The West News (West, Tex.), Vol. 111, No. 1, Ed. 1 Thursday, January 4, 2001 Page: 2 of 8
eight pages : ill. ; page 25 x 16 in. Digitized from 35 mm. microfilm.View a full description of this newspaper.
Extracted Text
The following text was automatically extracted from the image on this page using optical character recognition software:
Page 2
LEISFuT
ASHte we can
WWffflflW- AH
. &ET
< Atf#-
The West News - Thursday, January 4,2001
AHDfbRK
IfceiBEP ]W
ft?R A WE R^
CflfWPN &FAHT1SAN.
60AL...
AH ONE
Another Point of View
mm-
alus*n am
■mw- m
/
Let Santa Serve
Happy Holidays, folks.
Boy, this is getting to be a rough time
of year. I just got a letter from a young term
limits enthusiast complaining about the
entrenched incumbency of a certain office-
holder in the North Pole.
“Dear Mr. Jacob," writes 10-year-old
Virginia Grinch of Whoville, New York.
“My little friends tell me that Santa Claus
should be term-limited.
"To wit: Santa Claus has held the same
office since the 19th century. He stays in
power by bribing pint-sized lobbyists who
annually demand free goodies.
“He delivers these gdodies by breaking
and entering millions of private residences,
year after year. Even in the name of gift
distribution, that is an incredible breach of
the rule of law, say my little friends.
“Furthermore, many elves in his
workshop have complained that Claus is
arrogant in exercising his authority, and
that he is even becoming excessive in his
attentions toward some of the intern elves.
"Is it time for Santa Claus to go?
Sincerely, Virginia Grinch."
Well, Virginia, your little friends are
wrong. They have been affected by the
skepticism of a skeptical age.
I haven't heard these charges about
abuse of authority, but I tend to doubt
them. In my view, Santa is a very jolly,
merry, all-around nice guy, who does
nothing but good for everyone.
Now, it is true, Virginia, that term limits
can be beneficial even outside of govern-
ment office. For example, if the Interna-
tional Olympics Committee had been
term limited all along, perhaps we could
have avoided some of the scandalous
behavior that has tainted the Committee’s
reputation in recent years.
If you remember, IOC members were
accused of playing Santa in reverse,
visiting prospective sites for the Olympic
games and extorting sacks of goodies from
city officials—everything from skis to
college tuition for their children. Even
former Senator George Mitchell, who was
called in to review the situation, gave a
thumbs up to the idea of term-limiting the
committee’s president.
Many churches and civic groups
require a regular rotation of officers. And
the average CEO in America holds his or
her position for less than six years, though
the turnover happens for the most part
without a mandatory rule.
Yet, even if a private group fails to
organize itself in the best way, the harm it
can do is limited, and not a matter of the
public good as such. A company officer
“represents" only that portion of the
public interested in what he has to sell; if
he fails, they alone are affected. What
happens then is that the natural term limit
of the market itself takes effect. If a
company begins to flounder in the
marketplace, it must get better at satisfying
customers or go out of business.
By contrast, the folks who staff our
legislature get paid whether they satisfy
their “customers" or not. And the whole
citizenry suffers from the damaging effects
of endless incumbency on governance and
the electoral process itself. Nobody has to
buy an IBM PC or eat at McDonald’s, but
we all have to live under the laws passed
by our legislators.
Just like private firms, Kris Kringle
deals with people on a completely
voluntary basis. No taxpayer is forced to
pay for the gifts Santa gives. But in a way,
he does represent us, all of us. He repre-
sents our capacity for love and generosity
and devotion. The main job of Santa Claus
is the spreading of joy and happiness. And
that should go on forever.
So, no, Virginia, Santa Claus should not
be term-limited.
Paul Jacob is the national director of
U.S. Term Limits in Washington, D C. and
can be reached at Jacob@ustermlimits.org.
Popcorn...Healthy Snacking At Its Best
Nutritional Value of Popcorn
Colories Protein Carbohydrote Fiber
gm gm gm 9m
Popcorn air-popped (one cup) 31 I 6 1
Popcorn, oil popped (one cup) 55 * 6 I
fal Soturaled fol
gm gm
Iroce Trace
3 .5
Calcium
Mg
Source: USDA Nutrient Database loi Standard Deference
(NAPS)—Popcorn is a source of
carbohydrate energy and fiber. For
individuals of norma! weight, car-
bohydrate is the Irest source of body
fuel. Fiber is not used for energy,
but is an important health factor
vhich is insufficient in most Ameri-
in diets. There are two kinds of
liber. Soluble plays a role in regu-
lating hunger, cholesterol and blood
sugar and insoluble is important in
gastrointestinal health.
And health and medical groups
feel popcorn has nutritive value
too! Popcorn is a wholesome, fun
food, which aids digestion by pro-
viding necessary roughage.
Health and medical associa-
tions regard popcorn as an excel-
lent mealtime complement—sugar
free, fat-free and low in calories.
©
The National Cancer Institute
(NCI) suggests fiber in the diet to
reduce the risk of some forms of
cancer. The American Diabetes
Association and the American
Dietetic Association permit pop-
corn as a bread exchange on
weight-control diets.
So, satisfy your hunger for
tasty snacks along with your need
for health and nutrition with
these popcorn ideas:
• Lightly mist air-popped pop-
corn with cooking spray, and
sprinkle with your favorite herbs
or spices. Try garlic powder,
Parmesan cheese and dried
oregano for popcorn with an Ital-
ian twist or cumin, chili powder
and paprika for popcorn with a
South-of-the-border flair.
"An Award winning newspaper"
"The oldest business in West, established in 1889"
214 W. Oak • P.O. Box 38 • West, Texas 76691 • 254-826-3718
The West Times The West News
Established in 1889 Established in 1909
Consolidated January, 1913
Larry Knapek Linn A. Pescaia
Editor Publisher
USPS 677-060
Published weekly each Thursday, Second Class Postage paid at West, Texas.
POSTMASTER: Send address changes to The West News, P O. Box 38, West,
Texas 76691.
SUBSCRIPTION RATES: $17.00 lor McLennan County; $21.50 for all other Texas
Counties; $23.50 for out of state; $31.50 for Canada, Alaska and Hawaii.
ATTENTION SUBSCRIBERS: The mailing label is the key to your renewal date. We
do not mail renewal notices. A highlighted mailing label is your renewal notice.
LETTERS TO THE EDITOR POLICY: Letters to the Editor should not exceed 200
words. Letters that exceed the word limit may not be considered for publication. Letters
should be signed and include address and daytime phone number, for clarification or
confirmation. We reserve the right to edit all letters and we may condense letters that
are accepted for publication. We do not publish form letters, letters written for other
publications or anonymous letters. Poems and letters political in nature are considered
advertising and will be charged for.
Texas Press Association member
• For a sweet treat, top popped
popcorn with dried fruits and
nuts. For example, raisins, dried
apricots and sunflower seeds
make a healthy, crunchy sweet
snack.
• For a zesty snack that’s
quick and easy, combine 10 cups of
popped popcorn with Vi of a .7 oz
package of Italian salad dressing
mix. Toss until seasoning is dis-
tributed evenly.
For more healthy snacking
ideas with popcorn, call toll-free
1-877-popalot or visit www.pop
corn.org.
Police Report
A local businessman was arrested
on January 1 for burglary.
Wesley Dan Matus, 32, of West
was arrested for burglary of the
NAPA Autoparts Store at 318 N.
Main on December 28. He was
discovered by a representative of the
current tenant of the building.
Matus was transported to
McLennan County Jail.
Two gasoline driveoffs were
reported in the city limits during
the past couple of weeks.
The first one was at Kaska’s That
Czech Bakery on December 20 at
5:40 p.m. The vehicle was
described as a Red Pontiac and the
amount taken was $18.
Another theft of gas was at 5:14
p.m. at Czech Stop on December
26. The vehicle was a blue x-cab
pickup and the amount taken was
$10.
A burglary of habitation was
reported in the 600 block of W.
Tokio road on December 29.
Jeffrey Popp, 33, of West was
arrested on January 1 at 1:56 a.m.
in the 300 block of North Roberts
for DWI.
After spending a night aboard
ship in the Port of Ashdod, we
disembarked for a second day of
visiting sites in and around
Jerusalem. Jerusalem is a holy
city to Jews, Christians and
Moslems. Ever since David
captured the city early in his
reign as Israel’s king, it has been
a place of worship for the Jews.
Solomon built the first temple
there, which lasted until Judah
was taken into captivity by the
Babylonians. In the scripture the
statement is often made that
someone went UP to Jerusalem.
That is an accurate statement.
The roads from every direction
go up to Jerusalem. Even today
when pilgrims wish to visit the
city they still must go up. Even
when in the city it seemed to me
that everywhere you wanted to
go was up. There were hundreds
of steps to climb and I suspect
that the handrails have been
added in recent times.
We walked down the Via
Dolorosa which tradition says
was the route that Christ walked
on his way to Calvary. Some of
the cobblestones were the
original stones and they will
probably last another couple of
centuries. We did not visit any of
the modem city, but concentrated
on the old city and those places
that were familiar from scripture.
Inside the walls of the old city is
the Temple Mount. The Mount is
Mount Moriah of Old Testament
times. It is where Abraham took
Isaac at God’s command to
sacrifice him. When Isaac asked
his father where the sacrifice was,
Abraham said God will provide a
sacrifice and He did.
For the benefit of the women
in our group we visited a mall
where we had lunch and where
the women could shop a little.
Most goods were priced in even
dollars and dollars were as good
as the local shekels. Ifyou bought
something that required change,
your change was in the local
currency or coin. Most of the
members of our bus group went
through a tunnel under the old
temple site. Nell and I didn’t
make that trip. It was rather
tight quarters and sometimes the
air was riot too good, especially if
the tour guide got a little long
winded. I have enough trouble
breathing even when the air is
good, so we opted out of that little
trip. Nell went shopping. I have a
picture to prove it.
We did not visit Bethlehem
because the Palestinians control
it. We did view it from the road.
There were many, many other
places that we did not see that
would have been of interest. One
other place we did visit was a
group that is reconstructing the
articles of worship for the new
temple that will be built. When
will it be built? I don’t know but
the Jews are thinking very
strongly about it and are making
plans. This new temple will be a
structure of importance during
the great tribulation.
On Friday we had our last day
in Israel, so Thursday night we
sailed to Haifa from Ashdod. We
will cover our last day in Israel in
our next column.
July ■ December 2000 in review
continued from page one
their approval to a budget of
$10,985,795, a 2.6 percent in-
crease over the previous year's
budget.
The West Community Blood
Drive was honored during an
American Red Cross Annual
Gallon Club Celebration on Aug.
26 in Waco. The drive, coordi-
nated by Ray Holasek and A.W.
Marchak, was honored for its
outstanding efforts in helping to
maintain a safe blood supply.
An electronic chime system
was installed at West City Hall
during the latter part of the
month. Abbott resident Jeff
Bezdek, a representative for the
Verdin Company, donated the
system to the city and installed
it for a $300 installation fee.
The Katy Depot Museum in
West announced it was needing
pictures of area war veterans
along with pictures of the city.
An area of the depot is to be
reserved for pictures of military
veterans and is to be called the
"Wall of Honor."
Rebecca Podsednik of West
represented Texas in the 14th
Annual Miss Czech-Slovak
U.S.A. National Queen Pageant
in Wilber, Nebraska. She re-
ceived the Miss Congeniality
award.
September
Despite temperatures hover-
ing above the 100 degree mark
for the 25th Annual Westfest on
Sept. 1, 2 and 3, festival officials
reported some 30,000 visitors
passed through the gates at this
year’s event. 2000 West High
School grad Linsay Kolar was
crowned the new Miss Westfest
and reigned over the three-day
event.
Tragedy came during the
month as 20-year-old Robert
Thomas Church was killed in a
one-vehicle accident. His body
was discovered some time later
in his wrecked pickup near West
on Sept. 4.
The city received its first mea-
surable rainfall in over 10 weeks
on Sept. 12 as 1.1 inches of rain-
fall fell in West that day. This
was the first reported rain in
West since June.
Two West men filed a civil
suit on Sept. 6 in the 19th Dis-
trict Court in Waco naming 12
present and former West Inde-
pendent School District school
board members and employees
as defendants. The suit alleged
that the defendants "acted in a
negligent, reckless, intentional,
willful, wanton and malicious
manner in concert with each
other in a conspiracy which
caused Plaintiffs financial dam-
age. Further, defendants, in a
conspiracy, have colluded and
fabricated evidence to cover up
their own wrongdoing."
New speed limit signs were
erected along a portion of Jerry
Mashek Drive adjacent to the
new West High School campus.
The new speed limit was set at
25 miles per hour from 7:30 a m.
- 4 p.m. Monday through Friday.
St. Mary's School crowned
their Homecoming King and
Queen and Duke and Duchess
during halftime of the Sept. 30
Homecoming game against
Parkview Christian. Turner
Frederick and Annie Jaska were
crowned the Duke and Duchess
and Cody Taylor and Ashton
Marek were crowned the King
and Queen.
October
Numerous West High School
exes converged on West during
Oct. 6 and 7 for their various
class reunions in conjunction
with the annual West High
School Homecoming activities.
West High School senior Melissa
Maler was chosen the Homecom-
ing Queen with Kevin Polansky
named the King. Lacey Sparks
was chosen Homecoming Duch-
ess while Courtney Eastwood
was crowned the Homecoming
Princess.
The Old West Trade Days
made their debut in the city on
Oct. 14 and 15 in the Lorch Build-
ing in downtown West. Over
1,000 people turned out for this
event as 22 vendors sold arts and
crafts, flea market and other type
items. Organizers said their pri-
mary goal was to bring more
people to West. The event is
planned for the second weekend
of each month.
Over 350 line dancers partici-
pated in the Annual Texas Line
Dancers Jamboree on Oct. 14 in
West Fraternal Auditorium. Line
dancers from San Angelo,
Abilene, Houston, Dallas, Aus-
tin, Waco, Whitney and West
were in attendance at this state-
wide event.
St. Paul's United Church of
Christ in Gerald celebrated its
100th anniversary on Oct. 29.
The church was organized by
German-speaking Protestants
100 years ago. there were 35 char-
ter members and construction
on the first church began in 1900
and was completed in 1903.
The West Lady Trojans cap-
tured the District 17-AAA vol-
leyball title with a 10-2 record.
The West girls then fell to Mexia
in an Area playoff match ending
their season with a 21-13 record.
November
Area voters joined others
throughout the nation in casting
their ballots in the Nov. 7 Gen-
eral Election and in particular
the Presidential race which be-
came one of the closest in U.S.
history. It took 36 days before
Texas Governor George W. Bush
was declared the winner over
Vice President A1 Gore. Locally,
Republican Larry Lynch won the
race for McLennan Cou nty Sher-
iff and Democrat .Joe Mashek
was re-elected as McLennan
County Commissioner Precinct
3.
The West High School boys
and girls cross country teams
both competed in the regional
cross country meet in Huntsville.
The Trojan squad, which won
the district title, won eighth at
regionals. The Lady Trojan team,
which placed third in the district
meet, finished 14th at the re-
gional meet.
Westfest donated $20,831 to
12 West groups during their an-
nual membership meeting on
Nov. 1 in the West Community
Center.
Area war veterans were hon-
ored during a parade and cer-
emony in the city commemorat-
ing Veterans Day. The parade
was one of the larger ones in its
history.
Four West High School orga-
nizations joined in sponsoring a
food drive for the needy. The
groups collected numerous boxes
and sacks of groceries which were
donated to the needy.
The second annual Friends
Thanksgiving meal was con-
ducted on Thanksgiving Day in
the West Community Center.
The meal was for those area resi-
dents who would have spent
Thanksgiving alone.
Area residents attended the
dedication ceremony at the new
West High School facility on Nov.
19. The ceremony took place in
the school's 960 seat auditorium.
The Abbott Panther and
Aquilla Cougar football teams
turned in excellent performances
in Six-Man action this season.
The Panthers were District 16-A
champs with Aquilla taking sec-
ond in district. Both made the
playoffs with Abbott advancing
into the third round of the play-
offs before losing to Panther
Creek. Aquilla advanced one
round further before also losing
to the same Panther Creek team,
which eventually won the state
title.
December
The month began with the
West Chamber of Commerce's
annual Christmas Program on
Dec. 1 in the West High School
Auditorium. This was the first
production in the new facility.
Duringthe program, West Mayor
Russ Willsey presented Jack
Felts with two awards for his
work with the annual event.
The West Kiwanis Club's an-
nual Toy Drive received a finan-
cial boost as area organization's
donated money to the event. The
West Rest Haven residents do-
nated $1,438 to the drive. This
money raised from an October
dinner, a November bake sale
and craft sale and a December
raffle.
The toy drive, which was the
largest in its history, provided
toys for 192 needy West area
children.
The West Police Department,
West Kiwanis Club and various •
volunteers also were instrumen-
tal in providing bicycles for needy
children through their "A Bicycle
Christmas" program. Approxi-
mately 34 bicycles were distrib-
uted through this program.
The West VFW and Ladies
Auxiliary honored the winners
of the local Voice of Democracy
Contest. The winners were Bra-
dley Werner, first place; Brad
Ferguson, second place; and Su-
san Hrabal, third place.
The West Fire Department
received a $1,650.65 donation
from the Hillcrest Medical Cen-
ter at West Auxiliary on Dec. 20.
The money would be used to pur-
chase a power supply unit for the
fire department's rescue team.
The unit would be used to supply
the necessary power to operate
the rescue unit's Jaws of Life
equipment.
December provided its share
of cold weather as an Arctic front
raced through the area during
the middle of the month leaving
behind cold temperatures along
with a thin layer of ice on yards,
trees and rooftops.
Area residents' hearts were
saddened with the news of the
deaths of a former U.S. Congress-
man and former West Mayor.
Marvin Leath, who served the
11th Congressional District in-
cluding West for over 10 years,
died Dec. 8. Joseph F. Holasek,
who served as mayor for the city
for 16 years, died at the age of
102 on Dec. 23.
At their Dec. 5 meeting, the
West City Council gave their
approval to have the city's engi-
neers prepare plans for a sewer
lift station to be constructed on
the west side of 1-35. This would
be needed for future development
in this area.
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.
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.
Knapek, Larry. The West News (West, Tex.), Vol. 111, No. 1, Ed. 1 Thursday, January 4, 2001, newspaper, January 4, 2001; West, Texas. (https://texashistory.unt.edu/ark:/67531/metapth715729/m1/2/: accessed June 24, 2024), University of North Texas Libraries, The Portal to Texas History, https://texashistory.unt.edu.; crediting West Public Library.