Yoakum Herald-Times (Yoakum, Tex.), Vol. 113, No. 33, Ed. 1 Wednesday, August 17, 2005 Page: 2 of 14
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2 VOAkliM HERALD-TIMES, WEDNESDAY, AUGUST 17,2005
Yoakum Rotary News
Shown above is Darren Schauer, general manager of GVEC and
Lindsey Durret with GVEC.
President Neil Campbell called the meeting to order followed by
a recap of special projects. Yoakum Rotarians continue to gather items
for gift packages to be shipped to our troops in Iraq. A special update
was presented on sale of tickets for the Kawasaki 4x4 Mule and trailer.
The drawing for the Mule will be held on Oct. 20. See any Yoakum
Rotary Club member to purchase a ticket.
Members were asked to reserve Oct. 22 for club fellowship day
in San Antonio.
Neil Campbell introduced guests Darren Schauer and Lindsey
Durret with GVEC Mr. Schauer, General Manager of GVEC pre-
sented a very informative and interesting program about competition
in the electric utility industry. In 1999 Texas Senate Bill 7 was passed
and went into effect in 2002. The bill allowed consumers a choice of
where they could purchase their electric power. Consumers served
by investor-owned utility companies(i.e., Houston, Dallas areas)can
make individual choices, however, consumers served by electric coops
or municipalities purchase fROm the coop or municipality. To date
only one coop in Texas (and no municipalities) has embraced the
"market concept." At present GVEC is taking a "wait and see" posi-
tion to determine how they can best serve their customers.
Following the conclusion of the program President Campbell
closed the meeting with the Four-Way Test.
FIRST
CLASS
Letter to the
Editor
Sweet Home ISD receives H-E-B
Excellence in Education Award
Sweet Home ISD was selected
as a semi-finalist during the pre-
liminary judging of the 2005 H-
E-B Excellence in Education
Awards.
The selection committee re-
ceived more than 50 applications
from districts all over Texas. Of
those applications only 23 were
selected as semi-finalists and
went on to compete in the Re-
gional judging process.
Sweet Home ISD was awarded
$500 in H-E-B Gift Cards as a
small token of gratitude for all the
district does to inspire and en-
lighten young minds.
The gift cards were used to pro-
vide refreshments during the
school cleanup day on Aug. 6, and
to provide lunch for teachers and
staff members on their first day
back on Aug. 8. The remaining
balance will be used to purchase
instructional supplies and incen-
tives for students.
Dear Editor,
l ast year about this time the Yoakum lntennediate faculty was going
through some very trying times. We were attending the funeral ot Willene
Poynor, our colleague and our very dear (Fiend. Just a tew weeks later, we
buried another triend and colleague. Mary Boothe, a tilth grade teacher. It
was a very difficult, emotional year lor all of us. but we relied on each other
for strength to build memorials as a reminder of our dear (Fiends. Hie faculty,
students, and other mdiv iduals made monetary donations Businesses, such
as Handy Stop and Sochnge's Do It Center, donated some materials and
plants and we did most of the work ourselves. We are very proud of these
memorials because it senes as a soothing reminder of our dear (Fiends.
In the middle of Mrs. Poynor's Butterfly Garden we placed a pinkish
colored angel birdbath about that* feet tall and concreted the angel top to a
heavy base so it would not topple ov er. We lov ingly weeded and watered the
garden all summer, but in early August someone stole our birdbath. We are
all appalled at the audacity of stealing something tFom a memorial. It is so
important to everyone at Yoakum Intermediate to have the birdbath returned
intact because it symbolically represents the presence of a much loved fac-
ulty member. If you know of any information regarding this crime, please
contact the office of Yoakum Intermediate School at 293-3001.
Rita Arlitt and Yoakum Intermediate Faculty
Stravhorn says sales tax collections
up 5.9 percent in FY 2005 to date
Texas Comptroller Carole Keeton Strayhom today said the state
collected $1.45 billion in sales tax revenue in July, and she sent local
governments $466 million.
“With just weeks remaining in the 2005 fiscal year, sales tax rev-
enue is running 5.9 percent higher than the same point in FY 2004,"
Strayhom said.
August sales tax allocations to local governments are up 8.1 per-
cent compared to August 2004. Strayhom today sent cities, coun-
ties, transit systems and special .purpose taxing districts $466.1 mil-
lion in local sales tax. So far this calendar year, sales tax allocations
to local governments are running 7.3 percent higher than last year.
Strayhom sent sales tax payments of $317.9 million to Texas cit-
ies. up 8.9 percent compared to last August. Calendar year to date,
city sales tax revenues are up 7.5 percent compared to 2004. Sales
tax payments of $26.6 million went to Texas counties, 3.9 percent
higher than last August. So far in calendar year 2005. county sales
tax allocations are up 8.8 percent compared to last year.
In addition, $13.3 million in sales tax revenue went to 97 special
purpose taxing districts, .54 percent more than in August 2004. Ten
local transit systems received $108.3 million, up 7.7 percent com-
pared to a year ago.
July state sales tax collections are up 14.5 percent compared to
July 2004.
July state sales tax revenue and August allocations to local gov-
ernments represent sales taxes collected in June by businesses that
report sales taxes monthly, and sales taxes collected in April. May
and June by quarterly filers.
For details of August sales tax payments to individual cities, coun-
ties, transit systems and special purpose districts, locate the Monthly
Sales and Use Tax Allocation Comparison Summary Reports on the
Comptroller's Web site at www.windovv.state.tx.us/taxinfo/allocsum/
compsum.html
The Comptroller's next sales tax allocation will be made on Mon-
day. Sept. 12.
AD & NEWS DEADLINE
MONDAY NOON
Notice of Public Hearing on Tax Increase
Last year, the Yoakum Hospital District property tax
rate was $0.1344. That rate raised $591,499, a portion
of which was used to fund operations such as:
Appraisal district allocation, Tax Collectors fees,
Premium on tax collector bonds, Premiums on D&O
insurance, Attorney fees, Building Maintenance
expense, Indigent Prescriptions, and Ambulance
disbursements.
This year, Yoakum Hospital District is proposing a
property tax rate of $0.2200. That rate would raise
$1,012,270, which is $420,771 more than taxes
imposed last year.
There will be two public hearings to consider that
increase. The first public hearing will be held on
August 25,2005 at 6:15 p.m. at Yoakum Community
Hospital Board Room. The second hearing will be
held on August 30, 2005 at 6:15 p.m. at Yoakum
Community Hospital Board Room.
Enhanced Indigent Health Care Expenditures:
The Yoakum Hospital District spent $55,207 from 7/
1/04 to 6/30/05 on enhanced indigent health care at
the increased minimum eligibility standards, less the
amount of state assistance. For the current tax year,
the amount of increase above last year's enhanced
indigent health care expenditures is $0.
You have a right to attend the hearings and make
comments. You are encouraged to attend and make
comments if you wish.
Drivers License
Schedule
• llallettsville — Court-
house: Texas Department of
Public Safety Driver's License
Office - (361) 798-5457; Al-
ternate # (361) 798-2301;
Tuesday and Wednesday, 9
a m. - 12 (noon) and 1 p.m. - 4
p.m.
• f ion/ales - Sarah DeWitt
(across from Wal-Mart); Texas
Department of Public Safety
Driver's License Office - (830)
672-3328; Monday-Friday
8:30 a.m. - 12 (noon) and 1:15
p.m.- 4:30 p.m.; Defensive
Driving courses instructed the
first and third Saturday of ev-
ery month.
• Cuero — Courthouse;
Texas Department of Public
Safety Drivers' License Office
- (361) 275-6154; Monday-
Friday 8:30 a.m. - 12 p.m. and
1:30 p.m. - 5 p.m.
Please call before traveling
to any out-of-town driver li-
cense office to verify required
documents and any unsched-
uled office hour changes.
Yoakum
Herald-Times
USPS 696-000
312 Lott St • P 0 Box 798
Yoakum, TX 77995
(361) 293-5^66 * FAX (361) 293-5267
L. M (Buddy) Preuss III. Publisher
TIMES Established 1892
HERAtO Established 189/
CONSOLIDATED Oct 25. 1943
Published on Wednesday
By Yoakum Herald-Times. Inc
Entered as Second Class mailer al Ihe
Post Ofhee al Yoakum Texas under
Ihe act ol March 3 1897 Second Class
Postage paid al Yoakum Texas 77995
The Yoakum Herald-Times reserves
Ihe right to re/ect any advertising or
editorial material in part nr in whole
POSTMASTER Send address changes to
YOAKUM HERAID-TIMES. P0 BOX 798
YOAKUM TX 77995
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fit Lions Club Update
Amy Harvey with the Health and Human Service Commis-
sion in Hallettsville presented the program at the Yoakum
Lions noon meeting on Aug. 9. Ms. Harvey spoke about eli-
gibility or Medicaid and how ones assets may be affected if
one needs long-term care in a nursing home. The speaker
also talked about the Medicaid Estate Recovery Program
and transfer ot an individual's assets. For more information
nno mn\/ Me Mar\/o\/ r\r pall /Rfini IntrOCiUCIHQ
the speaker was Lions program chairman, Bob Harbers
Capitol Comments
A weekly column by
U.S. Sen. Kav Bailey Hutchison
Efforts to improve security should
not harm Texas'* commerce
With the savage bomb attacks in London, the world was put on
notice that terrorists are continuing their jihad against the peaceful
free people of the world and trying to destroy freedom Because
these murderers have often stated thal their goal is to attack Ameri-
cans in our homeland, we have to continue our efforts to improve our
domestic security.
A key element in any plan to make America safer is prevention of
terrorists and their weapons from entering our country in the first
place. T his is why. ever since 9/11. Congress has been prov iding
increased resources to make our seaports, airports and land border
crossings more secure. This is vitally important in the valley region
After all, Texas is widely known as America’s “Third Coast” because
of its long gulf shorelines: it has 1.254 miles of shared border with
Mexico. Terrorists as well as violent drug gangs are trying to pen-
etrate our borders more and more.
Al-Qaeda’s number one man in Iraq. Abu Musab Al-Zarqawi, has
said his goal is to attack Americans in our homeland and suggested
smuggling terrorists in through Mexico. Already, investigators report
finding Qurans and prayer mats in border areas of Arizona.
Currently, our policy requires our border agents to handle Mexi-
can illegal immigrants differently from those who come from other
countries, who are known by the acronym OTM, or Other Than Mexi-
can. Amazingly, most OTM individuals are set free on personal re-
cognizance and ordered to appear for court hearings a few weeks
later. In testimony before the House Judiciary Committee, it was
reported that more than 70 percent of these illegal immigrants fail to
appear for those hearings.
The government reports that last year, we had more than 44,000
apprehensions of OTMs, of whom 4,000 were from countries identi-
fied by the State Department as terrorism sponsors or national secu-
rity concerns. One of them was Farida Ahmed, a South African na-
tional who officials believe is a high-level Al-Qaeda operative. She
was heading to New York when apprehended in McAllen, but how
many of her allies have been released to blend into the population?
What complicates efforts to make the border safer is the explosion
of goods and people traveling between the United States and Mexico.
This trade has been a part of our history, but began to accelerate with
the signing of the North American Free Trade Agreement (NAFTA)
in 1996.
Texas roads and rails carry most of America’s NAFTA trade. Our
challenge is to properly screen the huge amount of people and goods
which cross our border each year well enough to provide good secu-
rity while being efficient enough to allow trade to continue to flour-
ish.
To improve security we must provide sufficient resources and per-
sonnel to do the job. This was a key reason why I successfully fought
to restore funding to increase the number of border patrol officers to
the full 2,000 authorized in the Intelligence Reform Bill.
We cannot physically screen every single container in our nation 's
vast economy, but we can certainly screen more than we do at present,
and can set up a system to coordinate methods of identifying shippers
and materials. We can also use large scanners, canine teams and other
methods to determine whether containers are carrying weapons, nar-
cotics. explosives, currency or people
We can also do a better job of monitoring Texas' substantial cross-
border truck traffic. A single truck booth on the border may handle
3.9 million vehicles per year. To address this problem, we are begin-
ning a pilot program using Radio Frequency Identification Devices
(RFIDs) on the vehicles If the program proves successful, we should
think about speeding up adoption of these devices
Some people think we can solve our problems by simply slam-
ming the door on our borders. We in Texas know better, and I am
committed to working with residents in the valley to come up with
solutions which will allow our commerce and prosperity to increase
even as we improve our nation's security against the terrorists and
drug traffickers who threaten our way of life.
Happy 21st Birthday to
RYAN JEROME DROZD
1984-2001
On August 17. the fourth birthday
has passed since you were
here with us to celebrate
this special day
We thought of you with love today
We thought about you yesterday
And every day before that too
But that is nothing new
We think ot you in silence.
We think of you
with tears in our eyes,
We think ot the beautiful moments
that we had with you
We often speak your name
Now all we have is memories
and your picture in a trame
Your memory is our keepsake.
With which we ll never part
God lias you in his keeping
We have you in our hearts
Sleep peacefully, our Dear Ryan
we will always kive you.
and will novel forget you
Happy 21st Birthday,
Ryan
From your family,
who truly mlaaas you
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Yoakum Herald-Times (Yoakum, Tex.), Vol. 113, No. 33, Ed. 1 Wednesday, August 17, 2005, newspaper, August 17, 2005; Yoakum, Texas. (https://texashistory.unt.edu/ark:/67531/metapth1137914/m1/2/?q=j+w+gardner: accessed June 20, 2024), University of North Texas Libraries, The Portal to Texas History, https://texashistory.unt.edu; crediting Carl and Mary Welhausen Library.