[CPEO-MEF] If Renzi and Kolbe score, the river loses the game

[CPEO Moderator <cpeo@cpeo.org>]

Arizona
SIERRA VISTA HERALD
If Renzi and Kolbe score, the river loses the game
By Lee Basnar
July 17, 2003

A year ago, Congressman Jim Kolbe attempted to exempt military bases
from responsibility for their share of water consumption in surrounding
communities. Fortunately, Kolbe failed.

This year, in a move reminiscent of the old Statue of Liberty play in
football, where the quarterback fakes a forward pass only to drop the
ball over his shoulder to another player who sneaks around behind him, I
suspect Kolbe dumped the ball to Arizona Congressman Rick Renzi.

Renzi reintroduced the bill that Kolbe failed to score on. It's time to
sack the quarterback and throw that team for a loss.

_From the sidelines, the Greater Sierra Vista Area Chamber of Commerce
cheers the outdated play. The chamber and the congressmen should
eliminate that play from their playbooks.

Sierra Vista annexed Fort Huachuca in 1972. Are we to believe that the
fort is part of our community only when certain community members
benefit? Are we to disavow the fort when its off-post responsibilities
might slow this city's irrational desire to grow as fast as possible,
regardless of growth's impact on the San Pedro River and our quality of
life?

Since Renzi doesn't represent our district, I'll concentrate on Kolbe,
disregarding his pathetic performance on border security. He receives a
lot of support from this community, both in the press and from public
officials. Whether that support is justified is questionable.

Kolbe channels money to the Upper San Pedro Partnership, ostensibly to
protect our human and wildlife water needs. According to the
partnership's mission statement, that includes protecting the river.
Exempting the fort from off-post water responsibility while passing
money around is akin to a fake lateral.

Kolbe, local officials and the chamber of commerce love to hate Robin
Silver. They blame Silver instead of themselves for their past failures
to protect the river and our water supply.

I've never met or talked with Silver, but I've watched his efforts to
save the river. What has Silver done that angers so many of this
valley's residents?

Silver has required the military and local officials to confront the
problems that unmanaged growth causes in the San Pedro Valley. If it
weren't for Silver, few actions would have been taken to initiate water
conservation measures.

This article can be viewed at:
http://www.svherald.com/display/inn_features/Columnist/columnist1.txt

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