Cherokeean/Herald (Rusk, Tex.), Vol. 151, No. 24, Ed. 1 Thursday, August 3, 2000 Page: 3 of 16
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CHEROKEEAN/HERALD of Rusk, Texaa—Thursday, August 3,2000—Page 3
letters
Take Precautions on Celebrations
commentary
Protecting Our East Texas Water Against Urban Encroachments
The Fourth of July, what a cel-
ebration.
Fireworks blaring
People laughing
All in wondrous awe of the loud,
bright lights.
No cares, no worries
Celebrating freedom that our
forefathers had given to us many
years before.
Most celebrations were innocent.
Most people abided by all safety
laws and precautions.
This day was given to us to enjoy
basking in the sun.
Not a day that we should worry
or have alarm.
Unfortunately, there are those
that cannot abide by the ruleB.
They do not understand the true
meaning of love and life.
Some are not responsible and
throw all caution to the wind, with
no regard for the other persons
feeling or life.
These people need to realize that
their one moment of folly and self-
satisfaction can cause another per-
son a lifetime of pain and suffer-
ing.
Please, please wake up!
MIKE AND MARY WALLEY
Rusk
Missing a Devoted Teacher/Role Model todp staples
Recently I challenged the
Mayor of Houston to sign a
pledge not to encroach upon
East Texas water. He refused
and the threat of encroach-
ment by a large urban area
like Houston is why we need to
sound the alarm across EaBt
Texas com-
munities to
protect our
local water
supplies.
When it
comes to lo-
cal water,
our access to
this natural
East Texas
Saturday, not only the Town of
Rusk, but all those whose lives
have been touched by Mrs. Lois
Henry, were deeply saddened by
her death.
I consider myself very fortunate
to have had Mrs. Henry as one of
my teachers at Rusk High School.
In comparison to all of the teach-
ers that I have had and known, she
shall remain "Number One". She
conducted her classroom with
strict discipline. One quickly
learned to leave foolishness out-
side her classroom door and to
enter only if you were serious about
learning. She was a very strong
individual and htfr strength was
displayed many times in her class-
room, as well as her sense of hu-
mor and compassion for others. I
have never met any of her former
students that didn't love and ap-
preciate Mrs. Henry. While some
may not have liked her classroom
at the time they were students, as
they moved on with their lives
they would learn to appreciate her
more and more not only for her
ability to "teach history" but for
her ability to instill principal and
character into her students' lives.
She has long been a part of our
community and she is truly "one of
a kind".
Thanks Mrs. Henry, for all you
did for me. You are a truly remark-
able lady and I shall miss you.
ORVILLE LYNE JOHNSON
Former Student-Class of 1960
congratualtions to the whiteheads
We got a thrill when we saw the
story about Marie and Emmett
Whitehead in the Cherokeean/
Herald and JDP! 50 Big Ones ..
104 as a combined record! And
what ambition, dedication,talent
it took. Not to mention the back-
breaking, work involved.
I know they appreciate the kind
words. They deserve the recogni-
tion. And I hope that they really
reap the rewards they have hon-
estly earned. But as they passed
through those years they left be-
hind some things you might not
remember.
How many hearts have they
touched with your honest caring?
How many minds have they ex-
cited with their eagerness? How
many lives have they touched by
just being what God meant you to
be? Many! I am a bit further down
the road than either of you, but
from my viewpoint it is nice to be
able to maximize your success ...
and minimize your failures. Be-
lieve me-It'8 OK. You knowingly
served to deepen your dedication-
increased your efforts to grow and
expanded your talents to not only
Rusk, Cherokee County but to the
State of Texas.
We are proud to be considered
their friends!
PARK WATSON AND
MONIKA WARD
Jacksonville
resource
should not
be taken for granted. In other
words, if we do not begin to take an
active role in the planning of our
future local water supply, we can
and will be left without access to
the very water within our own
area of the state.
A quick review of the history of
recent water policies in Texas be-
gins in the mid - 1950s when 94
percent of Texas counties were
declared disaster areas because of
a severe drought which crippled
our state. What resulted from this
drought was a series of pro-active
development and investments in
surface water from public and pri-
vate entities who helped create
some of the East Texas lakes and
surface water which we enjoy to-
day. Unfortunately, because our
state's population and its result-
ing demand for water has exploded,
we are now living on borrowed
time.
In a response to preventing
future water shortfalls, the
75th Texas Legislature enacted
Senate Bill 1 which I supported.
This legislation protected ru-
ral areas like East Texas from
urban encroachment and cre-
ated regional water planning
groups with the goal of devel-
oping regional water plans to
be incorporated into a state-
wide water plan by January
2002. Your local East Texas
community leaders are cur-
rently preparing these future
water supply plans and I en-
courage all East Texans to cort-'
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tact your representatives with
input.Two primary functions
of each of the regional water
planning groups is to deter-
mine both the available water
supplies and the projected
needs of the region for a 50-
year planning horizon.
To the extent that our local lead-
ers determine that water supplies
are needed in East Texas at any
time in the planning horizon, I will
oppose any effort at the state level
to ease the restrictions on moving
water to urban areas through so-
called "interbasin transfers."
These transfers of surface wa-
ter from one river basin to another
must be approached cautiously,
because the days of having enough
water from our existing supplies
to both meet our own present and
future needs and to share with our
neighbors have largely passed in
East Texas.
This realization was underscored
by the Legislature in Senate Bill 1
by the addition of the "junior prior-
ity date" provision and other pro-
tections for would-be water export-
ing areas like East Texas, in order
to ensure that our needs at home
are fully addressed before water is
siphoned off to help our neighbors.
However, protecting our own
interests does not necessarily
mean that East Texans can not or
should not be neighborly. On the
contrary, the regional water plan-
ning process may identify certain
win-win scenarios for East Texas
and other areas. For example, the
Dallas/Fort Worth metroplex is
discussing options with counties
in Northeast Texas whereby the
metroplex would pay for 100 per-
cent of the cost of development of
new reservoirs located in the north-
eastern counties that lack the tax
base to build the reservoirs them-
selves.
Not only will the new water sup-
plies that are created be divided
between the metroplex and the
local interests, but also the local
citizens will benefit from the rec-
reational and other economic ben-
efits associated with the reservoirs.
I intend to support the local lead-
ers of our East Texas Regional
Water Planning Group as they
explore such creative options for
the betterment of our area and our
neighbors.
Additionally, I support voter-
approved groundwater conserva-
tion districts in East Texas as an
alternative to statewide ground-
water mandates. As groundwater
is not governed in Texas by the
same laws as surface water,
these locally controlled dis-
tricts are the only means avail-
able to protect rural Texans'
groundwater against en-
croachment by large cities or
industrial users. In rnany areas
across the state, cities have begun
purchasing rural land for the sole
purpose of pumping the ground-
water from underneath it and pip-
ing it back home to meet the needs
of their expanding populations,
often to the detriment of neigh-
boring rural landowners who
find their^own wells sucked
dry by'these high-impact us-
ers. Similarly, local landown-
ers in Henderson and other coun-
ties recently discovered that they
had no protection under the law
when their wells were impacted
by the pumping of a new Ozarka
bottled water plant.
Had there been a groundwater
conservation district in place at
the time, the locally elected board
could have taken action to protect
these landowners and their water
supply.
Ultimately, East Texas water
policy must maintain local con-
trol, protect private property rights
and alleviate some of the burdens
associated with developing new
water sources. Large urban areas
should not consider statewide wa-
ter policy without first recogniz-
ing and then respecting the rights
of neighboring rural areas like East
Texas who work closest to the
source of current groundwater sup-
plies. By taking action now, water
will be available for our state and
East Texas generations to come.
Jhuzl/aSm.
Help Is Just Around The Corner.
Cherokee Co. residents get a 5% rate in July & August at
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I mm
PHYSICAL THERAPY WAS A LONG ROAD
ANO A SHORT ORIVE FOR JUDGE ROGERS
Last November 17, Judge Jack W. Rogers' life changed-forever. The former two-term Anderson
County judge and three-term mayor of Palestine suffered a stroke. Surgery on his carotid artery,
performed by Dr. Dirk Rodriguez at Palestine Regional Medical Center, helped stabilize the
situation. But Judge Rogers still faced a long road to recovery. His left side was totally paralyzed.
His speech was garbled, and he couldn't walk. His recovery was going to take patience and a
lot of work, but there was only one place Judge Rogers was willing to turn to for help - the
Rehab Center at Palestine Regional Medical Center.
"I'm a businessman," explains Judge Rogers. "I believe in doing business with local people
whenever possible. Staying home for my physical therapy was the right decision, no doubt about
it, Everyone was very professional, and the benefits of my therapy have been enormous" "They
sure made some miracles happen," says Shirley Rogers, Jack's wife. "They did a fantastic job. I
should know. I was there every day until one day Jack said to me 'I believe I can drive myself.' That's
when I knew my Jack was back."
Today, after 4 months of inpatient and outpatient therapy, Judge Rogers walks with a limp that's
hardly noticeable and his speech is almost perfect. "I never missed a session," says Judge Rogers.
"I always had confidence in our hospital. VMthout them, I
wouldn't be where I am today."
FORMIR JUDGE *o MRS JArx, W ROf.tWS
pi Palestine
us
Regional
MEDICAL CENTER
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till I. iMf 211 • 4m S In 211
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Whitehead, Marie. Cherokeean/Herald (Rusk, Tex.), Vol. 151, No. 24, Ed. 1 Thursday, August 3, 2000, newspaper, August 3, 2000; Rusk, Texas. (https://texashistory.unt.edu/ark:/67531/metapth168655/m1/3/: accessed April 30, 2024), University of North Texas Libraries, The Portal to Texas History, https://texashistory.unt.edu; crediting Singletary Memorial Library.