H.R. No. 884
                                  R E S O L U T I O N
    1-1        WHEREAS, The students of the Sweetwater Middle School SEEK
    1-2  program have dedicated themselves to a challenging and rigorous
    1-3  academic program, and their willingness to go beyond the bounds of
    1-4  standard classroom instruction to affect the world around them is
    1-5  indeed deserving of highest praise and recognition; and
    1-6        WHEREAS, Under the guidance of teacher Peggy Maddox, the
    1-7  students have undertaken a complex study of wind patterns over
    1-8  Texas and Mexico; their careful research included records dating
    1-9  back to the year 1899, and their conclusions support their original
   1-10  hypothesis that coal-burning plants across the border are a major
   1-11  contributing source of haze and reduced visibility in Big Bend
   1-12  National Park; and
   1-13        WHEREAS, Armed with this information, they have embarked on
   1-14  an extensive letter writing campaign to alert state and national
   1-15  agencies to this serious problem, and they are committed to
   1-16  effecting changes that will reverse this disturbing trend; and
   1-17        WHEREAS, In recognition of their remarkable efforts, the
   1-18  students were awarded the second place prize of $5,000 in the
   1-19  American Express Geography Competition and the $1,500 first place
   1-20  prize in the H.E.B./General Land Office Environmental Challenge
   1-21  contest; a separate paper recycling project won third place in the
   1-22  H.E.B./General Land Office Environmental Challenge; and
   1-23        WHEREAS, They have further worked for environmental
   1-24  protection by raising funds to preserve 35 acres of Central
    2-1  American rain forest, and they recently hosted an environmental
    2-2  seminar for 160 gifted and talented students at the Region XIV
    2-3  Education Service Center, an occasion which marked the first time
    2-4  that students had led the enrichment program for gifted students;
    2-5  and
    2-6        WHEREAS, The eighth grade students who executed the wind
    2-7  pattern analysis include Randi Haggard, Brian Serrano, Alex
    2-8  Musgrove, Amanda Bowen, Max Harger, Sean McFaul, Alan Porter, Curt
    2-9  Alexander, Justin McCord, Matt Clark, Audrea Johnson, Lauren
   2-10  Henson, and Chris Hartman; these bright and motivated young Texans
   2-11  are to be commended for their hard work and dedication, and their
   2-12  parents, families, and other teachers are also deserving of great
   2-13  praise for nurturing these students' exceptional abilities; and
   2-14        WHEREAS, The term "gifted" mistakenly implies that bright
   2-15  students come by their achievements effortlessly, but these young
   2-16  men and women have demonstrated that hard work, discipline, and
   2-17  sacrifice are required to grow and succeed; it is this willingness
   2-18  to work that, along with their intelligence and special abilities,
   2-19  will carry these students to whatever heights they can envision,
   2-20  and in their imaginations they hold the seeds of a brighter future
   2-21  for all of us; now, therefore, be it
   2-22        RESOLVED, That the House of Representatives of the 74th Texas
   2-23  Legislature hereby commend the students of the Sweetwater Middle
   2-24  School SEEK program and their teacher, Peggy Maddox, for their
   2-25  outstanding achievements and extend to each of them warmest best
   2-26  wishes for continued success and happiness; and, be it further
   2-27        RESOLVED, That an official copy of this resolution be
    3-1  prepared for prominent display at Sweetwater Middle School as an
    3-2  expression of highest regard by the Texas House of Representatives.