Amherst Co., VA - He's no stranger to war, but an Amherst County veteran never thought he'd have to put up such a fight for his own property.

Bob Sales filed a one million dollar civil suit this week against the developer of a nearby subdivision for damages to his lake in Madison Heights.

The color of the lake has changed from more of a clear green to reddish brown. You can see mud building up.  For Sales though. this is more than just an eyesore. It's changing the way he's living his final years.

You'll find Bob Sales riding around his lake on his golf cart most days. The 83-year-old's legs don't work as well as they used to. His eyes, however, are perfectly fine.

"I see a disaster. It's nothing but a mudhole now," Sales said. "It was a beautiful lake. Always geese and ducks on it."

Now, the geese and ducks coast on a muddy mirror. And the D-Day memorial Sales' created on his land overlooks 42 years of hard work down the drain.

"It's just a terrible loss to me, we've spent all these years beautifying this place," Sales said.

Sales noticed the color change in November. He blames the new Abee Minor subdivision for the mess. "Every time it rains the mud and rain and sediment pours into the lake," he said.

And he wonders why Amherst's leaders stayed silent despite his complaints.  "I'm awful upset with the county, the people up there could have stopped them and they should have,” Sales said.

His wife Alice is upset too, but more so because it's hard watching her husband lose a view that used to make him so happy.

"This is his life and it's all he's got," Alice Sales said.

As one of the last living D-Day vets, Bob knows his days are numbered. He just wishes he could live them out in peace.

"I've lost many nights of sleep over this. I would like to get things back to normal but I know they never will," Sales said.

The county declined to comment on this lawsuit. But we did talk to the developer off camera Tuesday.  He told us all plans were approved by DEQ and other state entities and that he followed those plans.  He also says they hired an independent erosion control company to put up silt fences and stabilize the area.  Finally, he tells us the nature of the soil in this county is that it dyes the water and takes a very long time to settle.

 Email To Friend