Sweetwater Reporter (Sweetwater, Tex.), Vol. 111, No. 70, Ed. 1 Friday, February 6, 2009 Page: 4 of 12
This newspaper is part of the collection entitled: Texas Digital Newspaper Program and was provided to The Portal to Texas History by the Sweetwater/Nolan County City-County Library.
Extracted Text
The following text was automatically extracted from the image on this page using optical character recognition software:
Sweetwater Reporter
Viewpoints
Page 4 ■ Friday, February 6, 2009 _
DEDICATED TO PROUDLY DELIVERING LOCAL NEWS SINCE 1881
^ Sweetwater .
Reporter
P.O. Box 750/112 W. Third
Sweetwater, Texas 79556
325/236-6677
Fax: 325/2354967
Website:
www.sweetwateneporter.com
E-mail addresses:
publisher@sweetwaterreporter.com
business@sweetwaterreporter. com
advertising@sweetwaterreporter.com
circulation@sweetwaterTeporter.com
editor@sweetwaterreporter.com
composing@sweetwaterreporter.com
EDITORIAL POLICY
The editorial section of the newspaper is a forum for expres-
sion of a variety of viewpoints. All articles except those labeled
“Editorials” reflect the opinions of the writers and not those of
the Sweetwater Reporter.
Amanda
Moreno
Letter to the Editor Policy
The Sweetwater Reporter welcomes Letters to the Editor for
possible publication in the newspaper. A letter must be original,
limited to 300 words or less, signed by 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 content.
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 it will not publish anonymous letters to
the editor.
During elections, the Sweetwater Reporter will accept Letters
to the Editor discussing the issues or offering endorsements
However, (he 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 lor expression ol personal views
on matters of concern. Residents arc encouraged to use the col
umn in a constructive manner, sharing their views on subjects of
interest with the newspaper's readers.
TEXAS TIMES
Texas uncorked
You’ve heard it described Texas. He started the Val
as medium heavy, sweet Verde Winery, and today, as
and low in sulfates. Its pres- the only Texas winery to sur-
ence pre-dates the arrival of vive the Prohibition^ it
the first
Anglo
American settlers to
Texas. And today, its
industry pumps mil-
lions in revenue into
the Texas economy
each year.
While crude oil may
first come to mind, this
liquid is Texas wine.
More than three cen-
turies ago—long before
the first wine grapes
arrived in Napa
Valley— Franciscan
priests brought
John
Comyn
remains the oldest
continuously run-
ning winery in
Texas and still
uses the Lenoir
grape.
One of Texas’
most famous
grape breeders
was horticulturist
Thomas Volney
Munson, more
simply known as
T.V. Munson. A
native of Illinois,
Munson moved to
grapevines from Mexico and Denison, Texas in 1876.
planted the first North While he devoted much of
American vineyard at his life to the study of native
Ysleta, perhaps the oldest American grapes, his work
town in Texas, along the Rio on rootstock development
Grande near present-day til would earn him internation-
Paso. These grapes provid- al acclaim. In Denison,
ed the priests and mission- Munson researched and
aries with sacramental wine developed rootstock that
for the Eucharist.
was resistant to phyllox-
home to nearly 3,700 acres
of family-owned vineyard
land, including eight
American Viticulture
Areas—wine grape-growing
regions that have been iden-
tified by the U.S. Alcohol
and Tobacco Tax and Trade
Bureau. Texas is America’s
fifth-leading grape and wine
producer and tne industry
contributes more than $1.35
billion to the state’s econo-
my.
In its February issue, Bon
Appetit magazine lists
Becker Vineyards in
Stonewall, Texas as one of
seven of its favorite wineries
off the beaten path. As our
state’s wineries and vintners
continue to gain national
and international attention,
fortunately, we don’t have
to travel far to enjoy the
unique Texas wine culture.
Wine trails through vine-
yards across the state occur
throughout the year. In late
February, the Texas Wine
and Grape Growers
Association holds its Annual
Conference & Trade Show
which brings together mem-
bers of the industry from
every region of Texas.
The Texas wine industry is
yet another hallmark in
Texas’s long history of inge-
nuity and achievement. Let’s
toast to the men and women
who have built up this
industry and wish them
many more years of success.
Sen. Cornyn serves on the
Finance, .Judiciary and
Budget Committees. He
serves as the top Republican
on the Judiciary
Commit tee's I m m ig ra tion,
Border Security and
Refugees subcommittee. He
served previously as Texas
Attorney General, Texas
Supreme Court Justice, and
Bexar County District
Judge.
GUEST COLUMN
The voice of the
younger generation
For about eight years now I have known what I wanted to do
with my life, and for the past four years I have been working
hard to obtain the knowledge and education 1 need to make my
dream a reality.
Here I am four years of college done, my
college degree waiting to be put in a frame
and find itself a home on a wall, and finally,
sitting at my first "real" job.
I always knew that I enjoyed writing. I
have always enjoyed telling a story, but did
I ever really think that I could gel to this
point?
No....
Of course people would say, you can do it
and 1 believe in you, but the hardest thing
was that I didn't believe in myself. I have
always had the desire to reach mv dreams
but I have never had the belief in myself to
make it happen.
It didn't seem to matter how much train-
ing or praise I received, something inside
myself has always been doubtful.
On the other hand, I have to remember that I am not the only
one that feels like this. There are a few people, okay more than
that. Almost everyone I know anyway, that feels this same way.
As a society, especially the younger generation, we are a
doubtful group. It seems that for some reason people aren't as
motivated or driven as they were back in the olden days.
It seems that so much came out of the 1800s and 1900s.
Einstein discovered the space/time continuum, Benjamin
Franklin created numerous inventions including discovering
electricity.
Maybe because there was so much left to be discovered back
then. Maybe it gave people a bigger desire to find something
new. I admit in today's society it seems that there is nothing left
to find, but at the same time I find that so hard to believe. There
has to be more out there to be invented and discovered. If we
have really discovered everything then what are we still doing
here.
Looking at it in this perspective does give me a little more
motivation to succeed and do something greater, but at the
same time I don't consider myself capable of being as great as
Einstein or Columbus.
I doubt I will ever do something as great as figuring out
E=MC2 but at the same time, it isn't going to stop me from try-
ing.
1 am starting the next chapter in my life and everyday some-
thing new tends to come up and maybe that’s a good thing. 1
think as long as I keep my head up and remember that life is
something to be lived and discovered, I should be okay.
Honestly, everyone should take away at least a small lesson,
from each day that we are here. There is a reason for each and
every one of us to be here and maybe with a little motivation,
this younger generation can reach some great discovery.
It’s easier to believe now because our society does seem to be
becoming more open minded, but when it comes down to it, we
just need those people that are willing to stand up and stand out
in the crowd.
I want to consider myself one of those people and hopefully
in this field I can do that. I not only plan to voice my opinion,
but give others a voice that can be heard also.
Amanda Moreno is a staff writer at the Sweetwater
Reporter. Comments about this column may be e-mailed to
edt tor@sweetwaterreporter.com.
Over the next 200 years, era—tiny, yellow insects that
the El Paso Valley would be feed on roots of grapevines
recognized by travelers for and had severely damaged
its grape-growing capabili- many native American
ties and wine production, grapevines. In the late 19th
The concept of viticulture century, a phylloxera epi-
did not really gain traction demic devastated the French
in the rest of the state until wine industry—destroying
settlers from European almost two-thirds of
countries like Spain, Italy, France’s vineyards. Little
and Czechoslovakia brought did they know the solution
their interest in wine and to their problem would
the European vinefera vines come from an American hor-
to Texas. These European ticulturist in Denison,
vines did not take well to the Texas. Munson’s phvllox-
Texas climate, local pests, era-resistant rootstock
and fungus, however, and saved the industry in France
many of thes< initial efforts and in gratitude to his con-
did not suni tribution, the French gov-
After these setbacks, eminent named nim
German immigrants who Chevalier du Merite Agricole
settled in the 1840s in South of the French Legion of
and Central Texas—found- Honor, and the city of
ing Hill Country cities such Cognac, France became a
as Fredericksburg and New sister city to Denison.
Braunfels—learned to adapt Today, Grayson County
their process and incorpo- College’s West Campus
rate local Mustang grapes, a houses much of Munson’s
high-climbing vine native to research and work.
Texas and well adapted to After the Prohibition, the
heat. By adding more sugar Texas wine industry was
during fermentation, they slow to get back on its feet,
produced commercial wine But as the grape culture
and are largely recognized as began to boom in the U.S. in
the most successful wine- the 1970s, so did the number
makers in Texas history. of vineyards that began pop-
NXGeis
Meanwhile, back along the
Texas-Mexico border, an
Italian immigrant, Frank
ping up across Texas—
beginning with the estab-
lishment of the Llano
Qualia, found success with Estacado and Pheasant
the Lenoir grape, a Spanish Ridge wineries near
black grape, in Del Rio, Lubbock. Today, Texas is
Geti, voiu we
STILL HAV6
WAT6K ?
, j can Nor
5AV HCIAJ the DROUGHT lAflLL
GjO. Bur if you hAi/e a
contract For water You
will hai/e PRioRiry.XF you
TU5T DAVE A WAT6R: METER
that$ all you will have. ,
Submitted by D.l). Biuier
CAPITOL COMMENT
History shows big spending can long prolong recession
In one of history’s more unduly penalized. As a result,
candid reflections, Henry businesses stooped investing
Morgenthau, dr., Treasury in equipment, hiring came to
Secretary under President a halt, and the markets froze.
Franklin I). Roosevelt, con- Many economists conclude
fessed, “We have tried spend- that the New Deal fostered
uncertainty,
which w'as salt in
the wound of the
American econo-
my.
As in 1933,
today our nation
is confronted with
an economic cri-
sis that grows
worse each day.
The burst of the
housing bubble
and the subse-
quent credit crisis
has badly
Kay Bailey
Hutchison
ing money. We are
spending more than
we have ever spent
before and it does not
work.” Just six years
after crafting the New
Deal, Morgenthau
declared that their
efforts to create jobs
and restore America’s
depression-ravaged
economy by expanding
the federal govern-
ment to unprecedent-
ed levels had been a
failure. By
Morgenthau’s own assess- impaired our financial mar-
ment, the New Deal saddled kets. Many individuals and
our country with “as much small businesses are strug-
unemplovment as when we gling to get loans, and the
started...and tin enormous home foreclosure rate is ris-
debt.” ing. Dirge corporations, once
More than 75 years have deemed “too big to fail,” are
passed since FDR signed the now teetering on the edge of
New Deal into law, and many insolvency. In December, the
noted economists are study- nationwide unemployment
ing the Great Depression and rate reached a 15-year high of
trying to learn from the expe- 7.2 percent,
rience. In 2004, a team of Some in Congress are rally-
UCIA economists concluded ing around a “solution” that
that the policies of the New sounds alarmingly familiar:
Deal, which suppressed com- spend more than we have ever
petition and kept unemploy- spent before. Literally. And
ment in the range of nine to ift the nearly $900 billion stimu-
percent, actually prolonged lus measure that the House
the Great Depression by seven passed and the Senate will
years. consider has many deficien-
Amity Shlaes, an economic cies.
scholar and Great Depression First, the federal govern-
historian, has argued that the ment doesn’t have the money,
sheer “arbitrariness” of the Today, Washington is run-
New Deal actually exacerbat- nine an all-time record annu-
ed the crisis. Tne National al deficit of $455 billion, and
Recovery Administration, the that deficit is projected to
operative arm of the New reach an astounding $1.2 tril-
Deal’s competition code, lion this year. In addition, the
failed to establish clear, gross federal debt is $10 tril-
actionable policies for busi- lion, or almost $33,000 per
nesses to follow. Instead, U.S. citizen. We are approach-
some comorat ions got sweet- ing a tipping point whereby
heart deals, while others were creditors will be unwilling to
buy government debt.
Second, even if we could
afford it, this bill isn’t actually
stimulative. With any stimu-
lus package, our goal should
be to swiftly pump money into
the economy, create jobs, and
free up credit. The non-parti-
san Congressional Budget
Office (CBO), which analyzes
the financial dimensions of
legislation, estimates that
only 64 percent of the funding
in the Senate bill would actu-
ally be spent within the next
two years. Market trends indi-
cate that even without govern-
ment interference the econo-
my should begin rebounding
on its own within the next two
years; at which point, “stimu-
lus” spending would only add
to our debt burden rather
than help the economy.
Ultimately, this “solution”
will result only in the accumu-
lation of greater debt that will
fall on the shoulders of our
children and grandchildren,
while not providing the stimu-
lus we need today. Moreover,
it will leave us vulnerable to
future economic challenges. A
better proposal would empha-
size tax relief so that individu-
als and businesses can have
more capital to inject into the
economy, thereby encourag-
ing private sector job creation.
It would also guard against
massive government expan-
sion. In snort, we should pro-
mote permanent private sec-
tor jobs, not a permanent
increase in spending and
debt.
1 am eager to work in a
bipartisan fashion toward a
speedy and sustainable recov-
ery. But we have to ensure
that any stimulus package is
balanced, reasonable in size,
and targeted specifically to
job creation, keeping people
in their homes, and overall
economic growth. The plan
before us lacks these objec-
tives. What we have learned
from those before us is that
excessive spending may pro-
long a recession. Moving for-
ward, we must carefully con-
sider the spending decisions
before us.
Kay Bailey Hutchison is the
senior U.S. Senator from
Texas and is the Ranking
Member of the Senate
Committee on Commerce.
Science, and Transportation.
The SWEETWATER REPORTER
(USPS 5300 860) is published daily
except Saturdays and holidays by
HPC ot Texas. Inc. (Periodical
Postage Paid) 112 W 3rd,
Sweetwater, Texas 79556
Postmaster: Send address changes
to: SWEETWATER REPORTER
P.O. BOX 750,
SWEETWATER. TEXAS 79556
City Delivery $8 50 per month. $85 00
per year, 6 months $45 50.
3 months $24 75 By mail $75 per
year in our retail trading zone Other
rates available on request
Correction Policy
Editorial:
As a matter of policy, the
Sweetwater Reporter will
publish corrections of errors
in fact that have been print-
ed in the newspaper.
The corrections will be
made as soon as possible
after the error has been
brought to the attention of
the newspaper's editor at
236-6677,
Advertising:
Publisher reserves the right
to reject, edit or cancel any
advertising at any time with-
out liability. Publisher’s liabil-
ity for error is limited to the
amount paid for advertising.
111* M1I> IIill) t t 4 1 111 r.lKINl HI At NtWiXINI 1 ixat
❖
i.twnt
Reporter
Upcoming Pages
Here’s what’s next.
Search Inside
This issue can be searched. Note: Results may vary based on the legibility of text within the document.
Matching Search Results
View five places within this issue that match your search.Tools / Downloads
Get a copy of this page or view the extracted text.
Citing and Sharing
Basic information for referencing this web page. We also provide extended guidance on usage rights, references, copying or embedding.
Reference the current page of this Newspaper.
Rodriguez, Tatiana. Sweetwater Reporter (Sweetwater, Tex.), Vol. 111, No. 70, Ed. 1 Friday, February 6, 2009, newspaper, February 6, 2009; Sweetwater, Texas. (https://texashistory.unt.edu/ark:/67531/metapth577226/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.