Seminole Sentinel (Seminole, Tex.), Vol. 95, No. 102, Ed. 1 Sunday, October 6, 2002 Page: 1 of 16
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Seminole
Sunday
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__ Sentinel
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16 Pages, One Section
Seminole (Gaines County), Texas 79360 © 2002
Sunday, October 6, 2002
Web Site: http://vwm.semlnolesentJnel.com
Volume 95, Number 102
Email :sentinel @ crosswind.net
Quarterly Sales
Tax Receipts
Show Decrease
According to the State Sales and Use Tax summary from the Texas
Comptroller's Office for the first quarter of 2002, gross sales for Games
County and neighboring counties were down from comparable first quarter
figures of 2001.
For all industries, Gaines County had 248 reporting outlets with
gross sales of $37,848,240. compared to 265 outlets with gross sales of
$50,484,580 in the first quarter of 2001. a decrease of 25 percent. Use
tax purchases amounted to $217.394 and the amount subject to state sales
and use tax was $11.523.759
In retail trade. 132 outlets reported gross sales of $19.101,862 in the
first quarter of 2002. compared to 147 outlets with gross sales of
$28,134,421 m the first quarter of 2001. a loss of 32,t percent. Use tax
purchases amounted to $117,867 and the amount subject to state sales
and use tax was $6,676,714.
Figures for neighboring counties, tor the most part, were also down,
with Andrews showing a 1 3.3 percent decrease for all industries and a
6.9 percent decrease tor retail trade; Daw son Counts was down 5.3 percent
for all industries and down 10.8 percent tor retail trade; ferry County
was down 4 8 percent tor all industries, but up 8 percent in retail trade;
and Yoakum Counts was down S percent for all industries and down 15 4
percent for retail trade.
County Eligible For
Limited SIA Credits
I he lexas Comptroller's
Office released the 2t*u fist of 22s
counties, including CMines Counts,
where businesses mas apply tor
hundreds of millions ot dollars in
state tax breaks
Iheie aie three smli tax
credits, research, lob ctcalion and
insestment. with Gaines Counts
eligible tot hunted purpose
Strategic Insestment \rea tSIAi
credits
Gaines Counts i> one ot I ni
counties eligible toi the limited St -\
credit, whuh is based- on
population Corporations engaged
m agricultural processing in thoM-<
counties can apply for the job
creation and insestment credits.
In addition lit Gaines County.
Andrews. Dawson and Yoakum are
also eligible tor the limned credit,
wtitle lerrs Counts is one ot 81
countics,eligible tor lull-purpose
SIA designation, which is based on
relatise unempios merit rale and per
i.ipiiu income
The lull purpose designation
• ll<»w\ firms engaged in
manufacturing, w archousing,
wholesale distribution, computer
sers ices or research to apply tor |op
creation ami investment credits. |§
well as the research credit bonus.
Paper 'n Ink
Its l \ nn lirisrndinc \
I he cscr-ttascling trash barge is hack in the news'this week. The
2.500 tons ot ash lett Philadelphia. Penn 16 sears ago on a trip to the
Bahamas
But somcthnfg tunny happened on the trip to the Caribbean The
trash was refused and so the barge's never ending journey began
Actually the trash was not on the high seas tor that long a period
The onerous load ot ash and trash made a lew stops along the way. But
it did go a lot ot sea miles finding itsell at one tune in the seas off of
Asia I he load was stranded and sat on a Haiti beach tor a decade But
eventually enough complaints saw the trash find its way to an anchor-
age olt of Florida. Finally the tourney ended tor the unwanted refuse,
and as it happened, the final dumping spot for the load was Philadel-
phia. •
Poetic justice, some .ire heard to say. "A problem for us all."
others are just as quick to say
It the truth would reveal Kselt we might he ama/cd and horrified
to find out that mobile trash is not an uncommon occurrence in our
nation. And the scary part ot this is that some of this stuff is continu*
ousls mm me across our railways, highways, rivers and in the oceans
surrounding us is bad news.
PCBs, medical waste, nuclear ret use and just regular old common
trash is rolling or sailing along somewhere looking for a place to dump.
But dumping isn't allowed in many places for other s trash, so it just
kind of moves along. And like the ash load from Philadelphia, some of
it has been in transit for years.
We continue to hear nightmarish tales of the trucks coming over
the border from Mexico hauling who knows what? But these tales
usually center around the condition of the vehicles. Their brakes are
worn out. their tires are nearly gone, their environmental impact, due to
pollution factors, is bringing a danger our way. While all of this is true
and should be stopped at our borders, the stuff being generated in our
own country , w hich offers danger, continues to roll along with little
regard from the public. <• ,
A Mexican rig traveling at high speed through our towns is
spooky enough. Can it make the stop at the light? Will it swerve into
the wrong lane due to some worn part? And should it cause damage or
injury, does it have insurance?
All are legitimate questions. But, what of the load of PCBs in
rusty barrels which have traveled hundreds of thousands of miles in
huge circles? What if one of these units wrecks and spills its noxious
load?
It costs industry a lot of money to store its trash so some less than
ethical individuals simply ship the bad stuff. How much is rolling
around? How much is shuttled off on some seldom used railroad siding?
How much is floating on rusting barges in toxic cruises? No one can
know. But it's a good bet, a lot more than we wish to know is on a
constant trip to nowhere in particular.
Seems to me this would be a good story for one of the big news
magazine shows to check out. Until someone with enough resources to
do the story causes some action to be taken, we will just have to wonder.
While we wonder about this nasty cargo floating and riding along,
we should also ask our national and state leaders to explain why they
continue to fight the state-of-the-art storage facilities in Andrews
County.
See Paper Page 2
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October
Begins With
Severe Storm
by Dave Fisher
The old saying is that March comes in
like a lion and goes out like a lamb.
As far as the first part—in like a lion—
October I fit the bill perfectly.
After a fairly benign September—no
measurable precipitation was recorded in the
city of Seminole—Tuesday night not only rain,
but spring-like thunderstorms struck the
county, mainly in the western portion, causing
extensive damage to property and crops.
I he storm formed near Wink and moved*
steadily north and northeast. A report near the
Andrews County line said that tennis hall-
st/cd hail accompanied the storms, along w ith
torrential rain and high winds.*
As the storm approached Gaines County,
it stayed mainly on a northerly course, but also
moved eastward to the western portions of the
county. There was tut tennis ball-sized hail
c|h>itcu. oili (.«•!. 1 'aii »<• j iHj. j>**ii£.-sizedhail
ssus imported, as well.a> hail.approximately
the si/c ol .i quarter.
West and north ol Seminole, there were
scsciul tepotts ol downed power lines, a
mobile home bombarded w ith hail and at least
one report ol a barn blown over and farm
equipment inside damaged.
Accotding to the Gaines County Sheriff's
office, several reports were received ot
damaging wind*- and power lines down on
Farm-To-Roads 1757 and 2055 and County
roads 20S. 225 and 237. In addition, several
vehicles were damaged from the hail that fell
It was unknown how many persons were
out ot power or for how long, but workers from
Excel Energy and l.ea County Electric were
out in force once the danger was past and
restored posset as soon as possible.
Most of the damage was reported in a
mile-wide strip about 15-19 miles west of
Seminole, which began just south of I S.
Highway 180 and continued north of the
highway. There was also a report that once
the storm left Gaines County, tennis ball-si/e
hail was again seen in parts of Yoakum Counts
near Plains.
As tar as losses to crops, mainly cotton.
there was no official estimate, but unofficially.
\i&
&
approximately 4.000 bales from
approximately 8.000 acres were lost due to
the rain, w ind and hail. In several fields, cotton
was "stringing" and. in some cases, was on
the ground.
The weather came on the heels of a report
that this year's cotton crop could be one of
the best in several years.
Although the peanut crop was not affected
as much, there were reports of at least five
circles of peanuts, which had been dug,
destroyed. The hail "beat them into the ground.
While the majority of damage to crops
w as sustained w est of Seminole, close to 1 ,(XX)
acres were reported damaged south of
Seminole from another cell from the same
storm.
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Fisher, David. Seminole Sentinel (Seminole, Tex.), Vol. 95, No. 102, Ed. 1 Sunday, October 6, 2002, newspaper, October 6, 2002; Seminole, Texas. (https://texashistory.unt.edu/ark:/67531/metapth825048/m1/1/: accessed July 16, 2024), University of North Texas Libraries, The Portal to Texas History, https://texashistory.unt.edu; crediting Gaines County Library.