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| The Arnoskys (owners of the big blue barn) dance to the tunes of Susan Gibson. |
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| Eliza Gilkyson |
I don't know whether it was the soulful music, the free-spirited dancing, the wonderful weather, or the fact that all of this came together on very short notice because the people of Wimberley just refused to take it lying down, but something about this magical day made me realize that being in this place, at this moment, is exactly where I was meant to be.
When it became painfully obvious that some of the people we had entrusted with the job of conserving our precious groundwater supply did not have our best interests at heart, and might even be in the pockets of greedy developers, the people of Wimberley decided to fight back. An event was organized, better candidates were recruited, funds were raised, voters were registered, petitions were signed, and best of all, a good time was had by all!
Many thanks to all the people who worked so diligently to pull this together, to the owners of Cypress Creek Cafe for providing the venue, and most especially to all the wonderful musicians who donated their time and talents: Eliza Gilkyson, Susan Gibson, Amanda Mora, Jill Jones, Butch Hancock, Andrew Hardin and Sam Baker. Wimberley loves you!
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4 comments:
This is great news! Were the "better candidates recruited" going to be running for council positions or something similar?
Do tell us about grass-roots politics in Wimbo!
What a great lineup of musicians to listen to.....you've given me a few more to research.
Lovely pics, as always. They capture the movement and joy of all participants.
Wouldn't it be wonderful if we could see the pols in D.C. hanging out and dancing?
I'm no authority, but as I understand it, something called the Hays Trinity Groundwater Conservation Committee was formed, with one elected official representing each of five districts. The positions in districts 2 and 4 are up for election this year, and there is a very good candidate that we'd like to see elected. It's not our district, so we can't vote, but we can attend his fundraisers and contribute to his campaign. The other three seats will be up for grabs next year. Also, there is a petition being signed, trying to get the whole golf-course issue put on a ballot so that the entire population can vote on it, instead of just these 5 representatives. Keep your fingers crossed!
So basically you have no idea what you are talking about, do not even know the name of the groundwater district, have not attended any HTGCD meetings, and are basing all of your conduct on mere hearsay and rumor. You don't even know what the GCD's jurisdiction is. Perfect set up for con-artists to take advantage of the local yokels. Instead of being so trusting of everything that you hear, perhaps you could show up to a meeting to do a little more due diligence on the candidates?
Regarding the petitioners, did they also ask for monetary contributions? The petition you refer to does not allow the "entire population" to vote on it. If the Commissioners Court bothers to call the election you make reference to, the only result of the election is to either confirm or deny the permit that has been issued. If the permit is "denied", the GCD is free to simply grant another permit for a different amount of groundwater - including more groundwater.
As far as the "whole population" voting on something, perhaps the multi-million dollar scandalous land transactions involving Jacobs Well should likewise be voted upon by the whole population - particularly since the county was involved in the purchase. One distinction here is that the property does not belong to the county nor to the people who would be voting on it. Might want to think about that before trying to establish such a precedent. In addition, the "golf course" is in actuality primarily going to be the means of disposing of lots of wastewater effluent - something that the Woodcreek area sorely needs.
According to their website (http://haysgroundwater.com) the Hays Trinity Groundwater Conservation District's mission statement is: "Given the critical importance of water to life and of that part of the water cycle called groundwater to local families, agriculture, commerce, stream flows and wildlife habitat, the Hays Trinity Groundwater Conservation District works to conserve, preserve, recharge and prevent waste of groundwater within western Hays County. To help accomplish these goals the District is charged to gather information needed for sound decisions, to provide information to citizens and local agencies, and to insure that groundwater is used efficiently and AT SUSTAINABLE RATES."
So, to all my readers, I just want to say this: whoever you may be, and wherever you may live, I hope all of you "local yokels" will make it your business to do whatever you can do to ensure those last three words of the mission statement above -- even if it pisses some people off. It's important.
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