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Yadkin County denies rezoning request for rock quarry

Some residents in rural Yadkin County don't want to see more mining in their communities. They started groups to grow their grassroots efforts. Image courtesy of STOP New Mining in Yadkin County via Facebook.

A proposed rock quarry in Yadkin County will not take place. The local board of commissioners recently voted to deny a rezoning request that would have paved the way for the project to move forward.

Residents in the rural Hamptonville community worried about traffic, noise, property values, and well water quality near the proposed site. The more than 400-acre tract of land also sits near an elementary school. A group called Yadkin Concerned Citizens reached out to environmental leaders and other organizations for help with their grassroots effort.

In June, the county's planning board approved recommending the rezoning change. But this past week, the Yadkin County Board of Commissioners voted to deny the rezoning request.

Danny Steelman of Hamptonville owns a farm that borders the land where the mine would sit. He says he's relieved.

"It's like David and Goliath when you get into something like this," says Steelman. "And so we are just ecstatic about it, we just can't believe that it happened.”

The company, Three Oaks Quarry, argued that the rock mine fits in with the county's land use plan, would bring good-paying jobs, and provide a local source for businesses that need construction materials.

The company's attorney, Tom Terrell, says Three Oaks made changes to the site and operations plan, and offered numerous conditions to address any community concerns.

Follow WFDD's Keri Brown on Twitter @kerib_news

Keri Brown is a multi-award winning reporter and host at 88.5 WFDD. She has been honored with two regional Edward R. Murrow awards for her stories about coal ash, and was named the 2015 radio reporter of the year by the Radio Television Digital News Association of the Carolinas (RTDNAC).Although she covers a variety of topics, her beats are environmental and education reporting.Keri comes to the Triad from West Virginia Public Broadcasting, where she served as the Chief Bureau Reporter for the Northern Panhandle. She produced stories for the state's Public Television and Radio programs and was honored by the West Virginia Associated Press Broadcasters Association for her feature and enterprise reporting.She also served as an adjunct instructor at Wheeling Jesuit University and Bethany College in West Virginia. She worked with the Center for Educational Technologies in Wheeling, WV, and other NASA centers across the country to develop several stories about the use of science, technology, engineering, and math (STEM) concepts in the classroom.Keri's journalism career began at WTRF-TV 7 in Wheeling. She worked in several roles at the station, including the head assignment editor. She also was a field producer and assignment manager at WPGH-TV Fox 53 in Pittsburgh.Keri is a graduate of Ohio University. When she's not in the studio or working on a story, she enjoys watching college football with her family, cooking, and traveling.Keri is always looking for another great story idea, so please share them with her. You can follow her on Twitter @kerib_news.

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