Welcome to the Surry County
Chamber of Commerce
The Surry County Chamber of Commerce is comprised
of business people united to promote local business and community
growth and development. The SCCC advocates and assists in implementing
solutions to challenges for businesses in the community.
April
12, 2008
Clean-up
Day
was a Great Success
Thanks to
- Gloristine Evans, Chair &
Betsy Shepard, Surry Chamber of Commerce, VP for
all their hard work. And thanks to all the Surry County citizens who
participated or donated supplies for this event.
July 3rd Fireworks at the
Rec. Center - The Surry County
Chamber of Commerce manned a Refreshment Booth with hot dogs, chips
and soft drinks for sale during the day.
Surry County Chamber
Opposes OLF
The Chamber's Open Letter to Governor Kaine
Dear Governor Kaine;
On behalf of the Surry County Chamber of Commerce, I urge you to block the construction of the Outlying Landing Field (OLF) planned by the U.S. Navy for the Spring Grove area of Surry County. It is the unanimous decision of the Surry County Chamber that this project will not improve business and prosperity in the County, but retard the development of our very rural community and prevent the necessary growth required to bring better services to the area.
Not only will the proposed project destroy the peaceful rural environment we now enjoy, but it also will destroy some of the state's most important industries. As the approaching aircraft fly low over the Williamsburg/Jamestown communities, they can only destroy the efforts of these communities to retain their colonial atmosphere, and that atmosphere is an extremely valuable economic source to the state. Surry County's location, on the opposite shore of the James River, is also subject to this destruction. In 2007, many visitors to Jamestown discovered the rural beauty and colonial significance of Surry. Our county is one of the last rural environments similar to the country the colonial settlers saw in the Virginia of 1607. Our unspoiled cypress swamps and wooded acreage attract many tourists throughout the year, and they share in the peace and quiet of rural Virginia that is slowly fading from our grasp.
Many hunters enjoy the abundant game native to the County and will be forced to look elsewhere if this project is completed. We share a fragile world with the deer, fox, bobcat, ducks, and many species of birds and animals that will flee the area with the introduction of noise from the landing and take-off of aircraft of this type. Our populace, and visitors to the county, would miss these creatures as well, since the ecological balance they create in this very rural environment enhances the natural beauty they provide for wildlife lovers, photographers, and campers.
Housing will be affected. Most people that build homes here are drawn by the rural environment. In an already struggling housing and construction market, fewer job sites means our construction companies and laborers will have to travel to find necessary work. Controlled growth in the housing market means controlled growth for the County, along with the need for increased services for these new residents, as well as services for all who live in Surry.
Agriculture, our main industry, cannot be served by the increased noise levels brought by the air field. We cannot be sure what will happen to the environment with the introduction of the new intruders, but we do know that pollination by insects and birds is essential to crop growth, and the balance of nature is imperative to our farmers.
Surry County will not be served by the proposed air field, and we will only become another fragile rural environment destroyed by blind technological growth.
Sincerely,
Gregory L. Schaale
President, Surry County Chamber of Commerce
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