OFFICIALS LEGISLATION INTEREST GROUPS PUBLIC STATEMENTS COMMITTEES VETOES

Waco Tribune-Herald - Cornyn, Edwards Show Joint Support for Waco Mammoth Site Legislation

News Article

Date: April 19, 2009
Location: Waco, TX
Issues: Arts, Entertainment, and History

By: Wendy Gragg

While political parties continue to battle on the national stage, two politicians representing local interests set their differences aside Saturday to show their shared support for the Waco Mammoth Site.

U.S. Sen. John Cornyn, R-Texas, and U.S. Rep. Chet Edwards, D-Waco, met at Baylor University's Mayborn Museum to formally announce the federal legislation that could make the Waco Mammoth Site a national monument in the national park system.

The legislators gathered with Waco Mayor Virginia DuPuy beneath the intimidating visage of a life-size Columbian mammoth, part of a mural depicting mammoths roaming the Brazos River corridor as it existed 68,000 years ago. DuPuy and Edwards indicated the legislation is progressing and said Waco City Manager Larry Groth will testify before the U.S. House next week on the Waco Mammoth Site legislation.

The politicians stressed the teamwork that has gone into championing the Mammoth Site, between Waco and Baylor officials, Republicans and Democrats, the House and Senate.

"This is the best evidence that Republicans and Democrats could come together, in support of a woolly bull mammoth," Cornyn said to chuckles from his audience.

Edwards, who has been out to the actual mammoth site, applauded Cornyn's "commitment with a capital C" for braving tornado warnings to make the stormy trip up from Austin on Saturday morning.

The Waco Mammoth Site, which was discovered in 1978, contains the largest known concentration of prehistoric mammoths that died from a single cause. The site was largely under wraps for decades, but now the site is under construction to make it eventually open to the public.

DuPuy reiterated that the site will be an educational, cultural and economic boon for the area.

Edwards joked that the Mammoth Site could set a record for slow-moving government projects.

"This project has been 68,000 years in the making," he said. "The good news is, we're getting close."


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