Published: July 06, 2008 05:03 pm            

Letters to the Editor 7/6/2008

Amen to improving our city entrances



It was invigorating to see the TR editorial referring to the great need to improve our city’s entrances.

What an uplift to one’s spirits would it be to drive through pretty, landscaped areas while coming into our town. On the other hand, a depressed state might overtake a traveller entering Cleburne from any one of several directions, as these entrances now appear.

The western approach has been enhanced greatly by the planning and work of many, including Jack Carlton, Billy Cates, and Commisioner McFall, et al. Even with the confusing highways at this site, the early days’ buildings and figures at lakeside are both attractive and historical.

The northern main entrance has a way to go but the “guess what sculpture” area will look good after the plants and landscaping take effect. Hopefully, the city council and TxDoT will agree as to who is responsible for the care and maintenance of the underpass area. The stone wall structures on each side of the street are in great disrepair, but I understand these will be replaced without the untended plant beds if and when TxDoT has funds available for such an undertaking. Recently, the grassy ground areas there have been mowed, giving the area a fairly decent appearance. May frequent mowing become a habit.

The gateways on East Henderson, and on the Grandview, Hillsboro, Rio Vista and the Godley highways will require some real study and hard work to bring their appearances up to par. Enticing horticultural images could be added at all of the exits off the big loop using well engineered perennial beds. These could be practically maintained at all of these locations, if structured properly.

Beautifying our city’s entrances should definitely be a priority put into action before any big projects intended to draw people and business to town are instigated. Of course, this is only my opinion, but if put to a citizen’s vote, I believe these projects would place well ahead of a convention center and a golf club house.

Besides, just think how good all visitors will feel when coming here to take advantage of everything this city has to offer. It’s a guarantee that drivers and their passegers will have better attitudes when driving through beautiful scenic garden spots compared to what we present now.

My suggestion would be to turn the talented Max Robertson, our city park director, loose on these projects. Who knows, it’s possible that all of these gas-well related work units up and down the highways will follow suit and landscape their base locations. Try to imagine what a transformation that could be!

My goodness, maybe Johnson County will become the Garden County of Texas! Dream on, old man. Thank God for blessing our land again and again. What slow learners and fast forgetters are we.



Monte Swatzell

Cleburne



Thanks from Kiss Cancer Good-Bye team



We would like to thank everyone who attended our 4th annual Kiss Cancer Goodbye Texas Hold’em Tournament. Because of you, the tournament raised $5,726.00!

We would like to thank the following business and individuals who donated to our event and supported our team: Cleburne Lawn and Garden, Frito Lay-Mike Coleman, Mrs. Bairds, The Garden of Edens, I-35 Sand Pit, Inc., Photography by Patti, Lone Oak Winery, On The Rocks, Harris Oil, Big Lots, Leonard’s Flowers, Cotton Patch, Napa Auto Parts, All Pro Oil & Lube, Mi Pueblo Meat Market, Ft Worth Lumber, Family Nutrition, Hollywood Theaters, Pin Center Bowl, Sports Gear, City of Cleburne, Dr. Sherwood, Green & Gorgeous, Jennz Day Spa, Outback Steakhouse, Chili’s. Applebees, Joes Pizza, Bennett Office Supply, Lisa’s Wellness Center, Accents, Lee Products, Mike Walker Lawn Care, Mark & Holli Sims, Verna Riddles, Brad & Kim Allen, John & Debbie Lee, Julie Mahaffey, Shannon Brown, Jolene Foster, and Karen Harmon.

We would also like to extend a special thanks to Wal-Mart Distribution for their continuous support of our team, to Steve Graeve and Ruth Goldman for organizing the tournament, and to all of the dealers who helped to make the tournament so much fun.

In addition to our Texas Hold’em Tournament this year, we also designed The Fighting For A Cure keepsake cookbook, dedicated to Stephanie Huffman. We would like to give special thanks to Kim Allen for all her hard work in getting this cookbook project going and to all team members for their generosity in donating all of the wonderful recipes. Stephanie provided her favorite recipes, pictures and bible verses that were used throughout this cookbook. Thankfully Stephanie was able to see the layout of the cookbook before she passed and she was very pleased! We thank each one of you who purchased one of these cookbooks, and we hope that you enjoy the recipes and treasure the keepsake cookbook in honor of our dear friend, Stephanie Huffman, for many years to come.

Through all our fundraising efforts, our team raised $23,247.27. This would not have been possible without your support or without the hard work and dedication of each of our team members. Thanks to everyone who joined us in the fight against cancer. Together we can make a difference and we will Kiss Cancer Good-bye!



Carrie Graeve

Angela Dusten

Shelley Mooney

Kiss Cancer

Good-Bye team captains



Rural residents deserve same protetction as those in the city



In a recent interview with the Times-Review, County Judge Roger Harmon was quoted as saying “conditions are hot and dry, but no burn ban is in effect, and we did not pass any ordinance or make any restrictions on fireworks this year.”

He went on to say that “you have to do that 90 days in advance to give fireworks vendors time to adjust their inventories, and we didn’t do that this year.”

This statement brings to mind several questions that I believe deserve to be answered:

First, since when is it the business of our county government to be concerned about the inventories of a private business, such as fireworks vendors? Especially since the use of their products poses a clear and present danger to the life and property of citizens in the unincorporated areas of the county.

Next, why are such stringent restrictions placed on fireworks in the city — “You can’t buy them, own them, use them or even have them in your possession” — but no restrictions whatsoever are in effect for the county? In fact, people are told to get out of town to shoot their fireworks.

I suggest there is a much greater danger of widespread fire damage to life and property in the open fields and rangeland of the county than in the city. In town any fire would be much more likely to be detected early and quickly contained by local fire departments. In the county, volunteer firefighters are much less likely to be able to respond before fires are widespread and much more dangerous. Firefighters are subjected to maximum risk to their lives and equipment by having to respond to unfamiliar areas, usually at night.

I suggest that our honorable commissioners, and his honor the judge himself, be reminded that “unincorporated” areas of the county does not mean “uninhabited.” We residents outside the city limits deserve the same consideration and protection of our welfare as do city residents.

I further suggest that the commissioners serve notice now to the fireworks vendors that they, the commissioners, will make decisions on burn bans or fireworks restrictions with little or no notice. These decisions will be made on conditions as they presently exist and not be bound by trying to forecast weather conditions 90 days in advance for convenience of the fireworks vendors.



Robert F. Atwood

Cleburne



Thanks from Rosser Funeral Home



When times are difficult there is a greater need for a giving spirit and a charitable heart.

I would like to thank all the shoppers at Wal-Mart who contributed to our food drive on June 21. Many of you helped by purchasing items, which were taken to Operation Blessing and will be distributed to local residents in need.

I would also like to thank the staff at Wal-Mart for their kindness in letting us set up on their grounds and Stevie and Chaney Berg for helping out.



Dusty Pyle

Senior director

Rosser Funeral Home



Not your father’s floods



The flooding of Iowa farms is not just a catastrophe for Iowa farmers and midwestern Americans. Combine the problems of climate change and high oil prices occurring this fall during the harvest season with the confluence of the election of a new president, and we are in for some major realignments of American life.

These are not your father’s or grandfather’s floods. These are 500 year floods, events not seen since Indians began living in that segment of the North American prairie. The majority of homeowners in eastern Iowa didn’t have flood insurance because of the miniscule chance of a 500 year flood, and insurance agents generally advised against it.

Personal financial ruin up there will be profound, a wet version of the 1930’s Dust Bowl, with families who have lost everything migrating elsewhere in America because they have nothing to go back to except debt. Beyond the problems of 25,000 plus people who have lost all their material possessions is a world whose grain reserves are at a record low. The crop losses in Iowa will aggravate an already dire situation. Until now Americans have experienced the world grain situation mainly in somewhat higher supermarket prices.

America’s agribusiness is based on cheap oil and cheap natural gas based fertilizer. Both of these have recently entered the realm of noncheap. Oil- and gas-based farming had already reached a crisis state before the Iowa floods. Farming in the decades ahead is going to be more complicated than just buying fertilizer and dumping it on the sterile ground to be spread around by giant diesel-powered machines.

Like many other activities in America these days, agribusiness will be drastically changed in the coming convulsion of our way of life. As that occurs the American public will have to contend with more than just higher snack prices.

Remember my discussing Thomas Malthus? The British economist who introduced the notion that eventually world population would overtake world food production capacity? Malthus has been scorned in recent decades, as fossil fuel powered farming allowed the world’s population to go vertical. Many observers attributed this to the “green revolution” of bio-engineering. But, Malthus is back now, along with his outriders: famine, pestilence and war.

It appears we are heading toward a fall “crunch time,” and I don’t mean Fritos. I fear we are heading into a period of food shortages and hoarding. On the oil scene, the next event may well be shortages. More ominous on the food front are truckers going broke hauling a load for $2,000 pay that cost them $3,000 in fuel. In Europe last week enraged truckers in Spain and Portugal paralyzed the food distribution networks. Remember, America only has about a three-day supply of food in any of its supermarkets.

I feel certain this fall there will be shortages of food and fuel. And the hurricane season has gotten under way but has been obscured by the flooding in the Midwest. We may well find ourselves a wet, hungry nation, out of gas and saddled with an undesirable president. I mean of course that Marxist Obama. His mother was, and so is he.

Because McClain suffered hunger as a Communist prisoner of war, he should empathize and strive more than Obama for a solution to the future food problems. Can you visualize Obama sitting on the beach in Florida with a hurricane coming ashore attempting to negotiate a solution? Or believing that oil will flow from a rock if he smites it with his staff. The man”s oratory strongly resembles that attributed biblically to the Anti-Christ.



W.V. Bonds

Cleburne



Questioning

Chet Edwards



A current vote in the House of Representatives created a very dangerous and slap-in-the-face to the citizens of this country. I am referring to the 287(g) program that would have extended funds for our state and local law enforcement to coordinate with federal authorities to enforce our immigration laws. The vote followed party lines — Demos against and Reps for.

Within the against crowd we find our own Rep. Edwards. Can you imagine what damage he has voted in favor of?

He has offended a majority of those he represents in this district. The partisan play by this vote is a terrible blow to immigration enforcement across the country. It would be a nice jesture for Representative Edwards to vote in favor of his constituents once in a while. It’s immaterial how many “that-a-boys” he gets from all the veteran’s organizations when he votes against their will.



E. G. Frey

Cleburne

        

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