Dear Editor:

I get that Mrs. Munoz has a different opinion from mine. However, I do need to refute her assumption that I represent a "negative advocacy group." This is Barbara Price's opinion—-not a group opinion—-even though others may agree or disagree with it. Dislike me if you will, but facts don't lie.

When my husband worked for Texas Utilities, I had no idea they were polluting our air because the stacks made the particulate matter look clean. Just like Mrs. Munoz, I fell for the company's public relations propaganda. After seeing air pollution reports from TCEQ, I know that citizens of Freestone county have been misled.

I have also been told by someone who works there that Luminant only turns on their expensive pollution equipment when they know they're being tested. That must be for the benefit of the research plane Mrs. Munoz mentioned. We still need air quality monitors to know the real extent of local air pollution.

My facts about the amount of SO2 pollution came from the TCEQ representative who spoke in a hearing at our courthouse. SO2 comes back to earth as sulfuric acid when it rains, thus causing acid rain. That's why everything in the county rusts like crazy.

I don't know what the Luminant website is reporting, but I do know the facts reported by TCEQ, the state agency that tests air quality. If anyone out there thinks the Texas Commission on Environmental Quality is a "fringe group," then I stand corrected!

Respectfully, Barbara Price Fairfield

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Dear Editor

Those who quote Ronald Reagan and Thomas Jefferson and tout them as the such great Americans and examples of how right thinking persons should think and act, should read up on their history.

Ronald Reagan gave great speeches, he also was a great friend to the rich and powerful. In addition to that he was the great de-regulator of everything that would make big business bigger, more powerful and richer. Two examples: He deregulated the Financial industry as well as the Insurance industry. When he signed the Garn-St Germain Depository Institution Act into legislation he gave the S&L free license to loot and gamble away over $130 billion dollars of the taxpayers money. This bill also gave them the ability to require ordinary families to have to come up with large down payments in order to buy a home.These things probably gave birth to some of the problems within the mortgage industry, that we have today and while nobody was looking they became the corrupt, greedy and dishonest lending machines that almost brought our Country to its financial collapse.

Ronald Reagan also deregulated the Insurance industry causing them to go wild with increases in premiums and limits of liability. Prior to the deregulation of the insurance companies, most business had the option and ability to offer their employees 100% coverage. When the deregulation became effective this, for the most part went away and thus started the co-pay system that we have today. It also allowed the big Insurance companies to grow and expand to the point that they are able to almost monopolize the coverages available in most states..They have been allowed to make as much money and profit as they can rake in.They need this money to be able to afford all the politicians they have on their payroll. They have a product that everybody needs and they parcel it out to the ones with the most $$$ and they feel that if you don't have money, you probably don't deserve to have insurance.The "Great Communicator" was, at best, an average "actor". He was really good at being a typical politician, and that wasn't an act. I could go on....

Now, as for Thomas Jefferson. This "Great" man was also a great speech giver and writer of "words." He talked the talk, but unfortunately, he didn't, walk the the walk. He, as author of the Constitution of The United States is lauded as a most admired and honorable man who spoke and wrote about equality, freedom and human rights. The truth is, he owned over 600 slaves. Slaves, who he never freed, one of which he forced into an adulterous relationship and who bore him six slave children. He lived a lavish lifestyle while his slaves lived in abject poverty and deprivation. They lived in tiny shacks, twelve or so to a shack, strewn about his estate. He lived in a fancy mansion, built, cleaned and maintained by his slaves. He made them work for him, in his nail factory Enterprise, which was quite profitable for him. He wrote descriptively of his slaves about how he loved them and about how he compared them to his animals, his horses, pigs and cows. He wrote about how similar they were to his livestock in looks, action and mentality .They were no more to him than animals, they were his slaves. He didn't, however, as many plantation "Massa's" did, beat his slaves, Oh no, that awful deed, he left to his overseers.

Thomas Jefferson also wrote about how he was an admirer of the Native American. Although it seems he didn't admire them quite enough, because it was during his administration that the first of the "Trail Of Tears" occurred, when he sent his Generals and Army to "escort" the Native Americans off of their homelands to be deported west of the Mississippi. He considered the Native American an impediment to progress and land acquisition. This land was thought to be better deserved and could be put to more profitable use, by the "Americans."

Jefferson and Reagan were your typical Republican politicians, all about wealth and the wealthy. Saying and writing one thing, meaning and doing another.

I ask those who say that President Obama is destroying our way of life. How and in what way has he done this? How are you worse off now than you were on January 20th 2009? The problems we have now have been building up and festering for years. I can't see that much has happened to me, personally, since Obama became President. Nobody has come to my door and tried to take away my guns, nobody has tried to limit my freedom of speech or any of my other freedoms, I haven't had my Social Security cut, my Medicare taken away. I drive a new car and I can still afford to put gas in it. I do feel for the ones who have lost their jobs and homes and are suffering because of it. I also feel for the ones who don't have insurance and are sick. President Obama didn't cause these things to happen. I think these things happened as result of failed policy and residue left over from previous administrations and by legislation that allowed banks and greedy corporate Moguls to loot and pillage, unchecked for years. It seems to me that we should own up to the facts that we have, in the past, elected people who were incompetent, dishonest and did us harm. Most, if not all, they became politicians for many reasons other than to do good for the people who elected them.

If you keep believing the idiots on the TV News programs and relying on them to give you the unbiased truth about all that is going on in our country, you have misplaced your trust, my friend, they LIE !!!

It's true that we are in danger, but its not from any Communist plot, socialist program, Marxism, Government take over or President Obama. We are in danger of losing our sense of Brotherhood, Human kindness, understanding, responsibility, truthfulness and good old fashion concern for our fellow man. We are allowing a bunch of entertainers in the media, who's agenda is to make more money, get better ratings and make news rather than report it. These people are pushing a message of hate, mistrust, disrespect and lies, to us all..The greatest danger that we face here is that we are buying this message, hook, line and sinker. Joy Shaw Fairfield

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Dear Editor:

This letter is in response to several letters which have led the people of this county to believe that air monitors would be an unnecessary, and even exepensive, undertaking. We would want the TCEQ to do its job, however they are not.

Recently, Texas got some big news. It's a story that Texans have known for years and have been shouting out loud, but no one seemed to be listening, until a couple of weeks ago. President Obama's Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) ruled that the Texas Commission on Environmental Quality (TCEQ) is not following the Clean Air Act.

That is why we can't afford to wait for the EPA to get them to submit an acceptable plan to remediate past mistakes. We need an independent company to install and take readings. They have been industry friendly too long. Eleven new coal fired power plants are proposed across the state. It is not a surprise that 17 of many chuffing away in Texas rank as the absolute filthiest.

TXU (Luminant) was spewing out 96,221 tons per year of SO2 and 6,978 tons per year of NOx and 1,125 tpy of particulate matter in 2006. In 2007, Luminant spewed out 76,797 tpy of SO2, 6,640 tpy of NOx and 1,052 tpy of particulate matter. So they got better in 2007, but that amount of SO2 is still three times greater than all of Harris county's (Houston) 286 air permits about 25,000 tpy SO2.

When were the scrubbers installed at Big Brown? I certainly didn't read about it in the papers. Seems that would be a notable accomplishment.

In defense of Barbara Price, I'm sure she raised her children long before we had 76,436 gas wells in Texas. Compressor stations in Freestone county have gone from 69 to 130 plus in the last few years.

If the air is so good, what are you worried about? Let them prove us wrong, and you'll get the last laugh. The medical statistics for asthma, COPD, heart problems and high blood pressure alone would merit the expense. Our county also has a high rate of cancer, which could be caused by a number of things. The one thing we all do is breathe. Let's keep it clean, or as clean as we can.

Sincerely, Sharon Wood Fairfield

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Dear Editor:

Concerned citizens of Freestone County have shown why we have a dire need for an air monitor inside Freestone County owned by and operated under the auspices of the county. The Commissioners court was provided current data reported to the Texas Commission on Environmental Quality (TCEQ) by Luminant and other permitted entities showing the huge amount of pollution being emitted inside our county. We are all concerned about the increasing number of cancer cases and asthma problems within our county.

An air monitor was installed by the Texas Commission on Environmental Quality (TCEQ) in Navarro County north of us, but was found to be providing inaccurate data. A carbon filter was found to be installed ahead of the monitoring analyzer that prevented proper analysis. The TCEQ was informed and hopefully this has been corrected. Therefore, we the people believe we need our on air monitor under our control.

An air monitor was approved in 2007. However, even after all the data was presented to the Commissioners' Court necessary to contract for an air monitor and a bidders list provided, we were told no bids were received. The air monitor project was advertised only in the local newspapers and the bidders list was not used. However, I have found that one bid was received that was below the budgeted cost. Mr. Luke Ward Sr. had an ex TXU employee, Mr. Tom Bonner, brief the Commissioner's Court that we needed 50 air monitors to properly monitor the air in Freestone County. Mr. Bonner quickly changed his mind about that statement when Mr. Charles Morgan, P.E. showed that only one or two air monitors were used in the proposed air permit applications for proposed Big Brown III and NRG III coal fired electric power plants. Unfortunately, those air monitors were 60 to 160 miles outside Freestone and Limestone Counties and not representative of the air quality in our area.

Concerned citizens from all corners of the county demanded that the Commissioners' Court install an air monitor inside Freestone County and under the County's control. Three of our commissioners made history by approving the county fund and contractually operate an air monitor within our county in 2009. Those commissioners were Clyde Ridge, Standley Gregory and Craig Oaks. Mr. Luke Ward, Sr. opposed. County Judge Linda Grant has committed to getting the air monitor installed.

Now comes a Luminant employee's wife, who has expressed her opinion about the air monitor installation. However, she seems to be a spokesperson for Luminant and the statements she has made are not supported by facts. She, or anyone else, could obtain the facts from the TCEQ website. This website shows all the emissions by county by permit.

Until 2006, no one new about the 35 year secret concerning the huge amount of emissions emitted by Big Brown I and II. I, Charles Morgan, P.E. exposed that information to our citizens. Even today, the Big Brown I and II emissions are three times greater than the emissions from Harris County's 286 air permits for facilities around Houston, Texas which is in non-attainment of the National Ambient Air Quality Standards.

We must have an air monitor installed within the county so we can see just how bad our air quality is in the context of what we breath. Then, we can take steps to clean it up. By doing so, we can greatly reduce cancer and asthma problems in our county.

Sincerely,

Charles E. Morgan, P.E., Inactive Major, USAF, Retired Executive Director, Citizens for Environmental Clean - Up