To the editor: This week the front page of the Record this week has been dominated by articles concerning local ICE and Sheriff’s Office activities. The first article dealt with the detention of a local mechanic by the Sheriff’s Office for driving with a license plate on the dash and an uncovered trailer.

To the editor: I am writing out of a desire to understand why, residents whose longtime local bank accounts were transferred to a major national bank, are not being offered, or even told about a long-established tool designed exactly for situations like this. The Automated Enrollment (ENR), a non-monetary transaction within the Automated Clearing House (ACH) network.

To the editor: As we celebrate the 250th anniversary of our Declaration of Independence we should ask ourselves, “How did we go from a nation rooted in faith, prayer, and biblical truth to a nation where Christianity is mocked, traditional values are under attack and faithful Americans are treated like extremists for simply believing what the Bible teaches? It didn’t happen overnight or by accident, and our fight to preserve our liberty is bigger than politics. Many elected representatives and American citizens have watched firsthand as the media establishment avoided tough truths concerning real news events by inserting bias and broadcaster assessments; as the education establishment distorted basic learning tools, stopped teachingAmerican history and introduced contemporary reinterpretations of history; as the judicial establishment went soft on crime, becoming antagonistic to common sense with toxic empathy toward violent protestors and criminals while projecting blame on law enforcement agencies; as the scientific establishment distorted its own facts to cater to promoting inefficient, expensive, imported energy of wind and solar to replace effective available affordable fossil fuel energy; and, as the medical community dictated unproven vaccines, ignored the evidence of dangers of gender modifications, hid behind nonexistent medical consensus and encouraged gender confusion.

Cooking was not a gift I received at birth, and after eightyfour years I can report it never arrived later. I have no interest, no imagination, and certainly no talent.

In a country claiming the label of “democracy” but where privately-owned weapons outnumber residents, and where compromise between factions seems wholly out of the question in its legislatures and Congress, can a government where all are supposedly equal be maintained without violence? That, dear fellow Americans, is the single issue that could determine whether we (or perhaps our descendants?) can celebrate a Tricentennial in 2076.

I remember the Bicentennial when I was 14, watching the fireworks show around the Statue of Liberty on television while growing up in Corpus Christi. I think it was one of the earliest moments in my life in which I realized the country I live in and its fundamental value of freedom. It wasn’t just a birthday we were celebrating but it was also a value system deeply embedded in my world, my life.

C The State Board of Education gave final approval last week to a new required reading list for every grade level and also passed a rewrite of the state’s social studies requirements for kindergarten to eighth grade, the Austin American-Statesman reported. Both plans include Biblical concepts, essentially making the state the first in the nation to mandate the teaching of Christianity in public school classrooms.

T EXAS History Wiley Post and his Australian navigator landed in New York City on Jul. 1, 1931 completing an epic around-theworld flight in record-breaking time.

La Grange City Council took another step to curb the stray dog menace. Plans were initiated for mandatory licensing and vaccination of all canines, penned or leashed, to prevent them from running at large, and for disposal of animals still astray after the program was operating. The action was taken after a petition bearing 523 names was presented to council, in which signers asked for relief from the threat of roaming dogs. Licensing of all dogs in the city would be required. The council also proposed that the city’s animal ordinance be amended to increase the annual fee from $1 to $5, the same amount that most cities of comparable size charged. Imprinted metal license tags would be issued to be affixed to dog collars along with anti-rabies vaccination tags.

Everyone needs to grow almond verbena. The plant grows into a large shrub or a small tree covered with spikes of fragrant white flowers throughout the summer.