Let’s be realistic about tomorrow, what it means and what will transpire.

On paper, the No. 1 team in the state, Lake Travis (2-0), will defend its 48-game winning streak at home against the No. 2 team, Aledo (2-0). But there’s a little more to it than that, thanks to the Cavaliers’ misfortune of late.

Lake Travis’ biggest playmaking threat, Conner Floyd, broke his leg in the season opener against Westlake, and it was never more obvious how valuable his presence was until last week’s win over Hendrickson, when the Cavaliers had trouble stretching the field without their speedy vertical threat.

Their No. 2 receiver, Tanner Gillette, had a groin pull heading into last week’s game, played the first half, caught four passes, got hit pretty hard numerous times thanks to a lack of mobility and then sat out most of the second half thanks to some re-aggravation of the injury. It was gutsy, to say the least.
Floyd’s backup, Alex Matthews, pulled his hamstring during the Hendrickson game and is trying to be fit in time for Aledo.

Most important of all, quarterback Michael Brewer is battling a shoulder injury, and he could also potentially miss the game.

That leaves just receiver Griffin Gilbert as the lone returning offensive threat from last season.

Aledo, on the other hand, appears to be healthy at every position and has won its first two games of the season easily, topping Stephenville 20-3 and Weatherford 48-13.

While Lake Travis is known for its depth and ability to adjust from season-to-season thanks to the exit of significant players and coaches, these are some major obstacles during the biggest regular season week the Cavaliers will have in 2010.

Most people would understand if head coach Hank Carter and his team aren’t looking forward to tomorrow night, but even if that’s the case, they certainly aren’t acting that way. They’re gearing up like they always do, and aren’t dwelling on their struggle to stay out of the training room.

“The state championship teams we’ve had in the past have had some key components,” Carter said. “They’ve had really good players, sound coaching and they’ve stayed as injury free as possible. That last one is just as important as anything else. You can try to prepare for injuries, but some of the ones that have hit us, you can’t prepare for. We just have to take our lumps right now. It doesn’t do any good to be negative or feel sorry for ourselves. We’re going to plug in another guy and the kids around him are going to have to step up so we can keep moving forward.”

In Lake Travis’ last three games, each of their three DI college commits have been injured. Against Longview, Taylor Doyle severely injured his ankle. Then Floyd and Brewer over the last two weeks. It’s a lot to process, even without throwing in the injuries the rest of the team is sorting through.

If all of that isn’t enough, it’s worth remembering that the team is still adjusting offensively to not having Andy Erickson to rely on, and the defense is adjusting to the loss of some serious experience. Carter believes that lack of experience is what made bringing down Hendrickson’s Kenny Williams so difficult last week.

“In a lot of ways, after a game in which you didn’t play as well as you should have, the old saying is that it’s never as bad as it looked and it’s never as good as it looked,” Carter said.  “A lot of that is true. We had an eight-play span where we gave up three touchdowns, but other than that, we played really good defense. We had a lapse. We were in the right place at the right time, our effort was better than the Westlake game, but our tackling needed to be better, especially against big guys like Williams and Jackson. We weren’t tackling the way we’re taught. You’ve got to put teams away when you’ve got a shot and you’ve got to make the other teams earn it. We’ve got a lot of talented players we’ve added this year, but they’re inexperienced. They’ve got a lot of lessons to learn, and so far, they’re learning quickly.”

Quickly enough? We’ll see tomorrow night.

If the Cavaliers win, it will be a high point in the program’s history for battling through adversity. If they lose, and the streak ends, it will be hard to blame them. Better to have a reason to point to – in this case, attrition – when something like that comes to an end than to lose with your best players on the field and have only yourself to blame.

Either way, they’ll be better in November for what they’re going through in September, and if the Cavaliers are healthy, they’ll still be a title favorite. It’s not college football, and a playoff will determine the winner. Early losses don’t matter.

The team and coaches want you to expect them to be the Goliath they’ve been for over three years. Just don’t be surprised if they look like David for at least a quarter. That’s what injuries can do to the best teams. This all could also be said about next week’s game against a tough Tivy team.

There is good news, though, and no, it doesn’t have anything to do with car insurance. Regardless of the result tomorrow night, the team will be better, stronger and tougher for what it has gone through.

If you made a few or even many lunches, if you rode on the lunch truck and hugged a child or encouraged a brother or sister in need — thank you. Your sandwich, your smile, your prayers and willingness to get involved, with what seemed at the beginning of the summer to be an overwhelming mission, was amazing.

Thanks to the extreme generosity of this community, we delivered more than 6,000 lunches to local residents throughout the summer break. Words are inadequate to describe the many blessings that we all received through reaching out as a community to build friendships and meet true needs. I believe I speak for everyone who participated when I tell you that I will miss this daily coming together with my neighbors and the generous way they shared their lives and gratitude.

In addition to each one of you who made this effort possible every weekday, I would like to thank Lake Hills Church for the unrestricted use of their Mobile Loaves and Fishes trucks. I would also like to thank the Ladies of Charity and Emmaus Church for “Thursdays,” two amazing LTHS teachers without whose help we could not have succeeded, and Austin Christian Fellowship, who made more lunches than I want to count. Thank you to so many Lake Travis churches and LTISD teachers, local clubs, exercise groups and neighborhood groups and to countless Lake Travis individuals with hearts of gold. And to Janet Bailey — thank you for your vision and for your courage.

Michelle Zogas,

President, LTlov,

The Lake Travis Labor of Love

www.ltlov.org

To the editor:

[Dear city officials and residents:]

I have been traveling daily on Highland Blvd., and appreciate the scenic beauty of the drive and the diligence of the crews that maintain it, including the police department who monitor the 30 miles per hour speed limit. However, the 30 mph speed limit is excessively slow on the inconsistent hilly terrain it is trying to serve. I have heard this complaint from many other Lakeway residents and would like to submit herewith a request to raise that limit.

Putting my cruise control on 30 means the car could go up to 42 mph before it either cuts off or I brake. I try every day to rely on the cruise control to maintain a steady speed of 30, and it will not cooperate, so I end up riding my brakes, resetting, riding them again. You get the picture. For the use of the road and for the avoidance of another speeding ticket, I am willing to be inconvenienced to that degree, but it would be much less hassle if you would raise the speed limit on the stretch of Highland Boulevard between the World of Tennis going west and the roundabout at Bee Creek Road. The current limits on Lohmann’s Crossing of 35 and 40 mph would be much more appropriate in my opinion.

I am paying my ticket today, though I would like to have had the officer’s consideration of the hills’ interference with my ability to manage my speed, and I would very much appreciate your consideration in making a change in the speed limit on that road.

Sincerely,

Jeanne Harrington

Lakeway

(Editor’s note: The following is a reply to Harrington from Lakeway Mayor Dave DeOme, who was also sent a copy of the letter.)

Dear Ms.  Harrington,

Thank you for your recent e-mail.  Highland Blvd. was designed (steepness of grade, curves, sight lines, etc.) for speeds of no more than 35 miles per hour. As a safety precaution the posted speed is 30 mph. Furthermore, significant development is currently planned for this area and more and more intersecting traffic from side streets will be present as time goes forward. At the present time there are no plans to raise the speed limit on this road.

For your information, I have extracted the following text from my vehicle’s owners manual on the subject of the use of the  cruise control feature.

Using Cruise Control on Hills

How well your cruise control will work on hills depends upon your speed, load and the steepness of the hills. My vehicle’s cruise control will not function below 25 mph. When going up hills, you may have to step on the accelerator pedal to maintain the vehicle’s speed. When going downhill, you may have to brake or shift to a lower gear to keep the vehicle’s speed down. Of course, applying the brake takes you out of cruise control.  Many drivers find this to be to much trouble and do not use cruise control on steep hills.

I hope you find this  information helpful.

David P. DeOme

Mayor

Lakeway

To the editor:

[This letter is] in response to Mayor [Dave] DeOme’s attempt to get the word out regarding annexation of areas in Lakeway extra territorial jurisdiction.

My family has lived in the Travis Oak Trails subdivision on Gebron for almost 20 years. We also own land across the street in Cardinal Hills 7.  We are staunchly opposed to annexation as is our neighbors. We made a decision at the time we moved here not to be in the City of Lakeway. We pay LTISD taxes and have three grown kids that have all gone through LTISD schools. We pay taxes to Travis County who protects our area very well.

We are quite happy with Water Control and Improvement District 17 for water, trash removal and recycling. There is nothing the City of Lakeway can provide us that we don’t already have.  There was a time when Lakeway only annexed an area when it was requested by the property/land owner to do so.

No one in our neighborhood wants to be annexed.

We are not in a “donut hole” area surrounded by Lakeway. This would be an attempt to gain more tax base while imposing ordinances, rules and regs that we do not want.  Annexation by Lakeway would force a change in lifestyle by many in our area. Instead of an aggressive land grab to increase revenue — how about helping the businesses in Lakeway along RR 620 with better signage so that their business will increase, thereby increasing the revenue to the city.  Lakeway — we support your businesses, but leave us alone.

Debbie Harris

Travis Oaks Trails Subdivision

]]> http://laketravisview.com/2010/09/02/letters-cover-volunteerism-annexation-and-more/feed/ 0 http://laketravisview.com/2010/08/25/daring-young-men-the-heroism-and-triumph-of-the-berlin-airlift/ http://laketravisview.com/2010/08/25/daring-young-men-the-heroism-and-triumph-of-the-berlin-airlift/#comments Wed, 25 Aug 2010 16:16:15 +0000 Special to the View http://laketravisview.com/?p=4459 By T.Q. Jones
(Editor’s note: this is a review of the book, “Daring Young Men: The Heroism and Triumph of the Berlin Airlift, June 1948-May 1949” by Richard Reeves and published by Simon & Schuster.)
I was six years old when the Berlin airlift began, seven when it ended. I knew about it, but it didn’t mean much to me then. Ten years or so later, I had heard a lot about it. The Soviets blockaded Berlin, blocking all train, canal and highway traffic between Berlin and the rest of Germany, trying to force the Allies (the U. S., Great Britain and France) to give up territory the Soviets had agreed would be shared.
The Allied response, really President Harry Truman’s response, was to try to supply everything the two million residents of Berlin needed from food to coal, by air, during what turned out to be the worst European winter on record.
Author Richard Reeves was eleven when the airlift began, and 50 years on was surprised that his generation wasn’t really familiar with what he noted Tom Brokaw might have called, “the last act of the Greatest Generation.” Instead, those he talked to about it thought it happened in the 1960s and had something to do with John F. Kennedy and the Berlin wall.
Instead, the airlift was one of Truman’s best calls. Though it seemed an impossible task at the time, it led not only to the Soviets abandoning their attempt to steal Berlin and half of Germany, but to advances in the way aircraft could be used and moved. Ultimately, it led to the reunification of Germany. By the end, an ironically almost endless stream of transport aircraft was landing or taking off every minute, pausing to disgorge cargo and then taking to the air again.
One thing might touch a chord with the newer generations is the contribution of a brilliant Air Force mathematician named George Danzig, who developed “linear programming,” which he used to create a giant flight plan that maximized supply while minimizing the number of planes and people needed.
Reeves adds in a footnote, “As a graduate student at the University of California, Berkeley, Danzig saw two statistical problems on a blackboard and solved both, thinking they were a homework assignment. In fact, they were examples of unproved theorems. That 1939 incident was the basis for the 1997 film Good Will Hunting.”
That the Allies would even go to the lengths they did just three years after the end of World War II is surprising. That they succeeded is miraculous, and began with a scramble to move enough suitable transport planes to Europe. The U. S. had 400 C-54s, the military version of the DC-4, but only two were in Europe in the spring of 1948. Most were in the Pacific.
Not enough mechanics? Hire Germans. But what about sabotage? During the entire airlift, there were only 27 cases of suspected sabotage, and only four were proved.
Out of it came the friendship of the German people and a trained cadre of pilots who had flown in some of the worst weather imaginable. They pioneered new ways of loading and unloading airplanes as well as new methods of handling instrument approaches in bad weather.
And they fed, sheltered and warmed two million people for eleven months… those who don’t know the story need to read this.

 This Saturday is Social Security’s 75th birthday—and we have quite the reason to celebrate. 75 years ago, Lake Travis was a very different place—the Mansfied Dam had just been constructed, the lake was somewhat of a new attraction, Lakeway was not even a dream, and Bee Cave consisted of little more than a rural store and a post office.

The security of seniors changed significantly on August 14, 1935, when President Franklin Delano Roosevelt overcame steadfast opposition to any new government program and signed Social Security into law. As we celebrate its 75th anniversary, Social Security has never been a day late or a dollar short, and it has delivered with greater efficiency than many private plans. Now, we must ensure that Social Security can continue to be a promise that one generation of Americans makes to the next. Ensuring that my two young granddaughters and your grandchildren have the same protections as seniors do today must be one of our goals.

Reasons to Celebrate Social Security

For the past 75 years, the program has continued to provide modest, yet vital, retirement, disability, and survivor benefits to millions of Americans. If Wall Street banks undermine your private retirement and misfortune strikes other sources of retirement income, Social Security will still be there as a backstop. And that is a backstop that for many in Lake Travis actually puts food in the fridge week and keeps the electricity on. This guaranteed source of income provides 90% or more of the income for 1 in 3 seniors. Social Security is also not just for those in their golden years; often it is also the only source of life insurance for many of the 4 million children who receive survivors’ benefits because they have lost a parent. It is also the primary source of disability insurance, ensuring that when a loved one becomes too disabled to work, some support will be available.

Beware of a Cure that is Worse than the Disease

Without a single change, Social Security has sufficient funds to pay 100% of promised benefits through 2037, and it could pay slightly reduced benefits for many years after that. But some improvement is necessary to extend its solvency for an even longer period of time. We must work together to strengthen Social Security without harming the middle class or cutting guaranteed benefits.

I am committed to doing what is necessary to preserve and strengthen Social Security without resorting to privatization. Misguided and risky privatization schemes would divert substantial payroll taxes to Wall Street management fees and replace the safety net of Social Security with the insecurity of the market. Privatization rejects the guaranteed benefit approach to retirement, replacing it with a system with an uncertain future. It exchanges guaranteed, inflation-proof benefits for the mere chance to recover a portion of the benefit cuts by playing the stock market. Recent events demonstrate that we cannot subject retirees’ security to such a roller coaster ride. We need to strengthen retirement security, not promote insecurity.

Keeping the Security in Social Security

My job, as a member of the Ways and Means Social Security Subcommittee is both to seek ways to strengthen Social Security and to guard against persistent efforts to weaken it. I understand the essential role Social Security plays in the lives of American families as they face retirement, disability, or the death of a bread-winner, and I will continue to work hard to protect and improve Social Security – the pillar of financial security for 159 million Americans, many of whom reside right here in Lake Travis.

Readers who wish to write to me about Social Security or any other federal issue can send me a note by mail at 300 E. 8th Street, Suite 763, Austin, TX 78701, via email at lloyd.doggett@mail.house.gov, or on my website at doggett.house.gov.

Next month, Commissioner’s Court will vote to approve the tax rate for fiscal year 2011 (FY 11). Since the process to set the tax rate can be confusing, I thought some basics might be helpful, along with info on when and where you have the best opportunities to be heard.

Step #1 – Current year’s property appraisals

Since the tax rate is based on appraised values, our number crunchers need to know if and by how much the total value of appraised properties varies from the previous year. So, the Travis Central Appraisal District (TCAD) provides a certified roll of the previous years’ taxable units on or before July 25th of each year. (Typically, there are reserves for protests that are taken from the final certified roll).

Step #2 – Determine the Effective Tax Rate

Once TCAD certifies the appraised values of property in Travis County, our Tax Office works backwards to determine what it would take to collect the same amount of revenue as last year. This rate is known as the Effective Tax Rate (ETR). The ETR is the rate which, if imposed, would maintain the current revenue stream at the previous year’s level (notwithstanding any additional increase or reduction in spending). The ETR for FY 11 is $0.4496, or $0.0281 more than the current FY 10 adopted rate.

Why adopt an ETR? The State requires counties to provide certain services – like courts, jails, etc. Most of these requirements are what are called “unfunded mandates”. In other words, the state requires them but does not provide the funding. The ETR provides an assurance of resources for the provision of services from year to year.

Step #3 – Proposed tax rate

The tax rate that is actually proposed may be either more than, less than, or equal to the ETR. This depends on a number of factors, including budgeted expenses and savings in the upcoming year as well as projections for the future. You may recall that in FY 10, our Planning and Budget Office implemented spending restrictions to lessen the blow for FY 11. It is not an accident that Travis County is one of only seven Texas counties to have the highest possible credit rating (AAA); PBO employees are extremely skilled at determining the best ways of keeping our finances in check. I should also add that the current “rollback tax rate” is $0.4854. Though this rate is subject to change slightly before the tax rate is adopted, if the proposed tax rate exceeds the rollback rate, then the voters (you) may call an election to roll back the tax rate.

This year, in addition to regular expenses, we must also consider those new expenses that will probably be imposed by the state. Texas is looking at an $18 billion dollar shortfall and it is highly likely many of their responsibilities, and therefore costs, will be passed down to local governments.

Step #4 – Budget hearings and final vote

Once all of the preliminary budget work is done, the process is opened to the public. Travis County residents are invited to provide input at a public hearing. Those hearings will be held on September 21st, 24th, and 28th at 9:00 am in the Commissioners’ Courtroom, 314 W. 11th Street. As a County Commissioner, I rely on your input and that of our excellent financial staff to make the best decision. On September 28, we will vote on the final tax rate.

I hope this summary has brought you a little closer to the process. Please come and make your voices heard, or email me with your thoughts or question at constituentmail@precinct3report.com.

I knew the car was nearly out of gas, but it was so late, and I was so tired. So I decided to tempt fate and head for home — just south of Wimberley. An hour or two of sleep would make all the difference in the world. After all, I had to be back to work in just a few hours.

I confess, I no longer handle the long hours that come with newspaper work the way I could when I was younger. The last couple of weeks has made that truth crystal clear to me.

My reporter and right hand, Devin Monk, had gone on a much-deserved vacation to see many of the most interesting games in the World Cup in South Africa. While the first three weeks went OK, by time he had returned, I had less in the tank than Johnny Unitis did when he took those last sad snaps, looking so “other-worldly” in the classic powder blue uniforms of the San Diego Chargers.

There was a time when I could burn the candle at both ends and pop right back up the next day, good as new — just like Johnny U could in his glory days with the Baltimore Colts. But just like Unitis, time catches up to everyone, and it is catching up to me in a big way.

Years ago when I was working as a cub reporter at the Marshall News Messenger,  I was fortunate to meet one of Johnny U’s contemporaries and a great quarterback in his own right, Y.A. Tittle. Tittle was a native of the area who returned home after his career to the aptly-named hamlet, Uncertain, Texas.

I only got to shake his hand, but I don’t think I washed it for a week afterward.

For me, there is no more iconic football photograph than the one of Tittle in the waning days of his career with the New York Giants on his knees bleeding from a head wound. The most amazing aspect of the photograph wasn’t its physical appearance, but rather its etherial presence. Just one look at the photo and you know that guy had left everything he had on the field and was just simply out of gas.

And let me tell you, in recent days, I have really been able to relate to that picture. In the end, rather than walk, I called my wife. After an hour of sleep, I was headed straight back to work, and I was running on fumes — literally.

My lousy luck only got worse after I had a fender bender just over 24 hours later. It was all down hill from there.

Then I walked into the office only to realize I had made numerous errors in the paper, including putting the wrong picture with the wrong article on the business page. By the end of the week, I could barely walk, my car was smashed, I had been blamed for single-handedly ruining AquaPalooza for the entire community, and now I had added one more bone-headed mistake to my long rap sheet.

Next week, I will spend two weeks with two of my grandchildren. I have never taken two weeks in a row off for vacation in my entire life — until now. And I am going into it really feeling my age — past my prime — an old man in a young man’s game.

That empty-tank feeling reminded me of another athlete — Hall of Fame defensive tackle Bob Lilly.  At the time I met him, he lived in Graham, Texas. I was the editor there… of course.

If you haven’t ever met Bob Lilly, he’s not what you might think… Bob is a long, lanky  genuinely nice guy. And while all of you may think of him as a Hall of Fame defensive tackle — the cornerstone of the Doomsday Defense — I tend to think of him as a photographer — and a good one at that.

I barely knew him. I’d see Bob at the local photography store, but I’d leave him be. I had started my career covering celebrities and having seen how so many never get a moment’s break from the “adoring public,” I have made it a policy to simply leave them be when I see one, unless it’s an assignment. Bluntly, I despise the TMZ mentality.

But one day we were talking about how to best “push” black and white film shot in low light during the development process. In those days, part of being a reporter meant also being a darkroom technician.

I started thumbing through a book of photography that was on the counter that Bob published covering his years as a player, as well as some of his outstanding landscape shots.

Then I took a long look at him — he seemed so  young — so healthy. He looked like he could suit up and play that very week. So I blurted out the insipid question that I had been holding back for months.

“How old were you when you retired?”

“I was 34 years old,” Bob replied.

“Wow, I’m 34! You were a young man!” I said in a bit of amazement.

He looked at me and smiled.

“I sure didn’t feel like a young man…”

So when I woke up last Sunday, I thought of Bob, and in my own way, I understood what he was really saying. I always thought of Bob as being “reluctantly public.” Sure, there were the obvious physical strains he had endured, but I can’t help but wonder if the issues of being a celebrity in a day when athletes were far more accessible to the public took more of a toll on him than a regular guy can understand.

I know I am not a particularly gifted writer. I am only an average photographer and I’m a downright terrible copy editor. At best, I am a songwriter subsidizing my habit with a job in journalism. That’s my personal assessment of myself.

But I am also a guy who overcame a learning disability to do a job no one ever dreamed I could ever do. Later, I lived when I was supposed to die. Yet it isn’t as if I have ever had to face anything as terrible as war; however, I kinda believe I have some tiny inkling of what it is to consistently put my integrity to the test — and living that way always comes at a price.

Five decades into my life and three decades into my career, quitting is not yet an option for me. Retirement is many years away — if I am ever able retire. As much as I hate to admit it, I like to work. Always have. Like the psalmist said, there is a season and a time for every purpose under heaven.

So just when I didn’t know if I could go on looking at my own mistakes, I remembered that photo of Y.A. Tittle. That was not the last game he ever played, despite the fact he had suffered both a concussion and cracked sternum on the play.

Sure, he was past his prime, but his integrity was intact and he went on to finish the season…