RAPPIN’ RAPPIN’ RAPPIN’ RAPPIN’ RAPPIN’ Tommy Wyatt Tommy Wyatt Tommy Wyatt Tommy Wyatt Tommy Wyatt Vol. 37 No. 15 Website: theaustinvillager.com Email: [email protected]Phone: 512-476-0082 Fax: 512-476-0179 September 18, 2009 Presorted Standard U.S. Postage Paid Austin, Texas Permit No. 01949 This paper can be recycled National Urban League Annual Conference Inspires Thousands The Austin Indepen- dent School District (AISD) Board of Trustees recently ap- proved Superintendent Meria Carstarphen’s appointment of Dr. Bergeron Harris as AISD’s new Associate Super- intendent of Middle Schools. Dr. Harris recently served the district as Assistant Superin- tendent for Educational Sup- port Services. He has previ- ously worked in AISD as prin- cipal of Covington and Paredes Middle Schools; as- sistant principal of Murchison Middle School and Travis High School; and was a teacher at the former Dobie Junior High School, now Dobie Middle School. Other professional experi- ences of Dr. Harris include serving as Executive Direc- tor of Secondary Education for Pflugerville ISD, and Di- rector of District Services for UT-Austin’s Charles A. Dana Center where he pro- vided professional develop- ment and training for school and district leaders throughout the state of Texas and nationally in Chicago Public Schools. He earned a doctorate in Educational Administra- tion from Baylor University, a Master’s degree in Educa- tional Administration from Southwest Texas State Uni- versity, and a Bachelor’s de- gree in English Education from Dillard University in New Orleans. The Associate Super- intendent for Middle Schools is the chief admin- istrator for Austin’s 19 middle schools, and as such, supervises all middle school principals, oversees school operations, teaching, and learning. Dr. Bergeron Harris Dr. Bergeron Harris to oversee Middle Schools in AISD Rep. Joe Wilson’s Out- burst Reignites Focus on South Carolina LOS ANGELES (NNPA) - The National Newspaper Publishers Association, the Black Press of America, has announced that it will not hold its mid-winter conference in South Carolina scheduled for January 2010. The organization of more than 200 Black-owned newspapers is joining the NAACP economic boycott of the state that has been in effect since July 1999 when the South Carolina NAACP called for it as a protest of the Confederate flag – a symbol of racial hatred - atop the State House and in- side the House and Senate chambers. The boycott, still in effect, calls on groups and in- dividuals to avoid traveling to the state for business or plea- sure and discourages residents from visiting South Carolina beaches or patronizing restau- rants and motels. This announcement comes on the heels of South Carolina Republican Repre- sentative Joe Wilson’s out- burst of “You lie!” that broke decorum during President Barack Obama’s address to the Joint Houses of Congress on health care reform on Wednes- day Sept. 9. Wilson’s outburst was viewed as ghastly by both Democrats and Republicans who refused to defend him.“As African-American newspaper publishers, we stand in solidarity with the NAACP and fully support the economic boycott of South Carolina,” states NNPA Chair- man Danny J. Bakewell Sr. “Rep. Wilson’s remarks were racist, disrespectful, and a dis- NNPA Chair Pulls Black Press Convention from South Carolina ingenuous violation—not only of President Obama—but to the institution of the presi- dency and only solidified our position and the importance in not spending Black dollars where Black people are not re- spected. The continued public and blatant disrespect of Presi- dent Barack Obama by mem- bers of Congress will not be rewarded with our dollars nor will a state that continues to uphold America’s shameful past by flying the Confederate flag.” The NNPA is currently considering North Carolina in lieu of its decision to boycott South Carolina. The group joins a host of other organiza- tions and businesses that refuse to hold conventions or meetings in South Carolina. Bakewell Sr., elected NNPA chairman in June, is executive publisher of the Los Angeles Sentinel Newspaper, the largest and most read Black newspaper west of the Missis- sippi and owner of WBOK ra- dio station in New Orleans, Louisiana. Bakewell knows well the power of economic boycott. He is CEO of The Bakewell Company, one of the largest African-American owned development compa- nies in the United States. The company is responsible for the development of more than 1 million square feet of retail space in predominantly Afri- can-American communities, including Compton and South Central Los Angeles. NNPA Chairman Danny Bakewell People who are good cooks, or like to cook often say, “ I ought to open a restaurant!” But do they really know what it really takes? Fred B. War- ren came here from North Caro- lina years ago and served a long career in the military cooking for hundreds of soldiers. After leaving the service he stared to work for Huston-Tillotson Col- lege Cafeteria managing through Sodexo Company. At H. T. Fred became a known per- sonality, as well as being know for his excellent cuisine he turns out for students and staff. After 5 years of working for Sodexo he said he was in- spired to strike out and open his own establishment. On June 8 th Fred opened the doors of “ Southern Hospitality Restaurant” located at 7801 N. Lamar. Fred said his decision was not made hurriedly. As many other African Americans, he was his own financier, but he also wanted to mention that he acquired equipment, furni- ture and other items gradually. At the opening he is debt free, owing no one but his customers a good meal. After tasting a few of the items Southern Hospitality offers I could tell right away he knows what he is doing. The Chicken and dumplings were perfect, as well as one of his popular items he is promoting Huston Tilloston Cafeteria Manager Opens “Southern Hospitality Restaurant” A Texas Sandwich. Other specials are available all dur- ing the week for lunch at a mere $5.95. Monday through Friday, with favorite specialties such as catfish on Fridays. What is the life of a restaurant owner like? Are people really cut out for it? Here’s Fred’s life. He gets up at 5:30 every morning, he showers gets dressed, tell his wife good-bye because his two children are still asleep. He drives to work, turns the lights on and immediately starts boil- ing a large quantify of chicken. Then he starts the breakfast items because they offer tacos and other breakfast specialties at 7:00. They keep the breakfast items going until 9:00 then the next rush comes for breakfast. Adrienne Rison-Isom Contributing Reporter At 9:30 he preps vegetables, af- ter making a short fresh veg- etable run to the produce mar- ket. They prepare and serve all lunch items. They close at 3:00, clean, prep for the next day, and then he goes home and does ac- counting. He uses one of two accounting programs To keep track of prof- its, along with a spreadsheet to observe which items sell well, and how much he is spending in every category. Everyday is fast paced, but Fred says he loves cooking. He said that the management in Sodexo, well prepared him for self- employment. Second thoughts? Chef Fred B. Warren and family The National Urban League (NUL) concluded its three-and-a-half day long, annual conference (August 12,2009) themed “The Path to Power” after drawing more than 3,300 conference regis- trants and 4,000 attendees to the NUL Experience Career Fair and Expo Hall. Hosted in Chicago at McCormick Place West, the annual event featured some of the most in- fluential leaders in the coun- try as they addressed the is- sues that African Americans face in the 21 st century. Presented by Centene and McDonald’s Corporation, the conference began with a keynote address by NUL President and CEO Marc H. Morial at Apostolic Church of God where he laid out four empowerment goals for 2025, which included: 1.) That every American child is ready for college, work and life, 2.) To ensure that every American has access to a de- cent job with a living wage, 3.) That every American is free from barriers to safe, af- fordable, and energy efficient housing, on fair terms, and 4.) That every American has ac- cess to quality and affordable health care solutions. Follow- ing this address, conference attendees joined actors Tracee Ellis Ross and Terrance Howard for a wel- come reception at the Field Museum hosted by the Chi- cago Urban League. On the first day of work- shops and plenary sessions, Marc H. Morial moderated the conference’s first panel dis- cussion on “The Path to Power.” Participants in- cluded: NAACP President and CEO Benjamin Jealous; John Payton, president and director-counsel, NAACP Le- gal Defense Fund; Greg Nick- els of the U.S. Conference of Mayors; Chicago Urban League President and CEO Cheryle Jackson; and Chris Gardner, author of Pursuit of Happyness and CEO Christo- pher Gardner International Holdings. Following this session, Marc H. Morial was joined by Centene, McDonald’s Corpo- ration, Service Master and the Black Women’s Expo for a Ribbon Cutting Ceremony to commemorate the grand opening of the NUL Experi- ence Career Fair and Expo Hall. Next, Bank of America President and CEO Kenneth Lewis served as the keynote speaker at the National Urban League Business Luncheon. U.S. Department of Educa- tion Secretary Arne Duncan gave remarks. CNN’s Soledad O’Brien ended the day’s sessions as she moderated a panel on “The State of Black America.” U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development Sec- retary Shaun Donovan gave remarks and conference par- ticipants were later treated to an electrifying performance by legendary R&B group EnVogue at the Chicago The- ater during the evening clos- ing benefit concert. See NUL page 7 AAUl CEO Jeffery Ricgard and Vice president Joe Biden Who are those “Tea Party” people? We have been hear- ing a lot about the “Tea Parties” lately, locally and nationally. But, who are these people who say that they represent main- stream America? I don’t recognize many of them. And the ones that I do rec- ognize, are identified with the extreme conservative right. If this group makes up main stream America, who does the 51% major- ity who elected Barack Obama president repre- sent? The group who voted for change in America is now said to be the people bent on bringing America down, rather than mak- ing things better. When Barack Obama was elected president, many believed that it would signal a turning point in this country where all races would truly begin to work to- gether for the betterment of the country and each other. But, during the short eight months that he has been office, the racial di- vide seems to be getting greater. When African Americans are falling to the bottom of the socio- economic latter faster than ever before, and when the average Ameri- can is threatened with losing their homes and businesses in greater numbers than ever, the Tea Party group wants to continue to call for busi- ness as usual. When Joe Wilson (R- South Carolina) yelled out “You Lie” to the president as he was making a speech before the Joint House of Congress, he broke the procedural rules of that body. It was a shout that was heard around the world. It was a mistake so grievous, that in many countries he would have been jailed for the rest of his natural life. Barack Obama is the President of the United States, the most powerful office in the world and he must be given the respect due the office. If we are to expect the rest of world to respect our President, we must first respect him ourselves. Our congress was right in taking a day out of its busy schedule to send a message to all of the Joe Wilsons of the world. This is our duly elected president and we expect for him to be treated with the utmost respect, even though he just happens to be Black.
National Urban League AnnualConference Inspires Thousands
The Austin Indepen-dent School District (AISD)Board of Trustees recently ap-proved Superintendent MeriaCarstarphen’s appointmentof Dr. Bergeron Harris asAISD’s new Associate Super-intendent of Middle Schools.Dr. Harris recently served thedistrict as Assistant Superin-tendent for Educational Sup-port Services. He has previ-ously worked in AISD as prin-cipal of Covington andParedes Middle Schools; as-sistant principal ofMurchison Middle Schooland Travis High School; andwas a teacher at the formerDobie Junior High School,now Dobie Middle School.Other professional experi-ences of Dr. Harris includeserving as Executive Direc-tor of Secondary Educationfor Pflugerville ISD, and Di-rector of District Services forUT-Austin’s Charles A.Dana Center where he pro-vided professional develop-ment and training for schooland district leadersthroughout the state ofTexas and nationally in
Chicago Public Schools. He earned a doctorate
in Educational Administra-tion from Baylor University,a Master’s degree in Educa-tional Administration fromSouthwest Texas State Uni-versity, and a Bachelor’s de-gree in English Educationfrom Dillard University inNew Orleans.
The Associate Super-intendent for MiddleSchools is the chief admin-istrator for Austin’s 19middle schools, and assuch, supervises all middleschool principals, overseesschool operations, teaching,and learning.
Dr. Bergeron Harris
Dr. Bergeron Harris to oversee Middle Schools in AISD
Rep. Joe Wilson’s Out-burst Reignites Focus onSouth Carolina
LOS ANGELES (NNPA)- The National NewspaperPublishers Association, theBlack Press of America, hasannounced that it will not holdits mid-winter conference inSouth Carolina scheduled forJanuary 2010.
The organization ofmore than 200 Black-ownednewspapers is joining theNAACP economic boycott ofthe state that has been in effectsince July 1999 when the SouthCarolina NAACP called for itas a protest of the Confederateflag – a symbol of racial hatred- atop the State House and in-side the House and Senatechambers. The boycott, still ineffect, calls on groups and in-dividuals to avoid traveling tothe state for business or plea-sure and discourages residentsfrom visiting South Carolinabeaches or patronizing restau-rants and motels.
This announcementcomes on the heels of SouthCarolina Republican Repre-sentative Joe Wilson’s out-burst of “You lie!” that brokedecorum during PresidentBarack Obama’s address to theJoint Houses of Congress onhealth care reform on Wednes-day Sept. 9.
Wilson’s outburst wasviewed as ghastly by bothDemocrats and Republicanswho refused to defendhim.“As African-Americannewspaper publishers, westand in solidarity with theNAACP and fully support theeconomic boycott of SouthCarolina,” states NNPA Chair-man Danny J. Bakewell Sr.“Rep. Wilson’s remarks wereracist, disrespectful, and a dis-
NNPA Chair Pulls Black Press Convention from South Carolina
ingenuous violation—notonly of President Obama—butto the institution of the presi-dency and only solidified ourposition and the importance innot spending Black dollarswhere Black people are not re-spected. The continued publicand blatant disrespect of Presi-dent Barack Obama by mem-bers of Congress will not berewarded with our dollars norwill a state that continues touphold America’s shamefulpast by flying the Confederateflag.”
The NNPA is currentlyconsidering North Carolina inlieu of its decision to boycottSouth Carolina. The groupjoins a host of other organiza-tions and businesses thatrefuse to hold conventions or
meetings in South Carolina.Bakewell Sr., elected
NNPA chairman in June, isexecutive publisher of the LosAngeles Sentinel Newspaper,the largest and most read Blacknewspaper west of the Missis-sippi and owner of WBOK ra-dio station in New Orleans,Louisiana. Bakewell knowswell the power of economicboycott. He is CEO of TheBakewell Company, one of thelargest African-Americanowned development compa-nies in the United States. Thecompany is responsible for thedevelopment of more than 1million square feet of retailspace in predominantly Afri-can-American communities,including Compton and SouthCentral Los Angeles.
NNPA Chairman Danny Bakewell
People who are goodcooks, or like to cook often say, “I ought to open a restaurant!”
But do they really knowwhat it really takes? Fred B. War-ren came here from North Caro-lina years ago and served a longcareer in the military cookingfor hundreds of soldiers. Afterleaving the service he stared towork for Huston-Tillotson Col-lege Cafeteria managingthrough Sodexo Company. AtH. T. Fred became a known per-sonality, as well as being knowfor his excellent cuisine he turnsout for students and staff.
After 5 years of workingfor Sodexo he said he was in-spired to strike out and open hisown establishment. On June 8th
Fred opened the doors of “ Southern Hospitality
Restaurant” located at 7801 N.Lamar. Fred said his decisionwas not made hurriedly. Asmany other African Americans,he was his own financier, buthe also wanted to mention thathe acquired equipment, furni-ture and other items gradually.At the opening he is debt free,owing no one but his customersa good meal.
After tasting a few ofthe items Southern Hospitalityoffers I could tell right away heknows what he is doing. TheChicken and dumplings wereperfect, as well as one of hispopular items he is promoting
A Texas Sandwich. Otherspecials are available all dur-ing the week for lunch at a mere$5.95. Monday through Friday,with favorite specialties such ascatfish on Fridays.
What is the life of arestaurant owner like? Arepeople really cut out for it?
Here’s Fred’s life. He getsup at 5:30 every morning, heshowers gets dressed, tell hiswife good-bye because his twochildren are still asleep. Hedrives to work, turns the lightson and immediately starts boil-ing a large quantify of chicken.Then he starts the breakfastitems because they offer tacosand other breakfast specialtiesat 7:00. They keep the breakfastitems going until 9:00 then thenext rush comes for breakfast.
Adrienne Rison-IsomContributing Reporter
At 9:30 he preps vegetables, af-ter making a short fresh veg-etable run to the produce mar-ket.
They prepare andserve all lunch items. Theyclose at 3:00, clean, prepfor the next day, and thenhe goes home and does ac-counting. He uses one of twoaccounting programs
To keep track of prof-its, along with a spreadsheetto observe which items sellwell, and how much he isspending in every category.
Everyday is fastpaced, but Fred says heloves cooking. He said thatthe management in Sodexo,well prepared him for self-employment.
Second thoughts?
Chef Fred B. Warren and family
The National UrbanLeague (NUL) concluded itsthree-and-a-half day long,annual conference (August12,2009) themed “The Path toPower” after drawing morethan 3,300 conference regis-trants and 4,000 attendees tothe NUL Experience CareerFair and Expo Hall. Hostedin Chicago at McCormickPlace West, the annual eventfeatured some of the most in-fluential leaders in the coun-try as they addressed the is-sues that African Americansface in the 21st century.
Presented byCentene and McDonald’sCorporation, the conferencebegan with a keynote addressby NUL President and CEOMarc H. Morial at ApostolicChurch of God where he laidout four empowerment goalsfor 2025, which included: 1.)That every American child isready for college, work andlife, 2.) To ensure that everyAmerican has access to a de-cent job with a living wage,3.) That every American isfree from barriers to safe, af-fordable, and energy efficienthousing, on fair terms, and 4.)That every American has ac-cess to quality and affordablehealth care solutions. Follow-ing this address, conferenceattendees joined actorsTracee Ellis Ross andTerrance Howard for a wel-come reception at the FieldMuseum hosted by the Chi-cago Urban League.
On the first day of work-shops and plenary sessions,Marc H. Morial moderated the
conference’s first panel dis-cussion on “The Path toPower.” Participants in-cluded: NAACP Presidentand CEO Benjamin Jealous;John Payton, president anddirector-counsel, NAACP Le-gal Defense Fund; Greg Nick-els of the U.S. Conference ofMayors; Chicago UrbanLeague President and CEOCheryle Jackson; and ChrisGardner, author of Pursuit ofHappyness and CEO Christo-pher Gardner InternationalHoldings.
Following this session,Marc H. Morial was joined byCentene, McDonald’s Corpo-ration, Service Master and theBlack Women’s Expo for aRibbon Cutting Ceremony tocommemorate the grandopening of the NUL Experi-ence Career Fair and ExpoHall. Next, Bank of AmericaPresident and CEO KennethLewis served as the keynotespeaker at the National UrbanLeague Business Luncheon.U.S. Department of Educa-tion Secretary Arne Duncangave remarks.
CNN’s Soledad O’Brienended the day’s sessions asshe moderated a panel on“The State of Black America.”U.S. Department of Housingand Urban Development Sec-retary Shaun Donovan gaveremarks and conference par-ticipants were later treated toan electrifying performanceby legendary R&B groupEnVogue at the Chicago The-ater during the evening clos-ing benefit concert.
See NUL page 7
AAUl CEO Jeffery Ricgard and Vice president Joe Biden
Who arethose “Tea
Party” people?We have been hear-
ing a lot about the “TeaParties” lately, locally andnationally. But, who arethese people who say thatthey represent main-stream America? I don’trecognize many of them.And the ones that I do rec-ognize, are identified withthe extreme conservativeright.
If this group makesup main stream America,who does the 51% major-ity who elected BarackObama president repre-sent? The group who votedfor change in America isnow said to be the peoplebent on bringing Americadown, rather than mak-ing things better.
When Barack Obamawas elected president,many believed that itwould signal a turningpoint in this countrywhere all races wouldtruly begin to work to-gether for the bettermentof the country and eachother.
But, during the shorteight months that he hasbeen office, the racial di-vide seems to be gettinggreater. When AfricanAmericans are falling tothe bottom of the socio-economic latter fasterthan ever before, andwhen the average Ameri-can is threatened withlosing their homes andbusinesses in greaternumbers than ever, theTea Party group wants tocontinue to call for busi-ness as usual.
When Joe Wilson (R-South Carolina) yelled out“You Lie” to the presidentas he was making aspeech before the JointHouse of Congress, hebroke the procedural rulesof that body. It was ashout that was heardaround the world. It was amistake so grievous, thatin many countries hewould have been jailed forthe rest of his natural life.
Barack Obama is thePresident of the UnitedStates, the most powerfuloffice in the world and hemust be given the respectdue the office. If we are toexpect the rest of world torespect our President, wemust first respect himourselves.
Our congress wasright in taking a day outof its busy schedule tosend a message to all ofthe Joe Wilsons of theworld. This is our dulyelected president and weexpect for him to betreated with the utmostrespect, even though hejust happens to be Black.
EDITORIALS/COMMENTARYEditorial, Commentary or Letter to the Editor Fax to 512.476.0179 Email to [email protected] Mail to 1223-A Rosewood Avenue, 78702
Page 2/THE VILLAGER/September 18, 2009
By. Julianne MalveauxNNPA Columnist
Serena Williams -Beautifully Human
Days after Serena Will-iams melted down during herUS Open match with herlong-time friend and fellowtennis champion KimClijsters, the controversy con-tinues to swirl. As of this writ-ing there is talk of a possiblesuspension, further fines, andother action against the phe-nomenal tennis diva who lether intensity and passion runaway with her when she re-acted inappropriately to whatmay have been a faulty footfault call on the part of an over-zealous line judge. Several ofthe commentators noted thatthe foot fault call was un-timely and perhaps inappro-priate. Nothing, however, ex-cuses Serena’s behavior.Microphones picked up heruse of profanity, her threaten-ing manner toward the linejudge, and her obfuscatingconversation with the umpire.Her comments have gener-ated so much controversy thatyou would think she had,say, hollered at the Presidentof the United States as he wasgiving a major policy address.While Serena critics call foreverything but her head on aplatter, Congressman Joe Wil-son, the South Carolinianwho called President BarackObama a liar, has drawn aline in the sand and says hewill apologize no more.While the stages are different,there is an interesting paral-lel. White men can apologize
once, say they won’t againapologize, and get a relativepass on their behavior. In-deed, after a tepid apology,Wilson has gone one to put adefiantly insolent video onthe Internet essentially excus-ing his behavior. You can betthat Serena Williams won’tget away as easily. BothSerena Williams and Joe Wil-son need to reflect on their be-havior. The difference be-tween the two is that we haveevidence that Serena can re-flect; Wilson’s case is far moremurky. In her new autobiog-
Serena Williams
raphy, Queen of the Court,Serena Williams writes aboutthe game of tennis as a meta-phor for the game of life. Oneof the things she talks aboutis the need to shake off themistakes of the last point, set,game or match as a way ofmoving ahead. The pace oftennis is such that if youdwell on the last point youcan’t move to the next one, andthat’s often the case with life.We have to take enough timeto learn from our mistakes, butwe surely can’t dwell on themto the point that they becomecrippling or paralyzing.If you are down 5-6, 15-30, youcan’t really worry about thelast serve, you have to worryabout the next one. Serena’sbook is a great reflection onher life and her challenges,
and as she struggles with theaftermath of last Saturday’sloss, I hope her own wordswill give her comfort andpeace. Many of us were quitedisturbed at the manner andmethod of Serena’s Saturdayloss. Yet as I watched herwalk up to the net and shakeKim Clijster’s hand, I alsosaw her, in the words of song-stress Jill Scott, as beautifullyhuman. I saw her as both ayoung woman, and a sea-soned one. I saw her as anintense young woman wholet the heat of the momentpush her into a zone that sheclearly regrets, and as awoman who did not allowher intensity to prevent herfrom being gracious towardher opponent. I saw her as sostrong and yet flawed, aplayer who acknowledgedher mistake in reacting so in-tensely. And, yes, I saw heras a tennis icon whose lovefor and contributions to thegame of tennis carry muchmore weight than her Satur-day mistake. Most of all, I sawher as someone who has hadto shoulder the many waysthat race and gender shapeher experiences in tennis, awoman who has all too oftenbeen treated unfairly, evenharshly, by those who makegreat profit from her amazingathletic prowess. Serena Wil-liams is beautiful, beautifullyhuman, resplendent in spiteof, and because of her flaws.Congressman Joe Wilson isgetting a pass for his ignorantand intemperate behaviorwhen President Obamaspoke. Indeed, he has givenhimself a pass. I hope that thebeautifully human SerenaWilliams will get the samekind of pass from herself andthe world as she embracesand learns from her melt-down.
George E. CurryNNPA Columnist
Some CompaniesContinue to Support
Glenn Beck
Evidently JosBanksdoesn’t want African Ameri-cans and other progressivesto purchase clothes from theirstores. TDAmeritrade appar-ently wants Blacks to buy andsell stocks, but from someoneelse. And those sun-drenchedads urging you to visit San-dals resorts in the Caribbeaninexplicably don’t wantBlacks to go to those hotelsand spas on the largely Blackislands. The Video Professorobjects to African Americansordering his products. Eventhe people at The Scooter Storedon’t want African Americanseniors scooting around ontheir brand of scooters.At least, that’s the messageeach of the aforementionedcompanies is conveying bycontinuing to advertise onGlenn Beck’s controversialtelevision program on the Foxnetwork. Under pressure,more than 60 companies, in-cluding General Mills, DirectTV, Mercedes-Benz, GEICO,State Farm, Best Buy, Proctor& Gamble and a chiefJosBanks competitor, Men’sWarehouse, have pulled theircommercials from Beck’sshow. But more than twodozen companies are con-tinuing to advertise on theshow, thumbing their nose atAfrican-American consum-ers and those who sympa-thize with them. On July 28,Beck accused PresidentObama of being a racist. Hesaid the president, who is bi-racial, has “a deep-seatedhatred of White people”ColorOfChange.org, an Afri-can-American Internet advo-cacy group, organized a boy-
cott of companies runningcommercials on the contro-versial program. The groupwas joined by two otherInternet-driven organiza-tions, BoycottFoxNews.comand Democrats.com, whichbills itself as “the aggressiveprogressives.” More than 60firms pulled the plug on theprogram, ordering Fox net-work to place their spots onother shows. A list of currentand former sponsors can befound at: http://www.democrats.com/boy-cott-fox-news-advertisersMeanwhile, Beck continueshis daily campaign againstprogressives. He led the suc-cessful campaign to oust VanJones as President Obama’sspecial adviser on green jobsand Yosi Sergant as commu-nications director of the Na-tional Endowment for theArts. Beck dug up some oldtapes of Jones using an exple-tive to describe Republicansand his espousing revolution-ary views. Beck accusedSergant of using taxpayermoney to fund the president’sart initiatives. Organizers ofthe Fox boycott site argue,“Fox News has always beenthe propaganda arm of theRepublican Party.” They urgeall companies to quit adver-tising with Fox. For a numberof reasons, including the sizeof Fox’s audience, most ma-jor companies are unwillingto withdraw all advertisingfrom the conservative net-work. However, as I arguedin this space five weeks ago,companies that advertise onFox and in right-wing publi-cations but refuse to advertisewith the Black Press must beheld accountable. A goodplace to start is with the list offormer Beck sponsors. For ex-ample, does State Farm adver-tise on the Bev Smith Show?Is Men’s Warehouse runningspots on The Tom JoynerMorning Show? DoesApplebees advertise in Blacknewspapers? Is Direct TVrunning ads on the Joe Madi-son Show? Does Travelocity
advertise on TV One? DoesJohnson & Johnson keep itreal on The Al SharptonShow? Does Vonage runcommericals on JesseJackson’s radio show, “KeepHope Alive?” Is ProgressiveInsurance progressiveenough to advertise with theradio stations affliated withAmerican Urban Radio Net-works? Does PearleVision/Lenscrafters see the impor-tance of advertising with Ra-dio One? You already knowthe answers to most of thosequestions, which means youshould also know what weneed to do next. If the compa-nies that support right-ringzealots continue to boycottthe Black media, AfricanAmericans should boycottthem. I hereby propose thatthe National NewspaperPublishers Association(NNPA), American UrbanRadio Networks, Radio Oneand TV One examine the listof curent and former Becksponsors – along advertiserson shows hosted by RushLimbaugh and CNN’s LouDobbs – and compile a list ofcompanies that boycott Blackmedia [links to the lists wereprovided above] while sup-porting these ultra-conserva-tives. I would rank the com-panies, based on annual rev-enues, and each month high-light a Corporate Offender ofthe Month. The Black Pressshould urge African-Ameri-can consumers and their sup-porters to refrain from doingbusiness with the serial of-fenders until they changetheir behavior. We alsoshould continue to monitorthe firms that still run com-mercials on Glenn Beck’s pro-gram. One pro-Beck Website,supportglennbeck.com, re-ports that after initially pull-ing their spots, Bank ofAmerica and Roche have re-sumed advertising on Beck’sprogram. That should nothappen without conse-quences. If we are unwillingto fight back, then we deservewhatever treatment we get.
Harry C. AlfordNNPA Columnist
A Good Energy PolicyVersus Environmental
Extremism
The United States is theonly modern nation to nothave a formal energy policy.One of the earliest govern-ment officials to talk aboutClimate Change was ThomasJefferson when he noted theshortness of Virginia wintersreplete with shorter ice jamsin the rivers and smaller andfewer blizzards. He seriouslywondered about this. Wecould be further along in thisif we would stop the accusa-tory discussions and threatsof destruction. The Environ-mental Extremists want us torelinquish our manufacturingprowess and become a serviceeconomy. They want us totransfer all of our industryabroad like that isn’t going tohave a negative impact on oureconomy or our national se-curity. Remember it was ourmanufacturing clout (thanksto great entrepreneurs likeHenry Ford, Thomas Edison,etc.) that saved us in WorldWar II. We out built Germanyand Japan to create moreweapons and our access to oilsealed our victory. In the end,our foes ran out of gas, liter-ally, and we were victorious.From that experience we be-came the leader of the worldand I find no reason to relin-quish that title. If we come to-gether and design a great en-ergy policy that will addressClimate Change we can main-tain our leadership and secu-rity. I say let’s get it on. A goodenergy policy model is thenation of Brazil. Our Board ofDirectors had the privilege to
visit Brazil back in 1999 andget a thorough briefing anddemonstration on their strat-egy. We visited Electrobras,Petrobras, coal plants, steelplants, professors, universi-ties and government andelected officials. Brazil wastaking all forms of energy intotheir arsenal and developingthem under the goal of self-sufficiency and national secu-rity. Today, after ten years thisnation is clearly independentand self sufficient. If theydon’t import a drop of oil, theycan last on their own reservesfor at least twelve years. Theyhave developed the most suc-cessful ethanol production inthe world through the use ofsugar cane and the technol-ogy of our own Ford MotorCo. They have three nuclearfacilities now with nine morein the process. Keep in mindthat nuclear energy is the saf-est and cleanest (zero carbonemissions). Their partnershipwith Angola and other offshore drilling brings in muchnatural gas and oil. Their coaland steel facilities operateand, somehow, generate verylittle carbon emissions. Theirsteel and coal cities have clearskies above them. What thisnation of 170 million people(48% Black) has done is justan example of what we cando if our Congressional par-ticipants and the WhiteHouse got its act together.Right now we have an 1100page document known as theWaxman/Markey Energy Billthat doesn’t even mentionnuclear facilities or off shoreexploration. It is concentrat-ing on Wall Street hustles,taxations and disabling ourmanufacturing prowess. It is
more concern about makingmoney and not addressingour energy needs and clean-ing up the world environ-ment. Why? A big disappoint-ment is the avarice in the goalsof General Electric and otherWall St. entities. GE buildswindmills which would playa role in alternative energy.This is fine but it is also lim-ited to certain areas of the na-tion (Rocky Mountain Statesand New England) and can-not cover our energy needs byitself. Still, GE supports thisstupid bill simply for its ownbalance sheet and personalrevenue. Also, it joins withWall St. speculators to seizethe opportunity of “Cap andTrade”. This style of swaps,derivatives and arbitrage wasactually invented by Ken Layand his Enron cronies. Theymade billions when Europetried the “Cap and Trade”mess. Today, Europe suffersfrom less manufacturing andno improvement to it’s or theworlds environment. Finally,there is the big myth of “GreenJobs”. Listen, there are nogreen jobs and whenever I askan authority to explain whatgreen jobs are they cannot giveme an answer. It is just hyper-bole. The former Green JobsCzar Van Jones would justastound me with all thatrhetoric and not an ounce ofsubstance in explaininggreen jobs. “Good payinggreen jobs”? Maybe they areat a nuclear facility where theaverage salary is $150,000 peryear. Let’s put that in Cleve-land, St. Louis, etc. Thatwould be for real. We don’thave to destroy ourselves toimprove the world; just planbetter.
By Ron WaltersNNPA Columnist
Obama Fighting Back,At Last!
President BarackObama took off the gloves inhis speech to the Congress onHealth care, seeming to hearthose who said that he wasnot leading, that he had notbeen specific enough; they didnot know where he stood onsome of the critical issues.No matter. Obama tried to laytheir allay their concerns byciting improvements thatwould occur for those whowanted to keep their healthcare. For those who did nothave health care and worked,they would be covered by em-ployers, but if they left theirjobs, they would be able totake their coverage with them.They would also have accessto an exchange of companiesand a Public (Option) pro-gram that would be availableat an affordable cost, andhave a tax credit to subsidizetheir purchase of health care.The President stressed thepersonal responsibility forpeople to seek to obtain healthcare under the options avail-able and collective responsi-bility for companies to pro-
vide affordable coverage totheir employees. If not therewould fines, but a hardshipwaiver would be availablethat would cover 95% of busi-nesses. Then he turned hisattention to rejecting themyth-making of Republicans.They had, for example con-jured up the notion that“death-panels” would be setup by the government to de-termine end of life choices formany, that Republican Sena-tor Grassley and otherscalled “pulling the plug ongrandma.” He said therewere specific provisions in thebill that would outlaw immi-grants from receiving federalsubsidy for health care, anddenied that federal fundscould be used for abortions asagainst existing law. He ad-dressed the Public Option asone part of the exchange thatwould be set up, most ofwhich would be private in-surance companies. The aimwould be to bring insurancecosts down and keep qualityup by having a governmentoption, not having the gov-ernment run the whole sys-tem. And although he said hewould not sign a bill that wasnot revenue neutral, not add-ing costs to the deficit, he didnot make the same pledge forthe public option that ishighly popular with theAmerican people – not just theLeft. It seems to have been leftin a negotiating posture.Perhaps growing tired withthe games being played byRepublicans who appeared to
want a bi-partisan bill, butwould then go and criticizethe measures in the bill thathad come out of the House,he sounded tough in sayingthat he still wanted bi-parti-sanship, but the time forgame-playing was over, thathe would “call them out” ifthey were not serious.In fact, this was generous inlight of the fact that Republi-cans visibly rejected much ofwhat he was saying and one,Rep. Joe Wilson of South Caro-lina, even shouted that thepresident was a liar on hisstatement about not coveringimmigrants. The Wilson sagawas out of character becausenot in history of modernAmerica has any sitting presi-dent been called vile namesfrom the floor in the middle ofa speech to the Congress. Isthis because the man behindthe podium was black and theperson who shouted at himwas from the slave-holdingsouth? I think so. Wilsonshould apologize on the floorof the House, or be censuredby the House for his state-ment. The Democratic Partyshould exact the same kind ofaccountability that Republi-cans would have if the situa-tion had been reversed.Otherwise, it was a very goodand timely speech that ad-dressed the issues. At the endof that week, conservativeradicals had a “march onWashington” and the mediasaid tens of thousands hadcome. But who cares, theylost.
Visit the church of your choice on Sunday
JOSHUA CHAPEL CHRISTIAN METHODIST EPISCOPAL CHURCH
1006 Yeager Lane, Suite 102-A Austin, Texas
Sunday ServicesSunday School 10:00 A.M.Worship Service 11:00 A.M.
WEDNESDAY Bible Study 6:30 P.M.SATURDAY New
Member Assimilation 10:00 A.M.
Agape Baptist ChurchIn “The Centre” Bldg. F-15 7801 N. Lamar Blvd. (SE Corner of N Lamar and 183)
AGAPE is a chuch for all people. “Where Jesus Christ is Magnified and the love He exhibited isExemplified.” Come, receive God’s unconditional lovefor you. For there is no greater love!
Church ServicesSunday School 9:30 AMSunday Worship 11:00 AM
Mid-Week ServiceThursday: Praise, Prayer and Bible Study 7:00 PM
Call 454-1547 for TransporationWebsite www.agapebcaustintx.org
Jesus is Coming AgainThe church fellowship where everybody can be somebody!
Maranatha Faith Center4930 South Congress Avenue, C-302 512-750-4628 512-804-2537
Sunday School 9:00-10:00 A.M.Morning Service 10:00 A.M. -12Noon
Floyd Fontenot, Sr., Founder Floyd Fontenot, Jr., Pastor
St. Peter’s United Methodist Church4509Springdale Road 512- 926-1686 Fax 512-929-7281
We invite you to come and worship with us
Sunday ServicesWorship 8:30 A.M.Sunday School 9:45 A.MWorship Service 11:00 A.M.
WednesdayEvening Bible Study 6:00 P.M.
Rev. Jack C. Gause Pastor
Imani Community ChurchDavis Elementray Auditorium 5214 West Duval Road
Sunday School 9:00 A.M.Worship Service 10:00 A.M.•Power Hour Bible Life Group 6:00 P.M.
Imani Complex & Office,11800 Mustang at Duval Austin, Texas 78727
Visit:imanichurch.comOffice: 512-343-9300
Rev. Dr. Jacquelyn Donald-Mims
Ebenezer Baptist Church1010 East 10th Street 512-478-1875 Fax: 512-478-1892
Radio Ministry (KIXI 970 AM 9:00 A.M.TV Ministry (ACTV. Ch 32) 9:00 A.M.Bus Ministry Call 512-478-1875
Sunday ServicesWorship Service 8:00 A.M.Sunday School 9:00 A.M.Discipleship Training 10:00 A.M.Worship Service 11:00 A.M.
WednesdayMidweek Prayer Service 7:00 P.M. Child Development CenterAges 0-5 years (Daily) 512-478-6709
Rev. Marvin C. GriffinPastor
Rev. H. Ed CalahanPastor
Sunday Services
Wednesday Service 7:00 - 8:00 P.M.
September 18, 2009/The Villager/Page 3
St Annie A.M.E. Church1711 Newton StreetAustin, Texas 78704
“Ministries For Mankind” Luke 4:18 A.W.. Anthony Mays, Senior Pastor
Rev. Lois Hayes, Pastor
For years some of ushave tried to figure out whatmakes the IntergenerationalChoir of Wesley United Meth-odist Church so unique, sosuccessful, so good at whatthey do. They receive hun-dreds of request to performeach year, but their highlightpresentation for Austin is twohours of uninterrupted praiseand worship at their AnnualMusical, to be held this yearon Sunday, September 27,2009, at 4 p.m. at WesleyUnited Methodist Church,1164 San Bernard Street inAustin.
This year’s theme is “IfNot for Your Grace…” cel-ebrating the grace and truththat came to the worldthrough Jesus Christ as de-scribed in John 1: 16-17 of theHoly Bible. “The recent reces-sion has made Americans re-access their priorities, saidChoir President, LeonardWoods.
“We hope to remindpeople that God’s grace is apowerful and effective tool inthis very personal process ofreevaluating our lives andmoving forward despite ourcircumstance,” he said. Someof the songs to be featured inthe concert include “Ain’t Got
By Linda ConnerSpecial to the Villager
Wesley United Methodist’s Intergenerational ChoirEncourages America in 32nd Annual Musical
Time to Die; No Battle, NoBlessing; When I Worship,”and the theme song, “If NotFor Your Grace.”
It turns out that this sin-cerity in performance is thesecret to the choir’s success.In an interview with ChoirPresident, Leonard Woods, heexplained, “We take our re-sponsibility as a choir minis-try very seriously.
“No matter the venue,we view each opportunity tosing as a chance to touch asoul,” said Woods, “to leadsomeone to Jesus Christ, to en-courage someone throughtheir difficulty and to cel-ebrate with someone in theirvictory. We are spreadingGod’s message throughsong.”
For 32 years, Wesley’s
Intergenerational choir hasperformed at many premiereevents including the funeralof Texas Governor Ann Rich-ard, Grand Opening of theLong Center for the Perform-ing Arts, Conspriare”sAmerican Masterpiece Festi-val, Kyle Performing ArtsCenter Benefit forMozambique, HEB’s Feast ofSharing, Austin Refugee Cen-ter for Katrina Survivors andBlack History Celebration atthe Lyndon Baines JohnsonLibrary featuring Ossie Davisand Ruby Dee.
They also have been fea-tured on Fox 7 Morning Newsand in the East Side StoriesDocumentaries. “What drivesus is the same that drives anyfamily—love!,” said Woods.“We have love for God andlove not only for each mem-ber of the choir, but also loveof music and love for our au-dience.”
W e s l e y ’ sIntergenerational Choir hasan abundance of talent, butWoods assures this writerthat not all the singers are pro-fessionals. “While we haveprofessionals like Tim Curry,Sondra Johnson, Janice Jean,Lawrence Hornsby and Rob-ert Tapscott who have sungat Carnegie Hall, in theatricalproductions, at national andstate conventions and muse-ums,” said Woods, “we alsohave many other non-profes-sional singers just as dedi-cated and passionate aboutmusic.
“Our choir includeslawyers, doctors, dentists,educators, law enforcementpersonnel, insurance profes-sionals, high technology pro-fessionals, retired militarypersonnel; we run the gamut,”said Woods. “If they love the
Lord and love to sing, all arewelcome.”
The choir is led byLaMonica Lewis, Director ofMusic at Wesley United Meth-odist Church. Lewis is a na-tive Austinite who began hermusical career at age seven asa soloist in the children’schoir at Wesley. She studiedvoice at The University ofTexas at Austin as a scholar-ship recipient. She is an hon-
ored music teacher in the Aus-tin Independent School Dis-trict and a highly requestedprofessional vocalist.
“Talented individualslike LaMonica Lewis, BarryFranklin, Sharon Colemanand Geneva Rawlins have allplayed an important role inthis choir’s development,”said Woods. “And they arenot shy about calling you outin rehearsal, not only for sing-
ing the wrong note or thewrong rhythm, but also forsinging too loudly, or with-out enough emotion. Thesefolks not only have perfectpitch, but are nitpickersbeyond belief!,” he joked.
Perfection in the voice ofGod’s earth angels is whatyou’ll hear at the 32nd AnnualMusical at Wesley United Meth-odist Church. Rev. SylvesterChase is pastor.
Wesley United Methodist Church’s Intergenerational Choir in-clude Yvonne Tapscott (center), ( left to r in background) TimCurry, Willie Everett, Lawrence Hornsby, Juanita Stevens, An-gela Woods, and Rosalyn Hopkins.
(AUSTIN, Texas) —Musical greats and Huston-Tillotson University gradu-ates, Louie Carrington, ’71,and Carolyn Thompson, ’81,will star in Gospel to Jazz onMonday, Sept. 28, 2009, inAustin, Texas. St. James Epis-copal Church will host thebenefit concert from 7 p.m. to9 p.m. Admission is free butdonations will go toward theproduction of the HT concertchoir’s new compact diskette.
Carrington and Thomp-son are part of the nationallyknown Louie CarringtonTrio, which also features BobMeyers on saxophone. Thegroup will perform classics byRamsey Lewis, YolandaAdams, Duke Ellington, andother artists.
LOUIE CARRINGTON BRINGS ‘GOSPEL TOJAZZ’ TO AUSTIN
Thompson is a veteranvocalist from San Antonio.While at Huston-Tillotson,she sang in the concert choirand was an active member ofseveral civic organizations.Carrington began his musicalcareer at Trinity East United
Methodist Church in Hous-ton. He’s produced more thaneight albums and CDs forhimself and other musiciansin the Houston and Austinareas.
Gospel to Jazz is the firstin a series of concerts to raisefunds for the HT concertchoir, under the direction ofDr. Gloria Quinlan. Thegroup will began working onthe CD in March 2010. Thecompilation will include thefirst actual recording of theUniversity’s alma mater.
St. James EpiscopalChurch is located at 1941Webberville Road. For moreinformation on Gospel
to Jazz, contactCarrington Productions at713.529.7785.
Louie Carrington
United MethodistWomen (UMW) of St. Peter’sUnited Methodist Churchwill sponsor a “Fun, Foodand Family” All you can eatSpaghetti Dinner on Friday,September 18,2009 from 6 -8:30 p.m. The event will beheld at St. Peters UMC, 4509Springdale Road.
The dinner will fea-ture spaghetti with meatsauce or chicken speghetti,salad, garlic bread, tea anddessert.
Proceeds will go to-ward the Graduate/Schol-arship Fund. for more infor-mation, call 926-1686 or goto the websitestpetersaustintx.ning.com
St. Peter’sUMW host
“Fun, Food,and Family”
event
Youth of Today. Hope of Tomorrow.
Page 4/THE VILLAGER/September 18, 2008
Alonzo BlackHendrickson High School
Sponsorship Available
Call for info 476-0082
Managing campaigns for corporationsaround the clock, around the world.
MYEC
Jaylon KnightenCampbell Elementary
Toni NelsonKIPP
Jaquarry WilsonKealing Middle School
Lexus WrenKIPP
By Destini GorrerLBJ High School
Last week grades 2nd -5th took the Benchmark Test.On Tuesday we took the Read-ing part, Wednesday we tookthe Math, Thursday Writing
and on Friday we took theScience. The Benchmark testhelps us get ready for the Takstest.
The Bearcats had abye week, so we had nogames this Saturday. I wasglad since it rained allweekend long. Hope every-one had a good Labor Day.
On Wednesday TheYouth Brigade held our sec-ond meeting.Ms.Youngblood went overhow the newspaper is pro-cessed and the companiesthat help support the news-paper by buying ads toplace in the paper.
The Benchmark test gets usready for TAKS
I hope you are readyfor KIPP news. The athleticteams are getting the ball roll-ing for the second year insports. On Saturday 9/12,the KIPP Cardinals cross
country team finished theirfirst race and we are so proudto say that all runners fin-ished in the top 20!!CONGRATS.
Also at KIPP, one ofour very own students,Leticia M, has been acceptedto go and study with some ofUT’s art students in a studioat the University of Texas.Good luck on that Leticia.
KIPP High Schoolstudents will be given theirfirst progress reports so keepyour grades up for a good re-port. So until next time do thebest that you can in every-thing you do.
KIPP Cross Country Team getsthings rolling
Kealing MiddleSchool has recently had manystudents ill with the swine fluvirus. Many people say swineflu is just like the normal flubut it’s not. It’s very cautiousbecause it doesn’t have a par-ticular season like the normalflu. It can happen at any time.Also the swine flu doesn’thave a vaccine at the moment.
The symptoms ofboth illnesses are very simi-lar and will most likely be thesame. The symptoms of bothcan be treated but it will notmake the virus go away.Many students at Kealing arepracticing good health skillsthanks to the many letterssent to the parents of the stu-dents by the staff.
Many parents are mak-ing the choice of sending theirchildren to school while theyare sick, this is not healthy.Kealing has approximately1,300 students and the ad-ministrators are responsiblefor each and every one of themwhile at school. When youare sick don’t go out, pleasestay at home! I say this be-cause viruses such as theseare highly contagious andthey can be very harmful.
The most effective wayto prevent the spread of thoseand many other contagiousviruses is to wash your handswith soap and warm water asoften as possible. By doingthis you are killing bacteriathat lives on your hands andpreventing the spread ofswine flu.
The Flu bug hits Kealing
by Bria GoodLBJ High School
Two weeks ago onSeptember 4, 2009 was LBJfreshman’s first high schoolpep rally. The pep rally wasfull of high energy and every-body was ready for the foot-ball game later that night. TheLBJ Band, First Ladies Drillteam, and LBJ cheerleadersperformed and the footballand volleyball captainsspoke as well. I really likedthe experience and hope toperform in the pep rally oneday.
Unfortunately, later
that night the varsity footballgame, LBJ vs. Akins was can-celled due to bad weather con-ditions. But in other goodnews, the freshman footballteam won against Akins onThursday, September 3, 2009but I don’t have the exactscores just yet.
Also, PresidentObama declared that August30 to September 5 , 2009would be considered collegeweek. So LBJ principal, PatrickPatterson, wanted students atLBJ to participate also and onFriday we could wear any-thing that pertains to a collegeor college in general. Therewere a lot of people dressed upas geeks or nerds with sus-penders and glasses with tapein the middle. It was very amus-ing to actually see them wear-ing that the whole day but thespirit was very fun!
Well that’s all for thisweek, I’ll be updating soon. GoJags!
Jaguar Freshman’s First Pep Rally
Our first District gamewas on Friday. We playedLanier High School and cameaway with a victory once again!!
The victory was wonin two straight games. Wewon the first game 25-18 witha tremendous block from ourfront row Katherine (#8). Fromwatching them warm-up, wealready had thoughts ofsmashing them. With us be-ing service receipt was the partthat was killing us the most. Ipersonally think that the firstgame we gave them the leadinitially.
The second game,however, just seemed ‘dead’. The final score was 25-7. I will
say though we had more com-munication from both the play-ers on the bench as well as theplayers on the court. Also hus-tling was a big turnover wehad the second game. Whenit was time for me to serve, Ihad about 8 or 9 serves in arow which brought us toabout 20 or 21. Finishing offour victory was Kendrina(#11).
Saturday we experi-enced some competition. Wejoined in on a tournament heldat Hendrickson High School. We played at 9:00 am againstPflugerville Conally. That wasby far our worst game ever ! Itwas just like nobody was hus-tling, getting their serves in,etc. We just about woke upwhen we played Bowie at11:00 am. We lost this gametoo, but the good part was thatthis time we played better as ateam. Star (# ) had an excel-lent tip over to the other sidenobody was expecting thatgave us a point.
Volleyball isn’t as easyas it looks. Hustling and com-munication are the two keys toa successful team. Players failto realize that even if youdidn’t win, as long as you didthe best you could, that’s allthat counts. Just know yourspot on the court. Let’skeep itladies.........go Jags !!
FRESHMAN VOLLEYBALLAT THE “J”
Last Friday night (Sept.11) Hendrickson HighSchool played the Del ValleCardinals in what should’vebeen their third game, but be-cause of a rain out the previ-ous week, is the second of theyear. The Hawks put up avaliant fight, but eventuallyfalling to the Cardinals thirty-six to fourteen. Since I was notpersonally at the game, I amjust hoping that it was a littlerust from not playing the pre-vious Friday, and the teamwill be in good form at Home-coming this Friday nightagainst Elgin High School.
I’m really looking for-ward to the homecoming fora couple of reasons. The first,I’m sure is for a very obviousreason, is it’s will be our firsthome game of the year. Thenext, and the biggest for me,is the wiggle low. The wiggle
low is a dance that our bandinvented that involves a num-ber of different dance moves,some new school, and someold. This dance is lead by theone designated drum majorassisted by the band. I feel em-bodies everything that a highschool foot ball game shouldbe. It is interactive, fun, let’skids show their school spirit,and is a great way to let looseand relieve the stress of theweek of school.
This week, in honor ofhomecoming, is spirit week.Each day of spirit week has adifferent theme. Monday ismix & match day, on this daythe students where the mostoutrageous combination ofclothes. Tuesday is a new oneto our school called nerd day,I’m pretty sure you guys canguess what the kids are go-ing to dress like this day. Thenext day is super hero day,another new theme, and thestudents will show support totheir favorite super heroes.Thursday is a chance for kids,and their friends to comedressed the same way, inhonor of twin day. The weekconcludes with spirit day, inwhich students simply showsupport for their school andclass by wearing school affili-ated clothing.
Looking forward to Homecoming
Hey, everyone it’s sonice to be able to participate withthis program, I encourage every-one to read the Villager everyweek. I was able to pick up apaper in Pflugerville!!
The KAC Leadershipclass has already plannedevents for this semester. OnMonday September 14, it willbe the last day for KAC stu-dents to buy their dress out dayspass. The cost is $2.00 for onepass that you can use between9/15-9/17, or you can buy threefor $4.00.
Also at KAC students cantalk to Mrs. Becht about the sur-prise author that will visit ourschool and will have his bookson hand to purchase and he willeven sign it.
Author to signbooks at KIPP
William Purcell, IIIManor Middle School The 2009-10 Student
Counci l Committee forManor New Tech High isnow is sess ion. Thisschool year students hadto fill out applications fora spot on the committee.Students were a lso re-quired to ask their teach-ers from last school year tocomplete a letter of recom-mendation. Adults at theschool wanted to makesure that the council was
Student Council Startsmade up of kids who arereally interested in ourschool. Students acceptedto the committee were no-tified by school email. Thefirst meeting takes placetomorrow with some stu-dents leading a school as-sembly. One of the kidsthat were chosen was me!Student Council focuseson leadership skills, pub-l ic speaking andvolunteerism. It can alsomake your record lookgood if you want to go toCollege. If you’ve got aStudent Council Commit-tee at your school and ifyou got accepted, con-gratulations. You can al-ways apply next year be-fore the deadline. So, if youfeel that you’re a t rueleader, then Student Coun-cil is the perfect programfor you.
The Villager is a member of theTexas Publishers Association (TPA),
National Newspaper PublishersAssociation (NNPA)
and audited by the Circulation VerificationCouncil.
The VILLAGER YOUTHBRIGADE
Youth of today Hope ofTomorrow! See more on page 5
YYYYYouth Brigouth Brigouth Brigouth Brigouth Brigadeadeadeadeadecontincontincontincontincontinues frues frues frues frues from paom paom paom paom paggggge 4e 4e 4e 4e 4
Marissa HornsbyConnally High School
FFFFFor infor infor infor infor informaormaormaormaormation calltion calltion calltion calltion callGary Wardian at (512) 350-1272 or 476-0082Gary Wardian at (512) 350-1272 or 476-0082Gary Wardian at (512) 350-1272 or 476-0082Gary Wardian at (512) 350-1272 or 476-0082Gary Wardian at (512) 350-1272 or 476-0082
Limited registrationopportunities are still avail-able for the Pflugerville Edu-cation Foundation’s 4th An-nual Schoolhouse ScrambleGolf Tournament. Scheduledfor Sept 20, at the Golf ClubStar Ranch, the tournament is
the start of the Annual Giv-ing Campaign to raise fundsfor teachers and students inPflugerville ISD.
Since starting in 2006,PEF has distributed more than$130,000 into the classroomand programs in PISD. PEF isgoverned by independent vol-unteer Board of Directors in-cluding business and commu-nity leaders, parents andalumni in the greaterPflugerville community.
For additional informa-tion on registration for the tour-nament, or to learn how to getinvolved with or contribute tothe Pflugerville EducationFoundation, contact ZendaJohnson, [email protected] (512) 594-0095.
Football season is here!
High School is startingto become natural as thingshave started to settle downwith the freshmen at the StonyPoint 9th Grade Center. Wehave learned the locations ofour classes, the bell schedule,the various lunch periods,and meeting new people.
Let’s talk about football!The Stony Point freshmanwhite football team took onthe Hutto Hippos andproved they were ready bywinning 14-7. The varsityfootball team appears to beheaded for another success-
ful season, by blowing outConnally 42-3. Go Tigers!
This week was the firstgame of the season for theTexas Longhorns footballteam. Texas showed why theyare ranked #2 in the nationby beating the University ofLouisiana-Monroe 52-20.
This past weekend wasLabor Day. We celebrated byhaving family over, we atebarbecue, played games andhad tons of fun. That’s howour family celebrated LaborDay. I hope you had a fun andsafe Labor Day as well. Re-member to use water asscheduled.
Golf Tournament raises fundsfor scholarships
Week One…Arayla Reese
Kelly Lane MSR i d i c u l o u s … w h y
might you ask I have chosenthat word well because theweek has been nothing butthat? For one there arecrowded classes I’m talking40-42 kids in one class period.My math class has to have atleast that many. More en-forced rules, hectic schedule,and just well crazy lunchschedules. My outfits were onpoint, hair was looking oh sogood, and the besties wereindeed to be on top of theregame. Based on the first weekof school, I can’t really say
how the year will turn out. Idon’t quit think its fair howthe schedules are, but hey I’monly one voice. I really do hopeto have a great year. I’m notreally focused on the boys ormy work, but you know howwe teenagers are.
Also, now that I haveyour attention have youheard of homework on the firstday of school? I know me nei-ther, well no you probablyhave, so yeah never mind. Theword of the year is strive,strive to do my best, excel ateverything I put my mind to. Iknow I can do it I just want tostrengthen my conficencee..
Jeremy HendersonMcCallum High School
On Thursday, Sep-tember 10, the McCallumKnights played the Drip-ping Springs Tigers atHouse Park. In the first half,our offense scored 4 touch-downs - 3 by our runningbacks, and 1 by our quarter-back.
Our offense beastedon Dripping Springs de-
fense and did a great job.Our defense beasted onDripping Springs’ offensedoing an awesome job keep-ing Dripping Springs fromscoring.
At halftime we wereup 28-0. In the second half,we came out and kept domi-nating this game. Our de-fense kept beasting, but onlygave up 2 touchdowns. Ouroffense scored 2 more touch-downs and kept on beastingon Dripping Springs’ de-fense - 1 by our running backand 1 by our quarterback.
We made a state-ment and got a huge winover a 4A play-off team. Thefinal score was McCallum41 and Dripping Springs 14.
Now its time to getready for the Hays Rebelsnext week. Who’s House?Knights House!!! Whowants some??
McCallum defeats Dripping Springs 41-14
Alon RodgersKelly Lane Middle School
As we passed OpenHouse on (September 10th), itlooks as if changes are taper-ing off as we settle into therhythm of the school year. Thethree day Labor Day weekendwas a chance to get ready forthe rest of the year.
Our counselors, SherriVigil and Cristina Garza,worked with our principalMr. Padvil to balance the classsizes and again we’ve grownwith three new teachers. Join-ing the KLMS staff are teach-ers Kyle Huff, Jolea Goclan,and Kateisha Esau. Eachcomes from PISD elementaryschools.
The first football scrim-mage was this week againstWestview. We will have a peprally Thursday Sept. 17 toprepare for the volleyballgames against Deseau thatafternoon and first footballgames of the year against ParkCrest next Tuesday. Everyoneshould work hard on theirgrades to remain eligible toplay.
We have an all schoolassembly to begin our maga-zine sales campaign Fridayand the first school dance isSept. 25. Remember you haveto have no disciplinary refer-rals to attend the dance.
Things arebeginning tosettle down
BARBARA JORDAN ELEMENTARY SCHOOL was the recepiant of school supplies donated by theCapital City Lions Club. Pictured (l to r rear) John Garcia - Libranian, Diana Vallejo - Principal, MarianJones Eural Smothers, Albert J. Walker, Sonya Wyatt - Reading Speicalist, Marvin Adams, MarcelMontgomery and Cynthia Jackson - Asst. Principal and students, seated front.
Parents Invited To Re-quest Nomination Information—
Screening for giftedand talented students in theAustin School District willbegin this month. AISD’s De-partment of Advanced Aca-demic Services will screennominated students in kin-dergarten through twelfthgrade.
Parents are invited tocontact their child’s schoolfor nomination informationand specific timelines forG/T identification. Nomi-nated students are screenedat the school using a varietyof measures, including aca-demic and gifted character-istic checklists/scales, stan-dardized tests of cognitiveabilities, and portfolios ofexemplary work. Bilingualstudents are administeredthe Bilingual Verbal AbilitiesTest, which replaces teststhat are English-dependent.
For more informationabout the gifted program,visit the AISD web siteh t t p : / /www.austinisd.org/aca-demics/curriculum/gt/ orcall the Department of Ad-vanced Academic Servicesat 414-9986.
Austin ISDGifted &
TalentedScreening ToBegin This
Month
Students Share FuturePlans, Views on High SchoolExperience —
The Class of 2009 hasgraduated, but Austin SchoolDistrict officials are reviewingtheir comments in the 2009 HighSchool Exit Survey, adminis-tered to seniors in every AISDhigh school last Spring.
The seniors were asked torespond to questions in seventopic areas: Postsecondary In-tentions and Family Support;High School Experiences, Cam-pus Climate, and Civic Engage-ment; Instruction and Technol-ogy; Postsecondary Preparationand Advising; Final Thoughts;and Open-Ended Comments.
The response rate amongseniors was 78.8 percent, or3,365 students. With ethnic andgender distribution of the sur-vey sample closely resemblingthe senior class, results can beconsidered representative of theentire senior class.
Some key findings of the2009 High School Exit Survey:
· Ninety-three percentof seniors said they plan to con-tinue their education within ayear after graduation.
· Eighty-six percent saidthey felt well-prepared to meetcollege and career goals.
· Students were flexiblein the college destinations, withmany applying to multipletypes of institutions. Sixty-twopercent said they had appliedto a four-year college, 41 per-cent to a two-year college, and13 percent to a business/tech-nical/vocational school.
· Students planned to fi-nance college through a combi-nation of numerous options.Fifty-six percent said theyplanned to pay forpostsecondary education withscholarships and/or grants; 49percent said they would usefamily or personal savings; and38 percent said they would useloans.
· Among those whoweren’t planningpostsecondary education, 33percent said they can’t afford toattend school.
· The number who saidthey planned to enter militaryservice was 3.9 percent.
· Seniors rated the qual-ity of instruction they receivedin high school in writing, math-ematics, science, foreign lan-guages, social studies, com-puter/technology, and per-forming/fine arts. For each ofthese subject areas, at least 64percent rated the quality of in-
struction as Good or Excellent.· About 33 percent re-
ported their parents used Par-ent Connection to monitor theirgrades.
Approximately two-thirds of seniors worked dur-ing the summer and/or duringtheir senior year. Among thoseemployed, the majorityworked 16 or more hours perweek.
In the open-ended sectionof the survey, most signifi-cantly, seniors were negativeabout the Advisory program,believing that the time waspoorly used. They also criticizedthe conditions of campusrestrooms, dress codes, lunchoptions, and technology andcell phone restrictions.
Conversely, a commonsentiment expressed was appre-ciation for the assistance andsupport of campus and districtstaff. One student wrote, “I’mgrateful that there were teach-ers at my school who wereavailable at all times to help meout when I needed it.”
AISD’s full 2009 HighSchool Exit Survey is availableonline at: http://www.austinisd.org/inside/d o c s / o p e _ 0 8 -59_2009_HS_Exit_Survey_Report_20090909.pdf
Austin Seniors Tell It Straight Up In 2009 HighSchool Exit Survey
The African Diaspors SectionBy Tsoke (Chuch) Adjavon
AAUL
Page 6/THE VILLAGER/September 18, 2009
Wind of Democracy in the Heartof West Africa By Tsoke (Chuch) Adjavon
For this week, theDiaspora will be turning itseyes to a nation in Africa thatis hopefully on its way to de-mocracy. The Diasporawould be exploring the hopeand aspiration of the peopleof Guinea Bissau, as their newpresident was sworn on Sep-tember 10, 2009 after a demo-cratically held election. Notonly should we focus on thiscountry, but acknowledge thepolitical will of the govern-ment to let the people decidetheir president, just like inwestern democracy. More-over, it is rare to see an Afri-can country go through abloodless transition whichoccurred in Guinea Bissau.After the assassination of theprevious president, the lead-ers of Guinea Bissau orga-nized an election in June of2009. Furthermore, to betterunderstand how a countrylike Guinea Bissau was ableto organize a free and fair elec-tion, we must look at its his-tory and its people’s desire foreconomic prosperity.
Guinea Bissau is aformer Portuguese countrybordered by the nations ofGuinea and Senegal and alsoby the Atlantic Ocean whichhad seen political turmoil. In1974, Guinea Bissau receivedits independence from Portu-gal, in which Luis Calbralbecame the country’s firstpresident. In 1980, LuisCalbral was overthrown byJoao Bernardo Vieira, thecountry’s army chief.
Although Vierra rulebrought economic prosperityand a multi-party system, hewas accused of corruptionand cronyism. Then in 2000,a civil war erupted whenPresident Vierra fired thearmy chief of staff. After theintervention of the UnitedNation, Guinea Bissausigned a peace treaty whichled to the election of Kumba
Yala. After Kumba Yala wasoverthrown, Vierra becamePresident. Once again Vierraled Guinea Bissau until hisassassination in March,2009. In June 2009, there wasthe first round of presidentialpolls. Finally, July 2009,Malam Bacai Sanha, won thepresidential election in a run-off. Then on September 10,2009 he was sworn into officein the presence of both hisnation and five African presi-dents.
After this tumultuouspolitical turmoil, the nation ofGuinea Bissau has sufferedeconomically. The lack of po-litical stability has slowed for-eign investments which inturn have slowed the exploi-tation of its natural resourcessuch as phosphate and baux-ite. Since the country hasn’tsufficient financial capabilityto exploits its natural re-sources, it has turned to for-eign aid. Moreover, these for-eign aids have brought a mas-sive foreign debt in which itcannot pay. At times, the gov-
ernment cannot even pay itspayroll. When the new presi-dent was sworn into office,many people are hoping thatthe nation will enter an era ofpermanent democracy whichwould in turn bring economicdevelopment.
Finally, may the swear-ing in of the new President ofGuinea Bissau not only besymbolic, but an opportunityto bring about democracywhich would in turn bringpolitical stability.
Moreover, this politicalstability would bring in eco-nomic development and goodgovernance. Hopefully, goodgovernance will bring moreforeign investment thatwould allow the country todevelop its natural resourcesso that the people can pros-per. As good governance be-comes a part of this country,then the United States mayone day use this nation as ashowcase of good gover-nance, like President Obamadid when he visited Ghana inJuly of 2009.
Map of Guinea Bissau
Austin Urban MarketOn September 12, 2009,
between the hours of 10 AMto 4:00 PM, the Austin UrbanMarket organized their sec-ond market in East Austin.The venue allowed local ven-dors to expose their productsto the public. Due to theweather, four out of ten ven-dors showed up at the event.Some of the vendors presentincluded African Vision, Af-rican Culture & LanguagePromotions, This and That,and another entrepreneurwho makes hand-made Jew-elry, called Cathy’s Design.Moreover, the participatingbusinesses were able to givea discount to people using anUjama business card. Fur-thermore, several people wonUjama dollars, which allowthose individuals to purchaseitems at a discount rate, dur-ing the venue. Despite rainyweather, the public came outto purchase products fromthese local entrepreneurs.Also, both the public and ven-dors were entertained by SkyDevelopment Entertain-ment.
Furthermore, this venuesponsored by the VillagerNewspaper and African Vi-sion is a grass-root event inwhich local vendors canshowcase quality products atan affordable price. It is avenue that offers a boost to thelocal economy because all thevendors are from CentralTexas area. During the mar-ket, local entrepreneur canmarket and expose their prod-ucts such as handmade jew-elry, books, arts, clothes, food,and a variety of other items tothe local community. For in-stances Jane Muturi, the
founder of African Culture &Language Promotions stated,“The Urban Market was agood venue to market herproducts and also an oppor-tunity for networking”. It wasthe ideal opportunity to ex-pose African culture and thetype of products that she of-fers such as: African dresses,Dashikis, women and chil-dren clothing, and also Afri-can art. Although the ven-dors’ participation rate waslow, the public still pur-chased quality products fromthe vendors present.
Moreover, the organiz-ers of the urban market arelooking forward to the nextvenue which will be October,2009 between the hours of10:00 AM to 4:00 PM in EastAustin, particular at the head-quarters of the Villager News-paper. A vendor has severaloptions in order to purchasea booth for the venue in Octo-ber. Some of the options in-clude going online to pay orto call organizers and pay forit. To get a precise official
date, both the public and ven-dors can go to the organizer’swebsite which isaustinurbanmarket.com. Fur-thermore, the public will beable to utilize Ujama dollarsand the complimentaryUjama business card to getproducts at discount rate withparticipating vendors at thevenue.
Finally, the organizershope that the venue wouldbecome a regular market inwhich both the vendors andthe public can attend. More-over, the organizers believethat this would be an oppor-tunity for vendors to show-case their products, whileboosting the local economy.For instance, the venue al-lows for entrepreneurs suchas Jane Muturi an opportunityto expose her products andserve the community with anaffordable business invest-ment. Furthermore, it affirmsthat during these bad eco-nomic times, shopping lo-cally will have a trickle downeffect on the area.
Sharon and Don Ellerby, Promoters of the Austin UrbanMarket.
By Tsoke (Chuch) Adjavon
Snapshot at City CouncilBy Tsoke Adjavon
On September 14, 2009the Austin city council met todeal on how to close the city’sdeficit budget. After givingpeople the opportunity tospeak on the subject, how-ever, a few people showed upto the meeting to give an in-put to the proposed budget.After that, the council wentinto a closed session to voteon the budget.
Moreover, the city willbe voting to increase propertytax from 40.12 cent per $100(the current tax rate 2008-2009) to the proposed 42.09cent per $100 for the 2009-2010 budget. In addition, forthe budget, the city councilwill seek to approve an ordi-nance establishing classifica-tions and positions in theclassified service of the Aus-tin Fire Department, eliminat-ing positions in a certainrank, establishing pay rates,and repealing Ordinance No.20090611-016. Also, the citywill seek to vote on the ap-proval of an ordinance thatauthorizes fees, fines, andother charges to be set orcharged by the City for FiscalYear 2009-2010. Both the Sep-
tember 15 and 16 2009 city’sbudget meeting were can-celed, since the budget wasvoted by the city council Sep-tember 14, 2009.
Furthermore, the AustinHousing Finance Corpora-tion Board of Directors met onSeptember 14, 2009 to discussand vote on two items. Item 1“approved a resolutionadopting the Fiscal Year 2009-2010 Austin Housing FinanceCorporation Grant OperatingBudget in the amount of$10,480,628 and the HousingAssistance Fund Budget inthe amount of $350,602 for atotal budget of $10,831,230;authorizing the developmentof program guidelines for thenamed housing programs forFiscal Year 2009-2010; andestablishing administrativeapproval limits for the gen-eral manager.” Item 2 “ap-proved a resolution adopting
the Austin Housing FinanceCorporation Capital Budgetfor Fiscal Year 2009-2010.
Finally, the boards of di-rectors Mueller Local Govern-ment corporation met on Sep-tember 14, 2009 at city hall.The board of directors met todiscuss five items. Item 1 theboard approved the minutesfor the August 6, 2009 regu-lar board meeting. Item 2 ap-proved the minutes of theAugust 27, 2009 regularboard meeting. Item 3 ap-proved a resolution adoptingthe Fiscal Year 2009 – 2010corporation capital budget inthe amount of $15,000,000 forthe Mueller RedevelopmentProject. Item 4 approved thecorporation operating budgetin the amount of $2,069,956.Item 5 approved a resolution“declaring the Mueller LocalGovernment Corporation’sofficial intent to reimburse it-self from long-term tax-ex-empt debt to be issued by oron behalf of the City throughthe Mueller Local Govern-ment Corporation not to ex-ceed $18,000,000 for expendi-tures related to the design andconstruction of public infra-structure for the Mueller Re-development Project.”
The community is in-vited to the Zeta Round Upsponsored by the Pi OmegaZeta Chapter of Zeta Phi BetaSorority, Inc. The round upwill be held on Saturday, Sept.26 from 3:30 p.m. to 6:30 p.m.at the Clay Madsen Recre-ation Center, Round Rock.The round up for current Ze-tas, those interested in joiningthe social/service organiza-tion, and those interested injoining the friends (Amicae)and boys and girls youth aux-iliaries, features food, fun,entertainment, and more.
The Pi Omega Centerchapter recently celebrated
Zeta Phi Beta Sorority Round Up Scheduledten years of community ser-vice in Williamson Countythrough projects such as thefollowing:
· Annual Round RockIndependent School DistrictBlack History Month art con-test;
· Leadership and devel-opment activities for areayouth;
· Prenatal educationprogram for young mothers inpartnership with the Marchof Dimes;
· Scholarships for stu-dents pursuing higher educa-tion;
· Food and clothing do-
nations to needy families; and· Annual Zeta Zydeco
Dance and Step Showfundraiser
Clay Madsen is locatedoff IH-35 and Hesters Cross-ing at 1600 Gattis SchoolRoad, 78664, in Round Rock.For more information, contactthe sorority at 512.587.7698.
EMPLOYMENT/BIDS/PROPOSALS/PUBLIC/INFORMATION/
FOR SALE/FOR RENT/MISC
JANITORIAL WORKERSNEEDED
ISS Facility Services, Inc. has open-ings for supervisory, floor men, andgeneral cleaners for part-timeevening employment. Apply at ISSFacility Services, Inc. Austin, M-F,between 4-6 pm, 8101 CameronRoad # 304. ISS Facility Services,Inc. is an Equal opportunity Em-ployer (EOE) and promotes a Di-verse Workforce.
6th Floor, Austin, TX 78752Job Line (512) 223-5621hhtp://www/austincc.ed
EEO/AA/M/F/D/V
AustinCommunity
College
MasTec North America, Inc.is soliciting HUB/MBE/WBE/DBEparticipation for the City of AustinUnderground Transmission / Distri-bution Construction & MaintenanceServices, solicitation #IFBTVN0039. Contact MichaelKubala at 512-476-6777, fax 512-476-8179. Proposals are requestedby 5:00 p.m. on 9/28/2009.
City of AustinPurchasingOfficeAdvertisements09/14/2009
On October 2, 1995, a revision to the City’s MBE/WBE DBEsOrdinance became effective. The Ordinance establishes new goals for MBE/WBE or DBE Participation Bid/Proposal. Bidders are required to docu-ment efforts to solicit MBE/WBE or DBEs in the Compliance Plan. TheGoals for each project and the instructions and forms for the CompliancePlan are included in the MBE/WBE or DBE Program Packet included in thesolicitation. For construction contracts, the MBE/WBE or DBE ProgramPacket is a separately bound volume of the Project Manual. ALL BIDSAND COMPLIANCE PLANS NOT RECEIVED PRIOR TO THE DATEAND TIME SET FORTH WILL BE RETURNED TO THE BIDDERUNOPENED. SPECIAL NOTICE: Solicitations issued on behalf of theElectric Utility Dept. (Austin Energy) are no longer advertised in theAustin American Statesman. Notices will be posted on the City of AustinPurchasing website at: http://www.ci.austin.tx.us/purchase
A. CONSTRUCTION ADVERTISEMENTS - ALL CON-STRUCTION SEALED BIDS addressed to the City of Austin will bereceived PRIOR TO date and time indicated for the following project(s), inthe Reception Area, 10th FL., Ste. 1045, Contract and Land ManagementDepartment, CLMD, One Texas Center (OTC), 505 Barton Springs Rd.,Austin, TX, then publicly opened and read aloud in the 10th FL. Confer-ence Room, Ste. 1045, unless otherwise indicated in the advertisement. AllBids received after the time set forth will be returned to the bidder un-opened. The OWNER’s Official opening the Bids shall establish the timefor opening of the Bids. All Bid Deposits are refundable upon return ofdocuments within the specified time frame and in good condition, unlessotherwise indicated. UNLESS OTHERWISE INDICATED, Project Manu-als, Plans and Addenda may be obtained at the Office of Engineering Design& Surveying, PWD, Ste. 760, OTC. First time bidders are encouraged toattend the pre-bid conference to assure their understanding of Owner’sbidding and contracting requirements, particularly M/WBE ProcurementsProgram requirements. Cashiers or Certified Check Payable to the City ofAustin or acceptable Bid Bond must accompany each bid. Bidders will berequired to provide Payment/Performance bonds as specified in the bid-ding documents. The City reserves the right to reject any and all Bids andto waive any informality in the bids received.
Bidders must attend any Mandatory Pre-Bid Conference and areencouraged to attend any non-mandatory Pre-Bid Conference to ensuretheir understanding of Owner’s bidding and contracting requirements, par-ticularly MBE/WBE Procurement Program requirements. If the Pre-BidConference is mandatory the Bidder must arrive and sign-in within fifteen(15) minutes of the scheduled start time of the meeting, otherwise theBidder will not be allowed to submit a Bid for the project.
1. ADA SIDEWALK AND RAMP IMPROVEMENTS NORTHEAST AUSTIN (CIP 8071 6207 5000). RFP 6100 CLMA900. Pickup biddocs at OTC, STE 760 after 9/14/09. A refundable deposit of $50 is re-quired. For info: Diane Rice, 974-7081. A MANDATORY Vendor Confwill be held at 2:00P on 9/24/09. Offers due prior to 3:00P on 10/13/09.Compliance plans due prior to 3:00P on 10/13/09. Offers will be openedon 10/13/09 at 3:00P.
2. LIFT STATION TELEMETRY SYSTEM RTU REPLACE-MENT (CIP 4570 2307 8217). IFB 6100 CLMC087. Pickup bid docs atOTC, STE 760, Attn: Gabriel Stan 974-7151 after 9/14/09. A refundabledeposit of $300 is required. For info: Gary Quick, 972-0248. A MANDA-TORY Vendor Conf will be held at Waller Creek Center, 625 E 10th St. Rm105, Austin, TX 78701 at 1:30P on 10/1/09. Offers due prior to 10:00A on10/8/09. Compliance plans due prior to 2:00P on 10/8/09. Offers will beopened on 10/8/09 at 2:00P.
3. WTP4 PLANT STORMWATER FACILITIES (CIP 3960 22077097). IFB 6100 CLMC092. Pickup bid docs at OTC, STE 760, Attn:Gabriel Stan 974-7151 after 9/15/09. A refundable deposit of $50 is re-quired. For info: Robert Hengst, 974-3490. A MANDATORY VendorConf will be held at OTC, 505 Barton Springs Rd. 13/fl.,Director ConfRoom, Austin, TX 78704, at 3:00P on 9/22/09. Offers due prior to 9:00Aon 10/8/09. Compliance plans due prior to 1:00P on 10/8/09. Offers willbe opened on 10/8/09 at 1:00P.
B. SERVICES AND SYSTEMS CONTRACTING. Solicitationswill be issued, and sealed bids or proposals may be received at the Purchas-ing Office, Municipal Building, 124 W. 8th St., 3rd floor, Room 308/310,telephone number (512) 974-2500, Austin, TX until the dates and timesspecified on following item(s):
B. SOLICITATION SERVICESANDSYSTEMS1. SAP0122 TOWING AND RELATED SERVICES (IFB-BEST
VALUE). A Vendor Conf will be held at Fleet Services Conf Room, 1190Hargrave Street, Austin, TX 78702 at 10:30A on 9/16/09. Offers due priorto 3:00P on 9/30/09.
2. AMC0008 VENDING MACHINES AND RELATEDPRODUCTS (IFB- BEST VALUE). A Vendor Conf will be held at Munici-pal Building, 124 W. 8th St. Rm 335 at 9:00A on 9/22/09.Offers due priorto 2:00P on 9/30/09.
THE CITY OF AUSTIN HEREBY NOTIFIES ALL OFFERORSTHAT IN REGARD TO ANY CONTRACT ENTERED INTO PURSU-ANT TO THIS ADVERTISEMENT; MINORITY BUSINESS ENTER-PRISES WILL BE AFFORDED EQUAL OPPORTUNITIES TO SUB-MIT OFFERS IN RESPONSE TO THIS INVITATION AND WILL NOTBE DISCRIMINATED AGAINST ON THE GROUNDS OF RACE,COLOR, SEX, NATIONAL ORIGIN OR DISABILITY IN CONSIDER-ATION FOR AN AWARD.
New Jobs for theWeek of 09/14/09
Faculty, American SignedLanguage
Location as assigned.Hours as assigned.
Salary is assigned accordingto the Full-Time Faculty Salary
Scale.Job #0909001
Assistant, TestingEastview Campus
Monday - Friday, 11:30a.m. - 8:30 p.m.
$2,239 -$2,319/MonthlyJob #0909002
Assistant III, AdministrativeRio Grande Campus
Monday - Friday, 8:00 a.m.- 5:00 p.m.
$2,256-$2,820/MonthlyJob #0909003
Assistant, LibraryRiverside Campus
Monday - Friday, 12:00p.m. - 9:00 p.m.
$2,239-$2,320/MonthlyJob #0909007
Assistant,Senior Admissions
Highland Business CenterMonday - Friday, 8:00 a.m.
– 5:00 p.m.$2,487-$3,109/Monthly
Job #0909012Faculty, Department Chair,
Geographic Information SystemsNorthridge CampusHours as assigned.
Salary assigned according to the Full-Time
Faculty Salary Scale.Job #0909014
Director, InternationalPrograms
Highland Business CenterMonday - Friday, 8:00 a.m.
- 5:00 p.m.$4,689-$5,862/Monthly
Job #0909017
HUB/MBE/WBE/DBE
At theVillager, we can stretch your
advertising budget. Just call us at
512.476.0082
Blackland CDC is seeking aGeneral Contractor to rehabilitate 7houses between 10/09 and 1/10.Work funded by HUD. Specific in-surance reqs. Only written, sealedbids accepted. Bid packets availablefor pick-up at Blackland Neighbor-hood Center 2005 Salina 9/18-9/30and due by Wed, 10/7, 5 pm. Pre-bidconference and tour. BCDC does notdiscriminate on the basis ofsex, race,color, creed or national origin. Formore information on conference/tourcall Isabelle Headrick at 972-5796.
PUBLIC NOTICE
Two English Bulldog Free togood home,AKC registered, vetchecked, contact me at [email protected].
MISC
On the second dayof the conference, VicePresident Joseph R. Bidenwas the featured speakerin the special forum “Pre-paring for the Future: Howto Rebui ld America ’sWorkforce”. During hisspeech, Biden touted the$787 billion stimulus pack-age and stressed how he isurging members ofObama’s Cabinet to edu-cate women, minority andveteran business ownersnationwide about benefitsin the economic recoveryact. Austin Area Urban
League President/CEO,Jeffrey K. Richard was ableto discuss stimulus oppor-tuni t ies for our localeconomy.
On the final day ofthe conference, the Rev.Jesse L. Jackson served asthe featured speaker forthe Urban League FamilySession & Breakfast. TheWomen of Power Lun-cheon, hosted by CBSNews CorrespondentMichelle Miller, honoredextraordinary Afr ican-American women that in-cluded: U.S. Congress-
woman Barbara Lee (D-CA); Judge Penny BrownReynolds, host of FamilyCourt with Judge Penny ;Paula Madison, EVP, diver-sity, NBC Universal; andLavern J. Chatman, presi-dent and CEO, NorthernVirginia Urban League.
The conference con-cluded with the WhitneyM. Young, Jr. Awards Galawhere honorees TyraBanks, former Illinois StateSenator Emil Jones; andAlexis Herman, CEO, NewVentures; were presentedLiving Legend awards .
Chicago Mayor RichardM. Daley also received thef i rs t Nat ional UrbanLeague Pres ident ’sAward; and Robert J .Brown, chairman and &CEO, B&C Associates wasawarded the CharlesCollins Award.
Fol lowing theawards presentat ions ,event a t tendees weretreated to an inspiringvideo featuring NUL af-filiate chapter presidentsfrom across the nationdiscussing the currentand future needs of Afri-can Americans and theNUL’s role in addressingthese chal lenges . Thevideo served as a softlaunch to what will be amajor push towards cel-ebrating the NUL’s 100th
Anniversary in 2010through a centennialcampaign.
To view recordedwebcasts and videos ofconference sessions andevents, or to learn moreabout the centennial cam-paign, please vis i twww.nul.org.
National Urban League Annual Conference Inspires Thousands fr pg 1
WASHINGTON—U.S. Con-gressman Lloyd Doggett (D-TX)joined the City of Austin in cel-ebrating receipt of $142,000 in fed-eral funds for the Central East Aus-tin Weed and Seed program, aninnovative, multiagency approachto law enforcement, crime preven-tion, and community revitaliza-tion designed to give communityresidents the tools they need to cutcrime. Local law enforcementworks with individuals to patrol,attend neighborhood meetingsand school functions, and assistwith non-emergency problems.They also help recently released ex-offenders get support, and, ifneeded, addiction treatment andprevention tools. The Weed andSeed program also supports com-munity building events, clean-upefforts, and enforcement of build-ing codes.
“These federal dollars will helpCentral East Austin residents helpthemselves,” said Rep. Doggett. Headded: “This funding plants a seedof collaboration and communityparticipation, necessary to keep ourneighborhoods safer. Not only willthe cooperation fostered enhancepublic safety, the funds can beau-tify and revitalize the community.”
Austin Mayor Lee Leffingwell
78702 Receives $142,000 in PublicSafety Support
said, “Weed and Seed efforts areparticularly successful, they pro-vide the foundation for the com-munity and public safety to worktogether. The community policingefforts and the neighborhoodprojects this Weed and Seed Grantfunds will serve as the platformfor empowering neighborhoodsto improve their environmentalimage.”
Weed & Seed is a community-based strategy sponsored by theU.S. Department of Justice (DOJ).It is an innovative, comprehensivemultiagency approach to law en-forcement, crime prevention, andcommunity revitalization. Cur-rently, there are more than 250Weed and Seed sites nationwide.
The Central East Austin Weed& Seed was officially recognizedin 2005 by the DOJ. The site – nowin its third year - is eligible to re-ceive funding for up to five yearsto administer the Weed & Seedstrategy, which is a two-prongedapproach: Law enforcement agen-cies and prosecutors cooperate in“weeding out” criminal activityfrom the designated area; and“seeding” brings prevention, in-tervention, treatment, and neigh-borhood revitalization services tothe area.
By George HardinBy George HardinBy George HardinBy George HardinBy George HardinSportsBeatSportsBeatSportsBeatSportsBeatSportsBeat
Page 8/The Villager/September 18, 2009
Canyon defeats LBJ Jaguars, claims season’s first victory
The New BraunfelsCanyon High Cougars cameto town last week looking fora victory and succeeded asthey eased past the LyndonB. Johnson High Jaguars 22-20 Friday, Sept. 11, at NelsonStadium. It was the secondloss in a row for the Jaguarswho fell 28-20 in the game atHutto High on Aug. 28. (Thegame against the Akins HighEagles on Sept. 4 was haltedbefore the first quarter endedbecause of the weather, wasnot rescheduled and is notpart of the official record.)
The Cougars werefirst to hit the scoreboard witha touchdown early in the firstquarter but failed on the extrapoint. LBJ was victimized byits own mistakes withdropped balls and incompletepasses. The light rain thatcontinued through part of thegame also made holding onto the ball and running on theartificial grass more difficult.
The Cougars, whomade it to the statequarterfinals last year with a12-2 record, continued to gainground and by 6:45 in the sec-
RUNNING JAGUAR—Cameron Brown of Lyndon B. Johnson High tries to escape as Parker Phillips of New Braunfels Canyon High grabs him at NelsonField. Photo by George E. Hardin
ond quarter were ahead 12-0over LBJ. The Jaguars, alsohoping for a District 26-4Atitle, began moving up andscored touchdowns as thegame continued. However,Canyon intercepted threepasses in short succession—
the last two with 47 secondsleft in the game and 12 sec-onds left. The score was heldat 22-20 and remained so un-til the end of the game.
The band’s perfor-mance and the LBJ First La-dies dancing troupe enliv-
ened the halftime ceremony.Les Davis, athletic di-
rector and head coach at Can-yon, said, “This was our firstwin tonight.” Hecomplimented his playersand said the team had a byeweek before its next game with
Seguin.Demo Odems, ath-
letic director and headcoach at LBJ, said, “Westarted out slow. The offenseand defense played prettygood. We lost the field posi-tion in the first half. We tried
to rally back in the secondhalf and couldn’t come upwith enough plays to finish itoff.”
The Jaguars werescheduled to play KilleenShoemaker Thursday, Sept.17, at 7 p.m. at Nelson Field.
Bucs bow to Cowboys, Morrisremains upbeat By George Hardin
Raheem Morris of theTampa Bay Buccaneers is theyoungest and newest coachin the National FootballLeague. He was 32 when hewas hired last January lessthan a day after Jon Grudenwas fired (Morris turned 33on Sept. 3). Morris and theBuccaneers didn’t fare welllast Sunday on their home turfin facing the Dallas Cowboys,giving up a 34-21 loss. It wasthe season opener for bothteams.
Morris and the Bucshave been criticized for re-signing wide receiverMichael Clayton, who has notbeen a sterling performersince his outstanding rookieseason. And lately Claytonhas been unable to give fulleffort to the game because of ahamstring injury. As the Bucswent down in defeat, Claytonput forth a commendable ef-fort. Working with quarter-back Byron Leftwich, Claytonracked up a team-high five re-
ceptions and 93 yards forTampa Bay. It was Clayton’shighest yardage since Dec. 12,2004, his first year in the NFL,when he hit a career high of145. Tampa Bay’s total pass-ing yardage against Dallaswas 276. Morris saidSunday’s performanceproved Clayton’s abilities.
Clayton, who playedcollegiate football at Louisi-ana State University, made adiving, fingertip catch late inthe first half that set up a fieldgoal attempt, at 46 yards,which Mike Nugent missed.He also hung on to a 20-yardpass in the third period de-spite a hard collision withGerald Sensabaugh andrushed a few more yards be-fore being brought down.
Morris was with TampaBay earlier, having been hiredin 2002 as defensive qualitycontrol coach. He helpedTampa Bay win its first everSuper Bowl by defeating theOakland Raiders 48-21 in
Raheem Morris, Head Coach of the Tampa Bay Buccaneers
Super Bowl XXXVII. Morrisremained at Tampa Bay until2005 when he began colle-giate coaching at Kansas StateUniversity as defensive coor-dinator. Longhorn fans mayremember that he helped theKansas Wildcats defeat theNo. 4 UT team in the 2006season. Morris returned to theBuccaneers as the 2007 sea-son was beginning.
Born in Irvington, N.J.,Morris graduated fromHofstra University where hewas a graduate assistant andhe spent one year coachingdefensive backs at CornellUniversity. Before he waschosen for the Buccaneers’ jobMorris was interviewed forthe head coaching positionwith the Denver Broncos.
When Gruden, Morris’spredecessor won Super BowlXXXVII, he was the youngestcoach ever to take that honor.However, Mike Tomlin of thePittsburgh Steelers has sinceeclipsed that record.
