" Congratulations Elaine! It sounds like you are a much deserved recipient! I have had my own personal triumphs and I know how it feels to be ill and down and sometimes we need something just like this to cheer us up! I am sure that you are enjoying your new mustang! I just wanted to congratulate you and thank you for sharing your story! So it does pay to enter those sweepstakes that I once thought was a waste of time! HA! Have Fun! "

" No wonder he doesn't care about us down here. He's from Chicago and they get everything free anyway on the back's of us down state. Beside's getting kick back's from AmerenCips I see how the Governor is treating his family by giving Jone's wife a job that she know's nothing about. And he had to make a new job just for her. Is this right I think not. He need's to wake up and smell the coffee and treat us down stater's with more respect or maybe he could pay all our CIPS bill's since I imagine he get's his free anyway. "

" Odessa,Texas: (Penwell, Texas site) Just dont see it comming here to Penwell and spending millions of dollars of shipping coal to west Texas by rail car. I agree its a great opportunity for us but in the long run the Government will be out ,millions of dollars to keep the fire lit!! vs the other options of "sites that are "Closer to the coal" ONLY MAKES SENSE! and pumping the coal emissons deep down into our ground cavern @ Penwell will eventually get into what little resources we have for water here in West Texas. Odessa "IS NOT" ready to cope with the hundreds of people comming into our city as our city services is now getting "drained" because of the oil and gas boom. There are no apartments or townhomes for rent ..homes are being built as fast as they can and being sold - median prices homes are selling for $130,000 CRAZY!!! there is a 6 month waiting period for people to rent and apartment and there is "NO" new apartment complexes being built - retail sites are very slow in the planning stage but with 2 Walmart stores a mall - Target-Dunlaps and Home Depot where else is there to shop? Yes you have to go to Midland 20 miles east of us for the all of those resources. Dont believe me just look up Odessa, Texas and Midland, Texas then judge for yourselves. Right now you can find practically any job here in Odessa practically everyone is hiring like crazy because most people quit their jobs and went to work in the good ol'paying oil field. last I heard the East side Super Walmart was 200 part time employees "short" because of the boom were in. My opinion Odessa is not ready for this FutureGen because they have a long way to go to handle the influx of people comming in. "

" Here is Odessa, Texas the Industrial committe has agreed on a 10 year tax free abatement for offer to get the futuregen project. Giving away the candy store to land a project this big will require "incomming workers" to bring their camping trailers to live in because everything here in Odessa apartment wise with waiting lists to get into most "ALL are "FILLED" and if you want to buy a "NEW" home requires a few months or longer to get it built and get moved in. Futuregen here? I hope not please come and see for yourselves as this oil and gas boom is going like crazy!!! Odessa city council industrial development belives in bringing people in first then build later. In the local newspaper the city was bragging about Odessa landing a "NEW" hotel chain to build off interstate 20 which is nothing new to Odessa. Odessa is filled with Hotels and cheap motels. Call the local chamber of commerece and ask if any new townhomes of apartments have been built in the last year the answer is "NO' the last apartment complex built was about a year and half ago filled up in 3 months........ the choice is yours. But if you do come be ready to go 20 miles East to Midland to do all your retail shopping and dine at the big name chain resturants as Midland is in dynamic new growth pattern in residential and retail springing up all over the city. "

" just one major thought--- Where is all the excess co2 and gases go when the underground reserve is full?--and where are they going to escape out of the ground (how far away from the plant)? I would hate to be close to that area when that happens. "

" Now that I posted my thoughts 6 months ago about the Future Gen comming to Odessa, Texas (Penwell, Texas) under "Frank Clark" let me tell all of yall what to "EXPECT" if your thinking of moving here into a boom area of the United States with the current oil and gas boom going on. As of my last statement 6 months ago I said the median priced homes where selling for $130,000 and that is true to the most point if you want a home 40-60 years old with "NO" 2 car garages and mostly run down. "NEW" homes now are well over $200,000 in the Odessa - Midland area written in the Odessa American newspaper today Sunday Sept. 30th --- thats to outrageous in this so called boom. Yes homes are expensive but the wages are not up to par to pay for these ridiculous prices. And still there are "NO NEW APARMENTS" being built only in Midland they are building a new apartment complex and the average going price for a 1 bedroom apartment with no washer/ dryer hookups is $535.00 month. Our population has grown from over 96,000 to now over 122,000 in the past 3 years and even now another department store has closed up "Dunlaps". Times are so good alcohol is being abused above and beyond we recently had 3 YES 3 police officers murdered this month (September) responding to a domestic disturbance call and the man shot the police officers with a shot gun after beating his wife. Please future Gen this kind of boom we do not need or can handle no matter what offers are on the table, there are other areas that need this project worse than we do considering the current "BOOM WE ARE IN" "

" I am not exactly sure what Frank Clark is going on about, but I cannot let some of the things he has stated here go unchallenged. First of all, it doesn't matter that the Penwell/Odessa location is not near a source of coal. The FutureGen project is an experimental plant that will use a variety of different types of coal from around the nation and the world. Secondly, the CO2 will not contaminate the ground water. This is the biggest advantage that Penwell has over the other sites. We have decades of experience with using liquid CO2 in the oilfield so we know what we are doing and we now to inject it safely into the local formations. Yes, Odessa is growing fast and housing is a concern. But, Mr. Clark's assertion that no new apartments are being built is simply not true. There are two major complexes being constructed in Odessa now with more in the planning stages. New houses may seem expensive in Midland and Odessa but they are actually within the norm by national standards. As for the retail situation, yes Dunlaps did close, but that was because of situation within the company itself and not as a result of market conditions in Odessa. Also, there are several new shopping centers being built in Odessa right now, mostly on the city's north east side. As for wages not keeping up with the cost of living, there was a report by the Dept. of Commerce recently that showed that Midland had the highest per capita incomes in Texas and 15th in the nation. Odessa did not rank as high but both Midland and Odessa have per capita incomes growing much faster than the national average and top the list in terms of income growth. I don't know what alcohol use has to do with FutureGen. I also do not know what the tragic murder of three Odessa police officers has to do with FutureGen. "

" Well "YES" MOTX is right on certain things and why now are shopping centers "JUST NOW" being buit? When Odessa had been lagging way behind in the retail sector for years. Make up your own minds folks there are those who love living in a booming economy but Future Gen is not the only boom close to this area we also have the "BOOMING OIL & GAS ECONOMY" and a multi million dollar nuclear waste facility being built NW of Andrews north of Odessa. Dont believe everything you read but if you think you can live in an "OVERPRICED HOUSING MARKET" then come on, because all of these booms in this area HAVE BUSTED leaving many familes bankrupt I know personally I have been through 2 of them! Gone on MOTX - dont feel people with hope becaue Im confident that Penwell will no get this Futuregen. There are better choices in Illinois!!! "

" First of all let me correct myself I stated that a nuclear waste site was being buit NW of Odessa ....but I meant it is a 1.5 Billon dollar "NUCLEAR ENRICHMENT DACILITY" and will take 110 yers to build. Then as I stated we are in a "OIL & GAS BOOM". And the governmnet wants to build a Futuregen a 1.5 billon dollar experimaental coal fired "free emissions" plant. All 3 of these projects within on area of the country and very close to Odessa, Texas. As I said in the previous statements "HOUSING SHORTAGE"!!!! OVER INFLATED PRICES becuse of supply and demand. Futuregen we dont need. Other areas of the United states like Illinois or Jewlett Texas where they are not experiencing a growth of employment needs Futuregen worse than we do! "

" FYI - Let's see I did a type'o error: thats a "Nuclear Enrichment Facility" and only 10 years to be built (not 110 years) "

" Okay just to keep you folks that are concerned about this FutureGen Business in today's "Odessa American" newspaper Oct. 25th Headlines "MONEY POINTS TO FUTUREGEN" quoting from the newspaper "Although the money is being sent to UT (University of Texas) it bodes well for West Texas. The announcement that the Bureau of Economic Geology at the University of Texas at Austin has received a 10 year $38 million subcontract for a major carbon dioxide undergroung storage project was called "exciting for West Texas FutureGen proposal because it is so closely relates to the challenge we expect to face at the site in Pecos County" unquote. (sounds a little shady here huh?) The project is designed to increase public confidence about underground storage of CO2 as a means of reducing atmospheric emissions. Those emissions are among the debated "greenhouse gases" some scientists say lead to global warming. The peoject which will take place in Mississippi, is funded by the National Energy Technology labortory of the U.S. Department of Energy and managed by Southern States Energy Board of Norcross,Ga. It looks like we're on the road to more definite research in West Texas after the research is concluded or well on its way in Mississippi" "Neil McDonald" director of economic development for the Odessa Chamber of Commerce and a main proponet of bringing the 1.5 billion FutureGen power plant to Odessa. Now I dont know about you folks but something "stinks to hig heaven" here it sounds like a road map next to a final blueprint that FutureGen will be landed in Penwell west of Odessa. Almost sounds like G.W. Bush has some friends in the Energy Department or Odessa mIdland area since he's from Midland 20 miles east of Odessa. Hummm? "

" Just listening to the local news channels and reading what's in the local newspapers it sounds like this FutureGen deal has selected Penwell, that's - that! What do the people thats writing these articles know that the rest of us dont? Yes I live here in Odessa! "

" Today in the Odessa American Newspaper Dec. 3rd, 2007 Permian Basin cities, counties, companies, and residents want to bring the FutureGen to the Penwell site so bad they are willing to put a few bucks behind the effort - a little more than 981 million bucks in fact. That's the local incentive package contained in the best and final offer sent Aug. 1st to the FutureGen Alliance, Hoxie Smith, regional coordinator to the FutureGen Texas effort, said. The astounding sum, less about 20.5 million in state funding and expeediting permitting, is what the Permian basin region has put up in the way of a financial package to lure the 1.5 billion FutureGen demosrtation project to the penwell location. The tax abatement from Odessa alone is 241 million for a 10 year period which domostrates the aggressive naature our leadership for this prize project Neil McDonald who as economic developement director of the Odessa Chamber of Commerece guided the local effort for the Penwell site, said. Now we're making plans for a party at the Center for Energy and Economic Diversification on Dec. 17 when we think this will be announced McDonald said. This article was taken out of the Odessa American Newspaper today Dec. 3rd. Like I said folks what do they know that I dont? Now there trying to by the FutureGen. Economically depressed areas accross the nation in Illinois and Jewlett should be wearing the crown to receive this FutureGen Project. Like I said our Oil and Gas boom in this area is still going very strong along with the nuclear enrichment plant project. FutureGen we can live without in the Penwell area because our economy is not hurting at all and is thriving very well. "

" Well our local Chamber of Commerce is still at it even more along with channel 7 news KOSA. Their pitch to the Odessa citizens is it looks like we are going to get the FutureGen. Isnt this a pretty bold statement Before it is announced? The chamber is still in progress of celebrating with a party Tuesday morning because they are so sure its a done deal! "

" Well I'm sure you folks will be glad to hear this will be my last message to this FutureGen Board. My wife and I have been home shopping here in Odessa, Texas and most homes that we are finding in the $130,000 - $159,500 are in desperate need of updating unless you want to live in the 70's. Some had new carpet but still didnt justify the outrageous price on a home 30 - 40 years old. Now what I'm about to say is the honest to god truth and if FUTUREGEN does come to Odessa you better be ready to pay through your nose because like I said "We are already in a booming economy" and the FUTUREGEN will make even more so. You will either have to pay above and beyond the market price for an old house or you can purchase a travel trailer or live out of a motel room because that is the nature of a boom. Rent at a local Apartment complex I know for FACT went up $180.00 month on a 2 bedroom apartment o $830.00 month (Brady Station Apartments)my friend was schocked and said there is no way his pay keeps up with inflated prices like this! By the time you folks get here there will be new hotels built or you can have a new home built starting in the $200,000 range because there is no longer $70,000 - $90,000 homes being built. Yes we are basically in the desert were the sand blows and are under alot of tornado watchs and warnings along with a few hail storms every year. We are about 2 hours away from the nearest lake and 5 hours away from Dallas. The only entertainment here is a small shopping mall- 2 movie theaters - ice skating - a few new city park swimming pools and many bars. We have 2 local golf courses one has been closed for 1 1/2 years due to renovation and is expected to be reopened around March next year the other is old and run down but still open. The decent golf courses are in Midland 20 miles East - Andrews 30 miles North - Seminole 60 miles North. For you hunters practically all Texas land is privately owned and it will cost you approx $1,000 or more to hunt on their land just to kill a small white tail that weighs around 100 lbs. No local out door shooting ranges you have to go to Midland for that. We have local colleges and a geat University UTPB. We have 2 Walmart stores and 1 Target store. We also have a Home Depot store and soon sometime next year a new Lowe's Home Improvement" Not to be racist but we do have many unskilled uneducated hispanics that are willing to work 60 - 70 hours a week that may be great to get this FutureGen built. We are located approx 4 hours from the Mexican border and we have 1 major airport located in Midland county "Midland International" located approx 10 miles East of Odessa. Crime is about average for this size city our police force is still in a desperate hiring phase because like most people they too experienced officers quitting their jobs going into the oilfiled making more money. No local or state casinos in these parts. If you want to gamble you gotta go to New Mexico in Hobbs 90 miles North East of here or go to Elpaso, Texas on the Indian Reservation 400 miles West of here. No mountains to speak of gotta go to big Bend national Park for that 300 miles South of here. Yes we are located in the boonies and most small towns are mom and pop owned. Most people comming here say the same thing over and over again "God what is there to do down here?" my reply is the same as usual "We just work and get the hell out of here come vacation time". If your comming please bear in kind that we are a oil field town so bring your toothbrush your going to need it. Gotta get the sand out someway!! "

" HOT NEWS: Sorry folks I said the previous was my last comment but I just got word this evening (Sunday Dec. 16th) Quote: "Special dinitaries are flying in to the Midland International Airport tomorrow Dec. 17th" UNQUOTE: Now if possibly "if" the FutureGen site site is chosen in Penwell something "STINKS TO HIGH HEAVEN HERE" and the word has already been put out before the site has even been announced. I smell something very rotten and underhanded here. How do I know ? I have a friend that works at the airport! This may not be nothing and I could possibly be wrong but Tuesday morning will tell us all. "

" CONGRATULATIONS MATTOON, ILLINOIS Im so happy FuturGen has chosen Mattoon. I know many Texans will disagree with me but my previous letters to this coloum have held the truth..... Sorry MOTX when you dont look at common sense on issues like this we start to believe statements like yours. "