Sweetwater Reporter (Sweetwater, Tex.), Vol. 111, No. 250, Ed. 1 Tuesday, September 8, 2009 Page: 4 of 10
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Viewpoints
Sweetwater Reports
DEDICATED TO PROUDLY DELIVERING LOCAL NEWS SINCE iMHi
t-\ Sweetwater i
Reporter
P.O.Box 750/112 W. Third
Sweetwater, Texas 79556
325/236-6677
Fax: 325/235-4967
Website:
www.sweetwaterreporter.com
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publisher@sweetwaterreporter.com
business@sweetwaterreporter.com
advertising@sweetwatenreporter.com
circulation@sweetwaterreporter.com
editor@sweetwaterreporter.com
composing@sweetwaterreporter.com
Sharon LFriedlander
puMisher/ad director
Danica Hickson
business mgr.
Michelle Ashford
circulation mgr.
Tatiana Rodriguez
managing editor
Pablo Rodriguez
composing mgr.
Rleu Reyes
production mgr.
THE IDLE AMERICAN
Remembering Septembers]
Rr. Don
Newbury
EDITORIAL POLICY
The editorial section of the newspaper is a forum for
expression of a variety of viewpoints. All articles except
those labeled “Editorials" reflect the opinions of the writ-
ers and not those of the Sweetwater Reporter.
COLT CORNER
TBSI put into place
Wow! What a great start to the 2009-2010
school year at Sweetwater Middle School. We are
looking forward to many great weeks to come.
One of our goals at Sweetwater Middle School
is not only to educate our students in the basic
academic areas and develop
life-long learners, but also
to foster within each child a
sense of self worth and posi-
tive self image.
A group of educators have
been working diligently
over the past few months on
the TBSI (Texas Behavior
Support Initiative) and this
program has been put into
place. This program outlines
expectations for students to follow. They have
been practicing and complying with these expec-
tations.
Family Access is once again provided to our
parents this year. It is a way for you to keep up
with your child's progress at school. There will be
training sessions if you are unaware of the pro-
gram or if you have never registered in the past.
Your involvement in your child's education is
just one of the essential elements in us achieving
together the development of productive citizens.
If you have any questions about Family Access,
please contact your child’s campus. Also, there
have been days designated within the school cal-
endar for parent/teacher conferences. The first
date for conferences is Oct. 8. If you arc unable
to schedule a conference with your child's teach-
ers during their scheduled conference times, this
might be a good time for you.
Sweetwater Middle School volleyball has kicked
off to a great start, and football is just around the
corner. We are selling SMS Colt shirts for $10 ($2
extra for larger sizes). Order your COLTS shirt
today and support Sweetwater Middle School.
We are planning an Academic Pep Rally within
the next few weeks. We invite all shareholders in
the community to attend this event. Many great
things are on the horizon at Sweetwater Middle
School, and we welcome everyone in the commu-
nity to share in our success.
Colt Corner is written by teachers and adminis-
trators at Sweetwater Middle School. Comments
about this column may he e-mailed to editor(w
sweetwaterreporter.com.
Letter to the
Editor Policy
T he Sweetwater Reporter welcomes Letters to the
Editor for possible publication in the newspaper. A
letter must be original, signed bv the writer and
bear the address and phone number of the writer.
Only the name and the city will be published with
the letter, but the phone number and address are
necessary for verification or clarification of con-
tent.
The Sweetwater Reporter reserves the right to edit
all letters. If deemed derogatory, libelous, unclear
or for other reasons determined by the newspaper
to be unwise to print, it will not be used.
It is the feeling of the newspaper that an unsigned
letter has little meaning, and thus if will not pub-
lish anonymous letters to the editor.
During elections, the Sweetwater Reporter will
accept Letters to the Editor discussing the issues
or offering endorsements. However, the deadline
for letters during elections will be two weeks prior
to election day.
The publishing of Letters to the Editor are offered
by the newspaper to the community for expression
of personal views on matters of concern. Residents
are encouraged to use the column in a constructive
manner, sharing their views on subjects of interest
with the newspaper’s readers.
We may as well have
had the words "tourist”
tattooed on our foreheads,
my wife and 1, dur-
ing our first visit
to New York City,
40 years ago this
September.
There was an
extra jolt of excite-
ment as we strolled
Times Square
where throngs of
people were talk-
ing of nothing but
Apollon’s success-
ful moon landing
and of mankind’s
first footprints on
the lunar surface.
Too, we thought it neat to
attend Sunday services at
Marble Collegiate Church,
where a respected theolo-
gian, author and motiva-
tional speaker was pastor.
This was during the 37th
of Dr. Norman Vincent
Beale’s 52-year pastorate.
We were naive in assum-
ing that this preacher—a
man who could put a posi-
tive spin on a spider web—
would be in his pulpit on a
given Sunday at this stage
of his ministry. Our faces
reddened upon noting the
bold letters on the church’s
marquee: “DR. BEALE’S
NEXT SERMON Wild, BE
ON NOVEMBER 16." We
attended anyway.
fn the four decades since,
I’ve kept a keen eye out for
lives marked by optimism
and determination to lend
helping hands.
One who prac tices what
the late Dr. Beale preached
doesn't hold 22 honorary
doctoral degrees, hasn’t
written 38 books and
hasn’t stood at lecterns in
huge auditoriums crowded
with both people' and TV
cameras. He did attend
college for one year in his
beautiful homeland of
Barbados. But at age 19,
he was off ter New Jersey
where he and his wife have
parented three children.
Two daughters are study-
ing pre-law and educa-
tion, and their 17-year-old
son will be in college next
year.
The husband/father/
humanitarian I’ve identi-
fied is Adrian Greenidge;
he’s a hotel doorman. I've
watched him on numerous
occasions, from different
angles and distances, at
his Broadway Millennium
workplace. He's got this
"servanthood thing” down,
GUEST COLUMN
SUCI
The
worthy of a doctorate if
they gave degrees for
:h. Adrian practices Dr.
Peale’s teachings,
a day at a time, a
person at a time,
a smile at a time.
Folks get the same
warm treatment,
whether passers-
by or hotel guests.
ABC News per-
sonalitiestooknote
of his ever-present
smiles, songs and
jokes three years
ago. (Cabbies see
a sterner side if his
summoning whis-
tles go unobliged.)
network provid-
ed Adrian with his hour
of fame during Good
Morning, America’s 30th
anniversary show. That
day, then-host Charles
Gibson switched jobs with
him.
Adrian was spiffed out
in a suit and tie in that
pre-dawn hour when the
network limo whisked him
from his New Jersey home
to his ABC news assign-
ment. (Gibson admitted
that doorman work is hard,
and that lie did a poor job
whistling-down taxis.)
Adrian, now featured 011
the hotel’s TV7 ads, enjoyed
the star treatment, as well
as the interview he con-
ducted.
That’s how I first learned
about the storied door-
man. ABC personnel, and
legions of others, believe
that his work is a near-per-
fect fit for his “druthers."
Quite simply, his intent
is to positively impact the
lives of others on a daily
basis.
During a couple of brief
interviews, I’ve sensed
his enthusiasm for the
National Association of
Hotel Doormen, whose
convention he attends
annually. The association’s
main project is to raise
funds for the Crohn’s and
Colitis Foundation.
His accolades for numer-
ous humanitarian causes
are many. When I talked to
him a few days ago, lie was
melancholy.
He was saddened
by the death of Senator
Ted Kennedy, whom lie
described as “the nicest
political figure 1 ever met.”
And he was pensive
about the near-at-hand
eighth anniversary of 9/11.
At work during that car-
nage eight years ago, lie
was at once a counselor,
comforter and sustained
The hotel was a place of
vigil, heavy with sounds of
sadness, and layers of dust
dulling the shiny luggage
carts.
“My usual singing and
whistling to amuse chil-
dren were useless that day,”
lie said. “The hotel became
a crisis center for many,
including relatives of a
single firm that lost 400
employees.” He lamentedl
the memory of a mother]
who fell to her knees in!
front of him upon learn-
ing that her son had been
killed at the World Trade 1
Center, while her husband,
working on another floor,
was spared....He spoke of
five sisters who learned
that their only brother per-
ished at the WTC in the
first hour of his first day
on a new job.... “It was
that way for too many long
days, and soon even the
thought of going to work
was painful, he added.
He believes that the city,
however slowly, is recover-
ing from that time when it
seemed to be a ghost town,
the scene of the worst
carnage ever wrought on
American soil.
Adria 11 prays to be spared
from such sorrow ever
again, lie perseveres, now
in bis lHtli year at the same
front door, practicing what
Dr. Beale preached. He’s
a lot like Will Rogers, too,
in his penchant tor liking
folks. Terrorists, however,
should never expect to see
his smile, and tardy cab
drivers only half of one.
Dr. Newbury is a
speaker and writer in the
Metrnplex. Direct inqui-
ries/comments to new-
huryC speaker doc. co m.
Phone: 817-447-3872.
Web site: www.speaker-
doc.com.
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Watching conservatives
cheer the demise of the
"public option" lias left me
slinking my head.
Now, if this were a real-
ity show — "Who Wins
Health Care?" —
it would all make
sense. The conser-
vatives turned the
"public option" into
the symbol of big,
expensive govern-
ment takinu away
your health care
to give it to immi-
grants. I kid you
not: This is exactly _
how I’ve heard it SUS8II
described in more
than one telex i- [SulCII
sion debate, which
leaves you denying
that you want to kill your
mother (mine is already
dead, but still).
It is not easy to beat
back such an idea, particu-
larly in a country that is
full of people who are on
edge to begin with about
their economic security,
and with reason.
So score this round for
the conservatives. The
country doesn't want
(even) big(ger) govern-
ment. The private sector
does everything better.
Dcja vu all over again.
But is the private sector
ready to run a free hot dog
stand?
One of the best lines
in recent political cam-
paigns is the one where
Democrats say that if the
health insurance plan
members of Congress gel
is good enough for them,
it's good enough for every-
one in America. Hooray.
Sounds great.
Everyone in the coun-
try is hot going to get the
health care plan Congress
gets.
Most members of
Congress elect one of the
"best" plans available to
federal employees, which
is to say, they
choose to get
their hot dogs by
appointment from
whatever stand
they want. Like
me, they go to the
$5 stand or the
$10 stand, the one
with the doctor
you know, same-
day service, and
new and expen-
sive machines. For
that, you make
additional contri-
butions and pay
co-pays and deductibles.
Even with really good
insurance, you pay.
The 40-something mil-
lion Americans who don't
have health insurance are
not going to be coming
to my stand, whatever bill
Congress passes. They
can't afford it, and we cer-
tainly can't afford to pay
for it for them. And, by the
way, my insurance compa-
ny isn't exactly looking for
their business, especially
if they're old (50 is old
to them) or sick (gastritis
counts as sick) or take pre-
scription medicine regu-
larly (above a certain age,
who doesn’t?).
It's not that insurance
companies are a bunch of
meanies who want to see
people suffer That's a good
caricature for the game of
"Who Wins Health Care?"
But it doesn't happen to
lie true. They're business
people trying to make a
living. In a field where
costs are constantly spi-
raling and everyone wants
the best, can you blame
people for not wanting
more lousy risks in their
pool? Nothing personal.
I never bought the idea
that the "public option"
was going to be so good
that it would keep HMDs
honest. It's a great theory.
In practice, you just have
to compare the waiting
rooms at Kaiser to those
at a public hospital like
County-USC or Harbor-
UCLA to know that there
is no one sitting at County
with a Kaiser card in their
pocket.
We have a public option
now. A friend's husband
was just diagnosed with
prostate cancer. They are
American citizens. Thev
both work. But neither ot
their jobs provides health
insurance. They make too
much money for Medicaid
and way too little to afford
the $12,000 it would
have cost them to insure
the family with a private
insurer. Now, of course,
no one would take them.
He went to Harbor, the
public hospital, the pub-
lic option. He sat there
for about 14 hours, which
wasn't so bad, and finally
saw a doctor, who is order-
ing more tests, hopefully
soon, and then they will
see. At my hot dog stand,
he would have had the
tests already, and would
have been examined by
a surgeon skilled in the
latest robotic techniques.
He's not asking for that.
He just doesn't want to die
of something they routine-
ly cure a few miles away.
So the conservatives win
a round. Until they can
answer the question of
who is going to take care
of my friend's husband,
who cares?
To find out more about
Susan Estrich and read
features by other Creators
Syndicate writers and car-
toonists, visit the Creators
Syndicate website at
www.creators.coin.
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Sweetwater Reporter will
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in fact that have been print-
ed in the newspaper.
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made as soon as possible
after the error has been
brought to the attention of
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Reporter
Who will run the free hot dog stand?
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Rodriguez, Tatiana. Sweetwater Reporter (Sweetwater, Tex.), Vol. 111, No. 250, Ed. 1 Tuesday, September 8, 2009, newspaper, September 8, 2009; Sweetwater, Texas. (https://texashistory.unt.edu/ark:/67531/metapth559488/m1/4/?q=%22~1~1%22~1: accessed July 16, 2024), University of North Texas Libraries, The Portal to Texas History, https://texashistory.unt.edu.; crediting Sweetwater/Nolan County City-County Library.