The Harper News (Harper, Tex.), Vol. 8, No. 25, Ed. 1 Friday, October 21, 2011 Page: 2 of 10
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page 2
The Harper News
October 21, 2011
From the Editor
First, an apology! I left
town two weekends in a
row and got really tired! I
adore my two grandsons,
but being the primary
caretaker of them for
three days really wore me
out and then I came home
to a very hectic schedule
here and got sick. That is
why this paper is a day late.
I missed the deadline! The
paper will be printed on
Thursday and mailed on
Friday. Thanks for your
patience.
Next, a small tribute to a
wonderful priest and news-
paperman who passed this
week—Father George
Carlin. I only got to know
him while he was pastor of
the Catholic Church. In his
earlier life he was a Naval
officer and a newspaper
editor and author. He was
very spiritual and interest-
ed in all around him and
reached out to me, a non-
Catholic. I valued his opin-
ion and friendship.
I’d like to quote from a
sermon Father George
gave at one of the
Community Easter services:
“So, on this evening, as we
meditate on Christ’s
Passion, let us pray that all
the hatred and violence in
human hearts will be
replaced with God’s love,
mercy and forgiveness.”
We will miss you, Father
George.
Last, but not least is an
introduction to two new
columnists. First, Stace
Farrow; she lives in Harper
and was a middle school
teacher at Harper ISD
through last year. She has
opened a counseling office
in Fredericksburg and
works with patients by
appointment. She has a
blog and a website:
info@farrowcounselina.co
m. office: 830-990-799, or
www.farrowcounselina.
com.)
The second new colum-
nist is David Leuba, husband
of Wende Lueba, Harper’s
new fitness instructor. He
will be writing outdoor and
hunting columns. His first,
“The Chase” appears on
page 9.
I welcome these new
additions to the paper.
Thank you Stace and David!
With every additional
columnist the paper gets
better.
Notice: fl burn
ban is in
effect, starting
Feb. 14, 2011,
and continuing
until cancelled
in Gillespie
Countg bg
order of the
County judge.
Contact Addresses
for Community
Memorials
The Harper Library. P. 0.
Box 74, Harper, TX 78631
The Hamer Volunteer Fire
Department and EMS. P. 0.
Box 306, Harper, TX 78631
The Harper Community
Cemetery Fund. % Gene
Bode, P. 0. Box 176,.
Harper, TX 78631
The Harper School Library.
P. 0. Box 68, Harper, TX
78631
The Noxville Cemetery
Fund % of Tony Ackel,
15380 RR 479, Harper, TX
78631
The Harper Historical
Society. P. 0. Box 355,
Harper, TX 78631
Harper Community Park
Board % Joan Lennon, 490,
S. Ranch Rd. 783, Harper, TX
78631
Harper Help Center. % of
Geraldine Skipper,
Treasurer, P.0. Box 97,
Harper, TX 78631
The deadline
for the next issue
is Monday,
Oct. 31,2011.
Bode’s Hunting Stories
Gene Bode
Montana, 1985
Well, here’s one more. In
the past, I would never miss
reading every hunting
advertisement in every
hunting magazine available.
I would call or write the
ones that looked intriguing.
In 1985,1 called Jerry in
Montana. He told me that
the license included bear,
elk, and deer. Well, of
course I knew without a
shadow of doubt, I would
bring home one of each. I
just needed to get there!
This outfitter only took
four hunters at a time.
Three of these were from
the Dallas-Ft. Worth area,
and the old loner—me—
from downtown Harper.
Made the arrangements
to fly to Spokane,
Washington. Jerry picked
me up and we drove across
the Idaho panhandle and
into Montana. The town
was Trout Creek, next to the
beautiful Noxon Dam and
Lake. Got settled in the
bunkhouse with Frank, Ken
and Jim—the group from
Dallas.
Met the two guides, Rod
and Speed. After the
evening meal we all lis-
tened to all those big game
stories expecting any
minute a big bear or elk
would take that door down
coming right through the
place and everybody grab-
bing for the guns.
This was in western
Montana where it rains
forty-nine inches per year.
I have never been to the
rainforest, but moss was
growing on everything.
Pine trees one hundred feet
tall as thick as hair on a
dog’s back. Broken down
trees and logs three feet in
diameter laying every-
where. The biggest cedar
trees I have ever seen.
Creeks running everywhere.
Well it snowed all night
and at 4:00 a.m. the next
morning, when they beat on
the door, I wasn't sure I was
ready for this.
The only thing that saved
me was before we reached
the top of the first moun-
tain, I discovered I had left
my license at the cabin. We
went back and boy was that
a break, because in knee
deep snow, my little body
was not handling that climb
too well.
Two of the other three all
but passed out during the
day. The guides never
stopped, just kept on truck-
ing. If there was game, no
one really cared that day.
The next day was bet-
ter, but with snow and rain
everyday, you were wet all
the time. Went with Speed
the next day: he always had
old Francis with him.
Francis was his lever action
358 Winchester. We proba-
bly walked fifteen miles not
seeing anything. We came
down off Chicago Peak. Jim
slid down and cross-country
skied without skis. He could
have won the gold medal.
You could see the trail he
left for about one hundred
yards. Broke the scope
right off his gun. Busted him
up some also!
Now, I ain’t no candy
butt, but you better be in
some kinda shape to make a
hunt in that place. You had
to crawl on the ground and
over and under logs just to
go up and down those
mountains. The next day,
Rod in his Blazer took Ken
and I up to this so-called
Granny Walk.
One of the requirements
was a compass. We checked
out the direction we were
to go. But I wasn’t listening
like I was supposed to. We
were to walk straight south,
then back north to the road.
Rod said if I went by an old
lake bed I was off course.
Well, I went right by
that sucker. Pulled out that
Letter to the editor
Dear Harper Community;
Thank you so much for
the support of the "Knead
Bread" mission of the
Harper Presbyterian Church.
We are sincerely apprecia-
tive of the generosity and
enthusiasm of the communi-
ty for this program.
Over $400 was raised for
the Harper Community Chest
and a little over $300 for the
Harper Voluntary Fire Dept.
Our intent was to highlight a
different charity every
month and we will continue
to do so as long as the sup-
port continues.
Apologies to those who
have arrived too late to
participate, we were sold
out by 11 £0 o'clock each
time...Yeah! So come
early and get the best
selection.
Thank you to all the bak-
ers, buyers and taste
testers. This is a great
community and we are
proud to be able to share
the wealth and blessings
that God has given us.
Thank you to the cover-
age from The Harper News;
their support for the com-
munity and churches has
been exceptional and we
are fortunate to have this
venue to inform the com-
munity of activities and
opportunities that exist.
Remember the “Knead
Bread” program is the
second Sunday of the month
in front of the Harper
Presbyterian Church from
10:00 a.m.-12:00 noon or
until sold out.
We will move to the
manse in case of bad weath-
er. Thank you all!
Corie Camp
Dear Editor,
The public should
acknowledge, with thanks to
all Pedernales Electric
Cooperative (PEC) directors,
the approval in August of a
resolution by the PEC board
of a commitment to protect
the beauty of the hill coun-
try night skies. PEC has
pledged to work with land
owners, businesses, commu-
nities and public entities to
reduce and modify the use
of outdoor lighting that is
starting to produce such
glare that we are losing the
beauty of our night skies
here in the Hill Country. The
significant growth in popu-
lation in the Hill Country
over the past thirty years is
slowly eroding one of our
area’s greatest assets—the
beauty of our starlit skies.
All residents can play a
part in saving our night
skies by eliminating unnec-
essary night time lighting or
using fixtures which elimi-
nate or reduce the over-
wash glare for lighting fix-
tures.
Our cities can participate
by adopting the IDA/IES
model lighting ordinance as
produced by the
International Dark-Sky
Association (http://www.
darkskv.ora/MLO).
We owe it to ourselves and
our grandchildren to do
what we can.
Michael Lucksinger
Attorney at Law
Burnet, Texas
PEC Takes Action to Minimize Effect of
Outdoor Lighting on Night Skies
8/17/2011
Pedernales Electric
Cooperative’s Board of
Directors approved a reso-
lution at its Aug. 15 meeting
affirming the Co-op’s com-
mitment to “protecting the
beauty of the night skies.”
PEC will work together with
landowners, businesses, res-
idential communities and
public entities in an effort to
reduce the use of outdoor
light fixtures that hinder Hill
Country residents’ ability to
enjoy the night skies.
“I am very proud that
PEC is working to be at the
forefront of this effort,” said
District 6 Director Larry
Landaker.
Engineering Manager
Robert Peterson reported to
the Board that PEC had been
working to limit light pollu-
tion for over a decade.
More than ten years ago,
PEC discontinued the use of
mercury vapor lamps and
open bulb fixtures, and it
has been transitioning to
fixtures that direct light
downward. Recently, the
Co-op approved adding
shields to the fixtures to
further reduce light tres-
pass.
“We try to respect the
wishes of neighbors who
don’t want to see the glare
from lights and limit reflect-
ed light as much possible,”
Peterson told the Board.
The regular meeting con-
tinued and more can be
found on their website.
Local Farmers Want Government
to Wash Hands of Dust Regulation
Farmers and ranchers in
Gillespie County are happy
to hear of newly proposed
legislation that would
restrict the Environmental
Protection Agency’s (EPA)
power to further regulate
naturally- occurring dust.
“Regulating the dust in
our fields would not only
make farming harder, but it
would also drive food prices
higher,” said Elgin Pape,
Gillespie County Farm
Bureau President.
The legislation, submitted
by U. S. Sen. Mike Johanns
(R-Neb.), introduced lan-
guage that aims to prevent
further EPA regulations on
air and farm dust.
Supporters call current
standards adequate.
“The scientific evidence
for dust regulation is ques-
tionable, at best,” added
Pape. “In this case, the cost
of EPA regulation would
outweigh the benefits.”
The federal agency is
reviewing its air quality
standards under the Clean
Air Act that prescribes
reevaluation every five
years. Several agricultural
groups, including the
American Farm Bureau
Federation and the National
Cattlemen’s Beef
Association, support
Johanns’ push to halt the
regulation.
Cattle Sell-off
Continues in Gillespie County
“Ranchers in Gillespie
country are being forced to
sell cattle at an historic rate
due to the epic drought that
continues to ravage the
Lone Star State,”
Pape said many ranches
are selling the genetic cores
of their herds. Replacing
those cattle when rains fall
again will be difficult.
“The sell-off should mean
cow sold this year will not
have a calf next year and
beyond, which could even-
tually mean higher prices.”
What Gillespie County and
the state of Texas need is
said Gillespie Country Farm
Bureau President, Elgin
Pape.
“Parched pastures yield no
grass to feed our cow
herds,” he said. “Hay sup-
plies are extremely expen-
sive or non-existent.”
steady beef prices for con-
sumers in the short term,”
Pape said. “However, over
the longer term, beef prices
could go up.”
“As our cow herd shrinks,
less calves are available,”
Pape said. “Every mother
plenty of.rain.
“This year has been tough
for farmers and ranchers
throughout the state,” Pape
said. “Plentiful rain will
bring our fields and pastures
back to life.”
compass and started going
the wrong direction. Really
got lost, went by a logging
camp and just kept on step-
ping. Then it started snow-
ing. I looked back and it was
covering my tracks.
I stopped for a minute
and could hear this train
way down in the valley
somewhere. By that time, it
was almost dark, and decid-
ed I did not want to spend
the night out here. I was
wet as a frog and it was
about twenty degrees. So I
turned round and said I will
find that train track and
walk it until I find a road
out. Just at dark, I heard a
shot. Old Rod and Ken were
walking up an old road
toward me. He said,
“Boy, am I glad to see you!”
And I said, “Not half as
glad as I am to see you.”
Saw one old doe. Would not
have shot anything even iF it
were on top of me. Could
hardly walk for a month.
Sure didn’t have to mess
with taking care of packing
meat and horns out.
The last day old Jim just
lost it. He emptied his gun
shooting trees on the way
out. Bid all goodbye and
drove back to Spokane to fly
back.
The scenery was magnifi-
cent—still sketched vividly
forever in my mind. I am
thankful to the good Lord
for having allowed me the
health and time to make all
these hunts.
See you next time.
(Editor’s note: This is a “vin-
tage Bode story, originally
published on Nov.5, 2004.)
Quote of the Week
“ Three passions have governed my life:
the fongingfor Cove, the search for
knowfedge and the unhearahfejiity for
the suffering of mankind”
- (Betrand [Bussed
Submitted by Cjfadys Jenkins
(Nfote: You are invited to submit your favorites.)
Veterans’ News
Veterans Burial Benefit
Increases
The Non-Service
Connected Burial Benefit has
increased for Veteran
deaths that occur effective
October 1,2011 or after.
The new burial allowance is
$700.00 and the plot
allowance is $700.00.
VA burial allowances are
partial reimbursements of
an eligible veteran's burial
and funeral costs. When the
cause of death is not service
related, the reimburse-
ments are generally
described as two payments:
(1) a burial and funeral
expense allowance, and (2)
a plot or interment
allowance.
Family members or
friends may be eligible for a
VA burial allowance if:
• you paid for a veter-
an's burial or funeral, AND
• you have not been
reimbursed by another gov-
ernment agency or some
other source, such as the
deceased veteran's employ-
er, AND
• the veteran was dis-
charged under conditions
other than dishonorable.
In addition, at least one
of the following conditions
must be met:
• the veteran died
because of a service-related
disability, OR
• the veteran was receiv-
ing VA pension or compen-
sation at the time of death,
OR
• the veteran was entitled
to receive VA pension or
compensation, but decided
not to reduce his/her mili-
tary retirement or disability
pay, OR
• the veteran died while
hospitalized by VA, or while
receiving care under VA
contract at a non-VA facility,
OR
• the veteran died while
traveling under proper
authorization and at VA
expense to or from a speci-
fied place for the purpose of
examination, treatment, or
care, OR
• the veteran had an orig-
inal or reopened claim
pending at the time of death
and has been found entitled
to compensation or pension
from a date prior to the
date or death, OR
• the veteran died on or
after October 9,1996, while
a patient at a VA-approved
state nursing home.
Service Connected Death
Burial Benefits are still a
maximum of $2,000.00, and
have not increased. For
additional information
please contact Tami Elliott,
Gillespie County Veterans
Service Officer at 997-3758.
The Harper News
Policies:
•Letters to the editor must be accompanied by full name, address
and phone number and may be edited for length and clarity.
Letter writers may be limited to one letter every thirty days.
Form letters will not be published.
•Errors and omissions: The advertiser agrees that the Publisher
shall not be liable for damages arising out of errors and adver-
tisements beyond the amount paid for the space actually occupied
by that portion of the advertisement containing the error,
whether the error is due to the negligence of the publisher,
employees or otherwise, and there shall be no liability for non-
insertion of any advertisement beyond the amount paid for such
advertisement.
•The Publisher reserves the right to change subscription rates
without notice.
The Harper News
is Owned and Published by Martha Stevens
23586 West U. S. Highway 290
P. 0. Box 418, Harper, TX 78631 -0418
Martha Stevens - Editor/Publisher
email - hnews@ktc.com • Phone/Fax - 830 864-5655
Subscription rates: $25.00 locally (Gillespie Cty. and/or a
Harper address), $27.00 out of county or state.
Published twice a month
A minimum of 1000 copies of this paper are
printed by the Kerrville Daily Times. We have 450 paid
subscriptions and distribute another
100 to local merchants.
USPS Bulk rate Permit #104
(Postmaster: Send address changes to:
The Harper News, P. 0. Box 418,
Harper, Texas 78631 -0577)
Send subscriptions to: The Harper News.
P. 0. Box 418, Harper, TX 78631 -0418
1 year -$25.00 in Gillespie County or with Harper
address, $27.00 out of county or state.
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Stevens, Martha. The Harper News (Harper, Tex.), Vol. 8, No. 25, Ed. 1 Friday, October 21, 2011, newspaper, October 21, 2011; Harper, Texas. (https://texashistory.unt.edu/ark:/67531/metapth844689/m1/2/: accessed July 7, 2024), University of North Texas Libraries, The Portal to Texas History, https://texashistory.unt.edu.; crediting Harper Library.