Predicting local election winners

If there’s one thing I do not like to write about, it’s politics.
I am not very politically oriented. Politics are very subjective and are equally emotional. Passions run deep, and so do the pockets whenever election season rolls around. That’s something that I just don’t like to mess with.
I have my values and beliefs and they generally run on the conservative side. But I’m not in lock-step with the Republican Party. Every once and a while the Democrats do something I can support.
That being said, I thought I would make my predictions on the outcome of the local races. Please note that this is not – I repeat, NOT – an endorsement. It’s just me looking into my imaginary crystal ball and trying to guess who the winners will be.
I think it’s a safe bet to predict that Elton Mathis will win District Attorney, Pat Spadachene will win District Clerk, Debbie Hollan will win County Clerk, Susan Winfree will win County Treasurer, Frank Pokluda will win County Commissioner Precinct 2, Delores Hargrave will win Justice of the Peace Precinct 2, and Ted Krenek will win Justice of the Peace Precinct 4, as they are all unopposed.
Another easy call is Stan Kitzman (Republican) over Wesley “Sandy” Buller (independent) for County Commissioner Precinct 4. Kitzman handily won the primary and was out of the country serving in Iraq when he did it. If he’s that well liked I think it means things will go in his favor.
The other easy call is Glenn Beckendorff over Dorothy Bottos for County Judge. Both have waged a hard campaign, but Beckendorff comes with the name recognition and the experience of already being a commissioner on the court. He’s also a Republican in a conservative county.
In the race for Judge, County Court at Law, I think June Jackson will stay on the bench. I don’t see much effort coming from her Democrat challenger Erica Hughes. Incumbency and being a Republican weigh in Jackson’s favor.
The contests for Justice of the Peace in precincts 1 and 3 are a little harder to call. In Precinct 1, Republican Joseph “Joey” Williams has been in a relentless campaign to unseat Democrat Charles J. Karisch. It will be interesting to see if Williams’ efforts are enough to overcome incumbency. I think he’s got a legitimate shot at it, but feel Karisch will carry the day.
Perhaps the most interesting race this election pits Democrat Marian Elaine Jackson against Republican Milton Whiting for the JP Precinct 3 seat. This is the race to replace DeWayne Charleston, who lost the position when he pled guilty to a federal programs fraud offense last August.
Jackson is the wife of Prairie View Mayor Frank Jackson. It will be interesting to see if voters want to place so much power into the hands of a single family like that. On the other hand, Whiting is a Republican in what is largely a Democratic precinct, but he comes with the name recognition of having been a county commissioner.
This is perhaps the toughest contest to call. I do think Whiting will pull it out but would not be surprised if it went the other way.
Looking on at extra-county races of interest, I foresee Republican Jeff Steinhauser defeating Democrat Alan Folger for 155th Judicial District Judge. Either man is well qualified but Steinhouser will benefit from straight-ticket ballots and a stronger campaign.
I also feel very confident that state Sen. Glenn Hegar, a Republican, will defeat Democrat challenger Patricia “Pat” Olney. Likewise, Republican state Rep. John Zerwas should have an easy time against Democrat Wayne Raasch.
In the race for Congress, U.S. Rep. Michael McCaul, Republican, should have no problems against Democrat Ted Ankrum and Libertarian Jeremiah “JP” Perkins.
Finally, for the whole enchilada, I believe incumbent Republican Gov. Rick Perry will stay in office, defeating Democrat Bill White, Libertarian Kathie Glass and Green Party candidate Deb Shafto.
So there you have it. Again, I remind you that this is not an endorsement but just a simple prediction. Now it’s your turn to decide. Be sure to get out and vote!

You have the right to remain stoopid

You have the right to remain stupid.
Anything you say can and will be posted online.
You have the right to comment, but only if you do it anonymously.
If you do not have a computer on which to post your comments, your friends are sure to get online and do it for you.
I figure that I’ve been hitting some pretty heady topics lately, so it’s time to have some fun. That brings me to another cute kid story starring my youngest child, Colton. A couple weeks ago he was on the phone wishing his great-grandmother a happy 93rd birthday. He told her, “I’m going to live to be a hundred, but that will take a couple hundred years.”
Several years ago, my oldest son, Wesley, was playing with a new toy. I don’t remember what it was, but I do recall that it was kind of expensive and he was banging it around pretty hard. I told him, “Stop that or you’re going to break it! What do you think it is, a toy?!”
The blank, incredulous look he gave me was priceless.
I also liked the look on his face a few weeks ago when he was talking about school and realized what he said when he told us that “I don’t have a conscious brain.”
Those things reminded me of the time back in my early 30s when I moved back into my parents house. At some point my mother started nagging me and we got into an argument. In all honestly I have to admit that I blurted out, “Who do you think you are, my mother?!”
Back when I was in elementary school, our family was taking a road trip to visit grandparents. To help pass the time, we were playing hangman. I won a round because no one could guess that my word was “stoopid.”
Another time in elementary school, a couple classmates got into a bit of a squabble. I was sitting too far away to hear what it was about. Suddenly one of them held up a book, pointed with his finger and said in a loud voice, “See! I told you ‘gullible’ was in the dictionary!” If that wasn’t bad enough, I took out my dictionary and verified it.
Then there was the time in high school when I was running for class secretary. Only on my campaign signs I said that I was running for seceratary. I didn’t win.
As long as I’m confessing my bloopers, I have to tell you about the time in college when I was a photographer for the student newspaper. We were doing a story on a blind girl. In all seriousness, I asked her to “look this way.”
Moving on, apparently there is a new television show starring William Shatner called $#*! My Dad Says (or Bleep My Dad Says). I’ve never watched it and I’m too offended by the title to give a rip about it. But it seems to me they could have used another four-letter word that begins with S and ends in T and means the same thing as the word they’re bleeping out.
Hollywood is becoming a little too aggressive with use of vulgarities in the titles of movies and TV shows. There is a certain superhero spoof I would have liked to have seen, but the name is offensive, so I won’t waste my time seeing it.
There are times when I am proud to see newspapers buck free speech in favor of morality and decency. The paper I worked for in Colorado refused to run an ad that promoted the band “The 4 Nicators.” The compromise was to drop the 4 in the ad.
I’ve also been told that the Amarillo Globe-News ran ads for a movie that starred Roger Moore as James Bond in “Octopus”.
Normally newspapers are stalwart defenders of free speech. And they should be. But I have to respect those who will put decency and integrity ahead of that right. To me it’s not censorship if the thing being censored is vulgar or otherwise inappropriate for a normal, healthy community standard. There are limits to free speech and those limits are under constant testing by mainstream media.
But getting back to that bleep word; have you figured it out? The word is “scat.” There, now don’t you feel stoopid?

SHAC Jam highlights Scouting adventure

My Scouting career began in the fall of 1974 when my friend Kevin McConnell encouraged me to join Cub Scout Pack 161 at Niwot (Colo.) Elementary School.
That invitation changed my life. It set me on a course that took me through Webelos and the Arrow of Light award (highest youth award in Cub Scouts) and on to Boy Scouts where, in 1981, I was awarded the rank of Eagle Scout.
In those few years I had many great adventures which included many campouts, wood cuts, skiing, canoeing, cooking, hiking, climbing, pinewood derby races and much more. Scouting was a family affair, with my mother serving as a den leader for me and my two younger brothers and later, my dad serving as Scoutmaster for Troop 161.
But my real adventure was just beginning. I spent four of the best summers of my pre-adult life on staff at the Ben Delatour Scout Ranch in the northern Colorado Rockies.
That was my coming-of-age season of life and it was unlike anything most people can imagine. It’s hard to put into words what it’s like to live in a teepee, wear buckskin clothes and teach wilderness survival and Indian lore for two months of the year in one of the most scenic places on the globe.
When I finished college and got married, I thought my Scouting career was over. It wasn’t. I volunteered at the district level for a couple years when I lived in North Carolina. That came to an end when my daughter was born.
A few years later, that marriage ended and I returned to Colorado where I met and married Sandy. I adopted her son, Wesley, and when he turned 6 I wanted him to get involved in Scouts. The church we belonged to didn’t sponsor a Scout unit, so a fellow Eagle Scout and I started Cub Scout Pack 158. I served as the Cubmaster for the first five years and Sandy served as a den leader much of that time.
When we moved to Amarillo in December of 2005, Wesley moved on into Boy Scouts with Troop 94. We later moved to Troop 1776 with his former Scoutmaster. In the meantime, my middle son, Luke, became old enough to join and we entered Pack 301. Once again Sandy took on the den leader role.
When we moved down here at the end of 2008, Wesley joined Troop 1000 in Richmond and Luke joined Pack 1000. Once again Sandy became a den leader. This year, our youngest, Colton, has joined. Sandy is now the Cubmaster and I am going to be a Webelos den leader.
What brings this all to mind is this past weekend at the Sam Houston Area Council Jamboree, or SHAC Jam as it’s commonly called. I have been to many Scouting events (with the exception of the two biggies – the national jamboree and Philmont Scout Ranch) and I have never seen anything quite like this. It was Scouting heaven! There was so much going on you couldn’t do half of it in a day.
Wesley camped out there with his troop and Sandy and I took Luke and Colton as part of the pack. The Boy Scouts were there from Friday through Sunday. The Cub Scouts had a day trip. We camped Friday night nearby at Bovay Scout Ranch with about 2,000 of our closest friends.
There was a lot of energy and enthusiasm that weekend at Texas World Speedway. It was Scouting at its finest. My compliments to the huge staff of volunteers who worked diligently to make the experience delightful, fun and well organized. Even though there were 26,000 people there, it really didn’t feel too crowded. There was plenty of room and so much to see and experience.
Each of us came home thoroughly exhausted but enthusiastic and reinvigorated about Scouting. All three of my boys want to reach Eagle and Wesley is currently working on it.
As for my friend Kevin, who got me started, he is a Scout leader for his son Tristan with a troop in Austin. Kevin and I advanced through Scouts together, each earning rank at the same time and ultimately holding our Eagle Courts of Honor together.
Thank you, Kevin, for setting me on an adventure of a lifetime.
If you know a boy who would like to experience Scouting, you can find more information and unit locations at www.shac.org.

Keep employees happy during down economy

Here is a hint for all of you business owners and managers of employees: Treat your people right.
In a down economy like we’ve been experiencing, not too many people are getting raises. Most are fighting just to keep a job. But what will happen when the economy improves and jobs become plentiful again? Will your employees be loyal to the brand?
There are some things employers can do to keep their employees happy when times are hard. This is how not to do that.
The daily newspapers I used to work for have been hit especially hard by the recession. I think salaries have been frozen for most, if not all, of the last few years since I left them. There have also been hiring freezes. As people have left they have not been replaced. The staff of one of them has been through unpaid furloughs, loss of overtime, decreased benefits, a layoff, reduced hours for some, significant pay cuts for salaried staff, and so on.
At the same time, people have been picking up extra duties and responsibilities. They’ve been doing more for less for a long time. They’re expected to work like dogs for table scraps. I’ve kept up with many of my friends from those papers and not a one of them is happy with their job situation.
Unfortunately, the job market is so tight that they keep working for fear of being unemployed and unable to get a new job. Fear can be a good motivator, but it’s also rotten for employee retention and morale. Whenever the economy turns around, there will undoubtedly be a mass exodus from those newspapers.
When the companies finally see revenues increasing, they will try to rebound while at the same time suffering a brain drain and the loss of a great deal of institutional knowledge and experience. I highly doubt they are the only companies that will experience that when the time comes. “You get to keep you job” can only provide so much motivation.
I understand that many companies cannot afford to give raises. I think employees understand that. But there are other ways of motivating employees and letting them know you value their service, even when you can’t increase their pay. People like to get things. Whether it be a compliment or a new car, just showing you care about them can go a long way.
Implement an employee of the month program if you don’t already have one. (And then brag about them with an ad in the newspaper!) Honor your top performers with a gift or a gift certificate. You can buy them fairly inexpensively or barter goods and services for other goods and services. For example, if you make pizzas, trade with a movie theater for tickets.
You can also treat the top performers with tickets to sporting events, movies, theater, etc. A $50 gift says a lot and is far less expensive than a 4 percent raise. Maybe you can reward your staff with coffee and donuts, lunch, a round of golf, a magazine (or newspaper) subscription or a promotional product of some sort. Gym memberships and spa treatments are also well received.
Another small suggestion is to do your best to keep a positive attitude and work atmosphere. People get tired of gloom-and-doom. They want to know that what they are doing is important and that their future is bright.
Several of my former colleagues routinely complain about how bad they have it. They grumble about furloughs, pay cuts, increased work loads and so on. Whether management appreciates them or not, they sure don’t feel it. I guess it all boils down to the golden rule of treating others as you would like to be treated.
If you’re going to take away the carrot and start cracking a whip, don’t be surprised when your team comes unhitched and you’re left going nowhere.

Lone Ranger rides on
In my last column I wrote about my desire to sell the Lone Ranger Fan Club and to make more time with my family. I am happy to report that a solution is being worked out that will take most of the load off my shoulders but keep me involved. I can’t tell you what that is just yet, but I think what is being worked out will benefit everyone in the long run.
Stay tuned for more details in the coming weeks.