As you may know, a figure in last week's "Blasting" column was incorrect.

 The daily blastings at the proposed Liberty Quarry site probably would max out at two.

 Without repeating the error, let's just say the reported number was significantly higher.

Anyhow, the weekly blasting schedule is a minimum of six days, perhaps seven, which means up to 14 earth-shattering explosions a week.

Among those who noticed was Gary Johnson, Granite Construction exec in charge of getting The Hole approved, and who suggested a meeting at the site to talk over some things.

My decision was that it would be a waste of our time, to which he pointed out that he "may learn something that results in making LQ a better project." It could, he said, result in "changes that address your issues."

Thing is, nothing less than leaving that land unscarred will be adequate to address my objections. There are just too many.

Take your pick: fouled air and water, diminished life/quality of life, spirituality, naturalist, earthquakes, agriculture/tourism/commerce (all big time tax-revenue producers that dwarf the Granite tax reward, unless you're the county and you need the money no matter the consequences), I-15 traffic safety, and on and on and ...

Now that was a nice letter. Then there are the makers of spurious ---- at the very kindest description ----- utterances they claim to be fact.

A longtime favorite is "there is no silica in rock." Or is it there is no rock in silica?

Let's go one further. You're in more danger at the beach than living downwind of a blasting quarry that makes little breathable pieces of silica.

On science alone, that statement is moronic.

Then, on top of that, our Hole-y Savants criticize 110 doctors for saying their patients' health could be endangered by the quarry's attendant silica particulates, diesel fumes, asphalt fumes (pray you never smell them) and more as reckless, uninformed blather.

To indict the integrity of a group of anti-quarry doctors who stand to gain more "business" if a quarry goes in than if it fails creates a new category of dumb.

Dumber even than "there is no rock in silica." No, wait, silica in rock. Right?

Underlying all is one fact: Putting a blasting quarry just upwind of hundreds of thousands of residents is just plain bad policy.

Don't know, but if you were a Dan Stephenson or one of those guys, wouldn't you look at  that which you had a big hand in creating and have a hard time watching it go "poof" in the wind?

What was that line from "Camelot"? "Don't let it be forgot, that once there was …"

  

Phil Strickland writes from Temecula. Contact him at philipestrickland@yahoo.com.