Save Our Spicewood expands purpose
Martha Norwood/HLN Coorespondent
Linda Wall, left, and Orion Weldon, members of the board of directors of Save Our Spicewood, explain the purpose of the now non-profit citizen organization at a meeting at the Spicewood Community Center.
By Martha Norwood
HLN Coorespondent
Board members of SOS (Save Our Spicewood) want all citizens in Spicewood to know that this organization is for everyone in the Spicewood area.
“We want a better quality of life for all of us,” said SOS Vice President Orion Weldon. Weldon pointed out that SOS has a substantial website presence that he hopes everyone will use. According to Weldon, his group has spent many hours making the site accessible to all citizens of Spicewood. To review or comment on the information on the site, visit www.saveourspicewood.com. SOS is now listed as a charitable corporation and donations are tax deductible.
In a meeting held at the Spicewood Community Center, board members Orion Weldon and Linda Wall gave details of some of the things the board has already done to help preserve Spicewood’s quality of life. Special meetings were held with several of the industrial plants in the Spicewood area to discuss lighting issues and concerns regarding particulates. Weldon stated that the meetings were very positive, and he hopes to continue them in the future. Weldon hopes the SOS organization can be a central voice for everyone, both new residents and old. Both Wall and Weldon want input to make sure that SOS goes in the direction that will be most helpful to the community. The group is soliciting ideas from everyone.
One of the issues brought up was the concern about the night sky. Orion talked about dark sky initiatives in other communities, and hopes that SOS can coordinate that initiative with local industry. He has made some headway with the industrial plants and harsh lighting has been reduced along the Texas 71 corridor in Spicewood. One of the owners of a local industrial plant offered to put out messages to concrete companies that are members of the concrete association. The next topic SOS hopes to address is the dust issue on Texas 71 in the Spicewood area. Dust on the highway is ground into fine particles that remain in the lungs and cannot be coughed out.
One major point of the meeting was to explain that the purpose of the SOS organization is not for incorporating Spicewood. There seems to be some agreement that incorporation will be necessary at some point to prevent Spicewood from being taken by other townships in the surrounding areas, but it will not be done by this organization.
Board members are hoping that their website will be used as a central information site by the citizens of Spicewood. Questions were entertained from the audience. Approximately thirty people attended the meeting.
