Category Archives: local news

local news, media news

Honoring my favorite Mom

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You have said it. Surely you have thought it. Maybe many of you are thinking of it today.

It goes like this: Where would we be without our mothers? The one answer is obvious, in that we wouldn’t be anywhere without them.

My bride and I brought two boys into his goofy world of ours. I cannot tell you where they would be without Kathy Anne there to guide them through life’s trials I can assert, though, that they wouldn’t be the two finest men in the world. My pride in them is real, it is visceral, it is — to whatever degree one should ascribe to it — my legacy.

But none of this is about me. It is about Kathy Anne.

I lost her to glioblastoma a little more than three years ago. Her fight against this aggressive brain cancer was brief, but it was savage. I lost her six weeks after getting the diagnosis of a mass on the right side of her brain.

We were married for more than ever 51 years. She was 71 when she took her final breath.

God put her on this Earth to be a Mom. She was a natural. Her mothering instincts were virtually perfect. She always could comfort them when they hurt. She knew how to tease them without damaging their emotions. She always couched her advice into phrases that reminded our sons to trust their own instincts … and that no matter their decision, they would have their parents’ backing.

Kathy Anne taught them to be respectful to adults. She imbued in them a sense of humility. She laughed and cried with them.

And the moment she and I learned we were going to be grandparents was one for the ages. She shrieked, giggled and cried all at once.

Mother’s Day is not the same without my bride. I am continuing to build on the life she and I started. One of the key results of that life-building has been that my family and I are closer than ever.

That is how she would want it.

local news, media news, political news

Voter turnout sinks into the crapper

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Hey, fellow Princeton residents, we had an election this past weekend … although hardly anyone took part.

And when I say “hardly anyone,” I mean precisely that. Election Day came and went and the entire city didn’t give a crap. What an absolute disgrace!

Check out these stats: Princeton is home to 18,923 registered voters. Of that total, only 476 residents bothered to vote. That gives us a municipal turnout of 2.52%. Roll that around for a moment.

Two point five-two fu***** percent of registered voters cast ballots in the election to find a replacement for Place 4 City Councilman Ryan Gerfers, who resigned because of health concerns. Here’s some more grist for you to gnaw on: That total dismisses the eligible residents who are registered to vote, but they haven’t even bothered to register with election officials.

The city will conduct a runoff election to determine whether Planning & Zoning Commissioner Jan Goria or Home Rule Committee Chair Jaisen Rutledge — the top two finishers in the May 3 election will succeed Gerfers.

Princeton Mayor Eugene Escobar Jr. expressed disappointment in the turnout. “I want to improve how we engage with the community and increase participation in our elections so we can actually bring the changes you are wanting,” Escobar told the Princeton Herald. I agree that the city needs to do much better.

Here’s an idea for the mayor to consider. Conduct a series of town hall meetings around our growing city. Explain to residents the importance of casting ballots in municipal election. Do we really want to cede the decision to how much we pay for services we say we want to our neighbors? We are a city on the move. We are adding new residents almost daily. It falls on City Hall to reach out to our new neighbors to tell them about our city and the process we use to keep it functioning.

City Hall, meanwhile, needs to deploy social media messaging services to tell us about the election and explain why deciding these contests keeps us involved in the process of local governance.

A turnout of 2.52% cannot be allowed to stand!

local news, media news

Once towering presence has vanished

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You know some things are inevitable, but when it happens, well … you’re still stunned.

I ventured to Amarillo this week to see some friends and take care of a little personal business. Then it hit me like a punch in the puss. The newspaper where I worked for 18-plus years no longer exists. The Amarillo Globe-News, whose owner once committed to serving the community for as long as he walked this Earth, has vanished. It now operates — kinda/sorta — out of Lubbock.

My first reaction? Wow, man!

The newspaper once was awarded the Pulitzer Prize for Meritorious Public Service in 1961 for exposing public corruption in government. The public service award is the highest honor given to print journalists. Well, gang, the newspaper didn’t maintain that level of admiration. It was a solid paper when I joined it in January 1995 and we did good work there. Then the shit hit the fan. The Internet took over. The group to which the G-N belonged began bleeding money. Advertisers pulled out. Circulation plummeted. Staff members were sent packing.

The newspaper group that bought the paper in 1972 surrendered to the inexorable tide of change and sold the entire group for next to nothing.

Now it’s gone.

I lament the demise of a once-grand institution. No, it’s worse than that. I feel at times — like right now — like crying.

local news

Headin’ for ‘home’ in the morning

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I put quote marks around “home” for a reason, which is that I always consider where I get my mail, hang my hat and sleep at night to be home.

Tomorrow, though, the sun will rise in the east but I plan to be on the road traveling in the other direction, heading for Amarillo.

My bride and I lived in Amarillo for 23 years before moving to North Texas to be nearer to our granddaughter. We retained many dear friends over the years, just as we did in our prior Texas stop in Beaumont, where we lived for nearly 11 years before relocating way up yonder. This trip will be brief, but it’s one I am anxious to make.

I used to joke that we made the trip between the Metroplex and the Panhandle that we could identify with every water tower, cattle crossing and wind farm on the 300-plus mile journey. I think it’s still the case, although I won’t be looking specifically for those landmarks.

It’ll be a good day for me. A change of scenery also cleanses me. This one will produce the same effect.

But … let me be clear. I’ve never learned the lyrics to “Amarillo By Morning.”

local news, media news

Who gets the next insult?

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Do you remember a time when you cast your eyes on the president of the United States? You felt good about whom you were seeing … is that right?

I want that feeling to return to me. Honest. I do!

I also remember expecting the president to be better than the people he leads. These days? We’re getting much worse. It comes in the form of an insult to the person asking the question. He or she is not a messenger for the “worst people” of the media world.

These are just a few of the qualities I want in the next POTUS.

I used to believe we produced the best among us at election time. I have been profoundly disappointed and saddened by the results of two of the past three election cycles. In 2016, we elected a guy through a fluke in our system that enables a candidate to win with fewer votes than his opponent. We fired that candidate in 2020 … only to bring him back four years later after swallowing a gut full of lies and promises he made.

And it has gotten worse the second time.

Don’t label me a “snowflake.” I have seen my share of scoundrels over many years covering these events.

The current POTUS, I have to concede, is the worst among them.

local news

Now … about that memoir

My network of friends comprises an inquisitive bunch, many of whom are members of that diminishing club of retired newspaper reporters and editors.

They have been asking me about the status of the memoir y’all know I’ve been working on since The Flood. I have a mixed report to deliver. First of all, it’s still alive and awaiting an eventual first draft. Second of all, I have been neglecting it for the past several weeks. I kinda place it on the back shelf.

The good news? I am dusting it off and getting ready to launch the sprint to its finish.

My memeoir has a working title: My Life in Print. It will chronicle my joy-filled career as a newspaper reporter, editor and columnist. It began in early 1976 and ended on Aug. 31, 2012. That’s 36-plus years of offering guidance, my own opinion on issues of the day and sharing with High Plains Blogger readers the experiences I had over the course of that career meeting some truly fascinating individuals. I have had a full life and I want to share some of it with you.

Ol’ Father Time has kinda gotten in the way. I am well past 70 years of age and my old body is showing signs of wear and tear. It has become a bit of a challenge sitting for any length of time in front of my laptop, telling the stories I want to tell.

My bride had this idea when my career as a full-time journalist ended. Why not, she said, write about the career you’ve had? Do it for our boys. So … I did. More on Kathy Anne in just a moment.

The list is long. I have finished writing about most of the names on that list. They include folks you know, some you don’t know and individuals who have made an impression — for good or bad — on me during my journey through life. The memoir also includes some experiences that not every human being has been able to say they have done.

Today I had lunch with two dear friends — a husband and wife — I have known for 40 years. I told them about the circumstances of losing my bride three years ago to glioblastoma, an aggressive form of brain cancer. My friends didn’t know the whole story, so I told them about it. Then my friend, Patrick, asked me, “Have you thought about writing about your story with her?” I said I have actually written about my journey through intense pain, sadness and sorrow on this blog. “Have you thought about publishing them?” he asked. Hmm. Well, I have thought about it, I said.

I believe it’s time to announce another command decision. I am going to find a way to weave some of that journey through the darkness into My Life in Print. If I find a relevant spot to insert a blog entry, I’ll try it, see if it works and then move on.

It’s time to get busy.

local news

Oh, for the good old days …

A former member of Congress once told me a story that I want to share with you today because it reminds me of the days when Congress spent time actually governing and ignored the insults the other side would toss at them.

The ex-rep is Larry Combest, a Lubbock Republican and a man of high principle. Combest once represented the southern half of Amarillo, the part of the city that sat within the Randall County area of the Texas Panhandle.

Combest once served as an aide to Sen. John Tower, a Republican who once was slated to become defense secretary during the George H.W. Bush administration; his nomination got derailed over some persnal conduct issues. According to Combest, Tower had friends across the aisle, one of whom was Sen. Hubert Humphrey, a Minnesota Democrat. Tower and Humphrey would engage in ferocious floor debates over this or that public policy. Both men were adamant in their beliefs. They would raise their voices to each other.

Then, at the end of a day of stern debate, Sens. Tower and Humphrey would walk across the Senate floor, shake hands and often embrace as they walked through the doors of the chamber. Combest said the men were friends and never let harsh words spoken on the Senate floor sully their friendship.

I can cite many examples of bipartisan friendships in the Senate: Democrat Daniel Inouye of Hawaii and Republican Bob Dole of Kansas; Democrat George McGovern of South Dakota and Republican Barry Goldwater of Arizona; Republican John McCain of Arizona and Democrat Ted Kennedy of Massachusetts. I need to add that Combest once told me his best friend in the House was a Democrat, fellow West Texan Charles Stenholm of Abilene. All of these men were fierce advocates of their points of view. They all maintained close friendships with their friends on the other side.

I want a return to that level of collegiality. These days we hear criticism that cuts deeply. It makes me wonder whether there is a relationship between the way lawmakers treated each other then and what we have today … which happens to be a Senate where nothing gets done.

Coincidence? I think not!

local news

Patience becomes a must

Work has begun a massive highway plan to improve transit along a major east-west highway that cuts through the heart of North Texas.

I refer to U.S. Highway 380, which serves as a major thoroughfare to residents of and visitors to the Dallas-Fort Worth metropolitan area. There will be plenty of grumbles, profanities and obscene gestures to be seen and heard for what will seem like forever.

For my part, I will mutter the four-letter words under my breath in the sanctity of my pickup truck.

The Texas Department of Transportation has big plans for 380. It’s going to turn the four-lane highway into a six-lane jumbo road. One can see the concept of the new lanes being dug out at this moment. I live in Princeton and the evidence of work is everywhere in the form of those ubiquitous orange barrels and cones.

OK, so what’s the purpose of this blog? It’s merely to implore everyone to find that patience gene in our DNA and put it to work as we travel along the highway.

TxDOT unveiled some time ago an initiative that intends to reduce traffic along US 380. Part of that plan involves purchasing land in loops around communities that sit along 380. Princeton is one of them. The idea is to route through traffic off of 380, encourage motorists to take the loop and leave the existing highway to in-town/local traffic. The idea sounds doable. I will be anxious to see if works out as traffic planners envision.

That is, if I live long enough. I am not a young man. Indeed, I might be unable to drive myself when TxDOT announces it’s done with this massive project.

Well, I hereby pledge to mind my manners for as long as I can and for as long as it still matters.

local news

Make next manager live here

Former Princeton City Manager Mike Mashburn got away with a dodge that should have been termed unacceptable.

Mashburn was hired by the City Council to help establish a budget that would fall on the shoulders of the city’s 40,000 resident to pay. The city manager wasn’t one of them. He lived far outside the city limits, thus absolving himself of any fiscal responsibility for what he was asking the rest of us to pay.

The next city manager must not be allowed to wriggle off the fiscal hook in such a manner. Mashburn quit the city manager’s job after serving in that role for fewer than two years. The guy didn’t even live within Princeton’s extraterritorial jurisdiction. And yet, he was crafting a municipal budget that would be paid for fully by the rest of us.

This exemption bothered a number of residents, many of whom sought an amendment to the city charter that would require the manager to live within the city limits.

Just as maddening as the residency exemption was to many of us, Mashburn was able to negotiate a monthly travel allowance based solely on the city manager having to drive to work every day.

Let’s get real, shall we? The City Council makes precisely one hiring decision: it’s the city manager. The next individual who ends up managing the growth of the nation’s fastest-growing city should have to live here and share the burden he or she is asking the rest of us to bear. It’s a requirement that doesn’t need a charter amendment to give it standing.

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What’s happening at Princeton’s City Hall?

What in the name of tumult and tempest is going on at Princeton City Hall? I’m not covering it directly, but sources inside the place tell me there’s major chaos afoot.

Get a load of this: The city in the course of about three weeks has fired its legal counsel, lost its fire chief, who left to join another city’s fire department, accepted the sudden resignation of its interim city manager and then appointed its chief of police as its newest interim chief municipal executive.

All of this comes as the city awaits another Census Bureau report on municipal growth and Princeton, I am told, is likely to learn that it retains its standing as the fastest-growing city in the United States of America.

All of this has me shaking my noggin and wondering whether the city ever will be able to wrap its arms around the confusion that permeates City Hall.

Of the personnel upheaval that has upset city governance, the resignation of the city manager perhaps is most stunning. The mayor, Victor Escobar, had expressed supreme confidence in the fellow they hired to succeed Mike Mashburn, who resigned just short of being on the job for two years. Mashburn wasn’t cutting it, so he quit effective immediately. There was no “buyout” associated with his resignation, which tells me the City Council is glad he’s gone.

Then came the decision to elevate Police Chief Jim Waters as interim city manager, giving Waters a second full-time job in addition to protecting Princeton’s residents against bad guys. Maybe it’s just me, but I am trying to understand how Waters will be able to do both jobs well enough to maintain a firm grip on the issues that affect either of them.

Last I heard, the city slapped a building ban on new residential construction to enable the city shore up its police and fire protection. Then it had to reinstate the construction because the Legislature slapped limits on the number of such bans cities could invoke. The city still lacks sufficient police and fire protection because of the growth explosion that is still underway.

City governance is no walk in the park. In Princeton, Texas — a place I am proud to call home — such governance seems to be getting dangerously close to impossible.