The Baytown Sun (Baytown, Tex.), Vol. 94, No. 46, Ed. 1 Wednesday, March 5, 2014 Page: 4 of 8
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4
The Baytown Sun
Wednesday
March 5, 2014
OUR VIEW
LETTER TO THE EDITOR
Project Proin ^sca* wisdom, potential greatness
I In reality, the political rhetoric about financial re- verselv afFertina thp tLoir oAnctit
New, gently used formal dresses
as well as jewelry & shoes sought
Communities In Schools of Baytown is collecting
new or gently used formal dresses — as well as tux-
edos, jewelry and shoes — for Project Prom 2014.
Project Prom, now in its fifth year, assists econom-
ically disadvantaged Goose Creek CISD students
with prom clothing and accessories at no charge.
Project Prom also provides clothes and accesories
for eighth-graders to attend school dances.
During tough economic times when it seems near-
ly everyone is asking for a contribution to this, that
or the other thing, how great is a project that asks
you to contribute only something you have already
paid for and will probably never use again.
As you know, high school prom is a major life mo-
ment for students, and to not be able to go because
you don’t have something to wear is hard on young
people.
Think about it:*for the minimal time and effort it
takes to donate an item from your closet that you are
unlikely to wear again, you can help a young person
take a positive step forward into the next stage of
their lives.
Project Prom goes a little way toward helping with
that, and while it might not cure cancer or save a life,
maybe it can help make a few lives a little better.
And that’s a good thing.
New or slightly used dress-up items for local high
school and eighth grade students can be dropped off
through April 4 at the E.F. Green Center (at 607 W.
Baker Road) between the post office and courthouse.
All donations are tax deductible.
Call 281-425-3304 for more information.
In reality, the political rhetoric about financial re-
sponsibility in the federal government seems to be more
about how the tax dollars are spent than how many are
spent. No matter who is complaining about federal ex-
penditures and associated indebtedness, the complain-
ers always have those government activities which they
consider essential and therefore untouchable in any gov-
ernmental cost reduction steps.
In that regard, we witness how many “fiscal conserva-
tives” quickly denounce any attempt to cut the costs of
national defense. Even when the military establishment
says a program or facility is unnecessary, those who
might typically denounce governmental waste, rise up
and attempt to prevent a reduction in the defense budget.
The focus on defense spending as sacred and off the
table in budget negotiations highlights an incongruity
which serves as a counterpoint to another popular con-
tention by some politicians. This argument claimed that
government spending was not the proper or even an ef-
fective way to stimulate a weak economy. As popular-
ly stated, only private business could actually do that.
Within the context of that insistence, we routinely wit-
ness the same politicians struggle against base closures
and defense contract reductions which they see as ad-
versely affecting the economic outlook of their constit-
uent areas. Apparently, most, no matter their professed
opinions on managing the economy, see the presence of
government funded work in their area as wildly attrac-
tive. This is certainly nothing new or surprising, merely
ironic when noted as inconsistent with other political
rhetoric.
Irony, inconsistency and incongruity all seem like an
indictment. However, in reality such is simply a sign
that we, collectively, need to engage in an adult dialogue
about what we want from government and then step up
to what that is going to cost.
Simply saying that we won’t pay any more while de-
manding more or even the status quo in sacred areas is
hot reasonable.
Tough decisions involve potentially painful conse-
quences, maybe even an element of self sacrifice.
If we ever aspire to a measure of the greatness of that
generation known as the Greatest, we need to embrace
what made that group so noble and noteworthy, a com-
mitment to a shared sacrifice in the interest of the com-
mon good.
Rick Crotts
Baytown
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GUEST VIEW
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‘Knock Out
Colon Cancer’
San Jacinto hospital workers spur
m
j
education, action by participating
in national awareness movement
One in 20 people will be diagnosed with colon cancer.
It’s a scary statistic and it’s one of the reasons why Hous-
ton Methodist San Jacinto Hospital will be hosting com-
panywide events where employees hope to bring aware-
ness of colon cancer, a disease that can be prevented
through screening, but remains the second leading cause
of overall cancer deaths in the United States.
"Dress in Blue Day” at Houston Methodist San Jacinto
will be on Friday in conjunction with the Colon Cancer
Alliance’s National Dress in Blue Day program.
Employees will be able to buy blue ribbons in support
of colon cancer awareness or in memory of loved ones
throughout March. The ribbons will b? displayed in the
hospital’s cafeteria.
March 21 will be the Blue your Unit Competition. Medi-
cal units and departments throughout the hospital will dec-
orate their units blue in order to raise awareness for colon
cancer. The winning unit will receive a pizza party.
“We wanted to make a difference in the lives of our
employees, their families and their friends. Our ‘Dress in
Blue Day’ event encourages employees to talk to loved
ones about colon cancer and the importance of being
screened. By creating more awareness around this dis-
ease, we will save lives,” said Donna Gares, CEO. “It’s
important that we do our part by helping the Colon Can-
cer Alliance create a future free of colon cancer.”
Long live the Lone Star
TODAY IN HISTORY
Today is Ash Wednesday, March 5, the 64th day of
2014. There are 301 days left in the year.
Today’s Highlight in History:
On March 5, 1963, country music performers Patsy
Cline, Cowboy Copas and Hawkshaw Hawkins died in
the crash of their plane, a Piper Comanche, near Camden,
Tenn., along with pilot Randy Hughes (Cline’s manager).
On this date:
In 1770, the Boston Massacre took place as British sol-
diers who’d been taunted by a crowd of colonists opened
fire, killing five people.
In 1868, the Senate was organized into a Court of Im-
peachment to decide charges against President Andrew
Johnson, who was later acquitted.
In 1934, the first Mothers-in-Law Day celebration and
parade took place in Amarillo.
In i960, Elvis Presley was discharged from the Army.
In 1979, NASA’s Voyager 1 space probe flew past Jupi-
ter, sending back photographs of the planet and its moons.
In 1982, comedian John Belushi was found dead of a
drug overdose in a rented bungalow in Hollywood; he
was 33.
Thought for Today: “Boredom is the root of all evil — j
the despairing refusal to be oneself.”
— Soren Kierkegaard, Danish philosopher (1813-1855)
When the siege at the Alamo end-
ed March 6, 1836, a total of 189 de-
fenders had died and among them,
a soldier from the Lynchburg Vol-
unteers.
Charles Zanco, native of Den-
mark, had been one of the first vol-
; unteers to sign up in the fall of 1835
for the militia captained by .William
Scott in present-day Baytown.
Zanco is remembered not only
for being one of the Alamo martyrs
but also for creating a flag with the
most beloved emblem of Texas: the
lone star.
Thanks to 2nd Lt. James McGa-
hey of the Lynchburg Volunteers,
we have a first-hand account of the
making of the Lone Star flag.
McGahey, in a Galveston News
article, recalled that Scott ap-
proached him one morning about
the need for a battle flag. “Mack,”
he said, “I have a piece of beauti-
ful silk, solid blue. If you’ll make a
staff, we’ll have a flag.”
McGahey agreed and took the
four yards of silk to Lynchburg,
where a staff was made.. Mrs. Na-
thaniel Lynch, wife of the founder
of the village, sewed a piece of do-
mestic material to the silk to protect
its edge from fraying.
A painter by trade, Zanco painted
a large five-pointed white star in the
center of the flag.
Afterward, the flag artist told Mc-
Gahey that something was missing.
“It looks naked,” he said. “Let me
paint something under it.”
McGahey suggested the word
“independence.”
Done.
Zanco spelled it out neatly under
the white star, and Texas had its In-
dependence Flag. Or Scott Flag, as
it is often called in history books.
Or the first Lone Star flag of Texas.
No one argued about the star - it
was pretty - but there were those
who worried about the “indepen-
dence” motto. Texas had not, at that
time, declared its independence
WANDA
ORTON
and formed a new
nation. They were
getting there but it
hadn't happened
yet.
Even Capt. Scott,
the firebrand;
voiced concern
about the “i” word.
However, he told
McGahey: “By
blood, Mack, that was a little rash,
but I’ll sustain you in it.”
Meanwhile the Harrisburg bunch
upstream on Buffalo Bayou got
wind of the Independence Flag and
objected. Eight armed men piled
into two boats and sailed down-
stream for a confrontation with the
Lynchburg Volunteers.
Before the fighting really started
in the Texas Revolution, a little war
almost erupted between those vol-
unteer units.
As the two boats from Harris-
burg, each carrying eight armed
men, pulled up to shore at Lynch-
burg, Scott’s-soldiers - also armed
- formed a line between the shore
and Lynch’s home.
“Not a man got out of either
boat,” McGahey remembered, “nor
was there a word spoken by any
one.”
McGahey said he set his gun
against the house, stepped inside,
took the flag from a rack, returned
and unfurled the flag.
“I planted the staff with a firm
stroke in the ground on the bank
of the San Jacinto,” said, “and the
lone star with the magic word ‘in-
dependence’ floated proudly on
the breeze. For some minutes not
a word was spoken. Presently the
captain of one of the boats ordered
his men to push away from the bank
and when out a short distance in the
stream stood up and took off his hat,
flourished it around his head, shout-
ing, ‘Hurray for the Lone Star.’
“Every man of his crew did like-
wise but the other boat pulled away
★
INDEPENDENCE
and departed without any demon-
stration of any kind whatever.”
When the real fighting did start,
and McGahey would be waving the
Lone Star flag in the battle at Con-
cepcion. Wounded, he had to go on
furlough and handed the flag over
to another Lynchburg Volunteer,
Thomas Bell. It is believed that
Bell carried it to the Siege at Bexar
in December 1835. That’s the bat-
tle the Texans won in San Antonio,
forcing the Mexican Army back to
Mexico.
After the Siege at Bexar, there
was no trace of the flag. No one
knew what happened to it.
Zanco, instead of returning to
this bay area, remained in the Tex-
as Army in San Antonio, helping to
keep the area fortified in case the
enemy returned.
Remembering the Siege at Bexar,
the Mexican Army returned in huge
numbers and the Siege at the Alamo
began.
The people of Denmark take
great pride in their native son who
created the first Lone Star flag and
who died bravely defending Texas.
They discuss the subject on various
web sites in Danish but, not to wor-
ry, you can click on translations.
In plain English, Baytown is
proud of Charles Zanco, too.
Wanda Orton is a retired man-
aging editor of The Sun. She can
be reached at viewpoints@bay-
townsun.com, Attention: Wanda
Orton.
Thf%aytown Sun
Main office:
281-422-8302 • Fax: 281-427-6283
1301 Memorial Drive, Baytown
Look for us online:
www. bayto wnsun. com
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twitter.com/baytownsun
MANAGEMENT
Publisher...........................Janie Gray
Managing Editor...........David Bloom
Advertising Director...... Brenda Burr
Circulation Manager ...Gregg Sanford
Business Manager............April Jones
BILLING QUESTIONS
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Accounting ............281-425-8056
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EDITORIAL BOARD
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hbach
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M. A. Bengtson
David Bloom
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By 6am daily & Sam Sunday
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>h any sub
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not necessarily reflect
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Bloom, David. The Baytown Sun (Baytown, Tex.), Vol. 94, No. 46, Ed. 1 Wednesday, March 5, 2014, newspaper, March 5, 2014; Baytown, Texas. (https://texashistory.unt.edu/ark:/67531/metapth1066681/m1/4/: accessed June 30, 2024), University of North Texas Libraries, The Portal to Texas History, https://texashistory.unt.edu.; crediting Sterling Municipal Library.