The Odem-Edroy Times (Odem, Tex.), Vol. 91, No. 4, Ed. 1 Thursday, January 29, 1998 Page: 1 of 8
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Date Hi Lo Total
01/2* Wednesday 71° 39° .00”
01/27 Tuesday 73° 42* M"
01/26 Monday 66° 57* " .00”
01/25 Sunday 62° 45* .00”
Qi/24 Sa&atey 64° 38° .00”
01/23 Friday , , 54° 38° .10”
01/22 Thursday 76° 53° ,00"
3 ••••/• %' s’-
Tewp- A**fc> Bate {HW.V).,.....66* * 44*
Courtesy Glenfl Oratfc^rg
and F.S.A. Offk« Staff
Official County Weatfeer Observer
OBSERVATION TEMP. RAIN
“Home Of The
Scraonin’ Owls!”
VOLUME 91 = THURSDAY, JANUARY 29,1998 » ODEM, TEXAS 78370 = 1 SECTION-8 PAGES - No. 4
GRAND CHAMPION
Lauren Easterwood of the Portland 4-H Club enjoys her moment in the auction sale ring with her project,
an exotic-breed steer, which garnered the Grand Champion Steer prize. The steer was purchased for
$8,437.50. In an unusual turn of events, Easterwood also received Grand Champion Hog prize for her
hog project, which earned her $7,020.00. (Mary Hoekstra Photo)
Local Group To Help Ailing
Emergency Response System
The issue of 911 emergency
addressing was tackled once again
during the San Patricio County
Commissioner's Court Monday.
Fletcher Kelly, of the locally-operat-
ed JFK consulting group, was pre-
sent in court to offer his company's
services to county surveyors King
and Petrus. Kelly told the court
that, after several meetings with the
surveyors about the emergency
response system, he feels that his
staff can assist the county by filling
in "gaps" of information needed to
complete the project.
"How much^vill it cost, and how
long will it take?", asked County
Judge Josephine Miller of Kelly, who
replied that, while it is too early to
determine specifics, he feels that the
project can be completed in about
six months, with a cost not to
exceed $4,000 per month.
Kelly went on to say that he
intends to confer with the county
sheriff, the Council of Governments,
the appraisal district, and Jesse
Fuentes, who has been working on
the system almost exclusively to this
point in time.
Miller charged Kelly with the
' goal of considering the long-range
goals of the county and its needs
regarding emergency response
addressing and identification. She
indicated that, while the county
realizes that the dynamic system
will require a coordinator to main-
tain, she wants it to be "up and run-
ning" before handing it over to
someone to preserve. "Right now,
the system is broken.....we need to
be sure that... the 911 system [infor-
mation] is also on the tax rolls,"
said Miller. At the end of the dis-
cussion, the commissioners
approved JFK, Inc. for the assis-
tance.
Sinton City Manager Jackie Knox
was present in court Monday,
accompanied by Fire Chief Dennis
Lindemann. The city officials were
interested in the commissioners
agenda item that called for consid-
eration and action on setting fire
service fees.
The Sinton Volunteer Fire
Department, which responds to
county fire calls outside of the city
limits, has received lump-sum fund-
ing by the county based on popula-
tion figures and a percentage pro-
rating formula.
The population figures currently
in use are based on 1994 data;
County Auditor David Wendel has
new data that offers 1997 numbers.
The commissioners approved these
new figures for use in the fire service
County Clerk Dottie
Maley Seeks Re-Election
County Clerk Dottie Maley is
seeking re-election to that position
for the fifth time, having been
successful her first four times at
the polls.
Maley was a homemaker who
devoted her time to two almost
high school age daughters, when
she began working at the County
Clerk's office for Velma Sherman
in I960.' She had a business
education and job experience
before marriage and had put in
three years with the U. S. Army.
She said she had not used any of
her training for several years and
"was scared to death."
She remembers that the
Courthouse closed for the lunch
hour and since she didn't drive
she "brownbagged" it. It was
during this time that she
determined to use the time to
learn about every type of form and
document that the office dealt
with. The action paid off because
she received a raise before she
received her first paycheck at the
end of the month. In three years
she was named Chief Deputy.
When Mrs. Sherman retired
in 1978, Maley ran for the office.
The voters elected her then
returned her to the office four
more times.
She said that there were five
employees in the office in 1960
and now 14 are required. Despite
the tremendous increase in the
quantity of stored records, the
size of the office is essentially the
same as in 1960. This has been
accomplished by constant
planning and rearranging. Having
two large power files reduced the
number of file cabinets, space in
the office is measured not in feet,
but in quarter inches to get new
equipment to fit. She said she
wonders how long they can
continue to store all the papers
and books that are required to be
kept as "records." /
$376.383 Total Breaks Old Record
Portland 4-H Sweeps Top
Slots In Auction Sale
The 48th Annual Agriculture and
Homemaking Show in San Patricio
County saw Portland 4-H member
Lauren Easterwood win both Grand
Champion Steer and Grand
Champion Hog awards during the
auction sale, held on Saturday. The
steer, weighing in at 1250 pounds,
went for a total of $8,437.50 and
was purchased by AFC, an oil lease
company. The hog, which weighed
260 pounds, went for $7,020.00,
and was purchased by Oxy
Chem/Oxy Mar Refining.
The Grand Champion Lamb,
which weighed in at 142 pounds,
was raised by Timmy Hollan of the
Mathis FFA club. Tennessee Pipeline
paid $4,686.00 for this auction win-
ner.
Michael Edwards of the Sinton
FFA club garnered $3,300.00 for his
Grand Champion Broilers, which
were purchased by HEB. The Grand
Champion Rabbits determined in
the sale were raised by Chelsea
Hospodar of the Rocking-O 4-H
club; the First State Bank of Odem
paid $3,600.00 for these.
Joyce Wolfe of the Taft 4-H club
won $3,600.00 for her Grand
Champion Turkey, bought by South
Texas Implement. Grand
Champion Capon money went to
Lyndsey Smith of the St. Paul 4-H
club; BFI bought her project for
$3,100.00.
Reserve Champions determined
at the auction sale included the
Jason Holder's project; his Reserve
Champion Steer, weighing in at
1225 pounds, went for $6,431.25.
Jason is with the Rocking-O 4-H
club; his steer was purchased by A1
Willeford Cherolet/Olds.
The Reserve Champion Hog,
which weighed 211 pounds, was
raised by Amanda Floerke of the
Portland 4-H club. Berry
Contracting paid $6,760.00 for this
project.
The Reserve Champion Lamb
award was received by Dusty Troup
of the Sinton FFA club; the animal
weighed 128 pounds and was pur-
chased by Commercial State Bank
for $2,688.00.
Reserve Champion Broilers were
raised by Amy Pustejovsky; this was
Amy's final year of competing in the
A&H Show. Her birds were pur-
chased by A1 Willeford
Chevrolet/Olds for $3,299.00.
Crystal Polasek of the Ingleside 4-H
won Reserve Championship for her
rabbits, which were purchased by
Tennessee Pipeline for $2,800.00.
Coastal Maverick Markets also paid
$2,800.00 for the Reserve
Champion Turkey, which was raised
by San Patricio 4-H member
Stephanie Canada. Finally, the
Reserve Champion Capon award
went to Alyssa Mutchler of the
Clover T 4-H club; her project was
purchased by Koch Refining
Company for $2,600.00.
This year's total cash income
resulting from the auction was
$376,383; this exceeds 1997 totals by
$58,661.00 and sets a new auction
record. Bobby Nedbalek, Chairman
of the auction committee, was
extremely pleased with the ring sale
results. "This year's [sales] really
blew last year's away," he said
Wednesday.
OHS Home Economics
Teacher Syes Former
Athletic Director
funding. In addition, the funds
available for the fire service have
increased from $120,000 per year
to $150,000. Disbursement of the
money throughout the county will
be based one-half upon population-
related figures in the different areas
within and surrounding county
municipalities, and one-half upon
averaged fire call data over the pre-
vious five years in these regions.
Judge Miller told the court that
county fire chiefs had approved of
the formula for the funds allocation
years ago; with little discussion, the
commissioners approved of the fire
service guidelines.
The discrepancy between
Geobak, Ltd. and the county com-
missioners crystallized further on
Monday, when Judge Miller shared
with the court the fact that, accord-
ing to Ingleside city officials, the
groundbreaking for the Ingleside
apartment site-of which Geobak is
now in ownership-pre-dated the
the renewal of that city's abatement
program. Miller told the court that
the issue was currently between
See Commissioners, Back Pace
Odem High School Home
Economics Teacher Sylvia Balli has
sued former OHS Athletic Director
Olivero Garza for sexual harass-
ment. Garza, who resigned from
the district earlier this month,
denies the accusation.
The lawsuit, which has been filed
by Balli in federal court, alleges that
Garza made sexual advances
toward her in January of 1997.
Along with this, she claims that
Garza has a history of discriminat-
ing against female staff members of
the district and making sexual
advances toward them.
Balli's petition goes on to say
that she "rebuffed these advances"
and brought Garza's alleged actions
to the attention of school district
officials. She also alleges that dis-
trict officials ignored her requests
for reprimanding Garza.
Balli has named the Odem-Edroy
I.S.D. as a co-defendant.
Garza claims that Balli's lawsuit
has no legitimate basis and is only
being brought about for the purpose
of harassing him.
School district attorney Robert
Russo said that his clients also deny
the allegations. He was planning to
file for a summary judgement, in
hopes of dismissing the case against
the district.
Last week, Garza, Superintendent
Charles Zepeda and OHS Principal
Manuel Lunoff gave depositions in
the case; those remain sealed.
Zepeda and Lunoff were unavail-
See Lawsuit, Back Pace
From left: Marvin Beyer, Judge Miller, Dennis Brezina, and Ronald Houser
Farm Bureau Membership Week Proclaimed
County Judge Josephine Miller has signed a proclamation designating February 2-6 as "Farm Bureau
Membership Week" in San Patricio County.
The week is part of a statewide observance during which county Farm Bureaus will make a special effort
to enroll new members, according to Marvin Beyer, Jr. of Taft, president of the San Patricio County Farm
Bureau.
First Vice President Dennis Brezina of Taft is chairman of the membership committee, which is responsible
for membership acquisition and maintenance. Other committee members are: David Krebs,II and Troy
Nedbalek.
"The Texas Farm Bureau, with more than 300,000 members' families, is influential in both state and
national affairs on behalf of agriculture," the proclamation reads.
In further statements, the proclamation continues, "Farm Bureau is a grass-roots organization. Its foun-
dation is the county unit. There are 211 organized county Farm Bureaus in the state, including the San
Patricio County Farm Bureau."
Brezina said the local county Farm Bureau has 2594 member families and is seeking to exceed that num-
ber in 1998. He said that the Farm Bureau is a general farm organization that seeks to improve the income
of farm and ranch families. The organization represents the farmer and rancher at the local county court-
house, in Austin, and in Washingoton, D.C.
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The Odem-Edroy Times (Odem, Tex.), Vol. 91, No. 4, Ed. 1 Thursday, January 29, 1998, newspaper, January 29, 1998; Sinton, Texas. (https://texashistory.unt.edu/ark:/67531/metapth1044799/m1/1/: accessed July 17, 2024), University of North Texas Libraries, The Portal to Texas History, https://texashistory.unt.edu.; crediting Odem Public Library.