COMMENT: Perhaps Her Grace, the Comrade Chairman and their money-hungry bourgeois elitist friends would prefer to meet in "private", away from the great unwashed proletarian opposition, but in this country (the last I heard) public boards like the SeRBiA are forbidden by law from excluding the public. They might not wish to hear this opposition, these boos and these hisses, but that's life, Your Grace! Off With Her Head! Roberto, 23 March 2003

Clarksville Mayor Ann Rushing said that no one, not even the Sulphur River Basin Authority, will know if the construction of the Marvin Nichols Reservoir will be a good deal for Northeast Texas until all feasibility, mitigation and economic impact studies are complete.

She said an informational session conducted on March 13 in New Boston by the SRBA was the first meeting that she attended where she was not ridiculed, booed, harassed or made to fell like a criminal simply for showing an interest in the reservoir.

"I feel it is my responsibility as an elected official, parent, grandparent and a member of my community to do what I can to ensure that the needs of our future generations are met," she said.

And the Marvin C. Nichols Reservoir, Rushing said, will play an instrumental role in meeting not only the area's water needs, but economic demands as well.

The reservoir, though currently demoted to "potential" status from "proposed" status by the Northeast Texas Regional Water Planning Group, has resurfaced primarily because of the recently completed economic impact study performed by engineers hired by the Sulphur River Basis Authority. Dubbed The Sulphur River Basin Group, engineers from Murray, Thomas & Griffin and Freese & Nichols and economics professors from the University of North Texas presented an array of facts and figures from their recent economic impact study.

"I found the information to be very informative, professionally researched and analyzed," said local real estate developer Curt Green. "I thought they did a very good job in the overall presentation, and I thought they were very straightforward about the facts and figures that they presented."

However, Mike Craven, chairman of the governmental affairs committee of the Texarkana Chamber of Commerce, had mixed emotions. "I do think there are very positive things about the possibilities of Marvin Nichols ... but I still have concerns about the potential mitigation of land," he said.

The Chamber, which initially took a public stand in favor of the lake, but later withdrew its support, is currently in limbo on the subject. "The truth is, I have no idea what we're going to do," said Green, chairman of the Chamber's board of directors.

Despite their undecided stance, Craven said the informational session in New Boston was definitely a step in the right direction. "The engineers and economists provided some very interesting information, and it would be very appropriate if the proponents and opponents of the lake could discuss that information in an open forum," he said.

Craven found it interesting that the engineers dispelled any notions that the lake would have a negative impact on the timber industry. "They really painted a picture that the lake would not hurt the timber industry, which was surprising to me because that has been our biggest concern," Craven said.

The Chamber withdrew its support of the lake when some members opposed it, believing it could have detrimental effects on the timber industry. Rushing was also happy the timber issue was addressed at the meeting.

"Obviously a lot of people up to this point have been misled. Based on U.S. Forestry Service data, the reservoir and mitigation area represent an estimated 104.7 million cubic feet of local hardwood timber, less than three percent of regional totals. New annual growth less harvesting adds about 153.9 million cubic feet of hardwood timber to the region's inventories. According to the Forestry Service, there is more than enough timber to offset any losses," she said. "It makes you wonder why certain individuals of the timber industry are working so hard to kill this project."

[COMMENT: Fighting Words, Your Grace! I'd bet that Bill Ward is extremely pissed off about this latest development. R.]