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Letters to the editor
Letters submitted to the Taylor Daily Press:
SPJST resident appreciate trip through countryside
To the Editor: Do we respect and enjoy America enough? Everyone knows when you are living in a nursing home, you are probably elderly - most of us are. We at the SPJST Rest Home are really blessed. We are really getting to see some beautiful countryside not too far from Taylor. Stacey Urbanek is really a good bus driver and she and Ima Jean Weise find some excellent routes for us to see. (Recently), Stacey drove us to the Fisher Ranch and when we arrived there on the other side of Rockdale we were already enjoying the cattle, wild flowers and trees. When Stacey started slowing down to turn into a beautiful drive with gates, we stopped and Mr. Ken Griffith was there to meet us. Stacey and Ken had been on the phone to tell her where to stop. He was a guide and caretaker of the ranch. He boarded our bus and guided our tour through different areas, all roads named. The dogwood trees were in full bloom and many areas covered in small yellow flowers. Ken said they were cow-pen daisies. We saw bluebonnets and Indian paint brushes and verbenas and some of the tallest trees that I have ever seen. Larry and Mary Ann Zimmerhanzel went with us and Mary Ann sat with her mother and Larry sat with me, his “Auntie.” Ken showed us the cattle and Larry and he talked about them and we enjoyed that most of us had lived on farms or ranches and had cows, horses and chickens also. After touring the outer part of the ranch we circled the road up to the house. It was like a mansion! The grounds were covered in different places with flowers. Roses were blooming, also. New trees lined the driveway coming in and out, and around the bottom, every tree had a dark cable around it on the ground and a pipe into the ground. Ken said the wild hogs really loved the roots of those trees and these were like electric fences - they would stop them. Well, we headed home and as we came through Thorndale, we drove by some homes there and we enjoyed that. When we arrived back at our “home,” Gene Zachary, Larry and Mary Ann and some others came and helped us unload. Mr. Richards and Diane Volek came out also. We really enjoyed our countryside and felt a real pride in America. Thanks and blessings to all, Lois Gainer Taylor
Cost estimates incorrectly attributed in city hall article
Editor: If you read Jason Schaefer's March 24 (Taylor Daily Press) article about renovation of the 1935 Old City Hall on Heritage Square (“Officials consider city hall renovation”), note that while Jason did a commendable job reporting a renewed interest in preserving and utilizing the building, some of the details in his article merit comment. While “3 million, tops” was mentioned, it was not I. The “500,000 spent on the lower level alone” was thought to be City Hall's estimate, not mine. The fact of the matter is that no one has a current estimate of cost to restore the building. Lonnie Zycha and I, as members of the Economic Restructuring Committee for the Taylor Main Street Program, have accepted the assignment as advocates for our, and others', enthusiasm that the Old City Hall be brought back to life as soon as practical, and utilized in ways best for quality of life in Taylor. Our mission is to accurately and thoroughly research what was, what is and what can be an ideal facility to office the Taylor Main Street, Chamber of Commerce, visitor center, (Taylor Economic Development Corporation) and museum. The Texas Historical Commission assures us that, more often than not, cost of rehabilitation of a historic property is less than demolition and reconstruction. E-mails to cjayroe@austin.rr.com, titled “Old City Hall,” are welcome. Calvin Jayroe Taylor
Emergency shelter agreement a bad idea for neighborhood
Editor: I know that the public intent of the creation of an emergency shelter at the old Taylor Middle School is just that - the creation of an emergency shelter. However, I have a number of concerns with this plan. 1. Murphy Park neighborhood is a residential neighborhood. A detention center for any length of time does not belong in a residential neighborhood. 2. Even if the emergencies only happen every three or four years and (Corrections Corporation of America) only has detainees at the center for 48 hours, there will (be) much FUD - Fear, Uncertainty and Doubt - among the general public about what the future might bring. We all saw what happened to Katrina and Rita evacuees and they were US citizens. Disclosing the CCA/TISD contract on a seller's disclosure sheet when any of us in the neighborhood - and perhaps all of Taylor - put our houses up for sale will cause our property values to tank. Thus it is unreasonable for the school board to expect any of the neighborhood residents to lose a considerable part of our net worth for the profit of a corporation. 3. There are concerns about the contract itself. A neighborhood attorney reports that the contract is very broadly written. Will this broadly written contract result in the school being used as semi-permanent or permanent overflow site? This negatively impacts the quality of life and property values in the Murphy Park neighborhood. Do we need to keep the school available for emergencies, thus preventing other groups such as senior citizens use of the school? As there are frequent protesters out at T. Don Hutto site, will these then take up residence outside the middle school and spill out onto Main Street? If so, this will wipe out the work the city has done over the last several years to improve the image of Taylor. How can we be assured that CCA will move the prisoners out of the building in 48 hours as promised? Experiences in other parts of the country with refugees from Katrina and Rita show us that they were in the refugee centers much longer than expected. This negatively impacts the quality of life and property values in the Murphy Park neighborhood. Is there enough water and toilets in the old school? We don't want or need another Superdome in Taylor. This negatively impacts the quality of life and the property values in the Murphy Park neighborhood. There is one B&B in the Murphy Park neighborhood. My retirement plans include a B&B in my house and I believe there is at least one other one planned. If this contract passes, I will personally sell my house and move to Georgetown. Others will be reluctant to use the beautiful historic houses in the Murphy Park neighborhood for business and thus the economic outlook of Taylor will be impacted. The plan is a very bad idea. It's wrong to exploit any structure in a residential area for this purpose. Sincerely, Jeanne K. Sparlin Taylor
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