Thunder Thornton On River Gorge Ranch: "We Are Going To Do It Right"

Developer John "Thunder" Thornton defended his River Gorge Ranch before an overflow crowd at the Marion County Commission on Monday night, saying, "We are going to do it right."

He also said he plans to build a $12 million restaurant at the mountaintop site and said it will be the best restaurant in the state.

Mr. Thornton said River Gorge Ranch "will be the beacon of Marion County," bringing in over $5 million in annual taxes. He said his previous project, Jasper Highlands, is yielding over $3 million a year for the county.

Mr. Thornton told commissioners there is no reason for concern that homes built high on Aetna Mountain would fall into a web of old coal mines. The Nashville Scene newspaper has published two articles raising concern about the stability of the project.

The Chattanooga developer said lots at River Gorge Ranch are so stable "you could build an Empire State Building or a World Trade Center on them."

Commissioners Ruric Brandt and Paul Schafer again raised questions about the project, leading Thornton Enterprises President Dane Bradshaw to talk about "the elephant in the room."

He said recent Marion County Commission meetings had been "a circus" and said Commissioners Brandt and Schafer "have turned this into a vendetta because of their own personal agendas." He said, "They both ought to resign."

Mr. Bradshaw, a former UT basketball star and current occasional TV sports analyst, asked Jasper Highlands resident Schafer, "You're mad about a culvert aren't you?" Commissioner Schafer replied, "No. Well, yes."

Mr. Bradshaw said the Thornton group has already sold over 400 lots at the new development in less than two years.

He said the Nashville Scene "failed to answer multiple calls from us to give our side of the story."

Several members of the Thornton team said there have been a number of studies of the site and there are no concerns of any lots caving in. They denied that any old underground coal mines are still smoldering. The last such below ground fire on Aetna Mountain was put out in 2008, it was stated.

They said the water will come from wells and there will be septic lines.

Clarence However, executive vice president of construction for Thornton Enterprises, said the group has carried out $3.1 million in "due diligence."

He said an individual who claimed to have maps of the old Aetna Mountain Mines "offered to sell them to us."

A specialist denied there are 15-foot coal seams at Aetna Mountain, saying the average is 36 inches.