The Leigh Dam: Nothing to Celebrate!

The notorious and divisive Leigh Dam Project has gotten final approval and is now set to go ahead.

Apparently--according to the article in the Leigh World--there was a celebration held at the NRD by the dam supporters.

I will not go extensively into to the details of why we did not need this fiasco in the first place (waste of money, unnecessary, enviromental and social impact, opposition from the local community). However suffice it to say that this project--and the NRD itself--is part of the same wasteful tax and spend mentality as the public school system is in this area. And once again we see how a little group of willful people can add to the already burdensome property tax bill that property owners are forced to pay.

The people who had occasion to "celebrate" have nothing to be happy about. Before they pop the champagne cork, they need to remember that this hideous and outrageous "project" was forced through over the EXTENSIVE and INTENSE opposition of many in the Leigh Community. And also that much of the impetus was the result of devious and secret behind-the-scenes political maneuvering.

It has been said that the NRD is to ask the local high school to come-up with a name for the dam and recreation area. I strongly suspect that the original "suggestion" for this came from a certain Mr. P or a Mr. C , since it bears all the hallmarks of the cheesy self-promotion these guys are known for.

Whoever is responsible for this silly PR stunt, I have a suggestion for what the dam should be called:

The Eugene Heitz Farm Memorial Dam

At least by doing this, they will have acknowledged who is most affected by this dam. And who had to sacrifice the most on a basic level to allow this shameful and wasteful project to come to pass.

Decisive defeat of CCC levy increase shows need for property tax reduction

The decisive defeat in the recent election of the CCC levy increase request (almost 70 % against) shows that people and property owners are in no mood to continue the high property tax levels to support schools.

With the recent downturn in the economy, school consolidation is now imperative. The Leigh school district MUST proceed with consolidation with all deliberate speed. There is no sense in pursuing and waiting for useless "studies" of this issue! Conosolidation is a proven method of reducing the property tax burden. Maintaining these small schools in Dodge, Howells, Clarkson and not to mention Leigh is an outdated system that is only supported by a few extremely vocal local people who see their "good thing" with the school being threatened.

Everyone who is concerned about the property tax burden in the Leigh 39 district needs to keep up the pressure on the school board to IMMEDIATELY pursue consolidation!