It’s clear to me the minority of people who are opposed to the Putnam County Stone quarry don’t understand how quarries really work. But as a local truck driver who hauls stone and gravel from quarries across Georgia, I do.
Concerns about truck traffic at all hours are just wrong. Most of the quarries I haul for stop loading at 4 p.m., and the proposed quarry here would do the same. It would also have paved roads in and out, tire washes, and another 1,000 feet of pavement before turning onto Dennis Station Road, which all prevent the imagined dust problems I’ve heard complaints about. Also being located on the south end will allow trucks not to travel through Putnam County to reach the mines north of town.
Right now, getting stone and gravel to Putnam County is more expensive than it needs to be. Long hauls cost a lot more money and only increase traffic. It costs me about $2 a minute on jobs just to cover the diesel fuel in my truck. The further away the quarries are, the more I have to charge for pick-ups and deliveries.
Having our own quarry will make projects cheaper, and it will bring me and other local truckers and carriers muchneeded work. Over the years, we’ve lost hundreds of jobs due to the closures like Georgia Power and Horton Homes. But every time someone proposes a project that would create the jobs we need; the county rejects it.
I’m trying to make a good living and start a family, but there aren’t a lot of opportunities for 80% of the local working population like me. It’s become a jobs desert, and food, fuel, and utility bills keep getting more expensive. The 20% of the county that own homes on the lake don’t care about the working people in this county.
I support the quarry because it will have good-paying jobs and create opportunities for local truckers like me to work closer to home, have more hauls, and take pride in delivering less-expensive materials our county needs to grow. I do know we need a rock quarry.It provides building materials that are part of our foundation.
Brandon Walters A Putnam County Resident