The
Wedding Guide 2015
Thursday, July 16, 2015
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Heat a killer in Texas summertime
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A Special to tion on B us Sec s
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Springtown woman a life-saver Page 2A
7-on-7 benefits
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Volume 52, Number 13
$1 Springtown, Texas 76082
Rep. King on roads, guns, border security BY MARK K. CAMPBELL “Every state wants to be us.” That’s what Representative Phil King told Springtown Optimists at the group’s July 14 meeting. He said that Texas, for the eleventh year in a row, was the “best business state” despite near-constant run-ins with the federal government. “All the major problems facing Texas today are generated by the federal government,” King said. “Austin is not Washington.” Even with fed woes, he said the recently ended legislative session in Austin was “the most productive ever,
hands down.” The economy “One third of all the jobs over the last 10 years created in the country were created in Texas,” King said. If the state was backed out of the U.S. economic recovery since 2008, there would have been no recovery, he noted. Texas oil and gas were crucial to America gearing back up, he said. Texas grows from 1,000-1,200 people daily, he said. Texas has the second most Fortune 500 companies, and, for years, the state has led all others in exports.
The legislature passed a balanced budget with a Rainy Day Fund of $11 billion. “No other state has anything like it,” King said. Some of that money will be needed for an upcoming lawsuit over “public ed[ucation] we’re going to have to reconcile,” he said. State legislators cut $4 billion in taxes – including franchise cuts that send signals to other states to move to Texas for economic growth, he said.
Texas has more road miles than any other state. “It’s expensive to fund,” King said. TxDOT wanted $5 billion for the next two years to keep up with Texas growth, he noted. This November, Texans will vote on dedicating new car sales taxes to generate $600 to $750 million for transportation – “new roads and new construction,” King said. Monies diverted from transportation have been returned to help with costs Roads also, he said. A major part of the state’s budget is King addressed the Highway 199 for transportation. project: “That will be paid for out of
the Prop 1 dollars, the budget you passed last November.” Guns Because he has a retired peace officer’s permit, King can “open carry” but said he never would. “A lot of people want to do that, and that’s great,” he said. He added, “We basically made your CHL (concealed handgun license) an open carry permit.” King said he had no concerns about open carry. “Thirty-four other states PLEASE SEE KING, PAGE 2A.
Monumental war looming? With flags being removed nationwide, are Confederate monuments next? County says it’s not worried BY MARK K. CAMPBELL Many counties in Texas have a Confederate War monument/memorial – including Parker County. It’s on the east lawn in downtown Weatherford. And it’s going to stay there. For now. Texas monuments Around 100 of the state’s 234 counties have a Confederate statue or monument. Three reside in Travis County, home of the Capitol where a massive statue with five figures is topped by Jefferson Davis. On the UT-Austin campus, Confederate statues have been defaced several times. In Dallas County, an elaborate statue was erected in 1898 at Pioneer Park Cemetery; it’s 60 feet tall and perhaps the oldest statue in the town. Lee Park – named after General Robert E. Lee – sits in one of Dallas’ most popular gathering places in Oak Lawn. It, too, was recently defaced. In Tarrant County, a memorial granite slab “in memory of Confederate soldiers” resides on the southeast side Work on this Confederate statue on the east lawn of the Parker of the main entrance of the courthouse County courthouse began 100 years ago. Photo by Mark K. Campbell in Fort Worth.
Super senior
There is a Confederate flag on the back of the Weatherford monument. Photo by Mark K. Campbell Most Confederate statues and monuments are over 100 years old, and it took years of painstaking fundraising to get them built and erected. Parker County’s statue On the square in Weatherford stands a statue that was put in place Nov. 25, 1925.
Official opinions County Judge Mark Riley said that since there has been no problem or issue with the monument, there’s no reason to be concerned about it at this time, according to Public Information Officer Joel Kertok. State Representative Phil King told Springtown Optimists that banning the flag and taking other measures against Confederate relics will not change the past. “History is what history is,” King said. “There are things in our history we’re not proud of, slavery being one of them. But when we remove things, we lose the opportunity to talk about it. You don’t rewrite your history.”
County Clerk issues first gender-neutral marriage license
Springtown’s Swanzy earns 2 bronze medals in Sr. Games BY MARK K. CAMPBELL He’s a medal man now. Eddy Swanzy brought home two medals from the National Senior Games conducted at the University of St. Thomas in St. Paul/Minneapolis, Minnesota. He earned two bronze medals, in the pole vault and long jump. “This was my first time to win any medals at the Senior Games,” he said. In 2013 in Cleveland, Swanzy said he had earned a fifth place ribbon. “Being able to medal in two events was pretty exciting,” he said. Swanzy, 74, noted that he often competes against a fellow Texan in the Games, Don Isett. For the 2015 competition, Isett, from Van Alystene, moved up to the 75-79 division; there, Swanzy said of his friend, Islett set a new world record in the pole vault, clearing 9 feet,
A replica of a statue in National Park in Chattanooga, Tennessee, a uniformed soldier stands with a gun, water canteen, bayonet, belt, and cartridge box. One hundred years ago, the Parker County memorial cost $3,000; a gray granite base was set first, in 1915 followed by the statue 10 years later. Funds were raised by the Sam Lanham Chapter of the United Daughter of the Confederacy, a group that organized in October 1908 with 22 original members.
Eddy Swanzy, second from right, won two bronze medals at the Senior Olympics in Minnesota July 9. 10.25 inches. In Minnesota, Swanzy sailed over the bar set at 7-5 for his pole vault bronze. In the long jump, he finished third with a leap of 11-6.75, which tied with a New Mexican 71 year old. His two medals were part of the 265 won by Texas athletes. Minnesota led the state race with 396 medals followed by Florida (302), California (290), Texas, and Ohio (264). Swanzy said he will again tangle with Islett when they will once more be in the same age group for the 2017 Games in Birmingham, Alabama.
The Springtown resident – who has a pole vault practice area in his yard – encourages others to give the Senior Games a shot. “I would highly recommend it to anyone over the age of 50 that still aspires to pursue their athletic skills,” he said. In Minnesota, one athlete was 102 years old, he noted. “You compete in your own age groups, so you can match up talentwise,” Swanzy said. “Women can compete in the same games that men do.” At this year’s games, 12,000 older athletes competed, he said.
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BY NATALIE GENTRY Despite some hubbub in other counties following the approval of same-sex marriages, Parker County officials had no concerns following the edict. Delays in acquiring the proper paperwork prevented the Parker County Clerk Jeanne Brunson from issuing gender-neutral marriage licenses June 26 – the day the U.S. Supreme Court ruled same-sex marriages legal in all states. However, she announced Thursday, July 2 that Parker County had issued its first same-sex marriage license. “We had a walk-in this morning, a male couple who said they’d been together 29 years,” Brunson said. “That was the first [same-sex] couple to walk in the door requesting a license.” She said her office had been prepared to issue the new licenses Tuesday June 30, but refused to do so before then because it would have violated state law to use the standard form from the Bureau of Vital Statistics defining marriage as the union of “one man and one woman.” Brunson noted that new forms were
delivered Friday June 26, but errors were found in the document by clerks statewide and they had to wait until Monday June 29 for the corrected forms to arrive. Same-sex couples had to then wait until Tuesday, June 30 as the state software program was adjusted to accommodate the new form. While controversy has sprung up around the state about the issuance of the licenses, once everything was in order Brunson and her office were ready and willing to accept the applications and write the licenses. “As an elected official, I have taken an oath to execute the duties of the office, and that I will preserve, protect, and defend the Constitution and the laws of the United States and of the State of Texas without subjecting those actions to my own personal values,” she said. “I believe you want nothing less from your elected county clerk.” The Parker County Clerk’s office processes marriage licenses MondayFriday from 8 a.m.-4 p.m. The fee for a license is $82 cash, and both parties must be present and have a current photo I.D.
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