4 WISE COUNTY MESSENGER, Decatur, Texas, Wednesday, January <strong>30</strong>, 2<strong>01</strong>3OPINIONthem.”SQUARE TALKPeople, found on the Decatur Square,share their thoughts.HOW DO YOU FEEL ABOUT THEPRESIDENT’S PROPOSAL TOBAN ASSAULT WEAPONS ANDLIMIT MAGAZINE CLIPS?“I think they should allowteachers and officials who haveCHLs to carry them in class andprotect those kids. I don’t thinkanything should be banned.Criminals obviously don’t followlaws in the first place so puttinga ban on them isn’t going to stop— Natalia Gibson, 29, of Keller“They’re not gonna get myguns. We have a right to beararms. If you have somebodythat’s gonna get a gun, theyare gonna get one regardless.It’s government trying to takeover. You give up that, they aregoing to get something elseand then you ain’t gonna have nothing.”— Wayne White, 60, of Lake Bridgeport“If someone is going to dosomething they are going todo it. And we do some hoghunting in Cottondale. We areoverpopulated with hogs. Weuse some AR-15s to hunt them.If you take those away it givesthem an upper hand.”— Stephen White, 23, of BridgeportFamily grateful for this anniversaryBY KRISTI BENNETTkbennett@wcmessenger.comMonday, Jan. <strong>30</strong>, 2<strong>01</strong>2, isa day that changed my lifeforever.Working on the <strong>Messenger</strong>payroll at my desk, I receiveda message to call my sister-inlawin Nacogdoches. Duringmy brother’s colonoscopy thatmorning, a tumor was discovered.I hung up the phoneand burst into tears.How could this happento my “baby” brother — thegolfer, sports fan, bankpresident, little league coach,son, uncle, husband and mostimportant, father to threeprecious children?The next few days werea roller coaster ride. I criedevery time I thought abouthim. My tears were not onlyfor him but for my parentsand our grandmothers. Theywould have traded placeswith him in an instant.We got the test results onthe tumor the day beforeValentine’s. His surgeon inShreveport, La., said the tumorwas malignant and thathe would undergo chemotherapyand radiation priorto surgery.My brother, Scott, is soloved by so many people. Thesupport he and his familyreceived was unbelievable.He must have been on everyprayer list in the state. Hisco-workers at the bank madea schedule to provide mealsto the family every night. Ifelt lucky to be there to enjoyone of those wonderful meals.We all had our fears aboutthe aggressive treatment.Would he be nauseous?Would he miss Reid’s ballgames?Would he be able tocontinue working? Would thecolostomy bag be removed aftersix months as his surgeonpredicted? My sons wantedto know if he would lose hishair.One of the worst thingswas living 250 miles away. Iwanted to see him and talkto him in person, not just byphone calls and text messages.His first surgery was June8 in Shreveport. I was ableto be with my parents andsister-in-law for the longwait that day at the hospital,which happened to markScott’s first hospital admissionin his 36 years. Imagineour relief and joy when thesurgeon told us the tumorwas removed and lymphnodes were clear. In a week,he was back home in Nacogdoches.Another round of chemopreceded another surgeryin November. He recoveredmuch faster from the finalsurgery. He was full of lifeand cracking jokes the dayafter surgery.At this time I am proud tosay that the brother I pickedon my entire life, chased witha vacuum cleaner and with ameat cleaver, is now cancerfree.My boys are glad thathe didn’t lose his hair, andChristmas was a very specialtime for our family last year.I learned a valuable lesson:that life can change in aninstant, and cancer is hardon the entire family. Cherishtime with those you love.Squeeze all those visits inwhen you can.Colorectal cancer is thethird most common cancerin men and women. Youngadults can develop it andchances increase after age 50.If you have signs or symptoms,don’t be afraid to talk toyour doctor and get screened.Early detection saves lives.It sure saved a huge part ofmine.Scott Bowyer was diagnosedwith colorectal cancerat age 36. He lives in Nacogdocheswith his wife, Kim,and young children, Bailey,Reid and Ryan. He is presidentof Commercial Bank ofTexas. He is the son of Billand Laina Bowyer of Decaturand Carol and Larry Wilsonof Nacogdoches. His lovinggrandmothers are JuneBowyer of Chico and LaverneWiley of Decatur.“It’s a second amendmentright. Our Founding Fathersunderstood what it’s liketo live under tyranny, underdespotism. It was one ofthe things they talked aboutspecifically ... Gun laws onlyaffect law-abiding citizens.”— Tory Arnold, 45, of Runaway BayYOUR VIEWSAre ordinancesapplied to all?When Assumption ofthe Blessed Virgin MaryCatholic Church (locatedon Deer Park Road) addedon an education wing,the church was forcedto curb and gutter alongthe front of the property.Since then, CrossroadsChurch, also located onDeer Park Road (oppositeside) has built a newchurch. To date, there isno curb and guttering onthe street side.There is also no curband guttering on thestreet side of RannElementary School.However, there is curband guttering in front ofPettit Private School.As a member of theCatholic Communities in<strong>Wise</strong> <strong>County</strong>, I would likesomeone to explain inthis forum why this hasbeen allowed to happen.In my opinion, the ordinanceshould be equallyapplied to all.Rose StuberAlvordSheriffsshould upholdConstitutionThe Attorney Generalof Delaware has decidedto strip the state’s sheriffsof their arrest powers.In both English andAmerican history, theocal sheriff — the onlyaw enforcement officialirectly elected, andhus, answerable to theeople — has been thenforcer of the supremeaw of the land. Thismeans the Constitutionof the United States.Article VI states in part,“...all executive andjudicial Officers, both ofthe United States and ofthe several States, shallbe bound by Oath or Affirmation,to support thisConstitution...”The move to emasculatethe local sheriffis being done becausea growing number ofsheriffs across this country(195 at last count)are pledging to upholdthe Constitution andparticularly the secondAmendment and will notconfiscate firearms norfire on citizens even ifordered to do so. Othercounties have held publicmeetings to determine iftheir local sheriff will bea “federalized” sheriff orwill publicly support anddefend the Constitutionfor their constituents.I am hoping our sheriffwill save the publicthe inconvenience of apublic meeting and willexpress his views in the<strong>Wise</strong> <strong>County</strong> <strong>Messenger</strong>.In case you missed theDelaware article, here isthe link: http://americanfreepress.net/?p=3590.Jim MarrsBoydInterpretingthe SecondAmendmentIn government classa couple of semestersago my professor, KentMiller, explained what, todate, I still find the mostSee Your Views on page 5Complex problems call forcomplex, even imperfect, solutionsBY BRIAN KNOXbknox@wcmessenger.comI spent last week at homewith a sick 21-month-old.Zachary is still too young toreally watch television, soinstead of animated shows, Iwatched a lot of cable newschannels.Which I guess in a way issort of like animated television.On Monday, I watchedthe presidential inauguration.On Tuesday, I watchedthe reaction to PresidentObama’s speech. On WednesdayI watched the Benghazihearings. On Thursday Iwatched some of the JohnKerry secretary of state confirmationhearings. And ofcourse, there were plenty oftalking heads breaking downeverything I had just seen.By Friday, I pretty muchhad my fill of Washingtonpolitics and the endless analysisof everything political.What I came to realize isthat we have a lot of challengesahead of us thatcan only be solved if we getcooperationon both sidesof the politicalaisle. Andboth sidesneed to understandthatKNOX while theymay havemany valid points to theirargument, their opponentsalso have some valid points.Take gun control, forinstance. I heard argumentsranging from eliminatinggun-free school zones andarming teachers to banningany and all “assault” weapons.I even heard one guestexplaining that aestheticsof buildings such as schoolslead to a safer environment.If I understood it correctly,building a school with largewindows and attractive landscapingthat leads peopleto a central point of entrymakes it less likely to be thescene of a crime comparedto a school that looks like aprison or a fortress.The fact that there are somany different viewpointsis evidence that these arecomplex problems that requirecomplex solutions. Andnobody’s solution is going towork 100 percent of the time.I also heard Senator Kerrymake what I thought was avery good point when he saidthat the United States needsto get “its fiscal house inorder” if American diplomatswill have any credibility tocall for economic reforms ofother nations. Like the guncontrol debates, there areplenty of varying opinions onhow to accomplish that mostimportant task.We may not agree on howto solve the problems beforeus, but that doesn’t meanwe can allow the problemsto continue to go unsolved.President Barack Obamatouched on that theme duringhis inaugural address:“Being true to our foundingdocuments does not requireus to agree on every contourof life. It does not mean weall define liberty in exactlythe same way or follow thesame precise path to happiness.Progress does notcompel us to settle centurieslongdebates about the role ofgovernment for all time, butit does require us to act inour time.“For now decisions areupon us and we cannotafford delay. We cannotmistake absolutism for principle,or substitute spectaclefor politics, or treat namecallingas reasoned debate.We must act, knowing thatour work will be imperfect.We must act, knowing thattoday’s victories will be onlypartial and that it will be upto those who stand here infour years and 40 years and400 years hence to advancethe timeless spirit onceconferred to us in a sparePhiladelphia hall.”Whether you agree withthe president’s politics ornot (and judging from recent<strong>Wise</strong> <strong>County</strong> elections, themajority of local residents donot), I think we can all agreewith his sentiment that actionmust be taken.At the very least, it willgive the talking headssomething new to talkabout.
WISE COUNTY MESSENGER, Decatur, Texas, Wednesday, January <strong>30</strong>, 2<strong>01</strong>3 5Wilson Easby Whitmire III1941-2<strong>01</strong>3Wilson Easby Whitmirelll, 72, died Saturday, Jan.26, 2<strong>01</strong>3.Visitation is 5 to 7 p.m.Friday, Feb. 1, at SlidellBaptist Church.Wilson was born Nov. 17,1941, in Cold Springs, theoldest of five brothers andone sister, in a family whoseearly members helped tosettle Texas with Sam Houstonbefore it became a state.Wilson’s family moved toSlidell, where he grew upon a 3,000-acre cattle ranchand worked as a cowboy,riding horses and mendingfences, baling hay and feedingcattle every morningbefore going to Slidell HighSchool. He was a star basketballplayer and earneda four-year scholarship toSouthwestern University inGeorgetown.While in high school, Wilsondeveloped a passion forcars. His Dad bought himan old Model T Ford with noheadlights, so his youngerbrother James would ride onthe hood swinging a lantern.They later wrecked this carby driving into a tree.Wilson graduated fromSouthwestern with a degreein business and psychologywhile becoming an All-American basketball player.His accomplishments setthe bar high for his youngerbrothers and sister, all ofwhom went to college andhad successful careers.ontinued from page 4balanced view of our rightto bear arms.First, of course, there’sthe conservative interpretationwhich focuses on“the right of the peopleto bear arms shall not beinfringed.” This is easyenough to grasp and leadsto the quick interpretationthat we should havethe right to own whateverweapon we want.We left-leaning folks, onthe other hand, tend tofocus on the phrase “wellregulatedmilitia,” which,interpreted another way,implies that one shouldbe a member of a militiain order to own a weapon.That is where ProfessorMiller’s explanationended, and here is wheremy own pondering on thesecond begins.The founders could havegone a few ways in writingthe amendment. Instead ofassuming everything to betimeless and perfect, thethird amendment suggeststhe extent to which theConstitution and Bill ofRights are still products oftheir place and time. Afterall, when was the last timewe had a Supreme Courtcase regarding the quarteringof soldiers?Said cherished documentcould have beenphrased in perfectly clearfashion to favor one viewAfter college,Wilsonworkedfor Texaco,reaching thetop sales position,andWHITMIRE later forF r a n c i s c a nin Glendale, Calif., again insales. Disliking a 9-to-5 job,he started his Classic Carsbusiness in Dallas and becameone of the top expertson classic cars in America.Wilson was spirituallystrong and was a wonderfulhusband and father wholoved life and had a mischievoussense of humor. Travel,reading and discussing politicswere all of great interestto him.Survivors include his wife,Donna Drezek Whitmire;son Wilson Whitmire IV;daughter Leigha Whitmire;sister Vina Whitmire andhusband, Randy Remorenko,and their children, Samanthaand Jason; brothersJames Whitmire and wife,Mildred, and their childrenSandy and Jeff, Sam Whitmireand wife, Sofia, JackWhitmire and wife, Joann,and their children Chris andJames, and Ross Whitmireand wife, Linda.Memorials may be madeto the Slidell Fire Department.<strong>Wise</strong> <strong>County</strong> <strong>Messenger</strong>,January <strong>30</strong>, 2<strong>01</strong>3OBITUARIESBeverly Hawkins1936-2<strong>01</strong>3Beverly Hawkins, 76, ofBowie, died Sunday, Jan. 27,2<strong>01</strong>3.Funeral is 10 a.m. Friday,Feb. 1, at Greenwood GardenChapel in Fort Worth with entombmentto follow in GreenwoodMausoleum. Visitationis 6 to 8 p.m. Thursday atGreenwood Funeral Home.Beverly was born March25, 1936, to the late RichardA. and Edna Mae Mason Ellis.She was a homemaker, ananimal lover, loved to garden,crochet and read. Beverly wasa long-standing, active memberof the Ladies Auxiliary ofVFW Post No. 2438 in BayCity.She was preceded in deathby her husband, HaroldHawkins;son WayneHawkins Sr.;daughter DeniseDianeHawkins; fivebrothers andHAWKINS one sister.Survivorsinclude her sons, Harold R.E. Hawkins and KennethHawkins and wife, Claudette;daughters Gail Barber, CatherineSmith and husband, Jim,and Beverly Siebert and husband,David; adopted granddaughterCrystal Hutchinsonand husband, Zonn; and 16great-great-grandchildren.<strong>Wise</strong> <strong>County</strong> <strong>Messenger</strong>,January <strong>30</strong>, 2<strong>01</strong>3Wanda E. Banister1935-2<strong>01</strong>3Wanda E. Banister, 77, of<strong>Wise</strong> <strong>County</strong>, died Monday,Jan. 21, 2<strong>01</strong>3.A memorial service wasJan. 25 at the Kingdom Hallof Jehovah’s Witnesses in Decatur,with Nathan Shafferand Jeff Meredith officiating.Burial will be in Clovis, N.M.Wanda was born Oct. 5,1935, in Borger, to John andHollie Johnson. She was a wifeand mother and a member ofthe Jehovah’s Witnesses.She was preceded in deathby her husband, Ronnie ElvinBanister, and sons JohnnyDale Banister and Ronnie LeeBanister.YOUR VIEWSor the other. The FoundingFathers could have leftout any mention of militias.Or, the amendmentcould be worded so thatone would unquestionablyneed to be part of a militiain order to have a gun. So,which was it?Forward-thinking as theconvention was, and knowinghow they designed theConstitution to change viaamendments, it’s possiblethat they left the secondAmendment intentionallyvague so that future generationscould interpretit as the times demanded.Then again, maybe thesecond isn’t a product offoresight at all. Minutemenwere crucial in winningthe RevolutionaryWar, hence the mention of“well organized militias,”possibly as much as thethird was a response toBritain’s Quartering Act.Allow a moment todemystify and humanizethe Framers a bit, (yes,despite all our reverence,they most certainly werehuman) and think back tothe times of the ConstitutionalConvention. Justgetting the Constitutionratified at all was quite acontentious battle… that’swhy the Bill of Rightscame to be in the firstplace.Perhaps then, the wordingof the second Amendmentis purposefullyvague so that each side atthe time would read into itwhat they wanted to hear,and thus approve, leavingthese kinds of problemsfor us down the line!Angelou del AngelDallas (formerlyBridgeport)Loss of agexemptiondisputedIn this day and age, itseems that if the smallfarmer is told “no” enoughthey just quit fighting —which is exactly what the“ruling” people want. Wechose not to give up.We are fighting to getback our agricultural exemptionand don’t understandhow a few peoplecan say that after 14 yearswe are not “normal” for<strong>Wise</strong> <strong>County</strong>. We sufferedthrough the drought likethe big farmers/corporations,had our hay burnedbut did not ask for handouts.We worked our land,clearing it, fencing it, digginga stock pond, fertilizing,haying, raising cattle.Yes we only have fiveacres — that was all wecould afford and therewasn’t any issue with thatback when we bought it.Now, we are told becauseour house sits on 3/4 of that5 acres we no longer qualify.Survivorsinclude daughterVonnaShaffer andhusband, Kenneth,of Sunset;brothersBANISTER Cecil Johnsonof Californiaand Bobby Johnson of Mesa,Ariz.; grandchildren MandyAllen and husband, Brett, andNathan Shaffer and wife, Amber;and great-grandchildrenLandon, Micah and Hailey Allenand Tristan Shaffer.<strong>Wise</strong> <strong>County</strong> <strong>Messenger</strong>,January <strong>30</strong>, 2<strong>01</strong>3Are we supposed to livein the cattle shed? Thisland has always beenagricultural — we had toprove that when we got it.Why not now? Why is itOK to let a few people saywhat you did was not goodenough now, that eventhough you aren’t a weekendfarmer, even thoughyou have proven withpictures that you have hayand cattle, it’s still notgood enough?Instead let us destroyyour American dream ofowning your own land,your own farm, having hayand raising your cattle.Let us take your dreamsand goals that you workedso hard for, that you putall your money into, yourheart and soul, let us takethem away because we can.Is this right? Is thisfair? Is this the way itshould be? Is there anyonethat can help? We shouldbe grandfathered in. Weshould be allowed to getour exemption back becausewe have proven thatwe are that little farmerworking hard to continueour dreams. We weregranted this exemption 14years ago but now havebeen told, too bad, notgood enough, our authoritygives us the right totake all that away. Whereis the justice in this?Pat and Dan FrankBoydDavid Drew Fennell19<strong>30</strong>-2<strong>01</strong>3David Drew Fennell, 82, aretired cabinet builder, diedMonday, Jan. 28, 2<strong>01</strong>3, inDecatur.Graveside service is 2p.m. Thursday, Jan. 31, atSweetwater Cemetery withBrother Charles Taylor officiating.Visitation is 6 to 8p.m. Wednesday at Coker-Hawkins Funeral Home inDecatur.Mr. Fennell was born May13, 19<strong>30</strong>, in Decatur to JohnHenry and Minnie Bertha(Hicks) Fennell. He marriedEva Sue Bryan April17, 1954, in Fort Worth. Mr.Fennell served in the UnitedMary Ruth Williams, 82,died Friday, Jan. 25, 2<strong>01</strong>3,in Fort Worth.Funeral is 10:<strong>30</strong> a.m.Wednesday, Jan. <strong>30</strong>, atChristian-Hawkins FuneralHome in Boyd with burial inBoyd Cemetery.The Rev. Ronnie Williamswill officiate. Pallbearers includeJacky Smith, RonnieSmith, Dickie Inman, JeffDickens, Joe Dickens, BarryBarber, Terry Barber andDavis Barber.Mary was born Feb. 19,19<strong>30</strong>, to Thomas and Clara(Oates) Smith in Rhome.She was a co-owner for 26years of Williams WesternTailors in Fort Worth.SurvivorsDecatur; sons Jim FennellStates Armyand was amember ofthe BaptistChurch.include hisFENNELL wife, SueFennell ofand wife, Jeannie, of CanyonLake and Bill Fennelland wife, Michele, of Decatur;daughter Deb Jones andhusband, Norman, of Weatherford;seven grandchildrenand 10 great-grandchildren.<strong>Wise</strong> <strong>County</strong> <strong>Messenger</strong>,January <strong>30</strong>, 2<strong>01</strong>3Billy Joe ‘Tex’ Read1943-2<strong>01</strong>3Billy Joe “Tex” Read, 69, diedMonday, Jan. 28, 2<strong>01</strong>3, at SunsetNursing Home in Concordia,Kan.Memorial service is 2 p.m.Thursday, Jan. 31, at Chaput-Buoy Funeral Home in Concordiawith the Rev. Barry Brinkmanofficiating. The familyselected cremation, and privateburial will be at a later date.Billy was born March 22,1943, in Decatur to Earnestand Lois (Hudson) Read. Hegrew up in Texas and marriedCharlotte Regnier Feb. 2, 1966,in Concordia.Billy was a truck driver forBoogaarts, Crete Trucking andthen worked at the toy factorybefore driving for Koch Excavating.Ruby Jean Weyerts1931-2<strong>01</strong>3Mary Williams19<strong>30</strong>-2<strong>01</strong>3He is survived by his wife,daughter Christina Read ofConcordia; son Todd Read ofLafayette, La.; half-brother ErnieRead of Jacksboro; grandchildrenGrant, Stephanie andBrady Read; and great-granddaughterHe was preceded in deathby his parents, grandparents,aunts, uncles, step-grandsonMemorials may be made tothe Billy Read Memorial Fundonline condolences, visit www.Charlotte, of Concordia;Kylee Hillman.Stephan, and half-brother,David.in care of the funeral home. Forchaputbuoy.com.<strong>Wise</strong> <strong>County</strong> <strong>Messenger</strong>,January <strong>30</strong>, 2<strong>01</strong>3death by herparents; herhusband,Herbert WilliamsFrankie Bewley.sons, Herby and Dooley Williamsof Boyd; granddaughterJennifer Thomas Williamsof Fort Worth; sisterDorothy Hays of Fort Worth;other family members and aMary waspreceded inSr.;WILLIAMS and sisterSurvivors include herhost of friends.<strong>Wise</strong> <strong>County</strong> <strong>Messenger</strong>,January <strong>30</strong>, 2<strong>01</strong>3Ruby Jean Weyerts, 81,of Enid, Okla. died Sunday,Jan. 27, 2<strong>01</strong>3, in Bridgeport.Funeral will be held in Enidwith burial at MemorialPark Cemetery under thedirection of Jones FamilyFuneral Home of Bridgeport.Ruby was born Oct. 18,1931, in Butler, Okla., toLolo Mae (Etherton) andHarry Holiday Evert Lewis.She worked for J.C. Penneyand Hallmark storesand enjoyed her church andfamily. She was a member ofthe First Baptist Church inEnid.She is survived by herstepdaughters, Agnes Lou-and husband,Joe, of Chico,and husband,s t e p s o nJames Weyerts and wife,Nancy, of Plano; numerouston Weyerts Jr.; her parents;ise Brittonand DorisEleen GertenNickolas, ofWEYERTS Yukon, Okla.;grandchildren and greatgrandchildren.She was preceded indeath by her husband, Mil-and sons Dan Patton andLance Patton.<strong>Wise</strong> <strong>County</strong> <strong>Messenger</strong>,January <strong>30</strong>, 2<strong>01</strong>3940-627-5987 • ADS@WCMESSENGER.COMWe honor most all funeral plansoffered by any funeral home.14<strong>01</strong> Halsell • Bridgeport940-683-1704The family ofWanda Banisterwould like to thank everyone fortheir phone calls, visits, meals, plantsand flowers during the loss of ourloved one. You support was comfortingduring this difficult time and weare thankful to each one of you foryour acts of kindness.Sincerely,The Shaffer & Allen Family