Cleveland Advocate (Cleveland, Tex.), Vol. 73, No. 49, Ed. 1 Friday, December 7, 1990 Page: 2 of 29
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i
Christ mas ‘Background Available
»age 2A, CLEVELAND ADVOCATE, Friday, December 7, 1990
PUC ruling may mean local calls from here to Houston
Continued from Page 1A
Imetable for completing the
jxtended area calling plan for
Cleveland and Splendora is not
|et available but more informa-
|on should be available next
/eek.
The Houston phone connec-
lon, however, is not the only
lenefit to this area. Rural party-
|ne customers, both two and
>ur party, will be upgraded to
jrivate lines - with no increase
payment due to a four-year
lap on basic local telephone
lervice rates.
The settlement also includes
le largest rate reductions and
lost ambitious modernization of
le telecommunication network
Texas history. According to
IcFarlin, customer credits and
ate reductions will start soon
“and we will begin work immedi-
ately on the network moderniza-
tion program."
Other major items included in
the Texas First plan are:
• A one-time refund of ap-
proximately $8.75 for residence
and $10 per access line for
business customers.
• Reductions in SWB's long
distance, WATS, and 800 Ser-
vice rates.
• Reduced access charges to
long distance companies in
Texas. These savings are ex-
pected to be passed on to cus-
tomers.
• A four-year accelerated
program to bring state-of-the-art
technology to 196 communities
now served by older less versa-
tile equipment. Although Cleve-
land and Splendora are now
equipped with the high-tech
equipment, both Dayton and
Liberty are presently served by
older systems which would be
up-graded.
• Eliminate party-line service
and mileage charges for more
than 300,000 rural customers
residing outside “local calling
areas” with no increase in
monthly bills.
• Touch-tone rate reductions
of 60 percent for residences and
33 percent for business cus-
tomers by the end of four years.
• Reductions of residential
service connection charge from
$60 to $38.35.
• A Lifeline program for eligi-
ble low-income customers.
‘The negotiated settlement
was a product of months of in-
tense discussion among PUC
staff, Southwestern Bell and 23
separate intervening groups,”
McFarlin said. ‘This is an exam-
ple of a broad base of diverse
interests joining with the PUC
and Southwestern Bell Tele-
phone with a common goal to
improve the telecommunication
infrastructure of Texas.
“The telecommunications in:
dustry has changed dramatically
since the Bell System was bro-
ken up and our system of regu-
lation has to keep pace with
those changes.”
Not everyone, however, is as
happy with the PUC ruling. At
least one group, with core
members from the metropolitan
areas which will receive the
least benefit from the Texas
First plan, has threatened to ap-
peal the PUC decision hoping
for a reversal.
“We're already preceding
with some of the benefits,” Mc-
Farlin said. “We've received the
(PUC's) approval and we're go-
ing to get on with it.”
According to McFarlin, the
agreement provides an incen-
tive to “build a telecommunica-
tion network that should attract
new businesses and jobs to
Texas without increasing
telecommunication costs to the
Texas ratepayers.”
The agreement will allow
SWB to earn 12.06 percent re-
turn on investment (ROI) and
half of all earnings from 12.06
percent to 14.5 percent ROI will
be returned to customers.
Earnings above 14.5 percent
ROI will be returned to the cus-
tomers in full.
“This agreement will be good
for the customers and for
Southwestern Bell,” McFarlin
said. “Although some areas will
receive more benefits than oth-
ers, the whole state will come
out ahead."
He said that a number of
states, including California, have
already adopted similar pro-
gressive regulatory approaches
to telecommunications and “now
Texas can join other states*
trying to attract the burgeoning
number of companies which use
advanced information net-
works.”
It should be known soon if
any of the opposition groups will
indeed appeal the PUC ruling or
if the Texas First Plan will be put
into full operation.
Senior
Continued from Page 1A
jompany has to pass along the
lerease to the customers or
irop the channels. “And we
fon’t feel like anyone would like
drop the channels,” Knowles
laid.
Since the FCC deregulated
fable companies in 1984, Know-
3S said that right now, There is
fiothing the city can do about it.”
the government does approve
|egulation next year, Knowles
lid that then, “in order for us to
fave an increase, we would
tave to come before the city
ouncil and have it approved.”
The cable company must
>urchase rights to air every
Ration that they provide with
leir cable service. Even
Nations that come over the air,
fuch as those that come from
iouston must be paid a
bopyright fee.
The copyright fee is minimal
when compared to the fees the
company pays for the pro-
gramming stations, because
they have to pay for the use of
the satellite to get them.
Most new televisions come
cable ready, but many of the
stations offered on basic cable
must be individually turned in
and set up, especially if a VCR
is involved. The cable company
charges $10 when a service
man is requested to come out
and re-set televisions when the
electricity goes off.
Senior Citizens Director Max-
ine Morris suggested that the
company should offer a service
to “periodically check on their
senior citizen customers to be
sure they are receiving all of the
programming that they are
paying for.”
Cencom State Manager Jim
Cullins explained the increase in
this manner. “All of our pro-
gramming costs have gone up.
We carry all the ESPN football
games and all the TNT football
games. Everytime these people
add something, such as the
Goodwill Games, they increase
our programming fees,” he said.
Last year ESPN had many of
the football games. Due to a
bidding war between ESPN and
TNT, those games are being
split between the programming
stations. Cullins said that this
year, “ESPN had to pay the
same amount for half the
season as they paid for the
whole season last year. And
they doubled the rate that the
cable company pays for the
programming.”
Cullins stated, “If they inc-
rease the rates to us, we inc-
rease the rates to the con-
sumer.” He added that in July
the company started on a bud-
get for next year that had no inc-
Local hospital receives commendation
continued from Page 1A
|tnd truly is an outstanding ac-
>mplishment,” Koenig said.
Koenig explained CRMC is
me of the facilities in his
pivision and commends the
ospital’s staff and
ianagement. ‘To me it means
lie culmination of a tremendous
jimount of effort to develop a
ligh quality hospital in a rural
[ommunity. The work is being
lone by Tom Gilbert and his
ledical staff. That’s where the
Iredit should be given for what
pe hospital has done, and I just
lirjk it’s an outstanding ac-
fomplishment on the part of
|om Gilbert and his staff.
“I’m not aware that that kind
Jf commendation from the Joint
commission has occurred with
rural facility at all. There are
[ome facilities that have been
lommended that are urban in
ture. But this is quite outs-
inding considering it’s a dif-
fcult facility to staff.”
Even though Cleveland’s
hospital is part of the nation-
wide Charter Medical Cor-
iration, each hospital stands
j>n its own merits, according to
iilbert.
Koenig said there are 105
hospitals in the Charter com-
>any. Of that 105, 12 are
ledical-surgical and the rest
^re psychiatric.
There are very few rural
hospitals because many of the
lospitals are supported by
ftandard county funds and that
iding is drying up. Many rural
immunities have seen their
lospitals close down, leaving
le people without medical care.
Koenig said, CRMC “is a
irivate, for profit, free-standing
ledical-surgical hospital in a
jural community and does a
good job of surviving financially.
And at the same time, to stay
on top of its quality assurance
program, it’s truly an accomp-
lishment to continue to be viable
when reimbursement in health
care is becoming very very dif-
ficult.
“We provide an awful lot of
free care there which is quite
difficult for our company to
manage. We have a debt to pay
as most people do; a mortgage
on their home or a payment on
their car. I just think that con-
sidering that we have substan-
tial expenses in this company,
this hospital (CRMC) provides
an outstanding service to its
community.”
Gilbert explained what the
commendation meant for the
hospital, himself, and the com-
munity.
“It means to the hospital, that
by voluntarily subscribing to this
survey process, we continue to
exceed the quality standards
set forth by governmental re-
gulations.
‘To the community, it means
we have established and main-
tained standards of care within
the hospital that are consistent
with other hospitals throughout
the United States.
To me, it means a great
sense of accomplishment and
pride because a lot of work,
preparation, and ongoing work
is involved in originally obtaining
and maintaining accreditation of
a hospital.”
According to JCAHO’s own
Hospital Accreditation Program
Scoring Guidelines manual, the
JCAHO strives to meet the
needs of a changing health care
environment by developing
national standards that reflect
the consensus on the state of
the art. On-site surveys are
conducted on a voluntary basis
and accreditations are awarded
to those organizations that meet
the standards.
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reases, but as much as they
worked on it, couldn’t operate
without the increase.
“We do everything we can to
keep our expenses down. I wish
we didn’t have to do it, but we
have no choice. We must do
what we have to in order to
continue to operate next year,”
Cullins said.
Davis
Continued from Page 1A
computer service for the sher-
iffs department, a waiver of ju-
risdiction to allow the purchase
of a nursing home in Dayton, an
amendment to the local gov-
ernment code and change or-
ders on construction of the new
county jail.
In other business, commis-
sioners recorded the certifica-
tion of continuing education for
Liberty County Treasurer Winn
Skidmore. They also approved
warrants payable and the pay-
ment of bills.
Commissioners conducted an
executive session with attorney
Ed Norwood concerning a
workman's compensation law-
suit involving a former county
employee, but no action was
taken following the session.
Parade rest
Several residents and employees at the Galaxy Manor
Nursing Home watch as the recent Christmas parade passes
in front of the facility. The parade traveled from Southside El-
ementary to Stancil Park. For photos of parade entry winne™)
see page 7A. (Photo by PEGGY LOWE)
CHIROPRACTOR
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The primary procedure in chiropractic health care is to
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If present, these malfunctions may be factors in producing
stresses that will influence the nervous system and com-
promise its ability to adapt and function.
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Lowe, R. T. Cleveland Advocate (Cleveland, Tex.), Vol. 73, No. 49, Ed. 1 Friday, December 7, 1990, newspaper, December 7, 1990; Cleveland, Texas. (https://texashistory.unt.edu/ark:/67531/metapth871186/m1/2/?q=music: accessed July 17, 2024), University of North Texas Libraries, The Portal to Texas History, https://texashistory.unt.edu; crediting Austin Memorial Library.