Coupland Civic Organization's Christmas Party

The CCO enjoyed music from Coupland School students at its meeting on December 13. Thanks to Superintendent Gary Chandler and music director George McAdams for bringing the advanced Middle School guitar students, the kindergarten-second grade choir, and the third grade flutophone group. Mr. McAdams, who has taught science and music at Coupland School for several years, is retiring at the end of this semester. The CCO thanks him for bringing his students to the Coupland Christmas gathering for the past several years. We will miss him! Also, thank you to CCO Hospitality Co-Chairs Ruby Wabbel and Dottie Hahn for the Christmas cookies and punch.

The CCO’s Country Cookin’ cookbook has been reprinted and is available at CCO meetings and from President Barbara Piper, 856-2635. It is available in Taylor at Moss & Moss True Value.

Coupland's November cooking class

The CCO extends a big thank-you to Coupland’s Master Chef Peter Wabbel, wife Ruby, and son Torsten for hosting the final cooking class of the year on November 12, with seventeen attendees. Peter demonstrated how to prepare and then served dishes such as lump crab cakes, pumpkin cream soup, beef tenderloin a la bourguignon, loin of veal with sauce aux champignon blanche, and the piece de resistance—baked Alaska garnished with sparklers. The cooking classes, which are CCO fundraisers, will resume in spring of 2012.

Coupland Halloween Party

The CCO held the annual community Halloween party on Halloween evening, featuring games, treats, and costumes at the historic Depot. Both kids and adults enjoyed a safe and fun celebration. Thanks to the Hospitality Committee, co-chaired by Ruby Wabbel and Dottie Hahn, for delicious refreshments and for expertly decorating the Depot in a Halloween motif—spooky, but not too scary for the little ones. Also at the party, the Coupland Incorporation Committee gathered signatures on the incorporation petition.

Coupland Civic Organization displays local artists on Sept. 26

The Coupland Civic Organization is having a meeting on Monday, September 26, where we will have displays of the work of Coupland artists, and the artists will be present to discuss their work. The meeting will be in the fellowship hall of St. Peter's Chuch of Coupland. Refreshments will be served at 6:30 p.m., with brief announcements at 7, followed by the display of Coupland artists.

Coupland Incorporation Committee holds community-wide yard sale Sept. 24

The Coupland Incorporation Committee (CIC) is holding a community-wide yard sale on Saturday, September 24, from 8 a.m.--?, at the historic Depot in downtown Coupland.
Community members have donated a wide array of items for this CIC fundraiser. Items range from antiques, collectibles, and crafts to clothing, furniture, tools, and electronics. There also will be a bake sale.
Breakfast tacos, sausage wraps, and drinks will be available. All funds raised will be used by the CIC to defray the costs associated with the process of incorporating Coupland.

Perry's Trans-Texas Corridor: Will it continue to be an issue?

Paul Burka has an interesting post asking if Gov. Perry will flip-flop on the Trans-Texas Corridor.

http://www.texasmonthly.com/blogs/burkablog/?p=11103

Burka writes, "Like gay marriage and parental rights, the taking of private property by government is a huge issue with Republican voters. As originally conceived by Ric Williamson, and enthusiastically supported by Perry, the Corridor was a series of toll roads, each with a footprint a quarter of a mile wide, condemning millions of acres of pristine countryside, that would be built and controlled by Cintra, a foreign corporation. The right-of-way would include power lines, pipelines, and high-speed rail lines."

He also notes that some elements of the Corridor are being built individually. "[H]e goofed when he bought into Williamson’s vision of a giant network of toll roads (many of which are being built as I write.)"

See Burka's post and the comments for an update of the Corridor that never quite goes away.

HB 1201 to totally repeal TTC becomes law

A bill to totally remove the authority to create the Trans-Texas Corridor (TTC) finally passed in the last regular session of the Legislature and was signed by the governor. HB 1201 was authored by Republican Representative Lois Kolkhorst, a long-time opponent of the TTC. The bill was described as “Relating to repeal of authority for the establishment and operation of the Trans-Texas Corridor.”

HB 1201 was passed by the House and Senate in May, was signed by the governor on June 17, and was effective immediately. During the years of attempts to implement the Corridor, the Coupland area was threatened by plans for the Corridor route. Now, Gov. Perry, who created the TTC and described it as his “vision,” has signed the bill to completely take all references to it out of Texas statutes. If proponents ever want to revive the TTC, they will have to start from scratch; they will not be able to use existing authority.

HB 1201 to remove TTC from all statutes moves to Senate

As reported in the San Antonio Express-News by Gary Scharrer http://blog.mysanantonio.com/texas-politics/2011/04/house-moves-to-kill-the-dead-trans-texas-corridor/ "House moves to kill the dead Trans Texas Corridor" HB 1201 by Lois Kolkhorst has passed the House and moves on to the Senate. HB 1201 will remove all references to the Trans-Texas Corridor in state statutes. Scharrer notes, "The Texas Trans Corridor remains a controversial legacy of Gov. Rick Perry. Widespread opposition by landowners and others upset about foreign ownership of state highways doomed the massive project that was authorized in 2003. Perry pushed the plan, which included a large network of tolled highways, dedicated lanes for trucks, railways, and rights of way for utilities." Rep. Lois Kolkhorst, R-Brenham, said, “As our state grows in population, we are facing a pressing need for a more modern, more efficient network of roads and highways to move people and goods. We do not, however, need the Trans-Texas Corridor, and I thank Speaker (Joe) Straus and my colleagues in the Texas House for working with me to repeal the Trans-Texas Corridor from state law.” “So today is a true milestone. With Trans-Texas Corridor completely repealed, I look forward to more responsible transportation debates to keep goods and people moving in and around Texas,” Kolkhorst said. Rep. Linda Harper-Brown, R-Irving, co-author of the legislation, said: ”The Trans-Texas Corridor was too unwieldy, too expensive, and would have taken too much private property."

Coupland Incorporation Committee will meet April 18

From Susan Schmidt on Coupland Incorporation Committee: The Coupland Incorporation Committee met on Monday, March 21, at the Coupland Depot. Thanks to Tony Prete of Waeltz & Prete, Inc., Civil Engineers, the committee studied the first draft of a map encompassing the two square miles of surface area. After much discussion, the map was revised to include more people who wish to be part of Coupland. This is probably the first of many revisions. Also discussed was the need to inform residents of the Coupland community about the advantages of becoming an incorporated entity as opposed to being a part of another city. This will be our next priority. Another meeting will be held on April 18, 7 p.m., Coupland Depot. We encourage anyone who is interested in this topic to attend.

Totally wiping the Trans-Texas Corridor off the books

Two bills calling for absolutely repealing the statutory authority to establish the Trans-Texas Corridor are making their way through this session of the Legislature. The Senate Bill 565 by Hegar is scheduled for a public hearing on March 31. House Bill 1201 by Representative Lois Kolkhorst has already been reported favorably out of committee and sent to Calendars. Hopefully, good opportunities to remove the Trans-Texas Corridor from Texas statute once and for all!

First mayor of Volente advises Coupland to incorporate

Thanks to former Volente Mayor Jan Winawine for speaking to the Coupland Civic Organization on Feb. 28. He gave an interesting and entertaining account of Volente's path to incorporation. Volente's incorporation preserved the community, and he advised Coupland residents to incorporate in order to save their community also. Thanks to Tricia Rosetty, Taylor Daily Press, for her informative report of the meeting.

http://taylordailypress.net/news/coupland/article_192bde92-4528-11e0-86ce-001cc4c002e0.html

Coupland news in Taylor Daily Press

The latest news from Coupland:

http://taylordailypress.net/lifestyles/article_98916dfa-4131-11e0-b6e8-001cc4c002e0.html

January Herald Is Out; CCO January Meeting

The January Coupland Herald newsletter is out. To get a copy, please email me at susan_garry@hotmail.com.

The Coupland Civic Organization’s January meeting is the official general meeting to elect directors for the three open places on the board. The meeting will be Monday, January 31, in St. Peter’s Church Fellowship Hall. Come for refreshments at 6:30 p.m. The meeting will begin at 7 p.m.

Coupland Incorporation Committee

First report from the new Coupland Incorporation Committee, from Susan Schmidt in the January Coupland Herald:

The Coupland Incorporation Committee met on Monday, November 29. Members of the committee attending the meeting were Becky Sutton, Jack Piper, Jim Huntington, Luther Draehn, Karen Marosko, Charley Keating, Carey Franklin, and Chair Susan Schmidt.

Many topics were discussed, with more questions than answers. The highest priority at this point is having the correct number of people needed for incorporation within the two-mile radius.

The next meeting, slated for January 10, is being rescheduled due to scheduling conflicts experienced by several committee members. Anyone wishing to join this committee is more than welcome. Please call Susan Schmidt at 856-2588 for the next meeting date.