Monthly Archives: November 2015

local news

Sad Monkey RR to smile again

sad monkey

One of my four part-time jobs enables me to write news stories for KFDA-NewsChannel 10 TV here in Amarillo.

We call it “Whatever Happened To …” and it explores issues that might have dropped off people’s radar. The Sad Monkey Railroad once ran through Palo Duro Canyon. Then it shut down when the owner couldn’t comply with demands being made to make the train accessible to everyone, including those with disabilities, under federal law.

Guess what? The train is coming back to life … sort of.

Canyon City Manager Randy Criswell informed the station that the train “has recently been purchased, and will be refurbished and loaned to the City of Canyon for display at one of our parks … the train is actually being moved as we speak to the Randall County Sheriff’s Office, where it will be restored by the inmates there.”

The train had been sitting on some property near the entrance to Palo Duro Canyon State Park. It had ceased operating on the canyon floor in 1996. The former owner, who’s now deceased, decided just to park the locomotive and several cars next to the park entrance road.

The coolest aspect of this is that the sheriff’s office will allow inmates — I presume they’ll be jail trusties who get assigned to these work details — to refurbish the ol’ Sad Monkey train. Sheriff Joel Richardson agreed to the deal that will save taxpayers a whole lot of public money. Think about it: The train’s been sitting idle for nearly two decades, through scorching heat and bitter cold all that time. The cost of repairing and dressing up the cars would be immense if the city had to hire, say, a contractor to do the job.

Sad Monkey won’t be running on tracks through the park where it will be put on display. It will serve as a sort of kids’ playground.

It doesn’t matter. The Sad Monkey train has been given new life.

I believe I’ll give thanks today to Sheriff Richardson for providing the manpower to fix it up — and to the new owner, Barbara Logan, for her generosity in rescuing the old train from further decay.

 

International news, media news

Thanksgiving brings back a special memory

hotel majestic

Most of my Thanksgiving celebrations have been of a fairly standard variety.

Turkey and all the sides. Fellowship with family. Lots of laughs. Sometimes even some pro football watching on TV.

But I’ve got a special Thanksgiving memory I’d like to share here.

It occurred in 1989. Twenty-six years ago I had the honor of attending — along with about 20 other journalists from all over the country — a three-week journey through Southeast Asia. Our trip took us — in order — Thailand, Vietnam, Cambodia and back to Vietnam. Our delegation represented the National Conference of Editorial Writers, which has been renamed and reorganized into the Association of Opinion Journalists.

It was a marvelous experience at many levels. Just going so far from home in itself was a treat. For several of us on that trip, it gave us a chance to return to Vietnam, where we had served during that terrible war and to see a country no longer shrouded by that conflict.

But along the way, we ventured to Cambodia. In 1989, the country was just beginning to recover from decades of war. Phnom Penh, the capital city, was in shambles. Vietnamese forces had just evacuated the country after liberating Cambodia from the heinous rule of Pol Pot and the Khmer Rouge. The city’s infrastructure was decimated.

We spent several days in Cambodia, laying eyes on a notorious killing field and seeing up close a former prison where the Khmer Rouge tortured and killed their countrymen.

But then the Cambodia portion of the trip ended. It happened to be Thanksgiving Day when we boarded our vans and headed east, back to Ho Chi Minh City (which the locals still refer to as Saigon).

We traveled all day along a terrible road. We crossed the rapidly flowing Mekong River aboard a “ferry” that in reality was little more than a glorified raft.

After a grueling day of travel back to Saigon, we settled into our hotel, the Majestic. Then we were informed by the hotel staff that they had prepared a special meal for us.

They wanted to make us feel a bit more “at home” by serving us a Thanksgiving-style meal in the hotel’s main dining room.

We all sat down to dinner that evening and enjoyed a serving of what one of my dear friends refers to this day as “road kill duck”; we also enjoyed some fresh peas and mashed potatoes.

The meal was just OK.

What made it so very special, though, was the hospitality displayed by our Vietnamese hosts, who were delighted to treat us to a meal that enabled their American visitors commemorate a uniquely American holiday.

A day that began with some trepidation as we looked forward to a long, tiring and potentially harrowing trip back from a nation still bleeding from the wounds of war ended with warmth and good wishes — in a place so far from home.

 

national news, political news

Entering the ‘no politics zone,’ more or less

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Bill O’Reilly is fond of telling viewers to his talk show on Fox News that they’re entering the “no spin zone.”

Well, of course he’s wrong. He spins the news to his point of view every single night.

That’s his right to do so.

Accordingly, High Plains Blogger is entering — if only for the holiday season — what I’ll call a “no politics zone.” I’ll be truthful, though, on this point: I might not be totally faithful to that pledge.

My plan is to stay away from the presidential campaign at least through Christmas. I will give it my best possible shot to stay away from it through New Year’s Day. I cannot guarantee success.

Where might I fall short on my no politics pledge? A candidate running for the highest office in the land just might say something so outrageous, so beyond the pale, so ridiculous that I might be compelled to comment.

I’ll resist that temptation with every fiber of my being. I can promise that.

However, this bears repeating because some of my social media contacts didn’t get it the first time I announced this hiatus from politics: I will continue to write snarky comments on my Twitter account, which then will be fed automatically to my Facebook account.

It’s High Plains Blogger that’s taking the break. Got it, y’all?

The blog will continue to provide commentary on issues of the day. There is quite a lot going on out there that has little — if anything — to do with raw politics. My intent is to keep my eyes and ears open.

I am just tired of the sniping, lying, demagoguery, fear-mongering, name-calling, reputation-impugning, mud-slinging and whatever other negative term you want to hang on the nature of this campaign.

I do not expect any of it to cease during the holiday season. I’m just planning at this moment to tune most of it out while I celebrate (a) Thanksgiving and (b) Christmas with my family.

The way I look at it now, a rest from most of that bad political behavior I going to allow me to rest up for when the real campaign gets going after the first of the year.

I’ll need some good karma, though, to help me resist the temptation to weigh in.

I’m asking for it here. My true intention really is to maintain a no politics zone.

Meantime, let’s all enjoy the season that’s upon us.

 

 

 

International news, military news

Turks vs. Russians in the sky over Syria

turkish jets

Just how tense is it getting in the sky over Syria?

Or over Turkey, for that matter?

It’s tense enough for the Turkish air force to shoot down a Russian air force fighter jet for encroaching on Turkish airspace … allegedly.

President Obama, of course, is right to assert that Turkey — like all nations — is entitled to protect itself against foreign incursions. The Turks said they warned the Russians aboard the downed fighter at least 10 times that they were flying in Turkish airspace. The Russians reportedly ignored the warning, so they were shot down.

A couple of things are worth keeping in mind.

Tensions are tighter than a tick right now. The Russians might have flown into Turkey’s airspace, but it wasn’t by very much.  The countries are supposed to be on the same side in the fight against the Islamic State. Turkey, though, is a NATO nation and the shooting down of a Russian jet by a NATO power is the first since 1952.

Turkey might have been within its rights legally, but does the Ankara government really want to anger the Russian high command?

What’s more, Turkey has been known to violate other countries’ airspace with a fair amount of recklessness. Greece, for example, has registered a number of complaints to Turkey for its airspace violations regarding the many Greek-owned islands in the Aegean Sea. Indeed, the two countries’ air forces have faced off countless times in the sky over the sea. Some of us, therefore, might take Turkey’s claim of territorial integrity with a bit of salt.

My own hope is that all the parties in this heightening war with the Islamic State take extra care to avoid future confrontations.

This alliance is tender and fragile enough without one principal shooting down warplanes from another.

 

legal news, national news

What took so long to charge this cop?

Chicago-PD-LaQuan--1000x600

Laquan McDonald was walking down the middle of a Chicago street in 2014. He was carrying a knife with a 3-inch blade.

Some police officers pulled up. One of them got out of his cruiser and then shot McDonald to death. That’s not all he did. He emptied his service pistol into McDonald.

Sixteen rounds, man!

That was more than a year ago.

This week, Chicago authorities have charged former Officer Jason Van Dyke with murder in McDonald’s death.

I’ve seen the dash-cam video of the incident. It’s about 6 minutes long. Having seen it, I am compelled to join many others in asking: What on Earth took ’em so long to charge the officer with a crime?

The video is graphic. It shows McDonald, who was 17 years of age, simply walking past Van Dyke’s SUV cruiser. Remember, he wasn’t packing any firepower; he was holding a small knife.

The officer opened fire.

I must point out here — as if you need reminding — that McDonald was black and Van Slyke is white.

McDonald’s family didn’t want the video released. To its credit, the network on which I saw the video, NBC, had the decency to blur the image of McDonald lying on the ground as he was being hit by the bullets.

According to the Chicago Tribune: “Cook County State’s Attorney Anita Alvarez said she had decided weeks ago to charge Van Dyke weeks ago but was holding off until federal authorities completed their part of the joint investigation. She said she ‘moved up’ her decision to charge Van Dyke after a Cook County judge ruled last week that the video should be released to the public.”

Van Dyke had been taken off of patrol duty and was working behind a desk for the past year — while drawing his salary. He’s no longer drawing it now that he’s been charged with murder.

Well, OK. But based on what millions of Americans have now witnessed on that hideous video, it seems — to me, at least — that the “joint investigation” could have been wrapped up months ago.

What took ’em  so long?

 

business news, International news, national news, political news, State news

Gov. Abbott sheds the dogma … and heads to Cuba

cuba

Texas Gov. Greg Abbott is using his office the right way while steering away from some of the dogma we’ve been hearing from those in his party about a particular issue.

Abbott is going to Cuba next week on a mission to promote Texas-Cuba trade.

Abbott is a proud Republican. But unlike some of his GOP brethren, he is putting common sense and what I call “enlightened self-interest” ahead of posturing.

Some prominent Republican politicians — namely Texan Ted Cruz and Floridian Marco Rubio, who are running for president — have called the re-establishment of relations with Cuba virtually a pact with Satan himself. These two Cuban-Americans still seem to fear the island nation that is governed by dedicated communists.

Why, how can President Obama grant those commies any favors while they still have one of the world’s worst human-rights records? That’s part of the mantra we’ve heard from some on the far right about this sensible diplomatic initiative.

Gov. Abbott often has joined some on the far right on a whole host of topics with which to criticize the president.

Not this time. Good for him. Better still, good for the state he governs.

The Texas Tribune’s Aman Batheja reports: “Texas was once a leading exporter to Cuba in a quiet partnership that helped produce hundreds of jobs and millions in revenue for the Lone Star State. Even following the implementation of the U.S. trade embargo more than 50 years ago, the relationship continued to thrive for decades.”

That stopped in the early 1960s when the United States ended all relations with Cuba in the wake of Fidel Castro’s takeover of the island nation’s government. The deep freeze in U.S.-Cuba relations lasted through eight American presidencies; meanwhile, Fidel Castro and his brother, Raul, have remained in power.

President Obama made the right call to restore relations. The Cold War is over. Cuba presents no threat to the United States. It’s still dirt poor. Yes, it’s still run by communists, but Cuba is far less of a threat to U.S. interests than, say, the People’s Republic of China, a nation with which we’ve had relations since 1978.

Texas has a lot of goods and commodities it can sell to Cuban interests. Let me think … what can we sell them from, oh, this part of the state? Oh, how about some beef, or maybe cotton for starters?

Travel safely, governor.

 

International news, Uncategorized

Lapel pins, anyone?

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Let’s talk for a moment about lapel pins.

They’ve become something of a political statement for politicians. Have been since 9/11. Why bring it up today?

Well, a friend of mine posted something earlier today on Facebook that spoke to a ban on lapel pins by ABC News. The friend of mine who shared the post, I presume, was aghast at the decision.

I think it was an old post. I had heard years ago about broadcast and cable news networks banning the display. The new executives’ view is that journalists shouldn’t advertise their bias in favor of any cause — even if it speaks to their own country. It’s not a big deal. I get what the news execs mean.

But back to the point.

Lapel pins have become part of politicians’ uniform of the day. We see them wearing these little pins depicting U.S. flags. They’re intended to demonstrate the pols’ love of country. They began showing up on politicians’ clothing days after the terrorist attacks.

Journalists aren’t politicians, quite obviously. So, when an employer mandates that journalists — whether they’re print or broadcast journalists — shouldn’t wear the patriotic symbols, they’re trying to walk the straight-and-narrow line right down the middle.

Politicians, though, wear them because they seem to suggest that wearing a lapel pin makes them look more patriotic than those who don’t.

Frankly, the flag symbols on a politician’s jacket doesn’t mean diddly-squat in terms of their patriotism.

When the terrorists flew the airplanes into the World Trade Center and the Pentagon, politicians all across the land rose up to declare their love of country by wearing the flags on their jacket. Republicans do it. So do Democrats. I like wearing them, too, but not because I have a statement to make. I think they look nice on a jacket.

Let us not get all worked up, though, when we see these social media posts about media policies regarding how journalists should present themselves to the public. The absence of a patriotic lapel pin should not be construed as a lack of love of country.

local news

Huey to ‘land’ at Panhandle War Memorial

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Ernie Houdashell is the master of the deal.

The Randall County judge was chief of staff to state Rep. John Smithee and before that worked for U.S. Rep. Beau Boulter. His job description in both of his prior lives was to make things happen for the seasoned politicians.

He also is a proud veteran of the Vietnam War.

Houdashell has just scored another coup to honor those who served as he did during two tours in ‘Nam. A Vietnam War-vintage Huey helicopter has been towed from Arizona to the Texas Panhandle.

Eventually, the old bird is going to get gussied up, painted, detailed out and put on display at the Texas Panhandle War Memorial. Houdashell has worked for years to bring a Huey here, to show it off and to have it serve as part of an eternal display to honor those who served in Vietnam.

I’m proud of Houdashell for showing the persistence needed to bring another display to the War Memorial, which is slated to grow into a truly spectacular exhibit for visitors and those who live here.

Fundraising has begun on a 12,500-square foot education center that will be built at the War Memorial, next to the Randall County Annex at the corner of South Georgia Street and Interstate 27. The center will serve as an interactive exhibit to educate visitors on all the nation’s conflicts.

The memorial already contains stone tablets describing the conflicts dating back to the Spanish-American War; the tablets also contain the names of those Panhandle residents who died in service during those conflicts.

Houdashell developed his interest in aviation the hard way. He served in the Army and on his second tour in Vietnam served on a flight crew aboard a Huey. He remains a licensed pilot. Indeed, a few years ago, he negotiated for the delivery of an F-100 Super Sabre fighter jet that had seen service during the Vietnam War; the F-100 is not on display at a corner of the War Memorial property.

The county judge isn’t certain when the Huey will be ready for display. It was simply enough for him to negotiate for its delivery to the Panhandle.

As a fellow Vietnam veteran, I will await eagerly the day when the Huey is delivered to the Panhandle War Memorial, where it can enhance what has become a wonderful tribute to those who have defended our nation.

Thank you, judge, for your hard work.

Uncategorized

City still needs water expertise

atkinson

Jarrett Atkinson brought some rare knowledge to his job as Amarillo city manager.

He’s no longer in that spot, but the need for that knowledge remains.

Atkinson is a highly regarded expert on water management and acquisition. Prior to taking over as city manager he served as an assistant to the then-manager Alan Taylor; and prior to that he served as the chief water-planning guru for the Panhandle Regional Planning Commission.

In a six-minute interview with my friend Karen Welch at Panhandle PBS, one gets a sniff of Atkinson’s expertise on water issues as he and Welch talk about some of the challenges facing city government.

Take a look.

Atkinson was essentially forced out of his job by a dramatic change at the top of City Hall’s governance. Three new City Council members were elected in May and they brought a brand new approach to governing. Atkinson is too much of a gentleman to have said it out loud and directly when he tendered his resignation, but it’s fairly clear he couldn’t work with the new council majority.

The city’s downtown revival is going to proceed. Where it will end up remains anyone’s guess at the moment.

It’s that water issue that also must remain at the top of the city’s agenda. Without water, Amarillo cannot function. Atkinson speaks with easy eloquence about the technical issues relating to drilling for the water, pulling it out of the ground and quenching the city’s thirst for well past the foreseeable future.

The city’s near- and long-term water needs will be met through the purchase of water rights, Atkinson assures Panhandle PBS viewers.

That’s fine. The city will miss his knowledge, though, on managing that priceless resource.

My hope is that the next city manager — whether it’s the current interim boss, Terry Childers  or someone else — brings water management knowledge to the job, even though Atkinson’s depth of expertise on the subject will be difficult to duplicate.

 

local news

PETA will get angry, but …

pest-action

I am married to a territorial woman.

She loves God’s creatures as much as anyone I know — except when they invade our home.

Then she becomes ruthless. Stay out of my space, she says with extreme prejudice.

A mouse invaded our pantry a few days ago. It’s now gone. Is it dead as I write this? I do not know for a fact that it is. I’ll assume it will be in due course.

The little critter had feasted on some pasta in our pantry, scattering the noodles all over one of the shelves.

That did it, according to my wife. We pulled out some mouse traps, the kind with the sticky glue; mouse walks onto the glue to get at the bait and, oops!, it gets stuck.

What about our 13-year-old cat, Mittens? Well, there once was a time when she was a merciless mouse killer. She has lost interest in that endeavor as she has entered her golden years. I’ll give her a pass, as she’s earned her keep through previous pest control.

People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals won’t like what I’m going to say next, but that’s too bad. PETA can take it up with my wife … and good luck with that!

I put some peanut butter on the trap. Little Mickey found it during the night. It got stuck on the glue.

I grabbed the mouse and the trap, put it all in a plastic bag, tossed the bag into a larger trash bag, tied the bigger bag up and took it all out to the Dumpster in the alley behind our house.

Hey, I don’t like disposing of God’s little creatures, either.

It’s just that I dislike them eating my food even more.

Sorry, PETA. Deal with it. I’m just doing what I’m told.