LETTERS: LAKE WOULD ONLY BENEFIT A FEW

To the editor:

Well, here we go again. Recently Joe Vernier of the Lake Facts Committee had a very lengthy letter published in several local newspapers. In his letter, Mr. Vermier extols the virtues of water. I will not argue the point with him. Water is an essential ingredient to living.

The problem lies in the selling of the lake as a source of water for the area. Let's get this straight one more time. The lake was proposed as a recreational reservoir in its original form. Over $100,000 of taxpayer money was spent for a feasibility study to attempt to prove this point. Water supply and flood control were given scant attention in the feasibility study. Recreation was the main focus.

It seems every few weeks the Lake Facts Committee comes up with some new spit on how to sell this absurd idea to the public. They remind me of a drowning man grasping for a straw. Last year their consulting engineer stated that hydro-electric power could be obtained from this project. I am still searching for the feasibility study for this one.

If we give them a few more weeks, they will come up with some nonsense about how the lake could be frozen over so we could have ice fishing. Why don't we just come clean and call a spade a spade. This is nothing more than a land development project designed to enrich a few people. If the Lake Facts Committee and the Lake Landowners Association are really dedicated and sincere about seeing this project through, then I challenge them to donate their property free of charge for the good of the people.

JAMES C. ROCHE, PresidentCape Girardeau-Bollinger Counties Landowners Association/Citizens Against the Lake

Jackson