RAPPIN’RAPPIN’RAPPIN’RAPPIN’RAPPIN’Tommy WyattTommy WyattTommy WyattTommy WyattTommy Wyatt

Vol. 37 No. 25 Website: theaustinvillager.com Email: vil3202@aol.com Phone: 512-476-0082 Fax: 512-476-0179 December 4, 2009

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Mayor Lee Leffingwelland County Judge Sam Biscoejoined members of the citizen-driven Complete Count Com-mittee to launch the 2010 Cen-sus efforts on Monday, No-vember 30, 2009 at City Hall.

The United States Cen-sus has been conducted every10 years since 1790. The popu-lation totals are used as abenchmark for federal fundsof approximately $400 millionawarded to communities eachyear. The Census is also usedto determine the number ofseats each state has in theHouse of Representatives

MAYOR LEE LEFFINGWELL AND JUDGESAM BISCOE ANNOUNCES

2010 CENSUS EFFORTS

and to redraw legislative dis-tricts.

The 2010 Census Com-plete Count Committee isChaired by Judge EricShepperd, Constable BruceElfant and Alejandro Ruelas,Managing Partner,LatinWorks.

Judge Biscoe said thatthere would be 40 citizens onthe complete count commit-tee. The committee would begiven the task of organizingevents; spreading the wordabout the count and its im-portance.

The 2010 Census will

be begin April 1, 2010. In themeantime, there will be hun-dreds of people hired to dothe count. According toBiscoe, there will be 3,000 to5,000 people hired during thecount and they would like tohave 3 to 5 applicants foreach position.

Persons interested inapplying in the positions cancall Deece Eckstein, Coordi-nator, Intergovernmental Re-lations for Travis County at854-9754 or Matt Curtis,Communications Directorfor Mayor Lee Leffingwell at974-2250.

Judge Sam Biscoe addresses the media during press conference. Mayor Lee Leffingwell (center r)looks on after giving opening remarks. Staff photo.

The Town Lake Chap-ter of the Links, Inc., an Afri-can American women’s ser-vice organization, is continu-ing its school food programduring the current academicyear for pupils at CampbellElementary School andNorman Elementary School.On a recent school day atCampbell, Helen Watkins,vice president of programsfor the Town Lake Links,said, “This is called the Kid’sCafé and it’s a collaborationbetween the Links, theseschools, the Capital AreaFood Bank and Grande Com-munications. Together wecome up with the funding toprovide these meals for kidsafter school. Essentially, anyschool that has a free lunchprogram or a need to feedchildren qualifies to bring inthis particular program.”

The idea behind theprogram, Watkins said, is

Town Lake Links’ Meals Program HelpsKids at Two Austin Schools

By George E. Hardin Villager Reporter

that “Many times when thesekids arrive home they don’thave a ready snack or a din-ner meal. Parents may be in-volved with other activitiesor may not have the neces-sary funds to come up withsomething right away. Wewant the kids to be able to dotheir homework withoutthinking about food or beinghungry. We believe that byeating this meal they gohome healthy, happy andready to do their work.”

Watkins said the re-sults have been apparent.“Here at Campbell the chil-dren improved so much intheir performance that thisbecame an award-winningschool.” She said the Linksalso have been involved inmentoring programs provid-ing information about nutri-tion “to show them how im-portant it is.” She said thefree meals are offered Mon-day through Thursday afterschool in the school cafeteria.

Lisa Bohanan,Campbell principal, said,“This program is just fabu-lous. It gives the childrensome place to go when theirparents are still working.They’re very happy and lovebeing able to come and get agood, nutritious meal and forthat we are very, very thank-ful.

Bohanan said she is inher first year as Campbell. “Icame from Sims Elementary,right down the street and wealso had this same program.So I have been witness to thewonders that it can do forour children fro many, manyyears.”

About 125 meals areserved each day at Campbelland Norman. FlorettaAndrews is principal atNorman.

Adrienne Lowenstein,the development manager at

TIME TO EAT—Pupils at Campbell Elementary School enjoy their lunch at the Kid’s Café afterschool meal program sponsored by the Town Lake Chapter of the Links, Inc. Photo by George E. Hardin

See Meals page 5

W A S H I N G T O N(NNPA) - The NAACP, thecountry’s oldest and largestcivil rights organization, hasannounced that acclaimedfilm director Tyler Perry hasdonated one million dollars,marking the largest gift evergiven by an individual artist.In addition, Perry purchasedseveral NAACP commis-sioned Jacob Lawrence litho-graphs and additional litho-graphs by celebrated artistsJonathan Green, ElizabethCatlett and Sam Gilliam. Thegift was made to commemo-rate the organization’s Cen-tennial anniversary, accord-ing to a release.

“Tyler Perry exempli-fies an unyielding commit-ment to uplifting and bring-ing hope to the disenfran-chised and those less fortu-nate,” said Benjamin ToddJealous, president and CEOof the NAACP, “Both in hisfilms and in his life, he re-flects an impressive ethos ofcaring and conscientious-ness. We are deeply gratefulfor his support.”

NAACP ChairmanJulian Bond also applaudedthe gift. “We are honoredthat Tyler Perry chose to sup-port the NAACP,” saidBond. “Tyler is a courageouspioneer in bringing positive

Tyler Perry Donates A MillionDollars to the NAACP

images of African-Americanculture and struggles to thescreen. His remarkable jour-ney from poverty and child-hood abuse to become one ofthe world’s most successfulfilmmakers and entrepre-neurs is an inspiration to usall.”

Perry expressed that itwas the least he could do.

“I feel so honored andblessed to be in a positionwhere I can give to theNAACP.” Perry said. “Hadit not been for the persever-ance and vision of the thou-sands who came before mein the 100 years of this leg-endary organization, Iwould not be in the positionI am in today. I continue tobe thankful for the tirelesswork of the NAACP, and Iam proud to be able to helpin their mission to fight forthe equality of all people,and to work towards theelimination of discriminationagainst race.”

NAACP stalwarts seesPerry as a standard bearer ingiving.

“This is a paradigmshifting moment in Blackphilanthropy. Here is a civilrights organization that isreceiving a donation that isusually targeted only at edu-cation or cultural institu-tions. Tyler Perry is setting ahigh standard for others tofollow,” said Maxim Thorne,Senior Vice President of theNAACP.

Jealous says the moneywill be well-used toward theadvancement of Blackprogress.

He said, “The generousgift by Tyler Perry will beused to support our SecondCentury Society advocacyprograms on economicequality, education, healthcare and criminal justice.”

Film DirectorTyler Perry

The Dispute ResolutionCenter (DRC) of Austin today an-nounced its 2009 Peace MakerAward Winners. The Peace MakerAwards recognize local individu-als and organizations whose ac-tions throughout the year havehelped resolve a conflict peacefullyand had an impact on the TravisCounty community. Award win-ners are selected by a panel of DRCboard members and staff who lookat the way the conflict was resolvedand the impact the resolution madeon the community or workplace.

“The DRC offers alternativedispute resolution services to helpparties amicably resolve disputesand develop realistic and workablesolutions,” said Kris Donley, Ex-ecutive Director of the DRC. “ThePeace Maker Awards allows us torecognize individuals who goabove and beyond to resolve com-munity and workplace issues.Their community focused actionsresult in positive and lasting im-pacts on the community.”

The 2009 Peace Maker Win-ners include:

· Rabbi Steven Folberg:

Dispute Resolution Center AnnouncesPeace Maker Award Winners

Developed a positive solution forthe Interfaith Thanksgiving Cel-ebration to allow for several hun-dred people of many faiths to comeand celebrate Thanksgiving to-gether.

· Roland A. Keller: Led aspeedy and effective resolution be-tween an employee and employerthat allowed the company to avoidcosts of a civil suit and achievedcontinued mutual respect for bothparties.

· Andrew Pastor: Volun-teered his expertise to resolveneighborhood conflict and gain ap-proval for a permanent zoning as-signment for the Dell Jewish Com-munity Campus.

· Larry Schooler: Assistedin passing a street closure ordi-nance for major events requiringthe cooperation of residents andbusiness of closed streets thatsolved a major public policy debatethat had caused conflict for manyyears.

· Council MemberSheryl Cole: Resolved four com-munity conflicts dealing with theAustin police, Texas Relays, criti-cism of the City Manager and anordinance for BYOB establish-ments.

· Merily Keller and Eliza-beth Roebuck: Helped develop alocal suicide prevention plan forTravis County, worked with theMayor’s Mental Health Task Forceand assisted in passage of H.B. 1067and publishing statewidepostvention guidelines for all ofTexas.

Awards will be presented atthe annual DRC holiday party onDecember 15 at the Dispute Reso-lution Center’s office.

Council member Sheryl Cole

More Garbageheaded for

EasternTravis County

It was learned thisweek that there are plansunderway to place a U. S.Development Facility onDecker Lake. This wouldbe an Ethanol Project.According to a memo fromCommissioner Ron Davis,U. S. Development Corpo-ration is proposing to de-sign a facility to off-loadethanol to storage tankslocated at the Flint HillFacility on Johnny Morrisroad.

Davis proposed a se-ries of questions to theCapital Metro and U. S.Development. One of themain questions is, “Whattype of community notifi-cation has been done withTravis County bound-aries.” Another one is,“What type of emergencyplan has been laid out incase of derailment or aspill.”

Eastern Travis seemto be the first place thethese companies look toplace the unwanted facili-ties in the areas. And al-most always, the decisionis made without consult-ant the people who will bemost affected by this fa-c i l i t y .

Davis also wanted toknow what other contentswill be transported in therail cars. It is proposedthat there will be 100 railcars with a capacity for30,000 gallons each. Thiswill surely increase therail traffic in the area.

Commissioner Davisis sending out a warning tothe community about thisissue inorder that therecan be some discussion onthe matter. But, he cannotbe the only person talkingabout this issue. There hasto be a movement in thecommunity or we couldvery well have another con-dition equal to the old“Tank Farm” that was lo-cated in East Austin.

Capital Metro tookgreat pride in trying toeliminate the noise fromthe trains that will be run-ning through East Austin.They did not want to upsetthe new residents of thearea, who demanded thatthey not be disturbed whenthe freight moves throughthe area. Capital Metro waswilling to close up a driveway at Doris Miller Audi-torium in order to make thenecessary changes.

An uproar from thecommunity stopped thedriveway from beingclosed, but the area wasmodified to accommodatethe changes needed. Weneed some answers aboutthis project.

EDITORIALS/COMMENTARYEditorial, Commentary or Letter to the Editor Fax to 512.476.0179 Email to vil3202@aol.com Mail to 1223-A Rosewood Avenue, 78702

Page 2/THE VILLAGER/December 4, 2009

By Rep. Barbara LeeNNPA Special Commentary

We Need PathwaysOut of Poverty

W A S H I N G T O N(NNPA) - The economic cri-sis is having a devastatingeffect on millions of Ameri-cans and has resulted inrecord levels of unemploy-ment. For the first time since1983, that national unem-ployment rate has reached10.2 percent. In my homestate of California the unem-ployment rate has topped12.2 percent.

Just last week, the U.S.Department of Agriculturereported that nearly to 14.6percent of American familiesstruggled to find food lastyear, the highest rate since1995. These numbers arepainful reminders resultingfrom the economic policies ofthe former Bush Administra-tion. They underscore theneed for Congress and Presi-dent Obama to continue towork together to create jobsin our economic recovery ef-forts. Sadly, once again com-munities of color, particu-larly African-Americans andLatinos, are experiencing theworst of these job losses.According to the Departmentof Labor, although the na-tional unemployment ratewas 9.8 percent in September,the rate for African-Ameri-cans was 15.4 percent and forHispanics it was 12.7 percent.As disproportionate as thosenumbers are, the evidence

indicates that the gap in un-employment rates for com-munities of color is widen-ing. As a result, the pipelineto poverty is being filledwith minority children andfamilies at an increasinglyalarming rate.

That is why in Augustthe Congressional BlackCaucus, along with the Con-gressional Hispanic Caucus,the Congressional Asian Pa-cific American Caucus, andthe Congressional Progres-sive Caucus sent a letter tothe Speaker that called forthe extension of unemploy-ment benefits. People needhelp during this economiccrisis, American workers,the unemployed and fami-lies are hurting. I’m pleasedthat earlier this month Con-gress sent President BarackObama legislation fulfillingour request giving an muchneeded economic lifeline tohelp those who’ve been laidoff. But the truth is that ad-dressing the unemploymentgap for minority communi-ties will not happen throughan extension of unemploy-ment insurance alone. Mil-lions of Americans aregrasping to maintain theirquality of life during thisturmoil. This crisis is par-ticularly acute among Afri-can-Americans. More than24 percent of African-Ameri-cans live below the povertyline and African Americansare 55 percent more likely tobe unemployed than otherAmericans. The Congres-sional Black Caucus, in itscontinued role as the Con-science of Congress, has amoral obligation to addressinequality and injustice asnever before in history. We

are aggressively advancingthe role of government to em-power and protect Americanfamilies by collectively pursu-ing a legislative agenda thataddresses the priorities of ourconstituents.

We believe that we havea responsibility and obliga-tion to eradicate poverty byutilizing the full constitu-tional power, statutory au-thority and resources of ourgovernment to provide op-portunities for all and to de-velop pathways out of pov-erty. Some of these opportu-nities and pathways includeeconomic opportunities, jobtraining, livable wages, edu-cation, mental health services,affordable housing, healthcare, child nutrition and a re-sponsible foreign policy. Tothat end, we need a concertedeffort from the Federal gov-ernment to expand access toeducation, job training andeconomic opportunities toprovide a pathway out ofpoverty and ensure thatpeople of color can competefor jobs on a level playingfield. In addition, we mustensure that banks improvetheir lending to small, minor-ity and disadvantaged busi-nesses to ensure that jobs arecreated in our neighborhoods.The legacy of the Bush Ad-ministration is failed policiesthat have weakened oureconomy and two wars thathave sapped resources thatshould be directed to domes-tic needs. Members of theCongressional Black Caucusare working together alongwith congressional leadersand President Obama to fixour economy and create jobsto address the true depth ofthis recession.

Gary L. FlowersNNPA Columnist

Congress ShouldCheck Convenience

Stores

(NNPA) - As we pre-pare to advocate for univer-sal health care in the UnitedStates Senate one issue thatimpacts people’s health is thequality of food available tothem. Wealthy people tend tohave better health in part dueto their diet of quality foods.Conversely, poor peoples’poor health is usually predi-cated on their choices in food.One reality for poor peopleof all pigments is that theyhave less choices of goodfood in their neighborhoods.

Unlike well-to-doneighborhoods with gour-met grocers and organic op-tions, poor people must, inmany cases, use conveniencestores to purchase produceand meats. For most poorpeople of color high qualitymeats and produce is virtu-ally non-existent.

The results arepredictable.The consump-tion of healthy foods—par-ticularly fresh produce—is akey element to disease pre-vention. Likewise, eating badfood has bad health results.It does not take a “rocket sci-entist” to figure out the con-nection between diet and dis-ease. The phrase, “you arewhat you eat”, plays out ev-ery day in poor neighbor-hoods. Predictably, diabetes,

high-blood pressure, andobesity plague poor neigh-borhoods, disproportion-ately African American.

According to the Officeof Minority Health, Blackwomen are 70 percent morelikely to be obese than Whitewomen; African-Americansare 30 percent more likely tohave Diabetes than Whites;and Black men are 30 percentmore likely than their Whitecounterparts acquire heartdisease.

Many of these maladiesarise from poor diets. Poordiets arise from junk food.Convenience stores jack upBlack diets by selling junkfood.Convenience stores arecentral culprits in not only of-fering low-quality foodproducts but also by jackingup their prices.

On average, poorpeople pay a territory tax onfood because of the percep-tion of crime in low-incomeareas (of course low-incomeneighborhoods have morecrime due to the lack of lackof jobs and capital, but I willsave the subject for anothercolumn). Research revealsthat poor people pay asmuch as 20 percent morethan the national average forfood.

Some experts assertthat such jacked up pricesamount to $1200 more for thepoor.National chain grocerystores avoid poor neighbor-hoods as if poor people donot deserve high-qualityfood. Ten years ago I remem-ber working on a “New Mar-kets Initiative” project in1999 with the Rainbow

PUSH Coalition to locate aPathmark Grocery Store inHarlem, New York. At thattime, no national grocerychain store existed inHarlem.

The reasons given werethe perception of crime andthe high cost of building. Ourpoint was that such a storelocation would allow the na-tional chain to do well by theresidents of Harlem and dowell by the business bottomline. Years later, the highestgrossing Pathmark store inthe nation was the one lo-cated in Harlem. So success-ful was the store that a sec-ond Pathmark was sitedthere. Black communitieshave half as much access tochain supermarkets thanWhite neighborhoods.Latinos have 30 percent lessaccess to chain stores thanWhites.

With the absence of na-tional chain stores allows forsmall convenience stores pre-dominate poor communities.

Congress should enactlegislation to end racialredlining in retail food storesby regulating conveniencestores that sell junk food.

For example, regulat-ing junk food in the samemanner that was done fortobacco and alcohol wouldgo along way in reducingdisease diets in Black com-munities. Why not requirejunk food producers in con-venience stores to printwarning labels reading,“EATING THIS PRODUCTCOULD LEAD TO DIABE-TES, HIGH-BLOOD PRES-SURE OR OBESITY”.

By. Marc H. MorialNNPA Columnist

Urgent Action for Jobs Needed Now

As Congress and the nationfocus on the passage of com-prehensive health care re-form, the latest jobs numbersshow that our economy alsoremains in bad health. Andwhile overall unemployment

is now at 10.2 percent, Afri-can American joblessnesshas reached a 28-year highof 15.7 percent, comparedwith 13.1 percent for Latinosand 9.5 percent for Whites.Black unemployment hasrisen to over 20 percent instates like Michigan andSouth Carolina. There arenow more than 15.7 millionAmericans out of work andvirtually every sector, fromconstruction to retail, ishemorrhaging jobs. Clearly,while our overall economyis sick, Black America is onlife support. That is why theNational Urban League isadding its voice to those inCongress and the civil rightscommunity who are de-

manding that the WhiteHouse take immediate actionto create jobs and ensure thatthe economic recovery ex-tends all the way from WallStreet to Main Street.The first phase of thePresident's $787 billion stimu-lus bill has provided neededtax relief to homebuyers andbusinesses and extended ben-efits to unemployed workers.But, we must do more to cre-ate jobs and stem the risingtide of unemployment, espe-cially in hard-pressed urbancommunities. That meansmore focused spending onurban construction projects,greater relief for cities andstates to prevent more layoffsand the possible creation of a

direct government jobs pro-gram targeted to communi-ties most in need. We arepleased that the Obama Ad-ministration will convene a"jobs summit" next month toconsider these and other op-tions. But, even with friendsin the White House and over-whelming support for pro-gressive urban policies in theCongress, there is still a needfor the same kind of focusedeffort from the civil rightscommunity that has taken usto the brink of historic healthcare reform. Governmentcan't do this job alone. That'swhy I was pleased to an-nounce last week that theNational Urban League hasteamed up with On-Deck

Capital, a leading small busi-ness financial specialist, toprovide loans to minoritybusinesses that are strug-gling to fulfill their missionas engines of job creation inurban communities. The pro-gram will kick-off in Phila-delphia and Los Angeles andwill expand to other majorurban centers in the comingmonths. We are also joiningforces with the Congres-sional Black Caucus, theNAACP, the LeadershipConference on Civil Rights,the National Council of LaRaza and others who are urg-ing Washington to take ac-tion now to address chronicAfrican-American andLatino unemployment. As

Wade Henderson, presidentof the Leadership Conferencerecently said, "Make no mis-take, for us this is the civilrights issue of the moment.Unless we resolve the na-tional job crisis, it will makeit hard to address all of ourother priorities."Working together, the civilrights community has re-cently won a number of cru-cial battles - from the electionof the nation's first Blackpresident to a new hatecrimes law to unprecedentedprogress on health care re-form. We are now engagedin a unified campaign tobring jobs and hope back toour communities. We mustand we intend to win again.

By Ron WaltersNNPA Columnist

Afghanistan: The Big Decision

(NNPA) - One of the biggestdecisions of the young Ad-ministration of PresidentBarack Obama will be madea few days after this is writ-ten on the strategy of the warin Afghanistan. A CNN pollhas just come out that sug-gests the decision will be con-fronted by a public – ofwhich I am one -- that op-poses the war by 62 percentand that support for his newstrategy to send more troopsis split 50-49 percent. Whilethe split decision may notstay that way due to whatCNN calls the “rally effect”of a president’s ability to

mount a campaign, still ittells us that the margin forerror in this decision will beslight going forward. Oneof the most striking thingsabout the decision – nowthat its contents are begin-ning to dribble out of thePentagon -- is that after 10“war council” meetingswith key military decision-makers, the deliberationsyielded a result close to thatGeneral Stanley McCrystalwanted. He sounded a noteof urgency in his 66-pagestrategy document whichsaid, in effect, that if hedidn’t get at least 40,000troops, he would not be ableto check the insurgency andwe would lose the waragainst the Taliban. Wellnow, if President Obamasends 34,000, the rest will bemade up by NATO forces,Korea and probably Indiaand others. Obama is nofool, so after about theeighth war council meeting,he asked for an “exit strat-egy,” knowing that his VicePresident, Joe Biden, Nancy

Pelosi and most of the Demo-cratic establishment wereagainst the war. Furthermore,he knew that if the Americanpeople could use the war, inpart, to elect the first Blackpresident of the United States,by 2012, they could un-electhim just as dramatically. So, Ithink what happened wasthat the President calledPrime Minister GordonBrown in Britain and UN Sec-retary General Ban-Ki Moonto get some help and they pro-posed that the exit strategyshould be internationalized.They then announced that onJanuary 28 of the coming year,there would be a Summit onthe elements of self-suffi-ciency in Afghanistan. Ban-Ki Moon is moving quickerwith a high level meeting ofvarious governments inKabul in a few months withthe Karzai government tostress programs for the devel-opment of a new police train-ing and security force. Giventhis cover, the United Statescould at some point when themilitary benchmarks, goals

an etc. look good, declare vic-tory and move out. TheObama Administration willhave its most serious prob-lems with the Republicanswho are fixated on a “win –lose” type of evaluation ofAmerican objectives in theregion. But they – and theAmerican people -- shouldface the fact that you cannotwin a war in Afghanistanwith 40,000 troops; if youused General McChrystal’sown math for fighting acounter-insurgency war youwould eventually need668,000 troops. That meansthe whole country wouldhave to be occupied, not just“strategic villages” as thecase with his current strategy.The method that Obamaused in arriving at his deci-sion then, was as much po-litical as military. It was po-litical in that the frameworkwas one in which he knew inadvance that he would leaveAfghanistan in an appre-ciable time and so, shouldnot invest the maximumamount of troops, given a

hightening economic crisisby voters and the workingclass calling for jobs on hisdomestic front. But it wasalso political in that he hadto use a mechanism whichwould bring along the legiti-mate voices in the militaryestablishment to support thefinal policy and the only waythis could be done was tobring them to the table, hearthem out, offer counter-propositions and obtain theirpledge to support the finaldecision. The consensusmight still fall apart, but thiswas the best way to try to putit together. Generals alwayswant to fight a war to win,that’s their job, but that willalways be done in a givenpolitical context. The contextwhen the Iraq war startedand Obama announced dur-ing his campaign that Af-ghanistan was a “war of ne-cessity” since that was whereAl Queda that killed 3,000Americans was hiding. Thecontext has now changed,with 3,000 American casual-ties in Iraq eight years later

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and a White House JobsSummit being held in thesame week the new Afghani-stan war strategy is being re-leased. Sometimes contextis everything, but this time itmust at least be given equaltime.

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9am until 4pmJoshua Chapel CME Church

1006 Yager Lane Suite DAustin, TX 78753

(512)339-PRAY Rev. Lois Hayes, Pastor Rev. Trever Barnett, Presiding Elder Bishop Ronald M. Cunningham, Presiding Prelate

Bring 2 canned goods or make a $1 donationto help support our seasonal charitable efforts.

Christmas Bazaar

Austin Interfaith lead-ers call on Mayor LeeLeffingwell and the CityCouncil to require any com-pany receiving public tax sub-sidies in order to relocate toAustin to offer family sup-porting, or “living wage jobs”.According to recent news re-ports, the Mayor is negotiat-ing public tax subsidies forthree solar panel companiesto move to Austin. Between2000 and 2007 the City of

The Great PhysicianThe Great PhysicianThe Great PhysicianThe Great PhysicianThe Great PhysicianThis column is by LadyLight

AUSTIN INTERFAITH CALLS ON MAYOR LEFFINGWELLAND CITY COUNCIL TO STAND WITH FAMILIES AND

NEGOTIATE FOR LIVING WAGE JOBSAustin has given $64millionin public tax subsidies to 6companies to relocate. Thiscreated a total of 1,400 jobs ata cost to taxpayers of nearly$46,000 per job.

“At a subsidy of$46,000 per job, these jobsshould pay living wages of atleast $18/hr. with benefits,”said Sean McGuire, pastoralassociate at St. Ignatius Mar-tyr Catholic Church. “We donot want our tax dollars sub-

sidizing poverty wage jobs inwhich workers and their fami-lies are left still dependent onpublic assistance and socialservices. Austin’s povertyrate, child poverty rate, anduninsured rate are all abovethe national average. If pub-lic officials want Austin tax-payers to subsidize privatecompanies, these companiesshould be required to pay liv-ing wages. This is especiallyimportant during the eco-nomic downturn.”

The poverty level inAustin for a family of four is$10.60/hr or $22,050 per year.But most City of Austin socialservices kick in at double thepoverty rate ($21.20/hr or$44,100/yr). Austin Interfaithproposes an ordinance thatwould require companies re-ceiving subsidies to relocateto pay at least $37,000 peryear ($18per hour; roughly175% of poverty level) withbenefits, a career track, and astrategy to hire locally.

“We want these newcompanies, but we want theMayor and Council shouldsell Austin based on its edu-cated workforce, quality oflife, schools, and access tohigher education institutions.These are the factors that topbusiness leaders say are mostimportant, and are things wealready have invested in,”said Robert Williams of Mt.Olive Baptist Church. “Sev-eral companies have received100% property tax abatementsfrom the city, while workingfamilies and small businessescontinue to pay rising taxes,utility rates, and fees in orderto balance the city budget. Ifwe are paying the bill, wewant good jobs in return.”

Dear Great Physician,

As I reflect on Christmas, I can’t help but think about Mary. Mary,in a sense, was involved in a crisis pregnancy. She was young, engaged,and pregnant by someone other than her fiancé. In today’s times, shewould have been encouraged to have an abortion. What if she wouldhave only looked at her circumstances and what she didn’t know? Shewould have aborted more than a life...she would have aborted Jesus.

Reflective

Dear Reflective,Great observation. From a spiritual perspective, each Christian is

like Mary. They can allow the life of Christ to flourish within them orthey can abort His presence by being consumed with what they “know”as opposed to what God knows.

I encourage you to be inspired by Mary’s example this season.When the angel told her “For with God nothing shall be impossible”,she responded with “Behold the handmaid of the Lord; be it unto meaccording to thy word.” This Christmas in the midst of it all, offer your-self as a living sacrifice to God, holy and acceptable. Nurture the life ofChrist inside of you, embracing God’s knowledge. When you do, youtoo will be like Mary, a vessel used to change the world...not just for aseason, but for eternity!

Love,The Great Physician

Rosewood Avenue Baptist

Christmas Concert

The Rosewood AvenueBaptist Church Music Min-istry celebrates “The truemeaning od Christmas inSong,” Sunday, December6, 2009 at 6:00 p.m. The concert will featureSpecial Guest Sis. EdithDavis-McKinney, Soprano’Ebenezer Baptist ChurchHandball Quartet. The concert is under thedirection of Kenneth L.Brown, Minister of Music.The public is invited to at-tend. “Jesus is the Reasonfor the Season.”

Zion Chapel Mission-ary Baptist Church, 301 B JMayes Road, Bastrop, Rev. A.L. Hardeman, Pastor, cor-dially invites each and every-one to An Evening of LoveFellowship Musical on Satur-day, December 5, 2009 @ 6:30PM, for Sister Hazel Wilson.Hazel had a stroke in theSummer of 2009, has ongoingmedical conditions and hasnot been able to return towork. Hazel is employedwith Bastrop IndependentSchool District, BHS WestCampus Cafeteria Staff. TheInspirational Praise Leaderwill be Rev. Luchus McShan,associate minister of Mt.Carmel Baptist Church,Elgin, TX. The musical guestswill include, The HeavenlyPraisers & Company , TheDeShay Singers & SisterChristine Cyphers of Bastrop,The Heavenly Raindrops,Sister Ophelia Reese, & Sis-ter Loretta King of Austin, TXand others. For more infor-mation contact Sister Vir-ginia “Sue” Moore @ 512-321-5374.

Zion ChapelPresents Evening

of Love

Church news?If so, send to

vil3202@aol.com

Youth of Today. Hope of Tomorrow.

Page 4/THE VILLAGER/December 4, 2009

Managing campaigns for corporationsaround the clock, around the world.

Jeremy HendersonMcCallum High School

Jaquarry WilsonKealing Middle School

Youth BrigadeSponsorship AvailableCall for info 476-0082

William Purcell, lllManor New Tech HS

I hope everybody en-joyed their Thanksgiving. Ihad a good time at myThanksgiving. A lot of myusual family members cameto celebrate with me and myparents.

There was pie, turkey,ham, cake, mac and cheese,

etc. We all played boardgames and watched Texasbeat Texas A&M in football.Everybody had a great timeon Thanksgiving and ate ev-erything they saw. Luckily westill have some meat and des-sert left in the kitchen.

Like every otherThanksgiving, we said grace,then we ate. People also lis-tened to music and talkedabout personal stuff. Thanks-giving was great. Especiallywith the toll house pie.Thanksgiving is not just aboutthe food, it is also about giv-ing thanks to all the goodthings that have happened toyou. So, always have a coolThanksgiving and keepthanking at the same time.

Thanksgiving with friendsand relatives

Marissa HornsbyConnally High School

On Saturday, Novem-ber 21, the Kealing SoccerTeam played Against the

Pearce Soccer Team for thefirst game of the soccer sea-son. During the first and sec-ond quarter of the game,Pearce had the lead with 3-0.That caused much doubt forthe hornets, but luckilyaround the third quarter near-ing the fourth Kealing hadmanaged to score. They hadcaught up and the game wastied. In the 4th and final quar-ter Kealing scored again andone the game. The final scorewas 4-3. Keep it up hornets!

First Soccer Games played forthe year

By Destini GorrerLBJ High School

The camera is rolling.But instead of stepping onstage into the limelight, he’shappy to remain behind, look-ing through the lens. For se-nior Peter Jiang, filming is hispassion, his way of impact-ing people and their lives.

“When I was grow-ing up I wanted to impactpeople, so I tried to learn newthings to entertain people bylearning to juggle, do magictricks and things like that,”Jiang said. “To me, being rec-ognized is a good thing.”

Jiang became inter-ested in working in the film-ing industry in middleschool, when he met VideoTech teacher Humberto Perez.“Growing up, I alwaysthought that there was onlyone path to go to in life,” Jiangsaid. “I always thought yougrow up, get good grades,graduate, go to college, get ajob and get married. When Imet Mr. Perez, he taught methat there are different pathsto go to, that you aren’t herefor just one path.”

Two years ago, Jiang at-tended the Make a Film in aDay film festival hosted bythe Austin School of Film. Hetalked to the coordinators andasked if he could do a sum-mer internship. “It was agood experience for me,” Jiang

said. “They showed me whatit was like to work as an indiefilmmaker.”

Jiang’s films can beviewed on Youtube andVimeo under his usernameSanctuary13. This past week,Jiang won the grand prize atthe Digital Fusion FestivalRapid fire Editing Contest.The prize gives him a two-year producer’s badge to uti-lize Channel Austin’s facili-ties and equipment, and theability to put videos on TV.

“I love telling stories inmy films,” Jiang said. “One ofthe things I like the mostwhen we are watching avideo is the reaction thepeople in my films make. Ilove to hear what they are say-ing about their performance,or a funny thing they did.”

After high school,Jiang aspires to go to theVancouver Film School,which is considered to be oneof the top film schools. Fornow though he plans on go-ing to the University of Texasat Austin, for convenienceand cost.

“They focus mainly oncommunication,” Jiangsaid. “Communication isimportant for filming, but Iwish that they would alsofocus on the filming aspectmore.” Like other careers,filming also has its difficul-ties. “Some people won’twork as hard as others,”Jiang said. “Sometimesthere isn’t enough time toget everything done, orthere will be tech problems.”

The difficulties don’tstop Jiang from his passionfor film. “I love filming,”Jiang said. “I love comingup with ideas and jokes forthe film, and I love watch-ing the reactions.”

A passion for filmmaking

I had a blast in NewOrleans ! Actually seeingNew Orleans after studyingabout the culture haschanged my whole perspec-tive about it. I originallythought nothing but negativethings about it every sinceHurricane Katrina hit there.

We stayed at the Em-bassy Suites which was a verynice and large hotel. The lo-cation was pretty good too be-cause it seemed like practi-cally every place we were go-ing was in walking distance.After we arrived and gotsettled in, we were on a mis-sion to eat Poboys for lunch.In case you’re not familiarwith it, a poboy is a type ofsandwich they have withwhatever you like in it. Forinstance, they have from sea-food poboy to a regularbarbeque poboy. I had thebarbeque poboy because Ididn’t want to try anythingtoo different in fear that Imight not like it although Itasted my friend’s crawfishand shrimp poboy …..it waspretty tasty.

In New Orleans, itseems that was we considertrains they call them “streetcars”. We rode in one and I

enjoyed it ! While we werethere, aside from experiencingthe culture there, we also vis-ited Tulane, Xavier and LSUUniversities. After visiting allthree schools, I think I wouldlike to go to Xavier. They’reone of the top in the nationfor Pre-Med majors, which iswhat I plan to major in, sothat’s right up my alley. Foryears I also loved LSU be-cause of track.

Have you heard ofNew Orleans and voo-doo……sure, who hasn’t?Well, we visited an actualvoodoo place. It was a verycreepy thing to do. Moneyseemed to be a major part ofthe voodoo. Enough of that…While in New Orleans wealso walked Bourbon Streetand man….what a time wehad there. It’s like 6 timesworse than downtown 6th

Street in Austin on its crazi-est of nights! PreservationHall had some very good jazzmusicians which made mestart to appreciate other typesof music. That was my firsttime actually hearing and see-ing jazz musicians.

New Orleans overallwas just a pretty crazy yet in-teresting city. I would enjoygoing back there one day. Onething about the city is it seemsthat they don’t wait until holi-days or special occasions tohave celebrations, they do itdaily.

I really believe Mr.Parker should continue thisfreshman trip for years tocome. It’s a great idea to beable to experience what weactually studied in class.Well, until next time…go Jags.

My Trip to New Orleans

On Saturday, Novem-ber 28, 2009, the McCallumKnights played the PortLavaca Calhoun Sandcrabs atthe Alamo Dome in San An-tonio. This game was hugeand important, because onewe were playing in the AlamoDome and two, if we win thisgame, we would be the firstMcCallum football team to gopast the 3rd round of the play-offs and go further than anyother McCallum football andif we lose we go home. In thefirst half, our offense scored a

touchdown, which wasscored by Michael Sorrellsand we made some mistakes.Our defense dominatedCalhoun’s offense and onlygave up 3 touchdowns in thefirst half. At halftime, we weredown 21-7. Also during half-time, everyone was frustrated,but our coaches pepped us upand we were ready for the sec-ond half. In the second half,our offense scored 3 touch-downs, 2 by Michael Sorrellsand one by Clete Donavon.Our defense kept dominatingand only gave up 2 touch-downs. The final score wasMcCallum-28 and PortLavaca Calhoun-35. We lost,but we dedicated this greatseason to Coach PatHoneyCutt, this was a superseason and we made it thisfar. This was the bestMcCallum football team everand I’ve ever been part of. Sofor the final time, Who’shouse? Knights House!!!!!Who Wants Some?!!!

By Bria GoodLBJ High School

It was a Great Season

Last week wasThanksgiving break and Imust say that I really en-joyed it. We only had twodays of school that weekand the rest of the weekwe were off. On Thanks-giving, I had my ownThanksgiving dinner withturkey, dressing, greenbean casserole, collardgreens, corn, and breadrolls. After we ate at myhouse, we waited a fewhours and went to myAunt’s house to enjoyfamily time. My Thanks-giving was really greatand I bonded with myfamily very well.

Two weeks ago, 23selected freshmen (includingme) went on a trip to NewOrleans. It was a really great,fun, and educational trip foreveryone. When we first gotto New Orleans, we checkedinto the New Orleans Em-bassy Suites and walked to

PoBoys restaurant and af-ter that we walked to theNew Orleans Aquariumwhere there were great seaanimal exhibits. After theAquarium, we went to thePreservation Hall to see ajazz concert . At f i rs t Ididn’t think I would likethe concert, but it was veryentertaining.

After the jazz con-cert, we walked throughBourbon Street, which wasa very crazy time! The nextday, we went to the NewOrleans cemetery andchurch, the Armstrongcenter which was openthis year(fortunate for us),the Mardi Gras Museum(The Presbytere) and theCabildo Museum. We alsoenjoyed a street perfor-mance whi le eat ingbeignets and coffee fromCafé du Monde. We walkedthrough Jackson Squareand saw some more streetperformances. It was a re-ally great day.

The day we le f tNew Orleans, we went toTulane University, XavierUniversity, and in BatonRouge, Louisiana StateUniversity. It was a verygreat trip and I enjoyedmyself and I’m sure mypeers did as wel l . GOJAGS!

Thanksgiving Break

A parent training ses-sion for special educationfamilies is planned for De-cember. The Family SupportCooperative will be Tuesday,December 8, from 7 to 8:30p.m. at the Rosedale School,located at 2117 W. 49th Street.Free childcare and pizza willbe provided beginning at 6:30p.m. Spanish translators willalso be available.

The topics for thatnight’s session will be:

· Communication: En-couraging Your Child toCommunicate

· Letting Your Child Lead:Building Choice-MakingSkills

· Depression/Anxiety:

Rosedale Offers DecemberSpecial Education Program

Signs, Symptoms and Strate-gies

· Creative Use of Waivers:Medicaid Waiver Options

· How to Get In-HomeTraining: And How to Use Itto Your Benefit

· SAMA (Satori Alterna-tives to Managing Aggression.Part 4 of a four-part training.

These sessions are a co-operative effort betweenAISD, Austin Travis CountyMHMR, and The Arc of theCapital Area, and are de-signed for parents, siblings,caregivers, educators andothers.

For more information,call Rosemary Alexander at414-2049.

Austin School Trusteeshave approved the District’s2010-2011 school calendar, withclasses beginning Monday, Au-gust 23, 2010. The first semesterfor students will end on Thurs-day, December 16.

Spring semester will be-gin for students on Tuesday,January 4, 2011, and end onWednesday, June 1, 2011. SpringBreak will be the week of March14-18, 2011.

The approved calendar issimilar to the current 2009-2010School Calendar and includes:

· 175 student instructiondays.

· 187 teacher workdays.

· 23 official school holi-

days.· 12 days for staff devel-

opment, parent conference, andteacher planning and prepara-tion.

A 17-member CalendarTask Force, composed of par-ents and staff, developed twodifferent calendars, and gath-ered input about them fromnumerous stakeholder groups.An online survey was also con-ducted. The Calendar TaskForce reported to Trustees anoverall preference for CalendarDraft A, which includes the tra-ditional placement of holidaysat Thanksgiving and WinterBreak. This is the calendaradopted by the Board.

Austin Trustees Approve2010-2011 School Calendar

December 4, 2009/The Villager/Page 5

TTTTTeeeeexas Rxas Rxas Rxas Rxas Relaelaelaelaelayyyyysssss

BLACK REGISTRYIs Now Available at The Villager

office or particapating business locations throughout the

Greater Austin Area.Call (512) 476-0082

to reserve your copy.($2 per book.)

ACC RegisACC RegisACC RegisACC RegisACC Regis

the Capital Area FoodBank, said, “The mission ofthe food bank is to nourishhungry people and relievethe community in endinghunger. So one way we dothat apart from direct fooddistribution—the food pan-tries and soup kitchens—isour Kid’s Café program. Wehave 34 partners in our Kid’sCafé program and we providefood to the schools, which inturn is served as warm mealsafter school. We served almost3,000 kids last year.” She saidthe meals are often given incoordination with tutoringsessions. “We’re so proud to

Town Lake Links’ MealsProgram Helps Kids at Two

Austin Schools from page 1

be here with the Links foun-dation to support CampbellElementary’s Kid’s Café pro-gram. The Links have gener-ously supported the foodbank for more than 20 years.Unfortunately, Texas ranksNo. 1 in childhood food in-security. So everything thatwe all can do to make surethat our community’s chil-dren have a nutritious mealmakes a big difference.”

Chiquita Watt Eugeneis president of the TownLake Links. As part of itsother services the Linksaward seven college schol-arships each year.

LINKS’ FOOD PROGRAM—Among those taking part in theTown Lake Chapter of the Links, Inc., Kid’s Café activities at CampbellElementary School were, from left, Adrienne Lowenstein of theCapital Area Food Bank, Lisa Bohanan, Campbell principal, andHelen Watkins of the Links. Photo by George E. Hardin

MORE KIDS—Pupils at Campbell Elementary School enjoytheir lunch at the Kid’s Café after school meal program sponsoredby the Town Lake Chapter of the Links, Inc. Photo by George E.Hardin.

The Austin/TravisCounty Health and HumanServices Department has ex-panded its flu clinics to in-clude anyone who would liketo receive an H1N1 flu vac-cine. Four H1N1 flu shot clin-ics are scheduled, beginningtomorrow, and vaccines areavailable by appointmentonly.

To schedule an ap-pointment, please call 972-5520. The appointment pro-cess will better serve theneeds of people in a moretimely and efficient way.

With the holiday sea-son in full swing and peoplereadying themselves fortravel—this is an ideal timeto get the H1N1 flu vaccine.Additionally, Austin/TravisCounty Health and HumanServices continues to urgeeveryone to take steps to pro-tect your health and yourfamily’s health and lessen thespread of the flu:

· Wash your handsoften.

· Cover your coughs

H1N1 Flu Clinics Expand toGeneral Public

and sneezes. Cough or sneezeinto your sleeve and not yourhands.

· Don’t touch yourface with your hands.

· Avoid touching youreyes, nose or mouth.

· If you feel sick, stayhome from work or school.

More information isavailable at our website http:// w w w . c i . a u s t i n . t x . u s /health/ and by calling 3-1-1and 2-1-1.

H1N1 Flu Clinic Sched-ule:

Thursday, December 3Delco Center4601 Pecan Brook Drive1:00 p.m. – 6:00 p.m.Friday, December 11Toney Burger Center3200 Jones Road1:00 p.m. – 6:00 p.m.Tuesday, December 15Delco Center4601 Pecan Brook Drive1:00 p.m. – 6:00 p.m.Thursday, December 17Toney Burger Center3200 Jones Road1:00 p.m. – 6:00 p.m.

Color Purple

The magnificent, pic-turesque stone and glass arch-way of Riverbend Centre willonce again be the setting of anAustin holiday traditionwhen the Austin SymphonyOrchestra presents Handel’sMessiah Tuesday, December8th at 8:00 p.m. Guest conduc-tor David Stevens will con-duct one of the most popularoratorios of all time. Guestvocalists Nancy Curtis, LoriBade, Don Hill, David Smalland the vocal forces of TheParish Choirs of St. David’sEpiscopal Church will be fea-tured. This concert is beingsponsored by Emerson Pro-cess Management.

Messiah, composed injust three weeks in 1742, isone of the greatest musicalmasterpieces of all time, andvery possibly the greatestwork ever written in En-gland. Written as one man’sinspired expression of hisfaith, Messiah has tran-scended religion and cul-tures to become the singlemost performed oratorio inhistory. Interestingly, it wasat a very early performancein 1743 where one of thegreat traditions of Messiah

HANDEL’S MESSIAH: ANAUSTIN SYMPHONY HOLIDAY

TRADITIONperformances began.Handel’s patron, KingGeorge II, attended one of theperformances and stood upin respect to the Almightywhen the “Hallelujah” cho-rus began. As he was themonarch, the audience re-spectfully followed his lead,and to this day the traditionof standing during this unfor-gettable chorus remains.While maintaining its emo-tional and artistic impact,Messiah remains a constantfavorite of the holiday reper-toire. Don’t miss this timelessAustin tradition. Let the Aus-tin Symphony Orchestra be-gin the holiday season for youand your family.

Tickets for Handel’sMessiah are $15-$35 andare available atwww.austinsymphony.org,where you will also dis-cover seating maps, priceoptions and a wealth of con-cert information. You canalso purchase tickets at theSymphony Box Office (Mon.– Fri., 9-5), 11th and Red River orcall 476-6064 or 1-888-4-MAE-STRO (toll-free).

All programs, artists, anddates are subject to change.

A Tipping Point Thought: Is race a challenging conver-sation or a conversation that challenges us?

Saturday, December 5, 2009- Two Locations-Two Times-Two Conversations

Strengthening individually and collectively race rela-tionships in all areas of Travis County

Goal: Living Today and Tomorrow Together In HarmonyWithin, Between andAcross All Race Communities In TravisCounty.

Sharing Past, Previous, Present Lessons Learned andSharing Proactive, Future, Potential Opportunities For Learn-ing New Lessons.

Key Strategies: Sharing and listening to personal jour-ney, experiences,stories; sharing and caring for one anotherthrough personal growth anddiscovery.

Environment-Come As You Are-Leave As You Came-You Are the Sole Determinant of What You Do During andThroughout the Gathering:

Very casual, Safe Strategies for Engaging the Agenda,Casual Saturdayattire, Not an organization, no membership,no joining, makes no difference whether it’s your first-time ortwentieth time participating-everyone is treated the same, nota group, just neighbors coming together as they choose, noofficers, no voting, no commitmentsasked, no obligations, nominutes, no decision making, no organizationalstructure, nobefore/during/after assignments, no committees, no taskforces, no duties, no outcomes, no budget, etc.

You are being a difference maker. Together, we are mak-ing a difference.

- Morning Gathering-9:00 - 11:30 a.m.St. James Episcopal Church- Founders’ Hall- 512/926-

6339; 1941 Webberville Road; Austin, Texas 78721-1138Afternoon Gathering - 3:15 p.m.- 5:15 p.m. St. Andrews Presbyterian Church- 512/251-0698; 14311

Wells Port Drive; Austin, Texas 78728-6826Note: Other days, times and locations are available. If

interested in hosting, scheduling a “Race Healing-Race Har-mony-Race Solidarity” Gathering, contact: -Captain ArtCardenas, Travis County Sheriff’s Office, 512/854-972,art.cardenas@co.travis.tx.us -Assistant Chief Sam Holt, Aus-tin Police Department, 512/974-5251, sam.holt@ci.austin.tx.us

Travis County llSheriff’s OfficeBuilding Bridges: First Saturday

Community Conversation

The Austin UrbanMarket’s (AUM) 1st AnnualHoliday Marketplace will beSaturday, Dec. 12, 2009. It isaspiring to reach afundraising goal of $5,000benefiting Austin’s first non-profit African American bal-let dance troupe, BalletAfrique.

The AUM encourages thecommunity to continue “DoingIt The Ujamaa Way” and buymore local this holiday season.Ujamaa is a Swahili word mean-ing cooperative economics. Thisholiday season give gifts fromlocal entrepreneurs such asPadees’ and Lee Catheryn Origi-nals that produce beautifullycrafted handmade jewelry and

TTTTThis Holidahis Holidahis Holidahis Holidahis Holidayyyyy, do it the, do it the, do it the, do it the, do it theUjamaa WUjamaa WUjamaa WUjamaa WUjamaa Waaaaayyyyy

soothing therapeutic handmadeoils, whipped butters and scentsby African Visions designed forthe entire family. Come eat deli-cious food by Lula Mae’s Cater-ing, shop with a variety of ven-dors while enjoying great musicand a special performance byBallet Afrique.

To find out more about theevent visit: www. austinurbanmarket.com. Check outperformances and studioclasses at Ballet Afrique: www.ballet afrique. org.

Vendor spaces are avail-able but limited. If you are inter-ested in being a vendor, contactDon Ellerby at (512) 785-7045 orvisit: www. austin urban mar-ket .com.

The African Diaspors SectionBy Tsoke (Chuch) Adjavon

Page 6/THE VILLAGER/December 4, 2009

Texas Lottery

A Special Night for the Taste of EthiopiaNovember 28, 2009 was

a special business night forthe Taste of Ethiopia becauseit was the first anniversary oftheir restaurant. It markedone year of hard work, goodcustomer service and a highfood quality that served itsclients. The atmosphere wasjoyous, festive, relaxed andrelieving for having survivedthe first year of a business,which often tends to be thehardest year for any business.Furthermore, over the days,weeks, and months, the res-taurant has seen its clientelebase grow.

During the night, thecustomers were greeted withlive music and then it was fol-lowed by a DJ playing musicfrom Ethiopia. As the musicplayed in the background, itwas business as usual for theowner and the staff of the res-

taurant. It was another dayin which the restaurant pro-vided good customer serviceswith delicious food. One ofthe staff mentioned that beingin business for one year,meant that, "The clientele ap-preciated the good customerservices with good qualityfood."

Despite the hard eco-nomic times, the owner of theTaste of Ethiopia took a leapof faith in believing that therestaurant would work.Since her arrival in the UnitedStates, she has worked in therestaurant business. So afterworking all these years, shestrongly believed that the timewas right to become her own"boss". Moreover, the ownerof the restaurant took thefamily's savings and investedthem in her lifelong goal ofowning a restaurant. Over the

weeks and months, sheslowly carved out her ownniche in the restaurant busi-ness.

In summary, theDiaspora would like to con-gratulate and also rejoicewith the owner and staff of therestaurant, Taste of Ethiopiafor their one year anniver-sary. Although the first yearof business tends to be thehardest, the restaurant hasmanaged to keep its doorsopen.

After working in therestaurant business for years,the owner felt that the timewas right to open up her ownbusiness. Consequently, shetook a leap of faith when tak-ing the family's savings toopen a restaurant. So far, therisk has paid great dividendsbecause the owner managesher own restaurant.

On November 26, 2009,ThunderCloud Subs orga-nized the Annual Thanksgiv-ing Turkey Trot, in order toraise fund for Caritas. Caritasis a non-profit organizationthat helps the under-em-ployed and non-employedwith housing, food, utilities,education and job skills. Dur-ing the Turkey Trot, 15,000Central Texans took part inthe event which consisted ofrunning or walking a 5 milesmarathon in the heart ofdowntown Austin, Texas.Also, 100% of the proceeds ofthe event will be given tooCaritas so that they can con-tinue to help Central Texanswith vital services.

In the past nineteenyears, the Thanksgiving Tur-key Trot race has raised800,000 dollars for Caritas.

By Tsoke (Chuch) AdjavonTurkey Trot

The organizers hope that thisyear's race would help themreach the 1,000,000 dollarsmark. In other words, thisyear's objective was to raise200,000 dollars more. Lastyear, the race raised $176,000for the operation of Caritas.Not only does the AnnualTurkey Trot serve as a fund-raiser, but it also gives Thun-der Cloud Sub and its em-ployees an opportunity to giveback to the community.

The owner ofThunderCloud Sub believesthat the race is not just asimple fundraiser but an op-portunity for the employee to"bond" and work together fora greater cause. During theevent, it was theThunderCloud Sub's employ-ees and other volunteers whohelped with the operations of

the race, such as, the registra-tion of the participants andpicking up trash. At the endof the day, the Thunder CloudSub can be proud that theyhelped an organization suchas Caritas.

In summary, the CentralTexans who participated inthe race should be com-mended for taking a part inactivities that help other Cen-tral Texans. Through theirparticipation, they have en-abled Caritas to completetheir mission. Furthermore,100% of the proceeds raisedon Thanksgiving Day will beused by Caritas to provide as-sistance, such as, rent andutilities assistance, re-hous-ing for permanent terms, tran-sitional-housing, freelunches, take home groceries,and other vital services.

By Tsoke (Chuch) Adjavon

Snapshot at Central Texas'Cities Government

The Austin City Coun-cil will convene on December10, 2009 at city hall. On theother hand, the city councilhas recently moved the waterrestriction from a stage 2 to astage 1 level. A stage 1 waterrestriction means that com-mercial and multi-familyhomes can water Tuesdaysand Fridays.

On the other-hand asingle family whose houseaddress ends in odd numberscan water on Wednesdaysand Saturdays. The evennumbered addresses shouldwater on Thursdays and Sun-days. Those who violate thecity's ordinance are subjectedto a fine of $500.

Also, the Pflugervillecity council will convene onDecember 8, 2009 at the cityhall. Moreover, the city ofPflugerville has recentlymoved from a level 3 to a level2 drought because of the re-cent rains. Level two stagedrought means that residen-tial customers with a last digitof their street address endingin an odd number, their wa-ter days are Wednesdays andSaturdays. And for residential

customers with a last digit oftheir street address ending inan even number, their waterdays are Thursdays and Sun-days. Furthermore, commer-cial customers can water onTuesdays and Fridays. Wa-tering is allowed before 10a.m. or after 7 p.m. on yourdesignated watering day.However, individualsshouldn't wash their motorvehicles, motorbikes, boatsand other vehicles exceptduring these hours on theirdesignated watering days.Only use a bucket or hand-held hose equipped with ashutoff nozzle. (Exception:Commercial car washes, ser-vice stations and vehiclessuch as garbage trucks andthose used to transport foodand perishables.)

Finally, the Round RockCity Council will meet on De-cember 1, 2009 at city hall.After a call to order, the citycouncil will have a briefingregarding the November 24,2009 council meeting. Thencouncil will proceed to a pre-sentation and discussion ofthe city's strategic calendar,city's logo on its water tower,

and also hear fromWilliamson county appraisaldistrict regarding the ap-praisal of Round Rock.

Also, the city of RoundRock has just moved from alevel 3 water restriction to alevel 2. A level 2 means thatodd numbered addresses’watering days for single-fam-ily residential customers areWednesdays and Saturdays.The watering days for even-numbered addresses areThursdays and Sundays.

Watering days for com-mercial, industrial, institu-tional, municipal, and multi-family areas are Tuesdaysand Fridays. Furthermore,outdoor irrigation with a per-manently installed automaticirrigation system has waterday(s) only between midnightand 10 a.m. Also, outdoor ir-rigation with hose end sprin-klers, soaker hoses, or drip ir-rigation can not water be-tween 10 a.m. and 7 p.m. wa-tering with a hand held hoseor bucket is allowed anytime.However, planting of newlandscape is discouraged.Moreover, charity car washesare prohibited.

Trouble in Toyland

Tareka Wheeler, SafeKids Austin Coordinator atDell Children’s Medical Cen-ter joined CongressmanLloyd Doggett in alerting par-ents about dangerous toyswith the release of “Troublein Toyland,” along with Dr.

Pat Crocker, director of emer-gency medicine at DellChildren’s, Melissa Cubria,with Texas Public InterestResearch Group.

Congressman Doggettwarned not only about whatto watch for when purchas-

ing new toys, but also aboutthose obtained at garage salesand flea markets. ThroughSafe Kids, Ms. Wheeler issending information homewith school children aboutdangers to watch for in buy-ing and using toys.

The complete PIRG toy report is available at http://doggett.house.gov.

HUSTON-TILLOTSON UNIVERSITY’SCONCERT CHOIR

PRESENTS ‘CELEBRATING THE SEASON’(AUSTIN, Texas) —The Huston-Tillotson University Concert Choir, under the direction

of Dr. Gloria Quinlan, will present “Celebrating the Season” on Sunday, Dec. 13 at 7:00 p.m. inKing-Seabrook Chapel, 900 Chicon Street.

The annual holiday concert of traditional carols will also feature the HT Jazz Combounder the direction of Mr. Javier Stuppard.

The public is invited. For more information or group seating, call 512.505.3073. Proceedsfrom a $10 donation will benefit the music scholarship fund.

Austin Woman In Need of Life-Saving Transplant

Austin, TX – With thecost of a transplant often ex-ceeding $500,000, manytransplant patients are un-able to shoulder the financialburden of such a procedure.The Children’s Organ Trans-plant Association (COTA) isa national charity dedicatedto organizing and guidingcommunities in raising fundsfor transplant-needy pa-tients. In Austin, volunteersare raising funds for trans-plant patients like localwoman Lynsey Thurman.

Born on October 25,1988, Lynsey was diagnosedwith End Stage Renal Dis-ease, and doctors at the Uni-versity of Texas Medical

Branch in Galveston, Texasrecommended a life-savingkidney transplant. An esti-mated $30,000 is being raisedby Austin volunteers.

Volunteers are neededto assist with fundraising ac-tivities. Individuals andgroups interested in more in-formation can contact Com-munity Coordinator YsoletteNicoson at 512.293.3009 orysolette.nicoson@alamotitle.com.

Donations may bemade in person at any ChaseBank branch location usingaccount number 2940798453or mailed to the Children’sOrgan Transplant Associa-tion, 2501 West COTA Drive,Bloomington, Indiana, 47403.Checks or money orders

should be made payable toCOTA, with “In Honor ofLynsey T.” written on thememo line of the check. Se-cure credit card donations arealso accepted online atwww.COTAforLynseyT.com.

Lynsey is the daughterof Ed and Becky Thurman,and her family has asked forassistance from theChildren’s Organ TransplantAssociation.

The organization’s pri-ority is to assure that no childis denied a transplant or ex-cluded from a transplant wait-ing list due to lack of funds.One hundred percent of allfunds raised are used for pa-tients’ transplant-related ex-penses.

EMPLOYMENT/BIDS/PROPOSALS /PUBLIC/INFORMATION/

FOR SALE/FOR RENT/MISC

JANITORIAL WORKERSNEEDED

ISS Facility Services, Inc. hasopenings for supervisory, floormen, and general cleaners forpart-time evening employment.Apply at ISS Facility Services,Inc. Austin, M-F, between 4-6pm, 8101 Cameron Road # 304.ISS Facility Services, Inc. is anEqual opportunity Employer(EOE) and promotes a DiverseWorkforce.

December 4, 2009/THE VILLAGER/Page 7

Employment

Apply at HR5930 Middle Fiskville Rd.

6th Floor, Austin, TX 78752Job Line (512) 223-5621hhtp://www/austincc.ed

EEO/AA/M/F/D/V

AustinCommunity

College“SOLICITATION FOR QUOTES:

Quest Civil Constructors,Inc. is soliciting cost proposals fromM/WBE’s for the City of Austin,Hornsby Bend Biosolids Manage-ment Plant Digester Improvements& Sustainability Project - Rebid,IFB CLMC074A, bids publiclyTues. 12/08/09 at 12:00 p.m. Forinformation concerning subcontract-ing and/or purchasing opportunitiescontact Felicia Kammer at623.581.9700.”

Round Rock ISD is currently ac-cepting sealed bids and proposals.Solicitation documents ma y beobtained from the RRISD web siteat WWW.roundrockisd.org under“Vendor Information” or by Call-ing 512-464-6958.

Bids are being solicited forYMCA Building Renovations, Col-lege Station. Rogers-O’Brien Con-struction (R-O), 3901 S. LamarBlvd., Ste. 200, Austin, TX 78704. Bids are due to R-O on DECEM-BER 10, 2009 before 1pm, andmay be delivered, submitted by faxat 512-486-3801 or emailed toaustinbids@rogers-obrien.com.Contact Susan Stewart at 512-486-6330 for more information on pro-curement of plans, specificationsand other contract documents. This phase of the project includesrenovation and new construction tothe existing YMCA Building on theTexas A&M Campus in CollegeStation. R-O reserves the right toreject any or all bids. R-O is anEqual Opportunity Employer. AllMBE/WBE/HUB subcontractors/suppliers are strongly encouragedto submit proposals. Please addthis important project on your bidschedule.

AUSTIN COMMUNITYCOLLEGE DISTRICT

[ACC] is soliciting bidsfrom qualified companies to submitbids to provide Solid Waste/ RefuseDisposal and Recycling ServicesDistrict-Wide

Invitation for Bids No.910-10005AN

Bids will be accepted untilthe closing day and time. The bidswill be opened and publicly read atACC Service Center, on Thursday,December 10, 2009 at 2:00 PM,Central Standard Time.

Bid packages are available inthe ACC Purchasing Office (512/223-1044) between the hours of9:00 a.m. and 4:00 p.m., Mondaythrough Friday or on the ACC Pur-chasing website at: http://www.aust incc.edu/purchase/advertisedbids.php. All bids mustbe sealed and returned to the ACCPurchasing Office, ACC ServiceCenter, 9101 Tuscany Way, Aus-tin, Texas 78754, by the date andtime indicated above. Electroni-cally transmitted proposals willNOT be accepted unless other-wise stated in the documents. Lateproposals will be returned un-opened.

The ACC Board of Trusteesreserves the right to reject any and/or all bids/proposals and waive allformalities in the solicitation pro-cess.

New Jobs for the Week of 11/30/09

Assistant II, AdministrativeJob #0911016

$2,239-$2,557/MonthlyMON– FRI, 8 AM – 5 PM

Eastview Campus

FTWOODS Construction CSIIs soliciting bids for the following project:Animal Services CenterLocated at 7201 Levander Loop Dr. Austin, TXProject ID Number: CIP # 7526.001Please submit bids by December 9, 2009 by 2:00PMContact: Greg GrahamPhone: 512-930-2607Fax: 512-930-3748Email: ggraham@ftwoods.comSCOPE: Work consists new construction of a new animal ser-

vices center building, including kennel buildings and associated site andinfrastructure work at the Health & Human Services Campus. This is aLEED & ROCIP project. Plans Available at: ftp:\\ftp.ftwoods.com &Local Plan Rooms

FTWOODS is Seeking MBE & WBE participation on this project!

INVITATION FOR BIDS

At the Villager,

we can stretch your

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Just call us at

512.476.0082

(NNPA) - Championgolfer Tiger Woods was in-jured in a car crash near hisWindermere, Fla. home in thewee hours of Nov. 27, accord-ing to police reports.

Florida Highway Patrolresponded to an accident in-volving the 33-year-old cham-pion golfer. According to po-lice reports, Woods turned outof his driveway in his blackCadillac SUV and hit a firehydrant before hitting aneighbor’s tree around 2:30a.m.

Woods was transportedto a local hospital but wastreated and released withonly minor facial and lip lac-erations, according to reports.According to police at NNPApress time, the single-car ac-cident was still under inves-tigation. Charges could alsobe pending, although Woodsand his wife, Elin, had de-clined three interviews withthe Florida Highway Patrol.

Police said the accidentwas not alcohol-related andlegally, Woods doesn’t haveto make a statement to policegiven that it was a single carcrash. But, Woods’ silencehas fueled widespread specu-lation on what was actuallygoing on, including rumorsabout a domestic dispute.

Widespread reportsquote a statement issued Sun-day on his web site saying,“This situation is my fault,and it’s obviously embar-rassing to my family and me… I’m human and I’m not per-fect. I will certainly make surethis doesn’t happen again.”

After much speculation

about an affair, Woods cameclean on Wednesday and ad-mitted to the affar.TigerWoods said he let his familydown with transgressions heregrets “with all of my heart,”and that he will deal with hispersonal life behind closeddoors.

His statement Wednes-day follows a cover story inUs Weekly magazine that re-ports a Los Angeles cocktailwaitress claims she had a 31-month affair with the world’sNo. 1 golfer.

“I have not been true tomy values and the behaviormy family deserves,” Woodssaid on his Web site . “I amnot without faults and I amfar short of perfect. I am deal-ing with my behavior andpersonal failings behindclosed doors with my family.Those feelings should beshared by us alone.”

The cocktail waitress,Jaimee Grubbs, told the maga-zine she met Woods at a LasVegas nightclub the week af-ter the 2007 Masters - twomonths before Woods’ wife,Elin, gave birth to their firstchild. Grubbs claims to haveproof in 300 text messages.

About three hours be-fore Woods’ statement, themagazine published what itsaid was a voicemail - pro-vided by Grubbs - that Woodsleft her phone on Nov. 24,three days before his middle-of-the-night car crash outsidehis home in Florida.

Woods did not offer de-tails of any alleged relation-ship.

“I will strive to be a bet-ter person and the husbandand father that my family de-serves,” Woods said. “For allof those who have supportedme over the years, I offer myprofound apology.”

Woods has been sub-jected to more media scrutinyover the last week than whenhe first won the Masters in1997 and set off the first waveof Tigermania. He has spokenonly three times through hisWeb site, although this washis longest posting.

“Although I am a well-known person and havemade my career as a profes-sional athlete, I have been dis-mayed to realize the full ex-tent of what tabloid scrutinyreally means,” Woods said.“For the last week, my familyand I have been hounded toexpose intimate details of ourpersonal lives.”

For the accident, Woodswas issued a sitation for un-safe driving. The cost is esti-mated to be about $165.00.

Tiger woods admits to having an affair

World’s No. 1 Golfer Tiger Woods

Special to the NNPAfrom the Houston Forward

TimesThe African American

Library at the Gregory Schoolis the newest of three specialcollections operated by theHouston Public Library. Thefirst library of its kind in Hous-ton, and one of the few Afri-can-American libraries in thecountry, the Gregory Schoolwill serve as a resource to pre-serve, promote, and celebratethe rich history and culture ofAfrican Americans in Hous-

L-R: Issaz Dadoush, Patricia Smith Prather, Jacqueline Bostic, Dr. Rhea Lawson, Mayor Bill White,Mayor Lee P. Brown, James Rodriquez, Mayor Pro Tem Sue Lovell, Congresswoman Sheila Jackson Lee, GeneLocke, Hellena Stokes.

ton, the surrounding region,and the African Diaspora.The facility opened Nov. 14.

Located in historicFreedman’s Town, the librarywill be housed in the EdgarM. Gregory School, whichserved as the first publicschool for African-Americansin Houston. Through collabo-rations with communitymembers and organizations,this library will document andpreserve the traditions, cul-ture and history of the Afri-can-American experience in

the greater Houston area.Some materials will also bedigitized for online access,making the archival materialshoused at this facility avail-able to everyone online andin person. Through this newresearch library, all residentsof Houston, students and re-searchers, will be able to ex-plore and learn about the con-tributions of African-Ameri-cans to the development of thecity of Houston in all areas oflife, including the arts, edu-cation, business, and sports.

New African American Library inHouston is One of Few in the Nation

By Hazel Trice EdneyNNPA Editor-in-ChiefWASHINGTON (NNPA) –

African-American joblessness –nearly twice the national rate - isquickly becoming the first show-down between Black leaders andthe nation’s first Black presidentas national Black and civil rightleaders raise their voices telling theObama Administration it’s time toend the jobs crisis in the Black com-munity.

“We’re sending a strongmessage to the president and Con-gress that we need to step up. Weneed immediate jobs – not sometime six, eight and 10 monthsdown the road,” National UrbanLeague President Marc Morial saidin an interview with the NNPANews Service. “African-Americanleaders are not just saying do some-thing. We’re offering solutions.”

Morial has sent a letter tothe Obama Administration andCongressional Leaders outliningspecific recommendations for jobcreation as President Obama pre-pares for a job summit this weekin the wake of national unemploy-ment numbers that grew intodouble digits – 10. 2 percent - inOctober. In his letter, dated Nov.24, Morial reminds the Adminis-tration that the Black communityhas suffered double digit joblessrates for well more than a year.

“While I applaud the Ad-ministration for publicly acknowl-edging the gravity of our nation’semployment situation, I wouldadd that double-digit unemploy-ment has been a reality for com-munities of color since last sum-mer – for African Americans sinceAugust, 2008, and for Latinos sinceFebruary, 2009,” he writes. “AsPresident and CEO of the NationalUrban League, the nation’s oldestand largest community-basedmovement devoted to empower-ing African Americans to enter theeconomic and social mainstream,I have firsthand knowledge of thetremendous obstacles these fami-lies have been facing, not just sincenational unemployment reached10.2 % in October, but for over ayear now.”

Morial’s strongly wordedletter came on the heels of a Nov.17 statement issued by leadingAfrican American civil rightgroups, the NAACP, headed byBen Jealous, the Leadership Con-ference on Civil Rights, headed byWade Henderson, and other ma-jor civil rights organizations.

“Despite an effective andbold recovery package we are stillfacing a prolonged period of highunemployment. Two years fromnow, absent further action, we arelikely to have unemployment at8% or more, a higher rate than thatattained even at the worst point ofthe last two downturns,” said thejoint statement, which was issuedin conjunction with a forum spon-sored by the Washington, D.C.-based Economic Policy Institute.“Joblessness on this scale createsenormous social and economicproblems—and denies millions offamilies the ability to meet eventheir most basic needs. It alsothreatens our nation’s future pros-perity by casting millions more

Black Joblessness Becoming Showdown Between BlackLeaders and Black President

children into poverty, foreclosingeducational opportunities formany, limiting the investment andinnovation that will fuel futuregrowth, and dimming long-termlabor market prospects, especiallyfor younger workers.”

The joint statement creditsthe Obama Administration forprioritizing the economy as its firstmajor action, pushing through a$787 billion stimulus package ap-proved by Congress and alreadycreating more than a million jobs.But the groups are pushing forgreater action.

Despite the issue of healthcare, still very much on the front-burner as it is slated for Senate de-bate this week, the jobless crisis isdemanding equal attention as itboils to the top. House leadershope to vote on a jobs bill by midDecember while Senate leadershave indicated they would take upa jobs bill after the health care de-bate.

“Make no mistake – this isthe civil rights issue of the mo-ment,” said LCCR President andCEO Wade Henderson, in a state-ment posted on the organization’swebsite, Civilrights.org. “Unlesswe resolve our national job crisis,all of our other priorities – fromreforming health care and fixingour broken immigration system,to stemming home foreclosuresand expanding economic oppor-tunity for all Americans – are inreal jeopardy.”

The joint statement, alsosigned by the AFL-CIO, the Na-tional Council of La Raza, the Cen-ter for Community Change, andthe Economic Policy Institute, in-dicates that the crisis-level concernis escalating as the numbers growout of control – and with racial dis-parity.

“Nearly 16 million Ameri-cans who are able and willing towork cannot find a job. More thanone out of every three unem-ployed workers has been out of ajob for six months or more. Thesituation facing African Americanand Latino workers is evenbleaker, with unemployment at15.7% and 13.1%, respectively,”said the statement, titled, “An Ur-gent Call to Action to Stem the U.S. Job Crisis”.

At a White House press con-ference last spring, PresidentObama fielded a question aboutrising Black unemployment bysaying, “A rising tide lifts all boats,”meaning as he addresses unem-

ployment overall, Black unem-ployment will also be addressed.But, economists and civil rightsleaders say general economicremedies will not be enough torescue unemployed people whohave nearly sunk to the bottom intheir struggle to find work.

“A rising tide lifts all boatsfor those that are in the boats,”Morial said. He says reported un-employment percentages only re-flect those that are still looking forwork; not those who have all butgiven up after repeated rejections.

“The real overall unem-ployment rate is something like17 percent. And it’s higher than thatin the Black community,” he said.

Morial’s letter is addressedto Lawrence Summers, director ofObama’s National EconomicCouncil, Senate Majority LeaderHarry Reid, Speaker of the HouseNancy Pelosi, and CongressionalBlack Caucus Chair Barbara Lee.The following is a synopsis of hisrecommendations:

• Fund Direct Job Creationby offering financial support to cit-ies, counties, states, universities,community colleges and non-profit community based organi-zations to hire the personnel nec-essary to provide critical servicesin communities across the nation.

• Expand and Expedite theSmall Business Administration’sCommunity Express Loan Pro-gram through a reduction of theinterest rate to 1 percent targetedfor those businesses located in ar-eas where the local unemploy-ment rate exceeds the state aver-age.

• Create Green Empower-ment Zones in areas where at least50 percent of the population hasan unemployment rate that ishigher than the state average.

• Expand the Hiring ofHousing Counselors Nationwideby investing $500 million to fundhousing counseling agencies na-tionwide to help delinquent bor-rowers work with their loanservicers to secure more affordablemortgages.

• Expand the Youth Sum-mer Jobs Program for 2010 by in-vesting $5-7 billion to employ 5million teens. The unemploymentrate for African-American youthis over 40 percent.

• Create 100 Urban JobsAcademies to Implement an Ex-pansion of the Urban Youth Em-powerment Program (UYEP) toemploy and train the chronicallyunemployed.

“At a time of the year whenwe traditionally give thanks andprepare to share generously withthose around us, the Americanpeople are both frustrated and dis-appointed,” Morial concludes.“Despite the ambivalence of mostAmericans with regards to spend-ing billions of dollars to bail outthe very businesses they felt hadpreviously taken advantage ofthem, they understood the need totake swift and deliberate action toavoid a major national, or evenglobal, financial crisis. We ask thatthe same urgency be given to thepeople experiencing a personal fi-nancial crisis in cities throughoutthis country.”

TheVILLAGER

YOUTHBRIGADE.Youth of

today Hopeof

Tomorrow!

Wade Henderson, LCCR

Villager SportsvilleVillager SportsvilleVillager SportsvilleVillager SportsvilleVillager Sportsville

By GeorBy GeorBy GeorBy GeorBy Georggggge Hare Hare Hare Hare HardindindindindinSporSporSporSporSportsBeatsBeatsBeatsBeatsBeattttt

Page 8/The Villager/December 4, 2009

Toros Win and Lose In FirstTwo Outings

The Austin Toros splittheir first two games, win-ning 93-82 over the RioGrande Valley Vipers on Fri-day, Nov. 27, and losing 109-102 to the same team Satur-day, Nov. 28. Both gameswere played at Austin Con-vention Center, home areafor the Toros who are begin-ning fifth season.

In the Saturday gameMichael Harris, a 6-6 for-ward, was the top scorer,tossing in 28 points for theVipers, while Alonzo Gee,first-round draft pick for theToros from the University ofAlabama, made 23 points in

the losing effort. The Vipers’Joey Dorsey, an NBA as-signee from the HoustonRockets, was second on histeam with 22 points whileRussell Carter was No. 2 forthe Toros with 19. The teamswent back and forth in theopening moments and as thefirst quarter came to an endwere tied at 28-28. By thetime the second periodended Rio Grande had a 51-50 lead.

The Vipers werepushed ahead by 3 pointers,hitting 6 of 18 for a 33.3 per-cent mark, while the Toroswere 2 for 11 in the same cat-egory for 18.2 percent. Onshooting from the field theVipers were slightly aheadwith 39 for 81 to gain 48.1percent as the Toros were 35for 76 and a 46.1 percentage.In the rebound category Rio

Grande grabbed 46 as Aus-tin snagged 33.

The visitors andhome team were almostidentical on free-throw per-centages: Vipers 75.8 percent,and Toros 75 percent. Thebiggest lead held by the Vi-pers was 10 points. The Toroswere ahead by 4 at one time.There were 21 lead changesand the score was tied 11times. Also scoring in doublefigures for the Toros wereCurtis Jerrells, who waswaived by the San AntonioSpurs, the Toros NBA affili-ate, 18, Dewayne Jones, a re-turnee from the last season,17, a returnee, and JustinBowen, also a returnee, 15.Ryan Bright also is on theroster as a returnee.

In the Friday 93-82victory for the Toros, Geehad 22 points. Adding to the

total were Jerrells, who at-tended Baylor, with 18, andLewis Clinch, from GeorgiaTech, who had 13. Jerrell’s 18points included 12 of 12 fromthe free-throw line.

Dwayne Jones, comingback from the last season,had 11 points, and Carldell“Squeaky” Johnson, anotherreturnee, had 8 points.

With a 43-42 lead athalftime, the Toros movedout front to 68-59 as the thirdquarter ended.

Among other newplayers on the Toros’ rosterare David McClure and Au-gustine Okosun.

McClure is from Dukeand was red-shirted in hissophomore year. Okosun isfrom Nigeria and finishedNorthwood University inMiami. After Saturday’sgame, the Toros were 1-1.

TURNING—Russell Carter of the Toros turns sharply withthe Vipers’ Garrett Temple close by at the Austin ConventionCenter. Carter, from Notre Dame, was a second-round selectee inthe 2009 NBA D-League draft. Photo by George E. Hardin

JUMPER—The Austin Toros’ Curtis Jerrells shoots as he issurrounded by Rio Grande Valley Vipers defenders. Jerrells, whowas waived by the San Antonio Spurs, made 18 points in thegame. Photo by George E. Hardin

Fate Canceled NFL Career of1st Black Heisman Winner

As the regular seasonends and speculation inten-sifies about the possible win-ner of the Heisman Trophy,those familiar with gridironlore are likely to think aboutErnie Davis, the first AfricanAmerican winner of collegefootball’s most prestigiousaward. Davis, a running backat Syracuse University whowas named an All-Americantwice, won the Heisman in1961. In 1959, as a sopho-more, he led Syracuse to anundefeated season and theteam went on to win the Di-vision 1-A championship bydefeating the University of

Texas 23-14 in the CottonBowl. Davis scored 16 pointsand made a record 87-yardpass play. He was selected asthe Cotton Bowl’s Most Valu-able Player. As a junior,Davis rushed for a record-breaking 7.8 yards per carry.With a mark of 877 yards, hebecame the third leadingrusher in the nation. In six ofnine games he ran for at least100 yards. Some news re-ports during that time indi-cated Davis faced numerousincidents of racism and namecalling from fans and play-ers, including at the CottonBowl. Some UT spokesmen

in the past have denied thatacts of racism occurred. Also,the 2008 movie based onDavis’s life, “The Express:The Ernie Davis Story,”shows Davis being harassedby players and fans at theCotton Bowl. The filmmak-ers have acknowledged thatsome scenes in the film wereexaggerated. Davis was theNo. 1 pick in the NFL draftin 1962, becoming the firstblack player in that category.He was chosen by the Wash-ington Redskins and thentraded almost immediatelyto the Cleveland Browns.Davis’ three-year contract

with the Browns was for$200,000, a record for arookie. Davis reportedly had16 cents in his pocket whenhe signed the contract. How-ever, Davis never played inan NFL game. He was diag-nosed with leukemia in thesummer of 1962. Medicaltreatment was begun but hedied in May 1963 at age 23 inCleveland.

Davis grew up inElmira, N.Y., and wasdubbed “The Elmira Ex-press” by a sportswriter. Ac-cording to a biography ofDavis, “Ernie Davis: TheElmira Express, The Story ofa Heisman Trophy Winner,”President Kennedy followedDavis’ career and arrangedto meet him. Later, when theCity of Elmira honoredDavis, Kennedy sent a tele-gram that said:

“Seldom has an athletebeen more deserving of sucha tribute. Your standards ofperformance on the field andoff the field reflect the finestqualities of competition,sportsmanship and citizen-ship…. I salute you.”

The school Davis at-tended in Elmira, N. Y., wasrenamed in his honor and astatue of Davis is on the cam-pus. The city also built theErnie Davis Family Center tohouse its human servicesprograms and named com-munity center in Davis’ hishonor. At Syracuse Daviswore No 44, the same num-ber as another legendaryplayer at the school, JimBrown. The university re-tired that number. At theCleveland Browns Daviswore No. 45, which also wasretired. In 1979, Davis was in-ducted into the College Foot-ball Hall of Fame. Davis, whowas born Dec. 14, 1939,would be 70 years old thisyear.

Ernie Davis

Dallas 8-3 (Road: 3-2) 4:15pm ETNY Giants 6-5 (Home: 3-2) TV: FOX

@