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By JIM STREET Ed & Pub Last week, we carried a story by Mark
Glover about new rules allowing concealed weapons in national parks,
including Big Bend. We heard from some lamenting how our
parks now would be less safe because of gun-toting visitors. If people had guns, they would just
want to use them, some argued. One suggested someone she knew who would do
just that. But Texas – along with several other
states – has “concealed-carry” laws that allow those who have a license to
carry concealed weapons and we argued that the parks would actually be safer
if some responsible visitors had weapons. The guy who would indiscriminately
shoot a weapon just because he happened to have one available wouldn’t be any
more legal with a gun in the park than if guns were outlawed. OPINION It’s against the law in Texas to have
a concealed weapon – unless you have a license to do so. And to get that
license, you have to undergo training and prove you are responsible. So our parks are no less safe with
those legally allowed to have a firearm carrying them than they were when no
one could have one. In fact, I submit they are more safe
having some people armed. If a bad guy decided to rob someone in
the park and produced a gun, he could be sure the victim would be defenseless
because it’s illegal to have a gun. The robber doesn’t care if guns are
illegal, does he? Robbery is already illegal. What difference does it make to
him if guns are outlawed? And there is the issue of wildlife.
Hunting in national parks was one rationale for allowing weapons and hunting
can be a good tool for controlling wildlife populations. But there is a safety issue as well.
Having a gun offers one more level of safety for the park visitor in the
unlikely event he is attacked by a predator or just a mother bear protecting
her cubs. People at all points in the political
spectrum seem to think that if we just outlaw something, it will go away. It
won’t. On the Right, people insist drugs be
illegal because they are harmful. I will not dispute the latter
assertion. But making them illegal has hardly made them go away, has it? No, it has only allowed drugs to go
underground where they are much harder to control. But that is a separate editorial. Gun control advocates talk about the
harm guns cause and suggest making them illegal will make them go away. Not everyone who can legally carry a
gun will choose to do so. But just knowing someone may have a
gun keeps us all just a little bit safer. By ANNA
LaFLEUR News Leader
Writer SANDERSON – All big towns started
small at some time and then got bigger. Sanderson also could work up to
being, if not a big town, then perhaps just a little bit bigger town. Many want to leave the town just like
it is but others would like us to be at least big enough for the services we
have to drive to another town to access.
Just imagine Main Street lined with
tourists year round. There are already a handful of folks who want to sell
salsa, jewelry and home made candies. There must be people who would like to
sell homemade goat cheese or eggs or hair bows. OPINION Certainly there are some interested in
making burritos or homemade tortillas to sell at the market. The town is rich
with history and it is rich with talent. Every time someone gets sick, this
town pulls together to have a benefit. Neighbors and friends get together at
the drop of a hat to help others. Those who cook all the food for those
benefit dinners are talented and should consider setting up a food booth at
the market. What about those who do the bake sales
or donate baked goods to fund a wide range of causes? What about the artists and the high
school students who do all the lovely art work for the fair ribbons? Why not
put those talents to work for money? What about the local musicians? Why
not set up and play for the market shoppers and vendors? Tips and the recognition could help book
gigs for weddings and parties. Hotels could put up signs that would
say something like, “Welcome Nopalito Market, shoppers. Stay the weekend. We
will turn your bed down for you.” Local shops could have business cards
available at the market for tourists so they would know where to go to find
what they are looking for. I envision snow cones, funnel cakes
and homemade tamales next to quilts, hand bags and paintings. Of course, local businesses are
welcome to set up booths so why not Avon, Mary Kay or the Girl Scouts? There
could be a booth for those that sell flowers and one for fireworks, for
example. The Lions Club, the American Legion
and others could also set up booths to get folks to sign up for their
organizations. Schools could also set up a booth for things like their fund
raisers. The clinic could set up a blood
pressure, blood sugar screening and first-aid booth in case someone has an
issue during the event. Or they could offer flu shots when needed or other
health services. It is always better to be safe and this would give the
clinic free publicity for one day a month. This is an opportunity for all to
participate in. It is an opportunity for the town to help the people help
themselves. And it could make Sanderson a
“destination,” not just some place to go through on the way to somewhere
else. I have seen this work in other
communities and it can work here. This could be the thing that this town has
waited for, even if it starts out small. Remember Wimberley in my story last
week. Their market started out of five pickups and grew to 480 booths. Welcome to your destination,
Sanderson, Texas, the home of the Prickly Pair Pachanga, The Big Bend Open
Road Race, The Fourth of July and, yes, Nopalito Market Days. I plan to present my plan to the
Chamber of Commerce at noon Tuesday in the conference room at Sanderson Bank Drop by and let us know what you
think. Or contact me at anna.tcnl@yahoo.com or call the
News Leader at 432/345-2676. Don’t ask,
don’t tell It is a subject of much controversy
and heated debates today. You can find people with varying opinions and many
strongly dedicated to their opinion. It is the question of the sexual roles
of men and women. The question for Christians is what does the Bible say? When God first created man, He made
them male and female and said it was good. This was His plan and they should
enjoy this special God- designed relationship with each other (Genesis 1:27
and 28.) God’s plan was for them to have
children and raise them. They were told to keep them-selves
pure before marriage and afterwards to keep the marriage relationship pure
(Genesis 2:24, Matthew 19:5 and 6.) It was not long after creation that
mankind started deviating from God’s plan. They had many sexual partners and
even partners of the same sex. God did not approve of this behavior
and even condemned it (Leviticus 18:22, Romans 1:26 to 32.) It got so bad that he sent a worldwide
flood and almost wiped out the whole human race (Genesis 6:5 and 6, 11 and
12.) The Bible says that God detested it
then and also today and we will give account before Him for our actions
(Revelation 20:11 to 15.) Homosexuality is a sin just as
adultery, fornication, lying, drunkenness and a host of other things (1
Corinthians 6:9 and 10.) Christians should approve of what God
approves and if He disapproves and we should not do it. See you in Church next Sunday. Brother
J Where months
got names Since the earliest times, the natural
cycles of the Sun and Moon have been used to measure intervals of time. Solar cycles define days, years and
seasons while the Moon marks off months. There are two major lunar cycles, the
best known being the 29 1/2-day synodic month during which the Moon goes from
new Moon to new Moon. "Synodic" refers to the meeting of the Sun
and Moon. Less apparent is the 27 1/3-day
sidereal month which is based on the Moon's position as seen against the
background stars. If Earth weren't orbiting the Sun,
synodic and sidereal months would be equal but, since we are moving, the
synodic month takes longer. In a sidereal month, the Moon travels
360 degrees, or one complete circle, around Earth, before re-passing the same
background stars. During this time, however, Earth has
traveled nearly 1/12 of the way around the Sun, meaning the Moon must travel
nearly 390 degrees and two more days before reaching the next new Moon. A year being 365 1/4 days, there is
not an even number of synodic or sidereal months in a year. This was not a problem for cultures
that referred to these intervals by the names they gave full Moons, like
Harvest, Hunter's and Long Night Moon. But when our ancestors devised formal
calendars, adjustments were required, like adding or subtracting days and
even ignoring periods of time. These months approximate but no longer
exactly correspond with the lunar cycles. The names we use for our months derive
from the Romans and their Latin language. Originally, the Roman year had 10
months that began with March, named for Mars, the god of war. The second month, April, was named for
Aphrodite, or Venus, the goddess of love and beauty. May is the month of Maia, goddess of
spring. June honors Juno, goddess of women, childbirth and marriage. July was originally called Quintilis –
quintus is Latin for fifth – as the fifth month. It was renamed by Julius
Caesar in 46 BC to honor himself. Similarly, August, first known as
Sextilis as the sixth month, was changed by Augustus Caesar. The next four retained their Latin
numeric names. September was from septem for seven, as the seventh month,
October, for octo, as the eighth month, November, for novem, as the ninth
month and December, or decem, as the tenth month. The winter months apparently went
unnamed until about 700 BC when the eleventh and twelfth months were added. January was named for Janus, the
double-faced god of beginnings and endings who could see the past and the
future. February came from Februa, the
festival of purification. So like the names we use for many
constellations, as well as the days of the week, the names of our months were
invented by our ancient ancestors.
Sunday, Feb. 21, the Moon is at first
quarter. Thursday evening and all night, Feb.
25, Mars is to the left of the bright gibbous Moon. Sunday, Feb. 28, the Monday evening, March 1, the Moon is
to the right of Saturn as they rise around 8 p.m., following each other
across the sky all night. By morning the Moon is to the lower left of the
planet. Sunday, March 7, the Moon is at third
quarter.
The Sun, Moon and planets rise in the
east and set in the west due to Earth's west-to-east rotation on its axis. Evenings, Mars is prominent high in
the east as Saturn rises some two hours after sunset. Mornings, Saturn is in the west
southwest. Stargazer
appears every other week, space permitting. Paul Derrick is an amateur
astronomer who lives in Waco. Contact him at 918 N. 30th, Waco, 76707, (254)
753-6920 or paulderrickwaco@aol.com. See the Stargazer Web site at stargazerpaul.com. The Texas
Forts Trail By
TUMBLEWEED SMITH As you travel
along highways in central and west Texas, you’ve probably seen those blue and
white signs with crossed sabers indicating you’re on the Texas Forts Trail. It stretches
from Jacksboro to Aspermont on the north to Eldorado and Mason on the south. It’s a
650-mile loop containing eight historic military forts and one Spanish
Presidio. If you choose
to drive it, plan to spend at least three days, preferably five. Along the way,
you’ll see monuments to the Texas pioneer spirit and learn about unique
events like the goat cook-off in Brady or the world’s largest amateur rodeo
in Stamford. You’ll see the
stone chimneys at Fort Phantom Hill near Abilene, the only things left
standing after a fire. Just out of
Menard is Fort McKavett, which had more than 35 buildings in the 1870s. Fort
Richardson at Jacksboro was the biggest military installation in the country
in 1874. San Angelo’s
Fort Concho is called the best-preserved western fort in the United States. Other forts on
the trail are in Mason, Bronte, Albany and Graham. A Spanish
Presidio south of Menard, built to protect a mission, dates back to 1757 and
was the first place that Europeans in Texas came into conflict with Comanche
Indians. The Comanche
were fierce warriors and forced the Spanish to withdraw from Texas, leading
to the establishment of a new line of defense along the Rio Grande. Margaret
Hoostra of Abilene is regional coordinator of the Forts Trail and says it is
one of a series of historic trails set up back in the late ‘60s when San
Antonio was gearing up for Hemisfair, an event which drew large numbers of
crowds to the Alamo City. “Governor John
Connally wanted to give people coming to San Antonio the opportunity to visit
other parts of Texas,” Margaret said. “He got with the highway department and
developed a series of ten trails around the state, Forts, Brazos, Forest,
Lakes, Hill Country, Independence, Mountain, Pecos, Plains and Tropical.” The trails
were highly successful for a while, then nothing happened for several years
until George W. Bush became governor. Margaret said
he was interested in preservation and rural economic development. “He was
concerned that too many historic theaters, court houses and hotels were being
demolished,” she said. “He thought those places define who we are. “He pulled
together various agencies to consider the situation,” Margaret said. “The
Texas Historical Commission took a look at those old driving trails and made
them into heritage tourism regions. “The Forts
Trail was the pilot project,” she said. “In the late ‘90s, we proved to be a
very successful program. We increased tourism and awareness of history. “Now, all the
trails are up and active,” Margaret said. “Each one of us is an independent,
non-profit organization. “We get an
annual grant from the Texas Historical Commission and our job is to promote
our part of Texas, including the cities that don’t have a fort,” she said.
“We help them tell their stories. We don’t mix mortar but we promote and
encourage preservation of the forts so we don’t lose them. “We make
people aware of the forts, their importance and relevance and encourage
visitation to them,” Margaret said. “Every fort has a personality and a
unique story to tell.” Isidoro
Villarreal, Jr. SANDERSON – Funeral services were
Tuesday at St. James Catholic Church here for Isidoro “Nuno” Villarreal, Jr.,
65, a native of Sanderson who died Saturday in Odessa. Burial was in Santa
Rita Cemetery. His brother Enrique died in August. Villarreal was born in Sanderson on
Nov. 6, 1944, to Isidoro, Sr., and Obdulia Villarreal. His parents and a sister, Gloria
Villarreal, preceded him in death. He is survived by his sister, Olga
Villarreal of Sanderson. Pallbearers were Chel Duarte, Chago
Flores, Chano Lomas, Jimmy Davis, David Flores, Silvestre Silvas, Sostenes
Cha-lambaga, Martin Arrendondo, Francisco Fuentez, Mauro Lopes, Cristoval
Lomas and Tomas Lomas. |
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