Polk County Enterprise (Livingston, Tex.), Vol. 119, No. 102, Ed. 1 Sunday, December 23, 2001 Page: 4 of 52
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EDITORIAL
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PACE 4A
THE POLK COUNTY ENTERPRISE
Letters to the editor
5 l
•»* - ;
Can't afford to wait
Lost a good friend
Show them you cere
To the editor:
I would like to commend the
LISD Board of Trustees for, hope-
fully, taking a major step forward
in the improvement of Livingston’s
football program with the accep-
tance of Coach Truelove’s resigna-
tion I mean no disrespect toward
Coach Truelove. In fact, I think he
is a fine man. 1 just feel that he was
not the right man for Livingston at
this time
Livingston's program has been
on a steep decline for 21 years. It
has been that long since the Lions
have posted even a winning season
and it is going to take a powerful
motivating force to pull these kids
up out of the slide We are at the
point now where one more wrong
coaching choice by the board of
trustees and we may not have
enough kids coming out in a few
years to even field a team. The kids
are discouraged. They are tired of
losing. The board of trustees has to
take this last great opportunity and
do something with it before it is
too late. The program cannot suffer
through any more seasons of the
same-old same-old.
What do they have to do? They
have to hire a head coach with a
proven winning record. This man is
not omy going to have to be a
winner, but a motivator and a
salesman He is going to have to
motivate kids that have had years to
formulate a defeatist attitude and get
them to come out for the team. He
is going to have to sell the team
and his program to a very cynical
public that has suffered through
years of humiliation. This new
coach is also going to have to be
the athletic director. A high caliber
coach will not come into a situa-
tion where his reputation and future
are on the line if he is not in total
control of the program.
We have had 21 yean of defeat to
prove that the current system does
not work. It is ume to scrap the old
system and start over from scratch
to build a new program that works.
I think a good man to bring into
this situation is Coach Randy
Rowe. Randy has proven himself to
be a winner everywhere he has
coached. He is a disciplinarian and a
motivator He is a product of the
system run by Coach Bruce Bush.
Coach Bush was the last coach to
post a winning record at Livingston
and he was also the last head coach
to be athletic director (this should
tell you something). One more
important factor is Randy is from
Livingston. I believe he would take
great personal pride in building
Livingston into a winner. The feet
that he is a hometown boy would
make it less likely that he would
pack his bags for greener pastures
as soon as more money came call-
ing.
I urge the board to make the right
decision. It may not be an easy
decision, but Livingston doesn't
have the luxury of waiting a few
more years because they didn’t get
it right this time. If you have any
desire to see the system change,
please call your board of trustees
and let them know how you feel.
Clark Ogietree
15084 Southland Planta-
tion
Livingston
'Twas the day after.,
To the editor:
* •'
The Day After Christinas
'Twas the day after Christmas
And wouldn’t you know.
Not a sleigh bell a’ringing
Not the first flake of snow.
I see Pa siltin' in the old rocking
chair,
His head hung down in thought.
He’s wondering how he’s going
to pay
For all the junk they’d bought.
About that time I spotted Ma,
She was coming 'cross the yard.
I knew right there, that the time
had come
To bum all them credit cards.
She fussed and fumed and she
even swore,
And I reckon she had good cause,
But it made me wish, oh how I
wish,
There was really a Santa Claus.
Charley Reddicks
5883 Indian Springs
Livingston
Full of ups and downs
To the editor:
We all experience many “Ups a
Downs" in life. Some of the
“Downs" can’t be avoided and some
of the “Ups” are simply the result
of being in the right place at the
right time with the right people.
Church is always the right place to
be and anytime I’m there, it’s the
right time. The pastor, teachers and
class members mak; it one of the
big “Ups” in life for me.
Having said that, we in fact create
(conscientiously or not) most of
our own “Ups ant1 Downs." Just
think about it; our Irame of mind is
projected by our behavior, postur-
ing and overall attitude. If we are
friendly and smile at everyone,
most people will smile back, be-
cause smiling seems to be conta-
gious. Basically, everyone wants to
be accepted and our smile could
open the door to a new friendship
that could in turn promote more
smiles, and on and on.
An attitude of open hostility will
speed one along the road to com-
plete failure and few true friends,
while an attitude of friendliness
opens many doors to lifelong suc-
cesses. It’s all bom of the mind and
only the owner of that mind can
decide which way to go... up or
down.
I hope you enjoy reading “Ups
and Downs."
Ups & Downs
I like you more
Or is it less,
Or is it...
More or less.
I know it’s more
When you’re no bore.
But less...
When you’re a mess.
Sometimes it’s...
More or less,
Because of
Ups and downs
When it’s more
You laugh a lot,
But when it’s less.
You frown.
Your life can’t all be
Fun and games,
with mellow
loving sounds
‘Cause laughter
Goes with happiness.
As grease paint
Goes with clowns.
So dress yourself
In happiness;
For make-up...
Use the sun.
You’ll find the ups
Are catching on.
The downs...
Are on the run.
Edward C. Huey
337 County Road
Goodrich
f./
To the editor:
I have a good, loyal friend today.
We love to play ball and fetch. You
can snap a plastic trash bag at hfrn
and he will bark and chase it. You
can’t even get the floor vacuumed
because he will be there barking at
it.
When you aren’t paying attention
to him and he wants to play with
his favorite frog toy, he will walk
up to you with it in his mouth and
lay it on your foot or knee and then
sit there with those big black eyes.
You can’t resist him, and he knows
it. He loves the outdoors and that is
where he always wants to be. He
can spend hours outside if you will
let him. He also loves to go “bye-
bye.” Every morning he gets in the
truck to go to work with his
mommy and daddy We will some-
times play with his favorite ball at
work. The ball has a rubber band on
it and so it will bounce back before
he usually can catch it. But that’s
OK, ‘cause he loves to run back and
forth after it anyway, barking and
making the wind chimes ring He
doesn’t like to be cold. He will
always lay in front of his own
heater, sometimes too close. In the
truck if it is cold, he will whine
until you. turn on, the heater for
him, and then he will lie down and
sleep until he gets to where he is
going.
You really couldn’t ask for a bet-
ter friend than this little dog.
Until today [Dec. 15] when Ras-
cal’s life was ripped from him be-
cause of a car that couldn’t slow
down enough to let a little dog get
out of the road They hit him with
such impact that it threw him back
into our driveway behind our truck.
You ask why was he outside at
night without his mommy and
daddy? Well, to tell you honestly,
his daddy thought that I had let him
in when I came in and 1 didn’t know
that he wasn’t aware that this little
guy was outside. I received a phone
call from a lady telling me, 20
minutes after we got home, that
there was a little dog laying dead in
my driveway. He hadn’t been there
very long
I am angry that this person could
honestly and deliberately hit a little
dog just because they couldn’t slow
down to let him get out of the road.
This is a common thing in my
neighborhood because there is al-
ways someone who is in a big
hurry to get nowhere. I know the
person who hit him saw him be-
cause my front yard and the street
are lit up.
I just hope that one day this per-
son has something that they deeply
love tom away from them as
quickly as this little guy was tom
from us. I want them to know the
horrible pain and suffering that my
husband and I are going through
because of this He was the joy of
our life. There will never be another
like him and we miss him. The
house is quiet and lonely now
without him.
We love you. Rascal, and miss
you very, very much!
Debbie Brewer
486 Driftwood
Goodrich
Get rid of barriers
To the editor: Disabled persons have mr"-?y, too!
With barriers preventing t! :m to
x First I wish to thank the Good your doors, they can’t or won’t
Samaritan that helped my mom and spend it. Not just those in wheel-
dad back in September 2001. My chairs.... It’s hard to get around this
dad’s motorized cart flipped over area with a walker or a cane,
while attempting to navigate the Furthermore, I challenge law en-
handicap ramp located at the north- forcement officers to enforce these
east comer of U.S. 190 and Busi- |aws. I ask, have you ever head
ness 59, or Church Street and anyone say, “I got a ticket for park-
Washington Avenue. Thank you for ing in the handicap space”? Yet, no
stopping your vehicle to help get matter where you go there is always
the cart off of my parents. Dad only someone just running in to get a
received a couple of scrapes, but gallon of milk, or it's raining and
mom’s foot ended up being broken, they don’t want to get wet or cold
Thank you so much, if it wasn’t for so they park in the handicap psrk-
your unselfish help, I fear they ing or block an access ramp, think-
would have suffered much worse ing nothing of exposing a handi-
injuries. God bless you and yours, capped person to the bad weather
Now to the obviously unsafe while removing their mobility de-
ramp; it’s too steep and too short, vice. How wet or cold do you think
Also there is no perimeter railing, they get? The disabled are slow and
nothing to prevent anyone from parking in the back makes them
falling into it. The one direedy targets of violence; they are easy
across Hwy. 59 has the railings but prey. Knowing all this, why is it
all else falls short of safe. The day 0fficeis seem to turn a blind eye?
my parents showed me the ramp Do you believe the disabled deaerrc
where the accident occurred, we to be robbed or get colder or wetter
found mud over an inch thick and a
truck blocking its accessibility,
making the ramp unsafe and unus-
able. This day, my dad was forced
to use his walker. Sadly, the Polk
County Courthouse is right across
the streelwith plenty of law makers
and law enforcement personnel
about, but none to ticket the vehi-
cle illegally parked. Like so many,
this ramp must be rethought, and
^not just forgotten because it is
grandfathered. This ramp appears to
be in violation of ANSI codes
A117.1-1986, ADA codes EEOC-
BK-19 and UFAS codes outlines by
the federal government.
I challenge our governing fathers
who care: fix this ramp and exam-
ine the others, making them safe to
use; accommodate the tax-paying
American voters in Livingston |nd
Polk County; give them the right
to use all streets; make this ramp
and others like it safe and not just
to code and don’t hide behind the
grandfather laws.
I challenge the merchants whose
stores these folks can’t shop; face
the county, city and state officials
to correct and remove these barriers.
The Costly Date by The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration
* w
To the editor:
This letter is to see how many
warm beam there are out there. Pm
sure everyone has head about the
tornado that hit Point Blank. It's a
big mess. It really hurt me to see
that because I have run over there
for the past 10 yean aid now, this
close to Christmas, everything was
taken away from some of the
sweetest people you would ever
want to meet To see it all de-
stroyed... I look a it all and I think
of all their life savings, evciy
memory. I mean, it feels like I lost
a house in Point Blank to know the
pain those people are going
through.
They need all the help they can
get, without someone holding their
hand out. People see a bad situation
and all they see is a way to make
money off the people in Point
Blank. That just makes me so mad.
They need help in their yards, their
houses Our family is doing every-
thing we can do for these people
because we know how many pwdy
people there are in the world today.
I mean, my son and 1 sat mi
thought of everything we could db
for them, so we got our rakes md
brooms and we went to work. We
can’t do a lot. but the way I see it, m
every link bit helps. We arc get- ^
ting them food baskets.
If you have spare time and a help-
ing hand and a warm heart, all those
people are like family to me. They
have had police patrols 24 hours a
day. 1 would like to thank each and ot
every one that works for the police O
department. They lost their houses, jS
they don't need to see someone O
stealing what little they have left.
After you read this letter you
should stop and look at what you
have and thank God for it And then
think of others that had theirs taken
away just before Christmas. God .
willing, everyone will see this as 1
see it. We don't have money, but :
that will not stop our hears and our ,
bodies from helping them clean up <
and everything we can do for them.
Most of all, no one was killed.
Thank God for that. The Lord was
with these people. (h
Think about this letter. Lend a
hand and year heart. They're all
seniors. Now do you see where this 1
letter is going? ?
Thinking of Point Blank. ..
H
Carolyn King'
> Route 1 Boa 751 2
Livlagaton ->
Do you have an opinion?
• f
The Polk County Enterprise encourages readers to submit letters
expressing their views and opinions. The letters will be published in
the Enterprise’s “Letters to die editor” column on Thursday or Sunday
The letters may be written on any subject or issue of general interest
Letters must be accompanied by a name and mailing address and will be
subject to editing for grammar, punctuation, spelling and length.
Letters must include a telephone number for verification. We will not
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Readers should keep their laaanjbtadwid to die point Bath letter
should contain no mote than 630 words. Letters ixcoading that length
will be subject to editing or withhe||from publication.
Letters will also be subject to editing for libelous statements flri
commercialism.
This column is net meant as a forum for political
although we welcome comments from the public concerning campaign
issues. During election campaigns, we will net allow reference to
specific local candidates.
i
/
Letters may be submitted in flfeon; mailed to “Letters to the editor,’
Polk County Enterprise, P Q Box 1276, Livingston, TX 77351; sen
to the Enterprise by fax to (936) 327-7156 or sent via e-mail to
polknews9livingsten.net.
Deadline far letters is 5 p.m Tuesday for Thursday's atwipapre mi
noon Friday for Sunday’s newspaper.
than more able-bodied persons?
Officers, send a message to all these
inconsiderate people, use your
authority to help stop the abuse and
give citations to the violators.
And shame on the doctor who
signs the form that gives a capable
person the tags to park in these
spots. Shame on the person who
uses a temporary tag long after it is
no longer needed. Look around you,
there are people who really need
this parking!
The sign doesn’t read: PARKING
FOR THE LAZY.
Lastly, judges, if you ever get a
violator in front of your bench,
please don’t just fine these self-
absorbed asses, give them a walk in
these persons’ shoes. I suggest
sending them on a scavenger hunt.
Put them in a wheelchair; don’t
allow the use of any handicap park-
ing or help from anyone else.
Maybe let a handicapped person
suggest their tasks and monitor
their progress. Their fine should be
according to how many items they
return with. Give them a day to
collect items or do tasks, charging
$100 for every item uncollected or
task undone. Have a violator do
community service directly to a
handicapped person. Helping them
get around for a few days would
also be enlightening, as it was to
me.
It’s very possible you or a family
member could be in a wheelchair
one day, whether just temporarily
or for the rest of your life. Think
about it., and care!
No one in American should be
held back by barriers... but they are.
Jfaa Gray
4720 Rboda Lane
Needville
POLK COUNTY
ENTERPRISE
ALVIN HOLLEY, PUBLISHER
Telephone Number 936-3274357
(USPS 437-340)
WEBSITE: wwwJEtttftnsNewLCom
E-MAIL: polkiiews9livingtton.n6t .
Texas 77351 under the Act of Congress of March 3,1917. Enured re Second-Class
Matter at the Post Office at Livingston, TX.
rnrrnii i^| pr.r\ifTy|rvT
Baibnri White............................Editor__________________
Emily Bank*.............................. Netn Editor................
Van Thom**................—.........Sports Editor...----------
Greg Peak_____________________________Alu Newt Editor______
Vicki Coker.................................Living Section Editor
Cordon LeBarron____________________ Photographer
wnMimownmnitcwt
Camerai/Plaiemaking..........................................
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White, Barbara. Polk County Enterprise (Livingston, Tex.), Vol. 119, No. 102, Ed. 1 Sunday, December 23, 2001, newspaper, December 23, 2001; Livingston, Texas. (https://texashistory.unt.edu/ark:/67531/metapth790649/m1/4/: accessed April 25, 2024), University of North Texas Libraries, The Portal to Texas History, https://texashistory.unt.edu; crediting Livingston Municipal Library.