From the Editors….
Life goes on no matter what circumstances folks find themselves in. We are a resilient and hardy breed of souls and no matter how harsh our lives become, humans have always been able to survive because we have HOPE.
Well, we’re all sure hoping to get some answers from the government regarding our current circumstances.
Problem is, our government, like all governments, is a vast bureaucracy that fights relentlessly to save the few bucks needed to supposedly help promote a better quality of life for their citizens.
So now we’ve come to it. Government has ignored the danger posed by the dam system to our village for years.
In retrospect, now that we can see a bigger picture, it’s a miracle a flood of this magnitude didn’t happen sooner. I myself have observed that the river height behind my house has gradually risen since I moved here.
I used to have a little beach sometimes, when the river was at low levels. Now that I think about it, I haven’t seen that little beach for a couple of years. The water is always too high. But, like everyone else I just assumed that if there was any real danger the government, ha ha, would by God do something about it.
I’ve asked people informally what they think should be done to mitigate future flood danger, and they all pretty much agree on several sensible and doable tactics that include lowering the level of the river so a new, deeper channel can be dredged.
The meeting with the Premier a couple of weeks ago did not produce any real information that we’ve heard of, anyway.
The Study Group Update tells us they’ve assembled a whole whack of groups together “to examine the problem.”
Do these groups get paid extra for this? Is this like extra credit work?
Meanwhile, we still have dozens of local residents who STILL do not have a home or business to go back to.
This should be completely unacceptable in any fair and just society, a society with a government that operates according to the precept that government is to take care of the safety and welfare of its own citizens.
”Sustainability” is a double edged word, I’ve noticed. For instance, sustainability carries a positive connotation when we are using it to describe stuff like organic farming and fair market practices, or supporting local businesses.
On the flip side, however, the minute the word sustainability comes out of a politician’s mouth you know you are about to get the royal shaft!
I really cannot fathom the mindset that denying a community security and safety in the name of saving money and that “sustainability” thing is the right and moral way to go about operating a government.
Stephanie Kelley
