[SuperJon]

The "obnoxious" noise was a pep rally. Cry me a freaking river.

[PAmedic]

Wait, there are other peaks in the Candlers Mountain range. Why not shear the trees off of them and paint a giant, gliterized picture of Jesus on a tapestry of luxurious black velour, and maybe a huge string-art depiction of the 12 apostles on the next mound? Who put these lousy trees in the way, anyway?

C.A. Cox
Lynchburg

"CA COX"- are you kidding me? must know that female athlete, IVANNA, that we were talking about a while back

but I do like the "Touchdown Jesus" takeoff- don't tempt Jerry!

The fact that every single one of these writers insisted on calling it Candlers' Mtn is hilarious! And Jerry will keep on calling it Liberty Mtn. Just to tork them off.

[PAmedic]

umm, sir- we DO own the mountain.

Don’t destroy nature’s beauty

This is an open letter to the owner of Candlers Mountain:
I pass by Candlers Mountain every day on my way to work. And every day I take a moment to gaze upon Candlers Mountain’s beauty. That beauty is especially rich this time of year as the leaves begin to change colors and the mountain changes from its full and lush green to vibrant reds, yellows and oranges. Every day it renews my belief that God must love us very much to have given us such a beautiful gift.
Then to my horror, I noticed that the mountain had a blemish. At first I thought that maybe there had been a fire or perhaps a patch of trees had died. With increased concern I watched as the blemish grew into an open wound. I held out hope that this must be a necessary step to contain the damage. I told myself that surely a restoration plan was in the works and new trees would be planted soon.
Today, my hope turned to despair as I saw a large white lines branded into the side of the mountain. What kind of sick vandalism is this? Who would dare desecrate one of God’s beautiful creations with their own form of golden calf? Who is so arrogant that they feel the need to scrawl their graffiti on this mountaintop? Is this somebody’s idea of a sick joke? I can assure you that I don’t find it funny.
I hope that as owner of Candlers Mountain you are not a conspirator in this mess. I pray that perhaps you are out of town or maybe unaware of the crime that is being committed against your beautiful mountain. And so it is with renewed hope that I call out to you to stop this tragedy and start some healing. Let’s work together to restore Candlers Mountain to its original beauty. It will take a long time to reverse the damage that has been done, but I’m sure healing the mountain is a mission that will inspire our whole community.
I want to assure you that you have my full support, financially, physically and spiritually for any effort to restore Candlers Mountain to its original grandeur. The defilement of our natural, God- given landmarks cannot be tolerated. This madness must stop.

George Pabis
Lynchburg

[El Scorcho]

umm, sir- we DO own the mountain.

Don’t destroy nature’s beauty

This is an open letter to the owner of Candlers Mountain:
I pass by Candlers Mountain every day on my way to work. And every day I take a moment to gaze upon Candlers Mountain’s beauty. That beauty is especially rich this time of year as the leaves begin to change colors and the mountain changes from its full and lush green to vibrant reds, yellows and oranges. Every day it renews my belief that God must love us very much to have given us such a beautiful gift.
Then to my horror, I noticed that the mountain had a blemish. At first I thought that maybe there had been a fire or perhaps a patch of trees had died. With increased concern I watched as the blemish grew into an open wound. I held out hope that this must be a necessary step to contain the damage. I told myself that surely a restoration plan was in the works and new trees would be planted soon.
Today, my hope turned to despair as I saw a large white lines branded into the side of the mountain. What kind of sick vandalism is this? Who would dare desecrate one of God’s beautiful creations with their own form of golden calf? Who is so arrogant that they feel the need to scrawl their graffiti on this mountaintop? Is this somebody’s idea of a sick joke? I can assure you that I don’t find it funny.
I hope that as owner of Candlers Mountain you are not a conspirator in this mess. I pray that perhaps you are out of town or maybe unaware of the crime that is being committed against your beautiful mountain. And so it is with renewed hope that I call out to you to stop this tragedy and start some healing. Let’s work together to restore Candlers Mountain to its original beauty. It will take a long time to reverse the damage that has been done, but I’m sure healing the mountain is a mission that will inspire our whole community.
I want to assure you that you have my full support, financially, physically and spiritually for any effort to restore Candlers Mountain to its original grandeur. The defilement of our natural, God- given landmarks cannot be tolerated. This madness must stop.

George Pabis
Lynchburg

Feel free to give old George a call at (434) 384-4965 and tell him that. While we're at it, Charles A. Cox can be reached at (434) 993-3481. Jean Tarazewich answers her phone calls at (434) 239-7723. One Jeff Crickenberger says hello at (434) 846-3584.

I'm just saying. If you feel your opinion is worth being printed in the paper, you ought to be prepared to have a few sent back your way.

[PAmedic]

SCORCHO that is too funny.

Do you think any of those listed would understand a Yankee attempting to communicate in actual English? I could throw in a few "ya'll" s and a few "how's your sister-momma"s if that would help

[qkslvrsrfrboy]

kinda random, but you mentioned yankee talk, and it reminded me of a bit Mitch hedberg does about how to talk in the south by just removing the ou from everything, its pretty funny.

[LUconn]

man what is their deal? Why does everybody care about this so much? I wonder if Mount Rushmore got this much flak.

If you’re going to replace the beautiful, natural landscape with an enormous advertising eyesore, at least it should appear professionally done. LU’s latest attempt to be noticed looks like it was done by work-study students with scissors and a box full of garbage bags.
And I’m not just LU bashing. I’m a graduate.

Suzanne Ramsey

Hey Suzanne, maybe you should try staying in touch with your alma mater and you wouldnt look like such an idiot thinking that was the final product.

Didn’t they get it when the community stood up to oppose the renaming of the mountain to Liberty Mountain?

what the freak is this guy talking about?? Nobody ever tried to change the name. And even if they did the "community" certainly could not stand up to oppose it. All they could possibly do is whine about it.

There were at least a couple of positive ones today.

[A.G.]

what the freak is this guy talking about?? Nobody ever tried to change the name. And even if they did the "community" certainly could not stand up to oppose it. All they could possibly do is whine about it.

Actually, JF leaked a feeler about officially changing the name a year or two ago--and the outcry was tremendous.

[bigsmooth]

a bunch of haters! without LU, LYNCHBURG IS A COW TOWN!

[Purple Haize]

For starters SMOOTH it would be more of a hog town what with Madison Heights so close.
As for changing the name, they actaully filed a paper asking about the possibility. This is their attempt to rename the mountain with out "officially" renaming the mountain.
It is another classic example of LU's arrogance in thinking LU is the reason where Lynchburg is today, and of the City Council's ignorance, by denying LU has done ANYTHING good for the city. Both sides have their points. Where's Rodney King when we need him "Can't we all just get a long?"

[Jasmen8182]

I enjoyed getting an idea of how it'll look. While sitting in he stadium, I thought it should ngle tha directin more, but thenit was nice seeing it from the road. I took a picture from the opposite side as Medic's bu still eed to learn abt. putting pics. on; don't know yet how it came out- took the 35mm b/c memory card ondigital is full (I want to make some 4x6 before putting them on a disc). Anway, I figured some of you guys were in or near the club section; I took a walk over there but had to head out for a walk around campus b/c my daughter fell asleep in stroller).

[ATrain]

Just outta curiosity, what room do the natives of Lynchburg have to insult LU students driving? Last time I checked, they were FAR worse

[BurningFlame]

I have to admit i thought the LU looke really good, and if anything made me more proud to be a Lynchburg native

[thepostman]

These people let their hatred of Jerry Falwell blind them to how fortunate they really are to have a college like Liberty in town...aside from a few problems here and there the students keep to themselves and don't cause much trouble...the residents really have to search to find negatives...like the whole James River bridgejumping ordeal...now complaining about noise from the stadium??? gosh...if this were VA Tech here they would be loving it..they hate JF so therefore hate us...

then the driving thing....gosh, the drivers in this town have NO ROOM to talk about driving, and whoever designed some of these roads needs to take some blame...geez

[Flamesfanva]

Jerry Jr wrote a nice response in Sunday's N&A, but I couldn't find it online to post. Basically he was saying that LU has protected the mountain by owning it and not having the kind of growth that would destroy the look of it.

[PAmedic]

Property rights paramount
I grew up in the Lynchburg area and I love that part of the state. For the most part, people there are down to earth. I read the online version of The News & Advance every day and can’t believe the whiners who have been writing in response to the new logo on Candlers Mountain.
I have a message for them: “Get over it.” Liberty owns that mountain, you don’t. I have no ties to Liberty or the Rev. Jerry Falwell. My comments come from a position of common sense. I am sick and tired of people trying to push their agendas on someone else.
If you didn’t want that mountain defaced, you should have bought it. Guess what: you didn’t; Liberty did. It belongs to them. Stop whining and do something productive with your time.
We have this thing in our country called property rights and I would be willing to bet that if you installed a new landscaping project in your yard that Liberty would not be calling you names or whining to the newspaper about your actions.

Bobby Moore
Midlothian

Opponents will face battle
Opponents of the LU letters, I fear it may be you who are facing the uphill battle. City Council approved the installation of bright blue Dasani logo advertisements along our Blackwater Creek Trail. But wait, shouldn’t a nature trail be natural?
If the city thinks it is OK to have advertising signs on a nature trail that belongs to the citizenry, why wouldn’t council approve advertising on privately owned property?
C.H. Mann
Lynchburg

Liberty can do what it wants
Liberty University/Jerry Falwell have every right to do with their property as they wish, as long as it’s approved by city or county officials; depending where said property is located. Without some type of approval, I don’t believe the “LU” could have been placed there. Liberty University/Jerry Falwell does not require the input of us local yokels as to whether or not the “LU,” soon to be emblazoned on Candlers Mountain, is a good thing for the community. Nor do they need to take the concerns of the community into consideration when it comes to the expansion of business endeavors.
So we now must resign ourselves to live with the “LU,” that will be emblazoned on Candlers Mountain: But do we really need to consider the “LU” to mean Liberty University? Liberty University/Jerry Falwell cannot control what the people in this area take the “LU” to mean.

David Evans
Forest

EDIT: what the...

[LUconn]

Yeah I read that on Sunday and thought the same thing. Is he gonna pretend it stands for "David Evans of Forest"?

[bigsmooth]

mr. moore from midlothian is right on. the city approved it, and i think it will look nice once it is done. all the haters out there need to realize lynchburg would still be stuck in the 70's without the liberty ministry. get over it people. LU is here to stay and will continue to grow...embrace it!

[thesportscritic]

mr. moore from midlothian is right on. the city approved it, and i think it will look nice once it is done. all the haters out there need to realize lynchburg would still be stuck in the 70's without the liberty ministry. get over it people. LU is here to stay and will continue to grow...embrace it!

couldn't agree with you more. its ours

[LUconn]

A ‘wondrous site’ to behold

Every time that I travel Candlers Mountain Road toward U.S. 460 I am awestruck by the magnificent sight before me - huge letters “LU” emblazoned on the newly denuded hillside of that once beautiful mountain.
The feeling that overcomes me feels like outrage, though the makers of the sign clearly intended that I feel reverence.
Somehow, though, I just can’t summon up any desire to worship the abomination I see. Perhaps other residents and travelers also are having the same difficulty.
To help us out I’d suggest that the symbol be enlarged (let’s cut more trees) so that an image of the golden calf can be engraved up there with the letters “LU” branded in its side.


John Rosenberger
Forest

This is a real good letter to the editor... for me to poop on.


Uhhh John. There are no letters there. You are obviously a liar.

[PAmedic]

if you're brave enough: http://www.milkandcookies.com/keywords/triumphdog/

[Sly Fox]

Here is the latest from the fishwrap:

LU moving forward with its mountainside-monogram plans

By Ron Brown
rbrown@newsadvance.com
October 27, 2006

Liberty University has hired a landscape architect to help design a “LU” monogram for Candlers Mountain.

The university put a temporary version of its “LU” logo on the mountain earlier this month, touching off a debate among Lynchburg residents.

The test letters, each 200 feet long, were made with white plastic sheeting.

The revised monogram plan would reduce the size of the letters by about 35 feet and make them primarily out of vegetation.

“They will be a fourth smaller or a third smaller (than the ones used on homecoming weekend),” said Jerry Falwell Jr., LU’s vice chancellor. “I think they will look much better than the test letters that upset some people.”

Falwell got the idea after a trip out West, where schools like Brigham Young University and Arizona State University have mountain monograms.

LU’s letters would be made out of burgundy-colored shrubbery placed on a background of light-colored landscape stone. Outside the stone circle, the ground would be covered with Crown Vetch, which stays green all year long.

LU is using the designs of landscape monograms at Virginia Tech’s Lane Stadium and Lynchburg College as models, Falwell said.

The Lynchburg firm, Harvey Design Land Architects, is planning the monogram’s design.

“We don’t know what plants and materials will be part of the final design,” Falwell said. “It will be mainly vegetation that stays red most of the year. It will be a hedge manicured in the shape of letters. We should have the plans in hand next week.”

The monogram will be on a 40-degree slope on the mountainside.

“Our landscaping stone will need to be a little robust,” said S. Lee Beaumont, LU’s director of auxiliary services.

“The city has requested that we get a proposal to them. That’s the reason we are engaging Proctor Harvey to draw something up for us.”

Harvey, who served on the city’s planning commission for nine years, said so far his company has created only concepts for the monogram.

“The idea is to come up with something that is very nice and tasteful,” he said.

“The university wants to have something that is very classy looking and identifies some of the property that the university owns.”

Harvey said the concept plans should be ready by the middle of next week.

“When the university put something up on the mountain for homecoming weekend, they were just trying to get something up on the mountain,” he said. “We’re working with the city. We’ll use only natural elements like rock, stone and plant material.”

The goal is to have something that stands out without being an eyesore.

“We would be using a plant that would have some contrast from whatever the stone background would be,” Harvey said.

The “U” in the LU will be dropped slightly and be in the form of a more stylized letter.

“We want it to be something that the university, its students and the community can feel good about,” Harvey said.

City Manager Kimball Payne said the city is taking a wait-and-see approach before approving the design.

Payne said Rob Fowler, a city zoning official, met with LU officials Monday to discuss the monogram.

“There was a broad-ranging discussion about what their latest thinking was,” Payne said. “We’re not going to make a decision until we see a set of plans. The plans need to show dimension, colors and materials.”

Payne said the concept plan for the monogram has been a “moving target.”

“Everybody wants to understand what is being proposed,” he said. “I think the way to do that is put it on paper.

“Then we can decide if it complies with the sign ordinance or needs to go to City Council.”

http://www.newsadvance.com/servlet/Sate ... 8994&path=

[Purple Haize]

SOAP BOX:
To me this is a microcosm of the problem's LU has with the community. Now, no matter WHAT goes on the mountain they have alienated a good section of the community and are seen as arrogant. Granted there will ALWAYS be those that feel that way, but why give them reinforcement to their belief and why leave a bad taste in other people's mouth?
Here is a better way to handle it. Let it be known, interviews press release etc, that LU is thinking of putting "LU" on Candler's Mountain property, which they own. Then publish some "artist renditionings" of what the various schemes could look like, then include photos of BYU, Air Force, Tech etc. This will give people not only "fair warning" but also the opportunity to take a look at it and make up their minds. Instead, they carve out this space, throw up some white sheets and say deal with it. What they are attempting to do now is the proverbial closing of the doors after the cows have left!!
RINSE CYCLE

[A.G.]

SOAP BOX:
To me this is a microcosm of the problem's LU has with the community. Now, no matter WHAT goes on the mountain they have alienated a good section of the community and are seen as arrogant. Granted there will ALWAYS be those that feel that way, but why give them reinforcement to their belief and why leave a bad taste in other people's mouth?
Here is a better way to handle it. Let it be known, interviews press release etc, that LU is thinking of putting "LU" on Candler's Mountain property, which they own. Then publish some "artist renditionings" of what the various schemes could look like, then include photos of BYU, Air Force, Tech etc. This will give people not only "fair warning" but also the opportunity to take a look at it and make up their minds. Instead, they carve out this space, throw up some white sheets and say deal with it. What they are attempting to do now is the proverbial closing of the doors after the cows have left!!
RINSE CYCLE

But. But. But. But.
THAT WOULD MAKE TOO MUCH SENSE!!

[LUconn]

AG, get off of Haize's jock for a minute. It doesn't make any sense. That would be a good plan if LU was asking the city to build it for them or if they gave a rip what the city thinks. But they don't and they shouldn't. Based on reading the letters to the editor, people around here are unreasonable. That last letter I posted, the guy was blatantly lying! One woman was concerned about the oxygen lost from the trees we cut down! And the sad thing is, they're serious. You can't reason with folk like this. Might as well do what ever the freak you want WITH YOUR OWN PROPERTY.