VOL. IV Issue 9S
Holabird Girl Becomes Highmore Queen
Nikki Gregg of Holabird was crowned Homecoming Queen of Highmore High School on Monday evening. Not that it matters, but Matthew Bawdon was crowned King. No pictures of the event has been turned into the Holabird Advocate, but we are proud just the same. It has been a long time since Holabird had a Homecoming Queen. Our congratulations go out to Queen Nikki and her family. Last, but not least, good luck to the football team tomorrow night.
Where Have All The Pheasants Gone?
The pheasants around the Ponderosa must know that there is only 2.5 weeks until hunting season. Roosters are rarely found, According to Harold Hinkle, whereas hens are in a surplus. Most of the pheasants found around Valley Township are in Nick Nemec's corn. It's not just the hunters. Harold and Darrel Hinkle were dismayed to find out that one of the pheasants fiercest predators, the skunk is also plentiful. They heard that the GF&P has introduced them into a preserve in Sully County not far from the Ponderosa because they are becoming an endangered species in South Dakota. No mountain lions have been spotted though.
Come to Jesus Taxi Back in Business
After 3 months and 3 days of waiting, the Holabird's Come to Jesus Taxi Service is back in business. In other words, Reverend Jerry Hinkle's car has been fixed. The speedometer, the odometer, and headlights are working now. Jerry usually doesn't drive at night anyway. Harold and Darrel Hinkle even aired up the tires. This is just in time for the Community Prayer Breakfast at the Thunderbird in Highmore Saturday morning. Anyone needing a ride there has no reason to miss it now. Least of all Jerry himself.
One Nation Under Therapy
by Chuck Colson
Whether it's the Columbine shootings, September 11, or Hurricane Katrina, in the wake of the initial crisis, an army of grief counselors descends on the survivors. Is that a good thing? Probably not. In their excellent book One Nation under Therapy, ethicist Christina Hoff Sommers and psychiatrist Sally Satel show how junk science has promoted the notion "that seemingly content and well-adjusted Americans--adults as well as children--are emotionally damaged." They trace the history of what they call "therapism," which "valorizes openness, emotional self-absorption and the sharing of feelings." This trend was popularized by twentieth-century psychologists like Abraham Maslow. He believed--though he had no scientific proof for it--that restraint was unhealthy and that "self-actualization" and high self-esteem were crucial to human development. It was Maslow who said, "I sometimes think that the world will either be saved by psychologists . . . Or it will not be saved at all." We see the fruits of that philosophy everywhere. From schools to talk shows, people are coached to focus on themselves and obsess about their own feelings--in short, to "save themselves" through psychology. No wonder that Jim Windolf, writing in the Wall Street Journal, said, "If you believe the statistics, 77 percent of America's adult population is a mess. And we haven't even thrown in alien abductees, road ragers or Internet addicts." As if it weren't enough to teach healthy people that they're emotionally crippled, therapism is most prevalent at disaster sites: Busloads of grief counselors shuttle in--who, the authors point out, are often underqualified. And they offer the wrong medicine. Valid scientific studies show that self-absorption, or self-pity, is actually the worst possible way to respond to tragedy. Study participants who were told to focus on their emotions and express them aloud actually ended up more depressed than those who tried to distract themselves and find constructive ways to cope. We have bought into the myth of "therapism" so completely that after every one of these disasters, these armies of "grief counselors" descend upon us. Well, the good news is that some folks are catching on. After Columbine and September 11, even members of the media saw the failure of the therapeutic model. The Washington Post's Jonathan Yardley wrote, "Surely there are few sights in the contemporary landscape more repellent than that of these leeches attaching themselves to the stunned, bewildered survivors of affliction, demanding that they give vent to their 'feelings.'" As I reported in a "BreakPoint" at the time, kids at Columbine were ignoring grief counselors, but flooding the churches. Those kids understood. But the grief counselors, after all, are after clients. That's what keeps them paid. So after September 11, Sommers and Satel report, grief counselors literally walked the streets trying to recruit patients. One mental health center tried to hire someone to sit in a general practitioner's waiting room and ask every patient who came in if he or she was having problems dealing with September 11. No wonder people are getting disgusted with in-your-face tactics and pop psychology. What these people do not need is more high pressure. What they really need is counseling from the Great Counselor.
Todd Epp is Right
by Jerry Hinkle
Holabird Advocate Publisher
I'll bet he will glad to be sitting down for this. But I'm am bound to agree with Todd Epp on a particular issue. No, not whether or not "Lost" has Jumped the Shark yet. I think the show is still good for at least 12 more episodes. I'm talking about the mountain lion hunting season. Mr. Epp once said, and I agree, that the mountain lion should be safe on their home turf. I find myself rooting for "the home team" as well. I say this because I have yet to be threatened by a mountain lion. I don't know of anyone who has been threatened either. Of course, once I am threatened, all bets and friendships are off. I don't go up off into the mountains to mess with them. They'd better not mess with me down in the valley. After all, when I'm at my home, I am the home team.

CBS reports dismal rating for "How I Met Your Mother". I hope they don't resort to cheap ratings stunts like having someone from "Buffy" or "Doogie" do a guest shot. It's a good show once you get past the title. There's a definite "Wonder Years" feel to the show. Not such a bad premise either. The pace of the show is jerky, too fast on episode #1, too slow on #2. I'll give this one 4 episodes before I make a final judgment.

I'm gonna pass on "The Amazing Race". The kids on the previews should be seen and not heard. The boy who says he's cute? Not so! The girl who says, "I may be small, but I'm not Shtupid!"? To her I say, "Oh yesh you are". Looks like it's gonna be President Geena Davis for me on Tuesday night from now on.

It took me a while to warm up to "The Practice". The fact that it was on right after "Alias" was the only reason I watched it at all. It kinda grew on me though. Then, during the last season they fired all the hot babes. HUH? No more D.A. Helen, more Lindsey, and worst of all, no more Juicy Ms. Lucy. What we ha in their place was this Spader dude and guest star Sharon Stone. But, you know, James Spader made the show watchable, not as good as before, but watchable. I'd go so far as to say he was the only reason to watch the show. He had this "J.R. Ewing" quality that was tangible. A man we all love to hate. So "The Practice" went out, then in it's place came "Boston Legal".

This show was different from "The Practice". It was actually good. I loved to see how each of the cases unfolded. I even loved to see how many times Shatner would say "Denny Crane" in an episode. It was a fun little show. Then what happened? Schmitt happened! Candice Bergen's portrayal of Shirley Schmitt was unnecessary, brought nothing to the show, and yet she is here. Why is that? Now we have Heather Lockenload coming out of door number two. What's next? Leonard Nimoy as the District Attorney? Enough stunt casting! Bring back the good writing. And while your at it, ABC get Sally Heep back on the show after "Surface" is cancelled. Show us why Denny Crane has never lost a case, and why I even care.

Hurricane Rita Seemed to leave the big city of Houston alone. A lot of folks were asking about Barney Nemec this weekend, but we have heard nothing. We assume that he is alright or we'd have heard from his family by now. Former Holabird resident Bob Taylor wasn't so lucky. He an wife Barbara Taylor live in Beaumont, which was under a mandatory evacuation. They found a motel along the Texas-Oklahoma border and paid $600 for a two night stay. That may sound like price gouging, but Bob and Barbara also had 5 dogs with them .

It has just been reported that Don Adams, star of the 1960s spy parody series "Get Smart", died yesterday at Cedars-Sinai Medical Center in Los Angeles. The actor succumbed to a lung infection, though he had been in ill health since breaking a hip a year ago. He was 82.
Adams made a living as an artist in New York city before stumbling upon his niche: comedy. He began performing stand-up comedy in New York nightclubs and became half of a short-lived comedy duo. His talent for mimicry got him some spots on late-night talk shows and eventually landed him a role on Arthur Godfrey's Talent Scouts, an early television sketch comedy/variety show. After Talent Scouts, he became a regular on The Perry Como Show.
In 1965, comedy giants Mel Brooks and Buck Henry were shopping a series to the networks about a bumbling spy named and numbered Maxwell Smart and Agent 86. The show ran for five years and launched the Smart phrases "Would you believe?" "Missed it by that much!" and "Sorry about that, Chief" into the American lexicon.
Adams voiced the title character of the animated series Inspector Gadget, as well as the title character in the Tennessee Tuxedo cartoon series. He also starred in a sit-com called "Check It Out" as Howard Bannister, Manger of Cobb's Supermarket. It was favorite of our Publisher. When Don Adams asks his Heaven Father if he's going to hell, perhaps he'll say-well, you know

Once again the Reverend Jerry Hinkle of the Holabird Church of Universal Life ha been asked to speak at the Community Prayer Breakfast at the Thunderbird in Highmore next Saturday. The last time that Rev. Hinkle spoke, everyone complained that he didn't talk long enough. He intends to correct that with this engagement. His main topic will either be "Does Prayer Work?" or "Are We Living in the Middle Ages?" Either way, he'll find time for both topics. Questions will be welcomed, and hopefully answered, by the Reverend after his talking time. The community Prayer Breakfast is open to people of all faiths and genders. If one has no faith, they are welcome as well. It may be time for them to come to Jesus.

Well, Todd Epp seems to be less than enchanted with ABC these days. America's Broadcasting Company has brought back "Lost" and "Desperate Housewives" for another season, but he could care less. Perhaps he should write a parody of an episode and send it to the network. He has proven quite good at that in the past.

One show that is sure to tickle his fancy is "Commander in Chief". What's not to like? We have a liberal woman hiding behind the real POTUS until she becomes President in her own right. One suspects a certain former First Lady's exploratory committee financed the production of this show to see if she has a shot in 2008. By gosh and golly, she might, too!

ABC says that 9 VPs have become president, and the 10th will be a 1st. That's not entirely true. ABC tried to do the "Lady President" thing twenty years ago with a little show called "Hail to the Chief" with Patty Duke as Madam President, Ted Bessel as First Gentleman, and myself as the only viewer. The show lasted for only 7 episodes. "Hail" was played for laughs, and it was funny (to me anyhow). "Commander" is definite drama. I'll be watching, and I suspect Mr. Epp will be as well. I hope he stays tuned for Boston Legal so he can tell me what thy are doing wrong. I already know what it is. I wonder if he does. More on that tomorrow

VOL. IV Issue 9O

We've said it before, "Timing is everything". But better late then never. At the Independence Day Celebration at Ed and Barbara Nemec's, our Publisher, Jerry Hinkle was told that Jennifer Nemec Nelson had a baby girl with the help of her husband (whose name he has forgotten, but Jerry does remember he's a real nice guy). Anyhow her name is Natasha Michelle (Nelson, we assume). The proud mother reports "She's a cutie! Such an easy going baby also, hardly ever cries. I'm finally getting used to less sleep!" We are a little late here, but congratulations at any rate. Get used to less sleep. We've heard that lasts for at least 21 years.

This morning makes 30 miles for Mary and Jerry Hinkle. They've had to walk in the mornings because the evening gets dark so quickly. The sun shines hot in the morning, but not as hot as the afternoon.

Harold Hinkle is already done with his journey of 1000 miles. He went to St. Louis with Ken and Joyce Ferris. They went there to see K.C., Marta, and Kyle Ferris. Kyle showed them all of his cool moves on the skateboard. He also let Harold share his bunkbed (Harold was on the bottom). K.C. Showed them the botanical gardens around the city. They even had a little PEDA gathering. Marta got lucky at Walmart and scored so Porterhouse steaks. Ken, Joyce, and Harold left for home about 5 am Monday. They hit Huron at about 10 pm. Harold was so tired that he stayed overnight. Just in time to get delayed by road construction.
Fire Department Cleans Gas Leak
The Pierre Volunteer Fire Department's Rescue Squad was called out at about 4 am to the report of a fuel leak, after a boat being towed on its trailer ended up laying on a roadway as the result of a minor accident. Fire Engine Company #1 First Assistant Chief Doug Hinkle says a Pierre man is thought to have briefly nodded off as he was driving on Highway 1804 and overcorrected as his pickup started to go into the ditch, causing the boat to come off it's trailer and roll over on the roadway. The 18-foot Lund landed upside down on the stretch of road and it spilled about ten gallons of fuel, just west of the Grey Goose turnoff on Highway 1804. Hinkle says the boat is considered a total loss.

The 1st South Dakota hunting season on mountain lions will go on as planned October 1. The Game, Fish and Parks Commission refused to delay the start of it in response to a request by two South Dakotans and a California group. As for all of us here at tha Holabird Advocate, we won't be hunting mountain lions. The reason for this is simple. They just are not tasty enough for us!

What I have seen since Katrina: The poor and the wealthy hurt by the storm. Black, white, Hispanic, Oriental and Indian all hurt by the storm. Christian people giving. Churches going all out to minister in Jesus' name. Neighbors going door to door helping one another. Thugs and hoodlums going door to door looking for someone vulnerable. Ice and water being fought over as police tried to keep the peace. People coming up from New Orleans taking over empty houses because shelters are full. Out of town volunteers coming with food and staying for now a week still serving it. The Churches all over this part of the country doing what Christians do in a crisis. The Red Cross doing a great job in the shelters. The Salvation Army doing a great job in the community. Four Hundred crewman from everywhere bring back the power to our homes, churches and businesses. Lines at service stations a block to a mile long. National Guardsman patrolling the streets of Mc Comb along with Kentucky policemen protecting us from the hoodlums and thugs of Mc Comb, Pike County and New Orleans (the most dangerous city in the world before Katrina.) Drug dealers working outside shelters. Doctors, nurses and other hospital personnel working tirelessly,even sleeping in the hospital to do the job God called them to do.

WHAT I HAVE NOT SEEN; The ACLU setting up a feeding line. People for the American Way helping in the shelters. The NAACP doing any work whatsoever. The American Atheist organization serving meals in the shelters. Jesse Jackson directing traffic at the gas stations. I could go on but you get my message. Its the Christian people with love and compassion who do the work. The gripers in Congress should come on down and get in line to pass the water and the ice. Are you listening Hillary, Chuck, Teddy and all the sorry loafers we call Senators and Congressmen. They don't have a clue as to what this life is all about here on the Gulf Coast. Boy I feel better now.

Harold Hinkle is on the road too. But he is driving. At about 6:45 pm Thursday night, he and Ken And Joyce Ferris stopped in Iowa to see an some of Ken's relatives. Ken has an aunt in a nursing home, and an uncle in the hospital. They made it to St. Louis at around 6 pm this evening Holabird time. It appears that Kyle Ferris is putting on quite a show for them. He's entertaining Harold anyhow, which is no small feat.

Timing is important in a lot of what we do here at the Holabird Advocate. The picture to the left was not able to be published before. It is more than 150 KB, which was our former limit. Now, the limit is 2 MB.

This is a photo of Cole Mehling (courtesy of Lynette Goehring, thanks a lot) as he displays the trophies he won at Horse Show at the Cowan Arena way back on July 12. Cole Mehling is proudly displaying the belt buckles that he won for Senior Showmanship and Senior All Around Cowboy. The blanket and lead rope is the Senior Sportsmanship award. Congrats, Cole! You did a Great Job!

To Lynnette, our Publisher wishes to say he is sorry that he is a few months late in keeping his promise to publish this picture, but better late than never. Cole is Lynnette's grandson, and the son of Greg and Rhonda Mehling of Wessington, South Dakota. He is also one of Agnes Hahn's several great grandchildren.

Attendance Down, Sales Up For State Fair
Although the numbers are still being compiled, preliminary reports from the South Dakota State Fair show total attendance is down between 20 and 25 percent. Fair Manager Susan Hayward says she's not sure if high gas prices affected the bottom line. Hayward says that despite the drop in attendance, carnival sales were up eight percent from last year. Final numbers should be totaled by early October.

As anyone in Hyde county can tell you, the peak of success around here is to get your name in the Highmore Herald. Barney Nemec has done that, and more. Jerry Hinkle was a little put off when he saw that The Paper spelled his title of Publisher with a lower case p, but at least they spelled his name right.

E.E. Hinkle used to take little trips without his wife because she wouldn't go along. Harold Hinkle is continuing that tradition by going to St. Louis with Ken and Joyce Ferris. Mary Hinkle was unable to go because she decided to honor her commitment to Sunday School. Harold, Ken and Joyce are going to see K.C. Marta, and Kyle Ferris in their new house that they've only lived in for a year or so. Harold expect to be back Tuesday. All of us at the Holabird advocate home he stops at the Old Home Bread Store on the way back to the Ponderosa.

Doug and Darrel Hinkle were born 36 years ago this afternoon. Mary Hinkle baked a cake for the occasion, hoping at least one of the boys will show up to eat it. We don't know if she has ice cream, but if she does, she'll have that too. Harold Hinkle has a half gallon of Tin Roof Sunday, and Jerry Hinkle, the same amount of Fat Free Cookies 'N Cream. They may not share, but Mary will for sure. Happy Birthday, Boys!

There's .25 of an inch of rain in the rain gauge, but the ground looks pretty dry after last night's rain. It was raining so hard that E.E. Hinkle could hear it. He wanted to see the rain so much that he made Jerry Hinkle unlock the door so he could go outside. E.E. Stayed indoors and just looked outside from the doorway, where he was as dry as a Baptist bar on Sunday morning.

VOL. Issue 9I
After the Storm Part 5-The Relief
Effort-Sunday, September 4th
by Barnabas J. Nemec
Special to the Holabird Advocate
Saturday evening, when Syleta, a high school English teacher from Sugarland, TX called and mentioned she was going to the George R Brown Convention Center the following afternoon, I gave her a brief account of the experiences I'd had myself. I told her I wouldn't mind returning, as there seemed to be much left to do. We agreed that Sunday afternoon we'd meet and go to the convention center.
While making our way to the center, the topic of donations understandably came up. Syleta had with her various donations such as playing cards, snack foods, and a few children's board games such as Chutes and Ladders. We're close enough friends that I knew she wouldn't take it personally when I told her these gifts would likely go to better use if donated to any random thrift shop, homeless shelter, or church. After explaining the situation as I'd last seen it, she understood perfectly. Bags of potato chips by the gross were already donated, at least several hundred decks of playing cards were likely sitting idle in the activity room, and at my last count, around 30-40 copies of the game Chutes and Ladders were waiting for pieces to go missing in the toy section. She left her gifts in the car and we headed for the convention center.
As we approached, there was a line of volunteers snaking around the building waiting to go to work. It wasn't moving fast, and I led Syleta around to the front, and managed to get in right away by explaining I'd been there the day before, and was in the middle of a project at the activity center. The two of us were let in, and I was surprised by the changes that had transpired in the hours since I'd last been present.
The waiting volunteers were being taken in groups of 20-30 and given a training class of length IÂ?m not sure. Once completed with this, they were signed in and put to work doing menial tasks unless possessing some specialized skill. For instance, there was a small group of hair-stylists who had set up a functioning beauty salon. It was being patronized by a group of happy-looking refugees, composed of about a dozen women and one hippie. There was also a phone center set up, with about 100 free phones and people using nearly each one.
A new section of cots were assembled over part of the space where the staging area had been located the day before. Much of the donations present earlier were neatly packed in huge labelepalates on pallets. They were being dollied out of the building, by regular volunteers, most likely to places such as homeless shelters and thrift shops.
After bypassing the wait for the new volunteers, Syleta and I went to the third floor to see if any more work needed to be done in the activity center. By this time, a few dozen computers were aligned along one of the walls, the library section was filled to the brim with reading material, and about 15 tables were set up with various games, including Chutes and Ladders, for people to take advantage of. About 3-dozen people were present, mostly New Orleans residents and a handful of volunteers. We played dominoes and other games with a few of the people present, and then started to get to know one of the families.
The family we became acquainted with had been at the Superdome through the worst of the chaos. Though we weren't pressing for details, they told us they were there when a police officer had been murdered, and that their home was completely destroyed. One might think this family would've been in a complete psychological shambles, completely traumatized and horrified by what they'd been through in the previous week, but this wasn't the case. They seemed well adjusted to their sudden life changes, and in good spirits, all things considered. They were unsure of what their next move would be, but at that point they seemed content with the way things were. In similar situations, I'm sure a warm dry bed, decent food, and clean clothes are all that would make most any of us happy.
As you may have gathered, the relief effort on Sunday was more structured than it was the day before. People who were spending the most time volunteering, and people who were affiliated with professional organizations were gaining seniority over the "come as you are" volunteers. Predictions at this point stated evacuees might be living in the convention center, the Astrodome, and other major facilities over the next few months. Considering the changes occurring over one night, I was curious as to how things might change after a week. As we left, there was still a long line of waiting volunteers, including a friend of Syleta with an armful of gifts including the latest edition of Chutes and Ladders.
Thunderstorm Disturbs Power, Leaves Ponderosa Dry
The Weatherman promised a thunderstorm with raithunder was much thiunder and lightning but only about .07 of an inch of rain which soaked in quicker than melted bItter on a bagel. it did cause a few power hickups, which is hard on the computer here at the home office.
Rescuing the Data from the Morass
by H.J. Cummins of the Star Tribune
There's still mud as thick as gumbo roux in and around much of New Orleans. But as people begin thinking beyond survival to recovery, some are wading into their businesses to salvage the records they will need to start over.
Don't think muddy file cabinets. They're as outdated as the rotary phone.
Think computers -- specifically, the hard drives inside them whose spinning disks are now the repository of everything from employee pay scales to customer addresses to the secret formula to the company's success. Last week, the first of the drives pulled from the bayou muck started arriving at Kroll Ontrack, a data-recovery company based in Eden Prairie. Kroll Ontrack is a unit of Kroll Inc., which is part of risk consultant Marsh & McLennan Co., both based in New York.
A crescendo of phone calls started up, too, mostly from people asking, if they get their hard drives up to Kroll Ontrack, is there any hope of retrieving anything on them?
At least one business had the bad luck of Hurricane Katrina hitting both its headquarters and its backup storage site, said Jim Reinert, senior director of software and services at Kroll Ontrack.
"It was just such a huge storm," Reinert said.
When those calls come in, he is in fact very encouraging.
"Every case is different, but in general we expect those drives to be highly recoverable," he said. "Even if they're buried in nasty water, they are mostly recoverable."
The first thing Kroll Ontrack does is advise customers how to handle the drives: Don't try to turn on the computer. Package them like they were fine china. And don't let them dry out -- a sealed plastic bag usually does the trick.
At the Eden Prairie laboratories, the drives go through diagnostics to find out how many files have survived. Much of the cleaning needs to be done in a special "clean room," where air quality, temperature and humidity are hyper-controlled. A speck of dust can disable the disks.
The company manages to retrieve part or all of almost 90 percent of the drives that come through, said Jeff Pederson, manager of data recovery operations. Floods and fires often do less damage than internal problems, such as another part of the hard drive hitting the disks, Pederson said. The files under any scrape are gone, he said.
Kroll Ontrack retrieved 99 percent of the contents of two laptop drives from the space shuttle Columbia, which broke apart in its return to Earth in February 2003. The drives were found at the bottom of a lake, Reinert said. Some of the other requests coming from the Gulf region involve recorded tapes, still the most common form of backup, Pederson said.
One credit union got its tapes safely out of New Orleans, he said, but then had to bring them to Kroll because it didn't have the equipment to run them.
Kroll Ontrack transfers the recovered files to CDs, DVDs or external hard drives. For some idea of the volume of information involved, the company explained: The typical drive comes in with about 20 gigabytes of data. It would take more than 4 million sheets of paper to cover that much material. Those sheets, in a stack, would be taller than the Empire State Building. For a standard PC or laptop, the company charges about $100 for the diagnosis and $1,000 to recover files, Reinert said. Prices vary for more complicated drives and for batches of 20, 50 or more drives from a client company. The diagnosis usually takes a day or two. The whole process, start to finish, usually takes two to five days.
Kroll Ontrack is gearing up for a jump in business because of the hurricane, though Reinert said they really don't know yet what to expect.
"It could be hundreds of jobs, or thousands; it's too soon to know," he said. "But our business usually tracks with the recovery in cases like this, so we're looking at months, for sure."
Publisher's Notes
by Jerry Hinkle
Part 5 of Barney's story brings us that much closer to the end. From what he tells me, Part 6 may be the last one he squeezes out. The Highmore Herald may be running the story now too. I have submitted Parts 1-5 to Mary Ann Morford at The Paper. She will see where she can fit it in. Chances are it won't be all at once though. His collection of stories will look good on his resume, and even better if they are in a "real" newspaper.
Kroll Ontrack is a company that I have heard of before In fact, I see that someone from that company reads he Holabird Advocate. Good taste like that needs to be recognized. I've even signed up for their newsletter.
Speaking of a reward for good taste, I will look into having both Marsh and McLennan and Northrup-Grumann listed on the Hinkle Brothers Mutual Fund. Any company that allows their workers access to the Holabird Advocate deserves a salute.
In the meantime, pray for rain. Let's just keep it under 20 inches though. Maybe just 10 if it can be spared. Thanks in advance!

Singer and Television Star Andy Griffith has donate manuscripts, television and film footage and other memorabilia documenting his 55-year career to his alma mater, the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill.
A native of Mount Airy, Griffith is best known for his role as Sheriff Andy Taylor on "The Andy Griffith Show."He earned a bachelor's degree in music from UNC-Chapel Hill in 1949.
Griffith's personal collection will become part of UNC's Southern Historical Collection, which contains more than 15 million items in 4,900 collections, the school said.
Materials in Griffith's personal collection currently are scattered in locations including Griffith's home in California, according to the University.

Among those things is an original recording of the theme to "The Andy Griffith Show" with the words (yes, there were words) sung by Griffith. The Holabird Advocate has a copy of the original recording that will be pat of a future audio blogcast of "The Jerry Hinkle Program".

Barney Nemec's articles in the last edition of the Holabird Advocate are going over in a big way. Barbara Nemec has suggested that I arrange for the Highmore Herald to reprint what he has done. She also to wanted me to tell Barney to keep it up. I did, and he said he will. He is working on Parts 5 and 6 which will be published by Monday at the earliest. Barney has also consented to have the Herald reprint his articles, but to make sure I get some credit, which is generous. What I have published thus far has been edited slightly. Perhaps Mary Ann at the paper will be more true to the original.

Special to the Holabird Advocate
The first time I'd the pleasure to visit the Big Easy was during the summer of 1996. I only had time for one evening, and it was spent walking from a parking garage, down Canal Street, up and down Bourbon Street, and back to the parking garage with a few gator-heads I purchased along the way. (Alligator parts seem to be in abundance in that town, selling for less than much of the standard crap you find in a tourist shop.) On the way out of town I drove North over Lake Pontchartrain, contrasting from I-10, the route I took into town. Driving into New Orleans on I-10, one simply cannot miss the Superdome sitting incredibly close to the interstate. I was impressed, and had a hard time concentrating on the road, completely unaware of the future chaos in store for the sporting facility. Growing up in central SD, where the Dakotadome of Vermillion impresses most kids, undoubtedly intensified this impressed state of mind. Though I only spent a few hours that first time in New Orleans, I loved it and always planned on returning. Falling in love with the Big Easy is easy, no pun intended, despite the smell.
This past year, a full nine years later, I finally had the opportunity to return to that quaint little French outpost at the mouth of that little stream known as the Mighty Mississippi, and it was a golden one at that. There's a bi-annual international AGU, (American Geophysical Union), conference held in San Francisco every December, and a guest city every May. This past summer the guest city happened to be New Orleans, right down the road from the Bayou City, (Houston). As a graduate student majoring in Physics at the University of Houston, and a registered member of AGU, I was not only able to take advantage of this trip, but finally able to spend more than a few hours. A fellow graduate student and I spent a week lodging in a hotel right on the French Quarter, and walked back and forth to the convention center a few blocks off Canal Street every day. At one point we discussed the fact that if a hurricane of class 4 or greater ever hit New Orleans, the city would be effectively destroyed. At the time, however, we were talking in hypothetical terms. We were talking like one talks of "the big one" hitting California, in earthquake terms. Everyone knows probability dictates this will happen someday, but that "someday" is always an undefined point in the future. It's something everyone knows will happen, but no one ever really expects to happen, so when it finally does occur, everyone is shocked.
Anyway, while spending my week in New Orleans this past summer, I was able to take the most of a day off at one point and spend some real time touring the area, primarily the French Quarter. Despite the smell, (which you get used to), this is a beautiful area that's just as old and quaint as anything New England has to offer. Some of the buildings that survived the great fires of the 1790's date back to the early 1600's. The Louisiana Supreme Court is located here, as well as the French Market and plenty of Voodoo Shops.
Voodoo is deeply ingrained in this area, and must have an effect on people if they spend much time there. Just a few weeks ago, after Katrina bounced off the Florida Keys but before she hit the Gulf Coast, I chatted with a man who moved into our apartments about a month ago. I found out he recently moved from New Orleans because of what a Voodoo Priestess told him after doing the whole Tarot Card "thing" on him. This may seem like something I'm making up, to make my story sound good, but I tell you this is true. As it turns out, this man had owned the second biggest bar on Bourbon Street, an establishment across the street from Crazy Horse Gentleman's club. It was a business he said brought in roughly $150,000+ a month. (By the way, if you ever get the chance to visit this area after the city is rebuilt, make it a point to see more of the French Quarter than just Bourbon Street. Many people do this, like I did the first time, and it's somewhat like going to the State Fair just to see the Midway, instead of carneys, games, rides and puke/cotton candy smell, it's drunks, bars, strip clubs and puke/beer smell. The side streets are the real attractions in the French Quarter of The Big Easy.) Anyway, my new acquaintance told me he was having a "bad feeling" one day, well before Katrina became notorious. Because of his sudden uneasiness, he patronized a fortune telling "expert" of the Voodoo persuasion. She told him something to the effect that disaster lays on the horizon for his business. Because of this, he promptly sold his tavern for 6.5 million and moved to Houston.

Less than a week after he told me his story, Katrina Hit.

At the time the former Bourbon Street bar owner told me his unusual story, Katrina had just been named and was making a few headlines concerning damages and a few lives lost in the Bahamas/Florida area. It wasn"t much more than the typical Hurricane, plenty happen every year. As it made it's way into the Gulf, though, she picked up momentum and started heading directly for New Orleans.
Unfortunately, I wasn't with a television at the time, so I missed the initial broadcasts of the storm as it was actually making landfall. Everyday I was checking the major internet news sites; keeping informed as well as I could electronically. At first the articles spoke of an evacuation in progress, with some people coming as far as Texas. This implied that the hurricane was a bit more powerful than initially thought, but not enough to really cause too much of a panic. After all, it seems there's news of at least one hurricane-related evacuation a year. Katrina continued to pick up even more momentum, and soon the news came of abnormally powerful winds, and people piling into the Superdome for protection. This caught my attention, not only did I know exactly where they were talking of, but I also knew the storm must be pretty serious if they were using the Superdome as an evacuation site.
The next day, Monday the 29th of August, I got news of the roof being ripped off the Superdome. I'm not sure what category it was officially classified as at this point, but I'd guess at least a three or a four. The next day, I heard the first news of the levees breaking. Immediately I thought of the hypothetical conversation I'd had with my classmate earlier in the summer, about how New Orleans would be effectively destroyed if a major hurricane came along and broke the levees.
"This is not good, most of New Orleans is under sea level!!!" I thought, "They're toast, just like the Zeppelin song!"
The famous English heavy metal rock band Led Zeppelin can claim a hit entitled When the Levee Breaks that gives a somewhat disturbing idea of what may result from this kind of catastrophe. The song, however, seems tame after watching the carnage of what happened to New Orleans.
Over the course of the next few days, the storm continued to worsen until it finally passed. New Orleans was completely submerged at one point. The French Quarter is pretty much the highest point of the New Orleans area, and even that is only five feet above sea level. The situation at the Superdome continued to worsen to epidemic proportions until it spilled over into the New Orleans Convention Center, the same building I attended the AGU conference in a few Months earlier. On Thursday, it was the headlining story in the Houston Chronicle, filling twenty pages of print, and there was finally talk of transporting refugees to the Astrodome.
This brings up a continuing low-intensity controversy in the Bayou City area. During and after the construction of Reliant Stadium, people have been arguing about what should be done with the Astrodome. Many believe it should be demolished, many believe it should be saved. I'm personally a part of the later group. I think it should be saved for reasons of antiquity if nothing else. It is, after all, the first dome ever built; it's how the term Astroturf, and even nurf were coined. Now, after Katrina, I don't see how anyone would ever want it destroyed. A big open building like that has all kinds of uses.
Thursday evening news of the Astrodome filling up to capacity was starting to go around. Next to be filled was the reliant center, (not stadium), and then the George R Brown Convention Center downtown. Also about this time I managed to get my television fixed, and I finally saw live and old footage of the resulting devastation, and the storm itself. It was the only thing being covered on virtually every station, and brought back memories of what TV was like during the 9-11 days. For a while there, I almost wished I didn't have television.
I then decided that on Friday, I'd blow off work and do my best to help out with the relief effort. Some of my friends said they would come with me on Saturday, but I decided on Friday I'd test the waters myself. After all, at this point there was no official word on how people could help, and I figured the last thing the relief effort needed were all kinds of extra people standing around getting in the way.

A just finished reading the John Piper article posted on the Holabird Advocate and, boy, did I like it. It was a good post.
However, I still take issue with President Bush (and others) who believe that "both sides ought to be properly taught in the schools. Actually, I don't mind if (intellegent design) is taught in public schools as religion, because that is what it is. What it is not is science. If we decide that it is okay to teach religion as science in public schools, then what is to prevent all children to be taught another religion's teachings someday when Christianity is not the most predominant religion in the U.S. It could happen. Secondly, believing as fact something that cannot be proven (after all, my religious beliefs are based in faith, not proof), especially in science, can have many detrimental effects on the scientific community. I cannot say that I believe that my new drug is the cure for Alzheimers disease if I cannot prove it. This great country of ours has worked well with core academic subjects taught in schools and religion taught in churches in private schools.
Just my two cents. Be well, do good works, and keep in touch.

The Government has put out occurrence's that stress may reduce the occurrence of breast cancer in women. While this may explain why Mary Hinkle has never had breast cancer, it is not a foregone conclusion. For this to be absolute truth, the stress of having breast cancer would cure it at the same time. The best way to be sure is for women to have a mammogram at least once a year and to examine themselves at least once a month. Men can get breast cancer as well (just ask Kenny "the Gambler" Rogers, he's a survivor). Married couples may like to examine each other at least once a month (just a suggestion).

I just wanted to say a few things about this edition of the Holabird Advocate to let you know I'm still here. Barney said his article would be lengthy, still I can't wait for Part 3, or even Part 4 and more if he has it. Whatever he's doing is more than I'm doing. I'm glad he's there, ready, willing and able to help.

Kevin has shown me that he does read the Holabird Advocate, and while he may not agree with all of it's contents, he manages to explain his position without attacking either Mr. Piper and myself. His contributions, like Barney's are welcome anytime.

Not sure where I stand on the whole Stress vs. Cancer study. Just don't anybody tell my dad about it. He'll yell at my mother twice as much, and claim he's saving her life.

You might be interested to know Holabird's own Barney Nemec has been volunteering at the GR Brown Convention Center in Houston, Texas to help out with the refugees. Barney has been living in the Houston area for educational purposes. He ended up helping to put together a make-shift library for them. It was interesting for him to say the least. Barney told out Publisher that if he wanted details he'd come through. He has requested more, and for the time being Barney will be a special correspondent for the Holabird Advocate.

Also the Holabird Church of Universal has decided that they have enough room to take in 3 refugees from Katrina. Rick Warren says that if every church in this country took in 3 refugees, they wouldn't need government help. Mind you accommodations are not as plush as the Salvation Army Shelter in Sioux Falls, but beggars can't be choosy.

We see that Judy Haiwick made it home, and back to work. Also Sydney Goehring and her cousin Melissa Houdek were on opposite sides of a soccer match At the new High School Football Field in Aberdeen. Sydney was on the Home team, Melissa, from Sioux Falls, was the visitor. The home team won by a score of 1-0. Neither of the cousins score a goal.

Well, "Survivor" has come clean with one of their "Twists". It appears that two former players will be back for another go at the game. We are not told who, but it goes to reason that they will have a target on their back from the get-go. We do know that the there is one of each gender. As far as big twists go, it's a disappointment. I still think throwing Jeff Probst in a volcano and having Rupert take over as the host would be the best way to start things off. Either that or at least have the smug Mr. Probst compete in a little challenge to keep his cushy job. Can he "Outwit, Outplay, Outlast"? I wanna find out!

Huron Democrat Ron Volesky, who is thinking about running for Governor next year, says that Governor Rounds should consider temporarily lifting the state gas tax to provide relief from high-priced gasoline. Volesky says lifting the 22-cent-a-gallon tax for 45 days would help people currently suffering at the pump. He says it would take a special legislative session to lift the tax.

All of us at the Holabird Advocate wonder just how much relief that would bring. And why only 45 days. Let';s do it for a whole year. That way, there's none of that pesky road construction to slow us down.

The Professor from South Dakota War College has discovered that there is more to life than politics. After going to The Ditty Bops web site, and checking out their music, he had this to say:

"So, I break down and take some time to actually listen them. And I have to confess, from poking around on their website, I do like the music. Its really good. To me, it sounds like stripped down acoustic rock melded with bluegrass music. Darn you, Jerry. I'm getting hooked on this stuff. Now I have to buy it. (just kidding. Thanks for promoting this group in SD. They're good enough to really go places.)"

Our Publisher, Jerry Hinkle, wonders if Oddjob will put these comments on The Ditty Bops Bulletin Board. In fact, Jerry dares him to. That's one South Dakotan down, about 734,998 to go. If only we could get Bernie Hunhoff to look past the hair color.
Was Hurricane Katrina 'Intelligent Design?'
by John Piper

On his 89th birthday (August 31), NPR Senior News Analyst, Daniel Schorr, observed that President Bush had "staked out a non-position" on the debate between evolution and intelligent design. Bush had said that "both sides ought to be properly taught in the schools of America." Then, with manifest scorn, Schorr linked the devastation of Hurricane Katrina with the concept of intelligent design: "[Bush] might well have reflected that, if this was the result of intelligent design, then the designer has something to answer for."
No, Mr. Schorr, you have something to answer for, not God. God answers to no man. Come, Daniel Schorr, take your place with Job and answer your Maker: "The Lord answered Job [and Daniel Schorr] out of the whirlwind and said: "Who is this that darkens counsel by words without knowledge? Dress for action like a man; I will question you, and you make it known to me. . . . Who shut in the sea with doors when it burst out from the womb, when I made clouds its garment and thick darkness its swaddling band, and prescribed limits for it and set bars and doors, and said, "Thus far shall you come, and no farther, and here shall your proud waves be stayed" (Job 38:1-3, 8-11).
"Who are you, O man, to answer back to God? Shall the pot say to the Potter, "This is an unintelligent way to show your justice and your power? Come, Maker of heaven and earth, sit at my feet. I have lived 89 years and have gotten much wisdom, and I will teach you 'the eternal God' how to govern the universe"?
No. Rather let us put our hands on our mouths and weep both for the perishing and for ourselves who will soon follow. Whatever judgment has fallen, it is we who deserve it, all of us. And whatever mercy is mingled with judgment in New Orleans neither we nor they deserve.
God sent Jesus Christ into the world to save sinners. He did not suffer massive shame and pain because Americans are pretty good people. The magnitude of Christ's suffering is owing to how deeply we deserve Katrina, all of us.
Our guilt in the face of Katrina is not that we can't see the intelligence in God's design, but that we can't see arrogance in our own heart. God will always be guilty of high crimes for those who think they've never committed any.
But God commits no crimes when he brings famine, flood, and pestilence on the earth. "Does disaster come to a city, unless the Lord has done it?" (Amos 3:6). The answer of the prophet is no. God's own testimony is the same: "I form light and create darkness, I make well-being and create calamity, I am the Lord, who does all these things" (Isaiah 45:7).
This will always be ludicrous to those who put the life of man above the glory of God. Until our hearts are broken, not just for the life-destroying misery of human pain, but for the God-insulting rebellion of human sin, we will not see intelligent design in the way God mingles mercy and judgment in this world. But for those who bow before God's sovereign grace and say, "From him and through him and to him are all things. To him be glory forever, they are able to affirm," Oh, the depth of the riches and wisdom and knowledge of God! How unsearchable are his judgments and how inscrutable his ways!" (Romans 11:36, 33). And wisdom is another name for intelligent design.
No, Daniel Schorr, God does not answer to us. We answer to him. And we have only one answer: "Guilty as charged." Every mouth is stopped and the whole world is accountable before God.There is only one hope to escape the flood of God's wrath. It is not the levee of human virtue but the high ground called Calvary. All brokenhearted looters and news analysts and pastors are welcome there.

I was on my way out the door to feed the steers this morning when I came across a rather interesting book that I found hard to put down. It seems that someone around here left their copy of "Your Haiwick Connection" by Greg Myers just laying around. One can tell that Greg spent much time and loving care gathering the information placed inside it. The plot of the book is not much, but the characters all seems familiar to me. Of course they should since they are my relatives, so maybe that has something to do with it. The book is not complete since the story has no end, and parts of the beginning are fuzzy. But unless someone can do a better job, this book is perfect as it is. If you have a Haiwick connection, or know someone who does, this is an absolute "Must Read". Oh, and before any of you should ask, I did get around to feeding the steers, after a while.