The Allen American (Allen, Tex.), Vol. 23, No. 134, Ed. 1 Sunday, April 18, 1993 Page: 6 of 56
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Page 6A — The Allen American — Sunday, April 18, 1993
Opinion Page
The Allen American
A Harte-Hanks Community Newspaper
Lynn Dickerson
Publisher
Wayne Epperson Debbie Tackett
Editor General Manager
Gary Smith Beth Roddy Steve Jordan
Financial Director Advertising Director Circulation Director
Tim Watterson, Managing Editor/News
Dollie Turpin, Managing Editor/Design
Mark Hutchison, News Editor
Doug Layton, Photo Editor
John Nagle, Sports Editor
Liaqat Ali Khan, Production Director
Don Olson, Composition Director
Leslie Mascari, Marketing Services Director
Sandie Hines, Telecenter Director
THe BOARD SAID,
NO MORE,,
THOM USUAL!"
; Letters to the Editor
: Martin good
for school board
To the Editor:
Very often I worry about appoint-
ments made to various offices.
However, last year an appointment
to the school board was made when
Ken Rudkin resigned that obviously
held the best interest of our children
in mind. Bob Martin has been active-
ly involved in the schools and with
children in Allen for many years. I
have had the honor of serving with
him on the AISD Council of PTAs for
the past two years and I was so hap-
py for the children of Allen when I
heard of his appointment.
I feel that anyone who serves on
the school board should have been
involved as a volunteer within the
system before being on the board.
* Bob and his wife, Jessie, are Texas
: PTA life lembers. This is a great
, honor awarded to people who have
: gone above and beyond the call of
duty on behalf of children. Bob gives
- of his free time in many ways. He
has been a PTA officer in the follow-
ing positions: president, treasurer,
membership, legislature, and parlia-
: mentarian. On the council level as
: treasurer and secretary, he was one
- of the charter members of the Multi-
, cultural committee that was sanc-
: tioned by AISD and served on that
Letter Policy
Take part in
chamber week
The Allen American welcomes
letters to the editor on subjects of
interest to our readers. Short let-
ters are most likely to be chosen
for publication, but the use of any
material is at the discretion of the
editor. The editor reserves the
right to edit letters to meet space
requirements, to clarify, or to
avoid obscenity, libel or invasion
of privacy. Individual complaints
against businesses and letters
thanking businesses for small
donations or other actions cannot
be published.
Letters published do not neces-
sarily reflect the editorial policies
or beliefs of this newspaper. All
letters must bear the handwritten
signature of the writer and must
include a hometown, an address,
and work and home telephone
numbers for verification pur-
poses. (The address and phone
numbers will not be printed.)
Anonymous letters will not be
printed.
Submissions should be sent to:
Editor, The Allen American, P.O.
Box 27, Allen, Texas 75002. The
deadline for the weekend issue is
noon Wednesday.
To the Editor:
April 19-23 is Chamber of Com-
merce Week. The Honorable Joe
Farmer has signed a proclamation
recognizing and honoring the 260
members of the Allen Chamber of
Commerce. For this honor we are
truly grateful.
To our members, the officers and
directors of the Allen chamber,
thank you for your unselfish service
RANCE
IPANI Eo
PK
: committee for one year. He served
for two years on the Community ,
* Education Advisory Board. He has own horn, so I want to tell you that
" volunteered with the Allen Police no one in Allen was more deserving
; Department’s Crime Prevention 0 e appointment and no one de-
officers as puppeteers. serves t i be elected more than Bob
Martin. I hope that this city gives
him overwhelming support on elec-
Those who know Bob know him tion day because our children and
as a soft spoken man who gives parents deserve a man like this on
tirelessly of his time and energy with the school board.
no political or alternative motives. Joy E. Gatlin
He is modest and unlikely to toot his Allen
R@ Businesses and nan iauaror Modern technology saves some 777s
Allen who are not members to join us 4 00%/ 7% 00010/00002 00000 00IVO L209
f°r the great benefits of chamber For years now the wheel has been
membership and service, touted as the world’s greatest inven-
- . . e , tion. However, in the age of technol-
To the citizens of Allen, the mem- ogy, I think there is another inven-
bers of the Allen chamber thank you tion which is indeed entitled to the
for shopping Allen. Your support not honor of being named the world’s
only adds to the prosperity and sta- greatest invention.
bility of our members but also great- What is it, you ask? Why the
ly aids our city and schools by gener- snooze button, of course. You know
ating local tax revenue for city ser- that wonderful little button on the
vices and economic development to alarm clock that grants us those pre-
increase the tax base for our school cious few extra minutes of sleep
district. We sincerely hope you con- each time we press it
tinue to patronize our members and At one time or another, all of us
encourage others to contribute to have used this wonderful little de-
our local economy for the benefit of vice. Your alarm clicks and that
3 • annoyingly familiar buzz, hum, tweet
, or blaring radio (depending on what
Finally, the Allen chamber issues type of alarm you have) announces it
a special invitation to all members is time to greet a new day. Some-
and prospective members to attend times you can switch off the alarm
our April 20 luncheon at Christ the and drag yourself right out of bed.
Servant Lutheran Church. Our Other times you opt for the life sav-
program is “Meet the Candidates” of ing “snooze button.”
the school board and City Council Pushing the snooze button usually
elections. This will give each of us a buys you a couple of extra minutes
chance to network and become a sleep. The quality of these few extra gins to bargam with your body. OK
more informed voter. Reservations minutes doesn’t matter, it’s just you can push snooze again but won’t
are required and may be made by knowing that you don’t have to get be able to iron that shirt you are
calling Dana McGowan at727-5585. up at this very second and that you going to wear. Push it twice and it
John E. Rapier are in complete control. Sometimes will be a Pop Tart instead of a bowl of
Allen you can fall back into a deep sleep, cereal. If you are really pushed for
Sharon
LEDDICK
Commentary
other times you just lay there in anti-
cipation of the next summons of the
alarm.
What was supposed to be minutes
seems like seconds. The alarm
pierces the silence with its resound-
ing call. If you get out of bed now and
rush, it will be like you never lost any
time. If you push snooze again, you
will have to decide how you can cut
some corners and make up for the
time you spent laying in bed.
What the heck, you’ve worked
hard all week, played hard all
weekend, you are entitled to a few
extra minutes. You decide to go for
it.
As you lay there, your mind be-
time, breakfast will be forfeited all
together.
When you start thinking about not
washing your hair or maybe not
shaving this morning, then it is time
to get up. If you end up pushing
“snooze” more than three times,
you would have been better off just
resetting the alarm. The thing no-
body ever knows is how many times .
they are going to rely on the trusty
“snooze button.”
It’s strange, but somehow these
few extra minutes seem to make
such a difference in our mornings.
What little sleep we get may or may
not help us feel more rested, but it’s
great to have the option.
A few years ago when I was visit-
ing friends who lived on a farm, I was
awakened at sunrise by the most
obnoxious alarm clock I had ever 4
heard. Coming out of my sleeping
state I found myself groping for the
alarm clock, frantically searching for
the snooze button. Reality finally hit
me and I realized, crowing roosters
have no snooze buttons — technolo-
gy is a wonderful thing.
Sharon Leddick is a resident of Allen.
Clean water principle: Pollution prevention is best policy
Keeping clean waters clean and [“———- —. HCB (hexachlorobenzene). mercial fisheries
reducing or eliminating contami-
. nants from those that aren’t are two
: common-sense principles with wide
: public support. Both tenets are
embodied in the landmark Clean Wa-
ter Act written by Congress in 1972.
Since then the nation has made
enormous strides against water
pollution. One of the best testa-
ments to that achievement is the
contrast presented by the former
Soviet Union and Eastern Europe.
The virtual death of the Aral Sea and stage for another 20 years of prog-
mounting revelations of fouled rivers ress in protecting the nation’s water.
‘ there are part of a legacy of environ- The watchwords should be preven-
: mental neglect. The Germans may tion, reducing the sources of pollu-
: have to spend $30 billion to make the tion and recycling.
. water fit to drink in the former east-
JAY D.
HAIR
Commentary
polluted rather than on keeping it
from becoming contaminated in the
first place. With the act now before
Congress for reauthorization, the
opportunity is at hand to set the
These substances, which persist
in the environment and accumulate
through the food chain, are largely
responsible for the health warnings,
advisories or bans on eating fish that
are in place, according to EPA, on
more than 4,000 bodies of water in
46 states.
A zero-discharge rule governing
such chemicals should be written
into law.
Congress can also advance three
other areas to put prevention ahead
of costly cleanup or remediation.
Healthy, intact wetlands help pre-
vent pollution. The National
Academy of Sciences has been given
mercial fisheries.
e ern sector of the country. „”.=
But here at home it’s hardly time The Environmental Protection Agency reports that
to rest on our laurels. 20 percent of the nation’s aquifers, or underground
: Some level of human-caused en’ water reservoirs, that provide drinking water show
e vironmental impairment, from re- 1
J latively modest to quite serious, now some degree of contamination from man-made che-
: affects 165,000 miles of the nation’s micals.
rivers, 3 million acres of its lakes and
Farm fertilizer and pesticide
runoff is now one of the largest con-
tributors to contamination of the na-
tion’s waters according to the EPA.
In Pennsylvania, farmers are getting
assistance and investing their own
funds in curbing chemical runoff,
particularly of nitrates and phos-
phorus. It’s an approach that should
be adopted nationally through the
Clean Water Act to provide volun-
tary guidelines drafted by the states
and the agricultural community
where the water is clean, and man-
datory ones where it is polluted.
The Superfund law’s current pro-
visions requiring public disclosure of
chemical discharges into the nation’s
waters has worked wonders in spur-
ring industry to reduce its sources of
pollution. “We all agree that pollu-
tion prevention is the way to go,”
says John Mayhew, director of en-
vironmental programs for the Che-
mical Manufacturers Association.
Right to bear arms
is constantly violated
5,000 square miles of its estuaries,
says Robert Adler of the Natural Re- Stopping the discharge into any
sources Defense Council. The En- water source of the most toxic che-
vironmental Protection Agency re- micals can be the next decisive step
ports that 20 percent of the nation’s toward these goals. The targets of
aquifers, or underground water re- this action should be those toxins
servoirs, that provide drinking wa- proven to “bioaccumulate,” or to
ter show some degree of contamina- build up in the food chain. Many of
■ tion from man-made chemicals. these bad actors are dumped into
These challenges persist, in large water courses under permits being
part, because since the Clean Water routinely issued by the EPA and
Act was passed the main emphasis state authorities. Some of the worst
has been on treating water after it is offenders are mercury, dioxin and
---—-------------------------“The incentives approach (by public
disclosure) works, at least in my in-
the job of drafting a scientifically dustry.”
based definition of wetlands. Using The original impetus behind the
the academy’s conclusions, Con- Clean Water Act was to deal with
gress can strengthen the Clean Wa- problems that had gotten out of
ter Act’s wetlands protection provi- hand. The challenge ahead is to
sions. This action can help staunch strengthen our national clean water
the current estimated annual loss of policies by measures to prevent new
300,000 wetland acres that filter pol- problems from arising before they
lutants out of water that cycles into occur.
drinking water supplies, buffer Jay D- Hair has a Ph.D. in the study of
against floods and storms and animal life and has been president of
gods and storms, and pro- the National Wildlife Federation since
vide habitat vital for wildlife and com- 1981
: Opinion Policy
1 In My Opinion is a column that
1 affords The Allen American read-
■ ers an opportunity to express
- their views on issues affecting this
community and its people.
The column differs from a Let-
i ter to the Editor in that it allows
- for a broader interpretative com-
I mentary.
Guest opinions should be con-
fined to a length of from 600 to 800
words. The format urges the use
of a photograph and a short biog-
raphical sketch of the author.
Opinions should be submitted
to: Editor, In My Opinion, The
Allen American, P.O. Box 27,
Allen, TX 75002. For more in-
formation, call 727-3352.
Notice to our readers
By PAUL THOMAS IVY
Much has been said in print, in
the electronic media, and at group
gatherings, about how the events
at Mount Carmel prove, once
again, that Texas should pass leg-
islation to ban the possession and
use of “assault rifles.” This “call to
“(dis)-arms” has been encouraged
by politicians and civic leaders,
most notably Gov. Ann Richards,
who state that assault rifles have
no sporting or hunting purposes,
but only serve to kill people,
therefore can or should be prohi-
bited. Unfortunately, such state-
ments either show merely an
ignorance of the Texan’s right to
keep and bear arms, including
assault rifles, or are intended to
deceive the citizens of Texas.
Article I of the Texas State
Constitution is Texas’ Bill of
Rights, and states “(t)hat the
general, great and essential prin-
ciples of liberty and free govern-
ment may be recognized and
established, we declare:... Sec.
23. Right to Bear Arms — Every
citizen shall have the right to keep
and bear arms in the lawful de-
fense of himself or the State; but
the Legislature shall have power,
by law, to regulate the wearing of
arms, with a view to prevent
crime... (and) Sec. 29. “Bill of
In My Opinion
the right applies to arms suitable
for personal defense as well as
suitable for defense of the state.
There is an exception to the
right, but is a very limited excep-
tion. The Legislature (not local,
county, or other political subdivi-
sion) may restrict the right, but
this restriction must be made “by
law” which “regulates the wearing
of arms, with a view to prevent
crime.” The Legislature has pas-
sed laws which regulate the wear-
ing of arms in schools, places that
sell alcoholic beverages, public
places, etc., and in the current
Legislative session a measure
would allow, under appropriate
circumstances, the wearing of
concealed weapons.
Applying the above to a prop-
osed Texas statute which would
prohibit the possession and/or use
of assault rifles, such statute
would obviously violate the right.
An assault rifle would fall into the
category of “arms.” Therefore,
any citizen would have the right to
“keep and bear” an assault rifle for
the “lawful defense of himself or
the state.” This would include
possession and use of the assault
rifle.
1 The
Community
Voice
line is now open
Berry's World
The Legislature could regulate
the wearing of assault rifles, but
Community Voice is a free
telephone call-in line that allows
our readers an opportunity to voice
their opinions about what is going
on in this community.
To express your views, pose questions
WHEN YOU WAKE UP You
WILL WANT A BARNEY TOY
IN THE WORST WAY. IN
ORDER TO GET ONE, A
CONTRIBUTION
MUST BE MADE 00
T0 THE 785 / 1
STATION.. . /
or
call
pass along compliments or criticisms,
i 881-1425.
Callers must leave their name
and hometown. For publication,
names may be omitted on request.
■
C.000)-
42. Sen
© 1993 by NEA. Inc
Rights” Inviolate —, To guard
against transgressions of the high
powers being delegated, we de-
clare that everything in this “Bill
of Rights” is excepted out of the
general powers of government, crimes. Any law which purported
and shall forever remain inviolate, to "regulate" the wearing so as to
and all laws contrary thereto, or to prohibit for all practical purposes
the following provisions, shall be the exercise of the right as to
void.” assault rifles would not be viewed
.as a law to “regulate the wearing
t is clear that the right to bear of arms, with a view to prevent
arms ( right ) is a right enjoyed crime" but as a prohibition of the
by every citizen. The right is not a exercise of the right.
state granted privilege, permis- Even if we were to impose a
sion, or license which can be re- “reasonableness” tand-t
voked, but shall forever remain bather1 1 1
====---= ==========
arms, therefore it focuses on An assault rifle is the epitome of
was lawful, no whether or not the state. Therefore, it would be
arms themselves were lawful, clearly unreasonable to ban ch a
The right relates to “defense of weapon reasonable ban such a
himself or the state,” not to Paul Thomas Ivy is an attorney and
sporting uses or hunting. And, resident of Plano.
current laws already prohibit the
wearing of assault rifles, where
the wearer is likely to commit
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Epperson, Wayne. The Allen American (Allen, Tex.), Vol. 23, No. 134, Ed. 1 Sunday, April 18, 1993, newspaper, April 18, 1993; Allen, Texas. (https://texashistory.unt.edu/ark:/67531/metapth1670722/m1/6/: accessed July 16, 2024), University of North Texas Libraries, The Portal to Texas History, https://texashistory.unt.edu.; crediting Allen Public Library.