Harper Texas Weekly

Harper Texas Weekly

Your mailing address could be here

if you subscribed to this paper

27 December 2013

Only 3 measly quarters

Volume 1 Issue 4 www.HarperTexasWeekly.com

Are you looking for an inexpensive method to advertise your business? - I can show you how for much less than you thought possible

News Flash Effective Immediately.

To make our paper more

affordable to those that

want to stay up to date via

our newspaper, we have

changed the subscription

price to $20.00 per year

and the per issue price to

75 cents.

We will be issuing a refund

to our current subscribers

for the difference in pric-

es.

Obituaries We have had a request to

add a obituary section and

we are more than happy to

do so.

Office Space We have heard you and we

agree that it would be eas-

ier for you to pick up pa-

pers, drop off subscrip-

tions, ads, etc. if we had a

office that you could go

too.

If you know of something

like the old office I used to

have next to the old post

office, and it is available

for sale or lease, I would

be interested in hearing

about it as I too think this

lack of a office has creat-

ed many problems for eve-

rybody, and if you are in

any community in our cov-

erage area and you would

like to have a drop-off lo-

cation at your business,

we will gladly pay a com-

mission for doing so.

Printing

Problems While the cost to print any-

thing on a weekly basis

can be daunting for any

new business, it has been

almost insurmountable for

this paper.

As an example, if we print

locally, we get next day

turn around which is

great, but we have to print

a minimum of 1,000 copies

per issue which is more

than we can afford at this

point in time.

And if we use a printer

similar to the one that we

used for the first issue, it

takes as much as a week

or more to get it back from

the printer, and they do

not offer the paper size

that we would like to use,

but they do make it afford-

able as we can print as

few as 25 copies for about

1/3rd of what it costs to

print locally.

If you look only at the

printing costs, we are

much better off printing

1,000 copies locally.

But, if you look at it from a

operating capital perspec-

tive, than we must go with

the remote printer for now.

Weekly

Paper It has, and always will be

my goal to see the paper

printed on a weekly basis

as a minimum, and eventu-

ally I would like to offer it

on a daily basis.

Many people have sug-

gested that I go to a every

other week schedule, and

for now, I’m going to have

to do so until the adver-

tisements and subscrip-

tions reach a level that will

allow us to resume a week-

ly schedule.

Reporters

Wanted I have been studying how

other papers get people to

write articles for their pa-

per, and I have noticed

that they pay $30.00 to

$50.00 for these articles

depending on whether

they have pictures as well.

If you like to attend com-

munity functions and get

paid to do so by writing

articles about these func-

tions, I would like to talk to

you as I want to see you be

successful, and make a

name for yourself by cov-

ering these events.

Our

Coverage

Area You are probably wonder-

ing why our coverage area

is so big for a Harper

newspaper.

If you host community

events, you may have no-

ticed that your customers

come from all over this

area, and even from areas

that are not on this map.

This is a map of where we

want to place our newspa-

per in stores so that the

people that want to read

about your events in Har-

per can do so without sub-

scribing to the paper.

And we want to make it

easy for you to expand

your business by making

your advertising costs af-

fordable, and your cover-

age area such that you

can grow your business.

We believe that we can do

this best by distributing

our paper to the area cov-

ered on this map.

So, if you have a school

event, or a hunting opera-

tion, or a benefit, or a busi-

ness, or just about any-

thing else, and you want to

get the word out about

your business, I believe

this is the best way and

the most affordable.

The

Longhorn

Express

Amazes me The newspaper business

is new to me and like any-

thing, there is a learning

curve with it.

As I read each issue, it

amazes me what the kids

and their advisors have

accomplished, and I think

to myself that if every com-

munity in America had a

community newspaper

that was run by kids like

these, we would not be

having discussions nation-

wide about how our news-

papers no longer serve the

readers of their communi-

ties.

I study everything I can

get my hands on in respect

to any project that I under-

take, and it amazed me

when I learned that six me-

dia corporations con-

trolled the majority of

news that we receive.

Do you realize that if the

students of each of our

communities in America

were to write the news for

their respective communi-

ties like the kids in Harper

have done, slowly but

surely, the truth would re-

turn to our media that we

want to trust.

Many of you may not un-

derstand what I am at-

tempting to say here, and I

respect that as I too didn’t

realize what was happen-

ing until I could no longer

find software jobs in cor-

porate America and I

spent the last 10 years ed-

ucating myself.

There is a book called

“Into the Buzzsaw: Lead-

ing Journalists Expose the

Myth of a Free Press”

Get you a copy of it, or

once I find a office, you

can stop by and read it at

my office as it is that im-

portant, and I believe that

it is kids like these, and

concerned parents that

will begin to reverse the

trend of corporate media

ownership and start doing

what is right for the citi-

zens of their community

rather than urge you to

vote for Free Trade Agree-

ments that will ultimately

decimate your community.

Bottom line - Support your

local schools media efforts

as it is that important that

they get to the bottom of

the who, what, where, why

and when if you want to

read the truth when you

read the newspaper.

Books While we are on the sub-

ject of books, another one

you should read is “Selling

U.S. Out” by J.R. Martin

If you can’t find it I have

put a link to both books on

our website, and again,

once I have a office you

will be welcome to read

either book at my office.

Help Us Want to see a newspaper

that covers the things that

you enjoy, and the things

that concern you?

Tell us about them via

mail, email, phone, or in

person and we will find a

way to address those is-

sues.

Our Coverage Area

The chart below

and more infor-

mation can be

found at corpora-

tions.org

I have also added

a youtube video to

our website if you

would like to learn

more about this

important subject.

Have you told eve-

rybody about your

business?

You can do it here

if you would like

too.



Second Annual Wounded Warrior Benefit

MARK YOUR CALENDARS MAY 3, 2014 IS OUR SECOND ANNUAL WOUND-

ED WARRIOR BENEFIT, IF YOU HAVE SOMETHING YOU WOULD LIKE TO

DONATE FOR THE AUCTION YOU CAN DROP IT OFF AT HEADWATERS OR

GIVE US A CALL AND WE CAN PICK IT UP 830-864-4055 COME OUT AND

SHOW YOUR SUPPORT AND MEET A GREAT GROUP OF GUYS

Contact Headwaters Saloon for more details...

Second Annual Wounded Warrior Benefit

MARK YOUR CALENDARS MAY 3, 2014 IS OUR SECOND ANNUAL WOUNDED

WARRIOR BENEFIT, IF YOU HAVE SOMETHING YOU WOULD LIKE TO DONATE

FOR THE AUCTION YOU CAN DROP IT OFF AT HEADWATERS OR GIVE US A

CALL AND WE CAN PICK IT UP 830-864-4055 COME OUT AND SHOW YOUR

SUPPORT AND MEET A GREAT GROUP OF GUYS

Contact Headwaters Saloon for more details...

Harper Library and Resale Shop

Welcome to the Harper Library!

Both the library & resale shop are located in the same building

at 23247 West US Hwy 290, Harper, TX 78631

(Mailing address: P O Box 74, Harper, TX 78631)

- Drive through the gate to your library

- Check out the Resale shop for new treasures every day!

Harper Library is open:

Tuesday and Wednesday 9:00 AM to 6:00 PM

Thursday 9:00 AM to 9:00 PM

Friday 10:00 AM to 5:00 PM

Saturday 10:00 AM to 4:00 PM

The Library is not open on Sundays or Mondays

Business meetings are the 3rd Monday of every month, 5:00 PM

Pre-K Story Time every 3rd Wednesday and Thursday, 10:00am .

Summer Reading Club every Thursday in July, 10:00 AM - 12:00

Noon.

Harper Library Resale Shop is open:

Wednesday 10:00 AM to 5:00 PM

Thursday 10:00 AM to 6:00 PM

Friday and Saturday 10:00 AM to 2:00 PM

The Resale Shop is not open on Sundays, Mondays, or Tuesdays.

The Harper Library began in June, 2004, with a letter to the ed-itor in The Harper News. Seven people met in response to the letter. This group and others began meeting monthly to plan and organize for a library. The library opened its doors to the public on April 6, 2006.

The library started in a small house be-hind Dauna's on Hwy. 290. The collection started with donated books from area resi-dents and other li-braries, and soon outgrew the first site and searched to find a new home. We moved to our second

location in Novem-ber, 2006. Along with the move, the library staff converted the entire collection to an automated program allowing patrons to browse the collec-tion, renew and re-serve books from home. Now with our recent move, we are sharing our new building with our Library Resale Shop. The remodel-ing was a fantastic success and the new library is beauti-ful. With 3800 sq. ft. we have room to grow while enjoying the light and space in the new location. When the library

opened the collection included about 4000 books. Now the col-lection totals about 12,500 materials-- books, audio books, videos & DVD's, peri-odicals, and newspa-pers. There is a public meeting room available for lo-cal organizations to reserve. Laptops and WIFI connection are available for public use. In 2011 Harper Li-brary became a mem-ber of the Texas State Library Sys-tem allowing our pa-trons to have access to Inter Library Loans and the 49 TexShare databases for re-search.

Without the grant support from several foundations the li-brary staff would not have been able to grow so successfully. Support also has been very generous from our area land owners and resi-dents. Gillespie Co. now provides some annual funds for op-erations. Many fund raising events have been held in-cluding Music Fests, two home tours, Double B Fire-works Jamborees, Attic Sales, Saturday in the Park, raffles, and many, many book sales. The Harper Li-brary Resale shop was opened in May 2008. Their profits

are a wonderful source of income needed to help fund our operating ex-penses. Summer Reading Programs have been held each July for children since 2005. Annual essay contests for Middle and High School stu-dents are co-sponsored with The Harper News.They also have instituted a "Books on Wheels" program where they deliver books to per-sons unable to drive. Special programs are held throughout the year for our pa-trons.

All of these accom-

plishments have kept

our Library volun-

teers very busy! Yes,

everyone at the li-

brary is a volunteer

and thousands of

hours have been vol-

unteered to make the

Harper Library a vi-

brant and important

part of the Harper ar-

ea. The volunteers at

the Harper Library

are very proud of

their accomplishment

and invite all in the

area to come and en-

joy all the library ser-

vices.



School Board Business

Keep an eye on our weekly calendar here in the

paper and somewhere between the middle of

the month and the end of the month you will no-

tice a school board meeting.

School board agenda’s are released to the pub-

lic 72 hours prior to the meeting.

You can find it on the school website and on the

front door of the Harper Administration build-

ing.

The results of the school board meeting will be

voted on during the next months meeting.

Once they are approved by the school board,

they will be posted on the school website.

Editors Note:

I monitor the school website daily so if you can’t

find a copy, please let me know and I will get

you a copy.

Once I have found a office for the newspaper, I

will also post the weekly calendar for the com-

munity, and a copy of each organizations agen-

da and meeting minutes so that it will make it

easier for you to find everything in one location.

I would like to print them in the paper to give

you sufficient notice, but even with a weekly

paper, a 72 hour notice is not sufficient which

is why I will be posting a copy in the newspaper

office ( hint, hint - If you own one of these aban-

doned looking buildings, we could use a office

for the newspaper )

I am not against creating a daily newspaper if

Harper wants it, but you are going to have to

vote with your dollars by subscribing and ad-

vertising for me to do so.

Do Fund Raisers Benefit Anybody?

These are some of the ones that I’ve recently heard about that were hosted by the Headwaters Saloon...

23 June 2012 - Medical Benefit for Tiffanie Evatt $3,000 +

29 September 2012 - Medical Benefit for Wayne Remington $10,000

26 January 2013 - Wounded Warrior donor appreciation fish fry $700

27 February 2013 - Harper Library $3,671

27 February 2013 - Harper Volunteer Fire Department $3,671

29 April 2013 - Wounded Warrior Benefit $33,000

If you have hosted a fund raiser or are considering hosting one, please tell us about it so that we can tell a lot of people about it...

I think they do - How about you?

What if the unemployment

numbers are wrong?

Keep America At Work www.KeepAmericaAtWork.com



Why are we buying anything from Chi-

na or selling any of our businesses,

property, or other resources to China?

Folks, I believe global

trade is the greatest

thing that has ever been

invented.

But it must be done in a

manner that protects

the people of each coun-

try.

As an example, with a

name like Bierschwale it

should be obvious that I

am of German descent.

It does not bother me

one bit for somebody

from Germany, India,

China, or anywhere to

immigrate here and

build a life for them-

selves because they

want to pursue the

American Dream.

As long as they do their

part to help others to

pursue the American

Dream as well by not

destroying what our an-

cestors have done here

in America.

This is why I believe in

these 3 common sense

rules.

Simply because they

protect the people and

the sovereign state of

each of our countries:

1. It is OK to grow,

raise or manufac-

ture your products

here in America and

sell them to other

countries and the

same applies to

those countries.

2. It is OK to open retail

or manufacturing

branches in other

countries to offset

the shipping prob-

lems as long as you

hire the locals to

work in those coun-

tries.

3. It is NOT OK to put

the people in your

country out of work,

send the growing,

raising or manufac-

turing to another

country and then

import those prod-

ucts back into your

country.

But this China thing that

we are pursuing by al-

lowing them to buy

many of our Aircraft

Parts Manufacturers,

and allowing them to

buy as much of Detroit

as they want has me

worried.

Especially when things

like this are happening

and it is our dollar via

our purchases from the

big box stores that are

making this possible:

-----------------------------

(CNN) -- A U.S. Navy guided missile cruiser took evasive action to avoid colliding with a Chinese warship in the South China Sea in what sources called a highly unusual and deliberate act by China, CNN has learned.

The incident last Friday, which was resolved peacefully, was the lat-est sign of tension around recent and ag-gressive Chinese terri-torial claims in the re-gion involving interna-tional waters and ex-panded airspace.

Vice President Joe Biden last week pressed Beijing over the issue, which stems from a longstanding dispute with Japan that has grown tenser.

Several U.S. military of-ficials confirmed details of the incident on the high seas involving the USS Cowpens, which has just come to light.

The American warship -- which U.S. officials say was in international wa-ters -- was approached by a Chinese Navy ship. The smaller vessel peeled off from a group

of Chinese Navy ships that included the carrier Liaoning.

The Chinese ship failed to stop, despite radio warning from the Cowpens that it was get-ting too close.

The Cowpens command-ing officer then issued orders for an "all stop" when the other ship was less than 500 yards off its bow, a U.S. Navy offi-cial said.

The Chinese ship pro-ceeded past the Cowpens.

"It is unusual to have to

take evasive action at

sea to avoid a collision,"

the official added.

-----------------------------

And when we consider

how China has treated

its own people in their

past, well I have serious

concerns about the path

that we are on in re-

spect to China.

And I believe that any-

time that a Chinese com-

pany attempts to buy a

piece of America, that

we should at least see

where their funds are

coming from.

As an example, how can

a model airplane retailer

afford to buy Mooney

Aircraft?

If their funds are legit,

and they are doing eve-

rything that they can to

build a better future for

America and Ameri-

cans, I have no problem

with that.

But if the funds are be-

ing supplied by the very

same government that is

willing to play chicken

with one of our navy

ships, then yes, I do

have a problem with

that.

Harper Volunteer Fire Department Coverage Area



So you have common sense? I can’t tell you how many

conversations I’ve lis-

tened to over the years

that have ended with the

statement “I have com-

mon sense, that’s why!”

Which makes me wonder.

If you have common

sense, will you believe

your own calculations or

the evening news that you

watch on TV?

How about we do a little

first grade math to see if

you trust your own calcu-

lations or blindly believe

what you hear on TV?

The department of labor

produces a “Labor Force

Participation Rate” report

that shows how many as a

percentage are working

each year.

And the census bureau

produces a population

number.

If we multiply the labor

force participation rate by

the population, we can

get the employed number.

If we subtract the em-

ployed from the popula-

tion, we get the unem-

ployed which includes

retired, students, etc.

If we add up the period

from 1976 to 1996 (good

times), and divide that

number by the number of

years, we get the average

of 84,016,352.

If we subtract that from

the unemployed, we get

the true unemployment

number.

The right two numbers

are my unemployment

calculations shown as a

total and a percent.

What do your calculations

show you?



STEM could be in your children’s future. Like most kids around

here, I grew up working

odd jobs as a carpenters

helper, electricians help-

er, working on windmills,

and hauling hay while day

dreaming about drag rac-

ing.

After leaving this area I

was exposed to the won-

derful world of technology

that was just taking off in

the 1980’s and I rode that

wave for as long as I

could until it suddenly

crashed and burned when

our jobs were sent to oth-

er countries.

I mention all of this so that

you will understand that

I’ve been there, and done

that and I realize that your

children are going to need

to be proficient with tech-

nology because each sub-

sequent wave will be com-

ing faster and faster.

To put it into perspective,

back in the 80’s we had a

major change every six

months, and then ever

month or so, and around

2000 we were starting to

see major technology

changes happening on a

almost daily basis.

For those wondering what

STEM stands for, it is an

acronym for the fields of

study in the categories of

science, technology, engi-

neering, and mathemat-

ics.

In some way, shape, or

form, your kids are going

to see things that you

probably can’t dream of

yet, and they are going to

need to be proficient in

this arena, or at least

comfortable working with

technology in the pursuit

of their daily career field.

So I became curious as to

the make up of our vari-

ous departments at our

school here in Harper,

and I produced the follow-

ing chart showing you the

percentage of employees

per department.

Now you need to take this

with a grain of salt as

many teachers might be

holding down more than

one job if it is anything like

it was when I went to

school back in the 70’s.

But, it does give us a good

idea as to how much of

our school’s attention is

focused on the STEM

fields.

And it provides a

roadmap for those on the

school board, and man-

agement, when they con-

sider increasing the

strength of any particular

department.

So, if you are one of the

stakeholders, or have any

input on the direction that

we are going, feel free to

use this chart if it will help

you.

And for those parents

whose children are at-

tending our great school,

it might give you some

ideas that might possibly

help you draft some sug-

gestions to help with your

children's future if you

choose to do so.



Advertising Prices

Our PO’ Boy ad is a 2 inch by 2 inch ad that will cost you $10.00 each time that you

want to put it in the paper.

Our Working Man ad is a business card ad that will cost you $20.00 each time that you

put in the paper, or you can save money by agreeing to place the ad for a minimum of

four issues which will cost you $12.50 each time that you put it in the paper. You can

pay for it all at once, or you can pay $12.50 before each issue comes out ( by Wednes-

day ).

Our Businessman ad is a quarter page ad that will cost you $170.63 each time that you

put in the paper, or you can save money by agreeing to place the ad for a minimum of


pay for it all at once, or you can pay $50.00 before each issue comes out ( by Wednes-

day ).

Our Big Spender ad is a half page ad that will cost you $341.25 each time that you put

it in the paper, or you can save money by agreeing to place the ad for a minimum of


pay for it all at once, or you can pay $100.00 before each issue comes out ( by

Wednesday ).

Our MR. BIG SPENDER ad is a full page ad with a cost of $682.50 for one time or

$200.00 per issue for four issues using the above terms.

Subscriptions

Name: ____________________________________________________________________________

Address:__________________________________________________________________________

City: ______________________________________________________________________________

State: ____________________________________________________________________________

Zip Code: ________________________________________________________________________

Mail To: Virgil Bierschwale, 288 E. Kroll, Harper, TX 78631

$20.00 per year

Harper Texas Weekly

A weekly newspaper serving Harper

288 E. Kroll, Harper, TX 78631

(830) 377-5729

[email protected]

Editor and Publisher - Virgil Bierschwale

Advertising Director - Position is open

Sales - Position is open

Reporter - Position is open

Sports Editor - Position is open

Harper Texas Weekly is published weekly by Virgil

Bierschwale at 288 E. Kroll, Harper, TX 78631.

Postmaster: Send address changes to Harper Texas

Weekly, 288 E. Kroll, Harper, Texas 78631

Annual Subscription Rate: $20.00

Any erroneous reflection upon the character or

standing of any person or firm appearing in these

columns will be gladly and promptly corrected upon

calling the attention of the management to the article

in question.

The publishers liability for errors or omissions in con-

nection with an advertisement is strictly limited to

publication of the advertisement in any subsequent

issue or the refund of any monies paid for the adver-

tisement.

For those willing to take a chance on this new publication that are looking for the biggest bang for their advertis-

ing buck, I am willing to offer them a special discount price for a term of 1 year to help jumpstart their business

and this business

Our Working Man ad would normally cost you $650 per year and you can purchase it for $325

Our Businessman ad would normally cost you $2,600 per year and you can purchase it for $1,300

Help us to grow by subscribing, advertising and

telling your friends and neighbors about us, and

if you are the type that is interested in such, by

writing for us and helping us to sell subscrip-

tions and advertisements.

Help Wanted

Commissioned Sales Rep in Harper and Sur-

rounding towns to sell advertisements and sub-

scriptions - 20% Commission

Email Virgil at [email protected]

or call (830) 377-5729

Help Wanted

Do you love attending school events?

Would you like to get paid to do so?


or call (830) 377-5729

Help Wanted

Do you love attending community events?

Would you like to get paid to do so?


or call (830) 377-5729

Office Wanted

It would be easier for people to do business with

us and drop things off if I could find affordable

office space in Harper and the Surrounding

Towns.


or call (830) 377-5729 if you have one available.

bathtubs wanted for

garden beds - Virgil

(830) 377-5729 or

[email protected]

==========

Old Time Trading Post

$5.00 per ad and they remain until you ask us to remove them

Barter, Wanted, and For Sale ads only

Help Wanted and other type ads such as hunt-

ing leases, leases wanted, services offered.

$10.00 per ad per issue

If you have a business that

sells products or services

or you make a living off of

the hunting industry in the

area that is shown by this

map, you really need to be

advertising in this paper...

Harper Texas Weekly

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Transcript of Harper Texas Weekly