No criminal charges will be filed in an illegal tree cutting near billboard sites leased from County Commissioner Frank Tadlock and the company he heads, Corriher Beef & Sausage.
The Department of Transportation at the state and local level are continuing to investigate and collect information and could take action to revoke billboard permits and force removal of the signs.
Several large trees were cut along the Interstate 85 right of way south of Daugherty Road. The state allows cutting of trees on its right of way only by permit and only trees 4 inches or less in diameter.
In the process, tree-cutters wiped out sections of the state chain link fence that marks the right of way along the interstate.
The state has set a value of nearly $30,000 on the trees that were cut. Several were more than a foot in diameter and many were black walnut.
“It’s clear a crime was committed,” said District Attorney Bill Kenerly Friday, “ but we didn’t have sufficient evidence as to who committed the crime.”
Corriher Beef & Sausage and Tadlock own more than 200 acres with more than miles of road frontage on either side of I-85. Tadlock and the company have 18 billboard site permitted to them. Revenue from the signs for the 15-year lease period is expected to be around $3 million.
Tadlock has drawn fire for his role in establishing zoning to allow the billboards.
SBI agent Wayne Bridgers of Kannapolis conducted an investigation including interviews with people involved in tree cutting on the adjacent Corriher and Tadlock properties.
Kenerly said that the investigation revealed that there were as many as a half dozen people involved and in all likelihood one or more may have cut the trees. “I can’t bring charges on that basis,” said Kenerly.
He said there was some evidence on who cut one tree, a large tree that was felled almost on the interstate. However that was disputed.
Kenerly talked with staffers from the Attorney General’s office who are reviewing the incident for possible civil action.
Kenerly said this is the first case he has encountered involving illegal cutting.
Tadlock said early on that he nor his company had anything to do with the illegal cutting. “We had absolutely nothing to do with it,” said Tadlock.
SkyAd of Mooresville leased the sites from Tadlock and Corriher Beef & Sausage.
A SkyAd representative , Darlene Payne, told the Post in July that her company was not involved in illegal cutting . She declined further comment.
However in memos supplied to the state, she appears to point the finger of blame at Tadlock and Corriher Beef and Sausage.
Brenda Grady, outdoor advertising coordinator for the Department of Transportation, cited a memo from Payne to Frank Corriher and Tadlock dated July 13: “The first three signs south of Daugherty Road will be double-faced signs. Unfortunately at this time due to the tree coverage and the Department of Transportation’s regulations, we will only be abe to use single-faced signs as the last sign location.”
Frank Corriher is the founder of Corriher Beef & Sausage.
Payne went on to cite efforts to gain visibility for the fourth sign. She noted that the monthly payments for the three double-faced signs would be $800 each and $400 for the one-singled faced sign. She noted that starting in August, monthly checks would be cut with Corriher getting $1,600 and Tadlock, $1,200.
Less than a week later, DOT officials checking on the site where four billboards had been permitted, discovered the illegal cutting.
Skyad has since opted to build a double-face sign on the most southern site, and drop the lease on the northern most site.
On Aug. 29, Payne advised Corriher Beef & Sausage in a letter that she was canceling the lease agreement on site one, due to “inability to have adequate visibility.”
Chris Corriher, district engineer, said Friday that apparently the DOT intervention stopped the tree cutters before they got to the northern most site, the planned location of site one.
Corriher noted that the land is sloped and cutting trees would be a major hazard, possibly bringing them down on the interstate.
The state will continue to look at civil action, said Grady. She indicated it could take months, if the Department of Transportation and the Attorney General decide to pursue that course.
Contact Jessie Burchette at jburchette@salisburypost.com or call 704-797-4254.
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