Levelland and Hockley County News-Press (Levelland, Tex.), Vol. 22, No. 9, Ed. 1 Sunday, April 30, 2000 Page: 1 of 23
twenty three pages : ill. ; page 21 x 13 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:
. i~ ... IM -2
Levelland And
Hockley County
r _ f.
News-Press
500
VOLIIMfc 22 M'MHUH 9 USPS 146 3HO Drawer 162H levelland, Texav 79336-162H Phony (806) 894 3121 Sunday,April 30, 2000 16 Pages In I Section A Supplements
Lamesa DA to head grand jury probe
A grand jury will convene at 9
a m Monday to consider evidence
in the shooting death of David A
Rodrigue/
The 19-year-old Levelland man
died April 17. a day after he was
shot during a high-speed pursuit by
peace officers
Ricky Smith, the district
attorney from Lamesa, was
appointed to the case by District
J udge And> Kupper
Gary Goff, district attorney for
Cochran and Hockley counties, had
asked to be excused from the case.
GJ to review deadly police pursuit
Goff wanted the state Attorney
General s Office to convene a
special grand jury to consider the
incident
But he ruled out that option
after learning that the AG could not
preside over a grand jury until mid-
May
Goff said several district
attorneys within driving distance of
Levelland were contacted about the
case
The grand jury will consist of
the same people who have served in
that capacity since January. he said
Goff said he has no idea hov\
long it might take for the 12 grand
jurors to finish their deliberations
They will consider a number of
lactors. including whether police
officers followed proper procedures
during the pursuit
'If?
%
m
is*
Two Levelland police officers,
Rick Wooton and Federico
Gonzales 111, fired eight shots from
their patrol car in an attempt to
disable Rodriguez’ car
Both men arc off patrol duty
until after the grand jury meets, said
Police Chief Ted Holder
The chase started shortly after
midnight April 15 when Rodrigue/’
allegedly ran a stop sign at a high
rate of speed
It ended less than 5 minutes
later in front of Scooter's
convenience store on FM 300,
according kv reports
Rodriguez, who was shot one
time in the head, died the next day
at University Medical Center in
Lubbock
Wooton, in his incident report,
said that Rodriguez rammed his
Chevrolet automobile into Wooton’s
patrol car several times during the
pursuit
Information about the incident
was limited after Texas Ranger
Larry Gilbreath took over the
investigation and asked that all
reports be sent to him
Gilbreath announced earlier this
week that he had completed his
investigation but provided few
details
After the shooting, the
Levelland and Hockley County
News-Press filed an Open Records
request with Levelland police asking
for a copy of the offense report in
the shooting
The News-Press was referred to
Gilbreath and the state Department
of Public Safety
A Writ of Mandamus seeking
information from the Levelland
Police Department was filed by the
Lubbock Avalanche-Journal a few
days after the shooting
Kupper dismissed the case
Thursday, noting that “all matters of
controversy have been settled.”
He ruled that each party would
bear “then* own costs” in the matter
Authorities released few details
about Monday ’s grand jury
Goff said he had no information
about witnesses who have been
subpoenaed to appear before the
grand jury
Neither Ricky Smith nor
Ranger Gilbreath could be reached
Friday for comment on the
witnesses scheduled to appear
Monday
Holder confirmed that he has
been requested to appear before
grand jurors
One piece .of evidence that the
See PROBE Pag* 2
r
» It
Tj
Sales tax rebates rise
again for local cities
'111
I
? V
lx
■mm
pp.f
m
i >r
,
'Sills
HIGHWAY RENOVATION — These construction workers have made decent progress in the last two yveeks,
installing a concrete curb on both sides of Texas 114 inside the Levelland city limits. Their labors yverc made easier
by the use of such equipment as this curb and gutter machine The yvork is part of an $114 million rehabilitation
of Texas 114 betyvecn the city and Lubbock The project is slated for completion next year (Staff Photo)
Local municipalities got
\yelcome neyvs from the state this
month in the form of heftier sales
tax rebate checks
It yvas the second month in a
royv for five towns and cities to earn
larger rebates than a y ear ago
The communities shared the
good neyvs with other municipalities
across Texas
Sales tax payments totaling
$ 189 8 million yverc mailed to 1.104
Texas cities and 119 counties this
month
That amount represented an
I I 7 percent increase over the
$ I 70 7 million allocated to cities
and counties in April 1999. said
t Texas Comptroller Carole Keeton
Ry lander
Rebates to local governments
for die first four months of this year
were up 8.9 percent compared to the
same period in 1999
Rvlander sent sales tax
payments totaling $1 74 (> million to
Texas cities in April, or 113
percent more than last April's
rebates of $156 8 million
Rebates of $15 1 million that
went to counties were 9 percent
ahead of the $13.9 million allocated
m April 1999. a report showed
The April payments represent
sales taxes collected in February
and reported to the Comptroller's
Office in March
According to a state report,
rebates mailed to towns and cities in
Hocklev County were 16 98 percent
more in April than 12 months ago
Total payments to the
compiumties went from $ 100.089 in
April 1999. to $117.087 this month
Sundown experienced the
greatest increase
Rebates to the oil-based city
leaped 93 28 percent, zooming from
$5,583 to $10,791 in a year s time.
The surge in crude oil prices in
recent months is probably a factor
behind the increase, said City
Manager Brad Stafford
"It's great, it looks good.”
Stafford said "I Uiink it ties back
into the (oil) companies are starting
to do some work around here.”
Anton's monthly check from the
Comptroller was also up
considerably this month.
The $895 pay ment that the city
earned last April was replaced with
one for $1,531 this month That
represented an increase of 70.85
percent.
The City of Ropesville had the
third largest increase of the local
municipalities
Its rebate check of $593 was
28 88 percent more than the $460
one that Ropesville netted a year
ago
Levelland received $100,684
from the state this month, or an
increase of 11 95 percent over the
$89,932 that the county seat earned
last April
The state sent $3,488 to
Opdyke West earlier this month
That amount yvas 8 42 percent
See REBATES Page 2
TAAS mentoring program yields positive results
By Mara Fortner
Levelland sophomore students
were not ‘lost in the shuffle’ of
every day school life this past win-
ter when teachers, staff, and admin-
istrators made a daily effort to have
personal contact with the students.
Due to a new mentoring program,
incorporated by Dr. Anne Darnell,
assistant high school principal,
geared towards improved TAAS
(Texas Assessment Academic
Skills) scores also resulted in higher
self-esteem and confidence in the
students as well as the mentors.
“Even though we concentrated
on the math objectives, I think the
individual attention shown to each
sophomore student that took the
TAAS made all the difference in
the world.”
The state of Texas has man-
dated that TAAS testing (exit level
test) must be given to the
sophomore class. It is an evaluation
of the school system and teacher
performance. The scores, along
with attendance and drop-out rate,
determine the school’s ranking. If a
school is ranked exemplary, it is not
only recognized throughout the
state, but receives additional
funding.
Scoring performance by the
sophomores over the past three
years has gone from 64% in 1997 to
67% in 1998 to 77% in 1999. The
improved result from 1997 was a
welcome sight but there were still a
few areas of concern that needed to
be addressed.
At the beginning of the 1999-
2000 school year, Kelly Baggett,
high school principal, presented the
idea of a mentor program to Dr.
Darnell. She researched the project
and adjusted it to fit Levelland High
School. The project involved the
entire faculty and staff mentoring
two to three students out of the
sophomore class. They were each
given a sample of the latest test that
was given. The main focus was the
13 math objectives that had to be
mastered. Morning and afternoon
tutorials were offered starting in
October until a week before the
TAAS test in February.
The program was accepted
whole-heartedly by some and with
reservations by others. The mentors
were to stay in contact with their
students, encouraging them weekly
and sometimes daily. It was an extra
work load on the staff and teachers
but the desire to help the students
far out-weighed any objections.
The test was given and it was
several anxious weeks before the
results came in.
“I was really thrilled with
them," said Dr. Darnell. "They did
absolutely wonderful!”
Viewing the break down, the
sophomores went from 81% in
1998 to 89% in 1999 to 90% in
State job growth strong;
jobless rate up in city
X
Job growth in Texas reached an
18-month high last month, in spite
of a slight rise in the seasonally
adjusted unemployment rate, said
the Texas Workforce Commission
Despite the slight increase in
unemployment from 4 5 to 4 6
percent, we've added 45.000 more
nonagricultural jobs statewide this
month - the most since September
1998. " said TWC Chair Diane
Rath
In Levelland. the unemployment
rate went from 4 6 percent in
Januarv and February to 5 3 percent
in March
Rick Osbum. assistant city
manager, w as unsure of the factors
behind the increase
But he said that a recent move
by a city-backed business indicates
some positive movement in the local
|ob market
Rehab Plus, a Lubbock
company that makes aprons, safety
vests and other ltemsmiovcd fronva
building on Alamo Road into the
former knitting mill earlier this
month
The company is leasing part of
the facility for $665 a month Rehab
Plus opened a branch here last June
and has employ ed about 15 people
Approximately 19 people are
working there now. said Osoum
The jobless rate for Hockley
County as a whole stood at 5.5
percent in March
During March, 9.787 county
residents were employed while 572
people were out of work, according
to the TWC
By comparison, the jobless rate
last month for Cochran County
stood at 113 percent It was 15 9
percent in Lamb County and 6.5
percent in Terry County.
But the unemploy ment rate in
Lubbock County was a mere 3
percent
The lowest unemployment rate
among the Metropolitan Statistical
Areas was 16 percent in Bryan-
College Station Austin-San Marcos
had a rate of 2 1 percent
Dallas, Fort Worth-Arlington
and Waco each had unemployment
rates of 3 1 percent
The highest lobless rate in
Texas was 14 4 percent in the
McAllen-Edinburg-Mission MSA
The service industry had the
greatest job growth in the state in
March
Approximately 13,300 service
jobs were added last month, and
•more than 71,000 were created in
the past year, said T P O'Mahoney,
commissioner for labor
See GROWTH Page 2 -
FlyX
.V S§* 1
X:
;Sr'
reading. The students stayed the
same on the writing portion at 93%
for 1999 and 2000. But, the best
performance was in math. In 1998,
the students scored 74%, in 1999
the total was 84%. This year, the
sophomores scored 90%!
“I am not positive that the
improved score was due to the men-
tor program,” admitted Darnell.
“But, l feel that the one-on-one
attention was the key to the scoring.
“I think the individual attention
shown to each sophomore student
that took the TAAS made all the
difference in the world,” she
stressed.
Levelland LS D. has a very
good chance to be a recognized
school with the results the sopho-
mores turned in. The figures, along
with drop-out rate and the average
daily attendance, are being calcu-
lated as of this date. The results will
be released by the end of the school
year or at least by the beginning of
next school year.
There were some drawbacks to
the mentor program.
“Every teacher assigned (to the
tutorials) showed up,” said Darnell.
“But, we did not get a very good
response from the students.”
Carrie Lutrick, Algebra II and
Geometry teacher, and Nancy
Swain, TAAS Remediation pro-
gram/Geometry teacher, both felt
that the tutorials were extended a
little too long. Mentors began con-
tacting their set of students in Sep-
tember. Contact was to be made
with each student until the week
before the TAAS test in February.
See PROGRAM Page 2
SPC student project
brings peace of mind
I .
m
COMMUNITY PROJECT — South Plains College student Kenneth
Bratcher checks a smoke detector to make sure that it is working properly
Bratcher and three other members of the student business organization Phi
Beta Lambda installed the devices free of charge this week in the homes of
elderly city residents Bratcher and John Camzales had just installed the
device at the Flint Avenue home of Julia Perez They and fellow students
Carlene Elliott arid Coral Mabie were members of one team who were doing
the work as a community service project (Staff Photo)
Where there’s smoke, there
may not be fire, thanks to a group
of students at South Plains College.
. To avert potential tragedies
caused by house fires, four teams
of a student business organization
called Phi Beta Lambda delivered
and installed smoke detectors free
of charge Thursday (April 27) to
30 elderly Levelland residents as a
community service project.
Julia Perez, who has lived in
her Levelland home 26 years, was
one of the recipients. She has
never had a smoke detector before.
“This is very special. 1 feel
more secure now,” said the petite
woman, who has been disabled
because of a back injury. “This is
a wonderful thing for the students
to do.”
Students Kenneth Bratcher, a
freshman business major, and John
Carrizales, a sophomore
advertising major, installed the
smoke detector for Mrs. Perez in a
hallway between the kitchen and
bedroom areas. “Phi Beta Lambda
had done the stnoke detector
project several years ago, and we
decided to do it again,” said
Bratcher. “It’s a way of giving
back to the community,” added
Carrizales.
Carlene Elliott, sophomore
accounting major and vice
president of PBL, and Coral
Mabie, a sophomore business
administration major and treasurer,
chatted with Mrs. Perez and gave
her some advice on its upkeep.
“Older homes usually don’t have
smoke detectors, so this is a
necessity,” said Mabie. Elliott,
who will graduate in May from
SPC, noted that “we are getting
some good feedback from the
community.” The students are
from Lubbock.
Members on other teams were
Brian Riedel from Smyer, Scott
Mahan from New Deal and Kurt
McKee from Sundown.
“The students got a lot out of
the project themselves,” said Ann
Gregory, associate professor of
accounting at SPC and Phi Beta
Lambda project sponsor.
The student organization
raised the money for the project by
selling final exam survival kits
purchased by parents for their sons
or daughters living in college
dorms.
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.
Rigg, John. Levelland and Hockley County News-Press (Levelland, Tex.), Vol. 22, No. 9, Ed. 1 Sunday, April 30, 2000, newspaper, April 30, 2000; Levelland, Texas. (https://texashistory.unt.edu/ark:/67531/metapth1169128/m1/1/: accessed July 4, 2024), University of North Texas Libraries, The Portal to Texas History, https://texashistory.unt.edu.; crediting South Plains College.