Monthly Recap: September

And an important Zebulon update

Waterton Road facing south, the proposed Zebulon site is at left

Hello Subscribers! September was a busy month for The Lantern and I want to discuss what we have on the docket.

First some exciting news: The Lantern obtained our 501(c)(3) status as a nonprofit organization! This will make us eligible for tax-deductible donations, certain grants, and nonprofit news initiatives I am very excited about.

One Key Zebulon Development

We are working on continuing coverage of the Zebulon Sports Complex but one thing I want to put in the conversation before we have a full Zebulon story again is that Douglas County, in documents to solicit bids from contractors, admitted the land adjacent to Zebulon has “previously undocumented instances of Perfluorooctanoic Acid, polyaromatic hydrocarbon, lead, and asbestos.”

“Zebulon Regional Sports Complex Project Design-Build – Special Conditions”

Yes… I had to look up what Perfluorooctanoic Acid (PFOA) and polyaromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs) are too. In short, PFOA is carcinogenic, can affect infant’s immune systems, and cause liver damage. You’ll find PFOA in a number of consumer products though, like nonstick coatings. PAHs are also carcinogenic when you are exposed long-term, but short-term exposure can cause respiratory issues, cardiovascular disease, and fertility issues.

Lead and asbestos are also not things you would want at or near a little league field in quantities you need to disclose to the public.

My questions are: 1) how did they do an environmental review of land for Zebulon and catch contaminants on neighboring land?; and 2) why are they putting this in bid documents if they claim it’s not an issue for Zebulon?

It’s unclear if the “neighboring land” means the parcels slated for commercial development. We are digging into it.

I want to acknowledge former county commissioner Lora Thomas for continuing to track down information on Zebulon and many other issues; she collected the information that demonstrates this contamination issue. Consider subscribing to her newsletter by visiting LoraThomas.org. It’s not a “journalistic” newsletter per se, but she is publishing a lot of compelling, factual information.

The People Behind The Lantern

I have received a noticeable amount of emails or comments asking for us to discuss “Who is behind The Lantern.” We are onboarding a third contributor, Steve Boand, and we will do a summary of everyone involved in The Lantern once he has settled in and published what he is working on; we expect to see his first article in November.