The following letter was mailed on October 2 to Jerry Morgan, DeLeon Free Press Reporter and Publisher, and Bob Whitney, Comanche County Extension Agent.

Gentlemen,

I have been retained by Mr. Boyd Waggoner concerning alleged deflamatory [sic] statements made against him by each of you in the controversy involving the protection of Erath County ground water.

I am in the process of investigating and evaluating this matter, and I hereby request and demand that each of you retain the originals and any copies of all correspondence, e-mails, hard drives, and other sources of information transmitted concerning Mr. Boyd Waggoner and the controversy in question. It is not my responsibility nor do I have the right to give you legal advice, but I am entitled to demand that you maintain all of these sources of information in the event they are needed in courtroom procedures.

I understand the DeLeon Free Press newspaper, dated September 14, 2006, included an article written by Jerry Morgan, in which Bob Whitney was quoted as saying that at a recent meeting of the underground water districtt: [sic]

"The chairman of the board wants to shut down all water well permits and not allow them until the standards are changed, and they put meters on all the pumps. The Chairman of the Board went haywire, in my opinion. I will publicly say that. He went a little crazy over what he proposed, and the board is trying to shut it all down. But that's scary!"

This is to inform you that apparently the meeting to which you refer, which took place on September 7, 2006, was recorded in its entirety, and that the recording of that meeting proves unequivocally that my client, Boyd Waggoner, who was then Chairman of the Middle Trinity Groundwater Conservation District at that time, did not make the statements you say he did. Mr. Waggoner did not say that meters should be put on all pumps, nor any other statements that could be reasonably interpreted to lead to that conclusion. And, the recording of the conversations prove unequivocally that Mr. Waggoner did not go "crazy" nor "haywire."

It is my understanding that there was a sign-in sheet at the meeting for people who attended the meeting, and that neither of you attended that meeting. Since it appears that neither of you had personal knowledge of facts you represented to the public as being true, there is some question as to where you got your information, especially since it conflicts directly with the recording of that meeting.

It appears that the article was misleading the public as to what Mr. Waggoner said, and that the statements made in the DeLeon Free Press article of September 14, 2006, may have been intentionally false and intentionally misleading.

In addition, the article in the September 28, 2006 edition of the DeLeon Free Press states that Mr. Waggoner "...further expressed his opinion that water wells need to be metered." That statement seems to be an intentional misrepresentation of what Mr. Waggoner said. Mr. Waggoner assures me he did not say that all wells should be metered, but that the district should have the capacity to meter wells in case of suspected abuse of permits.

Again, it is not my role to give you legal representation or to make statements about your responsibility upon which you should rely. I recommend you seek individual counsel of your own in order to avoid litigation in this matter if it is at all possible.

Sincerely,

Broadus A. Spivey

Publisher's response to attorney:

Dear Mr. Spivey,

Since both you and Mr. Waggoner are obviously big fans of the Free Press, I will publish my reply here for you and all to read.

I am very sorry if I published any statements that might be interpreted as "deflamatory" to Mr. Boyd Waggoner. I am aware of what inflammatory statements are. Judging from the response from his fellow board members, Mr. Waggoner may have indeed made some of them. But I am not sure of what "deflamatory" statements are. Perhaps you meant "defamatory"?

Let me point out at the outset that we are all concerned with protecting and conserving the groundwater, not only in Erath County, but also in Comanche County. We share a common resource that does not know or care where the county boundaries lie.

Let me also express an apology to Mr. Boyd Waggoner if his feelings have been wounded to the extent that he feels defamed. There was no intentional effort made on my part to say anything untrue or misleading about Mr. Waggoner's statements and actions. And, knowing Bob Whitney as well as I do, I am confident that he would join me in this statement.

I will state my belief that I accurately quoted what was publicly stated in a public meeting regarding public policy at the Comanche County Courthouse.

I will add that I had no reason to believe those remarks to be inaccurate. Indeed, I received a statement from the MTGCD office, either the same day or the next, in which four of the six board members publicly sought to distance themselves from Mr. Waggoner's actions and opinions. That public statement specifically included a reference to Mr. Waggoner's desire for metering water wells.

I will grant you that it did not mention metering "all" water wells, but I did have the statements of several highly reputable individuals, "all" of whom seemed to have consistent opinions regarding Mr. Waggoner's conduct and stated opinions at the September 7 MTGCD board meeting. Their statement was published in the same issue of our newspaper as was my quote of Mr. Whitney at the Commissioners meeting. That same statement by the four board members was used as a source in my September 28 article as an explanation of the events leading up to the MTGCD board meeting in which the same four board members voted to remove Mr. Waggoner from his position as board chairman and elect new board officers.

Since receipt of your letter, I felt it would be interesting to listen to the recording of the September 7 meeting, which, as you have correctly noted, I did not attend. Having done so, I agree with your statement that Mr. Waggoner never seemed to state that "all" water wells in the "underground water districtt" should be metered. He did, however, seem to express regrets that the current rules do not allow the MTGCD to meter more wells than at present. But, whether by that he meant "all" wells or just "some more" is best judged by the person hearing the recording.

One thing is certain, however, and that is that Mr. Waggoner caused great consternation among his fellow board members, several of whom had taken part in the lengthy and careful process used to develop the district's rules. And, he now seems to be leading a public campaign to force a change in the rules, to split the district into two separate county districts, or both. Again, whether that behavior is "a little crazy", "haywire" or simply trying to fulfill what he sincerely believes to be his public duty, probably depend upon one's perspective.

I do find it a little strange that an experienced lawyer such as Mr. Waggoner would try to accomplish his objectives through venues other than the governing body of the District on which he serves. I reference an appearance before the Stephenville City Council and several articles in the Stephenville newspaper.

I do know that Mr. Waggoner's expressed desire for shutting down all well permitting is viewed by many in our area as rash and scary, certainly so by someone who is building a home and needs to drill a water well for drinking water, or by someone who needs to drill a well to water their livestock or crops. He makes some decent arguments, even if somewhat naive and alarmist, but even if his heart is in the right place, he has put forth some radical notions --shutting off all water well permitting until he is personally satisfied that there is plenty of water down there.

Some might suggest the following. Work through the existing board, rather than against it. Avoid seeking disharmony and controversy. Prove your case, or not. When you have credible facts, we will all be happy to review them, and maybe even agree with you. But until then, don't try to shut down everything that you don't understand or agree with.

I will express my opinion that if Mr. Boyd Waggoner is going to get so upset over reasonably accurate descriptions of his actions during the conduct of public meetings while in elective office, even if perhaps tinged with opinion (and not mine) somewhere along the way, he probably doesn't need to be in the public arena. I would recommend that he become more of a citizen and less of a lawyer and prove he is tough enough to take a few dissenting comments.

I wish to restate that I have no personal grudge against Mr. Waggoner, nor do I wish him any harm, either personally or professionally. Indeed, I have often stated that I admire citizens who are willing to stand for election and, when elected, to serve the public interest at the sacrifice of their personal time, Mr. Waggoner included.

I have not sought to make any misleading statements about Mr. Waggoner or his actions, nor woven any of my opinion into my reporting. In all of the statements you have cited, I was simply quoting or referring to statements made by others and believed them to be reasonably accurate. I do not intentionally publish anything I know, or even suspect, to be misleading.

I assure you that I will be saving all the materials that you have demanded, not necessarily because you demanded it, but because it is my normal practice, and particularly so when there is the unpleasant scent of possible legal action in the air.

I am not sure if your letter was a serious lawsuit threat letter, or what is sometimes referred to in baseball as a "brushback". Given the constitutional protection granted in the United States to free speech regarding public servants by both newspapers and private citizens, and given the rather weak nature of Mr. Waggoner's complaints, I would suggest that both of you imminent attorneys devote your considerable energies and talents to matters of greater importance.

Neither Mr. Whitney nor I have sought to deflame, excuse me, defame Mr. Waggoner. Even though I don't agree with him in all respects, I respect his motivations and intents, and even agree with a few of them.

It will take more than a threat letter from a couple of lawyers to intimidate me, or others at the DeLeon Free Press, from fulfilling our duty to our readers to keep them as well informed as we can of developments in their governmental agencies.

Sincerely,

Jerry Morgan