Port Aransas South Jetty (Port Aransas, Tex.), Vol. 34, No. 49, Ed. 1 Thursday, December 2, 2004 Page: 3 of 18
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Murray and Mary Judson
Co-Publishers
Mary Judson
Editor
Phone (361) 749-5131 E-mail: southietty@centurytel.net
Port Aransas South Jetty
Opinion
Member:
South Texas Press Association
Texas Gulf Coast Press Association
Texas Press Association
National Newspaper Association
Thursday, December 2, 2004 3A
Texas politics
Dave
Me Neely
Still no lottery for
Texas education
As Texas heads
once again into trying
to find a solution to
school funding difficul-
ties, some Texans con-
tinue to ask: Wasn’t the
Texas lottery supposed
to have killed off Robin
Hood?
First, the equaliza-
tion payments among
local school districts
didn’t come along un-
til 1993 — two years
after the lottery was
passed.
Still, Texans can be forgiven for thinking
the lottery was for schools. In 1994, when
Republican George W. Bush was challenging
then-Gov. Ann Richards, a Democrat, he ham-
mered that thought over and over.
At first, Bush said he was “confused when
I was told, in my opinion, that the lottery was
to go strictly to public education, and I wake
up the next day and find out it wasn’t.”
After reporters pressed him, Bush said he
knew when he voted for it that the lottery
wasn’t earmarked, but people like his mother
voted for it because they thought it was.
“Never, at any point, did I think it was a
good idea,” Richards responded. “I think ev-
eryone knows I was very strongly in opposition
to dedicating the monies.”
She and key legislators cited two reasons:
• Lotteries produce uneven revenue
streams. In other states where the revenues
had been earmarked, such as California
and Florida, they discovered that after
the initial thrill wore off, lottery proceeds
dropped.
• Most importantly, the lottery would pro-
vide nowhere near enough to fund schools.
In the 2003 fiscal year, for instance, not
counting federal funds, bond proceeds or
contributions to the teachers’ retirement
fund, the comptroller’s offices, says the state
spent $11.2 billion on schools. Local school
districts spent $16.2 billion, for a total of
$27.4 billion.
it Gf that, just $888,2 million, or 3.2 percent,
came from the lottery.
By contrast, the share-the-wealth part of
the funding system, which equalizes per-pupil
spending among school districts, accounts for
$971 million, or 3.5 percent of local districts’
$16.2 billion.
Another factor that Richards didn’t cite,
but is still a problem, is that states that ear-
marked lottery profits for schools didn’t really
add to the bottom line. Legislators simply
replaced some of the existing school money
with lottery revenue. The other money was
redirected.
Sure enough, when Texas lottery proceeds
were earmarked for schools in 1997 — in an
attempt to end the debate - dollar-hungry
Texas legislators did the same thing.
In other words, if property taxes are to
be lowered and the money-sharing system
dropped, some other source of dollars must
fill the gap.
One education official tries to put the lot-
tery-as-salvation-for-schools idea in perspec-
tive by asking: Do you spend as much on
lottery tickets each year as on your property
tax?
For most homeowners, local property taxes
for schools get a lot more of their loot than
the lottery.
Reach McNeely at 512/445-3644 or
dmcneely@statesman.com.
Editor’s note: This column first ran in
November, 2003. *
Letters
to the Editor
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Monday for inclusion in the follow-
ing Thursday’s edition.
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They’re paid $5 million for what?
No doubt you’ve all seen, read or heard
about the altercation between two NBA play-
ers that ultimately involved fans. I won’t bore
you with the details.
A day or two after The Event I listened to
an interview with the First Offender on the
Today Show. The man is paid (note the term
“is paid” as opposed to “earns”) $5 million a
year to play basketball.
He struggled to put together a coherent
sentence, and, judging by his answers, appeared
to have difficulty understanding the questions.
Apparently he had been schooled to stay posi-
tive in the interview no matter how tough the
questioning became. He answered most ques-
tions with, “I’m just going to stay positive,” no
matter what the question was.
Q: What is your mother’s name?
A: I’m Just Going To Stay Positive.
It was amazing that the
interviewer didn’t throw
up his hands in frustration
and shout, “You blithering
idiot! Answer the ques-
tion!”
Did I mention he is paid
$5 million a year?
What is wrong with this
picture?
Certainly professional
sports are entertaining.
So are movies. But this is
entertainment.
What about the people
who shape our children’s lives? What about
those who stand in harm’s way so that we
may be safe? What about the people who
take us from sickness to health? What about
Mary
Henkel
Judson
Uncle Wallace, bless his heart
Uncle Wallace lived next door. Also living
in that same next door were Aunt Roberta,
Aunt Maude, Aunt Florence and Grandma
Pryor. The only one in that bunch of relatives
who had entered the sea of matrimony was
Grandma.
Uncle Wallace didn’t have to get married.
He said, “With three old maid sisters to nag
me, I don’t need any more women in my
life.”
He did everything for those sisters but
sew and cook. He bought the groceries, he
did the lawn, he worked the garden, did all
the carpentry, he fed the chickens, he took
care of their cars, and, by the way, he was
the projectionist at Dad’s motion picture
show on Austin’s Congress
Avenue.
So he also had to go to
the depot and pick up the
next scheduled film.
He also took me fish-
ing. We’d camp out on
the banks of the Colorado
down around Bastrop.
He said, “I need to rest
my ears. All I hear is the
sound track of the mov-
ies and the naggin’ of my
sisters.”
Every now and then Uncle Wallace would
get enough. You could count on the movie
( ictus
Pryor
Letters to the editor
Pray for Charlie’s Pasture
Each in his own words, each in her own
way, for a world united in peace; let us pray
for the protection of Charlie’s Good Pasture.
Ask that Charlie’s Good Pasture be safe from
development. Ask that Charlie’s Good Pasture
area stay free and wild for the people forever.
Give thanks for Charlie’s Good Pasture. Your
prayers are powerful.
Margaret A. Larsen
Port Aransas
Word play
Words like “your fair share” are designed
to hypnotize you and trick you into thinking
in a specific way for a benefit not necessarily
your own.
Port Aransas is not about “convention busi-
ness.” We don’t want any of Corpus Christi’s
convention business. Port Aransas is about na-
ture. Port Aransas is about the saltwater, birds,
fish, natural vegetation and animals. Port
Aransas is about being good stewards of the
land. Building a hotel and marina at Charlie’s
Good Pasture is not being good stewards of
the land. Port Aransas is not about hotels; it is
about the dolphins in the channel at Charlie’s
Good Pasture. It’s about the white pelicans
and coyotes. It’s about nature.
Beware of slick words designed to push your
emotional buttons and make you feel - words
that make you forget what is really important
in this world - and it is NOT money.
Ben Odom
Port Aransas
Why now?
Restricting RV camping may be a necessity
- during the peak season. However, why
should we now start enforcing the existing
ordinance during the off-season when we have
Winter Texans (some who could afford to buy
an RV park) who just enjoy staying right on
the beach? They are clean and certainly do
not cause problems.
Winter Texans in Port Aransas have been a
blessing to this community. Not only do they
keep businesses active, but they bring life to
the entire community. They participate in lo-
cal activities, they take pride and support this
community, and, for the most part, are just a
pleasure to have around. What could Port
Aransas possibly gain by not allowing those
few the enjoyment of staying on the beach?
Jim Anderson
Port Aransas
What part of ‘no’...?
I was glad to see that Ralph Durden has
presented a “new, scaled-down” version of his
mega-plex to the city. It really should come as
no surprise, however. This is the same old ploy
used by wheeler-dealers. First, you present a
plan so outrageous that you know it won’t fly;
then you come back with another plan that you
really wanted in the first place. The purpose
is to convince the council that you are willing
to “compromise”. Baloney!
As reported, Durden “held his ground on
the hotel.” We don’t want the hotel! Just
what part of “no” doesn’t he or anyone else
connected with this project understand? If
the mayor or City Council bites on this then
maybe we should consider recalling them.
This is not South Padre Island. Leave well
enough alone.
Richard L Tondre
Port Aransas
TEXAS PRESS
ASSOCIATION
BETTER NEWSPAPER CONTEST
Award Winner
2004i
Steve
Martaindale
the people who give us comfort when we are
in pain?
A few of these people earn handsome liv-
ings. Most do not.
How can we complain about the quality of
teachers, law enforcement officers, doctors and
nurses when we do not value them as much
as we value athletes?
A professional athlete may give us five or
10 years of entertainment. And then what?
Maybe they become sports commentators.
That’s worth $5 million a year?
Unfortunately, the answer is “yes”.
I would have no quarrel with their earn-
ings if teachers, law enforcement officers,
doctors, nurses (and while I’m at it, news-
paper editors) were paid on a par with
athletes.
Until then, Houston, we have a problem.
films breaking at least one time a day at Dad’s
Grand Central Theatre.
The kids would start whistling and stomp-
ing. Enough!
Uncle Wallace would stick his head out of
the projection room and shout: “Shut your
damned mouths. I’m fixin’ it.”
I often thought that he wasn’t really shout-
ing at the audience. He was talking back to his
three old maid sisters.
Uncle Wallace took us kids to Galveston
and taught us how to saltwater fish.
Uncle Wallace would fix the flats on our
bikes.
Uncle Wallace was about the best uncle
on earth.
Charlie’s Harbor advantages
There appears to be many disadvantages
discussed about this project such as traffic
through Channel Vista, the community park
and at the ferry.
I think I would like to see a South Jetty
article listing the project advantages for the
average Port Aransas resident.
I understand the developer will build a
400-unit hotel, a 25,000 square foot conven-
tion center, two condo complexes, a marina,
etcetera with his funds. Will he also bear
the expense of roads, curbs, sewers, utilities,
etcetera for the entire project and dedicate
them to the city?
What will the sources of income be from
the entire project for the city other than ho-
tel/ motel tax?
Thank you.
Jerry Watson
Port Aransas
Pet control
What is it with some people? Don’t they
understand “leash law”?
They do not use a leash and let their dogs
defecate in other people’s yards when they
think nobody is looking. There are some areas
where nobody cuts grass where it would be
less of a problem, but they still should know
that it is proper to clean up after their dog
does its business.
We try to take care of our yard, and it is not
much fun to try and cut the grass when we
find those piles of dog poop in our yard.
We love our island, but not the mess left by
inconsiderate people with dogs.
Some areas have their share of those people
who seem to be visitors without shame. Lots
of dogs, but no pooper scoopers or doggie bags
to be seen.
Elfriede Crawford
Port Aransas
A Texas voice
First trip in RV
isn’t that great
Leah and I
now have our
first real RV
trip under
our collec-
tive belt, and
we crammed
enough under
that belt to
make Thanks-
giving dinner
look like a sack
lunch.
The “landing
gear” that lifts and lowers our fifth wheel trail-
er broke the first night while in a recreation
area 17 miles from the nearest town, where we
went for parts. It then started to rain. I went
to bed thinking I almost had it fixed and only
needed daylight and drier conditions to make
it an easy job the next morning.
The next morning, it was storming and
my plan was all wet, too. Leah made another
trip to town while I struggled with the repair.
By late morning, it was safe for travel and
we pulled out, choosing a course out of the
park that offered a turnaround loop because
backing the trailer is still unadvisable for me.
The loop was under part of the lake. I went
back and forth several times until the rig
faced out.
A look at radar later proved that the storm
we traveled in the rest of the day followed us
on our trip - our own, personal rain clouds.
It was pouring when we reached our next
stop. As I wheeled into our spot, I felt some-
thing. When the rain let up, Leah saw paint
that matched our trailer transferred to the
metal bumper of a pickup across the drive.
The truck was not hurt and the owner was
very understanding. Our home, however,
had a gash in a lower storage compartment
door and the rear bumper was hanging half
off.
Since the landing gear was not working - I
merely fixed it for travel - we did not unhitch
from our truck that night, leaving us not level
and unable to slide out the room extenders. If
you’ve not experienced it, take my word for it
that those little slides make a huge difference
in an RV.
It was an uncomfortable night in our con-
densed home, made worse by the continuing
rain and the realization that we had a leak
when the living room slide was in.
All wet
Kindness in the form of screws and a loaned
drill enabled me to secure the bumper the next
morning... in the rain... and we headed toward
our next scheduled stop.
There, we had already made plans to take
advantage of the neighboring RV repair shop
to patch a slow leak in one of our tires. We
added the landing gear to the list and re-
quested an estimate to repair the damage from
the accident. Oh, yes, it was still raining, and
getting colder.
When we got the trailer back the next day,
I noticed the microwave was not working.
The rain was beginning to clear up, following
a hailstorm that morning.
We decided to leave the trailer where it was
and drive to my folks’ house for Thanksgiving.
Not that we had been intimidated, mind you,
but because it was too wet to park in the field
next to their house.
That gave us a couple of days to talk about
the possibility we had made a mistake moving
into an RV. We both actually love living in it,
but it is so big when we travel and drains so
much fuel, and we have to plan so carefully
and so on.
However, let’s not make any rash decisions,
we decided. Things just go wrong when you
bounce a home down the highway. Maybe we
received a lot of bad at one time. And tbe rain
made everything worse.
With refreshed spirits, we started back south
and, indeed, everything went better. Nothing
broke. I did not hit anybody or anything that
I’m aware of. And it did not rain.
Honestly, we’re still in an evaluating mode.
The jury is out and we plan to give it a full
summer of leisurely travel - such that we can
sit out rainstorms if we wish - before making
any radical changes to our radical change.
Maybe.
Steve Martaindale is a self-syndicated
columnist. Write him at steve@ATexasVoice.
com.
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Judson, Mary Henkel. Port Aransas South Jetty (Port Aransas, Tex.), Vol. 34, No. 49, Ed. 1 Thursday, December 2, 2004, newspaper, December 2, 2004; Port Aransas, Texas. (https://texashistory.unt.edu/ark:/67531/metapth556301/m1/3/?q=%22%22~1: accessed July 17, 2024), University of North Texas Libraries, The Portal to Texas History, https://texashistory.unt.edu.; crediting Ellis Memorial Library.