That's how Jena Embry Loes described her neighborhood's fight against T-Mobile USA, which had hoped to construct an 80-foot cell tower near her home.

The company sought to erect the tower at the Puget Sound Energy substation at 2700 Yelm Highway S.E., south of Olympia and east of Tumwater.

Thurston County Hearing Examiner James Driscoll approved the tower's construction earlier this year. A coalition of neighbors led by Embry Loes appealed his ruling to the Thurston County Commission, saying the tower would be an unwelcome eyesore.

The commission unanimously reversed Driscoll's decision Wednesday -- a move T-Mobile representatives said was a frustrating blow for the company and its customers.

The commission's vote opposing the tower's construction is final unless T-Mobile takes the matter to court.

"It felt a little like the David and Goliath story," Embry Loes said Thursday.

"It's so great to be able to say, 'We won.' It was a moment that restored my faith in elected officials."

Such tower proposals have met with increasing opposition across Thurston County during the past three years as cellular phones have become more popular and as the number of wireless companies has grown. Towers in Olympia, Tumwater, Rainier and the county all have sparked the ire of neighborhood residents.

The commission formally will adopt its decision Monday. Then, T-Mobile will have about 24 days to appeal.

T-Mobile representatives said Thursday they will wait to read the commission ruling before deciding whether to appeal the matter.

"We are enormously disappointed in the decision and in the commission's process," said Laura Altschul, T-Mobile's director of government affairs.

"We have to put it (the tower) somewhere, and here it would be at an existing substation where there already are utilities. We don't know how we could do better than that."

County regulations in place when T-Mobile first made its application require an 80-foot cell tower to be constructed at least 88 feet from any adjacent properties.

T-Mobile would need an exemption from the policy since the tower would be about 37 feet from one property line.

The Yelm Highway site in question does not have any physical characteristics that would make such an exemption necessary, according to the commission's decision.

Commissioner Diane Oberquell read a motion this week reversing the hearing examiner's decision.

The motion states Driscoll's ruling is "an erroneous interpretation" of county policy.

"The hearing examiner made no findings whatsoever that the physical site-specific conditions of the property justified the variance," Oberquell said, reading the prepared written motion.

Mary Beth Ricks, a county resident who lives near the proposed site, said she was concerned about the possible effect the tower could have on residents' health.

"It felt really good to be able to make a difference," Ricks said of the neighborhood's opposition to the tower. "If we hadn't said anything, the tower would be there."

The commission's decision was upsetting, especially because county staff and the hearing examiner previously recommended the tower's construction, Altschul said.

"The commission demonstrated minimal deliberation at the hearing," she said.