Today Cedar Hill (Duncanville, Tex.), Vol. 40, No. 19, Ed. 1 Thursday, August 25, 2005 Page: 4 of 20
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V
Page 4 • Cedar Hill Today • Thursday, August 25, 2005
OPINION
‘Assemble in
minutes9? Not
on your life
wP'
IV-
mm
;■ l *
LOYD
BRUMFIELD
News Editor
The
box
promised
“Secure
Easy
Setup.”
HA!
Hello,
box.
Prepare
to meet
your
maker.
I just
bought a
The future of Texas farming
i
KAY BAILEY
HUTCHISON
Special To Today
Texas farming
has a long and rich
history. Since pre-
historic times,
inhabitants have
used a variety of
agricultural meth-
ods to produce the
necessary foods
for survival. Caddo
Indians in East
Texas lived in per-
manent villages
and prepared
fields to cultivate
com, squash and
beans. In West Texas, Pueblo Indians
employed irrigation techniques to success-
fully grow cotton.
The Spanish introduced the grapefruit
to Texas, which was later adopted as the
official fruit of the Lone Star State. After
Mexico won independence from Spain in
1821, the government encouraged settle-
ment in the region north of the Rio
Grande River by offering land grants.
Stephen F. Austin inherited a land grant
from his father, Moses Austin and, togeth-
er with 300 other families from the United
States, helped to settle parts of Central.
East and Southeast Texas.
Before the Civil War, Texas agriculture
primarily consisted of subsistence family
farms typically ranging in size from 120
to 160 acres. With the expansion of the
railroads, Texas farming grew rapidly cre-
ating the opportunity for commercial pro-
duction.
The Morrill Land-Grant College Act in
1862 established the Agricultural and
Mechanical College of Texas, known
today as Texas A&M University, to
advance research in the fields of farming
and ranching.
Despite the devastating setbacks caused
by the Great Depression and the Dust
Bowl, advancements in cultivation, irriga-
tion, crop diversification and equipment
modernization lead to improved agricul-
tural productivity.
Today, groups such as the Texas Farm
Bureau are advocating for the future of
agribusiness in our state. Adding approxi-
mately $40 billion to the state economy
each year, Texas is one of our nation’s
leading farming states.
Numerous organizations such as 4-H
and the Future Farmers of America are
helping to teach Texas' youth the cutting-
edge techniques that will keep Texas on
the forefront of the international agricul-
tural industry.
Recent legislation will also contribute
to the success of Texas’ agricultural indus-
try.
The Central American Free Trade
Agreement, recently passed by Congress
,re
and signed into law on Aug. 2 by
President C?eorge W. Bush, will have a
tremendous impact on the Lone Star State.
Texas is currently the fifth-largest state
See FARMING, Page 5
wireless router and notebook
adapter so I can join the wire-
less revolution. Everything
appears to be up and running
now, but call me tomorrow. I
might very well have a differ-
ent story by then.
Apparently, when you pur-
chase this particular brand of
product, things either work
great right off the bat or you
find yourself on the phone for
six hours with somebody from
NORAD.
For the purposes of this col-
umn, change the word
“NORAD” to “India.”
I know a decent bit about
computers. Not as much as I
should, but enough that I don’t
consider myself a computer
doofus.
After this past weekend,
without a doubt, I am a com-
puter doofus.
But let's broaden that. 1 am
an idiot when it comes to
instructions, and I am not
adjusting well to the new
world of “paperless” instruc-
tion manuals.
I don’t want to call up the
manual on the CD. I don’t
want to download it off the
Internet. I want a book in my
grubby little hands.
What, is the cost of paper
so expensive that we can’t pro-
duce decent instructions any-
more?
And it’s not just computer-
related instructions, either.
Have you put together a book-
shelf lately? You’re lucky if
you get one sheet of paper
with black-and-white render-
ings of the parts and a bunch
of arrows.
Then something like this
happens:
“It says here I need ‘AA’
Have you seen ‘AA’ anywhere?
No, that’s ‘KA.’ I need ‘AA.’
I’m supposed to attach ‘AA’ to
‘XB,’ like any moron knows
how to do. What’s that? Oh,
these are the Russian instruc-
tions?”
Now I know why my father
berates me about once a
decade for not taking wood-
shop in high school. But why
do I need to know how to
make a desk? I can go to the
store and buy a desk. What we
need are courses in high
school that teach us how to put
the desk together once we’ve
bought it.
Now, there's a course I
could’ve wasted an elective on
Many years ago, I bought a
giant, heavy wooden bookshelf
for my apartment and dared to
put it together myself.
What would've taken a real
man about an hour of labor or
so took me eight. Why do you
think I write for a living?
Thankfully, putting book-
shelves together has gotten
easier in recent years, and I’ve
got it down to about an hour or
so of work and a minimum of
See EASY, Page 5
Kuwait visit heartens Marchant
Editor’s note: The following is an
excerpt from the diary Marchant
kept while traveling
j
ki.9
KENNY
MARCHANT
Today we flew into
Kuwait International Airport
after a seven-hour flight from
Shannon, Ireland. From the
airport we ride in a motor-
cade into Kuwait City. At
this point we were given two
hours of much needed rest
before heading to the air
force base.
Special To Today
This is when I first learned of the terrorist
bombings in London. I was shocked and sad-
dened by the events, and even more eager to
meet with the troops and see how they respond-
ed to the latest terrorist attack.
That afternoon we arrived at Air Jan Air
Force Base. It is about one hour south of Kuwait
City. The base is massive: It spans about 50,000
acres across the desert. Air Jan is where all of
the supplies, maintenance, vehicles, food and
troops arrive in Kuwait before entering
Baghdad, and it is occupied by 11,000 person-
It was 111 degrees outside.
We were taken into the war room and briefed
by several generals and colonels on the opera-
tions of the base. One of my first observations
was the presence of hundreds of computers that
were used for surveillance purposes.
The screens watched various places in Iraq,
Afghanistan, roads between Kuwait and
Baghdad, and the base in Kuwait.
They explained the complex process of get-
ting goods, supplies and troops in and out of
Baghdad. Every day 890 loads of gas, food,
water, ammunition, vehicles, tanks, etc., are on
the highway from Kuwait to be used by troops
in Iraq. All vehicles from Iraq are repaired on
the base, and all troops must stay on the base at
least two weeks before entering into duty in
Iraq. We were also shown the garages where
humvees and trucks are armored for battle. I got
to sit in the driver’s seat of one of the huge
Humvees.
The highlight in Kuwait was sharing dinner
with service men and women from Texas on the
See KUWAIT Page 5
mmm FIEND!!
Just Ask
■
* £
where, all you have to do is ask and After all, the old adage still holds
our staff will print your question with true: The only stupid question is the
the answer. one not asked. And if you don’t ask,
Call 972-298-4598, ext. 220 and who will?
leave a message or e-mail Go ahead. Just ask.
manager@todaynewspapers.net
So get those questions coming in.
“Just Ask” is written by a member
of our staff who fields questions from
members of the community ranging
from politics to social etiquette and
from sports to better grooming habits.
If you have a question you can’t
answer, just ask.
If we don’t know the answer, we’ll
research it and print it once we have
gotten to the bottom of your problem.
Need to know the best way to
make Bermuda grass grow? Just ask.
Ever wonder why the city manager
doesn’t vote or why the mayor does?
Just ask.
Are you just dying to know what
ever happened to (fill in the blank)?
Just ask.
Whether your question is specific
to your community or on a general
topic that can benefit anyone any-
YOUR LETTERS
Send letters to Cedar Hill
Today, c/o News Editor Loyd
Brumfield, 1701 N. Hampton, Suite
C, DeSoto, TX, 75115, or P.O. Box
381029, Duncanville TX 75138.
Fax letters to 972-298-6369 or e-
mail them to cedarhill@todaynews
papers.net.
Include a home address and
daytime phone number for verifica-
tion purposes only. Only your name
and hometown will be published.
Letters may be edited For brevi-"
■
Cedar Hill Today Information
Cedar HiU Today Staff
Richard Collins
Publisher
Robin Gooch
Managing Editor
Kim Tatty
Advertising Director
Ron Midkiff
Circulation Coordinator
Loyd Brumfield
News Editor
Betty Bell
Lifestyles Editor
to change advertising and subscription
rates at any time.
Staff Writers
Chris Hudson and David Goodspeed
Deadlines
Classifieds:
Display classified ads — 5 p.m.
Tuesday. Line ads — 5 p.m. Tuesday
Retail Advertising:
5 p.m. Monday; 5 p.m. Friday for
People. Advertising rates may be
secured upon request.
Editorial:
School news—5pm Friday -—
General news — noon Monday
Deadlines are subject to change due to holi-
duys and wdi be pubMiud m advwce.
General Information
Today Cedar Hill is an independent
newspaper published weekly in the interest
of Cedar Hill. Any erroneous reflection
upon die integrity or reputation of any indi-
vidual will be corrected if brought to the
attention of the news editor.
Digests run on a space available basis.
es only.
The content of all letters will be pre-
served within guidelines of clarity, style,
taste, etc. Letters should be of interest to
local readers and should be limited to 300
words. A complete list of editorial policies,
including the submission of guest
columns, is available at the above location.
Call 972-298-4211 for further information
Publication in one newspaper does not
guarantee a letter will be published in any
other town
How to Contact Us
Ixicatfon:
DeSoto Office — 1701 N. Hampton Road,
Subscriptions
Subscription rates - $25 per year in
city, $34 per year elsewhere in Texas All
subscriptions payable m advance and non-
refundabie The publisher reserves the right
Suite C, DeSoto, TSfl?
Phone:972-2984211
Fm: 972-298-6369
E-mail: cedarhil1@todaynewspapers.net
Letter Policy'
The Opinion Page of Today News-
papers is an open forum for all viewpoints
l etters to the editor and guest columns are
encouraged.
Deadline is noon Monday in person at
1701 N. Hampton m DeSoto, or by mail to
RO. Box 381029, Duncanville, TX 75138.
Letters must have an original signa-
ture, with a home address and daytime
telephone number for verification purpos-
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Gooch, Robin. Today Cedar Hill (Duncanville, Tex.), Vol. 40, No. 19, Ed. 1 Thursday, August 25, 2005, newspaper, August 25, 2005; Duncanville, Texas. (https://texashistory.unt.edu/ark:/67531/metapth623448/m1/4/: accessed April 19, 2024), University of North Texas Libraries, The Portal to Texas History, https://texashistory.unt.edu; crediting Zula B. Wylie Memorial Library.