The Monitor (Mabank, Tex.), Vol. 39, No. 58, Ed. 1 Sunday, March 3, 2013 Page: 2 of 20
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Page 2A • The Monitor - Sunday, March 3, 2013
Elected Officials
FEDERAL
U.S. President
Barack Obama
The White House
Washington, D.C.
20500 '
202-456-1111
Vice President
Joe Biden
The White House
West Wing
Washington, D.C.
20500 '
202-456-1111
U.S. Senator
John Cornyn
Room C5, Russell
Washington, D.C.
20510 '
202-224-2934
U.S. Senator
Ted Cruz
B40B Dirksen
Senate Office Building
Washington, D.C.
20510 '
202-224-5922
U.S. Congress
Ralph Hall
Room 2236, Rayburn
Washington, D.C.
20515
202-225-6673
U.S. Congress
Jeb Hensarling
2228 Rayburn H.O.B.
Washington, D.C.
20515
202-225-3484
STATE
Governor
Rick Perry
State Capitol
Room 2S.1
Austin, TX 78701
512-463-2000
Fax 512-463-1849
Lt. Governor
David Dewhurst
Capitol Station
PO Box 12068
Austin, TX 78711
512-463-0001
State Senator
Bob Deuell, Dist. 2
Kaufman, Van Zandt
Counties
PO Box 12068
Austin, TX 78711
512-463-0102
State Senator
Robert Nichols, Dist. 3
Henderson County
PO Box 12068
Austin, TX 78711
512-463-0103
Representative
Lance Gooden, Dist. 4
Kaufman and
Henderson Counties
Room E 1.324
PO Box 2910
Austin, TX 78701
(512) 463-0458
Representative
Jim Pitts, Dist. 10
Henderson and Ellis
Counties
Room 1W.02
PO Box 2910
Austin, TX 78768
COUNTY
Henderson
Countv Judge
Richard Sanders
100 E. Tyler
Courthouse St. 102
Athens, TX 75751
903-675-6120
Commissioners
Pet. 1: Scotty Thomas
903-489-1665
Pet. 2: Wade
McKinney
903-425-2611
Justices of Peace
Pet. 2: Dale Blaylock
903-432-4334
Pet. 5: Tommy Barnett
903-489-0474
District Attorney
Scott McKee
903-675-6100
Kaufman
Countv Judge
Bruce Wood
County Courthouse
Kaufman, TX 75142
972-524-2733
Commissioners
Pet. 1: Jimmy Vrzalik
972-932-4331
Pet. 4: Tom Manning
903-887-8538
Justices of Peace
Pet. 1: Johnny Perry
972-932-9747
Pet. 4: Johnny Adams
903-498-8759
District Attorney
Mike McLelland
214-236-1616
_The Monitor_
Views & Opinions
Visit The Monitor Online At www.themonitor.net
How to plant a pasture
Agriview
By Rick Hirsch
HC Extension Agent
ATHEN S-Establish-
ment of a grass is an im-
portant and critical phase
of any pasture plan. A
good pasture program in-
corporates many activities
such as weed control, fer-
tility and management to
reach the desired forage
production.
Because of the invest-
ment in money and time, to
say nothing of the worry
involved, grassland estab-
lishment should be a well
planned phase of a pasture
program. A step-by-step
plan of acti on can make the
difference between a pro-
ductive stand of grass or
another year of waiting.
A well prepared seed
bed will help obtain fast
germination, a uniform
stand and insure seedling
survival. To obtain best re-
sults, the seed bed should
be smooth and firm with
moisture throughout the soil
profile. Obtaining this type
of seed bed takes time
and effort.
As little disturbance of
the soil as possible is best
near planting time to con-
serve soil moisture and re-
tain the settled seed bed.
If the soil is loose or cloddy
near planting, roll with a
roller or cultipacker to firm
the soil and crush clods.
Lime, if needed, should
be applied before seed
bed preparation so that it
can be worked in the soil
profile. It is important to
adjust the soil pH before
establishing a permanent
pasture. Once the pasture
becomes established it is
difficult to adjust the sub-
soil pH. Lime can be ap-
plied to the soil surface but
it moves very slowly down
the soil so it should be
disked in. Use fine grind
lime.
Phosphorus and potas-
sium also need to be ap-
plied during seed bed
preparation so that they
can be worked into the soil.
These elements do not
leach very readily and can
be applied early. Nitrogen
fertilizer should be applied
in the spring after the grass
has germinated. Early ap-
plications of nitrogen cause
a greater weed problem.
Determine the variety of
grass you want to plant,
and find a source of seeds
or sprigs. Target a plant-
ing time, seeding or sprig-
ging rate and the best
method of planting for the
variety of grass you want
to plant. Done well ahead
of time, this will eliminate
bottle necks.
Use good quality sprigs
that are dug from a weed
free field and are free of
Bahia or common Ber-
muda grass. Utilize sprigs
from an area that contains
only the variety you are
planting.
Bermuda grass should
be sprigged at a rate of 40
bushels per acre. This will
provide a good stand the
first year. A lower rate of
seeding may not com-
pletely cover the ground
the first year. A higher
sprigging rate will give a
faster rate of coverage.
Most bermudagrass are
reproduced by vegetative
transplants. It is most im-
portant to remember that
these sprigs, may be either
stolens, rhizones or roots,
and are living tissue of the
parent plant that have
been removed from their
normal environment. In the
transplanting process,
these vegetative sprigs are
separated from the parent
plant and put down in a
new environment. This is a
shock to the transplanted
plant.
For this reason, the ut-
most care should be given
the sprigs in the transplant
process. Sprigs should be
protected from drying out
which would, in effect, kill
them. It naturally follows
that heat and wind are the
two drying agents to natu-
rally control. Keep the
sprigs as moist as possible.
Water them down and put
a tarpaulin over them to
protect from sun and
wind. Do not use sprigs
that have been out of the
ground for several days
unless they have been ad-
equately protected from
drying.
When planting Bermuda
grass it is best to use a
machine that is designed to
open a furrow, drop the
sprig in, cover it properly
and firm the soil down
By Stephen Gent
Owner McDade’s Nursery
TOOL-Spring is in the
air. Already in early March
we are seeing new life on
trees and shrubs as they
start to show green buds
and blossoms. It’s an en-
joyable time of year to be
working in the garden.
Here are some pointers on
keeping your garden look-
ing its very best.
If you haven’t spread a
pre-emergent on your
lawn, do so as soon as
possible. With the unusu-
ally warm winter, weed
seeds like crab grass are
beginning to sprout. Pre-
emergents stop the germi-
nation of weeds that in-
vade lawns during the
spring and summer. A
simple treatment of your
lawn will save you the time,
money and headache of
weeding later. If you use
organics, spreadable com
gluten is recommended as
a pre-emergent. Com glu-
ten is safe for kids, pets
and the environment.
Fertilizing your lawn in
March will help bring the
grass out of dormancy and
boost the growth of new
shoots and green up the
grass quickly. Abalanced
slow-release fertilizer for-
mulated for this part of
East Texas is recom-
mended.
March is a great time to
plant a vegetable garden.
There is nothing better than
tasting a fresh tomato
picked directly from the
vine, sliced and sprinkled
with salt and pepper!
Growing vegetables is
easy, fun, economical and
healthy.
Tomatoes and peppers
can be planted outside
when the threat of ftost has
around the sprig. There are
planting machines designed
to do this and some are
equipped to add a light
“starter” fertilizer in the
process. Many producers
will broadcast sprigs and
fertilizer on the ground and
disk them in. Sprigs left on
top of the soil will dry out
and die.
After the sprigs have
been planted, it is highly
desirable to firm the sprigs
and soil together by means
of some type of roller. This
roller operation puts the
sprigs into good contact
with the soil, conserves
moisture and presses out
small air pockets into the
soil.
Private applicator
training and testing
Area agricultural pro-
ducers will have the op-
portunity to complete
training and testing to meet
Plant v///\ See Page 6A
past. The last average
freeze date for the Cedar
Creek Lake and surround-
ing area is March 15.
However, if temperatures
drop close to 32 degrees,
it’s best to protect them by
covering with a ground
cloth.
Snap beans, lima beans,
cantaloupe, com, cucum-
bers, mustard and water-
melon can be planted from
seed after the middle of
March while eggplant,
okra, peppers, pumpkins
and squash are best
planted later in the month.
If you have a greenhouse
or a warm indoor room or
patio you can start them
earlier.
Prepare your flower
beds by applying a thick
layer of compost. Decom-
posed organic matter im-
proves the soil structure,
helps keep moisture in the
ground and provides im-
portant nutrients to sup-
port healthy plant growth.
Apply a layer of compost
on top of your beds and
till or dig it up to a depth
of five to six inches.
Always remember to
use mulch in your garden.
Two to three inches of
mulch helps prevent
weeds, regulates the tem-
perature of the soil and
prevents the evaporation
of water, saving money on
your water bill. If insects
are a concern, try using a
cedar or cypress mulch
that acts as natural repel-
lants.
By working your yard in
March, you will get a head
start on gardening for the
rest of the year. Your
plants will also like it and
reward you with big
blooms and a healthy har-
vest.
Happy gardening.
Escapades of Emily
Planes, trains, buses... no way
Woe is me. When we were teaching
the older grandchildren to drive, so they
could get their licenses, the girls were far
more interested than the boys.
We were generous with gas money
and lending our
family car for spe-
cial occasions. In
return, we hinted
these same chil-
dren would one
day chauffeur us
somewhere afar,
when driving was
too much for us.
Tain’t going to
happen. Jobs, college, speeding prob-
lems, love relationships prohibit us from
synchronizing atrip somewhere special.
Five more children need to learn to drive,
and I don’t think we’ll be the instmetors.
Yes, we could take tour buses but I
have a tendency for motion sickness,
which I’ve finally outgrown, but can pop
up anytime.
Ship trips, besides being expensive,
make claustrophobia sufferers worse un-
less the coast can be seen. That would
mean an Alaskan cruise, maybe. We’ve
driven to this next-to-last frontier on the
one nice highway that enters Alaska
through Wok. That has tempted us for
the cruise. But we’d have to drive to the
norther part of Washington to board ship
because I won’t fly. Everyone in the fam-
ily flies but me. I’m not much fun.
This became evident in childhood as
I rode in the back seat and threw up down
the driver’s shirt, my dad. A place in the
front seat would have helped, but I don’t
think Mama would’ve moved. Sleep was
a good alternative, but my Bubba had to
have his half of the back seat or it could
get ugly. Also, clues were everywhere if
I rode something moving at the state fair.
Even visiting the crooked house with mir-
rors made me stumble to level ground at
top speed.
At the Casa Manana Theater in Fort
Worth as a high school teacher on a field
trip, I looked overhead at those odd
ceiling tiles, ran to the rest room, lost
everything I’d ever eaten, and lay on
the floor for an hour.
I can’t ride the sky gondolas in the
mountains. And as a newly wed, we
were going to go down into a famous
cave, first in line. At the bottom, I looked
ahead at darkness and behind me at
crowds of tourists and fought my way
to the top and ftesh air, the outside kind.
My husband stayed and told me all
about the tour. I’ve never driven fast or
wanted to outrace anything.
That leaves Amtrak. One daughter
had gone this way a few times and told
me the bad; thus my trip would most
likely be short. Activities also on my
negative list include scuba diving, moun-
tain climbing, diving from high places.
It took years for me to go far up in
elevators, and I still fear these moving
closets. As I’ve mentioned before, the
three children and I accompanied Dad
to a summer convention in San Fran-
cisco, most expenses paid. The first
night we stopped at the fancy hotel then,
the Royal Francis or something similar.
We were placed on the 14th floor with
ahanging elevator, with three glass sides,
to take us up. No way. I grabbed the
youngest by the hand, said I was saving
one child for posterity, and we began
to climb the emergency stairway. The
child was three. Every one else happily
rode the sliding glass room. The next
day, my husband explained to the desk
clerks I was sick. We drove to Oak-
land to stay at a Motel 6.
That fear has evaporated, and I
could always ride the escalator.
To my credit, as a younger adult, I
snow-skied and water-skied even on
one board, and swam until Dodd’s Lake
went dry.
But my dad painted the TP & L
smokestacks twice, those three tall land-
marks. Something is very wrong with
me.
Columnist
E. Gail Lundy
March gardening tips
The Monitor
News 8- Information for Cedar Creek Lake
Established as Tri-County News • 1974
The Monitor
Susan Harrison General Manager
Editorial
Pearl Cantrell Managing Editor
Sam Epps Sports Editor
Barbara Gartman Staff Reporter
Robyn Wheeler Staff Reporter
Erik Walsh Staff Reporter
Lace Donaghe Stringer
Opal Toney Columnist
Katherine Veno Columnist
Gail Lundy Columnist
Kim Vincent Composition
Advertising
Janice Grubbs Advertising Sales
Karla Dunson Advertising Sales
Linda Holt Graphic Artist
Office
Keron Walker Accounting
Kathryn Conner Accounting
Sue Mills Office Sales
Martha Macomber Office Sales
Distribution
Audrey Hernandez Driver
Ronny Andrews Driver
Evelyn Gordon Distribution
Lynn Dyba Distribution
Chris Pryor Distribution
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Cantrell, Pearl. The Monitor (Mabank, Tex.), Vol. 39, No. 58, Ed. 1 Sunday, March 3, 2013, newspaper, March 3, 2013; Mabank, Texas. (https://texashistory.unt.edu/ark:/67531/metapth627399/m1/2/: accessed May 6, 2024), University of North Texas Libraries, The Portal to Texas History, https://texashistory.unt.edu; .