July 31, 1999

Carol (declined to give last name) of Front Royal

William Shakespeare once wrote that a rose by any other name would smell as sweet.

That may be true, but what about a condemned, contaminated and abandoned rayon plant that has spent nearly 10 years on the Environmental Protection Agency's priorities list for environmentally hazardous areas? What kind of name should it have?

Now that the EPA, Justice Department and former site owner FMC Corp. have reached an agreement that will allow the final cleanup and restoration of the former Avtex Fibers plant in Front Royal to begin, Warren County residents are wondering what they should call the place.

Town and county officials plan to develop the 440-acre site into a business park and nature preserve, but for one reason or another many people don't think the name Avtex is right for such facilities.

"Avtex sounds like a toxic waste dump and that's what it is," said Carol, a 47-year-old shopper at the Kmart in Front Royal who declined to give her last name. "If they're going to make it into a park or something, then they should change the name, too. Maybe call it Toxic Waste Park or something like that. How does that sound to you?"

Others want the Avtex site to get a name that doesn't refer so directly to its checkered past as one of the biggest environmental disaster areas in state history.

The Avtex Multi-Stakeholders group, made up of area residents and representatives of various agencies with interests in the site, took up the name question at a recent meeting.

"I think we've heard a lot of people saying they wanted to look into renaming the site", said one of the group’s sponsors, EPA spokesman Kuhn. "They would like to

give it a name that will take the focus off the site's negative aspects and focus on the positive reuse of the area.

Kuhn said he doesn't think the group can rename the site on its own, but its suggestions for names could influence what town and county Officials decide to call the site.

Another member of the stakeholders group, Town Planner Kimberley P. Fogle said she strongly favors a new name for Avtex.

"I think renaming is a wonderful idea," she said. "If we call it something besides Avtex, maybe we'll see greater acceptance of it in the community."

Ms. Fogle said county residents associate the name Avtex primarily with the environmental contamination that led the EPA to take over the site in the first place and led to a state advisory against eating fish from the Shenandoah River downstream from the site.

"It really needs a more positive image than Avtex, EPA Superfund site," she said. "A new name would give it a new identity and shape a more positive image of the site in people's minds."

Ms. Fogle said she doesn't have a name in mind, but thinks it should refer to the area's natural beauty.

"I'd like to see it get a name that has something to do with the Shenandoah since it's right on the river," she said. "It needs a name that will go along with the positive redevelopment we hope to see out there in the future."

Richard Novak of the Front Royal-Warren County Economic Development Authority, which will be the primary developer of the site when EPA and FMC finish their cleanup, disagreed with Ms. Fogle.

While the site could use an image change, the name Avtex is an important part of the region's history and shouldn't be divorced from the site, he said.

"A new name would be fine with EDA," he said. "We're not going to call it the Avtex Superfund site forever. But I do think we should keep Avtex in there somewhere."

"It's important to remember that Avtex was a major part of our community for a long time. It wasn't always like it has been in the last few years. They put a lot of food on a lot of tables around here. And they sent a lot of people's kids to college. I hope that we can come up with a name that will both honor Avtex and highlight the new development we hope to see at the site."

In the community at large, renaming the Avtex site seems to be a popular idea.

Toni Brooks, a hairstylist at the Ebony and Ivory salon in Front Royal, said she favors a name more suited to the site's designation as a park and business area.

"Yes, to rename it would be a good idea," she said. "But what would you call something like that? It is a hard question."

Dennis Bailey, a Front Royal man who said he has lived in Warren County for about 30 years, agreed that coming up with a new name will be difficult.

"After a name like it had, it's kind of hard to come up with something that will stick in people's minds," he said. "Maybe they should call it the Front Royal Makeover, because they're fixing the whole thing up like a lady does in a beauty parlor."

Mike and Ralph Waller, owners of Main Street Pawn, also said the site should have a name that reflects its metamorphosis from environmental hazard to nature preserve.

"That place use to stink up this whole town," said Mike Waller, referring to the plant's fumes. "Stinktown and Helltown, that's what they use to call this place. But you don't want a name like that for what they're planning now."

Ralph Waller suggested the name Shenandoah Business Park.

"No," Mike said. "I think they should call it New Life Park because before it was dirty and dangerous and now it's going to be alive again. That's a good name for it, New Life Park."

Anyone with a name suggestion can attend the Avtex Multi-Stakeholders' Aug. 10 meeting at a location to be announced.