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Daily Newspaper and Travel Guide for Pecos Country
of West Texas
Opinion
Squarely Pegged
By Peggy McCracken
Tuesday, November 20, 2001
Good things come in
unexpected places, times
Trouble comes in threes, I'm told. I'm waiting for the third shoe to drop.
First, my brother's e-mail reported his 18-year-old grandson was shot
and killed by a classmate. While I was still debating whether to emplane
for Dallas Love Field to attend the Saturday funeral, my sister reported
her husband had two to three months to live, due to a brain tumor. So I
looked up plane schedules for Albuquerque.
But wait!, as the commercials beckon. There's more. Shoe Number 2 fell
too quickly. Radiation is shrinking the tumor, and Harry will probably
outlive me.
That gives me the first Thanksgiving prayer. But wait, there's more!!!
(Don't you just love those come-ons that promise something free if you
pay an inflated price for the primary item?)
God's Army is marching forward in a mighty way.
God's Army?, you ask. What is that?
That's a group of soldiers in grades 1-8 who meet each Tuesday to practice
marching military style, pledge allegiance to the American flag, Christian
flag and the Bible, memorize scriptures, sing and eat. Yes, we eat. Remember,
an army marches on its stomach.
Giving thanks for the nationwide (even worldwide) return to God following
the Sept. 11 attacks led me to consider how we could encourage our school
students to live their Christian faith in the classroom, on the playground
and among their friends and enemies.
Events of the past few years that have increasingly crowded God out
of our schools have me all bent out of shape. How can we teach our kids
the truth when we can't even tell them about the source of truth? Would
classmates be shooting each other if they lived the truth as taught in
God's word?
Mulling the marching theme and needing a uniform, I felt led to Eph.
10-18, which describes the "whole armor of God." Yes! The helmet
of salvation, the sword of the spirit, the breastplate of
righteousness, the belt of truth, the shoes of the preparation
of the Gospel of peace, and the shield of faith. Soldiers could
earn each piece of the armor by memorizing scripture, and we would march
while dressed in the armor.
So one thing led to another, and the next thing you know I am recruiting
drill sergeants from among my fellow Baptists to staff God's Army. We bought
baseball caps with the American flag and an eagle on the crown, with GOD'S
ARMY stamped underneath. That's the helmet of salvation.
A T-shirt with the logo GOD'S ARMY (with a cross as one leg and the
crossbar on the A) is the breastplate. Of course, the Bible is the sword.
And we are considering a red sash for the belt, blue bandanna for the shield
and a beaded ankle bracelet for the shoes.
We consulted our young recruits before choosing the "armor," so we'd
get something they consider cool. I was not prepared for the reaction to
the cap, though. Everyone wants one. I think the adults are even more captivated
by them than the kids are. I put mine on and marched around the office,
barking orders as if I were a five-star general. (Nobody jumped to obey).
That's two thank-yous. If trouble comes in threes, shouldn't joys as
well? So where is No. 3?
Rain. As I write this, gentle rain has fallen on and off for two days.
Only God can make a tree, and only God can make it rain. So thank you God
for the rain.
"O give thanks unto the Lord, for He is good. For His mercy endures
forever." Psalms
Editor's Note: Peggy McCracken is Enterprise business
manager and webmaster. Contact her at peg2@pecos.net.
Our View
Aviation Safety Bill is pork pie for the gutless
Our new Aviation Safety Bill, signed into law yesterday by President Bush
is junk _ junk that leaves America with a huge new bureaucracy and lowers
real airline security while creating the illusion that passengers are safer.
First, the box cutters used on September 11 probably did not pass through
the boarding gate. Federal investigators found box cutters on several planes
that were grounded on September 11. The facts surrounding these razors
indicate that they were placed there by associates of the terrorist on
the planes, not carried on board by the terrorist carrying out the final
step of the operation.
That makes sense. Why bother arousing suspicion at the gate with any
type of weapon when you can simply have it waiting on you when you board?
Even before September 11 walking through the gate with an edged weapon
was not easy.
With the new moronic rules outlawing pen knives and nail clippers, this
scenario is even more likely.
Nothing in this new bill will prevent this from happening again.
Second, what in our collective experience with government employees
makes us think that such employees will be anymore effective than private
employees?
Do you use the Postal Service or FedEx when you really have to have
it there overnight?
FedEx.
Why?
Because FedEx is accountable to its customers. Hence, FedEx fires lazy
and incompetent employees. The government promotes them to supervisory
positions.
What we will now have is 30,000 new piglets rooting their way into the
federal trough. Piglets that cannot be fired and cannot be held accountable.
That is a recipe for pork-barrel pie, not enhanced airline security.
Appreciative voters should thank a gutless Republican House and President
who could not find the intestinal fortitude to say no to this Democrat
pork pie.
Long term, America is going to have a bad case of indigestion. Hopefully
it will not be fatal.
Your View
Board member irked by attitude at chamber
Dear Editor:
I have been a member of the Pecos Chamber of Commerce, even before
our theatre opened, because we care about Pecos, and feel one of the greatest
responsibilities of resident business owners is to promote their town and
work for it's improvement.
As a member of the "Chamber", I visited with numerous business people,
both to solicit their membership and for public relations. Time and time
again, I was told that no one from the chamber had ever visited them, shown
any interest in them or been of any help. Most of them were not impressed
with the accomplishments of the chamber, and often referred to rude and
insulting treatment when visiting the chamber office, or talking with them
on the phone, trying to get information or assistance. I was told over
and over that people in Pecos and in other communities considered this
chamber as a joke.
I told these people, "if you are not part of the solution, you are part
of the problem." I even convinced some of them to join, and help resolve
their complaints.
When I was asked to be on the board of directors, I was very pleased.
I received a new board member packet, which included a copy of the by-laws.
I read the by-laws and could see that these were not being followed, and
in fact, were being blatantly broken, and changed at will. The Pecos Chamber
of Commerce had not been run as a business in many years.
This was very troubling to me, and I found that many of the board members
did not even have copies of the by-laws, and had never read them. The attitude
seems to have been, "Don't rock the boat."
As a union member and officer for many years, I learned that an organization
is only as good as its leadership. Since as a board member, I am considered
part of the leadership, I could not sit idly by and watch the people of
Pecos be short changed.
I did my research, and then pointed out some of the problems of accountability
that were being ignored, and suggested possible solutions. I won't presume
that may suggestions were the only possibilities, but is seemed that no
one had the courage to stand up and agree that these things were not right,
or come up with acceptable ideas.
In a few issues, as the audit, there was a weak attempt to correct the
problem that an audit, which in the by-laws, is required to be conducted
annually, has not occurred. The audit was conducted, but was not complete,
as it did not cover all the accounts. So, what does that prove, except
that it was just an attempt to again mislead the community, and give the
people a false sense of security that the chamber is being run as a responsible
business.
Another point is, which set of by-laws is legal. I have been issued
a new board ember packet for the year 2000, and then another for the year
2001. In both were included copies of by-laws. When it was time to nominate
new candidates for the board, there was a discrepancy in the number of
members to be replaced, and the number of members, according to the by-laws,
who were to be on the board. At the next meeting, board members were give
a new set of by-laws, which were altered to reflect a new number of board
members to be elected.
According to the new by-laws, the chamber is to have thirty board members.
At any given meeting, it is surprising to have attendance of even half
of these, reflecting the lack of responsibility shown.
Also, according to the by-laws, if a board of directors member misses
three board meetings, he or she is automatically removed from the board.
There are some members, who to my knowledge, have never attended a board
meeting, and do not have excused absences.
Now, I'll be the first to admit that tact is not my strong suit, but
I do know right from wrong, and what has been allowed to be accepted practice
at the chamber is wrong.
I find that numerous people agree with me on the issues when we are
discussing them face-to-face. But at a board meeting, most of these same
people sit there, saying and doing nothing.
I can not longer be a part of this. It is not honest, moral or of any
help to our community. I cannot be affiliated with a group that will not
follow its own rules/by-laws.
This letter is to tender my resignation from the Pecos Chamber of Commerce
Board of Directors and the PecosChamber of Commerce.
Sincerely,
RICHARD A. CREASY
More people should've attended the meeting
Dear Editor:
I attended the meeting about the closing of Anchor West. It was a meeting
to discuss what could be done to offset the loss of the 700 jobs, and included
several people who expressed opinions about what needed to be done, but
conspicuous by there absence, were a representative of the Chamber of Commerce,
the City Manager and Mayor, the representative of the Pecos Economic Development
Company, any representative of the office of State Representative Pete
Gallego, or Senator Frank Madla.
It would seem to me that if we are all in this together, we should get
input from as many people as possible who are in a position to be of help.
Why don't we include ALL those with a stake in helping us try to solve
the problem?
BOB DEAN
No gun policy dates back many years
Dear Editor:
In the wake of the outrageous terrorist attacks on the World Trade
Center and the Pentagon, I feel compelled to ask a very simple question,
the meaning and portent of which, in retrospect, is outrageous in itself.
How many guns did the flight crew members on the hijacked airliners have
on their persons to uphold their awesome responsibility to protect the
lives of their passengers? The answer: None. I'm told that this no-gun
policy dates back many years creating a condition whereby our airlines
have been deliberately reduced to sitting ducks for terrorists to destroy,
at will, using only pocket knives and razor blades, etc., which have been
promptly outlawed on airlines, of course, by our asinine government authorities
who disarmed the pilots and crew members long ago. The only time skyjacking
subsided was when they put the sky marshals on the airlines years ago and
then took them off when the skyjacking ceased. How dumb can the authorities
get? Obviously the skyjacking ceased because terrorists don't want to deal
with people with guns.
The solution to terrorism, or violent crime in general, is obviously
to arm the potential victims, instead of depending on criminally negligent
or subversive government agents or agencies who deliberately disarm our
airline crews and deliver us up to be sacrificed by agents from dead-end
rat-hole cultures who would love to sucker us into a no-win world war controlled
by the communists, cut-throats and cannibals running the United Nations.
Lets contact the John Birch Society at 800-JBS-USA-1 or visit www.jbs.org
for information, and then our congressman to get us out of the United Nations,
and also to support the H.R.-2896 bill by congressman Ron Paul of Texas
allowing pilots, co-pilots, and navigators to carry guns. We must act now.
Sincerely,
ED NEMECHEK
Wake up call to officials to fix problem
Dear Editor:
We have an onion ring factory in Pecos, and an onion farm 10 miles
down the road. What a gold mine. We should be so rich, but we are not.
Anchor West can make onion rings in Nebraska and truck them to Texas cheaper
than we can make them here. That is pathetic and we should be ashamed of
ourselves.
This is a wake up call to our city and county governments to get the
cost of living in Pecos in line with the cost of living in Nebraska. And
to keep the quality at least equal to that in Nebraska.
We can attract manufacturers, but unless we solve that basic problem
we are wasting our time. They will also just leave. The State of Texas
can help to reduce the cost of doing business in Texas but the problem
is ours. We must provide the leadership to get it done.
We have always looked to our own community as a reference to tackle
problems but those days are over. We must now consider the cost of living
in Nebraska or Idaho when we recommend solutions to local problems.
Thanks,
CHARLES EISLER
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Pecos Enterprise
York M. "Smokey" Briggs, Publisher
Division of Buckner News Alliance, Inc.
324 S. Cedar St., Pecos, TX 79772
Phone 915-445-5475, FAX 915-445-4321
e-mail news@pecos.net
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Copyright 2001 by Pecos Enterprise
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