Seminole Sentinel (Seminole, Tex.), Vol. 104, No. 53, Ed. 1 Wednesday, April 3, 2013 Page: 4 of 12
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Page 4A Seminole (Texas) Sentinel • Wednesday April 3,2013
Editorial
Mailing Address: P.O. Drawer 1200, Seminole, TX 79360 • Email: news@seminolesentinel.com • Web Site: www.seminolesentinel.com • Phone: (432) 758-3667 • Fax:(432)758-2136
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^Itate Capital
^ Highlights
Compiled by Ed Sterling, Texas Press Association
Water, school-testing bills
advance...
AUSTIN — House Bill 5,
legislation proposing to change
public school testing require-
ments, and House Bill 4, pro-
posing to fund water infrastruc-
ture, drew spotlights at the state
Capitol last week.
On March 27, the 150-mem-
ber Texas House debated and
approved the bills, which now
move on to the Senate for
consideration. Conference com-
mittees will be called on to work
out any differences that emerge
in House and Senate versions
of the bills.
HB 4 creates a “State Water
Implementation Fund” for water
conservation and development
projects across Texas under the
State Water Plan, a sprawling-
in-scope program managed
primarily by the Texas Water
Development Board.
Water planners predict that
over the next 50 years, the
state’s water supply will decrease
by nearly 20 percent while water
needs will increase by about 30
percent. Using money from the
state’s so-called rainy day fund,
HB 4 would provide local water
districts with state-subsidized
funding for eligible projects.
Primary author of the bill is Rep.
Allan Ritter, R-Nederland, chair
of the House Natural Resources
Committee.
HB 5, for Texas school-
children and their teachers,
reduces the number of end-of-
course “high-stakes” tests from
15 to five. The purpose is to let
classroom teachers expand the
amount of time devoted to gains
in student learning as opposed
to drilling children with a focus
on test performance. HB 5 also
modernizes the school ratings
system and high school gradu-
ation requirements. Primary
author of the bill is Jimmie Don
Ay cock, R-Killeen, chair of the
House Public Education Com-
mittee.
In floor debate, questions
arose over adequate funding
of public education, given the
Legislature’s decision in 2011
to reduce state dollars in sup-
port of secondary and primary
schools by $5.4 billion. It was
the chair’s decision that funding
is a separate issue not within the
scope of HB 5 and therefore
would have to be introduced as
separate legislation that could
not be brought up without ap-
proval by the full House.
Drug screening bill moves
Applicants for the Tem-
porary Assistance for Needy
Families program would have
to submit to a drug screening
under SB 11, a bill passed out of
the Health and Human Services
Committee on March 27.
SB 11, authored by Senate
Health and Human Services
Committee Chair Jane Nelson,
R-Flower Mound, does what
federal law allows - the drug
screening of applicants and the
sanctioning of those who fail.
Currently, adult recipients must
sign a personal responsibility
agreement not to use or sell il-
legal drugs.
According to the Senate
news service, “the first time an
applicant fails a test, he or she
loses personal benefits for six
months, but family-related ben-
efits will continue. The second
failure results in a loss of benefits
for 12 months with an option to
reapply after six months if the
person enters or completes a
drug rehab program. If a person
fails a third test, they are out of
the program permanently. The
bill was amended to add a pro-
tective payee provision to make
sure that children don’t lose
money because of a parent’s
drug abuse.”
Education chief
The Texas Senate on
March 27 unanimously con-
firmed the nomination of Mi-
chael L. Williams as commis-
sioner of education and head
of the Texas Education Agency.
A former member of the
Texas Railroad Commission,
Williams, who grew up in
Midland, was appointed to
the post by Gov. Rick Perry in
September.
State to pay controllers
The Texas Department
of Transportation on March
28 announced its intention to
fund continued service of air
traffic controllers who work at
13 municipal airports in Texas.
Loss of funding as a result
of federal budget sequestration
that recently took effect was
given as the cause.
Affected municipal airports
on the list include New Braun-
fels, Brownsville, Easterwood
Field at College Station, TSTC
Waco, Lone Star Executive
Houston, Georgetown Muni,
San Marcos Muni, Dallas Ex-
ecutive, Sugarland Regional,
Stinson Muni San Antonio,
Collin County Regional, Tyler
Pounds Regional and Victoria
Regional.
Info site gets No. 1 rank
Texas Comptroller Susan
Combs’ “Texas Transparency”
website and other measures
earned top national recogni-
tion, Combs’ office announced
March 26.
The U.S. Public Interest
Research Group ranked Texas
number one in its fourth annual
“Follow the Money” report on
government spending.
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Paper 'n Ink...
Nofoolin '...seriously
By Lynn Brisendine
April Fool’s Day is two days past and again
I watched some credible news sources pull jokes
which make me wonder about a quantity and a
quality we depend on, credibility.
Good Morning America pulled off a several
minute "news report" which discussed a re-
searcher's discovery of gorilla language.
I watched a little of it and immediately
remembered that it was April 1st, a day when
some otherwise responsible people seem to
loose their good sense.
I really didn't see the punch line as I was
getting ready to go to work and noticed later
that other news sources were reporting the scam
for a laugh.
I am not a stick-in-the-mud and I like a
good joke with the best of them. Still, using a
vehicle that is depended upon to furnish truthful
facts as a product to turn around and "fool" its
viewers or readers is really not funny.
Good Morning America is not a produc-
tion which claims to be an all news venue. It
has many segments which are far from being
newsworthy. The show is like any number of
others of its kind where entertainment is mixed
with the more serious reports of the day. I
understand that if a network should decide to
"fool" its viewing audience then a morning show
probably fits the bill.
I have yet to see any of the major networks
use their "dedicated news" segments to offer
these often dramatic, well planned, and carefully
staged for a laugh, skits which mimic the truth.
In my years of working in newspapers, I
have seen many of them go way beyond reality
and pull off some real doozies of jokes, using
this unofficial holiday of spoofs as the reasoning
behind basically lying to anyone who picked up
that day's issue.
Many use their entire front page to convey
falsehoods and the jump lines take readers to
another inside page which usually wished every-
one a happy April Fool's day.
We live in a world where comics abound.
Many television channels have stand up come-
dians preforming their routines using current
events, twist them around, get a laugh and go
about their business. Everyone gets a good
laugh with the understanding that these men
and women sell their humor.
In these pages you will find a few "editorial
cartoons" and these artists' renditions of news
events or people in the news are lampooned
mostly in a humorous way. These items are
generally placed on our opinion page.
The artists exaggerate their drawings. Presi-
dent Obama is currently one of these sketchers'
Wright
By Dustin Wright
Sentinel Managing Editor
Although I never had the op-
portunity of seeing the man play, I
have always had a soft spot in my
baseball loving heart for the New
York Yankee great Yog Berra.
The wise-cracking, Hall of Fame
catcher was known for his consistent
play on the field -- being one of four
players to be a three-time American
Leagues Most Valuable Player and
21 World Series appearances as
both a player and a coach - but
possibly known for his wise-cracking
one-liners, which always tend to
make you do a double-take before
mustering up a laugh or two.
As I was flipping through the chan-
nels the other night, I saw a short
segment about Berra and his career.
Being the baseball fan I am, I
paused to watch the remainder of
the documentaiy.
Of course, by watching the docu-
mentary, I had to whip out the of
work iPad and begin a search of
Berra-isms, all of which are light-
hearted but meaningful in their
own way. Whether they related to
baseball, or not.
Of course, I couldn't mention
Berra in my column, if I didn't add in
some of his coined phrases:
"A nickel ain't worth a dime any-
more;"
" Half the lies they tell about me
aren't true;"
" It's like deja-vu, all over again;"
"You've got to be very careful
if you don't know where you are
going, because you might not get
there;"
"Little League baseball is a very
good thing because it keeps the
parents off the streets;"
"The future ain't what it used to
be;"
" When you arrive at a fork in the
road, take it;"
'You better cut the pizza in four
pieces because I'm not hungry
enough to eat six;"
"Always go to other peoples fu-
nerals, otheiwise they won't come
to yours;"
" Nobody goes there anymore. It's
targets. While they use humor to posit a mes-
sage, it amazes me at times just how cognizant
of news events they are with the implied opinion
which usually hits the spot pretty well.
Many papers choose to print these April
gags, we don't. And I guess that's just a matter
of individual taste.
Still, in a world filled with various internet
sites, twitter feeds, blogs and other venues that
allow anyone to post whatever is on their minds
at the time, it gives me pause as to what is fac-
tual and what isn't.
A lot of people think my business is passe
in so many ways. I do not. My newspaper is
as relevant today as it has ever been. We offer
a news product that is filtered through report-
ing techniques seeking true facts. These bits of
a story are compiled and edited. Most times
they are rechecked and every effort is made by
a professional staff to print a story people can
depend upon.
It is not hard to find someone twisting
information to make it more dramatic or simply
having a bit of fun spreading misinformation,
which at times hurts people. Cyber bullying
and simply out right lying are just a couple of
problems being exacerbated daily by folks who
can pull up one internet site or another.
I think one of the most fervent quotes I
heard over the last year was a school official
state that a popular social web site using pictures
and individual quotes is "the most evil thing we
deal with on a daily basis."
This newspaper will continue to seek facts
and do our due diligence in making sure what
we print is accurate in every way we can make
it.
It is also a vehicle for keeping a citizenry in-
formed of government activities. These actions
are under constant jeopardy as some lobbying
associations use huge resources every legislative
session to close meetings, hide public notices
and in general cut the citizen out of the process.
And to make these attempts even more convo-
luted, they are using tax payer monies in many
cases to try and defeat public accessibility. And
that is no April Fool's joke, it happens every time
our lawmakers meet.
People who care need to watch those guys
in Austin and demand they keep the public's
business in front of the public.
April Fools is a fun day for many. It can
also turn into a period scaring some, infuriating
others and taking advantage of the gullible.
April Fools is also an anniversary date for
this writer. I began my publishing career in
Brownfield on April 1, 1977. No foolin'...
Words...
too crowded;"
Slump? I ain't in no slump... I just
ain't hitting;"
" I never blame myself when I'm
not hitting. I just blame the bat and if
it keeps up, I change bats. After all, if
I know it isn't my fault that I'm not hit-
ting, how can I get mad at myself?;"
"I never said most of the things
I said;"
" Baseball is ninety percent mental
and the other half is physical;"
"You can observe a lot by just
watching;"
' If the world was perfect, it wouldn't
be;"
" It gets late early out there, and:"
" If you ask me anything I don't
know, I'm not going to answer. ’5
Over the years, Berra has aged
gracefully in his 87 years on this
planet. But, in recent years, it's ap-
peared his youthful personality and
demeanor have caught up with the
times.
However, I feel certain his wit has
not Something I feel he would say
"It ain't over till it's over."
ON YOUR PAYROLL
PRESIDENT
Barak Obama, The White House, 1600 Pennsylvania
Ave., Washington, D.C. 20500; (202) 456-1414
U.S. SENATE
Kay Bailey Hutchison, 284 Russell Senate Office
Bldg., Washington, D.C. 20510-4304; (202) 224-5922;
email: senator@hutchison.senate.gov
John Cornyn, 517 Hart Senate Office Bldg., Wash-
ington, D.C. 20510; (202) 224-2934
U.S. HOUSE District 19
Randy Neugebauer, 429 Cannon House Office Bldg.,
Washington, D.C. 20515 (202) 225-4005; email
through website: http://www.house.gov/neugebauer
District Office: 611 University Ave., Suite 220, Lub-
bock, 79401;
(806) 763-1611 or toll-free (888) 763-1611.
GOVERNOR
Rick Perry, Room 200, State Capitol, Austin, TX 78711
(512) 463-2000 or (800) 252-9600
Rep. Perry, Charles District 83
Capitol Address: Room El.418, Capitol Extension P.O.
Box 2910 Austin, TX 78768
(512) 463-0542
(512) 463-0671 Fax
District Address: 4216 102nd St. Suite 101 Lubbock,
TX 79423 (806) 783-9934 (806) 783-9738 FAX
The Honorable Kel Seliger State Senator
P.O. Box 12068 Capitol Station Austin, Texas 78711
(512) 463-0131 (512) 475-3733 fax
Your News Leader—the Seminole Sentinel
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Wright, Dustin. Seminole Sentinel (Seminole, Tex.), Vol. 104, No. 53, Ed. 1 Wednesday, April 3, 2013, newspaper, April 3, 2013; Seminole, Texas. (https://texashistory.unt.edu/ark:/67531/metapth787511/m1/4/: accessed July 17, 2024), University of North Texas Libraries, The Portal to Texas History, https://texashistory.unt.edu; crediting Gaines County Library.