Cats, trees and Palco

It seems that yet another column must be written about the little town of Palco, aka Kellerville, aka Little Hays, and soon to be called Hitlerville. The current governing body is determined to make Palco in their image and to heck with any residents rights.¬ For instance, on June 14, the young city superintendent without our knowledge or consent cut down a living redbud tree on our property. When confronted, he said the tree was dead, (it certainly was not, it had bloomed every spring for 20 some years and we enjoyed it). He said it was on city property, (his idea of measuring is completely different from several very knowledgeable people I have checked with), and then his usual "now in Hays ...," which everyone is tired of hearing. If we wanted to abide by Hays rules, we would live in Hays, and now he is saying that a 50-foot beautiful blue spruce in front of our house will be taken down as will every tree in town that is not 21 feet away from the curb or the homeowner must pay for the curb and part of the street.¬ Come on people in Palco, wake up and smell the roses before all your rights are taken away.

The homeless cat situation is once again rearing its ugly head since a new animal control officer has been appointed who will be paid $15 for each animal he picks up, 58 1/2 cents a mile for transporting the animals to no one seems to know where, $10 for court appearances and $35 per month for patrolling. With any luck, he could be pulling in $75 to $100 per day at the expense of the poor cats who will certainly be killed. Not many people can draw that kind of money for doing that dirty job. Guess that is why he was picked.

Why not move, you say? This has been my home for more than 45 years and until the past few years it has been a wonderful place to live, but this is not Palco anymore, so if you are thinking of moving here you many want to rethink your plans. If we could get what our home of 28 years is worth, we would leave in an instant. We have already lost some wonderful individuals who made Palco what it is today and can never replace them. Let's hope this opens some eyes, and that you will not just set back and take whatever is thrown at you.

Jarvine Felderman

Palco