Letters – Veterans, pride and water

Community brings pride to people

To the Editor:

Every now and then, one’s heart cannot help but burst with pride and joy regarding their community!

That is exactly how I felt on Saturday, April 18.

The Caldwell County welcoming home our Vietnam Veterans (on the 40th anniversary of the end of the war) was such a moving day and a w

onderful experience!

With countless volunteers and unbelievable heartfelt dedication to honor our American Soldiers, our community shined in a wonderful tribute to all of our veterans.

For all the kids who volunteered and/or were in attendance, I believe that they could have possibly learned more about our Vietnam Soldiers than any textbook information could have provided.

It is my belief that our soldiers are our true American treasure… and my heart treasures this community’s love and support for our heroes!

Shelly K. Michelson

Lockhart

Commissioners missed mark on water resolution

To the Editor:

Numbers are useful things. If properly understood they allow man to send a mission to Mars. In the right hands, they allow one measure and grasp and get a feel for the size and significance of a thing or idea. In the wrong hands, the information conveyed by numbers can be erroneous and useless. In your paper Caldwell County Commissioner Alfredo Munoz is quoted as saying, “this company (Electro Purification (EP)) plans to sell 10,000 acre-feet of water per day.”

The fact is EP wants to sell up to 7.5 million gallons of water per day. Seven million five hundred thousand gallons converts to 17.5 acre-feet. The commissioner’s statement is not even close to the facts. It’s hard to fathom how the commissioners can make informed decisions using such erroneous data.

The commissioner’s decision to back a resolution against Goforth SUD is unwise and misinformed. Goforth SUD is charged with bringing water to those in its service area. Part of its service area is in Caldwell County.

Goforth has chosen to take water from the Trinity formation in Hays County. Nothing wrong with that. Everything they are doing is legal and ethical. One million gallons would go to supply Niederwald. Why would the Caldwell County commissioners choose not to support Niederwald?

In the sixties, the community of Maxwell received its water from a shallow dug well in the Leona Formation. As Maxwell’s water needs grew, it organized a water supply company and went over to Hays County, and drilled wells into the Edwards formation.

As it continued to grow, Maxwell partnered with others to obtains water from the Guadalupe river; a long way from home and again in another county. What Maxwell did is what Goforth is doing-supplying water.

Ideally, our county commissioners address problems after careful evaluation and make decisions useful to the citizens of Caldwell County. Our commissioners seem to always stub their toe. Their resolution against Goforth was unwise. Their decision regarding the waste disposal site did not bring the maximum benefit to the county.

Like Don Quixote, this new commissioners court has charged at perceived problems without understanding what they are seeing and what to do about them.

Robert L. Peters, Geologist

Maxwell