By Billy Davis

Yet another battle is brewing over plans for an operating gravel pit, this time in the Plum Point community.   

About 60 Plum Point residents met over the weekend to plan their opposition to the proposed pit, said Steve Foster, a spokesman for the group.

The group discussed the county’s permitting process and how to proceed with its opposition, he said.  

Residents also vowed to start a letter writing campaign to the Panola County Land Development Commission, promised to knock on residents’ doors to spread word about the gravel pit, and distributed 100 “No Gravel Pit” yard signs.

Plum Point is located on the southern edge of Panola County, at the Yalobusha County line and the northern shores of Enid Lake.

The organized opposition is sort of a preemptive strike by the community, since the permit application from Conner Vick is set to come before the land commission April 11.

Vick is seeking a special exception permit from the land development commission to operate the gravel pit in an area zoned agricultural.

The land commission rules on special exception permits, though its decision can be appealed to the Board of Supervisors.

Vick’s permit application may already be in question, since the public notice he erected at 2194 Plum Point Road does not meet the standards for posting a notice.

The public signs, meant to inform the public about the public hearing, include the name of the applicant, the purpose of the permit, and the date and place of the public hearing.

Vick’s sign reads, “Keeping Plum Point Beautiful I Will Need To Move Dirt & Gravel To Make A Pretty Lake If Interested Be At Court House 4 11-11.”

“I did it the way she said do it,” Vick said of Diane Stewart, the county permit clerk. “And I added some to it.”

The organized opposition at Plum Point mirrors recent efforts by some Eureka residents to oppose a pit in their community, fearing frequent truck traffic and depreciating home values among other concerns.

“Plum Point Road is the only way in and out, and it’s in bad condition already,” said Foster, who maintains a weekend home on Cheryl Drive near the lake.

“I know Mr. Vick,” said Foster. “I have questions about his ability to legally and properly maintain a gravel pit.”  

Vick’s justification for seeking the special exception permit mirrors the flip side of the Eureka Road controversy — allowing a landowner to use the land as he sees fit.

“It’s in the back side of nowhere,” Vick said of the gravel pit, which he said was used to build Plum Point Road decades earlier.   

Once the gravel has been hauled away, the gravel pit will be reconstructed as a lake and nearby lots sold for homes, Vick said.

Vick said Memphis Stone representative Alan Parks, after surveying the pit, told him it holds at least $1 million worth of gravel.