Elgin Courier (Elgin, Tex.), Vol. 127, No. 36, Ed. 1 Wednesday, August 30, 2017 Page: 4 of 30
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ELGIN COURIER - ELGIN, TEXAS
PAGE 4
WEDNESDAY, AUGUST 30, 2017
ELGIN
NUK xa
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COURIER
$
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(U.S.P.S. 172-740)
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Thoughts on advice not taken
Out of county
$44
$49
Be Heard: Where to Write
CITY OF FI GIN
Affiliations:
E„
2017
Harvey assaults
coast, then batters
inland counties
Random
Thoughts
Capital
Highlights
CAL n A y
TRADIION )
The history of the last
year has given me a heavy
heart. I have tried several
times to write an article
explaining what I believe
is happening and what I
consider the likely out-
comes. Each successive
attempt was worse than
the previous. My empha-
sis in this column is to
acquaint the reader with
ideas that may be differ-
ent from their own, but
not in a way that insults or
demeans.
Since I was having
problems, I decided to let
George Washington talk
for me. The following are
excerpts from President
Washington’s Farewell
Address in 1796.
“Let me now take a
more comprehensive
view, and warn you in
the most solemn manner
against the baneful effects
of the spirit of party (po-
litical parties) generally.
This spirit, unfortunately,
is inseparable from our
nature, having its root in
the strongest passions of
the human mind. It exists
under different shapes in
all governments, more or
less stifled, controlled, or
repressed; but, in those of
the popular form, it is seen
in its greatest rankness, and
is truly their worst enemy.
The alternate domina-
tion of one faction over
another, sharpened by the
spirit of revenge, natural
to party dissension, which
Judge halts voter law
Laws toughening voter
identification require-
ments continue to violate
the U.S. Voting Rights
Act, a Corpus Christi
federal district judge
ruled Aug. 23.
In her ruling, Judge
Neiva Gonzales Ramos
granted declaratory relief
to the plaintiffs, who pri-
marily represent Latino
and black voters, in the
form of a permanent in-
junction against enforce-
ment of the 2017 law.
In the case Veasey v.
Abbott, originally filed in
2011, plaintiffs alleged
animosity of one part
against another, foments
occasionally riot and in-
surrection. It opens the
door to foreign influence
and corruption, which
finds a facilitated access
to the government itself
through the channels of
party passions. Thus the
policy and the will of one
country are subjected to
the policy and will of an-
other.
In offering to you,
my countrymen, these
counsels of an old and
affectionate friend, I dare
not hope they will make
the strong and lasting im-
pression I could wish; that
they will control the usual
current of the passions, or
prevent our nation from
running the course which
has hitherto marked the
destiny of nations. But, if
I may even flatter myself
that they may be pro-
ductive of some partial
benefit, some occasional
good; that they may now
and then recur to moder-
ate the fury of party spirit,
to warn against the mis-
chiefs of foreign intrigue,
to guard against the im-
postures of pretended pa-
triotism; this hope will be
a full recompense for the
solicitude for your wel-
fare, by which they have
been dictated.”
This good advice from
two hundred and twenty
years ago has been ig-
nored long enough.
Jobless rate decreases
The Texas Workforce
Commission on July 18
announced the Texas
economy expanded for
the 13th consecutive
month with the addition
of 19,600 seasonally
adjusted non-farm jobs
in July.
Also, the Lone Star
State’s seasonally ad-
justed unemployment
rate fell to 4.3 percent,
down from 4.6 percent
in June, and annual
employment growth for
Texas was 2.4 percent —
double the annual growth
rate compared to a year
ago.
Rate for notes is low
Texas Comptroller
Glenn Hegar on Aug.
22 announced the recent
sale of $5.4 billion in
Texas Tax and Revenue
Anticipation Notes re-
ceived a net interest rate
of 0.96 percent.
Money from the sale of
“TRANs” is used to help
fund expenditures such
as public-school pay-
ments made early in the
fiscal year before the ar-
rival of tax revenues later
in the year, Hegar said.
Texas received the
highest possible short-
term credit ratings from
Wall Street, which
helped drive down the
cost of borrowing, Hegar
added.
in different ages and
countries has perpetrated
the most horrid enormi-
ties, is itself a frightful
despotism. But this leads
at length to a more formal
and permanent despotism.
The disorders and mis-
eries which result grad-
ually incline the minds
of men to seek security
and repose in the absolute
power of an individual;
and sooner or later the
chief of some prevailing
faction, more able or more
fortunate than his compet-
itors, turns this disposition
to the purposes of his own
elevation, on the ruins of
public liberty.
Without looking forward
to an extremity of this
kind (which nevertheless
ought not to be entirely
out of sight), the common
and continual mischiefs
of the spirit of party are
sufficient to make it the
interest and duty of a wise
people to discourage and
restrain it.
It serves always to dis-
tract the public councils
and enfeeble the public
administration. It agitates
the community with ill-
founded jealousies and
false alarms, kindles the
CHERYL MADEWELL
ADVERTISING SALES
adselgmcouner@outlook.com
SB 14, the voter I.D.
law passed by the Texas
Legislature in 2011, vi-
olates Section 2 of the
Voting Rights Act. The
suit also claimed Texas
law violates the U.S.
Constitution’s Article 14,
due process and equal
protection, and Article
15, banning racial dis-
crimination. Section 2
prohibits state and local
officials from adopting
or maintaining voting
laws or procedures that
purposefully discrimi-
nate on the basis of race,
color or membership in a
language minority group.
In 2016, the New Or-
leans-based U.S. Court
of Appeals for the 5th
Circuit affirmed Ramos’s
finding that the law is
discriminatory. The ap-
peals court remanded the
case to her court for fur-
ther consideration, and
Ramos, in accordance
with an instruction by the
Fifth Circuit, issued an
interim remedy to elim-
inate or reduce the dis-
criminatory effects of SB
14 in time for the 2016
general election.
Earlier this year, the
Republican-dominated
Texas Legislature crafted
and passed SB 5, osten-
sibly to purge SB 14 of
its discriminatory pro-
visions. But Ramos said
in her ruling last week
that SB 5 falls short of
that. She ordered plain-
tiffs and defendants to
file memoranda by Aug.
31 stating whether they
wish to schedule an evi-
dentiary hearing.
Texas Attorney General
Ken Paxton on Aug. 25
filed a motion with the
5th Circuit, asking that
Ramos’ injunction be
overturned.
LAUREN JETTE
SPORTS EDITOR
lauren. j ette @elginc ouner.com
Jerry
VINYARD
JIM BEAVER
INTERIM PUBLISHER
publisher@elgincouner.com
GAIL SCHOBEY
OFFICE MANAGER
gait schobey@elgmcouner.com
Ed
STERLING
One year ....................
Out of state
One year ....................
FERNANDO CASTRO
REPORTER &
PAGE DESIGN
fernando.castro@elgincouner.com
ci.elgin.tx.us
■ Sue Brashar (Ward 4)
512-689-5692; sbrashar@
ci.elgin.tx.us
TEXAS
PRESS
ASSOCIATION
MAYOR
Chris Cannon
512-516-0813; mayor@
ci.elgin.tx.us
CITY MANAGER
Tom Mattis
310 N. Main St., Elgin; 512-
281-5724; tmattis@ci.elgin.
tx.us
POLICE CHIEF
Chris Bratton
512-285-5757
FIRE CHIEF
Randy Reyna
512-281-4025
CITY COUNCIL
■ Mary Penson (Ward 1)
512-281-4158; mpenson@
ci.elgin.tx.us
■ Jessica Bega (Ward 1)
512-653-1900; jbega@
ci.elgin.tx.us
■ Juan Gonzalez (Ward 2)
512-285-6499; Email
jgonzalez@ci .elgi n .tx. us
■ Susie Arreaga (Ward 2)
512-750-8178; sarreaga@
ci.elgin.tx.us
■ Daniel Lopez (Ward 3)
512-281-5724; dlopez@
ci.elgin.tx.us
■ Phillip Thomas (Ward 3)
512-661-8411; pthomas@
FI GIN SCHOOT
DISTRICT
SUPERINTENDENT
Dr. Jodi Duron
512-281 -3434; Jodi.duron@
elginisd.net; 1002 North Ave C
PRESIDENT
Donald Trump
202-456-1111; The White
House; 1600 Pennsylvania
Avenue NW, Washington
DC 20500; president®
whitehouse.gov or www.
whitehouse.gov/contact
STATE DF TEXAS
GOVERNOR
Greg Abbott
800-843-5789; Office of the
Governor, PO Box 12428,
Austin, TX 78711-2428;
Email via http://gov.texas.gov
LT. GOVERNOR
Dan Patrick
512-463-0001; PO Box
12068, Austin, TX 78711
Email LTGconstituent.
Affai rs@ Itgov.state.tx. us;
ATTORNEY GENERAL
Ken Paxton
512-463-2100
U.S. SENATORS
■ John Cornyn
512-469-6034; 221 W.
Sixth St., Suite 1530, Austin,
TX 78701; email via www.
cornyn.senate.gov/contact.
■ Ted Cruz
512-916-5834; 300 E.
Eighth, Suite 961, Austin TX
78701; email via www.cruz.
senate.gov
BASTROP COT INTY
COUNTYJUDGE
Paul Pape
512-332-7201; 804 Pecan
St., Bastrop TX 78602 Email
pau l. pape@co. bastrop.tx. us
SHERIFF
Maurice Cook
512-549-5100; 200 Jackson
St., Bastrop, TX 78602; Email
via www.bastropsheriff.org
COUNTY COURT
AT LAW
Judge Benton Eskew
512-581-4277; 804 Pecan
St., Bastrop. Email: Jennifer.
ensinger@co.bastrop.tx.us.
JUSTICES OF THE PEACE
■ Donna Thompson (Pct.1)
804 Pecan Street, PO Box
336, Bastrop TX 78602
512-581-4258
■ Raymah Davis (Pct.2)
1624 NE Loop 230, PO Box
5, Smithville, TX 78957
512-581-7112
■ Katherine Hanna (Pct.3)
5785 FM 535, Cedar Creek,
TX78612
512-332-7288
■ Larry Dunne (Pct.4)
1125 Dildy Drive; Elgin, TX
78621
512-581-7162
COMMISSIONERS
■ Mel Hamner (Pct.1)
803 Pine Street, Room 105,
Bastrop
512-332-7295; Email: mel.
hamner@co.bastrop.tx.us
■ Clara Beckett (Pct.2)
804 Pecan St., Bastrop
512-360-2764; clara.
beckett@co. bastrop.tx. us
BEVERLY
DAUGHTRY
PUBLISHER EMERITUS
ken. be v79 @gmail. com
-- ANNLMHes.
aPAVEGRANWIND COM
" Yol ITIcALC - Com
■ Mark Meuth (Pct.3)
804 Pecan St., Bastrop
512-303-6800; Email mark.
meuth@co.bastrop.tx.us
■ Bubba Snowden (Pct.4)
804 Pecan St.
512-332-7267; cell 512-
517-2338; email: bubba.
snowden@co.bastrop.tx.us
TEXANS DON’T
like Retreating !
S
)
Opinion
Email the Editor at elgincouner@elgincouiTer.com
© 2017 Elgin Courier.
All rights reserved.
Material may not be reproduced
without written permission.
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You can
reach us at:
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Fax 512-285-9406
publisher@elgincourier.com
The Elgin Courier is
published weekly by
Blacklands Publications,
Inc. at 105 North Main,
Elgin, Bastrop County,
Texas 78621. Established
in 1890. Periodical post-
age paid at Elgin, Texas,
78621. Any erroneous
reflection upon character,
standing, or reputation
of any individual, firm or
organization that may ap-
pear 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 corre-
spondents.
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OPINION POLICY
The Elgin Courier Letters
to the Editor column is
an open forum offering
opportunities to the public
to comment on issues of
interest or concern to the
community. They should re-
frain 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
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if possible. We solicit and
encourage such comment.
The deadline for Letters to
the Editor is Friday at noon.
It is our policy not to print
letters with political opin-
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deadline is Fridays at noon.
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One year .................... $41
AUSTIN — Hurricane
Harvey slammed the
middle Texas coast on
Aug. 25, hammering the
region from Rockport
to Palacios before con-
tinuing inland as a trop-
ical storm and causing
widespread catastrophic
flooding.
With wind speeds in
excess of 130 miles per
hour before landfall at
Rockport, the National
Hurricane Center in
Miami gave the storm
a rating of Category 4.
As rains and flooding
worsened, Harvey was
widely reportedly to be
the strongest hurricane
to hit Texas since Carla
in 1961.
Before the storm hit,
Gov. Greg Abbott re-
quested and received
a presidential disaster
declaration, receiving ap-
proval from the Federal
Emergency Management
Agency. The declaration
cleared the way for indi-
vidual assistance, public
assistance and hazard
mitigation to communi-
ties in affected counties,
where high winds, tor-
rential rains, flooding,
tornadoes, power outages
and more weather-related
troubles affected millions
of Texans.
First responders and
civilian volunteers by the
hundreds went to work
rescuing the stranded
and rendering aid under
severe conditions.
Abbott’s original re-
quest for a presidential
disaster declaration was
for 30 counties, includ-
ing: Aransas, Austin,
Bee, Calhoun, Chambers,
Colorado, Brazoria,
DeWitt, Fayette, Fort
Bend, Galveston, Go-
liad, Gonzales, Harris,
Jackson, Jefferson, Jim
Wells, Karnes, Kleberg,
Lavaca, Liberty, Live
Oak, Matagorda, Nueces,
Refugio, San Patricio,
Victoria, Waller, Whar-
ton and Wilson counties.
Abbott made an ad-
ditional request on
Aug. 26 to include 20
more stricken counties:
Atascosa, Bexar, Bra-
zos, Caldwell, Cam-
eron, Comal, Grimes,
Guadalupe, Hardin,
Jasper, Kerr, Lee, Leon,
Madison, Montgomery,
Newton, Tyler, Walker,
Washington and Willacy.
On Aug. 27, the Na-
tional Oceanographic
and Atmospheric
Administration pre-
dicted ongoing and
life-threatening flooding
would continue across
southeastern Texas
with additional rainfall
accumulations of 15 to
25 inches expected, and
with isolated storm to-
tals as high as 50 inches,
through Sept. 1.
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Elgin Courier (Elgin, Tex.), Vol. 127, No. 36, Ed. 1 Wednesday, August 30, 2017, newspaper, August 30, 2017; Elgin, Texas. (https://texashistory.unt.edu/ark:/67531/metapth1555403/m1/4/: accessed July 16, 2024), University of North Texas Libraries, The Portal to Texas History, https://texashistory.unt.edu.; crediting Elgin Public Library.