Another Protest Poem

I’m Randy Holladay, I live at 2916 Roundabout Road, in a house I built of tires

I vote at Yanceyville Church, Mineral district and this mega site has lit many fires 

You had a chance two weeks ago to put this to mega-”park” to bed

But, you decided to you wanted to see us back again, instead.

First, Andy and Stewart, I need to say, we appreciate the work done so far

You worked hard, doing your jobs, getting us right now where we are

And, slick move last meeting to let (Andy and Stew)you both ramble on with spin we’d all heard

Sure made it easy to cut into the time we had for an opposing word

And, no potential problems, not one negative word, oh, the site’s just grand

In an earthquake zone with Fork Creek and unconnected parcels of hilly land?

And, a million bucks for land in Quail to access a gas line, what’s that you say?

That’s 3 miles and the gas line crosses Shannon Hill Road barely a mile away!

And who thinks adding more trucks to I-64 will make a drive to the city more fun

When was the last time you had a pleasant cruise down I-81?

What I know about Louisa neighbors and friends is we’re all pretty self-reliant

We don’t like big business or government or mega-industry, and we’re quite defiant!

Bringing in big corporations, giving them tax breaks, at first, seems just fine

But, most don’t care about wages, or local input, just their bottom line

Louisa’s strength is rural ag/forest land and a lake, for tourists, to raise kids or retire

The county’s full of craftsmen, artists, farmers, handy folk with services for hire

If you surveyed the county for reasons or desires to live here I would bet

That in the box for industrial growth, not one check would you get

There’s no history here of assembly line or factory workers, it’s not what we’re about

And, 8 years from now when no one has come, desperation will set in, no doubt

Maybe Amazon is coming or Target or Tesla, yeah, right!

More like Acme Chemical Disposal, we’ll keep the smoke stacks out of sight 

People here are patient, planning long term, not looking to get rich real quick

Farmers and timber folk think in seasons and years, and don’t hear the clock tick

With limited time I didn’t get to mention the James River pipeline when last I spoke

But, tonight since that’s the real issue with this plan, I’m going to take a poke

The end game’s really to extend the water line not to Zion but Shannon Hill here

To try to justify all the tax money you spent on that mess, it’s now coming clear

Maybe let’s end this IDA so few seem to want and we really don’t need

And create a Rural Development Authority, slow and steady is what we plead.

What kind of Louisa do you want your grandkids grandkids to see?

Still lots of trees and farms or more corporate, sprawling growth, will it be?

Because if you force this through, it’s growth that we will get, and more

More subdivisions, and traffic and schools and you’ll have to lock your door

So, to wrap it up, there’s just one last thing I want to know

Is Main St. a better place with an Olive Garden or an Obrigado?

You can’t have both!

And, if it’s Olive Garden, why are you living here?