To the Editor

Cooke County has been experiencing near-drought conditions the last couple of months. Extremely dry conditions have resulted in "Burn Bans" for several north Texas counties. Rain is needed. Spring storm season is just around the corner. Gainesville & Cooke County were pretty much spared a violent spring in 2008, as far as severe weather was concerned. Lucky. Fortunate. No rains occurred at a rainfall rate of one (1) inch every fifteen (15) minutes, as most of us witnessed the morning of June 18, 2007.

Can someone provide me & other concerned citizens of this area an update on the Pecan Creek dredging and engineering project, or re-engineering project? Has this project gone cold again? How fatigued & complacent the human memory becomes with the mere passage of time. Life goes on. Time cures broken hearts. Three (3) hearts were forever lost that terrible morning of June 18, 2007. A grandmother and her two (2) grandchildren. Hearts remain shattered and broken for the family of these lost loved ones. Material goods cannot replace lost loved ones, as not one shovel of dirt has been turned in or around Pecan Creek. Lawsuits over blame, ill planning, and possibly illegal burm construction remain locked in the slow turning cogs of the judicial system. Money talks and "so & so" walks. Fill in the space between the parenthesis yourself. Some homes have been dozed. Others have been rebuilt and remodeled, and carpet dried or replaced. A band-aid and salve have been placed on a severe laceration that cries for surgery, stitches, and reconstruction. So much work could have been completed on Pecan Creek during this very dry season. Weeks of uninterrupted workdays have been wasted. Spring storms & rain are on the horizon. Blessed rains are needed. Thunderstorm & tornado watches & warnings are just around the corner. Where is the mitigation that is needed to prevent another breaking news flood that occurred in 2007?

Mitigative measures are needed for Pecan Creek. From the watershed territory northwest and northeast of north Interstate 35 all the way to Ray Roberts Lake. Without such, a few inches of rain will again turn the city of Gainesville into another cesspool of foul smelling water damage and flash flooding, floating vehicles, stranded citizens on roof tops, furniture and clothing lodged in trees, water occupying bank lobbies, and yes, even floating dentures from victimized dental offices. All can be digested, repaired, corrected, repainted and rebuilt. Everything but lost lives.

On a preparatory note, the national Weather Service Forecast Office in Fort Worth will again be in town for its annual Skywarn weather training session for area weather spotters. A valuable and much needed service that aids in the proper training for detection of dangerous storms & developing tornadoes that can occur in north Texas at any time of the year, but particularly during the spring and early summer months. This training seminar will be held at the Gainesville Civic Center on Wednesday, Feb. 11, 2009, from 7-9 p.m.

Dean Smith

Gainesville