
                         Roanoke Times
                 Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.

DATE: TUESDAY, March 17, 1992                   TAG: 9203170253
SECTION: VIRGINIA                    PAGE: B3   EDITION: NEW RIVER VALLEY 
SOURCE: 
DATELINE: BEDFORD                                LENGTH: Short

LAKE PARK INJUNCTION REFUSED

The owner of Bedford County Lake cannot be barred from doing what he wants with his property, a judge has ruled.

Circuit Judge William Sweeney Monday turned down a request by the former owner of the historic lake and recreation park for an injunction against the property's current owners, Louis and Catherine Goodwin.

Former owners James and Katherine Sue Burks had asked Sweeney to prevent Goodwin from chopping down trees on the land or from removing sand, stone or other minerals from it.

"I do not feel that this court or any other court has the jurisdiction here to tell Mr. Goodwin what he can do or cannot do with his property so long as he does not commit waste or illegal acts thereupon," Sweeney wrote in his decision.

Pleased with the ruling, Goodwin said Monday that he had cut down 2 1/2 acres of timber only to "expose views" of a beautiful waterfall and to make room for a future pond on the property.

If he is granted appropriate mining permits, Goodwin said he will remove silt and debris from the bottom of the lake only in order to clean it up.

The dredging and cleaning process will cost Goodwin about $500,000 and some of the sand and debris will be sold, if possible, to help pay for that, Goodwin said.

That process will not lead to dust in the air or produce any more noise "than a tractor" would, Goodwin said.

by CNB