Ft. Hood renamed after Korean, Vietnam war hero

By Editor | May 18, 2023

CAPITAL HIGHLIGHTS

Gary Borders

It’s official. Fort Hood, named for a high-ranking Confederate officer in the Civil War, has been renamed Fort Cavazos, in honor of native Texan Richard E. Cavazos, the country’s first Hispanic four-star general.
Fort Cavazos is the Army’s largest armored, active-duty military installation, according to a report in the Austin American-Statesman. It is one of nine that are being renamed around the country, based on recommendations from a naming committee commissioned by Congress to remove the names, symbols and displays that honor the Confederacy.
Cavazos was widely decorated for his service during the Korean and Vietnam wars, receiving two Distinguished Service Cross medals during his military career. He died in 2017 at 88.
State rep expelled from Texas House
The Texas House voted 147-0 to expel state Rep. Bryan Slaton after an investigating committee determined he engaged in inappropriate behavior with a 19-year-old legislative aide. Slaton, R-Royce City, was found to have had sexual intercourse with the aide, who works in his office, and to have supplied alcohol to an underaged person on at least three occasions, the Statesman reported.
Slaton resigned the day before the vote to expel him but would have remained an officeholder and been paid until a successor was elected through a special election.
“Expulsion of a member of this body is rare,” House Speaker Dade Phelan said. “Mr. Slaton’s predatory behavior merits such a consequence. I am proud of my colleagues for holding each of us accountable.”
Slaton is the first House member to be expelled since 1927, according to the Statesman.
House considers modified version of Senate voucher bill
An 80-page version of the Senate’s school voucher proposal is now before the House education committee, the Texas Tribune reported. This version would cut the number of students eligible for the program, modify the state’s standardized testing program, and eliminate the Senate bill’s restriction on teaching about gender and sexual orientation.
A move to get the bill quickly out of committee failed after state Rep. Ernest Bailes, R-Shepherd, questioned why the committee wanted to move forward without holding a public hearing.
“You’re trying to bring an 80-page substitution to this body and force a vote without thoughtful deliberation,” Bailes said. House committees have until May 20 to vote on Senate bills to advance them to the full floor.
The Senate version of the bill would give parents who opt out of the public school system up to $8,000 in taxpayer money to pay for a child’s private schooling and related educational expenses, such as textbooks or tutoring.