Sen. Hutchison’s office DOES NOT say they have not heard from opposition

The Front Page headline story in the August 25, 2005 Marshall News Messenger is incorrect. This morning, Ms. Jamie Loftis in Senator Hutchison’s Washington press office confirmed that indeed the Senator’s office has received letters and calls expressing disapproval of the proposal to take land from the new Caddo Lake Wildlife Refuge and establish an industrial park at Caddo Lake. Ms. Loftis contacted the News Messenger to correct the record.

Apparently, the News Messenger reporter had called one of the Senator’s offices and asked whoever answered the phone whether they had received letters and calls. That person was unfamiliar with the matter and did not check with others who were.

It is disappointing that the News Messenger would on that basis write “despite the efforts of opponents to mount a letter writing campaign to federal officials, a representative of Se. Hutchison’s office said they have not received one letter or telephone call concerning the issue.”

The reporter has to be aware that letters from a number of people and organizations have been sent to the Senator. We have provided copies of those letters. The News Messenger was also aware of telephone conversations members of the Senator’s staff have had with people who oppose the industrial proposal. At a minimum, you would think the reporter would call one of us and ask us to respond to the fact that someone in the Senator’s office is denying that any of us have contacted their office.

Instead, we wake up to read a front-page story that tells us the proposal is “moving forward” and “Industrial park plans advance.”

Since there is not one word elsewhere in the story demonstrating any advancement or forward movement of this proposal, we must conclude that the reason the News Messenger thinks it is moving forward and advancing is because the Senator has not received a single call or letter opposing it.

In other words, the entire story is based on a statement from a low-level staff member’s comment – and the comment is absolutely incorrect.

The story goes on to repeat all the wishful thinking and unexamined assumptions that were present in an earlier story announcing the Senator’s endorsement of the proposal to create an industrial park at Caddo Lake. It does not challenge any statement made nor does it offer the reader any of the facts we have provided that demonstrate why this is a bad idea.