Anti-Walmart sentiment is driving debate in Orange County

Governor Tim Kaine is urging Walmart to choose a new site in Orange County for it's new store. In a letter to Orange County Board of Supervisors Chairman Lee Frame, Kaine and House Speaker William Howell say the nearby battlefield is extremely important.

Walmart Response to Kaine Letter

We acknowledge and respect the significant work of both Governor Kaine and Speaker Howell in regard to fostering economic growth in the Commonwealth while balancing the interest of preserving Virginia's tremendous historical significance.

We wholeheartedly agree this project presents the unique opportunity to bring the interests of battlefield preservation and smart development effectively into balance, and that is precisely what we have accomplished with our current proposal. The site (outside the boundaries of the Wilderness Battlefield) has been zoned appropriately for commercial development for more than 20 years, is consistent with the county's comprehensive plan for future growth and is in an area where more than 5,000 residential homes and other compatible commercial development are already built out dramatically closer to the preserved boundaries of the Wilderness Battlefield than our project.

Keith Morris Director of Public Affairs and Government Relations
Northeast Region

The proposed Walmart is about 1 mile from the battlefield. In between the Walmart and the battlefield, there are already lots of houses. It is the people in these houses that Walmart wants to serve. If there was only a preserved battlefield there, why would Walmart want to go there?

The argument is totally bogus from the Anti-Walmart crowd.
"Oh, ok, these houses are ok, but not a Walmart."
Kaine and his DNC cronies should tell the truth.
They don't give a hoot about the Battlefield.
It is all about stopping Walmart.