Big South Properties -A Strip Mining Operation

Take a look at the corner on West A.J. near BP in Hamblen County...a strip mine for rocks (Big South Property). Take a look also at the former Lea Industry property on Morris Blvd in Morristown (Big South Property)...also a strip mine for rocks. Now they have purchased the land beside Walmart in Jeff City...a Civil War battlefield turning into another strip mine? All forever eyesores! And aren't they owned by a mining company in KY? What selfish fool sold this to Big South Properties?

For over 60 years as I've watched interstates and 4 and 6 lane roads evolve from the fields & meadows, replacing dangerous winding roads, the process has always required "fill rock" from somewhere. Maybe some of this rock will make it safer for a family to drive home for Thanksgiving. Mine was a two-lane 500 mile trek each way; we surely don't want to turn back the clock. What you see today will be only a memory. A shopping center on flat terrain is now just east of the Holston River on llE, but for several years rock was extracted from it. What a glorious glimpse of nature we had for awhile ! All the metal we take for granted comes from rock either at or below the surface. Only a small percentage actually has the particular metal which is required; the rest is used for agriculture (limestone) or "fill" substance in construction, etc. Limestone is a major product of east tennessee, with thousands of tons shipped all over the southeast by barge, rail car or truck, supporting many families as well.