FILE - The five Republican members of the Georgia Public Service Commission discuss a rate increase for Georgia Power Co. to pay costs at the utility’s Vogtle nuclear power plant, Dec. 19, 2023 in Atlanta. ATLANTA — Residents in one of Georgia’s poorest counties say they will appeal a ruling that allows a railroad to forcibly purchase portions of their land.
“Eminent domain has been abused consistently in our nation’s history,” Bill Maurer, an Institute for Justice lawyer representing property owners Diane and Blaine Smith, told The Associated Press. “We’re going to be fighting this for as long as they can.”No. 23 Georgia Tech is ranked for first time since 2015, and faces road test against Syracuse
“Although we do not take the use of eminent domain lightly, without it we would not have roads, airports, electrical lines, gas lines, or a host of other infrastructure that allows our communities to thrive,” Benjamin Tarbutton III, president of the Sandersville Railroad, said in a statement. Janet Paige Smith, who formed the No Railroad in Our Community Coalition to organize against the railroad’s construction, said Sparta residents don’t want more noise near their homes. And they worry about the expansion of an already disruptive quarry, which the railroad would serve.