The Boerne Star (Boerne, Tex.), Vol. 92, No. 92, Ed. 1 Tuesday, December 17, 1996 Page: 4 of 14
This newspaper is part of the collection entitled: The Boerne Star and was provided to The Portal to Texas History by the Patrick Heath Public Library.
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The Boerne Star
Tuesday, December 17, 1996
Page 4
SIDEWALK SURVEY
By Rob D’Amico
The readers decide what story to print
TA TOO
1III WUUN.s.
“Maybe if there was “I think as long as
The Boerne Star
girls.
Guest Editorial
0222253
Letters to the Editor
Christina Silcox
Pipe Creek
LaNell Day
Boerne
Raymond Shannon
Kendall Cpunty
“Yes. Because
teachers don’t get
paid a lot, so it’s a
bonus for them. A
lot of them can’t
afford to send
their kids to col-
lege.”
a limit on it, so their
kids couldn’t go to
school forever.”
Should teachers’ children get
free public college tuition if the
teacher has held their position
for 10 years or more?
“I think I’d rather
see teachers get
extra money in
their pay.
However, any
kind of help we
can give teachers
is good.”
By
Leon
Aldridge
Rebecca Agold
BHS student
as how people in small towns hear the
news before it’s published, they just
buy the paper to confirm it.
In confirming the local news over
the years, unfortunately, there is no
record of how many times I shared in
the reader’s delight of a story about
their accomplishments.
Fortunately, there is also no record
of the stories I have had to write
about friends and neighbors who
were the victims of crime, accidents,
brushes with the law and other mis-
fortunes. You don’t know heartache
until you’ve had to write the obituary
of a close friend.
Too many times, I recalled
instances like the advertiser and
friend who stared across the desk at
me and felt no shame in saying that if
we ran the story about his son’s con-
viction for breaking and entering, he
would pull every bit of his advertis-
ing.
Too many times, I recalled
instances like the small-town sheriff
who didn’t even smile when he let me
know that if the editorials about his
Editor’s Note: Johnny Moldenhauer, BHS athletic
director, responded to Bykowswki’s concerns by noting
that the softball field has “come a long way" since being
installed last year. He added that they have just as good
or better dugouts and that the district is looking for ways
to finance the $75,000 to $100,000 needed for lighting.
The baseball fence was paid for by donations and built
with volunteers, he said.
NEWS
Managing Editor
News Editor
ADVERTISING
Director
Representative
Classified
CIRCULATION
Subscriptions
Distribution
BOOKKEEPING
Rob D’Amico
Mike Galarneau
Daniel Zenner
Del Martinez
Katy Guerrero
Katy Guerrero
Joe Lasley
Linda Lott
Judy Snouffer
lisher positions at a handful of news-
papers, into the university classroom
as a teacher and into newspaper con-
sulting work. Then simply out of a
love for writing stories, taking pho-
tographs and seeing the finished prod-
uct on the news stand, I returned to
the publisher’s chair again making
sales calls, writing stories, meeting
deadlines and generally “doing what
you gotta do” to deliver the local
newspaper.
In this endeavor, I’ve always sub-
scribed to the philosophy that a news-
paper is the greatest force for good in
the community. It is a semi-public
utility and we, as stockholders, are
merely temporary custodians. By our
ownership, we assume certain respon-
sibilities. Those are first to the read-
“How do you decide what stories to
print and what stories not to print,”
someone asked me this week.
“I don’t decide,” I replied, “You
do. It’s just my moral obligation to
print the stories you decide that
should be published.”
The puzzled look on my friend’s
face told me that this answer was
going to require further explanation.
Much like the look on my daughter’s
face when I tell her she has to clean
her room.
The look was also similar to one I
had seen in the mirror at times over
CAN YOU
CALL HIM BACK
LATER?—HE‘S .
WRAPPED UP
IN A HOLIDAY
PROJECT...
really should be published is the one
the majority of the reader’s expect to
be published.
Sort of like the old story that relates
UTiice Manager
PRODUCTION
Composing
COLUMNISTS
Joe Doenges, Louise Foster, Jan Wrede, Ken Nietenhoefer,
L.M. Holman, Ruth Shell, Paul Kirtley
Thank you,
Dawn Bykowski
Fair Oaks Ranch, Texas
they have strict
enough guidelines.
Overall, I think
they’re underpaid,
but they shouldn’t be
singled out (for the
free tuition).”
Brad Day
Boerne
“That idea sort of
limits (free
tuition) to a small
percentage of the
population. I
don’t think teach-
ers should be sin-
gled out, because
there’s a lot of
other people out
here that don’t
make enough
money.”
249-2441
P.O. Box 820, Boerne, Texas 78006
Fax 210-249-460 • e-mail: Boerne Star@aol.com
EDITOR and PUBLISHER: Leon Aldridge
We in Texas have much to give thanks for in this holi-
day season. A special blessing came this year in the form
of August rain, breaking the severe drought we experi-
enced in the summer.
But those rains do not mean that Texas can continue
to ignore what remains a long-term crisis for our state:
the absence of a coherent, comprehensive water policy,
on which rests our future economic development.
The need for such a policy was made clear during the
summer of 1996, as water demands in several small
towns exceeded supply and residents had to build emer-
gency pipelines, dig new wells, or truck in water.
Meanwhile, low reseNoir levels were forcing agricultur-
al producers to cut back planting. Low stream flows
meant industrial facilities could not legally discharge
waste water and faced the prospect of completely shut-
ting down operations. River authorities complained that
water they were releasing for downstream industrial and
agricultural users failed to reach the purchasers. Major
cities imposed mandatory water use restrictions on resi-
dents and businesses alike.
The rains that have blessed Texas since August are no
assurance that this drought is over, or even that we have
felt the worst of it. Heavy rainfalls can - and do - occur
in the midst of a prolonged drought. What matters is the
long-term pattern of rainfall and water supplies.
And despite the heavy rains we’ve had since August,
we’re seeing a continuing four-year trend toward lower
rainfall across Texas.
In Texas, droughts are an inevitable part of the hydro-
logic cycle. Our state suffers a major drought, like the
record drought of the 1950s, on a fairly regular cycle of
about every 50 to 80 years.
We need to be better prepared to deal with our water
supply issues. Our population is likely to double over the
next half-century, fueling an increase in industrial activi-
ty. Those same problems we experienced in the summer
of 1996 - and more - will return to plague us again and
again unless we act now to establish a focused water
policy that will allow Texas to cope with developing
water needs and the inevitable cycle of drought. At issue
is our economic prosperity.
Texas is one of only three western states lacking a
plan to deal with the certainty of recurring droughts. We
need an established framework that spells out the specif-
ic duties and responsibilities of state agencies and clari-
fies where and how agencies can exercise regulatory
flexibility to manage water emergencies.
The best response to drought is good long-term water
supply planning. Such planning is most appropriate at
the regional level, shaped and guided by people in a
region who are attuned to the needs of the area, with
technical assistance from the state. With regional plan-
ning, local interests can anticipate both problems with
and opportunities for emerging water supply strategies,
like water reuse and interbasin transfers.
Currently Texas suffers from a piecemeal approach to
water use management that completely ignores the rela-
tionship between surface water and groundwater, despite
the fact that their hydrological relationship is well estab-
lished in certain areas.
Texas cannot afford to manage-by-crisis its most valu-
able economic resource. We cannot continue to deal
with groundwater pumping only when confronted by
emergencies, such as subsidence problems in southeast
Texas or endangered species issues in the Edwards
Aquifer. We must, instead, provide consistent water
management based on scientifically sound approaches
that considers the hydrological connection between sur-
face and groundwater resources.
We cannot continue to rely on the honor system as an
orderly and effective way of allocating limited water
supplies during a drought. The evidence points to a real
need to beef up monitoring and enforcement of water
rights across Texas.
The breadth and the scope of the water issues facing
Texas today put us at a critical juncture in the history of
this great state. We have behind us the very real lessons
of past droughts and water crises. Our future depends
more than anything else on a comprehensive water poli-
cy that addresses how we consume, manage, and allo-
cate this vital natural resource. This is the single most
important factor for the economic viability of Texas.
Over the coming months and years we must work
together to resolve the water crisis in Texas. Our chal-
lenge is to craft a system for managing our water that
will achieve the twin goals of environmental resource
protection and sustainable economic development.
Barry R. McBee, Chairman
Texas Natural Resource Conservation Commission
Roy Thomas, Fair Oaks Ranch Police Chief accept as its own the overall program of the other gender”
Gary Miller, Boerne Police Chief (National Collegiate Athletic Association, 1993). Do you
Lee D’Spain, Kendall County Sheriff think our baseball players would trade places with the
girls? I think not.
There should be a plan to have all improvements,
including lights without delay. The girls should have
grass, lights, dugouts and a fence as nice as the boys. It is
not up to the students or parents to have the improvements
made, it is the responsibility of the school district. As
Director of the Athletic Department at BHS, it is Mr.
Moldenhauer’s responsiblity to ensure that this equiva-
lence is enforced and compliance a priority.
In addition, if funding for boys is through the boosters
club, equal purchases must be made for the girls, even if it
has to come out of the athletic department budget (ERIC
Digest). This inclusion should be a consideration when
any improvements are made. The new fence on the base-
ball field is an example of this. It may have been donated
but it was an improvement none the less.
I greatly appreciate the generous contribution you and
your wife made to the girls softball team. I know it was a
labor of love. I also put in hours of committee service. My
family is involved in many activities, we try to give back
as much as possible. I would be happy to talk to you about
whatever needs to be done. We need more positive, inclu-
sive, communication in this community and involvement
that does not pit me against you or the boys against the
CONTRIBUTING WRITERS
Henry Garcia
The Boerne Star
282 N. MAIN • (UPS 059-740)
P.O. Box 820
210-249-2441 • FAX 210-249-4607
THE BOERNE STAR (UPS 059-740) is published twice weekly for
$28 per year in Kendall and adjoining counties, $35 elsewhere in
Texas and $50 per year outside of Texas by the Boerne Star, 282 N.
Main, Boerne, Kendall County, TX. 78006. Periodical postage paid at
Boerne, TX.POSTMASTER: Send changes of address to THE
BOERNE STAR, P.O. Box 820. Boerne, Texas 78006-0820
many years of writing and publishing.
Countless editions of newspapers
under my guidance went to press
before experience taught me what the department’s lack of efficiency didn’t
universities couldn’t. The story that cease, he might have to “find some-
thing out on me ” ----------ers and advertisers we serve, second
Too many times, I recalled to the employees and lastly to our-
instances like the preacher who selves — the stockholders.
begged me with tears in his eyes not This philosophy is not mine, nor is
to print his D.W.I. conviction for fear it new. I learned it from a generation
of losing his church. of newspaper people who learned it
Too many times, I recalled from newspaper legend Carmage
instances like my best friend sharing Walls.
information about a criminal case Mr. Walls taught those around him
with me “off the record” only to have that while a newspaper is a semi-pub-
me tell him I couldn’t keep informa- lie utility, it is also a business and it
tion like that off the record. must remain financially solvent to
Prior to cinching up my courage remain a semi-public utility.
and telling each of these people and We who are owners and publishers
others like them that the story that of newspapers must have the courage
should run would be printed, I also never to connive with special interests
asked them that should I give in to against the interest and welfare of the
their selfish special interest, would community as a whole. We must
they still respect the newspaper they have the courage to sometimes do
called their hometown paper. what is unpleasant to maintain the
Sure, a handful of individuals health of the whole being of the
would always cancel their subscrip- newspaper by balancing the roles of a
tions over situations like these, but privately owned business and a semi-
many more would take their place to public utility.
read a newspaper doing its job in the And we must always strive to print
community. the news that the local community
“Besides,” I told my friend, “I’d wants and deserves.
usually see the angry subscriber buy- “I see,” said my friend as the light
ing a paper off the rack somewhere in slowly came on. “Perhaps now you
town.” can come over to my house and
This career of pursuing the news explain to my daughter why it’s
has taken me through editor and pub- important to clean her room.”
Minor alcohol consumption
We are seriously concerned about the illegal and dan-
gerous consumption of alcohol by minors in our commu-
nity. Please understand, obey, and support the state law 7/729 2.-1 ctill + 271a
regarding the purchase and consumption of alcoholic rdre oecee €
beverages by minors. Beer is included in the category of I am the mother of the young lady who wrote the letter
alcoholic beverages and minors, are defined as anyone to the editor about sex discrimination in athletic funding,
under the age of 21. There are a few items I wish to clairfy. First, the letter was
The Texas Alcohol Beverage Code provides that a an assignment for her junior English class. Though her
person commits an offense punishable by fine if he pur- opinion may be controversial, she never intended to stir up
chases an alcoholic beverage for, or gives, or knowingly trouble, in fact she was shocked the letter was even print-
makes available an alcoholic beverage to a minor. The ed.
only exception is if the person is the minor’s adult parent I am writing to address Henry Garcia’s assertation that
who is visibly present when the minor possesses or con- there are “major strides the administration has undertaken
sumes the alcoholic beverage. to equalize the sports and allow the ladies equal participa-
In addition, several court decisions suggest that civil tion.” Excuse me, but no one is allowing the ladies equal
liability for damages might be found against individuals participation. This was mandated by TITLE IX of the
who permit minors to consume alcoholic beverages on Education Amendments of 1972, which prohibits institu-
their premises to the point where the minors become tions that receive federal funding from gender discrimina-
intoxicated, leave the premises, and thereafter cause tion in education programs or activities. In sports pro-
damage to themselves or to others. grams, gender equality requires that equal athletic oppor-
During this holiday season we ask you to refuse to tunities be provided. Yet it took Boerne High School until
host parties where alcoholic beverages are consumed by 1995 to organize a girls softball team—years after some of
minors. We urge you to deny permission to your minor our district competitors had established teams.
children to attend such gatherings, even if your children All you need to do is look at the two fields for the “tan-
do not participate in the illegal consumption of alcoholic gible proof’ of inequity. Granted the new dugouts are very
beverages. nice and well constructed, it still does not make the facili-
We must all consistently deliver the same message to ties comparable or equal. According to THE U.S.
our teenage and young adult population - The consump- DEPARTMENT OF EDUCATION, EDUCATIONAL
tion of alcohol is both dangerous and illegal. RESOURCES INFORMATION CENTER (ERIC)
DIGEST, “Equivalence is measured by such factors as the
Sincerely, quality and availability and exclusively of use of practice
Rudy Garza, President and competitive facilities, the availability and quality of
Israel Pena, Vice President locker rooms, the maintenance of practice and competitive
Mellie Bergman, Secretary facilities, and the preparation of facilities for practice and
Joseph H. Doenges, Superintendent competition. Practice and contest facilities must be com-
Lee Carriker, DVM, Board Member parable, and girls may not be relegated to facilities of less-
Frank Stafford, Board Member er quality.”
W.K. Shumpes, Board Member “An athletics program is gender equitable when either
Linda Tom, Board Member the men’s or women’s sport program would be pleased to
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Aldridge, Leon & D'Amico, Rob. The Boerne Star (Boerne, Tex.), Vol. 92, No. 92, Ed. 1 Tuesday, December 17, 1996, newspaper, December 17, 1996; Boerne, Texas. (https://texashistory.unt.edu/ark:/67531/metapth1620144/m1/4/?q=%22%22~1: accessed July 17, 2024), University of North Texas Libraries, The Portal to Texas History, https://texashistory.unt.edu.; crediting Patrick Heath Public Library.