Port Aransas South Jetty (Port Aransas, Tex.), Vol. 38, No. 15, Ed. 1 Thursday, April 10, 2008 Page: 3 of 12
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Murray W. Judson
Publisher
Mary Henkel Judson
'Editor & Co-Publisher
Port Aransas South Jetty
Opinion
Member:
South Texas Press Association
Texas Gulf Coast Press Association
Texas Press Association
Thursday, April 10,2008 3A
Dave McNeely
TYC is under
another attack
The Texas Youth Com-
mission has been em-
brpiled in a years-long
scandal that has included
sexual improprieties with
detainees on the part of
TYC staff.
But that's just one of
the problems the state's
juvenile corrections sys-
tem faces. Now, a key
legislator is seriously talking about shutting
the state agency down.
State Sen. John Whitmire, D-Houston,
who chairs the Senate's Criminal Justice
Committee and co-chairs a joint committee
studying the juvenile system, said the state
is'spending more than $100,000 per each of
the 2,400 juvenile lawbreakers incarcerated
in.the system's far-flung outposts.
I Many of them are located where they are
as a result of powerful legislators from rural
areas over the years treating the facilities as
local jobs programs.
Whitmire says the state could get the job
done for half that cost or less, if it put the
most violent offenders in a youth division
Of the adult prison system, and treated the
remainder in rehabilitation and treatment
programs at the local level - primarily in
the state's larger cities, where most of them
come from anyway.
Whitmire said it would be hard to argue
Against changing the Texas approach, except
for the rural counties where those TYC
facilities are located. Some other states are
already decentralizing their juvenile offender
systems.
It's in the nature of legislative bodies, if
things aren't seen as working right, to either
tear agencies down, change their structure,
Qf combine them with something else. It's
happened particularly with human services
and environmental agencies.
Whitmire may well be right. But it's hard
to view those statistics, and that argument,
in isolation. Most of the people in prison,
and in juvenile correction facilities, have
had inadequate education, or health care,
Qrboth.
.The late Phil Strickland, longtime head
of the Christian Life Commission of the
Baptist Church in Texas, was the founder
of a group called Texans Care for Children.
Consider these words from Strickland, who
died in February of 2006, from the Christian
Life Commission's Newsletter in August
of 2005:
"For several years, I have chaired a group
named Texans Care For Children. My dream
is for that name to become true. Right now, it
is difficult to make any case that we in Texas
care for our children. In fact, the data tells us
tfidt we probably care for our children less
than most states in America. In a state that is
full of churches, we are in a race to become
dead last in caring for children."
Consider some of these statistics and
thoughts from the 2007 update of a "Report
on the Agenda for the Decade" by Texans
Care For Children:
• '* Texas ranks 48th among the 50 states
-Mied for last ~ in births per 1,000 girls aged
15 to 19. Texas had 63 per 1,000 (in 2003),
contrasted to that national average of 42 (The
lower the number, the higher the ranking.)
• Percent of children under 18 living in
families with incomes below the federal
poverty level: 22 percent in 2005, to rank
46th.
Number of children 19-35 months old
$tjo are getting the vaccinations recom-
mended by the Centers for Disease Control:
78.4 percent in 2005, to rank 36th.
• Per capita spending on mental health
treatment: $39.02 in 2003, to rank 47th.
• Children without health insurance (in
2005): 49th.
And the list of grim statistics goes on.
Among the fixes the organization recom-
mends are:
• Spend more money on public educa-
tion.
• Increase vocational and workforce train-
ing.
• Assure transportation and child-care as-
sistance for low-income parents so they can
find and keep jobs.
• Raise the minimum wage.
• Support programs shown to be effec-
tive in reducing unplanned and teenage
pregnancies.
• Work to help families and children who
H$£d it to get physical and mental health
qfre, food stamps, and school lunch and
Dt&akfast.
Require that legislation that cuts pro-
glims for children and families be accom-
panied by a Child Impact Statement, that
Would tell how many kids are affected by
the cuts, and how.
Perhaps if leaders gave more attention to
Some of those ideas, over time the percentage
OfcTexas juveniles and adults behind bars
would go down, and Sen. Whitmire and other
legislators wouldn't continually be trying to
broken systems.
'-.{Reach McNeely at dmcneely@austin.
i'hcom or (512) 458-2963.
mattito
these mys...
FLIGHTS
GARY(WRcmiNi
We'll leave when
feel like itl
Hospitality folks: Try being a tourist
Last week I broke away for a long weekend
with girlfriends, and we had some experiences
that made me think that folks in the hospital-
ity industry should experience travel from a
tourist's perspective.
We headed for Texas Antiques Weeks in
Round Top /Carmine/Warrenton. For miles in
every direction, every barn, pasture and unused
piece of real estate between these wide spaces
in the road was rented to antique vendors from
across the country. The merchandise ranged
from fabulous antiques, to battery-operated
plastic beer glasses that flashed bright colors
($5 each or two for $11), petticoats (don't ask
the price - thank the shopping gods, I don't
have buyer's remorse!) and garage sale junk.
First off, I don't want to hear anyone com-
plain about the ferry line again - ever! This was
a two-lane highway with bumper-to-bumper
traffic for about 22 miles. Don't even get in
a hurry!
We'd booked a farmhouse and had reser-
vations for dinner at one of the local restau-
rants.
Entering the farmhouse, we were welcomed
by the aroma of Eau de Mouse of the House.
ITie place was covered in dust, we had to clean
the bathrooms before using them, the plumbing
was in disrepair, there was a total of three cof-
fee cups (there were five of us), and we were
required to book for three nights. We left after
two nights - we were willing to pay to leave.
Our dinner reservations for the second night
required a credit card and three hours' notice if
we cancelled, and short of that, our credit card
would be charged $25 a person.
We arrived and found two "pe-cans," as
they were labeled, one for men and one for
women, outside the front door because their
indoor restrooms could
not handle the crowds.
We were a little nervous,
but the porch was loaded
with people waiting to be
seated, and our credit card
would get a $125 hit if we
walked.
We were called about
10 minutes after the ap-
pointed hour, and the five
of us were seated at a four-top table. Next to
us, four people were seated at a two-top, and
at the table behind us there were eight women
at a six-top. It was tight, so we got to know the
women behind us, who love Port Aransas.
Long story short, this restaurant doesn't take
credit cards. Hello? They require a reservation
with a credit card and will hit us for $25 a person
if we bail without proper notice, but they don't
take credit cards? This came as a shock to us as
well as the woman behind us, Patty, who had
made her party's reservation. She expressed,
in the very kindest way (believe me, we heard
her - how could we not?), her displeasure to
the waitress who had probably heard this more
times than she could bear and fell into tears.
The owner was called for, and his first and
only reaction was to point his finger in Patty's
face and say, "Pay your tab and leave. Pay your
tab and leave. I'm going to call the sheriff."
Maintaining her sense of humor under the
worst of circumstances," Patty replied with
a line straight out of the Seinfeld television
series, "Who are you, the Pie Man?"
We met Patty and her girlfriends outside
after telling the owner we shared her concerns,
and we agreed that this story is going to the
state fire marshal (violation of fire codes due
to overcrowding) and health officials (no re-
stroom facilities for customers or staff -their
restrooms were closed because they could not
handle the crowds, which they could have had
they not overcrowded every table in the joint
that was reported to seat 38 and was seating
at least 50).
And, can you say, tripadvisor.com?
That restaurant may get first-time customers,
but repeat customers are out of the question.
The food was okay, but not good enough to put
up with that kind of treatment or claustrophobic
conditions and no restrooms.
Oddly enough, there was a sign on the restau-
rant wall that read, "A customer who complains
is doing you a great service." Needless to say,
we're going to do this fellow a big favor!
On the good side, after sending a letter to the
innkeeper of the farmhouse, our third night is
being refunded, and this lovely woman is tak-
ing the property off her management list until
improvements are made.
The scenery was beautiful ~ wildflowers
were screaming with color above green pas-
tures under trees in the full bloom of spring.
We were there for "Prom Night" at Zapp
Hall, which was a hoot, and we've come home
with some great memories and stories to tell.
It was a trip anyone in the hospitality indus-
try should experience.
We'll book with the innkeeper at another
property, but we won't be going back to that
restaurant.
As we approach the busy summer tourist sea-
son, we all should remember that how you treat
people counts if you want repeat customers.
Mary Henkel Judson is editor and co-
publisher of the South Jetty. Contact her at
southjetty@centurytel.net.
Dealing with Rooster's memory
I went in to buy a pair of tennis shoes. The
guy who waited on me welcomed me by name.
I didn't think we had ever met. He asked me
how my brother Wally was; I told him.
Then he said, "Whaddayathink of Coach
Bible?"
I said, "Well, he's one of the best we've
had."
"Uh, huh...and, how's your sister, Mary
Alyce?"
I said, "She's doing fine. Thank you. Uh, any-
way, I'd like to buy a pair of tennis shoes."
"Good ...your size is... uh ... a nine , isn't
it."
"Uh ... Yes, that's my size alright."
He said, "How's your dad's picture show
going?"
"Oh ... Doing fine,
thank you."
"Alright now ... here's
your shoes."
"Yes, I see them ...
what're these notes in
'em?"
"Umm, the eyes of Tex-
as are upon your feet."
"Haa. And the other one reads... sic them
Aggies."
Haaa.
Then he said, "How's your daddy's picture
show going?"
"Oh, it's going fine. Thank you."
'Your momma is still house mother for the
Phi Gams?"
"Yep, she loves it. Uh ... I think that... uh
... we've never met?"
He said, "Nope. But I know all your
folks."
'Twas so.
I was talking to Coach Royal yesterday. He
said he'd never met a man with the remem-
brance of Rooster Andrews. He was a memory
bank. The illness he had often destroys memo-
ries. But just the other day Coach Royal visited
Rooster. As he entered the door, Rooster said,
"Hi, Coach!"
Cactus Pryor is an Austin author, radio
personality and humorist.
Steve Martaindale
God, science:
incompatible?
Startling news from the
Times Online out of London
... it seems that some people
believe science and God can
co-exist.
You don't say.
The story outs Francis
Collins, director of the U.S.
National Human Genome
Research Institute and lead-
er of the team that cracked
the human genome. Not only does he say that
science can bring mankind closer to God, but
he adds that he believes in miracles.
Somebody get the smellin' salts for Gran-
ny.
Actually, his announcement is not ground-
breaking. The article goes on to mention that
perhaps our greatest scientific minds - Isaac
Newton and Albert Einstein, for example
- made the observations that something as or-
derly as the universe must have had a creator.
Indeed, science and religion are not mutually
exclusive. Many claim them to be incompat-
ible, partly out of narrow thinking, I believe,
but more likely out of the need to have an
identifiable "devil" to rail against.
"Do you know what they're teaching your
children?" one might bellow. "These 'educated'
people are telling them that God did not cre-
ate the universe, this world or even your own
child."
With the exception of the occasional bad
teacher, no. They are teaching what science
has discovered about how the universe began
and how man came together and developed. It
is up to the parents and church to instruct that
God was and is behind the science.
A wonderful, late pastor of mine put it an-
other way, one I have quoted often, probably
here: "You don't have to leave your brains
outside the church."
The Rev. William H. Foster was a large,
strong man, a physical appearance that served
well to personify his solid beliefs. He knew
good and well that God created the universe.
However, he was also a trained geologist. He
knew... and I hope I am doing him justice here
... that there are now discernable facts about the
origin of the planet that may not have been ex-
plainable to people of Old Testament times.
While we are nowhere near knowing every-
thing, we should know enough now to under-
stand that we do not understand it all.
Could God have developed man through
evolving species? Sure. Did he? I do not know,
but he certainly could have.
I remember a song of some 40 or so years
ago, titled "Evolution and the Bible" that
attempted to widen the divide between sci-
ence and religion, implying people of science
believe "we've still got relatives swinging in
a tree."
Do I have a problem with God working
through various life forms before creating us?
Absolutely not. What separates us from the
apes isn't so much biology as the fact that God
chose humans as his children. By the way, do
I have a problem with the possibility that God
developed a universe, a world, various life
forms and then... pow... he created man? No,
I do not, because I don't know for a fact how
we came into being.
I figure, sometime in the great hereafter, I'll
be able to sit in on a community education
course and get all of those things explained
to me.
Perhaps, Francis Collins will be teaching
the course.
Steve Martaindale is a self-syndicated colum-
nist. Write him at penmanmail-steve@yahoo.
com.
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-m ailaddress changes to:
SUBSCflPT10NS@P0RrAS0U-mjEnY.C0M
phone 361-749-5131
Letters to the Editor
Park or preserve?
Is Charlie's Pasture Nature Preserve a park
or is it a nature preserve?
Is it concrete and gravel sidewalks or natural
trails?
Is it air-conditioned halls or is it wild spaces
where people can reconnect with nature?
Please, citizens, friends and concerned
conservationists, rally around and ask your
questions now, before it is too late!
Carolyn Grosse
Port Aransas
Fit to be tied
We've enjoyed another wonderful winter
season here in Port Aransas. As we somewhat
sadly contemplate departing our island resi-
dence, we also look forward to the beginning
of a beautiful spring in Wisconsin.
As a fitness buff both in Wisconsin and while
we're here in Port Aransas, I am concerned
about the up-coming closure of the Paradise
Fitness Center. A fitness program serves as an
integral part of many persons lives, as well it
should.
The absence of the center will surely disap-
point many of the Winter Texans who have
already left for the season unaware that their
outlet for fitness will not be here upon their re-
turn next winter, not to mention the many local
people who are so dedicated to maintaining a
fit and healthy lifestyle. I feel the need for such
a facility has been well established. And with
a growing community such as Port Aransas,
the need/demand for a fitness center will be
increasingly obvious.
I would hate to think that the absence of a
center would ultimately influence someone's
decision to spend extended periods of time
here...but it could. Taking the ferry to a neigh-
boring community's center is not a good option.
And that, of course, does not keep the business
here in Port Aransas. Please, someone or some
organization, fill in the void.
Ken Jaschob
Waupaca, Wise.
Check solicitors
We, a sadder but wiser senior citizen couple,
recently were victimized by a person whose
behavior seems to be that of a con artist. This
person was going door-to-door soliciting house
Please see 'Letters,' Page 4A
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 withheld 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 letters are subject to editing • letters of complaint
about private businesses will be forwarded to the
business and will not be published • "thank you" let-
ters 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
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Judson, Mary Henkel. Port Aransas South Jetty (Port Aransas, Tex.), Vol. 38, No. 15, Ed. 1 Thursday, April 10, 2008, newspaper, April 10, 2008; Port Aransas, Texas. (https://texashistory.unt.edu/ark:/67531/metapth480649/m1/3/: accessed July 17, 2024), University of North Texas Libraries, The Portal to Texas History, https://texashistory.unt.edu; crediting Ellis Memorial Library.