Leaning to the Right Index of Articles
"The Powers of Bowers over Towers"
Edited on March 13, 2005
Update 3/16/05 - According to sources a meeting was held tonight with an in-depth discussion included. Michael Cassidy, attorney for the Police Jury, was on hand. It appears Mr. Cassidy has once again brought some organization to a the discussion and has responded to the pulse of the people of the Hathaway Community. From what I gathered, some inconsistencies were hammered out. I believe plans were revised and Mr. Bowers accepted the revisions. Things are looking positive so far for a cell tower in Hathaway. A tip of the hat to Mr. Cassidy for making the players take a step back for another view of this issue. The final vote will take place at the next meeting.
Submitted to "Letter
to the Editor" Jennings Daily News
There’s a controversy brewing in Hathaway over a cell phone tower. Cell phones
don't work well in Hathaway. Chances are, the community will not get a tower,
and since a controversy was started, we’ll be lucky if we get anything in the
way of future mosquito services as our punishment. That’s how despots with a
little authority generally respond. I figured it was just a cell tower and it
was a done deal so I didn't attend the meeting or sign the petition. I was
wrong. I forgot that Curt Bowers with the Jeff Davis Parish Mosquito Abatement
District (JDPMAD) was the “go-to guy” for all towers in Jeff Davis Parish. Mr.
Bowers, despite the fact that he is not with the FCC or the FAA or 911,
essentially controls much of the airspace over the parish. How did this happen?
Several years ago a Jeff Davis Parish Mosquito Abatement District Pilot,
tragically lost his life when his plane hit the top of trees in Acadia Parish.
Since that time the JDPMAD, has seized the opportunity to gain its share of
control over the airspace of Jeff Davis Parish in the name of safety. Mr. Bowers
threw out his “safety” and “West Nile Virus” trump cards on the table and the
Police Jury folded, transferring authority over our airspace to Mr. Bowers,
instead of the communications district/911.
There are concerns that the proposed tower will be in the flight path of his
Mosquito abatement planes. Everything else is a means to justify the control.
Just, how many planes are in this squadron for mosquito control anyway? Last I
counted it was 2.
So far we have heard stories of the tower falling on a child, lightning blowing
up non-conductive gas tanks, towers blocking hurricane evacuation routes, kids
climbing the towers to free their kites. Why not join the fun and make up some
excuses of your own. That’s what everyone that is opposing this thing is doing!
Don't worry it doesn't have to make sense.
As long as were talking about safety we should not overlook the dangers of
pesticides, and the possibility of crashing airplanes. If someone can throw out
a comment about lightning traveling underground and blowing up non-conductive
gas tanks then certainly I can bring up pesticides, crashing airplanes, and 911.
The public has made a trade off between the use of pesticides over the heath
hazards of mosquitoes. So when Mr. Bowers wants to flex his “Safety” muscles, he
needs to remember what it is he is spraying. It comes down to this…whoever can
fit the words “West Nile Virus”, “Safety of Children or Public”, in the same
sentence, always wins the argument. We are paying for 911 services but can’t use
it by cell phone if an emergency occurs. Hathaway is a farming community, with
kids working in the field. If an accident occurs in the field, a successful cell
phone call can mean the difference between life and death.
If the proposed tower is within 2 flight paths of the Mosquito District,
wouldn’t that put the Hathaway School directly under the same flight path of the
JDPMAD? Is that really safe? One of its planes crashed already. Couldn't that
happen again over a school? By all means, lets keep talking about safety.
Why is the parish involved in an area, that is traditionally overseen by the FCC
and the FAA anyway? In my opinion, it’s all about power. With the tower
ordinance they have more power than the federal agencies. Their “add-on”
requirements demand more and appear to be designed as a deterrent and are
actually obstacles to progress. It’s time to reign in the “powers of Bowers over
towers” or, before you know it local residents will be looking at fines or jail
time for Mosquito Abatement violations, all under the name of public safety.
There is a law on it you know!
There are risks associated with Mosquito born diseases. There are also risks
associated with the control of mosquitoes. The public, shaking in fear of West
Nile virus has agreed to an acceptable level of risks in combating them. There
are risks involved in the abatement of mosquito’s for those charged with the
task...Live with it! We have to live with the risks too. The plane that
unfortunately crashed did not hit a tower....as I recall, it hit some trees!
There’s some hypocrisy being exercised by one Juror who is fighting against this
proposed tower. He did not fight when a tower was being built in his district.
The concern for towers falling on gas pumps and the lightning scenario was not
an issue, even though it was built next to a store with gas pumps too. What’s
the difference? One is out of his district and the other was not.
Is it any wonder why the voters of Acadia Parish voted against the creation of a
“Mosquito Abatement District” for their parish? It's sad that they would rather
take their chances with West Nile Virus, than deal with the abuse of power from
yet another government agency.
Mr. Bowers is not the FCC, the FAA, an air traffic controller or the head of
911. What is he doing controlling the airspace related to communications in Jeff
Davis Parish? Mr. Bowers should not have this type of decision-making power
alone, all in the name of his definition of safety. You would think that cell
phone towers, and whatever public safety issue you can wrap around it, would
fall under the authority of Sheriff Ricky Edwards and Elizabeth Reed with the
communications district and 911. Instead it's under Mosquito Control! This may
very well be a case of the Police Jury over-stepping its territorial authority
based on the whim of a single man armed with a scare tactic.
The people of the community of Hathaway need a cell tower, at the proposed site,
without repurcussions from the abatement district. As for the Police Jury, you
don’t want to install culverts for residents, you don’t want them to have a cell
tower, your not willing to hear the voice of the public, you hand off your
authority to other people, who are in fact, the wrong people. What is it exactly
you are willing to do besides collect a check and drag us into debt? You and the
Jeff Davis Parish Mosquito Abatement District are supposed to be representing
the interests of the public. When you avoid discussing an issue with the public,
that show up at your meetings, and you have already made your decisions in “back
office deals”, it becomes clear you only represent yourselves! If that’s the
name of the game then the job of Police Juror should only be a 1 time, 4 year
temporary job…...No repeats!
We should be trying to get as many towers constructed as we can...in the name of
safety. Instead were doing the opposite....in the name of safety.