Joshua Star (Joshua, Tex.), Vol. 42, No. 24, Ed. 1 Thursday, September 13, 2012 Page: 4 of 10
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Page 4 ★ Joshua Star ★ Thursday, September 13, 2012
www.joshuastar.net
-1 EDITORIAL |-
4-H affordable,
worthwhile for youth
The issue: Student 4-H leaders gathered last
week for an open house in Cleburne to offer insight
into their programs. There are 10 clubs operating in
Johnson County.
We say: There’s something for everyone in 4-H.
Parents should give their children the opportunity to
get involved.
It’s not just about livestock raising. That was the mes-
sage many speakers presented last week during the inau-
gural open house for 4-H programs in Johnson County.
While youth in grades 3-12 certainly can exhibit
livestock through the 4-H, there are many, many more
opportunities for children who choose to participate.
Agrilife Extension Agent Kristen Greer and several
student leaders organized the open house as a way to
connect with more youth. We encourage adults - from
rural areas of the county to city dwellers - to consider
this as an opportunity for their children. What other
activity can your child participate in for $20 per year?
What can students learn? How about the value of
citizenship and community service. The Joshua 4-H
chapter, for example, volunteered at homes of various
seniors last year, performing chores elderly residents
could not. There’s a lesson in that for our youth.
The mission statement of 4-H is “to prepare youth
to meet the challenges of childhood, adolescence and
adulthood, through a coordinated, long-term, progres-
sive series of educational experiences that enhance
life skills and develop social, emotional, physical and
cognitive competencies.”
Youth participants last week more succinctly de-
scribed 4-H as “fun” and an opportunity to “meet people
and go places.” That’s important for children. We would
hope that whatever activities your children are engaged
with that they have fun and develop lasting friendships.
Through 4-H, youth can learn photography and videog-
raphy, can improve their public speaking skills and learn
about consumer and family science. They can compete in
making baked goods, arts and crafts and a program titled
“Share the Fun.” Education is provided on healthy life-
styles, natural resources, outdoor education and wildlife.
There are two shooting sports 4-H clubs in Johnson
County, with gun safety as a primary focus. Students can
learn leadership and entrepreneurship skills through 4-H.
There’s also educational opportunities in biology, computer
science, entomology and meat science. Youth participants
can attend camps, competitions, join local leadership coun-
cils and travel to Washington, D.C., and the state capital.
Yes, youth can still raise and show livestock. The
4-H offers opportunities to show cattle, goats, poultry,
rabbits, sheep, swine and gain a better understanding
of veterinarian science.
Clubs meet in or near Alvarado, Burleson, Cle-
burne, Grandview, Joshua, Keene and Lillian. There’s
probably a fit somewhere for your child. A complete list
of 4-H clubs, activities and project sponsors is avail-
able from the Johnson County AgriLife Extension of-
fice at 817-556-6370 or by emailing Greer at kbgreer@
ag.tamu.edu.
Letters policy
The Joshua Star welcomes letters to the editor for consider-
ation for publication.
Letters to the Editor are offered by the newspaper to the
community for expression of personal views on matters of con-
cern. Residents are encouraged to use the column in a construc-
tive manner, sharing their views on subjects of interest with the
newspaper's readers.
Letters are individual opinions and not those of this news-
paper. Each letter must be original, limited to 300 words or less,
signed by the writer and bear the address and phone number of
the writer. Only the writer's name and the city will be published
with the letter.
The Joshua Star does not withhold the writer's name for any
reason. Anonymous letters or letters signed by an unidentifiable
pseudonym will not be published. The phone number and address
are necessary for verification of authenticity or clarification of
content. Letters which cannot be verified will not be published.
The Joshua Star reserves the right to edit all letters. Letters
deemed libelous, slanderous, unclear or otherwise unacceptable
will not be published.
Thank-you expressions singling out individuals or organiza-
tions will not be published. Poetry is unacceptable as a letter to
the editor.
During election campaigns, the Joshua Star will accept letters to
the editor discussing issues or offering endorsements. The deadline
for election-related letters is two weeks prior to Election Day.
Address letters to: Editor, Joshua Star, P.O. Box 909, Burleson,
TX 76097. Letters may also be faxed to 817-295-5278, or e-mailed
tojoshuastar@thestargroup.com. Faxed and e-mailed letters must
include the writer's complete address and daytime telephone
number.
Joshua'/Star
Volume 42, Number 24
10 Pages in 1 Section
(USPS-915-180)
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AMERICANISM
Constitution Day time for more education
We hear a lot of talk these
days about the U.S. Constitu-
tion and how important it is
to protecting our liberties.
But surveys continue to show
a disturbing trend of many
Americans not understand-
ing the Constitution and its
relevance to our lives today.
After all, with all the tech-
nology we have now, why
should we care about a docu-
ment that was written 225
years ago on parchment and
with a feather quill pen?
For starters, just imag-
ine life without the Bill of
Rights, the first 10 amend-
ments to the U.S. Consti-
tution. The Bill of Rights
guarantees some of our most
precious liberties, including
freedom of religion, speech
and press, freedom from
unreasonable search and
seizure and private property
rights. The Constitution
created the framework for a
strong but limited national
government and established
the fundamental rights of all
U.S. citizens.
Our Constitution is the
foundation of the legal
authority for our nation and
federal government, and it
also established the system
of checks and balances with
three branches of govern-
ment: legislative, executive
and judicial. This separation
of powers
was cru-
cial to the
framers of
the Con-
stitution
- and still
is today -
to prevent
Buck an op-
Files Pressive
govern-
State Bar ment
of Texas similar to
what the
British enacted on colonial
America.
Although written long
ago, the Constitution is as
relevant to our lives today
as ever. For example, the
Constitution is the govern-
ing document that lets us
post messages on Facebook,
Twitter and watch videos on
YouTube. It also allows us to
have differing opinions, enjoy
the freedom to express them
on blogs or elsewhere and
even demonstrate peacefully.
To emphasize the impor-
tance of Americans under-
standing the Constitution,
Congress has designated
Monday as Constitution Day
to commemorate the sign-
ing of the document in 1787.
The legislation requires
educational institutions
that receive federal fund-
ing to implement programs
to teach students about the
Constitution.
While it’s appropriate to
learn about and celebrate
the Constitution on this day,
we also should take this time
to renew our focus on civics
education in our schools
and society. Today’s young
people soon will be voting,
sitting on juries and run-
ning for political office, and
they must have the civics
knowledge to make informed
decisions and be engaged
citizens. Research has shown
that individuals who receive
a solid civics education are
more likely to be involved in
their communities through
activities such as volunteer-
ing and voting.
In today’s economy, the
need for math, reading,
writing and science knowl-
edge is obvious, but civics
education is an essential part
of a comprehensive educa-
tion. It is also essential to
develop informed, effective
and responsible citizens. Our
future depends on individu-
als who understand their his-
tory and government, have a
sense of what it means to be
an American and know their
rights and responsibilities as
a citizen.
“The better educated
our citizens are, the better
equipped they will be to pre-
serve the system of govern-
ment we have,” said retired
U.S. Supreme Court Justice
Sandra Day O’Connor, a
longtime civics education
advocate. “And we have to
start with the education of
our nation’s young people.
Knowledge about our govern-
ment is not handed down
through the gene pool. Every
generation has to learn it, and
we have some work to do.”
Justice O’Connor is right
that we have some work to
do.
We are seeing increas-
ing evidence that civics
education is not a priority
in America, and state and
federal funding of programs
designed to teach students
about our heritage has been
cut. The National Assess-
ment of Educational Prog-
ress found that less than
one-third of U.S. fourth-,
eighth- and i2th-grade stu-
dents are proficient in civics.
On this Constitution Day,
let’s all re-dedicate ourselves
to learning more about our
heritage and encourage our
children to do the same. An
engaged citizenry is essential
to preserving our rights and
freedom, and sustaining our
system of government.
Buck Files is president of
the State Bar of Texas.
Trmi IF ANYBODY WANTS TO WILD A PIPELINE FROM
THE FLOODED GULF COAST TO THE MIDWEST, I’M ALL FOR IT”
DEVOTIONAL
Unidentified means just that in terms of UFOs
He saw it. Plain as day.
He stepped out onto his back
porch at a little before 11 p.m.
and stood mesmerized by
something he believes to be
at least a half-mile long with
intense bright lights hovering
over the city of Stephenville.
He really did see it and
so did a lot of other people.
The constable, several police
officers, a preacher, an air-
line pilot, a guy who owns a
trucking company and sever-
al hundred other people saw
the same thing from several
different angles.
Kids saw it. Old people
saw it. Farmers saw it. Peo-
ple saw it while driving and
pulled over to look at it. It
wasn’t like a fleeting glimpse,
it was something they looked
at for a long time and studied
with binoculars. They had
time to call people and the
people they called came out-
side to look at it. It was some-
thing they had never seen
and something that seemed
to defy everything they un-
derstood about physics and
our limits of technology.
What’s more is that it
didn’t make any sound. It
jumped around in impossible
motions and it took off so fast,
it would have killed any pilot
Troy
Brewer
Fresh from
the Brewer
on board.
Just be-
hind it,
people
from all
over re-
port they
saw fight-
er jets that
appeared
to be
“chasing”
whatever
this thing
was. So
what the heck was this thing?
By definition it was indeed a
UFO and many people saw it,
reported it and filmed it.
Not long after, it made
worldwide news. Larry King
devoted a whole hour to “The
Stephenville Lightshow.”
Several UFO shows dedi-
cated weeks, even months,
to reporting on it. It made
BBC and even A1 Jezzera
tell everybody in the Middle
East that strange things were
happening in North Central
Texas.
Now, I am a preacher of
the gospel. “Fresh from the
Brewer” is the weekly ram-
bling of a highly-caffeinated
Christian and you know
what? I totally believe these
people. I believe they saw
what they saw and I believe it
did what they say it did. I do
not believe these people are
delusional, stupid or imag-
ining things. It is what it is.
They all saw something real.
They saw something they do
not have a grid for and they
saw something that really got
their attention.
For those of you who have
suspected that I’m a weirdo,
you now have more proof than
you ever needed. Troy Brewer
believes in UFOs, but let me
finish my thoughts on this.
Where I lose most people
is in the far-out conclusions
people come to when they
don’t have an explanation for
something. People tend to fill
in that blank with absolutely
idiotic ideas and I try hard
not to sign up for that.
It’s unidentified and I’m
OK with that. Unidentified
does not mean space aliens,
the illuminati or the ghosts of
Confederate soldiers. It means
I don’t know what the heck
that is and I don’t know how to
file the thing I am looking at. It
is in fact unidentified.
I do not have to come to
the conclusion that we are
being visited by another
planet because I do not know
what the heck I am seeing in
the midnight skies. I also do
not have to come to the con-
clusion that Christianity is a
bunch of bull if we were be-
ing visited by another plan-
et. I am responsible for not
departing from God when
I don’t know how to fill in a
blank - and so are you.
Your A+B does not always
equal the C you demand it to
be. Be very careful not to be
deceived when you do not
know how to think about
something. God is trusting
you with mysterious things.
As long as we live we will
be confronted with uniden-
tifiable things and as long as
we live we will have to choose
a heart and a mind that serves
God. Any conclusion I come
to, that doesn’t serve the Lord
is an enemy that is In-A-Me.
Sometimes that’s the biggest
battle on our plate.
“You will keep in perfect
peace those whose minds are
steadfast, because they trust
in you.”
- Isaiah 26:3
Troy Brewer is the senior
pastor of OpenDoor Church
in Joshua and can be found
at www.opendoorexpewri-
ence.com.
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Sorter, Dave. Joshua Star (Joshua, Tex.), Vol. 42, No. 24, Ed. 1 Thursday, September 13, 2012, newspaper, September 13, 2012; Burleson, Texas. (https://texashistory.unt.edu/ark:/67531/metapth823235/m1/4/: accessed July 12, 2024), University of North Texas Libraries, The Portal to Texas History, https://texashistory.unt.edu.; crediting Burleson Public Library.