THURSDAY MARCH 5, 2015
VOLUME 104 ISSUE 65
Defending the First Amendment since 1911
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UNIVERSITY
PRESLIE COX STAFF PHOTOGRAPHER
Kyle Lubo, UPD officer, poses March 4 in the Quad in front of the LBJ statue.
Campus carry awaits further vote By Darcy Sprague NEWS REPORTER @darcy_days
S
enate Bill 11, which would allow campus carry of firearms, has passed through the second stage in the State Senate and is awaiting a vote. SB 11 is on a fast track through the Senate after 19 co-authors provided the 2/3 votes required to pass the bill. The bill has passed through the special committee and is waiting to be placed on the intent calendar. The bill will go through the first of three votes while in the Senate. Texas State officials have estimated the implementation of campus carry would cost the university $408,516 in security improvements if the bill passes, said Bill Nance, vice president for finance and support services. Ralph Meyer, university police chief, wrote a state-required fiscal statement on the bill, Nance said.
$408,518 $65,000/yr INITIAL COST
ESTIMATED IN SECURITY IMPROVEMENTS TO IMPLEMENT CAMPUS CARRY
$2.5 million TO EXECUTE CAMPUS CARRY FOR ENTIRE TEXAS STATE UNIVERSITY SYSTEM
$77,000/yr IN SIXTH YEAR AFTER GRADUAL INCREASE The fiscal note is a proposed budget detailing what the University Police Department (UPD) would need if the bill passes, Nance said. The initial cost would be $65,000 a year with a gradual increase to $77,000 by the sixth year, he said. The fiscal note accounts for one additional officer’s salary and
training, he said. The total cost of executing campus carry in the Texas State University System would be $2.5 million, according to a Feb. 22 Houston Chronicle article. This system includes Texas State, Lamar University, Sam Houston State University and four two-year in-
stitutions, Nance said. Officials with the Texas State University System estimate the cost of security improvements at $47 million over six years, according to the Houston Chronicle. The total cost to the four major university systems in Texas is estimated at $59.65 million dollars.
SB 11 is an unfunded mandate in its current form, according to the fiscal note. The money would come from the university’s existing operations budget, which is funded by tuition and state-allotted money, said Provost Eugene Bourgeois. “We would have to consider it as part of tuition,” Bourgeois said. Bourgeois said no indication has been given that the State will give additional funds to the university. Brian McCall, chancellor of the Texas State University System, has taken the first public stance on the issue on behalf of Texas State, Bourgeois said. McCall told the Texas Legislature Finance Committee he would prefer the bill allow each TSUS Board of Regents to set its own gun policy for the individual institutions. Bourgeois said President Denise Trauth is not in favor of having guns on campus, and the univer-
See CAMPUS CARRY, Page 2
COUNTY
Hays County Food Bank partners with local farmers By Darcy Sprague NEWS REPORTER @darcy_days The Hays County Food Bank’s Adopt-a-Farm program offers free labor in return for a portion of crops as an initiative to provide the hungry with nutritious food. In Hays County, 24,790 residents face “food insecurity,” meaning they do not have access to affordable and nutritious meals, according to the organization’s website. “I saw there was a need for more healthy food to be given,” said Matt Barnes, founder of the program. “What better source than natural, local farms and gardens?” Adopt-a-Farm began in late summer of 2014 and has about 15 volunteers, Barnes said. One to four people volunteer for each farm visit. There have been 2,895 pounds of fresh produce donated to the Hays County Food Bank as a result. “The majority of what we give out is fresh,” said Kirby Stewart, nutrition and food coordinator for the Hays County Food Bank, who oversees the program. The produce is mixed in with food received from other sources and distributed. The food bank serves over 4,000 people per month, Stewart said. About 20 pounds of food are provided per family twice a week. Every customer receives meat, bread, produce and a dessert. None of the items are canned. Rachel Armstrong, who manages A.Y. RAAM Farms, LLC with her
“I saw there was a need for more healthy food to be given. What better source than natural, local farms and gardens?” —MATT BARNES, FOUNDER OF ADOPT-A-FARM husband, said the program started at their establishment. Barnes previously worked for both the farm and the food bank. During that time, he had the idea to create the program. The farm is located in Kingsbury, about 20 miles from San Marcos. Armstrong said A.Y. RAAM Farms donated around 1,100 pounds of produce in the last year. She said working with the program is rewarding and A.Y. RAAM Farms will continue to be a partner for the foreseeable future. Stewart and Barnes said the
LARA DIETRICH STAFF PHOTOGRAPHER
J.W. Ottmers and Raymond Rabold of Oma and Opa’s Farms lay out vegetables March 3 at the San Marcos Farmers Market. program needs more volunteers. A larger volunteer base would increase the amount of fresh produce the program would receive, Barnes said. He hopes to one day have multiple crews at different farms. Volunteers meet every Friday morning at the food bank, and Barnes drives them to one of the adopted farms in a van. The team works until the afternoon weeding,
pruning and harvesting crops. Barnes said the free labor is beneficial to the farmers, but recruiting volunteers can be difficult. “The hardest part was getting volunteer labor,” Barnes said. “People are unfamiliar with working outside on a farm.” Stewart would like to see the program grow so volunteers can personally adopt farms. The food
bank provides resources, but the program should be run by volunteers, he said. “We are slowly but surely adding here and there,” Barns said. Barns said a farm has never turned down his offer to participate in the program. “The number of farms that needs farmhands is limitless,” Stewart said.