Updated 02/21/2008 04:31 PM
Pinewild residents fight annexation
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MOORE COUNTY, N.C. -- The Village of Pinehurst has won a recent court decision about annexing a nearby private community, but residents opposing the move are not done fighting.
About 60 residents of the Pinewild Country Club have filed a lawsuit in North Carolina court against the village to stop it from annexing their neighborhood. One of those residents, Lydia Boesch, says here life has been consumed by a box she keeps that contains the documents used to fight Pinehurst in the lawsuit.
Boesch said there would have been even more plaintiffs if she hadn’t capped the number. Residents of the private community have also filed a lawsuit in federal court. They started out with eight plaintiffs in that case and have recently moved to add 639 more.
A Superior Court judge ruled on Monday to dismiss the lawsuit in the state court, but residents plan on appealing the decision. The next step for the lawsuit is the Court of Appeals. Based on that panel's decision, the case could go back to Superior Court, or it could make it all the way to the state Supreme Court. The legal process may take several years to complete.
"I'm ready for it,” said resident Rosemary Fekkes. “It's our American right to be able to say where we want to live and how we want to live.”
Fighting the legal battle has also been expensive. Boesch said she’s not sure how much money they’ve raised, but the group has been collecting donations since its inception. Hundreds of residents have pledged their support by signing petitions and attending rallies.
"I know all of our bills are paid. I know we have money in the bank. I know we have pledges for the next couple of years,” Boesch said. “Money has not been an issue and [we] don't anticipate it will be an issue."
The annexation is scheduled to happen June 30 but only if the legal matters are resolved by then. Boesch said fighting annexation has consumed her life, but she and her husband John have vowed to see it through to the end.
"We're going to fight as hard as we can for as long as it takes," she added.