October’s Book Club Meeting exceeded all expectations, and the Hostesses- Karen Gibson, Connie Britton, Judy Overton, and Pam Tiemann- outdid themselves in every way!!! The hostesses’ decor included items significant in the book- a vintage suitcase filled with 1930’s pictures of beautiful young girls, a pair of baby shoes, a replica of the Eiffel Tower, a replica of the Statue of Liberty, and a copy of our October book, The Lost Girls of Paris by Pam Jenoff- a historical fiction novel about Britain’s SOE (Special Operations Executive), and the secret agents they recruited, who sacrificed so much to support the French Underground as they foiled the Nazis at every possible turn, in preparation for the Allies Invasion on D-Day. To get the meeting started, the Hostesses treated their guests to an “English Tea Party” with an elegant spread of Scones with Lemon Curd Sauce, ham and pimento cheese finger sandwiches, a variety of hors d’oeuvres, desserts (muffins, lemon bars, strawberry bread, pumpkin bites, and sand tarts); along with beverages of cucumber water, lemonade, and Champagne!! It was all beautiful and delicious!!!!

Following the “Tea Party,” the Ladies voted on the books for the Club’s “2023 Book Club Reading List”, resulting in a wonderful variety of books for upcoming year!!

The Book Discussion that followed was spellbinding, with Hostess Karen Gibson, who had done extensive research about the SOE and the real-life agents on whom the book was based, giving an excellent presentation with interesting details and information about the agency and how the British government, including Winston Churchill, operated it. She included pictures of two of the real-life female agents, (who were also characters in the book) and who, along with hundreds of other agents, were ultimately captured and executed by the Nazis, thus making the ultimate sacrifice for the SOE and their cause. Archives of that period show that the SOE, through its support of the French Underground, truly played a vital role in keeping the Nazis distracted from the Allies D-Day Invasion plans, and helped foil the Nazi advancement by blowing up bridges and roads, and other acts of sabotage. Hostess, Connie Britton, led the group in a lively discussion of various questions about the characters in the book, with the Ladies giving their opinions and reactions to each. It was an interesting, informative, and delightful afternoon, and the group thanked their Hostesses for an outstanding Book Club Meeting!!

November’s Book Club meeting will be held on November 8, 2022 at 2:00 PM, and November’s book is The Four Winds by Kristen Hannah. If you are interested in joining “Hooked On Books,” please email your contact information to alanehaardt@yahoo.com. All Ladies are welcome!!

It will soon be time to begin our “Adopt A Christmas Angel Program” to make sure all Port O’Connor children receive something nice from Santa.

Names are being taken for prospective recipients at Port O’Connor Hardware. If you need your child to be included, please register. Names will be kept confidential.

The November meeting for Calhoun County Democratic Club will be held Tuesday, November 1, 2022 at the Calhoun County Library, in the Community Room, 200 W Mahan St., Port Lavaca.

Social/potluck is at 5.30 p.m. and the meeting starts at 6:00 p.m.

It is the last meeting before the election.

The Club will meet as well on Tuesday November 15, 2022, which is one week after the election.

We are living in a different world today – much different to the one in which I was raised. Our eyes and ears hear and see things that weren’t common when I was a child. In the 70s, on TV or the radio, you never heard a curse word. Intimate scenes between a man and woman only showed a kiss then a closed door. Even as a child we considered ourselves as being naughty by spelling out the word HELL on an electronic calculator. When you compare today with yesterday, many do not even blink an eye to things, and I have to ask if Christians are becoming blind to sin?

A definition of sin is an immoral act considered to be a transgression against divine law. In 1 John 3:4 “Whosever commtteth sin transgressth also the law: for sin is the transgression of the law” KJV. The Bible notes over 103 different sins. There are many I’m sure people don’t stop to consider what they are doing as a sin. As John states if you commit sin you transgress the law. What I find interesting is we live in a society governed by law that Christians will uphold but when it comes to Biblical laws, we often ignore them. I worry sin has become such a common practice in our society today that it’s expected to be accepted. If one speaks out about it, then one is criticized for being controversial.

Growing up I knew getting drunk was a sin. Do you think it stopped me from doing it? Even at the age of knowing better I would still have a little too much from time to time. I would justify it by telling myself I was in the comfort of my own home. I wasn’t drinking and driving. I wasn’t hurting anyone so did it really matter if I got a bit tipsy after a stressful day? The real question is, what would God think? The other side is, if there was ever a time that my mother suspected an overindulgence, she would say something to me. Do you think I ever came back at my mom telling her to stop judging me? She never said it to be mean or condescending. She said it with love and concern. I knew my mother still loved me but she didn’t have to condone my sin.

As Christians we have the Bible, so we know the truth. If we don’t speak the truth, what does that say about us or our faith? At a recent revival I heard an evangelist say the Spirit of Religion will silence you. How often does a Christian speak about sin only to have someone throw back about not judging one another? In the Bible God tells us to hold each one accountable. James 5: 19-20 “My brothers, if anyone among you wanders from the truth and someone brings him back, let him know that whoever brings back a sinner from his wandering will save his soul from death and will cover a multitude of sins.”

As Christians today, we can’t continue to remain silent. We should never throw out hate speech but also, we should not be silenced just because someone doesn’t like what we are saying. There is an old saying – truth hurts. It wasn’t easy to hear my mother tell me to watch how much I was drinking. I didn’t want to face the facts that it was wrong. Besides other than drinking and driving, where do you hear anyone being criticized over drunkenness? Honestly it wasn’t until God kept telling me over and over to stop that I did. Since 2019 I felt God’s calling on my life and drinking would hinder that calling. I finally listened to my Father.

The realization we must remember is sin pulls us away from God and opens doorways for someone else to step inside. The Devil is constantly looking for those open doorways. I can easily look at my life and see all the ways the Devil stepped right in. I worry the more we become accepting of sin the more we will continue to fall for it. The more we fall for sin, the more we lose our relationship with God. The more we lose our relationship with God, the more the Devil will find ways to fill the loss. It’s not hard to look around and see how much has already been lost in our world.

When our day is done, I know God will be the ultimate judge. Along with that judging though I wonder if I will be asked “You knew between right and wrong. You knew sin, but what did you do to help others walk away from it?” Many may not like what I have to say but all I know is when I take my last breath on this earth, I will leave knowing I didn’t remain silent.

Texas mid-term/general election is fast approaching. Early voting begins on October 24th and continues through November 4th, 2022.

This article is meant to be informative to readers and voters of Calhoun County and should not be considered an endorsement of any one candidate.
We all know the right to vote in our County, State and National elections is a privilege and each vote is extremely important. The freedom to vote is precious and every one of us should exercise that freedom every time the opportunity arises.

All candidates seeking office, whether local, state or federal should be a true public servant if they decide to seek office. We as voters should research each candidate seeking a particular office. It is our responsibility to find out everything we can about their qualifications, their views, personal history and motives. When we research and determine everything we can about the requirements of the office and the candidates seeking election to that office, we should vote our conscience and cast our vote for the candidate we feel is most qualified to fill that position. I urge you, please do not turn these elections into a popularity contest or because a candidate promised you a reward for your vote.

Even though the office of Justice of the Peace is considered a “political office,” party affiliation should not be the only reason one considers a particular candidate for Justice of the Peace. Candidates are required to file for an office with the political party they support, but once elected, politics should not enter the everyday business of a Justice of the Peace court. Everyone, regardless of their party affiliation, should be considered equal. Decisions of a judge cannot be made by what letter stands behind a person’s name.

The office of Texas Justice of the Peace is an honorable position and the person elected must be an honorable person. A candidate seeking election should have the ability to learn the hundreds, yes hundreds of requirements and laws they must deal with every day. The job is not “glamorous” and certainly nothing like the “court shows” seen on TV. It is often thankless, heart wrenching, and even scary at times. An elected JP must have a real servant’s heart and be willing to sacrifice some of their own rights to protect the rights of others. In these rural counties they lose a lot of sleep and are basically “on call” twenty- four hours a day, seven days a week, 365 days a year.

Not very long ago someone said, “serving as Justice of the Peace for long terms makes a Judge somewhat complacent.” I strongly disagree. A judge serving longer in office becomes more experienced, more compassionate, more familiar with Texas law and can understand the hugely diversified requirements of the office.
Our legal system is based on the principle that an independent and competent judiciary will interpret and apply the laws that govern us. All courts, including justice courts, are monitored very closely by the Office of Judicial Conduct Commission.

The office of Justice of the Peace is extremely challenging and diversified. Small claims court, civil justice court, and evictions, are just a few civil matters filed in JP Court. The jurisdictional limit now stands at $20,000.00. A J.P. presides over all State and County class “C” misdemeanors, with a maximum fine of $500.00. Juvenile cases, school attendance hearings, inquests on dead bodies, domestic disputes, emergency protective orders, driver license hearings, towing hearings, underage alcohol offenses, public intoxication, and emergency mental health commitments are some other duties required of an elected Justice of the Peace.

Getting elected to the office of Justice of the Peace is only the beginning. Once sworn into office, the judge must attend 80 hours of judicial education the first year after election and twenty hours of continuing education each year of their term thereafter. Failure to complete continuing education can result in a judge being removed from office.

Everything a Justice of the Peace does, especially any court ruling or sentencing must be done
without prejudice or bias. Everyone must be treated equally, without any favoritism. Everyone deserves a chance and Justice Courts are no different than higher courts, except the jurisdictional limits are somewhat lower. All laws and rules regarding any Texas court applies to justice court as well.

Regarding the office of Justice of the Peace, I feel I have only touched the tip of the iceberg so to speak. Time or space will not allow me to go into all the responsibilities a JP must deal with on a daily basis. The position is very complicated and constantly changes. Every new Texas legislative session brings new rules of office, new court costs and many laws are changed. A judge is required to learn all the changes and update their office accordingly.

I sincerely hope this article has helped enlighten your readers and most importantly the voters of Calhoun County in any contested election. I only request the voters inform themselves and examine their conscience before casting their very important vote.

Thank you.

Nancy Pomykal
Justice of the Peace, Precinct 5, Calhoun County

*Note
Judge Nancy Pomykal has served Calhoun County as Justice of the Peace for 31 years. During her tenure, she served both precinct four and precinct five for two years when the office was vacated by the death of Judge James Dworaczyk. She is also associate municipal judge for the city of Seadrift, being appointed by Justice of the Peace/ Municipal Judge, Wesley Hunt.

“The office of Justice of the Peace is an honor and a privilege. I originally ran for the position because I wanted to make a positive difference in my community. I feel I have accomplished that. I am running unopposed for one more term. I am very blessed and humbled to be the longest serving Justice of the Peace in Calhoun County history. I will continue to serve Port O’Connor, Calhoun County and the great State of Texas in a fair and impartial manner until the time comes for me to step down and pass the gavel on to the next elected J.P,” said Judge Pomykal.