The Baytown Sun (Baytown, Tex.), Vol. 84, No. 225, Ed. 1 Wednesday, July 20, 2005 Page: 1 of 12
twelve pages : ill. ; page 16 x 10 in. Digitized from 35 mm. microfilm.View a full description of this newspaper.
Extracted Text
The following text was automatically extracted from the image on this page using optical character recognition software:
Serving all of Baytown, Lynchburg, Highlands, McNair, Barrett Station, Crosby, Mont Belvieu, Anahuac and West Chambers County
Volume 84, No. 225 Telephone: 281-422-8302 July 20,2005 wwwbaytownsun.com 50 cents
Pres. Bush nominates
Supreme Court justice
John G. Roberts Jr.
was nominated for
the U.S. Supreme
Court by President
Bush on Tuesday. His
first nominee,
Roberts is a rock
solid conservative.
Story on Page 3
Best Buy to open doors on July 29
By MARIA NARCISO
The Baytown Sun
One word comes to mind when-
ever Baytown residents see Best
Buy’s bright yellow price tag on
Garth Road: finally.
Previously, Baytown’s Best Buy
customers drove at least 15 to 30
minutes outside the city to reach the
nearest store.
“It’s ridiculous that people have
to drive that far just to shop,”
Baytown resident Matthew Smith
said.
Best Buy will open its doors 10
a.m. Friday, July 29, at 4620 Garth
Road, in between the Golden Corral
restaurant and Target. Opening day
will offer specials on a variety of
electronics, as well as festivities,
Baytown resident and Best Buy
general manager Jacob Hatcher
said. On Friday, Houston Texans
cheerleaders will be present.
Hatcher said he has received
nothing but positive feedback from
the community. Simply walking
around with his blue Best Buy uni-
form has brought him attention.
“People parade you around like
you’re special,” he said. “No one
else has electronics like we have.”
Best Buy offers several electronic
devices, from CDs and DVDs, lap-
top computers and car stereos, to
household appliances such as wash-
ers and dryers.
Hatcher himself said he has
almost one of everything Best Buy
carries. At his home, you’ll find
gaming systems, three home theater
See BEST BUY on Page 9
Goose Creek to
improve image
By MARIA NARCISO
The Baytown Sun
BAYTOWN—Improving Goose Creek’s reputa-
tion and an uncertain budget were among topics dis-
cussed by the school board during a lengthy Monday
night.
The discussion on image was prompted by a recent
survey by AngelouEconomies, an Austin economic
development firm who was hired by the
Baytown/West Chambers Economic Development
Strategic Planning Committee to conduct the work.
A portion of the results said Goose Creek school
district does a good job of meeting some very diffi-
cult challenges, but does not get credit for its
achievements. People think Baytown schools are a
drawback when they are actually a plus, the report.;
says.
“The misconception about the district is not justi-
fied in light of its recent performance, and it is as
important as ever for the district to continue to
improve the academic performance of its students in
order for the community to be as competiti ve as pos-
sible,” said the report.
The report cited the fact that schools in Goose
Creek have at least kept up with state averages, and
exceeds them on some parts.
The report was based on interviews with city lead-
ers and businesspeople, and on an unscientific online
survey.
Most board members listened to the presentation
about improving the district’s image. One Board;
member questioned the validity of the survey, saying
results were skewed because those surveyed
belonged to the same group of people.
“The community’s perception of the district was»
not as good as how the district was actually doing,”
Kathy Clausen, media relations director for Goose
Creek, said.
AS long as the district’s budget allows it, a consult-
ing firm will be hired and a more thorough, compre-
hensive survey will be conducted and given to a ran-
dom sample in the community, she said.
There is no currently no timeline foYthe survey.
“We will definitely start working on it as soon as
school starts and if the funds are available,” Clausen
said. “We think it’s important for the district to do
so.” .
Goose Creek’s survey will include people from
different ethnic groups and different economic levels
to reflect the district’s diverse community, according
to Clausen.
' Hie state debate over school funding has made the
budget process more difficult this year than in the
past, according to Katie Bowman. GCCISD business
manager. “Everything is uncertain at this point,” she
See GCCISD on Page 9
Sen. Steve Ogden, R-Bryan, left, listens to Sen. Jane Nelson, R-Lewisvilie, who throws up her hands, while waiting to begin the session of the Texas
Senate Tuesday, in Austin, Texas. With Gov. Perry threatening to call'lawmakers back for a second special session, House and Senate members
entered the final stretch, appearing to move closer to a deal on part of a school funding plan. 1
Legislature presses on with school funding
Legislators sc um to settle finance. Local lawmakers address funding
tax issues as special session ends problems, education bills
By APRIL CASTRO
The Associated Press
AUSTIN — As House and
Senate members touted a deal on
part of a school funding plan
Tuesday, legislative tax writers
acknowledged defeat of an
accompanying bill that; Would
reduce property taxes.
The impasse all but guarantees
another special legislative ses-
sion later this week. The current
30-day session ends Wednesday.
“We’re going to continue to
work on this whether it’s sooner
or later,” said Rep. Jim Keffer, R-
Eastland. “We can’t do it quickly
because everything we do has a
tipple effect.”
Even as the final hours of the
session ticked down. House
negotiators and Gov, Rick Perry
crafted another compromise tax
plan and delivered it to the
Senate. Perry later trekked to Lt.
Gov. David Dew hursts office for
further negotiations.
See FINANCE on Page 5
By ERIN GAGE
The Baytown Sun
Today is the last day of the
Texas Legislature’s special ses-
sion on public school funding.
As of Tuesday night, the dilem-
ma of how to adequately fund
public education and still lower
property taxes remains unsolved,
say area representatives.
According to reports, legisla-
tors are trying to replace school
property taxes with new con-
sumer and business taxes, and
increase the regressive sales tax.
The question remains whether
there would be enough new
money to fund school districts.
“That kind of creates a collision
course,” said District 15 Sen.
John Whitmire, D-Houston. “It’s
hard to fix something if you don't
want to spend the money.”
■ This session marks; the
Legislature’s fourth attempt to
address school finance in the past
three years, including the last two
See LOCAL on Page 5
Towers, city panel agree to changes
By RYAN CULVER
The Baytown Sun
BAYTOWN — The City of
Baytown Towing Committee
ordered a few last-minute
changes regarding the differ-
ence between “passing” and
“failing to respond” Tuesday
before finalizing the towing
ordinance and towing agree-
ment for city council apnroval.
“There are a variety of rea-
sons to pass,” Malcolm
Swinney, a representative from
the Emergency Dispatchers
Office, said Tuesday. “I think
we need to put some measures
in place to punish passing in an
appropriate way”
The towing ordinance,
which effects all city-ordered
otherwise known as non-con-
sent towing within Baytown,
was changed because of some
questionable wording that
could have been devastating to
towing companies. Before
Tuesday, the ordinance lumped
passing, where a towing com-
pany notifies the dispatcher of
their inability to answer a call
when it is their turn in the 12-
company regular rotation, with
failing to respond, where a
towing company accepts a tow
and does not show up within
the 30-minute time period.
The ordinance punishes first
time fail to respond violators
with a one-month suspension
from the regular rotation list. If
the towing company fails to
respond again within the fol-
lowing 12-month period, they
will be suspended from the
regular rotation for 12-months.
The level 2 penalty might as
well be a death sentence for
See TOW on Page 5
Associated Press photo
The image provided by NOAA Tuesday showing the center of
Hurricane Emily, right, located about 165 miles southeast of
Brownsville, Texas. Story on Page 3
Goose Creek
to hold Pre-K
registration
Special to the Sun
Goose Creek CiSD will
hold prekindergarten regis-
tration at two additional
locations this year.
Pre-K registration will be
held from 10 a.m. to 8 p m
July 25 and 26 at San Jacinto
Mali (J.C. Penney wing),
which is located at 6900
See PRE-K on Page 9
1 SATISFY YOUR NEED FOR SPEED!
Friday ■ Street Night
Saturday - All-Harley Drags & Speedway Series
Sunday - Instant Green Light
For More Information Call: '
281.383,RACE imu
or visit:
nNN.keist(nriciiiay.ciin
maaaaaaaaaaaiaaaaiatts
Upcoming Pages
Here’s what’s next.
Search Inside
This issue can be searched. Note: Results may vary based on the legibility of text within the document.
Tools / Downloads
Get a copy of this page or view the extracted text.
Citing and Sharing
Basic information for referencing this web page. We also provide extended guidance on usage rights, references, copying or embedding.
Reference the current page of this Newspaper.
Cash, Wanda Garner. The Baytown Sun (Baytown, Tex.), Vol. 84, No. 225, Ed. 1 Wednesday, July 20, 2005, newspaper, July 20, 2005; Baytown, Texas. (https://texashistory.unt.edu/ark:/67531/metapth1052037/m1/1/: accessed July 12, 2024), University of North Texas Libraries, The Portal to Texas History, https://texashistory.unt.edu.; crediting Sterling Municipal Library.