The Baytown Sun (Baytown, Tex.), Vol. 83, No. 253, Ed. 1 Wednesday, August 11, 2004 Page: 4 of 16
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U&e Vtaptoton fruit
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Wednesday, August 11,2004
Wednesday, A
School binding
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Fill seat with one who won’t run
election.
Come to
4505-C
lot of volunteer work for
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Dustjacket from the first edition
■ i
About us
2
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■ IL.-i.Llllll-lu1
TODAY IN HISTORY
TODAY IN SUN HISTORY
z I'M
&E0R6EW.BUSH
AND I
APPROVEP THIS
k MESSAGE. /
When 1 said that the manager
needs “feet-on-the-desk think-
ing time,” that was simply my
way of emphasizing the impor-
tance for managers to have time
to reflect on the overall opera-
tion of our city.
We are fortunate to have the
i we cur-
rently have. They are doing an
ed to this type of activity. Too
frequently managers are forced
The First Amendment
Congress shall make no law respecting an
establishment of religion, or prohibiting the free
exercise thereof; or abridging the freedom of
speech, or of the press; or«the right of the people
peaceably to assemble, and to petition the
Government for a redress of grievances.
Yvonne Kefiy
Lake Houston
wtke
CORNER...
Our I
Fleshly (
Don't forg
I )<>t tuffrM
#1 Idahc
including
®je SJaptoton frtm
Founded 1922
Wanda Gamer Cash,
Editor and Publisher
language that the students them-
selves are scolded for using?
Many times a teacher will
send home a permission slip on
such occasions to help the par-
ent be aware of the situation, but
wouldn’t it be easier on every-
one to merely incorporate more
educational and uplifting books
that would benefit our knowl-
edge on other topics?
I’m not trying to cause any
problems. 1 am simply trying to
inform the parents of Baytown
on what it is their children are
being exposed to. We’re already
exposed to violence, sex and
crude language in the hallway. Is
it really necessary to develop it
in the classroom?
Anastasia Loxtemian
Buytown
Scott P
Amber
REDWOOt
Scott Petersi
tress testifie
first night to(
dancing to ki
room tryst -
the pregnant
say he later
Amber Fre
star witness,
tionship that
from sex to <
ship. A singh
almost immr
Peterson wit
ter and said
her as his o\
Prosecute
of their case
that Petersoi
massage the
Opinion
Pcorn tfrrN.
any tie possibilities.
I have known William Bigby
Barnett since grade school, and
know that Martha and Billy do a
I - I
raj
A ' $
\ a
V •■"■•I
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Today is Wednesday, Aug. 11, the 224th
day of2004. There are 142 days left in the
year.
Today’s Highlight in History:
On Aug. 11,1909, the SOS distress signal
was first used by an American ship, the
Arapahoe, off Cape Hatteras, N.C.
On this date:
In 1860, the nation’s first successful silver
mill began operation near Virginia City, Nev.
In 1934, the first federal prisoners arrived
at the island prison Alcatraz in San
Francisco Bay.
In 1942, during World War II, Vichy gov-
ernment official Pierre Laval publicly
declared that “the hour of liberation for
France is the hour when Germany wins the
war.”
In 1956, abstract painter Jackson Pollock
died in an automobile accident in East
Hampton, N.Y.
In 1962, the Soviet Union launched cos-
monaut Andrian Nikolayev on a 94-hour
flight
In 1965, rioting and looting that claimed
1 know there is no perfect
solution to the vacant District 3
position on City Council, how-
ever, I have an idea that I think
can work.
City Council should appoint
Martha Barnett to the position
until the election. Martha is the
only one of the original seven
applicants who said she would
not run for the position at elec-
tion time. This is a matter of
public record. Councilman
Mercedes Renteria III mistaken-
ly said during one Council ses-
sion that all seven applicants
not the case. Mrs. Barnett said
in The Baytown Sun that she
would not seek re-election.
Placing Mrs. Barnett on
Council would fill the position
until the election, at which time
the voters could decide who
they want in that position. That
would also allow six Council
members plus the mayor to vpte
on new issues, thereby breaking issues before they b
34 lives broke out in the predominantly
black Watts section of Los Angeles.
In 1978, chiefs of state and foreign digni-
taries arrived in Vatican City for the funeral
of Pope Paul VI.
In 1984, President Reagan joked during a
voice test for a paid political radio address
that he had “signed legislation that will out-
law Russia forever. We begin bombing in
five minutes.”
In 1992, the Mall of America, the biggest
shopping mall in the U.S., opened in
Bloomington, Minn.
In 1997, President Clinton made the first
use of the historic line-item veto approved
by Congress, rejecting three items in spend-
ing and tax bills. (However, the Supreme
Court later struck down the line-item veto as
unconstitutional.) /
Ten years ago: A federal jury awarded
more than 10,000 commercial fishermen
$286.8 million for losses suffered as a result
of the 1989 Exxon Valdez oil spill. The
Tenth International Conference on AIDS
concluded in Yokohama, Japan.
F an, C^MEqN'
YOU DON'T REALLY
BELIEVE TWlS GOULD
be politically
MOTIVATED?
city staff were discussing how outstanding jo
important it is for the city man-
agement team to have time for
planning and looking to the
future. This is critical to guide
the evolution of the City and to
efficiently.head off or pre^woi
’ ® • • come
>lems.;
City Council
■—v——
- -
me unhealthy to indulge so
snch unwhole-
some thoughts? j
Some will argue that students
use such language anyway in
their everyday life and the con-
tent is nothing that students
haven’t been exposed to before;
however, as a student I find such
content very repulsing.
While I realize and respect the
teachers’ attempts to teach us lit-
erature and mature our reading
abilities, is it really necessary to
include a book into the curricu-
lum that includes language you
wouldn’t print in a newspaper?
Or furthermore, include
r OR4N6E ALERT' 1
BEWARE! AL-QAIDA! 1
TtRRoRiSTS!OR4N6E /
, ALERT'BEWARE.' /{
2%
Demand
open debates
The presidential debates are
almost here. 1 ask for reader
support to open these debates
to include all electable presi-
dential candidates. This year, a
high percentage of voters (20
percent-plus according to the
Cato Institute) are disenfran-
chised arid unhappy with the
two party candidates. Hence,
the public is best served by
having a true, unbiased picture
of the alternate choices by see-
ing all candidates in this forum.
The Republican and
Democratic candidates typical-
ly refuse to debate with third-
party candidates, citing their
own arbitrary standards for
* exclusion. They own the sys-
tem, make the rules and act
like a ruling establishment
who knows best about what
choices you, the voter, should
be allowed.
But, it is we the people who
own the system and if we
don’t own the debates, we
, don't own our votes.
An open debate could be
: v * fiery I It might actually
increase public interest in the
election. People might be
empowered to see that their
vote matters. Contrast that to
what you’ve fallen asleep to in
the past. Republican and
Democratic “pet” journalists,
asking scripted, softball ques-
tions, complete with rehearsed
answers. Is that how they keep
their seats on Air Force One at
your expense? Here’s a simple
way to assert your right to hear
all the candidates: Go to
.‘.www.opendebates.org and sign
’ the petition now. Call the
Kerry and Bush campaigns on
their toll-free numbers and tell
them it is unacceptable to
exclude third-party candidates
who are on the ballot m
enough to be electable.
Call their bluff.
Don’t leave it to someone
else. It’s your vote. Make it
count.
what is an t
environment. They have worked
jwith City Council to put in
place actions that over time will
workanumbepe£major city —•*
k issues. We negd to support diem
with what is already in place
major economic problems.: • “ *
I made’the comment that an
important part of being a man-
ager is to do this type of think-
ing and planning. To do that, the
Let us hear from you
The Baytown Suh welcomes letters of up to 300 words and
guest columhsQf- qp to 500 words on any item of public interest.
Guest columns'sHBW Include a photograph of the writer. We
publish only original «Mterial addressed to The Baytown Sun
bearing the writer’s signitore. An address and phone number not
for publication should be indSded. We ask that submissions be
limited to one per month. All letters and guest columns are sub-
ject to editing. The Sun reserves the right to refuse to publish
any submission. • -
Please send signed letters to: Wanda Gamer Cash or David
Bloom, The Baytown Sun, P.O. Box 90, Baytown, 77522. Or, fax
them to: 281-427-1880. Orsend us an e-mail at sunnews@bay-
townsun.com.
In 1950, “Pardon My Sarong” was playing
at the Decker Drive-In Theater, while “My
Friend Emma Goes West” was playing at the
Brunson Theater.
In 1975, Bicentennial Park was a step clos-
er to reality as the City Council prepared to
authorize an agreement with the school dis-
trict for development of the park.
In 1990, Goose Creek trustees prepared to
review changes to a policy regarding materi-
als shown to students, such as films and
videotapes.
In 2000, a six-month audit of the city’s
accounts payable department recommended
the city increase efficiency and decrease ‘
paperwork.
In 2002, the Baytown Police Department
reported that robbery, theft and burglary were
the only crimes on the rise in Baytown.
In 2003, members of Living Hope Church,
which.bumed to the ground days earlier,
,, gathered amid the charred ruins of their sanc-
tuary and steeple, to offer praise to God.
Our editorial board
The Baytown Sun’s editorial board meets weekly at 2 p.m.
Wednesday. Individuals are encouraged to visit the editorial
board to discuss issues affecting the community. To make an
appointment, contact Managing Editor David Bloom by calling
281-422-8302.
Members of the editorial board include: Wanda Gamer Cash,
editor and publisher; David Bloom, managing editor; Joseph
Lohan, city editor? Dee Anne Navarre, business manager; Jim
Finley, retired Sun managing editor; and Jane Howard Lee, retired
Sun reporter.
I David Bloom,
I 'Managing Editor
Fred Hartman, Publisher Emeritus
1950-1974
LLr ♦
■I \
School starts Aug. 16, which
to advanced placement high
school students means summer
reading. We usually get the
assignments at the end of school content is appalling. It seems to
I and again two weeks before a
\ school. If your house is anything much time in
\ like mine, there’s a stressful
environment as the youths are
forced to read.
Parents know of the assign-
ments. They go and buy the
i books, but many parents
I aren’t aware of the type of
\ books youths are reading.
A The parents have no knowl-
i edge of the language, sexu-
1 al content and violence
1 that the books contain. As
3 ajunioratLeeHigh
School, I’ve been reading
“The Grapes of Wrath” by
John Steinbeck. While the
/ -1
Baytown. Council should put all manager must have time allocat-
their differences aside, fill the
vacant position, and then let the
voters decide at the next general to spend too much time working. >
election. detail problems which take away>
Vmce Cavarretta time from their “think” time. ‘
Baytown This thinking time is critical for
any manager whether in the
Need thinking time public or Ae.private sector
for Council, city
I feel compelled to respond to
Wanda Messer’s Aug. 8 letter to
the editor. She referred to a
_________________ _______ quote of mine that appeared in
would seek re-election — that is The Baytown Sun article cover-
ing the City Council work ses-
sion on the 2004-05 city budget. citY management team
At that meeting, Council and > . .
> and to help them continue to ■
work through our city -■ ’
' challenges.
. ’ Don Murray
ncii member, District 4
—.——J---------.----—---................................-—=• J
Student: Look at what the kids are reading these days
f
Mucb-anticipated trial under way in Austin
'W yearly 300 Texas school districts — including
W Goose Creek, Barbers Hill and Crosby — are
X i challenging the adequacy of the state’s school-
financing system known as Robin Hood.
The districts say the current system, which caps the
rates districts can tax property, amounts to an uncon-
stitutional statewide property tax and still doesn’t
provide enough money to adequately educate Texas’
4.3 million students.
State attorneys say the system^— devised after
another lawsuit a decade ago — satisfies the mini-
mum requirements set forth in the Texas Constitution.
Blame the state’s leaders that it has come to this. A
decision that should be made by legislators will
instead be made in the courts.
School finance reform is the most critical issue fac-
ing Texas, yet our state leadership called three special
sessions and wasted millions of tax dollars on parti-
san politics.
Gov. Rick Perry said last month if he doesn’t con-
vene another special session on school binding soon,
the Senate and House could consider the matter in
the fall or next spring. The next regular session of the
Legislature convenes in January.
Texas legislators — from top to bottom — have
failed in their responsibility.
Meanwhile, taxpayers dig deeper to maintain a bro-
ken system while students jump through arbitrary
academic hoops like circus animals.
At this point, it’s hard to tell what Texas will end up
with as a school-funding system.
What we do know is that most Texans see Robin
Hood as an unfair way to achieve equal educational
opportunities.
The argument, of course, isn’t whether the rich dis-
tricts should share with the poorer ones, but whether
the state is paying its share of public education. Texas
public education is a $30 billion operation, funded by
a combination of local property taxes and state fund-
ing, along with some federal money. The state's share
of that annual budget has declined to its lowest point
since World War II, at 40 percent, according to the
Associated Press.
Mqst observers say that proportion should be
reversed, and we agree.
But shifting the burden from local to state funding
will require a massive infusion of new capital.
Other than gambling and strip-club schemes offered
by the governor, little honest work has been done to
address the new-capital issue. |
Bottom line: ensuring the proper educatifri of all
Texas children should be the Legislature's ^fumber z£
one priority. That includes fixing the replacement ^
the state’s share-the-wealth system.
Clearly, our leaders have a different set^f priorities.
Today's editorial was written by David Bloom, __
managing editor of The Baytown Sun, on behalf of \
the newspaper's editorial board. \
assignment is not necessarily a
hard one, it is.v^y time’eon-
suming. The txxjc is rather sim-
ple to read, but the language and
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Cash, Wanda Garner. The Baytown Sun (Baytown, Tex.), Vol. 83, No. 253, Ed. 1 Wednesday, August 11, 2004, newspaper, August 11, 2004; Baytown, Texas. (https://texashistory.unt.edu/ark:/67531/metapth1185452/m1/4/: accessed July 17, 2024), University of North Texas Libraries, The Portal to Texas History, https://texashistory.unt.edu.; crediting Sterling Municipal Library.