Anti-corridor groups apprise locals of ways to 'just say no to TTC'

Plots by Communists to infiltrate America. The disintegration of borders and rural areas. Citizens mobilizing and rising up against government agencies and big business.

It all sounds like the plot for a summer blockbuster, but it's something that could be happening in your own backyard.

These were just a few of the topics addressed in the "How to fight the TTC" workshop, held Monday at the Pitser Garrison Civic Center in Lufkin. The conference served as an informational meeting aimed at informing citizens and local government officials how they can unite in trying to stop the proposed Trans-Texas Corridor project.

The TTC, a new grid of superhighway being proposed by the Texas Department of Transportation (TxDOT), would crisscross the state and connect Texas with the rest of the nation in a thoroughfare that would take large trucks and heavy traffic off of local roads and place them into one, fast-moving highway. But with a budget at an estimated $145 billion to $183 billion, many organizations are questioning if the money could be spent elsewhere. Plus the fact that the overall plan would involve the confiscation of 584,000 acres of privately owned Texas agriculture and rural land doesn't have environmentalists too pleased either.

"There is a rogue agency out there that isn't listening to you and what you have to say," said Dan Byfield, president of the American Land Foundation, one of the hosts of Monday's workshop. "If you form your own committees, you can force TxDOT to work with you and let them know how you feel." Byfield gave a step-by-step process on how activists can form a sub-regional planning commission and circumvent local government committees altogether in a continued grass-roots effort to stop the TTC.

The conference was hosted by the American Land Foundation, the Stewards of the Range, and Texans Uniting for Reform and Freedom, with the heads of all the organizations giving seminars on topics ranging from community coordination and organization, to detailed legalities that groups can utilize to fight TxDOT and possibly stop the construction of the Trans-Texas Corridor.

"This plan has not considered the environmental impacts on our communities," said Hank Gilbert, director for TURF, and the program's moderator. "The more community involvement, the louder the community voice, and the more the state government will be forced to take notice."

One of the bigger underlying issues at hand was that the TTC would be the first step toward a unification of Canada, America and Mexico in an effort to create a "North American Union" similar to the European Union, which could even maintain its own currency, the Amero. In its final realization, the highway would begin in Chinese-controlled ports in Mexico and run all the way up through Canada, basically dissolving any ideas of borders or searchable cargo.

Standing Ground, a newsletter printed by the ALF that was distributed at the conference, touched deeper on the subject: "This treatise is the blueprint for the North American Union... which would signal the destruction of America as we know it by merging the United States, Canada and Mexico into a single economic and political entity... Once only considered a conspiracy theory, the NAU is dangerously close to reality, with timetables set for partial completion in this decade."

Attempts to reach a TxDOT official for comment Monday afternoon were unsuccessful, but according to the TxDOT Web site, www.keeptexasmoving.com, because of the corridor, "drivers will face less congestion, businesses will have more reliable transportation networks, users will have more choices, including rail and transit, and more job opportunities will arise due to new and improved trade and transport corridors." All of which sounds good on paper, opponents said, but remains fishy in the eyes of the various organizations gathered at Monday's meeting.

With the deadline for proposals from developers to orchestrate the project being pushed back to March 26, there is still time for advocacy groups to let TxDOT know how they feel. Opinions are varied about the outcomes of the TTC, but as one Texan landowner who asked not to be named put it, "if TxDOT tries to come and take my land, they'll find me waiting on the porch with a loaded gun."

For more information visit www.amland.us, www.stewards.us and www.texasturf.org.

TEXAS: Super-highway plan threatens Camp Allen; petition signatures requested by March 19

[Diocese of Texas] Plans by the Texas Department of Transportation to develop the I-69 Trans Texas Corridor project from Laredo to Texarkana will obliterate the peace and tranquility of Camp Allen if the current route is approved.

One of the proposed routes for the more than $140 billion corridor goes up FM 362, the country road which passes in front of the diocese's 1,100-acre retreat and camp center one-hour northwest of Houston.

The project, which would cut the county in half, is designed to be 1,200 feet wide, will have eight lanes of traffic, rail and a pipeline.

"We need everyone in the diocese to let the officials in Austin know that we don't want this project destroying what has been built over the last 87 years," said George Dehan, president of Camp Allen.

Episcopalians are asked to sign an online petition before March 19 at http://www.campallen.org/

"When we invited about 30 neighbors to come and discuss the issue, more than 100 people showed up," he said. "It's hard to imagine that anyone who is familiar with the area or the programs at Camp Allen would suggest such a project," Dehan said.

People were turned away at the door after more than 1000 people showed up to voice their opposition to the plan at town hall meetings in Bellville, Waller and Huntsville. Dehan said they couldn't find one person in the room who was for the project at any of the gatherings.

"The TxDot plan does not seem to have exits in communities that would benefit anyone economically and there would still be no evacuation route from Galveston/Houston in the case of a major hurricane," Dehan stressed. "After TxDot stated in articles and in their plan that they were going to stay on major highways, they deviated from that by choosing FM 362. It is very apparent that the planners have never driven down FM 362 or have never seen Camp Allen. "The governor's office clearly has not done due diligence on what effects the corridor would have along this route," he said.

Camp Allen cannot be duplicated. More than 42,000 people use camp and conference center annually. The $50 million facility has significant infrastructure, a chapel that seats 1000, 51 buildings and is the third largest employer in the county.

"We want the project moved off of FM 362," said Bishop Don Wimberly, who has written to the Governor Rick Perry to express his deep concern. "There are 6000 school children alone who attend our Discovery Program each year, not to mention the 1,620 children who attend summer camp. Our guests represent every major university in the state, major healthcare facilities, and more than 170 churches from every denomination. People come to Camp Allen for retreat and renewal. It would not be impossible for Camp Allen to survive the building of the corridor or the aftermath of the project," Bishop Wimberly said.

Episcopalians are asked to go to http://www.campallen.org/ and ask Texas Gov. Perry to find an alternative route or take the no action alternative to not build the corridor at all. It is time now for Episcopalians to voice their opinion. Comments must be submitted by March 19 at http://www.keeptexasmoving.com/ or on http://www.campallen.org/ petition.

Camp Allen has received many responses to date, the following from "a concerned mother": "The impact of losing Camp Allen due to the I-69 Corridor would be far reaching. Not only have generations of families had the privilege to attend Camp Allen, but many of those children would not have been able to have a camp experience had Camp Allen not been there. The majority of summer camps in Texas are very expensive and out of reach for the middle class; Camp Allen is not only affordable, but there are also scholarships available to those who cannot afford the fees. To lose Camp Allen would affect generations of Texas children as well as have a ripple effect on their community. Statistics show that camp experiences expand a child's paradigm, promote understanding and good stewardship of our world, and, for many children, it is the only opportunity to experience a "world of possibilities", unknown and unavailable to them otherwise. These experiences help make a better citizen of tomorrow. Camp Allen is a vital resource to our community and the community at large and must not be lost."

Disclaimer: Opinions posted on Free Republic are those of the individual posters and do not necessarily represent the opinion of Free Republic or its management. All materials posted herein are protected by copyright law and the exemption for fair use of copyrighted works.