Concerned Citizens

Welcome to the Concerned Citizens for Red River County Landfill Campaign

UPDATE: JULY 2008

I would like to take this opportunity to let you know that we are still fighting a landfill in Red River County. We are presently working on our second court brief of the Appeals's Court process in Austin, Texas. We still have a fight ahead of us and we still need the support of the County and the residents of Avery to make our effort a success. We are working on several different fundraisers over the next few months in order to pay for our legal fees. Who would have ever believed that such a small community with the help of the county residents could have gotten this far. We are still very much alive in this effort and far from a landfill here. The credit has to be given to You the residents and supporters of CCRRC-Concerned Citizens for Red River County. You have worked so hard to raise the needed funds to keep us in this fight. Without YOU, we would be nothing. The time has come for all of us to band together once more with the intregrity we started with three years ago and tell them "NO". They are not going to run over us. They are not going to ruin our community. They are not going to lower our property values. They are not going to expose our children to toxic waste by locating it behind our schools. We are going to fight them until there is nothing else to fight for. We will never quit fighting for the rights of our residents. That is what they elected us to do and we will continue until there is no more to do. Come join us. We may have been quite for a while but it is time to wake up the citizens and supporters for what we hope is the last battle.

Formed by the Citizens of Red River County and Avery, Texas to oppose

and fight any and all efforts to locate a Type I solid waste landfill which can and will

take in hazardous and toxic medical waste to be located at County Road 4325 and

U. S. Highway 82 in Northeastern Red River County, Texas.

WARNING!

The proposed landfill site is located on the head waters of Anderson Creek which runs

to Sulphur River and Lake Wright Patman in Texarkana, Texas, our DRINKING WATER!

It will be located directly behind our school property!

"Never be bullied into silence and non-commitment. Never allow yourself to be threatened.

Accept no one's definition of how your life should be lived; define your own values and stand by them."

Our Aim

We are fighting the landfill on behalf of every resident of Red River County, Texas

and beyond, both currently, and for generations to come.

FUNDS

NEEDED!

PLEASE HELP

DONATING

To our

LANDFILL FIGHT FUND

We need your help please!

Fighting an effective campaign requires that we have funds to pay for legal advice and legal actions. Any donations to our fighting fund will be gratefully received, and you can be sure the money will go towards fighting off the proposed Edwin B. Kelsoe Landfill.

We really do need everyone to come out and express their views against the landfill, and to support our campaign. Just assuming that the idea of landfills in our County is not a serious threat, or that the proponents don't really mean it, or that someone else will do the job of protesting, is probably the best way of helping Edwin Kelsoe to get his application passed. Bear in mind they have an Attorney in Austin fighting for their right to put it in.

KEEP FIGHTING !!!

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Question
Where is the worst place to live if you are anywhere near a Landfill site?

Answer
Down wind - with prevailing winds from the West, for the current site under consideration.

Question
Where is the next to worst place to live if you are near a Landfill site?

Answer
Anywhere near!

Want to know what it is like having a landfill site within a few miles of your house?

Think about the flies and the smell and the unsaleable properties - and then think - this probably will be me in a few years time!

YOU CAN DO SOMETHING ABOUT IT - HELP US TO STOP THIS LANDFILL BY ADDING YOUR VOICE TO US,

AND BY GIVING YOUR SUPPORT.

REMEMBER - THE BEST WAY TO ENSURE THE LANDFILL GOES AHEAD IS TO BE APATHETIC,

TO STAND BACK, TO DO NOTHING AND TO HOPE IT WILL GO AWAY.

PLEASE DON'T BURY YOUR HEAD IN THE SAND - STAND UP AND BE COUNTED!

Fund Raising

We are asking Red River and surrounding County residents who are against the establishment of a toxic waste & medical landfill site in Red River County to make a contribution towards our fighting fund which has been set up to help pay the costs of the legal action that we are taking against the Landfill proponents.

The case has already been launched in the 261^st District Court in Austin, Texas and Attorney John R. Moore of Austin, Texas is representing us.
The costs through the October 17, 2007 court date still requires $18,000 and could be even more before we are finished.
A dedicated account has been set up and a treasurer handles the funds.

You can send contributions to our Organization at C.C.R.R.C. Landfill Fight, P.O. Box 35, Avery, Texas 75554. Checks should be made out to CCRRC.
If you need to contact us by phone: 903-684-3825 or 903-244-3920

If you would like your contribution to be publicly acknowledged on the website please let us know so that your name can be posted.

THANK YOU FOR YOUR SUPPORT

It is intended that any surplus funds remaining after the campaign finishes
will be donated to the Avery Independent School District for Academic Scholarships.

January 3, 2008

I would like to comment on Mark Lesher's quote in the a regional newspaper on Monday, December 17, 2007 concerning the application for a landfill in Avery. He said of Judge Triana's decision," It's a win/win for our side and a lose/lose for the other side. The TCEQ now has until Dec 29, 2007 to re-review and decide on granting Kelsoe the land-use permit." That statement was entirely not true. It's amazing what they will say to get the citizens upset especially through the holidays. TCEQ and CCRRC had until December 29th to file an appeal. There was never any deadline of December 29th for TCEQ to review and issue Kelsoe his permit. Actually, the judge said that TCEQ should look at the application one more time under the new rules. In my opinion, it doesn't mean "IT'S A DONE DEAL" as Lesher and Kelsoe are claiming. TCEQ could still kick it back to them again. Anyway, now they will have to sit and wait a while. Just a day after Mr. Lesher boasted to the Gazette about their big win and got front page headlines, TCEQ filed it's appeal to the court decision on December 18th. CCRRC-Concerned Citizens for Red River County were aggressively working on an appeal December 12th and followed with their own filing. Now the decision will be up to an appeals court in Austin which can take up to a year or more to hear. That's a year we definitely know that they cannot and will not be able to put a landfill in Avery. Because of the filing of the appeals, they still have no active application pending. It is still dead unless the appeals court agrees with Judge Triana and sends it back to TCEQ for another look at the application. CCRRC really hasn't lost anything but if the appeals court overturns Judge Triana's decision, then it's a definite LOSE/LOSE for them. It will be over. If not, we can still fight them through the other phases of the application process. They don't have that many options. I would say that we are still on the up side. Their hands are now tied because of Concerned Citizens for Red River County's intervention into the process. We can breathe a little easier now that we know that they are cornered for possibly a year. I call that a WIN/WIN for our side. In a meeting of the CCRRC on December 30th, the members voted to continue the appeals process and to fight them at all cost. We are a long way from a lose/lose for our side. They can be dead in the water from the next court decision. Thank you to all who have supported our cause. We still need your help.

CCRRC Named August 9, 2005

A committee was appointed by the Citizens Against the Proposed Red River County Landfill on July 25, 2005 to oppose and fight any and all efforts to put in place a landfill site or facility at CR 4325 and U.S. Hwy 82 West of Avery. The committee transformed into Concerned Citizens for Red River County, C.C.R.R.C., a non-profit group. The elected and Directors are as follows:

Ed Stephenson, President astephenson@avery.esc8.net 903-684-3131

Greg King, Secretary epkbulldog@yahoo.com 903-684-3135

James B. ( Red ) Bain, Treasurer 903-697-2295

Board of Directors:

Bill Trimm cityofavery@aol.com

Lynn Stephenson cityofavery@aol.com

Ann Burkett 903-684-3687

Dalton Jackson 903-314-9240

Kenneth Chapman 903-684-3764

Johnny Phelps

Steve Decker 903-684-3281

William Ricks 903-427-2498

THE CITY OF AVERY IS LISTED HERE FOR CONTACT PURPOSES:

Bill Trimm, Mayor

Debora Horton, Mayor Pro Tem

Lynn Stephenson, City Secretary

City Council:

Kenneth Youngblood

James Morrison

Kenneth Chapman

Matt Cheevers

903-684-3825 or 5267

Fax: 903-684-3825

Email: cityofavery@aol.com

Web: cityofavery.com

DONATIONS:

Checks made to: C.C.R.R.C. Concerned Citizens for Red River County

14043 Hwy 82 East-Avery, Texas 75554

Avery, Texas 75554

All donations and membership fees go to the legal defense fund.

LINKS:

MEETINGS:

http://cityofavery.com/index24.htm

Letters, Newspapers, and Television:

http://cityofavery.com/index31.htm

Write Letters to the Executive Director and the Chief Clerk:

http://cityofavery.com/index37.htm

BIO HAZARDOUS AND MEDICAL WASTE:

http://cityofavery.com/index36.htm

August 26, 2005

SPEECH of William Sanjour, FORMER CHIEF OF THE HAZARDOUS WASTES ASSESSMENT AND TECHNOLOGY BRANCH OF EPA, TO THE RED ROSE ALLIANCE ON MAY 6, 1982

http://cityofavery.com/index35.htm

August 22, 2005

REQUEST LETTER FROM Mark Lesher-Attorney for proposed EDWIN B. KELSOE LANDFILL

http://cityofavery.com/index33.htm

ORDINANCE-PROHIBITING LANDFILLS IN RED RIVER COUNTY

Public meeting at the Commissioners Court

Monday, August 15, 2005 1:00 p.m.-Approved August 16, 2005

(This Ordinance does not affect the proposed landfill near Avery. The landfill application was filed on August 9, 2005 and the Ordinance was approved August 16, 2005. It will affect any other landfills trying to come in this County but not the Kelsoe Landfill)

http://cityofavery.com/index28.htm

Friends United for a Safe Environment-FUSE

http://cityofavery.com/index32.htm

Basics of a LANDFILL

http://cityofavery.com/index29.htm

BIO HAZARDOUS MEDICAL WASTE INFORMATION:

http://www.biosolutionstoday.com/faqs.html

Concerned Citizens Email Addresses:

(Those who wanted to be listed only)

http://cityofavery.com/index23.htm

Representatives (State & Federal):

http://cityofavery.com/index25.htm