SALEM, S.D., Sept. 14 (UPI) -- A South Dakota county has approved zoning changes intended to bring about the creation of a new town for the deaf.
At a vote in Salem, S.D., Tuesday night, McCook County commissioners approved the zoning changes for The Laurent Co., which hopes to build the town, called Laurent, on pasture land.
The town would be named for Laurent Clerc, a deaf French educator who co-founded the American School for the Deaf -- the first school for the deaf in the United States.
Laurent co-founder Marvin Miller told the Sioux Falls Argus the company is close to finalizing purchase of land near Interstate 90. As of Tuesday, 147 families were on the town's reservation list, he said.
Martha Sherman of McCook Citizens United said despite the vote, the group still could raise objections about Laurent when officials apply for further rezoning.
"We have to leave it up to residents to say whether they want a new town in the county," Sherman said.
