Opinions
An election, ay? Sounds like fun
by Dan Kleiner
(Posted Wed 09:00 am)
The political signs are popping up around Karnes County as we now officially have 48 days until early voting begins. I personally wish there was always an election going on. Not really from a newspaper perspective, but I just like the look of election signs everywhere. That, and I think cities feel energized during these critical times. It's an exciting thing to be a part of, and it makes you feel good to know that people still care.
I covered a school bond election once where a guy dressed up in a huge blue piece of foam or something that he cut into the shape of the word "yes." He stood on the side of the road in that thing for like eight or nine days waving at people and trying to get support for the school bond. It passed, not that I'm saying because of him; it probably would have passed anyways, but things like that just have to make you smile.
We're going to do our best here at the Countywide to help our readers become informed about the choices they have to make. We are currently working on scheduling another debate for local candidates, and will be working on election coverage throughout the course of the next two months. We have a lot of questions, just as I'm sure you do too. And we want to make sure that you get your questions answered so you can make the best decision for you come November.
In that spirit, I'd like to invite our readers to begin submitting questions for an upcoming debate. Off the top of our heads, we're probably shooting for somewhere in the week of October 11, so that gives you plenty of time to put good thought into what questions you've got. I'd also encourage people to go online to www.texascounties4u.org to learn more about what our local elected officials' responsibilities are.
To get the ball rolling, I thought I'd offer up my five questions I'd have for our local elected officials. When you send in your questions, feel free to let us know if you'd like to put them in our paper as well as a letter to the editor. I always enjoy hearing what other people think about when assessing the value of a political candidate.
Anyways, here are my five, mainly aimed at commissioners and judge candidates:
1. Do you have a plan to address county roads?
2. What will your priorities be when planning the county budget?
3. How many hours in a given week do you plan on devoting to one-on-one interaction with your constituents?
4. What sort of development do you oppose?
5. How much and what kind of guidance would you seek in making decisions?
by Dan Kleiner
(Posted Wed 09:00 am)
The political signs are popping up around Karnes County as we now officially have 48 days until early voting begins. I personally wish there was always an election going on. Not really from a newspaper perspective, but I just like the look of election signs everywhere. That, and I think cities feel energized during these critical times. It's an exciting thing to be a part of, and it makes you feel good to know that people still care.
I covered a school bond election once where a guy dressed up in a huge blue piece of foam or something that he cut into the shape of the word "yes." He stood on the side of the road in that thing for like eight or nine days waving at people and trying to get support for the school bond. It passed, not that I'm saying because of him; it probably would have passed anyways, but things like that just have to make you smile.
We're going to do our best here at the Countywide to help our readers become informed about the choices they have to make. We are currently working on scheduling another debate for local candidates, and will be working on election coverage throughout the course of the next two months. We have a lot of questions, just as I'm sure you do too. And we want to make sure that you get your questions answered so you can make the best decision for you come November.
In that spirit, I'd like to invite our readers to begin submitting questions for an upcoming debate. Off the top of our heads, we're probably shooting for somewhere in the week of October 11, so that gives you plenty of time to put good thought into what questions you've got. I'd also encourage people to go online to www.texascounties4u.org to learn more about what our local elected officials' responsibilities are.
To get the ball rolling, I thought I'd offer up my five questions I'd have for our local elected officials. When you send in your questions, feel free to let us know if you'd like to put them in our paper as well as a letter to the editor. I always enjoy hearing what other people think about when assessing the value of a political candidate.
Anyways, here are my five, mainly aimed at commissioners and judge candidates:
1. Do you have a plan to address county roads?
2. What will your priorities be when planning the county budget?
3. How many hours in a given week do you plan on devoting to one-on-one interaction with your constituents?
4. What sort of development do you oppose?
5. How much and what kind of guidance would you seek in making decisions?
How strange that nature does not knock
by Holli Foster
(Posted Wed 09:00 am)
There are several creatures [150] you know, nature creatures [150] I am just not a fan of. To list them would take too long so I will categorize. Generally I detest reptiles, amphibians, arachnids, most insects (especially June bugs), and sharks, and alligators, and, well, there are more but I will stop there.
So I think awhile back I mentioned an abundance of squished frogs on the road. I am beginning to wonder if they read my column and took that to mean I wanted to rescue them [150] which is NOT the case [150] because, this whole summer I have had a frog and toad population accumulating in my backyard.
I am not really a pet person, I mean, I like them, but I am just very particular and slightly selfish so they kind of cramp my style. My sister once said to me I will end up the old single woman on the hill with all the animals to which I replied, "No, I will be the old single woman on the beach with no animals and a clean house."
The children get to stay because I love them and they can be taught to clean up after themselves. The pets get to stay because the children love them.
My son has a dog and my daughter has a cat. They are the survivors. I have a dog that came before the children so I often refer to her as my first-born. She understands I need space but am willing to curl up on the couch together from time to time. Natasha Marie, my dog, is very well behaved [150] except for sunning in the street. The children's pets on the other hand are terrible. Obi, that's my son's dog, he likes to chew and is always all up in my business. He is on the couch and under my feet every time I turn around. Natasha sits in her own chair.
Miette, that's the cat, is insane. My throat gets a gag in it when I think about the variety of animals I have walked into the kitchen and found dead on the floor. When I tell this to people the general consensus is the cat is bringing us gifts. I am guessing she did not get the memo that laid out my gift preferences as "shiny or gift card," but there has been a decline in the number of deceased creatures in my house.
Now I am not sure if she has decided to be respectful or lazy but lately there has been an increase in the number of LIVE frogs in the house on regular occasion; when I say regular I mean pretty much daily.
It is no secret I am a single woman, and I very much enjoy it the great majority of the time. However, there are certain tasks I refer to as "man jobs," such as taking out the trash, weed edging, putting the seat down, and rescuing me from frogs that can hop higher than I am tall.
As I write this there is one in the laundry room. I hear it smack the floor every now and again landing from the 10-foot hop. I'm not sure what it all means, but I am one of those crazy people who believes everything is meant to teach me something, so I generally just roll with it, thus the frogs must be a sign of something.
Maybe because they are often blocking me from exiting the back door, it means I should stay home and go back to bed. Maybe, because Disney warps the mind of young girls, the abundant frog occurrence is a sign of a happy ending on the horizon.
Or maybe, because in the end I am cynical, they represent the male species as a whole and are meant to remind me that even if a man was in my home and I asked him to do something about the floor-smacking frog, I would have better luck waiting on the cat or for the frog to smack the floor so hard I can just sweep it up and throw it out.
I will say I did Google frog symbolism and they supposedly represent transition. That is so helpful considering life in general is a transition. I think I am going to go with the cynic in me, for I know that is not a part of me ready for transition. In the words of Kermit the Frog, "someday we'll find it, that rainbow connection, the lovers, the dreamers, and me."
And in the words of one of my girlfriends, "ribbit."
by Holli Foster
(Posted Wed 09:00 am)
There are several creatures [150] you know, nature creatures [150] I am just not a fan of. To list them would take too long so I will categorize. Generally I detest reptiles, amphibians, arachnids, most insects (especially June bugs), and sharks, and alligators, and, well, there are more but I will stop there.
So I think awhile back I mentioned an abundance of squished frogs on the road. I am beginning to wonder if they read my column and took that to mean I wanted to rescue them [150] which is NOT the case [150] because, this whole summer I have had a frog and toad population accumulating in my backyard.
I am not really a pet person, I mean, I like them, but I am just very particular and slightly selfish so they kind of cramp my style. My sister once said to me I will end up the old single woman on the hill with all the animals to which I replied, "No, I will be the old single woman on the beach with no animals and a clean house."
The children get to stay because I love them and they can be taught to clean up after themselves. The pets get to stay because the children love them.
My son has a dog and my daughter has a cat. They are the survivors. I have a dog that came before the children so I often refer to her as my first-born. She understands I need space but am willing to curl up on the couch together from time to time. Natasha Marie, my dog, is very well behaved [150] except for sunning in the street. The children's pets on the other hand are terrible. Obi, that's my son's dog, he likes to chew and is always all up in my business. He is on the couch and under my feet every time I turn around. Natasha sits in her own chair.
Miette, that's the cat, is insane. My throat gets a gag in it when I think about the variety of animals I have walked into the kitchen and found dead on the floor. When I tell this to people the general consensus is the cat is bringing us gifts. I am guessing she did not get the memo that laid out my gift preferences as "shiny or gift card," but there has been a decline in the number of deceased creatures in my house.
Now I am not sure if she has decided to be respectful or lazy but lately there has been an increase in the number of LIVE frogs in the house on regular occasion; when I say regular I mean pretty much daily.
It is no secret I am a single woman, and I very much enjoy it the great majority of the time. However, there are certain tasks I refer to as "man jobs," such as taking out the trash, weed edging, putting the seat down, and rescuing me from frogs that can hop higher than I am tall.
As I write this there is one in the laundry room. I hear it smack the floor every now and again landing from the 10-foot hop. I'm not sure what it all means, but I am one of those crazy people who believes everything is meant to teach me something, so I generally just roll with it, thus the frogs must be a sign of something.
Maybe because they are often blocking me from exiting the back door, it means I should stay home and go back to bed. Maybe, because Disney warps the mind of young girls, the abundant frog occurrence is a sign of a happy ending on the horizon.
Or maybe, because in the end I am cynical, they represent the male species as a whole and are meant to remind me that even if a man was in my home and I asked him to do something about the floor-smacking frog, I would have better luck waiting on the cat or for the frog to smack the floor so hard I can just sweep it up and throw it out.
I will say I did Google frog symbolism and they supposedly represent transition. That is so helpful considering life in general is a transition. I think I am going to go with the cynic in me, for I know that is not a part of me ready for transition. In the words of Kermit the Frog, "someday we'll find it, that rainbow connection, the lovers, the dreamers, and me."
And in the words of one of my girlfriends, "ribbit."
The Ethos of a Small Town
by Cathy Passmore
(Posted Wed 09:00 am)
How does one measure the vitality of a small town?? Its distinguishing characteristics?? Is it the amount of business that goes on, or the establishment of new ones? Maybe. Maybe not.
It could be that it really is based on the citizens of that small town knowing each other, caring about each other, and working shoulder-to-shoulder together to bring to pass some important task or tasks to make it better?
Perhaps one can look at a small town as if you were looking at a large extended family. And even though that family may have members of different backgrounds, they've all agreed to become part of that family, joining it on purpose or through relatives who made the choice for them, before they were even born.
And that brings up another question: Would you have made the choice to become a part of your small-town community if you could have? We all know that at times the younger generation seems to be in a hurry to grow up and move away. The symptoms are related to "the grass is always greener on the other side of the fence" syndrome, I believe. But even so, would you have found it better living somewhere else?
As I'm writing this, I'm realizing that our small town is part of an even larger community, and one that is beginning to grow suddenly by leaps and bounds. We have become one of the centers of attention in regard to the economic boom that is happening in our community through the Eagle Ford Shale. And not just Karnes City, of course, but a very large area within and without our County.
Now, isn't that interesting? To think that just because of this huge deposit of hydrocarbons underneath our collective feet, we are suddenly drawn even closer together to see what happens next. How will this affect us and our community outlook? Does it change the perception of what we thought we should be or who we really are as a community? I'm sure we've noticed that just the practicality of going about our usual business, our daily routines, has already changed somewhat. Going out to dinner, finding a parking place at local businesses, even walking into the main hallway of our used-to-be-pretty-quiet County Courthouse is now a revelation in growth. Have you pulled into a gas station recently on a Friday afternoon? I found that instead of two or three cars waiting to use a gas pump, there are now usually five or six lined up at each one.
The businesses, the tax revenues, and all that goes with growth like this is actually taking effect, whether we like it or not. So, what should our reaction be? For me, having lived several years in both Houston and San Antonio before moving back here to my hometown, it is in many ways all too familiar. But I'm hoping to be able to look on the positive side of things. If we can see it as a blessing, a community blessing, then won't this be a good thing? And, most of all, if we can focus on the family aspect that we've always had, I know we'll really find it as a blessing.
There's always been the axiom that when a sudden unexpected change or event occurs, it usually either brings a family together or it tears them apart. Tragically, I've seen this happen when there is a death in the family. But, I believe that we, who have been a part of the Karnes County area, can work together to make this one of the best things that has ever happened to us.
Thankfully, it's not really a tragedy. Think of what happened in cities that have been through real tragedies, like New York City, New Orleans, and others devastated by natural or man-made disasters. No, it's basically just a change. But again, I believe it can be a good change as long as we keep the real ethos of our small town.
We know, we care, we share, and now we can learn to appreciate the unexpected. Let's make it so!
by Cathy Passmore
(Posted Wed 09:00 am)
How does one measure the vitality of a small town?? Its distinguishing characteristics?? Is it the amount of business that goes on, or the establishment of new ones? Maybe. Maybe not.
It could be that it really is based on the citizens of that small town knowing each other, caring about each other, and working shoulder-to-shoulder together to bring to pass some important task or tasks to make it better?
Perhaps one can look at a small town as if you were looking at a large extended family. And even though that family may have members of different backgrounds, they've all agreed to become part of that family, joining it on purpose or through relatives who made the choice for them, before they were even born.
And that brings up another question: Would you have made the choice to become a part of your small-town community if you could have? We all know that at times the younger generation seems to be in a hurry to grow up and move away. The symptoms are related to "the grass is always greener on the other side of the fence" syndrome, I believe. But even so, would you have found it better living somewhere else?
As I'm writing this, I'm realizing that our small town is part of an even larger community, and one that is beginning to grow suddenly by leaps and bounds. We have become one of the centers of attention in regard to the economic boom that is happening in our community through the Eagle Ford Shale. And not just Karnes City, of course, but a very large area within and without our County.
Now, isn't that interesting? To think that just because of this huge deposit of hydrocarbons underneath our collective feet, we are suddenly drawn even closer together to see what happens next. How will this affect us and our community outlook? Does it change the perception of what we thought we should be or who we really are as a community? I'm sure we've noticed that just the practicality of going about our usual business, our daily routines, has already changed somewhat. Going out to dinner, finding a parking place at local businesses, even walking into the main hallway of our used-to-be-pretty-quiet County Courthouse is now a revelation in growth. Have you pulled into a gas station recently on a Friday afternoon? I found that instead of two or three cars waiting to use a gas pump, there are now usually five or six lined up at each one.
The businesses, the tax revenues, and all that goes with growth like this is actually taking effect, whether we like it or not. So, what should our reaction be? For me, having lived several years in both Houston and San Antonio before moving back here to my hometown, it is in many ways all too familiar. But I'm hoping to be able to look on the positive side of things. If we can see it as a blessing, a community blessing, then won't this be a good thing? And, most of all, if we can focus on the family aspect that we've always had, I know we'll really find it as a blessing.
There's always been the axiom that when a sudden unexpected change or event occurs, it usually either brings a family together or it tears them apart. Tragically, I've seen this happen when there is a death in the family. But, I believe that we, who have been a part of the Karnes County area, can work together to make this one of the best things that has ever happened to us.
Thankfully, it's not really a tragedy. Think of what happened in cities that have been through real tragedies, like New York City, New Orleans, and others devastated by natural or man-made disasters. No, it's basically just a change. But again, I believe it can be a good change as long as we keep the real ethos of our small town.
We know, we care, we share, and now we can learn to appreciate the unexpected. Let's make it so!
Back To School for us here as well
by Dan Kleiner
(Posted 8/25/2010 03:45 pm)
Did that summer just fly by for anyone else?
I got up for work this morning and exited my front door to see a parade of Karnes City Elementary School students on their way to school for the first time this year. I took a few extra moments to watch, trying to figure out which ones were going to their actual first day of school ever. It was a fun experiment, particularly because of how excited many of them looked to be going back to the old hangout. I still do vaguely remember my first day of school, and while I don't quite recall my emotions, I do recall being absolutely blown away by the playground equipment that would soon be mine.
It's always funny to me how I still seem to track time more by its relation to school than anything else. I talk about summer as if I have a summer vacation, and no matter how old I get, people still ask me questions like what I'm doing for Spring Break or things of that nature. I still think of August as more of the beginning of the year than January.
Newspapers are no different. Today is really like the beginning of a whole new newspaper year for us as the happenings of our public schools will largely define a big chunk of our newspaper for the next nine months. We'll start receiving school pages soon, and the high school sports seasons are already well underway.
Every readership survey you ever read in community journalism tells you that parents and grandparents are the No. 1 readers of community newspapers, so we're trying to step up our coverage of not just sports, but academic clubs and other school-related events as well. Be looking over the coming weeks for those additions and an improvement in our coverage of many of those aspects of your children's education.
But that's not all we're looking at beefing up. We're actually looking to make some marked changes to the paper beginning with our next issue. A lot of newspapers call these things "redesigns," but what we're really hoping to accomplish is really more of a reorganization of our paper, and really, it's not going to be a huge change to the format we already have now. We're not trying to reinvent the wheel, but we certainly could replace the tread on it just a tad.
Most of the changes we're going to be making will come as a result of feedback we've received directly from the readers. We know that we won't be able to immediately remedy every problem our paper has, but we hope to at least improve on many of the aspects that our readers find less than ideal. But not everything we are planning right now is final, so I want to encourage anyone who has any feedback on our paper to try to get it to us this week, so we can take it into consideration as we move forward.
A newspaper is a living thing, and like most living things, it evolves over time. This next small evolution we will be making next week has no other aspirations other than making our paper a better organized and more enjoyable product. If you'd like to help, please contact me at 780-3924 or editor@thecountywide.com.
by Dan Kleiner
(Posted 8/25/2010 03:45 pm)
Did that summer just fly by for anyone else?
I got up for work this morning and exited my front door to see a parade of Karnes City Elementary School students on their way to school for the first time this year. I took a few extra moments to watch, trying to figure out which ones were going to their actual first day of school ever. It was a fun experiment, particularly because of how excited many of them looked to be going back to the old hangout. I still do vaguely remember my first day of school, and while I don't quite recall my emotions, I do recall being absolutely blown away by the playground equipment that would soon be mine.
It's always funny to me how I still seem to track time more by its relation to school than anything else. I talk about summer as if I have a summer vacation, and no matter how old I get, people still ask me questions like what I'm doing for Spring Break or things of that nature. I still think of August as more of the beginning of the year than January.
Newspapers are no different. Today is really like the beginning of a whole new newspaper year for us as the happenings of our public schools will largely define a big chunk of our newspaper for the next nine months. We'll start receiving school pages soon, and the high school sports seasons are already well underway.
Every readership survey you ever read in community journalism tells you that parents and grandparents are the No. 1 readers of community newspapers, so we're trying to step up our coverage of not just sports, but academic clubs and other school-related events as well. Be looking over the coming weeks for those additions and an improvement in our coverage of many of those aspects of your children's education.
But that's not all we're looking at beefing up. We're actually looking to make some marked changes to the paper beginning with our next issue. A lot of newspapers call these things "redesigns," but what we're really hoping to accomplish is really more of a reorganization of our paper, and really, it's not going to be a huge change to the format we already have now. We're not trying to reinvent the wheel, but we certainly could replace the tread on it just a tad.
Most of the changes we're going to be making will come as a result of feedback we've received directly from the readers. We know that we won't be able to immediately remedy every problem our paper has, but we hope to at least improve on many of the aspects that our readers find less than ideal. But not everything we are planning right now is final, so I want to encourage anyone who has any feedback on our paper to try to get it to us this week, so we can take it into consideration as we move forward.
A newspaper is a living thing, and like most living things, it evolves over time. This next small evolution we will be making next week has no other aspirations other than making our paper a better organized and more enjoyable product. If you'd like to help, please contact me at 780-3924 or editor@thecountywide.com.
Is there still time to recapture the lost Magic of Childhood?
by Cathy Passmore
(Posted 8/25/2010 03:45 pm)
Have we lost the "magic" of childhood? The ability to imagine all sorts of things that make us wonder or dream or wish what would happen? There is a recent commercial on TV about sending a birthday greeting to an adult reminding him of all the good things that he hoped about or dreamed for when he was about 5 years old. Or perhaps really the possibilities that lay before him and the sender of the card says "Happy fifth birthday" to the adult.
That brings to mind how quickly we can lose that wonder, that "can't wait 'til I grow up" kind of expectations. But, if during your childhood you were able to wish upon that star, imagine (as little girls did) that Prince Charming was just around the corner, or someday my ship will come in, then you're ahead of the game already. That's because we can recapture some of that wonder and expectation because we know what it felt like back then.
But what really distresses me now is that some of that childhood "magic" is not being allowed in children's lives today because they have so many programmed or planned events and are more or less regimented in activities every minute of every day. I understand somewhat the reasoning behind this programming, because we believe the more the child has planned for him, the less trouble he will have time to get into.
Yet, on the other hand, what has happened to those skills we had to develop to invent our own projects to play with, build our own forts and playhouses, furnish our paper dolls with clothes and use our log or erector sets to actually build something from our imaginations? Do you remember playing with pick-up sticks? Or throwing down jacks and having to pick them up while bouncing a little ball? Or how about going out and examining trees for oozing sap that was sticky and supposed to be magical in some way?
And how many of us used to get those seeds off of the mountain laurel trees, open them up and rub them on the cement until they got hot enough to scorch somebody a little bit? Do you see anybody drawing hopscotch squares on the sidewalk or making a butterfly net?
Well, you know how much all of this dates me. But compare that with just learning to use a few buttons, having things handed to you already motorized and ready to run around in or race them yourself. Somehow, I wonder if the loss of "wonder" is kind of a sad thing that my grandchildren and perhaps yours don't experience any more.
At any rate, I hope we stop and realize that we were blessed in our own ways by having to use our imagination, develop our skills and learn to make do with what we had or could find to play with. A little imagination can go a long way, and let's help our children and grandchildren develop theirs.
by Cathy Passmore
(Posted 8/25/2010 03:45 pm)
Have we lost the "magic" of childhood? The ability to imagine all sorts of things that make us wonder or dream or wish what would happen? There is a recent commercial on TV about sending a birthday greeting to an adult reminding him of all the good things that he hoped about or dreamed for when he was about 5 years old. Or perhaps really the possibilities that lay before him and the sender of the card says "Happy fifth birthday" to the adult.
That brings to mind how quickly we can lose that wonder, that "can't wait 'til I grow up" kind of expectations. But, if during your childhood you were able to wish upon that star, imagine (as little girls did) that Prince Charming was just around the corner, or someday my ship will come in, then you're ahead of the game already. That's because we can recapture some of that wonder and expectation because we know what it felt like back then.
But what really distresses me now is that some of that childhood "magic" is not being allowed in children's lives today because they have so many programmed or planned events and are more or less regimented in activities every minute of every day. I understand somewhat the reasoning behind this programming, because we believe the more the child has planned for him, the less trouble he will have time to get into.
Yet, on the other hand, what has happened to those skills we had to develop to invent our own projects to play with, build our own forts and playhouses, furnish our paper dolls with clothes and use our log or erector sets to actually build something from our imaginations? Do you remember playing with pick-up sticks? Or throwing down jacks and having to pick them up while bouncing a little ball? Or how about going out and examining trees for oozing sap that was sticky and supposed to be magical in some way?
And how many of us used to get those seeds off of the mountain laurel trees, open them up and rub them on the cement until they got hot enough to scorch somebody a little bit? Do you see anybody drawing hopscotch squares on the sidewalk or making a butterfly net?
Well, you know how much all of this dates me. But compare that with just learning to use a few buttons, having things handed to you already motorized and ready to run around in or race them yourself. Somehow, I wonder if the loss of "wonder" is kind of a sad thing that my grandchildren and perhaps yours don't experience any more.
At any rate, I hope we stop and realize that we were blessed in our own ways by having to use our imagination, develop our skills and learn to make do with what we had or could find to play with. A little imagination can go a long way, and let's help our children and grandchildren develop theirs.
Helping Veterans who come home
by Cathy Passmore
(Posted 8/18/2010 09:21 am)
We are probably aware of the difficulty in adjusting and reintegrating back into society that many veterans experience after fulfilling their commitment to serve our country. Some find it so difficult that suicide in these tough economic times in this group is now on the rise. And when they return home and find that there are no jobs available, they can also end up homeless.
Recently, I wrote about waiting to hear from a home weatherization program I signed up for through AACOG (Alamo Area Coalition of Government) out of San Antonio. And just this past week I was contacted by them and the long-awaited process has begun. Now, I'm learning that these two situations coincide.
It seems there is an active coalition for homeless veterans that provides the services needed to help in the areas mentioned above. The American GI Forum has created a "One-Stop Veteran Service Center," also located in San Antonio. And putting the two together [150] AACOG and the GI Forum [150] they are helping the veterans find jobs and persons like me have an updated and insulated home.
The GI Forum works to provide a "safe, nurturing environment" to help in this process of getting back into regular life after the regimented, grueling day-to-day life of a soldier. They can get in touch with the Department of Labor Veterans' Employment and Training Service to get back into the workforce through the American GI Forum, which has the ability to provide immediate, temporary job placement with the organization's box manufacturing and property weatherization programs.
Three of the fellows who will be putting in new windows, insulation, better heating and cooling systems at my house have found employment through this forum. And I say "hooray" for all of us. The original request for the grant's purpose was to do these weatherization projects to save energy and help turn the country greener in the long run. It's good to know that it is also saving some of our veterans from their life's difficulties.
I'll be writing more about my experience with the Forum workers as they get busy on my house. Their names are George Massiatte, Eddie Vega and Pete Rodriguez III, and they know that I plan to write about them. They believe they are doing a worthwhile job through the American GI Forum and I'll share their experiences as I learn more about them.
According to information from the American GI Forum they report "Clients can gradually re-orient themselves to the workplace, developing a sense of personal responsibility and achievement, with the benefit of flex-time schedules that allow for visits to health care facilities, service agencies, counseling appointments, and educational and vocational training programs."
Isn't it great when a government program really works and as it does, it becomes a win-win situation for all of us.
by Cathy Passmore
(Posted 8/18/2010 09:21 am)
We are probably aware of the difficulty in adjusting and reintegrating back into society that many veterans experience after fulfilling their commitment to serve our country. Some find it so difficult that suicide in these tough economic times in this group is now on the rise. And when they return home and find that there are no jobs available, they can also end up homeless.
Recently, I wrote about waiting to hear from a home weatherization program I signed up for through AACOG (Alamo Area Coalition of Government) out of San Antonio. And just this past week I was contacted by them and the long-awaited process has begun. Now, I'm learning that these two situations coincide.
It seems there is an active coalition for homeless veterans that provides the services needed to help in the areas mentioned above. The American GI Forum has created a "One-Stop Veteran Service Center," also located in San Antonio. And putting the two together [150] AACOG and the GI Forum [150] they are helping the veterans find jobs and persons like me have an updated and insulated home.
The GI Forum works to provide a "safe, nurturing environment" to help in this process of getting back into regular life after the regimented, grueling day-to-day life of a soldier. They can get in touch with the Department of Labor Veterans' Employment and Training Service to get back into the workforce through the American GI Forum, which has the ability to provide immediate, temporary job placement with the organization's box manufacturing and property weatherization programs.
Three of the fellows who will be putting in new windows, insulation, better heating and cooling systems at my house have found employment through this forum. And I say "hooray" for all of us. The original request for the grant's purpose was to do these weatherization projects to save energy and help turn the country greener in the long run. It's good to know that it is also saving some of our veterans from their life's difficulties.
I'll be writing more about my experience with the Forum workers as they get busy on my house. Their names are George Massiatte, Eddie Vega and Pete Rodriguez III, and they know that I plan to write about them. They believe they are doing a worthwhile job through the American GI Forum and I'll share their experiences as I learn more about them.
According to information from the American GI Forum they report "Clients can gradually re-orient themselves to the workplace, developing a sense of personal responsibility and achievement, with the benefit of flex-time schedules that allow for visits to health care facilities, service agencies, counseling appointments, and educational and vocational training programs."
Isn't it great when a government program really works and as it does, it becomes a win-win situation for all of us.
This week in the history of idiocy
by Dan Kleiner
(Posted 8/18/2010 09:20 am)
This past Saturday was without a doubt the most physically challenging day of my tenure here at the Countywide. However, when I look back at my career in journalism, it doesn't come close to the toughest one I've ever endured.
I started out Saturday with the Karnes City football scrimmage, which was a lot of fun, except for the fact that I donned the one piece of clothing I own that is somewhat close to Badger colors [150] a throwback San Francisco Giants baseball jersey that is 100 percent polyester and 100 percent stupid as all heck to wear in 100 degree weather. I felt like I was wearing an oven, if such things are possible.
But it was a lot of fun, and I followed that up with the La Vernia Cook-off, which was also a lot of fun, but again another opportunity to stand in the heat for several hours. I'll tell you one thing though, that La Vernia deal is top notch. I don't know how they do it, but if we could put something together like that for Karnes County it would be pretty amazing. Word on the street is they pull in something like $70,000 profit off that thing for the La Vernia Chamber.
As I sat back reflecting on yesterday, it brought me to thinking about what was without a doubt my toughest day as a journalist. I went back to my files to find the story, and then realized it was actually exactly two years ago this week. If you read our paper with any regularity, you'll know I love finding out what happened this week in the past. And since the article I wrote about my toughest day ever in journalism was one of the most popular ones I ever wrote (it involves me getting hurt, a lot), I thought I'd re-hatch it here for you as part of "This Week in Stupid Journalistic Endeavors."
So when I'm working in Wimberley I get a call from a group called the Amala Foundation about an interesting sounding summer camp kinda deal they're putting on. I think, cool, and make an appointment to check it out and get some interviews and what-not. I take off in my truck to one of the more remote parts of the area, not really ever having gone that way before. I don't remember why, but I'm wearing pretty nice clothes, like pressed khaki slacks, super-dressy shoes, one of those light blue collared shirts every man owns at least one of.
I get most of the way to where this place is and find a low-water crossing known as "Slime Bridge." It's quite narrow, the water is running really fast, and I'm just not sure I want to try to cross it in my truck. So what do I do? I park my truck on the side of the road, grab my camera and notepad, and decide I'm going to ford the river. I make it about two steps in and completely eat it. Now to my credit, I made one of the all-time greatest grabs in the history of journalism. As I'm falling, my shoes come off and I land square on my back, but as I'm falling I look up and make a one-handed, left-handed grab of the camera.
My shoes are gone, however, and they were nice shoes too. I manage to recover myself and crawl across the crossing to the other side, looking quite the maligned individual. So now that I'm on the other side, it occurs to me, I don't really know how far down this place is. I also have no shoes, no socks, and it's August in Texas. I make it about 10 feet down the road before my feet start absolutely burning. I started switching off, walking a few feet on the side of the road and then a few feet on the road, but the side of the road isn't much better since it's full of stickers and other things that are unpleasant to step on. I'm not sure how far exactly I walked like this, I also lost my phone in the fall, so I have no idea what time it is, but I tell you this my friends, it was probably the worst walk of my life.
But as all unpleasant things do, eventually my walk comes to an end. I get to the camp, and someone middling around the front entrance area sees me and reacts exactly as you would expect someone would to seeing someone looking like they just got tossed in the pool at a frat party. I explained who I was and what had happened, and the guy felt really sorry for me and thanked me 100 times for coming, and in a very nice gesture went to get a golf cart to drive me to the front so I didn't have to keep walking barefoot. So I'm standing there, waiting for him to come back, and you want to guess what happens next? You got it, I get swarmed on by a bunch of red wasps and get stung on my hand, the back of my neck, and my leg. As I'm trying to escape from said wasps of course I run a bit and fall over and cut up the side of my head and my legs. The dude with the golf cart finally comes back, notices I look worse off than I did before, and asks me what happened. I told him, and he just couldn't hold it in any more. He started laughing hysterically and said, "I'm sorry man, but you have to admit, this is kind of funny." I did admit, it must have been pretty funny to someone else.
So they get me to the infirmary and the camp director comes in after they've been working on me for a few minutes and the look on her face was absolutely unbelievable. Remember, this is a woman who runs a foundation that supports war orphans in Africa, so she's a pretty compassionate person. I really thought she was going to cry right there at the sight of me. But anyways, I got myself fixed up as well as I could, they gave my some sandals to borrow, and I got up and managed to tour the camp, interview some of the campers and counselors, and write a halfway decent article about what I thought was a pretty cool cause. I'll tell what was also funny was the looks on the faces of these kids, who were mainly from war-torn Liberia, when a guy who looked like he'd just been beaten and drowned started asking them questions about their first trip to America.
The postscript to the story is that I couldn't walk for about six days. The doctor said I had second-degree burns on my feet and asked me why I didn't just turn around and go back to the car after I lost my shoes. I said, "Well, I had to get the story." As I recall, he didn't reply at all but just looked at me for a few moments the same way your girlfriend looks at you when you say something like, "It seemed like a good idea at the time."
But I did get the story. I may have been burned, stung, dehydrated, lost my shoes, my phone, my wallet, and a pen I really, really liked, but as God is my witness, I got the darned story.
And I will never, ever, ever, do anything like that ever again.
by Dan Kleiner
(Posted 8/18/2010 09:20 am)
This past Saturday was without a doubt the most physically challenging day of my tenure here at the Countywide. However, when I look back at my career in journalism, it doesn't come close to the toughest one I've ever endured.
I started out Saturday with the Karnes City football scrimmage, which was a lot of fun, except for the fact that I donned the one piece of clothing I own that is somewhat close to Badger colors [150] a throwback San Francisco Giants baseball jersey that is 100 percent polyester and 100 percent stupid as all heck to wear in 100 degree weather. I felt like I was wearing an oven, if such things are possible.
But it was a lot of fun, and I followed that up with the La Vernia Cook-off, which was also a lot of fun, but again another opportunity to stand in the heat for several hours. I'll tell you one thing though, that La Vernia deal is top notch. I don't know how they do it, but if we could put something together like that for Karnes County it would be pretty amazing. Word on the street is they pull in something like $70,000 profit off that thing for the La Vernia Chamber.
As I sat back reflecting on yesterday, it brought me to thinking about what was without a doubt my toughest day as a journalist. I went back to my files to find the story, and then realized it was actually exactly two years ago this week. If you read our paper with any regularity, you'll know I love finding out what happened this week in the past. And since the article I wrote about my toughest day ever in journalism was one of the most popular ones I ever wrote (it involves me getting hurt, a lot), I thought I'd re-hatch it here for you as part of "This Week in Stupid Journalistic Endeavors."
So when I'm working in Wimberley I get a call from a group called the Amala Foundation about an interesting sounding summer camp kinda deal they're putting on. I think, cool, and make an appointment to check it out and get some interviews and what-not. I take off in my truck to one of the more remote parts of the area, not really ever having gone that way before. I don't remember why, but I'm wearing pretty nice clothes, like pressed khaki slacks, super-dressy shoes, one of those light blue collared shirts every man owns at least one of.
I get most of the way to where this place is and find a low-water crossing known as "Slime Bridge." It's quite narrow, the water is running really fast, and I'm just not sure I want to try to cross it in my truck. So what do I do? I park my truck on the side of the road, grab my camera and notepad, and decide I'm going to ford the river. I make it about two steps in and completely eat it. Now to my credit, I made one of the all-time greatest grabs in the history of journalism. As I'm falling, my shoes come off and I land square on my back, but as I'm falling I look up and make a one-handed, left-handed grab of the camera.
My shoes are gone, however, and they were nice shoes too. I manage to recover myself and crawl across the crossing to the other side, looking quite the maligned individual. So now that I'm on the other side, it occurs to me, I don't really know how far down this place is. I also have no shoes, no socks, and it's August in Texas. I make it about 10 feet down the road before my feet start absolutely burning. I started switching off, walking a few feet on the side of the road and then a few feet on the road, but the side of the road isn't much better since it's full of stickers and other things that are unpleasant to step on. I'm not sure how far exactly I walked like this, I also lost my phone in the fall, so I have no idea what time it is, but I tell you this my friends, it was probably the worst walk of my life.
But as all unpleasant things do, eventually my walk comes to an end. I get to the camp, and someone middling around the front entrance area sees me and reacts exactly as you would expect someone would to seeing someone looking like they just got tossed in the pool at a frat party. I explained who I was and what had happened, and the guy felt really sorry for me and thanked me 100 times for coming, and in a very nice gesture went to get a golf cart to drive me to the front so I didn't have to keep walking barefoot. So I'm standing there, waiting for him to come back, and you want to guess what happens next? You got it, I get swarmed on by a bunch of red wasps and get stung on my hand, the back of my neck, and my leg. As I'm trying to escape from said wasps of course I run a bit and fall over and cut up the side of my head and my legs. The dude with the golf cart finally comes back, notices I look worse off than I did before, and asks me what happened. I told him, and he just couldn't hold it in any more. He started laughing hysterically and said, "I'm sorry man, but you have to admit, this is kind of funny." I did admit, it must have been pretty funny to someone else.
So they get me to the infirmary and the camp director comes in after they've been working on me for a few minutes and the look on her face was absolutely unbelievable. Remember, this is a woman who runs a foundation that supports war orphans in Africa, so she's a pretty compassionate person. I really thought she was going to cry right there at the sight of me. But anyways, I got myself fixed up as well as I could, they gave my some sandals to borrow, and I got up and managed to tour the camp, interview some of the campers and counselors, and write a halfway decent article about what I thought was a pretty cool cause. I'll tell what was also funny was the looks on the faces of these kids, who were mainly from war-torn Liberia, when a guy who looked like he'd just been beaten and drowned started asking them questions about their first trip to America.
The postscript to the story is that I couldn't walk for about six days. The doctor said I had second-degree burns on my feet and asked me why I didn't just turn around and go back to the car after I lost my shoes. I said, "Well, I had to get the story." As I recall, he didn't reply at all but just looked at me for a few moments the same way your girlfriend looks at you when you say something like, "It seemed like a good idea at the time."
But I did get the story. I may have been burned, stung, dehydrated, lost my shoes, my phone, my wallet, and a pen I really, really liked, but as God is my witness, I got the darned story.
And I will never, ever, ever, do anything like that ever again.
Are you talking about my mother?
by Dan Kleiner
(Posted 8/11/2010 09:19 am)
So staying with the recent theme of how un-"cool" I actually am, I spend a good amount of time on message boards for professional sports teams.
I'm a huge baseball fan, so right now that is taking up about 90 percent of my online time; but I am also a big football fan, and news is slowly starting to creep out of NFL and college training camps, so I've been "trolling" those message boards a lot lately as well.
For the record, I have no idea what "trolling" actually is, but I get accused of doing it a lot by other people on my message boards. Apparently your opinion is not valid on a message board unless you post things like 500 times a day and have been doing it for several years. It's kind of like the line from that movie "Platoon" where Charlie Sheen talks about how the guys in Vietnam don't want to know your name until you've been around for a few months.
But anyways, one of my most frequently visited sports message boards was running an advertisement last week that really made me mad. I'm curious as to whether or not they got flack for it, because it's not up there now, but I managed to take a screen shot of it while it was still up, which you should be able to see in the middle of this editorial.
You should be able to see the baby and mother, both of whom seem just absolutely thrilled with life. Good for them. Then underneath the photo are the words, "Stay-at-home mom? Get a grant & go back to school."
Now let me be absolutely crystal clear about something here before I go on: I have absolutely no problem with women going to school or getting jobs, or really doing anything they want in this world. I believe in complete equality for all people and think everyone is entitled to pursue their dreams, whatever they may be. But this advertisement really makes me mad because I think the implication is that being a stay-at-home mom is not a good thing, and that stay-at-home moms are somehow less valuable human beings than those that go to school or work full time.
Think about it: What other types of ads do you generally see that pose a question and then a response. Generally these ads read something like this: "Depressed? Try our product." "Fighting Obesity? We can help." "Lacking Confidence? We've got the solution for you." You almost always see these kinds of advertisements that ask if you are having a problem, and then offer you a solution, that of course you have to pay for. This ad that makes me so mad I feel like treats the idea of being a stay-at-home like it's some kind of negative thing, when in my opinion, it is one of the most valuable things you can do in this world.
I think we're all very aware of the problems we have in this country, and that many of them are directly tied to the disintegration of the American family. One of the things that I've always admired about people in small communities is that they seem to understand the importance of this far better than people in more urban settings. Spending time with your family is maybe the most important thing in building character, and I'll quickly propound my theory on this and then get back on topic.
Here's the reason a close relationship with your family, in my opinion, builds good moral individuals: While I'm not really a trouble-maker, every now and then I get a wild hair, or just am tempted to make a poor decision. The No. 1 thing that turns me around and makes me think "This is stupid, don't do this" is because of the impact it would have on my family. My parents did everything for me, and I owe them just about everything I am, and nothing in this world would upset me more than to bring shame on them or embarrass them through my actions. There are, of course, other reasons that I'm not a criminal or just someone with bad morals, but that truly is the biggest reason I think I don't do a lot of stupid or immoral things.
Back to the point though, stay-at-home moms are some of the most important people in the world. They raise children, they do stuff that is not fun or pleasant or rewarding on a lot of levels for the sake of their children and their families. They have as much of an impact on the lives of young people as any person with a college degree or a big important job with a fancy office and soft, fluffy carpets. They're the backbone of our society, and while my own mother works now, she stayed at home to raise me and my two sisters, so if you take issue with stay-at-home moms, you're insulting my mother, and that, my friends, shall not stand.
So to whoever this advertisement was for, which I don't actually know unfortunately since I never clicked on the link, shame on you. I'm sure it wasn't your intention to portray this message, but there really was no one who during the creative process thought maybe this ad portrays the wrong message?
Maybe I'm just crazy and looking for an insinuation that's not there, but I think it's pretty clear. There are very few things in this world that are as important as a dedicated parent, maybe nothing at all, and I think it's downright immoral to suggest otherwise.
by Dan Kleiner
(Posted 8/11/2010 09:19 am)
So staying with the recent theme of how un-"cool" I actually am, I spend a good amount of time on message boards for professional sports teams.
I'm a huge baseball fan, so right now that is taking up about 90 percent of my online time; but I am also a big football fan, and news is slowly starting to creep out of NFL and college training camps, so I've been "trolling" those message boards a lot lately as well.
For the record, I have no idea what "trolling" actually is, but I get accused of doing it a lot by other people on my message boards. Apparently your opinion is not valid on a message board unless you post things like 500 times a day and have been doing it for several years. It's kind of like the line from that movie "Platoon" where Charlie Sheen talks about how the guys in Vietnam don't want to know your name until you've been around for a few months.
But anyways, one of my most frequently visited sports message boards was running an advertisement last week that really made me mad. I'm curious as to whether or not they got flack for it, because it's not up there now, but I managed to take a screen shot of it while it was still up, which you should be able to see in the middle of this editorial.
You should be able to see the baby and mother, both of whom seem just absolutely thrilled with life. Good for them. Then underneath the photo are the words, "Stay-at-home mom? Get a grant & go back to school."
Now let me be absolutely crystal clear about something here before I go on: I have absolutely no problem with women going to school or getting jobs, or really doing anything they want in this world. I believe in complete equality for all people and think everyone is entitled to pursue their dreams, whatever they may be. But this advertisement really makes me mad because I think the implication is that being a stay-at-home mom is not a good thing, and that stay-at-home moms are somehow less valuable human beings than those that go to school or work full time.
Think about it: What other types of ads do you generally see that pose a question and then a response. Generally these ads read something like this: "Depressed? Try our product." "Fighting Obesity? We can help." "Lacking Confidence? We've got the solution for you." You almost always see these kinds of advertisements that ask if you are having a problem, and then offer you a solution, that of course you have to pay for. This ad that makes me so mad I feel like treats the idea of being a stay-at-home like it's some kind of negative thing, when in my opinion, it is one of the most valuable things you can do in this world.
I think we're all very aware of the problems we have in this country, and that many of them are directly tied to the disintegration of the American family. One of the things that I've always admired about people in small communities is that they seem to understand the importance of this far better than people in more urban settings. Spending time with your family is maybe the most important thing in building character, and I'll quickly propound my theory on this and then get back on topic.
Here's the reason a close relationship with your family, in my opinion, builds good moral individuals: While I'm not really a trouble-maker, every now and then I get a wild hair, or just am tempted to make a poor decision. The No. 1 thing that turns me around and makes me think "This is stupid, don't do this" is because of the impact it would have on my family. My parents did everything for me, and I owe them just about everything I am, and nothing in this world would upset me more than to bring shame on them or embarrass them through my actions. There are, of course, other reasons that I'm not a criminal or just someone with bad morals, but that truly is the biggest reason I think I don't do a lot of stupid or immoral things.
Back to the point though, stay-at-home moms are some of the most important people in the world. They raise children, they do stuff that is not fun or pleasant or rewarding on a lot of levels for the sake of their children and their families. They have as much of an impact on the lives of young people as any person with a college degree or a big important job with a fancy office and soft, fluffy carpets. They're the backbone of our society, and while my own mother works now, she stayed at home to raise me and my two sisters, so if you take issue with stay-at-home moms, you're insulting my mother, and that, my friends, shall not stand.
So to whoever this advertisement was for, which I don't actually know unfortunately since I never clicked on the link, shame on you. I'm sure it wasn't your intention to portray this message, but there really was no one who during the creative process thought maybe this ad portrays the wrong message?
Maybe I'm just crazy and looking for an insinuation that's not there, but I think it's pretty clear. There are very few things in this world that are as important as a dedicated parent, maybe nothing at all, and I think it's downright immoral to suggest otherwise.