Sour Grapes and Saddle Sores for 9/4/03
George Hirst
Our Resources are from the oldest air, then water, earth , minerals, etc all are necessary to our existence. We cherish, protect, nourish, use, abuse, take them for granted.
When we think that one of them is in trouble, we seek to find causes. Then when that fails, we try to find solutions that will remove the concern from our lives. Most of the time we misidentify the matter. We do not understand that change is part of the picture.
I believe our discomfort has to do with greed and inconvenience. It never seems to occur to us that, except for us, the rest of our resources have been around for a very long time and have changed considerably for their beginnings. The changes interfere with our financial well being. Then too, We want things to stay the way they used to be.
Our physical body changes, so do the rest of our resources. We need to remember that we live with, not own, our resources. We also know that arrangements that deliver the resources to us need to be cared for. Things wear out, become outmoded, need repairs and replacements. The problem is, though, that we do not notice any resource until it is not right with us. So much of the time, we take them for granted.
I became aware recently in Stark County of an example, we assuming that our water will always be where we need it. I began as I usually do talking to and visiting with the persons whose skills provide us with that most taken for granted water. I learned a good deal about our water supply. I offer this about the supply to start our thinking together.
Northern Illinois industrial and municipal wells draw large quantities of water from deep wells in bedrock aquifers of Ordovician and Cambrian age. The average depth of deep sandstone wells is about 1300 feet. Deep sandstone wells often have yields of 700 gallons per minute and have been prolific sources of water for nearly 100 years.
Source: "Yields of Deep Sandstone Wells in Northern Illinois" by W.C. Welton and Sandor Csallany. 1062
There are deep wells in Bradford, Lafayette, Toulon and Wyoming. The Stark County News has reported problems in Bradford and Toulon brought about by a Federal Mandate. They are in the process of meeting the requirements of the Mandate. Wyoming is experiencing difficulties with well number 2. These brought about the reason for my time spent with this resource.
In succeeding columns I plan to explore what the Federal Mandate requires and what it means for us? I also will be reporting to you the work on well #2 in Wyoming as the city resolves its problems.
We have both qualified personnell managing these resources and skilled people working with the wells. They are Donald McCauley, Wyoming who is also the supervisor at Bradford along with Dale Vaughn and Albert Koehling, and Shane Millroy who supervises Toulon and Lafayete's wells.
Understand this, there are problems but not threatening ones. We are very fortunate both in the quantity and quality of our water as well as the persons who work at the tasks.
This article was written by George Hirst in 2003, part of his newspaper column called Sour Grapes and Saddle Sores.
George Hirst
Taken for Granted
This has been a busy summer. Vacation time, a trip to Kansas for family affairs gave me insight into all the resources of my life. Family, friends, places to stay and eat, roads and airways, those things that make it possible to travel and live. The columns on agriculture made me sensitive not only to farming but also to the layout of the land and water.Our Resources are from the oldest air, then water, earth , minerals, etc all are necessary to our existence. We cherish, protect, nourish, use, abuse, take them for granted.
When we think that one of them is in trouble, we seek to find causes. Then when that fails, we try to find solutions that will remove the concern from our lives. Most of the time we misidentify the matter. We do not understand that change is part of the picture.
I believe our discomfort has to do with greed and inconvenience. It never seems to occur to us that, except for us, the rest of our resources have been around for a very long time and have changed considerably for their beginnings. The changes interfere with our financial well being. Then too, We want things to stay the way they used to be.
Our physical body changes, so do the rest of our resources. We need to remember that we live with, not own, our resources. We also know that arrangements that deliver the resources to us need to be cared for. Things wear out, become outmoded, need repairs and replacements. The problem is, though, that we do not notice any resource until it is not right with us. So much of the time, we take them for granted.
I became aware recently in Stark County of an example, we assuming that our water will always be where we need it. I began as I usually do talking to and visiting with the persons whose skills provide us with that most taken for granted water. I learned a good deal about our water supply. I offer this about the supply to start our thinking together.
Northern Illinois industrial and municipal wells draw large quantities of water from deep wells in bedrock aquifers of Ordovician and Cambrian age. The average depth of deep sandstone wells is about 1300 feet. Deep sandstone wells often have yields of 700 gallons per minute and have been prolific sources of water for nearly 100 years.
Source: "Yields of Deep Sandstone Wells in Northern Illinois" by W.C. Welton and Sandor Csallany. 1062
There are deep wells in Bradford, Lafayette, Toulon and Wyoming. The Stark County News has reported problems in Bradford and Toulon brought about by a Federal Mandate. They are in the process of meeting the requirements of the Mandate. Wyoming is experiencing difficulties with well number 2. These brought about the reason for my time spent with this resource.
In succeeding columns I plan to explore what the Federal Mandate requires and what it means for us? I also will be reporting to you the work on well #2 in Wyoming as the city resolves its problems.
We have both qualified personnell managing these resources and skilled people working with the wells. They are Donald McCauley, Wyoming who is also the supervisor at Bradford along with Dale Vaughn and Albert Koehling, and Shane Millroy who supervises Toulon and Lafayete's wells.
Understand this, there are problems but not threatening ones. We are very fortunate both in the quantity and quality of our water as well as the persons who work at the tasks.
This article was written by George Hirst in 2003, part of his newspaper column called Sour Grapes and Saddle Sores.