|
The Temple Daily Telegram (27 Jul 06) reported the following:
About 1,500 people, including seven public officials and one gubernatorial candidate, showed up Wednesday at the Frank
W. Mayborn Civic and Convention Center in Temple for a public hearing on the proposed Trans-Texas Corridor. According to a
show of hands requested by one speaker, all but 11 were opposed to it.
State Comptroller Carole Keeton Strayhorn, independent
candidate for governor, sounded the themes that garnered her the endorsement of the Blackland Coalition, a local group that
opposes the corridor.
Calling it the “largest land grab in Texas history” and a “$184 billion boondoggle” created by
Gov. Rick Perry’s “highway henchmen,” she said the corridor “needs to be blasted off the bureaucratic books.” She received
a large round of applause for her comments.
Bell County Judge Jon Burrows received a less welcome reception. Several
in the audience booed when his name was announced. Burrows, after describing the congestion on Interstate 35 when he drove
to Waco and back today, stressed the importance of following through on I-35 improvement projects.
“Do not forget the
projects to widen I-35,” Burrows said. “Those projects must be completed.” He also suggested the projected 1,200-foot width
of the corridor be reconsidered and that affected landowners be given fair compensation.
|