The Clifton Record (Clifton, Tex.), Vol. 108, No. 71, Ed. 1 Wednesday, September 3, 2003 Page: 4 of 14
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4
Phooa: (254) 675-3336 • Fax: (254) 675-4090
E-mail: nawa@cltftonracord.com • ada@cllftonracord.com
The Clifton Record
Tha Clifton Racord ONLINE:
http://cHftonracord.com
Wednesday, Sept. 3, 2003
Marc's
Remarks
By Marc Johnson
&
01’ Howard Taft, longtime
weatherman up to Channel 5, done
tol' all us about
the weather pat-
terns changin.'
Not just here in
Texas or even
the United
States, but
world-wide. Y’all
remember that
special he had on
the t-and-v a number of years ago?
Showed where it usta not ever
come a freeze down in Florida or
Mexico. But, due to shiftin’ pat-
terns, that no longer holds true.
Tremendous impact on all the
farmers and orchard folks. Well, he
was shore ’nough right. I remem-
ber when I was a kid. We kept
lamps in might nigh all the rooms,
just in case the electricity went off.
And it did go off fairly often. It’d
thunder and lightnin’ and it’d be a
general rain over a good area.
Now, it just seems we git these
“scattered” showers. Been long
time since we had a good, general
rain But, I reckon we best be
thankful fer all we do git.
Just heard on the news where
our guvimint gonna obligate us,
our kids, our grandkids, and prob-
ably our great-grandkids and folks
fer generations to come fer the
debt we gonna incur in just the
rebuildin’ of Iraq. They mentioned
tens of billions of dollars in the far
east alone.
We got thousands of our military
over there, and sendin’ more all
the time. Yet, they wantin’ to re-
vamp the veterans care facilities,
even closin’ some of ’em. They
closed Marlin, and now seriously
considerin’ closin’ the Waco VA
Hospital. Some of these veterans
we sendin’ overseas probably
gonna need some of their services,
and where ya reckon they gonna
have to go? Will there even be a
facility that can help ’em?
What happened to the old adage
about charity begins at home? In
other words, we can spend billions
helpin’ other folks but yet need to
save just a few million by cuttin’
services fer the folks what fought
to keep us a free nation. Don’t
make no sense to me. We all best
be contactin’ our elected reps and
lettin’ ’em know this ain’t right.
And, we’ll remember come votin’
time.
“Septemberfest” two-thousand-
and-three is upon us. All plannin’
is goin’ well. Just hope the weather
ain’t too hot. ’Bout 80 degrees, with
a light breeze, would suit most
folks. And then, about mid-nite,
come a good, slow rain to send
them dancers home cool and wet.
Don’t hurt to wish.
Gonna be another blood drive
here in the Gap up to the school
on Tuesday, Sept. 9, from 1 to 6 p.m.
Red Cross missed the last drive
scheduled fer the Gap cause their
bus broke down on the way home
from the Valley. They got ’er fixed
now, though, and they’ll be to the
Gap. Call the school to schedule an
appointment, or just show up. Ya
don’t git blood from no place but
another human. Ya cain’t even buy
it at Wal-Mart! Give a shot of yore
juice to the Red Cross, and save
at least three lives.
Next Gap Community Chamber
meetin’ gonna be on the 11th of
September down to the Commu-
nity Center. Friends of the library
gonna host the meal. It’ll be a good
'un. Y’all gather up somebody and
come on down. Eatin’ starts at 6
p.m. with the meetin’ to follow.
Good food, fun, and fellowship with
our fellow citizens, as always. We’d
lak to have y’all as members. Don’t
got to own a bidness. Just give a
hoot about the Gap.
Football season fixin’ to git un-
der-way. Friday night football! It
don’t git no better than that. Y’all
come out and support all the
teams.
Bet still ain’t figgered out
whether to support them dad-bum
Cowboys, or maybe shift her alle-
giance some place else. She ain’t
too the Texans sticker off her
winder yet. She may not. I just
hope whoever she decides to sup-
port, they do good. It affects her
disposition if’n they do bad.
Keep prayin’ fer world peace,
and that our veterans git all the
care and support they need — no
matter when, or where, they
served.
See ya next week,
Marc,
Marc at The Gap
Clifton Chapter #283
Order of the Eastern Star
meets 2nd Monday each
month at 7:30 p.m. in the
^ Masonic Lodge Hall, Clfiton
AnnMomson, WorthyMifron
Gated Motrim, 11^ PMran
The Clifton Record
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EDITORIAL
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2002
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This phone bill shows where some of the calls were made.
There were many more.
• PHONE ROBBERS
Continued From Page One
calls were then followed by a long
conversation less than a minute
later.
But it wasn’t terrorism.
It was just plain old fraud.
According to Federal Bureau of
Investigation agents, it appears to
be part of a nationwide criminal
conspiracy victimizing businesses
and immigrants that began steal-
ing phone calls six to nine months
ago.
The loosely connected gang
seems to have at its heart a sophis-
ticated technician, perhaps more
than one, said FBI agent Monte
Smith of the San Antonio office.
It may involve current or former
telecom employees, perhaps even
an engineer, with extensive knowl-
edge of telephone systems, Smith
said.
The gang may be running the
scam or selling equipment to oth-
ers.
“There is certainly an organized
effort directed by a single entity,”
Smith said, but he added that once
the technology is developed, those
who use it don’t really need to know
how it works.
They just need to know how to
use it.
The thieves circulate in immi-
grant communities, collect in ad-
vance for a chance to make cheap
calls back home, then set up a time
and location to do the calling, he
said.
They then pick a business the
technician has found that does not
have call protection devices in-
stalled, break in and start making
calls, Smith said.
In Payne’s case, the thieves used
his “hook and flash call forwarding”
feature, which enables fast call
transfers, to set up conference calls.
The caller can talk to several
family members in his home coun-
try at once, Smith said.
Most of the time the calls go out
on the weekends when no one is
at the business, but Smith said
some victims have picked up the
phone only to be told by the
thieves, “We’re using your tele-
phone, and there’s nothing you
can to about it.”
Terrorists, however, probably
aren’t involved.
The FBI checks all the numbers
called through its database of
known terrorists, Smith said, and
none of them have shown up as
numbers used or called by terror-
ists.
Victims still should contact the
FBI, regardless of the size of the
bill, Smith said.
These calls are part of an over-
all investigation, and prosecution
may extend to the smaller bills.
He also said the longer the delay
But the most surprising thing in reporting telecom fraud, the less
about this crime is that, at least so likely catching the con artists will
far, the perpetrators are getting be.
away with it.
Some may escape entirely.
The FBI doesn’t prosecute elec-
tronic fraud cases unless they in-
volve large amounts of money, said
agent Rene Salinas.
0 Editorial / Opinions
There are thousands of these
smaller cases daily, and it would be
impossible for any one agency to
track them all, he said.
That is the province of local law
enforcement agencies, which say
they don’t have the facilities to pur-
sue an investigation in Pakistan or
Indonesia.
Telecom companies deny liabil-
ity unless they installed the equip-
ment the business uses.
In Payne’s case, Birch Telecom’s
security director, who asked not to
be identified by name, said their
system notifies customers when
there is an “unusual calling pat-
tern.”
If the customer does not ac-
knowledge the calls, or cannot be
reached, the system shuts down.
Birch encounters about 600 such
alerts per day, the security chief
said, but a “very high percentage”
of them are legitimate calls.
The Birch System shut off
Payne’s system comparatively
early.
Most systems just generate a bill
at the end of the month and don’t
always contact the FBI.
Flirther, telecom companies are
sensitive to profiling, particularly
involving Islamic countries, and
privacy laws strictly control infor-
mation they can share.
“Much of this is very protected,”
the Birch security director said. “If
you want information about most
calls, you have to subpoena it. Re-
porting this is up to the customer.
We cannot just proactively give out
information on calls.”
The customer owes the bill, re-
gardless of any fraud involved.
The telecom companies said the
ultimate responsibility lies with the
installer.
If no security device was in-
stalled, or if the customer did not
request it, the calls are his.
Payne said in his case, he will
just have to pay up.
The equipment company is in-
volved with several business ven-
tures with him, the owners are
personal friends and he said he
won’t jeopardize that relationship.
“I have told them that if this hap-
pens agai., it’s their bill,” he said.
The Clifton Record
Letters To
The Editor
Dear Editor.
I understand there may be a
new Perrymandering map on the
board. Since those who are draw-
ing them are trying to have those
fingers of redistricting reach out
and touch everyone there is a new
district being formed.
This is the district that has a fin-
ger going from Crawford, Texas,
up to Kennebunkport, Maine, just
to make sure it’s all kept in the
family. I understand that town is
located in north east Texas right
near Canada.
Sandy Wittliff
McGregor
Dear Editor,
This is an email that I sent to
President Bush and VP Dick
Cheney. This is how the GOP
treats disabled veterans:
1 must inform you both that I am
deeply disappointed in the GOP I
was recently in New Orleans on
business and heard the GOP was
having a meeting down the street
from the Riverfront Hilton where
I was staying.
Since I am a registered Repub-
lican and voted for both of you in
the last election, I chose to make
the walk down the five or six blocks
to the hotel the GOP was at.
Before I continue, I must tell you
that I am a member of the Dis-
abled American Veterans. That is
why I was in New Orleans. The
Disabled American Veterans held
our 82nd National Convention
there from August 14 to August 19.
When I arrived at the hotel, I
was summarily asked to vacate
the hotel. Myself and several other
members of the Disabled Ameri-
can Veterans were actually es-
corted out of the hotel by the fine
men and women of the New Or-
leans Police Department. They do
a tough job and were extremely
professional and courteous. I have
no problems with the way the Po-
lice Department conducted them-
selves.
My problem is with the GOP! As
I stated previously, I am a regis-
tered Republican. I receive the
GOP Newsletter. I VOTED for
both of you in the last election. I
DEFEND you when you are
blamed for the way veterans are
being treated. I tell people do not
bad-mouth my President or Vice-
President. I explain to them that
it is not ENTIRELY your fault that
the veterans have been promised
certain things and the Administra-
tion has failed to deliver the goods.
I am appalled at the fact that a
Registered Republican was
thrown out of a GOP strategy ses-
sion without even given a chance
to explain why I was there. I was
there as a United States Citizen.
An American registered voter. A
disabled veteran.
Can you please explain to me
why I was thrown out of the hotel
just for being there to seek infor-
mation as what the Administration
was planning on doing for the citi-
zens of the United States? The dis-
abled veterans of the United
States? And most of all, the tax-
payers of the United States?
I feel that in order to remain a
GOP supporter, there is a need for
some explaining to be done, not by
some spokesperson who has a
canned response to upset voters,
but from you, my President and
my Vice-President. A response
from anyone other than one or
both of you would be a continued
insult.
If you wish, you may call me at
my office at (601) 364-7181.1 am in
my office from 7 a.m. to around
4:30 p.m. CST. My phone number
at home is (601) 824-3846. My ad-
dress is 920 Lake Drive #5G Bran-
don, MS 39042 in case you want to
deliver an explanation in person.
I am usually home after 5 p.m.
CST.
Please have the decency to re-
spond to these concerns. I feel that
my request is not unwarranted. I
am tired of being treated like a
second class citizen because of
being JUST a veteran.
With the utmost respect and
sincerity,
Chris Cheney
Quality
Craftsmanship
“Electronic evidence is very per-
ishable,” Smith said.
At the most, you have ten days
before the information is useless.
In some cases, he said, you have
48 hours.
1
Frank Smith, Owner
120 N. Ave. G, Clifton
(254) 675-8237
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Smith, W. Leon. The Clifton Record (Clifton, Tex.), Vol. 108, No. 71, Ed. 1 Wednesday, September 3, 2003, newspaper, September 3, 2003; Clifton, Texas. (https://texashistory.unt.edu/ark:/67531/metapth791023/m1/4/: accessed July 17, 2024), University of North Texas Libraries, The Portal to Texas History, https://texashistory.unt.edu.; crediting Nellie Pederson Civic Library.