Letter to the Editor:

Congratulations to the Lady Dillos! San Saba is so proud of your accomplishments and your character and your victories!

Last week I submitted a story about the first All District Lady Dillo team and in my excitement I made a very big error that I want to take this opportunity to correct. I owe an apology to Coach Taylor!

I failed to mention even the name of the girl’s basketball coach.

He is the real hero in this saga. He is an awesome coach but even more important an awesome Christian man! What a joy it is to watch him coach. He is standing, squatting, and coaching every minute of every game and always in a positive encouraging way. We can be 20 points ahead and he has the same zeal as if we were 20 points behind!

I had some experience with this man as my granddaughter, Madison Miles, got to play under him and she said nothing but great things about him. What I remember best is she said, “Nee Nee, I have never been so fit in my whole life. He makes us run and run and run some more”.

And does it ever show up in our team. You seldom see a girl’s team that can press the entire game every game with minimum substitution. Our girls are fit! His motto “Matter Of Effort” tells the whole story!

So hats off to Coach Taylor for a job well done! It was our lucky day when you came to San Saba High!

GO LADY DILLOS!

Anita Miles, San Saba

Dear Editor,

I do not enjoy being involved in a lot of controversy, however, after the last two NSSWSC board meetings and the special called meeting by the newly organized----whatever group, I feel compelled to voice my opinion.

I served several terms on the water board so I feel I have some in-site as to the problems involved. As of yet I have not heard any real solutions to these problems, only a lot of rhetoric about the problems. The main speaker at the last meeting, after extensive talk condemning the board, stated that he would not be willing to serve on the board. This seems strange to me. I would think that if a person had a problem with the way things are run that he or she would want to serve and maybe contribute to a workable solution instead of complaining about the way things are. We would all like to have a $20 monthly water bill, unfortunately, this is not possible. This system was improperly installed some 30 years ago using schedule 200 PVC pipe, with no bedding, and at an improper depth. Due to the type of installation, we are all suffering with many breaks in the lines. Every time we have a sudden change in temperature, the pipe contracts or expands causing a break and thus a water loss. Someone has to fix the leaks. We have a person to do this job for the same price as when taking the job 12 years ago. This Operator has to hold a license from TCEQ in order to be qualified to do the repair work or to over see repair work being done. NSSWSC cannot use a plumber holding a master plumbing license to operate this system because they have to stay within the rules set forth by TCEQ.

It is my understanding that people were asked to sign the petition objecting to the rate increase. It appears to me that this whole scenario has evolved into a personal vendetta against the present operator. This I don't understand. The operator who also does the books, provides an office, electricity for 2 computers running 24/7, telephone, cell phone and the bookwork, all for $850.00 per month. The books are open for anyone who wants to look. There was talk of wanting a full time secretary for the water system, I never heard how this is to be financed.

Everyone needs to understand that this rate committee was not appointed by the board but this committee has taken it upon themselves to represent you and me. This is a total misrepresentation of NSSWSC and needs to be stopped. This committee compared NSSWSC to Richland Springs SUD at the last meeting with the different maintenance and repair cost. They failed to mention that $32,628.10 of those cost were installation or replacement of pipe to the system in 2008. They also failed to mention that the other system has equipment cost and maintenance cost, NSSWSC has none of that. This is totally covered by the operator.

So far, this committee has cost NSSWSC $1,180.00 in additional secretarial duties and legal fees. I am ready for this committee to be dissolved due to the misrepresentation of the system and the chaos involved. You as a member can help to improve NSSWSC by casting your vote at the March 3 election for good responsible board members.

C.K. Stevenson

San Saba

Dear Editor:

This letter is to encourage all members of the North San Saba Water Supply Corporation to vote in the upcoming election of new members to the Board of Directors. The election will be held March 3, 2009, on the third floor of the Courthouse at 7:00 P.M. This election is a very important step in creating an efficient and quality water system. Please use your vote not only to empower yourself and make your voice heard, but also to invest in your right as a participant in our member-owned water supply system. If you must vote by proxy, please make sure that the person you appoint as your legal Proxy is willing to vote the way you have instructed them to vote. As declared in Robert's Rules of Order, "Ordinarily it, (proxy) should either be allowed nor required because proxy voting is incompatible with the essential characteristics of a deliberative assembly in which membership is individual, personal and nontransferable." Riddick's Rules of Procedure adds to this by saying "Proxy voting is not recommended for ordinary use. It can discourage attendance and transfers an inalienable right to another without assurance that the vote has not been manipulated."

The Ratepayers Committee

Bill Hardy

Dear Editor,

The Ratepayer's Committee would like to thank the members of the North San Saba WSC that took time to attend the meeting on February 17. I hope that those in attendance left feeling that the meeting was worthwhile and that they had a better understanding of some of the issues the next board will face.

For the benefit of those unable to attend, here is some of the information that was presented at the meeting. For the year 2008, NSSWSC had revenue of almost $253,000 and maintenance cost of almost $112,000. The system consists of a little over 300 meters and 75 miles of pipeline. The maintenance cost per meter was $372 and the maintenance cost per mile of line was $1,490. Maintenance required about $0.44 per dollar of revenue.

By comparison, the Richland Special Utility District had revenue of about $642,000 and maintenance cost of $118,500. This maintenance cost is only about 6% more than for NSSWSC even though RSUD has more than 3 times the number of meters and over 4 times the miles of pipeline. This system consists of a little over 1000 meters and over 330 miles of pipeline. The maintenance cost per meter was $120 and the maintenance cost per mile of line was $360. Maintenance required about $0.18 per dollar of revenue. The cost of water on the Richland SUD system is $30.00 for the base rate and that includes 2000 gallons of water.

A comparison with two other nearby water utilities yielded similar results. Another serious issue is water loss. For the last quarter of 2008, the system suffered a water loss of 48%. Records from the corporation have shown some months with an even greater loss. Water loss for RSUD in recent months was about 14%.

I hope the members of the North San Saba WSC find this information useful.

Charles Terry

San Saba