11-18 Amendments to the city charter

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Lamar, Red River and Delta Counties are located 105 miles northeast of Dallas, Texas, on the divide between the Red and Sulphur Rivers. Paris, the county seat of Lamar and Clarksville the county seat of Red River are the only hubs for the major highways that intersect this part of Texas. We have a population of 48,499 in Lamar, 5,506 in Delta and 14,314 in Red River for a total of 62,219. Because we are an isolated rural area, the ethnicity and socio- economic status of our residents do not always conform to the average Texas statistics according to census 2000 data. We have 13.5 Black/African American population, compared to 11.5 state average, we have no industry to draw large numbers of Hispanic/Latino, however, we have 80.7 percent white (not of Hispanic/Latino origin) as compared with 52.4 percent state wide. This is due to several contributing factors such as: 1. geographical isolation from larger towns 2. lack of a 4 year college within the county 3. lack of a wide variety of companies who employ highly educated employees contribute to a lower educational level and lower median household income Only 14.5 percent of the population age 25 or older have a bachelor's degree or higher compared to the Texas Average of 23.2 percent. The median household income for 1999 was only $31,609 which is $8,318 less than the state average. Our residents have few resources of their own on which to access: 1. parenting 2. nutrition 3. health care 4. counseling 5. parent counseling 6. anger management 7. breaking the abuse cycle 8. and family dynamics These are offered in all larger cities CASA for KIDS has been offering many of these classes pro bono for the last seven years. Lack of education, lack of skills, poor resources, poor parenting, high crime and drug related crimes all combine to make this a White and Black poverty area, with a growing Hispanic group. With further education, we can combat poverty, lack of job skills and violence to children and families.