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Weekly Newspaper and Tourism Guide for Ward County Trans Pecos, Big Bend of West Texas

Opinion

Oct. 15, 1998

Monahan's Well


By Jerry Curry
Weird things, strange things, but mostly money, and these
days, at least $100 come each October a couple of weeks
before Halloween when the State Comptroller releases his
unclaimed property report.

This unclaimed property can be most anything but it's mostly
money or stuff that is worth money and it is never a whole
lot of money or a lot of stuff worth money.

About 15 years go when the state was willing to give back
less than $100, I showed up on the unclaimed property
report. How I got there I still don't know but the state
gave me a little less than $20 which apparently was in an
old bank account I had forgotten. I do remember I was forced
to have a party to celebrate my good fortune and I do
remember it cost me five times the value of my windfall from
the state.

Now this October, Monahans became the center of some of the
latest unclaimed property scheduled for disbursement by the
state.

Mayor David Cutbirth and his brother Henry plus Ward
Memorial Hospital were on the list. Lord knows Ward Memorial
Hospital needs any cash they can get.

Mayor David, who always is looking for some way to enhance
the economic development of Monahans and environs, was on
the telephone almost immediately last week only to find
state bureaucrats don't answer government-sponsored 800
numbers any better than federal bureaucrats.

But he finally did get through to find out what the state
was holding for him and Henry.

Reports David:

"It was $340 in an old insurance policy on me and Henry
which our Dad had taken out for us more than 30 years ago.
The money is supposed to be in the mail. Supposedly it took
all this time to get into the comptroller's unclaimed
property list. Neither Henry nor I knew about it. And I'm
certain Daddy does not remember too."

Remembering is not really a factor here. Cash is the factor.

David says he plans to split the money evenly with Henry.

"I'll take $190 and Henry can have the other half," says the
Mayor.

Then the mayor laughs. Wonder why the mayor laughed. An even
split seems to be equitable in the windfall business.

Over at Ward Memorial Hospital, the mystery is a little
deeper. It is not often that public institutions show up on
the unclaimed property lists of the state comptroller,
principally because it really is easy to find most public
institutions, even for bureaucrats.

All they have to do is look in the telephone book.

Interim Hospital Administrator Steve Holmes says County
Treasurer Nell Berry and interim hospital financial officer
Joe Wright are hot on the trail of this unknown loot. It
seems the money is contained in some insurance settlements
which previous financial officers at the hospital forgot.

That should not be a surprise to Holmes or anyone else.

"We're still attempting to find out how much," says Holmes.
"All we know for sure is it is at least $100. We hope to
find out quickly."

As noted earlier, Ward Memorial Hospital takes any nickel
it can find.

Clinton polls not credible


The shrill, hysterical whines of assorted supporters of
William Jefferson Clinton's right to lie under oath
continue. One constant refrain is the canard that this
whole thing is party politics. If it were not for those
mean ol' Republicans, it would all go away. Clinton's
supporters sputter and spit that only Republicans want to
bring down their Ultimate Flim Flam Man.

Clintonistas apparently do not like to look at real numbers,
as opposed to polls which say the majority of Americans
want Good Time Bill to remain in office. Polls lose a
little more credibility with every constituent contact with
a member of Congress. Real numbers indicate an
impeachment inquiry in Congress has the overwhelming
endorsement of both Republicans and Democrats..

Why do we say this?

On Thursday, Oct. 8, two impeachment resolutions were
before the House of Representatives. The House (and
Senate) is controlled by the Grand Old Party because
voters have sent more Republicans to the House than
Democrats. One measure was presented by the Democratic
leadership. This would have opened impeachment hearings
limited to the Monica Affair, including Clinton lies to a
Grand Jury and in a deposition on the Paula Jones
civil case. It was defeated. The other resolution,
presented by the House Judiciary Committee and endorsed by
the Republican leadership, places no limits on impeachment
proceedings. It allows evidence on other issues - campaign
law violations, Chinese pay offs for the transfer of
missile technology, checks written to Clinton by the outlaws
of Whitewater Savings and Loan, etc. etc.. This was
approved 258-186. All Republicans and 31 of the 206
House Democrats voted for the GOP Texas rules, no holds
barred, impeachment inquiry.

Both Oct. 8 votes were for impeachment hearings. The
question was how to proceed. Only five members of Congress
voted against both. Twenty-five years ago in the Richard M.
Nixon embroglio, four voted against impeachment
proceedings. What happened Oct. 8 proves there is a
bipartisan, Democratic and Republican, movement for
morality. We'll find out in the Nov. 3 elections if the
voters have the same commitment to morality.

Deficit really is real


You've heard about the $70 billion surplus in the national
budget. This is not the result of budget restraint and high
taxes. There is no surplus. This fiscal year, for the first
time, the Social Security Trust Fund was included in the
calculations. The fund collects millions of dollars more
than it pays to retirees. Take away those Social Security
Trust dollars and you have a federal budget deficit of $32
billion. Smoke and Mirrors! The books have been cooked!



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Copyright 1998 by Ward Newspapers, Inc.
Joe Warren, Publisher
107 W. Second St., Monahans TX 79756
Phone 915-943-4313, FAX 915-943-4314
e-mail monnews@ultravision.net

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Copyright 1998 by Ward Newspapers Inc.