In the summer of 2005, news that a developer was considering a "Wal-Mart-type business" on the border of Orange and Chatham counties lit up the phone lines and e-mail in-boxes of thousands of residents and commuters as if barbarians were assaulting the gates of civilization. In fact, such was the title of discussion on OrangePolitics.org.

It was standing room only at Capt. John's Fish house, where more than 200 people crammed in to hear from local officials and activists about what could be done to stop the developer, Lee Moore Oil. A citizens group, Chatham First, was formed to advocate against a big box store in a community of home-grown businesses, minimal traffic delays and semi-rural vistas.

"We don't want 15/501 to look like the sprawl in Durham!" was the rallying cry.

A galvanized community opened its checkbooks while an army of volunteers knocked door to door to oust a board of county commissioners that ignored pleas for more sensitive planning.

They won. New commissioners promising smart growth were elected. It was the way democracy was supposed to work.

But the bulldozers and lawyers came anyway. Driving south on 15/501 toward Pittsboro, clearing for County Line Plaza continues. Three years after the torches and pitchforks were raised to save our community, two people remain standing against the developer's deep pockets.

For Bob and Beverly Murdock, the clearing of trees next to their homestead is not unlike the clearing of their bank accounts.

Despite records that say commissioners in the 1970s meant 20 acres at that site were zoned for business and 40 for residential, Chatham County Planning Director Keith Megginson read the legal description backward to come up with a 30-acre business site, enough for a big box store.

The Murdocks filed three lawsuits and won every one. A Superior Court judge agreed that Megginson was drawing outside the lines.

A now citizen-friendly county board decided not to defend its employee's actions, but the private developer will do just that when the cases are heard by the N.C. Court of Appeals sometime next year. And of course, there's always the Supreme Court.

What's the cost of fighting on behalf of your community?

In this case, $160,000 and counting. While the Murdocks are grateful for every dollar received from neighbors and others in the community, $78,000 has come out of their own life savings.

There is no end in sight. It's easy to think part of Lee Moore Oil's strategy is to plow through the Murdocks' wallet until it is empty as a parking lot.

For now, a bank, a drug store and a small retail business to be named later will duplicate what is about a mile away. But if Megginson's machinations prevail, perhaps a Wal-Mart will be added later.

If you'd like to learn more about the Murdocks' fight, contact Chatham First at Chatham First, 570 Fearrington Post, Pittsboro, NC 27312.

Mark Barroso is a former television journalist living in Chatham County. Contact him at mbarroso@mindspring.com