Polk County Enterprise (Livingston, Tex.), Vol. 112, No. 57, Ed. 1 Sunday, July 17, 1994 Page: 4 of 24
This newspaper is part of the collection entitled: Polk County Newspapers and was provided to The Portal to Texas History by the Livingston Municipal Library.
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&
EDITORIAL
PAGE 4A
THE POLK COUNTY ENTERPRISE
SUNDAY, JULY 17,1994
Letters
July 4th help appreciated
To the editor:
I would like to lake this op-
portunity to publicly thank all of
the people who had a pvt in the
success of the 1994 Fourth of
July fireworks display held at
the Trinity River Bridge on U.S.
190 this year.
First of all, I want to thank all
of the individuals and local
businesses who made the
fireworks posable by their
donations. Also, a special thanks
to Commissioner Bobby Smith
and the Onalaska Fire Depart-
ment for the excellent job they
did in firing the fireworks dis-
play; Folk County Sheriff Billy
Ray Nelson, all of his deputies,
the Texas Department of Fublic
Safety troopers, Onalaska Police
Chief Pun Black and his of-
ficers; and the law enforcement
officers from San Jacinto Coun-
ty. All did a tremendous job of
keeping the crowd and traffic
under control.
Last, but certainly not least, I
want to thank all of the members
of the Lake Livingston Area
Fireworks Association, Inc., for
all then hard work in planning
and collecting funds to make
this event possible each year.
Don Boyett, president
Lake Livingston Area
Fireworks Association, Inc.
P.O. Box 2329
Onalaska
To the editor:
Yes, Mr. Vail, there definitely
are people that can’t believe that
some will serve without having
an ulterior motive. I know. I am
one of those people.
Not that I do not believe that
some actually do, but those per-
sons that fail to gain something
other than satisfaction usually
serve one or two terms and then
let others have the opportunity
to serve.
Please, understand. I am not
saying that whatever is gained
must be monetary. There are
other things to be gained, among
which could, repeat could, be
the trading of favors.
And never discount those that
just plain enjoy puffing out their
chests and saying, "I am a mem-
ber of the school board and
you’re not!" (or appraisal dis-
trict board or city council).
No. Mr. Vail, your letter just
adds to my belief. In your tint
letter you stated, "I have newer
received one dime in pay from
the taxpayers of the county,
school district or City of Onalas-
ka.“
In your latest letter you admit
to receiving "26 cents per mile”
on each of two trips to Austin
far school board related business
and one trip there for the PC AD.
A trip to Austin is roughly 400
miles round trip. Multiply that
by 26 cents and it domes to $104
per trip. In a vehicle that only
gets 10 miles to the gallon it
would be approximately 40 gal-
lons of gas. At a coat of $1.10
per gallon, each trip would have
only coat $44.
Three trips at $104 each
comes to $312 in travel pay at a
coat of only $132 for the travel.
t from the S3T2 and
it will leave a profit of $180.
Not bad!
You stated that an trips to
Huntsville, Bryan and Beaumont
you paid your own gas and did
not stay overnight. I can only as-
sume from that statement that on
the trips to Austin that you did
stay overnight At your own ex-
pense? I doubt it And how
many nights per trip, at what
cost per night?
If a person were doing the job
out of the goodness of their own
heart, it seems to me that they
would have accepted no more
than the actual expense incurred.
Oh, I know it would be easy to
say "that is the way the system
is set up, and everyone else does
it," bat that never excuses
more than
they are entitled to.
All of which causes me to in-
sert another explanation. It is not
the people that I am at odds
with, it is the system. It needs
either changing or doing away
with, for it b much too cosdy to
keep in is I
As to the bit about having
I
Em
meat that I did nc
sr~2
is.
the day or the hour? If they are
paid by the hour and they are
there all day, that is one thing.
If, however, they are paid by the
day and sometimes they are
there for only one or two hours,
it because something entirely
different.
Your detailing of expenses
sounds as though you consider
your travel pay as a "piddling"
little amount If so, you must be
rather comfortable with your in-
come.... When it comes to soak-
ing people with taxes... the ones
that get hurt the worse are the
ones that can least afford it
I speak of the low income
people, old people on retirement
incomes, the poor and those that
have no choice but to pay up or
lose their homes. You "try to
represent conservatives, liberals.
Democrats and Republicans.”
All of those labels have been af-
fixed to the politically oriented.
Perhaps you should try to
represent those that I have just
mentioned instead.
As far as my serving on some
of these boards, etc. It seems
that I never did "learn to play
ball with city hall." Accepting a
policy that a person does not
believe in, in order to com-
promise, is really no com-
promise at all, just selling out to
the highest bidder or most pres-
sure....
As you may have noticed, I
am a bit loo outspoken for most
people....
The odd thing is that through
all of this sniping, no one has
yet come forward to explain one
of the main things I have been
trying to find -out from the
beginning. And that is the mysti-
cal, magical, elusive formula for
figuring the "fair" market value
of property. Could it be that no
one really knows, they just grab
a wild figure out of the air that
they feel the property owner
might be able to pay for a year
or two?
It really is something that
everyone should spend a bit of
time pondering over.
Homer L. Beaty
Box 1716
Livingston
(Most appraisal, computer-
assisted techniques are used to
determined appraised value, ac-
cording to the appraisal district.
There is a formula, but factors
vary in individual cases. Basi-
cally, an appraiser determines
the replacement cost of each
house, minus depreciation.
There an about 20 classes of
houses, with each class con-
taining two or three subclasses
- so a house can be placed in
one of about 00 value clas-
sifications. Land value is deter-
mined by using comparable
market sales in the area, sub-
division or comparable subdivi-
sion. A taxpayer has 30 days af-
ter receiving notification of ap-
praised value to get questions
tries. If not satisfied, they can
appeal to the appraised review
board for a "quest-judicial"
hearing which takes the matter
out of the appraisal district’s
hands. As far as payment It
ben are paid $100 a day for a
fnB day or $50 for a half day.
the editor
Wild times in Wild Country
To the editor:
The problem of theft and
burglary in the Wild Country
subdivision has grown to
proportions of almost taking the
law into your own hands.
Although residents and law
enforcement personnel know
who the perpetrators are, it
seems nothing can be done un-
less they are caught red-handed.
And by that time some innocent
homeowner could be harmed or
the intruder shot.
License plates have been re-
corded, descriptions given and
fingerprints taken. How much
more information is required?
We read about Crime Stop-
pers and how rewards are given
for information. Knowing my
family will be protected is
reward enough for this con-
cerned parent.
Laura Munson
P.O. Box 213
Livingston
Thieves taking toll on family
'Sniping' continues but no answer
To the editor:
Our families have been torn
over recent events here in Polk
County, which are difficult to
believe. My father, Melvin
James Richards, and my hus-
band’s parents, Thomas H.
Brogden Sr. and Mary Brogden,
are buried in the Holhausen-
Darby Cemetery on FM 350.
This is a very beautiful old
cemetery and our parents chose
to be buried there, as have many
others of us in the families.
Every holiday since my
mother-in-law’s death 11 years
ago, family members have
placed either a standing arrange-
ment or other flowers on her
grave. This is now also done for
their dad, who died this past
February. I have placed
numerous arrangements on my
own father’s grave. On Mother’s
Day this past year, family mem-
bers all contributed and a beauti-
ful standing arrangement was
placed on my mother-in-law’s
grave. When family members
went back a week or so before
Father’s Day to place one on my
father-in-law’s grave, their
mother’s arrangement was gone.
Most of the family members
were out of town Father’s Day,
so upon their return they went
out to the cemetery and the ar-
rangement placed on their
father’s grave was also gone.
They spoke to the caretaker
and were advised that the
caretaker does not ever remove
flowers from the graves, but
leaves that to the individual
families. He staled that local
florists come to the graveyards
and remove arrangements to re-
use, especially when it’s some-
thing unique - like the crosses
placed on my inlaws’ graves. He
said they also take the standing
arrangements because they can
re-use the stands. He stated that
after a funeral, local florists
have been known to come in and
take the fresh flowers left on the
graves to use again.
This is the most appalling
thing I have ever heard of! I just
took it for granted when the
wreaths my daughter made for
my loved ones’ graves disap-
peared that it was because they
had faded out and the cemetery
didn’t want them there. I had
returned to remove them so that
we could re-use the stands and
not have to buy more. To me
this is just as bad -- and in some
ways even worse - than the
desecration of the graveyards.
The families spend considerable
sums of money yearly to pur-
chase flowers for the graves of
loved ones and no one has the
right to steal them.
I wish that it was possible to
have someone watch the various
cemeteries 24 hours a day to see
if what we are told is really hap-
pening. If someone - no matter
who it is - is taking flowers
from graves, they are stealing
and they should be punished like
any other criminal.
Alice Richards Brogden,
Thomas H. Brogden Jr.,
Bobby Brogden,
Sandra Brogden Foster,
Glenda Brogden Key,
Donny Brogden
P.O. Box 21
Leggett
DO YOU HAVE AN OPINION ?
The Polk County Enterprise
encourages readers to submit
letters expressing their views
The letters will be published
in the Enterprise's "Letters to
the editor' column on Thursday
or Sunday.
The letters may he written
on any subject of issue of
Letters must be accompainied
by a name and mailing address
and will be subject to editing for
grammar, punctuation, spelling
id length.
Letters must include a
letters brief and to the point
Each letter should contain no
more than 650 words. Letters
exceeding that length win be
subject to editing or withheld
from publication.
Letters will also be subject to
editing for libelous statements
and commercialism.
This column b not meant as a
forum for political candidates,
although we welcome comments
from the public concerning
campaign issues. During election
campaigns we will not allow
mention of specific local
candidates.
Letters may be submitted in
person or can be mailed to
"Letters to the editor," Polk
County Enterprise, P.O. Box
1276, Livingston, TX 77351.
imL
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Tho Ready Texans!
or your local American Red Cress offle*.
*11
War on the West
By JACK ANDERSON
and MICHAEL BINSTEIN
WASHINGTON - Interior
Secretary Bruce Babbitt — whose
reading list typically includes
scientific tomes on salmon spawn-
ing — has been plowing through a
history of his predecessors bor-
rowed from his agency’s library.
What he’s gleaned so far makes
him wonder if he’s not, politically
speaking, a threatened species him-
self.
At least two of his predecessors
at Interior have suffered nervous
breakdowns on the job — one ap-
pearing at the White House gate at
night, clad only in pajamas,
demanding that the president accept
his resignation on the spot. Now
Babbitt is under fire from certain
quarters for promising a "brand
new era in land management”
Babbitt insists that he hasn’t
reached his breaking point. "I love
it, and I ain’t gonna quit,” Babbitt
told us. "This department has been
in the crossfire — ever since the
day it was established — between
the forces who wanted to seize the
public land base and exploit it and
the (conservationists)."
Babbitt stands accused by his
political opponents of waging a
"war on the West" — a hysterical
charje manufactured by
Republicans and special interests
seeking to preserve government
sweetheart deals for miners, ranch-
ers and loggers. His friends in the
environmental community aren’t
much better.
"The game around here, as
Woody Hayes used to say, is three
yards and a cloud of dust," Babbitt
says of the constant struggle be-
tween business and environmental
interests. ’’The Sierra club crowd
was saying, ‘He’s going to suit up
and throw a long pass into the end
zone every time he gets on the
field.’ I know better."
The West promises to be the key
battleground in this November's
elections, and could be the deciding
factor in the Republicans’ bid to
take over the Senate. So far. Bab-
bitt hasn’t made many friends from
either party out West.
This will prove especially true as
the battle heats up over the renewal
of the Endangered Species Act —
which Babbitt calls his top priority.
The ESA is currently the target of a
well-funded campaign by timber,
mining, ranching and development
interest who are lobbying Congress
and the administration to water it
down or scuttle it altogether.
Their pleas ignore the fact that
the landmark 1973 legislation —
once called the "crown jewel" of
environmental protections — has
delivered as advertised. Evidence
of that came just recently, when
Babbitt was able to remove the
once-critically endangered bald
eagle from protection under the act
SPECIAL DELIVERY — Sen.
Wendell Ford, D-Ky., has given
new meaning to the phrase "over-
night delivery."
United Parcel Service recently
told Ford that it absolutely, posi-
tively needed a legislative favor to
keep pace with rival Federal Ex-
press. Ford — the wily, old deal-
maker — delivered.
Just before midnight on June 16,
Ford tacked a trucking provision
onto an airport bill. Critics say
Ford’s efforts will lead to a
windfall for large companies like
UPS and FedEx at the expense of
small firms.
The late-night voice vote on the
provision was the last in a series of
favors Ford undertook for UPS,
whose PAC has given more than $1
million to members of Congress
this year — more than any other
corporate PAC in America.
The favor —which eliminates a
state’s right to regulate trucks
travelling between two points in a
single state — is seen as a blow to
smaller companies who would soon
be unable to compete with giants
like FedEx and UPS. To qualify
under Ford’s provision, the truck
must belong to a shipping company
which is affiliated with or utilizes
an air carrier "at least 15,000 times
annually."
Provisions like this one are
usually preceded by Congressional
hearings, but Ford refused to hold
them. Frustrated by Ford’s heavy-
handed tactics, several Democratic
senators privately tried to throw up
a road-block. It came to no avail,
however, as the opponents failed to
fight him on the Senate floor.
SPACE TRASH — Government
scientists have confirmed that at
any given moment billions of
Unidentified Flying Objects are
circling the earth. But they’ve got
nothing to do with E.T.
Thanks to three decades of ex-
ploration, espionage and cable TV,
the heavens are littered with debris
from space gloves to paint chips.
Billions of other pieces of debris
are too small to identify.
The threat from this tide of
debris is so great that the National
Aeronautics and Space Administra-
tion recently estimated that there is
a one in five chance the debris will
strike the international space sation
planned for completion in 2002.
"Left unchecked,” one report to
the National Security Council of
the Bush administration warned,
"the growth of debris could sub-
stantially threaten the safe and reli-
able operation of manned and un-
manned spacecraft in the next cen-
tury...International cooperation ~ls
essential to a satisfactory solution."
Ctnmw l*M, VmWi r*mn Sr*M, Im.
POLK COUNTY
Telephone Number 327-4387
(USPS 437-340)
Entered as Second-Class Matter at the Post Office at Livingston.
Texas 77351 under the Act of Cc. is of March 3. 1987.
EDITORIAL DE1.JITMENT
Barbara Whits, Editor
Van Thomas, Sports Edltor
Greg Peak. Area News Editor
Don Hendrix, Special Sections Editor
Debbie Brown. Living Section Editor
Dan Eakln, Reporter
Gordon LeDarron, Photographer
PRODUCTION DEPARTMENT
Cameras / Platemaklng
Don Holeman, Paul Holley
Adrian Dunn, Beamon Qoodwln, Wills Woods
MaUroom / Circulation
Lee Torres, Phyllis Watson. Rosie Celedon. Rhonda Wataon
Jennifer Cushman, Kathy Langford. Melissa Newkham
Mary Jo Wataon. Sandra Jackson. Kay Loy Cuevas,
Linda Thompson
Patty Smith
Angela Stutts
EEPINODEFAI
Barbara Wilson, Laura Munson. AMcht Shandley
SUBSCRIPTION RATES - $15.00 per year tax Included. In county.
$16.00 per year, out of county. $17.00 per year outof state. Published
semi-weekly, Sunday and Thursday at 100 Calhoun In LMnmton.
Texas by the Polk County Publishing Co.
Any otmwhm reflection upon the character, standing or reputa-
tion of any person, firm or corporation which may apprm In thto
newspaper win be gladly corrected upon betira brought to the
attention of the publisher.
In columns are those of the writer and not
i newspaper,
i editorial are i
Mqgi___
Changes 1b P.O. Bn 1276. Livingston. Texas 77351.
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White, Barbara. Polk County Enterprise (Livingston, Tex.), Vol. 112, No. 57, Ed. 1 Sunday, July 17, 1994, newspaper, July 17, 1994; Livingston, Texas. (https://texashistory.unt.edu/ark:/67531/metapth782024/m1/4/?q=Homecoming+queen+1966+North+Texas+State+University: accessed June 20, 2024), University of North Texas Libraries, The Portal to Texas History, https://texashistory.unt.edu; crediting Livingston Municipal Library.