Conspiracy theories remain unfounded
The County is our government; we shall not have a dump.
It raises our taxes, it moves slowly, it stirs restlessness in our souls.
It guides us in paths of concrete and asphalt for business’ sake.
Even though we walk through the County of Waller, we will fear no landfill, for the judge and commissioners are with us; their laws and their ordinances, they comfort us.
They prepare a public hearing before us in the presence of our enemies.
They anoint the proceedings with solemnity; the crowd overflows.
Surely civility and common sense will govern all decisions, and we will dwell in a county without landfill forever. (With apologies to King David, the psalmist.)
Don’t shoot the messengers.
There is a huge outcry against Waller County Judge Glenn Beckendorff and the members of the commissioners court over the proposed Pintail Landfill. GreenFirst, LLC, has announced plans to build a landfill and industrial park about a mile north of Hempstead on Highway 6.
It was revealed at the June 28 session of commissioners court that Beckendorff had been contacted six months earlier by GreenFirst representatives and has kept it secret all that time. That launched conspiracy theories that flew faster than you can say Lee Harvey Oswald.
After all, if local government officials knew about the landfill and didn’t say anything, it proves that they are in cohorts with GreenFirst and have been making backroom deals that will line their pockets and surrender Waller County to the eternal wasteland. Judge Beckendorff has sold out and thrown Waller County under the bus. Obviously, he’s paved the way for CenterPoint Energy to string high-voltage power lines across the county and now he wants to dump on the north end of the county.
Poppycock!
Do you honestly believe that Beckendorff or any member of the commissioners court would be actively engaged in recruiting a landfill or seeking to get rich while clearing the path for its arrival? That would be social and political suicide. We’re talking about men and women who have lived here all their lives and care enough about the county and its residents to serve in elected leadership positions.
Has it ever occurred to anyone that they are legally bound from disclosing this kind of information, regardless of the nature of the business? Suppose instead of a landfill, a clean, reputable company wanted to build an environmentally-sound business that provided hundreds of high-paying jobs. Our county officials would have the same obligation to remain tight-lipped.
If Beckendorff or any of the commissioners had released the information prior to GreenFirst giving their OK, they would have set the county up for a huge lawsuit. Then the taxpayers would be out a fortune in legal fees and fines and the landfill might still be coming.
From what I understand, the commissioners have three options when it comes to the landfill. They can support it, remain neutral, or oppose it. They do not have any authority to approve or disapprove it. Those decisions rest at the state level with Texas Commission on Environmental Quality. That’s where people opposing the landfill should be focusing their efforts.
The judge and commissioners are merely the messengers. I believe each one strongly opposes the idea of having a landfill in the county, especially on prime highway property so close to Hempstead. I don’t think there is anyone who wants a landfill here. I think 99.9 percent of the population is against it. I’m sure that message is getting across loud and clear.
Unfortunately, the landfill opponents are preaching to the choir when they complain about it to local government. They instead need to turn their trumpets toward Austin and give the local leadership the benefit of a doubt.
It raises our taxes, it moves slowly, it stirs restlessness in our souls.
It guides us in paths of concrete and asphalt for business’ sake.
Even though we walk through the County of Waller, we will fear no landfill, for the judge and commissioners are with us; their laws and their ordinances, they comfort us.
They prepare a public hearing before us in the presence of our enemies.
They anoint the proceedings with solemnity; the crowd overflows.
Surely civility and common sense will govern all decisions, and we will dwell in a county without landfill forever. (With apologies to King David, the psalmist.)
Don’t shoot the messengers.
There is a huge outcry against Waller County Judge Glenn Beckendorff and the members of the commissioners court over the proposed Pintail Landfill. GreenFirst, LLC, has announced plans to build a landfill and industrial park about a mile north of Hempstead on Highway 6.
It was revealed at the June 28 session of commissioners court that Beckendorff had been contacted six months earlier by GreenFirst representatives and has kept it secret all that time. That launched conspiracy theories that flew faster than you can say Lee Harvey Oswald.
After all, if local government officials knew about the landfill and didn’t say anything, it proves that they are in cohorts with GreenFirst and have been making backroom deals that will line their pockets and surrender Waller County to the eternal wasteland. Judge Beckendorff has sold out and thrown Waller County under the bus. Obviously, he’s paved the way for CenterPoint Energy to string high-voltage power lines across the county and now he wants to dump on the north end of the county.
Poppycock!
Do you honestly believe that Beckendorff or any member of the commissioners court would be actively engaged in recruiting a landfill or seeking to get rich while clearing the path for its arrival? That would be social and political suicide. We’re talking about men and women who have lived here all their lives and care enough about the county and its residents to serve in elected leadership positions.
Has it ever occurred to anyone that they are legally bound from disclosing this kind of information, regardless of the nature of the business? Suppose instead of a landfill, a clean, reputable company wanted to build an environmentally-sound business that provided hundreds of high-paying jobs. Our county officials would have the same obligation to remain tight-lipped.
If Beckendorff or any of the commissioners had released the information prior to GreenFirst giving their OK, they would have set the county up for a huge lawsuit. Then the taxpayers would be out a fortune in legal fees and fines and the landfill might still be coming.
From what I understand, the commissioners have three options when it comes to the landfill. They can support it, remain neutral, or oppose it. They do not have any authority to approve or disapprove it. Those decisions rest at the state level with Texas Commission on Environmental Quality. That’s where people opposing the landfill should be focusing their efforts.
The judge and commissioners are merely the messengers. I believe each one strongly opposes the idea of having a landfill in the county, especially on prime highway property so close to Hempstead. I don’t think there is anyone who wants a landfill here. I think 99.9 percent of the population is against it. I’m sure that message is getting across loud and clear.
Unfortunately, the landfill opponents are preaching to the choir when they complain about it to local government. They instead need to turn their trumpets toward Austin and give the local leadership the benefit of a doubt.
posted by Joe Southern | 3:25 PM
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