Dear Mr. Jameson,

As a longtime resident of Missouri City, who regularly uses the Fort Bend Tollway, I have concerns about limiting how one can pay to use this vital link, with the revisions currently underway (to commence July 11th) which exclusively rely on EZ tags.

We have long had EZ tags on our car(s), which pull from our credit card, but even these tags don’t work sometimes on this tollway. We call and someone at the office makes an adjustment to the sensitivity of the mechanism and our account. However, when this malfunction has occurred, oftentimes my husband has had o wait for an attendant to lift the gate or been instructed to ‘drive around it’. If the ramp is unattended, when possible, he has even backed up and just thrown money into the bin-to make the gate go up-but if you are are blocked in by traffic behind you-the only option is to go around. So, even with EZ tags, we still have had to negotiate malfunctioning systems.

On most tollways the license plate is photographed, so they can link our usage back to our vehicle---but we always call when we have had a problem to clear it up right away and make sure we are charged appropriately. Apparently, from the articles in the newspaper (including the Chronicle), the Fort Bend Tollway doesn’t have these cameras. Wouldn’t it be more fiscally responsible to just install them, so you can catch those people who are abusing this privilege without paying? If you don’t have cameras, and people don’t even have the option to pay with cash, aren’t they just going to drive on through anyway?

I thought, when the articles first started appearing in the newspaper, that if you didn’t have an EZ tag that it had indicated you could also use a major credit card. I don’t see that being mentioned any longer. If someone enters the tollway and only has cash and no credit card or EZ tag, then they have no way of paying to get off---so the county will continue to lose money and/or incur negative press. If your car is in the shop, and you are using a rental--it won’t have EZ tags--and if you get a new car-it takes about 2 weeks before you can get a new EZ tag-since you don’t have your official license # to provide the EZ tag authority to get a new tag right away. My husband uses the tollway every day and I use it several times a week. My son attended Hightower and also used it twice daily. Without multiple payment options, under these scenarios, we could not use the Tollway--so the county would lose this money.

Although I understand, in principle, the desire to streamline payment for tollway usage, I firmly believe that having no other option to pay will lead to many frustrated taxpayers with no way to exit legally. At a minimum, it would seem prudent to allow people to use their credit cards, but even that discriminates against those families who rely exclusively on cash transactions. With no cameras in place to catch miscreants, it doesn’t seem this is a prudent decision to further limit the way users can pay, when apparently many aren’t paying now. I believe the figure previously published was around $400,000 a year.

In my opinion, the easier it is for the masses to pay to use the tollway, however they choose to, the more likely they will. The better security measures implemented (via the cameras), the more likely people will be coerced to pay, who currently do not.

I would appreciate your consideration of this issue, as it will impact all residents who use the tollway.

Melissa May

Dear Editor:

I recently noticed HN3 Rex A. (Tony) Goodman, Jr. - USN was still on your Prayer List in your latest issue. I thought I had contacted your paper to have his name removed after his return.

He received an honorable discharge after serving 5 years as a Navy Corpsman attached to a front lines Marine Unit and numerous Navy Seal and Marine Special Force operations. He served 6 different deployments, including 3 to Iraq/Afaganistan. He can home briefly in 2005 and was honored by the Missouri City Little League and threw out the Opening Day First Pitch and had his picture in Uniform taken with many of the kids. “It was a honor I’ll never forget” he said. He was also surprised by the number of parents and Veterans who made the effort to shake his hand and express their gratitude for his service.

In those 5 years and 6 deployments, he earned numerous metals and ribbons, including 3 Purple Hearts. In February, he found employment in Rosenberg for approximately 6 weeks. He broke his leg in 2 places on a weekend camping trip and immediately lost his job due to the injury. Since, he has continued to look for employment in this area but without any luck. He is now in Austin, looking for employment.

It is absolutely embarassing that a young man who has given so much to his country and fellow Marines on the battlefield and has the intense training our Government paid for as a Marine, and as a Navy Corpsman (Medic) and can’t find gainfull employment when he comes home. We should all be ashamed of ourselves for treating these veterans and heros in this fashion.

Rex A. Goodman, Sr.

Missouri City

Editors Note: I’m always excited when I can take someone’s name off our Prayer List that returns home safely. I totally agree with you about not being able to gain employment after these young men and women have served our country to maintain our freedom.

Dear Editor:

I am writing in response to a couple of things that were printed in last week’s paper.

First of all, Bev Carter couldn’t even bother with the correct spelling of the FBISD superintendent’s last name. It’s Jenney, not Jenny. About 30 seconds research on the district website would have given you that. But my guess is that Dr. Jenney (he’s a Ph.D.) failed to pay you the proper homage when he took over the post and you’ve obviously been a little miffed about it since. Note to all politicians and public servants: schedule a stop at Bev Carter’s office on your introductory tour of the county and prepare to do a little fawning (she doesn’t call me her mean daughter for nothing).

And speaking of mean, I think you were a little rough on Mary Ann Simpson, Superintendent of Community Relations. I have had the occasion to work with Ms. Simpson on the high school commencement ceremonies since 2003 and I’ve found her to be a caring and dedicated administrator. While, I will concede the basic premise of your argument, that she’ll report whatever the superintendent tells her too, I’ve never found her to be anything less than open and concerned about communicating to parents and students.

Now, on to the letter last week by F Collins of Sugar Land. Sir or madam, I admire your attempt to educate my dittohead, kool-aid drinking brother about global warming, but I think you might have better luck trying to teach a pig to whistle.

If it makes you feel any better, not everybody in the family feels that way. In my opinion, even if climate change isn’t man made, even if it’s a big hoax, I believe it’s to our economic and physical advantage to be good stewards of the environment for future generations (and as a childless person, I don’t even have a dog in that fight). Michael has horrible allergies and coughs and honks all the time. I would think it would be in his best interest to insure that we have clean air and a clear atmosphere. But someone (Comedian Rush Limbaugh, perhaps?) has convinced him otherwise.

I don’t really understand how curbing CO2 emissions and developing cleaner technology (which could in turn create new jobs) or building automobiles with higher fuel efficiency infringe upon someone’s liberties. Perhaps Michael can connect the dots for us.

To the Editor:

Normally, I use the Star as tinder for my smoker. However, your article on outgoing County Commissioner Stavinoha caught my eye, and I just had to read it. According to Cheryl Skinner, Stavinoha’s had it with the alleged antics of that thorn in his side, Tom Hilton. Stavinoha thinks the town of Arcola, in which Hilton sits on City Council, should be grateful for any bone the county throws its way. In return, Arcola should sit down, shut up, and be a good dog, particularly by not standing in the way of Jamie Griffith’s desire to substantially expand his privately-owned airport.

Two points. First, from what I know of Tom Hilton, he’s not only intelligent, sensible and articulate, but also knows the intricacies of the facts and politics concerning Arcola, Houston Southwest Airport, and McKeever Road better than just about anyone else in the county. Yet it’s clear from the article that Skinner didn’t even bother to contact him for his side of the story. I suppose that would be too much to expect from the Star, though.

Second, the article failed to note that Stavinoha is the outgoing county commissioner. He didn’t even manage to win the Republican primary last spring. This would indicate that Hilton’s not the only person in the county who’s less than pleased with Stavinoha’s performance. Accordingly, Stavinoha’s actions suggest sour grapes, rather than anything else. Too bad, that. At least, come January, we’ll have someone with more maturity and better judgment in office, no matter who wins the race for County Commissioner.

Sincerely yours,

Laura Hermer

Dear Editor,

I wanted to notify you that our daughter, Julie Pavlock Vandergrifft, will be getting out of the service on June 25 after serving four years in the United States Navy.

You have had her listed on the special Prayer List and we wanted to thank you for having recognized her along with the many other men and women who are still serving our country.

We are so proud of her as well as her husband, Lloyd Vandergrifft, who has decided to make the Navy a career and who currently is stationed on the USS Ronald Reagan.

I am from a military family and currently have several family members serving in Iraq and Afghanistan.

Please keep those thoughts and prayers going as these brave young men and women are so far away from their homes and families and every bit of encouragement needs to be heard.

We are so blessed to be living in the United States and it is because of these men and women who have sacrificed themselves that we can live in such a wonderful country.