Sweetwater Reporter (Sweetwater, Tex.), Vol. 111, No. 66, Ed. 1 Monday, February 2, 2009 Page: 4 of 10
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Viewpoints
Page 4 ■ Monday, February 2, 2009
Sweetwater Reporter
DEDICATED TO PROUDLY DELIVERING LOCAL NEWS SINCE 1881 j fHE IDLE AMERICAN
Sweetwater
■ ■■" ^ O VV CC L W clLCl l
Keporter
P.O. Box 750/ 112 W. Third
Sweetwater, Texas 79556
325/236-6677
Fax: 325/2354967
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publisher
Danica Hickson
business mgr.
advertising mgr.
Terry Garza
circulation mgr.
Tatiana Rodriguez
managing editor
Pablo Rodriguez
composing mgr.
Bleu Reyes
production mgr.
EDITORIAL POLICY
The editorial section of the newspaper is a forum for expres-
\ sion of a variety of viewpoints. All articles except those labeled
'Editorials” reflect the opinions ot the writers and not those of
the Sweetwater Reporter.
On winning and losing
As news of the day is his Wildcats’ gridiron fury Typically, superior teams’ team were absent when they
processed, we are over- would be fully unleashed. coaches are ignoring major were to receive the runner-up
whelmed by bloated accounts Cash thought about that tenets of sports when margins trophy,
that result in a cacophony of final sentence until late in the of 50 points or so are record- Garrido was apologetic
groans. week. ed. Such coaches, usually then, too.
So, we welcome oddball On Thursday, he phoned without even “reddening up.” Regrettably, he may not
stories that fit per- the Rising Star mentor point to tie-breaker consider- have enough seasons left to
to announce that his ations. When coaches at any dim the memory of this mis-
team would forfeit the level annihilate opponents, deed with the bottle; he 11 be
game. And that’s what thev should have some 70 years of age on Feb. 6.
happened. Cash fig- explainin’ to do to the higher Coaches should be held to
urea that a 1-0 forfei- ups. higher standards than ath-
ture loss in the record As to UT Coach Augie letes in their charge,
books would be Garrido, 1 am saddened, tak- Historically, this has been
preferable to a final ing note of his tearful admis- conventional thinking,
score of 70-0, 80-0 sion of a colossal mistake on Not so in the UT case. An
or whatever, and the DWI charge. With more athlete would have been dealt
might even save some wins and national titles than with far more harshly. In a
broken bones. any other Division 1 baseball world where values, ethics
Tony Dungy, who coach in history, lie’s done and standards are slipping
recently announced many things right. So “right,” southward at a rapid clip,
his retirement as head in the eyes of UT leaders, that educational institutions can
coach of the his salary is nearing $1 mil- and should hold the line.
Indianapolis Colts of the lion annually. Administrators, coaches and
National Football League, is The UT line score in pre- players should re-visit what
as classy as they get. Once season shows no hits, no runs sports should be about,
when his team led by 27 and one VERY big error, These two scenarios call to
points, he directed his quar- maybe more. That he refused mind an oft-repeated remark
terbaek to take a knee four to take a breathalyzer test is by the late father of my friend.
GUEST COLUMN
January school board meeting
T he Highland ISO Board of Trustees met for their regular
monthly meeting on January 21, 2009. Caroline McLane
from the audit firm of Merritt. McLane &
—1 Hamby presented the 2007-08 financial
\ audit report to the board. Highland received
| a “clean” audit for 2007-08. A “clean” audit
means that the district's financial state-
ments, financial position, fund information
and all changes in financial positions wei 1 in
conformity with generally accepted account-
ing principles for governmental entities.
Joe Grimes from Grimes and Associates
I_______ijiia showed the board revised construction
I'm! drawings and timelines for the bond con-
IsUf struction project. Phase 1 of the project,
y »_nn which includes demolition of some old struc-
N6IS0I1 tures on the south part of the campus and
construction of a new Vocational Agriculture
building, is underway. Coe Construction of
Sweetwater is the general contractor for Phase 1. Phase 2 of
the project, which includes demolition of the old Vocational
Agriculture building and old gym, should begin in late
spring. After the demolition, construction of a new gym and
Li<M'oom wing will begin. Pharr & Company from Lubbock
vill be the construction manager for project Phase 2.
2009-10 School Calendar
The HISD school board adopted the 2009-2010 school
calendar at the January' regular board meeting. House Bill 1
from the 79th Legislative Session prohibits districts from
,tailing school earlier than the fourth Monday in August, so
then- is not much difference in between the 2008-09 and
2009-10 calendars. The first day of school for students will
,)e Monday, August 24 and the last day of school will be
Thursday. May 27. The first semester will end on Friday,
1 inber 18. Thanksgiving holidays are November 25-27
d Christmas break is from December 21 through January
Spring Break will be March 15-19. A complete calendar is
. vd on the HISD web site (www.highland.esci4.net) on
the “Downloads” page.
Guy Nelson is the superintendent of Highland IS1).
Comments about this column may be e-mailed to
HtorGesweetwaterreporter.com.
GUEST COLUMN
Start off the new year by
paving your child support
The beginning of a new year is the time for assessing our past and
planning for the future. By' paying child support, you are setting a
good example for your children and helping to
secure their future.
Thank you to those parents who paid their child
support in full and on time throughout 2008. Your
faithfulness provides endless benefits to your chil-
dren. Parents who regularly pay their child support
demonstrate that they' are concerned for their chil-
dren's welfare.
It is common knowledge that child support pay-
ments cover a child’s basic needs, such as lood. shel-
ter. and clothing. However, the benefits extend
beyond the financial security that each payment
provides. Research shows that children of parents
who pay their child support have fewer behavior
problems, make better grades and stay in school
longer than children who do not receive regular support.
Parents who pay child support are also more like to be a constant
presence in their children's lives and take an active role in their
upbringing. Children with two involved, caring parents are more
< < mfident, 1 nore likely to exercise self control and less likely t< > engage
in risky behaviors that result in drug usage and early pregnancies.
For the state fiscal year that ended Aug. 31, this office collected a
record $2.6 billion in child support, topping the previous year's total
by $300 million. 'Ibis important achievement was made possible by
thousands of Texas parents who faithfully pay court-ordered child
support every month without reminders.
For parents who have missed payments, the Attorney General's
(fffice encourages you to renew your commitment in the New Year
to provide for your children and pay your child support. Please show
your children that you care about their welfare by making regular
child support payments throughout '>009.
To help parents collect child support, the Attorney General’s Office
accepts applications from mothers, fathers and other individuals
who request our services. Applications can lx1 obtained by visiting
(bild Support Interactive on tne main Attorney (amoral Web site at
www.texasattomeygeneral.gcA' or by calling our 24-hour voice
res|X)use system at (800) 252-8014. Parents who receive financial
assistance through the Health and Human Services Commission
automatically receive child support services.
T he < Xfice of the Attorney General wishes you and your family all
the best for a healthy and happy 2009!
Greg Abbott is the Texas Attorney General. Comments a bout this
ailumn may be e-mailed to editor&sweetwaterreporter.com.
fectly into the “man
bites dog” category.
We are drawn to
headlines that tease
about goings-on that
are 180 degrees from
the norm.
I sense that you are
nodding, thereby tip-
ping your hand that
you are in the midst
of the masses who
feel the very same
way.
Until recent days,
who would have
thought that proven winners
in the sports wmrld would
dominate headlines in such
unlikely and unbecoming
ways?
Examples include: A).
Covenant School's 100-0 win
over Dallas Academy in a high
school girls' basketball game,
and B). A 1 a.m. traffic arrest
in Austin of one of the
&
Dr. Don
Newbury
also lamentable. A. L. Teaff. “That ain t right,
The courts have yet to Mr. Teaff would fume, “And
decide his fate, but UT leaders it’s wrong besides.”
have announced the tiniest of
....... ..... wrist slaps: he will not coach Dr. Newbtoy is a sfxvher and
nation's most v isible colie- that'rules calling for teams to in the opening four-game uuthnntk’Mctmii’x.Sivilintiuviis
series of the season. andconvnentsto: ncuhnycqx'uk-
Manv fans cut him slack etdocxam . Phone: Hi7-4f7-;#t72.
back iii 2004 when he and his Wii)sile:iimvsptxd(avkxxim
giate coaches.
Covenant and its coach,
Micah Grimes, have parted
ways, and there've been more
red faces than at a down con-
vention. The apology bucket
for overkill has run over, and
Covenant leaders have
offered to forfeit th win
Maybe the scene i n't over,
but the ston ha eantu 0 the
curious a 'am
SmaT a -e
aren’t used to ich piaaiciiy.
Until now, most of their
major media mention occurs
with cold weather listings of
school closings.
One doesn't hear much
anymore about forfeitures,
unless, winning teams are
forced to do so for rule-break-
ing. .When such occurs, a 1-0
forfeiture score is entered in
the record book.
Back in the late 1940’s.
Rising Star, Texas , had a
warhorse football team, run-
ning rampant over all foes.
T'heir next opponent was to
be tiny Pioneer I ligli School.
The late Lawson Cash wore
many hats at Pioneer, includ-
ing assignments as both
superintendent and head
football coach. One Monday
morning, he placed a call to a
friend who was head coach at
Rising Star. They had an ami-
able conversation, but as it
ended, the Rising Star coach
mentioned that despite their
long friendship, come Friday ,
straight times to run out the
clock.
He knew, of course, that
NFL tie-breakers considered
margins of victory, but said
are
embarrass opponents
“lousy rules.”
I couldn’t agree more
Peopec t-iavb ^
WERE
M)V156D SCIENTISTS WOULD
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to AhiSWER
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&UEST LOCOS. V\JH£R£ ARe
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Cartoon submitted by D. I). Buuer
GUEST COLUMN
Stop those checks
Greg
Abbott
This is the Republicans'
big contribution to our eco-
nomic recovery: They want
to make sure that undocu-
mented immigrants
who pay taxes using tax ^
identification numbers W
don't get a cent of their *1
tax money back in the | f
refunds enacted by
Congress. Oh, yes, and
they want rich people
to get tax refunds.
Anything else to con-
tribute?
Republicans, reject-
ing all pretense of
putting country before
party, much less try ing
to participate in the
solution instead of continu-
ing to be the problem, voted
to a person against the eco-
nomic stimulus plan
approved by the House. Last
time 1 tuned in to their rants
against illegal immigrants,
they were stealing jobs from
receive a bigger share of the
tax relief (they already got
the biggest share under the
Bush plan) because, after
_ all, who else is
going to stimulate
^ the economy by
buying designer
shoes and ball
gowns?
This should be a
moment for
Republicans to
look in the mirror
. i
Susan
Estrich
White
and realize they
need to reinvent
themselves.
Having presided
(yes, it was a
Republican in the
......_ House) over the
biggest economic meltdown
in our lifetimes, brought on
bv (I will be honest enough
to admit) the bipartisan
embrace of their hands-
off/deregulation/market-
madness theory of the free
Americans and not paying enterprise system, and then
taxes, thus robbing the U.S
Treasury — even though, for
their tax dollars, they are
excluded from receiving
most benefits the rest of us
can get.
Now the major moan
seems to be that those darn
•immigrants are actually
paying their taxes and,
therefore, like every other
taxpayer, are entitled to a
refund for having paid more
than their share. How dare
they? Then, of course, there
are the familiar rants that
the top 5 percent (which I
assume includes every one
of t lw ranters) should
having responded (yes, they
were still in charge) with a
big government bailout that
conflicted with all those
once cherished tenets, you
might think that at least a
few of the Republicans in
Congress would realize it's
too bite to "just say no," and
that they need a new song
and dance. A tune you can
hum. An approach to the
problem that goes beyond
demanding more for the
wealthy and blaming immi-
grants for the rest.
Apparently not.
Tne country wants bipar-
tisanship, but it's hard to be
bipartisan with people
whose heads are firmly
planted in the sand. All you
can do is walk around them
and wait for them to dig
themselves out. Sooner or
later. Or maybe never.
Democrats, for sure, don't
have all the answers.
Mistakes will be made.
Maybe the Republican theo-
ry is to do nothing so that
anything that does go wrong
won’t be their fault. But
hoping for the worst and
playing the blame game is
precisely the kind of politics
that almost everyone —
regardless of race, age, class
or even political party —
agrees is useless, hopeless
and just plain insulting.
During the Reagan years,
they used to call the
Democrats the party of
"doom and gloom, focused
on what's wrong, or would
go wrong, or had been done
wrong. It is fair to say that it
was not an effective strate-
gy. The 1980s were a waste-
land for the Democratic
Party.
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Better to try and fail than
to sit on your hands. Or
stick your head in the sand.
Or scream about how the
rich should get more and
immigrants should pay
more. If that's the best
Republicans can do, they'll
be stuck in place for quite
some time.
To find out more about
Susan Estrich and read fea-
tures by other Creators
Syndicate writers and car-
toonists, visit the Creators
Syndicate website at
www.ereators.eam.
Correction Policy
Editorial:
As a matter of policy, the
Sweetwater Reporter will
publish corrections of errors
in fact that have been print-
ed in the newspaper.
The corrections will be
made as soon as possible
after the error has been
brought to the attention of
the newspaper’s editor at
236-6677.
Advertising:
Publisher reserves the right
to reject, edit or cancel any
advertising at any time with-
out liability. Publisher's liabil-
ity for error is limited to the
amount paid for advertising.
inilVIWNUI* Al NMvsqNil l»
Swectwatci
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Rodriguez, Tatiana. Sweetwater Reporter (Sweetwater, Tex.), Vol. 111, No. 66, Ed. 1 Monday, February 2, 2009, newspaper, February 2, 2009; Sweetwater, Texas. (https://texashistory.unt.edu/ark:/67531/metapth577274/m1/4/: accessed May 6, 2024), University of North Texas Libraries, The Portal to Texas History, https://texashistory.unt.edu; crediting Sweetwater/Nolan County City-County Library.