Dear Editor:

Over the past 14 years, the opponents of the Washington Parish Reservoir Commission started out with very little support and felt like outcasts in our own parish because we were labeled as people who didn’t want progress. That was not the case at all. No one wants to be railroaded. I wouldn’t want anyone to have to experience what we went through as a family fighting for our homes and community.

It has been a daunting task to battle against our own government and a reservoir commission that would not negotiate with us. However, as time went on, people started listening to us and examining the facts of the matter. People became more educated as to what a reservoir/lake would do to an entire community.

It was a bad plan and a money pit. I would like to thank everyone who supported us, especially State Sen. Beth Mizell, who fulfilled her promise, our parish council for taking a stand in our defense, and Rep. Malinda White for carrying Senator Mizell’s bill to the House of Representatives. We are happy, but will remain watchful.

I encourage everyone to be pro-active and pay attention to the goings on of their local and state government. I’ve learned a lot of lessons on this long journey. One of those hard lessons was to not be complacent and be involved with my parish and state government.

If the wrong folks are elected, it can have a negative impact on our lives. We have been robbed of 14 years of peace, but now we finally get some much-needed relief.

Jalon Pittman Beech

Bogalusa