Above Photo: Two Charlottesville doctors tried to visit pipeline protesting tree-sitters in Roanoke County. Courtesy Dr. Greg Gelburd
Would prison guards be allowed to turn away medical assistance? Would denying medical assistance to a prisoner of war be legal under the Geneva Conventions? Roanoke may be opening itself up to a lawsuit for negligence if anything happens to Theresa “Red” Terry. Call Roanoke County at (540) 772-2006 and Governor Ralph Northam at 804-786-2211.
Two Charlottesville doctors seeking to help a 61-year-old woman who has spent four weeks perched in a tree to halt construction of the Mountain View Pipeline say Roanoke County authorities did not permit them to provide her with medical supplies on Saturday.
With a hearing in federal court scheduled for Tuesday afternoon, the family of Theresa “Red” Terry and her daughter, Theresa Minor Terry, 30, are anxiously waiting for a resolution to the ongoing standoff on property that’s been owned by their family for seven generations.
In an interview Monday, Dr. Greg Gelburd, of Downtown Family Health Care, said he and Dr. Paige Perriello, with Pediatric Associates of Charlottesville, visited Bent Mountain in Roanoke County over the weekend to assess the mother and daughter’s medical condition.
Perriello, who is also the sister of former gubernatorial candidate and Rep. Tom Perriello, D-5th, said she was unavailable for an interview Monday, but Gelburd described the incident and medical risks for the two protesters.
From behind police tape away from the tree, Perriello and Gelburd shouted toward Red Terry to obtain information about her condition and provide medical advice, he said.
“We determined that she seemed to be in good spirits and seemed to be OK medically. I encouraged her to stand up and take the tarp off the roof of her tree-stand to get some sunshine,” he said. “Her husband attempted to give the skin cream and vitamins [that we brought] to the troopers, but they refused that, as well.”
Gelburd said being overly sedentary poses a health risk, as blood clots can form in the legs. He also said prolonged exposure to damp conditions can increase the risk of skin infections.
After the mother-and-daughter pair recently said they had run out of food and other supplies, Roanoke County officials announced last week that authorities are conducting daily wellness checks and providing them what they need to ensure their physical needs are met.
While family members and other supporters have sought to donate food and other supplies, police have placed those items at the base of the tree for Red to retrieve.
“She reiterated that she would be arrested if she came down,” Gelburd said.
Roanoke County spokeswoman Amy Whittaker said the two women are in violation of a federal court order and that there are warrants for their arrest. “Therefore, they are evading arrest,” Whittaker said, adding that law enforcement officials should not be expected to let people aid scofflaws.
“This is a unique situation, in that these ladies are our citizens, and we want to ensure their physical needs are met,” she said.
Red Terry’s husband, Coles Terry III, lauded his wife and daughter, and agreed with Gelburd that they appear to be doing OK for now.
“I’m not real worried. They’re strong — a lot stronger than I am,” Terry said. “I would have come down on the first day.”
Asked whether he’s concerned about their wellbeing, Terry said he hopes the local authorities will stay true to their word. “I can only hope that they will take care of them. We can’t. The responsibility falls on them now,” he said.
While health is a concern, Gelburd said, the visit was partly political, as he and Perriello also wanted to show support for the protest against the Mountain Valley Pipeline project, which is planned to span 300 miles from northwestern West Virginia to southern Virginia.
Similarly to the Atlantic Coast Pipeline, whose proposed route includes parts of Nelson and Buckingham counties, property-rights advocates and environmentalists have objected to the energy infrastructure project on several grounds, including the alleged abuse of eminent domain and concerns about threats to parts of the environment that they say haven’t been appropriately surveyed.
“I don’t like what’s happening,” Gelburd said. “Eminent domain — it seems like a big con job by the power company. And we don’t think we really need this pipeline.”
Several Republicans and Democrats, including Sen. Tim Kaine, D-Va., and Rep. H. Morgan Griffith, R-9th, have weighed in on the controversy surrounding the pipelines, calling on regulators to halt the projects to reassess the potential harm to the environment and the local water supply for communities in the pipelines’ paths.
On Monday, The Washington Post published an opinion piece co-authored by Tom Perriello, in which he and Tom Cormons, executive director of the nonprofit Appalachian Voices, called on Gov. Ralph Northam to halt the project so that state regulators can assess the project, per a state bill Northam signed into law earlier this year.
The article specifically mentions Red Terry and her daughter, and says Northam can act to “reduce the escalating public concern.”
Tom Perriello did not respond to a request for comment Monday.