I for one refuse to allow the "good 'ole boys" to control the conversation. What are we discussing? The fact that Matagorda county has always depended on chemical plants, so why change? This coal plant is not progress, it is recidivism of the most dangerous sort. We are not talking about the price of gas, we are discussing the future of our small part of South East Texas. What do we as citizens want? I for one want a county that does not commit environmental suicide. A county with jobs that will not be reserved for a few people from out of the area, a county that is chocked full of bookstores, tourist shops, and environmental research into better ways to preserve the Gulf; that is true progress. I have been requesting answers about the costs and viability of the disposal of removed carbon; of sludge ponds full of mercury, arsenic, and sulfur. I want to know what are the plans for the unlined ponds that may leak into the water supply? Are you pulling a BP, if it happens then we’ll find an answer, maybe eventually?

The response to my questions have resulted in red herrings; such as discussing the price of crude, or that the movie theater closed. The discussion is or should be about the effects of coal in Matagorda County, nothing else. I want answers!

Irene Solnik

Bay City