The West News (West, Tex.), Vol. 106, No. 16, Ed. 1 Thursday, April 18, 1996 Page: 2 of 12
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Page 2
Biting The Hand That Feeds
When there is no danger of foreign invasion,
it often becomes fashionable for a few people to
draw attention to themselves by using theiT
right of free speech to denigrate the military,
desecrate the flag and bad-mouth the very gov-
ernment that gives them this liberty. Such
behavior is strange, even among animals; but a
deranged dog will often bite the hand that is
feeding it
In a daily paper, a reader chastised Chet Bit Thomas
Edwards for speaking out against the U.S. House member who said,
"I trust Hamas more than I trust my own government." Of course,
the man has the right to trust whomever he wants, but ifhe feels this
way, then why doesn't he give up his safe and lucrative post in
Washington and go to work for Hamas? (Hamas is a terrorist organi-
zation.)
In a later edition, another reader ridiculed military officers,
saying, 'They haven't experienced the life that ordinary mortals live
... They have everything going for them. They are the new American
aristocracy."
His ill-conceived remarks were apparently directed to General
Colin Powell, but since he paints all military officers with the same
brush regardless of rank, as a retired military officer I must deny the
allegations and defy the alligator.
Generals enjoy certain privileges, but so do civilian CEO’s. The
automobile makers need their highly paid executives in order to
produce cars. We couldn't win wars without a few general officers.
Who else would command the army? The paranoid politician who
accepts a fat salary and other perquisites from a government he has
no faith in? Or perhaps the wild-eyed flag-burners?
However, this fellow did get one thing right; it's true that we
haven't lived the life of ordinary mortals. We have been sen t to places
that "ordinary mortals" would find unacceptable. Many ofthese have
been filthy, disease ridden, louse-infested holes that were occupied
by well-armed hostile forces. These little excursions have separated
us from our families for years, and when those who survived
returned home, they never knew when they would be sent out again.
No, we definitely did not experience the life of ordinaiy mortals.
Life is far from ordinary when you have an opposing army doing their
best to kill you. In my 30 years I never felt that I "had everything
goingfor me," but there were times when I wished that all these good
things were goingfor someone else. It's nice to be known as "The New
American Aristocracy," but unfortunately, most of us will have to
settle for a lager beer income to go along with our champagne title.
Since the adoption of the American flag on June 14,1777, there
have been 44 documented cases of flag-burning, only three of them
before the 1960's. After that, most burnings were identified with the
Vietnam war protesters and with the Maoist Revolutionary Commu-
nist party. Four of the flags burned were stolen from the gravesites
of veterans.
I have a picture of a seedy-looking rabble burning a flag at
Portland, Oregon in 1970. They called themselves the "People’s
Army." In no way did they resemble any kind of army. They looked
more like a bunch of bums in a hobo jungle.
The fact that a law is needed to protect the flag doesn't speak very
well for our society. Efforts have been made to get legislation passed
to protect the flag from desecration, but some feel that it would
violate the rights of the violators, while others doubt that such a law
would reduce the number of offenses. Some would burn flags simply
because they delight in breaking the law, and some burnings would
be done to test the law.
In addition to burning and other indignities, there are so-called
art works depicting the American flag being flushed down a com-
mode: Except for a mawkish and obscene poem written long ago by
E.E. Cummings, I can think of no more despicable thing done in the
name of art. A number of these offensive things are to be found in
public exhibits. Regrettably, ridiculous sums of both tax money and
public contributions are used to pay for this odious garbage.
I have talked this over with a neighbor, and we are tolerant fellows
who believe that flag desecration should be allowed, but only if the
perpetrator will agree to the following:
• Renounce his U.S. citizenship.
• Give up all material gain he has obtained while enjoying such
citizenship.
• Accept a free one-way ticket to Iraq, Iran, Libya or the terrorist-
supporting nation of his choice.
• Don't come back. Not ever.
mv Tubbs
ARE L6AKIM6- '/
> *
Exactly who started using curling Irons remains a mystery but
records indicate that the Romans in the reign of Emperor Titus, A.O.
79 to 81. employed little hollow tubes filled with boiling water for that
chore.
Commercial Sub-Contracting For Train Depot
Please be advised that any person interested and
experienced in doing commercial subcontracting work ia
the areas of plumbing, heating, air-conditioning, painting,
electrical work, carpentry, woodwork or welding and
metal work are asked to contact Jay-Reese Contractor!,
Inc at 826-45§7. Jay-Reese is the General Contractor for
the City's Train Depot Restoration Project.
(Iwc-IS)
The West News
214 W Oak, West, Texas 76691
817-826-3718 _
The West Timet The Weet News
Established 1889 Established 1909
ConsoMatsd January. 1913
USPS 677-000 , „ ,
Larry Knapefc Urn Pescaia
Editor Publisher
Published weekly each Thursday, Second Class Postage paid at West, Texas
POSTMASTER:
Send address changes to The West Newt, P O Box 38, West, Texas 76691
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I Member: Texas Prase Association |
Banik
continued from page one
bur years and Banik is proud to
lave worked with the city coun-
il in obtaining a $400,000 grant
rom the Texas Department of
Transportation Enhancement
’rogram, a $10,000 grant from
he Waco Foundation and a
>2,000 grant from the National
’rust for Historic Preservation
or the depot restoration.
The city recently received a
115,000 grant from the Heart of
’exas Council of Governments
or the purchase of a wood chip-
ler. He wrote a grant in 1993 for
he West Chamber of Commerce
which they received $2,500
rom the McLennan County In-
lustrial Commission for the con-
truction of the chamber's bill-
iard located just south of Czech
>top.
During his two terms as Al-
lerman, the City Council and
)ity employees have accom-
ilished other notable projects,
bey have written and rewrit-
en personnel policies and ordi-
lances, updated and networked
he computer equipment in the
•olice Department and City
Secretary's office, purchased new
omputer software and addi-
ional equipment for the Police
lepartment, completed the new
rastewater treatment plant,
tudied new water sources and
xpansion of the city's water and
ewer services across Interstate
Also during his two terms, the
ity council and city employees
lave worked with the railroad in
'leaning the ditches by the track
Ield, replaced the water and
lewer lines on East Pine Street,
urrently resurfacing East Pine
Street and- purchased two new
»lice cars for the police depart-
nent and a new backhoe for the
*ublic Works Department as well
updating other equipment.
Ife was also instrumental in
negotiations between the
>ity Council and the Lorch fam-
ly concerning the donation of
he Lorch Building to the City of
Vest.
"I have enjoyed serving the
2ity of West in this capacity and
jok forward to another term if
osen by the citizens of West. A
example of my dedication
this position is the fact that I
Ifave missed only one meeting
incebeingelectedinMay 1992.”
Darrin is married to Victoria
Torie" (Grmela) Banik and is
jhe son of Albert and Rosemary
anik. Darrin would appreciate
ur support in his re-election
ampaign.
‘aid poL adv. by Darrin P. Banik,
10W. Spruce, West, Texas 76691.
The FINANCIAL FRONT
Planning for Higher College Costs
Do you know how much money you will likely need for your child
to attend college? Along with everything else these days, the costs
are going up steadily. Estimates say that a person entering a public
college today will spend on average around $40,000 over four years.
For a private school, the price more than doublesi
For a child born in 1995. estimates are that four years at a public
college will cost an average of about $140,000 and almost $300,000
for a private school And let's face it. the likelihood of graduating in
just four years these days is diminishing. Most graduates spend five
years attaining their bachelor's cjqgrcc Do you have two kids to put
through college'' Three? Is grad-school is in the picture? You get
the idea. A pretty scary proposition when you take a pencil (and a
calculator) to it!
While it is true that college tuition rates in Texas are slightly
lower than the national averages, today's parents are still faced with a
hefty financial responsibility. What can be done? Planning for
college costs is no different than any other long-term investment plan.
First, identify a target dollar figure needed for each child at age 17 or
18 With the assistance of a financial professional, identify a monthly
investment amount and appropriate portfolio mix needed to achieve
that goal Above all. it is imperative to start your planning as early as
possible to allow for greater growth potential on your money! Invest
what is necessary on a monthly basis rather than periodically putting
away large amounts This will be much easier to budget and will be
less strenuous on your pockctbook. If you are unable to meet your
target monthly figure, start with what you can afford and increase the
regular investment amount when your income grows. If you choose
this method. I strongly suggest that you use the services of an
investment professional to assure a sound plan It can be a hollow
feeling when your child is one or two years away from college and
you realize that you have come up short. Start your plan today!
The FINANCIAL FRONT is a monthly financial column
provided by Lovett and Associates Senior Planning and
Investment Services in Waco. You may contact us at (817)
751-1256. Your comments and suggestions are always welcome.
A Tax Code To Love?
’ecan workshop
o be conducted
n Hillsboro
A Pecan Grafting Workshop
ill be conducted in Hillsboro at
re Hill County Exhibits Build-
g on Tuesday, April 30. The
-ogram will begin at 7:30 p.m.
Mr. H.L Gillum from Waco
ill demonstrate the in-lay graft-
i g technique for pecans. Time
v ill be available for anyone to
actice grafting on a limited
isis following the demonstra-
>n.
Pecan graft wood will be r •ail-
a le following the meeting.
Anyone wanting to learn how
t graft pecan trees is encour-
a ed to attend. For additional
County Ext*
Keith Peck
The West News - Thursday, April 18,1996
Another Point of View
For the past couple of weeks we have been
bombarded with the trials and tribulations of
poor Michael Irvin. These are problems that
Irvin could have avoided ifhe was as smart off
the field as he is on the field. He certainly
can't blame his predicament on poverty. I
understand his salary is quite adequate. He
can't say, "I didn't know any better." There
have been unnumbered examples of athletes
with prospects of a bright future who have
tossed it all away for the momentary thrill of a trip into the drug
culture.
Long ago I decided that athletes did not make the ideal roles
models. My heroes were men like Admiral Richard Byrd and Charles
Lindbergh. There were others but they were fictional. Unfortunately
too many of today's youth have chosen athletic heroes with clay feet
or rock musicians' with clay heads. All of them are so stupid that they
thought drugs couldn't ruin their lives. If it was only their own lives
that were being ruined, that would be bad enough, but all those
impressionable kids who adore them, emulate them.
I realize that football, baseball and basketball players are simply
entertainers with, for the most part, very short careers. When the
player is of the caliber of Irvin or "Bam" Morris their actions impact
more than their own families or their teams. Every day I see kids
wearing a shirt with a big eighty-eight on the back. Those kids look
up to men like Irvin. His conduct in his personal life is telling kids
that breaking the law is okay if you have enough money to buy your
way out of a jam.
I talked to one individual this week who expressed an opinion that
Michael was set up, which I doubt I heard a reporter ask the
question, "what were two married men doing in a motel room with
two topless dancers?" The question was not answered.
Michael Irvin has betrayed thousands of innocent kids, he has
tarnished the image of his teammates and he has broken the law.
Should he be punished? Absolutely!
West dealership accepting
used batteries through April 23
Sykora Family Ford in West lead-acid battery can be recycled,"
5222.
By Edwin Feulner
Oh tax code, how do I hate thee? Let me count the ways.
, Don’t look now but it’s that time of the year again. The dreaded tax season
is here. To say that most Americans don’t like the current tax system under-
states th; obvious.
That'': because it truly is a mess. Americans struggle to comply with a tax
system that has more than 400 different forms. The amount of time individuals
and businesses spend collecting all the needed data and filling out all the
required forms: an estimated 5 billion hours each year. What a waste!
And compliance isn’t cheap. Individuals, families and businesses spend
an estimated $200 billion per year on accountants and lawyers to satisfy the
Internal Revenue Service. Just think how crazy that is: The government will
throw you in jail if you don’t pay taxes according to a scheme it has made so
confusing you have to hire a lawyer to figure it out!
There has to be a better way. And there is.
By now I’m sure you’ve heard all sorts of claims about an idea that is
frequently discussed by economists, realtors, policy-makers and presidential
contenders alike: the flat tax.
Just so you know', the reason so many people In high places want you to
reject the flat tax is because they are the ones leeching benefits from the current
system, and they don’t want anybody messing with their cash cow.
The flat tax works like this: All taxpayers would pay the same tax rate, for
example, 17 percent. No confusing tax schedules, no steep accountants fees;
just one form, the size of a postcard. The rich would pay far more in taxes than
the everybody else — contrary to critics’ claims — since, after all, 17 percent
of a million dollars is a lot more money than 17 percent of $35,000.
A study by my colleagues at The Heritage Foundation recently showed
that the flat tax proposed by House Majority Leader Richard Armey, R-Texas,
and Sen. Richard Shelby, R-Ala., — one of several proposals under consid-
eration — would lower taxes on all income groups, especially the poor and
middle class. The plan’s generous deduction, $33,000 for a family of four,
would exempt most low-income households from any federal income tax.
Some 24 million families that pay taxes now would pay none under the plan.
Also, unlike the current system, which may tax the same dollar up to four
different times (the personal income tax, the corporate income tax, the capital
gains tax, and the estate tax), dividend and interest earnings from savings and
investment would not be taxed. In other words, instead of being penalized for
inveating your money, you would be taxed just once — when you earn the
money.
This would encourage more Americans to put their money to work in the
economy—and instead of dragging the economy down, die tax system would
start revving it up.
Of course, one of the most attractive features of a flat tax is its simplicity.
Everyone who has wrestled with a Schedule C or a 1040 form or has had to
collect receipts for every charitable contribution in the mad rush to get
everything in the mail by April 15 could simply — and quickly — fill out a
postcard-sized form. What literally once required hours could be done in a few
minutes during your lunch hour!
But before you get too excited, remember: A lot of special interests don’t
want to part with the advantages (a tax break for this, a loophole for that, a
deduction here, an allowance there) that the current tax system gives them.
Practically everyone agrees that America’s tax system needs a major
i Office at 582- lawmakers wi|j soon replace It with one that everyone (except the special
interests, of course) can love.
Note: Edwin Feulner is president of The Heritage Foundation, a Washing-
ton-based public policy research institute.
wants spent lead-acid automo-
tive batteries. In fact, they 11 give
customers a free tree seedling in
exchange for those batteries.
It is estimated that nearly six
million scrap batteries are being
stored in garages, sheds, back-
yards and elsewhere in cities all
across the country. Ford and
Lincoln-Mercury dealerships are
doing their part to clean up the
environment and recycle those
batteries by participating in
Ford's sixth annual Motorcraft
Battery Earth Day Recycling
Drive between April 15-23. Dur-
ing these dates, dealerships will
give a free tree seedling to cus-
tomers who bring a scrap lead-
acid automotive battery in for
recycling.
The program is sponsored by
Motorcraft and participating
Motorcraft Distributors, and
Ford and Lincoln-Mercury deal-
ers in recognition of Earth Day
and to support the goals of the
National Association of Conser-
vation Districts (NACD), a pri-
vate, non-profit organization that
promotes the conservation, or-
derly development and wise use
of the nation's natural resources.
"About 95 percent of a spent
Matus
continued from page one
"As a board member, I would
work to see this happen and
would look forward to hearing
all suggestions and comments
on this issue."
"Your vote for me, Jim R.
Matus, will be your voice on the
West ISD Board," Matus con-
cluded.
Paid. pal. adv. by Jim R. Matus, 616
Trllca Road, Weal, Texas 76S91.
explains Pat Ward, product strat-
egy manager for Ford's Customer
Service Division. "Through our
Earth Day efforts and our Mo-
torcraft Servicing Batteiy Dis-
tributor program, we have helped
raise the lead-acid battery recy-
clingratefrom 75percent in 1989
to more than 94 percent today.
We hope to someday reach 100
percent"
"The NACD admires Mo-
torcraft's efforts to keep scrap
lead-acid batteries out oflandfills
and the environment, by encour-
aging recycling," says Jerry Vap,
NACD's president "A number of
potential health and environ-
mental hazardscan be eliminated
through recycling of lead-acid
batteries. Many people may be
unaware of the dangers posed by
storing spent lead-acid batteries
in their garage or home, and
programs like this help elimi-
nate these risks by givingpeople
the incentive they need to re-
cycle their batteries."
West area residents who wish
to drop off batteries at Sykora
Family Ford may do so during
regular business hours through
April 23. The dealership is lo-
cated at 519 S. George Kacir
Drive in West.
Goat Field Day
set for Saturday
A Meat Goat Field Day is
scheduled for this Saturday at
the Glen and Lillian Allen Ranch
located two mileseastofHillsboro
on Highway 22.
The Field Day Program be-
gins at 9 am. and will continue
through noon with a barbecue
lunch planned at that time.
This is sponsored by the Hill
County Extension Livestock
Committe and the Hill-McLen-
nan County Goat Producers.
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To all my supporters in
the West and
surrounding communities:
A very heartfelt
THANK YOU!
I couldn't have done it
without you.
Two steps down, one to go.
Joe Mashek
W Pol Adv. By Joe MMhtL, Rt 1 Box 17SV, West, TX 76691,
Special Thanks
To All Of Our West Family aad Friends:
Our house burned on Saturday, April 6, 19*6. 1 still cannot
gowprahsod hew everything yanaeenmnl.tr and wnrtr so
can go np In flames within 12-15 minutes. I don't think I ever felt so
lonely, scared, conflised and hurt My husband was working out of
state at the time and my two sons, Justin and Ryan, and I were
visiting my sister, Vicki Pustqjovsky when we received the terrible
phone call that our house was burning. When wearrived, everything
was pretty well consumed by flames and smoke. Now that I lookback
on that terrible day, I can honestly say how fortunate we are to Hve
In a wonderful community, West, Texas. Everyone amazed my
fomily and I with such generosity, love, care, and support (and wean
still amazed). I feel there aren't enough words or actions that can
ever express how thankfti! we are and we will never be able to repay
everyone. 1 cam across a poem the other day and this Is the best that
I can express our thanks:
The Angel Of Giving
Angels give us daily gifts,
ones we may never see.
Nothing we cun hold or touch
or look at with mystery.
Their gifts art very special
and delivered with pure grace,
They bring you gifts of faith and km
and oft by efamUierface.
Your "Angti of Giving' will surprise you
gifts from heaven above.
You may find them through a friend
sent to you with km.
Thank you SO MUCH for being there for as.
God Mess aad With lave,
Steve, Kristi, Justin aad Ryu Batts
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Knapek, Larry. The West News (West, Tex.), Vol. 106, No. 16, Ed. 1 Thursday, April 18, 1996, newspaper, April 18, 1996; West, Texas. (https://texashistory.unt.edu/ark:/67531/metapth715164/m1/2/: accessed July 4, 2024), University of North Texas Libraries, The Portal to Texas History, https://texashistory.unt.edu.; crediting West Public Library.