Carroll Electric has a project planned for Rockhouse Road to install a 3-phase feeder line that involves the cutting of hundreds of trees from The Hills of Keels Creek to the end of Rockhouse Rd. where it meets Hwy. 221.
On our land alone, near Winona Community building, they will be cutting 100 to 150 trees on both sides of the road. Some of these trees are 50-80 ft. pines, sycamores, oaks and more. Rockhouse Rd. is a scenic drive enjoyed by locals and tourists, loved for its beauty and the magic created by the canopy of the trees.
The Carroll Electric project will destroy this canopy.
Sadly, after many visits from a sub-contractor whose job is to get landowners to sign off on this project, we felt we had no other choice but to sign off on the least invasive of 3 terrible options, which was to allow them to cut the trees along the road.
The other two options involved letting them use an existing easement which would have either taken out all the cedars in front of our house, eliminating the little bit of privacy from the road, and/or lose the maple tree at the end of our driveway.
These options would eliminate a neighbor’s right to regain an easement Carroll Electric now has on his property. With the road option, the neighbor and we will regain the land Carroll Electric took from us several years ago. If we had gone with either of the 2 options we rejected, we would still lose most the 100-150 trees saving only a small section along the road. There really wasn’t any good option and we are deeply upset to have been put in this position.
If you are a landowner on Rockhouse Rd. or do not want to see our beloved scenic drive butchered by Carroll Electric, please let them know.
Wayne Schumacher