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Chief Justice Jefferson’s Speech Crosses Party LinesBy Abby RapoportTEXAS OBSERVER

Judges have long been begging the state to let them be appointed, rather than elected, without all the partisanship and rhetoric and money that can cloud political campaigns. Lawmakers have largely ignored their pleas. But on Wednesday, things were different when Chief Justice Wallace Jefferson addressed a joint session of the House and Senate. Jefferson is a Republican, but his speech focused on issues not normally associated with the Texas GOP. He began by asking lawmakers to soften the punishments on youth who break the law and not require that they go into the juvenile justice system. “Sending juveniles away to remote detention centers is sometimes neces-sary,” he said, “but it is not the answer to our societal problem.” Jefferson brought with him an incredible number of statistics, including one showing the need for mental health treatment among young offenders; 60 percent of incarcerated children need psychiatric treat-ment of some kind. He pointed to the disproportionate number of minority and special needs kids who find themselves before a judge. Jefferson’s talk sometimes bordered on the bleeding heart, as he described seeing the faces of “little girls addicted to methamphetamine” and hearing “the pleas of frustrated working mothers.” He didn’t stop there. Jefferson next addressed the need for legal aid funding in civil cases and more money for defendants too poor to get a lawyer on their own. He framed both calls around access to the justice system. “The increasing inaccessibility of legal ser-vices—for the poor, for even the middle class—under-mines the rule of law for us all,” he told the assembled lawmakers. He asked point blank for $20 million to go

to legal aid. (The Legislature put $20 million into legal aid last session, but with a $27 billion shortfall, that money isn’t in this session’s proposed budget.) This Republican justice was even more adamant on the need for money to help poor defendants, funds that are also cut in the Legislature’s draft budgets. Texas, he noted, spends less than most other states per capita on such defenses. The cuts would “drain the system of resources we need to assure indigent criminal defendants get competent lawyers who make the system fair,” he said. Jefferson also addressed two hot-button topics, especially in light of the state’s high number of exonerated prisoners: the importance of understanding forensic evidence, and the need to make DNA testing more widely available. These are issues that lawmakers are eager to discuss. Softening consequences for young offenders, they fear, translates to “soft on crime” in an election. Putting money aside for needy citizens will rarely rank as top priority when funding for education and health care is on the line, even though the small amounts of money required would make a huge difference. The rest of Jefferson’s speech was tried and true. He’s pleaded before for judges to be appointed rather than elected to the bench. He made the same request on Wednesday, also suggesting some compromises—no straight-ticket voting, longer terms for judges. His calls for such reforms haven’t been heeded in the past and likely won’t be this session. But on Wednesday, Jefferson’s role as an elected, partisan judge gave his mes-sage more weight. On Tuesday, the House Criminal Juris-prudence Committee had unanimously supported a measure to standardize eyewitness identification, one of the least-accurate methods of identifying an assailant. It was a reform that earned bipartisan support. But Jefferson’s speech made it clear that when it comes to the judiciary, there’s room for a whole lot more reform.

BALCH SPRINGS- Employers from throughout Dallas will be taking applications for a variety of jobs at the Urban League of Greater Dallas Community Ser-vice Center in Pleasant Grove. The Job Fair will

be held on Thursday, March 24 from 9 a.m. to 12 noon at 3312 N. Buck-ner, Suite 234 in Dallas, 75228. SMU, McDonald’s, Dallas County, Auto Zone, FedEx and Volt Group are just a few

of the companies offering positions that include customer service, data entry, warehouse, accounting, administra-tive, mechanics, bi-lin-gual receptionist, security and managers. Applicants must be 18

years or older; have valid identification and Social Security Card. You must be dressed in business attire. Dress code will be strictly enforced.For more information call (214) 413-1764.

Urban League Of Greater Dallas Pleasant Grove Host Job Fair

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BALCH SPRINGS SENTINEL March 2011 Edition PAGE 3

PublisherWill Hobdy

CEO Phalconstar Newspaper Group

Editorial Staff Asst.Angela Ardery

Jill GlancyContributing Writers

Sergio GarciaLuke Clayton

Donald Frederick, ComicsPhoto EditorEvelyn Allen

Marketing & AdvertisingLovell Brigham

General Officephalconstar@sbcglobal.net

News Desknews@phalconstar.com

Retail & Classified Advertisingadvertising@phalconstar.com The Balch Springs Sentinel is published by Phalconstar Com-

munications, LCC and reserves all rights to accept or refuse any articles to be printed in any issue of the newspaper. Views and opinions expressed by writers are not necessarily those of the publisher or our advertisers. The Balch Springs Sentinel is published weekly on Thursdays. Deadlines are Fridays, the week before publication, at 6 pm. Letters to the Editor are welcome. Only signed letters will be accepted. The Balch Springs Sentinel assumes no responsibility for unsolicited material. Any use or reproduction in part or whole is forbidden without the express written consent of the publisher. Used under license agreement IDN 13-6401495

Phalconstar Newspaper GroupPres/Publisher - Will Hobdy

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Greenville, TX 75403 phone (972) 926-8503 fax (903) 450-1397

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Subscriber Services Mgr.Sam Hobdy (903) 450-1393

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Of the 713,444 people who are eligible to participate in the Driver Responsibility Program amnesty, only 54,035 (about 7.5 percent of the total) have signed up so far. The amnesty program allows delinquent drivers to pay just 10 percent of the original amount owed on all surcharges com-bined, or a maximum of $250. Drivers are not required to make a payment when they sign up, however they must pay off all money owed by April 17 to retain their driving

privileges. Eligible driv-ers have until April 7 to sign up for this program and must pay all sur-charge amounts by April 17. This one-time amnesty applies to drivers who had a surcharge assessed between Sept. 30, 2004, and Dec. 31, 2008, and are delinquent on those payments. Once the online or telephone application is approved, the surcharge suspensions will be cleared on the applicant’s driving record within three business days. After

three business days, the applicant can review the reduced amount on line and begin making the necessary payments. To apply for the amnesty program, see the surcharge website at www.txsurchargeonline.com or call 1-877-207-3170. No requests will be accepted by mail, e-mail or fax. The Driver Respon-sibility Program, which assesses fees for a variety of driving-related offenses, was passed by the Legislature in 2003 and directed the Depart-

ment of Public Safety to administer the program. Traffic offenses that carry an automatic surcharge for three years include DWI-related offenses, no insurance, driving while license suspended, driv-ing without a license and point accumulation. For example, the fee for a first-time DWI offender is $1,000 per year for three years. The revenue generated by DRP goes to trauma centers, emer-gency medical services and the General Revenue Fund.

Time Running Out for Driver Responsibility Program Amnesty

AUSTIN - April 18, the 2010 federal income tax filing dead-line, is just around the corner. For Texans trying to wade through their fed-eral income tax return, it can often be challenging. Fortunately, the Internal Revenue Service (IRS)

and the Texas Workforce Commission (TWC) stand ready to assist taxpayers with information on prep-arations services. A new service offered this year is Free File, a free, federal income tax preparation and electronic filing program for eligible

taxpayers. Taxpayers with a 2010 Adjusted Gross Income of $58,000 or less who meet additional requirements can qualify for Free File. For more information on the pro-gram visit IRS.gov. TWC also is encour-aging qualifying taxpay-

ers to take advantage of the Earned Income Tax Credit (EITC), which allows lower-income indi-viduals and families to pay less or no federal income tax, or receive cash payments. Local Workforce Solutions Offices offer tax prepara-

Free Tax Filing Available to Qualified Texanstion help, including how to file for EITC. For more information on spe-cific services provided by Local Workforce Boards in your area, please visit www.texasworkforce.org. The IRS estimates that in 2009 more than 2.6 million Texans claimed more than $6.5 billion in EITC credits, with an

average refund of $2,492. In recent years, Texas has ranked first in the nation in the number of EITC dollars claimed by tax-payers. Despite the cred-it’s availability, however, the IRS estimates that as many as 20 to 25 percent of Americans who qualify for the credit do not claim it on their tax returns.

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2010 WISE Award Winners (l-r) Judy Trammell, 2010 Board MemberBonnie Rockwood, Honoree; Belinda Epps, 2010 WISE Winner; Emily Tosch, Hon-oree; Donna Woodard, Honoree and Alex Priakos, Executive Director.

BALCH SPRINGS- Every year, Mesquite Social Services (MSS) provides a variety of resources as diverse as the community it impacts. MSS can not do this alone and recognizes the exemplary efforts by the Women In Service and Enterprise within the community of its service areas at its annual WISE Luncheon and Style

Show. This year being the 10th anniversary of WISE it is only fitting that the theme be diamonds and “Diamonds Are A Girls Best Friend.” The event will be held April 27, 2011 at the Mesquite Convention Center The WISE Luncheon honors women nomi-nated by the community for their outstanding ser-

vice to Mesquite, Balch Springs, Seagoville and Sunnyvale. Past Honor-ees include: Shirley Rob-erts of Shirley Roberts Realty, Diane Wright of Reunion Title, Sharon Cook of Eastfield Col-lege and Belinda Epps of Epps Realty. Women can only be honored if they are nominated.

Tenth Annual WISE Luncheon, Style Show Set for April

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To nominate your WISE women, please visit www.mesquitesocialservices.org. Please join us for the 10th Annual Wise Lun-cheon and Style Show to not only honor all the 2011 nominees, but also for the Fashion experi-ence provided by Dil-lard’s at Town East Mall

and the amazingly unique silent auction item pack-ages. Bid on wedding packages, sculptures and many more. Proceeds benefit the steadfast work of Mesquite Social Services. To purchase tickets and more infor-mation you may visit www.mesquitesocialservices.org or call 972-286-3000. The mission of Mes-

quite Social Services is to provide emergency assis-tance to families expe-riencing financial crises through the provision of rent/mortgage, utilities and food and to promote the interest of the commu-nities served through edu-cational, charitable and service oriented activities.

10th Annual Wise Luncheon and Style Show

Luke ClaytonBALCH SPRINGS SENTINEL As I cast my little crap-pie jig into the back of a

cove on a 400 acre lake that I duck hunted regu-larly this past season, the ‘tap tap’ telegraphed up

my line by a receptive crappie reminded me just how big a player the weather is in the outdoors. As recent as a couple weeks ago, the temper-ature was in the teens and even Wally Marshal would have been chal-lenged to catch a crappie from the relatively shal-low waters. Today the big slab sided crappie were on a feeding binge! Regardless whether you’re crappie fishing on smaller lakes or, the larger reservoirs, locating the warmest water is key to catching crappie right now. A thermometer is one of the most useful

What a Difference a Week Makes

Jack Zimmerman caught this barndoor crappie fishing with his Grandfather Phil Zimmerman. When crappie are shallow during the spawn, bank fishermen can catch as many fish as those in boats. Photo courtesy of Phil Zimmerman

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BALCH SPRINGS SENTINEL March 2011 Edition PAGE 7

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Diane XavierEDITOR

The City of Balch Springs is providing med-ical transportation for cit-izens in its Medtrans program. Under the pro-gram it is offering low cost transportation to medical facilities for those in need of bus ser-vices to their doctor’s visits every Tuesday and Thursday. They will also provide pharmacy and grocery store trips every Wednesday. To participate, one must call by Friday at 4 pm to City Hall at 972-557-6070 for pickup on the follow-ing week. They must also complete a waiver of lia-bility form for transporta-tion. Eligible Riders must be 55 or older, disabled at any age, however those

17 and younger will require an adult guardian. The cost is $5 round trip or $2.50 one way and fees are to be paid on pickup or in advance to the Medtrans Service City of Balch Springs at 3117 Hickory Tree Attn: Medtrans Service City of Balch Springs with name, location, date of pickup, and destination address. The bus will start pickup citizens at 8a.m. and drop them off in the morning by 10a.m. to their destinations and start returning to Balch Springs at noon. An afternoon pickup will start at 1:30 p.m. and return to the city starting at 3:30 p.m. A phone number will be provided to indi-viduals to notify the driver once your appointment is completed.

ATTENTION STYLISTS AND BARBERS. ARE YOU TIRED OF PAYING HIGH BOOTH RENT?Salon owner looking for motivated styl-ists and barbers that have a clientele and need a change. (Recent graduates of Cosmetology or Barber College may also be considered on a case-by-case basis). Our Salon is located in the Garland area. BOOTH RENTERS ONLY, BOOTH RENT $75.00 A WEEK FOR A LIMITED TIME.For info call: Mrs Davis at 214.738. 8291.

City of Balch Springs Offering Medical Transportation Services

tools for catching crappie this time of year. On our little lake, a test of the main lake water temper-ature versus the shallow cove where we found the concentration of fish was a full ten degrees differ-ence. The main lake tem-perature was 53 degrees. Back in the sheltered, shallower cove, we found water as warm as 63 degrees during mid after-

noon. Crappie have the ability to decipher minute changes in water tem-perature. Crappie pro Billy Kilpatrick says often as little as one degree change is all it takes to attract crappie this time of year. “I start looking for crappie in very shallow water relatively close to a creek channel or drop off this time of year.” says Kilpatrick. “Crappie move from shallow to deep with

the passing of each late winter cold front. In a couple of months, boats will make accessing crappie hot spots in deeper water much easier but for now, during the early part of the spawn, bank fisher-

men often catch as many, or more crappie than those fishing from boats. As the old adage pertain-ing to spring fishing goes, “this is the time of year when ninety percent of the fish are in ten percent of the water.”

Weather, Big Player in Crappie Fishing

PAGE 8 March 2011 Edition BALCH SPRINGS SENTINEL