Friday, April 29, 2022

Demolition of Historic House Rankles Watauga Commish Primary

 

Turner House before demolition


Eric Plaag, the chair of Boone's Historic Preservation Commission, president of the Watauga County Historical Society, and a noted authority on historic preservation, has published "An Open Letter to County Commissioner Carrington Pertalion," taking her to task for misrepresenting the events leading up to the bulldozing of the Oscar and Suma Hardin House (a.k.a., "the Turner House") for a parking lot.

Plaag quotes Pertalion's answers to a questionnaire from PamsPicks.net and argues that they are either a mistaken recitation of what led the County Commission to order the burning of the house, or a deliberate obfuscation. Plaag maintains that the county flouted open meeting laws in making its decision to destroy the landmark.

Based on Pertalion's responses to her questionnaire, PamsPicks.net endorsed Pertalion's opponent, Angela Laws King, in the Democratic primary now underway (which will be concluded on May 17th).


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4 comments:

  1. J.W. Williamson11:37 AM

    Sorry: Eric Plaag is the treasurer of the Watauga Historical Society, not the president, and the chairperson of the Digital Watauga Project, the primary initiative of the WCHS. Bettie Bond is the president of the WCHS. A more up-to-date version of Plaag's resume can be found here: https://static1.squarespace.com/static/555fea25e4b0a715f93d4909/t/61163bc3dbd20c72fc68751b/1628847044185/Plaag+hist+vita+Aug+2021%2C+consulting.pdf

    The house wasn't burned. It was bulldozed. I actually knew that when I posted and had corrected the photo caption but missed the reference in the article. My apologies.

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    Replies
    1. Anonymous6:50 PM

      I was wondering where Eric Plaag’s open letter could be found.

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  2. J.W. Williamson8:43 PM

    https://www.hcpress.com/letters-to-the-editor/letters-an-open-letter-to-county-commissioner-carrington-pertalion.html

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  3. Anonymous8:37 AM

    I think it's kind of funny that you made the same mistake in which of Mr. Plagg's many historical titles to reference that Ms. Pertalion did, about which he is in such a lather in his letter.

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