January 2012

DEDICATION OF ALMEDA SCHOOL
The new school building will be dedicated Thursday morning February 16th at 9:30 am. The community and former students are all invited to attend.

SIMS BAYOU WIDEN
In order to widen Sims Bayou, the bridge on Hiram Clarke will be closed except for one lane in each direction. Construction began January 23rd and will last 400 days. The pedestrian bridge across Buxley will be closed 100 days. After the Heatherbrook project is finished, work will start at the bridge on Croquet. Go to www.hcfcd.org/simsbridges to see alternate routes to travel.
The Wonderful World of Auction
Continued from last month
By James Wark
Another feature in my bag of tricks. Watch who is bidding against you for the big lots. After the bidding is over, ask what they wanted. Sell part of the lot to them to recover your purchase price & save on some loading & unloading. That gets tiring quick.
And one last hot tip. Get a number from the auction company that is called a permanent number. You are assigned your own number so if you are late to the auction, you can head right to the auction without having to register each time they hold a auction. Let others start the bids. That way you are not the bad guy who always starts too low. Or jump in as it slows down. Remember, the only reason the auctioneer is there is to extract as much money from the crowd as possible. And think of this. Its very important in my opinion. NEVER have your maximum bid be your first bid. You then won't have a second. Attend a few auction's before you ever bid. See what goes on . Check them out first. Set your amount of spending before the auction starts. Have your buyers lined up with payment. Buy at least 50 % below wholesale. Know your maximum & don't go over it. Remember, the ringers (people who draw bids from the crowd) are there for one purpose. That's to have you go home with a empty wallet & a full truck.
Check the item out before you purchase it. Suppose you buy a forklift & it does not have a motor in it. Gotcha. Another for electronics. Do what I call the pop & smoke test. If that happens, its scrap. At most auctions, its a as is -where is sale. Don't assume anything at a sale. Once the auctioneer says sold, its yours. Some accept credit cards, but some only cash or a check with a bank letter of guarantee. They will want their money at the end of the auction. No surprise there. Some of the best buys are not at the established auction houses. They have a certain amount of money they have to get for their material. Most of their stuff has been cosigned to them from people in the business of resale or estates. The best ones for me are the government auctions. That includes Federal, State, County, School Districts, Cities, Hospitals & the list goes on. They need to clean out their warehouses, so they can fill them up with surplus again. It's an ongoing deal that never seems to stop. What a deal. And now most auction's can be previewed online. What a time saver that is. Some are online auctions where you can buy without even leaving your seat. All this information in this article is from the years I have spent buying & selling. It's my actual experience out in the field. Have fun & make a million!

FRESNO WATER BOARD
Paul Hamilton will once again serve as the director.

REVOKE YOUR CITIZENSHIP
Introduced to the Senate on Jan. 16th, Senate Bill S1698 authorizes the Feds to revoke the citizenship of Americans.
The government is already monitoring online forums to prevent “conspiracy theories.” Are you guilty? Well if you advocate that Global Warming is a fraud, you are guilty of conspiracy according to The Western Center for Journalism. Their website is wcj@westernjournalism.com Reading what they write might also be considered conspiracy. And now the military can arrest you without a warrant, hold you indefinitely, and no access to a lawyer.
While our soldiers fight for our freedom, little by little our own government is taking it away. For far too long the general public is caught up into thinking that the Democrats are good and the Republicans are bad or vice-a-versa. I think it is time to focus on the issues and retire the vast majority of people who are selling this country into oblivion whether they are Dem. or Rep.
We get a lot of news about the presidential race but very little about Congress. Does everybody even know we will vote on a senator to take Kay Bailey Hutchison’s place? Whatever party you are in, check out the voting records and past history of each candidate. Find out how they stand on the issues.
IOWA CAUCUS VERSUS TEXAS PRIMARY
Iowa will send 25 delegates to the republican convention where the republican candidate for president will be chosen. Twelve or 13 of those delegates will vote for Santorum, Romney will get eight, Ron Paul gets seven and Newt gets two according to CNN. Or they could be divided between Santorum and Romney.
Texas has a primary rather than caucus. Instead of dividing the delegates, the winner takes all. But if the winner does not have more than 50% of the vote, there has to be a run off election. In Texas anybody can vote in whatever primary they choose: Republican, Democrat, Green Party, Socialist Party etc. But a person can vote in only one primary. Suppose a person votes in the Libertarian Party primary, then in the general election they can vote for a Republican, Democrat or whatever. Of course you have to be registered to vote at least 30 days before an election.


HOW CAN GOD KNOW THE FUTURE?
The hundreds of accurate predictions God gave to men show us without a doubt that God knows what is going to happen. How can He know the future unless He controls what we do in the future?
C. S. Lewis in his book Mere Christianity, tackles that question. Our main hang up according to Lewis is that we try to put God into a time frame like we are in, but He is outside of time. He sees what is happening now the same way He sees what happened 1,000 years ago because He is there and He at this moment sees what will happen 1,000 years from now because He is there. No past. No future. God is always in the present.
In Revelation 1:8, the Lord says, “I am Alpha and Omega, the first and the last.”
He didn’t say I was the first and I will be the last, but I am. When God told Moses to go to Egypt, Moses asked who should he tell the people sent him. God said tell them I AM THAT I AM sent you. Exodus 3:14
In John 8:58 Jesus said, “before Abraham was I Am.” Only God could make that claim.
Our time does not control God. One day is with the Lord as a thousand years, and a thousand years as one day, according to II Peter 3:8. Jesus says I am coming quickly, and we think in terms of a week or a month. But ten thousand years could be quick compared to eternity.

American Heritage Girls
From 100 members in 1995 to 17,000 members now, the American Heritage Girls is growing to give girls an opportunity to have the experiences of scouting but in a Christ centered organization. Patti Garibay says the group was founded because many parents were concerned about the Girl Scouts' association with the Planned Parenthood-type philosophy on abortion and sex education.
Last year they grew by 48%. If you would be interested in getting a troop started you can go online at American Heritage Girls or call their main office at 513-771-2025. The nearest troops to us are on Tidwell or in Spring.

Drive safely.
Do not use cruise control when it is raining. It has also been suggested that wearing sun glasses when it is raining helps your visibility.

NO ONE AT MADISON OR HIGH TOWER
I’m sure none of the boys at our high schools would pull a stunt like they did at one Texas high school. Several boys painted the number 1 on a goat, and a “2” on another goat and “4” on yet another. They let them loose in their high school. After catching the three goats, the staff spent the rest of the day looking for a goat with a 3.
SMART KIDS
TEACHER: Why are you late?
Joe: Class started before I got here.
TEACHER: John, why are you doing your math multiplication on the floor?
John: You told me to do it without using tables.
TEACHER: Donald, what is the chemical formula for water? Donald: H I J K L M N O.
TEACHER: What are you talking about?
Donald: Yesterday you said the formula is H to O.
TEACHER: Winnie, name one important thing we have today that we didn't have ten years ago. Winnie: Me!
TEACHER: Glen, why do you always get so dirty?
GLEN: Well, I'm a lot closer to the ground than you are.

AN APPEAL FROM CARLA MAYFIELD
Carla is a life long resident of Anderson Road
Driving east on Anderson Rd. I noted a pony tied to a tree, standing in four inches of water and struggling to free itself. Was it tied to the tree during the rain storm? I drove by later and saw the gate open to the stable with about ten stalls. A man was there with his own horse. He agreed it wasn’t right and walked over to free the horse. He said the he was renting the stable leaked. Junk was strung everywhere. The place was a mess. I called the SPCA to ask them to investigate. Perhaps by writing about this it will heighten peoples awareness of our physical environment.
It is not OK to throw trash around and abuse our animals. Don’t we, as a society have an obligation to care for our pets and our earth? Isn’t our outer state, where we live, and how we care for it, a reflection of our inner state? Please, when abuse of either the earth, a dog, or horse or whatever, think of your children, your family, and your own pets. Is that really how you want it to be?
I look at all the trash thrown around Pyburn’s Grocery, clogged up drainage ditches from garbage being tossed out of car windows, whole bags of trash, and dogs looking for food, unsprayed or neutered to breed to make more starving animals. It is so simple if we would just do the right things. Let’s be good examples for our children. Wouldn’t it be nice to say “I live south of the city” and be proud of the beauty we have instead of the blight we see?

WHAT’S LEFT OF THE BILL OF RIGHTS?
President George W. Bush signed into law the Patriot Act and Military Commissions Act. Instead of Patriot Act it should have called the removal of the Fourth Amendment to the US Constitution.
Now, the NDAA of 2012, signed into law by President Barack Obama, has effectively eviscerated the Fifth, Sixth, Seventh, and Eighth Amendments to the US Constitution. The NDAA or National Defense Authorization Act gives the president the power to indefinitely detain an American citizen suspected of threatening the US. Instead of a speedy trial, no trial. Forget Amendment 6. (The fear of terrorism is robbing us of our freedom. I wonder what Patrick Henry, who said “give me freedom or death,” would think.)
It has not mattered one whit whether it was a Republican or Democrat President or Congress in power at the time. Both parties in Washington, D.C., have overseen the deliberate dismantlement of the Bill of Rights. And, of course, we must all realize that for all intents and purposes–and with very few exceptions–both parties in Washington, D.C., have ignored the Tenth Amendment to the US Constitution for decades. The federal government has taken the decisions that belong to the states as written in the Tenth.
We should also add that the First Amendment was pretty much expunged in 1962 and 1963 when the US Supreme Court outlawed the public acknowledgment of God. And the Second Amendment suffered a major setback with the passage of the Nazi-like Gun Control Act of 1968. And, of course, the Roe v. Wade Supreme Court decision also effectively annihilated the right to life clause of the Fifth Amendment to the US Constitution.
http:ww.naturalnews.com/034537_NDAA_Bill_of_Rights_Obama.html is a website with more info.
REPUBLICAN CANDIDATES FOR US SENATE
Lela Pittenzer, David Dewhurst, Ted Cruz, Tom Leppert, Craig James and Glenn Addison. Just type in the names of these men on the search engine of the Internet and you might be surprised what you can learn. Dewhurst has a voting record you can check out.
The Wikipedia web site said that Ted Cruz is backed by Mark Levine, David Barton and senators from Kentucky and Utah. Tom Leppert, a mayor in Dallas has a voting record. The web site of Craig James, a sports commentator, gives his views and finally the web site and You tube of Glenn Addison, an ordinary citizen, tells us exactly how he would handle the problems in Washington in stead of talking in general how we should cut spending etc. Lela Pittenzer, the only woman running is very passionate in what she believes would be right.
Most of these candidates I had never heard of before. Nor had I heard of Paul Sadler, who has a record as a Texas Representative, Daniel Boone, Sean Hubbard, and Jason Gibson all running in the Democrat primary.
Stanley Garza has dropped out but not before he said how 1 % of the American people are millionaires compared to 40 to 50% of members of Congress who are.

Fred Jones uses old newspapers. Call him at 713-434-1701 if you will give him your used paper.

2nd Annual Girl’s Night Out Gala !
Join high School Students, parents, and the entire Hiram Clarke community for a wonderful Night of Elegance Promoting Unity of Mothers and Daughters at the Brentwood Church Lifelong Learning Center located at 13033 Landmark Dr, Wed. Feb. 15th from 5-8:30 pm. For details Email: ewillia6@hotmail.com
Jesus Is Coming Back
by Emmaline Wiley
Jesus is coming back one day. Nobody can say when, only God knows. Jesus is the way to the Father. Matthew 24: 1-44.

Happy Birthday
Carl Clements and Caroline Mayfield

TURNERMAN TEEN CENTER
The teen center is open every Fri and Sat. from 6pm to 11pm for teens to use computers, take piano lessons, use a treadmill, and play pool or ping pong. Located at 900 North Pine in Arcola. The center is not a student self-study program; students need supervision. Volunteers & parents are needed! Call 832-279-7956.

Almeda Moe
Moe and his wife heard a loud pounding on the door at 3am. Moe goes to the door and sees a drunk guy standing the rain. “Will you give me a push?” "Not a chance," says Moe, "it's three in the morning!" He slams the door and returns to bed."Who was that?" asked his wife.
"Some drunk guy asking for a push," Moe answers."Did you help him?"
"No, I did not, it is 3 am and pouring rain." His wife says, "Remember when we broke down, and those two guys helped us? You should be ashamed of yourself! God loves drunk people too.”
Moe drags himself out of bed and goes out into the rain. He calls out, "Hello, are you still there?" "Yes," the drunk answers. "Do you still need a push?" calls Moe. "Yes, please!" "Where are you?" asks Moe. "Over here on the swing.

FREE TAX HELP
Starting Feb. 2nd every Tue. And Thur from 12:30 to 4 pm at Vinson library.
Every Tues. and Thur. from 10am to 1pm Feb. At Sienna Library. Tax forms are available at all libraries.

Vinson Library
3810 West Fuqua 832 393 2120 Open Tue. 10-6, Wed. 10-6, Thurs.12-8, Fri. 1-5, Sat. 10-5. Closed Sunday and Monday. Internet open 24/7 houstonlibrary.org

Sienna Library 8411 Sienna Springs Blvd. 281-341-2677,
Mon/Tue/Thur, 7:30 am to 9:00 pm
Wed. 7:30-6, Fri.7:30-5, Sat. 10- 5

JOB-SEARCH ASSISTANCE
From 11:30 am to 1:00 pm, Feb. 1st, 8th, 22nd, and 29th. Call 281-238-2100 for details.
Family Reading club continues –Mar. 3.

Past Death notices are also on the page Deaths

Condolences
EDDIE EUGENE PULLIN, 50, was born October 3, 1961 and passed away December 22, 2011. He lived most of his life in South Texas. He enjoyed fishing, darts and shooting pool. He played on several leagues in the Almeda area. He is survived by his wife, Jeannie, his mother Edna Snow and three children- Mindy Jean Newberg, Eddie Eugene Pullin Jr. (Lil Eddie), and Dustin Pullin. Eddie also is survived by three wonderful grandsons-Shane, Mason, and Chase; sister, Denise Bush; brothers, Jerry Lynn Pullin Jr. and Tommy Pullin; three step-brothers and three step-sisters. He is preceded in death by his father, Jerry Pullin and his sister, Pamela Pullin.

EDWIN LEE BROWN 90, born October 11, 1921 passed away January 1, 2012. Ed’s great grandfather, Henry Pretty, built the first house in Almeda, TX in 1893. His grandparents, M/M John Harris, bought the Almeda hotel. All five of their children raised their families on a dairy farm. Ed’s parents had their farm on Furman Road, east of Almeda. He joined the Navy in 1940 and sailed out on the USS Lexington two days before Pearl Harbor was bombed. The following May, the Lex was sunk. He survived and returned to the family farm where he and his wife raised their children. For 60 years Ed was a member of the Almeda Methodist Church. He is
preceded in death by his wife of 60 years, Alberta, and brother, James Brown, Jr., Ed is survived by his son Edwin Lee Jr.; daughter, Janet, five grandsons, seven greats.

SGT. JASON C. LEAL , age 43, passed away January 6, 2012. Born September 6, 1968, Jason grew up in the Almeda area. Jason was a Houston Police Officer for over twenty years. He joined Police Academy Class #141 on August 20, 1990. During his career, he was assigned to the Southeast Division, Management Services Administration, Southeast Division, Narcotics Division, Central Division, Jail Division, and South Gessner Division. Jason was an active member of the Houston Livestock Show and Rodeo (HLSR) Tours Committee for ten years. He loved spending time at the Frio River with his wife, kids, and family. Jason also loved hunting and golfing and was an avid Texans and Astros fan. He is survived by his beloved wife, Monica; twin children, Jordan and Jade Leal; parents Fernando and Dalia Leal; brother, Michael Leal; sister, Laura/Charlie Rodriguez. Contributions may be made to the Houston Police Bicycle Relay team at www.hpdrelay.com.

JIMMY CLARK SCHOFIELD was born August 15, 1932 in Louisville, Ky and died January 20, 2012. As a teenager, he was newsworthy in Orange, TX for his work with the March of Dimes. He joined the US Airforce from 1951-55 as an entertainer and was called the “Airforce Elvis Presley”. In 1957, he graduated from Georgetown U. He worked as an Harris County Appraisal when he brought his family to reside in Almeda Manor where the family attended St. Benedicts Church. Besides being the father of eight, Jimmy and his wife were foster parents to over 200 children. Preceded in death by two sons, Patrick and Danny, he is survived by his wife, Betty Joanne,
Children: Debbie, Kay, Alan, Angela, Tim, and Paul; 13 grandchildren, and 13 great grandchildren.