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Volume 97 | Issue 20
Sunny 59° / 48°
ntdaily.com
The Student Newspaper of the University of North Texas
Krum couple breeds world’s littlest longhorn BY CANDICE LINDSEY Staff Writer
SCENE: Derby Dolls and Dallas Deception roll into North Texas Insert
SPORTS: Red Wolves stifle Mean Green offense Page 2
There are less than a dozen miniature longhorn breeders in the world, and Denton County is home to one of the pioneering families. Bill and Sandy Buck of Krum began breeding miniature longhorns about 20 years ago. The couple said they had heard “mini this and mini that,” but never mini longhorns. Nine generations later, the Bucks have bred nearly 100 miniature longhorns, including Miss Little Lady, who, at 16 pounds heavy and 18 inches tall, measures as the world’s smallest Texas Longhorn. “It took a while to get them down to a smaller size,” Bill Buck said. “But they started dropping size by about the third generation.” At five months old, Lady is only slightly bigger than the newest addition to the Indian Mountain Ranch, a 2-day-old calf not yet named. Lady’s still shy and hasn’t yet warmed up to the Bucks, but every calf eventually does, Bill Buck said. The Bucks have found the breeding process to be a relatively easy one. By closing the herd, keeping the smaller ones and selling the bigger ones, the Bucks have shrunk their longhorns to half the full-grown breed’s size. Miniature longhorns live to be about 20 years old, and the Bucks typically sell them by the time they reach age 10. The price of the miniature longhorns ranges from
PHOTO BY SARA JONES/SENIOR STAFFER
Longhorn dame Miss Daisie sniffs the hand of owner Bill Buck at the Indian Mountain Ranch, a ranch solely made up of miniature longhorns. $2,000 to $25,000. People have come from all across the U.S. to purchase the Buck’s breed. Eric and Anna Redeker bought their first group of miniatures from the Bucks last year.
“What’s important to us is that they find a good home.”
—Sandy Buck, Indian Mountain Ranch
“We found miniature longhorns were the breed that got us most excited,” Eric Redeker said. Redeker now serves on the Texas Longhorn Breeders Association of America review panel, which determines if a
miniature longhorn meets the proper standards to be registered. Redecker calls Bill Buck a “foundation breeder,” because he was one of the first to shrink the animals and help establish a breed standard. The Bucks’ two granddaughters, Haley and Allison, help Sandy Buck make sure all the new longhorns have names to match their stature. Miss Lillie, Miss Buttercup, Miss Princesses Haley and Allison, Miss Maybeline, Miss Dasie, Little Oscar, Little Bubba and Wanda May are just a few. “W hat’s i mpor ta nt to us is that they find a good home,” Sandy Buck said. Indian Mountain Ranch is located at 3021 S. Branch in Krum, Tex. For more information about miniature longhorns, visit Bill and Sandy Buck’s website at http:// www.imranch.com.
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PHOTO BY SARA JONES/SENIOR STAFFER
Miss Little Lady drinks from a trough at the Indian Mountain Ranch where she lives. Lady is the world’s smallest miniature longhorn.
Local nonprofit needs $100k to fund services
Softball team wins in extra innings
BY STACY POWERS Senior Staffer
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PHOTO BY DREW GAINES/SENIOR STAFF WRITER
Cars stream by on Interstate 35E in Denton last night. Texas cities up and down the I-35 corridor experienced record population growth in the past decade, and Denton was no exception.
Census: Denton population thrives BY DREW GAINES
federal legislatures based on its population. A district’s population also governs the amount of federal and state funds it receives for everything from education to transportation to social services. “We will become entitled to more of those resources, but the whole pie of those resources is shrinking,” said Burroughs, referencing the state and federal budget cuts now looming over city school districts and services. Texas cities and suburbs are swelling too, as the state posted a nation high 20 percent population increase of 4.3 million people since 2000. Texas’ overall population is
Senior Staff Writer
If exploding UNT enrollment and rapid retail and residential expansion were any indication, recently released census numbers confirmed that Denton is one of the fastest-growing areas in the state. The latest data from the 2010 Census shows that Denton County has grown by 53 percent since 2000. With a population of 662,614 people, it now stands as the ninth largest county in Texas. Much of the growth is attributed to the county’s Hispanic population, which doubled in the last decade. Hispanics account for nearly 121,000 county residents — 30,000 more than was projected ten years ago. There are both advantages and drawbacks to the area’s sprawl, said Denton Mayor Mark Burroughs. “It means we are going to be entitled to greater representation, both locally and on the level of the federal government,” Burroughs said. Every new batch of census data requires lawmakers to reassess the number of seats a district can occupy in both the state and !
now 25,145,561 people. The immediate effects of the increases have officials concerned about redistricting political boundaries. House Rep. Michael Burgess (R-Lewisville), who represents much of Denton County in the U.S. Congress, accounts for more than 900,00 people in his district — much more than the ideal state average of 700,000. He stands to lose potential voters when the state legislature redraws district boundaries to even out the state’s larger population, adding four additional Texas seats in the U.S. Congress.
Denton County Friends of t he Fa mily, a n organ i zat ion t hat prov ides shelter and free services to v ict i ms of domest ic v iolence a nd sex ua l assault, is trying to raise $10 0,0 0 0 t o a s s i s t i n expanding its services. Funding cuts recently forced the organization to significantly reduce its staff, which has lead to an increase in the number of families waiting to receive help, said Carol Gaige, the d irector of com mu n it y relations. “Honestly, what we need is staff, and so if we can somehow obtain that, we can at least bring back in some counselors and start get t i ng pe ople mov i ng m u c h q u i c k e r,” G a i g e said. Fr iends of t he Fa m i ly ser ved more t ha n 9,800 clients in 2009, and more than 10,600 last year. As of January, almost 700 clients have been helped, a nd that number is expected to increase to more than 11,000 by t he end of t he year, Gaige said. UNT counseling students are helping fill the void by assisting the agency with cases. T he st udents have a n opportunit y to gain rea l world experience and earn class credit. “It’s really been a lifesaver with all of our staff cuts,” Gaige said. “It’s beneficial to them, because they need their hours and it definitely helps us.” L i l l iesha Gra ndber r y,
Number of clients served: 2008: 13,316 2009: 9,843 2010: 10,605
11,135 Projected clients this year
639 Domestic violence incidents reported in Denton each year a c ou n s el i ng g r a du at e st udent, sa id she k new she wanted to work with domestic violence victims, so she chose to intern with Friends of the Family. “Right now, I am doing a domestic violence support group,” Grandberr y said. “Kind of like being a counselor, you also do a little bit of advocacy work too, so you help them with referra ls, housing, a nd ma ke sure that their basic essential needs are met.” I n order to ra ise t he $100,000 needed to support the increased demand, the organization has asked for donations from individuals, businesses and government grants. “We a re reach i ng out really to every part of the community, through every mea ns ava i lable, ask ing t hem for t heir suppor t,” said Ann Tubbs, the board chair .
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