The Baytown Sun (Baytown, Tex.), Vol. 91, No. 248, Ed. 1 Sunday, December 18, 2011 Page: 1 of 21
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t Harris County, Chambers
DISTRICT PLAY
UNDERWAY
Robert E. Lee
Ganders fall short
in District
19-4 A opener
-SEEPMEU
SUNDAY, DECEMBER 18,2011
Vol. 91, No. 248 C 2011 • Since 1922
n *i-5o
aytown oun
. Chambers / County and Southeast Liberty County_wwW.baytownsun.com
ACADEMY
DONATES BIKES
As part of its 10th annual
giveaway, Baytown’s new
Academy store delivered 20
bicycles to Carver Elementary
students - SEE WOE U
ROBBERY AT GUNPOINT
Man robs convenience store, flees
in dark blue SUV - SEE PME M
SEWER LINE REPAIR
Emergency council meeting approves $1
million pipe fix - SEE MOE M
U.S. Supreme Court issues stay in Texas redistricting
m, yiw tirumi tu- T.v-„ anH ! ru’allv th<* man drawn for islature's plan. Under the San District 2 is currently repre-
BY MARK FLEMING
mark.fleming®bayt»vnsuacom
A federal court postponed the
Texas primary vote from March
6 to April 3 on Friday because of
a fight over new political maps.
The decision calls into question
candidate filings, as it is not
clear at this time what districts
will cover which areas in the
2012 general election.
The Texas Republican and
Democratic parties announced
an agreement on a new date and
submitted it to the San Antonio
court because of the dispute over
political redistricting. A federal
court in Washington has refused
to approve a map drafted by the
legislature, and the U.S.
Supreme Court has put on hold a
map drawn by the three federal
judges in San Antonio.
Locally, the map drawn for
U.S. Congressional districts by
the legislature and the map
drawn by the San Antonio Court
make no difference in Chambers
and Liberty counties, with those
counties in the new District 36
under both plans.
They are very different,
though, in east Harris County.
Baytown itself is completely
within District 36 under die leg-
islature’s plan. Under the San
Antonio court plan, though.
Baytown is split between three
districts: 2,29 and 36. Districts 2
and 29 take in parts of northeast
Harris County in both plans, but
do not come as far as Baytown in
the legislature’s map. In both.
District 36 takes in much of
southeast Texas, but excludes
Jefferson County (the
Beaumont-Port Arthur area).
District 2 is currently repre-
sented by Ted Poe, and District
29 by Gene Green. District 36 is
a newly-created district, so it has
no incumbent.
Court hearings are scheduled
to resolve the disputed maps next
month, making it impossible to
hold the balloting on March 6.
By April 3, the courts should
SEE COURT •HBEM
Offender
welcomed
into home
in Crosby
IY BU TINSLEY
ben.Hnsleyfbaytownsun.coni
CROSBY - In retrospect,
William Austin Leavins III
shouldn’t have been around
children at all in recent
years - even a 22-year-old
special needs woman with
the mind of • T2-yeer-okl.
The signs were there.
The 29-year-old was
required to register as a sex
offender since 2005 after
pleading guilty to the
attempted aggravated kid-
napping of a 10-year-old
child.
Under an obscure law,
those convicted under this
charge must register with
the sex offender registry if
the child is IO-years-old or
younger.
Now Leavins, who
apparently worked his way
into a position of trust with
his alleged victim’s family,
stands accused of attacking
the woman sexually.
He was a friend of the
girl’s sister and had been
living with the sister until
the assault, according to the
Harris County District
Attorney’s office.
The alleged attack hap-
pened on Oct. 13, when
Leavins and the girl were
watching TV late.
She rose from the couch
to go to bed, but he sudden-
ly pushed her backward,
Toys for Tots
Senate bill
OKs tax cuts
with pipeline
provision
BY MARK FLEMWfi
nwX.flemingfbaytawnsun.corn
The Senate passed legis-
lation Saturday extending a
Social Security payroll tax
cut and jobless benefits for
just two months, handing
President Barack Obama a
partial victory while set-
ting the stage for another
fight in February.
As a condition for GOP
support of the payroll tax
measure, Obama has to
accept a provision that
forces him to decide within
60 days whether to
approve or reject a pro-
posed a Canada-to-Texas
oil pipeline that promises
thousands of jobs.
The pipeline, known as
the Keystone XL pipeline,
has the support of most
Republican lawmakers,
and of some Democratic
lawmakers.
Democratic Congress-
man Gene Green, whose
SEE SENATE • NSE 7*
Board approves Brown,
sets start date Feb. 1
SEE OFFENDER * WOE 7A
Baytown Sun photo/Atoert Villegas
Thelma Delgado, of Baytown, receives a warm reception from Santa Claus at the
United Steelworkers Hall, on Highway 146 in Baytown on Saturday morning. She joined
dozens of other children in a Toys For Tots event where they received toys, including
bicycles. The VFW Post 912 and USW Local 13-2001, both based in Baytown, put the
event on tor children.
by emily uumm
em8ymacranderfbaytownsun.com
Lee College Regents
Chairman Mark Himsel
said at the board meeting
Thursday evening that the
board would discuss con-
templated litigation with
an attorney in regard to
Rundell Hall during its
closed executive session.
Not all matters were
quite as serious at the
meeting. It was Dr.
Michael Murphy's last
meeting as the college
president. Himsel present-
ed the Murphy with a
carved cutting board craft-
ed by students from, in his
words, “the north campus”
- inmates involved in the
Lee College program in
Huntsville prison units.
The presentation was
SEE BOARD • MSI U
Barbers Hill ISD joins other districts in school funding lawsuit
Iftff KPNTS
Members of the Texas School
Coalition, made up of revenue-
contributing school districts,
were among six school districts
that filed a lawsuit challenging
the constitutionality of the Texas
school finance system.
The lawsuit claims that the
state fails to provide schools
with sufficient funding to meet
state educational standards and
that the system has become a
statewide property tax.
Mark Trachtenberg and John
Turner of Haynes and Boone
LLP, filed Calhoun County ISD
et al vs. Robert Scott et al in state
district court in Austin on behalf
of six school districts.
In addition to the six plaintiffs,
another 54 school districts -
including Barbers Hill ISD - are
represented by the law firm in
connection with the case.
“Barbers Hill ISD has a tradi-
tion of assertively protecting our
financial best interests,” said
Superintendent Dr. Greg Poole.
“The joining of this lawsuit is
another example of our board
doing everything possible to pro-
tect our taxpayers’ hard-earned
Coming
this week
dollars and our students’ educa-
tional interests.”
Goose Creek CISD trustees
have discussed joining the coali-
tion during previous school
board meetings but have yet to
vote on taking official action.
Most of the participating dis-
tricts are members of the Texas
School Coalition, which is made
up of revenue-contributing
CMTACT II
schools.
These districts have paid
almost $15 billion in local taxes
to the state finance system since
1993 and are projected to pay
more than $1 billion this school
year.
“The Texas school finance sys-
tem is in crisis again. The current
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Gray, Janie. The Baytown Sun (Baytown, Tex.), Vol. 91, No. 248, Ed. 1 Sunday, December 18, 2011, newspaper, December 18, 2011; Baytown, Texas. (https://texashistory.unt.edu/ark:/67531/metapth1027501/m1/1/: accessed July 17, 2024), University of North Texas Libraries, The Portal to Texas History, https://texashistory.unt.edu.; crediting Sterling Municipal Library.