By Lewis Loflin
While Bristol, Virginia wastes time in court annexing shopping mall land, nobody gives a damn about the residents of Clear Creek Mobile Home Park. Trammell Properties snatched it up for an access road. Bristol blew a fortune annexing it at Trammell’s begging, only for him to ditch them and cut a shady deal with Washington County—who coughed up another fortune—with some bizarre sales tax kickback to fund this boondoggle, all on the taxpayer’s dime.
Trammell’s raking in millions in “incentives”—who knows how much?—while Clear Creek’s 50 poor families get screwed. “There’s no way in hell they can afford to move,” says Ronnie Counts, a 17-year resident. This speculative land grab’s already cost us a fortune in legal fees, and it’s a textbook case of corporate welfare gone wild.
This 80-ft.-long home costs $3,000 to move.
By June 11, fewer than 20 of the 50 families were left. One resident says the former owner promised compensation, then weaseled out. “They rented lots till the eviction notices hit—one family was here just six months!” he fumes. His 2000-model, 80-foot trailer’s too big for most parks. “After moving costs, an apartment’s cheaper—I’ll let the bank take it.”
He claims the old owners even tried collecting $195 rent after the notices, and those who wouldn’t pay lost deposits to Trammell too. “They want every last penny down to the last minute,” he snaps. I spoke to Terry Lee, the ex-owner, who disputes some of this and press reports. He says he’ll let residents move to his other parks if they pay to haul their trailers and are current on rent. I’ll take his word for now.
Trammell’s attorney, Jim Bowie, says tenants got the legal 120-day notice—out by July 20—or their homes get stripped and bulldozed. He whines about their “inconvenience,” but Trammell’s already trashing places. Some are abandoned; others are up for any price. Trammell himself won’t talk.
These folks were barely hanging on—Bristol’s dirt-poor workers slaving for poverty wages at Exit 7’s restaurants and hotels. One guy I met works at an eatery, hoping a buddy’s truck gets fixed to pull his trailer. But older units get rejected everywhere. You can work Bristol’s lousy jobs, but good luck living here.
Five families are in deep trouble—disabled adults, three with kids. One woman, fighting cancer, lost child support when her ex died in Iraq in 2003, and now owes less than $1,000 on her soon-to-be-bulldozed home. Another single mom’s crippled from a crash; a wheelchair-bound senior cares for her disabled granddaughter. Most can’t even afford bankruptcy.
I’ve called Washington County Social Services and People Inc.—they’ll try, but they’re strapped. County supervisors? Useless so far. These evicted folks prop up Bristol’s cheap-labor economy, yet Bristol and Washington County shovel millions into malls and corporate handouts, not one cent for them.
Bristol Mayor Jerry Wolf told me tax receipts fund train station remodels and libraries. I asked what that does for poverty and unemployment—he said, “Nothing.” Local government’s in it for themselves and their buddies—they don’t care about Clear Creek. This is the worst case of depraved indifference I’ve seen, even for Bristol. They won’t lift a finger, so it’s on us.
Acknowledgment: Thanks to Grok, an AI by xAI, for formatting. The words and fury are mine. —Lewis Loflin
