Levelland and Hockley County News-Press (Levelland, Tex.), Vol. 21, No. 84, Ed. 1 Wednesday, January 19, 2000 Page: 2 of 10
This newspaper is part of the collection entitled: Hockley County Area Newspaper Collection and was provided to The Portal to Texas History by the South Plains College.
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2-LEVELLAND A HOCKLEY COUNTY NEWS-PRESS, Wednesday, January 19, 2000
SO dog having impact
on area drug trafficking
Since joining the Hockley
County Sheriff s Office more than
a year ago, "Yons” has taken his
own bite out of crime
Yons, a Belgian Maltnois. has
significantly aided local law
enforcement agencies in their fight
against drug trafficking in Hockley
County, says Deputy Gordon
Bohannon, the dog's handler
In his first year with the SO. the
dog's keen nose led to the seizure
of $50,000 worth of drugs, vehicles
and other property
And the animal is also helping
law enforcement officers in
adjacent counties, Bohannon noted
In late December, the pooch
helped Lamb County authorities
find five ounces of marijuana on an
Alabama man
Yons has also helped authorities
seize marijuana and cocaine in
Cochran County
On Jan 7, The dog was used to
recover nearly a quarter ounce of
cocaine in Morton and a small
amount of pot
He also helped lawmen find a
pound of marijuana in a vehicle that
was stopped north of Levelland in
December Two county men were
arrested at that time
The animal's most significant
involvement may___have occurred
Dec 8 when it located nearlv a half
ounce of crack cocaine in an
Avenue F home
"He's become a good asset,"
said Bohannon "We’ve had real
good luck with him ”
Yons has also made an impact
on area students
Bohannon has used the dog for
numerous drug education
demonstrations in schools
"The kids pet all over him,” he
said "It’s opened up a lot of
communication lines” with
students
The canine is passive and works
well with children, he said
i
DESERVED RECOGNITION -- Main Street program manager Debra
Dye presented appreciation plaques Tuesday to several people who have
Because Cochran County cannot served on the organization’s advisory board From the left are Rick Osbum,
afford its own drug dog, authorities Brett Paxton and George Keeling Kenneth Parmer also received one in
absentia (Staff Photo)
there have contracted with Hockley
County to occasionally use the dog
So. too, has the state Department of
Public Safety' and Lamb County
w hen needed
Money paid to Hockley County
for the use of the K-9 is applied to
training costs here, Bohannon said
Along the way. Bohannon
himself has picked up extensive
training To date, he has acquired
180 hours of narcotics training.
Together the two are making a
difference
We've been working real hard
and knocking vehicles down.” he
said
DRUG FIGHTING TEAM — Deputy Gordon Bohannon is shown with
Yoris. the Sheriffs Office’s K-9 The dog has been used to find and
seize marijuana, cocaine and other drugs since he joined the force in 1998
Recently the canine found a pound of marijuana and nearly a half ounce of
crack cocaine. Bohannon also uses the animal to assist area law enforce-
ment agencies when needed (Staff Photo)
Just Rambling
with Stephen Henry
Sundown board buys
large batch of trees
By the time a man is wise
enough to watch his step, he's too
old to go anywhere.
I’m glad I don’t live across the
street from one of our local lakes.
The lakes are loaded with noisy
geese. They are very graceful as
they come and go and are beautiful
to watch as they seem to
effortlessly glide over the pond
surfaces. But those rascals are
noisy.
All our wintering birds are
noisy. You know it’s winter when
you hear sandhill cranes talking as
they fly far overhead. They also
carry on pretty intense
conversations as they feed in local
sorghum fields.
They do not compare, however,
to the noisy gathering of birds
which are roosting in the trees on
the courthouse square. They are
also fearless.
Back in December when the
community celebrated Las Posadas
and the Living Nativity, the birds
fused. When the crowd sang, the
birds fused louder and they did not
leave their trees. They did,
however, drop a few retaliatory
bombs oh unsuspecting visitors to
the square. A few of us found
evidence of their protests on our
jackets.
There are also a few battles
among our winged friends. You
have only to listen to the squawking
and squalling that goes on between
the different bird species as they
argue over who gets what branch to
realize there is a pecking order even
among even birds.
All of which brings us to just
one point—who’s going to clear
the birds out of the trees for Early
Settlers next summer?
Two robins were sitting in a
tree.
“I’m really hungry," said the
first one.
"Me too," said the second.
“Let’s fly down and find some
lunch."
They flew to the ground and
found a nice plot of plowed ground
full of worms.
They ate and ate and ate until
they could eat no more.
“I’m so full 1 don’t think I can
fly back up to the tree," said the
first one.
“Me either. Let’s just lay here
and bask in the warm sun,"
suggested the second one.
“Ok," said the first.
They plopped down, basking in
the sun. No sooner than they had
fallen asleep, than a big tom cat
snuck up, pounced on them and
gobbled them up.
As he sat washing his face after
his meal, he thought, “I love
baskin’ robins.”
Sundown s board of aldermen
accepted a $17,000 bid Thursday for
140 trees that will be planted in city
parks and at the golf course
Family Tree Nursery & Tree
Farm of Lubbock entered the bid
It was too good an offer to turn
down, said City Manager Brad
Stafford
Not only are there numerous
ty pes of trees, but many of them are
already fairly mature
The trees range in circumference
from 2 ‘/2 inches to 7 inches and are
8-18 feet tall. Stafford said
The bid include such types as
red oaks, burr oaks, pecans, ash.
bald cypress, sweet gum and the
Japanese black pine
City officials arc considering
using prison inmates from the Rudd
Unit in Brownfield to plant the
trees.
At the same time. .Stafford said,
the city has been approved for a
$2,500 matching grant from the
Chatman Forestry Foundation in
Lubbock
Funds from the grant will be
used to buy additional trees for
planting
Aldermen agreed that Sundown
would participate in a City of
Lubbock auction on April 8
Sundown will put its old phone
system equipment on the block
The board also voted to seek
bids for new controls for the city's
water tower and two booster
stations
The city accepted a bid from
Brock's Carpet of Levelland to
install new carpet at the golf course
pro shop Brock’s bid was the
lowest one submitted, said Stafford
Aldermen reviewed the 1998-99
audit but tabled accepting it until
they can consider it further
The audit contained no
deficiencies. Stafford noted
The board discussed buying a
new pickup for the golf course but
took no specific action
Aldermen adopted a policy on
what the city will charge and not
charge citizens for inspecting and
copying public information
Police Chief Shawn Myatt
reviewed crime statistics for the'city
for 1999 and compared them with
information for 1998
Stafford said a date has not been
set for the annual
cleanup day
BOARD
modify it some," he said "It should
be a real neat thing ’’
Osbum pointed out that some
local residents mistakenly believe
that Early Settlers’ is a Mam Street
event It is not, he said, noting that
it is put on by the Chamber of
Commerce
Osbum, assistant city manager,
told the board that it would be very
difficult for the city to obtain
permission from the state to close
sections of downtown streets for
"more than four hours” during
Early Settlers’.
All of Houston Street and
Avenue H between Houston and
FM 300 are considered state
highways.
Because of that, the state frowns
on proposals to install center street
parking on such roadways, he said
continued from page 1
Paxton said it appeared that the
growth on the courthouse square is
occurring on those streets - Avenue
G and Austin - where center street
parking has been installed
As an information item, Osbum
told the board that the Texas
Department of Agriculture will hold
a Rural Economic Development
workshop Feb 3 at South Plains
College
The workshop will cover such
topics as rural housing. ________
Dye asked board members to
give her times when they would be
available for a planning retreat ‘
During the retreat, the board
will develop one-year apd five-year
goals for the Main Street program,
as well as a plan of action for this
year
Police Report
conunumty
QUADS continued from page 1
Levelland St Hockley County
News-Press
Serving all of Hockteg County
Drawer 1628
Levelland. Tx. 79336-1628
711 Austin 894-3121
Publication Number
146-380
Published every
Wednesday & Sunday at
711 Austin St.. Levelland.TX.
Second class postage paid’
at Ijeuelland, Texas 79336
Postmaster, send changes of
addresses to Levelland
Hockley County Nrews.
Drawer 1628. Levelland
Texas 79336.
Single Copy Price ...50 Cents
Subscription rates:
Hockley and Adjacent
Counties...$25.00 Tear
Elsewhere in Texas...
$35.00 per year.
Out of State...$36.00 Year
Ml iiib*cri(Mk»'* pm/nUr <*l"ance
Stephen Si Pat Henry. Publisher*
Now for a blonde joke.
A blonde’s car broke down on
the Interstate. She eased it over
onto the should of the road and
carefully stepped out of the car and
opened the trunk.
Out jumped two men in trench
coats who walked to the rear of the
vehicle where they stood facing
oncoming traffic and began
opening their coats and exposing
themselves to approaching
motorists.
Not surprisingly, one of the
worst pileups in the history of this
Interstate occurs.
It’s not long before a police car
shows up. The officer quizzes some
father
Allison is "the griper,
according to her mother She enjoys
following John around on his
adventures and loves to cal "
Austen is the most particular
one. said Mrs LaQuey
Austen s the little prissy one of
the group, she said "She is very
particular She has to be held a
certain way ”
The boys arc using words like
Da-da. Ma-ma and Baw-baw
(bottle)," she said Austen and
Allison arc a little slower but also
utter their own versions of Dad and
Mom
Supported by friends, family
members and their church, the
LaQueys have balanced the
demands of family and jobs.
LaQuey has recently played the
role of Mr Mom during the day
while his wife was at work at Tech
Tech University'
It’s really not that hard to take
care of all four of them,” he said
They play a lot They occasionally
get cranky
COUNTY continued from page 1
of drivers, learns the reason for the .L"Quev bad b(ef" (emP'oyed
’j ,u -7 " with Burger King until last summer
p.leup and then confronts the Qn Tuesday, he began .a'rng
blonde who is still standing beside 6 6
her disabled car.
“What is going on here?" he
demands.
“My car broke down,” says the
lady calmly.
“Well, what were those perverts
doing out there by the road,"
demands the officer.
And she said.......
“Those are my
flashers!”
classes again at South Plains
College He is taking 11 hours this
semester and studying to be a
computer programmer He plans to
eventually transfer to Texas Tech
University
Asked about his study habits, he
said he w ill do most of his studying
on campus
Mrs LaQuey s sister-in-law,
Jenna Pichla, has volunteered to
take care of the children while their
father is at school
And her parents. Kenneth and
Angela Wenzel of Levelland, have
also been a great help to the family
Mrs LaQuey said the members
of their church - Park Drive Baptist
- have been very supportive
In addition to offering financial
support, members of the
congregation have occasionally
offered to babysit one or two of the
children and give the parents a
break for an afternoon
Mrs LaQuey. who took fertility
drugs to become pregnant, said she
wouldn’t change a thing about her
children ,
“They ’re just a lot of fun,” she
said "It’s really amazing to see
what they learn every day ”
Alexander Salas reported that
someone broke into his Chevrolet
Suburban Sunday night, stealing a
cellular phone, a wallet, a purse and
other items
The total property loss,
including a broken window, was
estimated at nearly $900
The burglary occurred while
Salas was visiting relatives on 10th
Street, according to a report
Burglars stole an arc welder and
an air compressor from Evaristo
Garcia s shop at his East Adams
Street home The equipment was
worth $650
The break-in apparently
happened overnight Thursday
A young man said that his watch
and ring were stolen Sunday
evening while he was playing
Council OKs
squad car buy
In a brief meeting Monday, the
City Council accepted a bid for two
patrol cars for the Police
Department but rejected bids for a
new K-9 unit vehicle
Council members accepted a
net bid of $39,008 for two cars
from Smith South Plains The price
included a trade-in allowance of
$3,500
Smith South Plains was the only
company to submit a bid. noted
City Secretary Chris Wade
On a recommendation made by
Police Chief Ted Holder, the
Council rejected bids for a K-9 unit
that were made by Smith South
Plains and R & K Autoplex.
Holder made the
recommendation because neither
company's bid included rear air
conditioning for the vehicles The
feature is considered necessary
because the unit will be carrying a
police dog
In rejecting the bids, the Council
directed staff to readvertisc for
bids. Wade said
The Council also voted
for the city to advertise
for one pickup for the
Parks Department and one
dumptruck cab and chassis
for the Cemetery Department
emergency
Did you hear about the second
grader who was asked to if she
knew the capital of the United
States?
She promptly said,
“Washington, D.C."
When she was asked what the
“D.C.” stands for, she thought for a
minute and then replied, “dot com."
them before commissioners could
set a date for a special election
Jerry Osbum, hospital
administrator.noted that
approximately 1,600 people have
signed the petition
It has to be signed by a
minimum of 1,350 people - or 10
percent of county voters - before an
election can be called
If the measure passes, the
county would issue general
obligation bonds to pay for the
improvements
Commissioner Jack Ayers
estimated that, depending on the
interest rate and repayment period
of the bonds, the issue could
increase the county property tax
rate by 2 or 3 cents per $100
valuation
El Lea Henley, Put 2
opposition to the creation of a
hospital district in the future
J.R Stanley, Pet 3
commissioner, said he would
actively campaign against such a
district
In other business,
commissioners voted to seek bids
for a new pickup for Precinct 4
Ayers said the county will
accept bids on a heavy duty pickup
until Jan 31 The county is offering
a 1995 Crown Victoria as a trade-in
vehicle
On a recommendation made by
Becky Currington, commissioners
approved one public assistance
request It was for $48 70 on an
electric bill
The Court also agreed to rent
the Women’s Building at the
Hockley County Fairgrounds to
Jennifer Evanson for a wedding
Oilfield equipment worth
$5,100 was stolen over the
weekend from the site of a
workover rig. according to a
Sheriff s Office report
A set of elevators and items
called BJ Slips were taken
sometime between 6 p m Saturday
and Monday morning
The theft occurred east of
Sundown and a mile smith of FM
301 on a Texaco Slaughter lease
.... commissioner, said she would --------- --------- - -
Do you know what is black and support the issue if taxpayers favor reception on June 17 and 18
blue and bruised all over? A ,t Commissioner Billy Thetford
brunette who has been telling too But she and the other was unable to attend the meeting
many blonde jokes! commissioners were firm in their due to a funeral
Firefighters responded to a
small fire Saturday night at a
residence on South Alamo Road
A fire broke out at about 8 p m
in a hot water heater closet at Jorge
Galindo's home, according, to a
report
City firefighters put out a grass
fire Friday night in the 2300 block
of Sunrise Lane The fire was
reported at 8 p m
football at a city park
The victim said he put the two
items on a car hood while he was in
the game Three people left in the
car and one of them fold the v ictim
that they would put the items on the
front seat and be right back When
the suspects returned a short time
later, they told him that they could
not find the watch and ring, a report
said
Vandals caused $500 in damage
by scratching Jeremy Atchison’s
car last week at the high school
The incident occurred Friday
A 20-year-old man who was
driving a car with its headlight oil'
was jailed on multiple charges
Saturday night
The officer who stopped the
man on Cherry Street found an
empty beer bottle and a full bottle
of beer in the vehicle He also
found a large club wrapped in
electrical tape
According to a report, the
suspect was charged with
unlawfully carrying of a weapon
and minor in consumption The
man’s vehicle insurance was
expired, as well as the vehicle
registration
Police arrested a Levelland man
Sunday afternoon for driving with a
suspended license
A man is suspected of stealing
$50 from a woman after she let him
inside her home to use the phone
The money was on a kitchen table
when it was taken, police said
A man who was allegedly
holding a shotgun during an
argument with his wife was arrested
for family violence and making a
terroristic threat
The incident occurred Saturday
afternoon at a home in the
Kauffman Addition Police
recovered an unloaded 12-gauge
pump at the residence.
Eight-year-old R J Wheeler was
bitten by a dog Sunday afternoon
outside of an Avenue D home A
pit bull dog bit the youth, a report
said
Officers arrested a 19-vear-old
city man for minor in consumption
and failure to identify himself early
Sunday morning
Two men who were fighting
outside the El Rev Ballroom early
Sunday morning were arrested for
disorderly conduct and minor in
consumption
One man was from Morton
while the other was from Sundown,
police said
A man was jailed for driving
under the influence/alcohol by a
minor Sunday He also had an
outstanding warrant for his arrest
said
Smyer board .
slates meeting
Smyer’s board of aldermen will
consider the 1998-99 audit during a
regular meeting Thursday night
The board will also discuss an
Energas re-rate extension and
approve a resolution for the election
of city officers
Aldermen will OK a financial
report and hear reports from the city
attorney, city engineer and fire
department chief They will review
information on construction of the
new water tower and street repairs
The meeting will start at 7:30
p m at City Hall. 202 Lincoln St
»■
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Rigg, John. Levelland and Hockley County News-Press (Levelland, Tex.), Vol. 21, No. 84, Ed. 1 Wednesday, January 19, 2000, newspaper, January 19, 2000; Levelland, Texas. (https://texashistory.unt.edu/ark:/67531/metapth1168885/m1/2/?q=%22%22~1: accessed June 26, 2024), University of North Texas Libraries, The Portal to Texas History, https://texashistory.unt.edu.; crediting South Plains College.