“Just what makes that little old ant / think he’ll move that rubber tree plant / anyone knows an ant, can’t / move a rubber tree plant --- oops, there goes another rubber tree plant!”
Last night, a group of chapter leaders and friends journeyed over to the Batesburg-Leesville Police station for the town council meeting. At the heart of the meeting was the issue of allowing the town to accept sewage from Saluda that would eventually end up in the beautiful and relatively pristine Edisto River. This meeting was a powerful example of the influence a small, thoughtful, committed group of people can have.
Earlier in the day, the chapter office had sent out an email to members in the area, and a number of them came. A local resident and new ExCom member, Christopher Hall, was on the agenda and did a great job telling the council why depositing sewage into the Edisto River was a bad idea, economically for the local residents and for all those living along the long black water river that is the Edisto. The chapter vice-chair, Bob Guild, gave an impassioned speech telling the council that people living along the river would rise up and oppose any plans to pollute it. Many other Sierrans also spoke up, and, by the end of the meeting, after many rounds of applause, it was apparent the council had been awakened and was now aware of the scale of the opposition to putting anything resembling sewage in the Edisto.
At the end of the evening, the mayor promised he would work together with environmentalists to find other ways to deal with the sewage that did not include putting it in the water. Local residents came up to us after the meeting and thanked us profusely for coming and speaking out about the issue. It was a testament to the strength and power of a grassroots organization. I was so proud of all our members and leaders. We DO make a difference and seeing it happen before our eyes on Monday night was a powerful reminder of the change we can all make. |
Seeing the Big Picture