HOPE
People cannot survive without hope. Some people put their hope in money but many a millionaire has died penniless. Others hope in education. Some of the most educated people develop dementia and can’t remember their own name. So many of us put our hope in other people only to have our hopes dashed. And still others hope in what they can do only to discover how helpless we can become in a blink of an eye. Lastly, people put their hope in religion and discover that it doesn’t do for them what they had hoped.
Solomon, considered the wisest man in his time, wrote: Do you see a man wise in his own eyes? There is more hope for a fool than for him. Proverbs 26:12.
In the face of death, people place their hope in various beliefs. But what do they have to back up their belief? Peter writes in 3:15 that we should be ready to give an answer if anyone asks us for a reason for the hope we have in us. He also wrote (3:18), Christ suffered for sins, the just for the unjust that he might bring us to God.
The hope that will remain through every disappointment and trial in this life is in a sense a gift. The Apostle Peter wrote...the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, who according to His great mercy has caused us to be born again to a living hope through the resurrection of Jesus Christ from the dead. I Peter 1:3
Because He lives we can face tomorrow - our hope is built on nothing less than Jesus’ love and righteousness.

IT STARTED RIGHT HERE!
Del Underwood, while living on Grammar Street, filed the paper work necessary to start a radio station. On March 9, 1962 KHCB at 105.7FM sent out their first program from the corner of Almeda Genoa and Almeda School Road. Now 50 years later from one small building in Almeda using 3,410 watts, to a larger facility at 2424 South Boulevard using the legal limit of 100,000 watts KHCB has a 1600 foot tower to increase coverage. That coverage with the help of satellite stations reaches parts of Florida, OK, and LA and 21 cities and towns in Texas.
The station gives free airtime to broadcasters and is still commercial free depending solely on voluntary gifts from listeners. They have also added on Spanish and Vietnamese programs and some listen by way of the Internet at www.khcb.org.
For fifty years and 436,800 hours KHCB has endeavored to Keeping Him Close By. Call 888-777-KHCB and they will send a program guide. You will never receive one single request for money. They don’t need to beg, as grateful people who benefit from their programs want to have a part in their work.


NEW POLICE CHIEF IN ARCOLA
Effective March 20th, Howard Sylze is Arcola’s new police chief. He has experience and is studying for an Associate Degree in Criminal Justice.
Besides a new chief, Arcola has a huge new digital sign on the north side of Hwy. 6 where the city can make announcements to citizens. Soon you will see a reminder of the trash pickup on Saturday, April 26th from 8am to 1pm. Dumpsters will be at the city hall and people will be available to help seniors get non-garbage trash hauled to the dumpsters.
Arcola city elections will be on May 12th for mayor and two city council seats.

CAPTURED
Two got away but, 49 people, in this country illegally all living in a house near Fuqua in the 14300 block of Hiram Clarke, were arrested on March 23rd. The adults and 19 children from San Salvador, Guatemala, and Mexico were being held for ransom.

ALMEDA
KING
Almeda’s father, Dr. Willis King, was one of the early developers of a planned orchard near the proposed town site, suggested the town be named after his daughter. Every one agreed Almeda was a beautiful name. But Almeda never saw the town named after her as she died quite young. According to her brothers, who sent the town her picture, ‘she was filled with gentle sympathy for all mankind, thoroughly unselfish, and always ready to stoop to aid fallen ones.’ The town of Almeda has a good name to live up to.


James Andrews writes in response to H. Thompson’s comments. He did make some good points. I agree that our country is more fascist (ruled by big money) than Marxist. In either approach though, it boils down to people thinking they have a right to tell other people what they can or can’t do.
Frances Woodruff says to check out how nice the Almeda Cemetery looks. You won’t see the sign on the ground now. Jackie Breedlove invites us to join her each evening at 8 PM for one minute & pray for the safety of the United States, our troops, our citizens, peace, the election, and that the Bible will remain the basis for the laws governing our land.

ANSWERS TO LAST MONTH'S PUZZLE
1, In which sport are the shoes made of metal? Horseracing. 2. How many three cent stamps in a dozen? twelve.
3. Two people are unable to touch each other while on the same piece of newspaper when you slide half of the paper under a closed door. 4. If John puts his 3 piles of sand together with Mary’s four there will be one pile. 5. If the Vice President dies who would be the President? The President would still be President. If both die?- Speaker of the House.

Jesus Rose
God sent His only begotten son to die for us on the cross on Calvary when we were lost enslaved in sin. Jesus rose from the grave on the 3rd day. I’m grateful He saved me. Happy Resurrection Day April 8th.
© by Emmaline Wiley

KEEP THOSE BERRIES FRESH
Email from Barbara Potter: When you buy berries, prepare a mixture of one part white vinegar and ten parts water. Dump berries into the mixture. Swirl around. Drain, rinse if you want (though the mixture is so diluted you can't taste the vinegar,) and pop in the fridge. The vinegar kills any mold spores and other bacteria. Raspberries will last a week or more, and strawberries go almost two weeks without getting moldy and soft. You're so berry welcome!

GARDEN TIME
It is safe to put okra seed right in the ground. To make it sprout sooner soak in water overnight or place seed in a small pot of water and bring to boil, then plant immediately.
Okra will keep on producing until the first hard frost. If you haven’t already get those green bean and squash seeds in the ground as well as other plants that do well in the late spring and summer. I like to open up the row and water then drop in the seed, cover and water again. Small seeds like carrot need to be kept moist until they come up even if that means watering twice a day.

SAVE WATER
Last summer, if you had a water well you might have worried about the well going dry. One small way to cut back on water usage is to dilute your liquid hand soap. When the liquid gets down to about 1/6 of the soap left, fill with water. Squirt the diluted soap onto your dry hands, wash, then rinse. The water you use will amount to two cups. If wash your hands the regular way you will use a quart of water. Now two cups of water saved might not seem like much, but multiply that by five to ten times a day per person it adds up. Just think if 1,000 people saved just two quarts a day that would equal 500 gallons. Not to mention it saves time and soap.

Good's Bank Ain't Busted Yet!

The bank had closed,
my earthly store had vanished from my hand;
I felt that there was no sadder one than I in all the land.
My washerwoman, too, had lost her little mite with mine.

And she was singing as she hung the clothes upon the line.
"How can you be so gay?" I asked, "Your loss don't you regret?"

"Yes, ma'am, but what's the use to fret?
God's bank ain't busted yet!"
I felt my burden lighter grow; her faith I seemed to share:
In prayer I went to God's great throne and laid my troubles there.
The sun burst from behind the clouds, in golden splendor set;
I thank God for her simple words;
"God's bank ain't busted yet!"
And now I draw rich dividends, more than my hands can hold,
Of faith and love and hope and trust, and peace of mind untold.
I thank the Giver of it all, but still I can't forget
My washerwoman's simple words:
"God's Bank Ain't Busted yet!"
Oh, weary ones upon life's road, when everything seems drear

and losses loom on every hand and skies seem not to clear,
Throw back your shoulders, lift your head and cease to chafe and fret,

Your dividend will be declared:
"God's bank ain't busted yet!"-------Alice P. Moss

THE DARK SIDE OF ABORTION
An investigation by Life Dynamics revealed the practice in Investigate Magazine, a New Zealand-based current affairs publication stated that baby parts from aborted babies are being sold. They went on to determine that a Maryland brokerage firm has been arranging the sale of parts of American aborted babies to the University of Auckland medical school in New Zealand for experiments.
"It is illegal, but these people have developed a loophole around it in that, for example, when they sell baby parts, they don't sell you the part," Mark Crutcher, the founder of Life Dynamics details. "They say we will donate the part to you. Well, that makes it legal, but then, you have to pay us to harvest the part ... to transport it ... to gather it, and get it to you, and they can set the price on that."
Evidently, a person has to have special skills to scoop eyes out of a fetus or dissect arms, legs and organs while the body is still warm.
Part of the New Zealand research mixes human and animal cells. Eyes have been put in mice and hearts into pigs. Investigate Magazine reports that five universities in the U.S., including the University of Washington, have been harvesting the parts. Globally it is a two billion dollar business. They order parts from babies, dead for only ten minutes. Some order parts from a fetus that is 16 weeks old others at 30 weeks. One worker in a clinic said it was not unusual to see several live births a week of babies in the third trimester.
Your tax dollars at work going to Planned Parenthood.
In order to donate tissue or body parts the mother is suppose to sign a statement, but when asked nobody seemed to have any of the forms with signatures. After the baby is aborted it is no longer a part of the mother so does she have the authority? I guess as next of kin.
Don’t guess we should criticize what the Nazi’s did in the name of science as he didn’t come close to killing as many human beings as we have. Although you as an individual might be pro-life, as a nation we are guilty. Unless we turn from the taking of innocent life, Reverend Wright might get his wish for God to damn America. God loves us and will forgive, when we use the Christian’ s bar of soap - I John 1:9

ARE YOU A RACIST?
About 15 years ago, a man wanted to put an ad in Our News. My husband, Cotton, overheard the conversation and told me not to accept the ad because it was a pyramid scheme which is against the law to advertise. The man started arguing so my husband took the phone. Finally, the man said, “You don’t want my business because I’m black.”
Cotton said, “It is not because you are black but because you are a crook.”
The point of this little story is the result of seeing a headline about southern racism. To all my always Democrat and/or black friends be honest; were you being racist in the way you felt about George Bush? Did you think he was a bad president because he was white?
It seems to me we have very little racism among blacks or whites around here. In over 70 years, I’ve only met one black person that seemed to hate me because I’m white. Now I’ve met a few folks, white and black, that don’t like me but that’s beside the point.
The point: if you don’t like the job President Obama is doing, I won’t call you racist even though he is half white so if I don’t think he is doing a good job don’t call me a racist although he is half black. Fair enough?

2013
Under the new health care bill all real estate transactions will be subject to a 3.8% Sales Tax. That is part of an email rumor that is partially correct. There will be a 3.8% Medicare tax on the capital gains of your home if it is over a certain amount. Not good but could be worse.
INDIVIDUALS WITH ENGINEERING DEGREES
Based on most recent American Community Survey by the Obama Administration: 1.8 million -- Total U.S.-born individuals under the age of 66 who have engineering degrees don't have an engineering job. So why was taxpayer money used to hire Chinese firms using Chinese engineers and construction workers on huge road and bridge job in CA. Alaska, and New York.

DON’T IGNORE THE CONSTITUTION
According to the Constitution, the president has to have the approval of Congress to wage war. After the president used the military in Libya, concern that he will get involved in Syria caused Rep. Walter Jones to introduce a bill, House Con. Resolution 107 that reads as follows: Whereas the cornerstone of the Republic is honoring Congress's exclusive power to declare war under article I, section 8, clause 11 of the Constitution: Now, therefore, be it Resolved by the House of Representatives (the Senate concurring), that it is the sense of Congress that, except in response to an actual or imminent attack against the territory of the United States, the use of offensive military force by a President without prior and clear authorization of an Act of Congress violates Congress's exclusive power to declare war under article I, section 8, clause 11 of the Constitution and therefore constitutes an impeachable high crime and misdemeanor.
Rep. Jones, a Democrat turned Republican, says, When you talk about war, political parties don’t matter.”

OIL
“We could be 100 % self sufficient in about 15 years if the government bureaucrats wanted us too.
The government owns almost 30% of all the land in the US. Much of our oil and gas is under government land which they keep off limits. We have more reserves than the middle east if you include shale oil,”
says Bob Sherrill with Blackwater Subsea LLC.

A BLONDE SOLUTION
A blonde & her husband are lying in bed
listening to the next door neighbor's dog..
It has been in the backyard barking for hours & hours.
The blonde jumps up out of bed and says,
"I've had enough of this".
She goes downstairs.
The blonde finally comes back up to bed and her husband says, "The dog is still barking, what have you been doing?"
The blonde says, "I put the dog in our backyard, let's see how THEY like it!

Milam Kelly
Many of us knew Milam Kelly who was the owner of Kelly Hardware, active in the Methodist Church and the chairman of the board of Almeda Bank. Recently, thanks to Carol Kertianis, I read a book on the history of Bellaire and saw a picture of Milam when he and his twin brother, Martin worked for the Bellaire Post Office.
Milam’s parents arrived in Bellaire in 1913 with all their belongings loaded in a covered wagon. At one time his mother had 700 jars of home canned food to feed their six children. One of her favorite recipes was Green Tomato Pie. She would use tomatoes two to three inches across, tender enough so they didn’t have to be peeled. Then she sliced thin, add sugar to taste, 1/2 teaspoon of cinnamon, 1/4 teaspoon of salt 2 T. vinegar of sliced lemon and bake like you would an apple pie.
In the ‘30’s the Kelly family tried to dairy farm but decided later to open up a variety store. They did very well which encouraged their three youngest sons to open up hardware stores.
Milam, who was a survivor of Pearl Harbor, had to do his part in WWII before he could open up his first store. He chose a spot next to Parker’s. At that time Parker mostly sold feed, hay and gasoline. Then Kelly built a store on Broadhurst, that building is now the Crusaders for Christ Church.
Kelly realized that Fuqua would become the busiest area and built a larger store near Buffalo Speedway. He also was a volunteer in Almeda’s Fire Department.
His parents had retired and moved to Manvel. Evidently they liked the country and Bellaire was no longer country. When they died Kelly and his wife, Inez moved into their home.

SUGAR LAND RAILROAD
The original Sugar Land Railroad was funded in 1893 and completed from Sugar Land to Duke, Texas by 1895. Duke was located about a half a mile southwest of Arcola at the edge of today's airport.
In 1896 under the direction of Mr. Eldridge the line was completed from Sienna Plantation Drive and McKeever Road through the Sugar Land junction to Anchor, Texas on 521 in Brazoria County.
By 1908 the International and Great Northern Railroad had completed a spur from Hawdon, located at today's Palestine Baptist Church on 521, to the Arcola Sugar Mill at House, TX. House was about a mile west of Hawdon. In 1917, the Sugar Land line from Sienna Plantation Drive and Duke had been abandoned. The I&GN became the Houston Belt and Terminal and then Missouri Pacific.
In 1956, when Missouri Pacific purchased the Sugar Land RR, I do not think it went beyond Arcola Sugar Mill at House. In the meantime, Missouri Pacific had purchased the I&GN spur from the Arcola Sugar Mills to Hawdon. Although this spur was never part of the original Sugar Land RR, that is what it was called.
In the 1960’s and 1970’s, the engineer, Howard Grounds, would drive the train from Sugar Land to the Arcola Sugar Mill to Hawdon and into Houston on the tracks which run through Almeda beside FM 521. He would return the same day. Some people called this route the Sugar Land RR although parts of it never were. You can view the complete original line through Fort Bend County at a 1915 map located at
http://lifeonthebrazosriver.com/1915MapOfFortBendCounty.htm There is a 1925 timetable posted at http://lifeonthebrazosriver.com/SugarLandRailroadH.htm

By Fort Bend historian, John Walker

THE COLUMBIA TAP RAIL ROAD
The railroad track that runs through Almeda connected Houston with East Columbia starting at Pierce Junction (Holmes Road). At first called The Columbia Tap it was one of the first tracks built in Texas before the Civil War. It ran to East Columbia to haul sugar cane into Houston. In the early 1900’s, according to Nelse Parker, the train came through Almeda about the same time school let out. The kids would hurry to get to the track because the engineer might throw out a few pieces of sugar cane. The kids would peel back the hard covering and suck the sweetness out for hours.
The train was the main connection to the world, bringing in the mail every day and new citizens occasionally.

BACK YONDER IN ALMEDA
History of the early years in the Almeda area.
Available at Debbie’s Barber Shop in the 14000 blk. of Almeda Rd. or at Bob’s State Inspection 14910 Almeda Road or call 713-433-1098 to have a copy mailed to you. $12 +postage

SENATE LIFTS BAN ON SEX WITH ANIMALS
Only seven senators—three Democrats, three Republicans and one Independent voted against Senate Bill 1867 which included repealing the ban on sodomy and sex with animals in the military. That is minor compared to what else is in this bill which authorizes money for the defense.
This bill authorizes you to be put in prison forever without a trial by jury, without a lawyer, without the right to confront your accusers or witnesses, without the right to appeal and it could all be done in secrecy.
This bill gives the president and future presidents the right to have the military arrest someone without a warrant or any of the protections in the Fifth and Sixth Amendments to the Constitution given to all American citizens.
Are our two Texas senators so afraid of terrorists or so anxious to provide for the military that they are willing to trash our Constitution?
This bill has not passed in the House so I urge you to look up S. 1867 on the Internet, listen to the Dem. Senator from Oregon and then get the word out to every person you can contact to urge their Representatives to vote against this bill.

OBAMA’S ANTI-OBESITY PROGRAM CAUSE SUICIDE?
Whether you think Michelle’s programs or good or not, I think every reasonable person would agree with me that Michelle Obama is not guilty of causing obese teenagers to commit suicide because she promotes healthy eating.
Yet gay activists are accusing actor Kirk Cameron of being an “accomplice to murder/suicide” for his expressed convictions on homosexuality.
Kirk, the teenage idol in Growing Pains, was being interviewed about his upcoming movie, Monumental, he was asked by newscaster Piers Morgan on TV what his views on homosexuality were. His answer was, homosexuality is "socially destructive," "unnatural," "detrimental, and ultimately destructive to so many of the foundations of civilization.”
In response to the firestorm of protest, Cameron said, "I spoke as honestly as I could, but some people believe my responses were not loving toward those in the gay community. That is not true. I can assuredly say that it's my life's mission to love all people."
He adds, "I should be able to express moral views on social issues, especially those that have been the underpinning of Western civilization for 2,000 years —- without being slandered, accused of hate speech, and told from those who preach 'tolerance' that I need to either bend my beliefs to their moral standards or be silent when I'm in the public square."
Morgan had also asked what Kirk would say if one of his six children said they were gay. Kirk’s reply, “There are all sorts of issues we need to wrestle through in our life. Just because you feel one way doesn't mean we should act on everything we feel."
Even as a teen idol, Kirk refused to play certain scenes if they went against his Christian beliefs.