Dear Chesapeake

We hope you have had a very nice summer.  It's been a hot one, hasn't it? The Drought has certainly affected all of us. But we see that it hasn't slowed y'all down at all!! We're writing today to simply go over a few ideas.

You told us last summer (2010)...Or rather, one of your colleagues (posing as one of us) yelled it out in no uncertain terms prior to our July 19, 2010 Community Meeting:

"We Don't Want No Moratorium!!"

It was quite an outburst.  It shook the rafters of The Oaks Baptist Church. So, we knew even then. We knew you just didn't like it. It makes you a little crazy!! So what is it, really? Let's check the definition of moratorium on investopedia:

A period of time in which there is a suspension of a specific activity until future events warrant a removal of the suspension or issues regarding the activity have been resolved.

That definition sounds reasonable and about right, doesn't it? Issues about the possible catastrophic failure of Joe Pool Lake Dam need to be resolved before specific activity (drilling and fracking) can resume. That's one good example of the reason for having one of those ~  sorry ~ we have to write it again, MORATORIUMS.

But wait a minute, what did you do when there was another "Moratorium" in Grand Prairie, TX that was to last up to 6 months, but only lasted 2?  Remember this?

Chesapeake Neighborhood Rep, Mrs. Laura Patton
December 7, 2010Grand Prairie, Texas

We certainly remember. It made our Christmas very special. Learning how you, Dear Chesapeake, only wanted to make life in Grand Prairie, TX, grander.  And if you had to, you would invoke something called "Force Majeure" (Starting at around 3:00 Minutes on the Video). You told us we probably hadn't ever heard of that before.  It was so wonderful that you told us all about it. And then we knew.

Maybe you didn't know that all of these actions on your part are very Orwellian.    (You know, up is down, down is up, we only want to help your community, shale gas production is perfectly safe...)

So, Dear Chesapeake, in closing, and to quote one of our totally awesome friends (with the emphasis on you):

Once you know, you can't not know. 

~ Mayor Calvin Tillman

Part II: "We Don't Want No Moratorium"

Back in the summer, July 19th, to be precise, there was a Westchester Town Hall Meeting about the shale gas drilling issue.  Flyers were distributed all across the area, signs were posted, panelists were invited. 

These panelists included:  Gary Hogan of the North Central Texas Communities Alliance, Sharon Wilson of the Oil and Gas Accountability Project, Mayor Calvin Tillman of Dish, TX, Cherelle Blazer of the Environmental Defense Fund, Jim Cummings, Environmental Services Director for the City of Grand Prairie, Ron Jensen (City Councilman for District 6) and Laura Patton representing Chesapeake.

Before that meeting got underway, we were greeting neighbors as they arrived at the Oaks Baptist Church and asking people to sign the Petition for a Moratorium on all gas drilling activities.  We had decided that the current Gas Drilling Ordinance was in need of stronger protections for our neighborhoods.  A man came to the table, picked up a petition and then yelled out, "We Don't Want No Moratorium."  Later, we discovered that this man was either a landman for Chesapeake or in some way connected with that company.  He clearly had a vested interest in stopping our efforts.

Keeping all of that in mind, here is Part II of the Chesapeake Town Hall Meeting held on December 7, 2010 in Grand Prairie, TX.