Wednesday, September 20, 2006

Remedy water problem, support Bruce Kranz's Middle Fork initiative

I've been working with neighbors in Applegate for 18 months trying to remedy the serious water and health issues in our neighborhood. We have ordinary people living on bottled water within walking distance of Winchester - a $1 billion development. Some cannot even put a well in because of septic overload.

Getting even a modest water project like ours off the ground means understanding how water works in the county. Understanding the link between water in a pipe into your home and the Middle Fork is complex and there's lots of onion peeling involved. For 30 years, I financed complex projects and even though I'm used to it, I was amazed at the layers of onion peel involved.

Perhaps you don't want to understand electricity "take or pay" contracts agreements or this may all seem a little big picture in your otherwise busy lives, but there's one very simple reason why you should support Bruce Kranz's initiative on the Middle Fork.

It's about priorities. Water and related infrastructure are ticking time bombs. As but two examples, Meadow Vista Water and the city of Colfax are each wrestling with $10 million of challenging financing and could use help.

It's not therefore about whether you trust your politicians or not, and I do, actually. It's about reminding them that ordinary people's basic living conditions come before office facilities.

Even if you don't like peeling onions - take a little time to understand this issue and imagine your kitchen without water for even a few hours.

John A. Sellers, Meadow Vista