NEWSBRIEFS

A political war is one in which everybodyshoots from the lip.

— Quips & Quotes

See BRIEFS, Page 4

SERVING ANTHONY, VINTON, CANUTILLO, EAST MONTANA, HORIZON, SOCORRO, CLINT, FABENS, SAN ELIZARIO AND TORNILLOVOL. 31, No. 10 MARCH 4, 2004

nineteenseventythree

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Vehicle registrationIf you have an outstanding traffic warrantin the city of El Paso, you won’t be ableto register your vehicle without clearingit up, thanks to recent action taken by themunicipality which hopes to collect someof the $29.5 million in unpaid fines cur-rently on its books. The program, knownas Scofflaws Program, flags the files ofvehicle owners with moving violation war-rants, which are forwarded to the TexasDept. of Transportation, which in turntransfers the markers to the state system.The program involved an agreement be-tween TxDOT, the city and El PasoCounty. The county already has a similarprogram in place with the state which tookeffect on Jan. 1, and has netted the countyas much as $5,000 a week in previouslyuncollected fines. The county also marksfiles of vehicle owners who owe thecounty in child support payment fees.

Boll weevil ratesThe Texas Department of Agriculture hasestablished the 2004 assessment rate, duedate and discount date for the El Paso/Trans Pecos Zone of the boll weevil eradi-cation program. The assessment for 2004in the EP/TP is $20 per land acre, the rateestablished by growers and landowners inthe original referendum. Growers whoplant Bt cotton can qualify for a $10 credit,if they specify the amount of Bt cottonacreage planted when they certify theircrop with FSA. Growers with failed acresare eligible to receive a credit on thoseacres destroyed before the final certifica-tion date. Qualifying failed acres must re-main free of all hostable cotton until a kill-ing freeze to receive the credit. Assessmentnotices will be mailed by Aug. 12, and pay-ment is due Sept. 14. Growers who payby Aug. 30 are eligible to receive a 2 per-cent discount on their assessment.

Victim unidentifiedThe identification of one of the two menkilled near Tornillo on Sunday, Feb. 22when they were run over by a Union Pa-cific train is still unknown by law enforce-ment officials. One of the victims has beenidentified as Ernesto Aaron RosasSanchez, 22, of Chihuahua, Mexico. Theunidentified victim was terribly disfiguredin the accident which occurred while thetwo men appeared to have been resting onthe railroad track. The train sounded itshorn to warn them but they were struckand died instantly. Information: 546-2285.

In other news� San Elizario parents Maria Isela Venzorand Francisca Maciel, and Title III ClerkJosie Campos have been selected topresent at the UTEP 11th Annual BEEMSConference on Saturday, March 27. The

HORIZON — They knew it was coming,this inevitable and unfortunate symptom ofrapid growth in a previously small community,but they hoped it wouldn’t come this soon.The Horizon City Police Department is report-ing a significant increase in traffic accidentsthis year.

“It’s been something we knew would comewith the increase in traffic as the city grows,”said HCPD Sgt. Ron Swenson. “We thereforehave trained one of our officers in SpecializedTraffic Accident Investigation and recentlyhired another who already possessed the train-ing.” From Jan. 1 to March 1 of 2004 the Hori-zon City Police have handled 18 motor vehicleaccidents, some of which occurred on privateproperty but were reportable.

“That doesn’t sound too bad,” said Sgt.Swenson, “but when you consider that last yearwe only had eight during the same time frameand three the year prior, it’s shows a drasticincrease.”

Most recently a truck rolled over at Eastlakeand Horizon and the driver was taken to thehospital for treatment of injuries.

LETHAL SYMPTOM — Though the driver of this truck escaped with life intact, injurieswere sustained that required hospitalization. The busy intersection of Eastlake Drive andHorizon Blvd., where this accident occurred, handles heavy traffic. Horizon’s food store,two schools, a bank, a shopping center, and a gas station/convenience store are all in theimmediate vicinity. Horizon Blvd. is also the most heavily used connecting route to nu-merous homes in the desert east of Horizon City.

Unfortunate side effect of growth

Traffic accidents on the rise in Horizon CityAnother accident at the same location re-

sulted in more injuries on Feb. 23 when a carwas struck broadside. Rescue crews had toextricate one of the passengers using the Jawsof Life.

“Our goal is to keep the roads safe and pre-vent accidents. One way we do this is by en-forcing traffic laws — especially speeding, stopsign violations and reckless driving” said Sgt.Swenson.

Horizon City Police have been working ar-eas of high traffic volume such as DarringtonRd., Horizon Blvd., and Eastlake Dr. and haveissued over 300 traffic citations this year.

The Horizon City Police urge all motorists toobey speed limits, stop signs and be cautious ofconstruction areas — including the intersectionof Horizon Blvd. and Darrington Rd. which hasbeen under construction for months.

The HCPD is also seeking public input andinvites calls from citizens with a specific areaof concern or to report a continuous traffic haz-ard in their area. Contact the Horizon City Po-lice at (915) 852-1047 or, if it is an emergency,call (915) 546-2280.

EL PASO COUNTY — Campestre El-ementary School third-grader Javier Phelpsgot some expert advice on taking care of hiseight Dalmatians on Feb. 26. His friend,Javier Gurrola, says he’ll feed his Chihua-hua well — and let it rest.

These Socorro ISD students were actingon expert advicefrom veterinariansDr. George Navarand Dr. JimGearheart, whocame to the campusto donate 21 copiesof the Texas Veteri-nary MedicalAssociation’s newbook, Happy’s Spe-

cial Doctor, to Socorro students. The bookwas written by Cindy King Boettcher andillustrated by Tammie L. Bissett. SocorroISD Superintendent Dr. Robert J. Duron ac-cepted the books on behalf of the District.The book tells the story of a family whoadopts and learns to care for a dog.

“These books were published in honor ofthe 100th anniversary of the Texas Veteri-nary Medical Association, so the local asso-ciation is donating books to all the differentschools in the El Paso area,” says Navar,

SAN ELIZARIO — There’s a sortof energy or vibe you feel behind thescenes of a news production, an ex-citement generated because you aregetting to see what the rest of the tele-vision viewing world doesn’t. BorregoElementary fourth and fifth gradersknow something about this, not onlybecause they recently paid a visit tothe set of ABC 7’s noon show, but be-cause they’re producing a newscast oftheir own.

WRAM is more than just morningannouncements on television; it’s kids

putting on a program for kids. Fromthe camera work, writing, prompting,camera switching, and Power Pointpresentation, Borrego students aremaking it happen.

“It was generated during one of ourtechnology meetings earlier in theschool year,” Jose Zavala said, theschool’s computer lab instructor. “Ms.Holt brought it up and said she had seenit at another school, so we asked Mrs.Hopp (principal) if we could do it andshe told us to research it.”

While some people might havethought the expense would be too great,all Zavala needed to turn a classroom

By Phillip CortezSpecial to the Courier

WRAM is on the air

LIVE FROM… — Borrego Elementary fourth and fifth grad-ers recently went on a field trip to the Channel 7 news-room. With some training and new equipment, the WRAMteam now produces the the morning announcements andother news items for their school. It is broadcast on theschool’s TV system.See WRAM, Page 8

Javier Phelps

Veterinarians donatebooks countywide

EL PASO COUNTY — The El Paso Veteri-nary Medical Association has been dis-tributing Happy’s Special Doctor, a newbook on pet health care, to ten schoolsthroughout the county.

See BOOK, Page 5

WEST TEXAS COUNTY COURIERPage 2 March 4, 2004

SERVING ANTHONY, VINTON, CANUTILLO, EAST MONTANA, HORIZON, SOCORRO, CLINT, FABENS, SAN ELIZARIO AND TORNILLO

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HomesteaderEst. 1973

nineteenseventythree

two th o u s a n d four

31YEARS

Reyes Reports By U.S. Rep. Silvestre Reyes

One perspectiveBy Francis Shrum

He couldhave beena n y w h e r e

from 30 to 60 years old. He movedwith the long, easy stride of aTarahumara Indian, though I neverasked if that was his lineage. Hewasn’t very tall, and rail thin, but he wasstrong as a horse and could work all dayin the brutal heat of the West Texas sun— mostly without a hat, a practice which

burnished his already dark skin.We called him by something other

than his real name. His real one wasabout as long as my arm, filled with“Maria” and “de” this or that. Heshowed me his green card once and hisname took up half the available space.

For simplicity, I’ll call him Juan.He lived in Mexico with his wife

and family, and when we first methim he talked about them incessantly.

He showed me pictures of them, too.I never saw him wear anything new,and though he worked hard and mademoney, he clearly wasn’t spending iton himself.

He drove a pickup that was so oldand beat up it was a minor miraclethat it didn’t break down before heturned the corner at the end of theblock, but Juan knew how to keep avehicle running long after otherswould have given it up.

His truck was several different col-ors, none of them very attractive, andits exhaust was pretty potent, but Juanwas proud of it. It gave him a kind ofindependence and capability that wasclearly hard-won.

I always knew when he was work-ing in my neighbor-lady’s yard be-cause I’d see the truck in the street.

She said he was the best yard manshe’d ever had. I was surprised oneday when he knocked on the door.His truck wasn’t parked at the curb.

I could see he was truly upset. Hetold me, “they have put my truck in jail.”

I didn’t understand at first, until thewhole ugly tale unraveled, enough tomake you clench your teeth, thenyour fists.

He was driving in a Juarez neigh-borhood when he was rear-ended bya speeding Mercedes sedan. His truckwas forced completely off the streetand into a rock wall. When the po-lice arrived, however, they arrestedJuan. He said the policemen knew thefather of the young man who wasdriving the Mercedes — a person ofpower and financial means.

The police impounded his old

truck, too, and before they releasedhim from jail, he had to put up thetitle to the mobile home where hisfamily lived as bond. He said he hadto report to the police station everyweek with payment for damages to theMercedes and the rock wall. And theywanted $3,000 to release his truck.

He was devastated but determinedto get his truck back. I wanted to tellhim that the old truck couldn’t pos-sibly be worth that much money, butI didn’t have the heart. To him it was.

After that, things didn’t go well forJuan. He would come on the bussometimes, and sometimes my friendwent to pick him up. For awhile hisvisits were sporadic and he becameeven thinner than before.

He couldn’t get his truck back andcouldn’t afford another one. He lost theability to get to and from the jobs heworked at so hard, and he could nolonger transport items back across theborder to leverage into a little profit.

The worst part was that hestopped talking about his family. Ididn’t ask. He was unfailingly po-lite and always a gentleman but helost the sparkle that had gleamedbehind his dark, inscrutable face.

Recently a friend of his came totell my neighbor that Juan is seriouslyill and can no longer come to do heryard work. She says she doesn’tknow what she’ll do without him.

I don’t know where he lives andeven if I did there would be little Icould do for him — Juarez may beonly a few miles away as the crowflies, but it might as well be on the moon.

Justice, economic fairness andhope have been rare commodities inJuan’s life. Though I visited with himregularly for years and consider hima good friend, our realities are as dif-ferent as night and day. While I livein a society where people can accessfree legal assistance and economicsupport without ever working a day,this thin, brown man worked day andnight but was denied everything in amoment of chance — he was simplyin the wrong place at the wrong time,and had no recourse.

Next time we get to feeling sorryfor ourselves, maybe we should con-sider what it would be like to walk amile in Juan’s well-worn shoes as hetrod the dark side of the moon.

Dark sideof the moon

El Paso’snearly 1,000small busi-nesses pro-vide a sourceof hope for

our community during this period ofeconomic decline, unemploymentand decreased income levels. Withsmall businesses playing such a criti-cal role in El Paso, we are lucky tohave such active chambers of com-merce that provide the services andinformation local businesses need toget ahead.

In Washington, I work on the fed-eral level for resources that will helpour chambers of commerce and smallbusinesses improve and be morecompetitive.

My efforts also focus on support-ing the El Paso Hispanic Chamber ofCommerce in securing a MinorityBusiness Development Center for ElPaso, increasing the number of cer-tified HUB Zone businesses, andstreamlining cross-border trade. I ampartnering with the U.S. Small Busi-ness Administration (SBA) to pro-vide loans to minority-owned and

Minorities needed in top financial positionsdisadvantaged businesses and fightcontract bundling.

I am also working with my col-leagues in the Congressional His-panic Caucus to address the chal-lenges minority-owned businessesface. We are working to fully fundthe Small Business Association’s(SBA) loan programs, such as the7(a)program and the Microloan pro-gram, which provide 40-percent ofall long-term lending to small busi-nesses. In addition, we are workingto establish national lending goals forminority businesses. We are pushingthe SBA to set a lending goal of 20-percent for Hispanic-owned busi-nesses and hope to expand that goalto include women-, Asian-, and Af-rican-American-owned businesses.

Also important is increasing rep-resentation of Hispanics in the finan-cial industries. In order to understandthe needs of the Hispanic community,Hispanic individuals need to fill moresenior positions in financial institu-tions, such as banking, consulting,trading and financial management.This would also foster the develop-ment of more Hispanic-owned finan-

cial institutions.The SBA’s 8(a) program, the fed-

eral government’s primary programto ensure minority and disadvantagedbusiness development and access tothe federal procurement market, alsoneeds to modernize. As the main ve-hicle for Hispanics to gain entry tothe federal marketplace, we will workto improve this valuable program. Aswith the SBA’s lending programs, weare working to establish government-wide goals for the 8(a) program. Inpast years, 8(a) numbers have slipped— they now account for less than 3-percent of federal procurement andsince 1998, the number of 8(a) con-tracts has decreased by more than35,000. To ensure success, federalagencies must be held accountable.

With all the contributions localsmall businesses make to El Paso andthe country as a whole, they deserveevery opportunity the federal govern-ment can provide. I am working onnational and local priorities to im-prove our economy and business op-portunities and look forward to whatwe can achieve as the yearprogresses.

March 4, 2004 WEST TEXAS COUNTY COURIER Page 3

Eye on D.C. By U.S. Rep. Henry Bonilla

This week marks a special occa-sion for our great state. It is the anni-versary of our state’s independencefrom Mexico. On March 2, 1836 aconvention of 54 men met in thesmall settlement of Washington-on-the-Brazos to sign the Texas Decla-ration of Independence.

The Texas Declaration of Indepen-dence was produced, literally, over-night. Its urgency was paramount.While the founding fathers of Texasprepared the document, the Alamo inSan Antonio was under siege bySanta Anna’s army of Mexico. Innear-freezing weather, in an unfin-ished building, the convention votedin the early morning hours of March2 to unanimously accept the resolu-tion. Ultimately, 58 members signedthe document. And thus was born theRepublic of Texas.

The declaration sent a sign toMexico that Texans would no longerlive under what many of them re-garded as a tyrannical rule from adistant source. It was testimony thatTexans were ready and willing to

fight for their freedom. And fightthey did.

Four days after signing the docu-ment, William Barret Travis and184brave men concluded their gruesomebattle against more than 5,000 Mexi-can troops. The odds were against theTexas volunteers, but they were de-termined to stay the course and fightuntil the end. When the battle wasover, only 15 people — mostlywomen and children — were spared.Familiar names like Davey Crocket,James Bowie and Juan Badillo losttheir lives that fateful day. Thesebrave souls did not give their lives invain. The casualties that the Texasforces mounted against Mexico, andthe time lost in fighting at the Alamocut short Mexico’s campaign. It gaveSam Houston just enough time toperfect his plans for the defense ofTexas and enabled him to win theBattle of San Jacinto on April 21,1836. This victory spelled a finalfreedom for Texas.

In the saga of Texas history, there isno period as distinctive as Texas’

struggle for in-dependence.The period’sheros are re-membered inthe names of cities and towns, streets,plazas and public buildings. The LoneStar flag, inherited from the originalTexas Republic, still flies proudlythroughout our state.

I’d like to leave you with a quoteby Sam Houston just before theBattle of San Jacinto.

“We view ourselves on the eve ofbattle. We are nerved for the contest,and must conquer or perish. It is vainto look for present aid: none is athand. We must now act or abandonall hope! Rally to the standard, andbe no longer the scoff of mercenarytongues! Be men, be free men, thatyour children may bless their father’sname.”

Texas Independence Day is an oc-casion for all Texans to stand proudand remember the men who stood upfor their rights and fought for theirfreedom. God Bless Texas!

The glory of Texas

By Albert M. Balesh, M.D.“Come and get it. You want it.

We’ve got it. Welcome to Al andJoe’s ‘Kitchen of Forbidden De-lights,’ where the customer is alwaysright, and where your pocketbookguarantees you limitless access.Come and choose from a vast arrayof vitamins, elixirs, and potions. Letyour palate be the judge. If they tastebad, they certainly must be good foryou. Imbibe the waters, go easy on thewine, and partake of our quintessen-tial fountain of youth. What’s that yousay? Charlatans? Quacks? Come on,Joe, it’s time to move on. Maybe thefolks in Las Cruces will appreciate us.”

From north to south and east towest, in circus sideshows, medicalliterature, and the hallowed halls ofprestigious research institutions,hawking medicinal wares has be-come a quotidian way of life. “Takethis pill for gas, that one to make ababy, and a drop of Kaopectate toprevent those nasty squirts.” Damnthe long clinical trials, turning backthe hands of time has become bigbusiness. In an epoch where the gooddie young and the old die miserably,edges and hedged bets are desper-ately sought.

March 2004, as National NutritionMonth, beckons us all, as captains ofour protoplasmic ships, to throw Aland Joe overboard and set a coursethat will take us the long way around.Living longer, more productive lives,with an emphasis on quality of life,

and freeing children from the ethicaland financial handcuffs of caring foraging, “baby-boomer” parents in frailhealth is our destination.

It has been shown on numerousoccasions that the risks of type 2 dia-betes mellitus and stroke can each belowered by 30 percent with briskwalking two to three hours a week.High blood pressure can also be re-duced or prevented with moderateexercise, and osteoporosis and bonefractures will occur less often. Fur-thermore, three hours of brisk walk-ing a week will lower the risk of heartdisease by 40 percent.

Those pesky little vitamins that wesometimes think are so good must becarefully scrutinized for benefits, sideeffects, and cause and effect. Verylarge amounts of vitamin A can harmbones, make hip fractures morelikely, and cause brain damage, liverdamage, and birth defects. Folic acidcan increase the risk of neurologicalproblems in people lacking adequatevitamin B12, and the anemia causedby high doses of vitamin C is nolaughing matter. High doses of vita-min D can cause dangerously abnor-mal blood levels of several minerals.Finally, vitamin E can cause exces-sive bleeding in surgical patients orpeople taking anticoagulants such aswarfarin.

French researchers have found thatpeople who eat fish at least once aweek are less likely to develop de-mentia. It has been suggested that fish

oils (particularly omega-3 fatty ac-ids) are at the heart of the matter, andhelp control inflammatory processesthat are associated with Alzheimer’sdisease. Don’t forget to take Frenchwine “to heart” also.

The high-fat, low-carbohydratediet, first introduced back in 1972, isbased on the premise that heavy car-bohydrate consumption causes thebody to store more food as fat, andreducing the intake of carbohydratessubsequently forces fat reserves to beburned. Balanced nutrient diets(1984), which limit daily intake to 30percent protein, 30 percent fat, and40 percent carbohydrate, stimulatethe body’s ideal production of thehormone insulin, which in turn en-courages weight loss. Back-to-basicsdiets (1988), which cut out grains likewhite flour, promote consumption offruits and vegetables, and substitutefree-range animal meat for fatty,grain-fed beef, herald a return to thenutritional habits of our ancestors.Finally, the high-fiber diet (1990)favors consumption of vegetables,beans, whole grains, and fruit, as wellas low-fat dairy products like skimmilk, nonfat yogurt, and egg whites inmoderation. Meats, oils, olives andsugar are avoided as much as possible.

“Sell it, Joe. Sell it all! Maybe wecan earn enough Frequent Flyer milesto blow this place for good.”___________________________________________(2004, Albert M. Balesh, M.D. All

rights reserved.)

The Al and Joe Medicine Show

CarlisleNavidomskis

M.Ed., LPC, RPTFamily Counselor

By appointment only • Se habla españolMedicaid and insurance accepted

14200 Ashford (915) 433-7727Horizon City, Texas 79928 cnlpc@earthlink.net

Horizon Family Counseling

COLLEGE STATION — Child-hood obesity is no laughing matter.“Supersize portions are leading tosupersize kids and supersize healthproblems,” said Dr. Debra Reed,Texas Cooperative Extension nutri-tion specialist. “According to the1999-2000 National Health and Nu-trition Examination Survey, 15 per-cent of children and adolescents from6 to 19 years old are overweight,” she

Supersizing your meals is creating supersize kidssaid. “This represents a nearly three-fold increase since the 1960s.”

The problem is serious on manylevels, added Dr. Steve Green, Ex-tension child development specialist.“Unhealthy weight gain due to poordiet and lack of exercise is thoughtto be responsible for over 300,000deaths each year in the United States,with the annual cost to society esti-mated at over $100 billion,” he said,

quoting 2003 figures from the officeof the U.S. Surgeon General.

Information from National Hospi-tal Discharge Survey of 1979 through1999 shows annual hospital costs re-lating to obesity in children ages 6 to17 increased from $35 million to$127 million.

Obese children often grow intoobese adults, and obesity in adults hasbeen linked to many serious health

issues, Reed and Green wrote in anarticle for Child Care ConnectionsNewsletter. These issues include type2 diabetes, heart disease, hyperten-sion and some cancers, such as co-lon, gall bladder, prostate and kidney,as well as trouble breathing, arthritisand other joint problems.

But for heavier children, the prob-lems can cut much deeper than that.Researchers from the AmericanAcademy of Child and AdolescentPsychiatry have found that too muchpoundage can also damage children’spsychosocial and emotional develop-ment, Green said.

The problems can get worse as thechildren get older. Researchers at theUniversity of Minnesota found thatoverweight teenagers were morelikely to be teased and, as a conse-quence, more likely to think about —or even attempt — suicide. The UMresearchers also linked teasing to lowself-esteem, dissatisfaction with bodyand depression.

Gloomy as the outlook is, Reedand Green said it doesn’t have to bethat way. Prevention is the key. Par-ents and grandparents, caregivers,teachers and other concerned adultscan take steps — literally — to helpthe children they love prevent be-coming overweight.

They offered some suggestions:• Promote different kinds of physi-

cal activity. Whether inside or out,encourage children to run, jump,walk, climb and crawl, Green said.And join in — children love it whentheir adults jump and run with them.“There are endless ways to engagechildren in fun, creative and physicallyactive games and activities,” he said.“Just use your imagination!” Try theseon for size: flying kites, jumping rope,washing the family vehicle, dancing,climbing on playground equipment,playing ball, taking a walk or goingon a nature hike, flying homemadepaper airplanes or throwing a Frisbee.

• Make sure the children get somekind physical play each day. “Regu-lar physical activity is extremely im-portant for the prevention of over-weight and obesity,” Reed said. Inaddition to promoting healthy bonesand muscles, improving balance andcoordination, and building self-es-teem, physical activity “decreases therisk of developing serious healthproblems in later years,” she added.Try for at least an hour of this kindof activity each day, she recom-mended, but those 60 minutes can bebroken up into 15- or 30-minute in-

crements.• Limit screen time. That includes

time spent watching television and/or playing computer games. “Whilethere is nothing inherently wrongwith such activities,” Green said,“they do take away from time thatcan be spent in physical activities.”The American Academy of Pediatricsrecommends no more than two hourseach day for screen time.

• Use the Food Guide Pyramid toprovide nutritious meals and snacks.Go to http://www.usda.gov/news/usdakids/food_pyr.html for informa-tion on making good nutritionalchoices for children, Reed said.“Make sure that you offer children avariety of foods from all of the foodgroups and that you provide age-ap-propriate portion sizes.”

• Cut back on consumption ofsugar-based drinks, including sodas,since these drinks have been linkedto high amounts of unnecessary sugarin children’s diets. Instead, haveplenty of water, 100 percent fruitjuice and low-fat milk on hand.“Even healthy beverages should beconsumed in moderate amounts, (so)watch portion sizes so excess calo-ries are not consumed,” Reed said.

• Eat more meals at home as a fam-ily for better nutrition and more op-portunities for family communica-tion, Reed said.

• Set a good example. “Like it ornot, children view you as a rolemodel,” Green said. “Therefore… ifyou want children to eat healthymeals and snacks, they need to seeyou eating healthy meals and snacks.If you want them to participate fullyin physical activities, you need tohelp them see the importance by par-ticipating yourself. Your actionsspeak louder than your words!”

• Teach children not to tease. Teas-ing hurts, whether intentionally ornot, Green said. And overweight chil-dren often are the targets of teasing.“Make it clear to children that teas-ing is not acceptable,” he said. “Atthe same time, help children feelgood about their bodies, even if theyare overweight or obese.”

For more information on this andother childhood issues, visitExtension’s Family and ConsumerScience Department Web site at http://fcs.tamu.edu and click on the linkto Family Life. Child Care Connec-tions newsletter is part of the NationalNetwork for Child Care, part of theNational Extension Service Childrenand Youth Family Network.

WEST TEXAS COUNTY COURIERPage 4 March 4, 2004

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conference, which stands for Bi-lingual Education EmphasizingMath and Science, begins onMarch 26 and has been themed“The Power of Two Languages.”The San Elizario presentation istitled “Ideas y Estrategias ParaAyudarle a Sus Hijos aDesarrollar la Lectura conActividades Construidas en elHogar.” For more informationcontact Josie Campos at 872-3939 ext. 3591.

� Animal health officials are ini-tiating a targeted disease surveil-lance plan for poultry flocks in andaround Gonzales County to ensurethat avian influenza (AI) is eradi-cated from Texas. A flock of nearly7,000 broiler chickens were de-stroyed Feb. 21 after the H5N2strain of AI was confirmed Feb. 19in several birds from the flock. TheH5N2 AI strain has not been shownto cause human disease or to com-promise food safety and is not thesame AI strain that has caused dis-ease and death loss in poultry anddisease in some persons in morethan 10 Asian countries. AI is a res-

piratory disease of birds that usu-ally is transmitted by bird-to-birdcontact. However, the virus may bein the feces of infected birds, andthe disease can be spread to othersites if equipment, boots, clothingor tires are contaminated with in-fected manure.

� Americas High School and theNMSU Choirs will perform Re-quiem Mass in a joint concert onMarch 5-6, 8 p.m. at NMSU’sMusic Center Recital Hall in LasCruces during the Jack Ward In-vitational Festival. For reserveseating and ticket information call505-646-1933.

� The Socorro High SchoolNJROTC Air Rifle Team has beenselected to participate in theNJROTC National Air RifleChampionship at Fort Benning,GA. March 23.

� Desert Hills Elementary, inHorizon City, will hold registra-tion for the 2004-05 school yearfor pre-kindergarten and kinder-garten in the DHE cafeteria from9 a.m. to noon and 1-3:30 p.m.on Monday, March 8, and onTuesday March 9, with afternoonhours extended to 6 p.m. Infor-mation: 852-4881.

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View from here By Brooke Leslie Rollins

Once again, the ability of consum-ers to get a good deal is under attack— by state regulators allegedly em-powered to help consumers. With theimposition of new rules regulatinginsurance rates, many Texans won’tbe getting the discounts they havebeen.

All in the name of “protecting” theconsumer, of course.

If you are one of nearly 60 percentof Texans who get a cheaper rate onyour insurance, you might decide thepain of higher prices is alleviated byknowing state lawmakers and bu-reaucrats are protecting you.

But for the rest of us, we will prob-

ably decide we cannot afford thiskind of protection. In the free mar-ket, any number of factors can go intothe final price agreed upon betweenthe seller and buyer of a product.More importantly, in a free marketthe seller and buyer should be al-lowed to reach that price withoutgovernment interference.

After all, what is charged for aproduct is more than simply the sumof the costs. The price reflects thingslike perceived values, personal pref-erences and even social goods. Simi-larly, discounts are given for intan-gible reasons: to build a customerbase, promote consumer loyalty, or

reward a particular behavior.Airlines give free tickets based on

miles traveled to encourage a cus-tomer to stay with that air-line for all their travelneeds. Restaurants givetoys to children as a wayto encourage family din-ing. Movie theaters dis-count rates on matinees tofill the seats during theday.

That is the beauty of thefree market: sellers andbuyers engaging in behav-iors that produce the most profitableoutcomes for both. Insurance com-panies have similar tools and moti-vations. Rates are discounted for ahost of reasons: having multiple lineswith the same company, a history ofsafe behavior, good credit ratings andthe like.

The consumer has the ultimate pro-tection: the market. If the market truly

does not want discounts, or doesn’twant particular criteria used in deter-mining criteria, the market will ensure

companies exist that caterto that clientele.

It is important to re-member two things. First,when a company estab-lishes these discountingtools, it is for the purposeof attracting and keepingbusiness. Second, when aconsumer chooses to takepart — most generallysimply by doing business

with the company — it is to get pur-pose of getting a better deal, whethersaving a buck or getting service.

However, the Texas Department ofInsurance is considering new rulesthat will prevent insurance compa-nies from using credit scoring — oneof a host of tools proven to demon-strate a person’s “risk” status — tooffer discounts.

So who, exactly, will be protected?Exactly no one.

The problem is one of politics, nottrue consumer protection. Politicianshave decided that they — not theseller and buyer — are better able todetermine how prices and discountsare to be set.

In a grand instance of all-too-com-mon political irony, government rulesallegedly constructed to protect Tex-ans may end up forcing 60 percentor more of us to pay higher insurancepremiums.Consumers will always get the bestdeal from the free market, not politi-cal meddling. When government getsin the way, consumers suffer. Somemay call it protection. But for the restof us, it is just a costly racket.______________________________________________________Brooke Leslie Rollins is the presidentof the Texas Public Policy Founda-tion, a non-profit, non-partisan re-search institution based in Austin.

Government meddling in insurance coststamper with free market benefits

B. L. Rollins

March 4, 2004 WEST TEXAS COUNTY COURIER Page 5

Tornillo Independent School DistrictStatement of Revenues, Expenditures and Changes in Fund Balance

Governmental FundsFor the Year Ended August 31, 2003

Data 10 TotalControl General Other GovernmentalCodes Fund Funds Funds

REVENUES:

5700 Total Local and Intermediate Sources $ 1,397,844 $ 93,500 $ 1,491,3445800 State Program Revenues 6,344,607 1,020,731 7,365,3385900 Federal Program Revenues 516,367 817,558 1,333,925

5020 Total Revenues 8,258,818 1,931,789 10,190,607EXPENDITURES:

Current:

0011 Instruction 3,449,464 923,347 4,372,8110012 Instructional Resources and Media Services 191,471 5,420 196,8910013 Curriculum and Instructional Staff Development 29,231 99,187 128,4180021 Instructional Leadership 164,970 3,041 168,0110023 School Leadership 427,659 14,915 442,5740031 Guidance, Counseling and Evaluation Services 114,204 17,919 132,1230033 Health Services 88,475 3,040 91,5150034 Student (Pupil) Transportation 149,739 1,097 150,8360035 Food Services 449,936 34,613 484,5490036 Cocurricular/Extracurricular Activities 265,992 1,014 267,0060041 General Administration 426,244 6,242 432,4860051 Plant Maintenance and Operations 829,114 20,128 849,2420052 Security and Monitoring Services 157,102 6,338 163,4400053 Data Processing Services 183,002 9,010 192,0120061 Community Services 751 — 751

Debt Service:

0071 Debt Service - Principal on long-term debt 21,331 265,000 286,3310072 Debt Service - Interest on long-term debt 3,988 549,629 553,6170073 Debt Service -Bond Issuance Cost and Fees — 3,617 3,617

Intergovernmental:

0091 Contracted Instructional Services Between — 54,825 54,825

6030 Total Expenditures 6,952,673 2,018,382 8,971,055

1100 Excess (Deficiency) of Revenues Over (Under) Expenditures 1,306,145 (86,593) 1,219,552

OTHER FINANCING SOURCES (USES):

7915 Transfers In 264,050 39,517 303,5678911 Transfers Out (Use) (303,567) — (303,567)

7080 Total Other Financing Sources (Uses) (39,517) — 39,517

1200 Net Change in Fund Balances 1,266,628 (47,076) 1,219,552

0100 Fund Balance — September 1 (Beginning) 1,598,005 167,371 1,765,376

3000 Fund Balance — August 31 (Ending) $ 2,864,633 $ 145,824 $ 2,984,928

UPPER VALLEY — Canutillo ISD elementary school libraries havealso received the special book, Happy’s Special Doctor which dis-cusses the responsibilities of pet care and promotes veterinaryprofessions, in commemoration of the 100th anniversary of theTexas Veterinary Medical Association. Shown in photo from leftare local veterinarians Dr. Misty Callaham and Dr. Margie Zavala, a1985 graduate of Canutillo High School; Becky Rood, Damian ESlibrarian; Max Padilla, Damian ES principal; and Martha Veale, CISDTechnology director.

president of the El Paso associa-tion. “We also want to give themsome exposure to the veterinaryfield, and we’re targeting childrenfrom kindergarten through thirdgrade. We’re the only veterinarymedical association that came upwith the idea of donating the books,”

says Navar, adding that pets needadequate housing, food, water andvaccinations against illness.

After the presentation, Gearhartand Navar took questions from stu-dents. Based on the questions —many of which concerned turtlesand snakes — what did Gearhartlearn? He smiled. “I learned that Ineed to brush up on some of myexotic pets.”

Donations are also being made toother school districts in the region.

BookFrom Page 1______________________

TORNILLO — Lots of cheeringand beaming faces filled the TornilloElementary School cafeteria as UILawards were presented as part of theDistrict’s February 25 Board Meeting.

Principals Severo Alcoset, JosePedroza, and UIL Academic Coordi-nator Bea Flores, along with the helpof Board President Carol Escarciga,presented over 50 awards to studentswho placed at the annual UIL com-petition, held Feb. 20 at Alpine,Texas.

Despite the long drive to Alpine,every Tornillo student made the firstround cuts, and competed in the fi-nal round competitions. “Our stu-dents tried very hard, and it paid off,”said Alcoset. TIS Principal JosePedroza agrees with Alcoset, adding“Our teachers also worked very hardcoaching our students to succeed atthis year’s event.

Events where Tornillo studentsparticularly excelled include 5thgrade Spelling, where PriscillaOrozco placed first; KinsleighVranish, second; and Andrew Garciathird; the 4th/5th grade Art Teamplaced third; Selena Diaz placed firstin 3rd Oral Reading; and MyraOchoa placed first in SpanishStorytelling, Tiny Tot division.

Paul Vranish, District Superinten-dent, concluded the awards ceremonyby thanking parents, students, and theUIL Coaches for their dedication,support and commitment.

Tornillo elementarystudents make presenceknown at district UILcompetition

CANUTILLO — The CanutilloISD board of trustees met in regularsession on Feb. 10, approving anelection on May 15 for two positionson the board. Margarito Arellano andGonzalo Garcia presently hold thepositions.

Board member Sergio Coronadosuggested lengthening the term ofoffice from three to four years.Through town meetings, trustee JoeVillarreal wanted to get the input ofthe community before moving aheadwith such a change. Larry Baskind,CISD’s attorney, said he would re-search the legal aspects and ramifi-cations of such an action and get backto the board.

Referring to school district bud-gets, superintendent Charles Hartsaid things are going to be tight —“tighter than they were last year,” but“we will make it.” Hart attended aconference of Texas school adminis-

trators and reported on a possiblespecial legislative session in April todeal with school financing.

Funding also came up in a reportby Dr. Pam Padilla, assistant super-intendent for student performance. Inresponse to a question from a boardmember, she expressed concernabout finding funds for summer pro-grams/activities for students.

She said the district is focusing onpreparing students for upcomingTAKS (Texas Assessment of Knowl-edge and Skills) testing in March.“We are looking for strengths andweaknesses in the students.”

“We are looking for those whoneed help and those who need to bechallenged,” she added.

There was lengthy discussionabout limited parking and trafficcongestion and the risk to studentsat Damian Elementary when par-ents come to pick them up in theafternoon. Principal Max Padillaassured board members, concernedabout student safety, there was nota traffic problem. Presently, he

pointed out, it takes about eight tonine minutes for students and par-ents to clear the area after after-noon dismissal.

However, he said there could be aproblem in the future with theplanned 10-classroom addition to theschool.

One suggestion for a temporarysolution was to tear down a fenceadjacent to the school to provide ad-ditional parking on unpaved, grassyarea.

Representatives from DimensionsArchitects and Banes Constructiongave updates on the new high school.The pouring of concrete for founda-tions has begun.

There was discussion on develop-ing a detailed master plan for con-struction and roadways around thenew high school site. It would be aplan that would facilitate entities andagencies working in concert. Thiswould include El Paso CommunityCollege, the Public Service Board,the city and county as well as theTexas Department of Transportation.

By Don WoodyardCourier Staff Writer

Canutillo ISD board looks at termchanges, parking at Damian

WEST TEXAS COUNTY COURIERPage 6 March 4, 2004

King Super Crossword

By Steve EscajedaSpecial to the Courier

ANIMAL ANATOMY

ACROSS 1 Tiller 5 Grandpa McCoy 9 Michelangelo mas-terpiece 14 Ward of “Sisters” 18 “Typee” sequel 19 Callas or Caballe 20 Confess 21 Roman fountain 23 Stubborn 25 Courageous 27 Fantastic bargain 28 Envelop 30 “Xanadu” rockgroup 31 Trams transport it 32 “Red Red _” (’88smash) 34 Girl Scout unit 38 Diplomacy term 41 Winked or waved 45 JournalistBuchanan 46 Former autocrat 47 Actress Massen 48 Scrape by, with“out” 49 Light weight 51 Reformer Lucretia 54 Montessori orMuldaur 57 Less plentiful 60 Van Dyke role 62 Powerfully built 65 Tractable

67 Wooden strip 68 Flight maneuver 71 “_ Days” (’75 tune) 72 Hypocrisy 73 Bikini half 76 Foolhardy 79 Pigment 80 Masterson col-league 82 Ginger _ 83 _ Haven, CT 84 Job opening 87 Ceylon, today 89 Coarse_featured 94 Tahini base 95 TV’s “Three’s _” 99 Loudly, to Liszt100 Betting setting101 Shallow area102 Spring mo.105 “Sat _ tuffet …”106 Humorist Bombeck108 Illinois city110 Maritime113 Nutritional need116 “Frasier” pooch118 “_ my lips!”119 Loser to DDE120 Vitamin bottle abbr.122 Tony winner Robert124 Young cadet128 Very slender134 Sharp-sighted136 Malice137 Practice piece138 Cut short139 Mlle., farther south140 Pants part

141 Inflexibility142 Some bills143 Jets, Mets, or Nets

DOWN 1 Brewery supply 2 Give off 3 Theater section 4 “Drums Along the _”(’39 film) 5 “Tobacco Road”character 6 Wednesday 7 Done 8 Egyptian Nobelist 9 Chum 10 Infamous Amin 11 Philips of “UHF” 12 Antler part 13 Strawberry, for one 14 Police hdqrs. 15 Drop a brick 16 Divulge 17 Ward off 22 “_ fixe” 24 Designer Fiorucci 26 Billions of years 29 Common affix 33 Vane dir. 35 Aroma 36 Responsibility 37 French-door part 39 Emulated Gebel-Williams 40 Amatory 41 Fiasco 42 Genesis redhead 43 Wilson or Weathers

44 “_ Set” (’57 film) 50 Vocalize like Vallee 52 Riser’s relative 53 Metallic 55 Unwell 56 Literary collection 58 Soccer superstar 59 Hacienda material 60 Hawk 61 Diminutive suffix 63 Natural gas compo-nent 64 _ talk 66 Sanctify 69 “… man _ mouse?” 70 Turkish title 73 Myerson or Truman 74 Not as common 75 Originate 77 Arrive at 78 “ Blame _ theBossa Nova” (’63 hit) 81 Telescope sighting 85 Oven setting 86 Eastern “Way” 88 Donizetti’s “L’elisird’_” 90 Jeri of “Star Trek:Voyager” 91 Gator’s cousin 92 Sicilian volcano 93 Distribute the deck 96 Trickle 97 A sweeping suc-cess? 98 Soldier on101 More granular103 Ideal

104 Woody herb107 Director Nair109 Long or Peeples111 Surveyor’s need112 Most indolent113 Cat’s dogs114 Harvests115 Davis of “EveningShade”117 Vote in121 _ Spumante123 Challenge125 Fontaine role126 _ carotene127 Cheeseboardchoice129 Harper Valley grp.130 Rainy131 Yank132 Maestro de Waart133 Wagner ’s “_fliegende Hollander”135 Audio antiques?

Answer Page 5

And then there was one.Can you believe it? The UTEP Miners are

WAC basketball champions. O.K., they’veclinched at least a tie for the championship.

This worst-to-first season of 2004 will beremembered for quite some time. And thoughthe Miners have already clinched at least a tiefor the conference title, the real test of this sea-son will be how far UTEP will go.

And UTEP wants to go to the NCAATournament.

One way the Miners can all but clinch a spotin the 65-team field is to win the title all bythemselves. There are three WAC teams justone loss behind the Miners and if the team fin-ishes in a two-, three-, or four-way tie for first,the NCAA selection committee could lose sightof UTEP.

So the Miners still have some work to do.A victory over Boise St. on Saturday will

give Billy Gillispie’s group an amazing 23-5record and more importantly, sole possessionof the WAC title and an almost certain invita-tion to “the dance” whether they win the WAC

From worst to first: Miners eye NCAA Tournamentdo they make the players around them better?”Fili Rivera is, without a doubt, the main rea-son behind the Miners’ success.

Rivera makes everybody on the team better.He pushes the ball up the court like very fewplayers in college basketball can. He finds theopen man in the half court offense and leadsthe WAC in steals. He is the straw that stirsthis orange and white drink.

The mastermind behind it all is BillyGillispie. The soft spoken young coach learnedearly on that he lacked height on this team. Buthe knew the one thing he had plenty of wasspeed, and he’s used it beautifully.

Gillispie has pushed every button at just theright time this year. He knows when to charge,when to hold back, when to run and when toeat the clock.

Gillispie has done one of the greatest jobsever recorded in college basketball for one sea-son. To take a 6-24 team from a year ago andtransform them into champions is an amazingfeat.

The best thing of all is that while the teamhas accomplished so much, there is still morethat can be done. And this Saturday’s gameagainst Boise St. will go a long way towarddetermining that.

tournament or not.The Miners are currently ranked in the mid

30s in the RPI rankings and a win Saturdayand maybe one more in the WAC tourney couldsolidify their position for March Madness.

The most amazing thing is that the Minershave turned things around, for the most part,with just seven players.

UTEP’s style of play has been to run the ballup and down the court on offense and pressure— at times full court — on defense.

How do you do that with just seven players?You would think that the Miners would run outof gas at some time or another but they seemto be getting quicker physically and strongermentally.

All seven players have particular skills andyet they never lose focus on the team aspect.

John Tofi is playing his best basketball ofthe season. With his Kevin McHale-like movesin the paint, Tofi has been a force on offenseand is beginning to use two hands to bringdown the rebounds he was fumbling aroundearlier in the year.

Roy Smallwood, the veteran, has taken onthe role of garbage man. He does a lot of thedirty work underneath the basket — grabbingthe offensive rebound and putting it back in.

Smallwood will make the extra pass and isstrong defensively.

Jason Williams has become the Miners’ de-fensive specialist. Williams automaticallyguards the oppositions’ best offensive player.He gets out on the wing on the fast break anduses his speed and athleticism to beat the de-fense down the court.

Gio St. Amant has transformed his gamemore than anyone else. A scorer last year, St.Amant has turned into a more complete player.He could always score but St. Amant’s great-est improvement has come on the defensiveend of the court.

Chris Craig is, by far, the most improvedplayer on the team. After a season filled withturnovers and poor shooting, as a point guard,Craig is flourishing as a shooting guard. He isnailing 3-pointers at a near-record pace.

Omar Thomas got off to a slow start this sea-son and has emerged as UTEP’s most consis-tent scorer. Thomas has a knack for drawingfouls near the basket and hitting the mediumrange jump shot with ice water in his veins.

Every team has the guy who drives the car.For UTEP, the driver is point guard FilibertoRivera. When they talk about players that canscore, the question always pops up, “yeah, but

It has become more apparent thatemployees from local school districtare experiencing great concern overthe possibility they might not be ableto receive social security benefits.This concern is shared by many in-dividuals who work for federal, stateor local government entities and donot pay into social security. The ques-tion remains, “Is it possible to receiveboth retirements?”

Social Security Administrationrecognizes there’s great concern re-garding this dilemma; therefore wehave made both the Windfall Elimi-nation Provisions and the Govern-ment Pension Offset informationmore accessible. We recently en-hanced our social security website toinclude more detailed information

Employees of local school districts facedwith last day of employment dilemma

Social Security Q&A By Ray Vigil

about social security benefits andgovernment pensions. One issue thatfrequently surfaces is the confusionas to when Windfall Elimination Pro-vision applies and when GovernmentPension Offset applies.

Let’s talk about The WindfallElimination Provision first. This ap-plies to individuals who qualify fortheir own social security benefits asthey have earned 40 quarters of cov-erage on their own social securityrecord and at the same time they arealso entitled to a government pensionbased on non-covered employment.That is to say, they too worked for afederal, state or local governmententities and did not pay into socialsecurity. If these individuals do nothave 30 years of coverage under so-

cial security their benefits from so-cial security will be figured under theWindfall Elimination Provision.Years of coverage is defined by adollar value placed for each year. Forinstance calendar year 2003 would bereferred to as a year of coverage ifthe individual earns social securitytaxable wages or net earnings fromself employment of at least $16,125.(Individuals can access this figuresby requesting SSA Publication No.05-10045, The Windfall EliminationProvision or by visiting our website,www.socialsecurity.gov.

What does this all mean? If an in-dividual has 30 or more years, theirsocial security benefits will be fig-ured under the normal computation.If they have less than 20 years of cov-erage, there is a likely possibility thatthey would only receive one-half ofyour social security benefits. If youhave anywhere between 20 and 30,their benefits will be slightly higher.There is a guarantee though and thatis that your social security benefitswill never be reduced by more thanone-half. Also, in the event of the

worker’s death, surviving spousalbenefits would be refigured under thenormal formal, therefore yielding ahigher percentage.

Remember, this is not an offset, aslong as you have earned 40 quarters,you will receive a social security ben-efits which might be figured underthe modified formula.

The second and most talked aboutprovision is The Government Pen-sion Offset. This provision states thatwhen an individual is eligible to re-ceive both social security spousalbenefits and a pension from a fed-eral, state or local government entity,their spousal social security benefitswill be offset by two-thirds of thegovernment pension. For example,an individual works for the schooldistrict for 30 years. Upon retirement,they would be eligible to receive apension from the Texas RetirementSystem (TRS) of $1500 a month. Inthe meantime their spouse’s socialsecurity benefit at full retirement ageis $1600. As a spouse they would bepotentially entitled to $800 a month,half of his social security benefits at

full retirement age. Because two-thirds of her government pension isequivalent to $l000, their social se-curity benefits will be offset in itsentirety. They would still be eligiblefor both Hospital and Medical Insur-ance under the Medicare program atage 65. Of course she would have topay a premium of $66.60 for the PartB Medicare. This offset applies toboth life and survivors benefits. Therewill be times when an individual mightnot be eligible to receive social secu-rity benefits while the spouse is stillalive but because surviving spousalbenefits are paid at a higher rate, wedo find situations in which a surviv-ing spouse could receive benefits af-ter the two-thirds adjustment.

There is one exemption to Govern-ment Pension Offset. If on the lastday of employment an individualtransfers to a position that was cov-ered under both Social Security andTexas Retirement System, Govern-ment Pension Offset will not apply.There is one other stipulation in this

See PENSION, Page 7

March 4, 2004 WEST TEXAS COUNTY COURIER Page 7

ComixOUT ON A LIMB By Gary Kopervas

AMBER WAVES By Dave T. Phipps

THE SPATS By Jeff Pickering

R.F.D. By Mike Marland

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These and other questions aremore relevant now following therecent explosion of a 50-ton spermwhale on the streets of Taiwan.

The explosion — in case youwant the gory details, and youknow you do — was caused bygases that formed within the bodyof a beached whale.

As the whale was being trans-ported through town to a lab, it ex-ploded, causing a scene so grossand disgusting that it’s being con-sidered as a centerpiece for a Su-per Bowl halftime show.

(You might want to be on thelookout this summer, especiallysince you might see a few gaseousbeached whales yourself, particu-larly after they’ve eaten a lunch ofsoda and chili dogs.)

The first thing concerned citi-zens need to do is to call their lo-cal officials and ask them about thetown’s WEP.

Ask them about how many deadwhales are being transportedthrough town at this moment.(Many will pretend not to know.Some may even pretend not to un-derstand the question.)

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They’re about as likely and asdangerous, you say, as a NERFBALL EMERGENCY.

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Beware of exploding whalesfact.

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That’s right, Nerf balls, the soft-est, safest balls in existence. Youcan even play with them in thehouse!

(But, for more fun, wait tillMom’s not home and play with abaseball and bat.)

Well, folks, we are managing tohurt ourselves with Nerf balls!

Oh yes, I know what you’rethinking. These are a special, le-thal form of Nerf balls. They’reNerf footballs, if you can imagineanything so deadly.

(At press time, Nerf footballshad not been found in Iraq. Fur-thermore, the Bush administrationnow concedes, it’s unlikely thatany will be found.)

The Nerf footballs have, ac-cording to the story, a “hard in-terior plastic frame that poses asafety hazard,” thus makingthem too dangerous for poodledogs, members of Congress andall Americans both above andbelow the age of five.

In general, health experts say,Nerf footballs represent a hazardwhen “the football is shoved all theway up the nostrils” or “rammedinto the retina.”

Obviously, they should havecome with warnings and helmetsand safety goggles, plus times andlocations for special trainingclasses.

But no, they were just throwninto the marketplace, meaning in-nocent victims will now have tospend the rest of their lives tryingto file suit and score a few millionbucks — so they can lie around allday like beached whales.______________________________________________________(c) 2004 King Features Synd., Inc.

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requirement and that is, the Texas RetirementSystem must consider this subsequent employ-ment in the computation of your benefit. Atthe time you file for social security benefits,social security will require proof that subse-quent employment is actually covered underSocial Security and Texas Retirement Systemand that it was considered by Texas RetirementSystem in figuring your pension. At the mo-ment there is a Bill that recently cleared theHouse of Senate and House of Representativesthat will change the “last day of employmentexemption” from one day to five years. Thismeans that in order to be exempted from Gov-ernment Pension Offset, an individual wouldhave to work under employment covered un-der both Social Security and Texas RetirementSystem for 5 years before they retired.

The last day of employment exemption ap-plies to Government Pension Offset only whenan individual is considering applying for spou-sal benefits. Another point of interest is par-ticipation in Deferred Retirement Option Plan(DROP), although member’s contributions toTRS continue, they are deposited into a spe-cial account and are not refundable. Thereforesince no TRS service or compensation credit

is earned during DROP, these individuals arenot considered to be in a position which wascovered and included in the period upon whichthe pension was based. At the same time, indi-viduals that participate under DROP are notable to participate under the last day of em-ployment exemption.

Neither of the provisions applies until anindividual retires. There are many situationsin which individuals reach there full retirementage (for those born after 1960 age 67) and yetthey still continue to work. With life expect-ancy now at 88, we are finding more and moreindividuals remaining in the work force. In theyear 2000, legislation was passed which elimi-nated the work retirement test for individualswho reach full retirement age. Under presentregulations, if you are under 65, an individualcan earn up to $11640 a year and still receivetheir social security benefits. The year they at-tain full retirement age, they can earn as muchas $31,080 up to the full retirement month.Once they are full retirement age they are notlimited as to how much they can earn.______________________________________________________For more information log onto our website,www.socialsecurity.gov, call our toll-free num-ber at 1-800-772-1213 or visit your local SocialSecurity office. If you have any questions thatyou would like to have answered, please mailthem to the Social Security Office, 11111 Gate-way West, Attn: Ray Vigil, El Paso, Texas 79935.

PensionFrom Page 6______________________

WEST TEXAS COUNTY COURIERPage 8 March 4, 2004

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THURSDAY

Partly sunny; windyin the afternoon.

58°� �

THUR. NIGHT

Clear, windy andchilly.

FRIDAY

Very windy with agood deal of

sunshine.

63°� 38°�

SATURDAY

Sunny to partlycloudy.

66°� 39°�

SUNDAY

Sunshine andsome clouds.

70°� 43°�

MONDAY

Partly sunny.

72°� 45°�

TUESDAY

Times of cloudsand sun.

72°� 46°�

WEDNESDAY

A good deal ofsunshine.

74°� 48°�

WEATHER AccuWeather.com

SEVEN-DAY FORECAST FOR EL PASO

TEXAS WEATHER TRAVELERS CITIESUV INDEX

REAL FEEL TEMP™

AGRICULTURE

Statistics for noon.

Thursday ............ 6 ............ModerateFriday ................ 7 ....................HighSaturday ............ 7 ....................HighSunday .............. 7 ....................HighMonday .............. 6 ............ModerateTuesday .............. 6 ............ModerateWednesday ........ 7 ....................High

The higher the UV Index, the greaterthe need for eye and skin protection.

Albuquerque 51/32/pc 51/31/pc 55/33/s 60/37/pc 63/38/pcAtlanta 74/56/pc 74/56/c 68/48/pc 66/44/pc 63/41/pcAtlantic City 54/38/c 64/48/c 60/40/c 53/31/pc 53/28/pcAustin/San Antonio 73/51/c 75/46/s 70/42/s 65/41/s 68/43/pcBaltimore 58/46/c 68/48/c 62/38/c 54/34/pc 52/30/pcBoston 48/40/pc 56/42/c 50/40/c 44/34/c 45/27/pcChicago 48/38/c 46/28/c 40/26/c 40/28/pc 44/22/pcDallas/Ft. Worth 74/49/r 67/45/pc 63/40/s 63/44/s 67/40/pcDenver 39/23/c 48/23/pc 49/25/pc 57/29/pc 55/29/pcFlagstaff 40/22/pc 44/20/s 50/22/s 54/26/pc 54/32/cHouston 78/54/c 74/52/pc 72/50/pc 70/44/pc 68/46/sKansas City 45/32/c 37/30/c 46/24/c 53/33/s 51/25/pcLas Vegas 64/42/pc 66/44/s 68/46/s 70/48/s 71/48/pcMiami 81/71/pc 84/72/s 84/72/pc 84/70/pc 82/66/pcMinneapolis 38/18/c 28/18/c 33/20/c 40/20/pc 40/15/pcNew Orleans 80/66/pc 76/60/c 75/56/pc 70/53/pc 68/51/sNew York City 48/45/c 61/46/c 55/37/c 49/37/c 50/32/pcPhiladelphia 54/46/c 65/48/c 60/41/c 50/36/pc 54/32/pcPhoenix 64/48/pc 67/48/s 74/51/s 76/54/pc 78/60/pcPortland 52/38/c 50/36/c 52/38/pc 55/39/pc 56/46/pcSan Francisco 60/45/pc 61/47/pc 61/48/s 62/49/pc 64/56/pcSeattle 50/38/c 48/40/c 50/40/pc 51/37/pc 52/46/pcTucson 57/40/pc 63/40/s 70/46/s 73/48/s 76/51/pcWashington, DC 60/48/c 70/50/c 64/42/c 56/38/pc 54/35/pc

City Hi/Lo/W Hi/Lo/W Hi/Lo/W Hi/Lo/W Hi/Lo/WThur. Fri. Sat. Sun. Mon.

High pressure building over Mexico will bring dry conditions to the region Thursday. With a storm moving through northern Texas, itwill be rather windy, with winds from the west-southwest at 15-25 mph. It will remain windy and sunny on Friday as the ridge of highpressure strengthens. Weather (W): s-sunny, pc-partly cloudy, c-cloudy, sh-showers, t-thunderstorms,

r-rain, sf-snow flurries, sn-snow, i-ice.

Thursday .................................... 46°Friday .......................................... 51°Saturday ...................................... 58°Sunday ........................................ 62°Monday ........................................ 68°Tuesday ...................................... 64°Wednesday ................................ 71°

The exclusive AccuWeather composite of theeffects of temperature, wind, humidity, sunshine,precipitation, and elevation on the human body.

Shown is Thursday’sweather.Temperatures areThursday’s highs andThursday night’s lows.

All forecasts and maps provided by AccuWeather, Inc. ©2004

Anthony 58 40

Canutillo 58 40

Fabens 58 40

Clint 58 40

E. Montana 58 40

Socorro 57 39

Horizon 59 41

San Elizario 56 38

Tornillo 58 40

Vinton 58 40El Paso58/40

Santa Fe48/26

Albuquerque51/32

Alamogordo55/36

Las Cruces56/37

Deming55/34 Carlsbad

59/40

Amarillo56/34

Lubbock58/34

Alpine61/35

Odessa66/42

Lajitas66/38

Ruidoso48/32

Cloudcroft45/24

CiudadJuárez58/43

40°

Mexico

into a studio was two digital camcorders, twotripods, an audio/video mixer, some microphonesand a computer for the Power Point.

An old play set — painted by MoisesHernandez for a PTO meeting last year — isbeing used as one of the studio’s backdrops.Stewart’s Photography donated a colorful out-door school setting, previously used as a back-drop for school pictures.

“It all just feeds into the mixer,” Zavala said.“The feed goes into the classrooms through thein-house distribution system.”

Zavala said that the roughly 16 students whohelp put on the production needed to learn howto use the equipment before WRAM could hitthe airwaves, so he put them through a monthof training.

Juan Meza, 10, is a camera operator forWRAM and says that he would like to pursuetelevision in the future — but not in front ofthe camera.

“When I get in front of the camera, I getembarrassed,” Meza said. “I’m in control whenI’m behind the camera.”

His classmate, 10-year-old Yvonne Aguilar,also works the camera as well as the computer.She says that she watches the news differentlythanks to her experience at WRAM.

“We can get more ideas by watching the

news on television,” she said.Aguilar has no aspirations about being in tele-

vision when she grows up — she wants to be alawyer — but who knows? She may end up onCourt TV — the experience is good for her aswell as her classmates. According to Zavala, theproject has lifted the morale of the school — heenjoys seeing other classes watch their monitorsin the mornings. Sylvia Hopp agrees.

“It is so exciting seeing the students actu-ally produce and direct our WRAM station,”she said. “They have embraced the program,the technology and the attitude of being pro-fessional programmers. The parents have ex-pressed their support and hope this initiativeencourages their children in some type ofbroadcasting/technology career.”

WRAMFrom Page 1______________________