Dream vacations, down-home style
CATHY KAFRVE Bullard Banner News
      August means last call for vacations. With the sun peaking out of the clouds here in East Texas, I am dreaming of sunswept beaches and turquoise water. Let's be realistic, however, with school supplies, back-toschool clothes and the price of gasoline, who can afford Acapulco or the Caribbean?
More ...

Cartoon
Read the Story...

OPINIONS OF OTHER NEWSPAPERS
House energy bill gets mixed results
THE HOUSTON CHRONICLE
      The late House Speaker Tip O'Neill famously said all politics is local. Unfortunately, this condition can have a deleterious effect on national policy, as it did on the energy bill the U.S. House passed Friday.
More ...

End abuse at schools for mentally retarded
THE DALLAS MORNING NEWS
      If you read The Dallas Morning News' account last week of unspeakable abuses at Texas' schools for the mentally retarded, you may have thrown up your hands and said something like: "I give. Texas has so many institutional problems - how can we keep them all straight, much less get them fixed?
More ...