Not here. That was the sentiment expressed Thursday by a local businesswoman who does not want a proposed solid waste transfer station in her neighborhood.

Jo Linda Heaberlin, owner and operator of JoLinn Health Center, 1050 Clinton St., told the Lawrence County Commission that the transfer station would seriously disrupt the quality of life in the area surrounding it.

The transfer station would be built next door to the county dog pound on Adams street, about a block and a half away from the convalescent home. It would be a drop off point for county residents who want to dispose of trash but do not want to haul it all the way to landfills in Kentucky.

&uot;This is a home for 159 people,&uot; Heaberlin said of her health center. &uot;I don’t feel like we should be subjected to a dumping site near us. You can’t tell me this isn’t going to devalue our property. Ours is a business, a legacy from my father. You might think my concerns are silly but it’s the way I feel.&uot;

Heaberlin noted that she employs 215 people and, as a business, should be given some consideration in the matter.

Another local businessman,

Dan Bolender attended the meeting Thursday but did not address the commission.

He showed an Ironton Tribune reporter pictures of the transfer station in Scioto County, and pointed out that, while efforts were made to keep the site clean, there was still evidence of litter around the place. He worries the same thing may happen at the Lawrence County transfer station.

&uot;This one is built in an industrial area,&uot; Bolender said. &uot;That’s where ours belongs.&uot;

Bolender has purchased the old Alpha Portland Cement Plant site, and intends to develop a residential subdivision there.

He is concerned about what a transfer station would do to property values in the area, and that the county paid too much for the property they purchased for it.

&uot;I don’t think any commissioner intended to disrupt a community, much less a nursing home,&uot; Commission President Jason Stephens told her. &uot;It was never our intent to put this down anyone’s throat.&uot;

The county had applied to the state for a grant to pay for the project, but received a loan

instead.

The commission agreed to discuss the matter with Lawrence-Scioto Solid Waste Director Doug Cade, to see if the terms of the loan would allow a change in the site of the transfer station. Teresa Moore/The Ironton Tribune