Wharton Journal-Spectator (Wharton, Tex.), Vol. 123, No. 97, Ed. 1 Wednesday, December 5, 2012 Page: 1 of 16
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Subscribe
to the Wharton Journal-Spectator.
Call 979-532-8840
Lifestyle
Plaza's musical
ends Sunday
Page A5
Sports
Tigers open with new coach
Brahmas face No. 1 Refugio
Page B1
Bparton Journalfiffpectator
Volume 123, Number 97 journal-spectator.com
Wednesday, December 5, 2012
16 Pages, 3 Inserts
75 Cents
( \
Today’s Funeral and
Death Notices, Page A7
Manuel Cantu, Robert
Cody, Richard Grant,
Charles Miller, Myrtle
Owens, John Payne, John
Reed and Elisa Webster.
V_
J
■ EB Football Tickets
Quarterfinals football playoffs
with the East Bernard Brahmas
as the visitors versus the Refugio
Bobcats as the home team, will be
played at 7:30 p.m. on Friday at Tex-
as State University, 1100 Aquarena
Springs Drive in San Marcos. Pre-
sale tickets are on sale at all EBISD
campuses, the administration office
and Savon Drugs until noon Friday,
Dec. 7. Student tickets are $4; adult
tickets are $7 and District 13-2A -
THSCA - senior citizen passes are
accepted. All tickets at the gate are
$7. Parking fee is $5.
■ Author Visits WES
Author and book creator Kath-
ryn Childers will visit Wharton
Elementary School from 9 a.m.
until 2 p.m. on Wednesday, Dec.
5. While on campus, she will read
More Snow for Kids, a children's
read-along book that recounts the
magical and miraculous Christmas
2004 Texas snowfall. The memora-
ble meteorological event saw up to
12 inches of snowfall for 500 miles
from Houston and Galveston down
south to Brownsville and South Pa-
dre Island.
Hot-Dogging It For The Cameras
Staff photo by Keith Magee
Wharton author Marilyn Sebesta is surrounded by Wharton County Stray Pet Outreach Team (SPOT) dogs, who were treated
like stars prior to the world premiere of The Dog Who Saved the Nutcracker Friday night at the Plaza Theatre in Wharton.
Sebesta wrote the book that the musical was based on. Performances continue this weekend. See related photo, Page A6.
WEDC
approves
projects'
funding
By KEITH MAGEE
kmagee@journal-spectator.com
The Wharton Economic Development
Corp. board has approved funding for
two more projects.
During the Nov. 19 meeting, the
board approved $8,232 for signage at a
Richmond Road restaurant and $2,100
for windows in a building on Monterey
Square.
Wok D’Lite, a Chinese restaurant at
1105 N. Richmond Road, will receive
the funding to help pay for a sign, while
Caney Creek Church, 118 W. Milam St.,
will receive the money to help put in
new windows in its facility in downtown
Wharton.
The board also approved considering
future gas and electric infrastructure
projects at County Road 220 and Texas
60, along with a project at County Road
222 and Wilke Road.
SEE WEDC, Page A2
■ Special Musical at Plaza
The world premiere of a new
musical based on Wharton author
Marilyn Sebesta's children's book
Scout, The Dog Who Saved The
Nutcracker, with music by Houston
composer Suzanne Davis Marion,
will be performed on the Plaza
Theatre stage Friday and Saturday
at 7:30 p.m. and in a Sunday mati-
nee at 2:30 p.m. General admission
is $17 each. Seniors, students and
groups of 10 or more are $ 15 each.
Susanna lives in a small town much
like Wharton with her lovable but
clumsy chocolate-brown Labrador
retriever, Scout. Part of the pro-
ceeds of this production will benefit
Wharton County S.P.O.T. (Stray Pet
Outreach Team), a volunteer animal
rescue organization.
■ WCJC Choir Concert
The Wharton County Junior Col-
lege Concert Choir and Chamber
Singers will present their annual
Candlelight Christmas Concert at
7 p.m. on Thursday at First Baptist
Church of Wharton on Fulton St.
The concert will include narrators
reading scripture and inspirational
readings appropriate for the sea-
son. The concert will conclude with
the singing of the Hallelujah Chorus
from Handel's Messiah. Anyone in
the community who has sung this
chorus is welcome to sing with the
choir on stage. Messiah scores will
be available. This free concert is a
Center of the Arts Series presenta-
tion. For more information, call the
WCJC Communication and Fine
Arts Division secretary, Vicki Hud-
son, at 532-6300.
■ AL VFW Baked Potatoes
American Legion Post No. 87
and VFW Post No. 4474 will have
a stuffed baked potato fundraiser
from 11 a.m. until 2 p.m. Friday at
the American Legion Hall in Whar-
ton. Potatoes are $8 each. Tickets
are available from any American
Legion or VFW member, or by call-
ing Johnnie at 979-618-6344 or
282-9610.
■ FUMC Free Movie
First United Methodist Church
will host a free movie on the lawn
for the community at 7 p.m. Friday.
Classic movies on Rudolph and
Frosty will be shown. For more in-
formation, call 532-1100, or visit
fumcwharton.org. The church is
located at 1717 Pioneer Ave., next
to WCJC.
■ WCJC Drama Presentation
Just in time for the Christmas
See DATELINE, Page A2
Staff photo by Benjamin Sharp
Mary Lee Ondrias, owner of Selections on the Square, wraps a Christmas present for a customer. The store special-
izes in wrapping and will even wrap gifts purchased elsewhere.
Merchants:
Holiday sales
are on the rise
By BENJAMIN SHARP
bsharp@journal-spectator.com
Wharton merchants are seeing an upswing in
sales this holiday season, and they attribute it to
a less hectic pace and better customer service than
what’s found at the malls and shopping centers up
the road.
“They don’t give you that attention,” said Mary
Lee Ondrias, owner/operator of Selections on the
Square, a store that specializes in exquisite gift
wrapping. “People are actually staying at home.”
Tricia Vasut, owner of Country Crafts & Col-
lectibles, agreed. She said personalized items like
Christmas-themed T-shirts and Texas-made bar-
becue sauces — items you’re not going to find at a
Sugar Land shopping center — are popular.
“We look for what’s different and unique and
pretty much anything that can be personalized sells
very well,” Vasut said. “I’ve heard a lot of people say,
"You didn’t find me at the mall this weekend.’”
The only time that may not have been the case
this holiday season was on Black Friday. Tradition-
ally the busiest shopping day of the year, Black Fri-
day saw less local activity than expected for some
Wharton merchants. That was likely due to adver-
tised specials and bargain deals available in larger
stores.
The day after Black Friday, however, things flip-
flopped. Linda King, co-owner of Milam Street Cof-
fee & Wall 2 Wall Words, said Nov. 24 — known as
“Small Business Saturday” — was a banner day.
‘We did really well,” she said.
Like Vasut and Ondrias, King said most custom-
ers shopping locally are doing so for the customer
service or for the notable gifts. King said many folks
are doing the bulk of their shopping on-line and then
visiting Monterey Square for smaller, more unique
items or to sample the small town flavor.
They’re also perusing the downtown shops while
enjoying local activities. This past week’s perfor-
SEE HOLIDAY, Page A5
Hogs getting the best of resident's back yard
By BENJAMIN SHARP
bsharp@journal-spectator.com
The back yard of Johnnie Lacomb’s
FM 3012 home looks like a herd of buf-
falo ran through it. But it’s not bison
that’s got her worried.
It’s feral hogs.
Two nights ago, the hogs ripped up
a large patch of St. Augustine beneath
the young oak trees Lacomb and her
husband, Lloyd, tend behind their
house. The soil looked like it had been
turned over with a disc, the grass up-
rooted and the dirt loose and soft.
Lacomb believes the animals are
wandering up from a creek bed at the
far edge of her property. That’s where
she initially saw evidence of their noc-
turnal habits about a month and a
half ago.
“As long as they stayed back there,
I wasn’t worried,” she said.
Problem is, the hogs keep getting
closer. And seven years ago, they ven-
tured as far as Lacomb’s front yard.
The damage left behind is something
she doesn’t want to experience again.
Desperate for help, Lacomb called
the Wharton County Sheriff’s Depart-
ment. Officials said there’s not much
they can do as deputies are far too tied
up with other duties to sit out at some-
one’s property waiting for a wild ani-
mal to wander by. She said she called
the state Game Warden next but got a
similar answer.
Their best suggestion? Trap the
hogs or shoot them.
Lacomb said she has little interest
in either.
‘What would I do with it?” she said.
Instead, she stopped watering her
lawn, hopeful that it was the wet
grass — and the grub worms beneath
it — that was attracting the animals.
Bob Baker, the city of Wharton’s fa-
cilities director, traps and hunts hogs
in his spare time. He said this year
has been especially difficult for trap-
ping as good pecan and acorn crops
— as well as plentiful agricultural
harvests — are providing the animals
with a significant food source.
The acorns beneath Lacomb’s oak
trees — and the grubs in the grass
— are a virtual smorgasbord for the
hogs, Baker believes.
SEE HOGS, Page A5
6
TODAY'S WEATHER Details Pa9e A2
Check journal-spectator.com
for current conditions, updated
2 forecasts and weather radar.
Ill
Classified............
B4
Obituaries........
A7
Crime..................
A5
Opinion............
A4
3
Crossword..........
B4
Sports..............
B1
2
Dateline..............
A2
Weather...........
A2
Life & Leisure......
A6
BURN BAN LIFTED
Wharton County’s burn ban has been lifted until further notice.
For burning guidelines, visit www.co.wharton.tx.us/
Controlled burns must be reported to 532-1550.
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Wallace, Bill. Wharton Journal-Spectator (Wharton, Tex.), Vol. 123, No. 97, Ed. 1 Wednesday, December 5, 2012, newspaper, December 5, 2012; Wharton, Texas. (https://texashistory.unt.edu/ark:/67531/metapth656061/m1/1/?q=Lamar+University: accessed June 6, 2024), University of North Texas Libraries, The Portal to Texas History, https://texashistory.unt.edu; crediting Wharton County Library.