John Reuter had planned to continue spending more time with his grandchildren, enjoying retirement with his wife Sharon on their 5-acre property in Dickson County.
The Reuters moved from Nebraska about 10 years ago to their home on Nails Creek Road to be near their daughter and grandchildren.
One of his co-workers, in the months leading up to Reuter’s retirement years ago, said “If you are going to buy a house near your grandkids, you can’t buy a house. You have to buy a destination for those grandkids.”
“That kind of hit me,” Reuter said. “My grandkids were all small. None of them were in school yet.”
He bought the residence without ever visiting the land, which has a pond the grandkids use for fishing and kayaking, as well as trails and a pool the family enjoys.
However, that relaxed lifestyle changed abruptly in April. Reuter was about to start a fight against a billion dollar company.
At that time, Reuter talked to a neighbor who heard a company, Titan Partners, was seeking to buy land around 2-Mile Road, near Reuter’s home. Titan Partners, a subsidiary of Buckeye Partners, was trying to improve and extend the road for access to a fuel terminal planned on a 147-acre site at the intersection of Interstate 40 and State Route 840 in Dickson County.
Reuter and other residents heard the terminal plans were being presented at an April county planning commission meeting, which he attended.
“It was all word of mouth,” Reuter said.
The planning commission gave its approval that day, and while attending Reuter heard about the plans for an estimated 100 tanker trucks on 2-Mile Road to pick up fuel.
Reuter left that meeting, and his life was about to change.
“I would not ask one of (my grandchildren) to drive up and down 2-Mile Road if I knew 85,000 trucks a year were going to be driving on it. And that’s the way you get here,” Reuter said.
Reuter was about to meet many more Dickson County residents, appear on Facebook Live and make presentations to large groups and, most recently, do an on-air interview with local WDKN radio station.
But before Reuter reached that point, he had to go door to door.
More than 5,000 members
After the commission’s vote, Reuter wrote a letter to “everybody I could think of,” which included county and city officials as well as area media. But he said that wasn’t enough.
“Over the weekend, it started bugging me,” Reuter said.
He wrote and printed out information about the terminal, pointing out potential environmental issues with the thousands of gallons of fuel stored in the area. Reuter then walked the rural neighborhood, handing out the flyer and talking to neighbors.
Next, Reuter, who admits he’s not a social media expert, said he “learned real fast” and created the Stop Dickson Fuel Terminal” Facebook page, which now has more than 5,000 members.
“Since then I’ve had a lot of help,” said Reuter, and he explained how so many people in Dickson County have rallied around the cause.
The Facebook page gained traction quickly, he said.
“We had hundreds of people on there in the first two or three weeks,” Reuter said.
Reuter said he observed comments on the Facebook page during that time and then reached out to a few people he believed were passionate about stopping the terminal.
The coronavirus made meeting more difficult, but he said about 15 people met outside in an open area and planned out what to do next.
Reuter declined to name other people involved in the group but he said there’s a “core” of about 30 people. Five members of that group formed the Turnbull Preservation Group, which Reuter is heading up.
Votes in group's favor
Since that time, the group, and many other supporters, have been outside of and in attendance at various government meetings to show solidarity in fighting the terminal.
They’ve hired an attorney, Dickson-based Rodger Waynick, who Reuter said is basically working for free.
“We have some amazing people in our group, I will tell you that,” Reuter said.
Last week, the group created a website, stopdicksonfuelterminal.com.
The group and area neighbors have fought the county planning commission in court which resulted in a June vote that overturned the April vote. And a weight limit restriction vote was approved for 2-Mile Road by the county commission Monday night.
Reuter said in addition to the road traffic issue, he’s heard residents talk extensively about the possible environmental impacts.
“I think the biggest factor is the environmental concerns. The water and the air,” Reuter said.
The Water Authority of Dickson County chairman recently spoke out against the proposed terminal site, stating he’s worried about the impact to nearby creeks and the water supply.
Reuter knows there are more meetings, discussions, and possible legal issues to come.
His group has started a GoFundMe account online and will have another fundraiser Sunday at Moss & Embers in Burns. Reuter said more than 50 local businesses have donated items to be auctioned off, and Front Porch Restaurant is providing food.
The group states that most of the money goes toward legal expenses as well as some funds for marketing materials for signs and banners.
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July 30, 2020 at 01:45AM
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Burns grandfather launches effort to stop Dickson fuel terminal, thousands join in - Tennessean
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