It's a good price

The lead article in the Dec. 11 Herald and News is disconcerting in that the leaders in our county are put off by the potential price tag of $500 million for the off-stream water storage project for Long Lake.

This project has been discussed for years by far-sighted citizens in our community. Now that we have entered a weather period where the true consequences of water shortage have impacted us and we can clearly see the damage to our community, we must press forward.

We will look back in a few years and see that the price tag was well worth the benefits.

How can we put a price on the bitterness caused by the racism that has surfaced in this crisis? How much is it worth to keep families on their land and producing wholesome crops for local use, and for export, too?

When we are able to send clean, cold water down the river late in the season, we will get the respect of those downstream who depend on this water for fish migration. This is a move toward exercising good stewardship of the resources in our hands.

It is now the job of our political leaders (all Republicans) to call in the cards on this federal administration. Perhaps they can suggest that the project be given to Halliburton or Bechtel.

It is fairly clear at this point that Klamath County will go for the election of Bush. We must not sell our votes too cheaply. A $500 million project is big enough to get the attention of an administration looking for contributors to reward. Go for it.

Richard L. Pastega

Klamath Falls