The Canadian Record (Canadian, Tex.), Vol. 116, No. 31, Ed. 1 Thursday, August 3, 2006 Page: 3 of 52
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THE CANADIAN RECORD
THURSDAY 3 AUGUST 2DDB
3
State Capital
Highlights
Bali Sterling
TmSPMSSmBEIMIOH
AUSTIN—Carole Keeton Strayhorn ended legal efforts to have
"Grandma" included as part of her name on the Nov. 7 election
ballot Strayhorn, who is running for governor as an indepen-
dent candidate, appealed Secretary of State Roger Williams'
decision not to allow the nickname. A state district court re-
jected the appeal, and soon after, Strayhorn told her lawyers
she would not continue to pursue the matter.
Candidates to debate in October
Three of the five candidates running for governor plan to
participate in a broadcast debate Oct. 5. So far, Democratic
candidate Chris Bell of Houston and independent candidates
Richard "Kinky" Friedman of Medina and Carole Keeton
Strayhorn of Austin have agreed to take part in the event at
the KERA television studios in Dallas. Incumbent Republican
Gov. Rick Perry has not committed to join in. Debate spon-
sors have not decided whether to invite Libertarian candidate
James Werner of Austin.
Palls shows where candidates are
The Zogby/Wall Street Journal tracking poll for July showed
Perry in first place with 38.3 percent; Bell with 20.8 percent;
Friedman in a statistical dead heat with Bell at 20.7; and Stray-
horn trailing at 11 percent. Perry's polling data is up 0.6 percent
since June; while Bell's is up 1.1 percent; Friedman's is up 3.2
percent; and Strayhorn's is down3.1 pereent.
List of coal plant sites narrows
The U.S. Department of Energy narrowed its search to in-
clude four possible sites for FutureGen, the world's first "near-
zero emissions" coal-fired power plant. Gov. Perry said a site
near the East Texas town of Jewett and a West Texas site near
Odessa are being considered. So are two sites in Illinois. Final
selection will be in the fall of 2007 with groundbreaking in 2008.
LETTERS TO THE EDITOR
Personal attacks in court?
I WAS SOMEWHAT TAKEN ABACK by Mr. Vandiver's observa-
tions of the recent County Commissioners meeting. He made refer-
ence to personal attacks and intimidation. As a former speech teacher
and dramatist, I use more than adequate volume and have often been
accused of being quite verbal. Several times the Commissioners and
I experienced sharp exchanges. I must emphasize, however, that at no
time did I feel that any of the Commissioners engaged in personal at-
tacks. And, I certainly did not feel any intimidation.
But thanks for your gentlemanly concern.
DIANA McGARR
Preserve the library
WHY NOT KEEP THE LIBRARY where it is in one of the old his-
torical buildings and figure whatever it costs as an investment in Ca-
nadian's future? Canadian is lucky to have old buildings that can be
preserved, especially when it can be incorporated into the upcoming
Main Street project. Preserve what you have and enjoy it.
More questions
for county judge
hopeful
I WOULD LIKE TO TAKE this opportunity
to thank Mr. Vandiver for answering my ques-
tions in last week's edition and for further ex-
tending the discussion as regards the library.
But as is often the case, answers lead to other
questions; thus I have a few more questions for
Mr.Vandiver.
At times during this discussion, I will be
referring to the Visual Observation Report
(VOP) dated June 5, 2006, created by Ken-
neth Franch, AIA, PE and given to Judge
Gober. This report consists of Mr. Franch's
observations, a building as-
sessment, and estimated
costs for renovation. He also
includes some general com-
ments regarding building a
new library.
I don't know if this re-
port or any of the other
documents under discussion
are available at the library.
If they aren't, they should
be. The report is an easy
read—only slightly over sev*
en pages, followed by sixty
two pages of photographs.
I don't understand about
the money. As regards com-
parative costs, you state,
"The cost of renovation will
likely equal or exceed the
cost of a new building." On what do you base
that statement?
The VOP projects a renovation cost of
slightly over $2.6 million dollars. People
smarter than I have questioned that figure.
As one example, Hazardous Materials Abate-
ment is estimated to cost $540,800, about 20%
of the total project. But that estimate is just
that: an estimate, and a worst-case estimate
at that.
There is a very strict procedure to test for
hazardous materials, and that procedure has
not been conducted. Though we don't know
about the WCTU, we do know about other
Main Street buildings of similar age and type
of construction that have been tested: little
hazardous material has been found. If there
is little to remove, that changes the bottom
line significantly. We need to know the facts
before a decision is made.
I don't understand about the new library.
Putting aside for the present the issues of
location and design, how much do you think
should be spent on a new library? Renovation
costs are based on 12,000 square feet of ex-
isting building. I assume that a new library
would be that size or bigger. (Yes, I know
what happens when one assumes.)
Me. Franch estimates construction costs
of $165-$200 per foot which results in an es-
timated cost of between $1.9 and $2.4 million
dollars (page 7, VOP). That is, indeed, cheap-
er than the estimated remodeling costs.
But then I read the next sentence on page
8. "Please note this is only referencing con-
struction cost, not total project cost as men-
tioned in the renovation option." I am hope-
RANDY BAILEY, Midland fui that you will help me understand how to
LETTERS TO THE EDITOR
compare the apples
of remodeling to the
oranges of new con-
struction.
I dorftunderstand
about the WCTU. To
what new use do you
see it put, and how
much would it cost to achieve that new use?
How would this new use help the efforts to re-
store Main Street?
I don't understand your position on the
deed covenants. As a general rule, I admire
Creativity and "out of the box" thinking in
teachers and tinkers, kids and carpenters—
but not so much in judges. Most of the con-
servative writers and commentators whom I
admire put great stock in the legal concepts
of original intent, strict interpretation, and
adherence to precedence. They become apo-
plectic when judges become
"creative" in their legal de-
cisions.
If a law is bad it should
be repealed or amended, not
molded like a piece of clay.
Judicial "creativity" opens
a Pandora's Box of unin-
tended consequences. Actu-
ally I think I do understand
your position; I just disagree
with it.
I don't understand the
details of your college schol-
arship proposal. You get
credit here for creativity.
I have already written too
much, so I will leave this
subject for another time, but
I would like to discuss it. In
the meantime, I do have one suggestion. You
might want to visit Robert Ezzell, Hemphill
County Hospital Administrator, and discuss
with him the Dr. Jeffery Grice episode.
I do understand your views on change. I
whole heartedly agree that the only constant
in life is change. I hope you would agree with
me that not all change is for the better, and
that change simply for the sake of change is
unwise. How individuals and groups deal with
change is open to discussion and analysis—
and argument.
And that brings me to my final point:
change is inevitably accompanied by conflict.
Like change, conflict can result in good or
bad outcomes. I believe the internal health of
people and of organizations can be evaluated
not by whether or not they have conflicts, but
how they resolve those conflicts. Efforts to
ignore or conceal or downplay conflict are
signs of sickness. Open and honest efforts
to resolve conflict—though often painful—
are ultimately the best for human and social
health.
With that said, you will understand my
discomfort with your use of words like "petty
differences," "divisiveness," "personal at-
tack," and ''intimidation" in your letter. Cor-
rectme if I'm wrong, butitsounds like you are
talking about the people who want to save the
WCTU. I assure you, this is not a "petty" is-
sue to them or to me.
One last question that may be the most im-
portant of all: if you were County Judge, how
would you have handled that meeting?
JOHN McGARR
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Brown, Laurie Ezzell. The Canadian Record (Canadian, Tex.), Vol. 116, No. 31, Ed. 1 Thursday, August 3, 2006, newspaper, August 3, 2006; Canadian, Texas. (https://texashistory.unt.edu/ark:/67531/metapth220743/m1/3/: accessed May 8, 2024), University of North Texas Libraries, The Portal to Texas History, https://texashistory.unt.edu; crediting Hemphill County Library.