The Canadian Record (Canadian, Tex.), Vol. 118, No. 17, Ed. 1 Thursday, April 24, 2008 Page: 3 of 32
thirty two pages : ill. ; page 12 x 10.5 in.View a full description of this newspaper.
Extracted Text
The following text was automatically extracted from the image on this page using optical character recognition software:
THE CANADIAN RECORD
THURSDAY 24 APRIL ZOOS
State Capital
Highl ghts
By Ei Sterling
TEKAS PRESS ASSOWTION
AUSTIN—A task force of volunteer lawyers traveled to
San Angelo to assist in the YFZ Ranch child protection
cases, the Texas Supreme Court press office reported
Apr i 118. The volunteers were in San Angelo for an Apr il
17 custody hearing concerning the 416 children taken
from YFZ Ranch, a polygamist settlement owned by the
Fundamentalist Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day
Saints. The church is not affiliated with The Church
of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, or the Mormon
Church.
In early April, state agencies entered the ranch near
Eldorado in Schleicher County and took the children into
custody after an anonymous caller said she had been
beaten and sexually abused at the site. "Overwhelmed
court staff in Schleicher and Tom Green counties have
been assisted by Carl Reynolds, executive director of
the Texas Office of Court Administration, in what is be-
ng called the largest child-custody case in U.S. history,"
according to the report.
The Texas Supreme Court's Permanent Judicial
Commissionfor Children, Youth and Families is engaged
n the process, helping channel resources and train law-
yers, child-protection social workers and other staff in-
volved with courts handling child-protection cases. The
volunteers responded to an appeal by the Texas Access
to Justice Commission and the State Bar of Texas for
qualified family lawyers across Texas to volunteer their
time to represent parents and children in the case.
Perry declares reelection plan
Texas voters aren't scheduled to elect a governor
again until November 2010, but Gov. Rick Perry, said
April 17 he plans to seek reelection. Republican U.S.
Sen. Kay Bailey Hutchison, regarded as a strong poten-
tial candidate to be the next governor, said she is only
focused on the present since it's kind of early to be de-
claring. Lt. Gov. David Dewhurst, also a Republican and
a potential candidate for governor, said he is working on
the 2009 legislative session, which convenes in January.
In 2000, then-Lt. Gov. Perry took over as governor when
then-Gov. George W. Bush became president. Perry was
elected to a full term in 2002 and reelected in 2006.
Gammur :; ss get tobacco money
Texas Comptroller Susan Combs announced her
agency has distributed $92.3 million to Texas commu-
nities from the Tobacco Settlement Permanent Trust
Account. The money, released April 16 to two cities, 159
counties and 135 hospital districts, is to help cover costs
of indigent health care provided during 2007.
"This year the state is sending 12 percent more mon-
ey to communities responsible for providing indigent
care," Combs said. "This money comes from Texas' set-
tlement with tobacco companies and will help communi-
ties offset the costs of providing medical care for those
who cannot pay."
Since the first distribution of funds in April 2001, lo-
cal entit ies have received nearly $430 million from the
trust fund.
COUN££L,BUT \ COiUN'T
LZT VOUK CUENT OFF D/EN IF THERE
W& SUCH MYWN& tem^UNTVEKSAL
CHUm\OFlV\t£KFH> OONVEWENCt-
5101^ rowers ■■
(k- '■> %4ju ■
LETTERS TO THE EDITOR
You don't know
what you've got
til it's gone
THIS IS NOT A BASHING letter on any-
body. Let me start from the beginning.
My son was born with hydrocephalus. He
had to have surgery on his brain at 8 weeks
old, and later on—again, again and again—
due to infections. Altogether, he had ten sur-
geries, which is a lot on a 2-year-
old's brain. At times, he became
anorexic and lethargic, and almost
went ito a coma due to the stress
his body went through. He devel-
oped cerebral palsy and was on
medication. By the time he was 2,
he had already spent over 5 months
n the hospital. He wasn't able to be
a "normal" healthy child. He need-
ed to socialize, and the one place I
thought he could be around others
his age was in daycare.
I couldn't magine trusting anybody with
my delicate child. I wanted a job—somewhere
I could take my child also. I went to the Y, ap-
plied for a job (hoping for a job at the front
desk), and landed one in daycare. Wow!
I was scared of taking care of kids at that
point—all I knew was my own. There were
Cathy and Debbie. They knew what they were
doing. They knew a lot. They even knew what
my delicate child needed. Nobody treated him
different from the other children; that meant
a lot to me. He wasn't the first special needs
child they had. They never turned him away.
They never asked me to do anything different
for him. They didn't see him as different—
they saw his potential.
The Day
Care
Gins
Physically and socially, he was very behind
his peers. We even had Region 16 come. He
had therapy four times a month. In his recov-
ery, this daycare was another therapy. It was
okay with everyone. Wow. We gained another
family. I realized I was hooked. It didn't pay
much, but it was rewarding.
Over the three years I worked there, my
son got better and better. He was only in the
hospital one time. I have to say that is amaz-
ng to me. He has just about caught up to his
peers, is living a healthy life right now, and is
almost 6 years old.
I believe if it were not for the care he re-
ceived in his earliest years of edu-
cation, we would still have a long
time before he would be caught up
to his class. Kids and parents ask
me all the time what happened to
my son, and I don't mind explain-
ing if they have a minute to listen.
I don't mind because I am very
proud of where he is today, and I
believe he wouldn't be where he is
today without the Y.
This is not a pitty us letter. This
is to recognize how dedication, heart and soul
have an impact on our children's lives n our
small community. I thank many people in his
early years, who wouldn't have been there for
us without the YMCA daycare.
When they close the daycare, my daughter
will just be 18 months, and I am very sad. As
have many other parents, I have been looking
forward to that day. It's a milestone. Walk,
talk, go to the Y. Go to school. I'm very sad
that these teachers won't be impacting her
life as they did my son's.
Over three years, we went through 15-20
employees in daycare alone. That's astonish-
ing to me. Those who stuck t out for a while
TEXAS PRESS
ASSOCIATION
Award Winner
LETTER...CDNTINUED DN PAGE 4
West
Texas Press
Association
(~EST. 1926 ~)
MEMBERSHIPS
National Newspaper Association
texas Press Association
West texas Press Association
Panhandle Press Association
We are members of the Society of
Professional Journalists and staunch
advocates of the SPJ Code of Ethics
OUR POLICY
LEIIERSIDIHE EDIIDR
are always welcome, and will be
published if they are signed and
cannot be considered libelous.
We will not publish anonymous
letters under any circumstance
All letters must be accompanied
by a phone number for
verification purposes. Letters
may be edited for length
Each letter should be received
at our office no later than
Wednesday noon for publication
that week's newspaper.
PLEASE DIREDt LEttERS tD:
the Canadian Record
P.D. Box 888. Canadian, 1X73014
(8DE)323-5738 (Fax),
or editDr@canadianrecord.com
ALL E-MAILS ACKNOWLEDGED UPDN RECEIPT
Upcoming Pages
Here’s what’s next.
Search Inside
This issue can be searched. Note: Results may vary based on the legibility of text within the document.
Tools / Downloads
Get a copy of this page or view the extracted text.
Citing and Sharing
Basic information for referencing this web page. We also provide extended guidance on usage rights, references, copying or embedding.
Reference the current page of this Newspaper.
Brown, Laurie Ezzell. The Canadian Record (Canadian, Tex.), Vol. 118, No. 17, Ed. 1 Thursday, April 24, 2008, newspaper, April 24, 2008; Canadian, Texas. (https://texashistory.unt.edu/ark:/67531/metapth252701/m1/3/: accessed May 4, 2024), University of North Texas Libraries, The Portal to Texas History, https://texashistory.unt.edu; crediting Hemphill County Library.