June 14, 2010
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Disaster in Gulf has effects in Cherokee County By Scott Wright CENTRE — If anyone still harbors doubts about how massive the oil spill in the Gulf of Mexico has become, here's a newsflash: it now reaches all the way to Cherokee County. There won't be any oil on the shore of Weiss Lake, but the spill – which federal officials on Friday reassessed as possibly dumping as much as 40,000 barrels a day into the Gulf – is still having local effects. Vacation plans are being changed, or cancelled. Photos uploaded to Facebook and other online social sites by beach-goers from Cherokee County who decided to risk the six-hour drive sometimes show globs of oil on the sands of Gulf Shores and Orange Beach (and sometimes, not). And anyone who owns an oceanfront condominium on the Gulf is wondering if their long-term real estate venture will pay off anytime soon. Local businessman Kevin Turner bought a two bedroom, two bathroom condo in Panama City Beach, Fla. last September. He planned to use the property as an investment opportunity and vacation destination for his wife and two young children for at least the next five years, if not much longer. Now, there is a lot of uncertainty about what the future holds. “From all the indications I have seen, I don't think it's going to be a long-term cleanup,” Turner said. “But it will still probably kill what's left of the summer vacation season.” Turner said he still hopes to take his family to the beach in Panama City sometime this summer. But he doesn't know how much time they'll be able to spend in the surf. “I told my daughter we may not be able to get into the ocean, and that we may have to play on the beach and in the pool and visit the other attractions Panama City has to offer,” he said. “I'm still hopeful that the wave and wind patterns are going to keep most of the oil from Panama City. Not that I'm wishing bad things on any other place.” Turner said he lost the interest of three potential clients over the Memorial Day holiday and has already had to cancel several rental contracts. “One guy said he'd keep me in mind for next year, but that they were going to the East Coast instead,” he said. Turner knows there is oil at some Alabama beaches already, but believes part of the problem he is facing as a condo owner comes from the constant TV coverage of the spill. “I'm battling perception more than the actual oil,” he said. “If you watch CNN you would think oil is six inches deep on every beach from Louisiana all the way to Apalachicola, Fla. But as of June 9 there has not been one oil sighting in Panama City.” An Friday afternoon report on the Panama City Beach website (www.pcbdaily.com) reported that the area is still outside the most recent oil spill trajectory. Turner said he talked with one lady early last week who was lamenting the loss of the Gulf Coast to tourism for the next 10 years. “I told her I don't think they're going to let this go on for a decade,” Turner said. “There's too much tourism money involved for that to happen.” Still, Turner said he has already initiated the claims process with BP in an attempt to try and recoup some of his loses. “I told the guy on the phone I couldn't give him an accurate number of what my losses are going to be until they stop the leak,” he said. “I know what it is now, through today. But someone else could cancel tomorrow. There are still so many unknowns.” Local schoolteacher Russell Payne said news reports from the Gulf region convinced her to change the family's vacation plans. Just last week, she cancelled a trip to Pensacola Beach, Fla. Instead, in a few weeks, the Paynes will make the eight-hour drive to Myrtle Beach, S.C. “We didn't want to risk driving down there and not being able to enjoy the sand and the ocean,” she said. Local attorney Shane Givens was in Panama City with his family last week. He called The Post Thursday morning to report that there was no sign of oil on the sand he and his son Colin were playing on. “The water is clear and the sand is white, clean, and beautiful,” he said. Local mortgage broker Jake Graves, who co-owns a villa at a waterfront resort near Leesburg, said Cherokee County actually stands to gain from the uncertainty surrounding the oil spill. “Just last week, I had a family call and rent our place at Chesnut Bay because they had cancelled their beach trip and still wanted to take a vacation,” Graves said. “If there is an upside to this spill, maybe it will be to help more people realize what a nice destination Weiss Lake can be.”
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