Brownwood Bulletin (Brownwood, Tex.), Vol. 113, No. 260, Ed. 1 Friday, September 20, 2013 Page: 4 of 10
This newspaper is part of the collection entitled: Brownwood Bulletin and was provided to The Portal to Texas History by the Brownwood Public Library.
Extracted Text
The following text was automatically extracted from the image on this page using optical character recognition software:
Friday, September 20, 2013
4 Brownwood Bulletin
You can run but you can't hide, and why would you?
Something is happening in downtown
Brownwood today, and if this is your first
September living here, it might seem rather
eerie.
It’s much like the last hour before stores
close on Christmas Eve. The atmosphere is
one of anticipation. “Something big” is just
around the comer, and the anticipation is
about to fade into activation. Then, activa-
tion turns into realization.
That “something big” is the Brownwood
Reunion Celebration — annual since 2001
— and the intense planning that has been
going on largely behind the scenes will be
set into motion.
Throughout the year, Brownwood and
Early enjoy a series of special events and
activities. Let’s give credit to an energized
citizen base who long ago came to un-
derstand that communities our size can’t
depend on someone else to entertain us. We
have to do that for ourselves. Sometimes
we use one of our chambers of commerce,
and at other times the sponsors are a civic
club or organization. Almost weekly, local
residents can count on something interest-
ing to attend. Then, the third weekend in
September rolls around, and the calendar of
events goes on steroids.
Most communities have a signature event.
Name a city, and these events are probably
one of the first things that come to mind.
Comanche has its Pow-Wow. De Leon has
its Peach and Melon Festival. Cross Plains
has its Robert E. Howard Days. And the list
goes on.
In Brownwood, the sig-
nature event is the Brown-
wood Reunion Celebration,
and most of us “feels
like home” residents will
gladly believe our event up
compares favorably to the
signature events hosted
by cities many times our
size. It’s been that way for
more than a decade now,
and somehow — incredibly
DeaSOfl —planners and volunteers
^ seem to build on the tradi-
tion every succeeding year.
The Reunion features an amazing array
of things to see and do for all ages. One per-
son may not be able to take in everything,
even though you have three days to do it
all. Perhaps you’re not interested in spend-
ing time visiting every single booth, display
and concert. But the landscape is so large,
you’re bound to see dozens of things you’ll
enjoy. Give yourself plenty of time.
I’m a fan of live music, just as I’m a fan of
live theater, but I’ll admit I’m a somewhat
behind the times. Some of the younger
folks I know are huge fans of the headliners
who are scheduled for the Reunion concert
this weekend. The featured performers are
always first-rate acts that command ticket
prices many times more than the cost of
a Reunion concert weekend pass. Some
old-timers, like me, aren’t necessarily as
familiar with the headliners as our younger
friends are, but familiar with them or not,
I’ve never been disappointed with their
music. Don’t dare miss the opening acts,
either. They include local bands that might
surprise you with their excellence.
Speaking of old-timers, the classic car
show that has become a tradition for the
Brownwood Reunion Celebration is always
a treat for me. The range of classic vehicles
that show up for the event is incredible.
And the display of military aircraft is
always a highlight, too. Just watching the
helicopters land on Carnegie and being
wheeled into position for display is a show
in itself.
Preliminary work to transform downtown
Brownwood into the official Brownwood Re-
union Celebration site was set into motion
earlier this week. Still, the biggest changes
to the downtown area are happening today.
I hope you had a chance to drive along
Carnegie yesterday and fix in your mind
the “normal” scene you will find there 51
weekends during the year.
Now, come back downtown to visit the
Reunion this weekend and look at the
drastic changes that have been made. The
transformation that has been accomplished
will be nothing short of amazing.
Find a parking place, and stroll down
Carnegie and neighboring streets, and
absorb everything that’s happening. A list
of activities can be found at www.celebrate-
brownwood.com, as well as in the Brown-
wood Bulletin. Check it carefully, because
you don’t want to hear about something
next week that you missed.
I’m confident I will be just as impressed
this weekend as I have been in previous
years. Hours of planning and the dedi-
cated efforts of some 1,500 volunteers are
required to pull this thing off every Septem-
ber, and they have mastered the process. It
can’t be quick, simple or easy, but none of
that shows when the streets are barricaded
and the activities begin.
On a personal note, this will be the first
time in almost a decade that I will be partic-
ipating in the Brownwood Reunion Celebra-
tion as a “civilian,” or as someone who is
not covering the festivities for the newspa-
per. It will be strange to watch the contes-
tants in the “Hands on a House” event, or
to watch the various parades and concerts,
and not run back to the office to download
photos and video. With so much going on,
covering the Reunion adequately represents
something of an endurance contest by itself
for reporters. But it has always been enjoy-
able, and those duties remain in capable
hands. Only for me, this weekend promises
to be even more fun, and less “work.”
Why is that, you ask? It’s because the
Brownwood Reunion Celebration is about
to begin.
Gene Deason is a former editor of the
Brownwood Bulletin. He may be reached
at news@brownwoodbulletin.com.
STATE IIEWS
DeLay conviction
overturned
A Texas appeals court tossed the
criminal conviction of former U.S. House
Majority Leader Tom DeLay on Thursday,
saying there was insufficient evidence for
a jury in 2010 to have found him guilty of
illegally funneling money to Republican
candidates.
The Texas 3rd Court of Appeals said
prosecutors failed to prove that the mon-
ey being laundered was illegally obtained,
which the court said was required for a
money laundering conviction. Prosecu-
tors alleged that DeLay illegally channeled
$190,000 in corporate donations though
his political action committee and into
Texas legislative races, where corporate
money is barred.
“The fundamental problem with the
State’s case was its failure to prove pro-
ceeds of criminal activity,” the court wrote
in a 2-1 decision.
Justices on the appeals court suggested
that even jurors appeared confused dur-
ing deliberations, based on questions they
asked about whether the charge required
that the money be illegally obtained in the
first place.
DeLay was meeting with religious con-
servatives in Washington when he learned
of the court’s ruling.
“We were all basically on our knees
praying and my lawyer calls and says,
‘You’re a free man,”’ the former Texas
congressman said. “It’s a really happy day
for me and I just thank the Lord for carry-
ing me through all of this.”
State prosecutors said they would ap-
peal to Texas’ highest criminal court.
“We are concerned and disappointed
that two judges substituted their assess-
ment of the facts for that of 12 jurors who
personally heard the testimony of over 40
witnesses over the course of several weeks
and found that the evidence was sufficient
and proved DeLay’s guilt beyond a reason-
able doubt,” the Travis County district
attorney’s office said in a statement.
DeLay was found guilty by a jury in Aus-
tin of money laundering and conspiracy
to commit money laundering. Prosecutors
said the money he funneled to local candi-
dates helped Republicans take control of
the Texas House, enabling them to push
through a DeLay-engineered congressional
redistricting plan that sent more Republi-
cans to Congress in 2004, strengthening
his political power.
The Associated Press
TELL US WHAT YOU THINK
Bulletin readers are encouraged to
voice their opinions and concerns. If
you would like to offer feedback to be
included in the published forum, mail
correspondence to Brownwood Bulletin,
P.O. Box 1189, Brownwood, TX 76804, or
e-mail to news@brownwoodbulletin.com.
Please include a mailing address and
phone number (which will not be pub-
lished) in case you need to be contacted.
The Bulletin reserves the right to edit.
GUNS and
AMMO
“SHOP
OGATA 6fAKS? YEA A,
VME GOT THEM1.
EACKGRDUNP CHECK?
NIAAAHUWA,,,
v
When myths and facts meet for battle
In writing opinion pieces you never know if a
reader is on the same page with you or not. We all
carry some baggage when it comes to things that
are new to us. There are times when apparently the
reader sees what is not there, or gets thrown off
track with one word or a “turn of phase.”
Such experiences make column writing scary and
foreboding as well as exciting and fun. This is espe-
cially true when the reader’s thoughts and opinions
are in someway counter to the writer’s views.
This situation becomes very evident, for all to see,
when the writer’s comments happened to be in the
neighborhood of politics or religion.
Just last week I received a five-page, single-
spaced, and signed letter titled Evolution vs. Cre-
ation. I read the whole thing, though at times it was
not easy without an astrophysics or archeology or
anthropology dictionary.
The reading did bring to mind someone I had not
read in years. It remind me of Stephen Jay Gould.
(Stephen Jay is not related to Chester Gould, the
creator of “Dick Tracy,” nor an old friend of mine
Loyal Gould.)
Stephen Jay Gould, (1941-2002) taught at Harvard
forever and later at New York University. He was
a evolutionary biologist and science historian; the
author of dozens of essays including “The Panda’s
Thumb,” “Hen’s Teeth and Horses’s Toes,” and
“Dinosaur in a Haystack.”
One of Gould’s most delightful works is the 1998
treatise “Leonardo’s Mountain of Clams and the Diet
of Worms.” Without doubt he enjoyed his work.
Some were confused that Gould was anti-reli-
gious. Probably this was due to his stand against the
teaching of creationism. His famous argument was
expressed when he said: “If there is any consistent
enemy of science, it is not religion, but irrational-
ism.”
Over a decade ago the National Academy of Sci-
ences adopted his approach: “Demanding that they
[religion and science] be combined detracts from
the glory of each.”
In recent years renewed interest has been given
over to the theory that is called by various Chris-
tian groups as creationism. Such fun and games
parks based on the creation theory have sprung up
around the country.
There is a state-of-the-art 70,000 square foot
museum near Petersburg, Kentucky, that claims to
bring the pages of the Bible to life. Adam and Eve
live again (as in the Garden of Eden. Children play
and dinosaurs roam near Eden’s Rivers. The serpent
coils cunningly in the Tree of Knowledge of Good
and Evil. All this is just seven miles west of the Cin-
cinnati Airport.
Christian theme parks stress
long-ago Holy Land experiences;
seeing history through the eyes of
Noah, Abraham and first-century-
like characters.
The Kentucky Creation Museum
is a $27 million amusement park
founded by Ken Ham, president of
Answers in Genesis (AiG). Lawrence
Krauss, of Arizona State Univer-
sity has stated publicly that this
museum is both a “fraud” and
“hypocritical.” Krause felt children
should not be exposed to myths as
facts.
Ham’s exhibits contain numer-
ous displays of dinosaurs coexist-
ing with humans. This in spite of
overwhelming evidence that dinosaurs died out
millions of years before there were human beings.
Creationist believers say dinosaurs are mentioned
in the Bible. (Twice in Job, chapters 40 and 41, using
other names.) These are not to be confused with the
dragons mentioned in the book of Revelations.
The whole playground is based on a very literal-
ist interpretation of the Bible rather than scientific
knowledge or better biblical interpretation. These
huge dinosaurs somehow got on Noah’s Ark.
Gould argued that science and religion should
not be used to try to explain each other, they are
“distinct from each other; non-overlapping dis-
ciplines that shouldn’t be used to try to explain
aspects of the other.”
In Gould’s “Evolution as Fact and Theory,” mod-
em creationists have a false understanding of the
word “theory.” He points out that in the American
vernacular, “theory” often means “imperfect fact.”
However “fact” does not mean “absolute certainty.”
Both evolutionists and creationist have theories.
When tmth and myth meet in battle, tmth backed
up with facts, rather than nursery rhymes or biblical
myths, wins. The idea is not to suppress or quench
the spirit of the opposite. Without such rationality
we end up with what George Orwell called “new-
speak.”
Britt Towery is a former missionary, freelance
writer and published author of “Carey Daniel’s
China Jewell, story of the Gal from Buffalo Gap.”
His columns are published in the Bulletin on
Fridays. He welcomes reader feedback at bet@
suddenlink.net. Other columns are available on
his Web site, www.britt-towery.blogspot.com.
Along the
way
Britt Towery
OTHER VI >WS
Texas and feds clash
over health care
‘navigators’
Federal health officials
have accused Texas of
throwing up more ob-
stacles to the rollout of
health care reform in the
state.
Gov. Rick Perry sent a
letter this week to state
Insurance Commissioner
Julia Rathgeber saying
the state must protect
Texans by adopting
stricter regulations than
the federal government
requires for so-called
“navigators.” Navigators
are trained outreach
people who will help
people sign up for the
upcoming health insur-
ance marketplace.
The U.S. Department of
Health and Human Ser-
vices responded Wednes-
day that it was a “blatant
attempt to add cumber-
some requirements.”
A quarter of Texans
are uninsured, the high-
est rate in the country.
Texas has refused to
set up a private insur-
ance marketplace under
the Affordable Care
Act, forcing the federal
government to do it for
the state.
Perry has been openly
hostile to the reform, but
a spokesman defended
the governor’s latest
move as “common-sense
safeguards to ensure
navigators who collect
the private information
of Texans are trained and
competent in what they
are doing and that there
is a system of account-
ability in place to protect
that information.”
In Perry’s letter to
Rathgeber, he said
tighter restrictions were
necessary because, “U.S.
Department of Health
and Human Services
has repeatedly delayed
explaining how its navi-
gators were going to be
created, how they were
going to operate, and
how they were going to
be regulated.”
Among policies Perry
wants implemented are
requiring navigators to
complete 40 hours of
training in addition to
their federal instruction
and making them pass
a test on privacy protec-
tions.
The Houston Chronicle
(USPS 068-040)
The Brownwood Bulletin is
published daily every Tuesday
through Sunday morning by
Brownwood Newspapers, Inc., at
700 Carnegie, Brownwood, Texas
Jerry Pye:
Jeri Norris:
Karen Wade:
Derrick Stuckly:
Kevin Holamon:
Marty Baker:
John Reyes:
Wesley Davis:
wood, Texas.
Fax: (325) 646-6835
Publisher
Advertising Sales Director Qn ^
Business Manager www.brownwoodtx.com
Editor
Circulation Manager E-mail"
Mailroom news@brownwoodbulletin.com
Pre-press Manager
Press Room
76801. Mail correspondence to
Brownwood Bulletin, P.O. Box
1189, Brownwood, Texas 76804.
The newspaper is a member of
the Associated Press.
POSTMASTER: Send change of
address notice to the Brownwood
Bulletin, P.O. Box 1189, Brown-
wood, Texas 76804. Periodicals
Class postage paid at Brown-
BR0WNW00D
700 Carnegie Street
Brownwood, TX 76801
Phone: (325) 646-2541
Subscription service
To have the newspaper delivered
to your address, or to make a
change in service, please call the
circulation department between 8
a.m. and 5 p.m. Monday through
Friday toll-free at (325) 646-2541.
If you fail to receive your news-
paper, please call (325) 646-2541
before 8:30 a.m. Tuesday through
Friday, and before 10 a.m. Satur-
day and Sunday.
Viewpoint Page
Our Viewpoint page is a public
forum. We encourage letters or
guest columns from our readers.
All submissions must be signed
and include sender’s address
and telephone number. The Bul-
letin reserves the right to edit for
grammar or style. Please limit
letters to 400 words. One letter
per writer per month please.
Corrections
The Bulletin will gladly correct
any error or clarify any statement
published. Please call 646-2541.
Upcoming Pages
Here’s what’s next.
Search Inside
This issue can be searched. Note: Results may vary based on the legibility of text within the document.
Tools / Downloads
Get a copy of this page or view the extracted text.
Citing and Sharing
Basic information for referencing this web page. We also provide extended guidance on usage rights, references, copying or embedding.
Reference the current page of this Newspaper.
Stuckly, Derrick. Brownwood Bulletin (Brownwood, Tex.), Vol. 113, No. 260, Ed. 1 Friday, September 20, 2013, newspaper, September 20, 2013; Brownwood, Texas. (https://texashistory.unt.edu/ark:/67531/metapth740324/m1/4/?q=1980.005.121: accessed July 17, 2024), University of North Texas Libraries, The Portal to Texas History, https://texashistory.unt.edu; crediting Brownwood Public Library.