Page 2 The Eagle Lake Headlight — News for Southern Colorado County, Texas Thursday, January 2,1997

TEXAS PRESS ASSOCIATION

THE EAGLE LAKE HEADLIGHT Produced By:

Carol Cardenas • Leslie Risk Jeannine Fearing

Shirley Luedecke • Betty Drymalla

T"\ (USPS 163-760) *^ P.O. Box 67 —220 East Main

(409) 234-5521 CITY OF EAGLE LAKE,

TEXAS 77434-0067 Published Weekly

Tt» Eagle Lake Headlight reserves the right to reject, edit, or Every Thursday . omit any ad (or any reason to conform to the paper policy.

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at Eagle Lake, Texas

Address Corrections should be sent to P.O. Box 67, Eagle Lake, Texas 77434-0067

To THE EDITOR & You Legislature working frantically on relief Toy distribution a huge success

The generosity of the citizens of Eagle Lake and surrounding area was really and truly exemplified in helping make the annual American Legion Toys forChildren of Needy Families a great, great success.

Toys for children, ages infant through nine, were distributed by Legionnaires and their wives to 214 children in 73 families the Saturday before Christmas.

The response in contributing toys and cash or checks to buy toys was overwhelming.

Over 1,000 toys were given to the children to help to make Christmas a happy time for every one of them.

It would be impossible to list all of the donors but there are some that must be mentioned. Included among them are: Theresa and Tommy Galvah who donate so many toys each year; students and faculty of the Eagle Lake Middle School; members of the Eagle Lake Pilot Club; the W.L. Bauer fam- ily and friends in honor of his birth- day;

Also, Mike and Melody Grigar of Johnny's Sport Shop; an anonymous

donor who left many stuffed animals at Laker Printing; another, whose name we failed to get, who left many, many toys at Struss Auto Supply (dri- ver of a black convertible); Laidlaw Environmental Service; and countless others who left toys at the four collec- tion points.

Providing funds of $50 or more up to $150 which was used to buy new toys, included: Mrs. Joe (Virginia) Reed; Bill and Helen Wilson; Eagle Lake Middle School and faculty in a program sponsored by the Student Council; Eagle Lake Rotary Club; the Fred Frnka children and grandchil- dren in honor of their parents' and grandparents' 50th wedding anniver- sary;

Also, Wallis State Bank; Robert S. Martin; Letty and Albert Delgado; the John Young family; T.J. Smith and employees; the Ed Causey Jr. family (in honor of their 50th wedding anni- versary); the Gene Selph families of Houston; and many more who do- nated from $10 to $30.

The Legionnaires are very grate- ful to every one of the donors. We are

sorry that space does not permit listing all contributors of toys and/or cash.

Sincere thanks to the Struss Auto Supply, Laker Printing & Trophies, Wallis State Bank"and IGA Grocery for serving as collection points and for their donations.

Also special thanks to Jeannine Fearing and staff of the Eagle Lake Headlight for their wonderful public- ity; and to Don and Rose Fmka for use of The Depot facilities.

Legion Commander Fred Frnka added his thanks to Legionnaires and their wives for their valuable assis- tance in carrying out the toy project

"With the whole-hearted and gen- erous support of all of the above and many others not mentioned, it is in- deed heartwarming to know that so many children in homes of needy families were made happy at this joy- ful and blessed season," commented Fmka. "May God bless each of you and may you and yours have a happy and prosperous new year."

There was room under the Christ- mas tree for property tax relief, but there was no way to squeeze a fully formed plan through the chimney.

Scurrying Capital elves drafted a proposal that would cut school prop- erty taxes by about $3 billion a year - but left some important questions un- answered. Such as, how can the cuts:

•Be made permanent? •Be kept from creeping higher? (Gov. George W. Bush has said he

will reject any bill that does not prom- ise taxes won't creep back up, either through hiking tax rates or higher property tax appraisals.)

•Be made so as to not disrupt school funding formulas?

•Be made without picking a politi- cal fight with business interests?

"We're looking at all these issues. There are still a lot of things to figure out," state Rep. Tom Craddick, chair- man of the tax-writing House Ways and Means Committee, told the Austin American-Statesman.

Though Craddick thinks there is a way to shift more of the $10 billion school property tax burden from prop-

State Capitol Highlights By Lyndell Williams

and Ed Sterling Texas Press Association

erty owners to the state government, there is no concensus on whether cuts can be made without making a mess of the painstakingly devised school funding formulas.

Rep. Paul Sadler, chairman of the House Public Education Committee, told the American-Statesman it's impossible to shift the burden without affecting school funding formulas.

"It's an exercise in futility because you are looking for short-term an- swers to fix long-term problems," he said.

Bomer Opposes Settlement Texas Insurance Commissioner

Elton Bomer last week filed a formal objection to a proposed nationwide class-action settlement of consumer

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Pharmacy & Your Health

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Exercise Caution with Herbal Products One of the alternative forms of treatment that is gaining in popularity

in the U.S. is the use of herbs and herbal products. According to a report from the Center for Drug Policy and Clincal Economics at the University of Wisconsin, over 16 percent of the population now use some form of herbal remedy. Another recent report indicates that sales for herbal products have increased by over 30 percent in the past year. Some of the more popular products include cayenne, ginko biloba, saw palmetto, ma huang eleuthera, garlic, and goldenseal. Increased use of herbs may have led to poisonings and deaths. Earlier this year a woman died after drinking an herbal tea that had been advertised as an appetite suppressant. Also this year the Canadian Medical Association Journal contained a report of an elderly man who experienced excessive blood levels of his heart medicine. An interaction may have occured between the heart medicine and an herbal product he also was taking.

In 1994 the U.S. Congress passed the Dietary Supplement Health and Education Act, which allowed herbal product manufacturers to claim some health benefits in advertising without going through the testing requirements mandated for drugs. Always try to learn as much as you can about the herbal products you or family members may be planning to take.

March 16,1972 MJ. (Mike) Beard of Eagle Lake

was recently presented the Joseph A. Homes Safety Award from Shell Pipe- line Corporation. He has worked for 30 continuous years without a dis- abling accident...

Friday and Saturday, March 10 and 11, Michelle Castillo, Sue John- son, Kristi Gohlke, Carolyn Sum- mer and Maria Sommerlatte, stu- dents from the VOE class at Rice High School, and Mrs. Marjorie Crabb, sponsor, attended the Area V Youth Leadership Conference in Houston. Sommers placed 4th out of 50 contest- ants in the General Clerical Divi- sion...

Joan Schoellmann, daughter of Mr. & Mrs. Walter F. Schoellmann,

Bible Verse of the Week "He that loveth not knoweth not

God; for God is love." —I John 4:8 Submitted by Neddy Phillips

Ring Services, Jewelry Repair Services, Ring

Sizing, Ring Repair, Chain Repair, Bracelet Repair,

Diamond & Colored Stone Replacing, Repronging, Retipping, Latch & Loop Buildup, Watch Batteries

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K-D JEWELRY 704-B S. McCarty, Eagle Lake

234-5717

is on the Dean's List at St. Edward's University in Austin...

Funeral services were held at 2 p.m last Saturday, Feb. 27, for James Carson, 32, who was critically in- jured in an accident over four years ago in El Campo...

In the pre-dawn darkness of a Mediterranean morning last month, men of the 34th Marine Amphibious Unit were making a final check of their combat and survival gear before hitting the beaches. Marine Lance Corporal Manuel Rodriguez, son of Mr. & Mrs. Jesse Rodriguez of Eagle Lake, was among those men...

Mrs. T.B. Epps, a longtime resi- dent of the community, celebrated her

'90th birthday Thursday, March 9, in the home of her daughter, Mrs. Oscar Schade, in Columbus...

Nancy D. Munoz, daughter of Mr. & Mrs. Nick V. Munoz of Eagle Lake, has been elected vice president of the Student Government Associa- tion at Wharton County Junior Col- lege in Wharton...

Mrs. Marilyn Thomas' twirling students won seven first-place medals and three second medals and Mrs. Thomas received a first place teach- er's award at the U.S.T.A. Twirling Contest held in Rosenberg last Satur- day, March 11...

Mr. & Mrs. D.C. Meador of Bay City proudly announced the engage- ment and approaching marriage of their daughter, Patricia Ann, to John Williams Birdwell, son of Mr. & Mrs. Harvey Birdwell of Eagle Lake . The couple plan a June 9 wedding in Bay City...

Mr. & Mrs. Charles Braden announced the engagement and ap- proaching marriage of their daughter, Patti Lynn, to Jack Wayne Hough, son of Mr. & Mrs. Frank Hough of East Bernard. The wedding will be solemnized May 6...

A student from Eagle Lake has been selected to the Distinguished Student List at Texas A&I University. Named was Carol Ann Beseda, edu- cation graduate student Her parents are Mr. & Mrs. John Beseda...

Citizens of the Eagle Lake com- munity were deeply saddened to learn last week of the death of Mrs. E.E.

EAGLE LAKE REHABILITATION SERVICES "A Complete Family Wellness Center" All Physician Referrals Welcome - We File Insurance

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Roos, a resident of ths community since 1908. Mrs. Roos died Friday, March 10, in a Port Arthur hospital.

Nov. 12,1948 Eagles closed 1948 season with

exciting 7 to 6 victory over the Colum- bus Cardinals. John Perry, who has played magnificent ball during this his first year of eleven man football and had been the spearhead of the Eagles during the evening, plunged toward the goal line again and again, and finally over for a touchdown. He also plowed through for the extra point...

Alois Didner, 25 year-old-em- ployee of the Shell Oil Co., was seri- ously injured in an accident at the Providence City field about 9:30 Wednesday morning...

Thirteen Eagles played enough quarters to letter during the 1948 sea- son. These included Isidero Contre- ras, Edward Mooney, Walter Frnka, Billy Reading, Bobby Wright, Tommy Scott, Leon In- gram, Frank Tate, Jack Dodd, Gon- zalo Yanez, Robert Zahradnick, George Cason and John Perry...

Mr. & Mrs. Lee Graves enter- tained Sunday with a family dinner party celebrating their 18th wedding anniversary...

Mr. & Mrs. Chester McGeehee have returned from Sayre, Okla....

When the votes were tabulated Monday afternoon by members of the Eagle Lake Chapter Future Fanners of America it was learned that Miss Jo Ann Meitzen, 14 year-old-daughter of Mr. & Mrs. W.F. Meitzen Jr., had acquired the largest number of ballots to become Sweetheart of the chapter for the 1948-49 year...

The senior class of the Eagle Lake High School named class favorites at a meeting this week. Miss Betty Jo McElmurry, daughterof Mrs. Grace McElmurry, was named the most popular girl, and represented the class riding on a float in the Armistice Day parade. Arthur Anderson won the most popular boy honors...

Mr. & Mrs. Walter Wied are re- joicing over the arrival of a daughter bom Friday, Nov. 5, at Laughlin Hos- pital...

As a surprise farewell gesture, high school friends of Miss Janice Davis honored her with a dance at the Club Montezuma on Wed. evening...

Mrs. Dewey Gerstenberg re- turned Sunday from a week's stay in Galveston where she attended a Com- munication Workers of America meeting...

Mr. & Mrs. Sam J. Mathis Jr. of Alvin are receiving congratulations on the arrival of a daughter, Jean Ethel, bom Nov. 12th at St. Mary's Infirmary in Galveston.

complaints against the Prudential In- surance Company of America for unfair life insurance sales practices.

A settlement could affect 10 mil- lion Americans-including 300,000 Texans-who bought Prudential whole life policies between 1982 and 1995.

Bomer was one of five insurance commissioners who declined to join Prudential's agreement because it did not provide adequate redress for con- sumers.

He said the proposal settlement places an almost impossible burden on consumers who want compensation beyond the token "basic claim relief that the class-action attorneys worked out with Prudential.

"These consumers have been shortchanged once; they should not be shortchanged again," he said.

Bomer also urged the New Jersey federal court to enforce a Texas De- partment of Insurance subpoena for Prudential's records of Texas agents who have been targets of at least three sales-related complaints. Prudential has refused to honor the subpoena.

The Department of Insurance had sought the information because it could be useful to consumers who need evidence of misrepresentation for use in the "alternative dispute reso- lution" process, in which they would seek relief through an out-of-court claim setdement.

The class action suit accuses Pru- dential of "churning" and misrepre- sentation in the sale of cash-value life insurance products. Churning occurs when an agent persuades a consumer to borrow against an existing policy to pay the premium on a new one.

Names of Nursing Homes Secret The Texas Attorney General's

Office has ruled that state officials can keep secret the names of 10 publicly financed Texas nursing homes that spent $614,374 on such items as a Cadillac, baseball tickets and jobs for relatives who did not work.

The names had been sought by the media and other groups through the Texas Public Information Act.

The attorney general said the names are not open to the public be- cause the documents that name the facilities are the state auditor's work- ing papers.

"It's not mandatory that (the state auditor) withhold that information, but there is a legal exception that they may use," explained Ron Dusek, spokesman for Attorney General Morales.

A spokesman for the state auditor's office said the names will not be released.

Final Exam Exemptions Drop More Texas students were hitting

the books for final exams last week because of a new state policy that has prompted school districts to quit ex- empting students from finals.

The new policy by Education Commissioner Mike Moses ended all funding for students who are not at school because of exemptions from final exams.

In the past, school districts would let students with good grades skip finals and still receive the same amount of money. School funding in Texas is based on student attendance.

The policy became effective this semester and is now affecting students for the first time.

"You can no longer get paid for kids being absent," Dr. Moses told the Dallas Morning News. "I have this personal feeling that if you exempt kids from final exams all the way through high school, they may have trouble when they wind up at a state university and have to take a semester exam for the first time," he said.

"The days that are still to come are the wisest witnesses."

— Pindar "The primary office of a news-

paper is the gathering of news... comment is free, but facts are sacred."

— Charles Prestwick Scott

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STEVE TAYLOR Mortgage Consultant

409-234-2768 (Home) 25 North Bell • Bellville, Texas 77418

409-865-8788 Pager: 800-409-6922

Fax: 409-865-2292 1-800-210-8788

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