Citizens Journal (Atlanta, Tex.), Vol. 112, No. 38, Ed. 1 Sunday, September 30, 1990 Page: 4 of 12
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4A Sunday. Sept. 30.1080 Citlzana Journal
point
Half of Texas voters remain undecided
Democrats seek Williams scandal
Council to be applauded
for making tough move
The Atlanta City Council has faced some tough decisions recently.
With economic pressures on every local governmental body, setting
budgets and dealing with tax matters has not been fun. The local city
fathers, possibly, more than any other body except the Atlanta School
Board, has had to make its already hard decisions while on an eye-to-
eye basis with their constituency.
The clamp tightened when the public rallied behind Chief of Police
Mike Scott's campaign to get his department a 6 percent pay raise.
While trying to deal with that situation, they announced they had no
plans to increase local property taxes. Looking around, it was easy to
see a plethora of problems the city urgently needed to address — sewer
problems, bad water, streets in horrible shape, and so on. Plus, it be-
came evident that giving just the police department a raise would set up
a howl from other employees who also need and deserve an increase.
But the council exercised its leadership ability Wednesday night when
they adopted the new budget. They included not just a police raise, but a
6 percent raise for all city employees. They also raised taxes 3 percent,
but specifically designated the additional revenue be used for street
repair.
The two councilmen who opposed the pay raises and the tax hike said
they were voting their conscience, and we believe them. The economy is
in a slump and a lot of problems that can only be solved with money
loom ahead. They didn't want to put the city coffers at risk. But we also
applaud the courage of John Pierce Ellis, Porter Hunter and Bogie Price,
who, by their votes, said the risks must be taken. City manager Jim Long
is also due praise for trying to form a budget that accommodated what
the council had determined as priorities before he came on board.
Hopefully those priorities can still be met within the next year and,
hopefully, the economic picture will improve so that the decisions won't
be as tough next time.
UPS PUBLICATION NO 114-160
CITIZENS JOURNAL WAS ESTABLISHED IN 1879
Published Semi-weekly at Atlanta, Cass County, Texas at 306 West Main Stieet, Atlanta,
Texas 75551 Second class postage paid al Atlanta, Texas POSTMASTER SEND CHANGE
ADDRESS 3579 TO; Citizens Journal, Post Office
Box 1188, Atlanta, Texas 75551
ANNUAL SUBSCRIPTION RATES
Payable in advance and non-refundable In Cass and adjoining counties, $25 00; elsewhere
in Texas, $36,00 and Senior Citizens discount rate in Cass County, $19 00 Payments ac-
cepted subject to subscription rate change
This newspaper is a member of the Texas Press Association, North and East Texas Press
Association, Texas Newspaper Advertising Bureau, Atlanta Chamber of Commerce and
Allanta Credit Bureau
AUSTIN — With their nominee, Ann
Richards, trailing multifaceted businessman
Clayton Williams by 15 percentage points,
yellow-dog Democrats are hoping a probe of his
Midland bank will produce a scandal to erode
his lead.
Meanwhile, revelations from Houston pollster
Richard Murray, whose clients have included
several top Democrats, indicate the traditional
image of Texas politics no longer fits:
•Murray announced Texas is now a two-party
state, with Texas voters affiliating themselves
roughly one-third Democrat, one-third
Republican and one-third Independent.
•In the governor's race, Williams' 15-point
lead holds in East Texas, the Rio Grande Valley
and every metropolitan area except Richards'
hometown, Austin,
•This late in the campaign season, an un-
believable 50 percent, give or take, of the voters
is undecided in all the down-ballot statewide
races.
Apparently, the down-ballot races are all up
for grabs and will be influenced by media ads,
unfavorable publicity, and low voter turnout.
Thus, with the general election five weeks
away, expect many more candidates to reply on
the old strategy: "I've got the goods on him/her."
Loans, Insurance and Politics
Along that vein, the attorney general's office
and several other agencies in Austin have
promised to probe charges that Williams' Mid-
land bank used duress to gouge insurance fees
on high-risk car loans in Houston.
Four of those borrowers filed a $1 million
class action suit against the bank last week.
Williams called the charges "pure politics"
and promised to comply with the probe.
Others sympathetic to Williams' campaign
point out it's no coincidence that:
•The issue is related to banks,
•Treasurer Ann Richards, his opponent, has
CapitaI
v_y/ HiqhliqhTS
^ ^ BYLYNDELL WILLIAMS
TEXAS PRESS ASSOCIATION
connections to the banking industry, and,
•The probe comes at a time when trails him.
Richards' name has never been linked as a
source of the complaint against Williams.
She has, however, hitched her wagon to the
pledge of lowering insurance rates for con-
sumers and repeats it often.
Lt. Governor Fray
In the Mosbacher-Bullock race for lieutenant
governor, GOP nominee Robert Mosbacher
slammed opponent Bob Bullock for leaving a
"trail of debt" of $1.1 million in failed business
deals which were settled in secrecy.
Mosbacher raised the issue of whether the
secrecy allowed Bullock to avoid paying federal
taxes on foreign debt.
Bullock, who leads Mosbacher by 13 percent-
age points according to some polls, denied the
insinuations and said he would provide copies
of his tax returns for those years.
He also accused Mosbacher of "hiding behind
the President's good name", when Mosbacher
said Bush was part-owner of a firm which Bul-
lock said is Mosbacher-controlled and pollutes
the environment.
Other Highlights
Gov. Bill Clements rejected a call for a spe-
cial session of the Legislature to resolve over-
crowding in state, county and city jails.
•At a fundraiser in Washington, D.C., Ann
Richards appealed: "We can track it very clear-
ly. When I'm on TV, our numbers are up. When
I'm not on TV, our numbers are down."
She returned to Texas with TV money.
•Former Texas Water Commission chairman
Lee Biggart, now a lobbyist, drew criticism for a
$340,000 fee he will receive for work to permit
hazardous waste incinerator in LaPorte.
Meanwhile, a LaPorte citizens group, told that
their state Sen. Chet Books took $3,500 from
Biggart's firm in '88, one week before hearings
began on the permit, linked the gift with Brooks'
non-opposition stance.
•James Harrington, legal director of the
7,000-member Texas Civil Liberties Union, said
he was suspended with pay for union organized
activities. A spokesman for the executive com-
mittee denied the charge.
•Texas Parks & Wildlife head Andy Samson,
seeking a bigger budget, wants to charge fees
to bird watchers and a whole host of "wildlife
users" other than hunters and fishermen.
•Phyllis Tucker, president of the Texas Chap-
ter of the National Organization for Women,
compared Catholic Bishop Rene Gracida and
Nueces County Sheriff Jim Hickey to Nazis for
advising law officers not to allow arrests of anti-
abortion protesters there.
The Bishop, in a letter to law officers, asked
them to look the other way and not arrest anti-
abortion protesters.
"I don't see the church and state argument
being relevent here. We're talking about
homicide, the killing of a human being," Sheriff
Hickey said.
Letters to the Editor
CITIZENS JOURNAL
"Serving the people of Cass County for more than 109 years"
306 W. Main Street
Atlanta, Texas 75551
214-796-7133
RANDY GRISS0M
Publisher
JOHN COLEMAN Managing Editor
KATHY PARKER Admin. Asst
PAULA STONE Typesetting Mgr.
SONNY LONG Sports Editor
VALERIE EAVES Reporter
LARRY SUMMERS Photographer
JOHN COLEMAN
Asst. Publisher/General Manager
ANGEE R0ARK Adv Manager
DARLENE CULPEPPER Ad Sales
SUSAN STALCUP Classif.ed Sales
KIMMIE PEDRAZA Composition Mgr
Peaceniks abound
Dear Editor,
Surprise, surprise! Almost a full month after
President Bush short-circuited Saddam Hus-
sein's Kuwait power grab, the "Peacenik
Patriots" have only just now commenced crawl-
ing out of the woodwork. On Aug. 31 an outfit
that calls itself "The North Texas Coalition on
the Current Middle East Crisis" met in Dallas,
Texas, in a gigantic rally (30 people), to "find a
way to change public opinion, which is highly
supportive of President Bush." Their stated
position is that President Bush's response to
the Kuwait rip-off is "equally deplorable" to Sad-
dam Hussein's rape of that country.
They proudly reported that they had received
telephone calls from college students who were
especially concerned because they are of draft
age. Unfortunately, there is no draft for college
students to dodge at this time, so they probably
won't be a good source of recruits to the
Peacenik cause. Earlier, other "heroes" who
suckle at the public trough via the U.S. Marine
Corps, were exploring the "conscientous objec-
tor" gambit. It is indeed amazing how quickly
"conscientiousness" comes to the surface when
one is called upon to do what he has already
been paid to do!
It also needs to be noted that Senior Citizen
Hippie George McGovern is saturating the radio
waves with a vengance. It is only a matter of
time until renown patriot Jane Fonda will dis-
cover that Saddam Hussein is a noble reformer
of comparable stature to Ho Chi Minh of North
Korea. And so it goes in the unreal world of
Peacenik Politics.
Tom Harlan
Extend library hours
Dear Editor,
I am a concerned citizen of Atlanta who is
very upset with our city council. I am also a stu-
dent at Texarkana College, and I would like
someone to explain why we can find the money
to redo the airport, but we can't figure out how
the library can be of "good" use to all of the stu-
dents in Atlanta and Queen City.
Most students don't get out of school until
3:30 p.m. and by the time they get to the library,
they don't have very much time to study. And if
they have band or football practice, they cer-
tainly don't have time to go the library.
As for myself, I don't get out of school until 4
p.m., and by the time I get to Atlanta I only have
30 minutes to use the library.
Jackie Garland
Atlanta
Thanks for your help
Dear Editor,
The Atlanta Lions Club would like to thank the
following merchants for making the annual
Lions Club sausage sale at the Forest Festival
a great success. The merchants contributing
their services are Brookshires Grocery, Ivan
Smith Furniture, Smith Wholesale Inc., Welch's
Cass County Butane, and Arkansas Louisiana
Gas Company.
Without the support of these fine business
people, the Lions Club would not be as suc-
cessful in their fundraising projects. Funds are
used to help purchase eyeglasses for the
needy, drug prevention programs throughout
the school systems, and other community
oriented services.
Again, thank you.
Atlanta Lions Club
Steve Pratt, president
HIE
Every One Matters.
Mastering The Art Of Laser Surgery
Another First For Medical Arts Hospital
We're the first hospital in
Texarkana to offer Laparo-
scopic Laser Cholecystectomy.
A cholecystectomy (gall-
bladder removal) used to mean
a large incision, a week-long
hospital stay and a lengthy
recovery But not anymore.
Medical Arts Hospital is
pleased to offer an alternative
to the traditional chole-
cystectomy—a n a l terna ti ve
that lets you return to your
normal lifestyle in only a
few days.
How is the laser
surgery performed?
Four puncture incisions, of
less than 1 /4" each, are made
in the abdomen. Then surgical
instruments are placed through
these incisions. An instrument
containing a tiny camera
guides the surgeon as the
gallbladder is separated from
the surrounding tissue and
removed.
What are the advantages of
laser surgery?
• Short hospital stay and
recovery time
Many patients resume
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ml
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i
their normal activities in
as little as three days. A
traditional cholecystec-
tomy usually requires a
one-week hospital stay
and several weeks of
recovery time.
• Decreased discomfort
Patients who undergo this
procedure experience only
minimal discomfort.
• Less scarring
Because a smaller incision
is required, less scarring
results.
• Lower costs
A shorter hospital stay
and less time off work can
make the overall cost of
laser surgery more afford-
able than traditional
surgery.
We're proud to be the first
hospital in Texarkana to
provide you with the many
advantages of laparoscopic
laser surgery. Besides being
used for cholecystectomies,
this laser can also be used for
podiatry and gynecological
procedures as well as many
other surgical applications.
Medical Arts Hospital
2501 College Drive • Texarkana, TX 75501 • (214) 798-5100
MARION-CASS SOIL & WATER
CONSERVATION DISTRICT
FINANCIAL REPORT
For the Year Ended August 31, 1990
REVENUES
Federal Grants
State Grants
Contributions
interest Earned
District Activities
STATE FUND
$ -0-
12,647.06
-0-
-0-
-0-
$12,647.06
TRUST FUND
5 -0-
-0-
3,7 50.00
- 0-
1,567.24
S 5, 3 i 7 . 24
EXPENDITURES
General
Administration
Promo t iona1
Activities
Staff Benefits
Fixed Assets
Repairs t.
Maintenance
FUND BALANCE 9-1-B9
FUND BALANCE 8-31-90
5 11,084.65
565.75
252.00
-0-
- 0-
5 11,902.40
231 .89
976.55
51,971.73
1,460.10
1,338.83
-0-
392.20
55,162.86
51 , 329 . 76
51,484.14
Published in compliance with Section 1,
Chapter 410. Acts of the 55th Legiolature,
Regular Session. 1957. as amended.
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Coleman, John. Citizens Journal (Atlanta, Tex.), Vol. 112, No. 38, Ed. 1 Sunday, September 30, 1990, newspaper, September 30, 1990; Atlanta, Texas. (https://texashistory.unt.edu/ark:/67531/metapth348160/m1/4/: accessed June 8, 2024), University of North Texas Libraries, The Portal to Texas History, https://texashistory.unt.edu; crediting Atlanta Public Library.