The Albany News (Albany, Tex.), Vol. 122, No. 25, Ed. 1 Thursday, November 20, 1997 Page: 4 of 14
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Opinion Pa
1997
The Albany News
Thursday, November 20, 1997
The Albany News
Since 1875
Oldest journalistic venture west of the Brazos
Editor / Publisher Donnie A. Lucas
Managing Editor
Melinda L. Lucas
Advertising/Business Manager Betty Viertel
Moran Correspondent
Audrey Brooks
Office Assistants Tinker Cauble, Jessica Lucas
editorial
Congratulations,
Lions!
The Albany. Lions played a great
game last Friday night in Ballinger,
beating the Eldorado Eagles to ad-
vance to the area playoffs in San
Angelo this week.
It was a miserable night. It was
cold, windy and wet. But the Lions
rallied to the call and did not let the
weather affect their game.
We congratulate the Lions on their
determination and wish them well
this week.
Albany fans, the ones who made
the trip, are also to be commended for
braving the bad weather to support
the team.
More fans are needed this week in
San Angelo and the weather should
be much more pleasant.
The Lions have had several years of
successful seasons, advancing into the
playoffs five of the last seven seasons.
We as fans need to guard against
becoming complacent during times of
success.
Our teams will need as much sup-
port as possible this week as they take
on the state ranked Stanton Buffa-
loes.
See you in San Angelo.
Great Show
The Albany High choral depart-
ment presented an impressive pro-
duction of Peter Pan last week.
The cast and crew all did a great
job, along with the pit orchestra and
the special effects folks.
It would have been an ambitious
project for a large school, and is even
more incredible because of the size of
our community and school. I don't
know of another Class 2A school that
is capable of such a production.
Each member of the cast and crew
is to be commended for a super job,
along with choir director Shawna
Sarten.
Great job!
policy
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AFFILIATIONS
1997 MEMBER: Texas Press Association,
West Texas Press Association.
poriderings by Pat
By Pat Lidia Jones
Excitement!
Perhaps there are things more ex-
citing than the high school football
team of a small West Texas town
heading into the state play-offs. A
new baby, a new grandchild, maybe
even a wedding, but whatever it is,
when the Albany Lions are on the
prowl, they're right up at the top of
the list.
I'm usually AHS-optimistic, but I
didn't honestly think we'd get this
far. I knew we had what it takes, but
we had some key injuries, and we lost
some early games.
A few games ago, as I congratu-
lated Ricky Lucas, AHS fullback, at
church, I said, "I can close my eyes,
and what do you think I see?" He
grinned and said, "What do you see?"
"I see chartered buses waiting out-
side the dressing rooms for an AHS
football team to board, on their way to
State."
Clearly, we both liked that thought,
but that was for the future. I can close
my eyes and scenes from the past
come rushing in too:
• Charter buses everywhere, for
team, for band, and for fans.
• A hundred years ago, 'Albany
folks gathered at the depot to ride the
old Doodle Bug train to Dublin for a
football game. I can't recall the game
at all, but I do remember what fun it
was, what a novelty it was to ride the
train again.
My main memory, except for the
train ride, was that a blue norther
blew in about midway through the
game, and all of us almost froze. Re-
member that?
o Weather is a part of my memory
of play-off games. Those of us who
were in Waco for our tragic loss to
Schulenburg in the State Finals a
while back, won't forget the rain. We
knew the rains were predicted, and
we wore everything on earth that was
water proof, and still we were sopping
wet from Down One. I remember the
water dropping from row of row of the
stadium, in sheets, like waterfalls.
Awesome.
• Basketball is indoors. In base-
ball, if the sky hiccups, they don't
play; but football is played whatever
the weather. And I mean, whatever
the weather! Two games we played in
conditions that resembled the North
Pole.
We received a really bad weather
report from the Texas Panhandle. Ice,
snow, sleet, freezing rain, strong cold
winds from the north, you name it,
that's what we rode into on our way to
Childress that year.
Did it stop us? Not one bit. We not
only didn't let the weather stop us,
Stinnett didn't stop us either—in our
quest for the State Championship.
None of us there that night will
ever forget T.GWilie taking off his
shoe to kick th^iMpigfield goal. He
always kicked barefooted, but surely
he wouldn't on that night. But, with
the ice and snow cold enough to snap
his toes off, he kicked barefooted and
accurately.
Another year, we played Peters-
burg at Lubbock. Weather wise, it
was same song, second verse. Two
inches of solid ice on the bleachers
awaited us. The field was a solid sheet
of ice, like a skating rink.
• Just a few years ago, we played
Baird. Rain simply poured down on
us. The game started, then stopped,
then started again. Ann Jones and I
parked, and the water rose so high, I
announced that I can't swim. We sat
in the car that night outside the sta-
dium for the entire game. Our rain
gear was in the trunk of the car.
• Our latest game last Friday night
in Ballinger will go down in the his-
tory of weather memories. Cold icy
north winds and rain were on the
menu, but victory of Eldorado made
the cold feel a whole lot warmer
My heartiest congratulations to the
Albany Lions. We're might proud of
you.
be
our guest
Wh
ere Did Social Security Come From?
By Charlie Stenholm
#2 in a series of 8 columns about
Social Security
When the Stock Market collapsed
in 1929, it set in motion economic
conditions we know today as the Great
Depression. With millions thrown out
of work, families found it increasingly
difficult to care for their older or dis-
abled relatives. Churches and other
organizations which traditionally had
provided assistance to families were
overwhelmed by requests for aid.
These tremendous burdens
prompted Congress to consider legis-
lation creating a social insurance pro-
gram to guarantee financial security
to older or unemployed Americans.
Overwhelming bipartisan support for
the measure (372-33 in the House; 77-
6 in the Senate) assured its passage.
President Franklin D. Roosevelt
signed the bill into law on August 14,
1935.
The original Social Security Act
provided "old age" insurance to the
elderly and created a system of unem-
ployment insurance to be adminis-
tered by the states. Workers and their
employers each were required to con-
tribute a matching percentage of in-
come as a premium for the old-age
insurance. Upon reaching age 65,
workers who had paid into the system
could expect to receive a monthly ben-
efit for the rest of their lives. Interest-
ingly (and not coincidentally), aver-
age life expectancy in 1935 was not
quite 62 years.
Originally, only workers in com-
merce and industry were required to
pay one percent of their incomes up to
a maximum contribution of $300 an-
nually. Subsequent amendments ex-
panded the list of professions required
to pay into the system as well and the
percentage of income and the maxi-'
mum contribution. Today, virtually
all workers must pay 6.2% of their
incomes up to a maximum contribu-
tion of $4,054.80 annually and very
few professions now are exempted.
For example, the President, Mem-
bers of Congress, farm workers, and
some clergy pay Social Security taxes
just like everyone else. Consistent
with the original legislation, employ-
ers still are required to match their
employees' contributions. Self-em-
ployed individuals must pay 12.4%.
What happens to the taxes paid to
Social Security? The funds are cred-
ited to the Social Security Trust Fund
and a large portion of the receipts are
immediately paid back out in the form
ofbenefits to current beneficiaries. In
reality, today's workers are taxed in
order to pay today's beneficiaries, a
system referred to as "pay-as-you-
go." The system has been sustainable
as long as those in the workforce sig-
nificantly outnumber those receiving
benefits and workers have been will-
ing to be taxed at rates sufficient to
sustain benefits for current benefi-
ciaries. Obviously, this system can-
not last if the worker-to-recipient
changes significantly and, unfortu-
nately, the problem will become in-
creasingly critical over the next de-
cade,
Social Security's future problems
' are the result of one main factor:
demographics. In other words more of
us are living longer at the same time
proportionally fewer babies are being
born. This trend will come to a crisis
point when the Baby Boomers (those
born between 1946 and 1964) begin to
retire in about 15 years. Understand-
ing this dilemma is crucial to under-
standing how Social Security works
and what it will be like in the future.
Rep. Charles Stenholm represents the
17th Congressional District of Texas.
He co-chairs the House Public Pen-
sion Reform Caucus.
Community Resource Calendar
Thursday, Nov. 20 Community Action Program
Massage Therapy & Physical Therapy, by appt.
Monday, Nov. 24 WIC, 9 am-4 pm
Tuesday, Nov. 25 Robert Mahoney, Counselor
STAR program, Harmony Family Services
Massage Therapy & Physical Therapy, by appt.
Wednesday, Nov. 26 .. Massage Therapy, by appt.
Thursday, Nov. 27 .THANKSGIVING DAY, Center closed
Friday, Nov. 28........... Center closed
Provided by The Albany News for the
Shackelford County Community Resource Center
N REASON REA1
K
g
W*I.P
round and about
By Emalyn (Sam) Gillespie
Albany had a big weekend this last
week.
The Presbyterian Church Bazaar
was a great success. I can sure under-
stand why they sold out of food, be-
cause it was delicious. While I was
enjoying the food, I was also enjoying
a talk with Barbara Bray who was
over from Abilene to visit for the day.
She said that she still enjoys living in
the big city.
I kept seeing this lady whom I did
not know, but she was very busy meet-
ing people and putting them into a
group. So being nosy, I asked who she
was. It was Kathgryne Hunter Ander-
son from Albuquerque, Ne\y Mexico. I
remembered that she had called me
one afternoon and we had a good chat.
So I went over and met her. It seemed
she Was here for a few days and a
group of her classmates of 1943 were
meeting for lunch and then going on
over to Jimmie Dane Griffis and
Charles Lackey's house to plan for
their next class reunion. In the group
was Mary Lou Johnson Allen and
Romadelle Wilson from Abilene,
Analene Dill and Ken Spiker of Grape-
vine, Katheryne Anderson, Earnes-
tine Meador Kincaid of Blanco, Muriel
Taylor Ramsay of Weirton, West Vir-
ginia, and a group of Albany folks —
Howard and Nancy Posey, Margaret
Beth Crow Stilwell, Patsy Dye and
John Rose, Drannon Edmison, Jimmie
Dane Griffis and Charles Lackey, Lois
Sue Martin Schkade, Bill and Gwen
Myers, and Jim and Betty Williams.
J.C. Mitchell is doing very well
after his by-pass surgery. His daugh-
ter, Camey Masar of Carrizo Springs,
had been here three weeks helping
her mother, Neva.
Brandee Todd, the daughter of
Howard and Jann Todd, has passed
her bar exam. She is a full-fledged
lawyer now. She is the Assistant Dis-
trict Attorney in Bryan.
Barbara Smith Hobbs was in town
the other day. She is the daughter of
Burl Smith, who was postmaster here
from 1927 to 1940. Barbara said she
went to school here through the sixth
grade. She is a rural mail carrier for
the Abilene post office and has been
at the job for the last 21 years
Edwin Newcomb had minor sur-
gery last week in Abilene. His son
Jimmy York was with his parents.
Jimmy lives in Palestine when he is
not on a barge out in the Gulf. He
works for Haliburton Company and
he lives on a service barge that works
offshore drilling rigs. He is out tWo
weeks, then home two weeks. Also
with the family was daughter Edwina
Falkenbury of Levelland.
Stormi Hare is recuperating at
home after having a tonsillectomy
last week. She needs to get well. From
what I hear, the Six Bright Flags
horses will be in several parades over
the holidays.
The Nail Boys ran into all kinds of
bad luck this past week. The Nail
Ranch Rodeo Team went to Amarillo
to compete in the Ranch Rodeo and
came home with only fifth pace. Bad
luck was riding on Johnny Stewart's
shoulders because he injured his leg
again. It seems he can't keep his legs
out from under the cows and they step
on him. Sorry about the bad time at
Amarillo, guys. Just go get them the
next time.
Red and Shirley Alexander have
been bringing joy to the community
for several years with their display of
Christmas lights. Shirley said the
other day they may not put them up
this year. Intakes days to put up the
different displays and replace any
bulbs that burn out. Vandals are the
cause of concern this year. Shirley
said that last year, out of the 29 days
that the lights were up, bulbs were
stolen 24 times. Sometimes strings of
lights would be torn out, and the bat-
teries on Santa were missing quite
often. I hope something can be done
about the problem so that the lights
can be seen again this year. I under-
stand that the diagram for this year's •
light display called for over 10,000
bulbs.
Be careful going and coming from
the game at San Angelo. We don't
want anyone hurt in car wrecks.
GO LIONS!
This is Sam...
and I will see you Round and About
Community Calendar
NOV. 19
NOV. 20
NOV. 21
NOV. 24
NOV, 25
NOV. 26-30
NOV. 27
DEC. 6
DEC. 8
DEC. 13
DEC. 15
DEC. 19
City council - City Hall, 5 pm
Masonic Lodge cornerstone leveling - Masonic
Lodge building, 11 am
Lions Club - Lone Star Eatery, 12 noon
Masons meeting - Masonic Lodge, 7:30 pm
Chamber luncheon - Ft. Griffin Gen. Mdse, 12 noon
Albany Lions vs. Stanton Buffaloes (Area playoff) -
San Angelo Stadium, 7:30 pm
AA meeting - Call 762-2447 for location, 8 pm
Athletic Booster Club meeting - High school, 7 pm
Commissioners court - Courthouse, 9 am
School holidays
THANKSGIVING DAY
VFW Thanksgiving dinner - Methodist Church,
12 noon
Pecan show - Courthouse, 8:30 -11 am
Christmas drawing - Bank Park, 3 pm
Commissioners Court - Courthouse, 9 am
Christmas drawing - Bank Park, 3 pm
Chamber Christmas tour of homes - 5-8 pm
Hospital board - Clinic building, 7 pm
School board - Supt.'s office, 7:30 pm
City council - City Hall, 5 pm
FIRST
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Lucas, Donnie A. The Albany News (Albany, Tex.), Vol. 122, No. 25, Ed. 1 Thursday, November 20, 1997, newspaper, November 20, 1997; Albany, Texas. (https://texashistory.unt.edu/ark:/67531/metapth414439/m1/4/: accessed July 18, 2024), University of North Texas Libraries, The Portal to Texas History, https://texashistory.unt.edu; crediting The Old Jail Art Center.