Levelland and Hockley County News-Press (Levelland, Tex.), Vol. 28, No. 38, Ed. 1 Wednesday, August 17, 2005 Page: 2 of 12
twelve pages : ill. ; page 21 x 11 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:
V
V
We got a kick out of the
3
1
I
counseling office
qualify for federal
A woman assaulted a 16-
a
A jar of coins was also taken
Quinn said increasing the
News-Press
4
to
Letters
to the
Editor
Levelland 8l
Hockley County
adding that there has been an
increase in commercial activity
in downtown Levelland
y
F J
finance reform. He did this
after closed-door meetings with
Governor says send books
now.
Texas schoolchildren will get
new textbqoks. Gov. Perry directed
the Texas Education Agency to
A Ford pickup that was
stolen in Haskell County was
located Sunday in Levelland,
a
1
.^4*
have been intoxicated or high on
drugs at the time, according to a
report.
woman’s car this past weekend.
The burglary was
Monday.
Someone stole Chad Beseda’s
near
Fulton is estimated to be 1,500
years old.
-Caddo Lake is the only
natural lake in the state.
--Dr Pepper was invented in
The grass may look greener don't know, but I think it is part
on the other side, but it still has of Adam's clothes.”
to be mowed.
said she dropped him of Aug. 3.
Employees of the business
found the padlock to a gate missing
eastbound on Third Street when a
westbound pickup truck nearly
collided with his vehicle. The
Retirement party
set for police officer
A retirement reception hon-
oring police Sgt. Larry Joe
McDowell will be held Aug. 31.
The reception will begin at 2
p.m. at Levelland City Hall, 1709
Ave. H .
McDowell is retiring after
serving 22 years with the
Levelland Police Department.
session II of the 79*” Texas and unconstitutional.
Legislature ends Friday, Aug.
19.
replace the sidewalks.
“This is just a continuation
of what started in 1999,” he said, especially for
Street.
Trustees will conduct a
budget workshop on the pro- chance of winning the grant.
If the project is turned down
or the county decides not to put
up funds, the city has a second
proposal.
Under that proposal, side-
walks would be replaced along Dear Editor,
the south side of Austin Street
The defunct tax was once used
fund a county school
superintendent’s position.
posed 2005-2006 fiscal year
budget.
✓*
711 Austin Levelland
806-894-3121
“Serving All Of Hockley County’
Publication Number 146-380
Published each Wednesday and
Sunday at 711 Austin Street,
Levelland. Texas 79336-1628,
Postmaster please send
changes of address to
Levelland A Hockley County
News-Press at P.O. Drawer
1628. Levelland. Texas
79336-1628
Last Friday, our friend,
Rickey Hatter, dropped off a
story, which he first saw in a
church bulletin. He felt it was
good enough to be published in
Reader 's Digest. Hope you get a
grin out of it.
Johnny was looking through
the family Bible and reading the
very interest facts therein.
When he found a leaf that
had been placed there and
pressed flat, he called to his
mother, “Mom, come see what I
found.”
His mother, who was busy in
the kitchen, answered him with a
question, “What is it?”
Johnny promptly replied, “I
LISD trustees
to tackle budget
A special meeting of the would provide $20,000 or less to
Levelland school board will be pay for the remaining costs.
held Thursday evening in the Quinn said increasing the
Administration building on 11* local match from 10 percent to 20
percent would produce more
points and improve the city's
tary as one
the winter home of North
America’s only remaining flock
of whooping cranes.
-Jalapeno jelly originated in
Lake Jackson in 1978.
—The worst natural disaster
in U.S. history was in 1900
caused by a hurricane in which
over 8,000 lives were lost on
Galveston Island.
-The first word spoken from
the moon on July 20, 1969 was
“Houston.”
—El Paso is closer to
California than it is to Dallas.
—San Angelo is the largest
city in the U.S. which is not
located on an interstate highway.
—Laredo is the world’s
largest inland port.
—The Tyler Municipal Rose
Garden is the world’s largest rose
garden with over 38,00 bushes
with 500 varieties on 22 acres.
—The King Ranch is larger
thin Rhode Island.
—Tropical Storm Claudette
bought a U.S. rainfall record of
43" in 24 hours in and around
Alvin in July, 1979.
—Texas is the only state to
enter the U.S. by Treaty, instead
of annexation. This allows the
Texas flag to fly at the same
height as the U.S. flag.
—A Live Oak tree
Family members told police the victim s hair and making money and two
that the woman came home high threats. The suspect threw a beer
on drugs. She and her father bottle when she left a residence,
pickup truck, police kicked open the door to the
secretary’s office.
Authorities questioned a missing from the machine, and the
woman about the break-in. change box had been put in
pany was started in Bordon,
Texas between Columbus and
Weimar.
—Texas has had six capital
cities: Washington-on-the-
Brazos, Harrisburg, Galveston,
Velasco, West Columbia and
Austin.
—The Capitol Dome in
Austin is the only dome in the
U.S. which is taller than the
Capitol Building in Washington
D C. (by 7 feet).
—The name Texas comes
from the Hasini Indian word
“tejas” meaning friends. Tejas is SB^Fin‘additional'
not a Mexican word for Texas.
- The state animal is the
Armadillo.
—The first domed stadium in
the U.S. was the Astrodome in
Houston.
Nothing appeared to have been
taken from the business.
Gary Cain said a ,22-caliber
after she hit her husband with stolen from his East Ellis Street
home between July 26 and Aug. 2.
A jar of coins was also taken
drinking before they got into a from the residence.
fight. The man tried to hit and
rain was, most people are ready CONTRACT continued from page 1
for warm sunny weather to come the sidewalks around the
back. ( • — ■ -
We need some sunshine of the project has risen to
and we need it to get hot now,” ~
said Barbara Burleson, an em-
ployee with Citizens-Shallowater
Co-op Gin.
. 6 “
residents i -j ■
percent this fall, Smyer alder- been wonderful in supporting her. (Staff Photo)
men decided last Thursday.
In the meeting, aidermen
agreed to increase the monthly
rate for residences from $12.50
to $13.
Duncan Disposal had asked
for a 3 percent increase.
But the board opted to raise
the rate by 4 percent to keep the
residential amounts even and to
cover all costs, said City
Secretary Jo Ann Beard.
The monthly rates for large
commercial customers will in-
crease to $32.14 a month, and to
$22.95 a month for small
commercial customers.
The new rate structure goes
into effect Oct. 1.
Aidermen also agreed to
allow a current 4 percent fuel
surcharge by Duncan to remain
in place for the time being.
The surcharge was ap-
proved by Smyer and other area
towns earlier this year. The
request was made because of
ris;ng fuel costs for the solid
waste carrier.
In other action, aidermen
voted to keep the property tax
rate the same in the new fiscal
year.
The proposed rate of 76.6
cents per $100 valuation will
raise a total of about $900 more
in ad valorem taxes in 2005-
2006 because of higher property
values. Beard said.
Waco in 1885. There is no period RATES
•* * •-The- Utmion emr^-continuedfrom page 1
The council agreed to follow
a tax adoption schedule in the
next two weeks.
Council members will hold
public hearings on the tax rate on
Aug. 22 and 29 before adopting it
in September.
Osburn said he is recom-
mending that the council keep
the ad valorem tax rate un-
changed - at 72.4 cents per $100
valuation - in the 2005-2006
budget year.
Leaving the rate the same
would generate an estimated
212 2’22 1 2212 I revenue
for the city. The increase would
occur because of a rise in
property values.
Osburn said keeping the tax
rate the same would have no
impact on homeowners unless
the value of their homes in-
creased.
The effective tax rate, or the
level which the levy would have
to be set to raise the same amount
of tax revenue as this year, is
68.2543 cents. The rollback rate,
which could trigger a tax
rollback election, is 73.5098
cents.
Dave Quinn, director of
economic development, said the
city is applying for a $150,000
Texas Capital Fund Main Street
grant to rebuild sidewalks around
the county courthouse.
If approved, the sidewalks
would be replaced and a lighted
traffic island would be built at the
intersection of Austin Street and
Avenue G.
Quinn said the county has
been asked to contribute $50,000
toward the project, and the city
select finance reform by Aug. 19.
Census race ratios continue
shift.
Texas ceased to be a so-called
finance reform, and now it is us white-majority state in July 2004,
up to the House," Dewhurst according to U.S. Census data,
said. ■ Those figures showed Hispanic,
Meanwhile, the House has African-American, Asian and other
its own version of school racial statistical groups had re-
finance reform to consider and creased to a combined 50.2 percent
the fate of SB 8 is in Craddick’s of Texas’ population.
hands. Any differences over
the content of SB 8 would have
to be worked out by a
conference committee i
little time left.
course,
next day in the 500 block of glass was hit with a BB or a
Martin Luther King Jr. Street. Al- pellet, according to a report.
though there was no major Anadina Fuentes said an air damage.
damage to the vehicle, it had been conditioner and two blankets A Smyer area woman said
forcibly broken into, a report said, were recently stolen from her her 15-year-old son may have break into Big
A Lubbock man who nearly storage unit on Avenue H. The
drove his pickup into a patrol AC was valued at $500.
officer’s car was jailed Sunday a TWT
night. XvnLllN
Officer Ricky Galindo was continued from page 1
The rain was welcomed by
area growers because it will
allow them to cut back on
irrigating their crops.
“They will be able to stop
watering. That is always a good
thing,” said Delinda Hicklen of
Buster's Gin.
However, as welcome as the
Per diem cost really adds up.
Lawmakers presently receive a
stipend of $600 per month for their
with service to Texas, but during regular
or called sessions they also receive
Of course, legislation $128 a day for living expenses
passed now might be undone whether they are in Austin or not.
when the Supreme Court rules For all 181 lawmakers, their per
,, 2 * ‘ 21 diem-not counting stipend-tabu-
District ' Judge *Jobn lates.t<Mm estimated $4.4 mill6n
Dietz's ruling that public for each special session.
education in .Texas* is
Burglars broke a window
at Spade Co-op in Anton on
Aug. 4, causing $600 in electric bill with a forged check,
according to a report.
Someone apparently tried to
v 5**»" n;3 “R” Surplus in
run away on Aug. 5. The eastern Hockley County the night
woman; ’’ ‘
off to see a movie in Lubbock
with friends. The teen’s friends
told authorities that he went to Aug. 4. A chain was on°the ground^
the restroom and never re- ”
turned.
A woman was arrested for
assault/family violence Aug. 2 rifle and a 20-gauge shotgun
___1__1_1a 1___I____1____1___t.l . a . ■ — __~
a glass cup, cutting his jaw.
The couple had been
Houston. rorhartp rafoc SHOWING SUPPORT — Beth Belew, the secretary of the student
-Brazoria County has more vriUUitgc; talCb counseling office at South Plains College, is undergoing
species of birds than any other rise for Smyer chemotherapy for treatment of cancer. Two of her co-workers, Robert
area in North America. Garbage rates for Smyer Wood, left, and Brandon Awbrey recently shaved their heads in a lul ,m„.T ... o o
-Aransas Wildlife Refuge is r(.ddf.ntK increase by 4 show of support for her. Mrs. Belew says the entire office staff has p^d‘radio s^tsTc'raddick said the Legislature has met' hi’s wishes
When questioned by a detec- causing more than $1,000 in t °P>foe ? aPP^al. °f Austin
tive, Abeyta said he had tried to damage to eight vehicles early **'''*
enter several other homes in the Sunday morning at the Reunion
area before going into Webb's Arena on Avenue T.
home. The uninvited men were
A boy’s bicycle was stolen asked to leave the premises, a
from the front yard of Thelma report said.
Marinelarena's Ninth Street home Later, the victims found that
Sunday or Monday. tires had been cut and mirrors
A young woman said her damaged on their vehicles,
father assaulted her Sunday,
hitting and kicking her.
Police Report
A police officer was injured driver swerved
Saturday morning after he got moment.
into a fight with a man who Galindo stopped the man
entered his home. and detected the odor of alcohol
Officer Mike Webb suffered coming from his truck. Police
bruises to his throat during the ran a license check and found
incident. that the man’s driver’s license
Webb heard the front door of had been suspended, a report
his Ninth Street home open at said.
about 12:43 p.m. When he got up
to see if it was his son, he saw a <
man standing in the living room. I
The man came toward Webb and The vehicle was found behind
the two began fighting, a report home in the 1200 block of
said. Avenue B, police said.
When he asked the man what A man who was standing in
he was doing in his home, the the middle of a street next to a
suspect said he thought his “home truck was jailed for public
girl was partying there.” intoxication Sunday evening.
The suspect hit Webb in the Police received a call about
body and chest during the fight, two males driving recklessly and
The two men struggled until fighting at Third Street and
lawmen arrived and subdued the Avenue K. The suspect was
suspect, a report said. standing by the truck with a door
Moses James Abeyta, 26, of open when an officer arrived.
Littlefield was arraigned on A woman is suspected of
charges of aggravated assault passing counterfeit bills at the
against a public servant and Wal-Mart Supercenter this past
burglary of a habitation. Bonds weekend.
totaled $30,(XX). The suspect purchased mer-
Police believe Abeyta may' chandise with three counterfeit
100-dollar bills and a phony
twenty, a report said.
Two men are suspected of
drugs. She and her father bottle when she left a residence,
apparently got into an argument denting a |
when she said she wanted to leave said.
in a car, a report said. Police were told that a
The man said he did not kick woman allegedly stole $100 in
her but hit her with his open hand, cash from another woman. The She told peace officers that a backward. The theft occurred early
Two guns were stolen from a theft was reported Sunday. male had sold one of the this month, a report said.
Vandals shot out a rear cameras but she had the Deputies were notified that
discovered window on a woman’s vehicle
last week.
Rafaela G. Ochoa discov- identified by the church secre-
Toyota Tacoma overnight Satur- ered this past Friday that a ,ary as one of the stolen turned off for non-payment.
day. window on her Chrysler Sebring cameras, a report said. Utility workers sealed the box
The vehicle was located the had been broken. It appeared the Burglars broke a window a second time. Several days later,
someone tried to pay the past due
male had sold one of the
cameras but she had the
second one. She gave the someone broke the seal on a meter
camera to deputies and it was box and used electricity after
service to a Tim Street home was
The month-long special underfunded, unfair, inadequate
Telecom bill reaches governor.
SB 5, a bill that doesn’t exactly
Lt. Gov David Dewhurst square with the GOP’s “local
resorted to news releases to control” mantra, has passed Senate
coax the House into accepting and House, and is sitting on Gov.
the Senate version of school Rick Perry’s desk. The legislation
requires companies that want to
offer local Intemet/broadband ser-
House Speaker Tom Craddick vices to negotiate user rates with
failed to result in agreement the Public Utilities Commission
and days until the deadline hit instead of with municipalities, as
single digits. In reply, Craddick they presently must. SB 5 is viewed
produced news releases of his by some as favorable to big
own. He suggested that businesses SBC and Verizon and
Dewhurst quit sending “wa- detrimental to cable providers (also
tered-down” bills that “lack big businesses). The governor may
meaningful reform.” Later, in put off signing SB 5 into law until
. - T. - - .» ■ • 1 • . 1 • • 1 ,
the House “will not continue to by delivering school finance and
put more money into a system property tax reform,
without the reforms to fix it.” School district report cards in.
On Aug. 13, however, the The Texas Education Agency
Punch & Judy show between said 77 percent of Texas schools
the speaker and the lieutenant and 87 percent of school districts
governor seemed over when this year met guidelines mandated
the House Select Committee on by the federal No Child Left Behind
Public Education Reform ap- Act. Under the Act, schools must
proved Senate Bill 8 by show “adequate yearly progress” to
Florence Shapiro, R-Plano. qualify for federal assistance.
SB 8, the selfsame school Failing to meet guidelines were 149
finance bill Dewhurst had been districts and 900 campuses,
pushing, looks and smells like
the one the House passed at the
end of the previous session.
In a subsequent news
release, Dewhurst
complimented Reps. Kent process book orders immediately,
Grusendorf, R-Arlington, and and promises to use his office’s
David Swinford, R-Amarillo, budget execution authority if the
for moving the process forward Legislature fails to pass school
in gaining the
committee’s approval of SB 8.
“The Senate has done every-
thing it can do on school
at the last
Sheriff’s Report |
Burglars broke into Anton kick his spouse while she tore his
First Baptist Church on the shirt and hit him with a cup, a
year-old girl Saturday, pulling night of Aug. 3, stealing report said.
> cameras. Three “kids” are suspected of
The culprits pried open a stealing soft drinks from a vending
door to the church and then machine at an Anton convenience
store.
Several soft drinks were found
me court also signed an
engagement letter with Duff, Myatt
“We’ll need to know & Blume for the county’s 2004
something this week for the audit. The audit had already been
grant application,” Osburn performed but an engagement letter
said. The application is due was never signed for the work.
Sept. L With no comment, the Court
Sprawls told commission- approved a letter of support for the
ers that the $50,000 request South Plains Economic Develop-
from the city changes the level ment District The district has been
at which the county tax rate can in existence since 1991.
I* set- As they have done in the past
Because of the change, 10 yean, commissioners voted to
County Auditor Gene Rush set the countywide school mainte-
will have to re-evaluate expen- nance tax at zero.
ditures before making a recom-
mendation on the rate, Sprawls to
said.
A Littlefield friend, Janice
Sebring, sent us the following list following story.
of little known Texas facts. Three-year-old Matt was
-The distance from Beau- intently watching his grand-
mont to El Paso is 742 miles. The mother apply make-up. As she
distance from Beaumont to put mascara on her lashes, he
Chicago, II. is 770 miles. asked. Grandma, why are you
-The worlds’ first rodeo was putting that stuff on?”
in Pecos on July 4, 1883. “I’m making myself beauti-
—The Heisman Trophy was ful for Grandpa," she told him.
named after John William “Well, don’t make yourself
Heisman who was the first full too beautiful,” he warned, “or
time coach at Rice University in Grandpa won’t recognize you.”
Garbage rates
children were so hearing on the proposed tax rate
given. Thank you so much
Levelland for everything and
■ Tt..Z-JjiJOUrprayCTS'
James Aldrich, M.Ed.
Executive Director of
Administrative Affairs
for warm sunny weather to come the sidewalks around the Commissioners will meet at 10
courthouse. The estimated cost a.m. Friday to consider the tax rate.
' . J > Commissioners OK’d four
$225,000, mainly due to higher public assistance requests, agreeing
energy costs, he said. to spend $450 on $981 worth of
Levelland is applying for a requests for help on shelter and
, Texas Capital Fund Main utility bills.
• ~°“nty Extension ,Agent Street grant that would pay for The commissioners again
^boiut tire prec|apita1ion°Pt,miStlC ^O.OOO of the project. Last passed on a bid to buy eight acres of
“It has been a good thing for estimated at $200,000. How^
our dryland crops. This could .. -
not have come at a better time,” by"the ‘city aMhat time
I ' n ,, , > A « *4 “I z4.\ AAA AOA«« a •
from avenues H to F; east along to thank the Lions and the potential for root rot. It is
Avenue G from Austin to Lioness club for their efforts in supposed to clear out.”
Houston streets; and on the north feeding our children at the center. frs hrtlri
side of Austin Street from It was a huge success. u
avenues G to F. New ADA curb The Levelland community pul Mic nearing
ramps would be installed where continues to show their generos- Regents with South Plains
necessary ity and support for our special College will hold a public
Quinn said it is in the best children. The children were so hearing on the proposed tax rate
interests of the county and city to grateful for the food that was at 8 a.m. Thursday.
College officials are pro-
posing that the rate be lowered
' from 26.505 cents per $100
valuation this year to 24.6497
cents in 2005-2006.
The hearing will be held in
the Administration building.
The commissioners again
year, the cost of the work was land on Elk Road for $2,000.
■J ’ ' ---------Last week, commissioners
ever, a grant request submitted tabled action on the same bid.
Children’s Hope would like Edens said. “I do not see any denied. ' ~ WM i----
to know & Blume for the county’s 2004
Osburn performed but an engi
sL Just Rambling
with Stephen Henry
News & Opinion
Se
fo
I
Morr
were
, 10, 2
Rev.
I
Franc
the d
Son I
S
2005
1
Dece
Missi
Anna
She ’
Hills
j
one
Texas Press Association
State
Capital
HIGHLIGHTS
By Ed Sterling
NEWS-PRESS
2-LEVELLAND & HOCKLEY COUNTY NEWS-PRESS. Wednesday. August 17,2005
nsia
V
o
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. 28, No. 38, Ed. 1 Wednesday, August 17, 2005, newspaper, August 17, 2005; Levelland, Texas. (https://texashistory.unt.edu/ark:/67531/metapth1253533/m1/2/: accessed July 12, 2024), University of North Texas Libraries, The Portal to Texas History, https://texashistory.unt.edu.; crediting South Plains College.