Jury to set “just compensation”

The attorney for a former Florida couple who fell in love with 40 acres near Westminster describes their property as the “jewel in a valley.”  Donald and Debbie Slisher built a home on the Dr. John’s Road in the same vicinity where a Civil War surgeon lived.  The Slishers bought their property in 1990 and, according to Attorney Samuel Albergotti, all was fine until a power company came in and condemned a 70’ strip to make way for a line connecting two substations.  The Slishers have rejected as too little the compensation offered by the Central Electric Power Cooperative.  And that’s why Central Electric has taken the Slishers to court to decide just compensation.   To allow an Oconee jury to picture what’s involved, the jurors rode two vans yesterday afternoon to have a look at the Slishers’ property.  Now testimony will get underway, and the attorneys for both sides in opening arguments foretold what kinds of evidence will be introduced. Attorney Alexis Kaylor Lindsay for Columbia-based Central Electric told the jurors they can expect to hear their appraiser explain exactly how he calculated what the couple should be paid for the taking.  Central Electric, she said, is the cooperative that supplies electricity to all South Carolina co-ops.  Albergotti, the Slishers’ lawyer, said he will call Mrs. Slisher, who is a realtor, and the jury will hear her say why an electric power line running thru or near a person’s property is a turnoff to a potential buyer and can depreciate the value of an individual’s property.