Texas 2009 - 81st Regular

Texas Senate Bill SR203 Compare Versions

Only one version of the bill is available at this time.

Old	New	Differences
1	1	SENATE RESOLUTION NO. 203
2	2	WHEREAS, Many proud residents of Austin County are
3	3	visiting the State Capitol on February 19, 2009, in celebration
4	4	of their county's outstanding contributions to the Lone Star
5	5	State; and
6	6	WHEREAS, American settlement in the county dates to the
7	7	early 1820s, when the area became part of Stephen F. Austin's
8	8	first colony; the first town to be established was San Felipe de
9	9	Austin, which served as the administrative seat of the colony and
10	10	as a social, cultural, and commercial center; and
11	11	WHEREAS, Austin County was created by the Constitution of
12	12	1836 and was formally organized in 1837; San Felipe became the
13	13	county seat and remained so until 1848, when the county
14	14	government was moved to Bellville; and
15	15	WHEREAS, Blessed with an abundance of water, grassland,
16	16	and forests, Austin County drew a steady stream of settlers, most
17	17	of whom were engaged in agriculture; although the county remained
18	18	overwhelmingly rural, the development of a number of communities
19	19	took place during the 19th century, including Bellville, Wallis,
20	20	and the railroad towns of Sealy and Kenney; and
21	21	WHEREAS, Due to difficult social and political
22	22	circumstances at home and lured by glowing accounts of life in
23	23	Texas, many German immigrants settled in Austin County during the
24	24	1800s; for recreational and civic purposes, they organized
25	25	numerous singing, literary, dramatic, and political clubs, as
26	26	well as one of the oldest agrarian groups in the state, the Cat
27	27	Spring Agricultural Society; German communities in the county
28	28	include Industry, Cat Spring, Millheim, New Ulm, Shelby,
29	29	Welcome, Nelsonville, and Bleiblerville; and
30	30	WHEREAS, Austin County has also proved attractive to
31	31	immigrants from Czechoslovakia, who began settling in the county
32	32	in sizable numbers after the Civil War and who continued to
33	33	arrive until after the turn of the 20th century; like the
34	34	Germans, they organized much of their social life around various
35	35	societies, which still play a vital role in the county's Czech
36	36	communities; Czechs frequently settled in German towns and were
37	37	largely responsible for the establishment of Frydek; and
38	38	WHEREAS, Following the Civil War, African Americans in
39	39	Austin County set about creating their own social and religious
40	40	institutions; in addition to the fundamental role they played in
41	41	developing the county's agricultural base, they also worked by
42	42	the hundreds on building the railroad lines that entered the area
43	43	in the latter part of the 1800s; and
44	44	WHEREAS, In the 20th century, the cultural mosaic of the
45	45	county was further enriched by the arrival of immigrants from
46	46	Mexico, who in the 1900s were the largest foreign-born group to
47	47	settle in the area; by 2000, Latinos constituted 16 percent of
48	48	the county's 24,600 residents; and
49	49	WHEREAS, Prominent Texans who have resided in Austin
50	50	County include such early citizens as Gail Borden, Jr., a
51	51	surveyor and newspaper publisher who later invented a successful
52	52	process for condensing milk; another early citizen, Robert
53	53	Justus Kleberg, fought in the Battle of San Jacinto, held several
54	54	prestigious public offices, and, in 1885, saw his youngest son
55	55	become head of the King Ranch; and
56	56	WHEREAS, Today, visitors to the county can enjoy exploring
57	57	the county's rich heritage, preserved at the Stephen F. Austin
58	58	State Historic Site and in rural communities throughout the area,
59	59	while away their hours hunting and fishing, or take in the lively
60	60	scenes at the Bellville Heritage Gathering in Bellville and the
61	61	Polka Fest in Sealy; and
62	62	WHEREAS, The citizens of Austin County can indeed take
63	63	pride in what their forebears and they have accomplished over the
64	64	course of more than 180 years, and it is a pleasure to join them
65	65	in paying tribute to this exemplary Texas county; now, therefore,
66	66	be it
67	67	RESOLVED, That the Senate of the State of Texas, 81st
68	68	Legislature, hereby welcome the Austin County residents visiting
69	69	on this day and recognize February 19, 2009, as Austin County Day
70	70	at the State Capitol.
71	71	Hegar
72	72	________________________________
73	73	President of the Senate
74	74	I hereby certify that the
75	75	above Resolution was adopted by
76	76	the Senate on February 17, 2009.
77	77	________________________________
78	78	Secretary of the Senate
79	79	________________________________
80	80	Member, Texas Senate