malicious and disparaging comments...

Dear Mr. Castillo,

First and foremost, let me say that I enjoy your website very much. I appreciate you taking the time to do this so that we can all keep up with the happenings in Eagle Pass. I am however, bothered that you post letters and do not require individuals to identify themselves as in the case of the letter supporting Ms. Glays Gonzalez. It takes courage to speak up for or against a person, subject, etc., therefore, I believe individuals should be required to identify themselves. Thank you for taking the time to read my correspondence.

Answer: I appreciate your visits to our site. Its an unfortunate fact that throughout our country almost all media including newspapers, allow comments to be published without the authors name. It happens in San Francisco, Miami, New York and San Antonio. It also happens in Eagle Pass. Be that as it may, I do have the ability to determine the origin of most messages in the event a libelous issue arises. But lets also recognize that this site was developed in 1995 with the aim on alumni as our target base. That means that we at least have 12 years of formal education and in many other cases, much more. With this in our favor, we can tell where the message is coming from and are free to disagree and publish our own viewpoint. I suppose that in a perfect situation no comment would be posted without a name. But ask yourself, what is to keep someone from using an alias. I also need to point out that to the chagrin of those that post malicious and disparaging comments, we do block their use of our site. We do that often. In conclusion, I also know that the only way I can stop the type of messages that bothered you would be to close the site completely. Believe me I have done that twice in the 13 years the site has been online. So, I hope you continue to visit us inspite of this imperfection. Roberto Castillo

Financial Fumble....

The news was not good for Judson ISD tonight and it made me think about EPISD's fate if the same scenario develops here. In a news report out of San Antonio, it was reported that Judson ISD may have to look for additional funds to complete a new stadium which replaces the old Rutledge Stadium. At the initial stages of construction, it has already been determined that the 10 million bond passed by Judson in 2006 for a new stadium will not be enough to complete the project. In order to complete the stadium, Judson is going to need an additional 40% or 4 million. This is because the costs that are coming in are higher than what they anticipated. Although their original projection made allowances for a rising inflation rate, the increase was much more. EPISD's calculates that our new stadium will be completed with 22 million. I only hope that we did a better job than Judson at estimating the total cost including the inflation factor.

Opted for caution....

I am slowing coming to a personal realization that too many times I have opted for caution in not making my viewpoint known. There have been issues that come up in our community and I stood on the sidelines much as a spectator. But as a spectator I do more than simply watch, I continue to talk with many on both sides of the issues. I do this all the time and I appreciate those that are willing to talk to me with much candor. As always I respect their opinions. During some of these different conversation I have been told that our community has a characteristic that may not be found in other communities of the same size and economic standing. In our community, a great majority will oppose any proposition. Many are predisposed to line up on one side with and equal number facing off on the other side. Even when little is known about the issue. During my contacts, I have called persons that I know would be very good candidates and some have said that they won't serve because no matter what your credential, idea or personality is, on day one you will have 50% against you. So I suppose that my caution to express my viewpoints freely may have derived out of that same notion.. that I will be challenged by at least 50% if not more. But perhaps its time to test this hypothesis and see if I am correct.

Legal Bravado..

Our city elected officials have another critical decision to make at tomorrow's city council meeting. You will remember that over a month ago, our ex-city manager Glen Starnes recommended that two city employees be fired for specific reasons. Starnes presented this to the council and they voted to approve his recommendation and as a result, both were fired. The specific reasons will probably never be known. In matters of this type, generalities are commonly used to protect those being fired. The question that the council must determine is whether these specific reasons are valid regardless of Starnes credibility. Most specifically, can they stand the test in court in the event the whole matter goes into litigation. If the allegations can not pass this test then amends should be initiated if the two employees chose to return to city employment. The Council should not be tempted to engage in legal bravado and continue this sad chapter at the cost of taxpayer's money. This is also a good time to do what many other municipalities have done and set up a citizens ethic committee to oversee some questionable issues.