Letters to the editor

Posted 4/8/21

As a frequent visitor to Mineola to enjoy your restaurants, your friendly folks and your open arms, but also to take walks or ride horses through the Nature Preserve, I have a word or two to say about the impending mistake of letting a concrete batch plant being built literally a stone’s throw away from your beautiful almost 3,000-acre preserve.

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Letters to the editor

Posted

Dear editor: 
As a frequent visitor to Mineola to enjoy your restaurants, your friendly folks and your open arms, but also to take walks or ride horses through the Nature Preserve, I have a word or two to say about the impending mistake of letting a concrete batch plant being built literally a stone’s throw away from your beautiful almost 3,000-acre preserve: No no no no no no no no no. It will be bad for the city, bad for tourism, bad for the lovely people who live all-too-close to the batch site, bad for traffic, bad for sleep, and, most importantly, bad for the health of the residents, in the short term and the long term.

Herman Bennett
Austin

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Dear Editor:
I’m writing in regards to your March 4th article in the Wood County Monitor about the proposed building site for Bell Concrete Plant. 

We live on County Road 2724 and are just one mile from the proposed building site for Bell Concrete and are directly across from the Mineola Nature Preserve. We are adamantly opposed to this building site, as are many other residents of Wood County, as it affects the air quality and the wildlife at the preserve. The dust and pollutants in the air from a cement plant statistically show a significant risk for respiratory diseases. There most likely will be air debris and a wastewater issue that can affect our streams and ecosystem at the Mineola Nature Preserve and surrounding areas. We urge Bell Concrete to find another location. This  unsightly plant will be directly across from our beautiful preserve and equestrian center. 

Please protect our preserve! 
Tom and Sharon Jones
Mineola

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Dear editor:

The Texas Commission on Environmental Quality (TCEQ) is expediting the Bell Concrete Batch Plant of Sulphur Springs, permit #164044, to construct a permanent concrete batch plant right across the street from the Mineola Nature Preserve. The TCEQ admits that the proposed facility will emit air contaminants including particulate matter, aggregate, cement and road dust.

 According to an article in EPA.GOV website:

“Particulate matter contains microscopic solids or liquid droplets that are so small that they can be inhaled and cause serious health problems. Some particles less than 10 micrometers in diameter can get deep into your lungs and some may even get into your bloodstream. Of these, particles less than 2.5 micrometers in diameter, also known as fine particles or PM2.5, pose the greatest risk to health.

“Fine particles are also the main cause of reduced visibility (haze) in parts of the United States, including many of our treasured national parks and wilderness areas.

“Exposure to such particles can affect both your lungs and your heart. Numerous scientific studies have linked particle pollution exposure to a variety of problems, including:

• premature death in people with heart or lung disease

• nonfatal heart attacks

• irregular heartbeat

• aggravated asthma

• decreased lung function

• increased respiratory symptoms, such as irritation of the airways, coughing or difficulty breathing.

“People with heart or lung diseases, children, and older adults are the most likely to be affected by particle pollution exposure.”

Environmental damage

“Particles can be carried over long distances by wind and then settle on ground or water. Depending on their chemical composition, the effects of this settling may include:

• making lakes and streams acidic

• changing the nutrient balance in coastal waters and large river basins

• depleting the nutrients in soil

• damaging sensitive forests and farm crops

• affecting the diversity of ecosystems

• contributing to acid rain effects.”

Are we going to sit back and allow this to happen at our beautiful Mineola Nature Preserve? We have so many species of birds, mammals, fish, flora and fauna, insects and more that we must take action to protect.

We need 250-300 people to attend the public meeting on May 4 to let our voices be heard and protect our preserve.  

Can we count on you?
Marsha Fehl
Mineola