New York Times Nov. 14, 1979
LOUDON, Tenn., Nov. 13 (AP) — The Government overcame the last obstacles to its plans for the Tellico Dam today as Federal marshals evicted the last two of 341 farmers whose land was taken for the 38,000‐acre project under rights of eminent domain.
“It looks like this is about the end of it,” T. Burel Moser, a mailman, said as three carloads of marshals escorted him out of the white frame house where he was born 46 years ago.
Earlier today the Tennessee Valley Authority filed writs asking the marshals to enforce court orders that had transferred ownership of Mr. Moser's five acre property to the Government in 1971.
“I could have gone to jail
but I would have lost my job and everything else,” Mr. Moser said.
“But I still feel the same way about it that I did 10 years ago — to
hell with the T.V.A.”
“I haven't got too long here so it doesn't make any difference,” the 75 year old widow said. “It's awful that this thing has happened, but I'm resigned to it now.”
Crying, she clutched the arm of her daughter as they began walking away from the 90‐acre farm that her husband purchased in 1939. Mrs. McCall said she did not know where she would live.
The other holdout, Benjamin Ritchey and his family, left yesterday after their attorney said that all appeals had been exhausted.
Money Deposited in Knoxville
The money was deposited with a Federal court in Knoxville, and officials said last month that it was still available to the families if they asked for it.
A T.V.A spokesman said that the agency, a Federal corporate utility created in 1933 to develop all the resources of the Tennessee River basin, had set no date for closing the dam's gates to begin impounding a lake 25 miles southwest of Knoxville. But the gates are expected to be closed soon.
The landowners were apparently the last obstacle to the dam, which was begun in 1966 to help bring jobs to three counties by creating lakeshore sites for industry and by opening the Little Tennessee River to barge traffic.
The dam was finished last month after Congress and President Carter exempted it from wildlife laws that stopped its completion two years ago. In September, they ordered that the dam be completed “notwithstanding any other laws.”
Legal Challenges Overcome
The two year delay came when courts ruled that the lake would illegally destroy the home of the snail darter, an endangered species of fish found seven miles upstream from the dam in 1973.
The Cherokee Indians also tried to stop the project, contending that the lake would inundate their ancestors’ graves and the old Cherokee city of Tenasi, from which the state is said to derive its name.
The Indians’ plea for an injunction to prevent the authority from closing the gates was rejected yesterday by Associate Justice William Brennan of the Supreme Court. A similar request was rejected last week by Associate Justice Potter Stewart and the United States Court of Appeals for the Sixth Circuit.
Dam Greed
| For those
of us that were here, we still remember. For those
who weren't, they have no idea. a book is available
that takes us back to the time of the damming of the
Little Tennessee River.
"Dam Greed" by Frances Brown Dorward, is a collection of memories from those who were removed from their land to make way for "progress." Not only did the TVA take the portion of the family farms covered by the back waters from the Tellico Dam, they also took more than 16,000 acres of land that was not flooded. The land owners were forced to take TVA's price which averaged $380.00 per acre often times much less.
The book Dam Greed reveals the second effort to save the Little T by lawyers who saw unique beauty in the river and alternative ways to bring industry and money to the area without flooding. The lawyers, scientists, and archaeologists tried to prevent the destruction of the land, water, farming businesses, recreation areas, and historical sites. They reveal the politics that disregarded the environment, free enterprise, and the Endangered Species Act.
The book may be purchased over the Internet at http://www.xlibris.com or locally at Sloan’s Center in Madisonville or Vonore, Susan Morris Art Gallery in Sweetwater, John Hall Museum in Tellico Plains, and McKenzie Books in Athens.
The cover was made by Julie Jack, a professor of art at Tennessee Wesleyan College in Athens, Tennessee. Water, the sky, a map of the area, and the Rose Island holly are shown with Robert and Bruce Dorward, the husband and the son of the author.
The book is available at Amazon and other outlets. |