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COUNTY NEWS

Punkin Day Celebration Set for October 13

Plans for Floydada's Punkin Day have not been put on hold. The Floydada Chamber of Commerce is planning this year's event for October 13.

Julie Duke, who is heading up the registration for the arts and crafts booths says this year will surpass any previous years with the number of booths on the courthouse square.

"We've already got 52 arts and crafts, and food vendors signed up," said Duke. "And it's not over. I am still getting calls. People are going to be surprised at all we have. We are going to have lots of different kinds of foods, as well as crafts."

Youngsters will also be delighted to know that all the favorite pumpkin games will also return to the square this year.

OBITUARIES

CLAUDINE BRETTHAUER

Graveside services for Claudine Redd Bretthauer were held Friday, September 14, 2001 at 10:00 a.m. at Llano Cemetery with Robert Field, retired Baptist minister, officiating. Burial followed at Llano Cemetery under direction of Schooler Funeral Home of Amarillo.

She died Friday, September 7, 2001 in Amarillo.

She was a 60 year resident of Amarillo. She was preceded in death by a daughter, Jean Caperton in 1988.

Survivors include two daughters, Ruth Norsworthy of Trinity and Lynda Eisbrenner of Smyra, Tennessee; two sisters, Vonceil Casey and Bettye Quisenberry, both of Plainview; one brother, Bobby Redd of Lubbock and three grandchildren.

VENITA BUTLER

Graveside services for Venita "Nita" Butler, 72, of Lubbock were at 11:00 a.m. Friday, September 14, 2001 at City of Lubbock Cemetery with Larry Marshall, minister of Knott Church of Christ, officiating. Arrangements were under direction of White Funeral Home of Lubbock.

She died Tuesday, September 11, 2001 in Lubbock.

She was born June 18, 1929 in Floydada to the late David Monroe McCleskey and Bonnie Dell Greer McCleskey. She graduated from Lubbock High School in 1945 and attended Texas Tech University. She moved to Lubbock from Floydada in 1944. She married Henry Wenton Butler on August 15, 1947 in Lubbock. She was employed by LISD in the Central Payroll Office for 25 years and she was also a homemaker. She was a member of the Texas Retired Teachers Association, Tumbling Tumbleweed R.V. Club and the Church of Christ. She was preceded in death by a son, David Butler on September 19, 2000.

Survivors include her husband, Henry Butler of Lubbock; a son, Terry Butler and wife Glenda, both of Sachse; two daughters, Teresa Gaskins and husband Kelly of Knott; and Deanna Jordan and husband Mike of Haskell; a brother, Greer McCleskey of Bartlettsville, Oklahoma; a sister, Bonnie George of Hart; eight grandchildren and two great-grandchildren.

The family suggests memorials to Children's Home of Lubbock, 4404 Idalou Hwy. Lubbock, Texas 79403.

REBECCA CHAVEZ

Rosary services for Rebecca Chavez, 31, of Floydada were at 7:00 p.m. Thursday, September 13, 2001 at Moore-Rose-White Memorial Chapel in Floydada. Funeral mass was celebrated at 2:00 p.m. Friday, September 14, 2001 at St. Mary Magdalen Catholic Church with Reverend Rudolf Crasta, celebrant. Burial was in Floyd County Memorial Park under the direction of Moore-Rose-White Funeral Home of Floydada.

Mrs. Chavez died Tuesday, September 11, 2001 in Floydada.

She was born on January 31, 1970 in Lockney to Mrs. Margie Delgado Contreras and the late Mr. Domingo Contreras. She graduated from Floydada High School and attended South Plains College. She married Gerardo Chavez on July 17, 1989 in Plainview. She was a correction officer at the Wheeler Formby Unit in Plainview. She was a lifelong resident of Floydada and a member of St. Mary Magdalen Catholic Church.

She is survived by her husband, Gerardo Chavez of Floydada; her mother, Margie Contreras of Floydada; a grandmother, Trini Rodriguez of Ralls; a daughter, Alexandrea Chavez of Floydada; five brothers, Domingo Contreras Jr. and Armondo Garza both of San Angelo, Rable Contreras of Mathis, and Richard Contreras and Max Garza both of Floydada and two sisters, Linda Gomez of Tampa Bay, Florida and Rachel Gonzales of Floydada.

PAUL JONES

Services for Paul W. Jones, 63, of Floydada were at 10:00 a.m. Saturday, September 15, 2001 at First Baptist Church in Floydada with Reverend Anthony Sisemore, pastor, officiating and Pastor Bob Miller of Amarillo, assisting. Burial was in Floyd County Memorial Park under the direction of Moore-Rose-White Funeral of Floydada.

Mr. Jones died Wednesday, September 12, 2001 at the VA Hospital in Amarillo.

He was born on January 19, 1938 in Dallas to the late Mr. Paul Bedford Jones and Mrs. Francis Willard Jones. He graduated from high school in Dumas. He married Joyce Smith Jones on December 31, 1993 in Floydada. He moved to Floydada from Childress in 1994. He was a veteran of the United States Marines having served during Vietnam and the Korean War. While he was in the Marines he attended engineering school and was a Gunnery Sergeant for E-7. He was a carpenter and a member of the VFW and the First Baptist Church. He was preceded in death by a son, John Jones and a brother, Charles Jones.

He is survived by his wife, Joyce Jones of Floydada; three sons, Pat Jones of Pasadena, Texas and Keith Jones and Tim Jones, both of Mesquite; one daughter, Brenda Jones of Mesquite; three stepdaughters, Jan Nichols of Breckenridge, Vicki Derryberry of Floydada, and Terri Gordon of Luling, Louisiana; one brother, Raymond Jones of Mesquite; 18 grandchildren and eight great-grandchildren.

VIRGINIA MARTINEZ

Prayer services for Virginia Martinez, 71, of Floydada were at 7:00 p.m. Thursday, September 13, 2001 at Primera Iglesia Bautista in Floydada. Funeral services were at 10:00 a.m. Friday, September 14, 2001 at First Baptist Church in Floydada with Rev. Lupe Rando, pastor of Primera Iglesia Bautista, officiating. Burial followed in Floyd County Memorial Park under the direction of Moore-Rose-White Funeral Home of Floydada.

Mrs. Martinez died Tuesday, September 11, 2001 at Floydada Rehabilitation & Care Center.

She was born on June 27, 1930 in Derby to the late Mr. Rufugio Santos and Mrs. Gregoria Guzman Santos. She married Ramon V. Martinez on January 21, 1946 in Derby. He preceded her in death on November 13, 1987. She moved to Floydada from Derby in 1951. She was a homemaker and a member of Primera Iglesia Bautista. She was also preceded in death by five brothers.

She is survived by five sons, Juan Martinez of Arlington, Jesse Martinez of Lubbock and Mauro Martinez, Joe Martinez and Sammy Martinez, all of Floydada; two daughters, Sylvia Arellano of Metter, Georgia and Edna Juarez of Amarillo; three sisters, Maria Saldana of Crystal City, Carmela Jiminez of Florida and Selia Casillas of Floydada; 14 grandchildren and 8 great-grandchildren.

The family suggests memorials to Primera Iglesia Bautista, 401 W. Kentucky, Floydada, TX 79235.

A VIEW FROM THE LAMPLIGHTER

What to do? What to say?

At the moment, we, as citizens of our Republic, can do only one thing. When the bugle sounds, there's only one thing to do. That is to mount the barricades and do our part.

We are taught from childhood to turn the other cheek, but is there no limit?

That does not mean, or should it mean, that people who got us into this mess should emerge as heroes. Americans keep asking the question. How could such a precise criminal act, involving so many people, over so long a time, be carried out without any, any, advance warning.

Those who are old enough to remember, and who care to remember, may recall the days of the Church Commission, (Church was a liberal Democratic Senator from Idaho) when the Senate of the United States embarked on a mission to humiliate and downgrade America's intelligence community. After Church and his fellow left wingers had laid the groundwork, it remained only for Presidents Ford and Carter to complete the task. There was a time when our intelligence community had moles in place around the world. Many of them were unsavory characters. Many, when their names were made known, proved to be embarrassing for the United States. They were not the kind of people one would find in church every Sunday morning. They were not even the kind of people one would go fishing with. But they were in position to pass along information our country needed, for a price, and in many cases, they did.

All that passed. Operating on the principle that "nice people don't read other people's mail", America's intelligence community was turned into an agency of "after the fact" intelligence gatherers. Spy satellites and radio intercepts took the place of men, and women, on the ground and in place. We could find out in an instant what had happened, but we were without a clue about what might happen.

So now, when the t.v. brings us images of grieving, previous leaders, those of us who can, and will, still remember, can perhaps be forgiven for wanting to throw up.

Make no mistake about it. Both the CIA and the FBI were then and are now, plenty capable of making mistakes. The FBI's bungling is well known and well documented. For many years this writer was in position to learn, or know, all the CIA learned and knew. I personally know of cases where they were just flat wrong. On occasions they misread vital information, and, accordingly, made wrong judgements. But it is better, in our view, to have a wealth of information from which to judge, rather than a dearth.

Part of the problem is that the virtual destruction of our "covert" operations has made it necessary to rely on other intelligence communities for matters that used to be our own responsibility. In matters involving the middle east we have leaned heavily on Israeli intelligence. Occasionally that information has proved valuable, especially during the Cold War period. At that time about the only real "feel" we had for things inside the old Soviet Union came from debriefing Jewish defectors making their way to this country, or to Israel. But for reasons of their own the Israelis pass along only those things they want us to know. America has assumed, wrongly in my view, that because we underwrite so much of their activity, the Israelis will tell us all they know. And we have relied on them entirely too much, in my own view, in matters involving the middle east. They have an axe to grind, quite obviously and quite naturally, in anything having to do with that part of the world. Intelligence passed to us from that source should be viewed in that light.

The virtual destruction of the CIA's "covert" operations is now taking its toll, as is evident in the recent appalling, and secret, attack on the World Trade Center. The result is a devastating loss of life and property, and the inevitable outlay of tremendous expenditure as we try to rectify the damage. And the end is not yet.

This is a time of high emotions. It is in times of high emotion that decisions are sometimes made that prove to be wrong decisions when viewed in hindsight. To this point President George W. Bush has proved to be a steady hand at the helm. Even his most severe critics, including the New York Times and the Democratic leadership in Congress, are giving him high marks. His "popularity" rating has soared nationwide from around 50 per cent to around 90 percent. There is no longer the chatter from Jesse Jackson about Bush's "legitimacy." Foreign governments, many of them at their own peril, have signed on.

(In this regard, Americans should remember that many of those governments would have been well within their own rights if they told the United States to count them out. Pakistan, especially, could well have been among those who wished to be counted out. For many years Pakistan was one of the few countries in that part of the world that stood with the United States. Back during the days when India was playing pussyfoot with the Soviet Union to the detriment of America, Pakistan was on our side. There was, during that period, a diplomatic "tilt" toward Pakistan. But as the Cold War played itself out, our "tilt" turned toward India and we've had harsh words for Pakistan. So it is deeply satisfying that Pakistan, which shares a border with Afghanistan, where Bin Laden is supposedly holed up, and whose Taliban regime has vowed to protect him, has told the U.S.they will be helpful.)

Too, it should be remembered by Americans that many of those governments have had their own share of trouble from anti-American zealots. The President of Egypt, Anwar Sadat, was assassinated for trying to be our friend. The Shah of Iran and his government, friendly to the U.S. was overthrown and replaced by anti-American zealots. Libya saw its own government pass into the hands of the anti-American Omar Quadafi. So we would be wrong in thinking that all Arabs, or all Muslims, are enemies of America. We do have friends among both camps.

The task will be to identify our friends from our enemies, and not make enemies of our friends. We cannot do that with satellites in the sky.

BY THE WAY

Isn't it sad that it takes a magnitude of this kind to turn so many people to prayer. I guess that is why they say you never find an athiest in a "foxhole".

We've spent years trying to take prayer out of the "public" and now every news station and commentator is asking for prayer from the nation.

I'm glad they are asking. I just wish they had been asking before this.

The government is trying to get us prepared for war. They are trying to explain the type of war that will probably be waged--and who the enemy will be.

I know we are going to lose more American lives. I know the war won't be won from the air--it will be won by ground forces fighting guerrilla warfare and by aggressive spy techniques. The war will be waged for years. Knowing this, and having a son that will be soon be old enough to draft, makes me want to ask for prayers all the time.

I also know who the enemy really is and who it has been since the beginning of time. I know that satan comes to "steal, kill, and destroy". I know the Bible tells us that our war is a spiritual one, and I know that right now satan is really beating us up.

We can cower and "take it", or we can wage a war. This war isn't in the mountains of Afghanistan. This war is won through prayer--constant prayer. Prayer without ceasing.

When the towers blew up, many people thought of Armageddon. Well folks, that wasn't anything compared to what the end of the world will be like. Do you think maybe this catastrophe has more people thinking about where their lives are right now--about where they will be when Jesus does come back?

I know lots of people don't like to think about the end of the world. I don't blame them. I don't like to think about what happened at the World Trade Towers either. The magnitude of the horror was overwhelming.

I heard a prayer on the radio the other day that really hit a nerve with me.

The woman said, "I know there was not one person on any of those planes, that if they had a chance would not have warned people in the World Trade Tower of the impending wrath that was coming. They would have wanted to save everyone.

"And if the wrath that is to come is so much worse than that, why aren't we as Christians hurrying to warn everyone."

Good question. Why do us comfortable spoiled Christians not feel the urgency of saving lost souls.

Maybe this tragedy is our wake-up call to get to work. We've taken our salvation for granted and not taken Jesus' words to heart. We are supposed to "tell everyone", to "spread the good news".

Let's not just send money, blood, equipment, and soldiers into this rescue effort and upcoming battles. Let's not forget to fight with our most powerful weapons--prayers. And let's be ready to help with the comforting words of our Savior and to pass on the peace "that surpasseth all understanding" to all those who are frightened and hurting so badly right now.

© 2002, Floyd County Hesperian Beacon

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