Block · one region of the page, as the scanner read it. It may hold a whole story, part of one, several, or an advertisement; stitching blocks into articles is the next step. Text is supplied OCR.
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several times during the meeting, alternatives proposed by the public and the Planning Commission were dismissed by Cingular Representative Gary Seagar as “prohibitively expensive” or not feasible because Sprint, who owns the Rose Hill silo, would not find them acceptable.
The Rose Hill Silo looks like a silo because Rappahannock County’s ordinance encourages cellular companies to hide antennas and do all they can to preserve the agricultural nature of Rappahannock’s view scape. That ordinance was written in response to overwhelming pyblic concern about the visual cost of allowing massive cellular towers into the county. If Seagar and Cingular find the cost of easing those concerns too high, why should the public of Rappahannock have to look at whatever eyesore they propose to construct?
Cellular phone coverage is often described as a public safety issue, since increased coverage allows a wider area of people to use their phones in emergencies, and gives additional communication options to emergency responders. However, Seagar failed to demonstrate that the additional antennas would provide any coverage to regions of the county not already covered by Sprint. He also explicitly stated that Cingular’s goal for the additional coverage was to make sure that Cingular users driving on US211 could have complete coverage for their cell phones. That’s hardly the same as bringing cellular service to senior citizens living alone in the hollows, which might be the only valid reason for allowing Cingular to fill the countryside with giant ugly antennas.
If Cingular won’t work with the county, why should the people of Rappahannock allow Cingular to profit at the view shed’s expense?
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