The Harper News (Harper, Tex.), Vol. 9, No. 15, Ed. 1 Friday, May 25, 2012 Page: 2 of 12
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From the Editor
Memorial Day
Memorial Day started
after the Civil War as a way
to honor those who had
fallen in combat. It was
originally called “Decora-
tion Day.” In 1971, it offi-
cially became a national
holiday to honor service
men and women who have
been killed during war.
Here in Harper, we
observe the holiday in
three different ways. The
ladies of the Legion
Auxiliary decorate each
gravesite of a veteran with
a cross and an American
flag early in May. This is
done in all three local
cemeteries, the Harper
Community Cemetery, the
Catholic Cemetery and the
Noxville Cemetery. The
decorations stay up until
after Veterans Day in
November, when they are
removed and stored until
the next year.
A second group puts up
American flags on every
electric utility pole
throughout the town on
Main Street. I always feel
very proud to be part of
Harper when they flags are
flying. Thanks to the
Kaspers and Janice Spaeth.
And for the last several
years the Legion Post #650
has held a flag disposal
ceremony for all those old
and tattered flags that
people have been flying.
This is the proper way to
dispose of them.
It is hoped that this
Monday, all of us will honor
our war dead with a time of
thankfulness and reflection
on their sacrifices to keep
our nation free and safe.
As I listen to the news
and read of families who
have lost loved ones to
wars in Afghanistan or Iraq,
I am thankful for their sac-
rifice. As I hear of veterans
who are home but need
much rehabilitation, I am
grateful and feel that we as
a nation should be able to
do more for them.
I grew up in the Viet
Nam era when returning
soldiers were not honored.
I am grateful that now we
do honor the veterans, but
really wonder if they get
the medical treatments and
aid they deserve. I read
about veterans who are
not getting their needs
met, who have mental
health problems and live in
poverty. How can we help?
One such program is the
Wounded Warrior
Foundation here in Texas.
They provide special pro-
grams for veterans such as
hunts, golf tournaments,
bike rallies, fishing tourna-
ments and more. It allows
vets to network and share
experiences while enjoying
a favorite activity. You can
get more information
online at www.txwounded
warrior.com. They wel-
come donations.
School is out on Monday,
there are lots of other cer-
emonies around that honor
our war dead. Take time to
remember their sacrifices
and thank all the veterans
you see for their service.
They have kept America
free and we owe them
honor in the very least!
Contact Addresses
for Community
Memorials
The Harper Library. P. 0. Box
74, Harper, TX 78631
The Haroer Volunteer Fire
Department and EMS. P. 0. Box
306, Harper, TX 78631
The Harper Community
Cemetery Fund. % Jeanette
Bode, 162 Bobbie Lynn, Harper,
TX 78631
The Harper School Library. P.
O. Box 68, Harper, TX 78631
The Noxvilie Cemetery Fund %
of Tony Ackel, 15380 RR 479,
Harper, TX 78631
The Harper Historical Society.
P. 0. Box 355, Harper, TX 78631
Haroer Community Park Board
% Joan Lennon, 490, S. Ranch
Rd. 783, Harper, TX 78631
Haroer Help Center. % of
Geraldine Skipper, Treasurer,
P.0. Box 97, Harper, TX 78631
The deadline
for the next issue
is Monday,
June 4, 2012.
The Harper News
May 25,
Bode’s Hunting Stories
Gene Bode
December 1,1997. It was
a nice feeling to crawl in the
pickup and head west for a
hunt, since it has been sev-
eral years since being out
there. Got to Marathon
about 2:30. Drove down the
main drag (Hwy 90) and
stopped to take a picture of
the historic Gage Hotel.
Headed south on Hwy 385
toward Big Bend Park.
Wasn’t sure just where to
turn off so I stopped by the
Border Patrol and asked.
Sure glad I did. After five
gates and twenty-two miles
of dirt road, I drove into
camp. Nice place.
Met Mr. A. B. (Fred’s
wife’s grandfather, the
cook). Nobody else around.
C. B., the ranch foreman
came by in a little bit. We
went down to look at the
mules and feed them.
The trapper had just
caught a big bobcat that
had killed a deer the day
before. Ate and went to
bed.
Up early December 2,
Tuesday. Raining outside
but not hard. Loaded up
and drove out. Kinda foggy
but the rain did let up.
Started seeing deer. Saw
two or three bucks laying
down, and more standing.
At 10:00 saw four bucks
together so we drove the
jeep around closer and
there was the Good One!
Took him with the first shot.
Loaded him up and went
back to camp.
We went over to Homer’s
place about a sixty mile
drive from the ranch and
met him and drove around.
Saw probably thirty bucks
there. Made it back about
8:30 that night. Ate and
bedded down.
Got up early and made it
home. Thank the Lord for
one good buck again, and
the life and health to go see
your beauty one more time.
Stay well and healthy.
Catch you down the road
(Editor’s note: This is a
“vintage” Bode story, origi-
nally published on July
2005.)
Letter to the £ d it or
Dear Neighbors,
Thank God we have
finally had some beautiful
rain, but we cannot let our
guard down regarding dry
winds and long periods
without moisture. With
summer on the way, wild-
fires can once again plague
us. Your Fire Department
has put together a special
program titled “Ready, Set,
Go.” It is your personal
Wildfire Action Plan, and is
in conjunction with the
Texas Forest Service, U.S.
Dept, of Agriculture, along
with the International Fire
Chiefs’ Association.
It is a plan to learn how
to prepare yourself, your
loved ones, and your prop-
erty from the threat of
wildfire. It will be held at
the Harper School Cafeteria
on June 24, 2012, at 12:30
p.m. All ages are welcome,
free hot dogs will be served,
compliments of Charles
Sander.
Come learn how to sur-
vive this very real threat.
Please save this bulletin as a
reminder of this event.
Harper Volunteer
Fire Dept. Auxiliary
Emilio Rendon
Deadline Approaches for Three Farm
Service Agency Programs
USDA Farm Service
Agency (FSA) Executive
Director Ricky Neffendorf
reminds producers that the
approaching June 1,2012,
deadline is for Supplemental
Revenue Assistance
Payments (SURE), the Direct
and Counter-Cyclical
Program (DCP) and the
Average Crop Revenue
Election Program (ACRE).
"It is crucial that pro-
ducers meet the deadline
for these programs in order
to receive disaster and
income support," said
Neffendorf. "FSA realizes
that farmers and ranchers
take risks everyday and
these programs form part of
the safety net that can keep
producers operating after
devastating natural disas-
ters and during times of low
market prices," he said.
The SURE program com-
pensates producers for pro-
duction and/or quality loss-
es during times of disaster.
All producers who have
experienced crop produc-
tion and/or crop quality
losses during the 2010 crop
year must apply for SURE
program benefits by the
June 1 deadline. Eligibility
requirements differ
between producers located
in counties designated as a
primary or contiguous dis-
aster county by the
Secretary of Agriculture and
between producers located
in non-disaster counties, in
addition to other eligibility
requirements, producers
must have purchased crop
insurance through the
Federal Crop Insurance Act
or the Noninsured Crop
Disaster Assistance Program
(NAP).
While SURE helps after
natural disasters strike, DCP
and ACRE provide income
support when there is a
decline in commodity
prices. Eligible DCP partici-
pants receive a direct pay-
ment and/or a counter-
cyclical payment. Direct
payment rates are estab-
lished by statute regardless
of market prices. FSA
reminds producers that the
2008 Farm Bill does not
authorize advance direct
Texas Food Banks Strongly Oppose
House Cuts to SNAP Program
Texas Food Banks
Strongly The Texas
Food Bank Network (TFBN), a
statewide association of
twenty regional food banks
expressed outrage at yes-
terday's vote by the U.S.
House of Representatives to
slash hunger relief spending
by nearly $36 billion.
“Feeding our neighbors
is a shared responsibility,”
said Celia Cole, CEO of TFBN.
“Food banks will not be able
to make up the difference
from this proposed cut, and
Texas families will suffer the
consequences if it becomes
law.”
The House vote on an
FY2013 budget package was
widely seen as an attempt
to avoid automatic, govern-
ment-wide cuts placed in
last year's deficit agree-
ment. Programs like SNAP
(aka food stamps) were
originally spared by that
agreement on the advice of
several bipartisan deficit
commissions.
The House-proposed
cuts also run counter to a
recent public opinion poll
finding that 77% of voters
(and 63% of Republican vot-
ers) oppose cutting SNAP to
reduce government spend-
ing.
“We invest in a nutrition
Deadline for CattleWomen
Scholarship Approaching
The deadline for Hill
Country CattleWomen
scholarships is June 1,2012.
Applicants must be from
Bandera, Bexar, Blanco,
Edwards, Gillespie, Kendall,
Kerr, Kimble, Llano, Mason,
McCulloch, Menard, Real or
San Saba counties.
Agriculture majors and
applicants with an agricul-
ture background are given
priority; however all stu-
dents in any major are wel-
come and encouraged to
apply.
All applicants should
have 60 college hours or
more and be classified as a
college level junior or sen-
ior at the time of applica-
tion. A grade point aver-
age of at least 2.8 must have
been maintained.
Interested students
should request an applica-
tion from Scholarship
Chairwoman, Elaine
Kasprzyk, P. 0. Box 44,
Pontotoc, TX 76869, phone
325-251 -6590, or e-mail
rockinak917@hotmail.com.
Texas AgriLife Extension Office Offers
Private Applicators Class and Testing
Texas AgriLife Extension
Service will be conducting a
private pesticide applicator
class and testing session on
Tuesday, June 5 at 8 KM) a.m.
at the Gillespie county
Agricultural Extension
building located at 95
Frederick Road in
Fredericksburg. The four to
five hour private pesticide
applicator training session
will begin at 8:00 a.m. and
Texas Department of
Agriculture personnel will
administer the private pes-
ticide applicator test after
lunch, following the training
session.
This training session is for
individuals that do not have
a license and those desiring
to buy restricted chemicals.
Individuals interested in
attending should contact
the Texas AgriLife Extension
Office at (830) 997-3452.
Study materials should be
purchased from the
Extension Office located at
95 Frederick Road prior to
the training. Cost of manu-
als and study materials is
$45.
Extension programs serve
people of all ages regard-
less of socioeconomic level,
race, color, sex, religion,
disability or national origin.
Persons needing auxiliary
aids or services are asked to
contact the Gillespie County
Extension agent, Brad
Roeder, at (830) 997-3452
by May 25, 2012 to let him
know what type of aids are
required.
Quote of the Week
“Inhere are no secrets to
success. It is a resuit of
preparation, fiardwork
and [earningfrom
-Cofin Towed
(You are invited to submit your favorites.)
Foreign Persons Must Report U.S.
Agricultural Land Holdings
payments for 2012.
Counter-cyclical payments
vary depending on market
prices, and are issued only
when the effective price for
a commodity is below its
target price.
ACRE protects producers
from farm market revenue
declines when revenue trig-
gers are met for a commod-
ity at both the state and
farm level. All owners and
operators who will share in
the DCP and ACRE payments
on the farm must sign up by
June 1.
"ACRE elections and
enrollment must be com-
pleted by the June 1 dead-
line as late file provisions
are not available for ACRE,"
said Neffendorf. "If elected
in a previous year, produc-
ers must enroll for 2012 by
June 1 to receive payment,"
he said.
For questions regarding
SURE, DCP or ACRE sign-up,
please contact the Giliesple-
Kendall-Blanco County FSA
office at 830-997-3453 Ext 2.
"Any foreign person who
acquires, transfers or holds
any interest, other than a
security interest, including
leaseholds of 10 years or
more, in agricultural land in
the United States is required
by law to report the trans-
action no later than 90 days
after the date of the trans-
action," said Neffendorf.
Foreign investors must
file Agricultural Foreign
Investment Disclosure Act
(AFIDA) reports with the FSA
county office that maintains
reports for the county
where the land is located.
“Failure to file a report,
filing a late report or filing
an inaccurate report can
result in a penalty with fines
up to 25 percent of the fair
market value of the agricul-
tural land,” said Neffendorf.
For AFIDA purposes,
agricultural land is defined
as any land used for farm-
ing, ranching or timber pro-
duction, if the tracts total 10
acres or more.
Disclosure reports are
also required when there
are changes in land use. For
example, reports are
required when land use
changes from nonagricul-
tural to agricultural or from
agricultural to nonagricul-
tural. Foreign investors
must also file a report when
there is a change in the sta-
tus of ownership such as the
owner changes from foreign
to non-foreign, from non-
foreign to foreign or from
foreign to foreign.
Data gained from these
disclosures is used to pre-
pare an annual report to the
President and Congress con-
cerning the effect of such
holdings upon family farms
and rural communities in
the United States.
For more information
regarding AFIDA and FSA
programs, contact the
Gillespie-Kendall-Blanco
County FSA office at 830-
997-3453 Ext 2 or visit the
USDA Web site at
http://www.usda.aov.
GED Tests Increasing in
Cost and Difficulty in 2014;
Get Tested Now!
safety net so it will be there
when times are hard. Times
are hard now, and the SNAP
program is working as
designed,” said Cole, citing
rising ranks of the recently
unemployed receiving ben-
efits. “We agree with the
goal of deficit reduction, but
we should not achieve it on
the backs of the most vul-
nerable.”
Network provides a uni-
fied voice among twenty
food banks in support of a
common mission to end
hunger in Texas.
Endhunaerintex.org
Changes are coming to
the GED test in 2014.
Students wishing to take the
test are encouraged to
complete the process by
Dec. 31,2013.
Beginning in January of
2014, the test will be much
more difficult! Presently,
students can retake one or
more sections of the tests
separately. In 2014, stu-
dents will have to retake the
entire test, even those sec-
tions passed and it will be
substantially more expen-
sive.
The entire test will be
conducted on computer, not
paper so basic computer
skills, are needed and will
be given at official test cen-
ters.
Students are encouraged
to take the test this year
while they still have time to
retake failed sections next
year.
The Harper Library offers
classes in GED preparation.
While this spring’s classes
end in early June, the
library has many classes
starting again in the fall.
The classes begin Sept. 4.
and go through Nov. 20. The
second session starts on Jan.
8 and goes through Mar. 19.
The last session starts on
Mar. 26 and ends on May 28.
Tutors are available to help
with English as a second lan-
guage as well as GED prepa^
ration. Call the library (864-
4993) for more information
or email
Harperlibrarv406@aol.com.
or miaredina @amail.com.
Online information can be
found at http^/www.acenet.
edu/Content/Naviaationmen
u/aed/Truth About GED
Test.htm (information on
online testing),
http^/bass.tea.state.tx.us/T e
a.GEDi.Web/Forms/TestCent
ers.asox. (Texas list of test
centers), or http://www.tea.
state.tx.us./index2.aspx?id=9
448menu id2=945(Texs
Education Agency’s GED
site).
The Harper News
Policies:
•Letters to the editor must be accompanied by full name, address
and phone number and may be edited for length and clarity.
Letter writers may be limited to one letter every thirty days.
Form letters will not be published.
Errors and omissions: The advertiser agrees that the Publisher
shall not be liable for damages arising out of errors and adver-
tisements beyond the amount paid for the space actually occupied
by that portion of the advertisement containing the error,
whether the error is due to the negligence of the publisher,
employees or otherwise, and there shall be no liability for non-
insertion of any advertisement beyond the amount paid for such
advertisement.
•The Publisher reserves the right to change subscription rates
without notice.
The Harper News
is Owned and Published by Martha Stevens
23586 West U. S. Highway 290
P. 0. Box 418, Harper, TX 78631 -0418
Martha Stevens - Editor/Publisher
email - hnews@ktc.com • Phone/Fax - 830 864-5655
Subscription rates: $25.00 locally (Gillespie Cty. and/or a
Harper address), $27.00 out of county or state.
Published twice a month
A minimum of 1000 copies of this paper are
printed by the Kerrville Daily Times. We have 450 paid
subscriptions and distribute another
100 to local merchants.
USPS Bulk rate Permit #104
(Postmaster: Send address changes to:
The Harper News, P. 0. Box 418,
Harper, Texas 78631 -0577)
Send subscriptions to: The Haroer News.
P. 0. Box 418, Harper, TX 78631 -0418
1 year -$25.00 in Gillespie County or with Harper
address, $27.00 out of county or state.
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Stevens, Martha. The Harper News (Harper, Tex.), Vol. 9, No. 15, Ed. 1 Friday, May 25, 2012, newspaper, May 25, 2012; Harper, Texas. (https://texashistory.unt.edu/ark:/67531/metapth844820/m1/2/?q=Lamar+University: accessed June 8, 2024), University of North Texas Libraries, The Portal to Texas History, https://texashistory.unt.edu; crediting Harper Library.