Dear Editor,

I accept your explanation that a water cannon may be a way to explode an improvised explosive device (IED), but I checked with my Mom, who goes back to 1919, and just like me, she can not drag up a single occasion where we would have needed a water cannon to explode an IED. I am sure that there is a remote possibility that some Al-Qa’ida “tourist” passing through Andalusia could case the place and decide that this is the ideal place to maximize the effect of a “tourist” attack on America.

The costs for the water cannon is, believe you me, peanuts in the overall scheme of things at this moment, but in my opinion it is symptomatic of what ails our country. Do we truly need a water cannon? Did the city determine a real or even imagined need for such or was it available and we could not refuse it? I contend that if there is ever an IED planted in Andalusia this cannon will be so far buried in the dust of time that no one will know where to find it or use it if it is still serviceable.

I really do understand the varied uses of a water cannon, but my real point is that there are so many immediate needs for which our money could be spent in a much better fashion. This is my last word on “water cannons.” But, I do reserve the right to further speak on issues that are really, really important — such as the theft of purple cabbage.

Kylan Lewis

Andalusia