April 2006

Also available in Acrobat PDF Format

Denton Voter                             

The League of Women Voters, Denton, Texas, est. 1961

April 2006

Sue Smith, President
Ken Ferstl, Editor
P. O. Box 424945 TWU Station
Denton, TX  76204
www.lwvdenton.org

REPORT OF THE NOMINATING COMMITTEE
For Officers of LWV-Denton

Program Vice President – Peg La Point
Community Relations Vice President –
Treasurer – Ann MacMillan
Director – Sondra Ferstl
Nominating Committee Chair – Judy Giese
Members of Nominating Committee – Dale Conway and Sarah McIntire

All nominations are for a term of two years except for the chair and members of the nominating committee who serve for one year.

Rosemary Witmer, Chair
Nominating Committee 2005-2006

PROPOSED CONCURRENCE ON REDUCING DOMESTIC VIOLENCE
To be presented to the LWV-Denton at Annual Meeting
April 29, 2006

Proposed Concurrence:
The League of Women Voters of Denton supports adequately funded programs in Denton to reduce the incidence of domestic violence and to alleviate its effects.

Rationale:
Although the local League has been a proponent and supporter of state and local programs to reduce the incidence of domestic violence, there is no statement in our local program. It is recognized that there is a problem with domestic violence at the local level also, and the Denton League may, at times, want to address the issue.
The committee has recommended, and the Board has approved, that a statement be added to our local program affirming the state position on domestic violence. Please refer to pp. 20-21 of the LWV-Denton handbook.

We propose to add a section F under " SOCIAL POLICY/HUMAN RESOURCES: Support of:"

This proposal is submitted by the Domestic Violence Study Committee: Jean Aboul-Ela, Maggie Dodd, Gladys Maynard, and Marilyn Smith.

LEAGUE OF WOMEN VOTERS OF DENTON
Proposed Budget
6/1/06 – 5/31/07

*NOTES

League of Women Voters of Denton, Texas Annual Meeting April 16, 2005

The Annual Meeting of the League of Women Voters of Denton held at the home of Jean Aboul-Ela, 1015 Ridgecrest Circle, Denton. President Sue Smith called the meeting to order at 9:35 a.m. Jean Aboul-Ela and Marilyn Smith were thanked for their preparations for this annual event. Guest Erin DeGenero was introduced. Dorothy Adkins was named Parliamentarian; Pat Cheek and Duane Kraeger were appointed Tellers. Fourteen members were present, which constituted a quorum. The rules of the day were adopted. (Only members may address the body and vote. Speakers will limit their comments to two minutes. No member may speak a second time until all who wish to speak have spoken.)

Ann MacMillan presented the Treasurer’s Report for 6-01-04 through 5-31-05. She noted that we have spent little in general supplies. The PMP for both State and national have been paid in full. This was an expensive year for Voters Service due to the number of elections. The balance in the Ed Fund is $674.96. To date $352.40 has been requested from the fund to cover Voters Service activities. The Ed Fund has also been used for partial payment of PMP. Six weeks remain in this fiscal year. Sarah McIntire moved acceptance of the Treasurer’s Report. Motion seconded by Sondra Ferstl.

Minutes of the 2004 Annual Meeting were reviews by the Board and are available for review by members.

Sue Smith presented the President’s Report. Peg LaPoint was recognized for arranging a variety of programs during the year. Topics were Drug Abuse in Denton County, Hazardous Household Waste Recycling, Corporate Marketing in Denton Independent School District, City of Denton and Denton Independent School District Bond Elections, Open Spaces, Health Advocacy Training, and Denton County Transit Authority. Voters Service was decidedly active this year. Sondra Ferstl spoke to and registered students at North Central Texas College, spoke with members of the University of North Texas Chi Omega sorority. She also spoke to high school students in Sanger and Little Elm. Sue Smith spoke to McMath Middle School Junior Honor Society students. Voters Guides for the general election were distributed throughout Denton County. A Voters Guide for contested races in local elections was published.

Marilyn Smith presented the proposed budget for 2005-2006 as published in the March 2005 VOTER. It was observed that local dues have remained unchanged. A difference in allocations for National Convention 2004-2005 at $700 and 2005-2006 at $329 was noted. Additional expenses will come out of the 2006-2007 budget. Contributions by members for 2005-2006 were $2000 which is a $500 increase over the previous year. Some monies from the Ed Fund will be used to meet PMP.

Peg LaPoint encouraged input for local programs. Jean Aboul-Ela suggested “Measures Against Family Violence” be considered. Friends of the Family might be consulted concerning local efforts to contain domestic violence. Pat Cheek recommended inviting Opening Doors Immigration Services to introduce its program. The Board of Directors will meet in August to decide programs for the 2005-2006 year.

The proposed new study “Public Library System Funding in Denton” as outlined in the March 2005 VOTER was present by Ken Ferstl. The LWV-Tyler will be contacted regarding their study. Peg LaPoint proposed adoption of current programs and the proposed new study.

Don Alexander, Denton County Elections Administrator was the recipient of the Little Old Lady in Tennis Shoes award. Mr. Alexander outlined the great demand for voter registration during the presidential election. 326,000 voters were registered with some sites registering 1,000 a day. Denton County did not run out of ballots. Provisional ballots were largely rejected because the voters were not registered. Total cost of the election was $345,000. Mr. Alexander spoke of purchasing 140-750 eSlate machines that satisfy state and federal guidelines for handicapped voter accessibility. No paper copy would be available. He is investigating touch screen voting machines.

Sarah McIntire presented the Report of the Nominating Committee. The proposed slate of officers are Sue Smith, President; Linnie McAdams, Organization Vice President; Maggie Dodd, Secretary; Ken Ferstl and Jean Aboul-Ela, Directors; each for two year terms; Nominating Committee, Rosemary Witmer as Chair with Dorothy Adkins and Marilyn Smith as committee members for one year term each.

Benny Parkey, Sheriff of Denton County was our featured speaker. He noted that 63% of those incarcerated in Denton County are because of drug and/or alcohol abuse. Methamphetamine is the current drug of choice. DARE is attempting to reach students. Recidivism is enormous. Judges can order required attendance at rehabilitation sites with peer groups or with a licensed counselor. Drug use is a problem, which has accelerated due to lack of parental guidance.

Marilyn Smith moved adoption of local dues structure as presented in the March 2005 VOTER. Members unanimously voted to adopt the proposed dues, budget, current program and the proposed new study. The slate of nominees, as presented by the Nominating Committee, was unanimously approved.

Peg LaPoint moved adjournment of the meeting and was seconded by Ken Ferstl. The meeting was adjourned at 12:35 p.m.

Respectfully submitted,
Maggie Dodd, LWV-Denton Secretary

League of Women Voters of Denton
P.O. Box 424945 TWU Station
Denton, Texas 76204