Thursday night at 6:30 p.m. at Thompson High School will be the public’s chance to be heard on the proposed limestone quarry for the Alabaster area off Smokey Road near Meadow View Elementary School.

It you are not there. If your voice is not heard. And if this quarry is approved…. without your input, you will have no reason to gripe.

If you don’t vote, you can’t complain about who gets elected. In this case, whether you are for it or against it, this is your chance to be heard. If you don’t take this opportunity, your issues with the quarry in the future lose some of their validity.

Anyone who cares about this issue &045; be they for or against &045; should be present at the ADEM meeting.

Middle Tennessee Land Development Company has applied with the Alabama Department of Environmental Management for a 233-acre site. It would be surrounded by the city of Alabaster but actually in an unincorporated area.

Issues have been raised about the quarry’s effect on drinking water supplies of nearby cities, as well as its impact on schools, historic buildings and subdivisions in the area.

Alabaster Mayor David Frings has spoken about how water will be pumped from under the ground by the quarry, which over a period of years will produce sinkholes in the surrounding areas. He also spoke of the dire affects a quarry would have on surrounding wetlands.

But ADEM has already indicated that the quarry will meet air and water requirements. So, if you know of any reason this quarry should not be allowed to come into existence, the time to be heard is now