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Ripening Agarita berries in the sun, Mertzon See my update to these comments here. George Noelke Comments to Mertzon City Council, April 3, 2023 One year ago at this meeting I passed along some wisdom to this council that my father, Monte Noelke, handed down to me when I was in high school. He said, “George, remember this: It sure is easy to start a fight, but it is damned hard to get out of one.” I’m thinking about this advice again as I put up my new website, Government In The Sun .com, to publicly blog about my dispute with Irion County ISD and the City of Mertzon over the flooding of my property and our community. Mark Twain famously said, “Never pick a fight with people who buy ink by the barrel”. What he meant was that it isn’t wise to pick a fight with newspaper folks because they have endless supplies of ink to write their side of the story. In today’s world it sounds a bit dated. I remember, though, the days in Mertzon when it would have made perfect sense. Those were the days that Brent Evans (son of superintendent and rancher Stew Evans and best ever teacher Janet Evans) had the paper route in Mertzon. Brent delivered both the morning and evening editions of the San Angelo Standard Times on his Schwinn Sting-Ray bike. No one would have imagined back then we would have the digital news of today or that kids delivering paper copies of newsprint would be gone forever. In today’s world of the internet, though, Twain’s comment still rings true. I think it is important to remember that we all have an unlimited supply of “ink”. Digital ink. And, it’s inexpensive, and in some places on the web it is completely free. So, it still isn’t wise to pick a fight. Any one of us can write our side of the story endlessly. And, you know by now how much I like to write. So, when I mix some Monte Noelke wisdom with some Mark Twain wisdom, I get Government In The Sun .com. It is going to be hard for Irion County ISD and the City of Mertzon to get out of this fight (essentially an inverse condemnation fight but with so much more) with me while I have an unlimited supply of digital ink. Please know, Mr. Mayor (Bill Taylor), that even though you are leaving your post as mayor soon, your past actions as mayor are not going to escape my review on the site. Same goes for Vicente Flores, who I understand will soon be leaving his post as president of the school board. Both of you will remain leaders in this community. Part of my blogging will be about explaining to my readers how the flooding got so bad, and each of you are part of that history. And, I will be publicly asking you both to help us out with our flooding problems. Be good to your neighbors. Thank you. Note: These comments, as all of my comments, have been copied to Irion County ISD Board President Vicente Flores, Superintendent Ray DeSpain and the school's lawyers. This has been my practice from the beginning, and I have never received a reply; their deafening silence has been a stimulus for the creation of this site. You can find the audio of this City Council meeting here. You can find my related April 4, 2022 comments here.

Catclaw in bloom, Mertzon Here is the YouTube link to the audio of the City of Mertzon City Council meeting on April 3, 2023. The audio of my public comments have been excluded, but the written comments are available here. The agenda for this meeting can be found on the City's website here.

The picture above is a photo of the still running stormwater runoff at 4th and Fleming after the March 27, 2023 half inch rain. The photo below shows the proximity to the 2019 bond improvements contributing to the runoff. Driver caution: the storm water depth in the street is approximately 8 inches. It goes even deeper during more severe storms. The Irion County ISD and City of Mertzon need a coordinated emergency response to close the street during flooding. I have repeatedly advised both about how dangerous the situation is, to no avail. Friday Night Flood Light: stormwater at this location eventually reaches and floods City Park and the football stadium. Such flooding usually requires an inch or more of rain. Stormwater runoff, therefore, is a community wide problem only made worse by a municipality that will not regulate stormwater runoff from new construction.

After last night's .60 inch of rain, this morning the sun shines brightly on the street flooding left behind by the 2019 $18 million school bond, the largest in the school's history, that built no classrooms. Neither the School Board or the City Council are doing anything to remedy this problem. If you are considering buying in Mertzon, be careful not to purchase in a low lying area. If you are already here and live in a low lying area, I recommend FEMA's flood insurance.

For my inaugural Sun Blog post see below for the link to my YouTube audio for the March 20, 2023 special called meeting of the Irion County ISD school board. Irion County ISD March 20, 2023 Here is a link to the meeting agenda. Setting aside all of the legalese, the agenda was written to specifically include the possibility of firing Superintendent Ray DeSpain. Analysis I will be providing more detailed analysis of this meeting in due time. If after listening to the audio you are clamoring to know what really happened, then you are experiencing how this board has twisted open government laws and why you need to be front and center at their next board meetings asking them what in the heck is going on. And, if you want more school board audios, please let me know. I have compressed a roughly 2 hour and 45 minute meeting into less than 2 minutes.

Here is the YouTube audio of the Mertzon City Council discussion on February 27, 2023 regarding why Allsup's has abandoned their truck stop project in Mertzon. Mertzon City Council Discusses Allsup’s Rejection Advocacy tip: Citizens miss these types of discussions of the Council if they use flash in the pan advocacy and show up at meetings only when angry. The Council has repeatedly rejected my views on unregulated development in Mertzon, yet I still attend and voice my opinions. (Flooding of City Park and the Irion County ISD football field is one day going to prove my point.) I encourage you to attend all City Council meetings and stay from beginning to end.