TEXAS LIVING

Any regrets? We have been asked that several times by both family and friends, mostly from the Northwest. And the answer? . . . . No way! We love living here. For the most part, we think it is cheaper. What is more expensive than Clark County, Washington? Electricity and the property taxes for sure. Gasoline is noticeably cheaper by 20 – 40 cents per gallon. Dining, entertainment, and shopping! Oh my! Choices are unlimited, and we have found several coupon web sites that allow us to buy one dinner, get one free, or have reduced entry fees to events and activities. After working in local public service for almost 33 years, I tend to notice those types of functions and activities more easily. For example, I have found the City of Allen and the State of Texas to be much more creative in moving traffic more efficiently than Clark County and the City of Portland. I’ll talk more about that in future postings. But I have found similarities in responses from elected officials. The City of Allen recently proposed several capital bonds for amounts that were in excess of one hundred million dollars. YIKES! I was especially interested in the one that would have the City build a new multi-million dollar complex to house a new equipment repair facility and an operations yard. I sent an e-mail inquiring about the City’s previous, current, and proposed efforts on inter-agency cooperation. DUH! I got your usual B-S response talking to me like I was some kind of ignorant and uninformed City resident who wasn’t worthy of a factual and informative response. I did NOT vote for that particular bond item! But it did pass, as did all the bonds. You wouldn’t believe the upcoming capital program for parks, roads, arts, schools, drainage, and more! It sure is a different attitude than what we experienced in Clark County. Community support is much better here! When we arrived in December ’05, our local 22,000 acre lake, Lake Lavon was down over 13 feet, and the North Texas drought was at its worst. The lake was still down about 17 feet in November, ’06. But since then! . . . . The flood gates in the sky opened up. We have had lots of rain, and then more rain! Lake Lavon, now seven months later, is 4 feet above normal. And when it rains here, it only rains for an hour or so most days, unlike what we had grown accustomed to SW Washington. More later!