Ramus punishment delayed, pending ruling on motion for a new trial

Commissioner Jeff Barton promoted Ramus in the Barton family’s newspaper, Hays Free Press, and suggested that Ramus sue the county in 2007

Send your comments and news tips to roundup.editor@gmail.com, to Mr. O'Dell at codell@austin.rr.com, or click on the "comments" button at the bottom of the story

By Charles O'Dell
Contributing Editor

Carolyn Logan had waited nearly two years for justice and now she believed that Nick Ramus was about to be sentenced for his conviction on a charge of deadly conduct stemming from an incident when he aimed a loaded shotgun at her. But Kelly Higgins, defense attorney for Ramus, pulled another delaying tactic in court Friday May 14, filing a motion for a new trial. Surprisingly, the prosecutor didn’t object to the spurious motion and Judge Linda Rodriquez didn’t deny it on the spot.

Nick Ramus/Statesman.com/November 2008

Nick Ramus was convicted of deadly conduct in a bench trial held in Hays County Court of Law before Judge Rodriquez on April 27, 2010, for an offense committed September 5, 2008. In Friday’s hearing, Ramus was sentenced to one year in jail (converted to two years probation), forty hours of community service, a fine of $700 plus $250 in court cost, and Ramus is required to attend anger management class. Judge Rodriquez ordered his sentence held in abeyance until she rules on whether to grant a new trial or deny the motion.

Higgins filed his motion in the Clerk's office just thirteen minutes before the scheduled sentencing was to occur at 1:30 pm. Higgins claims in his motion that the State failed to provide the Defense with non-existing evidence and the expected testimony of two witnesses prior to trial. Never mind that cross-examination of the witness during trial is the job of the defense attorney. The prosecutor has only to identify possible state witnesses, not transcripts of expected testimony. Why Judge Rodriquez failed to deny the one paragraph bogus motion had courtroom spectators scratching their heads.

This is not the first time Higgins has played the delay game using misinformation. Months ago on the Friday afternoon just before Ramus was to have his jury trial, Higgins entered an oral motion asking that Judge Anna Boling and the prosecutors recuse themselves from the Ramus case. Judge Boling gave Higgins fourteen days to file his motion in writing. When Higgins finally filed his written motion it made no mention of recusal. Instead, Higgins asked that Ramus’ jury trial be changed to a bench trial before a judge because, “Ramus had become emaciated and a jury wouldn’t like him.” That was a false claim. There is no evidence of an emaciated Ramus but there are plenty of photographs showing an overweight Ramus, and that’s the Ramus who showed up in court for his April, 2010 trial. Is it acceptable for an attorney to provide the court with information known to be false?

An overweight Ramus entered the courtroom again Friday for his sentencing, limping and using a cane – just as he had at his April trial. This time he brought along a tall coffee mug and sat down with his attorney at the defendant’s table. Judge Rodriquez admonished Ramus, saying that she doesn’t permit drinks in her court. Ramus got up from the table and walked spritely over to the spectator seats without using his cane and gave the mug to his house mate who sat back down. Judge Rodriquez, now more than a bit put out, raised her voice and instructed Ramus’ friend to take the mug out of her court!

Judge Rodriguez
When the hearing ended, Ramus left the courtroom without the aid of his cane. The show was over and justice had been delayed once again with the aid of a willing attorney.

Ramus is the same fellow who Commissioner Will Conley approved as the Republican candidate for Pct 1 county commissioner in 2008. Conley was reported to have called Ramus, “a great man and a great candidate.” Commissioner Jeff Barton promoted Ramus in the Barton family’s newspaper, Hays Free Press, and suggested that Ramus sue the county in 2007. Ramus did sue the county and that case is still awaiting an order to be prepared by Ramus’ attorney, Skip Newsom, for District Judge Robert Pfeuffer to sign.

Ramus is a pathological liar but he has friends in high places in Hays County government. This is why Ramus gets away with gaming our courts.

What's wrong with the Patrick Rose fundraiser?

The grassroots are pretty steamed, and this is gaining traction as the days go on and more people find out about the Rose fundraiser

Note: The following is from the conservative "blue dot blues" blog of Travis County. See the whole report here: http://blue-dot-blues.blogspot.com/

It's hilarious that Mr. Samuelson describes State Rep. Patrick Rose as "a proven Liberal Democrat." Samuelson should spend a little time talking to constituents inside Rose's district, including here in Hays County, where Rose is known for his robust support of private business and developer interests, his (well hidden) opposition to more county control over development, and his steadfast opposition to nearly all things the Hays Trinity Groundwater District has done to try to conserve our groundwater and find a stable funding source. (That may change now that the district has 3 developer-friendly board members). There is one thing Rose is good at, and that's playing both sides against the middle.

The fundraiser was held yesterday at 5 p.m. at the Mandola Estate Winery.

Here's more from Dallas Morning News Reporter Robert T. Garrett: http://trailblazersblog.dallasnews.com/archives/2010/05/straus-helps-democrat-with-gop.html

This comment arrived yesterday around 5:30 p.m. from an alert Driftwood area citizen: Hmm. Why is there a group of pickets [right now] protesting to "Fire Patrick Rose!" in front of a certain Italian Restaurant on FM 150 in Hays County? Could it be that our fair-haired boy pissed-off someone else? Or, could it be that more people are finally coming to their senses?

by MJ Samuelson
Published: May 12, 2010

Despite recent claims to the contrary, HD 45 erstwhile Democratic representative is no friend to Texas taxpayers or Texas business. The Right Side of Austin did some great digging on Rep. Rose, which you can find here (and yes, it's true - Speaker Straus, a Republican from San Antonio, is lending his name and presence to a fundraiser for Rose tonight (Wednesday May 12) in Driftwood. Say it with me people: SIGH).

[snip]

texasinsider.org

Why is Republican Speaker Straus appearing at a fundraiser for proven liberal Democrat Patrick Rose? The complicated answer has to do with speaker politics. Straus is in the position he holds today because of Democratic support - if you doubt that, take another look at the committee appointments, especially the chairmanships, from the 81st session. Some of the arguments in defense of this fundraiser have been "he's also doing this for Republicans" (true - he's doing one for Lubbock Republican John Frullo in Austin), "Craddick supported Rose" (true again - Rose was a well-known "Craddick D" until the ship began to sink), and that he's "speaker of the whole House."

Rose has consistently rated low from Young Conservatives of Texas during his tenure in the House. His composite score is a 36 - this last session, he dropped to 29 from 46 in the previous session . . . .

BP Says Leak May Be Closer to a Solution

Underwater view of the gusher. BP, via Getty Images/NYTimes

A report from The New York Times on the latest efforts to contain the mammoth oil spill in the Gulf of Mexico . . .

By HENRY FOUNTAIN and MATTHEW L. WALD

Published: May 12, 2010

After days of deepening gloom, BP and two Obama administration officials suggested on Wednesday that the company was closer to a solution that might halt the seemingly uncontrollable oil spill in the Gulf of Mexico.

Read the story at this link: http://www.nytimes.com/2010/05/13/us/13spill.html?hp

The truth remains elusive in the Barton and Bishop affair

Barton’s published account of the March 30, 2010 attack continued to evolve with each new report creating additional contradictions, but Barton’s is the only version to be found in print

Note: The story of the dramatic altercation that took place March 30 between Pct. 2 County Commissioner Jeff Barton and his assistant Kara Ashley Bishop has taken on many lives. The truth behind the incident remains elusive. We do not wish to beat a dead horse, and we don't believe this horse is dead by a long shot. The case remained active for three weeks with the Sheriff's criminal investigation unit. The initial call report was "Assault/Public Servant." The incident type, "Assault" UCR code "ASSAULT - Strong-Arm."

Newstreamz/Sept. 2009

Bishop, standing; Barton seated at right

The RoundUp obtained a copy of the Offense Report filed by the Deputy on the scene, Mike Chance. Deputy Chance's report appears to be as thorough and professional as it could be, considering that Barton waved the deputy off and refused to talk to him directly. From the report: "Deputy Chance determined that the offense of Assault upon a Public Servant had been committed" . . . "Deputy Chance could see that Commissioner Barton's bottom lip was swollen and bleeding. Commissioner Barton had blood stains on his hands and arms."

The deputy said in his report he observed blood stains on the tan leather driver's seat of a green 2002 Toyota Highlander SUV and on the asphalt next to the vehicle. "While waiting outside, Deputy Chance spoke with Deputy Constable Todd Watkins who advised me that he was driving by, heading home, when he observed Commissioner Barton on his knees next to the green Toyota, in the parking lot . . . While waiting Deputy Chance observed one of the Kyle Police Officers enter Commissioner Barton's vehicle and begin wiping the blood off of the seat prior to it being photographed . . ."

Send your comments and news tips to roundup.editor@gmail.com, to Mr. O'Dell at codell@austin.rr.com, or click on the "comments" button at the bottom of the story

____________________

“Sure there are dishonest men in local government.
But there are dishonest men in national government too”
~ Richard M. Nixon

By Charles O'Dell, Ph.D.
Contributing Editor

Hays County Pct 2 Commissioner Jeff Barton has controlled the news story with his singular and uncontested, but conflicting versions of what happened when his young female assistant of two years bloodied him in an attack in front of his Hays County office in Kyle, Texas the afternoon of March 30, 2010.

Even the Kyle Police Department, located only a block away from Barton’s office, officially reports Barton’s underlying version of the incident. And area news media also reported the Barton version, including its many discrepancies. There is one important exception to the Barton version – the Hays County Sheriff Department report that has been finally released to the public.

If an elected official had planned to announce to his young female assistant and campaign manager that he was dumping her (we can only speculate why), would that official have called the young woman’s parents beforehand to solicit their help – especially if the stepfather was Senior Pastor of an Austin Baptist Church, and the mother was a supervisor and Director of the Clinical Pastoral Education Program of Seton Hospital System in Kyle? He might have, especially if he anticipated his assistant would be angry about his intended action to dump her. But what if the situation between the official and his assistant turned unexpectedly violent – embarrassingly in public and creating the need for damage control?

Suddenly, the official needed a public story line about the attack that was unchallenged, less onerous to the parent’s public persona, provided political cover for the elected official who was running for higher office, and that the young woman could be convinced would be less embarrassing for her.

If instead, that elected official’s young female assistant, “has been off her medication and needed mental health treatment” (A statement Kyle police officer Zacharie Castilleja attributes to Commissioner Jeff Barton on 3/30/10); or is, “suffering from the on-set of a yet to be diagnosed or determined mental illness” (A statement Hays County Deputy Mike Chance attributes to Bishop’s stepfather, Rev. Larry Bethune on 3/30/10); or she, “was dealing with some health issues” (Hays County Pct 2 Commissioner Jeff Barton on 4/1/10); or she, “suffers a rare, serious, physical condition” (Barton: No hard feelings about cell phone incident, Sean Batura, Newstreamz, 4/6/10); or had, “some ongoing health and stress-related issues” (Kara Bishop in her statement issued 4/7/10) – would Commissioner Barton and his assistant Kara Bishop, “laugh about an incident last week in which she threw a cell phone into his face” (Newstreamz, Batura 4/6/10)?

Barton’s published account of the March 30, 2010 attack continued to evolve with each new report creating additional contradictions, but Barton’s is the only version to be found in print. Even Bishop’s statement finally issued on April 7, 2010, eight days after she bloodied Barton in front of his office, seems to support the Barton version with one important exception – Bishop speaks only of, “ongoing health and stress-related issues.” No mention of a rare physical condition, a yet to be diagnosed or determined mental illness, or of being off her medication.

It was relatively easy for Barton to control the news because he controlled the message and the media.

Bishop’s June thru December 2009 employee time sheets while employed as Barton’s assistant, and obtained from Hays County through an open records request, are inconsistent, with some appearing to have been altered. They show Bishop had no work hours submitted in November or December. Instead of being on medical leave, and that Bishop, “has been off her medication and needed mental health treatment,” as Barton claimed, (Updated: Barton campaign manager on leave after assault, by Brad Rollins, Mercury.com, 4/1/10), Bishop’s time sheets show that effective January 1, 2010, she had been placed on leave without pay from her county job as Barton’s assistant. Barton was slowly cutting ties with Bishop.

Barton’s January 2010 Campaign Finance report to the County Elections Office showed an error for payment to Bishop which we brought to Barton’s attention. The correction showed Bishop was paid $2,000 on 1/24/10 for campaign consulting. Barton hasn’t reported campaign expenditures beyond 1/31/10.

The Barton version of Bishop’s cell phone attack first appeared online in Barton’s family owned Free Press.com and in the San Marcos Mercury.com, both reports written by Brad Rollins two days after the Barton/Bishop altercation. Rollins is not only managing editor of the Mercury.com but is also a reporter for the Barton owned Hays Free Press newspaper and Free Press.com. Rollin’s original post on the Mercury and Free Press contained a photo of Barton. That photo was quickly removed in an updated version of the Barton story.

There are other serious discrepancies and contradictions in Barton news reports. Batura reported in his 4/6/10 article that Barton said, “…after the cell phone incident, Bishop obtained a first aid kit and helped him tend to his injury.” A little later Barton is quoted as saying, “I stepped outside the car and there happened to be a constable who just drove up, and he saw me bleeding…and (Barton asked) if they could just give me a first aid kit to stop the bleeding.” Barton goes on to say, “She (Bishop) was very upset in general and kind of threw her cell phone. And unfortunately, I was in her line of fire. We’ve laughed about that together.” How contrived and insulting for Barton to characterize this sorry episode as being an accident and a laughing matter.

Rollins quotes Kyle police officer Castilleja who spoke with Barton and refers to Barton throughout his police report on a first name basis. “Jeff said that, ‘a Hays County constable unit was in the area and assisted him.’” “Jeff stated he went to the restroom to get cleaned up.”

When Hays County Sheriff Deputy Mike Chance arrived and asked Barton if he cared to discuss the incident, Barton politely declined. Barton knew that he needed time to get his story straight because he would be dealing with a professional Sheriff Department, not friendly Kyle police officers who removed evidence and supported Barton’s story.

While waiting outside, Deputy Chance observed one of the Kyle police officers enter Barton’s vehicle and begin wiping the blood off of the seat prior to it being photographed. Ultimately no photographs were taken and no evidence was collected according to the Sheriff Department Offense Report.

Where were Bishop’s parents when she was suffering this “yet to be diagnosed or determined mental illness? Why is Barton controlling the public story? Why would Barton drive Kara Bishop to his office to discuss getting her some medical treatment at a Mental Health Institution in San Antonio? Kara’s mother is Director of Clinical Pastoral Education program at Seton Hospital in Kyle (just across I-35 from Barton’s office) and Seton has a mental health services facility in nearby Austin.

Why would Barton drive to San Antonio with Bishop and her parents to seek mental health services instead of going to nearby Austin Seton, a hospital system for which Gina Bethune works? Barton isn’t a family member and according to San Antonio State Hospital (SASH) policy he wouldn’t be allowed in the process.

An attack on a public official is a big deal as demonstrated by the arrival of a constable, five sheriff deputies, Kyle police officers, fire department personnel, and three ambulances. The question is what motivated Bishop to throw her cell phone at Barton? Given Barton’s stumbling efforts to play down the matter, and his conflicting accounts of the incident and its cause, I suspect this young woman was offered up so that others might sidestep accountability for their sorry behavior. We have only Barton’s account of what happened and why it happened.

Perhaps in the end truth will prevail, but don’t hold your breath waiting for it to come from Commissioner Barton and his crowd.

Voting open for PEC director election, member bill of rights

Thirteen PEC members have been nominated by petition to vie for the District 4 and District 5 positions on the Board

See the candidates bios, a candidates forum video and the proposed Member Bill of Rights at this link: https://www.pec.coop/CorpProfile/Election2010.aspx

Send your comments and news tips to roundup.editor@gmail.com or click on the "comments" button at the bottom of the story

May 10, 2010

TO: All PEC-area newspapers

CONTACT: Anne Harvey, (830) 868-4933; Austin line, (512) 219-2602

Voting opened May 5 for Pedernales Electric Cooperative’s Board of Directors election, in which PEC members will elect two new directors and vote on a proposed member bill of rights and other issues. Ballots have been mailed to all members by Ronkonkoma, New York-based Election Services Corporation, which is managing the election.

Members may return completed ballots by mail or vote online through a secure website operated by ESC. Mailed-in ballots have to be postmarked and online voting must be completed by June 11. Members also can vote in person at the PEC Annual Membership Meeting June 19 in Johnson City, where election results will be announced. Ballots will not be accepted at PEC offices.

If ratified by members, the member bill of rights will establish core rights — such as election safeguards and access to PEC meetings and records — which can only be changed with a member vote. The bill of rights would become part of the Cooperative’s Articles of Incorporation, which is a legal document filed with the state that defines the organization, purpose, and highest-level business rules of the Cooperative. Members also will be asked to vote on three other amendments to the Articles, which cannot be changed without member approval.

Thirteen PEC members have been nominated by petition to vie for the District 4 and District 5 positions on the Board, currently occupied by O.C. Harmon and R.B. Felps, respectively. Harmon and Felps are not seeking additional terms.

Election information, a link to ESC’s voting site, and video clips of candidates presenting their platforms at PEC’s April 27 public forum are available at www.pec.coop.

Tired of the same old view?

Sent by an alert citizen & voter









Looking for some new choices?

How about we give the Democrats and Republicans both something to worry about next time they figure they have the whole shootin' match sewed up and we have no where else to look to for good candidates?

Please sign the petition so we can at least see Green Party candidates on our ballots . . . http://ballotaccess.txgreens.org/#share

Republicans: 'Since we control government, we don't need I&R'

Note: Art Bedford, Chairman of Texans for Initiative and Referendum Rights, explains why be thinks the Texas Republican Party has banished I&R for Texas citizens from its party platform for the last 14 years. Art says Texas is one of only two western states without I&R, Kansas being the other – and that major immigration reform (like the recent bombshell in Arizona), and term limits, have been forced on state officials by their citizens through I&R.

Send your comments and news tips to roundup.editor@gmail.com, to Mr. Bedford at acbedfo@hotmail.com, or click on the "comments" button at the bottom of the story

Fellow Texas I&R Supporters,

I have some good news and bad news to report. The good news is that a resolution to put a pro I&R plank back on the Republican Party of Texas (RPT) Platform has made it through the Senatorial District conventions and is headed to the Platform Committee at the State Convention next month. A pro-I&R plank was on the RPT platform from 1979 to 1996. Two separate advisory referendums on the Republican party primary ballots showed the rank and file favored I&R by margins of 7 to 1 and 5 to 1.

In the mid-90s, however, as the party came into control of all branches of the state government, the platform plank favoring I&R was replaced with one opposing it. This was mainly accomplished through Texas Eagle Forum leaders such as Shirley Spellerberg and Cathie Adams influencing the committee. Shirley Spellerberg was on that committee; she has been a one woman wrecking crew when it comes to quashing all efforts to obtain these rights for the people of Texas.

Why? Unfortunately, The Texas Eagle Forum is a special interest group just like every other one with lobbyists in Austin, albeit conservative. It is all about control over the legislative process. These groups benefit from the present system because they have a monopoly on influencing legislation and they are protected from public scrutiny. They oppose I&R because they believe that the $200 million or more invested in lobbying each session buys more influence with 181 legislators than it would with the 10 million Texans who vote.

Now for the bad news. Cathie Adams is now the head of the RPT and guess who is back on the Platform Committee? You guessed it – Shirley Spellerberg. The deck may be stacked but they will have to hold a subcommittee hearing to decide the resolution’s fate and the hearing must be open and they must entertain public testimony.

The committees will meet June 7-11 and the schedules are not posted, but I believe that there will be a sign-up sheet for those who want to testify on behalf of any resolution. Rest assured, I will be there to testify. What I need to know is are there any other supporters who would be willing and able to make it to Dallas on a day’s notice to testify in behalf of I&R. If so, we need you! Please contact me at acbedfo@hotmail.com or phone me at the number below.

Thank you,

Art Bedford
Chairman, Texans for Initiative & Referendum Rights (www.initiativefortexas)
State Coordinator for Citizens in Charge Foundation (www.citizensincharge.org)
(936) 288-0781

PEC watchdog Hawkins questions co-op's budget increases and zany survey

Note: PEC watchdog Milton Hawkins is on a tear. Below, he questions the need for certain increases in PEC's 2010 operating budget, and a member survey PEC wants to conduct that includes some zany questions. Things must be pretty slow up at PEC headquarters in Johnson City to want to start snooping into our political and lifestyle preferences. In a first-blush viewing of the survey info, we join Mr. Hawkins in seeing it as unnecessary and wasteful spending. There goes another blown $10,000 that could be more productively applied to home solar power conversions.

Friends,

Note the $563,223 increase (560%) in "Consumer Accounts," the $318,323 increase (39%) in "Consum Svc & Info," whatever that is, and the $712,211 increase (30%) in "Total Operating Expenses."

And there is $508,266 in this department's budget for "Economic Development." (Is unnecessary advertising "economic development"? Or is this a category for "giveaways"?)

What's going on here, and is whatever is going on related to the Decision Analyst survey? I wonder.

Isn't it wonderful to own something and not have a clue as to what's happening! (And I've been to lots and lots of board and committee meetings – it isn't as though I've been inattentive!)

Do you think our elected directors know what's going on? I guess we'll see.

Why are PEC's (our) directors and managers willing to pay 1,000 of us owner-members $10 each (of our own money) to respond to an on-line survey and answer questions like these:

– The federal government should encourage prayers in public schools
– A woman's life is fulfilled only if she can provide a happy home for her family
– I have more ability than most people
– I like outrageous people and things
– I consider myself an intellectual
– I must admit that I like to show off
– I like a lot of excitement in my life
– I want to be considered fashionable
– There is too much sex on television today

"Dear Valued Member," the postcard invitation reads, "Pedernales Electric asked Decision Analyst, an independent market research company, to conduct an online research survey to help them better understand your needs and what you want out of your cooperative.

"The first 1,000 members to complete the survey will receive a check for $10 as our way to say thank you."

If you learn more about this wonderful example of wasteful spending, please let the rest of us know about it.

I'm attaching copies (see below) of the card I received in the U.S. Mail.

Milton

Local radio station KDRP interviews groundwater district candidates

The question not addressed to any length, unfortunately, was "Do you think your property would be worth a dead mule if your well and our groundwater runs dry?"

Note: Election Day for this important election, and several other local elections around the county, is Saturday May 8, 7 am to 7 pm. Go to the groundwater district's website (www.haysgroundwater.org) for information about the district, its mission and the candidates' bios. Go to this link to the Hays County Elections Office for the voting locations and map: http://www.elections.co.hays.tx.us/May082010brElections/tabid/110/Default.aspx

Send your comments and news tips to roundup.editor@gmail.com, to the Kyle Sisters at http://kdrplive.vpweb.com/CONTACTUS.html, or click on the "comments" button at the bottom of the story

Click on map to enlarge

If you're not as informed as you'd like to be (and did not vote in early voting or even if you did) in the election for three seats on the Hays Trinity Groundwater Conservation District, we recommend listening to the interviews by the friendly and chatty Kyle Sisters on local Dripping Springs radio station KDRP. Here's the link: http://kdrplive.vpweb.com/

The interviews are pretty thorough and very informative. Kudos to the sisters and the station. They did an excellent job. They interviewed the four candidates running for District Board positions 1 & 3. The candidates are Kristen Carlton and Jimmy Skipton for Position 1 - Henly/Dripping Springs, and Andrew Backus and Mark Key for Position 3 - Dripping and points south to just outside Wimberley.

The three seats up for election (the third is Position 5 - Wimberley) represent a majority on our groundwater district board of directors. The decisions they make will set the future course of groundwater management in western Hays County. And we couldn't be in a more crucial time for careful and wise management – and not just of our groundwater, but so many other growth-related issues. We already know that our aquifer can barely sustain current users AND support our creeks and streams; and it certainly cannot serve the kind of growth that some people have on their dream development drawing boards.

Some key questions addressed in the KDRP interviews: Does the District intend to fund its operations through a property tax? (Only the District's voters can decide that, but it can't happen now anyways because the district has no taxation authority). Does the District want special authority to meter people's wells and gain access onto private property? (All single family private wells are exempt by law). Should new commercial interests be allowed to pump more groundwater from the aquifer? Do we want to deplete our aquifer (drain it) quickly, slowly or preserve it for future generations?

The question not addressed to any length, unfortunately, was "Do you think your property would be worth a dead mule if your well and our groundwater runs dry?"

PEC sponsors $5,000 table at Wildflower Center Gala

. . . the distance from power distribution to flower distribution along highways is pretty far

Update, Thursday May 6 – PEC General Manager Juan Garza responds, below, to Mr. Hawkins' critical view of PEC's financial contributions to the Wildflower Center. We've just gotta say that if Mr. Garza wants to help directly offset PEC's 3 million tons of carbon emissions annually into the atmosphere he should be very interested in making financial contributions towards home solar PV system conversions. Maybe one day we can have a PEC solar map like this one (http://solarmap.lacounty.gov/) that we can point to with pride.

Juan Garza: Since I started the recent flap over charitable "giving" with my decision to have PEC participate with the Lady Bird Johnson Wildflower Center fund raiser, allow me to give my reasons.

It starts with the 10 million tons of carbon that the LCRA puts into the atmosphere every year. (We are responsible at PEC for 30 percent of that). It continues with all the trees we cut down every year to keep our lines clear so that we can have reliable service. And I guess we can include all the carbon our trucks put into the atmosphere as we go about doing our work. I feel some sense of responsibility for this. Every little bit that we do to save the environment helps. Take shorter showers every day, car pool, water your lawns less, and use less energy!

So I don't consider our partnership with the Wildflower Center to be charity. I consider it good business as they are in the business of saving our environment. j

Note: Milton Hawkins, proverbial watchdog, critic, member and sometimes chum of the PEC, provided this commentary about PEC's generous support of the Lady Bird Johnson Wildflower Center's Green Gala held April 30. PEC4U watchdog member Bill Christensen adds these two questions: "How does the attendance of whomever Cox and Landaker entertained at our $5000 (+?) table help PEC, if at all?" and "How many other as yet unreported similar expenses have the Board racked up this year?" The RoundUp has been poking PEC Board President Larry Landaker and Board member Patrick Cox in the ribs lately about offering rebates to PEC members who want to install home solar systems. Hays County, where we have a lot of sunshine, is home to both Landaker and Cox. PEC already gives out rebates to customers who convert to heat pump systems. So we're thinking $5,000 would be a great start – at $1,000 apiece – for five solar pioneers.

Send your comments and news tips to roundup.editor@gmail.com, to Mr. Hawkins at milton.hawkins@gmail.com, to Mr. Christensen at billc_lists@greenbuilder.com, or click on the "comments" button at the bottom of the story

You can also see a PEC 2010 board of directors candidates forum at the pec4u website, pec4u.org

Landaker and Cox at Wildflower Center Green Gala

From Milton Hawkins:

Candidates and Friends,

I have nothing against flowers, or the Johnson family, or the Lady Bird Johnson Wildflower Center, or charitable giving. As a matter of fact, my wife and I have been members and supporters of the Wildflower Center ever since it opened several years ago.

But that was a personal decision we made, using our own money.

I do object to our directors’ using the owner-members’ money to support whatever charitable organization or activity strikes their fancy, however remote the connection may be to the business of the cooperative. And the distance from power distribution to flower distribution along highways is pretty far.

This is not PEC’s first venture into the flower business, either. With or without the Board’s approval (I haven’t been able to discover who actually made the decision or who approved it, if anyone did.) Mr. Garza (General Manager Juan Garza) has committed PEC to four yearly payments of $2,500 each, for a total of $10,000, to buy seeds. (You may have read about it in the Austin American-Statesman some time back.) And I believe there was a $5,000 donation before that. And for all I know, there could have been more donations.

To his credit, Director James Williams raised questions when the matter of donating to the Wildflower Center first came to the Board. I recall his asking where this support might lead, and at what final cost. And I believe he cast the lone vote against the resolution.

The Board’s “community giving,” as the directors like to call it now, is clearly out of hand. I’m sure it makes the directors feel good to accommodate their friends’ requests for funds, and I’m sure the affairs are entertaining and the company interesting. But I fail to see why I and the rest of the owner-members should have to pick up the tab. It’s not as though these people are poorly compensated, or without means of their own.

An outfit that’s $720 million in debt ought to begin to pinch a few dollars, and the directors ought to learn to support their favorite charities with their own personal funds.

Oh, yes, I nearly forgot! You (members) might have paid for this whether you got to enjoy it or not. The list below indicates that PEC sponsored a table. That’s $5,000.

Perhaps our directors reached into their own pockets for this one, as they should have. What would you wager that they did, given their giveaway record? I’ll bet they went on our dime. (Make that our $5,000.)
http://www.wildflower.org/gala_host/

Balcones Recycling, Inc.
Melanie and Ben Barnes
Becky Beaver/Nancy Scanlan
Blue Sage Capital
Catellus - A ProLogis Company
Susan Conway and Jack Howell/Graves, Dougherty, Hearon & Moody
Eleanor Butt Crook
Hester J. Currens
Carolyn and Tom Curtis
Tara and Stacy Eastland
Tyrrell Flawn and John P. Howe III, MD
Frost Bank
Nancy and Dan Garrison
H-E-B
Minnie and Burnes Hollyman/Mary and Roger Wallace
Jeffrey F. Howell and William Press
Inman Foundation/Peter and Priscilla Flawn
Tom and Edwina Johnson Family Foundation
Melissa Jones
Jim McDonald, State Farm Agent
John P. McGovern Foundation
Dr. Mary O'Boyle II/Carole Bond Jordan
Osborne, Helman, Knebel & Deleery, LLP
Overland Partners
Carrin M. Patman
Pedernales Electric (PEC)
Sarah and Ross Perot, Jr.
PMB Helin Donovan, LLP
Dean Mary Ann Rankin, College of Natural Sciences, UT Austin
Deedie and Rusty Rose
Smith, Robertson, Elliot, Glen, Klein & Bell, LLP
Ellen and Buddy Temple
Thompson & Knight, LLP
Deacon and Piper Turner/Greg and Contessa Skelton
U.S. Trust, Bank of America Private Wealth Management
O.J. and Ann Weber Family Foundation Fund
Peggy and Matt Winkler

Victim in long delayed deadly conduct trial awaits justice

After both sides rested their case, Judge Rodriquez stood up, announced that she would announce her verdict within the week and then retired to chambers. A ruling hasn’t been issued and her office reported that she left Friday for continuing education

Note: There's a long back story to Mr. Ramus, a one-time Republican county commissioner candidate, and the events that led up to this trial. We all know that most everything that is hidden, buried or thrown into deep waters will eventually surface. We're sure more will be surfacing in this sordid story.

Send your comments and news tips to roundup.editor@gmail.com, to Mr. O'Dell at codell@austin.rr.com, or click on the "comments" button at the bottom of the story


“Justice Delayed is Justice Denied”
~William Gladstone

By Charles O'Dell, Ph.D.
Contributing Editor

After nearly two years of living in fear for her life while criminal defense attorney Kelly Higgins used delaying tactics, the trial of Nick Ramus on a charge of deadly conduct was finally held this past Tuesday in Hays County Court of Law before Judge Linda Rodriquez.

Taken into custody by Hays County deputies Manny Mendoza and Danny Lombardo and charged with deadly conduct for pointing a loaded 12 gauge shotgun at Carolyn Logan on the morning of September 5, 2008, the case was first set for trial October 5, 2009, then January 25, 2010, March 26, 2010, and finally held on the afternoon of April 27, 2010.

“When Nick Ramus raised that gun and pointed it at me I knew he was going to shoot me,” said Logan as she sat on the witness stand.

Asked by Hays County Assistant District Attorney Eddie Balderas what happened that day, Logan, in a soft but steady voice recounted how she was mowing a portion of her pasture while a backhoe operator was leveling dirt that she had allowed a contractor to temporarily store on her property after a sudden rain storm. She observed Ramus carrying a gun as he walked directly to the backhoe and had words with the operator.

Suddenly, the backhoe accelerated toward the gate to leave Logan’s property, nearly tipping the backhoe over. Ramus, leaning over her fence, waved his arm and hand over his head signaled to Logan as if to say, “You get over here!” Balderas had Logan mark two photos to show the area where she was on her mower and where Ramus was standing with the loaded shotgun.

When Balderas asked if Ramus had pointed the gun at her, Logan became tense as she recounted how Ramus had raised the gun to his shoulder and aimed it at her. Logan described how she leaped from the running mower and ran for her life crouched over until she got into her house where she called the Sheriff Department.

Another witness, 82-year-old Reed Carr, who lives across the road from Ramus, testified that he was working in front of his house when he heard a diesel engine rev up and looked up to see a backhoe nearly tip over as it left the Logan property. Carr testified that he immediately went inside and called Logan to ask what was going on. Carr described how Logan sounded “excited” and, that he had seen Ramus with something in his hand. Carr said he didn’t want to become involved with Ramus and when asked by the prosecutor if he was scared, Carr responded, “Yes.”

Both sheriff deputies testified separately that they had arrived on the scene in about ten minutes of the dispatcher call and Deputy Mendoza said that Logan was, “upset, excited, talking fast and pointing towards the Ramus property as she described what had just happened to her.” When asked about the type of call received, Deputy Lombardo said it was a “terrorist report.”

Deputy Lombardo, a 9 ½ year veteran on the force, was asked by prosecutor Balderas if he was concerned for his safety as he approached Ramus, and officer Lombardo responded, “Yes.” Deputy Mendoza described Ramus as, “standoffish” and, “defiant in a passive manner.” “He was slow in answering questions,” and, “did not directly answer questions,” said Mendoza.

Ramus took the witness stand at 4pm. It began with Ramus using a cane and limping slowly to the witness stand. He seated himself with feigned great difficulty. What followed was an hour of outrageous claims about his background, testimony that conflicted with the other four witnesses, and contradictory testimony as Ramus kept changing his answers. Ramus was first questioned by his criminal defense attorney Kelly Higgins.

Those who regularly see Nick Ramus are aware that he only uses a cane in court and on trips to the local Texas Work Force office. The day before his trial, Ramus was seen moving his mail box stand made of rock and concrete constructed by Ramus. His mail box had been earlier run into by a car. Numerous photographs exist showing Ramus laying septic pipe, constructing and repairing his roof, unloading equipment, materials and boxes from a truck – all without a cane in sight.

Ramus gave conflicting testimony in this trial and conflicting with sworn statements in previous legal suits Ramus brought against Chartwell’s, Inc. and Hays County.

Ramus repeated his long discredited claim of being brought to Texas by renowned chef Jean LaFont, and of studying at some of the world’s renowned culinary schools. As if to further mock the court, Ramus issued a new claim of having had an FBI top secret security clearance at the age of nineteen as part of his nuclear work in the Navy. He went on to embellish old discredited claims of serving as a machinist mate on a nuclear vessel in the U.S. Navy.

Ramus claims on his web site http://www.stophayspowergrab.org/gpage8.html to have, “…served temporary duty aboard the USS Tripoli, a helicopter assault ship off the coast of Vietnam, before being transferred into the Navy’s nuclear program. He was honorably discharged from the Navy due to problems with cataracts.” Ramus testified that even now he only sees light in one eye. On cross examination prosecutor Fred Weber didn’t ask to examine Ramus’ driver license to verify the one eye claim. The one eye claim would also haunt Ramus in later testimony.

Public records show the USS Tripoli was in training maneuvers off the coast of California during the entire ten months Ramus was in the Navy and the Tripoli wasn’t a nuclear powered vessel. The closest Ramus got to Viet Nam was the California coast.

Ramus testified having cataracts at age nineteen during his ten months in the Navy (November 9, 1970 – September 28, 1971), of being injured in the engine room of the USS Tripoli where he served temporary duty in Viet Nam before being transferred into the Navy’s nuclear program. In a 2002 federal suit Ramus brought against his employer, he claims to have sustained an unspecified back injury while on the job as a cook at Southwest Texas State (Texas State University). That suit was dismissed.

Unfortunately, none of this Ramus testimony was challenged by prosecutors, despite lack of employment verification, credible evidence showing Ramus was discharged from the Navy after only ten months, and that he lied about his duty assignments and top secret security clearance.

Ramus was asked by Higgins if he had ever been convicted of a crime. Ramus answered “No.” In fact, Ramus has been in Hays County courts on at least eight charges, including this deadly conduct charge, was twice convicted of being a public nuisance and once for leaving a vehicle unattended, all in criminal court.

Asked why he was carrying the shotgun when he approached the backhoe driver, Ramus responded, “I couldn’t run so I had to be ready to defend myself.” It was a surreal moment and demonstrated how Rams thinks – he was claiming self defense against a backhoe operator just doing his job and a woman mowing her pasture.

Then it was the prosecution’s turn to question Ramus. Ramus continued on his path of giving false and conflicting testimony.

Under questioning by First Assistant District Attorney Fred Weber, Ramus claimed he had purchased the shotgun in 1977, for hunting dove and duck and, “Hadn’t been hunting since his injury.”

Which injury? The 1971 injury he previously testified he sustained in the engine room aboard an unnamed nuclear naval vessel when he was a nineteen-year-old machinist mate with an FBI top secret security clearance? Ramus testified in Commissioners’ Court that he was a cook in the Navy. Or the back injury that he claimed from a car wreck on his honeymoon? Or the unsubstantiated injury he swore occurred in a kitchen at Texas State University where he worked as a cook? That suit was dismissed. Or perhaps it was the 2000/2001 injury Ramus testified he had suffered, herniated five disks while carrying a smoker that had set off the fire alarm and the reason he was using his cane today. Ramus offered no evidence to support his claims. Just his word.

Ramus didn’t explain how he could hunt dove and duck with his cataracts that left him able to, “only see light in one eye,” and caused him to be discharged from the Navy thirty nine years ago, or how he even passed the Navy eye sight enlistment qualifications at age nineteen with cataracts.

Nor could he explain discrepancies in his testimony about when the shotgun was loaded, what kind of ammunition he used to hunt dove and duck, and why his shotgun was illegal for hunting.

Ramus testified that he was cleaning the shotgun on his front porch when he saw the backhoe exhaust smoke and grew concerned “about his septic and property,” and “about his expensive septic system would be flooded.” “I defend myself when I can’t run,” Ramus said.

Weber noted that a shotgun in Texas may not contain more than three cartridges when hunting and that the Ramus shotgun had a capacity for five cartridges, and therefore required a plug to be legal for hunting. There was no plug. Moreover, deputies had found four shotgun cartridges in Ramus’ shotgun.

Weber went on to ask Ramus why one of the four cartridges recovered by the sheriff deputies contained a lead slug instead of bird shot? Ramus said the slug shot was for deer hunting but that he didn’t hunt deer. Weber continued by showing Ramus that his shotgun didn’t show signs of cleaning and askd if Ramus had loaded it? “No,” replied Ramus, and then changed to, “maybe two shells.” Weber noted again that deputies had found four cartridges in the gun shortly after arriving on the scene.

Ramus, who had just admitted approaching the backhoe driver while holding the shotgun and saying that, “I defend myself when I can’t run,” clearly had worked himself in an untenable position.

Then, in a 180 degree Jekyll and Hyde turn, Ramus refused to call Logan a liar, despite several opportunities offered by Higgins through his questions. But in his July 2007 suit against Hays County, Ramus called Logan vicious, vitriolic, and accused her of lying. Now Higgins offered up that Ramus was really a kind and gentle man who held no animosity toward Logan.

The prosecution’s four witnesses each gave independent accounts that provided a consistent sequence of event that led to the arrest of Nick Ramus on a charge of deadly conduct when Ramus allegedly confronted a backhoe operator with a loaded shotgun while the driver was spreading soil on Logan’s pasture, and then pointed the gun at Logan who was mowing weeds in her pasture. Ramus was his only witness

After both sides rested their case, Judge Rodriquez stood up, announced that she would announce her verdict within the week and then retired to chambers. A ruling hasn’t been issued and her office reported that she left Friday for continuing education.

I know that Nick Ramus is a pathological liar, and based on the American Psychiatric Association, I believe that Ramus is a sociopath.

The here and now: Managing our groundwater and noise pollution

Note: The pot really is stirring here in Hays County over many hot and very important issues and things. Not the least is the Hays Trinity Groundwater Conservation District election, and how residents and well owners in western Hays County want their groundwater managed. Or if they want it managed at all. Early voting in this important election continues through Tuesday May 4. Election day is May 8. We received the e-mail below from Andrew Backus. He is a candidate for the District 3 seat on the HTGCD board. Andrew's challenger, Mark Key, is welcome to send us his campaign flyer. Find out more about the candidates and the groundwater district at the district's website: www.haysgroundwater.org

Many Hays County residents are also expressing growing concerns about increasing noise pollution and loud outdoor music venues. A group of people from several neighborhoods in the north part of the county are circulating a "Facts about Noise Pollution" flyer. The county reportedly has 21 music and outdoor venues. Most recently, neighbors have been on the offensive against two outdoor venues, the Nutty Brown Café east of Dripping Springs on Hwy 290 and the Memory Lane Event Center on Memory Lane off of RR 12, south of Dripping. Scroll below the Backus flyer to read the noise pollution flyer. Did you know that noise is a "controllable pollutant"?

Remember, you can't complain if you don't vote or speak up.

Send your comments and news tips to roundup.editor@gmail.com or click on the "comments" button at the bottom of the story

_______________________

Hays-Trinity Election

Early Voting: Mon. 7am-7pm – Tue 8am-4pm
Dripping Springs School Admin. Bldg. & Wimberley Community Center

I'm Andrew Backus. I'm a Hydro-Geologist, Private Property Owner and Businessman and for the past 7 years you've elected me to Protect Our Water. If you're like me, you've heard all of the automated calls and negative ads a person can stand.

Early voting is nearly over and I'd like to ask for your support again this year. Please take time Monday or Tuesday to go vote at Dripping Springs School Admin Building or the Wimberley Community Center.

Before you go I'd like to remind you of where I stand on the issues.

I believe in a Board of Good Stewards to protect our drinking water.

A Good Steward of our Aquifer and Drinking Supply will fight for:

• Education for our Community so that we can All become Good Stewards of our Aquifer.
• Equal Access for Private Property Owners.
• Protection of our water from draining or plugging our Natural Springs. Natural Springs play a vital role in the life of the Aquifer.
• Protecting our Community and Private Property from taxes, taxing authority and Eminent Domain powers.
• Conservation of our resource for long term sustainability and a Secure Future.
• Health and Safety of our water for our own use and the use of our Grandchildren.
• Preservation over Profit.

Together we can keep our Aquifer and our drinking supply safe and sustainable with a Secure Future.

If I am not on your ballot, I endorse Carlton and Jernigan as candidates in other Hays-Trinity precincts that are also stewards of the aquifer.

If you have more questions I invite you to email me or call.

Backus2010@gmail.com
512-913-3156

Andrew

Additional election questions may be directed to the Hays County Elections Office: http://www.elections.co.hays.tx.us/May082010brElections/tabid/110/Default.aspx Phone: 512-393-7310 E-Mail: elections@co.hays.tx.us

Facts about Noise Pollution in Our Community

North Hays County Neighborhoods of Belterra, Big Country, Heritage Country, Heritage Oaks, Heritage Oaks West, Ledge Stone, Oak Run, Oak Run West and others.

Homes and families are affected by unnecessary noise:

· Our community is growing rapidly and many families are affected by noise pollution emanating from some local businesses.

· Most of these neighborhoods were in existence before the noisy businesses opened their doors. These businesses are creating a disruptive and invasive noise.

· Business owners should be more responsible by lowering their noise levels.

· An example of a local business that contributes to noise pollution may be found on the following web site, www.austinnoise.org.

Quantifying noise pollution:

· Noise intensity is measured in decibel units. The decibel scale is logarithmic; each 10-decibel increase represents a ten-fold increase in noise intensity. Human perception of loudness also conforms to a logarithmic scale; a 10-decibel increase is perceived roughly as doubling the loudness.

· Above 45 decibels of noise, the average person cannot sleep.

· Noise has a negative effect on quality of life, well-being and health. Some negative health effects include sleep deprivation, increased stress levels, irritability, anxiety, increased heart rate and blood pressure, an increased risk of heart disease and gastrointestinal diseases and a suppressed immune system.

Regulating noise:

· Noise is recognized as a controllable pollutant.

· The Noise Control Act of 1972 empowered the EPA to determine the limits of noise required to protect public health and welfare.

· Noise above 65 decibels requires abatement.

Responsible Business Owners:

· Business owners can be successful and responsible neighbors as well.

· The Backyard is an example of a successful open-air music venue that kept their maximum noise levels at 65 decibels.

Write Our Representatives:

· Please write our local and state representatives and ask them to help us decrease noise pollution in our neighborhoods.

· Our counties should be given the authority to set noise ordinances to protect its citizens from the negative effects of noise pollution.

This is us. This is on us. No one will rescue us.

The decisions we now make, the decisions our elected leaders now make, will define our collective future as few decisions in history ever have. We may soon be beyond our decisions being able to make a difference

Updates from the New Orleans Times-Picayune and The New York Times, here and here. The American Petroleum Institute has a discussion site about the blow out and more updates.

Note: The biggest news nationally is British Petroleum's deep water oil well explosion and spill now spreading catastrophically along the Gulf Coast. It is already being described as potentially the worst oil spill in U.S. history – a "mega-disaster" – before and after the Exxon Valdez nightmare in Alaska 21 years ago. We might take a moment to reflect on those who lost their lives in the BP accident, and the people, fisheries, wildlife and delicate coastal wetlands and ecosystem that stand to be dreadfully impacted by this spill. What good can we uncover from this terrible injury to man and nature? Consider the essay below borrowed from Daily Kos blogger Turkana.

Send your comments and news tips to roundup.editor@gmail.com, the White House at http://www.whitehouse.gov/contact, to BP at http://www.deepwaterhorizonresponse.com/go/inquiry/2931/, to Turkana at my username at ix dot netcom dot com or click on the "comments" button at the bottom of the story


by Turkana

London Evening Standard

Share this on Twitter - This is us. This is on us. No one will rescue us.

Fri Apr 30, 2010 at 10:09:12 AM PDT

As the oil makes shore, and British Petroleum eyes horizons deep in something quite other than water, the real question lands on the desk of the one man who can make of this tragic disaster an historic turning point for the common good. Beyond a welcome temporary moratorium on new offshore oil drilling, will President Obama now rethink his entire energy strategy? Will he seize the opportunity that circumstance has handed him? Will he finally declare that we no longer have time even to worry about liberating ourselves of our dependence on foreign sources of oil, because the moment demands that we rid ourselves of our dependence on oil and fossil fuels, altogether?

A mining disaster. An oil rig disaster. Honest working people killed just trying to make a living. Environmental devastation that is beyond our imagining, despite our imagining being based on truly terrifying scientific facts. There is no clean coal. There is no safe oil production. From those that suffer on the front lines of the extractive industries to all of nature suffering from the burning of what is extracted, this has to end. It has to end as soon as is possible. In the short term, that will mean much mutual sacrifice, but in the long term not only will it mean jobs, opportunities, and a new wave of economic growth, it will mean the possibility of a sustainable future for all humankind.

Even some right wing politicians now seem to be awakening to the specific dangers revealed by the Deepwater Horizon disaster. We must build on that awakening. Because it is but the merest glimpse, in the bruise light of dawn, of something so much larger, something so much more ominous, something so much more urgent and imminent. A future now cresting into being, while we stand dazed, oblivious, and distracted before the exigency of its inevitability. No matter how horrific the coming days, they are as nothing compared to those now careening toward us, just a bit behind.

We have to be rid of fossil fuels. We are junkies, and we are dying. We are killing not only ourselves, but so many of the beautiful and wondrous creatures with whom we share this spinning blue garden oasis. If a biosphere fails in a far corner of an obscure galaxy on a distant edge of what may be but one of countless Universes, will anybody hear? This is us. This is on us. No one will rescue us. There will be no redeeming such a catastrophic collective failure. Myths and fantasies will not save us.

This is 9/11. This is Katrina. Not in terms of immediate human impact, but in what it tells. This is larger than it seems. This is a statement about who we are and what we have become. This is a lesson about our own willful blindness, our callous disregard, our foolishness, our stumbling in mere semi-consciousness, as zombies through the cultural detritus that defines, numbs, and blinds us. If the overwhelming accumulation of science hasn't been enough. If the changing migratory patterns of seabirds hasn't been enough. The facts and our fellow creatures, screaming alarms that it takes considerably more effort to ignore than it would to heed.

We can't drill ourselves out of this. We drilled ourselves into this. We can't rely on miracles. Our reliance on miracles has been a symptom of the disease that has brought us to this precipice of global crisis. The decisions we now make, the decisions our elected leaders now make, will define our collective future as few decisions in history ever have. We may soon be beyond our decisions being able to make a difference.

George Carlin used to say that when you start experimenting with drugs, a door opens in your mind. But as you continue to experiment with drugs, that door closes again, you just don't notice it. The burning of fossil fuels is our collective drug of choice. For a century, it opened doors. Those doors are closing. Will we catch them before they seal? Will we even hear them if they lock behind us, as the very air we breathe becomes a countdown of expiring existence?

This is us. This is now. Are we up to it?