By Billy Davis

The issue of a gravel mining operation in the Eureka community is ratcheting up, with a petition circulating to enlist opposition to the proposed site.

The property’s two landowners, meanwhile, have pleaded their case to the county supervisor whose opinion may sway the final decision. 

At issue is a plan by Memphis Stone and Gravel Co. to purchase 200 acres on Eureka Road from landowners Lamar “Boss” Johnson and Martin “Slick” Willingham.

The area is zoned agricultural, and Memphis Stone is seeking a special exception permit from the county.

The county land commission, after tabling any action at its April 11 meeting, is expected to discuss the controversial topic when it meets May 11 in Batesville.

The land commission, in a rare move, turned down a motion by commissioner Johnny Fowler to approve the application. The commission then voted to table the issue until May.

At a public hearing, eight residents – most of them from an adjoining subdivision – spoke in opposition to Memphis Stone’s application. Their concerns ranged from a dip in property values to public safety.

The petition was started by Good Hope Road residents Harold “Pee Wee” Johnson and his wife, Martha Lynn.

The Johnsons said they, along with other residents, are worried about the danger posed by the gravel trucks that will travel the straight but hilly five-mile roadway which intersects with Eureka Road near the site of the proposed gravel pit.

Memphis Stone officials have said Good Hope Road is the expected main route of travel, with as many as 100 gravel trucks visiting the gravel pit a day. 

“Good Hope (Road) is a racetrack now anyway, and they want to put 100 trucks a day on it,” said Pee Wee Johnson.

“It’s a safety issue,” he continued. “I told Martha Lynn, with the trucks on the road, that it would be too dangerous to haul hay on my tractor.”

Martha Lynn Johnson said she is aware that a public hearing was held at the April land commission meeting, which means she will be unable to present the petition at the May 11 meeting

She plans instead to mail a copy of the petition to commissioners, she said. 

To rally Good Hope residents, the Johnsons said they are also planning a “save our community” meeting at their home on Sunday, May 3.

Panola County Supervisor Kelly Morris said he has heard from Johnson and other residents who oppose the plan. But Morris said he has also heard from Johnson and Willingham, too.

“I really haven’t felt the pressure yet because it’s in the land commission’s hands,” Morris said. “But I know I’ll feel the pressure when they make their decision.”

A land commission decision is technically a recommendation to the Board of Supervisors, which can then uphold the recommendation or vote it down.

The board of supervisors, before voting on an issue, sometimes defers to the supervisor whose district would be impacted by their decision.

The final decision, then, could rest with Morris, now serving his first term in office.

The Eureka gravel pit issue surfaced briefly at a supervisors meeting last week, when Morris and his colleagues studied South Panola bus routes on Eureka and Good Hope roads. Five buses travel the roadways, they said.

Road manager Lygunnah Bean, a school board trustee, provided the list to the board after residents voiced concern at the April land commission meeting.

After the meeting, Morris said he had requested the list of bus routes to better understand the safety issue.

“It still didn’t give me a clear picture,” Morris explained. “We have the bus routes, but I also want to see how many bus stops are on those roads.”

According to Lamar Johnson, Memphis Stone operates a “first-class operation” and the company has abided by past stipulations of the land commission regarding the company’s Highway 35 mine.

“When they reclaim a site, it looks better than it did,” he said. “It looks like a golf course.”

Johnson also suggested that the county should reduce the speed limit on Good Hope Road, from 55 MPH to 45 MPH, to slow down the gravel trucks. 

“I might be the first to get a ticket, but that would be the right thing to do,” Johnson said, though he acknowledged that state law does not permit radar use in the county.

Willingham, the second landowner, has told The Panolian he would not comment about the proposed gravel pit.