Seminole Sentinel (Seminole, Tex.), Vol. 95, No. 84, Ed. 1 Sunday, August 3, 2003 Page: 1 of 12
This newspaper is part of the collection entitled: Seminole Newspaper Collection and was provided to The Portal to Texas History by the Gaines County Library.
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Seminole
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12 Pages 1 Section 2 Inserts seminoie (Gaines county), Texas 79360 ©2003 Sunday, August 3, 2003
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Web Site: http://www.8eminole8entinel.com
Volume 95, Number 84
KmaU: sentinel @crossvvind.net
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Sentinel Photo/Deve Fisher
SHOOTING MAIN
It’s hot and smoky work maintaining the public thorughfares of Seminole, intersection of U.S. 180 and U.S. 385 and continued with intersection
This worker is shown engulfed in the heated vapors of tar as he works in rebuilding at South Main and Southwest and Southeast Avenue G. In
temperatures exceeding 100 degrees Friday. The final phase of road addition to Main, needed resurfacing will also be done at locations around
resurfacing in Seminole took place Friday morning, as Jones Brothers the intersections. The project was expected to be completed Friday
Construction “shot" seal coating on Main Street from the north to south afternoon,
city limits. Construction began in late June with the rebuilding of the
Seminole Schools Schedule
Registration This Week
Registration for all schools in
Seminole ISD will take place this
week in preparation for the first day
of school August 18.
Four schools will register
Wednesday and two registrations
will take place Thursday.
F.J. Young Elementary—
grades pre-kindergarten,
kindergarten and first grade—will
register all students from 8:30 a.m.-
3:30 p.m. Wednesday at the school
lobby.
All new students must bring
shot records, a birth certificate and
social security care. Proof of income
for pre-kindergarten and Head Start
students must'also be provided.
Seminole Primary—second
and third grade—will register from
8:30- 11:30 a.m. and 12:30-3:30
p.m. at the school gymnasium
Wednesday.
Seminole Elementary—fourth
and fifth grades—will register
Wednesday from 8:30 a.m.-12 noon
and 1:00-4:00 p.m. at the school
multi-purpose room.
All new students must bring
The Seminole Success Center
will also register Wednesday at the
Center from 9:30 a.m.-12 noon and
1:30-3:00 p.m.
Seminole Junior High
registration—for sixth, seventh and
eighth graders— will take place
Thursday. Eighth graders will
register from 8:30-10:00 a.m.,
seventh graders from 10:00-11:30
a.m., and sixth graders from 1:00-
2:30 p.m., all in the foyer of the
junior high library.
All new students must bring
shot records, a social security card,
birth certificate and the student’s last
report card.
Also Thursday, Seminole High
School students will register at the
high school activity center.
Seniors will register from 9:00-
*10:30 a.m., juniors from 10:30 a.m.-
12 noon, sophomores from 1:00-
2:30 p.m. and freshmen from 2:30-
4:00 p.m.
All new students must bring
shot records, a social security card,
birth certificate and the student's last
report card.
Gaines Grand Jury
Issues 17 True Bills
In July Session
Gaines County Grand Jury, at its session July 23, issued 17
true-bills, passed on one and no-billed another.
Among true bills issued were:
-—David Enns Klassen of Seminole, evading arrest and
unlawful possession of a firearm by a felon, current in jail in lieu
of $100,000 bond;
—Lucas Jeremy Garcia of Hobbs, burglary of a habitation,
currently in jail in lieu of $50,000 bond;
—Margarito Garcia of Hobbs, burglary of a habitation,
currently in jail in lieu of $50,000 bond;
—Benjamin Mares of Seminole, burglary of a building,
currently in jail in lieu of $25,000 bond. He was also indicted on
burglary of a habitation, which carried a $25,000 bond, six counts
of engaging in organized criminal activity, with bond set at
$75,000 on each count and an additional indictment for burglary
of a building, also with a $75,000 bond;
—Frank Loewen of Mexico, burglary of a building, currently
in jail in lieu of $50,000 bond;
—Martin Carlos Fierro of Lubbock, possession of a
controlled substance—cocaine, currently in jail in lieu of $50,000
bond;and
—Donavan Flores of Seminole, two indictments for
engag-ng in organized criminal activity and one for burglary of
a bunding, current in jail in lieu of $75,000 bond on each charge.
There was another true-bill issued, but, as of presstime
Friday, the subject had not been served.
Seminole Building
Permits Continue Ahead
of Calendar Year
No Surprise Crops Need
Rain, Continue to Look Good
Although moisture is needed
(isn’t it almost always), Gaines
County crops are looking very good
for this season, according to Michael
Whitefield, County Executive
Director of the Gaines County FSA
Office.
What moisture has fallen this
year so far appears to have come
down at just the right times for
farmers and the crops have
looking very good and turned out to
be not as good as expected, with just
under 5,000 acres—4,938—
certified as failed.
Even though Whitefield has
certified 27,542 failed cotton acres,
that is still less than the totals the
last two years and the crop, for the
most part, should be a good one.
No peanut acres have been
certified as failed this crop year and
Although scattered
precipitation has been in the weather
forecasts this past week, no rain has
been seen, at least in Seminole. That
was also the case last week, when
Seminole itself received just .19
inches. However, there were reports
of up to two inches west of Seminole
near the New Mexico State Line.
Still, more is needed in the
next month or so to ensure a
Building permit valuation in
the City of Seminole continued be-
low the figures from the same pe-
riod last fiscal year, but ahead of
calendar year totals, according to
the monthly report from the city.
In June, six permits, with a
valuation of $48,900, were issued,
compared to 13 in May, valued at
$471,383 and 10 in June of 2002,
with a valuation of $361,822.
For the current fiscal year, 66
building permits have been issued,
with a total valuation of
$1,103,049.74. At the same point
last fiscal year, 75 permits, with a
valuation of $4,978,192.99 had
heen issued. During the current cal-
endar year, 56 permits, with a value
There were four electric per-
mits issued in June, compared to
seven in May and five in June of
2002. For the current fiscal year, 51
have been issued, compared to 35
at the same time last fiscal year and
41 in current calendar year.
Plumbing permits totaled 18 in
June, compared to 11 in May and
six in June of last year. For the cur-
rent fiscal year, 104 have been is-
sued, compared to 90 at the same
time last fiscal year and 75 during
the current calendar year.
Two mechanical permits were
issued in June, the same as in May.
compared to one in June of 2002.
For the fiscal year. 20 have been
issued, compared it) 28 at the same
of $ 1,007.750, have been issued, time last fiscal year and 12 during
shot records, a social security card,
birth certificate, physical address
and the student’s last report card.
Parents must also attend.
responded.
Whitefield said the wheat
harvest, which has ended, started out
that, among other things, should
indicate another excellent crop of
peanuts this year.
bountiful harvest this fall.
No appreciable rainfall is in
the forecast over the next week.
compared to valuations of $579,546
at this point last calendar year.
the current calendar year.
Paper fn Ink — Public Scrutiny Best
By Lynn Brisendine ——
I hate secrets. That shouldn't
surprise many. Being in the business I'm
in, secrets are an anathema, at least secrets
in government.
Last week's 9/11 report issued by our
federal government turned out to be mostly
public. But a funny thing happened when
the report left the printer and got to the
public. Some of it had been blacked out, or
the government's term, redacted. Using
another word, it was kept secret.
At the executive branch's request,
many references in the report concerning
Saudi Arabia had been expunged. It
amazed me.
Anyone who has kept up, even a
little, with one of the biggest news stories
of our lives, knows that Saudi nationals
were involved in the treachery and murder
of our fellow citizens. From national
reports you wouldn't know much about
that after reading the "report" that was
supposed to "tell it like it is, or was." No, a
government agent took his black marks-a-
lot and covered up pertinent information
he deemed unfit for public consumption. ,
This newspaper has for the past few
years termed closed door sessions of
government bodies as "secret meetings."
We have been criticized for this term by
tjpme. "Executive session" is the proper
term, some say, for a meeting which
excludes the public. It is not a matter of
the "Press" or the "Media" being kicked
out (which they are) it is a matter of
you..."the public" being asked to leave so a
government body can take care of private
public business. Now if that’s not a true
oxymomic term I have never heard of one.
When they do business and won't tell you
what or why that is a secret session, not an
executive session.
Some issues do call for discretion by
a board taking care of otherwise public
fare. Employee concerns, real estate
transactions, some legal concerns involv-
ing litigation and a few other items can be
understood. No taxpayer wants to pay too
much because negotiations were not held
in private concerning land purchases.
Most employee concerns should be
between the employer and the person
under their supervision. And no taxpayer
wishes to give anyone an unfair advantage
in court.
So, we should leave the meeting
when asked to for the above reasons. It's
more than a request, it's the law. But only
those stated reasons can be used to ask the
public to leave. And should a board
discuss other topics while the door is
closed, then they are the ones breaking the
law.
I have seen many boards go into
"executive sessions" for hours. It baffles
me that a board taking care of so few items
can meet and meet and meet behind closed
doors. I think that any board member of
any entity should be hesitant to take too
long in secret. They must know that taking
care of business in the public scrutiny is to
their benefit.
Closing the door makes it too easy
for bad things to happen.
We also live in a country where
much of the paperwork of government is
available for the public's review. This is
just another way that our system of
government is superior to almost all the
rest across this globe. Secrets are not good
for the average citizen. And a government
in Next Week’s
American Profile,.
They're called sprint
cars for areason
Once the itarteri flag drops.
It a • mad daah to the finish
line. Welcome to the world of
•print car racing where 40 laps
and one tank ol gas meant pure
> Of WrSa p— nwmtry
iwiMmpflWs
doing things without the scrutiny of the
public borders on tyranny.
Our Governor, or is that the Repub-
lican party’s bosses puppet, is continuing
to try to hold much of his working papers
out of the public's reach. He wants to make
his budget working papers privileged. In
other words, he wants to keep them secret.
It appears to me that any time these people
can take something away from the public,
it becomes easier to add things to the lists
of "things in government of the free which
are none of the citizen's business."
How can we’citizens of Texas allow
the Governor of Texas to take away some
of our basic rights?
I think last week's redaction of
information from an otherwise public
report should be a national scandal of the
first order. It doesn't really matter what the
secrets were about or who the powers-that-
be wish to protect. It is just a simple
matter of remaining as free as possible.
We must remind all of the above
from time to time who they are working
for, not against. We must let them know
that we are paying attention. They are
dealing with our lives and our treasure and
our basic rights as citizens. It's not their
private club and they can't be allowed to
think they know better and will handle
public affairs despite the public.
In the case of last week’s report,
some information deta ling the scope of
the involvement of Saudi citizens and the
Saudi government in the maelstrom event
of 9/1 1/01 were decided to be none of our
business.
(It is noteworthy that the Saudis
were asking that the report be made
public. They arc smart enough to realize
how this country works even if some of
our "leaders" aren't).
Amazing. Terrifying. Abhorrent.
Three words that come to mind when I
think of the attempt of our government to
keep secret these documents of incrimina-
tion. We fought A1 Qaeda, the Taliban and
then Saddam while we chum up to the
folks who funded, then and now, these
terrorists. At least that's the impression
and the reason for the secret treatment.
And while this cover-up protecting
some oil-rich sheiks smells to high
heaven, it is even easier to remember that
in our society, in our government, in our
guarantee of freedom, secrets stink.
Open the doors of the meetings.
Make the working papers of an elected
official public. Stop the sensor's heavy
black marks.
Secrets hurt us from city hall to the
state house to the Congressional agenda.
Let freedom shine in the daylight of public
disclosure.
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Fisher, David. Seminole Sentinel (Seminole, Tex.), Vol. 95, No. 84, Ed. 1 Sunday, August 3, 2003, newspaper, August 3, 2003; Seminole, Texas. (https://texashistory.unt.edu/ark:/67531/metapth804464/m1/1/?q=%22%22~1: accessed July 17, 2024), University of North Texas Libraries, The Portal to Texas History, https://texashistory.unt.edu.; crediting Gaines County Library.