“I’m very pleased to announce this morning that the era of CSCOPE lesson plans has come to an end,” he said.

Brian Knox

I half expected to see balloons and confetti drop from the ceiling. After all, it seems that much of this legislative session has been devoted to ending the controversial curriculum tool.

It was clearly a political victory for Patrick and all those who believe that CSCOPE is a Marxist, socialist tool to brainwash our youth into becoming liberal zombies.

No longer will students be forced to consider a different point of view from their own to understand why the British might see the Boston Tea Party as anything but a patriotic show of defiance or be forced to learn the basic tenets of Islam – the second largest religion in the world – because it might lead students to reject Christianity. (Those were two of the biggest complaints about the lesson plans.)

But there are a lot of people who aren’t celebrating, including some local critics of CSCOPE.

I contacted Sharyn Helm, who has expressed concerns about Decatur ISD’s use of CSCOPE and who co-authored a recent guest column for the Messenger on the subject. Here’s what she had to say:

“The concern remains about any online curriculum that may be on the horizon and the lack of oversight that it may have,” she wrote in an email. “Local parents remain concerned and involved at the state level in the efforts to reduce the number of standardized tests that our children our held accountable to.”

I think Sharyn goes right to the heart of the problem, and it has almost nothing to do with CSCOPE. If you strip away the culture-war aspect of the CSCOPE criticism, you’re still left with many concerns including the use of an online curriculum, oversight issues, content assessments, standardized testing and the ability to give teachers the resources they need to provide a quality education.

These are the issues I wish Senator Patrick and his colleagues would have spent more time addressing. But those topics won’t win them as many votes as saying they ended an “anti-American, anti-Christian” education product.

Just to make it official, Patrick’s Senate Bill 1406 yesterday passed the House after being passed out of the Senate last month. That bill would require lessons developed as part of a curriculum management system by a regional education service center (as CSCOPE was) be subject to review by the State Board of Education.

Interestingly, one local educator told me plans were already being put in place to create an oversight board for the nearly 1,600 CSCOPE lessons on the books. The SBOE was struggling to come up with enough people to serve on these review committees. And who knows how much money this additional level of government oversight would add to the budget? The fiscal note on the bill said, “The Texas Education Agency is expected to incur some costs related to implementing the provisions of the bill, but those costs are not estimated to be significant.”

I wonder what would constitute “significant?”

And what about all the large school districts, which actually serve a larger number of students than those schools using CSCOPE, who write their own curriculum with no state oversight? Why wouldn’t oversight be applied in those cases?

I have no problem with oversight of curriculum materials. It makes sense. We need to make sure the educational materials our teachers use are free from errors and contain the information needed to teach the Texas Essential Knowledge and Skills (TEKS).

Politicians seem to be good at identifying and eliminating so-called “bad tools” (CSCOPE), but not so good at identifying helpful resources for educators.

Take textbooks, for instance. It used to be that the state would approve textbooks, and then school districts would buy their textbooks directly from the state. But somewhere along the way, the state fell behind in adopting textbooks that include the TEKS. So the state came up with the instructional materials allotment that allowed school districts to purchase books, computers and technology-related services on their own.

By doing this, the state lost much of the control it had previously, and schools, finding textbook resources lacking, turned to other sources. CSCOPE is what rushed into that vacuum.

CSCOPE has drawn plenty of criticism, and many of those concerns are valid. But CSCOPE is more a symptom than the disease.

The heart of the problem is a failure to adapt to change in the way we collect, distribute, receive and analyze information.

When I was in school, teachers used a textbook as the primary teaching tool. It seemed like the best way to learn at the time.

But times have changed. We live in an information society, and that information is transmitted almost instantaneously. The Internet has had a tremendous impact on how we learn about the world around us.

Let me ask you this: the last time you wanted to look up information about a subject – let’s say how to build a playhouse – did you go to the library and check out a book giving you instructions, or did you go to a search engine and find pages and pages of different resources showing all different kinds of playhouses, from simple to incredibly complex?

Not only that, but with online resources, you were also probably able to read online comments from people who had tried the plans and could tell you if it was helpful or not.

Newspapers know quite well how technology, particularly the Internet, can take a business model that has been successful for hundreds of years and suddenly throw your world into a state of shock. Education is in a similar boat.

The challenge for politicians and the SBOE is how to apply the important issue of oversight to material that is now being produced, shared and seen by people around the world in the time it takes to hit “send” on an email, Tweet or Facebook post.

So while Senator Patrick and other politicians are patting themselves on the back for a job well done, I hope they realize their work has only just begun.

In fact, it should have started already.

Brian Knox is special projects director for the Wise County Messenger.

I start with me as number one, of course. No, really. Start with yourself as number 1. Then your father is number 2 and your mother is number 3. It will look something like this.

Generation I:
1. Carla Jane Boney

Generation II:
2. Gene Carl Boney
3. Marie Ann Harper

Generation III:
4. David C. Boney
5. Jewell I. Atkins
6. George Edward Harper
7. Annie V. Kimmel

You get the idea. Each generation doubles in size. And each father is double the child’s number. The mother is double the number plus one. David Boney’s father, Henry, is number 8 and so on. Annie’s father, David, is number 14 and her mother number 15.

This is an easy way to keep up with people since there will be gaps in your research. If you start a list using this method, as you find other names and relations, simply add them in the generation to which they belong. There may always be unfilled spaces in your family.

Right now, my husband has almost no one past the third generation for his Weber family. His grandfather Weber came to Texas on the Orphan Train and I have had very little luck finding information on this family. I have a picture labeled as his great grandmother, but there’s a big discussion as to who she was before marrying a Weber. So his line has skips in every generation back for the Webers.

You probably noticed that you always list females by the maiden name.

If you have the dates of birth and death, you can list them as well.

Gene Carl Boney: Sept 17, 1929-Nov 28, 2001

You can even add photos if you have them.

Photographs. You know, those items printed through a developing process that show likenesses of persons you love. Today, such things are stored in phone memories, on devices that fit a digital camera or on computers. Me, I prefer the ancient kind that I can hold in my hand. I enjoy looking at them whenever I want.

Photography has changed so much through the years. Old photographs are wonderful to have. However, they show only the artificial and surface reflection of our ancestors. There is no animation in the faces, no action or activity, only posed people with stern looks and tired eyes.

How does one protect the photographs? The first thing is to not write on the back of them with a pen. Regardless of how careful you are, the ink will seep through and destroy the picture. If you need to identify them, put a label on the back of the picture and write on the label.

Scrapbooks are a wonderful way to preserve your history. Be sure you use the acid-free papers and protective covers. You can either print or copy your photos to actual photo paper or simply print them on regular paper. You can use the copies in your scrapbooks and put the real pictures in an album. Simply choose an album that is acid free and will protect your photos.

Scrapbooks also make great family gifts. I’ve created family tree scrapbooks for one family reunion. They’ve been well received. I build a 3D tree of brown paper down the center of a two-page spread. This tree includes limbs and leaves. On the leaves are the names of ancestors or pictures of said ancestors. I begin with my third great-grandfather. As each two pages are designed, there are more names and more photos. The last two pages, my generation, there are no pictures, just names to cover everybody for five generations. The pages are colorful and informative.

The other thing I’ve done is to simply make a CD of photos and share them with cousins. The CDs were also well received. People, even those who might not want to research, are interested in their past.

Genealogy is such a fulfilling hobby. It leads to a variety of other hobbies, or as a friend labeled the book she gave to family this past Christmas, it leads to roots and off-shoots.

There are just so many ways to display your research, to share with family and to enjoy your knowledge, that I’m sure you’ll find one that is attractive to you. Enjoy sharing your family of old with your family today.

Next step is for the 150-member House and the 31-member Senate to accept or reject the work of the negotiators in votes expected to take place May 20 or 21. Pressure is on to get the budget bill to Gov. Rick Perry as soon as possible, while lawmakers carrying hundreds of other bills hope to squeeze as many as possible through the process in the last few days of the session.

Members of both parties in both houses worked furiously to replace as much as possible of the $5.4 billion cut from public education in the 2011 legislative session as part of an across-the-board budget-reducing plan.

The comprise before the Legislature now would increase education funding by about $4 billion and take $2 billion out of the state’s Rainy Day Fund for water infrastructure improvements. Another $400 million from the Rainy Day Fund would be added to transportation funding already in the base budget bill.

Complicating the picture is the fact that a two-thirds majority vote in both chambers is required to spend Rainy Day Funds.

DISCLOSURE BILL IS PASSED

On votes of 23-6 in the Senate and 95-52 in the House, the Legislature passed SB 346, legislation that would require politically active non-profit organizations to disclose their donors to the public.

Under the bill authored by Sen. Kel Seliger, R-Amarillo, and sponsored in the House by Rep. Charlie Geren, R-Fort Worth, groups that spend more than $25,000 a year on political activities would have to report contributions of more than $1,000.

In passing the bill, Geren said donors have every right to give to political groups, but they should be willing to do so in the light of day, just like those who give directly to candidates.

HB 346 was forwarded to Gov. Perry’s desk May 14.

TEXAS FILES SUIT OVER SPILL

Attorney General Greg Abbott, acting on behalf of the State of Texas and several state agencies, on May 17 filed a lawsuit against BP America and a list of other defendants for their roles in the April 2010 Deepwater Horizon offshore oil spill.

Filed in the Beaumont-based U.S. District Court – Eastern District of Texas, the lawsuit seeks natural resource damages, economic damages and civil penalties caused by the five-million-barrel spill.

According to the Office of the Texas Attorney General, Texas is seeking civil penalties for every day of oil discharge and for every barrel of oil that was discharged; lost sales tax, state hotel occupancy tax and mixed beverage tax revenue; revenue lost from state park entrance, facility, activity and concession fees; and damages to natural resources, including wildlife and coastal ecosystems and habitats caused by the released oil and chemical dispersants.

The State also seeks attorneys’ fees, court costs and investigative costs.

TORNADOES HIT NORTH TEXAS

Six people have been confirmed dead as a result of an EF4-rated tornado that hit the city of Granbury on May 15. More than 100 homes were damaged.

Gov. Perry visited the city on May 17 to express concern and condolences, and in his remarks, said, “As a state, Texas sent personnel to assist with search and rescue operations and we stand ready to provide any other assistance Granbury and the surrounding areas may need.”

EMPLOYMENT RATE IMPROVES

Texas Workforce Commission on May 17 reported the Lone Star State’s seasonally adjusted nonfarm employment expanded by 33,100 jobs in April and the seasonally adjusted unemployment rate was unchanged at 6.4 percent for the month.

TWC Chairman Andres Alcantar said all major industries in the state added jobs over the last 12 months and the civilian labor force is at an all-time high with more than 12.7 million workers.

SENATOR REACHES MILESTONE

Sen. Judith Zaffirini, D-Laredo, on May 17 celebrated her 50,000th consecutive vote since the 1987 session of the Texas Legislature, when she was first elected to the Senate. She has never missed a vote.

Senate President Pro Tempore Leticia Van de Putte, D-San Antonio, said lawmakers’ voting records were checked nationally and, “We found that this record is unique and unmatched.”

Ed Sterling is member services director for the Texas Press Association, headquartered in Austin.

This time it will be my dominant hand, so I am thinking a little more about what it will be like with one hand out of commission. It was hard enough for a few days last time, and that was my “the only thing I can do well with my left hand is scratch my right hand” hand.

This time, it is my “teeth-brushing, pants-zipping, note-writing, text-messaging and other things I don’t want to mention in the newspaper” hand.

You may have heard (or spoken) these words at some time: “That’s so easy I could do it with one hand tied behind my back.”

As I ponder the next few days, I’m thinking the list of things that I could, or would want to, do with one hand tied behind my back is a really short list.

Two things occur to me as I ponder this dilemma. One is the idea of limitations. My handicap will be temporary and may actually result in the removal of some limitations. But during the handicap, I am going to need the cooperation and patience of people around me to accomplish some basic tasks.

There are people who live with chronic and permanent limitations. They are keenly aware that some basic tasks cannot be taken for granted and cannot be accomplished apart from the cooperation and patience of others. I hope I never forget that. I hope God reminds me to be patient and cooperative and look for ways to lift others up rather than keeping them down.

The second thing that occurs to me is the idea of excuses. There are things I won’t be able to do for a few days. That should not keep me from doing the things I can. Having a hand out of commission does not hinder my prayer life one iota. Having a bandage on my hand does not in any way affect my ability to love and show compassion. The inability to text or write for a few days does not keep me from speaking words of affirmation and grace. Instead of focusing on what I can’t do, I need to focus on what I can do.

In one of my favorite New Testament stories, Jesus said of a particular woman, “She did what she could.” (Mark 14:8). She didn’t worry about what she couldn’t do. She didn’t compare herself to anyone else. She didn’t stop with good intentions. She did what she could. No excuses; just a simple act of devotion.

Our lives matter to God. Seriously. My life means no more or less than yours based on abilities. So let’s just do what we can to honor Him.

Even with one hand tied behind our backs.

Dr. Gerry Lewis is director of missions for the Harvest Baptist Association, which is headquartered in Decatur. He writes a blog at www.lifematterstoday.blogspot.com.

While you can protect your home against many potential tragedies, there is no safeguard for tornadoes. If you know one is coming, you can save yourself, but sometimes they strike without warning, much like Wednesday night.

Kristen Tribe

Earlier in the day severe thunderstorms were predicted, but no one expected the devastation that lay ahead. The National Weather Service is reporting that 16 tornadoes tore through North Texas Wednesday night, killing six people in Granbury and leaving a path of destruction in their wake. Seven people were still missing as of Friday afternoon.

At least two homeowners in northern Wise County suffered severe damage to their property, but the debris trail was long, stringing from the Wise/Montague county line to Alvord and Greenwood/Slidell.

I’m fortunate that I’ve never directly suffered the effects of a tornado, but realistically, that could change on any given day.

Obviously, there’s no way to safeguard against it, but in an effort to remain safe, like most people, I watch the weather. Our family also has a weather radio that we turn on when things threaten to get rough. And just yesterday, I loaded a tornado app on my phone.

The American Red Cross recently released it for iPhone and Android phones. I had intended to put this on my phone for some time, and after Wednesday night’s storms and an endorsement from a co-worker, it was a no-brainer.

Special Projects Manager Brian Knox used the free app Wednesday night in the midst of the chaos. He said an audible alarm that sounds like sirens goes off when a tornado warning is issued, which he felt was effective.

According to the Red Cross website, the sound was designed to wake users so they would never sleep through a tornado warning.

The app also gives you the location of Red Cross shelters open in your area should you need one, and it allows for creation of an “I’m Safe” notification that can be shared through social media, text and email with family and friends.

The Red Cross has also preloaded it with a variety of safety information that can be accessed without phone signal or an Internet connection, and it even has a “toolkit” with a strobe light and flashlight that might come in handy when a storm strikes.

Like most apps, it has a few kitschy elements, including safety quizzes for which you can earn virtual badges. But overall, it seems to provide useful information.

There are likely numerous other apps that provide similar information, but this is the one I’m going to try for now. For more information about the Red Cross app, go to www.redcross.org/mobile-apps/tornado-app.

It’s available for download on iTunes or Google Play. You can also call **REDCROSS (**73327677) from your mobile phone, and the Red Cross will send you a link to download the app.

Interestingly enough, they also have apps for wildfires, earthquakes and hurricanes, as well as a first aid app and a shelter finder app.

Unfortunately, they don’t emit any sort of force field or gigantic bubble to protect your home, but perhaps they will disseminate information to stifle that helpless feeling and better enable you to keep your family safe.

Obviously, that’s the top priority.

Kristen Tribe is news editor of the Wise County Messenger.

No, I didn’t go stand in line at the Apple store to buy one, and risk getting in their competitor’s commercial as the old guy who’s all excited about a phone that will go on the “interweb.”

(There are very few things I will stand in line for, and a phone is not one of them. Matter of fact, it’s hard to think of one that doesn’t involve food. Hmm…)

Bob Buckel

No, my “new” iPhone was a hand-me-down from my son-in-law, who got upgraded. He’s an IT guy (that’s information technology) and speaks fluent Apple.

The phone is really cool. I can already send and receive calls and texts – just like on my old phone – and I readily admit that having a full keyboard is a big upgrade over having to hit the 7 key four times just to make an S.

At the risk of complaining, the keys are so small I have to just barely touch them with the tips of my thumbs. Fortunately, I cut off the end of my left thumb when I was earning the woodcarving merit badge, and the sewn-back-on part forms a little knob that’s just perfect for iPhone typing. I’m thinking of doing the other thumb.

Also I’m very excited about the compass app, if I ever get lost in the woods.

I figured out how to go online the other day, but once I get there I’m not really sure what to do. I already read all the news on my office computer, and I can’t figure out how to download Scrabble.

Since the dawn of the cell-phone age, most of my phones have been hand-me-downs. Over the years, I’ve given all my “free” upgrades to the kids as they came of age and got phones of their own.

Their mom and I figured when they started driving, they needed phones. And between paying for the car, the insurance and the gas, one more payment for that phone is hardly noticed.

I know some parents give their kids phones much earlier, and I don’t condemn those people – I just think kids have some things they need to learn about the world directly before they start relating to it only through a computer screen, no matter how small or mobile. But when they’re out there driving around, they need to be able to call for help in case they blow a tire or see a bumper-sticker they don’t understand, like “Carter-Mondale.”

My first cellular device was hard-wired into my car, like a police radio or a CB. They stuck an antenna on the trunk and screwed a base to the hump between the front seats so I could pick up and hang up while driving.

I rarely got or made calls, but I did enjoy sitting there in traffic with the phone to my ear, pretending to be talking so people would think I was a big shot.

That all seems very primitive now, but back then it was high-tech, like Jerry Seinfeld grabbing his big, boxy cordless phone in his New York City apartment, yanking that antenna up and talking to his latest soon-to-be-ex-girlfriend.

I don’t remember outgrowing the screwed-to-the-hump phone, but at some point I traded that truck and got a flip-phone, which led to endless imitations of Captain Kirk (Scotty never beamed me up). Then there were a couple that slid open, and finally the one I just gave up. You didn’t have to do anything to open it, just push a button to answer or make a call.

But it wasn’t “smart.” No keyboard, no apps, no compass. It would take pictures, but not very good ones, and it certainly didn’t offer the smorgasbord of ringtones my iPhone makes available.

To copy all my contacts over, the lady in the AT&T store had to clip the SIM card – so that phone is not only merely dead, it’s really most sincerely dead.

Fortunately, my old cell phone provider is willing to continue billing me for it through June 9, so, the memory lives on.

Now if you’ll excuse me, I have to go shopping for that app that tells me when there’s no line at the donut shop…

Bob Buckel is executive editor of the Wise County Messenger.

And while the main state budget bill for fiscal years 2014-2015 stayed apparently motionless in a conference committee of five Senate members and five House members, a number of bills survived votes and passed through their respective originating chambers.

For example, the House on May 8 approved House Bill 500, legislation that permanently exempts businesses with gross revenues of $1 million or less from paying the margin or “franchise” tax. The current exemption is set to expire next year.

The Legislature enacted the tax in 2009 to offset a reduction in residential property taxes. Other bills filed this session attempt to do away with the tax entirely.

Primary author of HB 500 is Rep. Harvey Hilderbran, R-Kerrville, chair of the powerful House Committee on Ways and Means. Hilderbran, who said the legislation would spell $667 million in tax relief to Texas businesses, pointed out that HB 500 also:

n Extends the exemption to businesses grossing more than $1 million annually by creating a guaranteed $1 million deduction.

n Ensures that the cost of goods sold deduction “is offered to most businesses equally” by including those engaged in rental, auto repair, transportation, real estate and medicine.

HB 500 is awaiting deliberation by the Senate Finance Committee’s subcommittee on Fiscal Matters.

RETIREMENT BUY-IN MAY CHANGE

State employees and current teachers would contribute more of their paycheck for their retirement under SB 1458 passed by the Senate on May 8.

Authored by Senate State Affairs Chair Robert Duncan, R-Lubbock, the legislation, he said, is to reform the state Teachers Retirement System and make it actuarially sound. The bill, which gained unanimous support in the Senate, was approved by the House Pensions Committee May 10 and soon will be scheduled for debate on the House floor.

“We were upside down earlier because we were relying too much on investment returns. This puts us in a situation where we are actually having long-term fixed contribution rates that should support this system for a long time,” Duncan explained in a Senate News Service report.

Active teachers now pay a state-matched 6.4 percent of their gross pay into the Teachers Retirement System. Under SB 1458, the rate would go up in increments over the next four years to 7.7 percent in 2017 and the state contribution would increase to 6.8 percent.

And, Duncan said, all school districts, for the first time, would help foot the bill by contributing 1.5 percent of their annual salary scale into the teacher retirement fund. The bill, many sessions in the making, also addresses retirement age calculations, health care for retirees and cost of living benefit increases.

BILL REDUCES NUMBER OF TESTS

HB 5 by Rep. Jimmie Don Aycock, R-Killeen, chair of the House Education Committee and sponsored by Senate Education Committee Chair Dan Patrick, R-Houston, is now in a 10-member conference committee tasked with reaching agreement on amendments attached to the bill as the Senate passed it May 6.

Currently, a high school student must pass 15 end-of-course exams to graduate. HB 5 seeks to cut that number to five while also creating a degree program to give students more flexibility when choosing classes. The five end-of-course exams, if the bill passes, would be U.S. history, English I, English II, algebra I, and biology.

Two more exams, algebra II and English III, would be optional and wouldn’t be required to graduate nor would they affect school accountability ratings, Patrick said.

Ed Sterling is director of member services for the Texas Press Association, headquartered in Austin.

We encourage reader feedback, and our online presence offers numerous opportunities for that. We want to know what our readers think, and those comments on our website, on Facebook and in other forums often provide us with valuable information.

We encourage those who comment online to keep their comments civil, to avoid profanity, name-calling and personal attacks. We do delete comments when necessary and we can block those who are persistently offensive.

However, we remind everyone that the nature of online commentary is that it is a free and open forum. Anyone can offer an opinion or observation, and the Messenger is not responsible for the accuracy or civility of what readers post online. Our responsibility to our readers, friends and followers is to uphold the highest standards of accuracy and professionalism in what we post online, just as we do in our print editions. How readers respond to that is their responsibility.

Mother’s Day was yesterday, but I’ve mentioned women and moms for the past several weeks. I met a new friend last week, but I’m not sure how to tell the story. I had my first full Saturday at home in about six weeks and got to do some much-needed work around the house and yard. It was glorious for me, but not necessarily compelling reading.

Or maybe I could write about finishing up a great concert season with the Singing Men of North Central Texas last Thursday night in Cedar Hill, but I’m not sure how to make that interesting reading either.

Maybe I’ll write about all of the above. “You just did,” said the reader.

“Hang with me for a minute,” replied the author as the wheels began to turn.

Part of my Saturday at home project was to build a small brick patio. Actually, it is more of a “landing” – about 4 feet square, at the bottom of a ramp that comes down off our back porch. When we bought this house 22 years ago, we found tons of spare construction materials piled up on the back of the property. Mrs. Sweetie used over 1,000 bricks we found to build a patio.

When we had the new Sweetie Suite built last year we had to dig up the patio, but we saved the bricks. So, I had plenty to choose from to build my little landing on Saturday. A future planned brick project is a larger patio with a fire pit and a place for me to exercise my outdoor culinary skills.

My brick collection has a lot of variety in size, color and texture. So, part of the challenge was to put the individual bricks together in some sort of pattern to create the whole. Individually, they are bricks. Collectively, they are one “patio.”

As I consider the various stories and experiences of the past week, I realize that each one is a brick in the patio of my life. I may not immediately see all the connections and patterns, but God is building something in me that utilizes, perhaps even requires, all the various sizes, colors and textures.

Romans 8:28-29 says, “And we know that in all things God works for the good of those who love him, who have been called according to his purpose. For those God foreknew he also predestined to be conformed to the likeness of his Son, that he might be the firstborn among many brothers.”

That tells me that, because I love Him and have been called by Him for His purpose, God is working in all the circumstances of my life to make me more like Jesus. Each circumstance is a brick in the patio and each one matters to Him.

What is He building in you?

Dr. Gerry Lewis is director of missions for the Harvest Baptist Association, which is headquartered in Decatur. He writes a blog at www.lifematterstoday.blogspot.com.

Here are a few questions. Good discussion followed:

Prompted by the birth of a litter of coon dog pups, the following two questions were asked:

• “How many teats does a female dog have?”
• “Is that number always an even number?”
• “In what year did the Aurora, Texas, Unidentified Flying Object appear, hit a windmill, and crash?”
• “Where is the burial site of the inhabitants of the UFO?”
• While we were talking about burial sites, someone asked, “Where is Machine Gun Kelly buried?”
• “Did you know that people in Kentucky are drilling shallow oil wells with water well drilling equipment?”
• “Does Massachusetts have the death penalty?”
• “What country provides most of the world’s anhydrous ammonia?”
• “How much (what percentage) anhydrous ammonia does the United States produce?”

The answers to the questions above were all answered when someone searched for and found the answer on the Internet.

By the way, one of our guys is so cheap, he read that McDonald’s had free wi-fi, so he went to the counter and asked for two.

Find below a list of questions that nobody has asked at the coffee shop.

• Why do feet smell and noses run?
• How can “slim chance” and “fat chance” mean the same thing?
• What’s the difference between “quite a few” and “quite a lot”?
• How come Superman could stop bullets with his chest but always ducked when someone threw a gun at him?
• Whose idea was it for the word “lisp” to have an “s” in it?
• Isn’t it a bit unnerving that doctors and lawyers call what they do “practice”?
• If a turtle loses his shell, is it naked or homeless?
• If you drove your car at the speed of light, and you turned your headlights on, would they work?
• What happens if you get scared half to death twice?
• What do you call a defective Milk Dud?
• Why doesn’t Tarzan have a beard?
• If olive oil comes from olives where does baby oil come from?
• Why isn’t 11 pronounced onety-one?
• Why are pants, shorts and underwear sold as a pair when you only get one item?

Knowing the answers to these questions probably never saved anyone’s life, but somehow, as my father used to say, “You can’t never tell.”

Gerre Joiner is a semi-retired church musician and has lived in Decatur since 1999.

It’s time we washed our mouths out with soap.

There have been many conversations, Facebook posts, blog comments and articles discussing this curriculum. Some of those conversations have been heated and emotional, while others have been calm and factual. We need to gather all that emotion, information and vision and guide it into a common goal.

There are many misconceptions out there as to the intent and implementation of CSCOPE. The intent is to vertically and horizontally align the state standards and provide a scope and sequence for teaching those standards. Any school district has to be aligned, so that all teachers within a grade level teach the same standards for the same length of time and to the same depth. This sets the same level of expectation for every teacher, in every classroom, and ensures an equal education for all students.

Decatur’s size does not afford us the luxury of employing a curriculum staff to design all this for us. This is what CSCOPE provides. In addition, it gives sample lessons and assessments – both optional for teachers to use in the classroom. Six-weeks assessments are written from this resource because of the rigor of the questions provided. Teachers write those assessments and have the option to use other resources or write their own questions.

Teachers also have the flexibility to bend the sequence of instruction or use alternate resources for their lessons. While the lessons in CSCOPE are written in a scripted format, they are not intended to be read as such. It is a very detailed, living document – one that is updated constantly – and it is designed to be used as a resource for teachers to begin the lesson planning process. It is a web-based program that does not have hardback resources. It’s designed that way to make it more affordable to school districts.

And CSCOPE is not our only resource. In my fifth grade classroom, I also use Stemscopes, Simple Science, Sciencesaurus and other materials bought with classroom budget money to supplement my lessons. And when I can’t find exactly what I want or need, I Google. I Tweet. I Edmodo.

To say that all teachers open CSCOPE, read from the script, distribute handouts, and throw up their hands is not only inaccurate, it’s insulting.

I understand that the investigations into CSCOPE’s funding and copyright protection give the curriculum a shady reputation, but CSCOPE was born out of a state funding shortage. Because it is web-based, distributing its contents freely would open the product to plagiarism and copyright violations.

The legislature has cut funding for textbooks, programs and teachers, while approving rigorous statewide testing and the TEKS that drive every curriculum, textbook and classroom in Texas. No one will dispute there is a problem with education in Texas. But that problem is the result of politicians making decisions – not an educator-written curriculum following the guidelines they have set.

No, it’s not perfect. There are flaws, misspellings and less-than-amazing lessons. Like many educational resources, it is not user-friendly. It’s the job of the educational professional to filter through any resource to find the best fit for students.

These are the facts. We are not passing the buck. These are the real dollars that drive the everyday work of our educational system – the parameters within which we work to educate children.

The TEKS are written beyond concept mastery, and CSCOPE is a tool written to address these rigorous state standards – standards that require students to infer, critique, interpret and analyze concepts. In order to prepare students for state testing at this level, we as teachers need to push them to perform at this level daily.

Does that leave out handwriting, timed math drills, and pleasure reading? It could. Are those important skills to learn? Definitely. Does learning only happen between the hours of 7:30 a.m. and 3:30 p.m? Absolutely not.

Times have changed. Standards have changed. School does not function the way it did 20 years ago, nor should it.

Amidst all this negative conversation, our school district has written a vision to prepare our students for the 21st Century. It has invested time and money in training and resources to increase the quality and rigor of daily lessons – to teach our students critical thinking and problem-solving skills to be “Ready for any Future.” Our teachers are becoming leaders in the digital educational community, and other school districts are requesting site visits to our schools to see how to implement technology, project-based-learning and flipped instruction.

These are good things to post on Facebook, to blog and to discuss.

The brand of student we are educating in the Google age is different, and therefore education is going to look and feel different. It’s hard – hard for teachers to create these authentic lessons and hard for students to think, critique and problem-solve through these lessons. It’s hard because it’s not rote, it’s not familiar, and it doesn’t reference a textbook.

We need to embrace these growing pains and support our administrators, teachers, and students in their endeavor to embrace the unknown variables in their future.

Decatur ISD recently celebrated its 100th birthday. During that time DISD has indeed educated many citizens – citizens who have found success within and outside this community, and citizens who love this community. Unfortunately, it is that love that is dividing us.

We know that love drives the craving for excellence. But children hear everything. By stating that your children aren’t receiving a good education, you are ensuring they won’t be receptive to a good education. This negativity is seeping into their minds, teacher classrooms and the town’s morale.

If not CSCOPE, then what? Any worthwhile curriculum would address the same state standards and provide the necessary rigor to prepare students for STAAR. What is the solution? Action.

Instead of discussing problems, find solutions. Parents, invest time in your schools, your teachers and your students. Follow the legislature and be informed on all levels. Positively communicate with your teachers and administrators, and work together to solve any problem. Read to your child. Practice math facts with your child. Establish learning as a lifelong skill in your home.

Administrators, hold teachers accountable, and respect their professionalism. Provide daily resources and support, and listen to reports from the front lines.

Teachers, hold yourselves accountable. Dive into your TEKS, search for lessons that provide authentic learning, and stop the blame game.

Students, aspire to your own potential. Practice skills and concepts when assigned, and take ownership of your learning.

This is a multi-faceted problem that will take a multi-faceted solution – one in which each member of the team is invested and dedicated to one final goal: the success of every single one of our students.

This piece was written by Danielle Scroggins and endorsed by fellow teachers from every grade level at Decatur’s Carson Elementary: Karen Crooks, Denise Joseph, Samantha Remington, Kristi Smyers, Stacy Williams, Brooklynn Stapleton, Carrie Greever, Jessica York, Curren Wicker, Jennifer Terrell, Stephanie Warden and Crystal Klose, as well as Erin Grifftth and Lou Hitt.

It was my son’s first trip.

Zachary’s been around baseball since the day he was born. We decorated his room with a couple of baseball prints and a baseball quilt hanging on the wall. He’s got fuzzy baseball toys, and at age 2, he can recognize when I’m wearing a baseball shirt or watching the game on TV.

“Baseball!” he’ll say excitedly.

With beautiful weather Saturday, we decided it was time to take Zachary to his first game. (Technically, he’d been to a game, but he was still about six months away from his own “opening day.” That, by the way, was his sister Audree’s first baseball game on the last day of the regular season in 2010.)

As we were entering the park to see the Rangers take on the Red Sox, it hit me that the first game I ever went to, 23 years ago, featured the same two teams.

I was (am) a big fan of Nolan Ryan. I saw him pitch in the first Rangers game I attended back on July 7, 1990.

When we walked through the gate at Rangers Ballpark Saturday, we were handed big fans with Nolan Ryan’s photo on it. Cosmic, right?

I can’t recall many details about my first game, other than thinking how awesome it was that I was seeing Nolan pitch in person. In fact, I remember the Rangers giveaway cap and the souvenir baseball I bought more than the outcome of the game. A trip to the Baseball Almanac website showed me that the Rangers beat the Red Sox in that game 7-3. Nolan won his eighth game of the year, going seven innings and striking out 12 batters.

Brian Knox

Having just turned 2 less than a month ago, I doubt Zachary will remember much, if anything, about his first game. So I thought I’d jot down some of memorable moments for him:

• Prior to the game, a highlight video was shown with the words “Baseball Town” featured prominently throughout. It’s a reference to former Rangers outfielder Josh Hamilton’s comments that Arlington wasn’t a “true baseball town” – meaning fans didn’t really support the ballclub. Saturday night’s game was a sellout, by the way, and the Rangers lead the league in attendance.
• Zachary spent much of his time looking at ladies sitting a few rows behind us. I could tell by the grin on his face that he was getting lots of attention and enjoying every minute of it. Finally, he turned around sometime in the bottom of the first inning, looked down at the field, then turned to me with his eyes wide open and said, as if he had just made a grand discovery, “Baseball game!”
• It took exactly one pitch to a Rangers batter for him to see his first home run. Actually, I think my daughter was more excited, because she had said just moments earlier that she wanted to see fireworks, and her mom told her that she’d see some if Ian Kinsler hit a home run. Check.
• As it is with any game against the Red Sox, there are plenty of Boston fans scattered throughout the ballpark. We had some sitting directly in front of us and behind us. They cheered for their team but never said anything negative about the Rangers. It didn’t bother me a bit. Besides, after the bombing at the Boston Marathon a few weeks ago, all of us baseball fans can certainly respect how the team that is the face of Boston has given the town plenty to cheer about with their red-hot start to the year.
• By about the third inning, it was time for some kettle corn. The kids made use of their new baseball caps as bowls for the popcorn. Zachary seemed to have the most fun picking up a piece and pushing it against my lips until I’d open up and take a bite, no matter how much I protested. Then he’d giggle like it was the funniest thing ever.
• The temperature was a very comfortable 73 degrees at first pitch, but as the sun went down, it quickly began to drop. By the later innings, the temperature had dropped to 61 degrees and a pretty steady breeze was blowing through the upper deck where we were seated. Luckily, a very nice lady sitting beside my daughter pulled out a Rangers blanket she had received as a giveaway at Tuesday’s game and let the kids snuggle under it.
• We left the game in the seventh inning stretch with the Rangers up 3-1. The kids were getting tired, the temperature was dropping and the sellout crowd would have made leaving the game after nine innings a bit of a traffic mess. As I got on the interstate to head home, I turned on the game on the radio in time to hear Craig Gentry, who has taken over Hamilton’s outfield spot, hit a two-run home run to give the Rangers a 5-1 lead. A half-inning later, Rangers closer Joe Nathan would work a 1-2-3 ninth to finish off the four-run victory, the same margin of victory as the Rangers had in my first game.

As I glanced in the back seat, the kids were fast asleep.

I hope they’ll have plenty of good memories from their trip to the ballpark. I know I will.

As you all know the local hospital has changed owners, due to the fact the previous owners filed bankruptcy. I will attempt to give you more information and explain what impact this has on the city.

Keith McComis

On March 1, 2005, the city entered into a Chapter 380 agreement with the hospital for an economic development incentive, agreeing to assist the hospital in locating, constructing and operating a non-profit medical facility in Bridgeport.

Over a year later, on Oct. 17, 2006, the city rescinded the previous 380 agreement and entered into a new agreement with the hospital. This agreement was to provide a secondary line of credit to assist the hospital if ever needed. This was required to make the hospital group sound financially and to assist in the sale of the bonds; the city was told by hospital administrators these funds would probably never be spent.

On Jan. 10, 2007, the city executed a limited guaranty with Compass Bank in the amount of $3 million as a line of credit on behalf of the hospital. However there were no checks and balances put in place in this agreement on how or when the money would be spent.

On March 3, 2009, the city was informed as guarantor to the revolving note between the hospital and Compass Bank that no funds had been withdrawn as of that date. Later that month, the city was notified by Compass Bank that the $3 million line of credit had been exhausted by the hospital.

For three months, the hospital made the interest payments on the loan. However in June 2009 they stopped making the payments and the city started making them. The interest payments were a little over $13,000 per month funded by the taxpayers of the City of Bridgeport; the city continued making the interest payments through December 2011.

On Sept. 9, 2011, Compass Bank filed suit to obtain Agreed Declaratory Judgment against the city. This judgment made the Chapter 380 agreement between the city and the hospital valid and binding, requiring the city to finance the line of credit as Revenue Bonds in December 2011.

On April 9, 2012, the city filed a lawsuit against the hospital to recoup the $3 million loan and other expenses, and obtained an agreed judgement in the amount of $3,481,506.95 plus interest. This was an acknowledgement that the hospital was responsible for the monies owed to the city, but would probably not be able to repay the debt.

The hospital was also delinquent in paying their utility bills to the city, so we worked out an agreement for them to become current on past due payments. They made weekly payments on this balance until Nov. 8, 2012, when the hospital filed for bankruptcy, leaving their balance on utilities at $154,919.12.

The note the city currently has with BBVA Compass Bank is $3,075,000 at 5.5 percent interest. This was the lowest rate we could obtain due to the financial crisis the city was still coming out of during 2011.

Our payments on the note occur twice a year: every June there is an interest payment only in the amount of $85,971.88, and in January there is a principal and interest payment of $84,562.50. This brings our total yearly payment to $170,534.38. This 20-year note matures on Dec. 28, 2031. Unfortunately, these payments now have to be a budgeted item annually for the city and its taxpayers.

Thankfully, the City of Bridgeport is currently in a sound financial position due to the hard work and cost-cutting measures taken by the current city council, mayor and staff.

Any future financial agreements between the city and other entities that would obligate the taxpayers of Bridgeport would be considered extremely cautiously and with adequate safeguards for those taxpayers.

Hindsight is always 20/20; we must now all work together to continue to make this city a great place to live, work and raise our children and grandchildren.

Keith McComis is the mayor of Bridgeport.

My parents and namesakes, Thomas Jefferson and Geralene, shortened it to Gerry and that’s what I’ve been called most often for these 50-plus years.

I’ve inherited a few other monikers along the way. In sixth grade, one of my friends started calling me “Dumbo” because I had not yet grown into my ears. My pastor and mentor, Roland Earl, called me “Goober.” Once I became a pastor, both Gerry and Lewis often got preceded by “Brother,” “Pastor” and “Reverend.”

That last one was my least favorite. I’ve always been more irreverent. When I completed my doctorate, I gained “Dr. Lewis,” “Dr. Gerry,” “Dr. Lew” and “Dr. G.” A couple of my associate pastors called me “Master Doctor” and “El Doctoro.” Once I started writing about Mrs. Sweetie, it wasn’t long until “Dr. Sweetie” came about.

Twenty-five years ago today (May 5), I got a new name that was a game-changer: “Daddy.” I think back to the time when I couldn’t wait to hear that baby girl say “Da-da” for the first time. What an amazing sound!

She has grown up to be a wife and high school teacher and my heart still melts when that name crosses her lips. She’s one of those important women in my life that I have been writing about for a few weeks. When she ends a phone call with, “I love you, Daddy,” I can’t feel anything but amazed and blessed.

There is a common thread that runs through this process of the acquisition of new names. Each one came about because of a change in circumstances or location or because of a significant event. Another common thing about those new names is that they were in addition to, rather than instead of, the previous ones (with the exception of “Dumbo” and “Goober” – those did eventually go away).

However, there was another significant event and change that resulted in some new names that were not simply additions; they were exchanges. The event was responding in faith to the grace of God offered through Jesus Christ. When I did that, everything changed.

“You were dead in your transgressions and sins (Ephesians 2:1). You were separate from Christ … without hope and without God in the world. But now in Christ Jesus you who once were far away have been brought near through the blood of Christ” (Ephesians 2:12-13).

“You were once darkness, but now you are light in the Lord” (Ephesians 5:8).

“Once you were alienated from God and were enemies in your minds … But now he has reconciled you by Christ’s physical body through death to present you holy in his sight, without blemish and free from accusation” (Colossians 1:21-22).

“You were like sheep going astray, but now you have returned to the Shepherd and Overseer of your souls.” (1 Peter 2:25).

New names, new focus, new destiny. Talk about a game-changer.

Dr. Gerry Lewis is director of missions for the Harvest Baptist Association, which is headquartered in Decatur. He writes a blog at www.lifematterstoday.blogspot.com.

But a Tupelo, Miss., man may have gone a little too far in an effort to silence his nemesis. Last Saturday, James Everette Dutschke was arrested for sending letters laced with the poison ricin to the White House, a U.S. senator and a county judge and trying to frame his “sworn enemy” – an Elvis impersonator named Paul Kevin Curtis.

Suspicious minds?

Both Dutschke and Curtis gave them plenty of fodder.

A search of Dutschke’s home garbage on April 22 revealed yellow paper similar to the ricin letters, address labels and a dust mask. Numerous printed documents found at his home bear the same “trashmarks” as the three ricin letters. He’s also known to have downloaded two publications about ricin and purchased castor bean seeds (the key ingredient) last winter.

Curtis, who for a reasonable fee will bring Elvis to your wedding reception, bar mitzvah or backyard barbecue, was doing the jailhouse rock until he was ordered released by a federal magistrate.

But for awhile, he was all shook up.

Now, with the arrest of Dutschke it looks like everything’s all right, Mama.

According to the Washington Post, Curtis is known for more than just a slick pompadour, soulful mimicry and pelvic gyrations.

In fact, he’s known to law enforcement types for his detailed Internet diatribes and a long-held conspiracy theory about underground trafficking in human body parts – the subject of his novel-in-progress, “Missing Pieces.”

He’s been arrested four times since 2000 on charges that include cyber-harrassment. So it’s understandable that investigators couldn’t help falling in love with the theory that Curtis did it. His initials matched those on the envelopes, and there’s even a rumor (which I made up myself) that blue suede shoeprints were found in the mud around a certain Mississippi mailbox.

And obviously, anyone who can memorize all those song lyrics could easily follow the recipe for ricin, whether he grew up in the ghetto or not.

Curtis may be weird, but compared to Dutschke he’s a teddy bear.

Dutschke, a 41-year-old martial arts instructor, had been arrested in January and charged with two counts of child molestation. He’s been previously convicted of indecent exposure, according to “numerous media accounts.”

And if that’s not sleazy enough, he even ran (unsuccessfully) for the Mississippi state legislature in 2007.

As investigators talked to Curtis, Dutschke emerged as a suspect. The two had exchanged terse emails, angry words – at one point they even had an appointment to fight it out, man-to-man, but neither showed up.

Poisoned letters and angry emails are probably more their style.

So one minute, Curtis was crying in the chapel, then suddenly, he was released, leaving those early theories charred and useless – like hunks o’ burnin’ love.

Investigators likely felt like they were nothing but hound dogs. But they should cheer up, and check out of that heartbreak hotel. They were just pursuing every lead. A fool such as I will not criticize them for doing their job.

Let’s don’t be cruel. Obviously, Dutschke was out to get Curtis. He does not love him tender, or any other way. But he is innocent until proven guilty, and he denies all charges.

“Where his anger and hate started from, I don’t know,” Curtis said of Dutschke. “That’s just the wonder of you, baby.”

OK, he really didn’t say that last part.

But I suspect he would.

Bob Buckel is executive editor of the Messenger.

We have no hidden agenda. We are not Tea Partiers or far right-wing Christian Conservative activists, and we are not selling anything. We have no ties to the education business or process. We have no personal grievances. We just know that our children are receiving a substandard education.

We are not alone, either. Concerned mothers and fathers, school superintendents from other districts, elected leaders and legislative bodies are all speaking out against CSCOPE. Opposition comes not only from those who dislike its pointed and often obscure political ideology. In Decatur, many parents see it as just a failed curriculum and assessment system.

We could point out the state and national attention CSCOPE has drawn for politically inciteful and potentially directed lessons. But most parents in Decatur need only to look at the reams of homework and the dreaded six-weeks unit assessments to see the gaps, mistakes, misspellings, poor sequencing and so on.

The most damning evidence that CSCOPE is failing our children is when we pick them up at the end of the day and see their beaten-down spirits. We do not want to open our children’s backpacks with them anymore. We do not want them to relive the failure of a system that is failing them. We hope we’re painting a picture that this is not politically motivated.

We have concerns that have not been addressed, and questions that receive only ambiguous answers. The fact is, CSCOPE has been under investigation by the State Board of Education since at least November. In the board’s November meeting Patricia Hardy, Region 11 representative, said when the state cut funds several years ago to Region Service Centers, they had to find a way to fund themselves – hence the creation of CSCOPE. Now our children are guinea pigs for a curriculum and assessment system that is still in development.

What if in the not-so-distant future, this experiment fails? Are our children expendible? Much is at stake.

Many parents in Decatur share similar concerns about CSCOPE. Our students range from Gifted and Talented to some with learning disabilities. Many of us have been publicly vocal in our concern about the poor academic quality of CSCOPE, and some of us have engaged in conversation with Decatur ISD Superintendent Rod Townsend and the board of trustees, and many parents have individually emailed administration.

Many of us have been criticized for having done so. As we write this, some of those parents are in the process of moving their children to other schools or home-schooling. We know of parents who are pulling what would be third- and fourth-generation Decatur graduates out of the district – not just because of the poor academics we associate with CSCOPE, but also the plummeting morale it has brought to students and teachers.

We encourage everyone to research CSCOPE on the Internet. They will find that powerful people in our state are just as concerned as we are. CSCOPE is now under investigation by Texas Attorney General Greg Abbott, and many districts, including Van and Prosper, are discontinuing CSCOPE because of both academic and content concerns.

There are investigations into the financial aspects of the curriculum. People question the relationships between TASA (Texas Association of School Administrators) and the Region Service Centers that are the administrators of this curriculum.

We have administrators in Decatur who serve on committees and represent Decatur at CSCOPE conferences, and our district pays membership dues to the Service Center. Recently the TESCCC, to which the Region Service Centers turned over management of CSCOPE, relinquished its 5013c nonprofit status, effectively prohibiting parents and taxpayers from seeing exactly what is being taught to our children and how.

Multiple bills have been filed in this legislature due to the failure and obscure nature of CSCOPE. Some of these legislators may be concerned with political ideology, but all are concerned about the poor academic quality of CSCOPE.

Together, all of these points should make any informed parent question whether CSCOPE is a political trough of pork and wonder who is feeding off of it while our kids are starving from academic deprivation.

Shaky foundation

The bulk of the concern about CSCOPE lies in the elementary grades. We have no idea how this lack of foundation will affect students as they move into the upper grades.

CSCOPE was adopted by the Decatur ISD board of trustees in 2009, so it has been in place for four years. Those of us who have children in the sixth grade and under are most familiar with the gaps and lack of building blocks that are so vitally important to achieve prior to moving on to conceptual and abstract learning.

CSCOPE’s scope and sequence, content and assessment system has severely hampered our children’s educational growth and in some cases, broken their academic spirit. There is a significant lack of focus on building blocks of learning. A student in any given elementary grade level can have 20 learning concepts thrown at him in six weeks due to the haphazard bundling that CSCOPE uses to scope and sequence the TEKS (Texas Essential Knowledge and Skills) – state-mandated grade-level mastery skills.

We love our children’s teachers, but CSCOPE ties their hands with its erratic timeline. The push to stay on sequence leaves students without a mastery of subjects and concepts so critical to move on to the next level. We fear that CSCOPE will render a generation of kids unable to critically think, read, compute. They will simply be left behind. Often, teachers have spoken off the record that they have no choice, and they empathize with us.

Again, we encourage parents to research CSCOPE. See if you can find the authors of the lessons, who edited the lessons, how long CSCOPE was researched and how was it proven to be so successful that it spread like wildfire into 70 percent of Texas school districts in such a short amount of time.

Professor Palko says CSCOPE is cost-effective for districts that cannot afford curriculum development staffs. But CSCOPE is not cost-effective if it is harming the educational growth and killing the academic spirit of our children.

We can’t speak for other school districts, but for at least 95 years, Decatur ISD did a great job of educating people who love this community. Multi-generational families live here with thriving businesses – such loyalty is a rare thing for any small community in this day and age.

In CSCOPE, we’re asking elementary-age students to use abstract reasoning when they are just beginning to understand and learn basic building blocks. They’re still learning to read – they’re not equipped to judge whether the information being presented by their teacher is accurate or biased. It’s like asking first-year medical students to perform brain surgery.

Blaming TEKS, the State Board, the Legislature, standardized testing, etc. is just passing the buck. We understand what the TEKS are, but we also know that basic math, language arts, science and social studies have not changed. When did all the history that happened more than five years ago become irrelevant? What is so 21st-century about skipping basic math skills? Why has good penmenship been thrown out with grammar?

The board of trustees and the superintendent, who have heard our concerns and failed to respond, are responsible. The buck stops right here in Decatur.

Professor Palko refers to the U.S. Constitution protecting our freedom of thought, speech and religion. If he were to look closer at CSCOPE lesson plans, he would see that as the TEKS mandate, all major world religions are taught in social studies. Anyone who watches the news can see that Islam is trending in Texas public schools. Perhaps this is because of the tension that exists between the United States and the Middle East, or perhaps because the authors of CSCOPE feel that American students are already familiar enough with Judeo-Christian theology, so their time is better spent on the unfamiliar.

Or maybe the anonymous CSCOPE writers are indeed trying to influence our children to the Islamic culture/religion. Parents will never know because we aren’t allowed to look into CSCOPE. If it was in a textbook, we could open it, see the authors, editors and publishers. This is not possible with CSCOPE.

We would expect Professor Palko is confident that his university is producing teachers who are capable of teaching based on the TEKS without the use of a one-size-fits-all curriculum like CSCOPE. We would expect that he is training administrators to lead and, if necessary, weed out teachers who cannot function without reading from a script.

Our students deserve better. Our teachers deserve better. No one is trampling on teachers’ rights or their freedom of thought, speech or religion. What is being trampled is the academic spirit of students with a zest for learning.

That’s the legacy of this terrible curriculum.

Angie Browning and Sharyn Helm are parents of children in Decatur ISD. They were invited to write this piece for the Messenger.

• July 24, 2012: Late on a Tuesday night a bomb threat was called into the Godfrey Pegues Library in Newark. Police and elected officials responded to scour the premises, but no bomb was located. “I don’t feel comfortable coming to work until we know who it was or why they mentioned the library,” said then-librarian Megan Suffling. During that time of the summer, the public library was holding reading programs for children, bringing dozens into the building every day.
• Nov. 2, 2012: A bomb threat found scrawled on the bathroom walls of Paradise High School on a Friday morning prompted an evacuation and forced students to sit for hours in a separate safe location as members of the Paradise Volunteer Fire Department and Wise County Sheriff’s Office conducted a thorough search of the facilities.
• Dec. 5, 2012: A note was found in a third-floor boys bathroom at Decatur High School on a Tuesday morning. The note, written on notebook paper, even indicated possible detonation times. The school was evacuated for four hours as members of the Decatur Fire Department and Decatur Police Department investigated the campus. This was the first of several bomb threats to strike at Decatur High over the next several weeks.
• Feb. 26, 2013: On Tuesday morning a bomb threat was found scrawled on the inside of a port-a-potty in an area under construction at Devon Energy’s sprawling natural gas processing plant in Bridgeport. The plant was evacuated, and the facility was searched for approximately seven hours as Wise County Sheriff’s Office, Bridgeport Police Department, Wise County medics, Denton Bomb Squad, Texas Department of Public Safety and Federal Bureau of Investigation all responded to the threat.

Brandon Evans

Over a seven-month stretch, bomb threats were made about once a month, most in public areas filled with children and in one case a large industrial facility processing an explosive gas on the edge of the second-largest city in the county.

It seems like they were made as a joke – a way for kids to get out of class or a disgruntled construction worker to get an extra day off. No thought was given to the seriousness of a bomb actually exploding in a public place or an industrial site going cataclysmic. You could tell most responders knew the threats probably weren’t real, but they still had to go through all the necessary motions and take each threat seriously.

Then last month, in the first full month of spring, we witnessed tragedy unfurl in two separate events that transfixed the attention of the nation and siphoned the sympathy of the world. The bombings at the Boston Marathon and the explosion at the fertilizer plant in West proved horror palpable when these threats transform to reality.

They proved that people never stop surprising you – either in their depravity or in their selflessness and sacrifice.

I hope they also proved that the threat of disaster at a public or industrial site is not a joke. Every time one of those bomb threats that turned into duds occurs in Wise County, it not only wastes the time and energy of our emergency responders, it can create a “boy who cried boom” syndrome.

I know every time we hear in the newsroom on the emergency scanner that a school is being evacuated for a bomb threat, it’s almost an automatic assumption it’s a fake. Thankfully our local firefighters and law enforcement still take them seriously and respond in kind.

These days, you never know when a lunatic might strike or a devastating accident might occur. They don’t need to waste time and energy responding to false calls.

When tragedy does strike, we will ultimately rely on our first responders, both for help in the crisis and in the pursuit of justice which will follow.

We hope those thinking about attempting such threats in the future take that into account, too, from now on.

Brandon Evans is a reporter for the Wise County Messenger.

Every other day the coffee shop guys rib me about spending so much time with the phone or the iPad. Every other day, they ask me to look something up.

It’s getting more common to see us old gray-headed geezers sitting at the coffee table, each man with a phone in his hand, swapping recommendations about apps, looking up the weather, sharing tips on how to “run the thing,” and showing pictures of grandchildren and puppies.

We used “The Internets” when:

• we researched how easily one can apply for and receive government benefits of one type or another. The Democrats were gone when we discussed this one.
• we wanted to see a video of how a fresno operated. This was a very popular, team-operated implement used to move dirt. We saw the video.
• we researched George Jones and discovered that he stopped loving her several days ago.
• we wondered if Denton was still among the fastest-growing cities in our country.
• we viewed a Honda natural gas pump, designed to operate an automobile on plain old natural gas. Who’d have thought!
• we researched the procedure(s) for turning a diesel engine into one that could operate on natural gas.
• someone tried to stump the bunch with this question: “What is a vara?” We looked it up.
• we mused, “How long is a chain?”
• we pondered how many miles were in a 3K race.
• we talked about the orphan trains of the Great Depression era. If you don’t know about this topic, you must look it up.

I can say without question that my world is bigger and better because of these toys. I know less about this technology than many of my friends, but it’s a joy to help one of my old friends learn how to send a text message or find out (by himself with his own phone) what the Orphan Train was.

Let me know if I can help. It’ll cost you a cup of coffee.

Veteran coffee drinker and storyteller Gerre Joiner is a semi-retired church musician who has lived in Decatur since 1999.

During the months of April and May, I celebrate birthdays of my mom, stepmom, mother-in-law, favorite daughter, Mrs. Sweetie (who just had one of those significant numbered birthdays), one sister-in-law and two nieces.

Throw in Mother’s Day and that’s a high concentration of estrogen that affects my life this time of year. This past weekend, we went to see our son in a production of “Legally Blonde, The Musical.” Talk about estrogen overload! But, I digress. After the sold-out performance, we gathered in the crowded lobby of the theater to greet the cast members. As we stood visiting, congratulating and repeating funny lines from the show, my son’s future mother-in-law lined the kids up for a photo. She couldn’t get the photo taken because her future son-in-law kept harassing her by looking away just before she pushed the button.

I think he was actually pushing her button, but I digress again.

I had a flashback watching this hilarious exchange. I fear he comes by it honestly. I messed with my mother-in-law’s photo taking for 25 years.

Mamaw was always armed with one of those little one-use disposable cameras. I couldn’t convince her to go digital. It was actually a bittersweet moment to watch this new generation of harassment on what would have been her 84th birthday. She went on to heaven four years ago, and I miss her. I can only hope that my son has as much fun with his mother-in-law as I had with mine and for at least as many years.

We all have the family into which we were born. Some of us have a family we got because of someone’s choice. But however we got them, we get to choose how we interact with them.

I’ve got some nut cases in my family. One of them lives in the house with Mrs. Sweetie. Family can drive you crazy sometimes, and that’s not necessarily a bad thing. What that means is that you care enough about each other that the way you interact affects your life.

I can pretty well forget the random person who does something goofy that affects a moment of my life because I am unlikely to interact with them again. Since I can’t forget family, I’ve got to choose how I interact with them.

Romans 12:18 says, “If it is possible, as far as it depends on you [emphasis mine], live at peace with everyone.” I am only in control of me. But I am in control of me. The reason I had such a great relationship with my mother-in-law is that I chose to ignore some things about her, and she chose to ignore some things about me.

I’m probably going to be writing about women for several weeks. Embrace the estrogen, guys.

Dr. Lewis is director of missions for the Harvest Baptist Association. His blog is at www.lifematterstoday.blogspot.com.

Committee Substitute House Bill 148, authored by Rep. Cindy Burkett, R-Mesquite, received a final vote of 93-48, but not before lengthy and contentious debate on the House floor a day earlier.

Opponents of the bill, who were rebuffed in multiple attempts to amend the bill, warned that its passage likely would result in a federal court challenge under Section 5 of the U.S. Voting Rights Act of 1965, a part of the law that affects states showing a pattern of discriminatory behavior in election-related practices.

An official state analysis of CSHB 148, in short, asserts: “In certain localities, individuals receive compensation for harvesting mail-in ballots or for going door to door collecting eligible ballots and posting them on behalf of voters. Such individuals are compensated on a per-ballot basis. There currently is no limit on the number of times a person may act as a courier for mail-in ballots in a given election, and concerned parties contend that some mail-in ballot harvesters provide unlawful assistance or unlawful witness to voters and may even electioneer in the presence of an active ballot.”

The bill would create a misdemeanor offense for a person convicted of compensating an individual for assisting 10 or more voters in prohibited ways, and for engaging in other specific and prohibited voting-related actions.

WEST CONTINUES REBOUND

Relief assistance of all kinds poured into the city of West last week.

West has been in a state of disaster emergency since April 17, when a massive explosion at a fertilizer plant tore through the town, killing 14 people and injuring as many as 200 others.

A memorial service for those lost and injured in the explosion was held April 25 at Baylor University in Waco. President Barack Obama spoke, honoring those who rushed to assist and giving solemn regard to “the wounded, the heartbroken, the families who lost their homes and possessions in an instant.”

Veteran capitol correspondent Ed Sterling is director of member services for the Texas Press Association, headquartered in Austin.