Mayfield development a get-rich scam

Dear editor:

Last Thursday, I attended a hearing on a proposed development near the site of the old Regina store, (they are calling it Mayfield?). Mayfield is up the road five or six miles. Just up the road, there is an area they are calling, "Danskin area." Now I know where the Danskin Mountain is and it's nowhere near this area. The drainage from the Danskin empties into the backwaters of Arrowrock reservoir, not onto the desert! What is it with these people that come here and re-name places to suit themselves?

Anyway, these folks have a "great plan," (they hope to perpetrate on unsuspecting suckers --er, I mean investors)! The same scam that was used about 110 years ago on people that homesteaded in this same area. The story was told to me when I was a boy living on a ranch on Ditto Creek. At that time, there were still a number of people that were the original homesteaders still living out there.

My job was keeping track of and herding cattle (cowboy). I noticed many ditches while riding this area, both big and small, that had been dug, but never used over a large area from Mud Springs Creek to Bounds Creek, from the foothills, west, to, and in places, beyond what is now the freeway, down to what was called Sunnyside (Simco Road was originally called Sunnyside), so, (being the curious soul that I am), I asked these old timers why these ditches were dug, and in great detail, they told me the story of, "The Garrett Ditch Company." That, turned out to be a big scam!

The homesteaders were promised water for their 160 acres, but they were required to buy shares in this company. They were to get the water from Blacks Creek, build flumes across several drainages and out onto the flats where these ditches were dug. They did enough work to convince the hapless homesteaders and investors to scrape together every penny they could, then, slipped away like thieves in the night.

These new scammers, er, I mean, "developers," are even going to get their water from the same place! What an incredible coincidence! And this well that they talk about being the grand source of their water supply needs to be checked out. My understanding of this well was that it was used to irrigate a crop, proving it's capacity. If this is true, the commissioners need to check the records of how much crop value was obtained. What records were kept and who kept them.

The area in question is a wintering ground for a large number of elk and deer. Can you just hear all of the wailing and screaming that these new residents will be making when the critters start pruning their trees, bushes and exotic plants? Mowing their lawns, tearing down their fences, and pooping on their door steps? Fish and Game will have a ball keeping the peace!

If you are wondering why these folks picked this area, think "MONEY!" They bought a heck of a pile of land for a pittance of what they would have had to pay elsewhere, then they will sell all the lots they can and do the same thing that the Garrett Ditch Co. did years ago -- sneak away in the night, leaving us with the mess to deal with!

-- Bart Eben