Cleveland Advocate (Cleveland, Tex.), Vol. 69, No. 35, Ed. 1 Friday, September 2, 1988 Page: 4 of 22
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'age 4 - Section A, CLEVELAND ADVOCATE, Friday, September 2, 1988
Opinion
Viewpoint ^ What does Labor Day mean to you?
<A. *
i
“It celebrates the
progress of labor.” —
Norman
Cleveland
Chandler,
“It’s a day for the family
to be together.” — Lavelta
Isaacks, Cleveland
“It just means more work
for me getting in my hay.”
— Charles Ashford, Rye
“It’s a day off for the
working people —
something they deserve.”
— Hiram Davidson,
Cleveland
IS THERE A
COSTC/ME PARTY
IN TOWN
TONIGHT?
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NAW£ IT'S JUST
a % THE MAYOR
„ \ ON HIS WAY TO
\ Wa) A COUNC/L
‘uww M
CiAf/t
, ^
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exas criminal punishment is a major problem
CHARLES T. TERRELL
lairman Texas Board of
krections
t’m addressing you on the subject
Iwhat to do about crime in Texas. I
going to be frank and candid
Ith you. I am not an elected official
| l can tell it like it is.
^et us first address the question -
we have a crime problem in
|xas? My answer to you today is it
the greatest challenge that Texas
faces.
fe will come back in our
)nomy. We still build great
jhways. We have droughts but it
mtually rains, but our crime
)blem is rampant, far-reaching,
effects all of our lives directly
indirectly. We will pay for the
[ice of crime one way of another as
ptims and as taxpayers.
(here are we today? Our prisons
full and our jails are full. Three
our largest cities consistently
lk at or near the top in crime
tes.
7e have 300,000 probationers and
jroximately 50,000 parolees on
streets everyday;. This is far
bre than any other state in the
Ion.
The National Institute of Justice
recently reported that the average
recidivist on the street costs us
$430,000 in stolen property annually
plus any injury or loss of life to their
victims. Our recidivism rate in
Texas is currently 43..
Approximately 60. of^ our prison
inmates are high school drop-outs
with an average educational level of
7th grade. Most have and I. Q.
between 70-100. More than 80. of
inmates in prison for violent crimes
come from violent homes. 79. of our
inmates are incarcerated for crimes
relating to drug and alcohol abuse.
There is no doubt that we have an
enormous crime problem in Texas.
That crime problem effects
everyone of us in ever aspect of our
lives. How can we rebuild an
economy and attract new businesses
and tourists to Texas when our
headlines are dominated by crime
offenses?
How many teenage girls have to
be dragged off and raped before we
get serious about the problems?
How can we enjoy life with our
families if they are not safe in our
homes and of our streets? How
many women have curtailed their
trips to the shopping mall in fear of
being followed home by an armed
robber or rapist?
How many times have you read
your morning newspaper in horror
when a five-year old is reported
missing from his of her own
neighborhood play area? We are at
war, and we must win the war
against crime for the sake of our
state and our people.
How did we get in this mess? For
at least forty of fifty years, we, as
citizens, have sent the wrong
signals. We told our elected leaders
that we would not re-elect them if
they raised taxes, and they gave us
what we demanded.
As a result, we have ranked at or
near the bottom in per capita
spending on education and in mental
health care. We did not keep up with
prison capacity needs as our crime
rates advanced.
So now we have overflowing
prisons and the early release of
offenders. Added to that in recent
years has been the economic
downturn of our state and, finally,
the most insidious ingredient of all in
the foundation of crime, our national
drug problem.
How far have we come in so few
years? Many of us remember when
§11
Mjifcl
“It’s a day to celebrate the
working people of
America.” — Pam Lewis,
Livingston
“It’s a very special day for
the working men and
women.” — Mary Man-
tooth, Cleveland
LETTERS TO THE EDITOR
Pageant’s executive director ^
values Advocate’s support
Dear Editor,
We want to thank you for you
support in our most successful year
ever as our representative, Monica
Perry, Miss Southeast Texas 1988,
placed sixth among 61 other con-
testants from over the state.
Monica was not only one of the top
ten finalists at this year’s Miss
Texas Pageant and preliminary
talent winner, but had the second
highest interview score.
We are not preparing for out 1989
season and would be honored to have
the Advocate once again as one of
our sponsors. The Advocate has
always been Cleveland’s number
one source of local news and is
Cleveland’s only real newspaper,
therefore we are extremely proud of
your support.
Miss Advocate, Rhonda Morrison,
placed fourth runner-up in our local
competition last year.
Congratulations!
Sincerely,
Lavada Nelson, Exect. Dir.
Miss Southeast Texas
Scholarship Pageant
f
Free gift tempts reader to
bite on tour package sale
we didn’t have to lock the doors of
our homes. Now we have dead bolts
and alarms.
We remember when, as children,
we could go anywhere at anytime in
our towns. Now five-year old boys
and girls aren’t safe in their own
backyards. How far have wc jme?
Too far my friends. The criminal
controls our lives and freedoms.
Now what can we do about it? We
must have the guts and the vision to
change our approaches in Texas. To
do so will require public support as
never before, and statesmanship by
our elected leadership.
Statesmanship, as stated by
Webster’s Unabridged Dictionary, is
defined as “one who exercises
political leadership wisely and
without narrow partisanship; one
who actively engages in the con-
ducting of the business of govern-
ment of in shaping of its policies.”
Fortunately, we do have
statesmanship today in addressing
the War on Crime in the presence of
Governor Clements, Lt. Gov. Bill
Hobby, Speaker Gib Lewis, and
Legislative stalwarts like Sen. John
Montford, Sen. Bob McFarland, Sen.
Kent Capenrton, Sen. Chet Brooks,
See TEXAS, Page5A
Dear Editor,
Ready for a new twist on the same
old game!
This week I received a card in the
mail from “The Clearing House”. It
stated: Very Important: Contact So-
and-So Immediately.
So I called the number, long
distance I might add, thinking, “I
wonder who I owe this time.”
I spoke to a very courteous young
lady who informed me I was a grand
prize winner. Wow! I had already
won two or 5 possible prizes. These
included a ladies diamond watch, a
10,000 vacation package, $2,000 in
cash, a 26’ color TV or a 1988 Cutlass
Supreme.
Uh-oh! Another tour package.
Well, I didn’t have anything better to
do, I’ll bite.
“Is this another tour package?” I
asked innocently.
It is sponsored by (name
withheld) and you do have to g
through a guided tour of our
properties, but we have our prizes
located on the premises.” The young
lady informed me.
Like I said, I had nothing better to
do so I made an appointment to see
the place. Besides, what if I was
wrong, I thought. What if I don’t go
and miss a chance at a 1988 Cutlass
Supreme.
When we arrived (I had to take
along my husband bound and gaged
in the back seat. Glad the cops didn’t
stop me. That would have been
difficult to explain.) The guard at
the gate informed us where to park.
We were told to go to a pavilion
and give our cards to a sweet little
thing at the window who informed us
someone would be with us in just a
minute and would we please have a
seat. Thirty minutes later the young
lady took us to the edge of the
pavilion and pointed to an older
gentleman seated in his car and
informed us he would be our guide.
This elderly gentleman took us on
an approximate 15-minute tour of
the property then back to an office
where we spent another 30 minutes
discussing lot prices, coast to coast
vacation packages, private mem-
berships, etc.
From there we were sent to
another building for an hour where
we were to meet out “public
relations lady”. She spent about 15
minutes asking us how we liked our
tour. Then we were sent to another
building where we were im-
mediately taken into another office
and summarily given our “grand
prizes”.
4
These were the “Grand Prizes”. A
ladies diamond watch which, I’m
sure there’s a diamond in there
someplace. I lost my high powered
magnifying glass last week when the
kids tried to set fire to a bug.
I also won a $10,000 vacation
package. I fully intend to use this
package of coupons for 50 percent off
hotel rooms as soon as I go to
Wisconsin, New York, South
Carolina or wherever else they’re
good for. Of course, if I can afford to
t ravel to all these locations, I’ll be
so rich that I probably won’t care if I
use these coupons or not.
All in all, it was a very courteous
tour and if you do happen to have
nothing better to do, I recommend
you...wash your car, clean out the
garage, kiss your kids, or whatever
makes you happy.
That’s all for now, but if I come up
with some more interesting places to
visit I’ll be happy to let you know,
whether you’re interested or not.
*
Thanks a lot,
Gullible Annie,
DeAnna Martin
Cleveland.
DVOCATE
Serving the Cleveland Area Since 1917
Vol. 69, No. 35
R.T. LOWE
Jerrel Ferguson
Janice Carleton
Fredia Cox
Judy Barr
Linda Shropshire
Catherine S. Clay
Editor
Sports Editor
Classified Manager
Business Office/Cir.
Circulation Assistance
Composition Manager
Maintenance
ICLINT RITTER
Idianacole
Publisher
General Manager
Advertising Director
FOUNDERS COMMUNICATIONS
The Cleveland Advocate (USPS 117560) is one
of 18 newspapers serving Liberty. San Jacinto.
Montgomery. Harris. Grimes and Waller counties
and is represented statedwide by the Texas
Press Association, the Gulf Coast Press
Association and nationwide by the National
Press Association.
Published weekly at 108 West Hanson.
Cleveland, Texas 77327 by Advocate Publishing
Inc. Second class postage paid at The post
office In Cleveland. Texas 77327.
Annual Subscription..............$14
Postmaster: Please send address changes or
undeliverable copies to:
Cleveland Advocate
P.0. Box 1628
Cleveland, TX 77327
592*2626
443-7225
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Lowe, R. T. Cleveland Advocate (Cleveland, Tex.), Vol. 69, No. 35, Ed. 1 Friday, September 2, 1988, newspaper, September 2, 1988; Cleveland, Texas. (https://texashistory.unt.edu/ark:/67531/metapth982009/m1/4/?q=Lamar+University: accessed July 18, 2024), University of North Texas Libraries, The Portal to Texas History, https://texashistory.unt.edu; crediting Austin Memorial Library.