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Alicia Petska
Published: August 20, 2008
Updated: September 9, 2008
Drivers hoping to park at the Plaza and make the short walk to E.C. Glass for the Obama event Wednesday evening were met by blocked entrances and Liberty University police officers directing them instead to City Stadium.
That’s where city officials had hastily arranged shuttle service after learning Wednesday morning that LU, which owns the Plaza, would not allow event parking at the shopping center.
A few hundred vehicles ended up using the stadium lot, where city school buses had made about 15 trips to E.C. Glass by 6:15 p.m.
Lee Beaumont, LU’s director of auxiliary services, said the university never received a request to use Plaza parking space.
“There was no conversation at all,” Beaumont said. “… Nobody bothered to talk to us about it.”
He added LU had multiple concerns about allowing the event parking, including the impact on tenants of the midtown shopping center and the school’s liability if an accident were to occur.
LU officials were also apprehensive about how the participation would affect the school’s status as a 501(c)(3) organization, a designation that prohibits partisanship.
The school has previously invited Obama to speak at its campus, and has played host to former presidential candidates, including Mike Huckabee and Ron Paul.
“When you only have half a day or a day to react to something, you can’t make a good decision,” Beaumont said, adding the school based its decision on practical concerns.
“We’re not trying to make a political statement.”
JoAnn Martin, the city’s director of communication, said the city was not involved in designating the Plaza for parking.
“We were told by the local campaign there would be parking there, and that was also printed on their tickets,” she said. “I think they were operating under the assumption that was public property.”
Nancy Cloyd and Bruce Johnson drove from Buckingham County for the Obama event and headed straight for E.C. Glass, where officers near the school directed them to City Stadium.
“That was pretty good, actually, because we’re not familiar with Lynchburg,” Cloyd said. “He (the officer) gave us pretty good directions.”
Sonny Witt, Lynchburg City Schools’ director of facilities and transportation, said everything went smoothly, considering officials only had about four hours to put the impromptu system together.
Witt said some of the six buses on hand probably were unnecessary, as buses were usually only half full when they left the parking lot.
“We didn’t get the surge we thought,” he said.
Reader Reactions
t4nymets did you see where freedom in her ranting admits to assaulting a mentally ill person…obviously she is not worthy of your time. I read where she told you that you should pay attention to detail??? This from a person who can not even use correct spelling or punctuation in anything that she has ever written on here!! Look just in her last posting she misspelled: interview, grabbed, belt, lunged, rehabilitated, your screen name an not to mention the many, many grammatical errors. Once again she is not worthy of your time because you are intelligent.
OK, try to stop ranting for a minute and listen to the facts of the situation:
1. LU did what it had to do LEGALLY to protect its tax-exempt status. It wouldn’t matter if it was Obama or McCain or any other politician. The law is the law, and Liberty followed it.
2. Those of you bringing up Toys R Us parking might want to check your facts before claiming that church-goers are parking there without, say, A WRITTEN AGREEMENT signed by all parties saying that it’s OK. You know what they say about “assuming” things, folks.
Freedom, you are hilarious! You tell me that I need to be keen to details, however, you have yet to call me by the correct screen name. Can you read? Another detail you should pay attention to: the Mets are stinking sitting in 1st place atop the NL East. Oh, and where are the Yankees? 3rd place in the AL East, 9.5 games out of first place!
I refuse to continue this with you as you are obviously an idiot! You rant and rave about Liberty students using up city resources such as police and EMS, etc. Yet, I hear nothing from you about Lynchburg College or Randolph College, both of which are tax exempt. Do you really think that Liberty students use the majority of those services compared to Lynchburg College?
In one of your posts, you called me a socialist because I was taking up for the rights of private property owners!!! That in itself tells me that you have no idea what you’re talking about. Do you even know what a socialist is??? Do you even know what you stand for?
14nymets,,no ,,but i was offered a job there,and went for the enterveiw,and did a tour,,and a patient lundged at me grabed my bealt,,instinct took over,,i knocked his hand away,,the staff grabed me and said,,he has a belt fetish!!he means no harm,,well needlessly to say,,i FLUNKED that interveiw,,my psycho work deals w/people like you who can be rehabilatated!,,please dont make a fool out of yourself,,and be keen to details,,nowhere in my postings did i indicate that i live outside lynchburg,,and you do know what METS stands for =my entire team stinks!!go yankee,s
Freedom this is for you posted on WSET’s website:
He brought the national spotlight to Lynchburg, but it’s what Barack Obama (web|news|bio) left that has many people talking. And that’s a very big bill. When you include the overtime for police and firefighters, and the school buses that shuttled the crowds, the cost really adds up.
We talked to city officials and they’re still working out the final total. But we know that part of it will be paid for by the Democratic Party. The city would normally pick up the entire amount for an event like this. But because of the parking situation, Obama’s campaign will be billed for stop here in Battleground Virginia.
He came, they cheered and now taxpayers will foot most of the bill
Now are you going to foot this bill?
Freedom,
I’ll bet you do live in a gated community. Would that be located on Colony Road in Madison Heights?
DAMALAMA;;you dirty dog you !!good job ,,cant wait for the 6 pm news!!
i am not sure how the story is going to go, since i didn’t see wset news today. however i saw the report whos name i can’t spell and a camera man out there on the toys r us parking lot, and a few lynchburg citizens standing at the entrances, i also observed a few TRBCers in a quick paced walk away from the camera as it showed what hypocrites these people are. BRAVO to the citizens out there telling the TRBCers what horrible people they are, and to give them grief that they will no doubt complain to Jerry Jr. about. and a STANDING OVATION to WSET if that news cast truly shows how that parking lot was FULL of TRBCers, i drove past and saw for my self this morning since i had read it in other peoples post.
HEY NYNETS,,WHATEVER,,as a matter of fact why would i mind,,afterall i did live at stuwart heights,,and trbc was to lazy to park at the bottom of the hill and walk to church,,so you overran our little peaceful community,,and we all got together an posted those PERMIT PARKING ,,so you added more aggravation to our community cause now we had to post these permits in our cars and when we had guest over well we had that extra trouble to deal with,,but thats alright we got our community back,,and on those real cold windy cold days,,and them real hot days of august,,guess what i did,,when you parked at my permit parking only!!i asked myself,,hey FREEDOM,,WWJD,,and i nevered called the cops!!..and go ahead call mccAINe ,,i,ve moved from stuwart heights and i live in a GATED community and i sure my GUARDS will do the same as yours did!!but i would,nt hold your breath about mcinsane commin to town ,,he,s to old and tired and he knows hes got your MINDCONTROL vote,,in one word !!cause thats all you r ,,is a one issue votter,,and thats i,m anti-abortion !!you fools fall for it every time ,,and you r so stupid that you dont even know that all any republican presidents has to do to abolish abortion is issue an exec order # 666,,citing the consitution right to life!!just maybe if he does come JERRY JR. will ask mccain that hard question !!
Why would anyone drive anywhere to hear Obama speak? Heck, you can read one of freedom’s postings in this forum and get the same thing you’re going to get from one of Obama’s speeches - NO SUBSTANCE!! Nothing but a bunch of rambling on and on, complaints with no solutions!
Hey, cry babies, the bottom line is this. It’s private property. If the owner of the property doesn’t want you parking there, that’s their right.
Freedom, we’re thinking about bringing a Republican rally to the Burg. We’re going to have it in your neighborhood. We’re going to park in your yard and on your driveway. You don’t mind, right? Right?
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