Ready to act
Letters to the Editor
The Alpine Avalanche
Copyright 2008
Dear Residents of the Big Bend:
The Rio Grande Council of Governments has generally been supportive of measures to designed to protect the Big Bend region, but they have yet to take a stand against La Entrada.
We can not afford to wait. Furthermore, we should not shirk the responsibility (or pass up the possibility) to organize a commission that directly represents the wishes of the citizens of this region.
Establishing a Sub-Regional Planning Commission is about representing what the residents of the Big Bend know is best for this area.
The COG (Council of Governments) has been beneficial to us in the past, and our county commissioners and judges have put forth their best efforts to represent and protect us. However, this is a huge area, and the COG must divide its attention between the many voices of our small towns and the enormous demands of El Paso.
Who can blame them for not having become more involved with La Entrada, and what kind of citizens would we be if we did not show our support for our councilors by stepping up to the plate?
By "stepping up to the plate" I mean that we must take responsibility for this area and do our part to help the COG and our various towns by committing to a Big Bend Sub-Regional Planning Commission.
This is our home, and we should do our part while working in close partnership with the COG. This will provide us the most legitimate representation while alleviating some the burden our councilors already deal with on a daily basis.
We are ready to do this, we are prepared to do this, and Statute 391 gives us the ability to do this!
It is time for the stewards, the ranchers, the youths, and all the rest to take the reins and do their part!
I am ready. ReViva [Collective] is ready. The Sierra Club is ready. Alpine City Council is ready.
It is time for us all to stand together under one label - Citizens of the Big Bend - and let the COG and the rest of the world know we are ready to take care of our community.
Jeff Milam
Alpine
© 2008 The Alpine Avalanche: www.alpineavalanche.com
Friday, December 28, 2007
Tuesday, December 4, 2007
Letter urging attendance at City Council and Commissioners Court meetings to voice sentiments about La Entrada
Letters to the Editor
Big Bend Gazzette
Copyright 2008
Editor:
I am writing to inform the community of a few things. First of all, the motion to support the Big Bend Sub-Regional Planning Commission was passed by the Alpine City Council last meeting and this coming meeting, Tuesday the 4th at 6:00PM, they will vote on actually helping form the commission.
It is extremely important that citizens concerned with the La Entrada planning efforts attend this meeting and show support for Alpine joining the commission so that our voices will be heard loud and clear by TxDOT and MOTRAN.
Also, on December 10th the Brewster County Commissioners Court will meet and discuss joining the commission as well. To have Brewster County onboard would greatly increase the jurisdiction of the commission and I would like to encourage everyone to write and call the commissioners as well.
We deserve a say in what happens to our community and the commission will provide us that opportunity. And, for those in the surrounding areas, please show your support to your city council members and county commissioners. The greater our jurisdiction the louder our voice and the more we can protect.
You can find letter writing help on the ReViva website ( www.revivacollective.org) in the La Entrada section of our Forum.
I would also like to take this opportunity to inform everyone that an online No a La Entrada petition has been formed by ReViva Collective. The petition is unofficial and is specifically intended to illustrate the numbers who stand against La Entrada around the world. So, you can sign it even if you have signed a previous petition. As of this moment we have signatures ranging from Texas, to Massachusetts, to France, to South Africa, to Australia, and the numbers are growing! I invite everyone to visit the ReViva website and click on the link that says SIGN! the petition against La Entrada!
For those in the community unfamiliar with the ReViva Collective, we are a group of individuals working for various goals and causes united by a desire to do good for the Big Bend community and beyond. We currently contribute to the campaign against the La Entrada highway coming through Big Bend, are organizing a mural project around Alpine with the help of many local artists, have a biweekly film series showing documentaries on the first and third Fridays of every month at the community center, and host a weekly potluck dinner at the Orale' Way gallery (305 Gallego) every Wednesday night at 7:30 PM for anyone interested in learning about us or getting involved.
From a young man who is concerned about the area he loves, the country that has allowed him the freedom to write this, and the people who have made him who he is, please express your support to city council and your county commissioners. Please sign the petition and do not let economic interests supersede heritage. Please take upon yourself the responsibility of having a voice. Let's help each other help this place.
Thank you,
Jeff Milam
© 2008 Big Bend Gazzette: www.bigbendgazette.com
Letters to the Editor
Big Bend Gazzette
Copyright 2008
Editor:
I am writing to inform the community of a few things. First of all, the motion to support the Big Bend Sub-Regional Planning Commission was passed by the Alpine City Council last meeting and this coming meeting, Tuesday the 4th at 6:00PM, they will vote on actually helping form the commission.
It is extremely important that citizens concerned with the La Entrada planning efforts attend this meeting and show support for Alpine joining the commission so that our voices will be heard loud and clear by TxDOT and MOTRAN.
Also, on December 10th the Brewster County Commissioners Court will meet and discuss joining the commission as well. To have Brewster County onboard would greatly increase the jurisdiction of the commission and I would like to encourage everyone to write and call the commissioners as well.
We deserve a say in what happens to our community and the commission will provide us that opportunity. And, for those in the surrounding areas, please show your support to your city council members and county commissioners. The greater our jurisdiction the louder our voice and the more we can protect.
You can find letter writing help on the ReViva website ( www.revivacollective.org) in the La Entrada section of our Forum.
I would also like to take this opportunity to inform everyone that an online No a La Entrada petition has been formed by ReViva Collective. The petition is unofficial and is specifically intended to illustrate the numbers who stand against La Entrada around the world. So, you can sign it even if you have signed a previous petition. As of this moment we have signatures ranging from Texas, to Massachusetts, to France, to South Africa, to Australia, and the numbers are growing! I invite everyone to visit the ReViva website and click on the link that says SIGN! the petition against La Entrada!
For those in the community unfamiliar with the ReViva Collective, we are a group of individuals working for various goals and causes united by a desire to do good for the Big Bend community and beyond. We currently contribute to the campaign against the La Entrada highway coming through Big Bend, are organizing a mural project around Alpine with the help of many local artists, have a biweekly film series showing documentaries on the first and third Fridays of every month at the community center, and host a weekly potluck dinner at the Orale' Way gallery (305 Gallego) every Wednesday night at 7:30 PM for anyone interested in learning about us or getting involved.
From a young man who is concerned about the area he loves, the country that has allowed him the freedom to write this, and the people who have made him who he is, please express your support to city council and your county commissioners. Please sign the petition and do not let economic interests supersede heritage. Please take upon yourself the responsibility of having a voice. Let's help each other help this place.
Thank you,
Jeff Milam
© 2008 Big Bend Gazzette: www.bigbendgazette.com
Thursday, November 29, 2007
Emergency? Suspend Texas' constitutional rules? For a bill proposing a highway?
Dear Editor,
The Skyline (Alpine, TX)
Copyright 2008
Democracy, Tom Craddick style:
"The importance of this legislation and the crowded condition of the calendars in both houses create an emergency and an imperative public necessity that the constitutional rule requiring bills to be read on three several days in each house be suspended, and this rule is hereby suspended, and that this Act take effect and be in force from and after its passage, and it is so enacted."
This is a verbatim section from HB 2115, the legislation creating La Entrada al Pacifico.
Emergency? Suspend Texas' constitutional rules? For a bill proposing a highway?
It's obvious that La Entrada's backers don't mind playing fast and loose with the rules, from the chilling section above to the wildly inaccurate truck numbers they proposed for TxDOT's use.
Add to that their millions in taxpayer funding and years of lobbying and political back scratching, and the phrase "resistance is futile" can't help but leap to mind.
Last week, however, the Alpine City Council took an important step toward giving our region the power not only to resist La Entrada, but to join together to make sure that the Big Bend doesn't get run over by TxDOT or MOTRAN.
The proposed Big Bend Sub-Regional Planning Commission is an effective way for local towns and counties to have an equal voice with TxDOT, in a context where state and federal statutes require state agencies to work on a government to government basis with regional planning commissions.
Please urge your Big Bend area city council and/or county commissioners to look into and join the Big Bend Sub-Regional Planning Commission. It gives them a way to make sure that local issues, from pollution to property rights, get fair consideration when the state comes calling.
MOTRAN can't take our future unless we let them.
Sincerely,
Peter A. Smyke
Texas citizens have a rare opportunity to restore power and voice back to where it belongs, with We The People.
Dear Editor,
I would personally like to commend Alpine citizens and council members for proposing and supporting the agenda of the Big Bend Regional Planning Commission at last week's city council meeting. Under Chapter 391 of the Local Government. Code, such a commission can be created to focus and represent the concerns of localized governments. The BBRPC would have the power to demand information and cooperation from federal and/or state entities as an official subdivision of the state.
Considering the effects of the proposed La Entrada al Pacifico trade corridor (HWY 67/90) on the Big Bend region, there is an urgency to demand that TxDOT and MOTRAN take into strong consideration the concerns of Big Bend residents in future plans. I strongly urge the surrounding counties, cities, schools, and citizens of Big Bend to support this commission, and help create an entity that directly represents our property rights, environmental concerns, tax dollars, and any concerns of the people of the Big Bend.
In a time when the federal and state governments are becoming so far removed from the will of the people they represent, Texas citizens have a rare opportunity to restore power and voice back to where it belongs, with We The People.
I urge all citizens who are concerned about the future of Big Bend in the shadow of La Entrada, to attend city council meetings, talk to their commissioners, and become informed of the issues, so we can work together to preserve the beauty of our home. STOP LA ENTRADA AL PACIFICO!
For more information, visit www.stopthetrucks.org, or www.revivacollective.org.
Molly Walker
© 2008 The Skyline, Sul Ross State University.:www.sulross.edu
Dear Editor,
The Skyline (Alpine, TX)
Copyright 2008
Democracy, Tom Craddick style:
"The importance of this legislation and the crowded condition of the calendars in both houses create an emergency and an imperative public necessity that the constitutional rule requiring bills to be read on three several days in each house be suspended, and this rule is hereby suspended, and that this Act take effect and be in force from and after its passage, and it is so enacted."
This is a verbatim section from HB 2115, the legislation creating La Entrada al Pacifico.
Emergency? Suspend Texas' constitutional rules? For a bill proposing a highway?
It's obvious that La Entrada's backers don't mind playing fast and loose with the rules, from the chilling section above to the wildly inaccurate truck numbers they proposed for TxDOT's use.
Add to that their millions in taxpayer funding and years of lobbying and political back scratching, and the phrase "resistance is futile" can't help but leap to mind.
Last week, however, the Alpine City Council took an important step toward giving our region the power not only to resist La Entrada, but to join together to make sure that the Big Bend doesn't get run over by TxDOT or MOTRAN.
The proposed Big Bend Sub-Regional Planning Commission is an effective way for local towns and counties to have an equal voice with TxDOT, in a context where state and federal statutes require state agencies to work on a government to government basis with regional planning commissions.
Please urge your Big Bend area city council and/or county commissioners to look into and join the Big Bend Sub-Regional Planning Commission. It gives them a way to make sure that local issues, from pollution to property rights, get fair consideration when the state comes calling.
MOTRAN can't take our future unless we let them.
Sincerely,
Peter A. Smyke
Texas citizens have a rare opportunity to restore power and voice back to where it belongs, with We The People.
Dear Editor,
I would personally like to commend Alpine citizens and council members for proposing and supporting the agenda of the Big Bend Regional Planning Commission at last week's city council meeting. Under Chapter 391 of the Local Government. Code, such a commission can be created to focus and represent the concerns of localized governments. The BBRPC would have the power to demand information and cooperation from federal and/or state entities as an official subdivision of the state.
Considering the effects of the proposed La Entrada al Pacifico trade corridor (HWY 67/90) on the Big Bend region, there is an urgency to demand that TxDOT and MOTRAN take into strong consideration the concerns of Big Bend residents in future plans. I strongly urge the surrounding counties, cities, schools, and citizens of Big Bend to support this commission, and help create an entity that directly represents our property rights, environmental concerns, tax dollars, and any concerns of the people of the Big Bend.
In a time when the federal and state governments are becoming so far removed from the will of the people they represent, Texas citizens have a rare opportunity to restore power and voice back to where it belongs, with We The People.
I urge all citizens who are concerned about the future of Big Bend in the shadow of La Entrada, to attend city council meetings, talk to their commissioners, and become informed of the issues, so we can work together to preserve the beauty of our home. STOP LA ENTRADA AL PACIFICO!
For more information, visit www.stopthetrucks.org, or www.revivacollective.org.
Molly Walker
© 2008 The Skyline, Sul Ross State University.:www.sulross.edu
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