Archer County News (Archer City, Tex.), Vol. 104, No. 36, Ed. 1 Thursday, September 6, 2012 Page: 6 of 12
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Issue #36
Page Six-Archer County Xews-Thursday, September 6,2012
Conservation Agency Seeks Local Input
at Annual Meeting
The USDA Natural Resources
Conservation Service (NRCS),
Archer County Soil and Water
Conservation District (SWCD)
and the Local Working Group
invite the public to their annu-
al Conservation Stakeholder’s
Meeting at 11:00 am on Sep-
tember 10, 2012 at the Archer
County Activity Building locat-
ed at 512 W. Cottonwood Street
in Archer City. A meal will be
provided free of charge follow-
ing the meeting.
Each year, the Local Working
Group hosts a public meeting
to determine the resource con-
cerns and needs of the area and
how to best address those needs.
The NRCS and their local con-
servation partner, the Archer
County SWCD, provide agri-
culture producers with profes-
sional consultation and financial
assistance through Farm Bill
conservation programs to apply
conservation practices on their
land that address soil erosion
and health, water quality and
quantity issues, as well as wild-
life habitat. The Local Working
Group includes community ag-
ricultural producers, profession-
als representing agricultural and
natural resource interests, and
individuals representing a vari-
ety of disciplines in the soil, wa-
ter, wetland, plant, forestry, and
wildlife sciences who are famil-
iar with agricultural and natural
resource issues.
All landowners and land man-
agers in Archer County are en-
couraged to attend and partici-
pate in this meeting. This open
discussion public meeting will
focus on identifying area natu-
ral resource concerns that can
be addressed using conservation
programs and activities.
“Effective conservation stems
from a locally led process,” says
Howard Sprague, NRCS Dis-
trict Conservationist for Archer
County. “The Archer County
NRCS office operates on the
concept that local residents’ best
understand local issues and are
the key to solving problems.
“Our Conservation Stakehold-
ers Meeting gives everyone the
opportunity to decide how the
assistance from the NRCS and
Farm Bill funds can be most
beneficial for our community,”
adds Sprague.
Through the Archer County
SWCD, the Local Working
Group will provide recommen-
dations to the NRCS District
Conservationist on local natural
resource priorities and criteria
for conservation activities and
programs planning for the up-
coming fiscal year. These issues
will be especially important in
decisions made for financial
assistance when implementing
the Enviromnental Quality In-
centives Program (EQIP). This
program is administered by the
NRCS and provides incentive
payments for the installation of
several conservation practices
on eligible participant’s land.
The information gathered from
these meetings will be used to
help carry out the EQIP and oth-
er programs in 2013.
While the NRCS brings the
technical expertise and Farm
Bill funding to the table, the
goods and services are delivered
through the local SWCD board.
SWCDs are local units of gov-
ernment made up of five mem-
bers elected by the public. Their
office is usually co-located with
the NRCS office. Members of
SWCD Boards are actively en-
gaged in fanning and ranching.
For more infonnation, includ-
ing eligibility requirements,
call us at (940) 564-4612 ext 3
or visit the NRCS office in the
USDA Service Center at 313 W.
Main, Archer City.
Service Center locations,
meeting dates and program in-
fonnation can be found on the
Texas NRCS Web site at www.
tx.nrcs.usda.gov.
Texas Prepaid College Tuition Enrollment
Opens Sept. 1
(AUSTIN) — Parents look-
ing to make their child’s college
education more affordable can
begin enrolling in the Texas Tu-
ition Promise Fund®, the state’s
prepaid college tuition program,
on Sept. 1. The enrollment pe-
riod runs through Feb. 28, 2013.
“This program is a great way
to prepay all or part of a child’s
undergraduate tuition and fees
at Texas public colleges and
universities at today’s prices,”
said Texas Comptroller Susan
Combs. “And we offer flexible
payment options to help fit any
family’s budget as they save for
college.”
Families in the Texas Tuition
Promise Fund purchase prepaid
“tuition units” that can later
be used toward undergradu-
ate tuition and required fees
at schools ranging from Texas
public community colleges to
four-year, in-state universities.
Prices are based on 2012-13 ac-
ademic year costs for the state’s
public colleges.
•Type I units, priced for tu-
ition and required fees for the
most expensive public four-year
school in Texas, cost $115.92
per unit.
•Type II units, based on the
weighted average cost of tuition
and required fees across all Tex-
as public four-year schools, cost
$82.92 per unit.
•Type III units, priced at the
weighted average cost of tuition
and required fees across all Tex-
as public two-year schools, cost
$21.39 each.
Under the plan, 100 units equal
one academic year consisting of
30 semester hours of tuition and
required fees at the Texas public
school that most closely match-
es the pricing base. Families can
prepay for up to six years (600
Type I units or the equivalent
amount of Type II and III units)
of undergraduate tuition and re-
quired fees.
The plan’s payment options
include lump sum payments, in-
stallment payments that include
8 percent interest or a pay-as-
you go plan that allows parents
to gradually add more units
when the family budget allows.
Payments can be as low as $15
after an account is established
by paying a one-time fee of $25
and purchasing at least one unit.
The Texas Tuition Promise
Fund is entering its fifth year.
For more infonnation about
enrolling in the prepaid college
tuition program, including a col-
lege cost calculator, go to www.
Texas Tuiti onPr omi s eF und. c om
or call (800) 445-GRAD (4723),
Option 5.
Now’s the time to get a flu shot
By BOB MOOS/Southwest public affairs officer for the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services
There’s no such thing as “just
the flu,” especially for older
adults.
More than 200,000 Americans
land in the hospital because of
influenza each year. And any-
where from 3,000 to 49,000 die
of complications from it annu-
ally.
Seniors are particularly vul-
nerable to the contagious dis-
ease and its consequences. Even
a healthy person’s immune
system can weaken with age.
Adults 65 and older account for
60 percent of the flu-related hos-
pitalizations and 90 percent of
the deaths.
As flu season approaches
again, it’s time to take the usual
precautions - wash your hands,
avoid touching your face and
limit your contact with people
who are sick.
But remember - your best de-
fense is an annual flu shot.
Flu season can start as early as
October. Because older adults
are at a higher risk and because
it takes about two weeks for an
inoculation to provide protec-
tion, health officials advise get-
ting a shot as soon as possible.
Last year’s flu season began
late and was mild compared with
previous seasons, but there’s no
way to predict how mild or se-
vere this year’s season will be.
Even if you were vaccinated
last year, you will need a shot
this year. The immunity you
acquired from last season’s vac-
cination has since waned. And
this season’s vaccine has been
especially designed to fight this
year’s most likely strains.
Manufacturers project they
will produce up to 149 million
doses for this season, compared
with 133 million doses distrib-
uted last year.
As in past seasons, flu vaccine
is available in many locations,
including doctor offices, clinics,
community health departments
and pharmacies.
Adults 65 and older have two
vaccine options - the traditional
flu shot and a newer, higher dose
vaccine that is supposed to trig-
ger a stronger immune response.
The Centers for Disease
Control and Prevention hasn’t
expressed a preference yet.
So you may want to talk with
your health care provider about
which is right for you.
If you’re enrolled in original
Medicare’s Part B, Medicare
will pay for either vaccine op-
tion. Your out-of-pocket cost
will be nothing, as long as the
health care provider agrees not
to charge more than Medicare
pays.
Likewise, if you’re enrolled
in a private Medicare Advan-
tage health plan, your insurance
company will cover the cost of a
shot once every flu season.
The Centers for Disease Con-
trol and Prevention recommends
annual vaccinations for almost
everyone.
Still, some people resist vacci-
nation because they mistakenly
think it’s dangerous.
True, a very limited number of
individuals with severe allergies
to eggs or a history of Guillain-
Barre Syndrome should not get
a flu vaccine without consulting
a doctor.
But overall, decades of experi-
ence have shown influenza vac-
cines to be safe.
The flu vaccine can’t give you
the flu. Side effects are rare. At
worst, a few people may have
sore muscles or a fever a day or
two afterward as they produce
antibodies.
That’s a far cry from the high
fever, headaches, cough, sore
throat, runny or stuffy nose and
body aches common with the flu
- not to mention the potentially
life-threatening complications.
There’s no better time than
now to get a shot.
When you do, you’ll protect
not only yourself but also those
around you. By avoiding the flu,
you’ll avoid spreading it to fam-
ily, co-workers and friends.
To leam more about steps to
take during the upcoming flu
season, visit Medicare’s web-
site, www.medicare.gov, or the
U.S. Department of Health and
Human Services’ special web-
site, www.flu.gov.
IT’S ABOUT TIME
Time. It’s a constant and in-
escapable factor in human des-
tiny for paupers, pop stars, and
presidents alike. And if you lis-
tened to speakers at the August
Republican National Conven-
tion, they were convinced that
it will run out for Mr. Obama in
November.
But with the exception of Clint
Eastwood’s delightful, rambling
speech at the RNC (which you
could argue was good, bad, or
just plain ugly), I could only en-
dure the briefest viewing of this
year’s broadcast.
Nor was I expecting anything
less partisan at the subsequent
Democratic National Conven-
tion, with speakers urging voters
to give the president more time
to complete his agenda.
In fact, within moments of
watching most of the keynote
speakers, I found myself wish-
ing I could go back in time to
reclaim those lost minutes and
replace them with a more enjoy-
able activity, like a colonoscopy.
At least I would be anesthetized
during the colonoscopy.
But my gastroenterologist
was too busy to oblige dur-
ing the Republican convention
and was fully booked up when
the Democrats took the stage.
So, I decided to watch another
work of fanciful fiction with a
far-fetched script which, coin-
cidently, featured a main char-
acter who called himself “Clint
Eastwood”: the popular 1985
science fiction film about time
travel, “Back to the Future.”
It begins with Doc Brown,
who demonstrated the possibil-
ity of time travel after strapping
Einstein (his dog) into a DeLo-
rean and sending him forward
one minute into the future.
It got me thinking about time
travel, Einstein (the physicist),
and our political leaders.
I’m not sure Einstein (the
physicist) would have enjoyed
this excursion into fantasy (the
movie, not the political conven-
tions). Decades before time
travel themes hit Hollywood,
the twentieth century’s greatest
scientist had argued that it was
merely a 4th dimensional flight
of science fiction fancy.
Einstein (the physicist) might
have reasoned it this way today:
“Suppose Einstein (the mov-
ie dog) went back in time and
chased the past Einstein (the
dog) in front of a bus. How then,
could the past Einstein (the dog,
now deceased) exist in the fu-
ture to return to the past?”
Such temporal leaps along
these time lines have always led
to a paradox - or in this case, a
“pair-a-dogs” - giving hopeful
time travelers a headache of ga-
lactic proportions.
Time travel advocates some-
times counter the above argu-
ment by proposing the exis-
tence of an infinite number of
near identical parallel universes
- those fanciful saviors of nu-
merous sci-fi tales - which they
claim would eliminate the para-
doxes.
In such a reality, the existence
of an infinite number of Ein-
steins (both dog and physicist)
jumping between an infinite
number of universes could, they
say, give time travel credence.
But the concept of parallel
universes also creates a horror
of unparalleled cosmic propor-
tions: an infinite number of
Romneys sparring with an in-
finite number of Obamas, both
annoying an infinite number
of voters with their infinite po-
litical spin. Surely the laws of
physics would never permit
such a reality to exist in more
than one universe.
Nevertheless, the concept of
time travel remains fascinating.
And if ever given the opportu-
nity, who wouldn’t be tempted
to travel back in time and undo
the mischiefs of our past? For
politicians especially, a quick
retrograde spin to earlier days
to rewrite their past (and hence
future) in a more favorable light
would be irresistible.
Armed with a pocket diction-
ary, wouldn’t Dan “Spudman”
Quayle gladly step back to 1992
to reverse the stigma of forever
being labeled lexicographically
challenged? And you know Bill
Clinton would love to return to
1995 and tell Monica: “Sorry
honey, the internship job is tak-
en.”
As for Mitt Romney, he’d
probably like a second chance
to more forcefully challenge his
Republican presidential debate
rivals and Democratic oppo-
nents when they questioned his
extreme wealth: “I’m just richer
than you all; get over it!”
And what might Mr. Obama
go back and undo? Reluctant to
admit failing at anything during
his first term, perhaps he would
chose a different VP - one who
wasn’t just Biden his time.
Maybe I’ve just totally fluxed
my capacitor, but it’s looking
like the laws of nature will per-
mit the existence of time travel
long before we can ever find a
true statesman to elect as a mod-
em, bipartisan president. It’s
about time we did.
Thomas' features and columns
have appeared in more than 200
magazines and newspapers, in-
cluding the Washington Post,
LA Times, Chicago Tribune,
Boston Globe, San Francisco
Chronicle, and Christian Sci-
ence Monitor. He can be reached
at alongtheselines@yahoo.com
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Phillips, Barbara. Archer County News (Archer City, Tex.), Vol. 104, No. 36, Ed. 1 Thursday, September 6, 2012, newspaper, September 6, 2012; Archer City, Texas. (https://texashistory.unt.edu/ark:/67531/metapth633580/m1/6/: accessed July 17, 2024), University of North Texas Libraries, The Portal to Texas History, https://texashistory.unt.edu.; crediting Archer Public Library.