Page 2, The Gladewater Mirror, Wednesday, April 1, 2015
THE ECONOMIST
Light in the dark ...
We often hear Faith referred to as a ‘personal thing’. I’m not By Dr. M. Ray Perryman so sure I agree. After all, if we have developed, or been blessed with a deep faith, shouldn’t it define our lives? Not just as a moral code or compass, but as an internal guiding light. I think that the code is taught, but the light is freely and abundantly given. This past Sunday I sat in the beautiful sanctuary of Gladewater’s First Presbyterian Church on its next to last Sunday The Affordable Care Act (often known as Obamacare or the as a Family of Faith. I was deeply saddened for the members ACA) passed a milestone recently: it’s been five years since it who were left that had grown up, and in, that faith community. I was signed into law. It went into effect last year, and even five felt their pain as they measured out these last precious moments years later, the ACA is still being debated in settings ranging of worship and community. from the water cooler to the editorial page to the Supreme Court. I know exactly how they felt. It’s not hard to understand why people have such strong I grew up in a church family that loved well. They were feelings about the Act. Access to health care is crucial to there in all the crises and celebrations of life. Their gifts were quality of life, and paying for health insurance is a major many and sometimes wrapped with a pretty bow and given in a line item on the budgets of families and corporations alike. circle of chairs accompanied by petit fours. Often the gifts were Since March 2010 when the Act passed (and even before intangible as when they hurt with you with a ministry of presence then when it was being discussed), I have been fielding that included food and hugs. And that church too, is no more. questions at virtually every speech and meeting about The gorgeous sanctuary exists only in memories and treasured it. While a full debate of the pros and cons and potential pictures. The building itself has been turned into a very outcomes is impossible within the word count I am allowed, expensive, private assisted living facility. Every time I go to I do want to take a step back and point out a few key things. Corsicana and turn to go to the ranch I see ‘my’ church shorn One of the most controversial aspects of the ACA has been its of its unbelievably beautiful soaring stained glass windows and costs to the federal government. Baseline estimates of the cost external crosses. of the ACA’s insurance coverage provisions have been changed For many, many trips after losing the church building it felt many times since the law was enacted in March 2010 (they’ve like a blow from a heavyweight champion. But the blow was my been going up), and this pattern has raised concerns among responsibility to counter. So now I carry with me my memories many that costs are spiraling out of control. It is important
Five Years of the Affordable Care Act
to note, however, as pointed out in a recent update from the Congressional Budget Office (CBO), that projected costs have been given over the subsequent 10 years, so the period spanned by the estimates has changed. Because health care costs have been rising, each time the projection period changes, a less expensive early year is replaced by a more expensive later year. If you compare year by year, however, CBO estimates of the net budgetary impact of the ACA’s insurance coverage provisions have decreased. For example, in March 2010, insurance-related provisions of the ACA were projected to cost the federal government $710 billion over the 2015-2019 period. The most recent projections peg costs at $506 billion for that same period. There are multiple reasons for this decrease, including changes in law, the recession, the Supreme Court’s decision to allow states to choose whether to expand eligibility for Medicaid, administrative actions, and the availability of new data. In addition, the rate of growth of health care costs has slowed, though the recent recession is part of the reason for that pattern. The bottom line is that there are a lot of moving parts in determining the costs of the ACA and how they are changing. Depending on the data source and other factors, it is possible to paint an optimistic or pessimistic picture, which only fuels the controversy. As with most interpretation of statistics, it is important to take a good look at exactly what is being measured and reported. In addition to cost, there are other aspects of the law that cause it to be divisive. A recent analysis from the Kaiser Family Foundation found that those who view the ACA favorably say they like it because it will expand access to health care and health insurance, make health care more affordable, and make Americans and the United States better off in general. Those who do not like it mention financial considerations (such as costs of health insurance and health care as well as the cost of the law), opposition to the individual mandate, and concerns about government overreach. Despite these widely divergent views of the ACA, the gap between those who view the ACA favorably and those who see it unfavorably have narrowed over the past few months. In March, 43% of those surveyed by the Kaiser Family Foundation indicated they had a generally unfavorable view of the law, while 41% said their opinion was generally favorable. Last summer, the results were 53% unfavorable and 37% favorable. While the gap is smaller than it was a few months ago, it remains persistent. In addition, the fact that opinion is divided about down the middle between those who like ACA and those who don’t illustrates just how divisive the law has been. There is no question that more people having access to health care is a good thing, but there are many questions about the best way to get there.
Suzanne Bardwell of Sunday School, Christian Youth Fellowship, baptisms, plays, fellowship dinners too many to count, and my precious Daddy walking me down the aisle to the altar to give me away. (That is what it was called, ‘giving away’. I don’t believe for a minute that Daddy ever completely gave me away. He just took in another son and loved him like his own.) There are things that I took away from what happened within that Family of Faith. I have pictures. I have memories. I have a firmly fixed compass. And, I have been blessed throughout my life with blazing light when darkness threatened to overwhelm. My prayer for the precious few of Gladewater’s First Presbyterian Family of Faith is that they keep the pictures handy, the memories close, and always look for the light. It took me a long time to let go. Frankly, I am not sure I ever will completely. But, I am filled with gratitude for the generations who loved my family and me. Especially when I was unloveable. I am grateful for all that I was taught. And, I am thankful for the foundation that my life was built upon. I have a feeling that my Presbyterian friends may feel the same way. That is something that is not housed in any building. And friends, it is with you wherever you go. Always.
Guest Column City manager explains recent boil water notice
By Sean Pate, Gladewater City Manager I would like to take this opportunity to further elaborate on the recent Boil Water Notice issued by the city of Gladewater. The notification for a boil water alert was done as a precautionary measure as elected by the city. It was not done so as a requirement b y a r e g u l a t o r y a g e n c y. The Texas Commission on Environmental Quality (TCEQ) regulates public drinking water and ensures procedures are in place to maintain an established standard for water treatment. However, the city was never ordered by the TCEQ to issue a boil water notice. Boil water notices are also required to be issued when the pressure in a city’s water system drops under a threshold level which would leave a city at an increased risk for contamination. The boil water notice that we issued was due to high turbidity readings registered at the water plant caused by an abnormal amount of colloidal sand. This sand has been infiltrating the lake due to the excessive amounts of rainfall that we have received in such a short period of time. This sand caused technical failures at the plant and was extremely difficult to filter out. The temporary technical failures resulted in extended periods of time where water could not be produced. The water reserves in our clear well tank then had to be utilized. City staff is well aware that at any time there is limited water production, water can’t continuously circulate throughout the system and chemical residual levels have a possibility of being low. While we did not fall below the state standard for pressure, we believed it to be necessary to take a more precautionary approach to ensure due diligence. For precautionary measures only, the city elected to issue a boil water notice. The city remained on a boil water notice for an extended period of time to allow city staff to ensure that we obtained a full reserve of water supply in our system. A full reserve of water supply ensures continuous circulation in the system. When the boil water notice was placed into effect, the city was extremely
low on our water supply because it had exhausted the majority of its reserves. These reserves were utilized while city staff addressed the technical failures caused by the colloidal sand infiltration. Once issued, boil water notices can only be lifted after samples of the city water supply undergo independent laboratory testing and meet safety requirements In regards to public notification, the state mandates that anytime a boil water notice is issued, the city is required to post the notice at city hall, on our website and through local media. This was all completed on Friday morning when the boil water notice was first issued. The city also utilizes a phone tree system for emergency notifications. We currently utilize Code Red which is paid for by East Texas Council of Governments. This emergency phone system allots time to each county and to each municipality within that county. Please do not confuse this with the Code Red Weather Alert system that the city subscribes to as this is a separate system for weather alerts only. Prior to the boil water notice that was issued by the city, city staff issued a water conservation notification on Thursday evening. A report generated from this notification and reviewed by city staff showed that the system only reached 60 out of a possible 1000 registered. City staff immediately brought the problem to Code Red’s attention and asked that they help remedy the issue. The boil water notification was unable to be issued by Code Red until this problem was resolved. This did not occur until Saturday afternoon. Code Red has assured the city that the problem has been resolved for future notifications. Nonetheless, the city is exploring a new provider separate from the ETCOG supported system to better handle notifications in the near future. It’s certainly never a popular endeavor when procedures such as these are undertaken, but they are done so with the public safety and welfare in mind. The city strives to be as proactive as possible with public water. On behalf of the city staff, I appreciate your support, understanding and your sacrifice during this time. To register for the Code Red Emergency Notification System you can visit the city’s website at www.cityofgladewater.com and click on the Code Red Icon in the lower left hand side of the page. You can also register by calling Code Red directly at 1-866-939-0911. You will need to specify that you are a resident of the city of Gladewater when registering.
Easter service will be last for local church Continued from Page 1 Longview First Presbyterian Church Pastor Emeritus, Rev. Dr. Bill O’Neal filled in for many years after his retirement from full time ministry until the current pastor Cliff Horton took over in 2007. McBride and her sister Christie Gay-Farrar’s grandparents W.S. and Hildred Gay were very active members. “My grandmother lived down the road and I remember trying to keep up with her as we walked to church,” Gay-Farrar said. According to church historical records the church was organized on March 20, 1932 with 29 members. D.W. Canfield, John S. Horner and William J.R. King were elected elders. Mrs. J.S. Horner was president of the Women’s Auxiliary. The first deacons were A.J. Stewart Jr., H. Teter, George A. Banks, David Hiller and B.B. Myers. Rev. J.S. Spencer was called as
pastor and William J. Sedberry was elected as elder as well as clerk of the session. W.S. Gay and J.D. Hillhouse were elected as deacons on Feb. 24, 1939. Page Gay currently serves as elder. His service to the church spans his lifetime and that of the church that has played an important role not only as a family of faith, but a place his family worshipped in and served generationally. The Gay family has been central to the life of the church and want to invite the community to First Presbyterian Church’s last service on Easter Sunday beginning at 9 a.m. “Over the years we have prayed for so many people,” McBride said. “And we have seen the answers to so many prayers.” Before leaving the church Sunday McBride’s sister Christie Gay Farrar looked around the sanctuary with tears in her eyes. “We are now praying for someone to save the building,” she said.
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First Presbyterian Church’s members and visitors Sunday included Christy Gay-Ferrar, elder Page Gay who was a founding member, organist of 44 years Betty Sisk, Judy Banner, Debra McBride, Lucy Horton, Judge Paul Banner, Jerrel McBride and Rev. Clff Horton. Photo by Suzanne Bardwell