RE: On Protests

originally published October 24, 2007

I want to make a correction to a statement made in the long, meandering, somewhat absurd letter by Kris Langley about protests, which was primarily about animal rights, but with a few throw-away comments about other protests. ["On Protests," Oct. 10] According to Langley, “UGA wants free childcare.” The Campus Coalition for Expanding Childcare at UGA wants MORE child care, not FREE child care. If and when UGA gets a child care center on campus, parents will pay for their children to attend - just as the parents of children at the McPhaul Child Development Lab pay for the few spots there.

Langley says, “I’m not saying you shouldn’t speak out or whatever.” To that I’d like to add, I’m not saying you shouldn’t write a letter or whatever about other people’s activism, but maybe check the facts first.

Kristen Smith

Athens

Bio-Agro

originally published October 24, 2007

Pete, I love you man, but come on. [Pub Notes, Oct. 10] For good measure, let’s stick our fingers in our ears, hold our breath and stamp the floor while we tell Homeland Security to shove it.

We have known for decades that our water system would one day be inadequate, drought or no drought. If memory serves correctly, Bear Creek was itself a contentious issue when constructed. If not for the determination of ACC staff (thanks go to Bobby Snipes), we wouldn’t even have the dry lake bed that usually functions as a reservoir.

So we pass up years of opportunity to secure the future of our water supply, and then when economic growth comes knocking we give it the finger because we don’t have any water. Rinse and repeat.

When all we do is react to current problems as opposed to spending political capital or compromising to plan for the future, we get what we deserve. When our collective turds won’t flush, then we may see some significant planning, but only then.  Shoot yourself in the foot once, but put the gun away before you do it again.

David Hamilton

Athens

Impending Gamedays

originally published October 24, 2007

The [city] editor mentioned in the Oct. 3 Pub Notes that he was happy that there were no more UGA home games in October. Has anyone thought about the three home games that UGA will play in November and the impact that roughly 275,000 fans will have on the Athens-area water supply? To their credit, UGA has admittedly reduced their water consumption, although there’s been no talk of canceling the rest of football season to reduce the impact on our dwindling water supply. Of course the last game is at Tech, where I believe they’re experiencing similar water shortages. It also seems that people from around other parts of the state have started to complain about how we in the “over-populated” northern portion of Georgia “suck up” all of the water on its way south, yet they don’t mind rolling into our fair city on the weekends for home football games.

There’s apparently no more water after the end of the year, and the governor has evidently stopped praying and starting suing. The city council can’t seem to decide whether conserving water is more important than approving new development in the various parts of Clarke County (yes, sadly some of us watch Channel 7), so we really can’t (or shouldn’t) rely on our elected leaders to resolve this problem for us. I have a more modest proposal. Let’s better conserve what we have (a 20 percent reduction is a good start). In addition to praying for rain, maybe we should continue to be better stewards of our water resources in the future.

Blaine Everson

Athens

Water Wars

originally published October 24, 2007

At 11:20 p.m., my doorbell rang. I find this surprising for two reasons: (1) it’s a Wednesday (school) night and (2) It’s 11:20 p.m.!!! Being a single mother (obviously living alone), I was hesitant to even open the door in the first place. I do live in a nice, established neighborhood but nevertheless, I was not keen on opening the door to a stranger at such a late hour, especially with my two young children asleep upstairs. Despite my hesitancy, I opened the door just a crack - enough for the visitor to tell me that he had turned my sprinkler system off. I said, “Okay… I didn’t realize it was on.” I think he expected an award or something. He went on inform (lecture) me on the seriousness of our water situation and asked was I not aware that we were in a “stage 4” drought and about to run out of water. I informed him that I was aware of that and secondly, I did not know the sprinkler was even on. The water line had been repaired several weeks prior for a leak and also, being in the house only a short time (and renting), I did not even know how to work the system in the first place. I told him that while I appreciated his concern, that I didn’t think it was the best time to “stop by” as it was late and a school night and my children were sleeping (who could have easily been wakened by our dog barking, as she always does when a stranger appears). He said that he had almost called the police (!!!), and that would have been a $500 fine, but that he thought he would just do me the courtesy of turning it off for me and letting me know. While I certainly am grateful he didn’t call the police, I still do not think it’s appropriate or safe to be knocking on my door at such an hour just to inform me that I was violating the watering restrictions! He could have easily just left a note on the door or stopped by the next day - during the daylight hours.  Yes, I know we’re about to run out of water - and we are doing many things at our home to conserve and reuse - so while it’s great that Athens-Clarke County citizens are finally being vigilant about the situation, I don’t believe that it’s suddenly okay to just ring the bell at someone’s home at near midnight to scold them!

Name Withheld

Athens

Editor’s Note: Athens-Clarke County does not fine violators of the outdoor watering ban on the first offense. The first offense brings a warning, and the second offense carries a $1,000 fine.