Cherokeean Herald (Rusk, Tex.), Vol. 163, No. 48, Ed. 1 Wednesday, January 23, 2013 Page: 2 of 16
This newspaper is part of the collection entitled: Rusk Cherokeean and was provided to The Portal to Texas History by the Singletary Memorial Library.
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2A
■ Wednesday, January 23, 2013
Cljerokeeaij Herald ■ thecherokeean.com
Letters must contain the writer’s name, address
LETTERS and zip, along with a daytime telephone number so
POI ICY we may contact y°u with clarification or confirma-
rULIU Y ^jon vve will not print letters that contain incorrect
information or allegations deemed libelous, nor
will we publish form letters or copies intended for
mass distribution to other publications. The shorter
the letter, the better its chances for publication; we
reserve the right to edit letters for space.
Deadline is 11 a.m. Friday. Send letters to:
herald@mediactr.com, FAX to (903) 683-5104 or
mail to P.O. Box 475, Rusk, Texas, 75785.
An open letter to Canadians and TransCanada shareholders
MICHAEL BISHOP
Douglass
My property is in the path
of the TransCanada Keystone
Pipehne XL.
From the outset of this proj-
ect, landowners in East Texas
received a form letter from the
company stating that there is
a possibihty that the proposed
“crude oil” pipehne from Hard-
isty, Alberta, Canada might
come through our property.
As a retired chemist, I am
not opposed to crude oil, nor
pipelines. Without contact-
ing me further, I awoke one
morning to surveyors on our
property-trespassing. When I
confronted the surveyors, I was
threatened with jail and told I
had no recourse but to allow
them to survey my property
under Texas law.
I contested the right of Trans-
Canada to claim eminent
domain and this fight lasted
nearly three years. They took
me to condemnation court to
seize my property “legally,”
and I hired the services of an
attorney to appeal that decision
by the court. In the end, under
great duress and coercion, I was
forced to settle.
I began studying and re-
searching the claims published
by TransCanada and reahzed
that the company had mis-
represented the pipehne to
the United States Congress,
landowners in other states and
here in Texas. The material to
be transported via their pipehne
is not crude oil, not by statu-
tory definition nor by a ruling
from Congress and the Internal
Revenue Service (IRS).
Furthermore, I found that
mining this material in Alberta
has raised serious concerns
with Canadians and that there
is a definitive rise in cancer in
towns near the sites of produc-
tion.
This has been substantiated
by several medical doctors,
including Dr. John O’Connor,
who has subsequently been
prosecuted by the Canadian
government. The site at Ft.
Chipewyan, Alberta has been
described as the “most destruc-
tive industrial project on earth”
and I am amazed at the lack
of concerns of the Canadian
government in regards to the
environmental, health and
safety effects of this project.
I think what concerns me
most is that there is an exist-
ing pipehne from Alberta to
Burnaby, British Columbia to
the Chevron refinery, but this
refinery cannot get enough
Canadian crude and is purchas-
ing crude from foreign sources.
The existing pipehne could be
expanded in Canada to feed
this refinery or, as an alterna-
tive, another refinery could be
permitted and built right there
on the site where this bitumen
is mined.
Conversion of the products
could then be sent to where it
is needed, hmiting the toxicity
and dangers of leaking, as we
have seen in the past years.
Texans are much like western
Canadians in that we are fierce-
ly independent and rooted to
many well-established values.
One of these values is the right
of landowners and taxpayers to
be secure in their homes. As
you may or may not know, we
gained our independence from
Mexico in 1845 with blood and
a few hundred strong men who
stood up to tyranny and a mas-
sive Mexican army to achieve
that independence.
Texas taxpayers were told
several years ago that a large
toll highway would be built at
the expense of millions of acres
of private property. It was to be
built and managedby a Spanish
and Chinese firm. We rebelled
and passed a Constitutional
amendment prohibiting the
taking of private property for
anything but pubhc use.
That project, theTransTexas
Corridor 1-69, died on the vine
and reestabhshed our indepen-
dent right to sovereignty.
I am relating this story to you
because there are currently sev-
eral existing lawsuits against
TransCanada, and there are
several more pending. To my
way of thinking, this project
was a disaster from the start;
the pubhc relations aspect was
grossly mishandled, especially
given the nature of Texans. If
just one of these lawsuits is
ruled in favor oflandowners and
against the pipehne company,
the land will have to be restored
to its original condition, accord-
ing to law.
My understanding is that this
pipehne project is already a bil-
lion dollars over budget and that
there have been lawsuits from
refineries against TransCana-
da. How much do you think it
will cost the company and its
stockholders if they lose and
this project does not proceed?
Isn’t it more prudent to put the
project on hold until all legal
proceedings are exhausted?
Again, I do not think the
leadership of this company
has been very concerned about
the shareholders and have
employed imprudent business
practices from day one. If they
lose - and I beheve they will -
the cost to restore the properties
and to remove the pipe being
laid will be phenomenal.
I hope that you will under-
stand how we landowners feel
about this project. Texas was
built on crude oil and we have
millions of miles of pipehnes in
this state.
We are not opposed to crude
oil, but are opposed to a private
corporation that is profiting at
our expense and who, from the
beginning, have misrepresent-
ed information regarding this
pipehne. This material is toxic;
it is not crude oil by any legal,
statutory definition and has the
potential to contaminate, on a
permanent basis, our source of
drinking water.
I think the track record of
leaks by TransCanada and
another firm in Michigan sub-
stantiate our fears. This project
should be stopped immediately
and since the pipehne firm has
mesmerized, bhnded and en-
amored our elected officials, it
is going to be Canadians and
stockholders of TransCanada
Pipehne who will bring final
justice for independent, sover-
eign taxpayers and landowners
in Texas. We share your values
and, as the saying goes, “Texas
is like a whole other country.”
We grow many ofthe same crops
as you, raise cattle and have the
same hopes and dreams for our
children as you.
We are friends and neighbors,
but a giant corporation is invad-
ing our land and destroying the
legacy we want to leave for our
children and grandchildren.
Help us stop this madness.
County spending needs to be of higher priority
H.V. JONES
Rusk
During the past two years,
I have attempted to provide
more transparency into our
county’s financial condition,
which has seriously deterio-
rated since 2009.
Unfortunately, the misman-
agement of spending control
continues to be of little concern
to our elected county officials.
It seems that more equip-
ment and selected paving
projects are more important
than the huge depletion of
county funds or interest for the
county’s property taxpayers.
Some important facts are
listed for your own assessment
of our county government’s
performance. These facts and
numbers are available at our
county auditor’s office and are
annually audited by an outside
auditing firm for confirmation.
These are the facts for which
the existing elected county
officials are responsible. As of
the end of 2012:
• The county has another
spending deficit of approxi-
mately $2 million;
• Since 2009, the deficit
spending has been approxi-
mately $7 million;
• For the budget year 2012-
13, there is another $600,000
deficit spending;
• Property taxes increased
four cents per $100 appraised
value;
• The surplus at the end of
the 2013 budget year is slated
to be approximately $1.5 mil-
lion;
• This same surplus is slated
to be less than 30 percent of
recommended county surplus,
or the safety net;
You will note that the four
commissioners had an excess
of $1.66 million in unspent
funds to carry over from 2012
TEXAS STATE RAILROAD
Romance
on the
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Dinner Train
February 16, 2013
A
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www.TexasStateRR.com ★
1-888-987-2461
‘Branded 'fir 1st
Cowboy
Study of other Religions by Dana Welch
Feb. 7, 14, 21 & 28 • 6pm nightly
Paul Daily 'Horse Whisperer'
April 25 • 6pm
Sunday • 10 a.m. • Worship Service
Thursday • 6:30 p.m. • Bible Study
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Curtis Oliver - Pastor
(936) 867-5533, home or (936) 675-3205, cell
^1
5592 Hwy 110 N
(5 miles from 84 & 110 in Rusk)
IP
into 2013, plus their budgeted
funds. The carryover excess
is equivalent to eight cents
per $100 appraised value for
property taxes.
Rather than reducing their
spending some $400,000, they
voted to increase property tax-
es another two cents per $100
appraised value for taxpayers.
This is intended to be an
instrument to allow each of us
to better understand how ef-
ficient our county government
is in managing the county’s
finances.
Unless fiscal managements
becomes a higher level of in-
terest to our elected officials,
our property taxes — already
the highest in this area — will
continue to be of little concern
for our elected county officials.
Loans or CDs
Check our rates 1st:
903-683-2277
Citizens 1st
BANK
Member F.D.I.C.
COLD & FLU HQ
When cold or flu symptoms strike,
we'rs here to help you fight back.
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Get pharmacist-recommended
prevention & treatment tips!
Over-the-counter & prescription remedies
Pain relievers & fever reducers
Cough drops & lozenges
Immune-boosting vitamins & supplements
Humidifiers, dehumidifiers & foot baths
Heating & cooling pads
Tissues, travel packs, pill cases & more
hapman
Pharmacy
108 E. 5th St. • Rusk
903-683-2422
We are a Participating
Medicare Provider!
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Gonzalez, Terrie. Cherokeean Herald (Rusk, Tex.), Vol. 163, No. 48, Ed. 1 Wednesday, January 23, 2013, newspaper, January 23, 2013; Rusk, Texas. (https://texashistory.unt.edu/ark:/67531/metapth614711/m1/2/?q=%22%22~1: accessed July 16, 2024), University of North Texas Libraries, The Portal to Texas History, https://texashistory.unt.edu; crediting Singletary Memorial Library.