Courtesy photo

The UTSA College of Engineering Interactive Technology Experience Center and the Department of Physics and Astronomy welcomed 100 area home school students participating in a Scanning Electron Microscope Open House on the 1604 Campus. The event allowed the students to expand their scientific knowledge of the world around them using a recently purchased high-power electron microscope. The $200,000 JEOL-5700 Carryscope, the only one in Texas and region, was purchased from a $1.5 million gift from the AT&T Foundation.

By Sarah Snyder
Staff Writer

With a nationwide financial crisis in full swing, Northside Independent School District is keeping an eye on its investments, officials said at a Sept. 23 school board meeting.

“In the last couple of weeks, a lot of attention has been placed on the volatility and crumbling of the financial markets. Lehman Brothers has essentially gone out of business, AIG is facing bankruptcy, Merrill Lynch has (been bought) by Bank of America. There’s much talk about Morgan Stanley facing similar destiny,” said Oscar Cardenas, Assistant Superintendent for Budget & Finance.

“All of these things I tell you because they do affect how we do business at Northside.”

Cardenas says NISD has about $325 million in investments, either directly or indirectly, that include Bank of America, JP Morgan Chase, UBC, Goldman Sachs, Merrill Lynch, Morgan Stanley, the former Wachovia and the former Bear Stearns.

About $62 million of NISD’s investments, Cardenas said, are secured in TexPool, a local government investment pool that up until recently received services from the bankrupt Lehman Brothers.

The district has no investments in commercial paper or any investments or relationship with Lehman Brothers. Cardenas said TexPool invests in high-grade commercial paper and NISD’s investment in the pool is at “very little risk” of peril.

He added that the district has $34 million invested in Freddie Mac and Fannie Mae, and the funds are 100 percent secured by the U.S. government.

NISD has $1 billion in outstanding bonds, and the district is carefully looking at all of its investment relationships, Cardenas said.

Superintendent John Folks echoed Cardenas’ sentiments that so far NISD investments are stable, but that concern is in the air.

“Our investments seem to be okay,” Folks said. “The concern is that when we go out for our next bond sale – which we’re going to have to go out for soon to … basically continue on our projects – is are we going to have any buyers for those bonds.”

“That is something we’re just going to have to work through with the market.”

In other news:

n NISD revealed its attendance boundaries for Kuentz Elementary School, which will open in Helotes in 2009. The proposal may be viewed at www.nisd.net/schools/info/191. A public hearing is set on Oct. 6 at 7 p.m. at Stinson Middle School. Kuentz Elementary will be located at 12303 Leslie Road and will relieve overcrowding at Beard and Krueger elementary schools.

n Trustees reviewed an amendment on the Garcia Middle School boundaries that moves six areas from Jefferson Middle School to Garcia Middle School, which opens in 2009.

The involved neighborhoods are Helotes Ranch Acres, Wynstone, Hunters Ridge Estates, Hearthstone Ranch, Beverly Hills, and FM 1560 north of Braun Road. These area are in the Helotes Elementary School zone, and parents appealed for a change in March 2008 to keep Helotes Elementary School students together when they transition to middle school.

The amendment is offered as a parental option, and trustees declined to make any more changes to the attendance zones of Jefferson and Garcia middle schools.

n NISD will seek a student-to-teacher ratio waiver for Ott and Ward elementaries. Current law calls for a 22:1 ratio, while the schools at are a 23:1 and 24:1 class size.

n The guaranteed maximum price (GMP) for the Alamo Ranch area middle school to open in 2010 was set at $35.3 for building costs, putting the total project at $40.9 million.

By Charles C. Haynes
Guest Commentary

What began in January with Mike Huckabee’s “Christian Leader” ads in Iowa and subterranean attacks on Mitt Romney’s Mormon faith has further degenerated into false rumors about Barack Obama’s faith and ugly stories about a “witch-hunting” pastor who once blessed Sarah Palin.

In the long history of religion in presidential campaigns, the 2008 race may well be remembered as the sleaziest and most disturbing example of misusing religion to win votes and demonize the opposition.

In Campaign 2008, the debate about who is and isn’t an authentic Christian has sunk to new lows. Consider the bizarre Internet-driven charges that Obama is the Antichrist, powerful venom aimed at influencing the millions of Americans who believe we live in the last days as described in the Book of Revelation.

Christian supporters of Obama charge that this calumny against their candidate is reinforced by a John McCain campaign ad featuring Obama as “the One,” using sound bites from Obama’s speeches and images familiar to readers of the Left Behind series, a popular fictionalized account of the end-time.

Although the McCain campaign claims the ad is only a joke, bloggers and commentators keep the story alive by continuing to debate every word and image.

In this theology-saturated climate, both Obama and McCain have felt compelled to emphasize their Christian bona fides in the race for the White House – as though the nation is electing a Christian in chief rather than a commander in chief.

McCain has sought to reassure evangelicals in the Republican base that he’s on their side. His selection of Sarah Palin is widely seen as having done just that. But now the blogosphere is ablaze with ridicule and disparagement of Palin as a “religious freak.”

Meanwhile, Obama’s campaign continues to be plagued by the lie that Obama is a Muslim. Apparently, the only time a religion other than Christianity gets mentioned in presidential politics is when it’s used as a slur.

According to a recent Pew Research Center poll, 12 percent of registered voters say Obama is a Muslim and another 25 percent of voters aren’t sure about his religion because they’ve heard “different things” about it. The lie about Obama’s faith has been so tenacious that Obama’s campaign has resorted to putting “committed Christian” on some of his literature.

Behind many of the rumors and innuendos is the subliminal message that only a “real Christian” is worthy to be president – a message that reinforces the “Christian nation” rhetoric of our culture wars.

Apparently, this false vision of America sells. According to the State of the First Amendment survey released by the First Amendment Center in late September, an astounding 55 percent of the American people agree that the U.S. Constitution establishes a Christian nation.

Of course, the text of the Constitution does no such thing: It nowhere mentions God or Christ; it bars any religious test for public office; and it prohibits any law “respecting an establishment of religion.”

Under the First Amendment, Christianity has a legitimate role to play in political life (as do all religions). Religious motivation in public life and the involvement of religious groups in public policy are inevitable and laudatory byproducts of the constitutional guarantee of religious freedom. Moreover, voters have every right to know how the religious views of candidates might shape policy decisions should they be elected.

But there is a critical difference between faith as motivation and faith as manipulation. Unlike the civil rights movement – where faith was a key motivation for many in the struggle for social justice – the current God strategy by candidates and their surrogates often uses religion as a weapon to destroy opponents in the name of winning elections.

Enough is enough.

It’s time for the candidates to set an example by dialing back the God talk. Speak out instead for what the Constitution actually requires: A president committed to upholding the First Amendment by keeping government out of religion while simultaneously ensuring that people of all faiths and none are treated with fairness and respect.

The Constitution, after all, starts off “We the People” – not “We the Christians.”

Charles C. Haynes is senior scholar at the First Amendment Center based in Washington, D.C. His e-mail is This e-mail address is being protected from spam bots, you need JavaScript enabled to view it

By Marvin Pfeiffer
Staff Writer

Pork was the topic of the night at the Sept. 23 Grey Forest City Council meeting.

Although the agenda included items such as the adoption of a new tax rate for ad valorem takes for the 2008-2009 fiscal year, amendments to the 2008-2009 budget and discussion of an increase in the TMRS tax rate, the meeting was largely hogged by a discussion of pigs.

At the center of the matter was a request by Grey Forest residents Brian and Laura Stone for the raising of four pigs on their property for two projects, one an FFA project and the other 4-H.

The issue originally came up last year, when the Stones received a citation and paid a fine after the four hogs being raised by their two daughters were found in violation of a Grey Forest ordinance against livestock in the city. At that time, the judge saw the need to let the pigs stay on the property until the projects were over and let the Stones keep the pigs.

While it’s possible to request a permit approval for a animals in a 4-H project, the Stones were unaware that there was an amendment to the ordinance that included input from adjoining neighbors. Namely, if any neighbor within 150 feet of the property responded negatively or had objections to the project, it wouldn’t be allowed.

The Stones did their homework and were applying for the permit approval for this coming year.

“This year we tried to be very pro-active,” Laura Stone said. “We put up walls. We enclosed every part of the pen. We have created a drainage ditch for the water. The letters that were sent out to the neighbors, two came back negatively impacting the project, both of them with concerns of water run-off into the creek.”

Grey Forest resident Jack Nottingham had spoken at the beginning of the meeting on behalf of the 4-H Club and the Stone’s right to raise the pigs on their property.

“It’s an honor to belong to it,” Nottingham said in reference to the 4-H Club. “And it’s an honor to have students get that education and bring those titles to our city. I think it’s just a wonderful education to be around animals. And for the life of me I think we’re treading backwards.”

Another resident, Kent Niemann spoke later regarding his and other’s objections to pigs being raised in the city regardless of the project.

“It doesn’t make environmental sense putting that next to a creek,” Niemann said. He also referenced an immediate neighbor that had been afraid to speak up against the project “because they didn’t think there was anything that could be done.”

“Finally an ordinance was passed and now we do have an opportunity to live within that ordinance,” Niemann said.

The issue took up a full 40 minutes on the Tuesday night agenda.

Before the issue came up for a vote, Councilwoman Jennifer Nottingham moved to grant the Stone’s variance request contingent upon monthly health inspections by either the City or the Metropolitan Health District. That motion failed when it didn’t receive a second.

Councilman Don Nettle eventually moved that the request for variance be declined. It was seconded by Don Zook. The request was then turned down by a 3-1 vote with one abstention.

Nettle summed up the decision saying the city was “tremendously sympathetic to the activity, the cause and everything, but the pervading factor that led us to change this ordinance was our concern … that if others are not (in agreement with it), then that affects other people’s rights too.”

“That’s why we set it up to canvas and find out if there was anyone that objected,” Nettle said, “realizing that sometimes neighbors are very reluctant whenever they’re offended to take any action.”

In other matters discussed, Police Chief C.E. Rutledge issued a coyote warning to the city. “I would advise all the residents to make sure that you’re keeping any of your domestic pets inside your house, especially at night,” Rutledge said. “There’s an abundance of them out here and they’re going to be going after cats and all of your domestic animals, so make sure you get them secured.

Arborist Laurie Hawkins also reported that a suspected Oak Wilt sample from Cedar Crest the city sent to A&M came back as “bacterial leaf scorch.” She said that was “the best case scenario” and that the landowner is actively containing it.

Other new business discussed was the appointment of City Councilman Don Zook as mayor pro tem and the consideration and vote on the nomination of Bob Cage to fill GFU Board of Trustees Position No. 1

Ordinance No. 170 levying ad valorem taxes for use and support of the municipal government for the 2008-2009 fiscal year by the adoption of a tax rate of 0.093525 per $100 passed when a 2-2 tied vote was broken by Don Darst’s deciding vote on the matter.

Ordinance No. 171, a renewal of the agreement with the Grey Forest Volunteer Fire Department to provide fire protection and emergency services for the city with a 3 percent increase in cost that was already in the budget was passed unanimously.

The council also discussed and approved unanimously increases in various items in the 2007/2008 budget, primarily utilities costs and public works maintenance, fuel and material costs.

The final new business discussed before the meeting was adjourned was that of the Texas Municipal Retirement System (TMRS), a state pension fund used by more than 820 Texas cities that is facing a $1.7 billion funding shortfall. The council voted to bring TMRS in and sit down and learn what they have to do and what the options are. An ordinance will have to be passed by December regarding the final decision on the subject.