The Big Lake Wildcat (Big Lake, Tex.), Vol. SEVENTY FIRST YEAR, No. 20, Ed. 1 Thursday, May 16, 1996 Page: 2 of 10
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May 16,1996
Pag* 2
Morales wages war
on tobacco industry
HIGHLIGHTS
8y Lyndetl Williams & £0 Sterling
TEXAS PRESS ASSOCIATION
AUSTlN---Auorncy General
Dan Morales continued to wage war
on the tobacco industry last week
when he suggested Texas sell more
than $500 million in tobacco stocks
it holds in its pension and endow-
ment funds.
Texas should not be in business
with those who seek to do our chil-
dren harm. Our state should repudi-
ate its financial involvement in
these unconscionable efforts to
profiteer at the expense of our
children's lives,' Morales told the
Dallas Morning News.
But Jack Maroncy, an attorney
for Philip Moms Inc .. a defendant in
the lawsuit, characterized Morales'
plea to dump tobacco stocks as 'an-
other attack on business.’
In late March, Morales filed suit
against the tobacco industry on fed-
eral racketeering charges.
Last week, Morales wrote letters
requesting the sell-off to the Teach-
ers Retirement System, the Em-
ployees Retirement System, the
Permanent University Fund and the
Permanent School Fund, the Morn-
ing News reported.
Morales spokesman Ron Dusck
said the attorney general was obli-
gated to tell the state funds that
'tobacco stock will plummet" as a
result of litigation against the indus-
try, and that his letters were made
public because his advice could af-
fect the stock market.
The largest investor in tobacco
stocks of the four funds is the
Teacher Retirement System, which
holds $413 million.
Also last week. State Board of
Education chairman Jack Christy of
Houston said the 14-membcr panel
would meet this week and discuss
Morales' request to sell tobacco
stock in the Permanent School
Fund, which the board oversees, the
Houston Chronicle reported.
Christy told the Chronicle he
believes it is morally wrong for the
state to invest education dollars in
tobacco stocks. "On one hand we're
telling the kids (smoking) is evil,
and on the other hand we re taking
Lhe tobacco industry's profits."
Ray Sullivan, a spokesman for
Gov. George W. Bush, said the gov-
ernor would leave the decision of
whether to divest tobacco stocks
with the boards that govern die four
funds.
Burner Orders Billing Change
Insurance Commissioner Elton
Borner ordered Allstate and Farm-
ers insurance companies to change
the way they have calculated auto
and homeowners insurance premi-
ums.
Last week, Bomcr ordered the
two companies to stop rounding
bills to the nearest dollar - a practice
that has resulted in allegations of
overcharging.
Policyholders of Allstate and
Fanners have a lawsuit pending in a
South Texas state court alleging die
companies have overcharged cus-
tomers more than $ 100 million over
the last decade.
In other news, Bomcr adopted a
fraud-prevention policy that re-
quires new insurance agents to be
fingerprinted and submit locriminal
background checks.
Bomcr said dial every year con-
sumers arc defrauded by a few
agents who would not have been
issued a license if they had disclosed
their criminal records to the Texas
Department of Insurance.
The policy will go into effect this
summer.
Morales Gets Party Help
Victor Morales, the Dcmocrauc
nominee for the seat now occupied
by Republican U.S. Sen. Phil
Gramm, said last week he would
accept help from party headquarters
in Washington, D C., but he would
not lake orders from a campaign
coordinator.
"The bottom line is that 1 will still
be my own man. No one is going to
tell me what to do." Morales told the
Austin American-Statesman
Greg Weiner, an aide to U.S.
Sen. Bob Kerry. D-Ncb., and Mo-
rales' new campaign coordinator,
said Morales' desire to remain the
decision-maker is not a problem
“Victor has got a winning strategy.
There is no need to change a single
thing about that."
Morales said he could longer do
all the work that running a statewide
campaign requires and will turn
over the day-today logistics to
Weiner.
Other Capital Highlights
•Austin had the biggest increase
in violent crime in the nation from
1994 to 1995 among the 73 cities
with a population of at least
200,000, according to the FBI and
U.S. census. Violent crimes re-
ported during the period, including
murder, rape, robbery and aggra-
vated assault, increased from 3.249
to 4,050, or 24.65 percent.
Benefit for Bobbie
Bryson May 21st
Everybody in the community is
invited to come out next Tuesday,
May 21 st, for the Bobbie Bryson
Benefit. Bobbie is a I6 year old
leukemia patient from Ozona.
There will be hamburgers and
drinks plus a coed rag ball game.
The ballgamc will be held at the
womens softball field between the
Reagan County Faculty and the Se-
nior Students. The game will be
taped and sent to Bobbie at St.
Jude's, so if you would like to send
her a special message to brighten
her spirits, please do so.
Food will be served from 5:00 to
6:30 p.m. The game will begin at
7:00. The benefit will be located at
the North County Park.
Donations will be accepted at the
game and the hamburger supper
will cost $4.00 a plate. Please make
plans to attend.
Established in 1925
USPS Publication Number 055-860
Published every Thursday by the Big Lake Wildcal, Inc
in Big Lake, the County Seat of Reagan County, Texas at
309 2nd Street, Big Lake. Texas 76932
David Werst.............................Editor
J. L. Werst, Jr..........................Publisher
Alicia Werst Leticia Leija
Marta Daugherty Irene Miller
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•ubMrfcxfcMM art payabia to atfaaaiM.
915/884-2215
Publisher is not responsible for copy omissions,
typographical errors or any other unintentional errors that
may occur further than to make correction in next issue
after it ts brought to his attention Publisher reserves
the right to cancel any advertisement at any time
Member of the Texas Press Association
and the West Texas Press Association
^ THINK IT S TOO x
LATE TO ADVERTISE
SPRING CLEANING
v SUPPLIES? X
HECK NO/
WE DON'T DO OUR
SPRING CLEANING
TILL AUGUST...
i mm
vermin
TO
flNAT£/,
WHAT???
/ Binding
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✓ Butinctt Cardi
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309 Second Street (915) MU-2215
Big I-ake, Texas 76932
Letter to the Editor.
!Amy 'Werst
With Graduation
just around the corner.,
Come in and see Cellular One's exciting
NEW RATE PLANS and FEATURES
We now have
STATE WIDE TOLL FREE CALLING
Stop by for more details!!
r Graduation SpeciaC
s25.00 coupon with
, every .
Bag Phone NEW activation
w/Free Antenna 1-------------
Linda Matthews Mary Kaye Cockrell
Agent CELLULARONE* Local Representative
397-2340 • 650-^)413 .....- 884-3052 • 650-^224
Special Prices on a
Motorola MC480
I
884-3335
Representative
301 Texas • Big Lake, TX
Office Hours: 10 am - 6 pm
Where to Write/Call
Bill Clinton
1600 Pennsylvania Ave.
Washington D.C. 20000
202-456-1111
U.S. Senate
Phil Gramm
U.S. Senate
Washington D.C. 20510
202-224-2934
Kay Bailey Hutchison
U.S. Senate
Washington D.C. 20510
202-224-5922
U.S. Representative
District 23
Henry Boniila
U.S. House
of Representatives
Washington D.C. 20515
202-225-4511
Governor of Texas
George Bush
State Capitol
Austin, TX 78701
512-463-2000
State Senate
District 28
John Montford
Texas Senate
P.O. Box 12068
Austin, TX 78711
512-463-0128
State Representative
District 82
Texas House
of Representatives
Tom Craddick
P.O. Box 2910
Austin, TX 78768-2910
512-463-0500
Sirens continued.
updraft of a thunderstorm The up-
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Wind speeds in a tornado often ex-
ceed 300 miles per hour. Once the
wind speed exceeds 260 miles per
hour, it is a class 5 tornado which is
the highest level tracked. Tornadoes
arc ranked from zero to five with
zero being the weakest and five the ^
strongest. The base for a category ”
five tornado can be one to one and a
half miles wide, creatingahuge path
of destruction.
Glad Rags
403 2nd 884-2750
^Enfi nf Qchnf)l -Qalp
Dresses 20% Off
On The Verge, Oxford T-Shirts 30%) 0(1
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Dear David.
I went to a concert last night that
would be every parent's fondest
dream. Amy-Lou Werst was in-
vited by the band director at James
Bowie High School (a huge
AAAAA school), Mr. Roscndo
Sanchez, to perform the final num-
ber and featured violin solo with his
outstanding, All-Slate recognized,
band.
There were no dry eyes in die
house, and the standing ovation was
automatic: the entire audience rose
to their fcctasone within a millisec-
ond of the last note. The piece was
Schindler's List, from the Academy
Award winning movie, music by
John Williams of Star Wars fame
plus many other credits.
I don't pretend to know how God
placed on this good green Earth
people who can write such music
dial rips our hearts out; still less do
I pretend to know how our own
children can Icam to play and inter-
pret such music so that it univer-
sally gets to an entire group of very
well-educated (and somewhat
world-weary) people in a way that
grabs ihcir heartstrings cn masse.
1 could carry on at length about
that piece of music and what it sig-
nifies about what is great about
Americans responding to the great
crises of the centuries, but that's not
necessary. The music says it all,
straight to your heart.
And a Dad becomes an utterly
speechless heap when he hears his
Daughter do the music that con-
denses what a thousand books by a
dxiusand famous people have tried
to say.
Amy-Lou Werst is the concert
mistress (XI violin and twice mem-
ber of the All-State Orchestra) of
die Bowie Symphony Orchestra.
Her portrait will be unveiled in the
library on May 15 as one of the elite
Who's Who of Bowie High School.
She has been asked to attend South-
western University in Georgetown,
Texas, a premier liberal arts school
in the southwestern U.S.).
In addition to her many outstand-
ing solo performances, she leads
group efforts in orchestra and quar-
tet to state awards, as well as receiv-
ing awards for All-District 5A
Drama Cast, Show Choir, social sci-
ence projects, science projects,
Honors English and poetry. She
plays on Sundays at St. David's in
downtown Austin. Plus, she has a
full studio of younger Suzuki violin
sludcnLs.
Thank You for Listening,
Your Very Sincere Brolhcr,
John James Werst
I
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Werst, David. The Big Lake Wildcat (Big Lake, Tex.), Vol. SEVENTY FIRST YEAR, No. 20, Ed. 1 Thursday, May 16, 1996, newspaper, May 16, 1996; Big Lake, Texas. (https://texashistory.unt.edu/ark:/67531/metapth739446/m1/2/: accessed June 26, 2024), University of North Texas Libraries, The Portal to Texas History, https://texashistory.unt.edu.; crediting Reagan County Library.