Polk County Enterprise (Livingston, Tex.), Vol. 132, No. 39, Ed. 1 Thursday, May 15, 2014 Page: 4 of 42
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Opinions
t£<olk ©©anty Enterprise
Page 4A ■ Thursday, May 15, 2014
Home ownership is for the birds
~W~'m beginning (o think
I homcow niM^hip is
Amenaled
\I\ house is in a
picturesque setting on the
edee o! the eountrvsale
it sits high on a lull,
surrounded In lush green
c rounds anti mam trees \1\
nearest neighbor is a football
heal awa\
I hat's the good new s.
I lie bail new s is that I am
: a bitter battle w ith the
. eaitires that surround im
"opens
I \ er\ evening w hen I get
‘ ome. a robin comes roaring
■ ■it ol the lattice under nn
,uK h mol i cell at the bird
' stat away. but she doesn't
.ojV.tr to iinclet stand cuss
wv'.rds
because e\ei \ night I
pull dt iw n the has and other
nesting materials that female
: * ilru: stiills up there .'and
e . er\ morning she puts
M.oie that amount baek
1 >t s out'se. the n'bins
aie minor considered to
. ime t a the other woes
" h.imeowiierslnp I ha\e
-at iered.
\ tew \ears ago. just
utei nun me back to this
i 'tic and kicking ott
is n renov at ions - I had
anted it out tor 14 \ears
m\ outside lights were
tmuporanb not working.
1 )ne night, m the pitch
Omsk. I was na\ igating ;i
path to im back door, w hen
TOM PURCELL
I was stopped dead in my
tracks b\ tut angry. grunting
creature.
M\ imagination ran wild.
A bear ’A wolf An IKS
agent?
I backpedaled to the
ear and turned on the
high beams. It was a buck
protecting his territory
during rutting season,
apparently He wouldn't let
me pass tor 20 minutes.
I Ime since wired the
house, at some expense, w ith
halogen spotlights that turn
on w hen I arrive home,
I lured an exeax ator. at
greater expense, to clear
trees and shrubbers from
the \ard to hopefully push
the critters further into the
xxoods.
And I armed nix self w ith
a BB gun. a harmless and
effective tool for warning
critters to leave or receive a
little shot to the backside.
But for every challenge I
solve, there are hundreds of
others.
Clever raccoons defeat
almost every method I try to
keep them from popping the
lid of my garbage can and
decorating the yard w ith its
contents.
The fact of the matter is
that owning a home in the
country — heck, owning
a home anywhere — can
be a real hassle and a
great expense. It is not for
everyone.
So may be it's not the
end of the world that U.S.
home-ownership, as of the
last quarter of 2013, was
down to 64.8 percent — the
lowest rate in nearly 20
years. Factor in the people
close to default and that
number is closer to 62
percent.
Compare that to 2004.
when homeownership
peaked at 60 percent -
before the housing collapse
of 2008.
I he fact is. ow ning a
home is not for everyone.
It's a lot of work and a lot of
headaches.
And though it has some
upsides — owning a home
makes one more aware of
the cost of things, such as
taxes, which makes one more
likely to support lower taxes
and more eommonsense
government programs — it
has many downsides.
Consider, according
to a Forbes article by
Kelly Philips, that some
of the world's struggling
economies — Russia. Italy.
Greece and Spain — have
higher homeownership rates
than we do.
Conversely, countries
w ith traditionally strong
economies, such as Germany.
Switzerland and Japan, have
lower homeownership rates
than ours.
In any event. I have bigger
worries right now than
homeownership data.
I have to clean hay out
of my lattice before robin
eggs are laid or I'll get dive-
bombed every time I enter or
exit my house.
€2014 Tom Tun e’ll. Tom
Tun e'll, author of “Misad-
ventures of a 1470’s Child
hood " and “Comical Sense:
A Tone Humorist Takes on
a World Clone Nutty!” is a
Tittshiirgh Tribune Review
humor columnist and is
nationally syndicated exclu-
sively by Cagle Cartoons
Inc. Tor info on using this
column in your publication
or website, contact CariCff
cagle.com or call HOC) 696
756/. Send comments to Tom
at Tim ell@caglecarto<ms.
Letters to the Editor
Standing for truth
I he Book of Judges in the
old testament of God's word
0 a history of Israel after the
death of Joshua to the time
01 its Lot |udge. Samuel.
I he title of Judges is trans-
lated from the Hebrew word
'hopelim and when translat-
ed means "to set things right
and rule?
It is true, my friends, that
God always sets things right
and rules.
\\ herexer Israel became
oppressed by their enemies
due to disobedience, Gcxi
would send a judge to them
who would set things right
and rule.
Please open your Bibles to
the Bix'k of Judges and test
the spirit in order to compare
the truth to our situation
today ! Judges chapter 4 we
lind that Israel had just had
rest for 80 years under the
leadership of the judge Ehud.
"And the children of Israel
again did evil in the sight of
the FORD, when Fluid was
dead." (Judge 4:11 "And the
Ford sold them into the hand
of Jnhin king ol Canaan, that
reigned in Ha/or: the captain
of w hose host was Sisera.
(Judges 4:2) "And Deborah,
a prophetess, the w ife of
l.apidoth. she judged Israel
at this time. (Judges 4:4)
Now Israel had a military
leader at this time by the
name of Barak. "And
Deborah the judge she sent
and called Barak, and said
unto him. hath not the Lord
Gtxl of Israel commanded
saying, go and draw toward
Mount Tabor and take
then K).(KK) of men of the
children of Naphtali and of
the children of Zebulun?"
(Judges 4:6* “And Barak
said unto her. If thou w ilt go
with me. then 1 will go: but
if thou wilt not go with me.
then I will not go." (Judge
4:8
We see that Barak had no
backbone and hid behind
a very brave God-fearing
woman!
Does this sound like a
Barak of today'? Hiding
behind lies and cover-ups!
God's Word promises us
that there is nothing done
m darkness that will not be
brought to light. (Luke 12:3)
Yes. my friends, w hen
there was not a man that
would stand for truth, a
woman set things right and
ruled. Amen.
Always your friend in
Jesus.
Dash Griffin
Bluewater. Texas
Decision upholds
prayer at meetings
Where is the football stadium?
As a graduate of
Livingston High School
when will the football sta-
dium get built? This stadium
was supposed to have been
built over 40 years ago.
We have built schools that
have gymnasiums, more
than one in them. Now it's
time to put the money where
it belongs. We haven't got
the baseball field. Now
tell us what's wrong with
Livingston Independent
School District?
We had elections to raise
taxes to build a stadium.
Even had a family member
on the school board.
Do anyone know what des-
ignated funds mean?
Respectfully
Allie Gilkey
AUSTIN — Governmental
bodies’ right to begin meet-
ings with a prayer — so long
as the prayer does not favor a
particular religious denomi-
nation — was upheld by the
U.S. Supreme Court in a 5-4
decision rendered May 5.
Texas Attorney General
Greg Abbott reacted to the
decision in Town of Greece,
New York v. Galloway et al.
"I am pleased that the U.S.
Supreme Court has once
again upheld the longstand-
ing and constitutionally pro-
tected right of governmental
bodies to begin their meet-
ings with prayer." Abbott
said.
Texas was one of 23 states
that joined in a brief argu-
ing against a circuit court ol
appeals decision declaring
unconstitutional a New York
local governmental body's
tradition of opening its pub-
lic meetings with a prayer.
Safes tax revenue increases
Comptroller Susan Combs
on May 7 said state sales tax
revenue in April was $2.27
billion, up 5.6 percent com-
pared to April 2013.Combs,
who said this marks 40 con-
secutive months of growth
in sales tax collections, will
send cities, counties, transit
systems and special purpose
taxing districts their May
local sales tax allocations
totaling $716 million, up 7.1
percent compared to Max
2013.
In other news. Combs
announced on April 20 the
launch of an online database
detailing public school con-
struction costs since 2007.
The Texas Public Schools
Construction database, found
through the www.texas-
transparency.org, "will help
Texans prepare to vote in the
upcoming local bond elec-
tions. which feature a total of
$6.7 billion of proposed bond
debt on the ballot. 02 percent
of which is proposed by local
school boards,” Combs' of-
fice said.
Drought disaster continues
Gov. Rick Perry on May
0 renewed for 30 days the
Emergency Disaster Procla-
mation he originally issued
on July 5. 2011, certifying
that exceptional drought con-
ditions posed a threat of im-
minent disaster in specified
counties in Texas.
The renewal, which means
"all rules and regulations
that may inhibit or prevent
prompt response to this threat
are suspended for the dura-
tion of the state of disaster,"
applies to 173 of the state’s
254 counties.
Horse [Kitml unit starts
Texas Department of Pub-
lic Safety on April 29 an-
nounced the official start of a
mounted horse patrol unit.
Cynthia Leon, chair of the
Texas Public Safety Com-
mission w hich oversees the
DPS, said "Texas’ majestic
Capitol Complex draws more
than one million guests each
year, in addition to the thou-
sands of state and civilian
workers who report there for
work on any given day. This
new law enforcement capa-
bility throughout the Capitol
Complex will prove to be a
valuable resource in keeping
the public safe.”
TEXAS PFESS ass
Stale * Capital
HIGHLIGHTS
By Gd awing
TEA submits plan to feds
Texas Education Agency
on April 28 announced it
submitted specific details of
a new teacher evaluation and
support system to the U.S.
Department of Education.
Part of Texas’ waiver from
specific provisions of the
federal No Child Left Behind
Act of 2001 depends on the
slate's submitting an alterna-
tive plan for a teacher evalu-
ation and support system.
Texas’ plan w ill be piloted
m as many as 72 school
districts and charters in the
2014-2015 school year.
Education Commissioner
Michael Williams said, “The
Teacher Evaluation and Sup-
port System is designed to
be a more effective evalua-
tive tool to support the most
important adult in Texas
education — the teacher at
the front of every child’s
classroom."
"We have heard from Tex-
as teachers that the current
evaluation system (in place
since 1997) used by 86 per-
cent of our school districts is
outdated and provides little
value in regard to meaningful
professional feedback and
growth." Williams said.
AG's office inwsfigates
Identity thieves reportedly
have posed as employees of
the Texas Attorney General’s
Office to steal the identities
of targeted individuals —
particularly individuals who
have applied for a short-term
loan.
A criminal investigation
has been opened, the Texas
Attorney General's Office,
announced May 5. adding,
"Under no circumstances
does a representative of the
Office of the Attorney Gener-
al solicit pay ments from Tex-
ans to pay off a short-term
loan or grant immediately
— nor does the Attorney
General’s Office issue arrest
warrants for this purpose.
Any person who claims to
be from the Attorney Gen-
eral’s Office and demands
immediate fees to resolve the
resident's short-term debt or
prevent an arrest for that debt
is an imposter."
“CBck It' campaign is srt
Texas Department of
Transportation's 13th annual
"Click It or Ticket” campaign
w ill run May 19 to June I.
In 2013. there were 943
fatalities and 5,383 serious
injuries in Texas resulting
from crashes in which driv-
ers or passengers were not
wearing seat belts, TxDOT
reported.
Motorists who don’t
buckle up in compliance with
state seat belt laws face fines
and court costs up to $200.
Contact your representatives
l -S. Sen. John Corny n:
http://cornyn.senate.gov
517 Hart Office Bldg
Washington. D C. 20510
202/224-2934
FAX: 202-228-2856
I -S. Sen. Ted Cruz:
B40B Dirksen Senate Office Bldg.
Washington, DC 20510
202-224-5922
l —S. Rep. Steve Stockman:
326 Cannon House Office Building
Washington. DC 20515
202-225-1555
Sen. Robert Nichols:
P.O. Box 12068
Austin.TX 78711
512/463-0103
, - or 2915 Atkinson Dr.
Lufkin. TX 75901
936/699-4988
State Rep. James White:
Room E2.508.Capitol Extension
P.O.Box 2910
Austin, TX 78768
512/463-0490
Gov. Rick Perry
512/463-2000
www.govemor.state .tx .us
POLKCOUNTY
ENTERPRISE
M A IN HOLLEY. PUBLISHER
Telephone Number 936-327-4357
(ITS PS 437-340)
hnlercd as Periodical Matter at the F\>sl Office at Ijvingston TX 77351
Newsroom
Greg Peak. Editor
polknews@gmail.com
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circulation@ easttexasnews.com
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enterprise@easttexasnews.com
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Am cm menus reflection upon the character. standing or reputation of any person, firm or
corporation which may appear in this newspaper will he gladly corrected upon being brought
to the attention of the publisher
Opinions expresaed in columns air those of the writer and not necessmilv thuse of this
newspaper Opinitms expressed in edit,mat are those of the Enterprise POSTMASTER:
Periodical postage paid at Livingston. TX. Please send address changes to PO Box 1276.
Livingston. Texas 77351.
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Peak, Greg. Polk County Enterprise (Livingston, Tex.), Vol. 132, No. 39, Ed. 1 Thursday, May 15, 2014, newspaper, May 15, 2014; Livingston, Texas. (https://texashistory.unt.edu/ark:/67531/metapth658239/m1/4/: accessed July 17, 2024), University of North Texas Libraries, The Portal to Texas History, https://texashistory.unt.edu; crediting Livingston Municipal Library.