2019 Local taxation

City Hall

116 E Haning St 903-532-5571

Mayor: Jeff Stanley

City Administrator: Joe Shephard

City Secretary: Joy Stevens

WATER Base per 1,000 next 4,000 per 1,000 next 20,000 per 1,000 next 20,000 per 1,000 all over 45,000 SEWER Base per additional metered 1,000 gallons howeenterprise.com

Monday, August 26, 2019

Texas History Minute

As the new school year begins, colleges and trade schools discuss the advantages of higher education for obtaining a job In fact, studies do show that modern workers earn more with higher levels of education and increasingly specialized skills However, with the economy changing, some jobs that once defined entire communities are disappearing, forcing workers to adapt This is not a new process The auto mechanic steadily replaced the blacksmith, and the tire salesman replaced the wheelwright The 8Track, revered by music lovers in the 1970s, has not been manufactured in decades Televisions and DVD players have seen their prices fall so low that they are practically disposable, and the cost of repairing a damaged unit often uneconomical Times change as technology advances, businesses shift, and tastes evolve Jobs that were seen as respectable ways to earn a comfortable living were thrust into economic oblivion In that spirit, these are a few professions that no longer exist:

Ice Cutter: Modern southerners are all thankful for ice, but it was unavailable most of the year for generations In the 1800s, teams of men instead would cut huge blocks of ice in the Arctic or in the ice caps of tall mountains and carefully transport them southward By the mid-1800s, this ice was carried by railroad, carefully packed in straw However, it still melted along the way The unrelenting heat of southern summers made ice impossible to find in more remote communities With the development of refrigeration by the 1920s, ice cutters were steadily replaced by home delivery of ice by ice manufacturers The ice cutter business ended by the 1930s, and even home delivery of ice essentially ended by the 1940s as more individuals could make ice at home However, some businesses still specialize in selling high-capacity ice makers

Telegraph Operator: After the development of the telegraph by Samuel Morse in 1844, this new device revolutionized communications in the United States by allowing messages to be sent almost instantly from one corner of the country to another Colleges began offering this as a course of study in the 1850s Newspapers even advertised their wide assortment of telegraphic news they printed from around the world. Telephones and radio replaced the telegraph The last telegraph company in the United States, Western Union, ended telegraph operations in 2006 and operates mostly as an electronic money transfer company

County Hide Inspector: The county hide inspector was an elected position in Texas beginning in 1871. Its purpose was to inspect any hides or pelts being shipped outside the county for sale in order to prevent theft Cattle theft declined as other means of theft prevention developed Agriculture steadily declined in many areas over the decades, and the office began being phased out in the 1940s By the 1990s, the position was completely eliminated

Typewriter Repair: The typewriter was once the symbol of the modern, successful business Hundreds of repair shops existed in cities across the nation to ensure that these indispensable tools kept working As desktop computers began overtaking typewriters in the 1970s with the wide array of functions available to them, the repair shop began to disappear The last typewriter factory closed in 2011 The remaining typewriter repair businesses have either closed or moved into servicing other types of office equipment or reduced themselves to semi-retired hobbyists

Ivory Merchant: By the eighteenth century, ivory products became the height of sophistication The smooth, sleek white elephant tusks were widely sought after for everything from piano keys to false teeth to decorations on jewelry, canes, and other products Ivory merchants often became wealthy as they bought and sold ivory and ivory products Those who fashioned ivory were respected craftsmen who themselves made good livings As more species of elephant were pushed into extinction by the twentieth century and the numbers of surviving elephants dwindled, bans on ivory sales and trade grew Ivory craftsmen and ivory merchants themselves are now extinct

Lamplighter: The community lamplighter lit the gas lamps that illuminated the avenues of cities in the United States and elsewhere in the late 1800s City officials considered the introduction of natural gas lighting along previously dark streets to be a major advance to protect public safety and reduce crime However, the lamps had to be lit in the evenings and extinguished in the mornings, requiring several lamplighters to tend to each one in the city With the introduction of electric street lighting, these jobs were eliminated by the early 1900s

Elevator Operator: When elevators were invented in the 1850s, they were not automatic. They required an operator to bring riders to the correct floor and safely operate the doors Because of advances in design and safety, this occupation became virtually extinct by the 1970s

Riding Mechanic/Mechanician: In the early days of auto racing in the early 1900s, racing was often not a one-man feat Usually, a riding mechanic (also called a mechanician) sat with the driver, sometimes having to repair the car while it was in motion Because automatic fuel injection systems did not yet exist, the riding mechanic often had to manually pump fuel directly into the engine to get the car to race at higher speeds By the mid-1930s, advances in automobile design made the position obsolete

The fact that technology within a few years will radically change how most jobs are performed or eliminate entire professions does not make a trade school or a college education a waste of time Education by its very nature is messy and inefficient, but it offers and reinforces those skills that are timeless and essential for any worker in any time period, skills such as critical thinking, research, integrity, and adaptability After all, the tractor did not replace the farmer, the VCR did not close the movie theater, and the Internet did not replace the teacher

Dr Bridges is a Texas native, writer, and history professor He can be reached at drkenbridges@gmail.com.

y Holland

How do we know that God is real?

I’ve been asked many times through the years, how do we know God is real when we cannot see Him, touch Him, or hear Him? I admit this is a logical question and there are several things we need to consider in the conversation I know what God can do but I’ve never walked up to him and shook His hand or had a cup of coffee with him I can sense the still small voice of the Holy Spirit speak within my spirit and I listen to other people relay what they believe God is saying, but I have not heard God speak from the clouds or a burning bush like He did in the Old Testament However, just because I have not had experiences like many others have had, this does not in any way diminish my enthusiasm to believe he is who the Bible say’s he is Those who are blind and cannot see the moon and the stars, still believe they are there the Christian life contains unexplainable occurrences and occasional super-natural phenomenon including angel visitations and mind-boggling miracles, but in general, following God is to be lived by faith Yes, this is much more difficult, but also much more rewarding The Bible declares that God surrounds us whether we can see him or not and desires that we attempt to develop our spiritual awareness through keeping our mind focused on him

There is a story in the Bible about a man who placed a high priority on being able to see Jesus before he could believe Christ had just been publicly crucified and after three days, it was being told that his tomb was empty and that he had risen from the dead Thomas, who was one of Jesus disciples was overwhelmed from all that had happened and declared that he would not believe unless he could see his nail-scarred hands and be able to literally touch him Soon after this, it just so happened that Jesus miraculously appeared to him one evening and reached out

His hands and said, “Thomas, because you have seen me, you have believed; however, blessed are those who have not seen and yet still have believed” John 20:29 Everything related to God is not presented in clear sight on purpose, including the understanding of scripture The idea is the Lord draws and leads us, then it’s our responsibility to believe in him with all of our heart He is not withholding from us to frustrate us, but our determination to know him is directly associated with how much we love and trust Him To the masses, this may seem like a foolish game of hide and seek with an invisible man, however to those who know God, this intimate relationship is the meaning of life Our experiences, even the difficult times are meant to teach us how to understand God and are a critical part of us becoming what he wants us to be II Corinthians 4:18 says, “While we look not at the things which are seen, but at the things which are not seen: for the things which are seen are temporal; but the things which are not seen are eternal ”

When it comes to wisdom and understanding, there has never been a more important message to the world than to discover and experience the presence of God The beautiful symbolism in the Tabernacle of Moses invites us to enjoy a spiritual reality that is as tangible as anything we could ever know Today, this secret dwelling place with God is not a certain geographic location, but rather a state of being where we can communicate, worship and freely rejoice in the glories of His love Meditating and focusing within the peace and security of knowing that Jesus died and rose from the dead to save us, is a truth more valuable than anything in this world We cannot make people know God, we can only encourage them to look around and notice his work C S Lewis is quoted as saying, “I believe in God as I believe the sun has risen, not only because I see it, but because by it I see everything else ” Nothing can separate us from the privilege to walk with God except our refusal to believe he is real

Ask for a free copy of the scripture

CD, “keeper of my Soul” and learn about Billy’s brand-new book, “Convictions and considerations – encouragement for the Soul” at: billyhollandministries com

Verse of the Week

Romans 1:17

How can I ease my student loan burden?

Hey Taylor - Do you have any recommendations for easing the burden of student loan debt? I’m working steadily and making my payments on time, but I’m wondering if there’s a better approach than losing money every month for the next 30 years

- Sharon

Hey Sharon - I’ve helped a lot of people fight through student loan debt, and there are more options than you might think In addition to making regular payments, here are a few other tactics you can try

1 Expedite your payments If you feel comfortable with your finances, you can always tighten your belt a little more and try to pay the loans off faster At first, it will feel like you can’t possibly afford it, but if you try cutting back on other expenses for a couple months, there’s a good chance those habits will stick and you’ll save loads of money in the long run Remember that every dollar you pay above the minimum saves you interest and reduces the lifespan of that debt If you make repayment your primary objective, you’ll surprise yourself with how much you can actually afford each month.

2 Refinance Imagine paying the same amount each month and having the total balance go down even faster. That’s exactly what happens when you consolidate your loans with a good refinancing company If your interest rate is 4 5%, which isn’t all that high, you might still be able to lower that by a full point or more Assuming you have good credit and a stable job, any number of student loan consolidation companies will be happy to assume your debt and give you better terms than whatever you have at present If you don’t know where to start, check out Splash Financial They are a small company but they genuinely try to

Living with children

help people get out from their student loan debt move forward with the read more about them a student loan debt comp check out my latest pos GoFarWithKovarcom

3 Stay the course This be exactly what you wa but there’s definitely a world in which you should keep paying the minimum on your loans while shoring up other aspects of your finances If you have smaller credit card balances with higher interest rates, make sure to get that debt off the books If you don’t have an emergency fund, focus on building that safety net so you can comfortably pay off your loans without potentially forcing yourself to take on more debt While student debt looks awful on paper, you might benefit from focusing your efforts on other debts before tackling student loans head-on

Hopefully this gives you a little direction, Sharon If you’re managing to make payments and work a job you like, take a moment to recognize that your debt isn’t holding you back too much Do what you can to improve the situation and keep enjoying life!

Taylor Kovar, CEO of Kovar Capital Read more about Taylor at GoFarWithKovar com

Disclaimer: Information presented is for educational purposes only and is not an offer or solicitation for the sale or purchase of any specific securities, investments, or investment strategies

Investments involve risk and, unless otherwise stated, are not guaranteed Be sure to first consult with a qualified financial adviser and/or tax professional before implementing any strategy discussed herein To submit a question to be answered in this column, please send it via email to Question@GoFarWithKovar com, or via USPS to Taylor Kovar, 415 S 1st St, Suite 300, Lufkin, TX 75901

I’ve always promised myself that this column would never get “academic,” but I see now choice with respect to the issue at hand, so here goes as simple as I can make it

Fractional anisotrophy (FA) is a measure of connectivity in the brain As such, it’s a reflection of cognitive aging as determined by the deterioration of white matter The more white matter, the “younger” the brain, and vice versa

For as long as methylphenidates (Ritalin, Concerta, et al ) have been given to children who are diagnosed with ADHD, pharmaceutical companies, physicians, and mental health professionals have maintained these drugs are safe Are they?

Methylphenidates (MPH) affect brain function They are stimulants, classified by the Drug Enforcement Administration as Schedule 2 narcotics, the same classification given to cocaine, morphine, and amphetamines

How does “safe” equate to cocaine and speed? It doesn’t When confronted with this inconvenient truth, the purveyors in question claim, usually, that MPH is prescribed in low dosages that pose no hazard But cocaine in low dosages is not safe It is still cocaine As a recent scientific study establishes, the same is true of MPH

A 2019 study published online in Neuroradiology found that after 16 weeks of MPH “treatment,” the brains of pre-teen boys (10 – 12) showed statistically significant cognitive aging as determined by measures of FA Mind you, every single one of the boys taking MPH showed cognitive aging A placebo group of boys showed no cognitive aging; neither did adult males who exhibited ADHD characteristics and were given equivalent doses of MPH

In other words, the damage to the brain (it’s called “compromised white matter integrity”) done by MPH was exclusive to the pre-teen group, comprised of kids whose brains are still in development

Boys are much more likely than girls to be diagnosed with ADHD and given MPH, so what we have here is a problem – white matter deterioration – that is going to affect boys, primarily, in ways not yet determined Now, intact WM is critical to executive function –sustained attention, problem solving, and impulse control being three primary components thereof

The symptoms of ADHD describe problems with executive function: short attention span, inability to sustain concentration and finish tasks, problem-solving difficulty, impulse control deficiency, low tolerance for frustration. So, the standard treatment for ADHD –methylphenidate – is in the long run making matters worse

Online at Harvard Health Publishing (Harvard Medical School), a psychologist claims that the only risks of MPH are “nonserious” and names decreased appetite and sleep problems. In all fairness, her commentary is dated 2016, three years prior to the study in Neuroradiology Nonetheless, I have to wonder how many parents are now going to be told, by prescribing physicians and psychologists, that taking MPH poses not just short term, nonserious adverse effects, but potentially very serious, permanent dangers to their children How many parents are going to be told that WM damage may be irreversible?

What sensible parent, hearing that warning, is going to let MPH damage their child’s brain? Bear in mind that the study in question found the cognitive aging effect of MPH to be significant after only 16 weeks of administration Most of the ADHD-diagnosed kids I run across have been taking MPH for years Consider that the full effect of MPH prescription may not show up until the kids in question are well into their middle years

Scary is a word that pops to mind

So does immoral

Family psychologist John Rosemond: johnrosemond com, parentguru com

John Rosemond has worked with families, children, and parents since 1971 in the field of family psychology In 1971, John earned his masters in psychology from Western Illinois University and was elected to the Phi Kappa Phi National Honor Society