Polk County Enterprise (Livingston, Tex.), Vol. 115, No. 83, Ed. 1 Thursday, October 16, 1997 Page: 4 of 26
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PAGE4A THE POLK COUNTYI
.THURSDAY, OCTOBER 111997
State Capital Highlights
Child support gaining
aii
that they are due."
Since state fiscal year 1990, cases
with court orders have increased by
145 percent; paying cases have
increased by 2
number of children for whom
3 percent; and the
paternity was established increased
by 269 percent.
Despite the inprovements,
KSVMS
ssassss •
that children will get the support
Letters to the editor
Religious freedom at stake
To the editor:
I wrote several weeks ago about
the religious freedom amendment to
our Constitution, which
Congressman Ernest Istook has
sponsored in the House of
Representatives. This bill has been
in the Judiciary Committee on the
Constitution during this time. I
called Congressman Istook's office
a few days ago and they informed
me that this bill is coming out of
committee on Oct. 23 and it will be
voted on soon after.
It is vital for our religious free-
dom for this bill to be passed. It
states, "To secure the people's right
to acknowledge God: The right to
pray or acknowledge religious be-
lief, heritage or tradition on public
property, including public schools,
shall not be infringed. The govern-
ment shall not compel joining in
prayer, initiate or compose school
prayers, discriminate against or
deny on account of religion."
There are many examples of reli-
gious discrimination in our country
today. For example, some schools
in Alaska do not allow students to
use the word "Christinas" at school
or to give Christmas cards at
school. Some prisons do not allow
the Alcoholics Anonymous to work
Water zone map released
The Texas Water Development
Board has released a draft of a map
dividing the state's 4,959 square
miles of inland water into 14
regional water zones.
Last week, the water board
scheduled public hearings to be held
around the state in October to
receive comments on the draft
Senate Bill 1, the comprehensive
water bill passed during the
legislative session that ended in
June, requires the water board to
transfer the responsibility for
managing water resources to 14
regional water planning areas.
Water resource management had
with prisoners because it calls on a been shouldered by the state and
Supreme Being, yet this program loose network of more than 7,000
river authorities, water conservation
districts, utility companies and
others.
Sen. J.E. "Buster" Brown, R-
Lake Jackson, co-author of the
legislation, knows that disputes are
likely.
"The nice thing about the process
is that those concerns get to get
has had more success with alco-
holics than any other group or pro-
gram,
I called our Congressman Jim
Turner to see if he had co-sponsored
this amendment. His legislative
aide said that he had not at this
time. I explained how important
this amendment is and asked that he ajre(j j* jorc lines are drawn,
co-sponsor and vote for it. If many Brown was quoted in the Wall
people from his district will call his Street Journal.
office, I believe he will co-sponsor SB 1 requires cities, counties,
and vote for this bill. Please call water districts and local entitites to
him at 202-224-3121. A short call map out how they will conserve
should cost less than $ 1. water supplies and respond to future
Please do this for your children droughts in their planning areas.
-w—y. we^,, ^ jatr suns:s
losing our religious freedom and s„5mn plan, to Ike water board fo,
many do not even realize it approval every five years,
beginning Sept. 1,2000.
Lyn Elledge judge defends profs right
P.O. Box 535 In an interview with the Austin
Livingston American-Statesman, Judge
Fortunato "Pete” Benavides of the
It's a constitutional right
To the editor:
It has been a while since I last
left my mark in the letters column
as I have been very busy trying to
make it count. I was very pleased to
get the Pine Cone edition to add to
my history and wanted to ask ev-
eryone who hasn't, to read the story
of the burning of Livingston on
Aug. 29, 1902. Mr. Hendrix had
previously printed the story in
1982, but I did not get to read it as
I was in the military. I found that it
was most interesting to see that or-
ganized crime was thought to be
part of it. I also found it interesting
to see that some of the petitioners
for prohibition were the grandpar-
ents of the people who I have im-
plicated in my investigation. Either
way you look at it, it is the lesser
of two evils, prohibition or orga-
nized crime.
Personally,. 1 feel that Livingston
should be wet instead of condemn-
ing people for doing something that
is their constitutional right like
drinking in the comfort of their
own homes instead of being forced
into public and onto the streets to
wreak mayhem on everybody else
and throw their garbage out to re-
mind us of it. Much less their de-
positing unopened beers on the side
of the road while fleeing extradi-
tion, and Lord knows whose child
will find it. People arc going to
drink anyway and the community
ought to be able to get some tax re-
lief. Who knows, maybe we would
get enough out of taxes to do some
of our own development and quit re-
lying on the feds and the state to
fund our projects of which they al-
ways have to add their own particu-
lars. It would put bootlegging out
of business, which has also prolif-
erated in the midst of minority pro-
grams and prohibition, as the ille-
gal drug trade escalates at arm's dis-
tance.
Do they honestly think that they
are doing us a favor by denying us
our constitutional right to drink or
not to drink? The abuse of alcohol
stems from its prohibition and its
unavailability on the common mar-
ket, not from the individuals.
I just had to gel that off my
shoulders, as I am still free to do so
under our constitution, and if the
church has anything to say about it,
they had best get ready to get their
commercial subdivisions ready for
taxation as they have fallen into
their own trap and they forget that
Christ died for our free agency so
that the people could make their
own choices and our constitution
adheres to the same concept. We
should not have our right to free-
dom subject to the biased attitudes
from those who do not pay taxes
through their corporate schemes. I
am a member of this corporation
and I dare them to forget it.
1 also wanted to mention my
dismay for the mismanagement
when our government tries to put a
nuclear waste dump near El Paso
when the moon is available for the
purpose. Why do the people have to
put up with such lack of priority
from our government when billions
are being spent on the future of the
space program, which is only a
(Ream, and at the same time rob the
people of Texas and the world of a
safe environment due to the un-
availability of space to dump.
I am still getting response from
people in public either asking me
why I haven't written another letter
as they have been patiently await-
ing our next edition. I thank the
other writers for filling the void,
but I must state that in order to
write history, you must live it first.
There are also those who pull me
aside and ask me why I don't run for
public office. For one thing, I am a
private person and have much more
insight and voice as a citizen and
alone I cannot do it; they would
5th U.S. Court of Appeals said
University of Texas law professor
Lino Graglia has the right to speak
his mind, even if his ideas are
offensive 1i some.
Graglia s comments sparked
national attention in September
when he said most black and
Mcxican-Amcrican students can’t
compete with white students
because those groups don’t look
upon failure as a disgrace.
He made the comments at a news
conference in support of the New
Orleans-based 5th Circuit's
"Hopwood" decision which barred
the University of Texas School of
Law from using race as a factor in
student admissions.
Benavides said it is "wrong to
call for (Graglia's) resignation. We
all say things that are wrong."
And he defended the "freedom of
professors, above all, to speak out
even when they're wrong or when
they're perceived to be wrong or
whatever by the community,
whether they are or not."
"To me," Benavidds said, "a
college campus is supposed to be
for ideas that arc spoken about
freely and checked out to see
whether they’re true or not."
Other Capital Highlights
• Teachers would have to be
recertified every five years under a
proposed state requirement. The
Texas Federation Teachers says
teachers should be allowed to vote
on the proposal. Currently, 97
just cancel out my vote on council, percent of teachers in Texas are
We need to get our heads together
and not just run against one at-large
councilperson, but get together and
put a majority of them out on their
cans. It is the only way it will
work and 1 don't think the amount
of money you can muster during
the campaign means a thing.
Honesty doesn't cost a dime, why
limit it through capitalism? Look
what campaign contributions and
lobbyists have done to Washington.
Don’t think it isn’t going on here at
home.
Robert Earl Trollinger
816 W. North St.
Livingston
certified but at least half leach
subjects outside their field of
certification.
• Democrats are airing television
ads in cast Texas asking voters to
call the district office of Sen. Drew
Nixon, R-Carthage, and demand his
resignation. Nixon said he would
not resign after a Travis County
jury sentenced him to six months
in jail on gun and prostitution
charges.
• The U.S. House voted 309-106
last week to approve an agreement
allowing Maine and Vermont ship
their radioactive waste to a disposal
site near Sierra Blanca in West
Texas.
POLK COUNTY
ENTERPRISE
ALVIN HOLLEY. PUBLISHER
Telephone Number 327-4357
(USPS 437-340)
www.detnet.com/pcent/
Entered as Second-Class Matter at the Post Office at Livingston.
Texas 77351 under the Act of Congress of March 3. 1987.
Opinions expressed in editorial are those of the Enterprise.
POSrMASTER: Postage Paid At Livingston. Tx. Please Send Address
Changes To P.O. Box 1276. Livingston. Texas 77351._
Benefit planned for Land
from pag«1
following her."
have the defibrillator intulled
•round the fint of November - if
she doesn't get a heart fim.
She also commented that al-
though the operation is necessary,
she's not me if die is looking for-
ward to it or not.
"They (the defibrillator) tend to
go off sometimes on their own.
They say it's very painful and shell
feel it if k happens," the concerned
mother said.
"We really don't have a choice,"
she said. "Hie narrowing (of the v-
teries) is much further advanced
than what they thought."
When asked how Haley was tak-
ing the news, Kerry said, "She's not
happy. She thought it was nil over
with."
Haley takes approximately 15
pills a day and makes weekly visits
to Texas Children's Hospital for
EKGs and other tests and every
other week has blood work done -
not a routine most 15-year-olds
have to face.
"She's depressed. She feels
cheated. She wants to go to high
school, drive a car, date and do what
other kids do," Kerry said.
However, with everything
Haley's undergone during her IS
years, she probably has a wisdom
and strength that many adults lack.
"She doesn't take little things for
granted," her mother said. "My
other two kids (Kasey, 14, and Ty,
12) complain about not wanting to
go to school, but Haley wants to
go and gets frustrated that she
cant"
Kerry and Dwight face frustra-
tions as well.
"The pressure is tremendous.
You're on needles and pins con-
stantly. It's like you can't step aside
from it," Kerry said.
"She was doing good and you
kind of get more relaxed, then she
gets sick and k's all reality again,”
Kerry said. "We deal with it by just
taking one day at a time and we
don't think about tomorrow.
"Dwight and I don't sleep at
night. Dwight hasn't slept since
this all began,” she said.
One of the many medications
Haley takes is nitroglycerin, due to
various aches and pains. Kerry said
that although most heart transplant
patients don't have feelings in their
chest, in a few rare cases the nerves
will reattach and Haley’s did, result-
ing in frequent pains in her chest
andleftarm.
b fact. Kerry and Haley both
wear beepen, with Kerry having to
wear two to three at all times. The
moat important one is from the
transplant service and will alert
them when a suitable heart is
found. If it goes off, they have 15-
30 minutes to reqmod or the heart
goes to aomeone else. Another
beeper is from Texas Children's
Hospital and alerts them regarding
changes in medications, test results
and things like thaL
Haley alio wears t heart trans-
plant necklace which her modier
said "Hie hales." The clasp on the
chsiii recently snd purch&sing
a replacement chain was one of the
items on Kerry's "Kudo" list for
Wednesday. She said she was going
to try to find a long chain to that
Haley could uick it in her clothes
since she dislikes wearing it so
much.
Although Dwight works full-
time, Kerry's days are filled with
lots of tasks that revolve around
Haley.
When contacted Tuesday morn-
ing, she said she'd just finished
"paying bills and making phone
calk."
"I sleep with a beeper and nitro
tablets beside the bed," Kerry said.
Just getting the medications or-
ganized and correctly scheduled is
tough and Kerry said every night
when she "counts pills," everyone
in the household knows to "be
quiet."
She commented that she also has
to always keep everyone's laundry
caught up and the house ready, be-
cause they never know when they
may have to leave at a moment's
notice and have grandparents, rela-
tives or friends arrive to stay with
Kasey and TV.
When asked if she has to keep
suitcases packed and at the door, she
said, "Yes, I have everything ready
logo."
When Haley received her first
transplant at the age of 5; one of
her biggest concerns was that Kasey
and Ty were getting slighted by not
getting as much attention as she
did.
Although this is a concern of
Kerry's, she said it's never really
been a problem because the other
tiro understand Haley's situation -
it's all they've ever known. It also
helps that all three children are very
close.
Kerry said that Kasey is "the
strong one" and that she and Haley
have always been close, "almost
like twins."
She also said it doesn't bother
Kasey at all that she gets the brunt
of the chores around the house.
"Haley is not supposed to lift
heavy things, so we really have to
watch bar," Kerry aid. "She cant
stand for things to be out of order.
She's constantly rearranging her
closet snd die doesn't understand
why she can't vacuum her room
when it's just pushing and pulling.
"1 tell her she can that her room
or fold clothes," Kerry said.
Ty taunts and picks at his sisters
just like all brothen do their sisters
and Kerry aid be loves to pinch
Haley became he knows dm braises
easily from the medications she
takes. However, when things get
too rough, Kerry and ill it takes is
"a wide-eyed look" from her and ev-
eryone knows it's time to settle
down.
She also said she frequently has
conferences with TV's teachers be-
cause "he's going through the
things that 12-year-old boys go
through" and sometimes tries to be
"the class clown." She said al-
though he does not act out at home,
she thinks his shenanigans at
school are a way for him to "act out
his aggressions.".
Kerry said although Haley "ap-
preciates everything everyone's do-
ing," that upon arriving in Dayton,
"she didn't want anyone to know
that she was going to get a new
heart or that she’d already gotten a
new heart because she didn't want to
be treated different."
One of Haley's most troubling
times is nighttime, her mother said.
"She's afraid to go to sleep at night
She's afraid to close her eyes for
fear she won't wake up.
"She's had so much to deal with,"
Kerry said.
As of press time Wednesday,
Haley was scheduled to travel 16
Texas Children's Hospital today
(Thursday) for her weekly visit.
Kerry indicated that at that time
they will be informed of the exact
date for the operation to install the
defibrillator.
Accounts have been established at
every bank in town and each bank
branch for anyone interested in con-
tributing to help defray the costs of
Haley's impending medical proce-
dures. The accounts are in the name
of Haley Land
In addition, friends of Dwight and
Kerry's have planned a $50,000
hole-in-one shootout to benefit
Haley's expenses. Qualifying
rounds are from noon to 8 p.m.
Oct. 24, 9 a.m. to 8 p.m. OcL 25
and 9 a.m. to 2:30 p.m. Oct. 26 at
the driving range at Mill Ridge
Golf Club. Semi-finals are slated
for 3 p.m. OcL 26 with the finals
immediately following. Prizes will
be awarded to all finalists. The
prizes, rules and details will be
posted at Mill Ridge.
Railroad, sawmills linked
NACOGDOCHES - The East
Texas Historical Association and
the Texas Folklore Society, sup-
ported by the Pineywoods
Foundation, will present "Whistle
in the Piney Woods," their third in
a series of symposia on East Texas
history and culture. The sympo-
sium will be at 8:30 ajn. Saturday,
Oct. 18, in the Grand Ballroom of
the Stephen F. Austin State
University Center. It will conclude
with a noon luncheon.
The title of the symposium is
taken from Robert S. Maxwell's
book, Whistle in the Piney Woods.
and the meeting will be a tribute to
Maxwell's work in East Texas rail-
road and sawmill history.
Maxwell, who served 30 years on
SFA's history faculty, was the lead-
ing Texas historian on railroads and
logging. He was responsible for the
acquisition of company papers from
Kurth, Kirby, Temple and other
members of the lumbering industry.
These sawmill-railroad papers are
archived in SFA's East Texas
Rfti*,196?nMaxwell published
Whistle in the Piney Woods, which
linked the lumbering industry to the
East Texas railroad system. This
linkage made lumbering the major
industry in East Texas.
Participants in the symposium
include Mel Johnson, historical
consultant, who will speak on
"Tramming in the Piney Woods:
1877-1940;" Tom McKinney, re-
search assistant for the Center of
East Texas Studies, on "The
Nacogdoches & Southwestern
Railroad: 1903-1954;" Blair Lavell,
general mechanical superintendent,
Texas State Railroad, on "Keeping
Them Rolling;" and Lester Haines,
publisher of the Journal of Texas
Shortline Railroads, cv "The
Moscow, Camden "an
A.
• ’
•n
h
SATURDAY SYMPOSIUM - Railroads and Logging in East Texas is the topic of a symposium ;
on the history and development of railroads in response to the needs of the forest industry, to be
held this Saturday on the campus of Stephen F. Austin State University.
Augustine Railroad Company."
The luncheon speaker will be au-
thor Bob Bowman of Lufkin,
speaking on "Steam and Saws:
Vignettes from the Logging Lines."
Providing displays and exhibits
will be Carol Riggs of the Texas
Forestry Museum, J.P. McDonald
of the Museum of East Texas, Tom
White of the ARKLATEX Modular
Train Club, Mike Legg of the SFA
School of Forestry, Tom
McKinney of the Center for East
Texas Studies, Charlie Oden of
Railroad Telegraphy, Mark Price of
the Texas State Railroad, and Lester
Haines of the Journal of Texas
Shortline Railroads. Additionally,
Aubrey Dry will display a date nail
collection, and Mel Johnson will
exhibit e computer data baa of rail-
roads and sawmill towns in East
Texas.
A $15 registration fee includes
the luncheon and the coffee break.
, k-t.ocv’* NJc *> nttinaA
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White, Barbara. Polk County Enterprise (Livingston, Tex.), Vol. 115, No. 83, Ed. 1 Thursday, October 16, 1997, newspaper, October 16, 1997; Livingston, Texas. (https://texashistory.unt.edu/ark:/67531/metapth798029/m1/4/: accessed July 16, 2024), University of North Texas Libraries, The Portal to Texas History, https://texashistory.unt.edu; crediting Livingston Municipal Library.