Columbus, the Friendly City. It’s on our welcome sign, and it’s in the friendly character of our residents. So it has been with great sadness that I’ve been following the story of the mistreatment of Mr. Ed Atkins by the Luxapalila Valley Railroad regarding access to his property. I’ve known Mr. Atkins for years. He has always been a hardworking, kind man who loves his family and Columbus. His property has been in his family for generations. It is this legacy that he wants to leave to his future generations – a piece of land to live on, to fish, to hunt, to enjoy. The railroad track running through the property has never, in all these years, been an issue. So why now? What changed? Why have they been parking boxcars on the property and denying Mr. Atkins and his family access to over 50% of his land? This is property that Mr. Atkins owns and pays taxes on. And why is the LXVR Railroad allegedly issuing Mr. Atkins absurd threats of prosecution if he crosses these tracks? You cannot drive anywhere in Columbus without crossing railroad tracks. Columbus’s own historic foundation is the railroad. So why can’t the boxcars be parked elsewhere? There are miles and miles of tracks everywhere that could be used that would not block anyone’s personal property. Mr. Ciuba of LXVR, in his earlier letter to the editor even admitted that they own 29 miles of track.
Mr. Atkins’ simple request is to please stop parking boxcars and denying access to his property. Unfortunately, the Luxapalila Valley Railroad is a bully and does not uphold the spirit of our beautiful Friendly City.
Mary Stewart
Columbus
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