The Albany News (Albany, Tex.), Vol. 122, No. 9, Ed. 1 Thursday, July 31, 1997 Page: 4 of 10
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Opinion Pa
The Albany News
1997
Thursday, July 31, 1997
The Albany News
Since 1875
Oldest journalistic venture west o< the Brazos
Editor / Publisher Dtwinie A Lucas
Managing Editor
Melinda L Lucas
Advertising/Business Manager
Betty Viertel
Moran Correspondent
Audrey Brooks
Staff Reporter
Bobby Horecfca
Composition
Kim Rollins
Office Assistant
Jessica Lucas
editorial
Grade School
The Nancy Smith Elementary campus
is buzzing with activities. Teachers are in
the process of moving their classrooms
from the old wings into the new one.
The original plan was to add a new
main wing and then completely renovate
three Of the four older wings. However,
when bids came in for the remodeling
work, they were twice what the architect
estimated.
So the district and the school board are
back to square one on how complete the
project — new construction or remodel-
ing. At this point it would appear that
new construction will be cheaper.
The board had opted for renovating the
old wings to gain more floor space for a
lower dollar amount. That may still hap-
pen, but the bids that were opened in
June average almost $70 per square foot
for remodeling, while the new wing was
built for $54 per square foot.
It's too bad that the project could not
have been planned as all new consturction
from the beginning, but the board was
relying on the best information they had
at the time to make that call.
There are several problems that will
have to be endured for the time being.
Construction is still not complete and it
looks like another school year will be
filled with the sound of workmen.
The old administration building, which
houses the kindergarten program, will
still be needed this year, so all the electri-
cal wiring, gas pipes and telephone lines
will remain precariously tied up from the
veefcef4be old building to the new — at
The parlcfnglot and^he bus drive to the
new building, along with most of the land-
scaping, -will have to remain incomplete.
And even the new building is not with-
out its problems. Teachers are finding
less storage space than they had before
and the entire building is without phone
service, an obvious oversight on the
architect's part, I would think.
Hopefully, the board and school offi-
cials will be able to sort through these
problems and we will end up in a quality
building with the best layout possible to
facilitate the education of our children.
Construction projects of this size usu-
ally experience problems and delays. We
will just have to be patient during this
period and trust that all details will be
worked out.
THE ALBANY NEWS
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address changes to THE ALBANY NEWS, PO Box 278,
Albany, Texas 76430-0278.
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AFFILIATIONS
1997 MEMBER: Texas Press Association,
West Texas Press Association.
ponder ings bv Pat
By Pat Lydia Jones
IYe spent a bit of time lately at the
lake, and had a few thoughts of the
differences between lake and home
At the lake;
• you can sleep late and no one says
much about it
• you can eat whenever and what-
ever you please, unless you have com-
pany
• you can read all day long without
feeling laxy
• you can read old favorite novels
that you haven't read since last sum-
mer or some decade-ago summer.
• you can sit outside and stare at
the water and no one thinks you're
nuts.
• you can stay in your robe or your
grubbies all day and no one thinks
you're a slob.
• you can watch an old movie when-
ever you wish.
• you can take a nap whenever you
please, wherever you please, for as
long as you please.
• you can go barefooted if you want
to without feeling slovenly.
» you can wash dishes as you go,
stack theminto the dishwasher, or let
them wait on you, instead of you on
them.*
• you can go for a ride in the evening
and see deer and rabbits.and turkeys
and quail. You can pretend you're in
Africa if it suits you, or Australia, or
wherever you want to imagine, or just
enjoy the reality of West Texas out in
the country.
• you can watch the direction of the
water's movement and know the di-
rection of the wind.
• you can go to town for a burger or
pizza, and when you head back to the
lake, you can pretend the trip is for
the very first time. Look at every
single thing as if you've never been
there before.
• you can sit on the terrace, watch
a full moon rise in the east, and pre-
tend you're on a romantic cruise ship.
• you can go outside at midnight
and strip off your clothes and feel the
night breezes on your bare skin. This
is if you don't have close neighbors.
• you can watch lightning and lis-
ten to the thunder and watch a storm
roll in.
• you can play in the lawn sprin-
kler or the wading pool or a dish pan
of water with your grandbaby. By the
time she's adolescent, she won't want
to do this, and you'll have missed the
fun.
• you can watch while family
friends and your partner catch fish
and cook them. You can eat all you
want Without feelings of guilt or glut-
tony. It puts whole new meaning into
the term "fresh fish."
• you can look at the mesquite bluff
across the lake and pretend that it's a
pine-forested mountain in Colorado
or New Mexico. This works better in
the evening or early, early morning.
• you can hope for no more big
rains this, year, because for once ev-
erything is full — just showers, please.
• you can spray the hot cement on
the driveway or the terrace, and the
hot wet odor will take you back to the
city swimming pool when you were a
kid, or when your kids were kids.
• you can experience quiet.
• you can eat a fresh peach out in
the grass and let the juice fall where
it may, unless a wasp or two decide
you will share it with them.
• you can watch family members
water ski, boat, fish or zip past (way
too fast) on their Sea-Dos, Wave Run-
ners, whatever. You can applaud new
di-does your grandsons perform.
• you can watch your partner early
in the morning, paddle down to a
place on a fence to mark where the
lake is full. Later this will be painted
and markers added.
• you think you'll clean out closets
and get a lot of things done you've
been putting off — then you say, "Nah
— I'll do that next winter."
• you eat homegrown tomatoes with
garlic bagel chips and realize that
may be the best meal of the whole
summer, when accompanied by a tall
glass of iced tea.
• you lean back in your chair on the
terrace, when the twilight faces into
darkness, watch the stars appear, and
see the winking light of airliners high
overhead. You wonder about the ex-
otic places they may be going.
• and you know that you are very
content right now with who you are
and where you are.
rotund and about
By Emalyn (Sam) Gillispie !
Congratulations to Bart Hobbs. He
will be 95 years old on July 31. A
reception will be held at his home on
Sunday, August 3 between 2:00 and
4:00 p.m. All his friends will be wel-
come to drop by and visit.
Rose Hensley was in the hospital
in Breckenridge for a few days. She
cracked a vertebra in a .fall. She is
recuperating at home.
Caleb Doyle Thompson, the son of
Wayne and Deidra, has been in the
hospital in Midland. Caleb has been
having ongoing treatment for leuke-
mia. .
We were sorry to hear that Vicki
Fitzgibbons has moved to Abilene.
She has a job at the Abilene Children's
Medical Association. We are going to
miss her.
The 4-H State Finals Horse show
was held in Abilene. Stormi Hare and
Alii McCoy of Albany and Josi Hud-
son of Moran placed in the halter
class. From what I can understand
there were thousands pf entries from
all over the state. Congratulations,
girls.
Word was received here last week
of the death of Nympha Stymko of
Hilo, Hawaii. Nympha was the ex-
wife of the late Ersel Ray Hensley Jr.
known to some as "Gus," who died in
1995. They had two children, Gloria
and Ersel. Nympha was found-
stabbed to death in her home. At this
time no arrests have been made.
The news is very scarce around
here. It seems everyone is on vaca-
tion or it is too hot to do anything. I
haven't even been fishing. The air
conditioner is too comfortable to leave.
I did go out to the river over the
weekend and it was so nice under the
big pecan trees. Several of us had
hamburgers with the Doug
Newcombs and played a little 42.
Don't forget to let me know if you
were in the first Fandangle. I am
getting some feedback, but I know
there are quite a few more people
who were involved. Write to me at
P.O. Box 393 or call 762-2035.
This is Sam
and I will see you Round and About
letter to. the editor
— Dallas resident addresses MTV issue —
Dear Editor,
I felt compelled to write to you
after reading about banning MTV
from Albany's cable programming. I
grew up in Crockett, Texas and I find
only two major differences between
our towns: Crockett has the Piney
Woods of East Texas and Albany has
MTV (presently). Otherwise, Albany
seems to be similar to the environ-
ment in which I grew up.
Upon moving to Crockett at age
11,1 lost my MTV and did not get it
back until entering college. With
Crockett's cable programming never
offering MTV, I felt a loss... a missing
link to the outside world.
I grant you that MTV has the
Marilyn Mansons and the Nine Inch
Nails, and in my adolescence, it was
the Ozzy Osbornes and AC/DC's.
However, your town's censorship fails
to see the benefit of Rock the Vote , Do
Something, Unfiltered and many
other programs MTV offers that pro-
mote community involvement. Not to
mention, Road Rules allows small-
town folk to travel across America,
Europe, and other exotic places vi-
cariously through the adventures of
young people. ,
I became a volunteer for Rock and
Wrap It Up! because I saw the service
organization on MTV. If it wasn't for
MTV promoting this organization, I
never would have delivered 1000
pounds of food to the homeless last
year.
Please express to Albany Police
Chief Lynn Wilkins that I have heard
similar predictions to his in regard to
people returningto Albany as adults
to raise their children. In response, I
will not return to any town similar to
Crockett nor Albany when starting
my family because I wish to raise
healthy-minded children with a vari-
ety of activities to choose from as
children as well as adolescents.
And shame on Joyce Knight for
initiating this censorship...She ad-
mits to liking Elvis but wants to deny
her grandchildren Jacob Dylan?
I ask that you explore MTV before
September 1. Maybe you should take
some tips on how to reach Albany
youth since your newspaper might
ultimately be the only source of news
for them.
Cristy Ecton
Dallas, Texas
M-rvi
AT SOME FONT,
DON'T THESE
THINGS GO
DOWN??
<1wriyht *f>*T, h ■
state capitol. highlights
By Lyndell Williams
& Ed Sterling
Early voting for the August 9 con-
stitutional amendment election be-
gan July 21 and runs through August
5.
A low turnout at the polls is ex-
pected but Gov. George W. Bush and
Secretary of State Tony Garza are
touring the state, doing their best to
urge Texas' 11 million registered vot-
ers to get out and vote.
It's a challenge to interest the elec-
torate in a ballot that has no candi-
dates on it.
"Constitutional elections are up-
hill battles in terms of getting people
out to vote," said Garza, the state's
top elections official.
On the ballot is a single yes or no
question for voters to answer: whether
homestead property tax exemptions
should be increased from a minimum
of $5,000 to a minimum of $15,000.
Ann McGeehan, elections director
for Garza, estimated that the turnout
would be about 10 to 15 percent of the
state's registered voters.
Should the tax exemption amend-
ment pass, the state will lose about $1
billion in revenue.
In the long run, however, the ex-,
emptions may cause school districts
to lose more and more money as prop-
erty tax rates and appraised values
continue to increase.
Meanwhile, lawmakers will have
to find ways to compensate for the lost
revenue in the state budget over the
next two years.
Gingrich Episode Piques Pauken
Texas Republican Party Chairman
Tom Pauken said the recent, failed
attempt to oust U.S. House Speaker
Newt Gingrich hurt the GOP image.
Pauken, who stepped down from
his post last week to seek his party's
nomination for the office of state at-
torney general, said, "The timing was
terrible.
"I think there's a frustration on the
part of a lot of Republicans at the
grassroots level.. .a feeling we were so
close to winning a majority and now
we're slipping backwards."
He called for an end to the party's
"internal bickering" and concentrate
on the 1998 election cycle.
During Pauken's tenure as state
GOP chairman, Republicans won a
majority of seats in the state Senate,
swept all statewide offices on the 1996
ballot and won majorities on the Texas
Supreme Court, Court of Criminal
Appeals, State Board of Education
and the Texas Railroad Commission.
Life Sentences for Drug Makers
People who manufacture metham-
phetamine, also known as speed, could
be sentenced to prison for life under a
proposal by U.S. Rep.Paet Sessions,
R-Dallas. '
The freshman congressman said
he will introduce legislation within
the next few weeks that would impose
a mandatory life sentence for anyone
found guilty of manufacturing the
drug. Currently the minimum sen-
tence is five years in prison.
Community Resource Calendar
Thursday, July 31 Massage Therapy
Friday, August 1 Parenting ('lasses, 1I am-12 noon
. Vitlles by Vehicle
Monday, August 4 Vitlles by Vehicle ,
Tuesday, August 5 RobertMahoney, Counselor
STAR program, Harmony Family Service;.
Wednesday, August 6 Elsa Bains, CounselorH am-12 noon
Dr. FHambright, Chiropractor, 9 am 12 noon
Texas Dept. of Human Resources, 8:30 am-4 pm
'■ Massage Therapy
Vittles by Vehicle
Provided by The Albany News for the
Shackelford County Community Resource ( enter
Community Calendar
JULY 30 Diabetes seminar - Resource Center, 1:30 pm
JULY 31 Lions Club - Lone Star Eatery, 12 noon
AUG. 1 Chamber luncheon - Lone Star Eatery, 12 noon
Visions of Hope AA meeting - Call 762-2447
for location, 8 pm
AUG. 4-8 Community Vacation Bible School - First
Christian Church, 9 am-12 noon
AUG. 5 Early voting ends for August amendment
election
AUG. 5-7 Junior high and high school registration -
AHS/AJHS principal's office, 8 arrir4 pm
AUG. 7 Immunization clinic - Resource Center,
9 am-4 pm
Elementary registration - NSES cafeteria,
9 am-12 noon
AUG. 9 Amendment election - County polling places,
7 arn-7 pm
AUG. 11 Commissioners court - Courthouse^ 9 am
AUG. 11.-15 AHS band camp - AHS band hall, 5-8 pm
AUG. 18 School board - Supt's office, 7:30 pm
AUG. 19 School classes begin
AUG. 20 City council - City Hall, 5 pm
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Lucas, Donnie A. The Albany News (Albany, Tex.), Vol. 122, No. 9, Ed. 1 Thursday, July 31, 1997, newspaper, July 31, 1997; Albany, Texas. (https://texashistory.unt.edu/ark:/67531/metapth413632/m1/4/: accessed July 6, 2024), University of North Texas Libraries, The Portal to Texas History, https://texashistory.unt.edu.; crediting The Old Jail Art Center.