BUTTE — Just as the folks in the tiny town of Ramsay were digging in for a long, hard battle against a large truck stop that wanted to move in next door to it, the war ended and Ramsay won.
“Oh, I’m just so excited,” said Ramsay resident Michelle O’Bill.
After a five-year-long conflict with some residents of this isolated community about 7 miles west of Butte, Love’s Travel Stops and Country Stores announced it will not build a truck stop next to Ramsay.
“Oh, it’s like we won the lottery. I’m so happy, I’m just thrilled to death,” said O’Bill.
Roland Rees added, “It’s surreal, we fought from 2017 until now and you don’t think you’re going to win against corporate America.”
Residents of this quiet community of about 40 homes worried the truck stop would bring unwanted noise, traffic, and other dangers.
“I’m really excited that our efforts could bring to the front that this really wasn’t the right site for a truck stop. We’ve never felt that it was safe, the offramp isn’t safe, the fact that they would have to do an open sewage lagoon so close to the just-reclaimed Silver Bow Creek,” said Ramsay resident James Ayres.
In an email, Love’s stated:
"Love’s recognizes that some Ramsay citizens and leaders took exception to bringing a Travel Stop to the area. A core tenet of our company’s values is that our locations maintain strong connections to all communities we serve."
One lifelong Ramsay resident was grateful for her fellow residents who stood against the truck stop.
“We wouldn’t be here if it weren’t for them and I know that from the bottom of my heart and I’m so grateful for them,” said Kimberley Brown.
When asked what she wants to tell them?
“Thank you, thank you,” she said.
And as for how it feels today: “Oh, golly, I can’t express it. Pure joy, yeah,” Brown said.
