Mineola Buzz

APET SPCA has kicked off its annual Membership drive with an expanded number of local merchants offering discounts and a challenge contest (see below).  We now have 24 merchants who have graciously offered discounts to Members who shop their establishments.  See the enclosed for a listing of all the merchants and their discount offers.

Our Membership drive is one of the ways we raise funds to help our operations (remember, APET SPCA is run totally by volunteers, so no funds are used for compensation).  Over the past two years our program has spayed/neutered approximately 3,000 animals which helped avoid the potential of many thousands of unwanted animals.  APET pays the majority of the vet fees while the cost to the owner is minimal and includes a rabies shot and pain medications to take home after the surgery.  We also sponsor semi-annual low cost chip and inoculation clinics held in Winnsboro and Mineola. In 2009 we held two clinics and administered over 450 inoculations.

But there is much more work to be done!  In addition to continuing our low cost spay & neuter programs and our inoculation clinics, we would like to expand into responsible pet ownership education in local schools, work with city and county officials to address animal control issues (animal dumping is a major problem in the area) and continue to educate our citizens through public speaking engagements and participation in local events.  And…We are getting closer to the reality of our APET SPCA shelter.  We already own the land and are continuing to raise funds as we explore options available. 

Take The APET Challenge – Win A Prize:

This year we are adding an exciting challenge to our program offering prizes to those who bring in the most new Members.  Rules for this challenge are simple:  1) You must be a 2010 Member to receive credit for bringing in a NEW 2010 Member; 2) The new Member must indicate your name on their Referral Membership form; 3) Referred Membership forms must be received and paid no later than March 31, 2010; 4) APET will notify prize winners in early April.

First Prize:              $100 Credit Card / Gift Card

Second prize:        $  50 Credit Card / Gift Card

Third Prize:            $  25 Credit Card / Gift Card

We need your help.  Please join us in helping make our community a better place for all to live and in our goal to give every healthy unwanted animal a forever home…and a New Leash On Life.

To join APET SPCA please print and mail the below enrollment form to APET SPCA PO Box 381 Mineola, TX 75773 or call 903-569-2332.

APET SPCA 2010 Membership Discounts

We wish to thank the following merchants for their gracious support of APET SPCA and their offer to our Members.  Please visit and support their establishments.  Also check for the latest Membership information by visiting our Doggone Good Stuff Thrift store located at 915 S. Pacific Street in Mineola or go to www.APETSPCA.org

APET SPCA 2010 MEMBERSHIP ENROLLMENT

Referred By APET Member:                                                                

I would like to support APET SPCA (PO Box 381 Mineola Texas 75773).  Enclosed is my tax deductible donation as follows (Membership Card will be sent upon receipt of donation):

□ Personal 2010 Membership (minimum donation $25)

□ Business 2010 Membership (minimum donation $50)

 Name:                                                                                                                                                            

Street Address:                                                                                                                                               

City:                                                                 State:                            

Zip:                                                     

Phone:                                                               Email:                                                             

NOTE: Addresses and email addresses are never shared outside APET SPCA

□ I do not wish to be a Member at this time but would like to donate $                   to this worthy cause.

The first Mineola Gypsy Market was a screaming success and the second one is well underway in the planning stages. We have two messages for this post.

1. Please come out to the Mineola Gypsy Market on April 17th and have a great time. There will be food, music, arts & crafts and fun for everyone. Admission is FREE and so is parking.

2. If you work somewhere that has a newsletter, magazine or any other type of publication that is relevant to East Texas, please download and distribute our Gypsy Market Press Kit. It is a simple PDF file that you can download and print or forward via email.

We are working hard to get the word out for this great event. Anything you can do to help us is greatly appreciated.

Thanks

This is not an article in support of or against any Gubernatorial candidate. The purpose of this is to elicit information on the candidates in this election. I have not participated in a Texas Gubernatorial election since I have only lived here for a few years, so this is more of a fact-finding mission for me.
Feel free to add anything you wish, but let’s not make this a campaign spot.

As of 1/14/2010, the candidates are:

• Rick Perry (R) - incumbent
• Felix Alvarado (D)
• Kay Bailey Hutchison
• Debra Medina (R)
• Farouk Shami (D)
• Bill White (D)

I have taken 5 minutes to look at the web site of each candidate and below are my cursory findings. I limited this to 5 minutes each and I will go in the order that the candidates are listed above, which is the incumbent first, then the rest in alphabetical order by last name. I am not getting so deep in the issues as I am in the candidate’s ability to communicate ideas, goals and their execution plan to attain such goals.

Rick Perry
First off, his web site is in the style of a blog, which makes it hard to read his stand on issues without weeding through debate information and other posts irrelevant to the information I am seeking. He is apparently proud of his new commercial that boasts of him vetoing $3 billion in spending. Some spending is necessary. What was this $3 billion he vetoed? Was it for roads and schools or was it for things we can do without?
I click the “Health Care” link and 2/3 of the page shows individuals and groups who have endorsed the governor for re-election. This shows me a lack of ability to concentrate on an issue and being focused more on getting re-elected. If I write a paper for my 10th grade English class on Alaskan Sled Dogs and 2/3 of that paper is about how beautiful the mountains of Alaska are, I expect a very low grade on that paper.
This web site is not searchable.

Felix Alvaredo
My first impression is that I see a list of issues, and a definition of the problem and short and long-range solutions to most issues. As an online marketing person, I would suggest that he lose the PDF format and do this in HTML, but that’s not really relevant to my purpose here.
This candidate is retired from the military and is a teacher, both are pluses in my book.
A HUGE mark against this candidate is that the word “Calendar” is misused all over his web site. This makes me wonder of his ability to hire competent people. While it is not an incorrect word, a calender and a calendar are two completely different things. Am I nit-picky? You bet I am!
This site is not searchable.

Kay Bailey Hutchison
Upon entering her site, I see a huge negative ‘Anti Trans-Texas Corridor” ad. This candidate is, again, more interested in telling us who to elect than telling us why we should elect her. On taxes and the economy, from the ‘Issues’ page, we get two sentences telling us how it should be with no plan of action whatsoever. Where’s the beef??
This candidate’s “Join”, “Connect” and “Contribute” sections take up all of the valuable real estate on her web site, again making me question her motives.
No mention of health care on her web site that I can see. No search box!! This is getting annoying.

Debra Medina
This is the best laid-out site so far.
Two sentences on Healthcare. We need to eliminate state mandates and have only free market healthcare. Would that be eliminating state mandates like proper disposal of used needles etc. or does that mean something else. Again, government plays a role in making sure we do not contract HIV when we go to a hospital. Does that role need to go away? More information please!
“I will make addressing illegal immigration and promoting sovereignty a top priority.” How?? Please tell us!
This web site also lacks a search box. Why?

Farouk Shami
The lack of a searchable web site for these candidates is starting to urk me. Why would they not allow voters to stop in on their site and search for a key word or phrase?
This candidate gives a decent explanation of the problems facing Texas, but again fails to show any details of execution of his plan(s) to remedy these problems.
His web site does seem positive and less of a guide telling me what to do, but it lacks they ‘why to do it’ part.
The fact that this candidate must dedicate a page to explain his religious beliefs is sad, but I suppose it is a sign of the times.

Bill White
The former Houston mayor, this candidate offers the best action plan so far on Healthcare and other issues. Even though it is not up to what I think should be posted, it is more than any two of the candidates above combined.
STILL NO SEARCHABILITY!!!!
A headline on the “Bill In the News” tab on the home page reads “The Texas governor’s race: White v right” YIKES!! Careful here big boy. I know what you mean, but this is a possible short-fused bomb that can cause you lots of problems. Perhaps this is a lack of ability to keep from causing himself big problems, even if it is only a matter of interpretation.

So…what did I get out of this nearly hour-long exercise? I got one thing for sure. ALL of these candidates want us to read only what they want us to read. It seems that none of them are willing to let us cut straight to the meat of their beliefs and claims without having to sort through election rhetoric and babble.

This has not really helped me much at all, so I will now hope that I get some real feedback on this effort and not just a bunch of accusations or party-line rhetoric.

This article is also posted on our Facebook page.

LCT will present The Nerd next weekend. This is the first production of  the 2010 season at the all new Lindale Community Theater.

This comedy focuses around the character of Willum, who has an old Army buddy drop in for a visit. The old buddy apparently saved Willum’s life, so Willum is forever indebted to him and will do anything possible to accommodate him.

The buddy brings with him anything but what might be considered ‘the norm’ and hilarity ensues.

The show is directed by Tim Mitchiner, founder of the Lindale Community Theater. The cast of this show is:

• Mark Ussery
• Ben Patrick
• Kimberlee Martin
• Justin Purser
• Jeff Mitchiner
• Judi Svolto
• Jacob Hays

LCT is located in the Holy Family Church Center on Henry Street, one block south of Hubbard in Lindale.

I got a prescription filled last month at the local store of the world’s largest retailer, you know who I am talking about. It is a prescription for generic Ambien, a sleep aid called Zolpidim (which, for my use, is great stuff). The world’s largest retailer charged me $50.78 for 30, 10mg pills. When I told my doctor this, she nearly fainted and told me that that prescription should cost less than half of that.

When it came time to get it filled this month, I did some shopping and was simply shocked at what I found. How is this for a price comparison for an identical prescription in Mineola, Texas:

• World’s Largest Retailer - $50.78
• Medicine Chest Pharmacy - $20.37
• Kelly  Drug - $10

So I guess the lesson here is that the national guys are not always cheaper. Their service isn’t any better, or worse for that matter, than a locally-owned business. So the next time you need a prescription, don’t listen to the million dollar TV ads and default to going where you are programmed to think you are going to get the best deal. Spend a minute or two comparing and you might just realize that the best deal is right here at home at your locally-owned pharmacy. After all, someone has to pay for those million-dollar TV ads. So many times the perception is that the national chains buy in huge quantity so their prices are always lower. Maybe so on socks, maybe not. Certainly not on prescription drugs, not this particular prescription anyway.

Kelly Drug Store
125 East Broad Street
Mineola, TX 75773-2001
(903) 569-3882

Medicine Chest Mineola - www.medicinechestrx.com
1616 North Pacific Street
Mineola, TX 75773-1034
(903) 569-5343

This is not a paid endorsement. I have no connection with any of the businesses listed in this article other than being a consumer. Consult your doctor before taking any drug. Keep all drugs out of the reach of children. Look both ways before crossing the street.

The MEDT is sponsoring a seminar on developing a business plan for anyone who has ever had a good idea but might not be sure of just how to develop it and see it through.

Jim Albriton, SCORE Counselor, will be presenting the process of taking your idea from zero to completion in three parts:

• Developing the idea
• Making a business plan
• Presenting your plan to potential investors

The presentation is Thursday, February 11, 2010 at Mineola City Hall and is in conjunction with the Mineola Innovation Fair to be held in Aril of 2010. For more information, please read the flyer about this program or call Jim Albriton at (903) 850-6300 or Wayne Cosby at (903) 266-0815.

40% Off on this Heavy Denim Jacket. Now just $17.40

We are pleased to announce the opening of our space at Uniques & Antiques in Mineola, Texas. In celebration of this, we are offering 40% OFF of our entire line of apparel and accessories.

This includes a very nice denim jacket that sells really well for us online. This jacket is a bargain at $29, but it is now 40% OFF so you can buy it locally for only $17.40. It is available in sizes from small to XXL and in the darker or the lighter denim color. All other merchandise in our booth is also on sale at 40% off, but this won’t last forever, so come on out.

• Heavy 14 oz. Washed Denim
• Button Front Closure
• Button Cuffs
• Button Down Chest Pockets
• Front Slash Pockets
• Available in sizes Small, Medium, Large, X-Large and XX-Large

This price is good at the Uniques & Antiques location only and is not valid at any of our online locations.

Stop by Uniques & Antiques at 124 South Line St in Mineola today and check this deal out. Be sure to take a look at the rest of the items in our booth, all at 40% OFF during our opening promotion.

This year’s Christmas parade was December 5th. The parade was narrated by Charlotte Hall, manager of the Mineola Civic Center. The parade is sponsored by the Mineola Chamber of Commerce.

Part One:

Part Two:

Would you like a copy of this video on DVD? Click below to purchase a copy for only $14.95.

In the early morning hours of November, 25, 2009, the Magnolia House in Mineola burned. The 100+ year old landmark appears to be a total structural loss.

This is actually the second time this house has burned. Hopefully it can be rebuilt and will continue to stand as a landmark for the next hundred years. If not, we urge the city and the people of Mineola to do whatever is needed to preserve the two huge, 115-120 year-old Magnolia trees that gave the house its name. These trees are believed to be some of, if not the, largest Magnolia trees in existence. It would be a shame for the trees to be removed for any reason at all.

The house was unoccupied and nobody is known to have been injured in the fire.

Related link and more on the history of the Magnolia House: Magnolia House Restaurant
Photos: NealDuncan.com