Levelland and Hockley County News-Press (Levelland, Tex.), Vol. 24, No. 121, Ed. 1 Sunday, May 26, 2002 Page: 1 of 30
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Hockley County News-Press 500
Jimmie Winn
give him an estimate on how much
the work might cost
If there is enough community
interest in the project, then the city
might also donate funds, he added
“I want to make sure that
whatever we have will be used
before 1 use taxpayers dollars to
fund it,” lie said “I don't want
something setting there and not
being used That's a waste of
money.”
Sundown s basic infrastructure
is in good shape, he noted
“Considering even thing, I think
we’re in pretty good shape, Winn
said “We have some streets that
need to be paved You ye got to get
your priorities and say, OK, what do
we need versus what do we want.”
He said the city has tackled
See MAYOR Page 2
County residents will gather
here and elsewhere Monday to recall
the sacrifices made by Americans in
the country's wars
A ceremony honoring military
service veterans, both living and
dead, will start at 10 a m in the City
of Levelland Cemetery. The
ceremony will be at the flag pole at
the top of the hill Geo C Price
Funeral Directors is sponsoring the
program
The official dedication of a
flagpole and a bronze plaque will
begin at 10 a m at Smith South
Plains cast of the city
A color guard from the Army
National Guard in Lubbock will
participate in the ceremony, and
minister William Eudy will
officiate.
Company employees have been
making donations to pay for the
flagpole and plaque for the last
seven months, said Mark Joplin.
The fund-raising effort was
spearheaded by the owners, Pat and
Annette Sykora.
The message on the plaque
reads. “In memory of lives lost Sept
11. 2001. This flag stands proudly
as a tribute of our commitment to
our families, community and
country. God bless America.”
Joplin noted that several
businesses and individuals were
involved in the project
Thomas Ortiz welded the stand
for the plaque and North Basin
Coating did the coating Dooley &
Son’s Upholstery worked on the
American flag
The public is invited to attend
the ceremony. Punch and cookies
will be served afterwards
A community service will get
underway at 10 am at the veterans
memorial in the Anton cemetery.
The Rev Rush Coffman, pastor
Of Anton First Baptist Church, will
lead the service. He is a U.S. Navy-
veteran.
yourlawns (now). If we move into ;
summer, we are going to hit some
major problems.”
The Lee Street facility contains ;
the second largest amount of water
of any water tower in Levelland. Its
non-use could add to the problem of >
water pressure as summer develops,
he said
The last amounts of water were
drained from the tower last week.
Councilman Roy Alexander
said he was concerned that- the
reason for perchlorate contamination
has not been determined
“Are we any closer to
understanding the source?” said
Alexander.
“I wish we had some good
answers, but we don't,” said
Ingham He added that the TNRCC
still has no explanation for the
contamination
The state agency has not found
the chemical anywhere else in
Levelland’s water supply system,
See TOWER Page 2
detected there
City Manager Greg Ingham
recommended that the council accept
the bid instead of seeking
competitive bids because of
“critical” issues facing the city.
If the city does not repaint the
facility now, then it faces the
prospect of having to repeatedly test
“After a few days of officially
bemg mayor, I'm learning more and
more respect for him (Popejoy),"
Winn said, laughing
The new member of the board
of aldermen has lived in Sundown
nearly all of his life.
Alj^r graduating from Sundown
High School in 1963, he earned an
associate's degree at South Plains
College He then moved to New
Mexico and worked in the Oil Patch,
Winn also worked in his late
father's sand blasting and spray
painting business for a few years
Today he is a pumper with Bass
Enterprises and has been with the
company for 24 years
• Winn said his short-term
“passion” is to find something for
young pedplc in the city to do at
night •*
He said he would like to see the
former Babe Ruth Park upgraded
with new lights and other facilities
so that it might be used for softball
games
“If we can keep one kid from
having a car wreck ... If they’re out
play ing softball rather than in their
car. it's worth whatever it costs us,”
Winn said
One way to improve the park
would be to ask companies and
organizations to act as sponsors The
names of contributors could then be
advertised, he said
The lighting at the park is old.
perhaps 30 years or more, and Winn
said he has asked an electrician to
HR Sundown resident Jimmie Winn
would like to sec his hometown
-H grow
Winn, who was elected as
Sundown's new mayor earlier this
mopth. says the community has
enough attributes to make it a
desirable home for newcomers
The city is moving in that
direction, he said
“Right now is a real good time
because we have an economic
development board,” Winn said,
“and it seems like the mood of the
councilmcn is we want the city to
grow I think everybody 's on, the
same page there ”
As the new mayor, Winn said
he has plenty to learn about the city
and how it operates
“It’s going to take me probably
two years to reach snuff,” he said
Winn said he had no axes to
grind when he decided to run against
former mayor Ronnie Popejoy
“Ronnie has been doing an
excellent job 1 didn't have any
complaint^,' Winn said “I just kind
of had the idea that maybe the
people would like someone to have
some fresh ideas, a new approach ''
He was surprised at how close
the May 4 election turned out He
edged out Popejoy by a margin of
92-90. •
“It’s about as close as you can
get,” he said, adding that voter
turnout was high for the election.
The mayor's job can be a
challenging one, he acknowledged
BROOM MASTERS -- Longtime Levelland Noon Lions Club member James Carroll, left- and Patrick Acevedo
discuss brooms Thursday during the annual broom sale in the city The yearly event benefits club charities and the
blind workers who make brooms, rakes and other items (Staff Photo)
New Sundown mayor touts
city’s qualities, future growth
SUNDOWN TOWER - Dwayne Cox welds together a section of quarter-inch steel plate that is part of the new
water tower being built in Sundown A crew with the Kentucky firm of Caldwell Tanks has been working on the
project since last week Weather permitting, it will be completed next week The new tower will hold 150,000
gallons of water and replaces the old 75,000-gallon facility, which is more than 50 years old The overall project
is costing $329,000. (Start Photo)
Friday. the city council hired a month since the chemical was
Kerrville company to clean and
paint a water tower that was closed
last month after perchlorate was
found in it
N G Painting Inc will clean the
interior of the Lee Street tower and
• coat it The price tag. including
installation of ladders and other
equipment, is $52,300
1 he 400,000-gallon tank has .the tower for the presence of
supplies.
“We could still go into our
In an emergency meeting remained closed for more than perchlorate, Ingham said.
He said the Texas Natural
Resource Conservation Commission
is “strongly recommending” that
Levelland refurbish the tower
“If we don’t do it, there could
be weeks of extensive testing,”
Ingham said
Having the tower out of
commission for long could cause the
city problems as hot weather puts
increasing demands on water
Memorial Day ceremonies
1 j j j • * j drought contingencv plan,” he said
slated here and in Anton • “We’re not saying don't irrigate
Study cites city’s needs, strong
& weak
points
* An agricultural and multi-
purpose center
* Data for a new motel
* Economic development
staffing
* Hie rise of country music and
bluegrass in West Texas
City Manager Greg Ingham said
the city will use information ftom
the study to develop a
comprehensive plan for Levelland
Hie study and information from
the findings of a Capital
Improvements Task Force last year
will go into the plan. Ingham said
“We feel like it's got some
information that will help us as we
move into our comprehensive
planning process,' he said It's got
some good ideas "
rhe study gives the city ideas on •
what residents would like to sec
happen in Levelland, he added
“It was really designed to
generate information ... not
necessarily what the city needs to
do, but what the community is
interested in," Ingham said “That
helps us in terms of our planning
This gives us a better feel for where
the community is ”
Copies of the “Levelland
Economic Development and Needs
Assessment Study” are now
available for public viewing
The study. which cost more than
$23,000. contains such information
as demographics, income levels and
community- strengths
It can be viewed at city hall,
the Chamber of Commerce office
and the Hockley County Library
The nearly inch-thick document
can aid business owners and
companies that are thinking of
opening a store here, said Debra
Dy e, Main Street program manager.
This can be useful to business
owners and to prospective
businesses." Dy e said “It could be
very helpful and we hope the
community is able to use it as a tool
to better their businesses or to open
up a business."
The study is more of a
“generalized one” and is not a
statistical study, she noted.
“That does not mean that
every thing in there could stand on its
own," Dye said
Entrepreneurs and companies
would still need to do"their own
market analysis before making a
business decision, she suggested
Copies of the document may
eventually be placed on compact
discs
The study, funded by the
Levelland Economic Development
Corporation, the Levelland
Industrial Foundation and the city,
got under way m the winter of 2001
The Texas Alliance for
Education and the Arts interviewed
more than 300 Levelland residents
for the study
It assesses community strengths,
examines targeted areas of growth
and considers the quality of life in
Levelland. It also summarizes the
demographics of the city, Hockley
County and local communities
Business-related suggestions
recommended by residents included
the following;
* Recognition for the “need for
greater diversification of businesses
and jobs,” with a consensus that the
best size for a new business would
be 10 employees
* A need for higher-paying jobs
to attract educated y oung adults, as
well as entry-level jobs paying
$15,000-25,000 a year
* Recruitment of such businesses
as a warehousing and distribution
center, a textile company and
manufacturing businesses that use
area natural resources.
* More gift stores with tourist
appeal, an antique mall, a coffee
house and a clothing and shoe store
for men and teens in the downtown
*The development of the
downtown district as a dining and
entertainment area
* A wider range of restaurants
including a steakhouse, cafeteria,
barbecue, Italian cuisine and quality
fast food
* Development of a
multipurpose facility with an arena
and a public golf course, and the
opening of such businesses as a
handyman/remodeling store, Web
site specialists, a Sears-type retail
department store and a building
supply business.
Level land’s strengths that were
cited by local residents included:
Hometown atmosphere, lack of
traffic, low crime rate, proximity to
Lubbock, clean air, good rental
market, low housing costs, quality of
City approves emergency
renovation of water tower
fact which is beginning to attract not
only new industry but individuals
who work in Lubbock and at Reese
Technology Center,” according to a
statement
fhe study has recommendations
and strategies for economic
development Among them arc
suggestions for
Construction of a new motel,
expanding existing local businesses,
assisting with the growth of South
Plains College and Covenant
Hospital Levelland; pursuing
warehouse and assembly businesses,
and developing a tourism industry
Hie study also discusses short-
and long-range projects and covers
such topics as marketing Levell/md,
evaluating the feasibility of hiring
an economic development director,
and establishing a business training
program
■ It also contains information on
these subjects:
* A short history of the county
and city.
* An interview questionnaire
* A history of the economic
development sales and use tax
* Local workforce survey and
analysis
life for families, sense of community
and a good place to live
Weaknesses included
Community size too small for
growth, lack of strong support for
each other, drugs and teen
pregnancy problems; poverty,
narrow focus, not open to other
opinions, lack of natural beauty; low
cotton prices, lack of old money, and
city out of touch, behind the times
In the area of youth needs,
interviewees said there were needs
for a batting cage, areas for skate
boards, baseball fields, a movie
theater, arts activities and more
tennis courts
A Youth Input and Wish List
included a “place to hang out - some
kind of center;” later hours for
restaurants; a track for dirt bikes
and four-wheelers; a place to display
student art and murals; and business
discounts for students
In a review of components for a
vision statement, the study found
that Levelland is a leader in the
areas of medical services, higher
education, shopping, dining and
entertainment
“The city’s quality of life is
high while its cost of living is low, a
VOLUME 24 NUMBER 121 USPS 146 380 Drawer 1628 Levelland,Texas 79336 1628 Phone (806) 894 3121 Sunday, May 26, 2002 20 Pages in 2 Sections and Supplements
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Rigg, John. Levelland and Hockley County News-Press (Levelland, Tex.), Vol. 24, No. 121, Ed. 1 Sunday, May 26, 2002, newspaper, May 26, 2002; Levelland, Texas. (https://texashistory.unt.edu/ark:/67531/metapth1202453/m1/1/: accessed July 11, 2024), University of North Texas Libraries, The Portal to Texas History, https://texashistory.unt.edu.; crediting South Plains College.