The Baytown Sun (Baytown, Tex.), Vol. 101, No. 33, Ed. 1 Thursday, March 18, 2021 Page: 4 of 14
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Viewpoints
in game of life, play by the rules
Time to move
on from REL
a
ents did not come up to the school played. When she kept on doing that.
don’t apply to them. It encroaches on and pound on the principal. Kids did I simply put up the game and told her
what they were told to do. I know that if she couldn’t play by the rules,
I wore dresses or skirts and never
the masks that were mandated. They within the parameters of the rules in
a plot to make us all subservient to always looking over your shoulder to
the government. Although I think a
“L- f
(OVID
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Bayland hotel project, battleship
()
Pardon my lame attempt at hu- many visitors as the battle site.
TODAY IN HISTORY
READER ADVISORY BOARD
Accounting
Circulation
During this pandemic, some folks
thought they did not need to wear
their personal freedom. Young peo-
ple, especially, seem to feel this way.
case. Without a hotel, she can per-
suasively argue that the Baytown
waterfront will never generate as
see if there are going to be any con-
sequences. Just as there are rules in
sports or any kind of game, the game
of life is no exception. Play nice,
play with gusto and play by the rules.
Dr Steve Showalter is a govern-
ment professor at Lee College in
.281-425-8056
.281-422-8302
are testing their independence, they
don’t want to pay attention to rules.
And this can be dangerous in some
rez has filed a bill to keep the Texas tentions of city leaders. The city is a
docked at the San Jacinto Battle- model of openness and transparency
field. This petition only helps her compared to recent skullduggery by
I believe God especially watches out questioned it, and no one sued the
for teenagers, because when they school for gender discrimination.
BILLING QUESTIONS
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David Bloom
Mike Wilson
Fred Aguilar
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Jim Finley
M. A. Bengtson
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out the window.
When my granddaughter was little
and we would play board games, she
did not want to follow the rules. I
told her that was how the game was
Denise Graves is a lifelong resident of Baytown having
attended GCCISD schools: Lamar Elementary, Horace
Mann Junior School, Robert E. Lee High School and Lee
College. She received a bachelor's degree in Criminal
Justice from Sam Houston State University and a Juris
Doctorate from South Texas College of Law.
when you were young; how you test-
ed tlie boundaries.
the school board.
Furthermore, a 2020 independent
audit demonstrated solid financ-
es and gave the city a clean bill of
we would not play at all. We need to
teach our kids that they are not the
exception.
To follow or not to follow rules
is your choice. It is easier to work
a private foundation must maintain
it and cover the costs through dona-
tions and visitors.
One of my colleagues, a fonner
Texas park ranger and historian who
is well-versed in museums, is ada-
mant that floating ship monuments
do not make money. At best, they
break even, and given their age, the
maintenance costs never cease. At
least the hotel has wealthy corporate
backers.
No matter which side of the hotel
debate you fall on, there is little rea-
son to doubt the motivations and in-
recklessly into financial oblivion.
Call your council members. They
will more than happy to explain the
finances, risks and benefits of the
project.
On this date:
In 1925, the Tri-State Tornado struck
southeastern Missouri, southern Illinois
and southwestern Indiana, resulting in
some 700 deaths.
In 1937, in America’s worst school di-
saster, nearly 300 people, most of them
children, were killed in a natural gas ex-
evelt signed an executive order authoriz-
ing the War Relocation Authority, which
was put in charge of interning Japa-
nese-Americans, with Milton S. Eisen-
hower as its director.
In 1963, the U.S. Supreme Court, in
4 Uhe Waptown Sun
Thursday
March 18, 2021
STRIPLING jeans, slacks, shorts
-------------could not be worn at
school. There was no protesting; par-
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Saturday in Baytown (zip codes
77520 & 77521). For rural zips
77523,77514,77562,77532 and
77535 by 8 a.m.
A former longtime Baytown res-
ident, Ginger Stripling now lives in
Mont Belvieu. Contact her at view-
The Bay land Island project just
ran into a snag. A petition is circu-
lating that would require voter ap-
proval of $20 million in bonds.
Is this a sign of broader communi-
ty concern, or is it just a small cabal
of citizens who don’t like the idea
of government subsidizing private
business projects?
It is also difficult to discern the
goal of the petition. Is it a way to
provide accountability to the vot-
ers, or is it an attempt to sabotage
the project at a late and critical junc-
ture? City leaders suspect sabotage.
Petitioners should stop for a mo-
ment and consider the implications
for the Battleship Texas. There is
near unanimous community sup-
port for bringing the big boat to
Baytown. Boosters are hyping it as
a tourism draw and a boon to local
business.
Rules are made for a reason. I
come from a long line of rule-follow-
ers. My parents taught me to do that.
It was just part of how they lived
their lives.
My great-grandfather came to
America from Gennany, but he fol-
lowed the rules to obtain citizenship
in America. There was no sneaking
around or refusing to do what was
required of him.
Today, many people think rules are
made to be broken. They think they
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the hotel, and the dreadnought could but the Texas Tribune reports that Baytown.
instances. Think of tilings you did thought it was not necessary. It was life. If you don’t, then you are just
EDITORIAL POLICY
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•mp• MEMBER
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TEXAS PRESS
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more viable tourist
area.
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77522.
plosion at the New London Consolidated Gideon v. Wainwright, ruled unanimously
School in Rusk County, Texas. that state courts were required to provide
In 1942, President Franklin D. Roos- legal counsel to criminal defendants who
% — 2
A
2,
GINGER
o
in high school.
That meant that
other job that allows They must not, because they whiz
them, around me when I am doing it. I
When I was in know there is a good reason for those
school, in the days limits; it is for our safety. When some
of the dinosaurs, people get behind the wheel of a car,
girls were not al- the rules apply to someone else, not
lowed to wear pants them. Common courtesy seems to fly
In tlie workplace, businesses have lot of things were mishandled about
rules they expect their employees to it all, the masks made sense for a
follow. If they don’t allow beards, while. Although our governor has
tattoos and piercings, you get rid of loosened tlie mandate, I plan to use
them. However, many want to ob- good sense and still wear a mask in
ject to some of those stipulations. I crowded venues. I have also done
would ask them, “Do you want this my part and been vaccinated because
job?” Many of tlie rules are for safety it was recommended.
end up in Gal- this sum will only cover the cost of
veston or another moving and repairing it. After that,
could sink the battleship. What kind sustainability, the hotel is a much
of message does this petition send to better bet for taxpayers than the war-
the committee who will ultimately ship. The city has been very careful
determine the fate of the Texas? and deliberative with the convention
The ship’s conservators are more center, and is following a tried and
likely to select Baytown as the win- true financing model.
ner if there is a nice hotel that gen- The legislature did appropriate
erates a lot of foot traffic. Take away $35 million to fix the battlewagon,
ington museum
__________ in Corpus Christi
STEVE could be a model
g HWAITFR for Baytown, but
• UW tULK don't forget that
Corpus Christi has
hotels and other waterfront ameni-
ties that contribute to the Lexing-
ton’s sustainability.
Think about the politics too.
District 144 Rep. Mary Ann Pe-
WRITE TO US__________________________
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to publish any submission.
could not afford to hire an attorney on the United States would join other nations
their own. in launching military action against him.
In 1974, most of the Arab oil-producing One year ago: Describing himself as a
nations ended their 5-month-old embargo “wartime president,” President Donald
against the United States that had been Trump said he would invoke emergency
sparked by American support for Israel in powers to let the government steer pro-
the Yom Kippur War. duction of needed medical supplies by
Ten years ago: President Barack Obama private companies. The S&P 500 sank
demanded that Moammar Gadhafi halt all 5%; the Dow shed more than 1,300 points
military attacks on civilians and said that and had lost nearly all of the big gains
if the Libyan leader did not stand down, posted since Trump’s inauguration.
reasons, and some just for decorum. On the highway, many think the points@baytownsun.com, Attention:
If you don’t like it, quit and find an- speed limit does not apply to them. Ginger Stripling.
mor, but killing or delaying the hotel In terms of financial viability and health. The city is not careening
name change
After reading Randall Kerr’s column published in The
Baytown Sun on March 14,1 cannot sit back, be quiet and
ignore the remarks that were made.
As a member of the Facilities Names Committee, it’s
only a “thankless task” when those who
participated refuse to accept the findings
and others attack the process without the
facts. It, surprisingly, didn’t go their way.
So, like spoiled children, they go kicking
and screaming, hoping to wear us down to
ultimately get their way.
Of course, there have been numerous
DENISE articles written. Controversy is what sells
GRAVES papers.
_____________ With that said, I will now attempt to set
the record straight, especially for those who like to contin-
uously keep the pot stirred with inaccurate facts because
they don’t know, don’t care or just too lazy to research.
For those who did not attend (in person, virtual, or tele-
phonically) or keep up with the school board meetings
last summer, let’s begin.
During the summer, the country was dealing with a
pandemic and virtual schooling.
Others decided to take advantage of this time and went
on a mission of destroying history via tearing down and/
or defacing monuments and changing school names, can-
cel culture at its finest.
Then, it arrived in Baytown. Interestingly enough, it
arrived from outsiders. Outsiders being former residents
who have voluntarily and on their own free will, decided
to move on. And, let’s not forget those who have never
lived here telling us how to run our community. Then,
certain trustees made it their personal mission to change
the name of Robert E. Lee High School at any cost. Word
got out, and the fight began.
Several meetings involved community residents (and
countless outsiders) calling and writing to the board,
voicing their opinions for and against the name change.
There were calls for a committee formation and letting
the actual GCCISD residents vote on the issue, which is
not an option thanks to the Texas Education Agency.
Finally, at the Sept. 9 meeting, two “Action Items”
were placed on the Agenda: 9.D. Consideration to Form
a Committee to Investigate the Possible Renaming of
Current Educational and Auxiliary Campuses and 9.E.
Consideration of Vote for Renaming Robert E. Lee High
School. A trustee made a motion to reverse the order of
these action items because if the vote was for a commit-
tee; then, why bother voting on the name change. The
vote to reverse the action items was voted down. So, the
board proceeded as it originally planned.
The fonnation of a committee vote passed with 5-0
with 2 abstaining. Then, another motion was made to
table the name change vote. Since the committee was
approved, and whether the board voted to change or not
change, what was the purpose of the committee? Accord-
ing to one board member, the only name in question was
just Robert E. Lee. The motion to table failed.
Next up, the name change vote. That vote was 4-3
against changing the name. So, contrary to the allegation
that board members “took a decidedly cowardly approach
toward this task,” I disagree. They did their job. They vot-
ed against the name change and made a firm decision.
This issue should have been put to rest, but now we
have a committee. So in fact, they did not “elect to forfeit
their responsibilities” and no need to “step down.”
They represented their constituents, not the outsiders
giving their 2 cents worth. There were two attempts made
to eliminate the necessity of a committee. Perhaps lis-
tening to the board meetings and doing a little research,
this would have been obvious. But, instead, let’s circulate
misinformation and keep spreading hate and division. It
appears that’s all anyone has time for anymore - how sad.
The Baytown Sun took a poll on the issue in June, and
nearly 70 percent voted not to change the name of Rob-
ert E. Lee and Lee College. The school board voted 4-3
not to change the name. Then, as part of the committee
process, a survey was sent out to the community, staff
and students. Those results were 71.9%, 61% and 52%,
respectively against name change. And lastly, the com-
mittee result was 56% against a REL name change (along
with several other facilities). So, I am not sure how many
times it has to be voted on, but, in my opinion, I believe
the majority has spoken and should be respected.
It has been said, “the definition of insanity is doing the
same thing over and over again and expecting a different
result.” We have beaten this horse four times now and the
results have not changed. Time to move on.
Uhe Maptowun Sun
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Bloom, David. The Baytown Sun (Baytown, Tex.), Vol. 101, No. 33, Ed. 1 Thursday, March 18, 2021, newspaper, March 18, 2021; Baytown, Texas. (https://texashistory.unt.edu/ark:/67531/metapth1468354/m1/4/: accessed July 3, 2024), University of North Texas Libraries, The Portal to Texas History, https://texashistory.unt.edu.; crediting Sterling Municipal Library.