Campbell County "Science Fair" Report

It was a scenic little drive down to Campbell County yesterday for their “science fair.” Pulled in and was immediately greeted by a Virginia state trooper’s squad car parked dead-center in front of the entrance, lights flashing. Apparently the Valley Link team is feeling very “unsafe” these days. The squad car stayed there all four hours.

Of course the event wasn’t held anywhere near the people who actually have to live with the towers and substation. It was staged in downtown Lynchburg instead. There are venues in Campbell County. They just chose not to use them.

Campbell County resident Shelly Evans stayed for the entire four-hour marathon with me. Her knowledge of the area around the existing substation was genuinely useful. Hard to overstate how much better the day was because she showed up.

Attendance was predictably thin. Turns out most people only found out about the event the day before, and only because Supervisor Matt Cline sent a last-minute email. Plenty of neighbors still had no idea it was happening.

Met John Torbert, he lives three-quarters of a mile from the current Joshua Falls substation. Even with his hearing loss, the constant noise is noticeable on his property. That substation is moving to the new site, being built right in the middle of homes, wedding venues, and a dog rescue kennel.

Meghan, a woman who runs a scenic wedding venue, stopped by after getting the official tour. She showed me a picture of the exact spot where couples get married. In the future it will look out over 175-foot transmission towers marching in and out of a brand-new bulk energy substation. When she asked Valley Link what this project would do for her, the Valley Link team told her that "when it rains, the constant buzzing from the substation would gently lull you to sleep at night.” I had her repeat it, as of course, it was another stunningly insensitive response by the Valley Link team.

ABC 13’s Ms. Vicario came by and I gave her the non-PR version while the Valley Link spokesman hovered in the background, visibly itching to jump in and explain how great all of this is for Virginia. See her report here: https://wset.com/news/local/valley-link-continues-public-outreach-on-proposed-power-line-project-community-june-2026

Three supervisors from Campbell county showed up, I had a pleasant chat with two of them (Matt Cline and Jon Hardie), urging them to pass a resolution rejecting the substation, as Culpeper has already done. Neither seemed thrilled that the event was being held so far from the affected residents. Valley Link, you just keep shooting yourself in the foot.

Ran into state Senator Mark Peake. He told me this was entirely up to the SCC and there wasn’t much he could do. I politely explained that he represents the people who will actually have to live next to these towers and substation and suggested he start making some calls to the supervisors he knows. We’ll see if anything comes of it.

Adel and Ben from Tom Perriello’s campaign stayed with us most of the day and were genuinely helpful talking to people. Ben’s mom sent homemade cookies, individually wrapped with Tom Perriello stickers, charming. I can report that the cookie never made it out of the Lynchburg city limits on my trip home. Ben, tell your mom it was delicious. Tom Perriello is one of the few politicians that has refused Dominion campaign funds and has taken a very clear stand against the Valley Link land seizure plan, we've not come across many state or federal level politicians that have been this firm and this loud. Hats off to him for this level of support. Watch his video here.

I did wander into the venue to have another chat, hoping to clarify previous questions, here's what I found. When asked about movement of the route if they find an environmental/historic resource after the route has been approved by the SCC, they mentioned it could be moved anywhere within the "corridor". After much discussion no one seemed able to tell me exactly how wide the "corridor" was, i.e. something wider than 200ft. They sent me to the routing team who seemed equally baffled. Finally got to an older gentleman who explained that he didn't think there was a wider corridor submitted, only the 200ft right of way. He said that for such a problem, if the landowner would allow it, they would move the route, if not, "the legal department will deal with it.” Comforting.

They were calling me by my first name in there. When I asked how they knew it, the answer was “everyone in here knows you.” Nice to be infamous.

Stopped over to chat with PR Guru Rob Richardson but he was a little short. Again, he looks very tired, blood shot eyes, etc. Hopefully he gets some much needed rest this weekend before the final "science fairs" coming up next week in Fluvanna, Louisa, and Culpeper. Rob, maybe spend the weekend working on the jeep I've seen pictures of, take your mind off this central Virginia catastrophe you're helping orchestrate.

Still no sign of the Buckingham event being rescheduled. They cancelled that one over “concerns for residents’ health" according to Leslie T. Johnson BS, MHRM, RN Manager of Corporate Safety & Health Services at Dominion Energy. Interesting how selective those concerns are when it comes to long-term industrial EMF exposure for the rest of our natural born lives.

Offered car magnets to the people working the sign-in desk. No one wanted one. Shocking.

#BlockValleyLink