The Henderson News (Henderson, Tex.), Vol. 89, No. 28, Ed. 1 Sunday, June 24, 2018 Page: 2 of 20
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OPINION
Job market
strength
TA
TEXAS PRESS ASSOCIATION
Ed Sterling is Director of Member Services with Austin-
The Henderson News
Ashton Griffin — Managing Editor
MEMBER
2018
Jade Duncan — Circulation Supervisor
circulation @thehendersonnews .com
Dan Moore — Editor & Publisher
publisher@thehendersonnews.com
DAVE
MCNEELY
Nancy Harris — Office Manager and
Bookkeeper
officemanager@thehendersonnews.com
pole, so I was expected to keep my head down,
and instead of six teachers, I was to have at least
eight... All of which were to teach new, exciting
and terrifying subjects, and instead of a three
JoAnn Keen — Marketing Executive
advertising@thehendersonnews.com
Debra Odom — Classified Manager
classifieds @thehendersonnews .com
make recommendations based
on their findings by the month
of August, when the new school
year begins.
Straus said his instructions
to committees reflect ideas
recommended by Gov. Greg
Abbott and suggestions offered
by educators, behavioral health
experts, law enforcement and
others.
Fraud unit is recognized
Texas Attorney General Ken
class student body, it would
be made up of four classes.
Oh, and another thing, real
colleges were going to look
at the grades I made from
then on. Spooky. Although
the subjects were foreign, I
still knew who I was going
into my freshman year with.
This transition is a much
different story. I know all
about the school and what it
is about. Wear green on Fri-
Governor Greg Abbott
PO Box 12428
Austin, Texas 78711
(800) 843-5789
U.S. Rep. Louie Gohmert
2243 Rayburn HOB
Washington, D.C. 20515
(866) 535-6302
State Rep. Travis Clardy
202 East Pilar RM 310
Nacogdoches, Texas 75961
(936)560-3982
Dr. Ray Perryman is President
and CEO of The Perryman Group,
an economic research and analy-
sisfirm based in Waco, Texas.
U.S. Senator
John Cornyn
United States Senate
Washington, D.C. 20510-5922
(202) 224-2934
(713) 572-3337 Houston
cornyn.senate.gov/public
U.S. Senator Ted Cruz
B40B Dirksen
Senate Office Building
Washington, D.C. 20510
(202) 224-5922
State Senator
Bryan Hughes
100 Independence
Place, Suite 301
Tyler, Texas 75703
(903) 581-1776
J h
DR. RAY
PERRYMAN
The Economist
Dave McNeely is a retired politi-
cal writer for the Austin American-
Statesman. He can be reached at
< davemcneelyiii @gmail.com > (512)
Government
Access
President Donald Trump
The White House
1600 Pennsylvania Avenue
Washington, D.C. 20500
(202) 456-1414
comments@whitehouse.gov
The proclamation authorizes the use of all avail-
able resources of state government and of political
subdivisions that are reasonably necessary to cope
Texas House Speaker Joe Straus, in response with the disaster.
managingeditor@thehendersonnews.com Hughes Ellis — Sports Editor
sports@thehendersonnews.com
told the committee, “While we need to do our best
to keep these kids secure and keep them safe, we
also don’t want them to feel like they’re in a prison.”
HENDERSON NEWS
Sunday, June 24, 2018 PAGE 2A
Senate panel conducts hearings on school violence
~7
ED
STERLING
voted to
abolish not
just abor-
tion, but also
mandatory
licensing of
handguns,
property
taxes, and
taxpayer-
financed
lobbying,
like
and athletics. Sadly, one thing the “wider pool”
absolutely neglected was, wait for it...recess. Yes,
tragedy struck when I was forced to come to but hope for the best. Sue me. One thing I do
terms with those long, recess-less days. I live to know is that I will not stop working to be able
tell the tale, somehow. to check everything off of my list until I have
From middle school, I had a relatively solid achieved everything I want to do, even if that
understanding of what high school was about, means forever. I guess I’ll just have to see where
The freshman were at the bottom of the totem my feet take me.
Jordan Maddox is a 2018 Henderson High School
graduate. She is a former Henderson News intern and
will attend the University of North Texas in the fall.
© 2018, Henderson Newspapers Inc.
5 v ■
JORDAN
MADDOX
Joy Slaymaker — Production Supervisor
composing@thehendersonnews.com
PO Box 30 — Henderson, Texas 75653 — 903-657-2501 — (Fax) 903-657-2452— www.thehendersonnews.com
The Henderson News is published on Wednesdays and Sundays in Henderson, Texas 75654. Each edition is entered as periodical mail with the Hen-
derson branch of the United States Postal Service (No. 239-960). By Postal Service regulations, all subscriptions must be paid for in advance of the first
delivery date. POSTMASTER: Send address changes to The Henderson News, P.O. Box 30, Henderson, Texas 75653.
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The Henderson News welcomes letters from readers on any subject. However, letters should contain no more than 300 words and be signed by the
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can also be submitted via e-mail to <managingeditor@thehendersonnews.com>.
AUSTIN — A panel of Texas Senate members
on June 11 and 12 received input about ways to
improve security on public school campuses.
Lt. Gov. Dan Patrick, who presides over the Sen-
ate, formed the legislative body’s Select Committee
on Violence in Schools and School Safety following
the May shooting at Santa Fe High School in which
a student shot and killed 10 people and injured 10
others.
The Senate district of Committee Chair Larry
Taylor, R-Friendswood, ncludes Santa Fe Inde-
pendent School District. Taylor underlined the
complexity of the problem, saying, “This is a multi-
faceted deal. There is no one solution. A metal Paxton on June 12 announced that his office’s Med-
detector is not the end-all.” icaid Fraud Control Unit received the U.S. Depart-
The committee heard ideas regarding enhanced ment of Health and Human Services Office of
control of campus access and improved safety Inspector General’s award of excellence in fighting
measures such as security cameras. San Antonio fraud, waste and abuse. Paxton said the unit was
ISD Police Chief Joe Curiel told the committee selected for the top award from 50 units nation-
that police presence works as a deterrent and wide because of its “highly effective collaboration
preventative measure, and that increasing positive with the Office of the Inspector General, the FBI
interactions between officers and students can help and other federal partners."
students feel more comfortable communicating
about actual and possible problems with officers.
The proclamation applies to the counties of
Aransas, Austin, Bee, Brazoria, Calhoun, Cham-
Kim Vickers, director of the Texas Commission bers, Colorado, DeWitt, Fayette, Fort Bend, Galves-
on Law Enforcement, said that under current law, ton, Goliad, Gonzales, Harris, Jackson, Jefferson,
school marshals must be licensed to carry a hand- Jim Wells, Karnes, Kleberg, Lavaca, Liberty, Live
gun in the state, must be employees of the school, Oak, Matagorda, Nueces, Refugio, San Patricio,
must complete an 8o-hour training course and Victoria, Waller, Wharton and Wilson.
pass a psychological evaluation. Also, Angelina, Atascosa, Bastrop, Bexar, Bra-
Texas School Safety Center Director Kathy zos, Burleson, Caldwell, Cameron, Comal, Grimes,
Martinez-Prather said the Lone Star State has the Guadalupe, Hardin, Jasper, Kerr, Lee, Leon, Madi-
largest on-campus police presence in the country, son, Milam, Montgomery, Newton, Orange, Polk,
While more than 240 school districts have their Sabine, San Augustine, San Jacinto, Trinity, Tyler,
own police departments, many more use school Walker, Washington and Willacy.
resource officers who are local police assigned to
the school, she added.
Speaker orders studies
J. VACIO 11UUOL UJJVCUKVl UVL O LI Cl LIO, 111 ILOpUllOL.
to the Santa Fe High School shooting, charged
a number of House committees to study issues
related to school security and firearm safety and to based Texas Press Association.
During fiscal year 2017, the unit obtained 108
indictments, 137 convictions and led the nation in
Midway ISD School Resource Officer Jeff Foley recovering more than $534 million, Paxton said.
Proclamation is extended
Gov. Greg Abbott on June 8 extended his disas-
ter proclamation for Texas counties impacted by
Christopher Huckabee of the Texas Society of Hurricane Harvey.
Architects School Safety Workgroup talked about Abbott issued the original proclamation on Aug.
internal and external threats. He said school design 23, 2017, and has extended the proclamation every
is trending toward more compact structures that month since then,
are built “up” rather than “out” so sections of a
building can be locked down to contain a shooter.
By almost
any of the
usual mea-
sures, the
job market is
better than
it has been
in decades.
According to
the US Bureau
of Labor Sta-
tistics (BLS),
the US season-
ally adjusted unemployment rate
in May 2018 was 3.8 percent, the
lowest level in nearly 20 years. Job
gains have averaged 179,000 over
the last three months, with mil-
lions more people now employed
than a year ago. Unemployment
insurance weekly initial claim fil-
ings were down to 222,000 for the
week ending June 2, and the four-
week moving average of 1,728,750
is the lowest it has been since Dec.
8,1973.
For the first time since BLS has
been tracking them, the number
of job openings has surpassed the
number of job seekers. In April,
the level of job openings climbed
to 6.7 million, a new series high
and well below the number of
unemployed (6.1 million). Job
openings were up across a spec-
trum of industries including retail
(openings up 31,000), health care
(up 29,000), and construction (up
25,000). Professional and techni-
cal services, transportation and
warehousing, manufacturing,
and mining also saw significant
increases in job openings.
While low unemployment lev-
els seem like a good thing, insuf-
ficient numbers of workers avail-
able to fill new positions can actu-
ally slow overall economic growth
as companies have difficulties
expanding to meet demand. Most
economists consider an unem-
ployment rate of 4.5-5 percent
to signify that the economy is at
or near full employment, and we
are well below that point. Labor
shortages are occurring in many
industries and in different parts
of the country, and it is becoming
increasingly difficult for employ-
ers to fill open positions.
Even with these clear signals of
strength, some workers still face
challenges. Wages have edged up
only slightly, with average hourly
earnings for all nonfarm employ-
ees up 71 cents for the year (2.7
percent). Labor force participa-
tion has also remained relatively
consistent at 62.7 percent, indi-
cating that there may be poten-
tial workers who have totally
dropped off the unemployment
counts because they have given
up, although long-term trends are
moving in that direction. There
are also millions who are working
part time but would rather be full
time or are otherwise underem-
ployed.
Less than nine years ago dur-
ing the worst part of the Great
Recession (fall of 2009), unem-
ployment was 10 percent and job
openings stood at just 2.4 million.
That’s six unemployed people per
job opening. Since that time, the
unemployment rate has been cut
by 6.2 percentage points and job
openings have increased by 4.3
million, even though for several
years we were talking about a
“jobless recovery.” It’s an impres-
sive comeback from that situa-
tion to one of the strongest job
markets in history in less than a
decade.
New adventures await me at UNT Denton
Sometimes the top of one mountain is just the
base of another much larger mountain. For those
of you who have read at least one of my columns,
I hope that you made the connection that I am
not actually talking about mountains. After four
gruesome years of hiking up the ranks of the high
school ladder of seniority and finally reaching the
top, I now find myself at the bottom of a trickier
trail with slippery slopes: college.
I am proud to announce that I am a member of
the Mean Green Nation, UNT Class of 2022.1 am
sorry to shock any of you with this startling bit
of news, but I plan on majoring in journalism. I
know, it’s crazy... journalism of all things. Joking days, talons up, and only five classes per semes-
aside, I am excited to embark upon new exciting ter! School spirit is a simple thing to learn, but I
adventures at UNT Denton, but I am proceeding have no idea who I will be sharing the next four
with immense caution. years of my life with in a broad sense.
You see, I have always known what is com- Last weekend I attended freshman orientation
ing next in terms of school. When I was in third and got a small taste of student life, but under-
grade, I vaguely knew what Northside was about, standing the Class of ’22 in only 48 hours? That’s
I knew that instead of one class, I would be part a stretch. I did, however, make a few friends
of a two class student body, and I would have from my small orientation group (Group 15, the
four teachers instead of one. Also, there would be best group). Those three girls definitely eased
an awesome playground with, wait for it... a tire my mind at least a little bit, but I still have this
swing! Another thing I knew for certain was what anxious feeling that I am being led blindly into
the students were about considering the fact that whatever the heck comes next. That is a new kind
I had been with them my entire schooling career, of scary: uncertainty.
Sure, it was new and scary, but I was going into it Everyone keeps telling me to not grow up and
with open eyes. move off, but what other options do I have? Trust
From there, it was to middle school. Same me, if I could stay blind to adulthood a little bit
situation: vague understanding of the school, longer, I would. No, not forever, but at least until
complete knowledge of the students. I knew that I I know absolutely everything that is to come next
was graduating from having four teachers to hav- in my life... I sure do love a good contradiction,
ing six and that the student body would be made You see, I have all these amazing plans of gran-
up of three classes instead of two. There was deur that I half expect to check off of my list, but
also a wider pool of opportunity in which to dip I am a realist. Granted, I am a realist with hopes
my fingers, so I knew I was going to be in band and dreams, but plans change and so will I.
I know that expecting everything to go exactly
as I plan is an idealistic notion, but I can’t help
Texas Republicans
dodge a bullet
Within the past several days,
Americans, and Texans, have
had an opportunity to watch
the Republican Party in action
- from the top down - and to
a lesser degree, the Democrats.
Americans, and the rest of
the world, have seen Republican
President Donald Trump:
• Kick off a trade war with
China, and probably longtime
American allies who make up
the G-7 trade group; like cities
• Lavish praise on dictators paying to lobby the legislature,
of North Korea and Russia; The platform also called for
• Get sued by New York’s “religious freedom and privacy
attorney general for allegedly legislation,” like Patrick’s pet
using his family’s charity to pay Bathroom Bill.
personal obligations; • • •
• Attempt to blame Demo- Dems Protest Separa-
crats, falsely, for separating tion of Immigrant Kids
children of asylum seekers at from Families ... On Father’s
the border from their families, Day, hundreds of miles to the
when the Trump Administra- west, the Democratic nominees
tion is responsible. for the U.S. Senate and gover-
• Demonstrate repeatedly nor marched to call attention to
that his relationship with the a new child detention tent city in
truth is reliable only in that it is the Sonoran Desert, established
tenuous and erratic. by the Trump Administration
(The Washington Post’s fact- in Tornillo, 30 miles southeast
checker says Trump’s untruths of El Paso.
numbered 3,251 through June U.S. Rep. Beto O’Rourke of El
16,2018, his 512th day as presi- Paso, the Democratic nominee
dent. That averages just over six against Republican U.S. Sen.
per day.) Ted Cruz, and former El Paso
Texas Republicans Cen- County Judge Veronica Esco-
sure Sen. Cornyn? ... The bar, the Democratic nominee to
Texas GOP at its biennial con- succeed O’Rourke in Congress,
vention last week in San Anto- engineered and led the march,
nio averted a divisive motion to Thousands marched from
censure the state’s senior sena- the border station at Tornillo
tor, Republican John Cornyn. to the nearby collection of air-
Cornyn, 66, first elected in conditioned tents, to detain
2002, is the Senate Republi- children in the country illegally,
can Majority Whip — second including those separated from
in the party hierarchy. He’s the their families.
leading candidate to eventually “We decided there wouldn’t
replace Senate Majority Leader be a more powerful way to spend
Mitch McConnell of Kentucky, Father’s Day than with children
76. who have just been taken from
The State Republican Execu- their fathers, children who have
tive Committee (SREC) nar- been taken from their mothers,
rowly voted last year to cen- children who won’t be able to
sure Texas House Speaker Joe be with their family,” O’Rourke
Straus, who is retiring rather said.
than seek re-election, for block- Others marching included
ing legislation passed by the Democratic state Reps. Mary
Texas Senate. Gonzalez of Clint and Cesar
State GOP Chair James Dick- Blanco and Lina Ortega of El
ey of Austin, appointed last year Paso, plus Gina Ortiz-Jones, the
by the SREC to fill the vacant Democrat challenging U.S. Rep.
chairmanship, won the job from Will Hurd, R-Helotes.
the convention, but only after Hurd, by the way, whose
a spirited fight from longtime district from El Paso to San
Republican activist Cindy Asche Antonio, including Tornillo,
of Frisco. has more of Texas’ border with
Asche opposed Dickey partly Mexico than any other, called
because he and outgoing party for the Trump Administration
vice chair Amy Clark had cast to take responsibility for and
the deciding votes for the SREC change the child separation
to reach the two-thirds majority policy.
needed to censure Straus. Asche Hurd, who represents one of
said the censure was unneces- the state’s few swing districts,
sary and divisive. had visited the new tent city on
Asche also told delegates Saturday. He said it was not an
that longtime party accounting acceptable way to rein in illegal
director Jennifer Stoner had immigration.
resigned because “she has never He also said efforts by Trump
seen the level of dishonesty, and his administration to blame
manipulation and erroneous the family separations on Dem-
reporting that she has seen from ocrats was wrong.
this chairman, and her direct “This is clearly something
quote was ‘He is not trustwor- that the administration could
thy.’” change,” Hurd told CNN.
Convention delegates re-
elected Dickey anyway, 65.4
percent to Asche’s 34.6 percent.
Texas GOP Hot-Button
Priorities ... The convention 458-2963.
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Moore, Dan & Griffin, Ashton. The Henderson News (Henderson, Tex.), Vol. 89, No. 28, Ed. 1 Sunday, June 24, 2018, newspaper, June 24, 2018; Henderson, Texas. (https://texashistory.unt.edu/ark:/67531/metapth1235968/m1/2/: accessed July 17, 2024), University of North Texas Libraries, The Portal to Texas History, https://texashistory.unt.edu; crediting Rusk County Library.