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Kountze, Silsbee basketball teams bow out of playoffs early.
Vol. 97, No. 9
silsbeebee com
Wednesday, February 27, 2013
50¢
Turmoil in Lumberton over Burqas
By Andrea Whitney reporter@silsbeebee.com
Lumberton Independent School District and its Superintendent John Valastro are coming under fire after a picture of students wearing burqas surfaced on Facebook and has since created a whirlwind of controversy. The picture was taken by a student in the class when her classmates were discussing the culture of other nations in a world history class. The teacher brought out the burqas, which she stated were
comparable to "a favorite tee shirt in our country", for students to try them on if they wished. A few volunteered and the infamous picture was snapped by a cell phone and put on Facebook. Once the picture was noticed on Facebook, it soon went viral and people from California to Washington have been weighing in on the controversy. Local conservative David Bellow drafted a letter that is now being circulated to many in Hardin County that outlines his views and the damage teachings
like this could do to citizens. Bellow stated in a phone interview that, while he first believed that this was a part of the required CSCOPE curriculum used by LISD, he has since learned, after talking with some of the parents, that the lesson is one that is not required by CSCOPE but has been taught at LISD for at least two years. Bellow went on to say that CSCOPE is now reviewing its protocol regarding the issue and is changing their lessons. Bellow does not fault the teacher and be-
lieves that the lesson started innocently enough with good intent and that students should learn about different cultures in different regions but feels that the lesson was unbalanced because no other regions were discussed and also that the oppressive nature of women wearing burqas was not discussed. "They did not bring out a priest hat or a robe, all they brought were these burqas and the teacher didn't tell the students that women
CONQUER THE FEAR SILSBEE
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See LUMBERTON on PG. 10, SEC. 1
BANQUE T
Vaughn brings inspirational story to Silsbee chamber banquet Thursday.
By Daniel Elizondo editor@silsbeebee.com Kenny Vaughn inspired himself through faith and battled his fear of failure. In time, his faith grew to great lengths, allowing him to not only become a successful author, but also become a national water ski jump championship competitor. Vaughn brings his inspirational story to Silsbee as the keynote speaker at the 2013 Silsbee Chamber of Commerce Banquet on February 28. Vaughn’s story began at the high school level as a water ski Kenny Vaughn jumper, enduring failure and disappointment, which ultimately led a break in his competition. After a short hiatus, he returned to the sport and then later joined his girlfriend Tammie, who is now his wife. Tammie inscribed two scripture verses on the handles of his equipment, which later, Vaughn described as reaching his
heart. He eventually won the national championship in 1996. Vaughn grew to love the encouragement of the scripture and set out to create his own to carry with him. One that would be water resistant. He came up with the idea of purchasing a dog tag, inscribing scriptures on them and wearing them under his shir for competition. His creation later became known as Shields of Strength. Vaughn began to share his shield with others that were lost, hurting or fearful. After he gave one away, he would make another one. Before long, his dog tags wound up in a few bookstores. After Sept. 11, when the first troops were deployed to Afghanistan, two sol-
diers had Shields of Strength, which inspired other soldiers in the battalion to want them as well. The cylce of soldiers wanting shields grew in exhorbitant amounts. In 2003, Capt. Russell Rippetoe was killed in Iraq wearing a Shield of Strength. On Memorial Day of that year, Rippetoe was honored at Arlington National Cemetery by former President George W. Bush, who shared the story to all. “I never dreamed any of this,” Vaughn said. “I never set out to do any of this.” Approximately 3 million Shields of Strength tags were produced by Vaughn and his wife. Vaughn wanted to share his story about Shields of Strength tags and wrote a book of the humbling experience. See SHIELDS on PG. 10, SEC. 1
Kountze chamber honors top citizens, business Teel, Puckett, Crawdads/Moz Grill among those to be honored.
The Kountze Chamber of Commerce will be hosting their annual banquet on Tuesday, March 5 at 7 p.m. in the Kountze High School cafeteria. The chamber will be honoring their Citizen of the Year, Mr. Cody Teel. Cody recently became the Kountze P.R.C.A. World Champion Chamber Banquet Bull Rider. Also being March 5, 7 p.m. honored will be Mrs. Kountze High School Colleen Puckett for Teacher of the Year and Crawdad’s / Moz Grill as the Business of the Year. And then there is the President’s Award which is always a surprise. The meal is being catered by Mama Jack’s Restaurant of Kountze and will consist of Bar-B-Q See KOUNTZE on PG. 10, SEC. 1
Wrangler National Finals Rodeo photo by Dan Hubbell
Kountze bullrider Cody Teel takes a victory lap at the Las Vegas Nationals after winning the PBR World Championship. Teel will be honored on March 5 as Citizen of the Year by the Kountze Chamber of Commerce.
Bond election gets a ‘yes’ from board
By Daniel Elizondo editor@silsbeebee.com It took Silsbee ISD board trustees 20 minutes to discuss a bond proposal that would build a new elementary school, and a unanimous vote was quickly hailed with what seemed as a sigh of relief. Without two members present, trustees voted unanimously in a special called meeting on Monday to approve a school bond election on May 11. The bond, which will be in the amount of $29.5 million, could be voted on “I think the timing and approved by is as good as it the community in can be.” an effort to help Alan Sanford consolidate eleSilsbee ISD mentary campuses. Board Trustee “I think the timing is as good as it can be,” Board Trustee Alan Sanford said. “We’ve been making do with the old buildings we have. I feel really, really strong about this decision.” The bond asks for the building of a new elementary school in between the existing Laura Reeves and Read-Turrentine campuses. After the completion of the new school, Read-Turrentine and Kirby Elementary schools would then be razed. After the schools are razed, the property could be used for parking and/or playing fields to be used by the school. Claycomb and Associates of Austin proposed to Silsbee ISD a plan to move forward in the bond process and a committee agreed with the firm. Claycomb came up with a cost of a new elementary school at roughly $24.3 million. Razing Kirby Elementary and Read-TurrenSee SILSBEE on PG. 10, SEC. 1
Racial threats land two indictments One suspect claims to be a member of the Aryan Brotherhood.
By Daniel Elizondo editor@silsbeebee.com Two Kountze men were indicted by a grand jury trial on charges stemming from alleged threats to a 16-year old minor. According to reports, Christopher Alan Guidry, and Brent Michael Tye, 29, were arrested after a warrant was issued for their arrest on Dec. 31, 2012. On Dec. 28, 2012, Hardin Brent County deputy Dennis Allen responded to a com- Michael Tye plaint call on McCauley Road in Kountze concerning terroristic threats to a 16-year old boy. According to the probable cause affidavit, the mother of the child told authorities that her son had received numerous threats on his cell Christopher phone’s voice mail. Alan Guidry The report stated that the threats included racial slurs along with violent threats by two male voices. In one mesSee THREATS on PG. 10, SEC. 1
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