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POWER TALK
THE LITTLE BOOK
No bigger than a postcard and no thicker than a dinner plate, Texas Landmark Cafes by June Naylor (who writes our Hit the Road column) is one of 16 tiny titles published by Great Texas Line Press. These diminutive digests make accessible everything from Cordon Bubba: Texas Cuisine to Texas Wineries. They fit easily into a handbag, back pocket or glove compartment for handy travel reference. The recipe versions, such as Tex Mex 101, won’t hog all the space on your kitchen shelves.
You’ll want to keep the Texas Speak: Advanced Course handy in certain parts of the state where folks say things like, “Kinnihepyyew,” “Heighty,” and “How’syamomandthem.”
Great Texas Line is the brainchild of Fort Worth Star-Telegram journalist Barry Shlachter, who says his venture into the book business was born of a midlife crisis 10 years ago. In the past three years, Shlachter’s little publishing house has grown more than 54 percent and now sells more than 48,000 books a year.
Shlachter said, “We haven’t raised our prices [$5.95 a copy] in 10 years by finding new ways to keep costs down, and printing right here in Texas.”
Great Texas Line titles are available at Barnes & Noble bookstores, online at Amazon.com and through the nonprofit Sid Richardson Collection of Western Art at www.sidrmuseum.org.
USE CARE WHEN DISPOSING OF CFLs
The rise in popularity of energy-saving compact fluorescent light bulbs has brought with it concern about the mercury that is an essential part of bulb manufacture. However, the level of the toxic metal in a CFL’s tubing is relatively small, about 5 milligrams. By comparison, a mercury thermometer contains about 500 mg of the substance and an old-style thermostat has about 5,000 mg.
That’s not to say that a CFL should be treated carelessly. If one happens to break, it’s important to follow these procedures:
1. Open windows nearby; 2. Sweep up bulb fragments (don’t use your hands or a vacuum cleaner); 3. Wipe the area with a damp paper towel to ensure cleanup of all fragments; 4. Seal the fragments and the paper towel in a plastic bag and place in an outside trash bin.
When disposing of a burned-out CFL, the best choice is to recycle it or take it to a Household Hazardous Waste Collection Site, according to the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency. However, if neither of those options is available, seal the bulb in a plastic bag and place it in your regular trash.
The use of a CFL, which consumes 75 percent less electricity than a conventional bulb, actually prevents mercury pollution. The electricity used by one CFL is responsible for 2.4 mg of mercury emissions from a coal-burning generation plant over five years of use. Powering a conventional bulb over that span releases 10 mg of mercury, the EPA says. Plus, a CFL lasts up to six times longer than a conventional bulb and adds less waste heat to your home.
POWER TIP
A Simple Way To Save
When it comes to energy efficiency, Geneva C. Rodgers, a member of Fort Belknap Electric Cooperative, employs a simple tool—a wooden clothes-drying rack. “I try to dry everything I can on it,” she writes. “Sheets go onto deck rails and over chairs ... knits on hangers on a rod in my utility room—a shower curtain rod is a great tool for this!”
If clothes need additional drying or fluffing in an electric dryer, it’s done at the off-peak hours of 6 a.m. or 9:30 p.m. Thanks, Geneva, for the reminder about the efficiencies a back-to-basics approach can offer.
HAPPENINGS
The 45th Annual National Championship Indian Pow Wow takes place September 7–9 at Traders Village in Grand Prairie. Hundreds of Native Americans representing dozens of tribes from across the nation will compete in several dance categories wearing full ceremonial regalia. Participants from toddlers to seniors will dance to the drumbeats that have survived centuries of cultural and geographic change.
Artists, craftsmen and traders from around the United States will showcase their work and talents in the Indian Arts and Crafts Show, featuring jewelry, pottery, baskets, rugs and clothing. A teepee exhibit and samples of American Indian food will give visitors a first-hand experience with traditional shelter and authentic dishes such as fry bread, Indian tacos and corn soup.
For more information, call (972) 647-2331, or go to www.tradersvillage.com.
HISTORIC COURTHOUSE SHINES IN THE HEART OF PARKER COUNTY
After fires destroyed three previous structures, the current Parker County Courthouse was built in 1886. Architects Dodson and Dudley of Waco designed the structure and constructed it of locally quarried limestone at a cost of $55,555. The courthouse in Weatherford boasts a seal that marks the exact center of Parker County. Recent renovations have restored the building’s brilliance, including expanding the district courtroom back to its original size, making it once again one of the largest in the state. The courtroom’s decorative wall and ceiling paintings, small, wooden balconies and patterned floor coverings were also reconstructed. Future plans include re-creating the courthouse square, which has been lost to roads and parking lots. Tri-County Electric Cooperative serves most of Parker County.
—From The Courthouses of Texas, Texas A&M University Press, second edition, 2007
CO-OP PEOPLE
Fresh Eyes on Washington
Every year, a select group of high school students spends a week in the nation’s capital, compliments of their electric cooperatives. This year, 99 Texas students were among 1,497 participants from 45 states visiting Washington, D.C., June 9–15.
The Government-in-Action Youth Tour, sponsored by the National Rural Electric Cooperative Association, provides a window into governance for some of tomorrow’s leaders.
“The two things that amazed me the most were the Vietnam War Memorial and getting to meet Congressman Mac Thornberry and Congresswoman Kay Granger,” writes Haley Sprague in the North Plains Electric Co-op edition of Texas Co-op Power. “We had about 30 minutes with each of them to ask questions about their daily routines and some about political controversies.”
“All the participants seemed to have a special interest in seeing exactly how the government process works,” said Janet Blomquist, support services director of Texas Electric Cooperatives, the statewide association. “The level of education and knowledge these youth have is just amazing, and for them to have the ability to actually see it in action feeds that desire for knowledge. I truly believe we had many of our leaders of the future on the tour.”
WHO KNEW?
More Tasty Towns
Here are some additions to your “tasty” Texas towns (Who Knew? July 2007):
Cereal
Floyd County
Crabapple
Gillespie County
Okra
Eastland County
Pancake
Coryell County
Plum
Fayette County
Quail
Collingsworth County
Wild Peach
Brazoria County
— From B.J. Hale Sr., Sanger
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