Wise County on the Web

A tongue in cheek review of the news published this week regarding Wise County.
Normally posted every Sunday around 10:00 p.m.
(Note: To make sure you are receiving the most recent update, hold down the "Shift" key while you click on reload/refresh).
For the week ending 7/05/03:

The Story	Charles Stenholm prepares to face the music as potential redistricting moves him away from Wise County. State Rep. Phil King some how gets the power to propose the new congressional lines.
News worthiness (on a scale of 0 to 5)	**
The Spin	Either King is (1) just a puppet for someone else behind the scenes or (2) he has pictures of somebody.

The Story	Juvenile Probation Officer Mike Wheat is arrested on charges of bribery and tampering with a witness.
News worthiness	*******
The Spin	Anyone that knows Wheat also knows he's not the type of guy to get involved in something like this. Who are his accusers? Are they kids or parents of kids that are on probation? On probation for what? What is their credibility? The Spin smells a rat.

The Story	Six are charged with "Organized Crime" after an alleged home burglary. One of the suspects is Michael Finley, 27, of Paradise.
News worthiness	*
The Spin	You would have thought Finley lived in Highland Park.

The Story	The Head Start program, a program designed to increase the school readiness of young children of low-income families, is headed for elimination in Decatur. "One problem," school board member Laura Montgomery said, "was having 3-year-olds in school.". "She said she was told they cried the entire time, causing disruption for other students in the school."
News worthiness	**
The Spin	Uhhh, three year olds?

The Story	Boyd considers a youth curfew after "officers have been experiencing problems with children as young as 12 years old roaming the streets of the town in the late night and early morning hours."
News worthiness	*
The Spin	Sounds like a parenting problem more than a government problem.

The Story	Decatur ISD names Scott Johnson interim superintendant at a salary of "$8,000 a month plus $600 for travel expenses."
News worthiness	*******
The Spin	We wonder what he would want for the full time gig?

The Story	"Wise County pay ranks above similar sized counties"
News worthiness	**
The Spin	In case the kind-taxpayer-reader missed it, here ya go: County Attorney: $79,617 County Judge: $63,053 County Commissioners: $49,609 County Auditor: $63,052 County Treasurer: $41,884 County Clerk: $41,884 District Clerk: $41,884 One final note as compiled by the Messenger: When the budget of Wise County is compared to eight counties in Texas with similar populations, Wise County's has the highest budget at $25 million with second place having only a $17.6 million budget.

The Story	And in this salary heavy discussion issue, we noted that an investigation continues in connection with the discovery of a body found in southwest Wise County. Natural causes are the most likely reason for the death.
News worthiness	**
The Spin	What do salaries have to do with this story you ask? "[The decedant] had apparently been working on his riding lawnmower, which he used as a means of transportation."

See something in the local papers that struck you funny? Then suggest a topic for The Spin.

View Last week's issue.