‘Just say no’ in Purcellville

Well. This changes the equation a bit, don’t you think?

July 11, 2011

Mayor Lazaro, Purcellville Town Council Members:

I am writing to inform you of our alliance with Sam and Uta Brown, owners of Crooked Run Orchard, in their efforts to preserve their farm.

For some time now, we have followed with mounting disappointment and ire the news reports of their ongoing battle with the Town of Purcellville. Perhaps, like many others in the community, we held high hopes the issue would somehow “sort itself out” and that the Browns would prevail in their campaign. And perhaps, like many others in the community, we also held high hopes that their rights as citizens, rural business owners, and landowners would be preserved.

We reacted with shock as we learned of the Town’s aggressive tactics in removing the injunction preventing the seizure of the Brown’s property, and your subsequent acquisition of their land. In our opinion, you have violated a sacred American right, and we find it unconscionable that the Town of Purcellville has engaged in such actions.

Your quick-take was our tipping point, and we have committed ourselves to assisting the Browns in any way possible. In the short time we have known Sam and Uta, we have found them to be intelligent, passionate, honest and wise – stewards of the land with agricultural knowledge far surpassing our own. Such wisdom should be treasured, nurtured and preserved for Loudoun’s future generations, not abused like some inconsequential aggravation. It is a grave sign of Purcellville’s societal and political priorities that this situation has deteriorated to this point.

Go read the whole thing; there’s much more. It’s an open letter from Stephen Mackey, CEO and President of Notaviva Vineyards and President of the Loudoun Wineries Association. He also serves on the Loudoun Economic Development Commission, the Rural Economic Development Council, and the EDC Marketing and Business Retention Committee.

As everyone who looks beyond press releases from the Town of Purcellville for their information knows, the mysteriously revived “Southern Collector Road” is not really about alleviating traffic congestion at all, but rather opening up more area for the sort of “sensitive” strip mall development on display here. They’re fixin’ to use a lot of concrete – and my guess is that’s why we’re seeing Stephen Mackey, and not “Citizens for (some) Property Rights” coming to the defense of the Browns.

The silence is so deafening, and the hypocrisy so…fragrant, that one might be tempted to think that the organization had disbanded and the principals skipped town with their pockets stuffed full of cash – but wait! There’s CPR Grand Dragon President Jack Shockey chatting up some anti-Muslim bigots and participating, wittingly or not, in the April LCRC charade:

On Tuesday the Town of Purcellville began erecting, without notice, a fence around the portion of the property the Town seized in its quick-take eminent domain action, effectively cutting the Browns off from the back 45 acres of their property. This means that the Browns are being denied access to their peach orchard, hay and other crops at the height of the summer harvest season. As Mr. Mackey suggests, there is really no way to interpret this as other than vindictive, since the road construction itself is stalled by both lack of funding and legal action.

Will representatives of the Town show up to explain themselves on Sunday, as invited (“I would welcome an opportunity to personally hear your responses to this correspondence; therefore I have a video crew standing by to meet us this Sunday, July 17th at 10 AM at Crooked Run”), or be no-shows like the fraudulently-named CPR? If you’re so inclined, stop by on Sunday. I hear there will at least be a wine tasting.

2 thoughts on “‘Just say no’ in Purcellville

  1. McDean Croney

    Did you see the latest on Republicans being bought by M.C. Dean, Bill Dean and Open Band Executives? On June 21st, 2011, M.C. Dean, owner of Open Band Communications held a party for all of Scott York’s election team and it included over $15,000 in cash and in kind donations almost all of the Board of Supervisor Candidates. Ralph Buona, Janet Clarke, Suzanne Volpe, and Matt Letourneu. They have a plan to put off the OPEN BAND decision until after the election. Their hope is they can buy a majority of the Republican Board Candidates so they can continue billing thousands of Loudoun residents for what amounts to be the worst internet and tv service offered throughout the county. It also amounts to having no competition so don’t expect them to actually improve this service. The residents in the communities call them the “OPEN BANDITS” because they steal their money and give nothing positive in return. I might mention that NONE of the Democratic candidates took money from MCDEAN or OPEN BAND!

  2. Eric the 1/2 troll

    Are there not ramifications for this in the unbridled Republican support for Janet Clarke who consistently supports the town’s actions against the Brown’s during her tenure and beyond? Is this the sort of person we want on our BOS?

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