Wal-Mart Fight: Rebuffed preservationists remain willing

Source: Free Lance-Star (1-26-09)   Fredericksburg

Its recent peace overture got a frosty reception, but the Wilderness
Battlefield Coalition remains committed to working with Orange County on
developments proposed at the gateway to the Civil War site.

Two weeks ago, three Orange supervisors slammed the coalition's offer to
collaborate on planning the area's future, calling it a ruse to delay their
decision on a proposed retail center anchored by a 138,000-square-foot
Wal-Mart Supercenter. One called the offer a "cheap ploy to slow down
Wal-Mart."

Not so, coalition leaders say.

"These things aren't done overnight," said Jim Campi of the Civil War
Preservation Trust. "But we're committing to a time frame of six months,
which is pretty quick in the planning world."

The coalition's nonprofit groups and the National Park Service are offering
to finance a $40,000 effort to help Orange find ways to create jobs and
boost its economy while preserving the scenic landscapes that make the
Wilderness battlefield the county's No. 1 tourist attraction, Campi said.
All of the money, including the Park Service funds, would come from private
donations.

"It's a good-faith effort, not a delaying tactic," said Russ Smith,
superintendent of Fredericksburg & Spotsylvania National Military Park. "The
people who are trying to put this together honestly want to try to create a
vision for the gateway to the park that can be economically viable, yet
respectful of the area."

Posted on History News Network ( http://hnn.us ) Wednesday, January 28, 2009


-- 
Jon Kukla
www.JonKukla.com

______________________________________
To subscribe, change options, or unsubscribe please see the instructions at
http://listlva.lib.va.us/archives/va-hist.html