Saturday Morning Irritation

I know little about Rwanda, but do know giving an African nation 228 million of tax dollars is like giving hundred dollar bills to drug dealers. To make things worse, the drone technology to deliver medical supplies will soon be dropping explosives on those that disagree with the corruption,

It's Better, But....

Our county has been working on improving the drainage in our subdivision. As far as I know, this is the first time this has been done since it was started back in the late seventies. I'm guessing the numerous appeals on property taxes has created some attention. 

The subdivision was built by a somewhat shady developer. The original road was created by using borrowed soil for the road bed, and the ditches left by "borrowing" the soil were never profiled for drainage, and the property owners just threw some culverts into the ditch to gain access to their property. This created some problems, since this resulted in ponding between some culverts, which led to constant wet ditches, and the crappy road (which was only oiled sand) took a beating. Eventually the county took over the road, placed a durable surface, and this helped. 

The original developer tried to mitigate water problems by building a levee around the subdivision, and placed a pump station to pump out the water. This was a disaster, since the pump station was a joke, and fell into disrepair. The levee now not only blocked natural drainage, it caused the adjacent creek to pond water upstream, which slowed down drainage further. Holes were cut in the levee, which helped mitigate the created problem, but the original drainage problems still existed. 

The county just finished profiling the ditches, cutting them to drain, and this helped the drainage tremendously. They're now water-jetting the culverts to remove sediment. Some culverts obviously need to be changed to facilitate drainage, but whether that happens is yet to be seen. With the improved drainage, and limited funds, I don't see this happening. We'll see, but I'm not going to hold my breath.

New Highway Construction

The local Interstate is in the process of connecting feeder highways, widening, and upgrading to connect sections already completed in the city it travels through. It's overdue, but money takes time to be granted by TxDot, and the design takes years to complete after the funds are available. The construction will stretch until near 2030, and the normal complaining is in full force. 

Added to this construction is the near future widening of an arterial highway. Right-of-way is almost completed, and the design looks like it's completed. The construction will involve about about 8 miles of widening, and the completed construction will take up the complete right-of-way. From past experience, the initial construction will involve turning one shoulder into a travel lane, and removing the other lane to construct the new concrete. Before that happens, part of the new drainage structures will be completed, and eventually this section will be opened to divert traffic. The other section will be completed, and the highway project will be done. 

This all means years of detours, dealing with the most ignorant of drivers, constant complaining, and my efforts to avoid all by taking alternate routes. I'm lucky, I can avoid these sections of highway, and not have to deal with the new construction. My experience tells me the worst of drivers seem to be found in construction zones, and the havoc they cause is something I avoid like the plague. With the sometimes poorly maintained detours knocking out front end alignment, taking extra time by traveling other routes is worth the effort.

Vicious Cycle

A local school district, which lost in its effort to collect taxes from a refinery in the hope of new thievery taxes, is now wanting to raise taxes by 13%. This, after spending tons of money on new schools, which made me wonder how did the old schools get in such bad shape they had to be demolished? To add insult to injury, public assistance housing was placed in locations that were developed for higher income families. The decrease in property values is astounding, besides the increase in crime and other problems associated with such things.

It's a vicious cycle, but the cycle is almost over. The citizens don't have the money and, if the taxes are raised, those that can will leave like scalded dogs. This school district is already notorious for low test scores and is not sought by those that are most needed. Otherwise, the drastic changes of severe cuts are in the near future.

Who's to blame? In the end you can only blame the citizens. They're ultimately in charge and responsible for their school board.

Who suffers most? Those that inspired the whole damned idea of a school district: the students.  If they finish high school, their education is suspect and their chances of success in a tight job market, or in higher education, are reduced.

Considering the amount of money that's been pissed away, it would have been better spent on teaching many of these students skilled trades and basic communication skills. Those are things that can allow a lifetime of earning abilitities. The country needs these type of people and shouldn't have to look at foreign workers to satisfy the need.

No Waste...

...of a catastrophe in California.

If there's any doubt in your mind about never trusting the government, this should remove it forever.