Spark It Up!!!: Smelly Hippies Protest Power Plant and Go To Jail

The hippies did not block Rt 58, nor did they keep workers from doing their jobs. They did in fact trespass on Dominion property and cost us Wise County tax payers big bucks. These idiots caused a problem that 50 law officers had to take time to address. Add to that a fire department and Haz Mat.

All the protesters have been freed from the barrels, arrested and are being processed in Wise, Va. The 11 will have the opportunity to post bond or be taken to the regional jail in Duffield, Va.

The protesters range in age from 20 to 32 and are from locales ranging from New York state to South Carolina, including one woman who lives in Appalachia, Va.

An official with a hazardous-materials team has been called to the power plant because firefighters smelled an unknown substance in one of the barrels that protesters had locked themselves to. Link

Smelly hippies. Even the Bristol Herald Courier has this editorial

Protestors Wasted Time, Money

Published: September 16, 2008

We understand the angst created by the coal plant under construction by Dominion Virginia Power in Wise County. More than 45,000 Virginians signed a petition opposing the Virginia City Hybrid Energy Center near St. Paul, Va.

But chaining yourself to a barrel on plant property, while peaceful, is not the way to express that outrage. It wastes a lot of taxpayers’ money and ties up emergency service workers – not a winning strategy if you hope to enlist more supporters for your cause.

The protesters, mostly from out of state, who descended on the plant construction site early Monday brought with them 55-gallon steel drums with which to lock themselves.

Not only will they leave Southwest Virginia with arrest records, but they could be forced to pay restitution for the costs of the law enforcement and EMS response and for any damage done to the plant.

It’s an option that Wise County Commonwealth’s Attorney Ron Elkins is mulling and would be reasonable to invoke.

I encourage Wise County citizens to contact Commonwealth’s Attorney Ron Elkins and let him know how you feel.