County officials praise Jones for OLF amendment

Two years of lobbying state and federal lawmakers and researching the Navy’s proposal to erect an outlying land field in northeastern North Carolina appear to be finally paying off, officials said Thursday.

Camden and Currituck county officials applauded U.S. Reps. Walter Jones G.K. Butterfield for their efforts to bring the anti-OLF fight all the way to Capitol Hill. Jones, R-N.C., and Butterfield, D-N.C., represent northeastern North Carolina in Congress.

In the House Armed Services Committee, Jones proposed an amendment to a $672 billion National Defense Authorization Act that would exclude Camden and Gates counties specifically from the list of preferred sites for the military training runway.

The Sandbanks site in Gates and Hale’s Lake site in Camden are two of the five sites the Navy has eyed for potential building grounds for the OLF. The other three sites are in Virginia.

Members of the Armed Services Committee favored the new language and it was formally added to the legislation, which will be heard on the House floor next week.

“I applaud Jones because I feel like he’s listening to the people. The majority of us don’t want this (OLF) here.” Currituck resident and OLF opponent Troy Breathwaite said Thursday. “If it passes, it will be a huge victory for us.”

With the efforts of many, including Larry Johnson as president of Concerned Citizens Against the Outlying Landing Field in Camden, Breathwaite has been instrumental in assisting with the citizens group’s legal counsel and public relations needs for about two years.

Camden County Manager Randell Woodruff also said he was pleased with the action Jones has taken this week and hopes the bill has the same success with the Senate.

“It’s a very good sign, but it has to pass in the Senate as well. Jones has taken care of the House,” Woodruff said. “Jones was our number one supporter of the county all along and I’m very pleased with Congressmen Jones and Butterfield.”

Currituck Commissioners Vice Chairman Paul O’Neal said he was equally pleased with the new language and said if House and Senate members approve the legislation, the OLF is dead in North Carolina.

“If they can get it passed through, I think it’s game over,” O’Neal said.

When asked if U.S. Sens. Kay Hagan, D-N.C., and Richard Burr, D-N.C. will be equally effective in the Senate with moving the legislation, O’Neal was confident they would because Hagan serves on the Senate Armed Services Committee.

“In our conversations with her, she’s always vocalized opposition to this, and she’s just as strong on the Senate side,” O’Neal said.

Burr has also said publicly he would do whatever he could to prevent the OLF from siting in North Carolina.

The bill is expected to be read on the House floor next week, and if it passes it will be introduced to the Senate for a first reading.