Friday, January 16, 1998

Mighty busy time at boll weevil office nowadays

By J.T. Smith / Abilene Reporter-News

To say the Boll Weevil Eradication Program is buzzing with activity right now would be an understatement.

The Texas Department of Agriculture will hold a bunch of meetings to answer questions regarding the program referendum that is upcoming in the 22-county Rolling Plains Central (RPC) zone. A referendum has been scheduled for Feb. 27 to determine whether a Boll Weevil Eradication Program should continue in the big RPC zone.

Cotton growers in the zone already approved weevil eradication work in 1994 that would be funded by a maximum assessment of $10 per land-acre in the program.

If the program is retained, that assessment rate will remain unchanged.

On the other hand, if growers voted not to continue the program in the zone, the assessments would continue annually until the zone's debt is paid.

In addition, growers will elect a board member from the zone to serve on the statewide board of the Texas Boll Weevil Eradication Foundation, Inc., (TBWEF) which has its state headquarters office in Abilene.

Counties in the RPC zone are: Baylor, Callahan, Comanche, Eastland, Erath, Fisher, Haskell, Jones, Knox, Mitchell, Nolan, Palo Pinto, Scurry, Shackelford, Stephens, Stonewall, Throckmorton, Young and parts of Arhcer, Borden, Brown and Taylor.

A quick look at upcoming weevil meetings

Here's a glance at weevil program meetings that are slated:

-- Jan. 20. Seymour. Cliff Styles Activity Center at 8:30 a.m.

Rhineland. Knights of Columbus Hall, 10:30 am.

Haskell. First National Bank Community Room, 1:30 p.m.

Anson. Jones County Fairgrounds Women's Building. 3:30 p.m.

Abilene. West Texas Farigrounds (Expo Center) Display Building. 5:30 p.m.

-- Jan 21. Loraine. Von Roeder Seed Company on North Main. 1:30 p.m.

Inadale. Inadale Community Center. 3:30 p.m.

Roscoe. Roscoe Community Center 100 Bois d'Arc. 5:30 p.m.

-- Jan. 22. Roby. Roby Extension Annex. Highway 70 North. 8:30 a.m.

Aspermont. Apsermont Community Center, 11 a.m.

Woodson. Woodson Lodge Highway 183 North, 1:30 p.m.

Olney. Olney Civic Center, 4 p.m.

-- Jan. 23. Gorman. Gorman Senior Citizen's Center. 9:30 a.m.

TDA to mail ballots for another zone vote

As if all that's not enough, cotton farmers and landowners with cotton production in the 9-county Southern Rolling Plains zone will vote on Feb. 2 on whether to continue the weevil program in that zone.

Eligible voters in the zone should have received a ballot during this week. If you didn't, you can contact the TDA at (512) 463-7593.

A postage-paid return envelope has been included.

Completed ballots must be postmarked before midnight Feb. 2 to be counted.

That zone also will elect a board member to represent the SRP on the TBWEF.

Kenneth Gully of Concho Couty will appear on the ballot as a board nominee. Gully is a longtime cotton grower at Eola.

Growers in that zone first approved a boll weevil eradication program in 1994.

Corrects constitutional problem

Both these referendums are a result of legislation to correct the program's constitutional problem cited by the Texas Supreme Court last year.

Under the new structure to satisfy constitutional muster, the TBWEF in Abilene continues to carry out the state program, while TDA -- as a state agency -- has the responsibility of handling elections, assessment votes and supervising eradication programs in each zone. TDA's responsibilities also include appointing an advisory committee for each zone.

SRP zone counties are Coke, Coleman, Concho, Irion, McCulloch, Runnels, Schleicher, Tom Green and the extreme southern part of Taylor County.