Quarries are often unpopular neighbors because of the dust and noise they produce.

The nondenominational New Hope Christian Church, however, is very grateful to have Rockydale Quarries nearby.

More than a year and a half ago, Rockydale approached New Hope about plans to expand closer to U.S. 220. At that time, members of both the church and the company realized they could help one another out.

The church could help Rockydale by offering their facilities as a meeting place to "get the word out." Over the course of that year, the church hosted 12 open forums to inform community members about the company's plans.

In return, the quarry could help the church with its parking problems.

To do so, the company undertook a $400,000 improvement project.

The price tag for the church: a mere $75,000.

Terry VandeLinde, a church elder, said, "The cool thing about this is that I've met so many friends."

During the past year, VandeLinde has become good friends with David Willis, vice president of Rockydale Quarries.

On a recent morning, Willis gave VandeLinde his "25 cent" tour of the Roanoke quarry. Willis chewed tobacco as the two men talked about elk hunting, Boy Scouts and business.

Past the dust and stone-crushing activity filling the 86-acre quarry, New Hope's white church steeple could be seen above the dugout mountain's sandy, grayish and rich orange tones.

As they drove along, Willis let out a deep laugh when asked whether company employees were surprised by the massiveness of the church project. "Some of us might have been," he laughed.

"I sure was," said VandeLinde.

Willis talked about the typical community reaction to quarry work, saying, "There's always resistance. There's fears. There's concerns."

When Rockydale began discussions about expansion, employees met with neighbors, businesses and churches to receive community feedback.

VandeLinde told Willis that the church's parking lot was on an incline and needed to be redesigned. During cold weather, it would become covered with ice "like icing on a cake," causing cars to slide and get stuck.

The church needed to remove dirt to improve its lot.

"Move dirt? ... That's what we do," replied Rockydale employees who said they had both the manpower and the equipment to get the job done.

On Nov. 19, the church held a special dinner "with turkey and all the trimmings" to honor four employees of Rockydale Quarries: Lee Wright, Willis, Steve Muncy and Chris Hughes. Putting in long hours after work and on weekends, they removed 120,000 tons of dirt to level the parking area and began paving it. They also started plans to create a recreational area with a picnic pavilion, barbecue pit and playground with brightly colored mazes.

Willis said, "You want to give something back, so that's what we did."

There is a Bible passage that VandeLinde says conjures up images of faith, mountain dirt and Rockydale's generosity.

In Matthew 17:20, Jesus says: "If you have faith as a grain of a mustard seed, you will tell this mountain, move from here to there and it will move, and nothing will be impossible for you."