The Pharr Press (Pharr, Tex.), Vol. 63, No. 20, Ed. 1 Thursday, May 16, 1985 Page: 2 of 12
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Page 2,Tne Pharr Press,May 16,1985
Making War On Defense Waste
Participation
Necessary Element
There is a disturbing trend in
the PJSA Board meeting held
this past week. An over-
zealous attempt to follow
bureaucratic policy on public
participation has inadvertently
resulted in an act of in-
timidation.
This past Monday night, the
PSJA Board decided to adhere
to a policy that had been
ignored for some time. It is a
policy that, no doubt, should
have never been developed in
the first place. It is a policy
that attempts to regulate public
participation to the point that it
virtually eliminates any efec-
tive participation.
We have not quarrel with
control of a meeting by a board.
We do not even question the
motives behind the action. But
the elimination of public par-,
ticipation during the regualar
portion of the meeting is of no
value.
By eliminating public par-
ticipation on the regular agen-
da, the board prevents any real
feed back on their action.
This district has operted for
many years with citizens being
free to ask questions or make
comments during any part of a
meeting. There have been
some instances where a large
number of people have wanted
to speak on an item. However,
these have been few and far
between. This type of par-
ticipation has not hindered the
operation of the district.
Some would argue that this
makes meetings longer. That is
quite true. However, I would
argue that board members
were elected to sit and listen to
the public and have the public
question them on any item they
want to talk about.
Some would argue that this
makes the meetings last long in-
to the night. However, others
have pointed out that meetings
that last into the early morning
hours are the result of the
board going into lengthy
executive session that last into
the early morning hours.
If the board were really in-
terested in having shorter
meetings, there is no need to
blame the public. They need
only shorten their closed door;
sessions.
The present board members,
particularly the new ones,
should remember that their
election, in part, was made
possible because several
people were able to come to the
board meetings and engage in
extended debate with the
board at that time. When they
brought their supporters to the
meetings prior to the election,
they did not seem too concer-
ned with limiting public par-
ticipation.
We seem to remember some
vague promises about having
“free and open meetings,
where any one of you can come
before us and discuss your
concerns ANY TIME.”
Well, so much for election
rhetoric.
But all of these are trivial
arguments. The policy stifles
public participation in all sen-
ses. Any one who has been to a
meeting will realize that any
public questions that raised
generally have to do with what
is being discussed or voted on
by the board. Very few people
come to the meetings with the
intent of asking a pre-
meditated question. Most
questions do not arise until the
meeting is in progress. By that
time, it is too late to get on the
agenda and more than likely
too late to sign up for the
citizen participation portion at
the end of the meeting.
In essence, the board has cut
off all meaningful, spontaneous
public participation. What the
board has imposed is a
bureaucratic hurdle to free
communication between the
board the public that elected
them.
Can the board actually
believe that allowing only six
people to speak per meeting
from a population group of over
43,000 residents can serve the
needs of the district?
Does this mean that people
will have to be forced to come
in early to sign up for one of
those six spots in order to make
sure they can be heard in case
they have a question during the
meeting?
Such actions discourage par-
ticipation. Can that help the
district?
We venture to say that the
policy is burdensome at best
and repressive at worst. It is a
policy that should be changed,
or better yet, discarded.
By LOUIS RUKEYSER
NEW YORK-Well, we’ve
finally found something that
can unite the nation on the sub-
ject of the defense budget.
Nobody. Nobody hawk or dove,
is too crazy about spending
$400 for a screwdriver of $650
for a toilet &eat.
Don’t laugh: It’s a start. At
least these gaudy little em-
barrassments are forcing the
Pentagon to take an overdue
look at its lax management and
procurement systems, and
there is some evidence that this
look is spurring a new em-
phasis on competitive bidding
and other standard business
practices normally alien to the
ways of the military.
As the Pentagon tells it, that
new emphasis is nothing short
of a fiscal revolution, promising
us taxpayers 100 cents of bang
for every buck in the defense
budget. The view in this corner
is considerably more reserved.
As long as Congress refuses to
move meaningfully to close
redundant but politically useful
domestic bases, and as long as
the services themselves con-
tinue their extravagantly
wasteful separate empire-
building, the wise way to look
at the fat in the defense budget
will still be askance.
But even a naughty child
deserves encouragement when
he starts to do something right,
so let’s give the current Defen-
se Department leadership
credit for at least beginning to
change its major-weapons
procurement policies to help
the administration put a dent in
the projected $227 billion
national deficit.
The need is glaring. While
the screwdrivers and toilet
seats understandably grab the
headlines-on the same prin-
ciple that one baby’s murder is
more arresting than an account
of a mass murder-these are
just tiny symptoms of a more
fundamental problem. Most
major weapons systems have
not been competitive. They
have been on a “cost-plus”
basis (rough translation: the
more the merrier) that added
untold billions to defense con-
tracts.
The Pentagon’s incumbent
bosses have recognized this.
Defense Secretary Caspar
Weinberger says that about 30
percent of defense contracts
are now competitive, and the
trend is toward more com-
petition. The civilian heads of
Questionnaire
Yields Results
(Note: The following is Part
I of a six part series regarding
the results of a recent
questionnaire mailed out to
households of registered
voters in the Valley from
Senate District 27, represented
by Senator Hector Uribe. Ap-
proximately 3,800 Valley
households responded. It
should be noted that while the
survey Is not precisely scien-
tific, the response reflect
opinions expressed by a large
portion of the Valley
population on state issues.
Part I will touch on the repeal
of the blue law. Part II deals
with education.)
AUSTIN-Valley residents
overwhelmingly support a
repeal of the state’s Sunday
closing law, according to sur-
vey results compiled by the Of-
fice of State Senator Hector
Uribe, (D-Brownsville).
Of those responding to a
recent questionnaire, 74.6 per-
cent said they would support
legislation to abolish the con-
troversial blue law, 20.6 per-
Joint City Projects
Should Be Studied
This nation has always held
a tradition of neighbor working
together. This seems to work
fine when you talk about
neighbors putting up barns,
building fences, or even holding
a garage sale. Somehow,
though, it seems that we could
apply this to cities and school
districts working together.
There were some ideas brought
out recently at a joint meeting
of the City of San Juan and the
PSJA School District which
deserve some serious con-1
sideration.
This is not the first time some
of these things have been men-
tioned. But now may be the
very best time to take some ac-
tion on this.
Specifically, there was men-
tion during the meeting of
having the city and the school
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luan-Alamo areas as well as the surrounding communities of Las Milpas. Hidalgo
and portions of McAllen and Edinburg. Our main goal is to make our reporting
accurate in the spirit of fairness and truth. We are dedicated to a well rounded
newspaper including Editorial comments, news of interest to men and women, the
old and the young, Sports, History, entertainment, Community and School events.
The Pharr Press is published each Thursday morning in Pharr, Hidalgo Co. Texas
| in the lower Rio Grande Valley.
■ All items must be turned in by Tuesday noon.
district purchase some things
jointly. Under such an
arrangement, the two would
determine, for example, how
much gasoline they would need
for a one year period. Then
they would ask for bids on the
total amount. Because it would
be a large amount, the bids
should be lower, providing a
?reat savings to both entities.
The same could be done for
other things, such as office
supplies, paving materials,
large equipment, etc. The idea
could even be enlarged to in-
clude all three cities and the
school district.
When you consider that all
three cities wind up buying the
same type of equipment, sup-
plies and services, joint pur-
chasing would provide exten-
sive savings for the cities.
There are even places where
the cities can do things jointly.
Take, for example, trash
collection. All three cities must
purchase three sets of trucks
and collection equipment. The
cities must employ crews to
man each truck. They must all
pay for the maintenance or
operation of a land fill site.
Tlie cities must pay for all ser-
vices three times.
It is obvious that the cities
could assume some savings in
combining purchasing or cer-
tain operations through
economies of scale.
It is time we considered some
of these things. W*'h taxes
going higher every r and
accomplishing less, it would
certainly be worth the effort to
work on this.
cent were against, and 5 per-
cent had no opinion.
“It shows that most Valley
residents believe the blue law
is outdated,” said Uribe in sup-
port of the Valley position.
“I think most businessmen
will agree with me when I say
the blue law gets in the way of
free enterprise. If someone
wants to keep their doors open
on Sunday to draw more
business, I think they should be
allowed that choice,” he ad-
ded.
Reflecting on the lopsided
response to the question, Uribe
said he wasn’t at all surprised.
“The Valley depends on
retail trade - it’s one way to
guage the growth of our tourist
industry. Judging from the
response, most residents feel
the Valley needs to be more
aggressive in a changing
business world. They obviously
believe merchants can
generate more trade dollars
without the law,” said Uribe.
The blue law, adopted in'
1961, prevents most Sunday!
shopping because of the
statute’s ban on 42 specified
items on both days of a
weekend. Although the law ef-
fectively closes most stores on
Sundays, there have been
several statewide violations of
the law in recent months that
have resurrected a new move
for repeal.
Initial broad legislative sup-
port for repeal was demon-
strated last week when the
House of Representative voted
102-40 in favor of wiping the
statute from Texes law books.
The measure now heads for
the Senate where it is expected
to gain momentum.
“I think the vote in the House
shows there is strong public
support,” said Uribe.
The bill, sponsored by Rep.
David Cain, D-Dallas, also con-
tains a provision that would
guarantee a worker at least
one day off a week.
State Comptroller Bob
Bullock predicts a repeal of the
blue law would bring the state
$24.8 million and $7 million for
local governments in additional
sales tax revenues every two
years.
“Sales tax revenues are on
the rise in the Valley. They
reflect increases in business
sales. A repeal of the blue law
would bring more trade dollars
and more smiles on the faces of
retail merchants,” said Uribe.
While most public opinion
seems to favor repeal, op-
ponents argue a change in the
law would force thousands of,
Texans to work on Sundays,
taking them away from their
families. The also fear a repeal
would help large retail chains,
while hurting small family
businesses.
Those factors could help to
fuel opposition in the Senate,
where committee consideration
begins next week.
individual services are falling
into line: Air Force Secretary
Verne Orr notes that "we need
more competition” among
defense contractors to keep
prices down and quality up,
and Navy Secretary John F.
Lehman, Jr., observes, “We’ve
never had a case where the
price did not come down
dramatically as soon as the
second source started
producing.”
One example of the benefits
of this new stress on com-
petition: When the Air Force
pitted Pratt & Whitney and
General Electric to submit bids
for jet fighter engines, on
which Pratt & Whitney had
previously been the exclusive
contractor, Orr reported that
the result was better engines
with longer life, and at
estimated cost savings of bet-
ween $2 billion and $3 billion
over the live of the engines.
Another example: The Navy
last month made a competitive
award to Bath Iron Works, a
long-time Maine naval ship-
builder, to design a new class
of destroyers and build the first
ship. The Navy had put a
ceiling* of $1.1 billion on the
ship. The Bath firm bid only
$322 million-and got the job.
The highest bid from the three!
competing shipyards was
$413.5 million, and it doesn’t
require a high degree of
cynicism to believe that.
mm
without such competitive bid-
ding, the ..chosen shipyard
would have come in a lot closer
to that generous $1.1 billion
ceiling.
But competition is still a
sometime thing in the world of
defense. Take the continued
Air Force stalling over Nor-
throp Corporation’s formal
proposal to build 396 F-20
fighters over four years at a
firm price of $15 million a
fighter, with support costs also
fixed for 20 years.
The F-20 is, by all accounts,
a fine front-line fighter, built by
the company with its own
resources, that will operate
with notably less maintenance
than the Air Force’s old, nonco
mpetitive favorite, General
Dynamics’ F-16. Yet the Air
Force has requested funds to
buy 792 more F-16’s at a cost of
$18 million to $20 million each,
and has shown no interest in
the sort of financial and
aeronautic flyoff that might
settle the procurement issue on
a more rational and
businesslike basis.
So any notion that the Pen-
tagon has already been tran-
sformed into a super-efficient
model of competition remains
premature. The enemy of
wasteful, old-boy
traditionalism has been iden-
tified, but the war has barely
begun.
Mental Health A
Growing Concern
Guest Editorial
From Texas MH/MR
Tropical Texas Center for
MH/MR has joined with the
other 620 members of the
National Council of Community
Mental Health Centers and
mental health agencies
nationwide in observing May
as Mental Health Month.
Along with other community
mental health centers, Tropical
Texas Center for MH/MR is
using the theme “Mental
Health: More Than a Trivia
Pursuit” to emphasize the im-
portance of mental wellness
and to encourage the com-
munity to learn more about the
services in the Rio Grande
Valley.
In commenting on the obser-
vance, Marion G. Shirah,
Executive Director said, "Men-
tal Health Month provides us
the opportunity to focus public
attention on the mental health
needs of our community. The
theme, “Mental Health: More
Than a Trivia Pursuit,” remin-
ds us as individuals that we
learn more about mental
health, we are better able to
choose lifestyles that promote
mental wellness,” Shirah ex-
plained. “Further, it will help
us remember that we as com-
munities must take an active
role to assure that we and our
neighbors have access to
quality mental health services
where we live.
“Through their community
mental health center, residents
of the Rio Grande Valley has
access locally to services
designed to promote mental
‘wellness’ and treat a variety
of mental health related
problems,” Shirah continued.
“Tropical Texas Center for
MH/MR is part of a nationwide
system of agencies delivering
care at the local level.
Although established just 22
years ago, this system provides
services last year to an
estimated five million
Americans who otherwise
might not have access to men-
tal health care. We are very
proud of that record.
"There are, however, still
far too many people who are
not receiving the care they
need. The Nation Institute of
Mental Health estimates that
one in five Americans are af-
fected by mental health related
problems and that only about
one fifth of those had sought
mental health services,” he
noted. “Increased awareness
of mental illness and mental
health care can assist in
breaking down some of this
reluctance to request help.
Community mental health cen-
ters offer prevention and
education programs which con-
tribute to public understanding
and encourage people to take
advantage of the services they
need,” he said.
“There is a wide range of
mental health resources in this
area, and, during Mental
Health Month, we urge
everyone to learn more about
all the available services.”
Tropical Texas Center for
MH/MR locations:
EDINBURG-J amea Cullen
Looney Center, 1409, S. 9th,
383-0121
McALLEN-McAllen Mental
Health Center, 100 S. 19th, 682-
5567
MISSION-La Lomita Farms,
3 V* Miles S. Conway, 581-2725
WESLACO-Mid-Valley Men-
tal Health Center, 205
Agostadero, 968-8551
HARLINGEN-Harlingen Me-
ntal Health Center, 1208 N. 7th,
423-8094 - Harlingen
Sheltered Workshop, Van
Buren & G Street, 421-4122
BROWNSVILLE-Brownsville
Mental Health Center, 1150 E.
Madison, 3rd Floor, 546-2239 -
Diagnosis, Evaluation &
Referral (DEAR Unit), 542-
1100, - Sheltered Work In-
dustry, 2024 Emory Watts, 541-
6789
RAYMONDVILLE-Mental
Health Center, 159 E.
Rodriguez, 689-5588
FOR THE
RECORD
Sen. Hector
Uribe
Postmaster
Send form 3579 for change of address.
- Pharr Press
P.O. Box 710
Pharr, Texas 78577
AUSTIN — Measles can kill you.
It can deform your unborn baby,
deprive your child of sight and
hearing, cause encephalitis, and in
its worst stages measles can lead to
mental retardation.
The number of reported measles
cases in the Valley is rising at an
alarming rate. The Texas Depart-
ment of Public Health expects the
situation to get worse before it gets
better.
We can stop this outbreak by im-
munizing .the unprotected with a
measles shot.
If you don't know or can't re-
member whether you or your chil-
dren have received a measles
■shot — see a doctor immediately.
Most local clinics offer the shots
free. And if you prefer, your own
doctor can give you the same shot
for a small fee.
A rash, high fever, cold-like symp-
toms, and a cough are warnings that
you or a loved one may be coming
down with measles.
In case you didn’t know, the
spring season is the peak season for
measles.
Don’t wait until it’s too late.
Please take the time to get a mea-
sles shot.
V
i
J
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Mata, Arnoldo. The Pharr Press (Pharr, Tex.), Vol. 63, No. 20, Ed. 1 Thursday, May 16, 1985, newspaper, May 16, 1985; Pharr, Texas. (https://texashistory.unt.edu/ark:/67531/metapth866526/m1/2/?q=reynosa: accessed July 16, 2024), University of North Texas Libraries, The Portal to Texas History, https://texashistory.unt.edu; crediting Pharr Memorial Library.