I  hope you and your readers will join me in opposing the building of a Dollar General at the corner of Ebenezer Road and Long Bridge Road at the round-about.

The Effingham County Planning Committee approved the necessary zoning change at its March 21 meeting.

A commercial establishment is not needed at this location. There is another Dollar General less than four miles from that rotary and a Food Mart less than a mile away. It is not only not needed but potentially dangerous.  

The proposed entry is 500 yards from the entry to the elementary school on Ebenezer Road. The traffic on Ebenezer Road during school drop-off and pick-up frequently backs up to where this proposed access to the Dollar General is. Imagine when the trucks come to deliver during those hours!

And lastly, an unneeded commercial establishment at this historic location is totally inconsistent with the Effingham County 2020-2024 Joint Comprehensive Plan that was signed off in October 2019 by Phil Kieffer, the vice chair of the Effingham County Board of Commissioners.

A home built in 1872 by direct descendants of the Salzbergers will be destroyed to put up this Dollar General. Yet the Joint Comprehensive Plan is decorated with photos of historic structures and homes dotting bucolic rural landscapes. It would be much more honest if the photos were of Dollar Generals and fast-food restaurants.

 The document states that the vision statement for Effingham County is "a place that people are excited to live, work, visit, invest and raise a family. It will be a community that embraces spiritual and cultural diversity, encourages economic growth, promotes educational institutions, preserves its natural resources, and protects its cultural and agricultural heritage. From its Salzburger beginnings to its location between two beautiful rivers, Effingham County has the opportunity to share its unique historical and natural significance with future generations".

The county is clearly being very successful in bringing in industry and businesses to support its commercial growth. Its commitment to protecting its "cultural" heritage seems to be limited to putting up roadside markers where history once was, but now we'll knock it down for a Dollar General that serves no purpose.

A Joint Comprehensive Plan needs to be in place to insure some state funding-perhaps that is its true purpose rather than building the community that the residents want. A shame for the folks that spent so much time preparing it.

The Board of Commissioners is set to take up this matter at its Tuesday meeting. Please speak up!

Thank you,

Joan Bell

Rincon