Columns

C APITAL Highlights By GARY BORDERS Texas Press Association The Texas Department of Transportation has adopted a 10-year statewide roadway construction plan with a record $85 billion price tag, officials announced last week. The Unified Transportation Plan authorizes the distribution of construction money that is expected to be available during the next decade.

T EXAS History By BARTEE HAILE This Week in Texas History NBC gave Roger Miller, the hottest solo act in show business, an hour a week of prime-time television on Sep. 12, 1966.

In the 1950s, and no telling how far back in time, there was a day set aside at La Grange High School called “Fish Day.” This was the day when all the freshmen or “fish” in high school had to submit to all the higher classmates. They had to do chores like carry their books, sharpen their pencils, open doors for them and all sorts of other silly things. But the worst part I thought was being ordered to wear a girl’s blouse buttoned in the back, red lipstick, and ear bobs on that day. Well, if that was required of me—a simple country boy from out of town, then that’s what I would do. When that designated day came around I dressed in a turquoise blouse buttoned in the back, non-matching socks, donned some “ear bobs,” put on a little bit of lipstick and waited for the bus to pick me up. After the bus driver opened the bus door for me and saw who or what he was to pick up I wondered if he wouldn’t just shut the door and leave me standing there. But, pick me up he did and we proceeded on to school.

Texas has a feral hog problem. And do you know what keeps those hogs in check? Read on. The coyote is probably one of the most misunderstood predators on four feet. Coyotes are called chicken killers, deer killers, calf killers and worse. They are efficient killers, but rarely kill a calf that has a good father and mother. And unless a pack is hunting deer, anything but a fawn or injured deer will generally outrun a coyote. Their main purpose in life is to eat vermin.

To The Editor: The Trump Cult writes upset at criticism of their Grand Poohbah. The story line: “The End Justifies the Means.” Whatever Trump does, laws broken, ethics violated, basic morals ignored, the members of the cult, incredibly, invent excuses and become dangerously upset when he is held to account. Laws are for “the little people,” not their Poohbah. The cult claims they are “Law and Order” folk, yet revel in Trump’s lack of order and disrespect for laws. Hillary was pilloried for her attempt to retain government records on a private server with chants of “Lock Her Up!” Trump commits theft of more than 700 pages of classified material, unlike the case of Hillary, are original documents with the highest possible classification, Top Secret Special Access. The cult conveniently forgot that Trump had previously lied to our National Archive that he had no more classified documents after the initial removal of 15 boxes. Where are the cries to “Lock Him Up?” We should be proud that our government applied our laws equally, even if it took the feds one year and seven months to retrieve all documents. In a democracy, legal equality ensuring that no person is privileged over others is fundamental. The Trump Cult demands legal immunity for their Poohbah, and that is scary. We receive frequent reminders directly from Trump of why he is toxic. Recently on Monday 29 August, the billionaire ratcheted up his delusional claims about the election demanding that he be proclaimed the “rightful winner” or conduct a new national election immediately.

To The Editor: Our small community is a jewel for so many reasons, and as I thumbed through the 2022 edition of The Fayette County Record’s 2022 Readers’ Choice publication, I was struck by two things: 1) The number and variety of businesses and professionals recognized who have earned the support of our residents. It tells me that we live in a thriving and engaged community that draws entrepreneurial, committed, and compassionate individuals.

To The Editor: We all know about the highest inflation, highest illegal immigration, highest crime rate, highest amounts of fentanyl, ever, in our country, and as we all know, this has happened since Biden took over as president. Today I want to address President Biden calling Trump supporters fascists and that he said he has no respect for MAGA supporters. I thought Biden was going to unify our country and bring peace and calm? Let’s talk fascism. The Biden administration has totally gone against our constitution and is letting illegals in by the millions, most probably never checked for covid or other diseases. How can they with the number coming in daily? He made the decision to swipe the pen, and allow anyone in, with minimal vetting if any, as he did with a swipe of the pen to close the pipelines and shut down oil drilling, thus causing job losses for thousands, and highest ever gas prices. President Biden has implemented that many lose their positions at work, schools, or in the military if not vaccinated for COVID, yet millions are coming to our country unvaxed. He has recently overseen the raid on an ex-president, who might be a possible contender and competitor for president. This has to be one of the most horrible milestones that our country has ever experienced!. To treat an ex-president like a common criminal when Trump was working with the FBI all the while these past months, has crossed the line. Were not two impeachments enough? How much should Trump and his family have to take? The Clintons and Bidens have been proven to have crossed lines during their leadership, and “nothing,’” was or has been done to them in any manner compared to President Trump.

That Little Voice By MARGO JOHNSON My maternal grandfather was born two years after the Civil War on land where the area’s longest and bloodiest battle was fought and is now known as the Chicamauga Military Battlefield in northwest Georgia. The location and time of his birth made him the man he became: a transplanted southern gentleman whose life was ripped apart by the Reconstruction Act following the brutal battles of a nation torn apart by ideology.

C APITAL Highlights By GARY BORDERS Texas Press Association Heavy rains through Texas last week caused flooding, particularly in the Dallas area, prompting Gov. Greg Abbott to issue a disaster declaration for 23 affected counties.

Are men, really, “a lot of trouble?” A friend recently quoted a woman he knows as saying that. She was trying to explain why an eligible older fellow might have difficulty finding an interested new female partner. When I began to check it out, I discovered that a surprising number of unattached women have quit on men. They like the freedom of living alone. Housekeeping for one. Men, they say, require “double the work.”