007: Construction vehicle noise wakes me up before 7:00 a.m. With 25
acres they can bring the tractors and trucks onto another part of the property, off of Orchard
Park Road near the businesses. They don't need to disrupt people in their homes! Later in the
morning I am found NOT GUILTY of the telephone harassment charge filed against me by
David Koon of Cleveland Construction and the Hurricane Police Department. This leaves the
City of Hurricane with a lot of explaining to do for harassing me and my family!
April 17th, 2007: Morning construction noise wakes us up again. I can't wait until this
project is finished. Meanwhile I am getting e-mails congratulating me on my victory in court
yesterday. Now I am looking for a lawyer to sue the City of Hurricane and a few others that
had me wrongfully arrested. Senator Mike Hall confronts me at the Teays Valley Speedway
while I am getting gasoline for my wife's car. He says he is angry that I called him a
"sellout" that he thought he was talking to a constituent - not a reporter. First I try to talk it
out. When that doesn't work I go inside the store. Hall also heads inside because the gas
pump doesn't work. I go back outside to avoid him. I get in my wife's car to drive away and
close the window. In front of the clerk (who came outside) Hall comes to our car to confront
me some more. I roll down the window and try to tell him that he had the chance to pass a
noise ordinance but told me about a court case up north that could solve our problem-a court
case that no attorney has been able to locate. (Speedway has cameras that caught Hall

16
coming up to my car window.) Hall tries to tell me that HE didn't tell me about the case
that he told me a STATE ATTORNEY told HIM about the case. There are several problem's
with Hall's stand: 1) Does he tell constituents one thing and reporters another? 2) The
"sellout" piece Hall refers to was NOT a news report but was CLEARLY LABLED "COMMENTARY"
in TWO places. 3) Hall had the chance to sell our house for months and failed. This is why we
changed brokers. 4) Hall had the chance to submit a noise ordinance bill and failed-he says
because he "was told by a state attorney it wasn't necessary." 5) Hall is SUPPOSED to
represent his constituents-NOT a state lawyer. 6) People have the right to peace and quiet
on their property and in their homes. 7) No one is asking Hall to stop construction in West
Virginia. We are only EXPECTING to have peace and quiet while construction projects
are underway. If the construction industry would act in a responsible and sensitive
manner to neighbors by keeping their noise to their worksites, we wouldn't complain and
noise ordinances would not be necessary. 8) We have offered to sell our home to Hall. He
has refused to purchase it while also refusing to pass a noise ordinance to protect us. Hall
can't have it both ways. 9) We have offered to trade homes with Hall during the
construction. He has refused that offer as well. 10) It was Mike Hall's political allies that
shoved the Walmart construction into our neighborhood. 11) Hall has no one to blame but
himself for our frustration with him.
In other news I notice the Mullins home has been removed from its site up the hill. Their
home and acreage was sold so that the Hurricane Marketplace could be built. This will
make our property more desirable as we are in between Hurricane Creek Road and the
Hurricane Marketplace site.
April 18th, 2007: Construction vehicles driving up the hill wake me up at 6:13 a.m. There is
no reason to wake neighbors so early in the morning! Scott Edwards calls me about his
run for Mayor of Hurricane. I tell him that if he wants my support he needs to support the
neighbors on this hill. He says he has been near the site and agrees that the noise is bad
but only has one vote as a councilman. While I am taking out the trash a truck driver has
his truck parked on the hill across the road from our home. He is working on the cover of
the bed of his dumper. I ask him to move it elsewhere because the engine noise is so loud
that I can't answer my cell phone when it rings. The truck driver gives me the "one
minute sign," then goes inside the truck and shuts off the engine. He then shouts to me,
"I'm sorry, I couldn't hear you, the engine was too loud." No kidding! That is the issue!!!
April 19th, 2007: More early morning construction vehicle noise wakes me up. The noise
continues into the day. Just a typical day of rude treatment by construction crews.
April 20th, 2007: The rude treatment continues. Starting early in the morning and lasting all
day construction crews send excessive noise into our home and onto our property. Our
Realtor, David Bledsoe, has added a for sale sign at the foot of our hill. When I call him to
thank him he says there is quite a bit of interest in properties adjoining the Walmart site
and that he believes he can sell our home. We hope so. We are sick and tired of living next
to this mess created by the unethical PCDA and City of Hurricane! I receive an
anonymous text message referring me to a Charleston-area Internet forum where the
Walmart construction is being discussed. As if I would care about the opinions of a bunch
of anonymous people who have never stood in my home and listened to the noise. Put your
name on your opinion or don't bother!!! I contact the West Virginia State Police about the
harassing text message.
April 21st, 2007: A quiet day on the construction site gives us the chance to enjoy a
Saturday. I open windows and listen to the few birds that are still around. However noise from
I-64 that used to be buffered by a hill drowns out much of the sounds of nature. Even when
they are not working construction crews have managed to ruin the sanctity of our
neighborhood.

17
April 22nd, 2007: Another out-of-state company is doing soil tests for the Hurricane
Marketplace project next to Walmart. It would be nice if these projects would use West
Virginians to do the work.
April 23rd, 2007: At 4:09 a.m. air brakes from a truck on I-64 wake me up. I went to
sleep with an open window. Before construction workers tore down the hill and tore out the
trees, we rarely heard noise from I-64. But the sound buffer is gone. For a moment I think
about calling Hurricane Mayor Raymond Peak, City Manager Ben Newhouse, Hurricane
Councilman Scott Edwards and Gary Walton of the PCDA to complain-at 4:09 a.m. but decide
that I don't want to sink to their levels. Unfortunately my consideration for their lives is not
reciprocated as construction trucks on the work site wake me up again just a few hours later.
When I go outside our cars and house are covered with dust blown over from the work site. I
contact Kanawha Stone where a woman admits her workers kicking up dust. I ask for car
wash vouchers. She refers me to James Davis at Walmart who doesn't return my call.
April 24th, 2007: Early noise wakes us up again as vehicles drive up and down the hill
directly across from our home. With 25 acres of land, I see no reason why these trucks can't
come across the site near Orchard Park Road.
April 25th, 2007: Once again early noise wakes us up and continues through the day.
We take a break for a couple of hours to go to CAMC for my wife's ultrasound. We learn we
are having a boy! Too bad he won't be able to hike in the woods across the road from our
home. Construction crews tore them out. And he won't be able to canoe on the Fitzwater
Pond. Construction crews destroyed the pond. And I would love to start decorating his
room. But what's the point? We are selling because our neighborhoods have been destroyed
by the Evil Empires known as the City of Hurricane and Putnam County Development
Authority. I take the night off work to celebrate with my wife. But our celebration is
interrupted by a blast from the site shortly after 5:20 p.m. These intrusions on our life must
stop. Earlier in the day I scheduled an appointment with an attorney to start the lawsuit
process. Since the politicians sold us out I will let the courts nail the City of Hurricane with a
lawsuit and an injunction to stop construction until our home is sold and we move.
April 26th, 2007: Another day, more excessive construction noise. I can't wait for the
next Hurricane election. We will finally have a chance to throw Mayor Peak and Scott
Edwards out on their sorry backsides for screwing this neighborhood!
April 27th, 2007: I sign a contract with a prominent Charleston attorney to sue the people
that had me falsely arrested in January. It has taken several months but I am finally going
to get some justice for the harassment I and my family endured. Construction noise
continues on the work site disrupting our neighborhood. If Scott Edwards wants to become
Mayor of Hurricane he needs to start taking care of this neighborhood. I open a checking
account with Huntington Bank. They are giving out $25 Target gift cards for account referrals.
I will be referring a LOT of people to Huntington Bank. Anyone that supports a Walmart
competitor is a good friend!
April 28th, 2007: It's a Saturday and we deserve peace and quiet in our home. But our
weekend is disrupted by more construction noise coming from the Walmart site.
April 29th, 2007: I wake up to the sound of birds chirping instead of tractors and trucks.
Now THIS is how our neighborhood is SUPPOSED to sound! It's Sunday and workers have
taken a deserved day off giving us a deserved break from their incessant noise! Oops! I
spoke too soon. At 8:00 a.m. my day is disrupted by the noise and reverse-alarm of a
construction vehicle. This is ridiculous! There is NO EXCUSE for disrupting a neighborhood on
a Sunday morning! We take a drive to the Flatwoods Outlets in Braxton County. While there
we find some beautiful patio furniture that we would love to buy. However, we are in a
holding pattern until our house is sold. This construction is holding us hostage. We don't

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want to build a nursery until we move, we don't want to buy patio furniture until we move.
April 30th, 2007: The last day of April brings more construction noise. Both Dolores and I
wanted to sleep in but the noise wakes us up-again.
May 1st, 2007: At 6:27 a.m. a truck on the construction site wakes me up with our windows
shut. I want to go back to bed for a couple of more hours by by 7:30 a.m. a host of cranes,
tractors, and trucks are sending excessive noise into our bedroom.
May 2nd, 2007: Another day filled with excessive noise. Several times while talking on the
phone in my living room, people on the other line made comments about the noise.
May 3rd, 2007: Truck noise wakes me up again in the morning. Our windows are shut but
I can't sleep in my own bed due to the excessive noise. I leave a voice mail for Hurricane
City Manager Ben Newhouse. I contact Hurricane City Attorney Ron Flora's office. (The one
in Milton). I am told he is on vacation and that no one is filling in for him. First the City of
Hurricane allows excessive noise. And they hire an out-of-county attorney. Then they allow
him to go on vacation without a fill-in. More bad management by the City of Hurricane.
Mayor Peak and the council are poster children for why there should be recall processes in
West Virginia.
May 4th, 2007: Another day, more construction equipment noise. Typical lack of
consideration for our neighborhood.
May 5th, 2007: It's Saturday but crews are making noise anyway. We decide to go pick out
baby cribs, strollers, car seats, etc. We are registering at Target and Toys R Us, -NOT
Walmart. It's an exciting time planning a baby's nursery. But our excitement is ruined
when we realize that we can't really take the furniture home since we are probably moving.
Or are we? Our home is for sale, but so far no buyers because Gary Walton and the PCDA
screwed up and allowed too many extensions so the Walmart that SHOULD have been done
last fall won't be done until September. No commercial buyer wants to invest until the
Walmart is about to open. And no one wants to buy our home to live in because of the
excessive noise. The PCDA should be disbanded by the Putnam County Commission!
May 7th, 2007: At 3 :12 a.m. noise from Interstate 64 wakes me up. This was never an
issue before construction workers tore down the hill for the new Walmart. By 8:00 a.m.
construction workers are sending excessive noise into our home. I have to shut our windows
but still hear the noise in our bedroom. Brenda Campbell of the City of Hurricane says she has
been to the site and hasn't heard the noise. I invite her out right now. She says she may
come out later. We will see. Maybe I will make a recording and play it back in her office.
Meanwhile Campbell, Mayor Peak, and Councilman Edwards continue to allow the citizens of
Hurricane to be abused by excessive construction noise. I never hear back from Brenda
Campbell. Apparently she doesn't care enough about constituents to meet with them about
excessive construction noise.
May 8th, 2007: It was a quiet early morning, but by mid-morning the construction noise
was out-of-control. At 12:11 a massive blast almost knocked me off my feet as I was
walking to my car in back of my house. Nobody should have to put up with this abuse.
May 9th, 2007: At 6:27 a.m. our sleep is disrupted by construction equipment noise. At
7:30 a drilling machine directly across the road from our home sends noise into our bedroom.
My wife, who is in the middle of a high-risk pregnancy (she has had several miscarriages
and a stillborn) calls Ben Newhouse and leaves a message complaining about the excessive
noise. I call for Brenda Campbell and am disconnected. I call back and leave Brenda a
voice mail. I later call and speak to a woman that answers the phone. I express concern

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about the noise and my wife's pregnancy. She hangs up the phone. Apparently the City of
Hurricane is more concerned about the construction of a Walmart than a woman's pregnancy.
The arrogance of Hurricane city officials is beyond words. I receive a letter from Roy Vanater
saying we should vote out the entire city council and mayor. I gladly publish Roy's letter. He
understands the issue. Hurricane government must go! The noisy machine belongs to
Kanawha Stone. I call and ask for Art King and am transferred to the voice mail of James
Davis from Walmart. I leave a message. So far he has not returned my call. Does Walmart
also consider their construction more important than someone's baby? I get word that the
blast earlier in the week is within state standards. I speak with West Virginia Fire
Marshal Sterling Lewis, Jr., a Putnam County resident who says he agrees the standard is
too high. He suggests contacting Senator Mike Hall. I inform Lewis that Hall has had ample
opportunity to fix the issue and has done little more than talk about it.
May 10th, 2007: More construction noise disrupts our home. Another huge blast rocks our
home at 12:18. I contact Senator Mike Hall at Fire Marshall Lewis' suggestion. Hall calls
the noise issue "important" but refuses to meet with me until after he returns from a
pending trip. I ask him to call for a special session since he and the other members of the
Putnam County delegation were derelict on the noise and blasting issue during the last
session. Hall says the special session "isn't going to happen" and hung up. Senator, talk is
cheap. We deserve some action. Either you are part of the solution or you are part of the
problem. I also place a call to Senator Karen Facemyer's office. We will see if she responds or
allows construction crews to stomp on the rights of residents who only want peace and
quiet on their property and in their homes. At about 4:15 another blast rocks our
neighborhood. There were three today, according to the WV Fire Marshal's office. I felt two.
This is getting ridiculous!
May 11th, 2007: Another typical day of rude construction noise. I still haven't heard
back from Senators Hall or Facemyer. I am not surprised. They have sold to developers. My
wife is furious that Ben Newhouse has not returned her call. Why is she surprised?
Newhouse told me to move. He won't do anything about the construction noise. To do
something takes integrity. I can't wait until Sam Cole gets elected. He will clean up Hurricane
City Hall. Construction workers chop down most of the hill that buffered our house from the
work site. This is a double-edged sword. It makes us more vulnerable to noise from the
work site (which is bad enough now). It also means we will be facing the store. The one
possible positive is that our home is more desirable for a commercial site. Thousands of
cars will be parked in front of our home. It's the perfect site for a restaurant or retail.
This should help it sell so that we can get away from this mess created by the PCDA and
City of Hurricane.
May 12th, 2007: Construction workers send noise onto our property during the morning.
We should get a break on Saturday. But Raymond Peak and Scott Edwards as well as Sonny
Sisk refuse to properly enforce the noise ordinance. June 12th is coming. We can send them
packing! Hurricane Marketplace has put up a sign at the bottom of our hill. They will be
building 30,000 square-feet of retail space. At least the PCDA sold their property honestly.
When the PCDA sold the Walmart property Gary Walton tried to hide it from the public.
Still, the traffic from the Walmart and the Hurricane Marketplace will further ruin this
neighborhood. Mayor Peak should be forced to buy our home and live with the ugly monster
that he is allowing to happen!
May 13th, 2007: It's Mother's Day, but we don't get a break from construction. Some
sort of work is being done on the metal framework. They should call their moms and
leave our neighborhood alone! Later in the evening more vehicles are crossing the work site
sending noise onto our property. These people are showing NO CONSIDERATION for our
neighborhood!
May 14th, 2007: At 6:05 a.m. I am awakened by a construction vehicle driving across

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the work site. I go back to sleep, but at 7:45 lots of noise from tractors digging at the
site wakes me up. We are still waiting for Ben Newhouse to return our call from last week.
But I am not holding my breath.
May 15th, 2007: Another typical day of excessive construction noise. Loud trucks, flying
dust, major disruption in our home.
May 16th, 2007: More early morning construction noise disrupts our home. Another major
blast shakes the house before 10:00 a.m. Senator Mike Hall returns my call and promises
to talk with Fire Marshal Sterling Lewis, Jr., about regulations that reduce the size and
scope of blast shockwaves to offer more protection to people living and working next to
construction and blasting sites. I also call Senator Pressler who is the chair of the Senate
Judiciary Committee. I ask that the law be passed immediately. People should not have to
put up with the crap that we are dealing with every day. Pressler says it isn't an issue in his
district and won't be "the flagbearer" on the issue. I inform him that this could be an issue
every day and I expect him to support the issue. Pressler sounds like another wimpy
politician that is only looking out for his issues. He gets one thing right: He blames the
Putnam County delegation, including Senators Mike Hall, and Karen Facemyer, Delegates Patti-
Ann Schoen, Troy Andes, Brady Paxton, Dale Martin, Ted Ellis, and Jeff Eldridge for failing to
deal with this during the session. Had they done their jobs properly we would have a
state noise ordinance. But they failed their constituents. During the day we are disturbed
by trucks and construction equipment from Kanawha Stone and Joe Tolley. Calling Kanawha
Stone to complain is a waste of time. They simply transfer the call to a Walmart
spokesperson's voice mail. I leave a message for Joe Tolley. He fails to return my call.
May 17th, 2007: Prior to 7:00 a.m. a large truck from Peerless wakes me up. I call their
office to complain but it is closed. Amazing how companies will wake you up inside your
home but aren't even open to take the complaints. After 7:00 I speak with a dispatcher
named Bill. When I ask to speak with a supervisor, Bill hangs up. First they wake me up,
then I must wait until it is convenient for them to complain, then they hang up! I call back
and speak to someone named Mary who says all of the company's executives are out-of-
state or out of the office. I leave my name and number. I am still waiting for a return call.
More trucks from Kanawha Stone are on-site as are heavy construction equipment. I go to
my office to write this before 8:00 a.m. I will return home in a few minutes where it is
usually too noisy to hold a conversation inside my home let alone try to go back to sleep.
No one calls me back. When I call back after 8:00 the manager is not available. Eventually I
have a nice conversation where I simply ask not to be disturbed in our home or on our
property. Incredibly I am told they will not make that promise. They do say they will try to be
quieter in the future. It's amazing that some people in the construction industry feels they
have the right to disturb people's peace and quiet in order to earn a living. At 4:56 our
home is rocked by a huge blast. It is incredible that the so-called leaders of West Virginia
and Putnam County expect their citizens to put up with such abuse!
May 18th, 2007: Shortly after 7:00 a.m. construction equipment noise wakes me up. I
feel like a prisoner in my home. I would call Hurricane City Hall and complain, but I get a
phone number that says "the called party is currently not accepting calls." That's taking
arrogance to a new level. It's time to send Hurricane a message and vote out Raymond
Peak, Scott Edwards, and the others that shoved a Walmart into a neighborhood with no
consideration for the people that live nearby. A drilling machine with a Kanawha Stone
logo on the side sends loud noise into our home for much of the day. June 12th is coming.
When I leave to run an errand I am nearly hit head-on by a tractor running down the wrong
side of the road on Hurricane Creek Road. Apparently it is attempting to clean mud from the
roadway that construction vehicles have tracked onto the street. I some better ideas: Don't
track mud onto the road! At about 2:00 p.m. a huge blast rocks our home. This one even
scares our dogs. My 80-pound golden retriever mix even crawls under our bed. In the
seven years "El Oroso" has been in our family he has NEVER crawled under our bed in fear.
I contact Terry Williams at the Putnam County Animal Relief Center. She suggests we contact

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our veterinarian and order sedatives for the dogs. I was hoping there was a statute that we
can use to stop the blasting shocks from coming onto our property. Instead I am advised to
give our dogs drugs. This is ridiculous!
May 19th, 2007: It's Saturday morning. Like many Americans I have worked hard all
week and want to sleep in on the weekend. In the privacy of my home I am entitled to
some peace and quiet. But not in Hurricane where F. Raymond Peak, Scott Edwards, and
Gary Walton allow citizens to be abused for the sake of money. Shortly after 9:00 a.m. the
first of several cement mixers from Arrow Concrete driving onto the Walmart site wake
me up. I call the company and they blame Cleveland Construction. However, you can't
ethically blame Cleveland Construction for the noisy trucks operated by Arrow Concrete. A
supervisor from Arrow calls me back and demands that we move our house. Our house has
been here for 30 years. Until now we didn't have a noise issue. Why should we move our
house after 30 years so a company can make excessive noise? That's ridiculous! All we
want is peace and quiet on our property and in our home!!! On June 12th, send Peak and
Edwards packing. Citizen abuse in Hurricane must stop!
May 20th, 2007: I get an e-mail from a reader in Texas criticizing my Walmart
construction coverage. I guess he can't hear the noise in Texas. We start to move furniture
around in our baby nursery. Too bad all of the decorations must be mounted on the wall
because of our pending move. We would have loved to paint a mural. But the PCDA and
City of Hurricane have ruined our dreams. I see a commercial on television about
Subaru and their Indiana plant. It brags about environmental sensitivity and how the
"neighbors" (chirping birds) love the plant. Here in Hurricane hundreds of trees were
removed, a hillside was blasted, and a pond was filled in. The neighbors have been
abused by noise, pollution and blasting that is being allowed by the incompetent Mayor
Peak and his sidekick Scott Edwards. I hope voters kick them to the curb on June 12th.
Citizens in Hurricane have been abused by Peak and his cronies for too long!
May 21st, 2007: At around 7:15 a.m. the constant "beep, beep, beep" from a construction
vehicle wakes me up. Another early -morning disruption from the Walmart construction
site. There are at least a dozen locations where this store could have been built with flat
land already graded and prepared. But Raymond Peak, Scott Edwards and the PCDA
chose to put it here.
May 22nd, 2007: Another typical day of noisy construction equipment. My windows are shut
but that doesn't make a difference. You would think the equipment is in our bedroom. At 12:54
p.m. our home is rocked by another blast. I can't wait until this project is finished. Of
course, then we will be facing a 24-hour supercenter with tons of traffic.
May 23rd, 2007: Construction crews wake me up again. It is impossible live in peace
and quiet while this Walmart is being built. There is no reason why they can't build this store
and allow neighbors to have peace and quiet in their homes.
May 24th, 2007: Another day of excessive construction noise. Now we can add the noise of
city officials. Hurricane City Manager Ben Newhouse is bragging about $600,000 -
$800,000 annually in tax revenue that Walmart will bring. With all of that money, Ben, you can
now put your wallet where your mouth is and buy out the neighbors that you have told to
move! It's put up or shut up time, Newhouse! Pay up or resign! In addition a Charleston
newspaper quotes a DEP spokeswoman as saying that inspectors did not find any
environmental violations. WRONG! The WVDEP issued numerous Notices of Violations
for stream pollution, permit violations, and illegal burning. Shortly after 6:00 p.m.
another blast rocks our home. I wish there was a way of duplicating the shockwaves and
playing them back in front of Hurricane City Hall.
May 25th, 2007: We start our Memorial Day Weekend with more excessive construction

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noise. Crews rattle our home at 7:00 a.m. and continue into the day. Shortly after 1:00 p.m.
our home is rocked by another blast. I call Walmart's Construction Manager Mike Shaw to
lodge a complaint. I reach voice mail saying he is out on vacation until next month. He signs
off by wishing a "Great Memorial Day Weekend." Sorry, but it's hard to enjoy a holiday
weekend when blasters are rocking your home. We continue voting with our wallets. Our
baby is due in September and we register for gifts at Target and Toys R Us. Not at
Walmart. Since Walmart refuses to keep its construction crews in line, we will have all of
our friends and family members spend thousands of dollars at Walmart's competitors.
Irresponsible corporations do not deserve customers. We will support responsible store
including Target and Toys R Us!
May 26th, 2007: Construction workers take a Saturday off. Apparently we will FINALLY
have a quiet holiday weekend. This is the calm before the storm. I am sure they will be
disrupting us again on Tuesday, and once the Walmart and Hurricane Marketplace are built
our formerly quiet neighborhood will be crawling with cars.
May 27th, 2007: Cars are visiting the construction site. They aren't construction vehicles.
Apparently people are getting curious about the new Walmart. You need a life if visiting a
Walmart construction site is the highlight of your Sunday afternoon.
May 28th, 2007: Memorial Day brings a quiet construction site. I wish every day was so
quiet.
May 29th, 2007: At 1:00 a.m. a flatbed truck delivering pipe to the construction site
wakes me up. At 1:00 a.m.! I don't know why a truck needs to be on-site to make a
delivery at 1:00 a.m.! No one was there to accept the delivery. I call Hurricane PD.
Ofc. Chad Runyan comes out to investigate. I hope he cites the driver. Later in the morning
a chorus of construction noise wakes me again before 9:00 a.m. The quiet of the weekend
was short-lived. It's back to rude treatment for the neighbors. Drilling noise disrupts my
home throughout the day. After 11:00 I talk with Capt. W.M. Mullins who confirms what I
suspected all along: The truck driver wasn't cited. Once again the residents near the
construction site get screwed so that Hurricane can have its Walmart. I have a better idea:
Move Mayor Peak, Ben Newhouse and Scott Edwards into these homes and let them
endure this construction crap every day. It won't happen. None of them have enough
integrity to put up with what they are demanding of their citizens. I call Arrow Concrete
to complain about their noisy trucks. No one returns my call. Typical. Walmart's Director
of Construction does return my call when I am in a meeting. I leave him a voice mail.
Hopefully tomorrow we can talk about the out-of-control construction noise. When I come
home late at night a big-rig truck parked outside the entrance to the Walmart construction
site is partially blocking the roadway leading to our home. This is the second-straight night I
have had to drive around a big rig in the same location. These guys need to park at the truck
stop-not block our road!
May 30th, 2007: At a few minutes after 6:00 a.m. Arrow Concrete trucks charge across the
construction site and wake me up. This is the same company that refused to return my call
yesterday. How rude of Arrow Concrete to disturb a neighborhood so early in the morning!
While I am attempting to return a call to a Walmart construction director, our home is shook
by a blast at 1:40 p.m. These guys are incredible! Later in the evening my wife says another
blast was set off, shaking our home. There is no reason to shake our home to build a
Walmart. The lack of consideration for our neighborhood is appalling!
May 31st, 2007: Before 7:00 a.m. construction crews wake me up. It will
apparently be another noisy day in our neighborhood brought to us by inconsiderate
construction crews.
June 1st, 2007: I spend the day out-of-state attending to some family business and other

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issues. It was NICE waking up in a quiet hotel room on my time without an early wake-up
call from noisy construction.
June 2nd, 2007: It's a quiet Saturday morning. Crews are giving us a well -deserved break
from construction noise early in the morning but return to send noise into our neighborhood
around 10:00. In the distance I can see that the Walmart store is taking shape. I have
mixed feeling about this: The sooner the store is finished the sooner the tractors go away
and jobs were be created. But the noisy tractors will be replaced by 24-hour shoppers. We
can't win!
June 4th, 2007: A Cummings Collection truck wakes me up shortly after 7:00 a.m. We
have been Cummings' customers for 15 years. This is a terrible way to show appreciation
for our patronage. Construction noise continues through the day, disrupting our home. My
wife says the house is rocked by more blasting after 5:00 scaring her and the dogs.
June 5th, 2007: Another typical day of construction noise. It invades our bedroom, kitchen,
and living room. We feel like prisoners in our home. The lack of consideration by
crews and the City of Hurricane is horrible. No one cares about the citizens of this town,
only the money Walmart will bring later. The City of Hurricane has sold us out to a Wally
World!
June 6th, 2007: Construction vehicles from Arrow Concrete and Kanawha Stone send
excessive noise onto our property and into our home. In the afternoon more blasting takes
place rocking our home. Scott Edwards, Gary Walton, Ben Newhouse, and Raymond Peak
should be forced to live here and endure the crap their project is putting us through. Water
pressure is reduced because of the filling of a tanker truck with city water.
June 7th, 2007: Another day of excessive construction noise. I am woken up by a variety of
vehicles while sleeping in my bedroom. This is abuse that is being allowed by Mayor
Raymond Peak and Councilman Scott Edwards.
June 8th, 2007: More excessive construction noise wakes us up shortly after 7:00 a.m. It
would be nice to be able to sleep in peace. The same week that the City of Hurricane is
asking residents and businesses to conserve water, a tanker truck continues to spray water
around the construction site. If the city wants people to conserve water, I know of one way
to cut back: Stop wasting water spraying construction sites! The filling of this truck causes
reduced water pressure on a daily basis to our homes.
June 9th, 2007: A quiet Saturday allows us to sleep in as we should be able to every day.
Construction workers have apparently taken the day off. We spend our morning shopping at
Target buying a crib for the baby we expect in August. We gladly spend hundreds of
dollars at Walmart's competitor to punish Walmart for destroying our neighborhood.
Targets are built in commercial shopping centers. Target doesn't wake us up every day.
Target deserves EVERYONE's business everyday! Target is a responsible retailer!!!
June 10th, 2007: A quiet Sunday allows us to finally enjoy our neighborhood again.
June 11th, 2007: Shortly after 7:00 a.m. construction vehicles wake me up. Our windows
are closed, but the noise is so bad that they wake me up anyway. The noise appears to be
coming from the Hurricane Marketplace site-not the Walmart site. Either way, it is a rude
awakening by construction workers. Later in the morning construction vehicles from the
Walmart site send noise onto our property. Scott Edwards has the audacity to campaign
across the street from my wife's employer. He isn't content with shoving a Walmart into our
neighborhood. He isn't content with us being blasted nearly every day. And he isn't
content with the disruption of hour home by construction noise. No, he campaigns across

24
the street from where my wife is working. When I try to talk to him about it, he says, "F-
-- you, fat a--" and Hurricane police officers have to pull him away from me! I call Frank
Sergent, who is also on council and running for mayor. When we are discussing the problem
at 6:34, our home is rocked by another blast. Sergent says there is nothing he can do.
WRONG! He can go to the workers and demand that they stop disrupting the homes of
Hurricane citizens.
June 12th, 2007: Another 7:00 a.m. wake-up call thanks to construction workers at the
Walmart site. You would think the Citizen's Party would have the brains to let us sleep in on
election day! I will head to the voting booth to send Scott Edwards and Mayor F. Raymond
Peak a message. Their rude treatment of citizens will not be tolerated any longer! Once
again our water pressure is reduced because water is being used to fill up a tanker truck
to spray for dust on the construction site.
!
June 13th, 2007: I get some anonymous e-mail (and one signed) criticizing my feelings
about the Walmart construction. I invite all of the anonymous wimps to come hear the
noise and live in this neighborhood! I sign my name to my commentary and blog. The
one person that DID sign her e-mail, I admire for her honesty. Though I disagree with her,
I gladly published her letter. As for the excessive noise, it continues. Shamblin Stone is
running large trucks up the road in front of our house, sending noise inside our house. They
could drive them onto the construction site instead. If Scott Edwards does become
mayor, after an investigation by the Secretary of State about voting issues, I know he will
do nothing for the people in this neighborhood. He should buy us out and develop the rest of
the hill. Then everybody WOULD win. We aren't against progress. We ARE against
construction noise on our property and in our homes!
June 14th, 2007: At 6:31 a.m. construction trucks and equipment wake us up. I also
have another e-mail from one of the anonymous wimps telling me that she used to live
near a landfill and know about noise. So you would think she would understand the
problem! She says we should move. I offer her an opportunity to put her money where her
mouth is and meet with us at 10:00 and buy our property. We will see if "Miss Anonymous"
brings a check. I am updating this at 11:30. "Miss Anonymous did not show up. Nor did
any of the others that are happy to anonymously tell me to put up with the noise. Talk
is cheap! The anonymous crowd isn't willing to put their money where there mouths are!
June 15th, 2007: Another typical day of excessive construction noise. Nothing unusual to
report, just hours of noise on our property and in our home. Our water pressure is reduced
again because they are filling up the water truck to spray for dust at the construction site.
June 16th, 2007: It's a Saturday morning and I am awakened by a construction vehicle
on the Walmart site. Give us a break! We put up with excessive noise all week long. The
least we should be able to do is have a peaceful Saturday!
June 17th, 2007: It's Father's Day. You would think construction crews would take the day
off and spend time with their families. You would think they would give us a quiet Sunday
morning to spend time with our families. WRONG! On Father's Day we are awakened at
6:38 a.m. by a tractor moving things across the Walmart construction site. This is
incredibly rude! So much for Walmart and its crews allowing us to enjoy Father's Day!
June 18th, 2007: At 5:56 a.m. a Kanawha Stone truck wakes me up as it drives across the
construction site. Kanawha Stone owns many of the vehicles that have made noise that we
can hear in our home. Kanawha Stone also was involved in the blasting that rocked our
home for months. Kanawha Stone's President, Art King, personally told me the noise would
"only be an inconvenience." What an understatement! When I tell Councilman Scott

25
Edwards about the truck showing up at 6:38 a.m. on Father's Day and waking us up,
Edwards laughs. He just doesn't understand what we are dealing with here!
June 19th, 2007: Another early-morning wake-up call. At 6:18 a.m. a construction crew
truck wakes me up as it drives across the Walmart construction site. I run into Ben
Newhouse at Mayor Peak's retirement party. Ben repeats his order for us to "Move" away
from the Walmart construction site when I tell him my wife wants him to return her call
about the excessive noise. Ben Newhouse's sarcasm is rude and unprofessional. The new
Hurricane Council should "Move" Ben Newhouse to a new job. I hear Burger King is
hiring! One of the Hurricane policemen tell me the contractor is having to rebuild a brick
wall at the cost of $70,000 because it wasn't put up correctly in the first place. That just
"breaks my heart!"
June 20th, 2007: Construction vehicles wake us up shortly after 7:00 a.m. My wife and I
later sit in our living room eating breakfast and are "serenaded" by the noise of tractors,
reverse-alarms, horns, and a very irritating alarm that keeps going off. She is going to send
a letter to the new city council members complaining about Ben Newhouse's comments last
night demanding that we moved. Cut us a check, Ben! Newhouse needs to be fired. His
arrogance and sarcasm have NO PLACE in city government! But we can't complain to Mayor
Peak at City Hall, they have the day off-while we are stuck with the construction noise. As
we retire to bed for the night, my wife informs me that I don't need to set the alarm in the
morning because the tractors will wake us up.
June 21st, 2007: My wife was right. We didn't need the alarm this morning. The tractors
and trucks woke us up shortly after 7:00 a.m. I meet with Hurricane Chief of Police
Sonny "Joe" Sisk who repeats his assertion that "necessary" noise is exempt under the town's
noise ordinance. But when he provides a copy of the ordinance, "necessary" isn't in the
ordinance. "Unreasonable" is the word that is used. I feel noise on my property and in my
home with the windows shut IS "unreasonable." Sisk invites me to get an injunction. I am
strongly considering an injunction. The law is clearly on my side. This blog will provide
evidence that we have been putting up with "unreasonable" levels of noise for months!
June 22nd, 2007: Another morning of "unreasonable" excessive construction noise that
"disturbs the good order and quiet of the community." Construction equipment sends noise
into our home prior to 7:00 a.m. Again, we can hear this noise through closed windows and
doors. I am strongly considering filing an injunction to force Hurricane to enforce its noise
and nuisance ordinance against the Walmart construction site. We have waited more
than six months for the city to do the right thing. Obviously the greedy leaders of Hurricane
don't care about our neighborhood, they simply want Walmart's revenue. I call Brenda
Campbell at City Hall to complain about the lack of water pressure. She promises to look
into the problem and fax me a copy of the nuisance ordinance. Ronnie Woodall, one of the few
good employees at Hurricane calls and tells me he has moved the water tap for the
construction tanker truck. Thankfully, Ronnie knows how to properly treat citizens. Ben
Newhouse should take notes from Ronnie Woodall. We leave town for a couple of days in
Louisville. We are tired of the noise and are being run out of our own home.
June 23rd, 2007: Despite our hotel being located NEXT to Six Flags in Louisville and
under the Louisville Airport flight path, it is MUCH quieter than living across the road from a
Walmart construction site. We can't even hear the theme park in our room, and it isn't
that noisy in the parking lot. Outside the jets can be heard taking off, but unlike tractor
noise, it only lasts for a few seconds. And to think Mark Sorsaia compared our situation to
the proposed Lincoln County airport. It's a rotten comparison on Sorsaia's part.
June 24th, 2007: I awake on a Sunday morning to discover that crews have parked the
largest, ugliest tractors directly across from our home. There are 25 acres to park these
beasts, but they put them in front of our home. They are an eyesore. Park them in front

The "Enduring Walmart" blog in chronological order

The "Enduring Walmart" blog in chronological order

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The "Enduring Walmart" blog in chronological order