Van Zandt News (Wills Point, Tex.), Vol. 3, No. 13, Ed. 1 Sunday, September 2, 1984 Page: 1 of 29
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Fan Zandt News
VOUMAi S NtlMBiR 1)
SUNDAY, SiPTSMBBR 2, 1014
VAN ZANDT COUNTY, TEXAS
> SECTIONS, 30 PAGES
VZ Football Preview
edition in today's issue
This week’s issue of The Van
Zandt News contains the annual
special preseason Football
Edition, a 16-page section con-
taining preview articles about the
upcoming season for all six Van
Zandt County varsity football
teams.
Team rosters and schedules, as
well as district outlooks for the
three Class AAA, two Class A A
and one six-man squads in the
county are also included in the
edition.
In addition to local teams, the
edition contains articles preview-
ing the season for the Dallas
Cowboys and Southwest Con-
ference college teams.
The section kicks off the third
season for football coverage by
The News, the county’s sports
leader. In addition, the third
season of The Van Zandt News
Football Contest begins with this
issue.
A weekly prize of $50 worth of
coupons sponsored by partici-
pating merchants will be offered
to the contestant who selects the
most winning teams of the sched-
uled pick-'em games each week.
The contest will run for 11 con-
secutive weeks in The News.
For contest rules, turn to pages
8 and 9 in the special football
edition. Entries may be mailed to
The News at P. O. Box 60, Wills
Point, Texas, 75169, or brought
by the Wills Point Chronicle of-
fice at 109 North 5th Street, Wills
Point, or The Canton Herald of-
fice at 105 East Tyler, Canton.
The entry deadline for each week's
contest is 4:50 p.m. the Thursday
preceding the games.
The printing schedule for The
News will change from Friday af-
ternoons to Saturday mornings
next week, in order for all the
county schools’ Friday night foot-
ball games and scores to be re-
ported, starting with the Sunday,
September 9, issue.
Issues of The News will be ap-
pearing on newsstands each Sat-
urday afternoon, and in the mail
Monday. In addition to leading
the coverage of county football,
coverage of volleyball and other
sports will be expanded in The
News each week.
Davis stays trial judge
Contempt motion denied
By Kerry Yancey
CANTON - A contempt of court
motion against former Precinct 5
Constable Monte McCormick was
denied late Wednesday afternoon by
visiting District Judge David Moore.
The Gregg County Judge also
denied a defense motion to remove
District Judge Richard Davis as the
trial judge in the upcoming criminal
theft trial of McCormick, when it is
held. That trial will probably not be
held until late September or early
October.
Moore refused to rule on three
other defense motions. Those
motions asked to remove Wallace as
the prosecutor, to quash the indict
ments against McCormick, and to
move the trial to another site. Since
Fruitvale man charged
with 3 pre-teen rapes
A complaint through the Texas
Department of Human Resources
led to the arrest of a Fruitvale man
Tuesday in Palestine for aggravated
sexual assault of a child.
According to Van Zandt County
Sheriff Travis Shafer, the sheriffs
department received a call from the
TDHR concerning sexual assaults
on three girls, all county residents
near the Fruitvale area and aged 11
and 12.
Sheriffs deputies took statements
from the three girls, and a warrant
Edom Arts & Crafts Fair set
was then issued, Shafer said late
Thursday afternoon. A Fruitvale
man, identified as Kenneth Braxton
Fincher, 37, was arrested by Pal-
estine City Police at a motel in Pal-
estine where he was employed
Tuesday night, and transported to
the Van Zandt County Jail Wednes-
day by a county deputy, Shafer said.
Fincher was arraigned on three
counts of aggravated sexual assault
with a child, and bond was set at
$20,000 on each count by Justice of
the Peace O’Neal Hunt. All of the
offenses occurred in Van Zandt
County, Shafer said, but he declined
to elaborate further.
Fincher was still jailed Friday un-
der bonds totaling $60,000.
Davis is the trial judge, he should
make the decisions on those
motions, Moore said.
McCormick was indicted by the
Van Zandt County Grand Jury June
26 on four counts of theft and mis
appropriation of public funds, in-
volving $59,000 entrusted to his care
from a federal bankruptcy case on a
former Canton business
Most of the testimony in the
hearing Wednesday concerned
whether or not McCormick was in
violation of the suspension handed
down by Moore July 11 when Mc-
Cormick collected $4,494.66 on an
execution of a default judgment
from Doyle R. Love July 21.
On the stand, McCormick con
tended that he had collected the
money from Love as ”a friend," and
pointed out that he had worked with
Love on at least six other executions
during the past two years. McCor-
mick testified he had done nothing
more than make out the check,
which Love signed, and put it in an
envelope to mail.
”1 advised him (Love) that I was
not a constable, and that the check
could not be made out to me," Mc-
Cormick testified. In the motion for
contempt, Wallace alleged that the
execution money had not been tur-
ned over to the plaintiff in the judg-
ment. Motor Transport Company of
Dallas. During the hearing, both
McCormick and Wallace acknow
ledged that Motor Transport’s judg
ment had been satisfied.
Under questioning by his attor
ney, Tom Dunn of Tyler, McCor
mick testified that he and Love had
just talked about the execution. “He
asked me about post dating the
check (it was dated July 25)," Mc-
Cormick said. “I made out the check
for him, and he signed it. I put it in-
to the envelope and mailed it."
On the stand. Love agreed that he
had allowed McCormick to make
out the check, as he had poot
eyesight Under questioning by
Wallace, Love testified, "He (Me
Cormick) told me that he needed tc
finish the executions that he wai
working on and to get them all
squared away."
Wallace asked if McCormick had
threatened Love with the possibility
of a large fine or higher court costs il
the execution was not closed im
mediately and the judgment had tc
be reissued through another con
stable. Love testified that McCor
mick told him, “Chances were that il
another officer came on the case
that he could shut me down "
Love operates a trucking com-
pany from his base in South Van
Zandt County near Mabank. and
during the hearings testimony was
given noting that his operation had
(CnntiniiAoH nn PfYOH 1 1 A)
EDOM—The small East Texas
tow* of Edom, population 250, will
come alive for the 15th annual
Edom Arts Fair September 8-9.
The fair will be open from 10
a.m. to 6 p.m. Saturday and from
noon to 6 p.m. Sunday in the studios
and shady green spaces of Edom.
Edom is the home of several artists
year-around. The annual event will
feature an invited and juried selec-
tion of 45 artists from Texas, Arkan-
sas, Oklahoma, Missouri. ai\d Lou-
isiana.
Artists from Van Zandt County
and surrounding counties include
Janice Blaylock of Athens, quilts;
Beverly Carter of Murchison, stuffed
animals; Gary Broome of Tyler,
sculptor and water colors; Daniel
Arnold of Tyler, sculptor; and
Sarah Burton of Terrell, water col-
ors.
Among the local members of the
craft community featured in the fair
will be Potter Brown, Hide and
Hair, and Zeke and Marty.
Douglas Brown, owner of Potter
Brown, started the fair 15 years ago.
Since that time, it has grown into an
annual event known for the high
quality of work exhibited by the art-
ists. All of the artists in the fair are
professionals and make a living from
their craft.
Zeke Zewick and Marty Flanagan,
owners of Zeke and Marty, have
been in Edom for eight years.
"Artists selected are juried by
slides and we try to pick the best in
each category,” Marty said.
Categories include all types of
three-dimension and two-dimension
arts and crafts.
“People should come to enjoy the
high quality of arts and crafts,” Zeke
said. "This is also a good opportun-
ity to purchase quality items for
yourself, your home, or a loved
one.”
Zeke said he hopes the event will
be an educational one for those who
attend. He wants people to see that
crafts are just as much an art form
as oil paintings.
More than 10,000 people are ex-
t’*r
POtlor Dowg Drown holpod found fho art community in tho small East
Texas town el Idam. This year, the 13th annual Edom Arts Fair Is ea-
ger 10,000 l^lgiwfcgi M
pec ted to travel to Edom for the ts»o-
day event. There will also be food
and entertainment in addition to the
aits and crafts. Entrance into the
fair is free.
Green salary
may not go
before panel
CANTON • Only one Van Zandt
County official, newly appointed
Precinct 5 Constable Frank B
Green, filed a request to meet with
the county grievance committee over
his salary by the Wednesday after-
noon deadline.
However, County Judge Sam
Hilliard said Tuesday that there was
a question over whether or not
Green could legally request a
hearing, as he is an appointed of
ficer, and does not take office as an
elected official until January.
“The law, which I helped write
during the last session of the (Texas)
Legislature, speaks to elected of
ficials,” Hilliard said Tuesday. He
has asked District Attorney Tommy
Wallace to present the county com
miasioners with a legal opinion on
Green’s request.
"Frankly. I don’t see how he
(Green) could meet with the com
mittee,” Hilliard said Tuesday.
Wallace said Thursday morning
that preparing for a hearing on for
mer Precinct 5 Constable Monte
McCormick (who Green replaced)
had been taking up much of his
time. “I haven’t begun to research
the question yet.” he noted. Wallace
added that, judging from the
amount of paperwork on his desk, it
would be early next week before he
would be ready to hand down an
opinion.
Green, who defeated McCormick
for the Precinct 5 constable's
position in the May 5 Democratic
primary, and is unopposed in the
November general election, was ap-
pointed to the position July 11. fol
lowing the temporary suspension of
McCormick.
Since that time, however, Green
has not been paid for his work. He
was instructed to keep track of his
expenses and to present them to the
commissioners court, but when con
tacted last week. Green said he had
been awaiting a request from the
court to return and present his cost
figures
(Continuod on Pago 14A)
•O.V
ft
Over 45 persons discussed the facilities needed at the Edgewood independent School District at a special
committee meeting Tuesday night in the elementary school library. Superintendent Ellis Carroll (standing
at right) said that cost figures would be sought on several of the suggestions offered during the hour-long
discussion. (Photo by Kerry Yancey)
Building options examined
F.DGEWOOD - Suggestions for
renovating and building new facil-
ities for the Edgewood Independent
School District were offered Tuesday
night, as approximately 45 persons
gathered in the elementary school
library to discuss the EISD facilities.
“We need help,” Superintendent
Ellis Carroll said to open the com-
munity facilities advisory committee
meeting. The school will need to
provide a minimum of 10 new class
rooms (seven at the elementary level,
three at the high school level) during
the next three years, with three
classrooms needed by next year, he
told the gathering
Space requirements are most
urgent at the elementary school,
where new state class size require
ments will force the school district to
provide new classrooms and
teachers, Carroll said.
“We’ve picked up many more
students than we were anticipating,”
Carroll reported "We picked up 40
or 41 from last year, and if we have
this (rate of) growth for three or four
years, we ll be in real trouble."
The district will pay off its major
bonded indebtedness this school
year, Carroll noted. The 1965 bonds
that funded the construction of the
present school plant will be paid out
in August. 1985, and the two
smaller bonds will be paid off in two
more years, he said.
In a response to a question.
Carroll said that a junior high cam
pus would "probably be the proper
way to go." The ideal situation
“would be to build a new high school
and convert the present high school
to junior high. But I think that's out
of the question," he said. He esti-
mated that a new high school plant
would cost $3 million to $4 million,
not counting added insurance,
salary for a third principal and other
continuing expenses.
A $2 million bond payoff over 20
years would probably add 20 cents
to the present tax rate, Carroll
noted.
In addition to the classroom
squeeze, "We're running into some
serious problems in the cafeteria,”
Carroll noted, along with some
"pretty serious" space problems in
the athletic dressing facilities.
Suggestions aired during the dis
cussion included: building a new
high school with an auditorium and
cafeteria; building a junior high
building frith a band hall, and ex-
pand the present cafeteria into the
present band hall; building a com-
bination cafeteria auditorium
(similar to the Canton ISD) and ren-
ovating the present cafeteria for
classroom space: adding wings on
the present high school and elem-
entary school buildings: a combina
tion of wings and the cafetorium;
and similar combinations of new
buildings and renovation of present
facilities
The discussion centered for
several minutes around an audi-
torium. "We would love to have one,
but our main concern is class-
rooms," Carroll noted. However,
two older women present noted that
they felt that any bond issue would
have an emotional boost if an audi-
torium was included. "Comments
that I have received have probably
been running 9-1 for an auditor-
ium," Carroll pointed out.
Taxes must be raised to pay for
any bond issue, and questions on
that centered around the stability of
the sulphur plant near Myrtle
Springs, a large taxpayer to the dis-
trict. “If the plant holds up, every-
thing will be fine," Trustee Lee
Howell noted. “If the plant folds,
you d better buckle up."
(Continuod on ftoga 11 A)
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Van Zandt News (Wills Point, Tex.), Vol. 3, No. 13, Ed. 1 Sunday, September 2, 1984, newspaper, September 2, 1984; Wills Point, Texas. (https://texashistory.unt.edu/ark:/67531/metapth991541/m1/1/?q=Lamar+University: accessed June 1, 2024), University of North Texas Libraries, The Portal to Texas History, https://texashistory.unt.edu; crediting Van Zandt County Library.