Polk County Enterprise (Livingston, Tex.), Vol. 123, No. 89, Ed. 1 Sunday, November 6, 2005 Page: 4 of 44
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, NOVEMBER 6, MW
Letters to the editor
Astros still winners
To the editor:
In response to the Astros as be-
ing losers, no way - hey, we
went to the World Series! ‘Didn’t
see the Yanks there!
The Rocket came from the
Yanks and, yes, we were fired
up. You support your home team.
We’ve come a long way since
Phil Gamer took over. We are
national champs and the second
best team in the world.
I don’t think fans want reim-
bursement; they chose to support
their team in the World Series,
and our Astros will always be
winners, even though they didn’t
win the World Series. They did
put up a fight and, like you said,
when there’s a fight, we never
give up.
I congratulate the White Sox,
but we didn’t get spanked; it was
always within one or two runs.
But you arc entitled to your opin-
ion, and so am I. If you don’t
care for the Astros, then get
yourself back to Illinois.
Joy Bradbury
Ouaiaska
A bad location
To the editor:
On the subject of “Other prop-
erty available” in Thursday s
issue, talking about the school
property acquisition, I whole-
heartedly agree with Mr. Fuller. I
would like to add that I believe
the Millridge Golf property is a
bad choice because of flooding
potential, as I have had water
nearly up to my garage in back
and past the mailbox in the front
yard. That land is a draining ter-
race for Long King and Choates
creeks and would be a bad choice
for a large concreted area to be
built.
But, there are other concerns
as well Why build another
school within a block of the ele-
mentary school? Many times a
year, cars and trucks are parked
on both sides of the road down to
Lowe’s store. And it is hard
enough to navigate Millridge
Drive as it is.
Then, there’s the trash which
blows continuously into my yard
and I (trying to be non-trashy)
pick it up daily. The bright lights
shining at night and the noise
from various functions would
make it difficult to sleep or enjoy
a peaceful existence; and, with
vehicles coming every day to
pick up children. Also, I don’t
think schools should be in resi-
dential areas; but then, I don’t
guess we have zoning restric-
tions, as businesses have also
encroached upon our neighbor-
hood for the past few years. It
would be a better to place them
in remote places where traffic
would not be impacted and cause
frustration, and away from
homes.
Fred Payton Jr.
Livingston
State Capital Highlights / !
Former comptroller heads governor's panel
By ED STERLING
Texas Press Association
AUSTIN — Former state Comp-
troller John Sharp, newly appointed
chair of the governor’s panel on
property tax and school finance
reform, spoke to the Texas Asso-
ciation of Business in Austin Oct.
28.
Sharp, also a former member of
the Texas House and Texas Rail-
road Commission, said the panel
will work closely with every mem-
ber of the Texas Legislature.
Although members of the panel
Sharp is chairing have yet to be
named, Sharp said that when their
work is finished, “I will tell who
was naughty and nice.”
Regardless of differences that
have stood in the way of a biparti-
san solution to school finance and
tax reform for the last two regular
and three special legislative ses-
sions, Sharp, a Democrat, ex-
pressed confidence that the panel’s
efforts will be successful.
Lawmakers and panelists will
find reasonable ways to relieve the
property tax burden and adequately
fund education, but a personal in-
come tax will not be considered, he
said.
One thing for sure, he said, is
“We’re not going to get more reve-
nue from the present system (of
taxation)” because so many Texans
already pay the maximum property
tax.
Sharp predicted that when the
Texas Supreme Court rules on the
pending case over the constitution-
ality of the school finance and
property tax laws, those* laws will
be found unconstitutional.
The ruling wiH trigger a special
session and lawmakers will huddle
up to work on both problems. The
state’s high court heard oral argu-
ments on the subject July 6, and the
case has been pending since then.
Enrollment below expectations
Texas public and private colleges
and universities recorded lower
than expected enrollment this fall,
according to a report released Oct.
27 by the Texas Higher Education
Coordinating Board.
This year’s total enrollment of
1,192,243 is only a 19,134-student
increase over the fall semester
2004. This causes concern, because
enrollment growth is not trending
in tandem with the state’s popula-
tion, which is growing more rapidly
RVSA parks wz-zooz
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Don't let the dream of a balanced budget die
By U.S. CONGRESSMAN
KEVIN BRADY
I am sick of the federal deficit.
I am tired of Washington raking
n over $2 trillion in taxes each
rear and then telling working fann-
ies there’s Ino room for tightening
>ur budget belt.
Some of the deficit is under-
standable. Battered economically
>y the attacks of 9-11, the recession
ind collapse of the Enrons and
tVorldComs, federal revenues actu-
illy shrunk for the first time in two
Jecades.
But make no mistake, spending
tlso increased. We responsibly
nvested money in national defense
;o win the war on terror and in-
:reased homeland security ten-fold.
Unfortunately, Washington also
.pent money on too many special
interest projects we simply can’t
ifford in a time of war. 1 ogether,
they created major deficits that are
no longer temporary and helped
increase Washington spending to
58,312 for every man, woman and
child in America.
How did Congress fight back?
With a proven solution: targeted
tax relief. The goal was to spur the
economy back home by leaving
more dollars in the hands of fami-
lies and small businesses to multi-
ply throughout local economies
across America.
It worked, creating over 4 million
new jobs in the last two years, dou-
bling the rate of economic growth
and bringing new dollars into the
federal treasury. Coupled with a
level budget for some federal agen-
cies, this year the 2005 deficit
shrunk by nearly SI00 billion.
That’s a good start - the result of
Republican pro-growth policies.
Unfortunately, this deliberate,
steady progress toward returning to
a balanced budget and paying down
the S8 trillion national debt is at
serious risk.
Congress must act soon to find
the savings to pay for Hurricanes
Katrina and Rita. Simply adding
these massive disaster and recovery
costs to the growing debt threatens
to kill the dream of a balanced
budget for even our children and
grandchildren.
This week the U.S. House of
Representatives will take the first
step to identify $50 billion of
thoughtful savings; a reform set in
motion at the beginning of the
budget year, but will now serve as a
down payment for Gulf Coast re-
lief. Conservatives in Congress
have also committed to paying for
the disaster relief by saving a few
pennies out of every dollar now
spent in the federal budget. Ninety
eight federal programs, many of
which duplicate others already in
existence, will be eliminated saving
taxpayers 54.3 billion. Families
have to set priorities, why should
Washington be any different?
Pervasive fraud in Social Secu-
rity, Medicare and Medicaid will be
rooted out. This astounding waste
includes motorized scooter scams,
overpriced medical equipment,
criminal prescription drug rings and
payments to imaginary doctors for
imaginary services to imaginary
patients. This fraud, so massive that
federal prosecutors can’t keep up
with it ail, adds up to billions of
wasted dollars.
Predictably, in the next few
weeks partisan critics and special
interest groups will shriek in fury,
decrying the cruel budget ax of the
heartless, uncompassionate Repub-
licans. Opponents vow to oppose
these savings even while offering
no plan of their own to balance the
budget. But this scrubbing of the
budget is long overdue, and tax-
payers know it.
Food stamps to illegal aliens, $20
ice cube trays in the Pentagon, fed-
eral bonuses to states for simply
running programs correctly, $30
million paid out by the IRS in slave
reparation tax credits (a credit that
doesn’t exist, by the way), 342
separate economic development
programs that essentially do the
same thing - all of this and more
will be scrutinized for savings.
In the end, if the House succeeds
in trimming this small portion of fat
from the bloated federal budget,
key priorities like Medicare and
Medicaid will still grow at 5.6% a
year rather than today's scheduled
5.7%. Some budget ax. Hardwork-
ing Americans know compassion
isn’t measured simply by a bigger
budget, but how efficiently we ac-
tually get help to our truly needy
neighbors.
It’s not enough for politicians to
jawbone about reducing the deficit.
Nor is the solution to raise taxes on
the very same families and small
businesses that are driving Amer-
ica’s economic recovery. We have
to change the way Washington
spends our precious tax dollars.
Democrats and Republicans in
Congress like to talk the talk about
reducing the deficit. Now the
American public will see who also
walks the walk.
than anticipated.
State demographer Steve Mur-
dock of the University of Texas at'
San Antonio said Texas is now
35th in the nation in the percentage
of people with college degrees. In
1990, Texas ranked 23rd.
Mtaty back, comptroller says
Texas Comptroller Carole
Keeton Strayhom urged Gov. Rick
Perry to call a three-day special
session of the Legislature so law-
makers could vote to give every
homeowner in the state a check for
$260.
When Strayhom closed the books
on the biennium that ended Aug.
31, she found enough unanticipated
surplus tax revenue to give taxpay-
ers the rebate. But the governor’s
office dismissed the idea.
Mters withdraws as nominee
Under pressure from her own po-
litical party, Harriet Miers with-
drew as President George W.
Bush’s nominee to replace retiring
associate justice Sandra Day
O’Connor on the U.S. Supreme
Court.
Miers, a Republican, was ap-
pointed commissioner of the Texas
Lottery' by then-Gov. Bush. She
held the post for more than four
years.
Miers will retain her present po-
sition of White House counsel.
Judge upholds smoking ban
U.S District Judge Sam Sparks
upheld a smoking ban passed by
Austin voters last year.
No smoking is allowed in public
buildings, including restaurants and
all but a few bars.
The lawsuit that prompted
Sparks’ ruling was brought by
businesses that questioned the con-
stitutionality of the ban. Only about
a dozen bars in Austin can legally
allow smoking.
Judge to eye venue motion
U.S. Rep. Tom DeLay and his
lawyers filed papers alleging poten-
tial bias on the part of state District
Judge Bob Perkins, who is slated to
preside over the Sugar Land Re-
publican’s trial on charges of
money-laundering and conspiracy
to violate Texas election laws.
On Nov. I, retired judge C.W.
“Bud” Duncan of Killeen, a Repub-
lican, is to review the motion to
move the trial away from Austin to
what the former U.S. House major-
ity leader believes will be a fairer
court. One of DeLay's objections to
Perkins is the judge’s membership
in MoveOn.org, a grassroots politi-
cal organization.
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How to contact
Polk County’s
representatives
IP
Washington, D.C. 20510-4305
202/224-2934 FAX: 202-228-2854
UJS. Sen. Kav Ballev Hutchison:
Room 284
Russell Senate Office Building
Washington, DC. 20510
202/224-5922 FAX: 202/22441776
senator@hutchison.senate.gov
U2S. Ren. Kevin Bradv
42* Cannon Building
Washington, DC 20515
202/225-4901 FAX: 202/225-5524
Palestine, TX 75802
903/729-7717 FAX: 903/723-0408
State Reo. John Otto:
'
P.O. Box 2910
Austin, TX 78768
512/463-0570
F.i
Polk County
ENTERPRISE
1
ALVIN HOLLEY, PUBLISHER
Telephone Number 936-327-4357 p|££sf]
(USFS 437-340) L/SSS-J
WEBSITE: www.EastTexasNews.Com
E-MAIL: polknews@livingston.net
Texas 77351 under the Act of Congress of March 3, 1987. Entered as
Periodical Matter at the Post Office at Livingston. TX.
BarharaWhite .............................
..Editor ......................................
.....................Ext 102
Emily Banks................................
..News Editor..............................
.......................Ext 103
VanThomas ................................
..Sports Editor............................
....................Ext. 107
Greg PeM...................................
..Area News Editor.....................
........................Ext. 106
Vicki Coker................................
..Living Section Editor................
........................Ext. 104
Vanesa Rrashicr...........................
. Snedal Feature Editor...............
........................Ext. 111
Gordon LcBarroo..........................Photographer
punnumnN ntMsnnvr
Paul Hoi lev..................................Camms/Ptalemakine...............
........................Ext 119
Don Hole man...........................
..Camcras/Platcmaking...............
........................Ext. 119
Adrian Dunn...............................
Pressman ..................................
........................Ext 120
Mailroom/f irculatHin
.......................Ext 120
Jennifer Kiambaarv. ................SUnervisor ..............
.......................Ext. lift
Nancy Hatcfccti...........................
..Graphic/Typcsct.......................
......................Ext 118
Uandv Ikes............
Graotuc/Tvnesrt........................
...........*...........Ext. 118
AiwFiTteiMr: nrntTMiNT
Linda Holley ............/lt~~...........
.......................Ext. 117
Ad Rep *
.......................Ext 112
Ad Rep
.....................Ext 110
m^inrn rwaitimivT
.......................fan. 109
Patty Hankcrd...........................
Ad. Rep
.......................Ext. 108
HUNTUTG DtfAaTMfJfr
WUlis Woods..........................
Jennifer Binfwtll.........................
.Supervisor...............................
.......................Ext 114
irtfieri Niflii
.......................Ext. 121
Georgia Bailey ..........................
.Manager....................................
.......................Ext 115
Barbara Wilson...........................
.......................Ext 116
Dana Wiggins............................
Ci real shoal Subscriptions .......
........—........Ext. 105
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SUBSCaimon KATES - $20.00 per year M i ad tided in county: $22.00 per year oat
of county; $24.00 per year oat of Malt. ftbiished semi-weekly. Sunday aad Thursday at 100
Calhoun ia LitiapM. Texas by Oie Nk Coanty Publishing Co.
Any erroneous reflccMa upon Uk character, standing or reputation of any person, firm or
1 gladly correc
lly corrected apoa being brought
corporation which may appear ia Ulis newspaper will be |
to the attention of Uw publisher
Opinions expressed ia coiumas are Umac of Uw writer mi not aeceessvily those of this
Opinions expressed ia edtorial sat those of the Enterprise.
POSTMASTER: Periodical pastage paid At Livingston. TX. Please Send Address Changes
ToPO. Box 1276. Livingston. Texas 77351.
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White, Barbara. Polk County Enterprise (Livingston, Tex.), Vol. 123, No. 89, Ed. 1 Sunday, November 6, 2005, newspaper, November 6, 2005; Livingston, Texas. (https://texashistory.unt.edu/ark:/67531/metapth819850/m1/4/?q=%22Texas+Press+Association%22: accessed July 18, 2024), University of North Texas Libraries, The Portal to Texas History, https://texashistory.unt.edu; crediting Livingston Municipal Library.