The Whiteface City Council met Thursday night for a regular meeting. It was a packed house at the Whiteface Community Center. The one item everyone was there for was the last on the agenda and come after several people spoke concerning the proposed ordinance to ban abortion clinics in the City limits of Whiteface.
Cody Rogers spoke in reference to the ordinance on the sanctuary city. She spoke against passing the ordinance. She feels the city should consider support to families with young children, planned or not-possibly partnering with the schools to help children. They also should address the lack of housing in Whiteface and the quality of life for senior citizens in the community. Their are real needs in the community and with the ordinance it is solving a problem that does not exist. Passing the ordinance will leave the city open to lawsuits. If this is so important why do this at the prodding of an outside agency and why did local elected officials not initiate. She also pointed out that residents have not been able to review the ordinance. She reminded council members they are elected to serve the citizens of Whiteface not act on personal beliefs. Do we want this community to be welcoming or not? She suggested that this ordinance be put before the voters.
Pat Trice also spoke to the council concerning the proposed ordinance. She stated children have a right to life as well. She noted their are a lot of other options besides abortions. She noted that her own mother had an abortion. Out of bad can come good she said. She asked that the ordinance be passed so that abortions won’t happen in our community.
Matt Patterson spoke concerning the ordinance. He thanked the council for their service. He said this is a very serious and personal issue. He said good people in the world have been doing nothing for a long time. He said the council has the option to do something good tonight and I encourage you to pass the ordinance. He noted that the ACLU has sued cities that have passed the ordinance, however, he said “God is bigger than the ACLU.” The ordinance should be passed because everyone has a right to life.
Landon Kerby spoke concerning the ordinance. He has been a member of the Whiteface community for 12 years and every child is a gift from God and they have a right to life. He is in favor of making Whiteface a sanctuary city for the unborn.
Harold Harrison spoke concerning the ordinance. He said I am against abortion and regardless, it is murder and murder is against the commandments in the Bible. He is in strong favor of passing the ordinance banning abortion in the City of Whiteface.
Dr. Franklin Babb spoke concerning the ordinance. He is a physician that has practiced in Levelland, Morton and now in Lubbock. Part of his practice is bringing new life into this world. He said he endorses the ordinance to make Whiteface a Sanctuary of Life. He said the total number of abortions are dropping in the US. He said we are either life or property and even the staunchest defender of abortion would likely not be willing to call a human life property. He also noted the child’s heart begins circulating its own blood at 21 days. By 10 weeks the child can move around and it can be seen on ultra-sound. The Supreme Court through Roe v Wade gave the right to abortion and privacy is not protected. He reported a statistic that only 7% of abortions in America are due to health reasons, and over 90% are elective.
Andy Patterson spoke concerning the ordinance. Member of the Whiteface community for 27 years. He noted that his daughter is 1 year old though she was only born three months ago, stating that abortion is killing a human life. He also noted that many times the decision to have an abortion is made under stress. He voiced his support to pass the ordinance to make Whiteface a sanctuary city for life. He said if this ordinance is passed we could be setting ourself up for a lawsuit, however, the council and community should not be intimidated. We must take a stand..
Kati Morris spoke to the council asking the council to vote to pass the ordinance to ban abortion clinics in Whiteface. She thanked the Mayor for being a strong example and not being intimidated by lawsuits.
Lyma Zapata spoke to the council concerning the ordinance. She said that 12 years ago she made the decision not to go through with an abortion and she is now the mother of her son Myra. She said that she is also working with the community of Morton to get a similar ordinance passed as well. She also pointed out that in the event of a lawsuit the city would not be out any money as an attorney has already said he would fight any lawsuit from passing this ordinance. She said passing this ordinance will change the streets of Whiteface. Tonight we have the opportunity to be the voice of Christians across the nation.
Mark Dickson, director of Right to Life in East Texas was introduced and spoke about the ordinance. He said he was here because Kati Morris reached out to him for help. He noted that most abortion clinics serve a 200 mile radius. He noted that all it takes to start an abortion clinic is some land which is being donated by people just for that purpose. He read a letter to the council concerning abortion clinics setting their sights on expansion across the state. Cities and counties can ban all abortions within their city limits according to this letter issued by many state senators and representatives including our own Senator Charles Perry. The signers of the letter are in full support of the ordinance to ban abortion clinics in the City of Whiteface. He said passing the ordinance just maintains the status quo. He said 12 cities in the state of Texas have passed a similar ordinance. The ACLU has filed a law suit against 7 of those cities. It was noted that any city that passes the ordinance will be defended by a special attorney at no cost to the city or taxpayers in the event of a lawsuit.
Following the presentations the council voted 3-2 to pass the ordinance to ban abortion clinics in the city limits of Whiteface. Mayor Judy Devours said she had contacted the city attorney for Whiteface, however, he did not draw the ordinance up and was not present at the meeting. The ordinance was passed as audience members gave the council a round of applause.
The council also took action to hire Breaching Point Technology for computer repairs. The owner and operator of the company gave a presentation to the council. He proposed to the city to offer a full 24 hour a day monitoring system which will monitor the networks and all workstations in the city. He noted that he will be notified any time their is a problem immediately. He also will provide unlimited phone tech support and will also provide on site service to the city two times each month at no additional charge. The council approved the contract with little discussion.
The Whiteface Volunteer Fire Department has responded to 22 fires thus far this year according to a report presented to the city council. They also reviewed bids for new trucks which the city has received through a grant. The grant paid $200,000 and the city will pay the remaining $32,000 for a total cost of $232,000. Council approved the purchase from Steele Fire Apparatus on a unanimous vote.
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