Buried truck has neighbors suspicious
 

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Buried truck has neighbors suspicious

BILL STEBER / STAFF
Pete and Vicki Walker stand on a partially buried dump truck behind their home in the Lake Forest Estates subdivision in La Vergne. The next phase of houses is planned for this area. Several planning commission officials visited the site after the truck was brought to their attention last week.



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Subdivision residents question quality of site work for new homes

LA VERGNE ? Over a cup of coffee in her kitchen last June, Vicki Walker looked out her back window and watched as someone buried a dump truck behind her house.

Walker didn't know who the men were who buried the truck, although she said she has an idea. She just sat in the kitchen of her Bill Stewart Road home last June and watched as workers pounded the truck into a huge hole in the ground.

''They were crunching the truck into the middle, dug a hole, put the truck in the hole and put dirt over the truck,'' Walker said. ''I called my husband and told him that they just buried the truck.''

It was unclear last night why the dump truck was buried.

Walker's neighbor Jack Hays said he took a picture of the dump truck before it was buried.

''It's ridiculous,'' he said. ''They don't care.''

Residents like Hays and the Walkers say the buried dump truck makes them question the quality of the excavation and construction work in their new portion of their subdivision.

It's also one of a list of environmental concerns they have about their neighborhood.

The land where the truck was buried, which is owned by developer Amnon Shreibman, is slated to become the site of several hundred homes in the Lake Forest Estates subdivision. Sinking Creek separates that property from the homes along Bill Stewart Road.

Shreibman could not be reached for comment last night. A message left on his home answering machine was not returned, and his cellular phone appeared to be off.

The La Vergne Planning Commission was planning to revisit its discussion on the new phase of Lake Forest Estates when its members found out about the buried truck during its Oct. 28 workshop, said Ronnie Erwin, a Planning Commission member and city alderman.

As one resident at the meeting talked about the truck being buried in the land, he dropped the truck's gas cap on the table in front of the planning commissioners, Erwin said.

''Every time I think about La Vergne trying to work at building its reputation, we end up taking two steps back,'' Erwin said.

''You then get something like this and you have to say, 'Good God, what were these people thinking?' ''

Several planning commissioners then visited the site Saturday, where they saw parts of the truck protruding from the dirt, Erwin said.

''I saw it. When I got out there, a lady had a picture of the truck. That was a pretty good-sized truck. If it had gotten to me first, the city would have dug it up.''

The Planning Commission already rejected plans for the new phase last month because of drainage and traffic issues. Now, Erwin said, the commission probably will not approve it until the dump truck and other issues are resolved.

City officials are curious to know what else, if anything, is buried on that land.

''I don't see a big holdup,'' Erwin said. ''We're a little further from recommending the site. But I can't say 'no' forever. I just want to get things in order.''

Erwin said the Tennessee Department of Environment and Conservation has yet to contact the city of La Vergne concerning the dump truck.

However, the state cited Shreibman last month, saying he allowed construction dirt to seep into Sinking Creek and two tributaries. He also was cited for not seeking approval before starting construction on at least one section for the 2,000-home subdivision.

Margo Rivers covers Rutherford County for The Tennessean. She can be reached at 259-8094 or mrivers@tennessean.com.

Thats just really odd and fishy.