Dixie Gets New Cell Phone Tower

DIXIE - No one seems to know exactly how tall the Northwest Grain Growers elevator in Dixie is, but even those who work there say it's no higher than 130 feet. That means the small town's tallest item, which is visible from Highway 12 tucked back in the fields south of its outskirts, will soon be eclipsed by an even loftier structure.

Inland Cellular is set to build a 180-foot cell phone tower at 9970 East Highway 12 near the elevator this spring and is seeking public comment on its proposal un­der the National Preservation Act of 1966. Local residents who want to comment "on any historic properties within a one-mile radius of the undertaking which are listed or eligible for listing in the National Register of Historic Places" have until Dec. 24 to submit them to the address at the bot­tom of this article.

Inland Cellular has al­ready received its condition­al use permit from Walla Walla County for what is described as "a self-support antenna tower for wireless telecommunication antenna arrays," thus meeting the technical requirements for its construction. John Wark, a consulting geologist for the company, said the tower will serve Di­xie residents but also cover about six miles of highway going north and 10 miles going south to give travelers better reception in that part of the corridor between Walla Walla and Waitsburg. "It's to fill gaps in our coverage and respond to con­sumer complaints," he said, adding that this is the first of about 500 towers whose con­struction he has facilitated where a historic preservation comment period applies. With technical permits already in hand, the current public comment period is de­signed to ensure the structure doesn't negatively impact Dixie's historic heritage go­ing back to the 1850s. Although the cell tower will be taller than the grain elevator, its gray cement components and "co-loca­tion" about 100 feet in front of the existing agricultural edifice should make it blend in to the Dixie landscape. Once built inside a 50-foot by 50-foot fenced com­pound, the tower may serve other providers, such as ATT, Sprint and Team Mo­bile

to provide coverage to their customers through the corridor, Wark said. Verizon already has a tower in the hills above town.

A few Dixie residents in­terviewed about the prospect of a new cell tower in their community seemed to accept its construction as inevitable or even welcome. "You can't stop progress so why fight it," longtime Di­xie resident Steve Thonney said. "It's a service." Don Reed wasn't bothered by the idea of a new towering feature on the skyline either.

"There are plenty of things that look big around here," he said. And as far as cell phone reception goes, "it will be helpful."

Comments on the pro­posed cell phone tower can be submitted to: John Wark, Eagle River Development Llc., PO Box 3474, Spokane, WA 99220, 509-535-3064.