Limestone County Commissioners made the right decision to provide sewer

service to Limestone Correctional Facility and eastern portions of the

county.

The offer by Huntsville to provide sewer service and annex the prison

would give Huntsville control of more of our valuable acreage.

With Limestone County Water and Sewer Authority providing service to

residents in the fast-growing area, surrounding cities of Huntsville,

Madison and Decatur might be prevented from taking even more of Limestone

County.

By planning now, local officials can stay competitive so that residents

moving to the county to work in Huntsville will not ask that their

property be annexed into a neighboring city.

Too much of Limestone County has been taken already, with numerous

subdivisions along the Limestone-Madison county line now part of larger

cities.

Not only do the annexations hurt the county‚s tax base, the chipping away

of our county makes us less unified as citizens. We take pride in our

choice of places to live, whether in the country or cities of Limestone

County.

If we are not careful, we will be known only as part of the „Huntsville

metropolitan area.‰ We will lose our identity.

County officials and members of our local legislative delegate refused to

let that happen in this case. It is a big win for a small community.