Citizens of the Week at Port O’Connor School
Week ending January 14: PreK- Kaitlyn Lashley; Kindergarten- Adalia Gossett; First Grade- Anthony Luna; Second Grade- Faith Peeler; Third Grade- Shayleigh Sprague; Fourth Grade- Madison Posey; Fifth Grade- Shelby Rodgers; Sixth Grade- Luis Resendiz
Week ending January 21: PreK- Alex Lopez; Kindergarten- Arley Ixtepan; First Grade- Joseph Diaz; Second Grade- Evan Clifton; Third Grade- Hannah Tucker; Fourth Grade- Jacob Diaz; Fifth Grade- Justin Munsch; Sixth Grade- Whitney Ronshausen

Students of the Week at Seadrift School
Week ending January 14: PreK, Mrs. Myers- Mirakle Gutierrez; K, Mrs. Kern- Jenna McManus; 1st, Mrs. Christy- Lysette Estrada; 1st, Ms. Stringham- Nadia Vallejo; 2nd, Mrs. Petrisky- Fernie Mendez; 2nd, Miss Sistare- Stormy Mills; 3rd, Mrs. Hons- Jacob Ruiz; 3rd, Mrs. Rivera- Michael Sachtleben; 4th, Mrs. Gray- Jairo Castillo; 4th, Mrs. Spaeth- Ahniwake James; 5th, Mrs. Canales- Erica Jaramillo; 5th, Mrs. Flisowski- Hannah Spencer  Junior High: Mrs. Henderson- Alex Garza; Mrs. Cady- Morgan Blakeman; Ms. Parnell- Trey Rodriguez; Coach Anderson- Alexandra Martinez; Coach Sternadel- Tristan Henderson; Mrs. Charnetski- Peter DeForest; Mrs. Smith- Mya Nguyen; Coach Lillge- Andromeda Gilliland; Mr. Lavigne- Tiffany Galloway; Ms. Rivera- Matthew Vannoy and Julian Hernandez
Week ending January 21: PreK, Mrs. Myers- Morgan Shannon; K, Mrs. Kern- Jocob Nguyen; 1st, Mrs. Christy- Trenton Goodman; 1st, Ms. Stringham- Alex Perez; 2nd, Mrs. Petrisky- Erik Jaramillo; 2nd, Miss Sistare- Hector Rodriguez; 3rd, Mrs. Hons- Eve Timms; 3rd, Mrs. Rivera- Dakota James; 4th, Mrs. Gray- Noah Bedwell; 4th, Mrs. Spaeth- Enrique Torres; 5th, Mrs. Canales- Torri Mikolas; 5th, Mrs. Flisowski- Ethan Wooldridge  Junior High: Mrs. Henderson- Jaimey Morales; Mrs. Cady- Christina Nguyen; Ms. Parnell- Andrea Beaver; Coach Anderson- Marleigh Mangum; Coach Sternadel- Matthew Vannoy; Mrs. Charnetski- Grant Gray; Mrs. Smith- Micaela Litsey; Coach Lillge- Shelby Cady; Mr. Lavigne- Leo Bedwell; Mrs. Rivera- Cori Camacho

Port Lavaca – John “J.W.” Owen, 52, Of Port Lavaca passed away Jan. 17, 2011 in Minot, N.D. He was born Oct. 2, 1958 in Houston to the late John and Leona Ahren Owen. He was a drilling superintendent for Pioneer Drilling.


He is survived by his wife, Anna Mahoney Owen of Port Lavaca; daughters, Mendi Chaka and husband, Joe, of Seadrift, Jennifer Brown and husband, Brad, of Splendora; sons, Justin Owen and wife, Luana, of Seadrift, Michael Brown and wife Raquel, of Santa Fe, Texas; sisters, Gaynell Boswell of Lake McQuenney, and Bertha Butt of San Antonio; brother, Roger Owen of Olivia; and seven grandchildren.


He was preceded in death by his parents, and his brother, Leon Owen.


Funeral service was held January 23 at Richardson-Colonial Funeral Home chapel, Brother Dennis Wittnebert officiating. Interment followed in Olivia Cemetery.


Pallbearers were Walter Blevins, Malcom Jacob, James Gibson, Ricky Garner, Michael Odell and Malcohm King. Bo Cady was honorary pallbearer.

A Honor Roll
1st Grade:    Jordan Blevins, Shane Branch, Sarah Doggett, Maddie Hawes, Joey Helms, Anthony Luna, Tarah Munsch, Amy Resendiz, John Rosenboom, Madison Stringo, Shayla Teel
2nd Grade:    Dalton Alford, Kali Gregory, Amy Luna, Faith Peeler, Chloe Ragusin, Taylor Ragusin, Brooklyn Redmond, Eli Romo
3rd Grade:    Elizabeth Carey, Trey Hagler, Thomas Hawes, Tyler Reed, Carly Rosenboom, Shayleigh Sprague, Hannah Tucker
4th Grade:    Jacob Diaz, Drake Dyes
5th Grade:    Elsa Garcia, Hailey Mang

AB Honor Roll
1st Grade:    Jessie Lashley
2nd Grade:    McKaelyn Carriles, Evan Clifton, Esmeralda Garcia
3rd Grade:    Riley Hughs, Clayton Maraggia, Sierra Posey, Jeanette Ramirez, Paige Satterfield, Gavin Vasquez
4th Grade:    Marshall Arlitt, Mitchell Arlitt, Zoila Garcia, Gavin Gosnell, Cierra Harper, Craig Lopez, Gillian Vasquez
5th Grade:    Parker Luna, Jaylin Ramirez, Jerry Satterfield
6th Grade:    Whitney Ronshausen
Congratualtions, Students!

The 140 day clock of the 82nd Legislative session officially began ticking away at noon on January 11th with the swearing in of the 82nd Legislature. During those 140 days the Texas Legislature will meet in Austin to work on two years’ worth of legislative concepts and ideas. In last week’s article, I outlined some of the bills which have been filed for the 82nd session and I would like to take this week’s article to continue to introduce to you some more of those bills.

Of the multitude of issues which will be addressed by bills being filed this session, two have already managed to make their way to the forefront of the Legislature’s lawmaking agenda by Governor Rick Perry’s Proclamation declaring them as emergency items. The two emergency items relate to the protecting of private property rights/addressing eminent domain issues, and abolishing sanctuary cities in Texas. The listing of these issues by Gov. Perry as emergency items allows lawmakers to begin considering these issues during the initial thirty days of the legislative session.

One bill to watch is Senate Bill (SB) 18 which seeks to confront the issue of eminent domain. SB 18 would expand upon the protections the State of Texas has put into place for private property owners since the United States Supreme Court ruled in a 5-4 decision that “public use” included economic revitalization projects. In 2005 the Texas Legislature defined “public use” to exclude any use in which confers a private benefit on behalf of a private party. SB 18 would seek to take the defense of private property a step further and establish that an entity with eminent domain authority must state with specificity the public use in which the entity intends to acquire the property, amongst various other new provisions.

Other bills to watch are:
• HB 380 relates to the constitutional limit on the rate of growth of appropriations and the use of surplus state revenues.
• HB 382 relates to the authorization and regulation of poker gaming and the duties of the Texas Lottery Commission.
• HB 401 would require that a voter present proof of identification.
• HB 470 relates to the addition of Salvia divinorum and its derivatives and extracts to Penalty Group 3 of the Texas Controlled Substance Act.
• SB 298 seeks to eliminate the set-aside of a portion of designated tuition for student financial assistance at public institutions of higher education.
These bills and many others will try and make their way through the legislative process during the session’s 140 day sprint. If you would like to follow any of these bills or any others which have been filed and working their way through the process, these websites are a great resource:
• The Texas Legislature at www.capitol.state.tx.us .
• The Texas House of Representatives at www.house.state.tx.us .
• The Texas Senate at www.senate.state.tx.us .

If you have questions or comments regarding any of the filed bills mentioned in this article or any other bills which have been filed, please do not hesitate to call my Capitol or District Office. As always, my offices are available at any time to assist with questions, concerns or comments (Capitol Office, 512-463-0672; District Office, 361-949-4603).

WASHINGTON, Texas – Close to a thousand historical re-enactors and descendants of the original signers of the Texas Declaration of Independence, including special guest U.S. Sen. Kay Bailey Hutchison, are expected to gather on the banks of the Brazos River next month to celebrate the 175th anniversary of the state’s independence.

The free, two-day festival takes place from 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. Feb. 26-27 at Washington-on-the-Brazos State Historic Site to celebrate the birth of the Republic of Texas.

Sen. Hutchison, who will speak at the Sunday afternoon commemorative program in the park’s amphitheater, is a descendant of declaration signer Charles Taylor. Taylor was one of 59 men who attended the Independence Convention March 1-17, 1836, in an unfinished frame building in the heart of a growing Texas colony seeking independence from Mexico.

Highlighting the program, which kicks off at 1 p.m. with music from a contingent of the Fighting Texas Aggie Band, will be the dramatic roll call of each of the declaration signer’s names. A black powder salute by the Texas Army will follow. At 3 p.m., a giant, 72-panel reproduction of the original painting, “Reading of the Texas Declaration of Independence,” created in 1936 by Charles and Fanny Normann, will be unveiled. When complete, the segments painted a number of different artists, will be assembled to create a reproduction of the painting three times the original size. Afterwards, the traditional Texas-sized birthday cake will be sliced and served.

Throughout the day on Saturday, park visitors will be able to witness a re-enactment of key moments of the convention, including the arrival of Texian Col. William Travis’ famous letter announcing the siege of the Alamo, as well as the reading and signing of the Declaration of Independence.

“Texans and others who seek a better understanding of the state’s unique legacy should visit this year during the annual celebration,” says Scott McMahon, the park’s lead historic interpreter. “This is our 175th birthday at the place where Texas was born and the last capital of the Republic of Texas.”

McMahon will portray Daniel Boone McMahon, a pioneer who lived just across the Brazos River from the pre-Republic burg of Washington. His relative joined the Washington Guards, a local militia that acted as the rear guard for Texian Gen. Sam Houston during the Runaway Scrape and fought during the Battle of San Jacinto on April 21, 1836.

The two-day celebration at the 293-acre park along the Brazos River transports visitors back to the time when Texas was a sovereign nation. Costumed re-enactors and members of the Texas Army, along with skilled craftsmen and talented musicians, fill the park as the Lone Star State commemorates its inception. Re-enactors portraying statesmen of the era, such as Sam Houston and Stephen F. Austin, will be on hand to explain the importance of Texas independence. On both days, vendors will be selling food and drinks.

Both Saturday and Sunday, visitors will be able to enjoy a performance of “The Texas Convention: The Birth of a Republic,” by the Navasota Theater Alliance in the park amphitheater.

During the weekend, park visitors will be able to stop in at a river overlook campsite and experience a slice of what daily life was like for those who volunteered to fight for Texas independence as a member of the Texian Army. There also will be small arms and artillery firing demonstrations at the overlook and the Washington House behind the Star of the Republic Museum. The museum will be opening its news exhibit, “Fifty-nine for Freedom,” that explores the contributions of each delegate through various artifacts and historical documents.

Washington-on-the-Brazos State Historic Site features three attractions that are open year round: Independence Hall, the Star of the Republic Museum and the Barrington Living History Farm. The event is made possible through funding from the Washington-on-the-Brazos State Park Association, Exxon/Mobil Corporation and Bluebonnet Electric Co-op.

Washington-on-the-Brazos State Historic Site is located between Brenham and Navasota off State Hwy. 105 and FM 1155, approximately one hour northwest of Houston. For directions or more information, call (936) 878-2214.

A schedule of other upcoming Texas 175th anniversary events, such as the San Jacinto Day Festival and Battle Reenactment on April 16, are available at: http://txindependence175.org.