First there was sludge, now nuclear waste — what`s next for Sierra Blanca?
West Texas is the country’s newest dumping ground, particularly among the Davis
mountains. The first of three public hearings will be held August 6 in Sierra
Blanca as state officials hear comments on the proposed national radioactive
waste dump in the desert area. The Sierra Blanca Legal Defense Fund is
arranging a caravan from Austin to Sierra Blanca for the hearing, leaving
Monday, August 5, and returning August 7. For info on the hearing and lodgings,
call 474-2117. — L.C.B.
It was just like any other sweltering Texas summer wedding at the Governor’s
Mansion… except that the mansion gates were locked, the JP presided through a
bullhorn, and the bride and groom were both women. Yup, just another sweltering
Texas summer wedding, or political action, as it were. The Lesbian Avengers,
along with 35 friends, well-wishers, and onlookers, celebrated the mock
marriage of Avengers Nan DeRosa and Leslie Bodie last Friday, July 26 in
protest of the so-called Defense of Marriage Act, and of the implications of
the Yea vote lobbed by our local Congressman, Lloyd Doggett. The bill, which
passed the House by an overwhelming margin, defines marriage as a “legal union
between one man and one woman as husband and wife,” and is certain to be signed
by President Clinton after it sails through the Senate floor like a shotgun
groom. Doggett’s office defends his vote, stating that “marriage is the wrong
battle in the war against discrimination. A gay or lesbian couple should not
require the approval of `marriage’ in order to obtain rights such as a
partner’s access to health benefits.”
After the wedding, DeRosa commented that even though she doesn’t believe in
the institution of marriage, “it felt pretty good standing up for what I
believe. I sure as hell want the option to choose.” CBS affiliate K-EYE
covered the entire ceremony, while the Fox affiliate abruptly shut down
operations, as if on cue, as the JP invited the brides to seal their commitment
with a kiss. — K.M.
Rolling Out the Dough
This time it’s not the lack of money being discussed, but how to spend it. Ata conference on the South Texas colonias last week at the University of Texas,
the Attorney General’s Office and the LBJ School of Public Affairs brought
academics, government officials, and South Texas border residents together to
figure out what to do with $250 million in state funds already alloted for
installing water and wastewater and other basic amenities in the substandard
colonias communities on the U.S./Mexico border. Most of the hundreds of
thousands of residents in the colonias subsist without running water,
electricity, roads, schools, or health care facilities.
Another $318 million in state funds is proposed for the planning and
construction of new facilities in the colonias areas. The feds are getting
involved as well: Congress appropriated $170 million to the EPA for water and
wastewater services in the Texas and New Mexico colonias; the Department of
Housing and Urban Development is spending $8.7 million for colonias housing
this year; and more funding is expected from the federal Rural Development
Agency.
The main problem so far has been getting what funds are available out to where
they are needed. Special Assistant Attorney General Dan Torrez says that a
coordinating body would be able “to get funders together to better direct
resources” and to consult for agencies, organizations, and institutions on how
to spend available funds. Even with the current funding, Torrez warns, 20% of
colonias residents will be left out. Another function of the coordinating body,
therefore, would be to see to it that public agencies create partnerships with
private foundations to fill the gaps.
These and other suggestions from a report circulated by the AG’s office will
be distributed to state legislators and heads of relevant state agencies, says
Torrez. And in keeping with Attorney General Dan Morales’ anti-government bent,
Torrez adds that it has yet to be decided whether or not the AG will push for a
state-appointed group over an “informal” one made up of volunteers.
Since Morales has recently proclaimed himself Colonias Czar, what has become
of his much-ballyhooed legal campaign against colonias developers? Torrez says
that “a fair number [of lawsuits] have been successful and helped stop the
proliferation of colonias.” AG Inter-Governmental Relations Official Pat
Guillermo says that there are many investigations underway into the activities
of colonias developers, and currently around 40 active lawsuits, mainly for
health violations or deceptive trade practices. Juan Idrogo, president of
Gloria Development Corporation, a group dedicated to helping colonias
inhabitants build solid homes, says he feels that the “benefit with the
Attorney General… is in raising awareness and removing [bad] developers from
our ranks.” Guillermo adds that since the passage of HB 1001, a bill sponsored
by Sen. Judith Zaffarini and Rep. Henry Cuellar which is designed to stop
development of new colonias lacking proper water and wastewater services, the
AG has only found two developers in non-compliance with the new law. —
C.C.
Got the Shake-Ups
The Austin Independent School District (AISD) has rotated, reassigned, orretired almost
one-third of its principals since the January 1995 arrival of Superintendent
Jim Fox. In the past 19 months, 30 out of 96 principals’ positions have opened
up for interviews, including all but two of the district’s senior high
schools.
To date, the leaders of the following elementary schools have been in their
positions about one year or have been newly hired: Barrington, Blanton,
Galindo, Graham, Harris, Kocurek, Pease, Pleasant Hil, and Sims. Middle schools
include: Bedichek, Lamar, Murchison, and O. Henry. High schools include:
Anderson, Johnston, LBJ, and McCallum.
Positions still not filled: Houston, Kiker, Maplewood, Ortega, Pecan Springs,
and Zilker Elementaries; Dobie and Martin Middle Schools; and Austin, Crockett,
Reagan, and Travis High Schools. Several of these openings were created when
standing principals transferred to open positions at other campuses. Another
slot opened up last week when the principal of Gullett Elementary accepted a
position in Round Rock; Webb Middle School may also be in the market for a new
leader if the board approves the Webb principal’s move over to Austin High.
What gives here? On the positive side, Fox’s reputed commitment to change
could be interpreted as cutting out the deadwood, and moving successful
principals along to campuses that are struggling. AISD spokesperson Della May
Moore attributes the recent principal turnover to an unprecedented number of
individuals who were simply eligible to retire, but also to Fox’s “willingness
to entertain movement,” and allow people to grow professionally. “You don’t
have to leave the district to get some experience now,” says Moore.
On the other hand, complaints have been levelled at Fox for dismissing
community input in this reassignment blitz. Every campus has an advisory
committee comprised of parents, teachers, and administrators who interview
candidates and submit their recommendations to the superintendent. But at least
one parent on the advisory committee at Maplewood Elementary, for example, says
she has found the whole exercise “frustrating.” Theresa Perry says that her
committee submitted two candidates to Fox (one of whom was urged to interview
for the job by over 60 Maplewood parents), but the superintendent turned them
both down. The committee reconvened and submitted another three candidates;
Maplewood and the dozen other schools without principals will not know who
their next leaders will be until the next school board meeting on August 5,
eight days before school begins on Tuesday, August 13.
Moore calls the parents’ participation “vital,” but adds that “the final
decision does rest with Dr. Fox and the administrative team.” She thinks that
Maplewood’s situation is not typical, and that Fox has been adopting
campus-level recommendations “95% of the time.”
Perry agrees that moving principals around is probably good, but disagrees
with the way hiring a new one was handled at her school. “Why are we
interviewing people he (Fox) doesn’t think are appropriate?” she asked, adding
that some parents had difficulty arranging time — twice — on short notice to
participate in the interviews. “Then it just becomes this game of, `Okay, did
we pick the right one?'” — R.A.
Raining Prayers on Heaven
The denominations were different, but the prayers were the same: Send rain,soon.
On July 24, half a dozen ministers from Blanco’s churches gathered on a
Wednesday night in the shade of the courthouse to lead about 250 local
residents in prayers for precipitation. The town of 1,400 has just seven weeks’
worth of municipal water remaining behind a series of small dams on the Blanco
River, and weather forecasts show little promise of rain. So the town’s
Catholic, Baptist, Lutheran, Assembly of God, Russian Orthodox, and Methodist
leaders decided to join their spiritual forces in prayer.
As half a dozen TV cameras rolled, Rusty Hicks, pastor of the First Baptist
Church of Blanco began to pray. “Lord, we need it to rain,” he said, as the
crowd, withering in temperatures that remained above 90 degrees even at seven
in the evening, bowed their heads. “Livestock is being lost. Crops are being
lost. This city won’t make it without the water. God, you are the only one who
can restore that reservoir.”
In a normal year, Blanco receives about three feet of rain. So far this year,
the town has received just 10 inches, and daily high temperatures have been
near 100 degrees since early June. This week, the town plans to drill a well.
However, numerous wells in the region have already gone dry, and Blanco mayor
Ryan Trimble admits that, “I don’t know if we will hit anything.” If the well
doesn’t produce and the drought continues, Blanco could be forced to truck in
water, which Trimble says could cost the town $2,000 per day.
For months, church and city leaders throughout Texas have implored their
congregations to pray for rain. In March, Bishop Michael Pfeifer of San Angelo,
200 miles northwest of Blanco, sent a letter to all 74 churches in his diocese
asking them to pray for rain. The bishop also convinced the city’s mayor to
declare a day of prayer for rain. Not that it did much good; according to
records from the National Weather Service, the city received six inches of rain
over the following three months.
“Weathermen deal with facts,” said Bishop Pfeifer. “We believers deal with
faith. I believe that we take God at his word. If we ask, God will take care of
us and hear us.”
In the Panhandle town of Dalhart, citizens have been meeting in local churches
to pray for rain since last fall. Pam Newsom of the First Baptist Church
believes it is working. “I haven’t watered my yard for two weeks,” she said.
Figures from the National Weather Service show the town has received nearly
seven inches of rain this month alone. For Newsom, the rain showers prove the
power of prayer. “The Lord knows we need rain,” she said. “But he also knows
that we are to ask for what we need.”
But the rain showers keep missing Blanco. So Gene Benningfield, the pastor of
the Assembly of God Church, told the crowd at the courthouse that it was time
to “bombard heaven with our prayers.” Benningfield told the crowd that he
didn’t just want it to rain, he wanted four inches of rain. “And if He doesn’t
send it today,” he said, “I’m going to keep praying until He does.” After
Benningfield and the other ministers finished their prayers, the crowd held
hands and sang “Amazing Grace.” They then recited The Our Father and, with a
last, loud “Hallelujah,” they went home.
Some local residents thought the prayer meeting a waste of words. “I don’t
think that’s going to help,” said Gary Corradini, who like many other livestock
owners in the region has been forced to begin hauling water from other sources
for his calves and horses. Corradini said his water well is “getting weak” and
no longer produces enough water for his livestock. “It’s Texas. It’s July. It’s
supposed to be dry,” he said.
But while Corradini had no interest in offering prayers to end the drought, he
showed a different kind of faith. “It’ll turn around,” he said. “It always
does.” — R.B.
This article appears in August 2 • 1996 and August 2 • 1996 (Cover).