Letters – Locals support bond, Host Agreement

Local couple supports Host Agreement

To the Editor:

It is very clear that some Lockhart area residents and Caldwell County leadership are not on the same page regarding the proposed 130 Environmental Park in Caldwell County. Regardless of how people feel about a landfill, we can work together on negotiating a host agreement that includes

beneficial terms for this important piece of infrastructure to ensure we’re in the best position possible if the facility’s permit is issued by the state. A healthy discussion about this project is certainly warranted, and we appreciate Judge Bonn’s efforts to begin this process.

We personally know there are many area business owners who support an executed host agreement but feel they cannot speak up for fear of lost business.  Doing so is clearly a business risk for us, but we believe the bigger risk long term for our businesses is not taking advantage of what a host agreement can do for our community. The revenue alone can help fund essential services for Caldwell County. We believe a viable industrial park would be a likelihood.

This is a clear opportunity. Regardless of your position on the development’s permitting application with TCEQ, a host agreement will help our county benefit from the development and make Caldwell County an even more attractive place to call home.

Jim and Amelia Smith

Lockhart

Habitat event deemed ‘grand success’

To the Editor:

Thanks  Lockhart! Yes, you, the citizens of Lockhart have once again made the Annual Dinner and Auction Event for Caldwell County Habitat for Humanity a grand success! Mike Ammerman, Chair of the Steering Committee for Caldwell County Habitat for Humanity, has released the figures for the 2014 Auctions held March 15 at Maxwell Social Club:

Total Ticket Sales –  $ 6,105

Silent Auction – $ 1,899

Live Auction and Auction Donations – $ 8,738

Bar Donations – $119

Cash Donations – $3,095

Total – $19,956

It was an evening of fun and cameraderie for folks from all walks of life around Lockhart and Caldwell County.

Thanks, Lockhart!

This money will be earmarked for the support of The Home Repair and New Home Construction programs in 2014 and 2015 in Caldwell County.

Donita Haden

Caldwell County Habitat for Humanity

Parent praises bond initiative

To the Editor:

My wife and I moved to Lockhart in the fall of 1984, when my older son began school at Carver Kindergarten. Both of my sons graduated from Lockhart High School: Carl in 1997, and Nicholas in 1999. I’m proud of Lockhart and Lockhart schools and the opportunities they gave our children. I’m even more excited by what the future holds for our schools as they continue to grow along with the whole Lockhart community.

I am glad my family moved here so that we could raise our children in a community that offered so much to them, and to me. As I look back, I know that the past has been good. I recognize that at some point, though, we need to let go of the past and look to the future. And in that, I would particularly refer to the high school. That campus has many good memories for me, from working with my sons’ teachers, and for many years, working with seniors as we planned Baccalaureate services together. When I toured the facility with other community members as part of a facilities study group, many memories came back to me. After all, it is the same building my sons attended in the 1990s. It is virtually the same building as when the high school opened in 1965. Friends who graduated in the 1960s tell me that little has changed, from then until now.

Yes, the building has been well kept. However, I was surprised to see how many challenges now exist because education today is different from what it was in 1995, not to mention 1965. Programs such as Science, Career and Technology Education, Art, Theatre, ROTC, Band, etc., are in areas that are not and cannot be equipped properly and are now too small for the number of students participating. We learned that the electrical system cannot adequately support the technology our students need for twenty-first century lives and careers.

In 1965, the people of Lockhart supported a new high school for the children then and for generations of children since then, including our own. That building has served us well for decades. Now, almost 50 years later, it’s time for us to step up and invest in our community once again. To keep our children competitive and successful, we should offer them the education they deserve in facilities that are as up to date and properly equipped as they should be.

I encourage you to vote YES on the May 10 Bond Election!

Wayne Walther

Lockhart

Editor’s note: Because of the short time frame set up by the Lockhart ISD Board of Trustees between calling and holding the upcoming election on the expansive bond package, and because of the election’s importance to the community, the Post-Register will waive the standard requirement prohibiting letters for or against the issue within six weeks of the election. We will continue to accept and publish Letters to the Editor discussing the pros and cons of the bond proposal until the May 10, 2014 election date.