Today Cedar Hill (Duncanville, Tex.), Vol. 37, No. 23, Ed. 1 Thursday, August 22, 2002 Page: 4 of 22
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Fife 4-Cedar Hill TodayThursday, August 22, 2002
OPINION
First Day project
fun to do, to see
KRISTI
CROOKS
This
week’s news-
paper features
the debut of
our “First Day
of School”
project.
Instead of
publishing
our usual first
day pho-
Managing Editor tographs, we
decided to go
a different direction.
We gave one student on
each campus a disposable
camera to document the first
day of school for us, and for
you. We did this project in all
five of our coverage cities,
amounting to 52 participating
students in kindergarten
through 12th grade.
The two pages highlight
one photo from each student’s
camera as well as a photo and
information on the young pho-
tographers.
While everyone can enjoy
the finished project in this edi-
tion, 1 thought I might add a
little behind-the-scenes infor-
mation.
In my almost eight years at
Today Newspapers, 1 have met
some great people and done
some exciting projects, but this
one has got to be my favorite.
Each student was selected
by their campus principal. All
I asked was that they choose
someone outgoing whom they
thought would be a good fit
for the assignment.
They all chose wonderfully.
These students were great, and
their parents took time out of
their busy schedules to bring
them to our office for a brief
photography lesson and to pick
up the camera. The only thing
we asked is that the students
take candid shots.
I sat down with almost
every student while they filled
out a brief biography and
answered questions about iheir
interest in photography and
what they hoped to show about
the first day of school.
I discovered some interest-
ing things. First, about 80 per-
cent of the students chose
math or science as their
favorite subject, overwhelm-
ingly math I was surprised. I
hate math. That’s why I’m in
the newspaper business.
One parent commented to
me that the teachers work real-
ly hard to make it interesting
with different projects. Well, I
want to commend all of our
districts'math teachers
because they are definitely
making these students think
math is fun!
I think my favorite part was
watching each student contem-
plate what they wanted their
photographs to express about
the first day. I got some great
answers, but most of them did-
n’t make it to publication
because the parents made their
children write something else.
There was the one kmder-
gartner who insisted he was
See PHOTOS, Page 5
Military deserves our
thanks, appreciation
sm
$
DAVID
CAIN
Special to Today
Now, more
than ever, our
military is tak-
ing an active
role in pro-
tecting our
safety both at
home and
abroad.
That is
why I am
excited about
Military
Appreciation Week in Texas,
taking place Monday-Sunday,
Aug. 19-25. This week has been
designated by the governor so
that we can focus our attention
on the importance of our mili-
tary and to thank them for a job
well done.
As of April 2001, there were
1.37 million active duty forces
and 669,000 civilian employees
in the United States. Of these,
approximately 230,000 military
and civilian workers are Texans.
Clearly Texans are taking the
lead in defending our nation
and our way of life.
This is not anything new.
The military has been an inte-
gral part of Texas history and
culture since our state’s begin-
nings.
In fact, Texas’ eventual state-
hood began with Stephen F.
Austin’s military exploits. His
fierce military spirit has
become part of the Texas mys-
tique. And of course, we all
know of, and honor, the heroics
and sacrifices of the men who
fought and died at the Alamo.
This tradition has continued
through the years. President
Theodore Roosevelt made his-
tory when he and his Rough
Riders stormed up San Juan
Hill in Cuba during the Spanish
American War However, few
people know that the Rough
Riders trained here in Texas
prior to seeing combat.
During World War I, Texas
became a prime area for mili-
tary training. This role contin-
ued dunng World War II.
During that conflict Texas was
the training site for more than
200,000 airmen who fought
against tyranny in both the
European and the Pacific the-
atres.
Today our military legacy
continues. Members of the
Texas National Guard and Air
National Guard have most
recently served with distinction
in Afghanistan and the Gulf
War, have prevented our bor-
ders from being infiltrated by
drug traffickers and have pro-
tected us in our airports. These
brave men and women have
also helped our communities in
times of natural disaster, such
as tornadoes and hurricanes.
The brave men and women
of the military in Texas are out-
standing people dedicating their
lives to the welfare of all
Texans. 1 am extremely proud
of the Texas military forces and
I hope you w ill join me in
thanking them for all they do
during the week of Aug. 19-25
Address letters to Sen David
C ain. PC). Box I206X. Austin.
TX 7X711 Or contact any of
Sen C ain V district offices in
Greenville, Tyler or Dallas
Be careful when loaning
family members money
Lending
money to fami-
ly often is not
a good idea,
say many
financial
experts, but
with interest
rates at some
AL of their lowest
___WYNN levels in years.
Special to Today families may
find it difficult
to resist. Family loans also can
be a way to pass on part of the
family estate. So if you decide
to loan money to a family
member, proceed with caution,
say financial advisors.
Let's say you loan money to
your son to buy a home or
start a business. The IRS may
require you to charge a mini-
mal interest rate, known as the
applicable federal rate, for the
loan. If you charge below the
rate, or make an interest-free
loan, the IRS may impute the
difference as interest earned
and consider it taxable income.
In some cases, the IRS could
characterize the entire loan as
a gift, subject to gift tax.
The imputed interest rules
don't apply under certain cir-
cumstances: for loans of less
than $ I (),()()() as long as the
loan is not used to buy
income-producing assets, and
for loans up to $100,000 as
long as the borrower’s net
investment income doesn’t
exceed $1,000 for the year.
In loans where the imputed
interest rules apply, interest
rates are set monthly by the
IRS and depend on the length
of the loan. For example, if
you loan money to your son
with the plan that he will repay
the loan within three years, the
minimum annual interest rate
you would have had to charge
according to the May 2002
rates was 3.21 percent. For
loan periods of three to nine
years, the annual interest rate
was 4.99 percent, and for nine
, years or longer, the rate was
5.85.
You may choose to forgive
some of the interest payments
should you not need the cash
or your child or relative is fac-
ing a tough financial situation.
And you probably won’t be
liable for any gift tax if you
can use the $ 11,000 annual
gift-tax exemption. The catch
is to be sure that you don’t
agree in advance to forgive the
loan or end up forgiving all of
the interest payments.
Otherwise, the IRS will likely
treat the entire loan as a gift
subject to gift tax.
Sueh low-interest loans can
be a good deal for the family
member. A 5.85 percent annu-
al rate on a loan for a child
buying a home would certainly
be better than the rate offered
by commercial lenders. And
the rate could benefit you as
well. In May, ten-year
Treasuries were returning
around 5.2 percent.
Still, even with these
potential advantages to your
child and yourself, treat
intrafamily loans very careful-
ly. Loans gone sour can create
much bad blood in families
and could end up the courts.
First, is the family member
receiving the loan a good cred-
it risk, or does he or she have a
history of not fulfilling
promises? Lending money for
a mortgage might earn you
better money that a Treasury
security, but the loan isn’t as
safe as the U.S. Treasury
either.
Second, is the purpose of a
loan a sound one? Lending
money for a mortgage or per-
haps college might be a good
idea, while lending money to
bail a person out of debt or to
start a business is probably
riskier. In the case of a busi-
ness, for example, have the
relative seek other sources of
lending such as a bank or a
venture capital firm. If institu-
tions are unwilling to lend or
invest, perhaps there’s a sound
business reason they won’t. If
they are willing to lend the
money, often it’s best to let
them.
Draw up formal documents,
with generic preprinted docu-
ments or, preferably, with the
help of an attorney. Put in
writing the terms, interest rate,
payment schedule and so on,
and keep track of all payments.
This not only helps all parties
treat it as a real loan, it can
prove invaluable should the
IRS question the loan. Say
See WYNN, Page 5
CEDAR HILL TODAY INFORMATION
LETTERS
Citizens should look at how city spends money
Dear editor:
The city of Cedar Hill is
poised to take another large tax
revenue increase this fiscal
year. Last fiscal year covering
Oct. I. 2001 to Sept. 30, 2002,
the city took a 19.5 percent rev-
enue increase.
This year it looks like a
more than 14 percent increase
is in the offing. The population
has only grown 10 percent each
year. The city is staying just
below the rollback tax threshold
so that they do not have to face
a petition and rollback vote.
How is the city spending the
money ? There was a 29 per-
cent increase in budgeted per-
sonnel expenses from fiscal
year 2000-01 to 2001-02. The
employee count has grown.
This year’s budget shows 29
personnel in Parks and
Recreation and 10 in the street
department. Draw your own
conclusions about the city’s pri-
orities.
The city sales tax is I per-
cent higher than the city of
Arlington if you can imagine
that.
Where is all of this revenue
going?
The city has been paying
any number of consultants fees
for various studies to determine
how to spend tax money. One
consultant reported the city
needed to increase the city
employee’s pay. However, the
consultant compared city of
Cedar Hill employee’s pay with
an average “market” city size of
46,465 and left out the three of
the city's highest paid employ-
ees. One of these employees
has a car allowance that is
$ 1,340 higher than the compa-
rable city of Grand Prainc
employee.
C itizens need to speak at the
Aug. 27 city council meeting
budget hearing. The meeting
begins at 6:30 p in. in the coun-
cil chambers.
Ask for either a tax decrease
or a city homestead exemption.
There are five cities in Dallas
C ounty that give city home-
stead exemptions of 20 percent.
Yes, those are city exemptions!
Everyone who is in the
know realizes C edar Hill is a
tax wealthy city. C itizens need
to ask themselves what they are
getting for their money and
then come to the budget hear-
ing and state their conclusions.
By the way, a copy of the city’s
budget workshop manual is
available at the Zula B. Wylie
Library for perusal.
M. Johnson
Cedar Hill
School start sheds light on
School started on Monday
in C edar Hill.
My friend Diane Gee teach-
es third grade at Plummer
Elementary School. I asked
her about what happens on the
first day and she told me about
a great program Plummer has
to teach their students about
expected behavior._
The program is called
CHAMP. The teachers teach
and review the CHAMP con*
cept with students everyday for
three weeks and then they are
able to teach their curriculum
for the next 33 weeks of
school.
CHAMP is an acronym for
C-Conversation, H-Help, A-
Activity, M-Movement, P-
Participation. Each letter
stands for a topic that helps the
student understand what is
expected.
Conversation, when the
student is allowed to talk.
Help, how the student gets
help. The teacher use a matrix
to show the students during
what activities it is appropriate
to raise their hand and ask the
teacher or if they can just ask
another student. Activity, what
the child is doing such as walk-
ing down the hall. The teacher
On the hill
By Whitnly Spillman
will explain the appropriate
way to walk down the hall with
their hands to their sides and
no talking. It also shows what
the activity doesn’t look like,
so the student knows what they
are not supposed to do
Movement, can the student get
up and walk around, should
they stay at their desk, when
they can work in small groups.
Participation, what the student
C edar Hill Today Staff
Richard Collins
()\\ net
Kristi Crooks
Managing Editoi
Kim Petty
idvertising Din-dor
Jon \N hitcomh
( in illation ( oordmaior
Kirk Dickey
Veit v Editor
An^el Jenkins
People Editor
Brian Allen, Nyshicka Jordan and
Mark Robinson
Staff Writers
Chris Hudson and Das id Coodspeed
Photographers
Sara Snipes
Typist
Cherise Burnett
Retail ad sales
Jennifer Harvey and Betty Bell
( /ossified ad sales
Troy Peoples
Distribution ('oordinator
Deadlines
Classifieds:
Display classified ads - 5 p m
Tuesday Line ads 5pm Tuesday
Retail Advertising
5 p m Monday. 5 p m. Friday for
People Advertising rates may he
secured upon request
Editorial:
School news - 5 p m Knday
(ieneral news - in ion Monday
Deadlines are subject to change due to
holidays and will he published in advance
Subscriptions
Subscription rates $23.50 per year
in city, $32.50 per year elsewhere in
Texas All subscriptions payable in
advance ;md non-refundable The pub-
lisher reserves the right to change adver-
tising and subscription rates at any time
General Information
Today Cedar Hill is an independent
newspaper fniblished weekly in the inter
est off edar Hill Any erroneous reflec-
tion upon the integrity or reputation of any
indiv idual w ill be corrected if brought to
the attention of the news editor.
Digests run on a space available basis
Letter Policy
The Opinion Page of Today News-
papers is an open forum for all view-
points Letters to the editor and guest
columns are encouraged.
Deadline is noon Monday in person
at 1701 N. Hampton in DeSoto, or by
mail to RO. Box 381029, Duncanville,
TX 75138.
Letters must have an original signa-
ture, with a home address and daytime
telephone number for verification pur-
poses only.
The content of all letters will be pre-
served within guidelines of clanty, style,
taste, etc. Letters should be of interest to
local readers and should be limited to
300 words A complete list of editorial
policies, including the submission of
guest columns, is available at the above
location. Call 972-298-4211 for further
information Publication in one newspa-
per does not guarantee a letter will be
published in any other town
How to Contact Vs
I .oration:
DeSoto Office - 1701 N. Hampton Road.
Suite A, DeSoto. 75115
Phone: 972-298-4211
Fax: 972-298-6369
E-mail: cedarhill(d)todaynewspapers net
Postage Information
Today Cedar Hill (USPS 095640,
ISSN 0704-0428) is published every
Thursday by Today Newspapers, 1126
Explorer, Suite A, Duncanville, Texas
75137. Second class postage paid at
Duncanville, Texas 75138-1029. Post-
master: Send address changes to Today
Cedar Hill, PO Box 381029. Duncan
ville, Texas 75138-1029.
1SSSS TU
nice program at Plummer
is doing or nol doing during an
activity.
Plummer started teaching
this program in the classroom
last year. It was the most suc-
cessful behav ior concept that
the school has taught.
Plummer is implementing it
throughout the school to the
classroom, music and P.E.
The program helps the stu-
dent to understand what is the
expected behavior during an
activity in the classroom or in
transition (such as in the hall-
way).
Diane is a great teacher!
This is her fifth year at
Plummer. She taught at
Waterford Oaks for four years
prior to moving to Plummer.
Diane has two grown daugh-
ters, Heather and Holly. When
her daughters attended
Plummer she worked as a
teacher’s aide. Diane teaches
the talent pool and on-level stu-
dents language arts and social
studies. She is always looking
for new, creative and interest-
ing topics for students to fcanr"
I asked Diane about her first
day and she said, “I have 17
sweet, sweet kids. Our first
day was a great beginning.”
Diane also shared that
Plummer is in the process of
getting a brand new play-
ground! It is not yet completed
but hopefully it will be soon.
I haven't had a construction
update in several weeks or
maybe months but I just want-
ed to let you know that
Wednesday the contractor is
planning to pour concrete on
FM 1382. During this time,
the barricades on the south-
bound service road of Highway
67 (in front of Chilis and
Macaroni Grill) will have to be
set back and all the traffic
merged into a single lane for
about two weeks.
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Crooks, Kristi. Today Cedar Hill (Duncanville, Tex.), Vol. 37, No. 23, Ed. 1 Thursday, August 22, 2002, newspaper, August 22, 2002; Duncanville, Texas. (https://texashistory.unt.edu/ark:/67531/metapth595118/m1/4/: accessed July 6, 2024), University of North Texas Libraries, The Portal to Texas History, https://texashistory.unt.edu.; crediting Zula B. Wylie Memorial Library.