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Dear Friends of Buehler Park:
In this newsletter is:
1. LATE AGAIN (NOTE FROM EDITOR)
2. BUEHLER PARK REMEMBERED
3. THANKS TO SCOTT CARON AND ROLLA'S PARKS AND RECREATION CREW
4. GARDEN
5. TREES
6. PHOTOS
7. WATER LINE TO BUEHLER PARK STILL NEEDS TO BE REPLACED
8. BUEHLER PARK USED BY MANY
9. WEBSITE
10. WHY I AM SUING THE STATE OF MISSOURI
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1. LATE AGAIN (NOTE FROM EDITOR)
It's been six months since the last issue. This quarterly is turning into a biannual newsletter. I'm still accepting applications for editor. Any takers?
2. BUEHLER PARK REMEMBERED
Every now and then I receive a note from someone who remembers Buehler Park from the good-ol' days and found us on the internet. Notes like this are always welcome. Here's the latest:
I grew up in Rolla in the 60' and 70's. We lived down the road,
and played at the Buehler Park many, many times. I remember it
before all the businesses, restaurants, hotels. There was no
Howard Johnsons at that time, as it was the woods where we
played. I even walked through, and explored as a young kid,
the original, "very old", dilapidated faded-bleached barn wood
baseball stand. It was falling apart then and soon was torn down.
Probably about 1959 or 1960.
So recently I looked up some internet info and a photo of the park.
Then I saw all the information of the years when the City wanted
to sell the property for a restaurant. Even though I do not travel to
Rolla much these days, I am glad there was a group of individuals
like you, to stand up to the City. I read a good amount of the
information on the law suits.
Anyway, thank you for your efforts, and I know we can still stop
off of I44 to visit the park.
3. THANKS TO SCOTT CARON AND ROLLA'S PARKS AND RECREATION CREW
Thanks to Rolla Director of Parks and Recreation Scott Caron and the parks and recreation crew for taking down the dead pine tree near the Southeast corner of the park. It opens up that corner nicely and we have three new trees growing close by.
4. GARDEN
Scott and I have been discussing putting in a garden in the Southeast corner of the park in front of the Buehler Park sign. Any of you master or apprentice gardeners interested in working on this project?
5. TREES
Three of the four flowering dogwoods which our chief forester, Ross Melick, donated and planted in March did nicely throughout the growing season. The fourth struggled along, but may catch up in the Spring. The other 31 young trees that we planted since our court victory in 2007 all did well too. The relatively cool wet summer was a boon to the young trees. Pray for more good growing weather next year. NOAA is predicting mostly normal precipitation and temperatures over the next three months.
6. PHOTOS
For those of you who can't get to Buehler Park, I'm attaching photos: One showing the Fall colors of a black gum we planted in the Spring of 2008. The other two of Buehler Park after the mid-December snow storm.
7. WATER LINE TO BUEHLER PARK NEEDS TO BE REPLACED
The water line to Buehler Park still needs to be replaced at an estimated cost of $6 to $8 thousand. There has been no water at Buehler for two years now. Unfortunately, the City has not budgeted any money to replace the water line. The city has put a parks and recreation tax on the ballot for April. If passed, some of the tax revenue might be used for Buehler Park. More on this tax initiative next issue. Calls or emails to city officials would be helpful.
8. BUEHLER PARK USED BY MANY
Almost every time I visit Buehler Park, there are people out enjoying the park, often travelers who have pulled off the interstate for a rest. One of the attached photos of Buehler Park shows a woman walking her dog in the snow. Maybe some day city officials will wake up and realize what a treasure Buehler Park is and replace or repair all the equipment that has broken over the years.
9. WEBSITE
I haven't done much work on the website since last newsletter; but hope to work on it over Christmas break. We are still looking for a webmaster. Let me know if you are interested. Check out our website regularly.
10. WHY I AM SUING THE STATE OF MISSOURI
Nothing demonstrates the disdain in which Missouri's elected officials hold the citizens who elected them more than the story of Missouri's Renewable Energy Standard.
In 2008, 66% of Missouri's voters approved Proposition C, giving Missouri a Renewable Energy Standard. If implemented as passed by the voters, Prop. C would require Missouri's public utilities: Ameren, KCPL and Empire; to ramp up use of renewable energy to 2% by 2011 and 15% by 2021. However in 2010, the Missouri General Assembly's Joint Committee on Administrative Rules (JCAR) proposed to delete the part of Prop. C which requires that to count toward fulfillment of the renewable energy requirement, energy must be either produced in Missouri or sold to Missouri customers.
The Senate approved deleting this crucial part of Proposition C by a 29 to 2 vote. The House approved the deletion by a 121 to 16 vote. Governor Jeremiah Nixon allowed these deletions to become law, Secretary of State Jason Kander published the rules pertaining to Proposition C with the important paragraphs requiring that the renewable energy requirement be either produced or sold in Missouri deleted, and Attorney General Chris Koster is defending JCAR and governor Nixon against out law suit.
As a result, Ameren and KCPL were able to satisfy their renewable energy requirement by purchasing certificates representing energy that was not produced in Missouri nor ever delivered to customers in Missouri.
Thus was Proposition C and Missouri's Renewable Energy Standard rendered meaningless by our own elected representatives and officials.
Just as our local politicians thumbed their nose at the people and flauted the law by attempting to sell Buehler Park; our state politicians thumb their nose at the people and flaut the law by attempting to nullify Missouri's Renewable Energy Standard.
If you ask any of these lawmakers and officials if creating jobs for Missourians is important, they will all answer, yes. If you ask them whether developing renewable energy resources in Missouri is important, most will also answer, yes. Yet, these same officials, under the influence of ALEC and other industry lobbyists, allowed the jobs and benefits of renewable energy mandated by Proposition C to be exported to other states.
This is why I, along with Missouri Coalition for the Environment and Missouri Solar Applications are suing the State of Missouri - to force the State to implement Proposition C as passed by the voters in 2008 by a 66 to 34% margin. Great Rivers Environmental Law Center, the same public interest environmental law center that represented us in preserving Buehler Park, is representing us in this suit.
I will keep you updated as the suit progresses. Meanwhile, if you have not already done so, please consider making a donation to Great Rivers Environmental Law Center. Checks can be mailed to Great Rivers Environmental Law Center, 705 Olive Street, Suite 614, St. Louis, MO 63101. Great Rivers is recognized by the IRS as a 501(c)(3) organization. Donations are tax deductible to the full extent of the law. Donations can also be made online from Great Rivers' website.
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If you don't wish to receive occasional notices about Buehler Park and related topics, let me know and I'll take you off this list.
If you want to be added to this list, let me know.
Have a great day and thanks for your support for Buehler Park.
Tom Sager, Secretary/Treasurer/Webmaster
Citizens for the Preservation of Buehler Park
yushasager (at) yahoo.com
http://buehlerpark.org
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