Wise County on the Web

A (sometimes) tongue in cheek review of the news published this week regarding Wise County.
Normally posted every Sunday around 6:00 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 10/21/00:

The Story	*In the last four* years, the number of Wise County registered voters has increased from 19,813 to 29,900 - a staggering 51% increase.**
News worthiness (on a scale of 0 to 5)	*****
The Spin	You have to wonder it any of these 10,000 new voters know any of the local candidates.

The Story	Deep inside this article, from Star Telegram writer Jim Reeve's "Notes from the Ledge", is a reference to Tom Hick's Southwest Sports Group. (Hick's is the owner of the Dallas Stars, Texas Rangers, and half of the southwest proper). The article indicated that "Joe Armes", in addition to his duties as executive vice-president and general counsel, has also become the "financial head" of the organization.
News worthiness	**
The Spin	The Spin is 99% sure that the Joe Armes in question is the (under 40 year old) son of Jimmie and Marye Nella Armes of Decatur. (The Spin also acknowledges that this tidbit is of no interest whatsoever to the 10,000 new registered voters, but, to the rest of us, it's pretty cool.)

The Story	Seventeen year old Preston Pruett gets blasted by a bolt of lightning while leaving the Texas Motor Speedway. The National Weather Service reported that the odds of the occurrence were 1 in 600,000.
News worthiness	********
The Spin	The odds of winning the Texas Lottery, by the way, are 1 in 28,500,000.

The Story	As candidate public forums are thrown into overdrive, local candidates expressed their desire to focus on drug arrests and prosecution.
News worthiness	**
The Spin	*To paraphrase an old Journey* song: "[The cop's endless battle called the War on Drugs] goes on and on and on and on".**

The Story	*Syndicated columnist Dave McNeely laments in the Messenger* about the death of former state supreme court justice "Oscar Mauzy: Champion of the Poor".**
News worthiness	*
The Spin	Not that Wise County residents care, but Mauzy was a leader of the 1980s Texas Supreme Court when 60 Minutes, in an episode called "Justice for Sale", exposed how most of the justices were kept in office by the support of rich plaintiff's lawyers. He never saw a lawsuit he didn't like.

The Story	Memorial services for Edward Eugene Walker (1941-2000) were held at his place of employment, MVP Fuels, located along the Highway 380 bypass in Decatur.
News worthiness	*******
The Spin	This could start a wide spread trend that we are not comfortable with at all.

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

View Last week's issue.