Sweetwater Reporter (Sweetwater, Tex.), Vol. 111, No. 116, Ed. 1 Wednesday, April 1, 2009 Page: 3 of 10
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Sweetwater Reporter
Wednesday, April 1, 2009 ■ Page 3
TXU Energy launches reality contest
The TXU Energy Power Saver Challenge is back. After a
successful inaugural campaign last year that saw thou-
sands compete to be the most energy-efficient family, TXU
Energy announced today it is launching the reality contest
again.
The TXU Energy Power Saver Challenge 2 winner will
receive a $25,000 Grand Prize. This year's second and
third place winners will also receive cash prizes. This
unique reality contest is designed to motivate Texans to
share new ways to use less energy and save money on their
electric bill. The statewide reality contest is open to TXU
Energy residential customers and consumers who become
TXU Energy customers by June 15th, 2009. Entrants must
own and live in a single family home that is at least five
years old.
“TXU Energy is committed to helping Texans use less
energy so they can save money on their monthly electric
bill,” said Jim Burke, CEO of TXU Energy. “This is a fun
and innovative way to help our customers accomplish that
by making energy efficiency habits part of their everyday
lives. Sharing their results with others through our online
community also enables our customers to help each other.”
This year’s contest will again feature an online compo-
nent, the Power Saver Challenge Simulator, which allows
participants to estimate the energy efficiency of their
home. Depending on what decade their home was built,
the simulator provides suggested improvements to help
reduce a home's impact on the environment.
TXU Energy Power Saver Challenge 2 also features a
complete online resource center for energy management
that serves as a one-stop-shop for customers to learn ways
to be more energy efficient. From energy efficiency tips, to
the Energy Fit Club widget that serves as a personal energy
consumption advisor, the online resource center can help
customers use less energy and save more money. For those
still deciding whether or not to participate in the TXU
Energy Power Saver Challenge 2, the TXU Energy online
resource center also has videos from last year's contes-
tants.
Current and new TXU Energy residential customers can
enter the TXU Energy Power Saver Challenge 2 starting
today through June 15 online at www.txu.com/powersaver
simply by answering a short questionnaire and submitting
a brief essay on why saving energy is important. While
entering the contest, visitors to the site can also find ener-
gy-saving tips and hints, and even obtain discounted ener-
gy-saving light bulbs.
Fifteen entrants will be chosen as semifinalists and will
be asked to submit a brief video on why they and their
home should be selected to advance to the final round.
Three finalists will be selected from among the semifinal-
ists - one each from North Texas, Southeast Texas and
South Texas. Each finalist will win an HD video camera, a
$5,000 cash fund to use for home energy improvements,
and two free comprehensive in-home energy audits with
energy-saving recommendations. Semifinalists who do not
move on to the finals will be awarded a $100 TXU Energy
bill credit.
The three final contestants' home audits and energy
improvements will be videotaped as part of the TXU
Energy Power Saver Challenge 2 to enable Web voting to
help select the Grand Prize winner. Contestants will be
judged by a panel of energy experts based on improvement
in the Home Energy Rating System (HERS) Index, Web
voting, and energy-savings behavior. The Grand Prize win-
ner will receive $25,000 cash.
About TXU Energy
TXU Energy is a market-leading competitive retailer
that provides electricity and related services to more than
2.2 million electricity customers in Texas. TXU Energy
offers a variety of innovative products and solutions,
allowing both its residential and business customers to
choose options that best meet their needs, including excep-
tional customer service, competitively priced electricity
service plans, innovative energy efficiency options,
renewable energy programs and other electricity-related
products and services. Visit www.txuenergy.com for
more information about TXU Energy.
Fool’s Day
Court
Continued from page 1
Rainey had prior offenses,
with the last offense taking
place July 25, 2008. He will
also pay a $500 fine, $470
in court costs and $500 to
reimburse Nolan County for
court-appointed attorney's
fees. His driver's license will
be suspended for one year.
Rainey will receive 169 days
of credit towards his prison
sentence for every full day
or part of a day that he has
already spent in jail.
Brenda Josie Mendez
entered a plea of true to
revoking her probation for
committing forgery, a state
jail felony. Her original date
of offense for prior charges
was Sept. 28, 2007, and was
put on community supervi-
sion on Feb. 4, 2008, for the
offenses. She will serve 12
months confinement in the
State Jail Division of the
Texas Department of
Criminal Justice and pay a
$500 fine, $301 in court
costs and $1,000 in attor-
ney's fees. She will also have
to pay a total of $3,115.42 in
restitution to the following:
$151.35 to Wal-Mart,
$342.38 to Taylor Fuel,
$320.00 to First Financial
Bank, $10.50 to Chillerz of
Sweetwater, $120.00 to
Longhorn Liquor, $82.19 to
Check Mart. $120.00 to
Jack's Liquor, $914.00 to
Maria Garza and $955.00 to
Isabel Beltran. Mendez will
receive 67 days credit
towards her sentence.
Internet
. holiday Special!
Continued from page 1
legend is referring to the Canterbury Tales. The Nun's
Priest's tale was a tale of two fools and the events of that
story are said to have taken place on March 32nd.
Sizdah Bedar is known as the oldest prank-tradition that
is still celebrated in the world today. There have been links
saying that April Fool's Day has roots in Sizdah Bedar.
This holiday of pranks has been celebrated since 536 BC.
This is the day tnat Iranians play jokes on each other, and
it takes place on the 13th day of the Persian new year,
which would be the same as April 1, or April 2, according
to Wikipedia.
Over the years, numerous people have played pranks but
only a few nave become known worldwide. The top prank
of all time is called the Swiss Spaghetti Harvest. The BBC
news show Panorama reported on the Swiss farmers
enjoying a bumper spaghetti crop and aired footage of
Swiss peasants pulling strands of spaghetti down from the
trees. A large amount of the viewers believed it and actu-
ally called in wanting to know how to grow their own
spaghetti tree.
A few other well known pranks are: (list from museu-
mofhoaxes.com)
1996- Taco Bell Corporation announced that they had
purchased the Liberty Bell and would be renaming it the
Taco Liberty Bell. Numerous outraged citizens called with
complaints until Taco Bell released that it was only a
prank, but to make it even funnier Mike McCurry, press
secretary of the White House went along with the joke
when questioned. He responded that the Lincoln
Memorial had also been sold that day and would be
renamed Ford Lincoln Mercury Memorial.
1976- Patrick Moore, British astronomer, announced on
radio that at 9:47 a.m. an event was going to occur allow-
ing listeners to experience a floating sensation. He said
that at that time Pluto would pass Jupiter and cause a tem-
porary gravitational alignment and lessen Earth's gravity.
At that time, hundreds of calls flooded in and listeners
said that they had felt the floating sensation when they
jumped in the air. One listener went as far to say that her
and 11 friends lifted off their chairs and floated around the
room.
1994- John Dvorak wrote an article for PC Computing
magazine stating that Congress was putting through a hill
making it illegal to use the internet while drunk or to dis-
cuss sexual matters over a public network. The number ol
the bill was 040194 (the date of April Fools) and the con-
tact was Lirpa Sloof (April Fools backwards). The bill said
that the government could tap the phone line of anyone
who uses or abuses alcohol while using the internet. So
many people called in outraged that Senator Kennedy's
office had to release a denial of the rumor and state that it
was only a hoax.
1997- Comic strip artists teamed up and planned tor one
day to draw each other's cartoons. On this dav comic strip
fans opened their comics only to be confused. Characters
from other comic strips showed up in other comic strips.
For example, Dilbert characters appeared in Family
Circus, Garfield and Blondie switched roles, and so forth.
Comic strip artists, politicians, media and your everydav
normal citizen seems to take part in some kind of prank
throughout history. Watch out and be careful what you
believe, make sure the facts are checked before chaos
ensues. Smile and enjoy April Fool's Day!
_ , M , mm m mm ■ mm ■ mm ■ mm ■ mm ■ mm ■ -j
I ___________
Dwight Leslie Simpson
will serve 12 months con-
finement in the State Jail
Division of the Texas
Department of Criminal
Justice for his plea of true to
revoking his probation. His
original date of offense was
July 5, 2008 and was sen-
tenced to probation Sept.
22, 2008. His most recent
offense was unauthorized
use of a vehicle, a state jail
felony. In addition to his
prison sentence, Simpson
will pay a $1,000 fine, $305
in court costs and $1,000 in
court-appointed attorney's
fees. He will receive 218
days credit towards his
prison sentence.
Rebekah Dianne Hogan
entered a guilty plea to
debit card abuse, a state jail
felony. The offense occurred
Jan, 2, 2009. She received
two years confinement in
the State Jail Division of the
Texas Department of
Criminal Justice, but had
that sentence suspended to
five years of community
supervision. She will also
have to pay a $500 fine,
$370 in court costs and
$500 in attorney's fees. She
will also have to serve 120
hours of community service
and enter a residential
treatment center as a condi-
tion of her community
supervision.
PHIL FROM PHILLY
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Student Policy
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admits students to all the
rights, privileges, programs
and activities general!) ac
corded to or matte available
to students at the school It
does not discriminate on the
basis of race, color, national
or ethic origin in admin
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scholarship, and loan
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507 Locust St.
325-235-5501
I
Many songs have been written by many songwriters about many towns. Like the one about San
Francisco by Tony Bennett or the one about Chicago sung by Frank (Ole' Blue Eyes) Sinatra, or
the one about New New York, Dallas. Tulsa. Paris, and so on. All, to be sure, quite good and pop-
ular. Have you heard the song Phil wrote'.’
Phil lived in Philadelphia, the city of Brotherly Love. One Christmas season he was called upon
to write a song for a Christmas play for the children in the church, where he was pastor. Phil wrote
a poem based on inspiration he had received while attending a Christmas Eve serv ice in a certain
town, three years earlier. He took the poem to Louis Redner and asked him to write music for the
poem. Redner was blank. He couldn't seem to come up with a tune. Then, after struggling for days,
on the night before the play, Louis was suddenly awakened with new music running through his
mind. He rose from bed and penned the music he heard running thru his head. It fit perfect. The
song was sung and was loved.
Phil had written a song about Ins favorite town. It was about peace, beauty, and yes Brotherly
Love. And what a song! All who heard it seemed to love it. Phil had written the song based on the
memories of the Christmas Eve service he had attended at the world's oldest church, the Church
of the Nativ ity, in Bethlehem...
Phil (Phillip Brooks) in 1868 wrote:
"0 LITTLE TOWN OF BETHLEHEM"
0 LITTLE TOWN OF BETHLEHEM. HOW STILL WE SEE THEE LIE!
ABOVE THY DEEP AND DREAMLESS SLEEP. THE SILENT STARS GO BY
YET IN THY DARK STREETS SHINETH.THE EVERLASTING LIGHT.
THE HOPES AND FEARS OF ALL THE YEARS
ARE MET IN THEE TONIGHT...
Have you heard Phil s song?
I
Sponsored by:
McCoy Funeral Home
Lb ■ bbbb ■ mb ■ m^m ■ m^m ■ mmm ■ mmm ■ ^m ■ mb
NATIONAL BRIEFS
Red River drops below sandbags
in Farge, feeding optimism that
city has escaped the worst
FARGO, N.D. (AP) — Flood waters have fallen
below most of the sandbag levees protecting Fargo,
feeding optimism that the city had tamed the Red
River, at least for now.
By early Wednesday, the river had fallen to 37V2
feet — still far above flood stage but below the top of
the city's permanent floodwalls, which are topped
with another 5 feet of sandbags.
"This should give us a sigh of relief," Mayor Dennis
Walaker said.
While the lower water levels took pressure off the
floodwalls, engineers and National Guard troops
braved a blinding snowstorm Tuesday to monitor the
dikes for signs of stress.
Officials insist the city isn't safe just yet.
Forecasters say the river could begin rising again in
coming days, when more snow begins to melt. But
even future crests aren't expected to approach the
levels feared over the weekend.
Obama opens Europe trip with
effort to rally world leadero to
cope with economic downturn
LONDON (AP) — President Barack Obama sought
Wednesday to rally the world's top and emerging
powers to help cope with a global economic down-
turn, saying "we can only meet this challenge togeth-
_ it
er.
Obama, in England for an economic crisis summit,
prodded nations to spur growth and work together on
regulatory reform, and not fall into the kind of pro-
tectionism and other mistakes that helped fuel the
Great Depression.
"That is a mistake that we cannot afford to repeat,"
Obama said alongside British Prime Minister Gordon
Brown.
Obama called the world's economic challenge the
most serious one since World War II. He said he
came on behalf of the United States to "listen, not to
lecture."
"Having said that," Obama added, "we must not
miss an opportunity to lead."
Mom of suspect's wife in NC
nursing home shooting says
[laughter is devastated' by rampage
CARTHAGE, N.C. (AP) — A nurse's assistant is
devastated over allegations that her estranged hus-
band shot seven patients and a fellow employee while
she hid in a bathroom at the nursing home where she
works, her mother said.
Margaret Neal said Robert Stewart, who is charged
with killing seven residents and a nurse during
Sunday's attack, w'as prone to violence. Her daugh-
ter, Wanda, left him about a month ago and moved
back to a home on the Neal family property, about
half an hour from the site of the shootings in
Carthage.
"She just made up her mind that she had to get
out," Neal said in an interview Tuesday. "And thank
the Lord she did."
Neal said she believes Stewart was after her daugh-
ter, who survived bv hiding behind the passcode-pro-
tected doors of the Alzheimer s care unit at Pinelake
Health and Rehab as he allegedly shot up the home’s
hallways.
"He had a rage," Neal said. "It would just explode
over everything. He would be good and then some-
thing would just set him off."
Today’s Trading
Change
DOW
7.659.49
+50.57
NASDAQ
1.533 61
+5.02
S&P
801.52
+3.65
General Motors
1.81
-0 13
Ford Motor Co
2.66
+0.03
AT&T
25.37
+0.17
PepsiCo, Inc
51.51
+0.03
USG Corp
7 99
+0.38
Archer-Daniels
27 84
+0 06
GE
10.18
+0.07
Deere & Co.
34.40
+1.53
McDonalds Corp
54 80
+0 23
Chevron Texaco
67 54
+0 30
Exxor Mobil
68 03
-0.07
Fst Fin Bnkshs
49.40
+1 23
Coca-Cola
44 42
+0 47
Dell
9.49
+0 01
SW Airlines
6 12
-021
Microsoft
18 82
+0.45
Sears Holdings Corp.
48.41
+2.70
Cisco
17.10
+0.33
Wal-Mart
52 42
+0.32
Johnson & Johnson
52.15
-0.45
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Rodriguez, Tatiana. Sweetwater Reporter (Sweetwater, Tex.), Vol. 111, No. 116, Ed. 1 Wednesday, April 1, 2009, newspaper, April 1, 2009; Sweetwater, Texas. (https://texashistory.unt.edu/ark:/67531/metapth559630/m1/3/?q=%22~1~1~1%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.