As an orthopedic surgeon and practitioner of sports medicine in Dalton, Conrad Easley has built up a lifetime good will in the Whitfield-Murray area.

But as a property owner and concerned citizen, he is now leading the fight against siting the new Whitfield County high school near Prater’s Mill outside of Varnell.

“I serve on the board of directors of the mill (Prater’s Mill) and the (Prater’s Mill) foundation,” Easley said, “and I’m also the president of Lake Francis Inc. (a property owners association). Judy Alderman (of the Prater’s Mill board) called to let me know what was planned next door, so I had a dual responsibility as a member of the community to investigate. ”

Easley now leads an additional group of citizens formed to oppose the planned high school, the Concerned Citizens of the Prater’s Mill Community and Whitfield County, Georgia.

Easley has been a property owner in the Lake Francis community that sits across Ga. Highway 2 from the proposed high school site since 1992. Like most other residents there, he is a “part-timer” whose primary residence is elsewhere. In fact, there is only one full-time resident in the enclave. There are 20 members and 18 cottages represented in the Lake Francis Association, he says, but adds that many other residents in the community near the lake have contacted him with their concerns about the proposed site.

“I have written letters to the (Whitfield) Board of Commissioners, and have spoken to the commissioners,” he said. “I know the Board of Education has the authority to select school sites, and I do not have anything personal against any individual, but with that authority comes accountability.”

Easley appears to have done his homework: It can be seen in his office in stacks of files, notebooks and note cards jammed with information about the site and Prater’s Mill.

“I’ve walked the site with a civil engineer, and he told me it’s not the best site,” he said.

That engineer and surveyor is Lovick Evans of LCE Engineers in Roswell.

“The site selection process said the project would be on public sewer, and it appears there will be no guarantee of that,” Evans said. “I believe the project was unfairly given a higher rating (regarding site selection) because of the sewer.”

Evans also said the entrance off a scenic byway, Highway 2, was not mentioned on the application; that entrance has been brought into an area “with horrible sight distance”; and that the topography of the site has “significant slopes” necessitating higher excavation costs.

Easley believes accountability has been neglected by the Board of Education, and he specifies two areas.

“Number one is site assessment,” he said. “I believe a significant amount of data sent by Whitfield County Schools to the state Department of Education was inaccurate, flawed, erroneous and incorrect.”

George Smalley, assistant superintendent of operations for the school system, said the state Department of Education approved the site for “suitability” in the late fall of 2007 and gave clearance to build. In a staff analysis, the North Georgia Regional Development Center recommended the site be given a permit to build, but with conditions addressed such as traffic, the profile of the building and lighting, and keeping a buffer of trees between the school and the highway.

Describing himself as an “amateur historian,” Easley also is concerned about the heritage of the mill.