TITLE: Recognizing February 5, 2013, as Howard County Day at the State Capitol.

SUMMARY: Recognizing February 5, 2013, as Howard County Day at the State Capitol.

FULL TEXT:
WHEREAS, Citizens from Howard County are gathering in Austin to celebrate Howard County Day at the State Capitol on February 5, 2013; and WHEREAS, Nestled between the Caprock escarpment and the Edwards Plateau, this scenic region of the West Texas High Plains is home to the "big spring" in Sulphur Draw; the nearby town of Big Spring began as a settlement of buffalo hunters in the 1870s; and WHEREAS, Howard County was organized in 1882, with Big Spring as the county seat; situated on the Texas and Pacific Railway, the town also became an important shipping point for livestock and produce; the community of Coahoma developed as a trading center with the arrival of the railroad in the early 1880s, while Forsan was established at the height of the county's oil boom in the 1920s; during World War II, Howard County became the site of the Big Spring Army Air Corps Bombardier School, which trained more than 5,000 men; and WHEREAS, Today, Howard County continues to thrive as a center for oil and gas production, farming and ranching, transportation, and manufacturing; the county looks to the future of energy production with its four wind turbine farms, and the McMahon-Wrinkle Airport further contributes to the area's economy; and WHEREAS, A regional hub for health care and quality education, Big Spring is home to a veterans hospital, a state mental health facility, and a rehabilitation center, as well as Howard College and the Southwest Collegiate Institute for the Deaf; and WHEREAS, Visitors and residents alike enjoy fine opportunities for recreation at Big Spring State Park and Comanche Trail Park, where the annual Festival of Lights is held, and the region's colorful past is celebrated at the Heritage Museum and the Hangar 25 Air Museum; the town also plays host to the Annual Big Spring Cowboy Reunion and Rodeo; and WHEREAS, Deeply devoted to their communities and to the land that has shaped them, the people of Howard County may take justifiable pride in all that they have accomplished over the years, knowing that the robust spirit of earlier generations is alive and well in their own; now, therefore, be it RESOLVED, That the House of Representatives of the 83rd Texas Legislature hereby recognize February 5, 2013, as Howard County Day at the State Capitol and extend to the visiting delegation sincere best wishes for a meaningful and memorable stay in Austin. Darby Straus M. Gonzalez of El Paso Oliveira Allen N. Gonzalez of El Paso Orr Alonzo Gooden Otto Alvarado Guerra Paddie Anchia Guillen Parker Anderson Gutierrez Patrick Ashby Harless Perez Aycock Harper-Brown Perry Bell Hernandez Luna Phillips Bohac Herrero Pickett Bonnen of Brazoria Hilderbran Pitts Bonnen of Galveston Howard Price Branch Huberty Raney Burkett Hughes Ratliff Burnam Hunter Raymond Button Isaac Reynolds Callegari Johnson Riddle Canales Kacal Ritter Capriglione Keffer Rodriguez of Bexar Carter King of Hemphill Rodriguez of Travis Clardy King of Parker Rose Coleman King of Taylor Sanford Collier King of Zavala Schaefer Cook Kleinschmidt Sheets Cortez Klick Sheffield of Bell Craddick Kolkhorst Sheffield of Coryell Creighton Krause Simmons Crownover Kuempel Simpson Dale Larson Smith Darby Laubenberg Smithee Davis of Dallas Lavender Springer J. Davis of Harris Leach Stephenson S. Davis of Harris Lewis Stickland Deshotel Longoria Strama Dukes Lozano Taylor Dutton Lucio III Thompson of Brazoria Eiland Marquez Thompson of Harris Elkins Martinez Toth Fallon Martinez Fischer Turner of Collin Farias McClendon Turner of Harris Farney Menendez Turner of Tarrant Farrar Miles Villalba Fletcher Miller of Comal Villarreal Flynn Miller of Fort Bend Vo Frank Moody Walle Frullo Morrison White Geren Munoz, Jr. Workman Giddings Murphy Wu Goldman Naishtat Zedler Gonzales Nevarez Zerwas Speaker of the House I certify that H.R. No. 236 was adopted by the House on February 5, 2013, by a non-record vote. Chief Clerk of the House