There are ten Texas Constitutional Amendments on the ballot for all Texans to vote on. Houstonians elect a mayor, a city controller, five at large citywide council positions and 11 city council district seats.
Most of Our News readers are no longer in Wanda Adams District D but in the newly created District K containing thirty three precincts including Precinct 0131. The other precincts are west and north of 0131. The three candidates on the ballot for Dist. K are Pat Frazier, Larry Green and Alex Gonik. You can see Pat’s picture on page 3.
Houstonians will also decide on the following propositions:
Proposition 1: Relating to the Creation of a Dedicated Funding Source to Enhance, Improve and Renew Drainage Systems and Streets. Shall the City Charter of the City of Houston be amended to provide for the enhancement, improvement and ongoing renewal of Houston's drainage and streets by creating a Dedicated Pay-As-You-Go Fund for Drainage and Streets?
Proposition 2: Relating to Residency Requirements for District Council Office for the November 2011 General Election.
Shall the City Charter of the City of Houston be amended to provide that for the general election to be held in November 2011, and for the purpose of redistricting, the required period of residency to file for the office of District Council Member shall be reduced from 12 months to 6 months preceding the election day?
Proposition 3: An Amendment to the City Charter Relating to the Use of Photographic Traffic Signal Enforcement Systems (Red Light Cameras). Shall the City of Houston continue to use red light cameras to enforce state or local laws relating to traffic safety?
The last day to register to vote is Oct. 11th. (It is now a felony to register if you are not a legal resident.)
Early voting begins Oct. 24 to Nov. 4th.
Presidential Candidate Cain
Watching TV you might think Romney and Perry are the only two men to choose from in the Republican primary. The Florida straw poll said differently when 65-year-old Hermann Cain came out first with 37% of the vote. He said, “The voice of the people is more powerful than the media and the message is more important than money. He has good common sense solutions to our economy problems. Cain is an extremely successful black business man who has never held a public office. He was affiliated with the Teaparty movement before it was called the Teaparty. To me Cain is among my top three candidates whom I believe would make a good leader.
strong>IN GOD WE TRUST
Our national motto is In God We Trust. In 1814, in the last stanza of the Star Spangled Banner, Francis Scott Key wrote And this be our motto: “In God is our trust.”
By 1864 the words were put on some coins. In 1956, Congress made it our official national motto which is printed on all our currency.
John Hoffman and Chris Gonzales
New plant managers have recently joined each of the plants. John Hoffman joined the Houston Plant in October as Plant Manager. He comes from Chicago, and has been with Akzo Nobel for 22 years, serving as a Plant Manager in two assignments, and in the corporate office in another. The new Plant Manager at Champion Technologies is Chris Gonzales, who is a Texan, and was formerly with Lyondell in La Porte.
Both are residents of Fort Bend County
Know your neighbors
Knowing who comes and goes regularly, and what normal day-to-day activities to expect in your neighborhood are essential to personal and community security! In today’s post 9-11 environment, knowing what happens around you and your family is more important than ever!
The Community Advisory Panel to Akzo Nobel and Champion Technologies (ANC CAP) provides a means for area residents to learn about their industrial neighbors, and the operations at their facilities. CAP has been meeting monthly since April, 2004 with sixteen members drawn from Arcola, Fresno, Shadow Creek Ranch, and Almeda neighborhoods surrounding the two sponsoring plants. The CAP provides a forum for two way communications between plant managers and neighborhood representatives. At each meeting the members hear Plant Updates, which cover the plant’s safety and environmental performance and provide news about operations, permit changes, special projects and awards the plants receive.
Plant representatives hear community news as well, allowing the representatives to gain insight on the day to day life in the surrounding neighborhoods. Members encourage the companies to support local activities, and both have shown their willingness to be involved with their neighbors.
Champion supports the local Volunteer Fire Department that serves Fresno, Arcola, and the surrounding community, and is active with the Senior Center. Akzo Nobel is a business partner to Almeda Elementary School, and provides scholarships to local high school graduates.
Community Members select the meetings agendas covering a range of topics. Most recently, the CAP learned about the TCEQ permitting and how citizens can participate in the process. Concerns about water quality and private wells brought experts to the meeting to answer questions and inform the citizens how to test wells to ensure they are safe. The CAP also learned about waste disposal and deep well injection.
Other topics the CAP has examined in recent months include safety training for oil rig workers, plant security, and how to develop a culture of safety in petrochemical facilities. The CAP reviews and evaluates its operations annually. New programs are planned based on members’ new concerns or current local issues – and no question goes unanswered. The CAP is open to citizens who live or work in the area, and are interested in learning more about neighboring industry or in membership. Those wishing to attend a meeting may contact the Facilitator at m.j.naquin@informedfutures.com
A TIME TO DIE
Are our days numbered? Is there a day marked out when we will die? In chapter 3 verse 1 of Ecclesiastes, the writer says there is a season and a time to every purpose under heaven. It is easy to understand that there is a time to plant and a time to harvest, a time to laugh and a time to mourn and a time to keep silence and a time to speak, but a time to die?
Chap. 8 v. 8 says, “no man has power in the day of death.” Moses wrote, “Teach us Lord to number our days that we may apply our hearts to wisdom. Psalm 90:12
The fear of the Lord adds days, but the years of the wicked shall be shortened. Proverbs 10:27
O my God, take me not away in the midst of my days. Psalms 102:23
...deceitful; men shall not live out half their days. Psalm 55:23 Ecc. 7:17: Be not overmuch wicked neither be foolish: why should you die before your time?
...our days on earth are a shadow writes Job in Ch. 8 v.9. Other verses also point out how short life on earth is.
While we don’t know how long our life will be, if God knows us well enough to know how many hairs are on our head and he is aware when a sparrow dies, He most likely knows when we will die. Jesus said (John 5:24) that he who hears my word and believes on him that sent me, has everlasting life and shall not come into condemnation, but is (already) passed from death into life. One thing for sure, all of us had a time to be born and there will be a time to die. Thank God, Jesus conquered the grave taking the sting out of death. I Corinthians 15: 54-
CEMETERIES
Mary Appling from Fresno, who has worked for the two major owners of all funeral homes in the United States, is the director of her own independent funeral home. She shares her knowledge on cemeteries: For a person to be buried in a family, church or community cemetery, you can hire people who will open and close the grave. They charge anywhere from $600 to $1500 depending on the location and who you hire. Usually you go through your funeral home for this service.
At South Park that service is provided by the cemetery for $1,395. South Park also requires an outer burial container which they charge $895 (as of August 2011) but you don’t have to buy the container from them. Mrs. Appling says you may buy it from a funeral supply store or from your funeral director. As a funeral director, she can offer you a container for $600 tax free whereas the funeral stores have to charge a tax and a delivery fee. Same thing with caskets. You can have one funeral home do the service and buy your casket elsewhere, often saving $100 of dollars.
Funny how a person will shop for hours for a blouse or a pair of shoes to save ten bucks, but when it comes to a funeral, money seems to be no object.
STAY HUMBLEWhen people do you wrong and you think you can’t go on, stay humble and God will make you strong.
Keep looking to the hills, help is on the way. God never slumbers nor sleeps. Remember stay humble, pray, fast, and obey. Psalms 121, II Chronicles 7:14, Matt. 6:14-18, 17:21 & 18:4
© Copyright by Emmaline Wiley.
A friend said she accepted a collect call to her cell phone and got a bill for $52.03 for six minutes. Might want to find out what your phone company will charge before you accept a collect call.
November 2011 news
