Last night [Sept. 9], I attended a special community meeting at the Hervey/Point Loma Branch Library that was set up to discuss the plans of a private company to capture excess methane gas at the sewage treatment plant, compress it and haul it in large trucks down our residential streets and out of the community.  The city had already approved the project, but residents of Point Loma woke up late to what was happening and got organized and made something happen.  It was community activism at its best.  Hundreds of people showed up, District 2 Councilmember Kevin Faulconer was there, SDG&E, and several TV station reporters.  The result of this activism was that the plans to truck the gas appear to be dead, alleviating the fears of residents along the haul route.  The purpose of my letter today is to make sure that the man-and-wife team who really deserve credit get it.  That couple is Jim and Valerie Gilhooly. I don’t mean to ignore the efforts of the others who picked up the ball and ran hard with it, but Jim and Valerie Gilhooly have been working on this since 2007 when they were the lone voice of concern.  Jim and Valerie were the spark.  One of the things the community group brought up last night was their complaint that the community was not informed about what was happening.  That is a matter of some debate, but what I can say is the reason they finally did find out was because one 72-year-old retired engineer and his fiery wife would not give up and they woke everyone up.  Jim Gilhooly’s name was only mentioned briefly, once, last night and Valerie’s name did not come up.  As I stood in the back, I felt this was a glaring omission.  I was on the Peninsula Community Planning Board when this subject came up and I met Jim.  He is an intelligent man with a great sense of humor and a strong personality and Valerie is his match.  Everyone at that meeting last night owes Jim and Valerie a debt of gratitude because their efforts may have made everyone safer.  The methane gas issue is not completely over and the community must keep up the pressure to see that they get what they want.  I know Jim and Valerie Gilhooly will be doing that.  My personal thanks to you both.