Wow! Things are a poppin’ in beautiful Donley County these days. Only last week, for the first time in over 100 years, the official “watering hole” drought ended, thanks to our forward thinking citizens. Somewhat surprisingly, the margin of victory for the imbibers was larger than I expected.
Then, just today, the Donley County Commissioners’ Court approved a 10-year tax abatement program for a company that wants to create a wind energy project in the northern portion of the county, along I-40. The tax abatement was critical if the project was going to be successfully done in Donley County.
Also noteworthy, while the project is being built, the company, Cielo Land and Cattle, L.P., will commence a “local spending and support” plan, in which the company intends to spend one million dollars with Donley County merchants while the project is being completed. Now that we are wet, that spending could buy a lot of booze to help shepherd the project along during trying times – which usually accompany a project of this magnitude, even with the most meticulous planning possible.
When the project is up and running, it will sweeten Donley County coffers by some $160,000 to $200,000 a year for the first 10 years – the period of the initial tax abatement. After that 10-year period of time passes, the revenues to the county could be immense.
Wind energy is a huge part of America’s future energy equation, and Donley County will finally be a player in that industry. We all owe our county commissioners a large debt of gratitude for their foresight and ability to get this done. It’s also a wonderful legacy for outgoing Donley County Judge Jack Hall.
We also, for the first time in a good while, have a soon to be fully functioning city council. Well, sort of. It seems that the three aldermen who tarried, folks we can’t seem to get rid of, have decided to petition his honor, Judge Stuart Messer, to fire the mayor, if such a thing is possible.
Debbie Roberts-Hillis, Jesus Hernandez, and Tommy Hill have actually accused Mayor Larry Hicks of official misconduct, and want the judge to put him out of office, no matter that the voters put him in office. Talk about a dampener on local democracy, and the pots calling the kettle black, or vise-versa – whatever.
Meanwhile, back to the city aldermen; we now have a full roster of aldermen in place, ready to re-commence taking care of the city’s long neglected business needs. The voters have selected these fine folks to represent us and I hope we the people do all we can to support them in their efforts.
If his honor, Judge Messer, frees the mayor from his horse collar in the timely fashion, the city council will finally be at full strength and everyone can focus on leading the city into a new era of prosperity and bounteous living. Do I hear an Amen!?
Truth be known, I’ll be happy if we can just have a few months of uninterrupted peace and harmony in our town. Thanksgiving and Christmas are looming on the near horizon and peace on earth, good will to men seems especially appropriate this year.
Meanwhile, the Hedley Owls made it through a tough season with honor and good sportsmanship, and no one was seriously injured. They have a lot to be proud of. The Broncos have made the playoffs while overcoming enormous obstacles and still have a few victories to look forward to. Let’s all celebrate with them.
Clarendon College continues to prosper and provide us with an infusion of bright young people that makes our community better and brighter. A new administration will be commencing in early December, and an even brighter future seems possible.
In short, even though the world and America-at-large seem to be facing daunting problems in the near and longer terms, life in Donley County is good and getting better.
We have a lot to be thankful for – especially each other. Let’s not forget that while we celebrate the physical beauty of our county and our magnificent sunsets.
Roger…….Fred Gray is a treasure. His outlook on local affairs always seems to be very positive. In these times of Obamnation, Fred’s viewpoints are very refreshing. He may not sit well with everybody, but his column always well written and mostly impartial.
Roger, thank you for Fred.