Sent via email April 8, 2018
OPEN LETTER
Mr. Conner Poe
Norfolk Southern Corporation
1200 Peachtree St. N.E.
Atlanta, GA 30309
Dear Mr. Poe;
Some folks around here will recall my columns printed every week for ten months challenging your disrespect and dangerous actions exhibited against our town of Rocky Ford, GA. [Norfolk Southern Mile Marker S-66.32, Grade Crossing 620250Y]
We have been out of state for nearly two years. My beloved husband had a heart attack. Upon returning home the stress has mounted because, once again, an ambulance cannot get to us because of your trains blocking our Main St. for more than an hour at a time. Our kids are late for school and must be transported by their parents who then are late for work. Folks can’t make it to church.
Norfolk Southern lied to me and “The People” when your liaison Mr. Earnest Leon Jackson Jr. announced on September 17, 2012 that the passing rail would be extended to alleviate the problem. He stated: “… I received an e-mail from the Georgia Division Superintendent. As we have continued to have discussions about how to better position the siding through Rocky Ford, GA, Norfolk Southern has determined that the best course of action is to extend the siding track by about 50 car lengths to the east. Our Superintendent has also requested our Design and Construction Department prepare a cost estimate on extending this siding and exploring the possibility of installing radio controlled switches. Due to the fact that Rocky Ford Road serves as a thoroughfare connecting State Route 17 to the North and State Route 67 to the South, we anticipate the assistance of the Georgia Department of Transportation with this project.”
It’s been over SIX YEARS and not one crosstie has been laid!
Your corporate greed is now more obvious than ever. You are proven liars and are exercising ongoing endangerment of our lives. I shall hold your CEO/President Mr. James A. Squires, your Board of Directors and stockholders personally responsible for our lives and our deaths.
In the Spirit,
Greta Newton
CEO Rocky Ford International, Inc.