Viewpoints

Abilene Reporter-News Abilene Reporter-News

Section D Thursday, June 5, 2014
I was waiting by the
main entrance of the
school when the bell rang
and I tell you, it was like
someone had poured boil-
ing water into an ant bed.
Doors at every exit
flew open and scores of
middle school students
streamed out through the
openings. The swiftness
of it all always amazes
me, but on the last day
of school its even up a
notch from that.
I guess their exit is or-
derly enough Ive nev-
er seen anybody trampled
but it always makes me
wonder how its possible
for that many people to
get outside the building
that quickly.
Anyway, in the midst
of the overow is the one
Ive come to retrieve. My
granddaughter. Shes car-
rying a huge transparent
bag filled with shoes,
probably a hoodie, note-
books I dont know
all the things that
went into the school in
piecemeal fashion have
been retrieved from the
last-day-of-school locker
clean-out.
Theyre coming home
and again, I dont
know, but I am afraid
will languish in the
Shes 13,
summers
here, and
its magic
CANDACE
COOKSEY
FULTON
COLUMNIST
1
2
3
7
8.01
8.02
15
14
13.01
11.02
12
18 4
10
9
13.04
17.06
17.08
17.07
13.03
11.01
67
67
87
O
ld
B
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llin
g
e
r
C
h
a
d
b
o
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r
n
e B
r
y
a
n
t
C
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r
i
s
t
o
v
a
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B
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1/2 mile
Source: Angelo State University Center for Community Wellness, Engagement, and Development SCRIPPS NEWSPAPERS
RIVERSIDE
REAGAN
LAKE
VIEW PAULANN
FT. CONCHO EAST
BELAIRE
GOODFELLOW
AFB
GLENMORE
BENTWOOD
NASWORTHY
BONHAM
BLUFFS
CENTRAL
ANGELO
HEIGHTS
B
L
A
C
K
S
H
E
A
R
D
O
W
N
T
O
W
N
ASU
COLLEGE
HILLS
SUNSET
SANTA RITA
FORT
CONCHO
SOUTHLAND
VISTA DEL
ARROYO
RIO VISTA
Ratio of
per capita
income
to city
Households
with housing
cost 30% or
more of income
Labor force
participation
(age 16
& over)
Violent
crimes
per 1,000
persons
Povery
rate
Married
couple
families
Number of
households
per property
crime
$100
$51
40%
17%
40%
29%
41%
69%
42%
61%
2
10
17
3
Census Tract 18
San Angelo (All Census Tracts)
NEIGHBORHOOD DEVELOPMENT INDEX
In the popular 2000 book,
Bowling Alone, Robert
Putnam claimed, Over the
course of the last generation
or two, a variety of techno-
logical, economic and social
changes have rendered ob-
solete the stuf of American
social capital.
Mindful that communi-
ties need more than money
to solve their most chal-
lenging problems, Putnam
lamented a growing dis-
connect of Americans from
family, friends, neighbors
and civic structures. He
urged that social capital, the
very fabric of our connect-
edness to each other, needs
new weaving for communi-
ties to progress and for citi-
zens to lead satisfying lives
together.
Results from the fourth
straight year of tracking
key indicators in ASUs
Neighborhood Develop-
ment Index give cause to
heed Putnams message.
For the fourth straight time,
the quality of life in census
tract 18 encompassing the
Blackshear and Downtown
neighborhoods lags the rest
of the city, with few signs of
closing the gaps.
ASUs Community Devel-
opment Initiatives updates
the Neighborhood Develop-
ment Index annually. Based
on 2012 data, the most re-
cent information from the
Census Bureau, the latest
update includes 19 indi-
cators of neighborhood
characteristics across San
Angelos 20 census tracts.
Statistics detailing fac-
tors such as income levels,
family composition and
criminal activity reveal
stark diferences between
the Blackshear-Downtown
neighborhoods and the rest
of the city.
For instance, it is a fact
that households experience
increasing degrees of nan-
cial risk and instability as
housing costs rise above 30
percent of the total house-
hold income. In census
tract 18, about 40 percent
of households experienced
housing costs of 30 percent
or more in 2012. Across the
city, by comparison, only 29
percent carried that level of
cost burden.
The per capita income of
$11,606 in the Blackshear-
Downtown neighborhoods
was approximately half (51
percent) of the citywide per
capita income ($22,684) in
Seeing a pattern here
See FULTON, 4D
ASU effort
shows tract
in distress
The sounding of San
Angelos tornado si-
rens on Memorial Day
night created quite a stir
both during and after
that evenings hailstorm.
The morning after, a
fair amount of criticism
was leveled against the
city for sounding the
sirens even though no
tornado was spotted in
San Angelo. The confu-
sion has created what our
public information ofcer
likes to call a teachable
moment, when interest
in a given issue is partic-
ularly sharp and inquir-
ing minds want to know
more.
The confusion lies in
the fact that the sirens are
meant to serve as a warn-
ing system for any severe
weather system (not just
tornadoes), any emer-
gency or any catastro-
phe that could threaten
the publics safety. That
confusion is further com-
pounded by the fact that,
until 1995, the sirens were
sounded only when there
was a signicant threat of
a tornado.
In May that year, San
Better to
be warned
by siren
than not
STEVE
MILD
VIEWPOINTS
See MILD, 4D
TRICARE and support
benefits: The threats
against TRICARE, hous-
ing cost now, commis-
sary closings and pay
support for our all-volun-
teer services still are in
the political boxing ring.
The White House and
the House and Senate,
with their own agendas
and election consider-
ations, are each with dif-
ferent positions on these
critical supports for our
troops and retired war-
riors. Keep a close watch
on this.
Cemeteries and final
rest: No one wants to
talk about this subject
much until it is required.
Over the years Ive had
many calls from families
asking my advice on the
death of a retired Marine
no prior planning etc.
That is a shame because
many veterans families
are eligible for burial as-
sistance, including, in
some cases, the entire
cost, and dont know
what they need to know.
There are 131 national
cemeteries. Ive vis-
ited and spoke at nine
of them, all well cared
for. A family can fax dis-
charge documents to the
action office for this help
1-866-900-6417 and
then follow up the next
day with a call to 1-800-
535-1117.
Additional informa-
tion is available at Mili-
tary Funeral Honors,
1-866-826-3628, and Ar-
lington National Cem-
etery, 1-703-607-8000,
plus a most gracious
organization, the Soci-
ety of Military Widows,
1-800-842-3451.
Veterans, do not wait
to do some planning and
leave all the stress of
your loss to others. We
are not bulletproof and
the end needs to be pre-
pared for.
Homeless veterans: All
of us need to work harder
to reduce this near-na-
tional shame. Help them
by contacting local agen-
cies and churches. And,
as Ive done here and in
Abilene, let the Salvation
Army and their excellent
shelters and clothing
help you aid the home-
less in restarting their
lives.
Real chance at good ca-
reers: Companies such as
Audi have designed truly
special employment en-
tries, with valued train-
ing our veterans with
some technical basic
engineering back-
grounds. Its an excellent
opportunity.
Newer veterans, please
let this old mustang line
officer encourage you to
try hard to place yourself
into full-time work that
has a chance of career
development. Im seeing
sad cases of young veter-
ans in urgent need of jobs
jumping into go-nowhere
part-time work, then an-
other and another. That
does not build a support-
yourself career but does
form a poor resume.
In addition to the com-
panies reviewed for their
outreach to veterans in
prior columns, here are
other corporations do-
ing you and our country
proud service by hiring
veterans.
Humana is hi ri ng
veterans and spouses.
Contact http: //www.
jobs.net/jobs/Humana-
Veterans, or call 1-800-
795-2403.
Also showing strong
records in hiring vet-
erans are USAA; Rider
Systems Inc., at www.
Ryder. com/mi l i t a r y;
Huntington Ingalls In-
dustries (doing a great
job); Lockheed-Martin;
the U.S. Department of
Agriculture and AT&T.
Ive recently discov-
ered a unique outf it
called American Corpo-
ration Partners, at http://
www. a c p - u s a . or g . /
These folks can coach
veterans into wise and
planned-out career en-
try paths.
Our all-volunteer force:
From where? In a sad sig-
nal of the general physi-
cal fitness of our country
today, ask this question:
Can we depend on it, fast,
on a new defense emer-
gency? I am not sure we
can.
Recruiters say a full
80 percent of enlistment
applicants are not quali-
fied. That is the highest
rejection rate I can find
in our whole history.
Keep an eye on Congress regarding its past promises to veterans
DONNIE
DUNAGAN
TIPS FOR THE TROOPS
See DUNAGAN, 4D
2012. In line with that difer-
ence was a 40 percent rate of
poverty in census tract 18.
The citys overall poverty rate
was 17 percent.
The labor force participa-
tion rate (based on residents
age 16 and older) was 42 per-
cent in Blackshear-Down-
town. This compares to a
citywide rate of 61 percent
for 2012.
Married couples headed
only 41 percent of families in
census tract 18 during 2012
compared to 69 percent city-
wide. Rates for both criminal
violence and property crime
are at least ve times higher
in the Blackshear-Downtown
neighborhoods than the city
overall.
These gaps are shocking
illustrations of what Putnam
was saying when he wrote,
Americans are right that the
bonds of our communities
have withered, and we are
right to fear that this transfor-
mation has very real costs.
Those real costs can come
in the form of whole sections
of the community hopelessly
mired in household instabil-
ity, lack of employment, pov-
erty and crime.
Putnam, however, believes
that projects to rekindle
neighborhood and civic en-
gagement can change the
inner workings of local com-
munities, as well as their out-
ward appearance. Leaders
from Atlanta to Indianapolis
to Omaha and San Antonio
need no convincing because
they have seen neighborhoods
transformed. Some of San An-
gelos leaders are moving to
build citizen engagement and
social capital too.
During April, the Citys
Development Services divi-
sion launched a new Devel-
opment Task Force as an on-
going opportunity for greater
dialogue about improvements
to city processes such as zon-
ing, infrastructure develop-
ment, building regulation
and code enforcement. This
start, however, was just an
initial step toward opening
new pathways for expanded
citizen engagement in the de-
velopment of the community
and its neighborhoods.
Also under consideration
are ideas about a Lunch and
Learn Series to provide citi-
zens a forum to learn about
city services and city assets
such as GIS Mapping capabili-
ties, and to receive briengs
from key city staf.
Another idea is to eld a
series of Citizen 101 evening
workshops for hands-on
learning experience on such
topics of emergency man-
agement, methods of ghting
KENNETH L.
STEWART
PATHWAYS TO PROGRESS
See STEWART, 4D
Home & Garden
Creative countertops:
So many diferent materials are
used to spice up the kitchen. 5D