hosting an American Red Cross Lifeguard Class this coming June 3-6. Lessons will be from 4-9 p.m. on June 3-4, 1:30-9 p.m. on June 5 and 8 a.m. to 5 p.m. on June 6. The cost of the course is $135 and includes first aid and CPR training along with an online book. Among the prerequisites for lifeguard training is the appli- cant must be at least 15 years old prior to the completion of the class. Certification does not guarantee hiring. In addi- tion, attendance at all sessions is mandatory and all students must participate in all online sessions before June 3. Closed on Mondays, normal operating hours for the Hillard Pool are from noon to 7 p.m. Tuesday through Thursday and 11 a.m. to 8 p.m. on weekends and holi- days. The 16th Street pool is open noon to 5 p.m. on Tuesday through Friday with the same weekend and holi- day hours. “There is a water aerobics class at 5 p.m. weekdays at the 16th Street Pool and we also have it open for lap swimming only from 5-7 p.m. on a year-round basis,” Penewitt said. This year’s pool fees are the same as a year ago. Both annual and summer passes are available along with a daily admission fee. An annual all pool family pass is priced at $300 for up to four people with an addi- tional $25 per child and $50 for an adult while individual annual passes are priced at $100 for adults and $75 for children 17 or younger and seniors ages 65 or older. Lap swim family passes are priced at $200 for families, $75 for adults and $50 for child/senior. All pool summer passes are priced at $200 for four peo- ple, $75 for adults and $50 for children and seniors while summer lap swim passes are $150, $50 and $25. The pools also offers 30-day passes at discounted prices as well. Daily fees are $2 for adults and $1 for children, seniors and lap swim. An adult must accompany all children under age 8 and groups pay the daily admission rate and require one adult for every 10 children. Persons interested in serv- ing as lifeguards for the City of Bay City need to apply at City Hall, 1901 Fifth Street. To take the lifeguard course, contact the city parks and recreation department no later than Monday morning by calling 979-323-1660 or by email at parks- [email protected] BAY CITY TRIBUNE ■ baycitytribune.com Sunday, June 1, 2014 ■ 5 NOW OPEN W&D Recycling LLC 1362 SH 35 S • Bay City • 979-323-9811 (Formerly Bay City Salvage) 100 CR 410 • Edna, TX • 361-782-5544 2 LOCATIONS TO SERVE YOU!! M-F 8:30-5:00 • Closed for lunch • 12:00-1:00 Saturday 8:30-12:00 • Closed Sundays www.wdrecycling.com • “Like” us - facebook.com/wdrecycling Got a JUNK VEHICLE? Got Scrap Iron, Tin, Metal? We will PAY you for them! WE ALSO BUY: ALUMINUM CANS, ALUMINUM, A.C. COILS, BATTERIES, BRASS, COPPER, INSULATED COPPER, ELECTRIC MOTORS, LEAD, RADIATORS, STAINLESS STEEL Captured Home Furnishings & Accessories for Men & Women 4800 7th St • Bay City 979.245.7200 Mon - Fri 10am to 6pm Saturday 9am to 4pm Precision Drug & Alcohol Testing Alexander Fuentes-Owner 2113 Ave G, Ste. A KNOW WHO YOU ARE HIRING Drug Testing-Alcohol Breath Testing-DOT Non-DOT DNA Testing, Fingerprint, Hair Follicle Testing 979-244-2328 Cook Chiropractic, Inc. 979-244-2900 Monday - Friday 9am-6pm 1509 7 th St.• Bay City Sat. by Appt. •Se Habla Español• Quick DOT Exams (across from Tractor Supply) East-west traffic through the center of Bay City was disrupted for much of Friday morning as a two parts of a house formed a pair of wide loads traveling down State Highway 35. Local law enforcement provided traffic control to assist in moving the loads through the city safely. H Ho ou us se e t t r ra av ve el ls s t t h hr ro ou ug gh h B Ba ay y C Ci it t y y Barry Halvorson / Bay City Tribune “In 2007, the San Antonio Water Service approached the LCRA about water and at the time the lower basin counties spoke loud, clear and con- vincingly there wasn’t enough water. What we had at the time was an LCRA Board (of Directors) that respected and appreciated our input and were willing to listen.” McDonald said those times are over. “Now, we don’t have that respect,” the judge said. “We have a politicized board up in Austin that doesn’t have an interest in Colorado, Wharton, Fayette, Bastrop and Matagorda counties. You have gubernatorial appoint- ments with an agenda when they walk in the room, when they should be thinking about the entire length of the basin from Mills County to our Bay.” Helping add fuel to the fire of those politics, according to McDonald, has been the Central Water Coalition. “They have put out much, much propaganda with little of it based in fact,” he said. “We need to see what we can do as a county and a region, what we can do to answer that coalition. “We want to take a fact- based, respectful approach to write policy that is basin wide and incorporates all 10 coun- ties. We need to get some traction in a very, very politi- cized environment and speak with a united and convincing voice.” McDonald said the cutting off of irrigation water for the past three years is a threat to both the local economy and national interests. “This has the potential to end irrigation agriculture in Texas and that should not happen,” he said. “The U.S. has always been food inde- pendent and Texas was founded on ranches and agri- culture, including being a forerunner in irrigation agri- culture. Now some powerful gentlemen in Austin want that water for themselves. “One of the byproducts of the cut off of water has been its impact on the bay and estuary system in Matagorda County. Our bays and estuar- ies serve as the nursery sys- tem for all of the state of Texas. It is the pre-eminent bay and estuary system.” With those now currently only receiving “critical flow regimens,” McDonald said the county is looking at a potential “Dead Sea” as salt- water concentrations build up without a robust freshwater inflow to the bays. Bastrop County Judge Pape said his county relies on the river flow for both agricul- ture, recreation and drinking water, and that currently 95 percent of the water it receives isn’t from river flow but from the effluent pro- duced by the city of Austin’s wastewater treatment pro- gram. And he envisions it getting worse if nothing is done to oppose the Austin and Highland Lake interests. “They are willing to kill industry (rice farming) to keep the water for them- selves,” Pape said. “And if they can do that to you, they can do that to (my county) next so they can continue to hoard the water. “They want to put rice growers out of business so they can keep every acre-foot for their own use. And the water that flows to the rice fields flows through Bastrop. The irrigation releases kept the river flushed out. When they cut off your flow, they cut off our flow. “The time has come to fight for what is ours, the fresh water flow. We are going to have a similar meeting in Bastrop in two weeks and I will be encouraging them to add their voice so we can bring the strength of thou- sands, tens of thousands to care for our future,” said Pape. McDonald said he fears for the future and the continuing impact it will have on those counties located both south and north of the Highland Lakes. “They are going after irri- gation today,” McDonald said. “Next it will be live- stock raising or row crop farming. All to keep water in the lakes for their benefit and use exclusively.” Former State Representative Robbie Cook, a fifth generation rice farmer who spent 12 years in the state legislature, said these water issues have been bat- tled over for the past 20 years. He complimented Ducks Unlimited for assign- ing Brown to the local areas based on his past history of being able to successfully form coalitions like the one being proposed for the lower basin counties. Brown in turn said the coalition needs to be as broad and diverse as possible so it works for everyone. That includes having environmen- tal and conservation groups like his own along with chambers of commerce and economic and community development corporations, cities, counties, school dis- tricts and even those busi- nesses such as agriculture and hunting and fishing tourism be involved. “We need all of those to counterbalance the messag- ing coming out of Austin,” he said. “It’s not that we want to see Austin out of water, we just want to see a shared sac- rifice.” In closing the meeting, Bay City Chamber of Commerce and Agriculture Executive Director Mitch Thames pointed out the current drought will eventually end but that will not bring an end to the problem. “The drought will go away,” he said. “The (TCEQ) emergency orders cutting of the water will go away. But the proposed water manage- ment plan being adopted is something we are going to have to live with for the next 10 to 12 years and we need to have a say in it.” WATER CONTINUED FROM P AGE 1 POOLS CONTINUED FROM P AGE 1