News State Officials to tour Hope Clinic
| State Officials to tour Hope Clinic |
 |
 |
 |
Waxahachie Daily Light, Sunday October 19, 2008Ellis County Commissioner Heath Sims, Pct. 3, will host state Sen. Kip Averitt, state Rep. Jim Pitts and others in a brief tour of Hope Clinic at 10 a.m. Wednesday, Oct. 22.
In preparation for the upcoming legislative session, Averitt has already heard testimony regarding indigent health care. “Hope Clinic is unique and successful,” Averitt said. “I am proud it is in Ellis County, but I’m not the least bit surprised.” After serving almost 10 years in the Texas House of Representatives, including two terms as chairman of the House Committee on Financial Institutions, Averitt was elected to the Texas Senate in April 2002. He is chairman of the powerful Senate Committee on Natural Resources and serves on the Senate’s Finance, Business and Commerce and Education committees, as well as the Subcommittee on Higher Education. In the 80th Legislature, Averitt crafted and passed Senate Bill 3 as part of his ongoing efforts to ensure a clean, adequate and affordable supply of water for future generations of Texans. Other Averitt legislation that successfully passed included clean air incentives, restoration of cuts made to the Children’s Health Insurance Program and a constitutional amendment that provides permanent property tax relief for senior and disabled Texans. Pitts was among area leaders involved in the clinic’s start-up some eight years ago and has continued to be interested in its success and its impact on the community as a whole. Serving as state representative for District 10 since January 1993, representing Ellis and Hill counties, Pitts was chair of the House Committee on Appropriations and currently serves as vice chair of the House Committee on Government Reform. Other committee assignments have included Transportation, Economic Development, State, Federal and International Relations, Ways and Means and others. He is a director of Citizens National Bank in Waxahachie, a director of Nicholas P. Sims Library, a past president of the Waxahachie Chamber of Commerce and past president of the board of trustees of Presbyterian Children’s Services. Prior to his election to the House of Representatives, Pitts served 14 years on the board of trustees for Waxahachie ISD and was president of that board at the time of his election to the House. “I’m real glad that the senator and the representative are coming to tour Hope Clinic,” Sims said. “This clinic is a win-win kind of a thing and something that could be reproduced in other areas as part of a real health care solution.” |
310 W. Jefferson Street, Suite 2