Elgin Courier (Elgin, Tex.), Vol. 125, No. 2, Ed. 1 Wednesday, December 24, 2014 Page: 4 of 26
twenty six pages : ill.View a full description of this newspaper.
Extracted Text
The following text was automatically extracted from the image on this page using optical character recognition software:
PAGE 4A
ELGIN COURIER - ELGIN, TEXAS
WEDNESDAY, DECEMBER 24,2014
Letters
■ i mill.
to the
4
\
Editor
War is war
o
M~
-
/
63
Where good will towards men comes from
I
TSCRA prepares for 84th legislative session
'worked as a camp
counselor over the
summer for the few
Publisher’s
Commentary
TOURNALG-TY LISI
LNBELN m.
On January 13, 2015,
the 84th session of the
Texas Legislature is
kicking off in Austin,
Texas. The state House
and Senate are wel-
Neil Stone
Elgin
By Robert McKnight
Second Vice President
Texas and Southwestern
Cattle Raisers
Association
memories I have of
that time in my life re-
ally had little to do
with the camp itself or
my co-workers there.
There was a day in be-
tween my first and sec-
ond summers working
at that camp where I
was in a pretty poor
state emotionally. Sit-
ting in my dorm room I
opened up a photo
album that I wasn’t re-
ally sure of its con-
tents. It was camp
photos, and the first
page I opened was a
group shot of all the
kids who had been in
our bunk, paired off as
couples. I don’t recall
any more what kind of
activity it had been
that necessitated this
pairing off of our
campers, but I do re-
call that looking at
that picture made me
smile for the first time
in a while.
years after I graduated
from high school. Hon-
estly, I did it initially
because the girl I had
been dating was a
counselor at the camp,
and I wanted to try to
extend our relation-
ship past its natural
conclusion.
I only went to sleep-
away camp for one
summer as a camper,
and didn’t much care
for it as I recall. I was-
n’t much for idle con-
versation as a child
and had kind of a
tough time making
friends.
There are plenty of
wonderful memories I
have from those sum-
mers though. Great
times were had play-
ing music around
campfires, enjoying
summer evenings by
the little waterfall. I
grew close with some
of my oldest friends
working at that camp,
although sadly some of
those friendships have
faded over time.
But the dominant
The Elgin Courier is published weekly by Blacklands Publications,
Inc. at 105 North Main, Elgin, Bastrop County, Texas 78621. Established
in 1890. Periodical postage paid at Elgin, Texas, 78621. SUBSCRIP-
TION RATES: $41.00 per year in Bastrop County; $44.00 per year out-
side Bastrop County; $49.00 per year outside Texas. POSTMASTER:
Send address changes to ELGIN COURIER, P.O. BOX 631, ELGIN,
TX 78621. Any erroneous reflection upon character, standing, or repu-
tation of any individual, firm or organization that may appear in the
columns of this paper will be corrected if brought to the attention of the
publisher. We do not hold ourselves responsible for the views of our cor-
respondents.
Send e-mails to elgincourier@elgincourier.com or publisher@elgin-
courier.com. Website is elgincourier.com. Call 512-285-3333. News and
ad copy deadline is Fridays at 5 p.m. Letters to Editor deadline is Fridays
at noon.
The Elgin Courier Letters to the Editor column is an open forum offering op-
portunities to the public to comment on issues of interest or concern to the com-
munity. They should refrain from making personal attacks on the individuals, and
comments which in the opinion of the editors are potentially libelous or in bad
taste will not be printed. Letters should be brief, 300 words or less, if possible. We
solicit and encourage such comment. The deadline for Letters to the Editor is Fri-
day at noon. It is our policy not to print letters with political opinions, ideals or
views. Political messages must be paid for in advertisement form. All letters must
be signed and include the address of the author. The Courier will not withhold the
name of letter writers and anonymous letters will be discarded.
keeping an eye on bills
that could affect you as
stewards of land and
livestock.
Some say water may
not be an issue this ses-
sion; however, TSCRA
believes this important
resource will be a
major topic not only
this session, but for
ones to come. As Texas
continues to struggle
with drought condi-
tions and the need for
water grows in our
state, some groundwa-
ter ownership issues
could come up. TSCRA
staunchly believes
groundwater is ground-
water. If a water re-
source lies beneath
your property, you own
it. TSCRA will be ac-
tive in water rights and
ownership issues dur-
ing this session.
TSCRA will also be
engaged should any
eminent domain re-
lated legislation be
filed. We will do what-
ever it takes to make
sure landowners are
treated fairly when an
entity uses the power
of eminent domain to
claim land for public
use.
Finally, TSCRA will
be watching as many
other issues important
to cattle raisers and
landowners come up,
and the association will
coming back many sea-
soned legislators, but
also adding many fresh-
men to the halls of the
Capitol.
The Texas and South-
western Cattle Raisers
Association (TSCRA) is
looking forward to
being on the ground
working at the state
Capitol to make sure
cattle raisers and
landowners are prop-
erly represented.
In past legislative
sessions, TSCRA has
secured notable accom-
plishments. We have
worked to pass legisla-
tion to secure landown-
ers’ private property
rights, track animal
health issues and
strengthen cattle theft
laws. We have also
worked hand-in-hand
with other agricultural
and landowner groups
to prevent legislation
from passing that
would not be good for
you as ranchers and
landowners.
TSCRA has been ac-
tively monitoring is-
sues that could come
up in this session, as
well as meeting new
members and their
staff and staying in
contact with ones we
have worked with in
the past. We expect to
be busy interacting
with legislators and
For the next two sum-
mers, I always looked
forward to seeing
those kids more than
any other aspect of
summer camp coun-
selor life.
Children are an ab-
solutely amazing thing.
They disprove any the-
ory that could be es-
poused that human
beings are negative
creatures by nature. I
rarely spend any time
around them these
days as I don’t have a
family of my own, but I
was reminded of this
today as I read
through the Letters to
Santa submitted to our
paper and published
in today’s B section.
You’ll never see the
word “love” in a news-
paper more times than
you’ll see it in a Let-
ters to Santa section.
You’ll also (hopefully)
never see more mis-
spelled words, but
that’s all part of the
fun. There are folks
out there that don’t
like the Christmas sea-
son - some that says
it’s only a time of cele-
bration for “perfect
not hesitate to work
with legislators to have
legislation filed if
needed. We will do
everything possible to
make sure cattle rais-
ers and landowners
have the best outcome
at the end of this ses-
sion, and your help is
always welcome.
In the past, TSCRA
members have been in-
strumental in making
us aware of critical is-
sues and providing a
strong voice over at the
Capitol. In fact, last
session it was TSCRA
members who made
hundreds of phone
calls opposing legisla-
tion that would have
made it easier for oil
and gas pipeline com-
panies to condemn
land while limiting the
rights of landowners.
We will need this same
amount of attentive-
ness during the 84th
session.
Your opinion matters
to us at TSCRA, and we
want to make sure we
can communicate with
you to make you aware
of important issues as
they come up during
the legislative session.
If you are a TSCRA
member, but you
haven’t provided your
email address to us,
please visit the mem-
See “TSCRA”, Page 6A
Dear Editor,
Now that Senator
Diane Feinstein (D-
Calif.) has released
the report about the
CIA’s torture tech-
niques, the country is
divided with their
opinions regarding
right versus wrong.
The dictionary de-
fines torture as
‘something that
causes mental or
physical suffering’.
So, by that definition,
when you scold your
child for inappropri-
ate behavior, you’re
torturing your
child.... ridiculous.
I know of no coun-
try that doesn’t use
some form of torture
on its enemies. Of
course, beheading a
person doesn’t cause
pain or suffering for
that person. There-
fore, what ISIS does
to its captives can’t
be considered tor-
ture.
There is the contro-
versy that these tor-
ture techniques have
provided valuable in-
formation that has
thwarted attacks on
the United States.
Others disagree, say-
ing that torturing
prisoners has re-
vealed little to no in-
formation of any
value. It all depends
on who you’re listen-
ing to, and their bias.
Of course, Fein-
stein’s release of this
report, at this time
(after the midterm
elections) is obvi-
ously politically moti-
vated.
War is war. We all
understand that
there are atrocities
that take place dur-
ing a war. It is done
by all parties in-
volved in the conflict.
Rarely is there an in-
vestigation or a pub-
lic exposure of these
incidents. Does the
public have to know
about every time
something that might
seem inappropriate,
immoral or unjust is
done during a war?
On the other hand,
I’m all for trans-
parency of our gov-
ernment actions,
while on the other
hand, how much is
too much? Even best
friends, married cou-
ples, business part-
ners, etc., don’t
disclose every detail
of their lives to the
other. It’s not a mat-
ter of keeping se-
crets, it’s a matter of
what information is
really necessary.
The release of this
report does no good
to anyone. The harm
that it brings to our
troops, our nation
and world opinion of
us cannot be re-
tracted.
Bottom line is that
whatever it takes to
stop our enemies
should be done. We
don’t need the de-
tails.
families” - but if you
don’t see the height-
ened dedication to
peace on earth and
goodwill towards men,
then you’re focusing
on the wrong things.
So I hope you enjoy
the Letters to Santa
section in today’s
paper. It’s something
we haven’t done in a
while in the Elgin
Courier, and we hope
that it grows over the
years into something
that heightens the
warmth and joy of the
holidays for all of our
readers.
If you ever find your-
self down, like I was
sitting in that cold
dorm room so many
years ago, pull out a
kid’s letter to santa.
There’s so much more
good in this world than
people sometimes rec-
ognize today, and if
you break it down,
nearly all of it starts in
the heart of a child.
Dan Kleiner is the
publisher of the Elgin
Courier. Contact him at
512-285-3333 or
dan@elgincourier.com.
ELGIN COURIER
(U.S.P.S. 172-740)
Dan
KLEINER
s
h
DAN KLEINER - PUBLISHER
PATTY FINNEY - MANAGING EDITOR
TARA DREYER - SPORTS EDITOR
MARIE OTT - AD DIRECTOR
HEATHER ROMINE - BOOKKEEPER/CLASSIFIEDS
STATE OF
TEXAS
GOVERNOR
Rick Perry
800-843-5789
LT. GOVERNOR
David Dewhurst
512-463-0001
ATTORNEY GENERAL
Greg Abbott
512-463-2100
U.S. SENATORS
John Cornyn
713-572-3337
Ted Cruz
713-653-3456
U.S. REPRESENTATIVE
Michael McCaul
202-225-2401
STATE SENATOR
Kirk Watson
512-463-0114
STATE
REPRESENTATIVE
Tim Kleinschmidt
512-463-0682
BASTROP
COUNTY
COUNTY JUDGE
Paul Pape
512-332-7201
SHERIFF
Terry Pickering
512-549-5100
COUNTY COURT
Judge Benton Eskew
512-581-4277
JUSTICES OF THE
PEACE
Donna Van Gilder (Pct.1)
512-581-4258
Raymah Davis (Pct.2)
512-581-7112
Katherine Hanna (Pct.3)
512-332-7288
Larry Dunne (Pct.4)
512-581-7162
COMMISSIONERS
William Pina (Pct.1)
512-581-4001
Clara Beckett (Pct.2)
512-360-2764
John Klaus (Pct.3)
512-303-6800
Bubba Snowden (Pct.4)
512-332-7267
CITY OF
ELGIN
MAYOR
Marc Holm
512-788-6110
CITY MANAGER
Kerry Lacy
512-281-5724
POLICE CHIEF
Chris Bratton
512-285-5757
FIRE CHIEF
Randy Reyna
512-281-4025
CITY COUNCIL
Chris Cannon (Mayor
Pro-Tem, Ward 3)
512-217-1283
Mary Penson (Ward 1)
512-281-4158
Jessica Bega (Ward 1)
512-653-1900
Edward Maldonado
(Ward 2)
512-297-4258
Juan Gonzalez (Ward 2)
512-285-6499
Craig Fromme (Ward 3)
512-567-5702
Keith Joesel (Ward 4)
512-281-3182
Sue Brashar (Ward 4)
512-689-5692
ELGIN SCHOOL
DISTRICT
SUPERINTENDENT
Dr. Jodi Duron
512-281-3434
TEXAS PRESS ASSOCIATION
TA 2014 __
<7—/
<′
"1,
Qo9
Opinion
m Email the Editor at elgincouner@elgincourier.com
N
_Vq)
/a85
29
\
r
Upcoming Pages
Here’s what’s next.
Search Inside
This issue can be searched. Note: Results may vary based on the legibility of text within the document.
Tools / Downloads
Get a copy of this page or view the extracted text.
Citing and Sharing
Basic information for referencing this web page. We also provide extended guidance on usage rights, references, copying or embedding.
Reference the current page of this Newspaper.
Finney, Patty. Elgin Courier (Elgin, Tex.), Vol. 125, No. 2, Ed. 1 Wednesday, December 24, 2014, newspaper, December 24, 2014; Elgin, Texas. (https://texashistory.unt.edu/ark:/67531/metapth1555262/m1/4/: accessed July 17, 2024), University of North Texas Libraries, The Portal to Texas History, https://texashistory.unt.edu.; crediting Elgin Public Library.