LETTERS: LAKE COMMITTEE RESPONDS TO LETTERS

To the editor:

The Lake Facts Committee has consistently tried to present to the public information regarding the proposed Cape Girardeau-Bollinger County Lake. Our information has been developed by a reputable engineering firm and by Southeast Missouri State University. The lake opponents have chosen to disregard the facts and try to confuse the issue. I will answer each of those letters individually.

In a letter to the editor on Sept. 3, Jim Roche accused our committee of failing to mention the economic review by Dr. William Weber of the economic impact study. Mr. Roche has his information wrong again. Dr. Weber's study reviewed the original economic impact study done in 1989. We too were suspect of this report and asked Southeast Missouri State University under Dr. Bruce Domazlicky to do an independent study. The economic facts we have presented are based on this current study, not on eight-year-old information. Dr. Weber has not reviewed this current study as far as we know.

On Sept. 11, Mr. Roche again writes that the original purpose of the lake was only as a recreation source. Again he is wrong. All of the engineering studies we have quoted were contained in the original Freese & Nichols report. Both county commissions were looking at all aspects of this lake when it was proposed. In addition, it should be stated that this lake could be used as a cooling water source for a conventional electric power plant, not a hydroelectric plant. There have been no studies performed to support this premise.

Alan R.P. Journet has even joined the opposition with erroneous claims and distortions regarding my Sept. 2 letter. In my letter to the editor, my statement is, "The same proposed lake also offers the ability to help control downstream flooding. While this lake is not intended as a flood-control project, it would have the ability to alleviate downstream flooding during major floods." I'm not sure while part of the word "downstream" he doesn't understand. At no point in my letter did I say anything about flooding in the cities of Cape Girardeau or Jackson. His ramblings regarding flooding by the Mississippi indicate his lack of understanding of the word "downstream."

Again, we have only submitted information that has been proposed by reliable sources. We only ask that the lake opponents argue the facts. If they do have verifiable data, please share it with us.

JOE VERNIER, Landowner

Lake Facts Committee

Jackson