The Baytown Sun (Baytown, Tex.), Vol. 92, No. 49, Ed. 1 Friday, March 9, 2012 Page: 1 of 12
twelve pages : ill. Digitized from 35 mm. microfilm.View a full description of this newspaper.
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FRIDAY, MARCH 9,2012
Vol. 92, No. 49 © 2012 • Since 1922
aytown oun
’ Chambers £ County and Southeast Liberty County www.baytownsun.com
PLAY BALL!
Rangers, Ganders come
out on short end of
non-league baseball
games; RSS rallies
behind pitcher Niki
Gonzalez to down Dobie
- SEE PAGE 1B
HEARING SET
FOR TODAY
Future of 11 children
removed from their
grandmother’s care
to be decided
- SEE PAGE 3A
JAZZ CONCERT TONIGHT
Lee College, Lamar University
jazz ensembles unite - SEE PAGE 2A
LC REGENTS DEBATE
Presentation from PAC director stirs emotions
at building committee meeting - SEE RAGE 2A
Harris County
Attorney Vince
Ryan, left, shares a
moment Thursday
with Pet. 3
Constable Ken
Jones during a
Highlands-
Lynchburg Chamber
of Commerce
luncheon.
Baytown Sun photo/Mike
Gunning
HC Attorney visits Highlands
BY MIKE CUNNING
mike.gunning@baytownsun.com
Every politician looks forward
to the opportunity to speak in
friendly venues to constituents,
especially during election cycles.
Harris, County Attorney Vince
Ryan is no different, accepting the
invitation of the Highlands-
Lynchburg Chamber of
Commerce to address members
during its monthly luncheon yes-
terday.
What Ryan may not have been
expecting was the amount of his
fellow civil servants that were sit-
ting in the audience.
No fewer than seven elected
officials, and others running for
office, joined the crowd of 62 peo-
ple who came to hear Ryan speak.
Few, if any, left disappointed,
and for good reason.
Ryan has taken the bull by the
horns in his first run as county
attorney.
The county attorney is the civil
lawyer for the county and many
other governmental agencies. He
uses civil enforcement to protect
SEE VISIT • PAGE 3A
Starting from scratch
McDonald’s
on Garth
leveled for
remodeling
Baytown Sun photo/Albert Villegas
The McDonald’s restaurant on Garth Road near Interstate 10 was demolished earlier
this month in anticipation of a new building scheduled to open this spring.
BY MARK FLEMING
mark.fleming@baytownsun.com
The McDonald’s at
7000 Garth Road is kind
of like a McRib Sand-
wich - just because it’s
gone away for now does-
n’t mean it’s gone forev-
er.
The recent demolition
of the restaurant just off
Interstate 10 is in prepa-
ration for a new McDon-
ald’s to be built in the
same location - one that
is designed to better meet
the needs of today’s cus-
tomers and reflect a shift-
ing corporate marketing
approach.
A McDonald’s corpo-
rate spokeswoman ex-
plained that the owners of
the restaurant, Abner and
Jill Casas, are re-building
with an entirely new
look, and plan for the
business to re-open in
late May.
The focus of the new
look is providing a com-
fortable family gathering
place, featuring large
tables and booths.
The restaurant will also
have a Play Place, which
that location has not had
previously.
The new, larger restau-
rant will seat 86 people
plus another 46 in the
Play Place.
The Play Place can also
be booked for children’s
birthday parties.
Other amenities include
free wi-fi, several tables
with electrical outlets for
laptop computers, and
two table video games in
the lobby and two more
in the Play Place.
There will be a seating
area with four chairs
around a coffee table,
accentuating the restau-
rant’s growth into tradi-
tional coffeehouse prod-
ucts.
The building will also
have larger restrooms
than average to better
accommodate travelers.
The spokeswoman said
the changes are designed
to provide “a fresh new
experience for cus-
tomers.”
She said experience has
shown that reconstruction
of a store, even in the
same location, gets peo-
ple in the community
more invested in the
restaurant.
Moving away from the
bright primary colors that
were long a McDonald’s
hallmark, the new store
■ SEE SCRATCH • PAGE 3A
Baytown PD
unveils new
automated
ticket writers
BY MARK FLEMING
mark.fleming@baytownsun.com
In news that might raise
mixed emotions in Baytown
drivers, the Baytown Police
Department has started phas-
ing in the use of hand-held
electronic ticket writers,
which will make issuing tick-
ets faster, safer and more effi-
cient.
The city is purchasing 22
of the units that will put most
of the information police
officers need in handling a
traffic stop literally at then-
fingertips. Right now, only a
few officers are using them,
but they will eventually
replace most, if not all, tradi-
tional paper tickets.
Corporal Heather Shedd is
one of the first group using
the hand-held ticket writers
in preparation for helping
train other officers in their
use. After a month of use,
her verdict on the new tech-
nology is simple: “I like it.”
“It gets rid of a lot of the
excess paperwork,” she said.
Baytown Sun photo/Mark Fleming
New hand-held ticket writ-
ers are being phased in by
Baytown police.
That was one of the selling
points of the system, which is
already used by several area
police agencies, including La
Porte and Pasadena. The new
ticket writers can read the
magnetic strip on the back of
a driver’s license, instantly
SEE WRITERS • PAGE 3A
Chester’s Island
■ Audubon sanctuary renamed
in memory of Baytown man
BY JANE HOWARD LEE
jane.lee@baytownsun.com
hester Smith will not soon be forgotten. As the warden of
m ’Sundown Island for the Texas Audubon Society, the
I Baytown man dedicated the last 25 years of his life to a
tiny island off the coast from Port O’Connor and the birds
that nest there.
SEE ISLAND • PAGE 6A
Some of the late
Chester Smith’s family
members pose with a
memorial honoring his
work for the Audubon
Society. From left are
Smith's daughters,
Nancy Posey and Peggy
Wilkinson, great-niece
Jana Chiles, great-
granddaughter Victoria
Fluitt and son-in-law Tim
Wilkinson.
Contributed photo/Marcy
Spears
f' f * Sunday
Lifestyle
Annual ball raises
thousands for
diabetes research
WEATHER
fflMI
Scan the QR code to read online
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Yanelli, Adam. The Baytown Sun (Baytown, Tex.), Vol. 92, No. 49, Ed. 1 Friday, March 9, 2012, newspaper, March 9, 2012; Baytown, Texas. (https://texashistory.unt.edu/ark:/67531/metapth1063725/m1/1/?q=Lamar+University: accessed May 29, 2024), University of North Texas Libraries, The Portal to Texas History, https://texashistory.unt.edu; crediting Sterling Municipal Library.