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CURTIS THOMPSON
Local UPS man, Curtis Thompson, has been nominated by the Floyd County Hesperian-Beacon to be the first "UPS Man of the Year". A nomination form for readers to pick their favorite "UPS Man" was published for two weeks. Readers were asked to mail in, or drop off, the nomination form to the newspaper offices. Curtis Thompson, a 24 year UPS veteran, was chosen unanimously by local residents. The newspaper will forward the forms (and comments) to UPS Corporate Headquarters in Nebraska, in the hopes the Corporate Headquarters will recognize the same outstanding attributes in Thompson as his communities have. The Hesperian-Beacon staff likes to refer to Thompson as "Curtis Claus." We look forward to his visits, his smile, and his attitude. We are also always amazed at his uncanny ability to remember names and addresses. Curtis not only remembers your name, but also knows where you work, where you live, who your kids are, who your parents are, who your relatives are&emdash;and where they all work and live. If he has a package for you and can't find you&emdash;then he'll find someone in your family to give it to. We recently heard a story of a woman who left on vacation. When she arrived at her destination she noticed her wallet was missing. She remembered sitting it on top of her car and was in a panic as to where it blew off. She called a neighbor and asked him to go look in the area for her wallet. She was told not to worry because Curtis had already found it. When he found out she wasn't home, he found her friends and dropped the wallet at their house. For anyone fortunate enough to have Curtis as their UPS man, this story would come as no surprise. In fact, almost all his customers have stories of their own. The newspaper received many comments along with the nomination forms. The staff at Goen and Goen in Floydada wrote, "Curtis is without a doubt, the most pleasant person who comes into our office. He 'never' has a complaint! If we gripe about the weather or ask him if it is bad, he always says, 'It's not too bad.' He always has a smile. He just makes our day--as we usually have a delivery to our office every day." Retired school teacher Joyce Williams wrote, "When I taught school Curtis always knew my name. I've been retired 4 years and he still remembers my name. Now that's customer courtesy!" County Treasurer Mary Shurbet wrote, "He does many little things besides delivering his packages. He will take the package to the 'little ol' ladies car if it is too heavy for them to carry. He also places an angel on top of the Christmas tree (at the courthouse), because he is so tall and nice." Sally Shaw said, "Curtis always makes sure the extra heavy packages are placed in convenient locations." Sheree Cannon, at the FISD offices, wrote, "Even though he is rushing to do a good job, he still takes time to ask about your family or you. My staff and I look forward to seeing him and miss him when someone else delivers." Nomination after nomination included statements such as, "We have never seen him without a big smile on his face, or, "Curtis is the most courteous UPS man we know. We think he deserves this." The Lockney ISD office overwhelmingly voted for Curtis and then jokingly asked, "Did Curtis come up with this idea?" Cheryl and Eddie Teeter, of Lockney, said Curtis was Santa all year through. "He brings us surprises with a big friendly smile." Maria Brown, of Floydada, said she jokingly calls Curtis "Billy Dee", and he returns the joke by calling her "Jacquelyn Smith". "Curtis is always smiling," said Brown. "He always has time to say 'Hi'. One day he had a swollen jaw..and yet he still had a smile and a friendly greeting. The love of God shines thru this man." Stacey Reeves, of Floydada, thinks Curtis should be "Mr. UPS." "I can't imagine Floydada without him," said Reeves. "He is family ... he knows our vehicles and delivers to where our cars are if we aren't home. He is helpful, jolly&emdash;never in a bad mood and is a very efficient and hard worker. UPS is very fortunate to have Curtis, and Floydada is fortunate to have Curtis on his route. Curtis knows us all personally and that means a great deal to our town!" David and Vickie Latta, of Floydada, said, "A company that is known for excellence could not find a better person to be the United State UPS Delivery Person of the Year. He is wonderful and unfailingly kind. He always has a smile on his face and a generosity of spirit that cannot be faked. "When the season is rushed, as Christmas is, he never makes you feel that you must hurry. Yet he delivers the packages with the quick professionalism UPS demands&emdash;but when he leaves, you know a friend has been there. What more could any company want than Curtis Thompson as their best." Thompson serves the communities of Floydada, Lockney, Petersburg, and Plainview. He has been married to his wife, Velma, since February 19, 1977. They have four children: Ericka, 27; Wykiesha, 25; Curtis Jr., 22; and Tojjinay, 18. The family has lived in Plainview since 1964 and are members of Happy Union Baptist Church, in Plainview. Probation Fees Help State Convicted lawbreakers on probation in Texas paid $237 million in court-assessed fines and fees last year, an amount equal to $1.05 for every dollar spent by the state on community supervision. In the 110th Judicial District, which includes Briscoe, Dickens, Floyd and Motley Counties, more than $188,105 was collected during fiscal year 2002. The total includes collections for restitution, court costs, attorney fees, fines, and probation fees. Of that total, $144,607 was collected from the Floydada office. Ninety-four people are on probation in Floyd County during fiscal year 2002. Probationers are supervised by Community Supervision and Corrections Departments operated by local judicial districts. "Community supervision is a bright star in the criminal justice system," Texas Department of Criminal Justice executive director Gary Johnson said. "Supervision provides public safety while rehabilitating these offenders in their communities where they can work, support their families, pay taxes and get treatment." The TDCJ said that fees collected from 243,500 felony and 198,000 misdemeanor probationers contributed $122 million to defray the cost of their supervision. In addition, probationers performed 8.5 million hours in unpaid community service work worth $45 million at minimum wage. The TDCJ estimates it costs a little more than $1 per day per probationer to provide basic local CSCD supervision. In comparison, it would cost between $32 and $40 per day per offender to send the felony probationers to prison. District judges, prosecutors and defense attorneys feel the fees have reached the limit and higher fees would be counterproductive. Many judges and district attorneys said current fees are an undue hardship on probationers. The TDCJ said that while 75 percent of all probationers have full-time employment, their annual median income is 30 percent below the state average income.
Obituaries LUELLA BASSEL Funeral services for Luella Bassel, 94, were held at 2:00 p.m. Thursday, in Garland Street Church of Christ. J.W. Hamby, an elder, officiated. Burial was in Plainview Cemetery by Lemons Funeral Home. Mrs. Bassel died at 1:15 a.m. Monday, December 23, 2002, in Covenant Hospital Plainview. She was born February 26, 1908, in Silverton. She had worked as a typist at the Hale County Clerk's office and was a member of Garland Street Church of Christ. On July 21, 1929, she married A.D. Bassel in Lockney. He died May 8, 1974. Survivors include a daughter, Doris Catlin of Plainview; three grandchildren; four great-grandchildren; and one great-great-grandson.
JOHN WESLEY GILBREATH Funeral services for John Wesley "J.W." Gilbreath, 78, of Floydada, were held at 2:30 p.m. Monday at the First Baptist Church. The Rev. Anthony D. Sisemore, pastor, officiated, and the Rev. Armondo Morales assisted. Burial was in Floydada Cemetery by Moore-Rose-White Funeral Home of Floydada. Mr. Gilbreath died Friday, December 27, 2002, at Mangold Memorial Hospital in Lockney. He was born July 23, 1924, in Providence to the late William A. Wesley Gilbreath and Dora T. Greathouse Gilbreath. He attended school in Blanco community and Floydada. He married Betty Jo Perry on September 2, 1950 in Plainview. Mr. Gilbreath served in the U.S. Navy during World War II. He was a service station owner in Floydada for 30 years. He was a lifetime resident of Floyd County and a member of the Lions Club, Whirlwind Sams Travel Club and First Baptist Church. A brother, Richard Gilbreath, and two sisters, Irene Beard and Eula Mae Cates, are deceased. Survivors include his wife; one brother, Bill D. Gilbreath of Floydada; one sister, Manola Ray Day of Floydada; and numerous nieces and nephews. The family suggests memorials to the First Baptist Church Exodus Fund, P.O. Box 610, Floydada, Tx 79235 or to Floydada Senior Citizens, 301 E. Georgia, Floydada, Tx 79235.
Dear Editor, I am curious as to how law enforcement operates, for example; I have been receiving harassment phone calls for three months. I have filed a complaint back in October with the local police, had several of the calls traced, and made a recording of some of same. How many more disturbing calls do I have to endure before the local county attorney and/or district attorney in my county will take notice and assist me? I have discussed this matter two times with the county attorney, Lex Herrington; and yet feel as though this offense has been put on the back burner, probably due to the fact it is a misdemeanor and I am not a wealthy or an outstanding resident. Once I had to call 911 as the caller indicated that he was outside my residence and wanted me to let him in. This also is on my tape recorder. It is my belief as a taxpayer and law-abiding citizen that my rights as a homeowner are in jeopardy as I am not allowed the sanctity of my home. Hopefully, someone in your reading audience will have some constructive advice. Thank you for allowing my letter to appear. Barbara Kayler Lockney
(Editor's Note: As a courtesy to the County Attorney Lex Herrington, we held this letter from Kayler until we could get his response. This is a misdemeanor crime and is not handled by the District Attorney's office.)
Response: County Attorney Lex Herrington stated,
"A subpoena had been issued and served on an out of state
phone company who has the cell phone records on the
purported caller. The records have not been turned over to
me yet. No criminal action can be taken against the caller
until an identity has been determined. This action was taken
before this letter was written."
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We never thought we would see the day. For the first time in l3l years, more Republicans than Democrats will gather in Austin and raise their hands and swear allegiance to the Constitutions of the State of Texas, and the United States, than at any time in the past 131 years. It was then that a few years of misrule (by our way of thinking) on the part of Republicans ushered in 13l years of misrule by Democrats. We weren't around at the time, 131 years ago, but from all we can read, there's been a tremendous change in Party alignment since that time. Had we been around, we probably would have voted for the Democrats. Then, it was the Republican Party that championed a strong central government and weak local governments. It was the Republican, or the "Reconstruction" Party of that day, that championed black participation in voting, and limited white participation, even to the extent of denying the voting franchise to any white person who had any involvement in the Confederate cause. We would have identified with the Democrats, since Republicans sought to deny certain white citizens the right to vote. Time and tide has its affects. In time it became the Democratic Party that championed a strong central government, that became the voice of "big government", and became the champion of "nanny government", that became the champion of the "coalition of minorities" route to political control. There was a time, during our youth, when the Democratic Party held annual "Jefferson-Jackson" day fund raising events all across America, wherein the Party faithful gathered, and Jefferson was eulogized as the champion of rural America and Jackson was eulogized as the champion of the "common man." All citizens who opposed the idea of "big government" were called upon to contribute money and support to Democratic politicians who promised, if elected, to support the causes they publicly championed. My father supported those then-Democratic causes, voted that way, and I approved. (In fact, my father, who was born a scant 11 years after the end of the Civil War and grew up in a war-torn South, voted for Franklin Roosevelt twice, but balked when Roosevelt discarded the precedent set by George Washington and decided he wanted to be President-for-Life. (I doubt, but do not know, that my father ever voted again, probably being unable to ever vote for any Republican, as Republicans were then known.) But then certain historians pointed out that Jefferson held slaves, which didn't comport with the idea of Jefferson as author of the Declaration of Independence, and that Andrew Jackson, a decidedly anti-Indian president, (it was Jackson who moved the Southern Indians out of their homeland and onto Oklahoma reservations) should not be praised in fund raisers for a Party that hoped to weld together various disparate elements of the electorate into an ultimately true, and liberal, democratic party. So, both Jackson and Jefferson were dropped from the lexicon of Democrat heroes. Now the Jackson true Democrats hail is Jesse, not Andrew. Jesse may be a shakedown artist, but he is a power in his Party, simply by virtue of his influence on those who are most likely to vote in that Party. Jefferson has been dropped altogether by a Party embarrassed by the allegation that he might have had a child by his slave Sally Hennings. At any rate, the Republicans who gather in Austin this month will be a far cry from the Republicans who gave up power in Austin 131 years ago after a brief post-civil war reign. Today it is the Republicans (or, we should say, some Republicans) who call for a more limited role for the central government in the affairs of men, not more as did the Republicans following the Civil War. It is the Republicans who claim to represent all the electorate, not a Balkanized coalition of hyphenated Americans. The nation has spoken. Texans have spoken, loud and clear. Now the Republicans control the White House, both houses of Congress, and our State Government as well. We shall see if their principles match their rhetoric. Speaking as one who has long championed the development of a two-party state, we welcome the change. Now, finally, we will be able to more accurately assess the blame, or the praise. That was the reason many of us have worked so long, and hard, toward the development of a two-party state. Now we shall see if our efforts were worthwhile. One central thing we hope has not changed. That is the idea that all citizens ought to be treated equally before the law. That idea, the idea that all Americans ought to be treated equally before the law, led many of us to support certain changes in federal law that we were promised would end the legal practice of racial discrimination and racial preferences among our citizens. But that idea went out years ago, when liberal politicians managed to stand the new law on its head, and say that, under that new law, some people, some races, were more equal than others. Then the age of "affirmative action" and political correctness was born. We will now be able to see if the idea of equal treatment before the law has any validity, or if the Republicans, like the Democrats before them, adopt the role of champions for "constituency politics." The people of Texas spoke on that subject when they overwhelmingly rejected the attempt by Tony Sanchez to become Governor of Texas, despite Sanchez's many millions. When, and if, (and it is a big "if") Republicans support the premise that all citizens are equal before the law, they will have our support. When they do not (and if they do not) they will have our opposition. And that includes the present occupants of the White House, and the leadership in the Senate and the House of Representatives.
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NEED HELP WITH YOUR COMPUTER? Troubleshooting, upgrade or repairs. Mac or PC. Call 806-983-6306.
LET ME BUILD YOUR WEB SITE- Graphic Design Artist and proficient with PC's and Mac's. Call Jeffrey Hunter for quote, 806-652-2370. Go to www.duststorm.net for more information.
39.5 ACRES--Ideal location south of town. Call 903-334-9361.
Floydada HOUSES FOR RENT OR SALE--2 and 3 bedrooms; Apartments for rent: 1, 2, 3 or 4 bedrooms. Call 983-5552.
Lockney FOR RENT--Clean, furnished apartment. Water and trash collection included. Call Barker Realty - 652-2642.
$MANAGER TRAINEE$ - $525/week average. Call 766-7175.
OWNER FINANCE--3 bedroom, 1 bath, corner lot with garage. Fenced yard. Call 983-6031.
COUNTRY BEAUTY! Country property w ith everything you always wanted. Three bedrooms, two baths, basement and recently remodeled. Located on 3 acres with a barn, corrals and just 6 minutes from town. Call for an appointment to see! Jones Enterprises at 983-2151.
3 BEDROOM BRICK HOME with 2 baths, fireplace, central heat/air, single car garage, double drive and carport. Small shop and storage building at 816 Cedar. Good neighborhood. Call 983-5284.
HOUSE FOR SALE--3 bedroom, 1 bath. Central heat/air. Shop. Near schools. 323 W. Jeffie. Serious inquiries only. Call 1-479-474-6010.
HOUSE FOR SALE--3 bedroom, 1 bath with garage and cellar. 409 W. California. $24,000.00. Call 983-2967 - leave message.
PRICE REDUCED--Brick home. 3 bedroom, 1 3/4 bath. Near high school. 808 W. Marivena. $39,500.00. Call 983-2389.
FOR SALE--Sony Playstation with memory card. Call 983-6031.
FOR SALE--Large refrigerator - $275; large chest freezer - $175; Queen pillow-top mattress set, dresser/desk combo; maple desk and chair; hide-a-bed sofa; antique dresser; 12" color TV; solid wood trestle table with 2 high back benches; metal storage cabinet; 3 oak kitchen cabinets with formica top. Call 983-2318 or 777-6639.
ALPHATEX KENNEL, AIKEN, TEXAS offers superior quality AKC Registered, DNA Certified Collies, Golden Retrievers and German Shepherds. Puppies and stud service available. 806-652-3458 or 806-292-5348.
Floyd County, pursuant to a tax foreclosure sale, is offering for sale the following property in the City of Lockney: All of Lots No. 1, 2, 3, 4, and 5 in Block 35 and Lots 1 and 2 in Block G of the N. B. Davis Survey located in the City of Lockney, Floyd County, Texas also known as the Webster Service and Supply, Inc. property. Any offers should be submitted to: William D. Hardin, County Judge, Courthouse Room 105, Floydada, Texas 79235.
LARRY OGDEN AUCTIONEERING- Estates, Farm, Ranch, Business, Liquidations, State Licensed and Bonded. (806) 983-5808. TX. #9240.
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