I know those of you reading this wonder where

I know those of you reading this wonder where I'm going. It simply shows the intimate feelings thousands of us who live and have lived along the banks of this rare pristine body of water, have for it. We love it!

Life long friends who have lived on the Mattaponi Reservation since the days of Chief Custalow, remember when he used to drive a 1933 Ford with a drawn bow and arrow on the front, and repaired and sold radios to supplement his income from the river. I recently met Shirley Little Dove Custalow, who I hope will be my friend, who has worked so tirelessly in our endeavor to saveThe Mattaponi.

It is unconscionable that our representatives will endorse anything, if somepne tells them it is in their best interest to do so. They couldn't care less who it hurts. '

I approached Sen. Robb at the State Fair and asked him what he and Sen. Warner were thinking about when they endorsed the damming of the Mattaponi River at Walkertown and flooding 2,200 acres of land so they could pump 75 million gallons of water from the river daily.

The Army Corps of Engineers, the real culprits in this whole fiasco, are deaf and blind to everyone and anyone opposing their mission of destruction. They couldn't care less about who or what will be affected by their actions. The residents of the Mattaponi Reservation will be homeless, their sacred burial grounds flooded. It will put an end to the migration of shad and herring to their spawning grounds above Aylett; nesting grounds for osprey, herons, red fox, trukey, deer, salamanders and innumerable other species of birds and animals that contribute to the livelihood of the Indians, will be destroyed.

The developers in Newport News need to build some more shopping centers for tax write-offs, some of which will go bankrupt and the developers will have lined their pockets and gone their merry way. There are many