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I remembered this saying at the last Reeves County Commissioners
meeting I attended. The items on the agenda seemed to me to be fairly
routine, certainly nothing to get upset about. However, some of the
commissioners managed to do a lot of growling and yipping at each other.
I'm not quite stupid enough to point out which commissioners did most of
the barking and who behaved themselves.
I guess it's just the style of some members of the commissioners court
to carry on like that. I'm told that most of the time the city council
members and school board trustees conduct their meetings in a fairly
civil manner.
When I returned from the last commissioners meeting I told some of my
coworkers that during the meeting I felt like I should have been smoking
a cigar, drinking beer and playing cards. That might be an exaggeration,
that's what writers do sometimes, but it's pretty close to the
atmosphere in some of their meetings.
Our county commissioners are responsible for a lot of important
decisions. They play a big role in the community. I, for one, would not
want to have their jobs. My point here is not to imply that they are in
any way incompetent; I haven't been around here long enough to decide
that. I'm only trying to say I'm puzzled by all the carrying on at their
meetings.
Some people have told me just to laugh it off and take it as a joke.
Other people have told me that they are all playing games and their
shenanigans are all part of the political maneuvering they are doing.
I don't know. All I know is I've never covered a governing body that
carries on so. It's really very interesting to watch them conduct their
meetings. I'm surprised that I've only seen one or two citizens
attending their meetings. They are certainly more entertaining that TV
talk shows.
I'm sure as I get more familiar with the ins and outs of Pecos
political life I will gain understanding about what is going on. As for
now, I'll just enjoy the show.
EDITOR'S NOTE: Rick Smith is an Enterprise writer and city editor whose
column appears each Monday.
The last transparent veils about the nature of tobacco are being
shredded away, even among the companies that manufacture cigarettes.
Tobacco, most commonly in the form of cigarettes, is a delivery medium
for the tenaciously addictive drug nicotine. It contributes to heart
disease, lung disorders including cancer, high blood pressure, and a
host of other life-shortening maladies. After all, ``drug'' is literally
the FDA's middle name. If it isn't the one to regulate tobacco, who is?
And if tobacco doesn't need regulating, what does? ...
-- Fayetteville (N.C.) Observer-Times
I found your web site a month ago and have enjoyed being able to keep
up with the home town gossip on a daily basis. Thanks.
Terry Metcalf
P.S. I don't mind an occasional mistake.
This week is Public Service Recognition Week. The theme is "A Challenge
and a Dream...Public Service Today and Tomorrow."
Reeves County and Pecos are blessed with public servants who most of
the time are not noticed. These folks work in the "shadows" so to speak.
We don't think about them or talk about them until we have need of them.
These are the people who go beyond the call of duty.
I would like to take this opportunity to thank all the staff of the
Client Self Support Services Division of the Department of Human
Services in Pecos. These folks are the ones responsible for providing
food stamp and AFDC assistance to needy families.
They go to work every day and interview clients and sort through tons
of federal and state regulations. They work very hard to make sure that
everyone who comes in the office is provided not only great service but
the correct amount of benefits.
Since they are public servants they get no bonus at Christmas or for
work well done. They get a paycheck every month and are constantly being
told to "cut back."
They pick up the work when staff resign or transfer, and many times
that position is not replaced. Through all this work they continue to
keep the same level of service.
During the last two years quality control reviews of cases in the
office have found "no defects." That is to say that cases reviewed have
been found to have been worked correctly and the correct amount of
benefits issued timely.
This shows the dedication these folks have to their work and to the
people of Texas.
I would like to take this time to say, "Thank you for a job well done."
I know how hard these folks work because I am their supervisor, and
their hard work makes my job that much easier.
EDITOR'S NOTE: Carreon is the supervisor of the client self support
services division of the Pecos office of the Texas Department of Human
Services.
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