Vermont

Approximately 30 residents attended a public hearing at Underhill’s town hall to hear about the town’s plan to operate a 24-acre gravel pit. According to The Burlington Free Press, the members of the Selectboard say they believe the $1.15 million project may significantly lower the town’s expenditures for road repair and winter sanding. Attendees asked for a more detailed financial analysis than was offered at the meeting. They also voiced concerns about noise generated by the site, which is located near the town center. A consultant arranged a demonstration of sound-testing equipment and machinery, but not the crushing operations. That demonstration was scheduled for two weeks after the town meeting.

***Virginia

Luck Stone will temporarily stop mining at its Massaponax facility because the market for stone in this region has dropped, The Freelance Star reports. In the meantime, Luck plans to seek local government approval to expand its mining operation at its other Spotsylvania County location. A spokesman for the company said it plans to file a special-use permit to mine on 28 acres currently used for processing and inventory at its Smith Station-Leavells site. That plant has been in operation since 2002. It will continue to sell inventory at the Massaponax site, and it could reopen for mining when the economy improves. The company is trying to absorb the plant’s six employees at its other sites in Virginia, Maryland, and North Carolina.

Virginia

According to the Daily News Record, Partners Excavating Co. and Frazier Quarry volunteered to restore Harrisonburg-based Pleasant Valley Elementary School’s rutted and uneven track. The school’s Parent Teacher Association contacted them about the need for a new track when it couldn’t pick up the $6,000 to $7,000 tab. In a few days, the company dug out the old track and dropped approximately 122 tons of stone to create a new 4-foot walkway that winds around the playground. The new track is wider than the old one and winds around the playground at a length of about three-tenths of a mile. “It looks like Interstate 81 now,” one PTA parent told the newspaper. “I think it’s important for people to know there are still businesses out there that are willing to help.” Frasier Quarry’s Jeff Holsinger and Partners Excavating’s Seth Berkey said both companies are dedicated to helping out the community whenever possible.

Province News

The city of Sault Saint Marie, Ontario, Canada, received a check for $71,634 from Ontario Aggregate Resources Corp., on behalf of Ontario Trap Rock. According to the Sault Star, the proceeds represent a 6.5-cent fee for each ton of rock excavated from a pit near the east side of the town. In 1997, the corporation took over the administration of the Aggregates Resources Act. The funds are used to cover the costs of developments as well as rehabilitating abandoned quarries.