THE VIRGINIAN-PILOT
Copyright (c) 1996, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: Saturday, June 1, 1996 TAG: 9606010217
SECTION: LOCAL PAGE: B1 EDITION: NORTH CAROLINA
SOURCE: BY ANNE SAITA, STAFF WRITER
DATELINE: SUNBURY LENGTH: 96 lines
In his advertisements, William Towne boasts about ``shattering'' the Gates County countryside this summer when he brings his World Motorsport Jamboree to this quiet community.
It's pure hype, Towne said of his ``regular weekend tractor-pull, monster-truck, mud-bog show,'' scheduled for this 4th of July weekend.
But some of his neighbors have decided to create a little noise of their own.
Residents plan to bring their public safety concerns to the Gates County Board of Commissioners meeting at 10 a.m. Monday in Gatesville.
``We're not against the event,'' said Dale Cronce, who is helping to circulate one of two petitions involving Towne's upcoming holiday weekend event, which he believes will draw between 500 and 3,000 spectators.
Cronce's petition says it wants to expand local public health regulations pertaining to mass gatherings.
Current state regulations barely provide for problems with traffic, police and fire protection, and facilities and sanitation at the event, which will include overnight camping, Cronce said.
Gates County has no formal ordinance that specifically addresses mass gatherings of any size, she added. There are local fire and building codes and health department regulations, but Cronce doesn't think those are enough.
``Our main concern is to get something on the books that will protect us,'' said Cronce, who has lived in Gates County eight years. ``We want to be sure citizens that live here can get in and out of the county if there is an emergency situation.''
Cronce also said she doesn't want to see fire and police services stretched too thin or supermarket shelves left empty when huge numbers of people stay temporarily in the primarily rural area.
Ronnie Powell, a lifelong Gates County resident, also has started a petition. His asks that the event be moved somewhere else in the county.
``It's just not a neighborhood type of event,'' said Powell, who lives less than a half-mile from the proposed venue off N.C. 32.
Towne defended his plans on Friday and said he is taking steps to ensure a safe and peaceful event on his farmland.
Those measures include extra security, on-site ambulances and fire trucks, water storage, site plans, fire lanes, fenced-off areas and a contingency plan for emergency vehicles.
Noise also is being addressed, Towne said.
``The design of the track - it ain't really the way we wanted it to be,'' he said. ``But it's designed for the noise to shoot into the woods and not toward people's houses.''
The Gates County promoter said neighbors he's talked to ``couldn't be happier'' with the motorsport jamboree.
``A majority of the people in the county - they want it,'' Towne said. ``They say there ain't nothing to do around here.''
But Powell begs to differ. He said he has distant cousins who live across the street ``and they are very, very much against it.''
So is a nearby poultry farmer who fears the loud noises from the cars and crowds will interrupt his egg-laying production, Powell said.
Neither Powell nor Cronce were sure how many signatures they'd gathered by Friday because most of the petitions were still circulating through the county.
Cronce's petition asks Gates County commissioners ``to enact a local ordinance to provide protection of public health, safety and welfare of persons'' who attend or live near mass gatherings with less than 5,000 people.
Gates County has about 10,000 residents and relies mainly on agriculture and forestry for industry. Most wage-earners work outside the county, primarily in Virginia, said County Manager Ed McDuffee.
``We're just a very small, rural county,'' McDuffee said.
Other than the annual, county-sponsored Swampfest in Gatesville and a tractor pull now and then, Gates County doesn't typically draw big crowds like the one Towne hopes to generate in July.
``It may be that we need to strengthen the state regulation with a local ordinance,'' said McDuffee, who has not seen the petitions.
``At this point, obviously there's some unknowns. This is the first time anything like this has ever happened in this part of Gates County, or any part of Gates County.
``The citizens don't know what to expect,'' the county manager said. ``And that has caused some concerns.''
Towne, who's been in the motorsport entertainment business for 10 years, believes the 10,000 fliers he's been distributing may be partly responsible for the uproar.
The advertisements boast of ``car crushing mania,'' ``mud racing frenzy'' and ``Harley dragging mayhem.''
``The flier is just so mind-boggling to them,'' Towne said. ``It's making them think crazy. But I can understand. To an older person, you read this stuff and say `Oh, my God!' ''
Powell said he's never been to an event like the one planned near his house for this summer.
``I know some years back I went to some mud races at the fairgrounds,'' he said. ``They got very wild. And that was a drop in the bucket to what this is going to be.''
Cronce also mentioned the track and campsite's close proximity to a liquor store.
``I'm not having anything to do with alcohol,'' Towne responded. ``I'm not promoting, sponsoring or selling it. I want it to be a clean, family-oriented show.'' by CNB