[Congressional Record Volume 156, Number 75 (Tuesday, May 18, 2010)]
[Extensions of Remarks]
[Page E871]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




 A TRIBUTE TO BEVERLY LOWRY FOR HER FOUR DECADES OF PUBLIC SERVICE TO 
                 CALIFORNIA'S MOJAVE DESERT COMMUNITIES

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                            HON. JERRY LEWIS

                             of california

                    in the house of representatives

                         Tuesday, May 18, 2010

  Mr. LEWIS of California. Madam Speaker, I rise today to pay tribute 
to Beverly Lowry, a dear friend and dedicated public servant who has 
helped guide the city of Barstow and other High Desert communities for 
nearly 40 years.
  A native of Emporia, Kansas, Mrs. Lowry has lived in California since 
1947, and moved with her husband Al in 1966 to the Mojave Desert 
outpost of Barstow. Although she is a veteran traveler, she has called 
the desert her home ever since, raising two sons and watching two 
grandsons grow up there.
  Friends of Bev Lowry know she is not one to sit on the sidelines, and 
just a few years after arriving in the desert she was elected to the 
Barstow Heights Community Services District board, which provided city-
like services in an unincorporated area. During her 26-year service on 
that board, she oversaw the paving of nearly 33 miles of residential 
streets and the creation of a new off-ramp from Interstate 15 to serve 
the community.
  Bev Lowry's involvement in public policy grew beyond local elected 
boards when she joined the staff of California State Sen. Walter Stiern 
in 1974. For the next 20 years, she served the constituents of 
legislators and county supervisors as a staff member, becoming a 
recognized expert at solving problems and resolving disagreements with 
county, State, and even Federal officials. Needless to say, since these 
were also my constituents as a member of Congress, I came to know Bev 
well and respect her greatly.
  As both a staffer and a local representative, Bev Lowry was one of 
the leaders in securing State funding to build Silver Valley High 
School and the Newberry Springs Senior Center, as well as for the 
improvement of State Highway 58, an important cross-desert link.
  Perhaps her most significant contributions to her community came 
through Bev Lowry's service as a board member of the Mojave Water 
Agency and her tremendous accomplishment as chairwoman of the committee 
to bring a State Veteran's Home to Barstow.
  The Mojave Water Agency was created to deal with the serious problem 
of over-drafting of the underground basins that provide nearly all of 
the water for tens of thousands of desert residents. The agency was 
tasked with providing State Water Project water to residents of both 
the Mojave Desert and the eastern desert area known as the Morongo 
Basin. It was my honor to work with Bev and the other members of the 
MWA board to provide funding for pipelines to deliver this water, which 
now serves more than 100,000 people. The district has also begun an 
ambitious water reclamation plan, and Bev was here in the House Chamber 
to observe Federal approval for that plan.
  Thanks to Bev Lowry's leadership, State officials in the 1990s chose 
Barstow over 28 competing locations to build the first State Veteran's 
Home in more than 100 years. The home provides a sanctuary for 400 
retired and ambulatory veterans from throughout the High Desert area.
  Bev Lowry has been deservedly recognized for her contributions, 
chosen as Woman of the Year by the Barstow Chamber of Commerce--and 
then selected by the chamber as Woman of the Decade in 1987.
  Madam Speaker, every community in America wishes it had leaders like 
Beverly Lowry, who can pull people together and get major things 
accomplished. This weekend, Bev will be paid a wonderful tribute by the 
Barstow Community College Foundation, which is creating a scholarship 
in her name. I ask you and my colleagues to join me in congratulating 
Mrs. Lowry on her achievements, and thank her for her decades of public 
service.

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