Port Aransas South Jetty (Port Aransas, Tex.), Vol. 37, No. 32, Ed. 1 Thursday, August 9, 2007 Page: 3 of 24
twenty four pages : ill. ; page 23 x 14 in. Scanned from physical pages.View a full description of this newspaper.
Extracted Text
The following text was automatically extracted from the image on this page using optical character recognition software:
Murray W. Judson
Publisher
Mary Judson
Editor & Co-Publisher
Port Aransas South Jetty
Dave McNeely
Election 2010 -
it's wide open
The 2010 election year
may be only the second
time in more than three de-
cades that there's a wide-
open race for governor.
Several folks are consid-
ering the race. But one who
already has taken himself
out is the U.S. ambassador
to Mexico, former Texas
Secretary of State and
Railroad Commissioner
Tony Garza.
"I would prefer not to have that sort of specu-
lation detracting in any way from the important
work that is still to be done here in Mexico,"
Garza said in a statement last month.
He said he will serve as long as President
George W. Bush wants him to, and then hopes
to be involved in public policy in non-elective
ways.
Since assuming his present position, Garza
has married the richest woman in Mexico,
who could fund a governor's race without
blinking.
But it's also possible Garza still remembers
placing fourth for the 1990 Republican nomi-
nation for attorney general, and worries GOP
voters may still be uncomfortable with Hispanic
surnames.
An open race for governor in 2010 depends
on Republican Gov. Rick Perry quitting after
10 years. But Perry is raising money and has
hinted he might run again, despite re-election
last year with just 39 percent of the vote.
Others mentioned as possible candidates in
the 2010 governor's race include Republican
U.S. Sen. Kay Bailey Hutchison; Republican
Lt. Gov. Dewhurst; and Democratic former
state Sen. and Texas Tech Chancellor John T.
Montford, now chief executive of AT&T in San
Antonio. There are sure to be others.
In every election since Texas made the switch
to four-year terms in 1974, the incumbent gov-
ernor has sought re-election. Even so, the only
Texas governors ever to win a second consecu-
tive four-year term were George W. Bush (1998)
and Rick Perry (2006). (Perry was elected to his
first four-year term in 2002, after moving up
from lieutenant governor in 2000 upon Bush's
ascension to the White House.)
The first, last and only open race for gover-
nor since 1974 was 1990. The governor then,
Republican Bill Clements, won an upset over
Democrat John L. Hill in 1978. But when Cle-
ments ran for re-election in 1982, he was upset
by Democrat Mark White. Then, when White
sought a second consecutive term in 1986, Cle-
ments beat him in a rematch.
Before he was even sworn in for his second
term, Clements said it would be his last, setting
the stage for a free-for-all. The favorite for
the Democratic nomination was Bill Hobby,
lieutenant governor since 1973. Hobby had
put his gubernatorial ambitions on hold for 15
years because he did not want to run against an
incumbent. After Clements took himself out of
the 1990 race, Hobby indicated his interest even
before Clements' inauguration.
But then he stunned the Texas political com-
munity by declaring on July 27, 1987, that he
wouldn't run for anything in 1990. "I don't have
any more races left in me," he said then.
Among Democrats, then-state Treasurer
Ann Richards, who was eyeing the lieutenant
governor job Hobby would vacate, switched her
sights to governor. Former Gov. White spoke
of a comeback try.
Multimillionaire Midland oilman Clayton
Williams Jr., with huge ad buys that began
months before the filing deadline, coasted to
a 61 percent first-round victory over the other
GOP candidates: Dallas attorney Tom Luce,
former U.S. Rep. Kent Hance of Lubbock,
and former Secretary of State Jack Rains of
Houston.
Richards won the bloody Democratic primary
in a bitter runoff battle with Mattox.
Williams enjoyed a double-digit lead in the
polls just weeks before the general election, but
stuck both boots in his mouth, and Richards
upset him.
Whether 2010 will see that kind of open-
ended battle remains to be seen.
Reach McNeely at dmcneely@austin.
rr.com or (512) 323-0248.
PINION
LIVESTOCK
ANDDEAPfttd
".Mil
—H
Putting students first: The right thing to do
Risking its ranking with the Texas
Education Association (TEA), Port
Aransas Independent School District
officials did the right thing.
TEA, in ratings that came out last
week, rated PAISD acceptable, down
a notch from last year's recognized
rating.
The reason? PAISD put students in
front of ratings.
: p effprt to improve performanc-
es of special-education Students, the
district raised the bar and the students
reached for it and grabbed it. Many
special-education students improved
their academic performance levels
enough to take and pass the same
Texas Assessment of Knowledge and
Skills (TAKS) test that mainstream
■
students took.
Special-education students can be
assigned to take the State Developed
Alternative Assessment II (SDAA)
test, developed for students with
learning disabilities, rather than the
TAKS. Among those who took the
SDAA in Port Aransas, too many did
not perform well, and based on that,
the district's rating was lowered to
acceptable from recognized.
PAISD made a decision to help
quite a few special-education stu-
dents prepare for the more difficult
TAKS test, and many of those who
took that test did well.
The district gets no credit - at least
not from the state - for progress made
by special-education students who
I—
have moved from taking the SDAA
to taking the TAKS - and passing.
And on that basis, the district is ap-
pealing its rating, as well it should.
As flawed as standardized tests
are, their results can have far-reach-
ing effects intended to bring about
improvements at the school district.
On the surface, that sounds like a
positive outcome, but there is a nega-
tive side, and the PAISD result is a
case in point.
Rather than being demoted for rais-
ing the bar and inspiring students to
fulfill their potential, PAISD should
be applauded for doing what is right
for the students.
~mhj
Mary Henkel Judson
Uncle Joe's letter to college-bound
Letters to the editor
An inspiration
My wife and I read with interest Steve
Martaindale's column (South Jetty, July 29)
about the handicapped boy he wrote about in
The Bryan Eagle.
We would like to tell you about our grand-
daughter Jeannie Shanafelt, who passed away at
the age of 33 this April here in Scguin where she
had been an outstanding sixth grade teacher for
a number of years in The Seguin Independent
School District. She had been handicapped
since birth and had to use a wheelchair. She
attended regular public school here as a normal
student. She was also in the band in high school
and played on the sidelines during the football
games. We have never heard her complain
about her lot in life - not one time. She was
always upbeat about what was going along
Please see Betters,' Page 12A
[Editor's note: The following is a letter
written to the South Jetty publishers' daughter,
Libby Judson, by her uncle, Joe Henkel, when
she left for college in 2001.
The value of the letter goes beyond the im-
mediate family, so it has been edited slightly in
order to share it with the high school graduates
of2007 who, in the next few weeks, will begin
their college experience.]
Dear College Student:
You are in a period of your life that is very
important. It will be one of the best, most fun,
and one of the most difficult times you will
ever have.
You will probably live for about 80 years,
so the next two to four years will represent
only 2.5 to 5 percent of your lifetime, but this
period will have a tremendous impact on the
quality of your life for the next 60 years, or 75
percent of your life.
It is possible to blow the next few years, and
still recover, but it is much more difficult than
if you can maximize your opportunities.
You need to decide what is important to you
- not just now, but what will be important and
valuable to you for the next 60-plus years. In
other words, write your own obituary now:
What do you want it to say? What are your
values?
For example, I suggest that your first value
might be health (you can't
be a good student, daugh-
ter, mother, professional
interior designer or any
other role without good
health).
Other values might be
integrity (are the choices
and decisions consistent
with what you think is
right/wrong/evil/cruel, et
cetera?).
Another: Family (are your actions consistent
with the values that have evolved within your
family, and are practiced by those role model
people who you love and respect?).
Another value is reputation: You are build-
ing relationships now that will be with you for
years to come. You probably will not remain
friends with most of your high school buddies,
but you will be doing business and socializing
with your college friends, and their friends
(when you are choosing friends, be careful and
think of them as people who you want to be
friends with in 20, 30, and more years).
You can lose all of your physical possessions,
even your family can be physically wiped out,
but there are a few things that can never be
taken away from you. Those few things include
your reputation: you can run from a bad one, but
you can't hide ~ it will always catch up with
you, and it will follow you unmercifully.
Another valuable thing that can never be
taken from you is your mind ~ your education
and knowledge. You can be put on the street
with nothing, and become successful again if
you have your mind and your reputation. And
remember that both of those things can be dam-
aged and/or destroyed very easily... they are
very fragile. They take a lot to build, and very
little to tear apart and destroy.
You are an excellent person who is loved
very much by all of our family. You are much
stronger, smarter, prettier (more handsome),
and better than you give yourself credit for.
You are harder on yourself than others are. So
relax, and focus on what is important, one day
at a time. You will not be perfect, so when you
make a mistake, forget it... but remember what
you learned from the mistake.
Thanks for taking the time to absorb this
message. All of my kids have had to put up
with listening to this concept for a long time,
It is very important, and I hope you keep it, and
read it from time to time.
Have fun!
Love,
"Uncle Joe"
[Joe Henkel is president and chief execu-
tive officer of Kleberg Bank with locations in
Kingsville and Corpus Christi.]
Member:.
South Texas Press Association*-
Texas Gulf Coast Press Association
Texas Press Association*
IN
Turnout
\007c
Thursday, August 9,2007 3A
Steve Martaindale
'Shake, rattle
and roll' lives on
Next week will mark
the 30th anniversary of the
death of Elvis Presley. It's
not that I'm such a huge fan
of the King, though I did
and still do enjoy much of
his singing. No, the reason
I can always tell you how
long it's been since Elvis
died is because it occurred
the day after Leah and I were married.
Thirty years. It doesn't bother me that so^
much time has passed. After all, that's what time
does. Neither am I surprised that Leah and I are
still having a lot of fun together and are looking •
forward to more. We went into our relationship
with a deep conviction for making it work. For-
tunately, we've been able to do just that.
What disturbs me just a little is not the fact:
that 30 years have passed but that they have
done so with such speed.
The 354 days between the afternoon Leah'
and I met and the morning we exchanged vows'
seemed to crawl by. Painfully slow were the;
final three months because we each spent the;
summer with our parents and only saw each
other every week or two. It seemed like the big
day would never arrive.
Likewise, the first few years slowly passed.
Leah finished college, I slid from sports writing
to the news side and routines became slightly'
more entrenched.
Then, after more than four years of marriage,;
Erin was born. Life actually did pick up its pace;
a bit then, such as the short nights when she had
trouble sleeping. Still, there was no sense of
things getting away from me. In fact, it's hard'
even now to say when the years started passing ►
faster. Presumably, like a runaway wagon on"
a hillside, life just gets a little bit faster, year
after year, until calendar pages are difficult to;
keep up with.
Maybe. It amazes me when I consider that we;
moved from Grayson County more than seven-
years ago, that Port Aransas is now more than'
two years in our rear view mirror. I still feel'
we're very much a part of them or, at least, they
are still a great part of us.
'That's all right, Mama' i
Erin slowly grew up as we tried to take note
of the many changes, accomplishments and
milestones in her development. Kindergarten
and first grade eventually became the blur of
her elementary years, then junior high and then 1
there was the respective haze of high school. ;
"Are they letting her graduate already?" 1
thought. , j
Her college years zipped by. As we watched
her cross the stage, joining us in our cheerjs
was Zack. Within a matter of months, they
were making wedding plans. All too quickly,
it seems, I was considering what name I would ;
like my grandson to call me.
Dizzying.
Grandfather or not, it's not that I'm looking
for a rocking chair. Indeed, I still find myself
wondering what I would like to be when I
grow up. I sometimes have to consider the
reality that certain things, such as becoming
an astronaut, are not likely. However, I was 51
when I first set an insulated boot on frozen sea"
ice in Antarctica.
I called a local public official the other day
with a question. "I'll have to look that up," he
said. "I'm 51 years old and don't remember
things as well anymore."
"I'm 52," I said, "and I resent that."
He was joking, I'm sure, and I was certainly
kidding about being hurt by his remark, but
there is some truth there.
My optometrist prescribed trifocals last year.
A hearing aid is definitely in my future. My
knees can at times object to the most ordinary
of stairs. The beard that I have for some time
called prematurely white, might rightfully lose
the adverb.
But I can't help but feel that I'm fit and ready
for another 30 years.
Steve Martaindale is a self-syndicated colum-
nist. Write him at penmanmail-steve@yahod.
com.
Cactus Pryor
The truth through John Henry Faulk
John Henry Faulk was born and raised
in Austin. He was an excellent student and
received his master's degree at the Univer-
sity of Texas.
In many ways he was the most intelligent
person I've ever known, but he used his in-
telligence in a new kind of way. He became
the person whom he wanted others to know.
Some of those persons were politicians, pro-
fessors, dog catchers, cowboys, presidents,
old ladies, mean guys and blacks, browns,
reds - whoever.
He was adored and praised by scores of
fans, be they university professors, doctors,
students, New York radio and television
groups and Hollywood.
If alive now, John Henry
would have jumped to
portray a Republican
senator losing his job
or a Democratic sena-
tor who is making the
Republicans look bril-
liant.
I can hear him as a
West Texas politician
opposing using electricity to rid us of a
thief.
"No, sir, that just ain't right. That ain't
no way to do it. You ought to kill him in
a Christian way. No sense using all that
expensive electricity."
Or "No, sir, I ain't gonna vote for giving
a man the right to make his own whiskey.
No, sir. It never tastes right."
Or on our present president doing a good
job.
"Well, I think he could do better if he
would allow us war veterans to get better
football seats. Let them damn politicians sit
behind all the tall guys on the goal line."
Yes, John Henry showed us what he was
as he showed us what we are.
Cactus Pryor is an Austin radio personal-
ity, an author and humorist.
Letters to the Editor Deadline:
Monday, 10 A.M.
Letters to the editor should be limited to about
300 words • contain a valid signature and
mailing address, day and evening telephone
numbers where the writer may be reached •
names of persons writing letters will not be with-
held from publication • unsigned letters will not be
published -only one letter per person per 30 days
period • letters endorsing or opposing political
candidates are political advertising and should
be taken to the advertising department • all let-
ters are subject to editing • letters of complaint
about private businesses will be forwarded to the
business and will not be published • "thank you"
letters are classified advertising and should go
to the classified ad department
Letters may be mailed to
P.O. Box 1117 Port Aransas, TX 78373
or e-mailed to:
southjetty@centurytel.net
South Jetty
(946-020)
Pays Periodicals Postage at
Port Aransas, Texas
POSTMASTER:
SEND ADDRESS CHANGES TO:
South Jetty, P.O. Box 1117, Port Aransas, TX 78373
E-mail address changes to:
subscriptions@portasouthjetty.com
Upcoming Pages
Here’s what’s next.
Search Inside
This issue can be searched. Note: Results may vary based on the legibility of text within the document.
Tools / Downloads
Get a copy of this page or view the extracted text.
Citing and Sharing
Basic information for referencing this web page. We also provide extended guidance on usage rights, references, copying or embedding.
Reference the current page of this Newspaper.
Judson, Mary Henkel. Port Aransas South Jetty (Port Aransas, Tex.), Vol. 37, No. 32, Ed. 1 Thursday, August 9, 2007, newspaper, August 9, 2007; Port Aransas, Texas. (https://texashistory.unt.edu/ark:/67531/metapth409959/m1/3/: accessed April 27, 2024), University of North Texas Libraries, The Portal to Texas History, https://texashistory.unt.edu; crediting Ellis Memorial Library.