Opinions

Lt. Gov. Dan Patrick helped set the tone for the Legislative session last week by partially squashing the voice of the minority party.

You can read the details of the new rules in the Texas Senate in a piece by the Texas Tribune that is reprinted in this week’s Enterprise, but suffice it to say that the action falls right in line with comments this column made two weeks ago regarding Patrick’s agenda.

In a nutshell, the Republican majority has made it difficult for minority interests to stop or slow legislation it considers harmful or ill conceived. The State Senate has 31 members, and for nearly 70 years it took 21 members to bring any bill to the floor for a vote. Now it will only take 19 members. And with the Republican dominance in the Legislature, it pretty much neuters any opposition to the conservative agenda.

Nearly two decades ago, when your editor was new to the job, a Clarendon College employee approached me about helping get a College Republicans chapter started at CC. The sponsor for the group knew that I had been a CR member at Texas Tech and was looking for some tips on how to have a successful organization here.

I agreed to come to a meeting and then proceeded to tell them what I thought they needed to do.

“The first thing you need to do is organize a Young Democrats chapter,” I told them as they sat in stunned silence.

“Why would we do that?” one of the officers asked.

“Because,” I replied, “otherwise you’re not going to have any fun or get anything done.”

In College Republicans I learned two very valuable things: 1) fanatical conservatives are no better than leftwing wackos (they just want to limit your freedom in a different way), and 2) parties need other parties to thrive.

Our best functions were debates with the Young Democrats and College Libertarians. Our intramural games were with the Democrats. Our food or coat drive contest challenges, etc., were successful because of the competition between the other parties. We thrived off each other, and, I think, made each other better.

In a generation, we have seen the Democrats go from being the majority party in Texas to being the vocal minority and now to having even that limited voice muzzled. That can’t be good, and Republicans should be wary that the wheel of fortune – and changing demographics – may one day reverse their current status.

Politicians always like to talk about the “democratic process” and what a great “democracy” we live in. But pure democracy can be the worst kind of evil, which is why our state and federal founders developed a system of republican (small “R”) government with checks and balances and protections for minority views. The heavy-handedness of the current majority, however, teeters on bringing Texas in touch with absolute democracy where the will of the majority (fifty percent plus one) can override any other concern.

You like open government and private control of groundwater in West Texas? Well, with absolute democracy and no voice for the minority, crony politicians can corrupt government functions and a majority of urban Texans can do what they want to with rural groundwater.

And what happens in a generation or two when the left is back in power? Perhaps a conservative nightmare comes to life with free abortions in clinics across the state, mandatory Pre-K classes, and strangling regulations on oil, gas, hunting, and fishing. Won’t that be fun?

According to the Tribune article, the new Senate rules also eliminated committees focused on open government, jurisprudence, economic development, and government organization. What’s the reasoning behind that and what does it mean for Texans?

For now, the right has all the “might” in Texas, and it’s marching forward at an alarming rate. But conservatives would do well to consider the long term ramifications of what their steamroller approach can bring down the line. The pendulum will one day swing the other way, and we may not like it when it does.

 

Texas’ new Ag Commissioner Sid Miller made headlines last week when, as his first official act in office, he granted amnesty… to cupcakes.

Miller’s bold move was, he said, to let Texans know that rules passed in 2004 that prevented cupcakes, cookies, and other snacks from being brought to public schools had been repealed.

“We want families, teachers and schools in Texas to know the Texas Department of Agriculture has abolished all rules and guidelines that would stop a parent from bringing cupcakes, cookies or snacks to school,” said Commissioner Miller. “This act is about providing local control to our communities. I am evaluating agency policies and procedures to ensure we are in touch with Texas consumers, while also decreasing state regulation and expanding local control.”

It all sounds good, but the fact is that the cupcake rule was already repealed… almost as soon as it was passed.

The Texas Tribune reported two days after Miller’s amnesty award: “In August 2004, then-Agriculture Commissioner Susan Combs issued a clarification to a new statewide policy restricting junk food in schools. The “cupcake clarification” said that cakes and cupcakes could be brought to school for birthdays. In 2005, state lawmakers passed Lauren’s Law, which guaranteed that right.”

Combs herself was labeled many times by this column as a Health Nazi for her rabid war on junk food to fight the supposed increasing mass of school children across the state.

Miller said the repeal – which, again, happened ten years ago – was “to allow for greater control and decision-making at the local level,” but his agency’s press release went on to note that “Federal guidelines still regulate food sold during the day at schools that participate in the National School Lunch program.”

According to Miller’s office, there is a lot of confusion about what is and isn’t allowed in schools; and I think they are probably right about that. When my son started school, we were given a list of what was and wasn’t allowed for snack time. I’m not sure what they would have done if we had sent him with Cokes and Oreos for everyone, but we usually just opted for applesauce or Cheez-Its.

Miller’s political theatrics aside, he does bring attention to the larger issue of government involvement in our school lunch program. Rules passed down by the imperial dietitians and busybodies in Washington, DC, have succeeded in making school lunches so “healthy” that no one wants to eat them.

While I admit that our Cub Reporter is a picky eater, when he started school three years ago, he liked some of the school menu. But with new restrictions in place, he takes his lunch every day. Granted the majority of kids are still getting a tray every day; but if you sit and watch during lunchtime, you’ll see a lot of kids just picking around the food. And the amount of food that goes straight in the trash has you make you wonder if the “guidelines” are counterproductive.

Why do school districts put up with the meddling of the government in their cafeterias? It comes down to money. Our schools have for a long time now been addicted to the federal teat and will do whatever it takes to get that government money. It would be interesting to see if the cost of compliance is worth the gain or better yet worth the cost of kids still being hungry at the end of the day.

If making sure kids don’t go hungry is the goal, then let’s spend a little more time making sure kids will eat what we’re serving. Surely it is better that a kids eats a homemade cinnamon roll than that he doesn’t eat at all.

Personally, I think the government has bigger issues than the nutritional value of school nachos. If they want to pare down some fat, I’d suggest they start with federal agencies, bureaucratic salaries, and programs. Parents, administrators, school board members, and cafeteria managers can handle their own affairs. The politicians need to just mind their own business.

 

Incoming Lt. Gov Dan Patrick released his vision for Texas last week, and it appears that not much of positive significance is going to happen while he’s in charge.

Patrick’s plan consists of 19 points in about eight areas that are keeping Republican leader of the State Senate and his followers up at night.

Going through all 19 of these points would be tiresome, so let’s look at some of the highlights.

Patrick wants to “pass a conservative budget that includes significant funding for both property tax cuts, and business tax cuts.” After more than a decade of Gov. Good Hair, I don’t see how the state budget can get much more “conservative,” but I’m sure there’s a way to do it. I’m all for keeping spending in check and taxes low, but I also liked our roadside rest areas and having the rights of way mowed more than once a year.

Patrick’s vision also calls for more funding for border security, which ought to be a federal issue, but we know how well that’s working. Anyway, our new leader, in his infinite wisdom, wants more money to increase DPS personnel on the border. That sounds wonderful, but let’s hope that these personnel are not just more of the current trend of sending Troopers from other areas of the state to patrol the border. Donley County is losing fine money because our troopers aren’t here to patrol our highways. And local accidents often can’t be worked in a timely fashion now because the nearest trooper is sometimes an hour away. But throw some more money at the border and stick out your chest, Mr. Patrick. I’m sure we’ll be able to take care of ourselves somehow.

Another budget goal is to provide property tax relief. Of course, the state doesn’t levy a property tax; local governments do. Patrick and his allies however want to interfere with local governments’ abilities to raise and collect the money they need to operate by increasing the homestead exemption and sticking their foot into the appraisal process. The fact of the matter is state politicians have already messed with local tax collections enough by creating exemptions and tax freezes for almost anyone with a sob story.

And speaking of interference from the boys and girls in Austin, Patrick has some ideas on public education. School choice and expanded “accountability” – the great platform of conservatives for decades. Realistically our school choices in Donley County will always be Clarendon or Hedley, so Patrick isn’t doing anything for us there. And I think we’ve had quite enough “accountability” programs to last us for a while. How about we just let teachers teach, let school board set policies, and let administrators discipline and administrate?

Patrick also wants a new reading program for our children. If you like the Accelerated Reader “how many books can your kid read before he explodes” program, I’m sure you’ll love what a pinhead like Patrick comes up with.

On higher education, one of Patrick’s “visions” has to do with tuition. He’s apparently upset that college tuition has “skyrocketed” in the last decade, but he fails to talk about how state education funding is kind of a go-to source for budget cutters. If you don’t provide funding for colleges and universities, they have no choice but to make it up on tuition and fees.

I read Patrick’s goals twice for transportation, and it still sounds like nonsense to me. I think he wants more money for roads basically, but I’m sure most of it will go to the I-35 corridor, so it probably doesn’t matter to us out here on the frontier.

I suppose it would be too much to hope that we might tackle real issues somewhere in all that. Like how will the state deal with a growing population and a dwindling supply of water?

Or how can we reform Child Protective Services to actually protect children in light of last week’s report from the Austin American-Statesman which found that CPS “did not publicly report 655 child abuse-related fatalities, even though the department confirmed that those children had been mistreated prior to their deaths?” Maybe Patrick and his friends could stop worrying about abortion for just one legislative session and take a look at what happens to kids after they are born.

Texas has real issues, but I don’t think we have a real leader in Dan Patrick. I think we have a guy with an agenda.

 

This week marks the changing of the guard for two local institutions as Donley County Judge Jack Hall caps off 17 years of service and Clarendon School Superintendent Monty Hysinger leaves for new opportunities after 16 years.

Hall spent a full career of about three decades as a coach and teacher at Clarendon Junior High before ever becoming county judge. In fact, he started at CJH the same day the editor’s mother did in the old school building that stood where Kevin and Cheryl Johnson’s home now overlooks the baseball fields. Through the years, they would share many laughs before Hall’s first retirement.

Donley County Commissioners appointed Hall as county judge after W.R. “Billie” Christal resigned in 1997, and it was that same year that representatives of the Texas Courthouse Alliance came to survey the 1890 Donley County Courthouse. It wasn’t clear what, if anything, would come from that visit of folks from Austin, but Hall, your editor, and others were told that a movement was afoot to restore some of Texas’ old courthouses. That was the beginning of a long road to save the Panhandle’s oldest operational courthouse from the verge of condemnation and return it to its 19th century grandeur.

Today, most everyone in Donley County is proud of the courthouse and realizes the value of its restoration… a $4.2 million project that was funded mostly by state money. But that wasn’t the case 14 years ago as many people strongly opposed the project. Judge Jack Hall was steadfast in his dedication to preserve our courthouse and restore it so that generations to come would be able to enjoy it. Asked if it was a good idea or if it would work, Hall always replied, “I just don’t see it any other way.”

Since the project’s completion in 2003, Judge Hall has protected “The Jewel of the Plains” (as Texas Historical Commission member Shirley Caldwell first called it) and given countless tours of the old building, recalling all the unique features, interesting stories, and architectural details of its construction and restoration.

In addition to his role in saving the courthouse, Hall has carried out his duties as judge in the best manner possible. He has conducted commissioners’ court meetings with dignity and decorum and acted in every sense as a gentleman in the performance of his job. Donley County owes a debt of gratitude to Judge Hall. We wish him well in his much deserved second retirement, and we have high expectations for continued leadership and service from his successor, Judge John Howard.

At Clarendon Public Schools, Monty Hysinger has served in his position almost as long as Hall has been judge, and we have always found him to be a good man who has tried to do the best for the students of our district and who stood out for his service to our community.

Through his involvement with the Lions Club, Hysinger has taken an active role in the club’s Sweetheart program and volunteered many, many times to set out or pick up American flags for the club. For many years, Hysinger has almost single-handedly organized the annual Pancake Supper to the point where the rest of the club mostly just had to sell tickets and show up to flip pancakes.

At the school, Hysinger has pushed to keep the most current technology at our children’s and teacher’s fingertips. Soon after her retirement, he drafted the editor’s mother in writing a grant she called “Teaching an Old Town New Tricks” that helped fund a lot of new technology for the school. Since then he has consistently found other opportunities to bring new technology to Clarendon ISD.

Hysinger also has been an excellent steward of the school’s physical plant, undertaking initiatives that have greatly extended the life of a campus that was constructed in 1963 with some buildings dating back even earlier. At a time when some area schools were turning their backs on old buildings, Hysinger was repurposing them and adding decades to their usefulness at a long-term savings to the taxpayer.

Hysinger also is to be commended for his leadership in reworking the school’s old tornado shelter. The 1960s “bomb shelter” under the cafeteria and library had been used for decades for tornado drills but had fallen out of use by the turn of the century due to concerns mainly over dust. Hysinger had the floor concreted, had emergency lights installed, and instituted a tornado plan under which all CISD students can get to cover in about five minutes.

Dumas ISD is getting a good man and a good leader in Monty Hysinger, and we hope that whoever succeeds him can build on the foundations that he has laid for our school.

Meanwhile…

Our hearts and prayers go out this week to the family of Patrick Robertson, a man who touched so many and served us all whether it was as a fireman, a paramedic, a funeral director, a radio personality, or a friend. No father should have to bury his son, and there is never a good time for a son to lose his father. Our greatest sympathies to Delbert, Chuck, Vicky, Debbie, and the rest of the family. Our community will miss Pat greatly, and we hope that his loved ones can find comfort in the love and friendship of others in the days to come.

It’s been a disappointing couple of weeks for open government and the right of the people in Donley County to know what their governments are up to.

Following the state norm, Clarendon ISD has formally declared that it will only name a lone finalist in its search to replace longtime superintendent Monty Hysinger.

The process is just getting started, and CISD missed the first step in informing the public by not posting the job opening in the local paper, even though the top city and college positions have always been advertised locally as well as to a wider audience. The next superintendent is probably not from Clarendon, but the paper does have a lot of readers and people who are connected to other people. The last director of the Clarendon EDC saw the job in the Enterprise, and one of the finalists in the search for the next EDC director also saw the listing the local paper.

The school is at least going through the motions of getting public feedback ahead of the search. CISD will hold a public forum on what residents want to see in the next school superintendent next Monday, December 8, at 6:30 p.m. CISD is even conducting an online survey on that question at www.clarendonisd.net.

But the desire for public input apparently ends right there. Once, school officials start looking at candidates, the public won’t know who any of them are until one has been picked.

The school board has been advised that a candidate for this job will lose face at home if it is known that he or she has applied for the top job in Clarendon. “Their star will lose some of its luster,” Region 16 Executive Director John Bass told the board last month.

CISD Trustees are just following the counsel of their advisors in this process. But you have to wonder, why does the same not hold true for presidential candidates at Clarendon College? Did Dr. Robert Riza lose face at Hill College when he was named one of three finalists at Clarendon? Did Dr. Myles Shelton lose face here when he was named as a finalist in Galveston? What difference does it make? The people of Clarendon had a right to know that Riza was a candidate here, and before that they had a high interest in knowing that Shelton was looking to leave.

Sources have now told the Enterprise that Hysinger was a candidate for the top job at another school months ago. People here would have been interested in that.

School superintendents, like college presidents, are important public employees and the interest in staying or leaving or coming is of high concern to their employers, i.e. the taxpayers. We have a right to know who is being considered as our superintendent before that decision is made.

The beef here is not with our school trustees as individuals. But it is rather with the advice that they have been given. Just because most other districts in the state run a confidential search and keep the public in the dark doesn’t mean Clarendon ISD had to. They could have chosen to name two or three finalists. Naming one “finalist” isn’t naming any “finalist”… it’s just naming who you’ve hired.

And on the lines of the public’s interest, while Clarendon College goes above and beyond when it’s time to hire a president, it unfortunately doesn’t follow the same philosophy when it comes to filling a vacancy on the Board of Regents.

Two weeks ago, Dr. John Howard resigned his position on the CC Board of Regents ahead of his being sworn-in as county judge next month. In the same meeting, the board appointed former CC employee Darlene Spier to take Howard’s seat, and less than two minutes later the board named her its vice chairman.

Setting aside Mrs. Spier’s qualifications and unquestionable knowledge of the college, the public was given no consideration as to the appointment. It would have been nice to at least see a month’s separation between Howard’s resignation and his replacement’s appointment. The college has a nine-member board, so it’s not like there was a danger of not having a quorum.

No other names were ever mentioned before Spier was appointed to represent the people of the college district. We can only assume that her candidacy was discussed in closed session sometime, but we don’t recall that topic ever being on a college agenda in the last few months. The attorney general says it’s okay to discuss board members in closed session under personnel – even though they are representatives of the people instead of employees – but the attorney general also holds that “…the more important the position being discussed, the more specific the posting will need to be in describing that position.”

Who represents the people on the board until the next election, in this paper’s view, should have been very important.

Our school and our college are both run with good people on their boards, and we hope that moving forward they will do their level best to keep the public in the loop as much as possible when important decisions are to be made.

I’ve never been a cat fan. I hate cats. And yet… I’m mourning… a cat.

Perhaps my dislike for cats stems from my allergic reaction to them. Perhaps it has to do with my distinct dislike for finding feline feces in flowerbeds. Or perhaps it’s genetic – my father hated cats, too. He always hated them from the time he was a boy right up through my formative years.

So imagine my surprise when I came home from college one day to find that my Dad had a cat of his very own. It was living in his barn; and the first time I saw it, he was sitting in a lawn chair, drinking a beer, and petting this cat in his lap. Was this the Twilight Zone?

Dad explained that this wasn’t really a cat. It was more of a chicken, he said, which didn’t make any more sense.

It seems that an old momma cat had chosen the barn behind our house at some point as the place to birth her litter of kittens. Soon after, the momma left and so did all the kittens except for “Kitty,” who chose to stay behind, hanging out with the chickens and eating nothing but chicken feed and the occasional mouse.

Dad soon gave her a proper name, Kitty Laverne, and she became a permanent resident at our house for the next couple of decades. It was several years before Dad broke down and started buying actual cat food for Kitty. But, even with the change in diet, she stayed true to her chicken roots and remained a loyal friend and, I think, defender of her feathered companions. Through the coldest winters, she stayed in the barn with no heat other than the light in the brooder on which she slept.

Over the years, it was common to see Kitty in my Dad’s lap as he sipped a beer and enjoyed the beauty and tranquility of his backyard oasis. Kitty didn’t have much use for the rest of us, although she would let us pet her occasionally. She was mostly interested in Dad, and she showed him the most affection.

Given all that, I think Dad’s death in 2006 probably affected Kitty in some way that we will never understand. She stayed on, guarding the chickens and doing her own thing, and she still never paid me much attention.

Unless, that is, I put on a pair of work boots, some blue jeans, and one of Dad’s blue work shirts to go work in the yard. And then, Kitty was all over me, getting in my lap, rubbing against my legs, and generally getting underfoot. I think she was looking for something familiar, and anytime I wore that outfit, the results were the same.

My brother got the same reaction when he wore Dad’s boots, and it was he who became Kitty’s primary caretaker, seeing to her health and wellness over the years.

As our kids grew and after my Mom’s passing, Kitty Laverne was a constant at our house, tying us to the past and something special from a time that we cannot recapture. Russell and I could spend time with Kitty, and in some strange way, we were spending time with Dad… or maybe just something connected to Dad.

Kitty developed a tolerance of children right away. She initially would shy away from kids, but she grew to enjoy their occasional petting although she never really wanted to play.

There were times that Kitty would disappear for days. We would begin to think she was lost or worse, and then she would show up… usually looking pretty rough and having been in a fight… sometimes for her very life apparently.

As the years went by, we began to joke that Kitty must have eaten the mouse from the movie The Green Mile. She seemed almost immortal this cat who thought she was a chicken.

Immortal perhaps… but not indestructible.

Last Thursday, one week before Thanksgiving, Kitty met her end. She was hit by a car or truck in the alley behind our neighbor’s house. She had just gotten over her latest injury and was doing what she loved… prowling around not far from the barn she called her home.

Kitty Laverne, as best we can figure, was about 22 or 23 years old. That’s like 107 for a human. That’s a remarkable achievement for an outdoor cat… or a chicken.

My kids and my nephews were very sad to see their sweet Kitty pass on. My brother especially and I were harder hit… losing a member of our family and a link to our Dad. And yet we believe she’s probably happy that she’s finally found that guy in the blue shirt she’s been looking for these past eight years.

This Thanksgiving we’ll say a prayer for the one cat that could ever call our house home, and we’ll give thanks for family and the memories that we all cherish for those who have gone on before us.

Rest in peace, Kitty. The barn will never be the same without you.

A good many local residents were surprised by the recent news that Clarendon ISD Superintendent Monty Hysinger had been named as the lone finalist for the top job at Dumas ISD. The Amarillo Globe-News posted that news online Wednesday night, October 29, and the Enterprise followed the next morning on ClarendonLive.com.

No one begrudges Mr. Hysinger what is certainly a step up to a larger school with no doubt better pay and benefits that CISD can afford. Some observers, your editor included, had wondered if Mr. Hysinger might make a move soon given that he’s had a long tenure here – almost 16 years – and his youngest child is about to graduate from Clarendon High School.

The announcement in the middle of the school year was a bit of a surprise however; and the veil of secrecy employed by the Dumas Board of Trustees, while a common tactic across the state, is a method we hope the Clarendon school board will not follow.

In the search for a new superintendent, Texas law requires school districts to name finalists at least 21 days before a final vote to hire someone. Encouraged by the all-wise Texas Association of School Boards, many school districts keep their superintendent candidates hidden from public view by naming just one finalist, who then not surprisingly gets hired 21 days later.

Compare this to the process used by Clarendon College when selecting a president. In the hiring of former presidents Myles Shelton and Phil Shirley and current president Robert Riza, the Board of Regents appointed a committee of citizens and board members to wade through dozens of applications. The committee narrowed that field to three to five candidates, each of whom were brought in for a public reception and interview before being privately interviewed in closed session by the full board. Later, the board met again to make its final decision.

The college’s process demonstrates the importance of community interaction necessary for a successful college president. It also shows a healthy respect for the input from citizens and taxpayers in choosing the person who will lead one of the community’s largest groups of employees and a cornerstone of our economy.

Surely the superintendent of Clarendon ISD is on the same level of importance to our community as our college president. He or she will hold great influence of the livelihoods of dozens of citizens and – more importantly – chart the course of the education system that will mold the young minds that are the future of this city. You, as a parent and/or taxpayer, have a high stake and interest in who the Board of Trustees will chose to succeed Monty Hysinger, and every member of our school board has a duty to conduct school business as openly as possible… regardless of the prevailing veil of secrecy in our state.

We will soon know how our trustees will handle this situation. The board is scheduled to meet tonight (November 13) and three agenda items are directly related to the expected January departure of Mr. Hysinger. In his monthly report, the superintendent will discuss setting a called meeting to name an interim superintendent; and then later, the Executive Director of the Region 16 Education Service Center, John Bass, will discuss the superintendent search process and the naming of an interim superintendent. Mr. Bass’ comments are listed under “Personnel,” which often means a board will discuss that topic in closed session, away from the eyes and ears of the public.

We hope the CISD board bucks the state norm and sets a high bar for public involvement. Clarendon College has successfully done that, and it’s not unheard of for a Texas school to do it. The Beaumont Enterprise on Monday said many residents of Beaumont ISD want their board to follow the lead of the Austin Independent School District, which will narrow its own list of superintendent finalists next month and then “hold a public forum at which the community is invited to question the finalists.”

The paper quotes Austin ISD board president Vincent Torres as saying, “We’re hoping by giving them an opportunity at the end here to weigh in on who we have narrowed the field down to we’ll at least have some indication of how well they will be received and supported by the community.”

It all comes down to government transparency. The public has a right to know who is being considered to run our school. We are depending on the school board to include the public in the process and conduct this search in the light of day. We don’t need the names of every applicant, but we deserve to know who the top candidates (plural) are for the job.

The crosses and signs proclaiming Clarendon’s religiosity generate strong feelings among residents and travelers and even recently drew the attention of city officials. But the question remains as to what… if anything… should be done about them.

Alderman Sandy Skelton brought the subject up at the October 14 city meeting, but even he only sought a remedy for future signs and markers and did not propose doing anything about what already exists. That launched a discussion about a possible sign ordinance, which lead to the dusting off of the sign ordinance that has already been on the books for 19 years.

Interestingly, the biggest revelation at the meeting about the “end of the world” signs came from the man responsible for them. While the city ordinance requires a permit for signs and markers, Jim Griffin said he was told by former city administrator Lambert Little that he didn’t need a permit for what he was doing.

So basically, the city had an opportunity to have some modicum of regulation over the situation and didn’t do it. Now the chariots have left the coliseum, and there’s no rounding them back up.

The situation is, in part, an example of the city not properly enforcing the ordinances on its books. Why do we need all these rules and regulations? Well, in part, to keep Clarendon from looking like The New Apian Way, as Fred Gray described it last week.

Almost any eyesore in this town could be remedied by proper enforcement of the rules in place. But too often the city just looks at making new rules instead of enforcing the current ones.

A perfect example of this is the amendment passed this summer that changed the allowable weed and grass height from four feet (which does seem high) down to 18 inches. But then the city had lots of places where its own grass was over 18 inches. Maybe we should get all the properties under the four-foot level first.

As to the crosses and signs, Mr. Griffin told the city council that he sees himself as a servant of Jesus Christ and that it is his mission to make sure that every person coming through Clarendon gets witnessed to about Jesus.

The biggest problem with that is that not everyone wants to be the recipient of Mr. Griffin’s witnessing. Several travelers have even taken the time to write the Enterprise or the Chamber of Commerce to express their disgust, displeasure, or discomfort with the plethora of crosses and signs. This includes some Christians who feel the symbols are over the top.

Now in fairness, there are people who like the crosses and signs. An example is an email the Enterprise received this week and reprinted with the letters in this issue. However, it is probably safe to say that the people who are most excited about Mr. Griffin’s work and take the time to look him up and thank him or send us a comment are also probably people who are very devout and don’t need to be witnessed to. In other words, it’s preaching to the choir.

So what should be done about this issue? There probably isn’t much that can be done officially. Enforcement of the sign ordinance might have slowed the phenomenon or moved it back from the highway some, but it would not have prevented harsh messages like “9-11 Tragedy. Worse things to come!” Trying to stop that or remove it opens a whole can of constitutional questions about religious freedom, freedom of speech, and private property rights.

No, government rules are not the answer here. What Clarendon needs is for business and property owners to think about the cumulative effect these markers are having on our community as it is perceived by visitors. The cross or the sign in front of your business may be fine; but when it’s combined with dozens of others, it’s too much for some people.

As a businessman, I don’t care if you’re Christian, Hindu, Buddhist, Muslim, atheist, or some worshipper of Greek gods. I just want you to come in and buy a subscription or place an ad for your garage sale. Likewise, I don’t care about the religiosity of passers-by. I just want them to stop for a bite to eat, pick up a gift at a local merchant, and possibly Stay All Night or Stay A Little Longer! And, if while you’re here, you are impressed with the good morals of our community and wish to receive some witnessing, feel free to attend one of our 18 (at last count) churches.

Goodwill is a valuable thing and one that is not easily regained once lost. Like the old shampoo commercial used to say, “You only get one chance to make a first impression.”

Literally thousands of dollars are spent each year from the city’s economic development corporation and hotel occupancy tax trying to make Clarendon a destination, an attractive place for visitors, a place you want to stop for a while, or place to relocate. Money and time are spent on marketing this community and putting our best foot forward. And then someone puts up four dozen sewer pipe crosses and starts freaking out the guests.

Thankfully, some of these signs and crosses have already come down. More need to. We want people to come here. We don’t need to give anyone an excuse to say they will never stop or shop our town.