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MONDAY, JANUARY 12, 2015
S E R V I N G W I C H I TA FA L L S
Quick Read
CONTRIBUTIONS
DUE BY JAN. 20
Sharing the stories of
Wichita Falls businesses, churches,
families, neighborhoods
and individuals is the
handmade goal of the
Eastside Community
Quilt project.
LOCAL, 1B
STORE ROBBERY
SUSPECT DEAD
FOR MORE THAN A CENTURY
Oil price plunge tempers agendas
■ Republicans
scale back talk
of huge tax cuts
By Paul J. Weber
Associated Press
AUSTIN — More roads,
less taxes and holding
the line on school funding. Whether Republican
Gov.-elect Greg Abbott
can pull these off in his
first five months on the job
will partly depend on the
spending power lawmakers receive Monday from
the state comptroller.
What they already
know: Plummeting oil
prices are crimping campaign promises.
The sudden slowdown of
the Texas energy industry
— which for five booming
years helped outgoing Gov.
Rick Perry polish his presidential credentials — is expected to dampen the state’s
crucial revenue forecast for
2016 and 2017 that will determine how much money
is available for the GOPcontrolled Legislature.
Bleak numbers from the
state comptroller are not
expected. Sales tax collections hit a record high in
November,andRepublicans
and analysts say the Texas
economyoftodayismorediversified and resilient than
in oil busts of bygone eras.
But oil prices are tempering calls for sweeping
tax cuts that dominated the
2014 elections, even amid
predictions that lawmakers
will begin the 140-day session Tuesday with as much
as a $6 billion surplus.
“We’ve got a budget situation that, quite frankly,
we need to honest about,”
Fingerprint evidence
has determined a
suspect in the June 4
armed robbery of a
downtown Bowie store,
but no arrest will be
possible.
Obama
seen
as all
work
MILLIONS JOIN
UNITY RALLY
WORLD, 6A
Water tip
of the day
This tip comes from
www.eartheasy.com:
“Put a little food
coloring in your toilet
tank. If, without
flushing, the color
begins to appear in
the bowl within 30
minutes, you have a
leak that should be
repaired immediately. Most replacement
parts are inexpensive
and easy to install.”
Opinion
OUR OPINION 4B
YOUR OPINION 4B
OTHER OPINIONS 5B
INDEX
MATTER OF RECORD 3B
WEATHER 6B
PUZZLES 5C
COMICS 6C
TV 6B
LOTTERY 2D
For home delivery, call
767-8346
TRN331289
See OIL, 3A
CONGRESS
LOCAL, 1B
More than a million
people surge through
the boulevards of Paris
behind dozens of world
leaders walking arm-inarm Sunday in a rally for
unity described as the
largest demonstration
in French history.
Republican state Sen. Paul
Bettencourt said.
Oil prices dipped below
$50 a barrel last week for
the first time since 2009.
Drilling permits issued
by the state fell by 50 percent from October to November. Gas prices under
$2 a gallon have freed up
consumers to spend more,
but sales tax collected
■ Chemistry
seems to be
nonexistent
By Nancy Benac
Associated Press
typhoons in recent years.
Retention of skilled practitioners
continues to be a problem, along
with a shortage of hospital beds.
Volunteers are coming from
Wichita Falls, San Francisco and
Oklahoma this year.
Each medical volunteer must
get a Philippine license to practice
WASHINGTON — He hardly
ever calls. When he does,
it’s all business.
And that’s President
Barack Obama’s vibe with
top Democrats on Capitol
Hill.
With Republicans,
there’s even less chemistry.
But GOP congressional
leaders don’t show much
inclination to buddy up to
the president, either.
When the president sits
down with eight top legislators — four from each
party — Tuesday at the
White House, there’s little
expectation it will usher
in a new era of comity and
cooperation.
Republican leaders
will head to the White
House already peeved
with the president for his
recent veto threats and
go-it-alone policy moves.
See MISSION, 3A
See OBAMA, 3A
CONTRIBUTED PHOTO
The Wichita County Medical Alliance has organized a group of 27 volunteers to help patients in the Philippines. They will offer
various services including dental, surgery, pediatrics, optometry and obstetrics/gynecology services. This will be the ninth trip
for the group, which has also sent volunteers to Nicaragua and Guatemala and assisted with several disaster relief efforts.
County medical group
headed to Philippines
■ Volunteers on mission to typhoon-stricken region
By Claire Kowalick
[email protected]
940-763-7548
On Thursday, 27 local medical
professionals and other volunteers
will make their way to the Philippines on a mission of kindness.
“It’s not about politics or religion.
We do not go to these missions to
get an award. We just want to do it,”
said Tito Tolentino, a member of the
Wichita County Medical Alliance.
The WCMA is made up of 127
medical professionals and their
spouses in the area.
This will be the ninth trip for the
group, which organizes volunteers,
supplies and travel for a year before
each trip.
Many parts of the island have
yet to recover from devastating
MLK Center always spotlights civil rights
■ Oklahoma
City pastor to
grace breakfast
By Lana Sweeten-Shults
[email protected]
940-720-3462
The release of the film
“Selma” on Friday, which
chronicles the Rev. Martin
Luther King Jr.’s campaign
in 1965 for equal voting
rights by leading an epic
march from Selma to Montgomery, Alabama, brings
the American civil rights
IF YOU GO
What: Martin Luther
King Prayer and
Scholarship Breakfast
Where: Multi-Purpose
Events Center’s Ray
Clymer Exhibit Hall
When: 7:30 a.m.
Saturday
Tickets: $20 for adults,
$14 for children, available
for purchase at the MLK
Center, 1100 Smith St.
Information: 761-7980
leader’s struggle back into
the conversation.
It’s a conversation never
far from the minds of those
at the MLK Center, particularly around this time of
year, when the organization remembers the great
things King accomplished
in his lifetime at the 26th
annual Martin Luther
King Jr. Prayer and Scholarship Breakfast.
The event starts at
7:30 a.m. Saturday at the
Multi-Purpose Events Center’s Ray Clymer Exhibit
Hall and will include not
just the breakfast but a talk
by guest speaker the Rev.
See MLK, 3A
TIMES RECORD NEWS FILE
The Rev. Edward Jennings “E.J.” Tyson, “gospel conductor” of
Mission Gospel Train Ministries and pastor of New Hope Baptist Church in Oklahoma City, appears at NewsTalk 1290-AM in
Wichita Falls in 2013. Tyson will be the featured speaker at the
Martin Luther King Jr. Prayer and Scholarship Breakfast.