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Landscape Task Force
The Landscape Task Force wants to hack the clear-cutting that flattened trees in two Northeast Longview properties.
On Tuesday, task force members asked Longview Senior Planner Michael Shirley to draw up an ordinance clause to require developers and builders to save 50 percent of trees that are 5 inches or larger in diameter. Members also want property owners with no specific building plans to pay hefty clear-cut permit fees, and require loggers to obtain permits for trees harvested commercially from lots that are not agriculturally zoned.
What do you think about the request?
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Police memorial
Relatives of Gregg County and Longview peace officers were recognized Tuesday at the 2008 peace officer memorial service at Heritage Plaza in Longview.
Local officers were remembered for their service. Has there been a peace officer who has affected your life?
Tell us here.
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Summer camps
Summer is around the corner, and the directors of East Texas youth camps say it’s not too late to enroll a young camper.
“There are still a lot of parents at the last minute saying, ‘Oh God, my kid is out of school in three weeks and I don’t have a place for them to go,’ ” said Ann Letteer, the executive director of The Pines Catholic Camp in Big Sandy.
But how can a parent be sure a summer camp is safe?
Parents, do your children go to summer camps? How do you choose which one is right?
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Day care
The search for day care can be overwhelming. There are about 100 child care providers in Longview, charging up to $175 a week for infant care, and waiting lists can drag for months.
Experts say to start looking as early as possible, and they say to start with research.
With summer on the way, what do you have planned for your children?
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High school graduation
This year’s high school graduations are just around the corner. What are your plans after graduation? Moms and dads, what are your sons and daughters doing after the big day?
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Forever Friends
Partners in Prevention’s Forever Friends seeks to place girls in fifth through eighth grades with mentors. The program was started to address high rates of teen pregnancy in East Texas.
Their annual banquet was Tuesday evening.
Have you or someone you know been helped by Forever Friends or a similar mentoring program? Tell us here.
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Editorial: Debt legacy
Just as tax rebates begin arriving in people’s bank accounts and mailboxes, the talk in Washington is turning to the idea of a gas-tax vacation to help Americans bear the burden of the skyrocketing price of gasoline.
What is perhaps most disconcerting about the gas-tax “vacation” is that many economists and energy analysts say such a move could actually exacerbate our problems with fuel prices rather than provide noticeable relief from the rising cost of gasoline and diesel fuel.
There will come a day when the young people of our nation — the toddlers and children of today — are going to be asked to start paying off the balloon note their parents and grandparents have been inflating for eight years.
When that happens, some serious questions are going to be asked. Let’s just hope that leaders with names such as Bush, McClain and/or Clinton are still around to try to answer them.
What do you think about our view?
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Old cars
Many people are worried about rising gas prices, but that doesn’t stop old car enthusiasts from dropping cash on restoring the machines.
Longview resident Nelson Bates says, “Restoring one of these old cars is like resurrecting the dead.”
Do you have a relic you’re turning into a racer? What do you think of restoring classic cars?
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State resumes ultimate penalty
The topic of the death penalty has always been under heavy debate. We’d like to know some of your thoughts on this. Is “eye for an eye” really the best solution?
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Schools score tasty profits
It’s easy to criticize school vending machines for supplying sugary snacks and drinks to students, but some schools have been using the money earned from them to buy student incentives. What are your thoughts on schools using this method?
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County drug court
Judge Robin Sage is spending today in Austin watching a demonstration of a family drug court in action.
Family drug courts provide intensive supervision and judicial intervention for parents who have had their children removed from their custody because of the parental substance abuse.
Sage, the judge over the 307th Family District Court, is looking into the possibility of establishing such a court in Gregg County.
Do you think the county would benefit from a drug court?
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DPS trooper shot
A Department of Public Safety trooper pursuing a vehicle was shot and killed Tuesday night in Marion County. Trooper Scott Burns, 39, of Linden was shot just before 8 p.m. near the intersection of FM 1969 and FM 729 just northeast of Lake O’ the Pines and west of Kellyville, DPS public information officer Sylvia Jennings said.
Did you know trooper Burns? Offer your condolences for his friends, co-workers and family here.
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Lake O’ the Pines
HUGHES SPRINGS — Water regulatory agencies plan to take action to reduce the amount of phosphorus in Lake O’ the Pines by more than half.
At a meeting at the Northeast Texas Municipal Water District office Tuesday night, Arthur Talley, engineer with the Texas Commission on Environmental Quality, said water samples taken from the lake in previous years indicated a varying level of oxygen in the water. An analysis of lake water showed extremely high levels of phosphorus.
Are you concerned about the health of Lake O’ the Pines?
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Ore City
On the eve of a school bond election, Upshur County residents received appraisal values in the mail. Ore City school officials say the new rates contributed to the district’s $8.5 million bond passing by an 11 vote margin.
Appraiser Sarah Pruitt said estimated appraisal values for residents in the Ore City Independent School District increased 5.3 percent from 2007 rates. Gilmer ISD had an 8 percent increase, and Upshur County’s overall increase from 2007 to 2008 was 11 percent.
What do you think?
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Easton police
EASTON — It’s official and legal — the Easton Police Department is history.
More than a month after the Easton City Council reportedly violated state law with its closed session vote to disband the police department, they approved the item in a public session Tuesday night.
What do you think about the situation in Easton?
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More on gas prices
A properly secured gas cap can save drivers 2 miles per gallon.
Damaged caps, on the other hand, cost American drivers about 147 million gallons a year, said Dereck Pyle, marketing manager at ABC Auto Parts.
Checking gas caps is one general maintenance step local experts say drivers can take to get the most miles out of the gas in their tanks. It’s also one of many maintenance checks drivers can handle for themselves.
Do you get regular checkups to make sure you’re getting the best gas mileage possible?
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Malcolm Kelly goes to the Redskins
Malcolm Kelly’s emotions ran the gamut Saturday as he and 122 friends and family members gathered at the Four Seasons Restaurant to watch the 73rd NFL Draft unfold.
Kelly, a former Longview Lobo and University of Oklahoma standout who was eventually selected by the Washington Redskins in the second round (51st overall), remained calm but seemed surprised when the St. Louis Rams made Houston’s Donnie Avery this year’s first wide receiver selected in the 2008 draft.
Are you surprised Kelly didn’t go earlier in the draft? Does anyone have any predictions on how Kelly will do in the NFL?
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Editorial: Gov. Perry, Texas roads
“It is an abdication of responsibility.”
That’s what Gov. Rick Perry thinks of the possibility that the Texas Legislature might again stand in the way of his efforts to privatize the construction of toll roads across Texas.
The real problem is Perry’s conclusion that the state is unable to perform one of the most basic functions of government since before the invention of the horseless carriage: The construction, maintenance and operation of vital public infrastructure.
The price we pay for not being willing to pay for new highways in the past are congested, often dangerous stretches of road.
Our fear is that the price we pay for Perry’s privatization program will be almost as dear.
What do you think?
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Longview and Neiman Marcus
A new 10-year industrial agreement between Neiman Marcus and the city of Longview was approved Thursday by the City Council.
The agreement calls for annual payments to the city for police and fire protection for Neiman’s 418,000-square-foot warehouse while remaining outside city limits. The company will pay $200,000 before Sept. 1, and its payments will increase by 4 percent each year of the agreement. The company also must maintain at least 200 full-time employees, according to court documents.
Neiman Marcus would owe $229,000 in municipal property taxes if it were inside Longview’s city limits, Mayor Jay Dean said.
Do you think the city should annex the land Neiman Marcus is on and make them pay taxes?
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Confederate soldier reburial
In 1974, a cemetery book was published in Upshur County listing the burial of a man named Cullin Redwine Earp; however, it was not known where his burial site was.
At the time, Bill Starnes, owner of Hadden’s Sandwich Shop in Gilmer, took notice of the name. About 10 years ago, Starnes said, he began to seriously research the name and the grave.
Two years ago, the deteriorated, vandalized grave was found near Latch — unbefitting of a Confederate soldier, Starnes said.
Have you ever been to a Confederate soldier’s reburial? Tell us your memories.
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High school proms
The stars of prom night always seem to shine a little brighter that evening. They also smile a little bigger and dance a little longer than they usually might, because, after all, magic is in the air.
But where wonder defies reason, order still abounds in the universe. And the orbiting body that keeps the stars from falling is known among high-schoolers as the chaperone.
Do you have fond prom night memories? C’mon, share them with us.
Latest comments
It’s amazing that the property owner is mad that the buffer provided by someone elses property was removed. Had he liked that buffer so much, I assume he would have had the right to purchase the property to preserve the enjoyment he has from another’s
... read the full comment by DM | Comment on Landscape Task Force Read Landscape Task Force
I strongly disagree with my councilman. We have hamstrung the builders and developers in Longview enough. Most people who build on a lot in Longview want trees, but maybe not where they are now. How is one suppose to get their trees to grow where they
... read the full comment by Lee Lester | Comment on Landscape Task Force Read Landscape Task Force
Yes it would have been nice for the trees to stay, but would you be willing to accept the legal liability if one of the trees fell on a passing vehicle or one of the nearby houses? There were many dead & dieing trees close to the road. There were serveral
... read the full comment by JT | Comment on Landscape Task Force Read Landscape Task Force
I have worked in law enforcement in the past and I know what it has felt like to serve in such a capacity. The men and women who have been killed in the line of duty will never be forgotten. They are brothers and sisters who choose to serve others and
... read the full comment by Smith | Comment on Police memorial Read Police memorial