The Mathis News (Mathis, Tex.), Vol. 63, No. 19, Ed. 1 Thursday, May 8, 1986 Page: 1 of 14
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The Mathis MEV^S35
MORE THAN 60 YEARS OF SERVICE TO MATHiS AND THE SURROUNDING AREA ” ■
+ tax
Volume LXIII
Thursday, May 8, 1986 — 14 Pages — No. 19
Mathis, Texas 78368
HHIHHHI
NUECES RIVER BRIDGE CEREMONIES-State, county and
local officials were on hand last Friday to officially open the widened
bridge over the Nueces River on Highway 359 west of Mathis. Doing
the honors, (left to right) Fred Heldenfels III of Corpus Christi,
representing the contractors; Roger Q. Spencer, retired District
Engineer for the Texas Highway Department; Glen Dorris, County
Commissioner, Pet. 3; James Opiela, Assistant District Engineer for
the Texas Highway Department; James Johnson, Supervising Resi-
dent Engineer in Sinton, who was in charge of the bridge project;
County Judge J.M. Edmondson, Jr; Mattie Cox; Sandia Justice of the
Peace, Elois Barham; Justice of the Peace, Pet. 5, Amada Cardenas
of Mathis, representing the Lake Corpus Christi Area Chamber of
Commerce; Mrs. J.M. Edmondson, Sr.; County Clerk Dottie Maley
and Fred Hernandez, Engineering Assistant from Sinton for the Texas
Highway Department. (James Pease photo)
Ceremony Friday Opens Nueces Bridge
San Patricio County Judge J.M.
Edmonson, Jr. and Jim Wells Coun-
ty Judge Roberto Guerra met on SH
359 at the Nueces River bridge at 2
p.m. Friday to cut a ribbon marking
the official opening of a widened and
Unproved bridge structure.
™The bridge and a Nueces River
relief bridge just northwest near La
Fruita have been widened to double'
the previous width.
What had been a 22-foot wide
bridge is now 44-feet wide and pro-
vides a 12-foot travel lane and 10-foot
shoulder in each direction.
The old Parker Through Truss has
been removed from the Nueces
River bridge and a modern struc-
ture with no height requirements is
the result.
Under the provisions of their $2.5
million contract with the State
Department of Highways and Public
Transportation, Heldenfels
Brothers, of Corpus Christi.
Work began in December, 1984,
and has required special traffic
handling procedures to allow traffic
across the structures during con-
struction operations.
Work has been supervised for the
State Department of Highways and
Public Transportation through the
office of resident engineer Jim
Johnson of Sinton.
The project was funded through
the 1983-84 Federal-Aid Bridge
Replacement or Rehabilitation Pro-
gram.
Edmondson, Trevino
County Judge's Race Continues
With Run-Off Election June 7
€
4
The race for San Patricio County
Judge has just begun as incumbent
J.M. Edmondson Jr. only managed
to garner 40 percent of the votes cast
in Saturday’s Democratic Primary.
Edmondson was followed closely at
e heels by County Welfare Direc-
Nina Trevino with an estimated
percent of the votes and Martin
Haskett with approximately 28 per-
cent.
Edmondson and Mrs. Trevino will
meet in a run-off election Saturday,
June 7 to determine who will be San
Pat County’s next judge. In unof-
ficial election returns, Edmondson
tallied 3,484 votes to Mrs. Trevino’s
2,811 to Haskett’s 2,519.
Edmondson’s tally of votes was
the highest in 14 of the 24 precincts,
winning precincts in each city ex-
cept for Gregory, Aransas Pass and
Ingleside.
Mrs. Trevino garnered six
precinct wins taking two of the Sin-
ton boxes, the Gregory area, one
Mathis and one Taft precinct. Her
rong suit was Precincts 11 and 14
Sinton, (550 votes and 260) and
recinct 16 in Taft with 519 votes.
Haskett clearly took the eastern
end of the county from which he
hails, with all four precincts in Aran-
sas Pass and Ingleside.
In several precincts (see chart)
there was close competition and in
others the votes were fairly evenly
distributed.
In other contested county and
local races, Incumbent County Clerk
Dottie Maley came away the clear-
cut winner in her race against Leona
Tiner with 5,019 votes to Mrs. Tiners
1,435. Mrs. Maley was also the top
vote-getter of all the candidates in
Saturday’s election.
Edmondson and Mrs. Trevino will
not be alone in the run-off election
mpaign as several other election
results illustrate a run-off election
will need to be held.
County Commissioner Precinct 4
candidates Gordon Porter and Don
Vance will be out campaigning
again as Porter collected 821 votes to
Vance’s 544.
In Justice of Peace races, incum-
bent Frank E. (Pat) Patrova will
face challenger Balde Sanchez Jr.
for his position in Precinct 1.
Patrova tallied 984 votes (48 per-
cent) to Sanchez’s 767 (37 percent).
In Precinct 5, incumbent Amada
Vela Cardenas swept up the votes
with a strong victory over Ernest L.
Ridenour. Mrs. Cardenas had 1,040
votes to Ridenour’s 309.
Gloria F. Haskett will be facing
Jennings G. Herrington for the slot
of Justice of the Peace in Precinct 6
as her vote count amounted to 822
(43 percent) to Herrington’s 457 (24
percent).
The new JP for Precinct 8 in Taft
will be Henry Montemayor who cap-
See COUNTY, Page 14
City Council Tightens
Enforcement Of Curfew
The Mathis City Council indicated
this week that it intends to see that a
local teenage curfew law is strictly
enforced.
Newly elected Councilman Juan
Jose Ganceres brought the matter
up for emphasis during general
discussion at the Council’s regular
meeting Tuesday night. Enforce-
ment of the 1982 ordinance is another
effort by city officials to combat
vandalism of public property, par-
ticularly at Gonzalo Paiz Park.
In the wake of months of acts of
vandalism at the park, city officials
have recently been exploring possi-
ble methods of curtailing the crimes,
which are costly to the municipal
maintenance and operation budget.
The restrooms and press box at Gon-
zalo Paiz Park have been the van-
dals’ main target, but even private
businesses throughout the city have
been hit.
“We already have this law on the
books and I think enforcing it strong-
ly would go a long way towards help-
ing solve the vandalism problem,”
Ganceres said.
Mathis Police Chief Israel Garcia
pointed out that his department was
Kir
Republican Voters Select
Clements As Challenger
Republican voters in San Patricio
County selected former Texas
Governor Bill Clements in Satur-
day’s Primary Election to challenge
Mark White for the gubernatorial
seat in November.
Like the rest of the state’s
republican voters, San Pat County
voters also gave Clements the affir-
mative sign by giving him the ma-
jority of votes. Clements garnered
545 votes in our county. His closest
challenger was Tom Loeffler with
296 votes.
In other contested state-wide
races the following persons came
away winners in the county: Lt.
Governor, David Davidson, 337
votes; Attorney General, Ed Walsh,
^|4 votes; General Land Commis-
^pner, M.D. Anderson Jr., 411
votes; Agriculture Commissioner,
Bill Powers,486.
Also Railroad Commissioner,
Ralph E. Hoelscher, 273 votes;
Supreme Court Place 1, Charles Ben
Howell, 501 votes and Supreme
Court, Place 4* John L. Bates, 451
votes.
Of the 30,541 San Patricio County
registered voters, 995 cast their
ballots as republicans. The
breakdown per percinct was as
follows (1) 22; (2) 91; (3) 13; (4) 2;
(5) 16; (6) 37; (7) 5; (8) 125; (9) 76;
(10) 50; (11) 2; (12) 0; (13) 23; (14)
20; (15) 50; (16) 0; (17) 11; (18) 56;
(19) 112; (20) 28; (21) 3; (23) 92 and
(24) 119.
The Republican ticket had no con-
tested county-wide contests.
somewhat limited by constraints of
available manpower, but said the
Mathis Police Department would
respond to tighten enforcement of
the city ordinance. Chief Garcia said
local constables, San Patricio Coun-
ty Sheriff’s Deptuties, Department
of Public Safety Troopers, and state
Game Wardens would respond to
backup calls for his department.
Ganceres, Mayor James Knight
and other Council members urged
the public to cooperate by calling the
Mathis Police Department at 547-
2341 to report violations of the
curfew ordinance, suspicious per-
sons in their neighborhood or acts of
vandalism.
Chief Garcia said he is trying to
raise funds to implement a
neighboordhood watch crime
prevention program, which he has
been working on for over a year. He
said the program requires about
$1,000 to purchase signs announcing
that the posted area is part of an of-
ficial Neighborhood Watch Pro-
gram.
Chief Garcia has already worked
up and submitted a funding request
for a Crime Prevention Officer’s
salary. That officer would, along
with other duties, be in charge of the
Neighborhood Watch Program.
That grant request has already
cleared the regional Coastal Bend
Council of Governments and is being
considered by the Criminal Justice
Council.
The curfew ordinance makes it a
misdemenaor offense for any person
under the age of 17 to be on any
street or public place in Mathis dur-
ing certain hours.
The ordinance also makes it
unlawful for any parent or person in
See CURFEW, Page 14
Sports Banquet
Set For May 12
Presentation of the Most Valuable
Player Award will highlight the
Mathis High School All-Sports Ban-
quet May 12.
The banquet will be held at 7 p.m
in the high school cafetorium. The
event honors student athletes who
have devoted extra time and effort
to represent their school during the
past year in cross-country,
volleyball, basketball, track, tennis
and baseball.
The athletes will receive in-
dividual recognition for sports, with
the MVP award going to the athlete
who has demonstrated outstanding
teamwork, sportsmanship, and
athletic achievement in his or her
sport.
Bill Rhyme, former coach at Cor-
pus Christi Moody will be the
featured speaker. He is now the
director of Bill Rhyme Sports, which
publishes the Coastal Bend South
Texas Football Magazine. He also
directs the Bill Rhyme-Whataburger
Football and Basketball clinics in
Corpus Christi every year.
A dinner of brisket, beans, potato
salad, cobbler and tea will be serv-
ed.
Tickets for the banquet are
available to the public at $5 each
through Mathis High School coach
Mike Holbrook at the high school.
Weather
Report
Date
High
Low
Rain
May. 01
89
68
.00
May. 02
86
68
.00
May. 03
79
66
.00
May. 04
80
64
.08
May. 05
86
65
.00
May. 06
88
70
.00
May. 07
88
72
.00
Water level is 91.29.
Wesley Seale Dam at
Lake Corpus Christi
City Lowers Travel
Expense For Workers
By Jim Mathis
EDITOR
The Mathis City Council has mov-
ed to lower travel per diem paid
municipal employees from $45 to $44
and '’Iso decreased travel mileage
paid to 21-cents a mile.
Mayor James Knight recommend-
ed both actions be taken by the Coun-
cil Tuesday at a regular meeting.
Mayor Knight pointed out that the
auditing firm that performed the
audit for last fiscal year recom-
mended the action because Internal
Revenue Service regulations require
reporting travel compensation paid
above those levels as gross income.
Councilmen passed both measures
separately and unanimously, with
little discussion on the per diem
decrease and no discussion of the
mileage allotment.
Mayor Knight did say that the per
diem decrease applied only to city
employees and not elected officials,
which he said had a $100 per diem.
In other action at the Tuesday
Council meeting, city officials mov-
ed to advertise for bids on replace-
ment, including some boring and
casing, of a water line on Aransas St.
Mayor Knight told the Council that
original plans called for city crews
to do the replacement, but that the
Mayor and public works director
Fred Farias now thought the work
should be contracted out to a private
company. Knight cited the boring
and casing of part of the line that
runs under Aransas St. as the main
reason an outside contractor should
do the job.
When asked by a Council member
how much the project should cost,
the Mayor said estimated con-
struction expense for the replace-
ment work is $17,000-$20,000. Asked
where the funds to pay for the pro-
ject would come from, Mayor
Knight said he would attempt to get
the money from San Patricio County
Drainage District funds once a
definite dollar amount has been
determined.
Replacement of the water lines
and some curb and gutter work were
to be the city’s share of improve-
ment project being undertaken in
conjunction with a State Depart-
ment of Highways and Public
Transportation improvement pro-
ject on FM 1068 (Aransas St. within
the Mathis City limits).
The City already received ap-
proval to use Drainage District
funds earmarked for drainage im-
provements in Mathis for its share of
the project’s cost, finally estimated
to be around $40,000.
Mathis officials must have the
funds available to do the replace-
ment work when the contractor for
the highway department is ready, or
the city”s contract with the State
could be in jeopardy, according to
one state official contacted by the
News Wednesday.
The official, who wished to remain
anonymous, said he was afraid that
drainage district funds might not be
legally applied to the water line
replacement, saying it might be,
“considered outside the scope of
drainage work.” He said the city
should be ready to get the necessary
funds from another source, so that
the city-state contract agreement
will not be broken.
At Tuesday’s meeting, the Council
authorized the Mayor to sign a join,t
use agreement with the State
Department of Highways and Public
Transportation in connection with
the Aransas St. project.
In other business Tuesday, the
Council also authorized bids to be
received for purchase of two used
pickup trucks.
In earlier action, Mayor Knight
had been authorized to purchase the
See CITY, Page 14
Parade To Kickoff
Fish-A-Rama Flurry
A downtown parade will kick off
this year’s Fish-A-Rama activities
at 10 a.m. June 21.
The parade, which will proceed
down San Patricio Avenue, is open to
all types of entries, including private
and commercial groups, bands, cars
and floats. There is a $5 charge for
parade entries.
Entertainment planned for this
year’s two-day event includes a Fid-
dler’s contest on Saturday, a
“Madonna Concert” by Christine
and Co., aerobics dance
demonstration, a domino tourna-
ment, belly dancers and several
bands that will play free of charge.
Plenty of music will be on hand
with performances by Ida Saenz and
Her Country Boys and Darren
Brown and Starbound, both Country
and Western bands from Corpus
Christi.
Rock music will be played by
Rockit, Motown Express, Maxam,
Underage and Ruckus, a high school
student band. Acoustic soft rock will
be provided by John and Paul and
Co., of Corpus Christi.
The Coastal Bend Cloggers will
demonstrate their clogging skills in
performances and in the parade.
Entertainment for children will in-
clude a dunking booth, face painting,
a petting zoo, wood sculpting, wood
painting, a clown with balloons,
macaroni necklace making and
much more.
Of course, there will be plenty of
food for the ravenous crowd, from
the many food booths. A Fish Fry
will be held on both Saturday and
Sunday.
The annual fishing contest has
both adult and children’s divisions.
There will be prizes for different
categories and types of fish caught.
Persons interested in setting up
booths, entering the Fiddler’s con-
test or participating in the parade
should call the Chamber office at
547-6112 for details on entry fees and
deadlines.
Musical and dance groups who
would like to perform are also asked
to call the chamber.
All proceeds from Fish-A-Rama
benefit the Lake Corpus Christi Area
Chamber of Commerce and help
finance various Chamber activities
throughout the year.
State Okays Contracts
On Mathis Improvements
Contracts for two improvement
projects in Mathis have been ap-
proved by the State Highway and
Public Transportation Commission,
according to an announcement this
week from the department’s public
affairs office.
One project involves the removal
of the railroad underpass on Hwy 359
and raising the roadway elevation,
while the other involves the state
portion of improvements to be made
to FM 1068, or Aransas St. within ci-
ty limits in conjunction with the City
of Mathis (See City Council meeting
story on this page for related infor-
mation).
Bay Inc., of Corpus Christi, was
awarded a $268,460 contract for the
Hwy 359 underpass project, aimed at
alleviating flooding on the state
highway.
Work there will include removing
the underpass concrete structure at
what was the Southern Pacific
Railroad tracks. The contractor will
also raise a 0.3-mile section of road-
way to meet existing roadway eleva-
tion. A highway department pump
located near the concrete structure
will be moved to the remaining
railroad underpass.
About 25-feet of fill will be needed
for the elevation of the road through
the former underpass. The work is
scheduled to take no longer than 45
working days.
Traffic will be rerouted along
Loop 459 to IH-37 and along Loop 198,
a highway department official said
this week.
The project involving FM 1068 and
Aransas St. will be a joint city-state
project.
Heldenfels Brothers, Inc., of Cor-
pus Christi, was awarded a $293,850
contract by the state commission for
the FM 1068 project, which will im-
prove seven-tenths mile of the road-
way.
The contractor will reconstruct
the grade, install structures, add a
flexible base, curbs and gutters and
surface FM 1068 from Loop 198 to the
western city limits of Mathis and
south of Hardin St.
The existing roadway will be
reconstructed into two, 12-foot travel
lanes and two eight-foot parking
lanes.
That project is expected to take
about 60 working days for comple-
tion.
Both projects are of major impor-
tance and benefit to Mathis, as both
roads involved are primary traffic
arteries. The Hwy 359 im-
provements affect the most direct
route to and from IH-37, along the
southern edge of Mathis. FM 1068 is
the most direct route from Lake Cor-
pus Christi State Park and lakeside
residential areas. Over 525,000
visitors passed through Lake Corpus
Christi State park in 1985.
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Mathis, Jim. The Mathis News (Mathis, Tex.), Vol. 63, No. 19, Ed. 1 Thursday, May 8, 1986, newspaper, May 8, 1986; Mathis, Texas. (https://texashistory.unt.edu/ark:/67531/metapth1045849/m1/1/?q=%22%22~1&rotate=0: accessed July 16, 2024), University of North Texas Libraries, The Portal to Texas History, https://texashistory.unt.edu.; crediting Mathis Public Library.