Giddings Times & News (Giddings, Tex.), Vol. 107, No. 25, Ed. 1 Thursday, December 5, 1996 Page: 1 of 22
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VOLUME 107
THURSDAY, DECEMBER 5, 1996
NUMBER 25
GIDDINGS, LEE COUNTY, TEXAS 78942-0947
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Christmas Homes Tour Sunday
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Giddings rainfall totals
2.85 inches for November
Construction slows to
$24,700 in November
Christmas at the Plaza set
for Thursday at Union Station
6 vehicles damaged after each one hits
calf on Highway 21 near Old Dime Box
Lexington Ministerial Alliance
schedules live nativity scene
Lee County Blue Santa
volunteers plan toy drive
Lee County Girls Invitational
basketball tournament set
Appraisals getting blamed
for high property taxes
The Christmas Homes Tour
sponsored by the Lee County
Heritage Society will be Sun-
day, Dec. 8 from 1-5 p.m. Ticket
Hermann Hall Sunday, Dec.
1. Many arts and crafts gave
visitors plenty to choose
from and hamburgers were
served. Over GO booths of-
The 1996 Lee County Invita-
tional girls basketball tourna-
ment, hosted by Giddings and
Lexington High Schools be-
gins Thursday at 2 p.m. in
both Giddings and Lexington.
The tournament is a three-
day competition with the fi-
nals set at 6 p.m. Saturday.
Teams playing include Gid-
dings, Lexington, Dime Box,
of Seguin, and a 1996 Pontiac
Sunfire driven by Jennifer
Leigh Bryant of Houston.
All of the vehicles were trav-
eling eastbound on S.H. 21
when they approached a black
calf in the roadway, reported
DPS Trooper Robert Thorp.
HANGING WREATHS -
City of Giddings employees
spent part of the day Mon-
day hanging Christmas
wreaths throughout the
downtown area on both
sides of the highway. The
Santa's Plaza arrival, homes tour,
toy drive, kicks off Yule season
Band concert, live nativity scene at Lexington
ber turned out to be a wetter
month, with 2.85 inches of
rain officially measured in
Giddings.
This brings the total rainfall
to 28.66 for the first 11 months
of 1996. Rains in October only
measured 1.33 inches, and
peanut farmers were able to
weather to harvest their
crops.
Giddings received .46 inches
of rainfall on Nov. 7, and then
received very little moisture
until November 24 when 1.68
inches was reported. This al-
lowed most farmers to harvest
their peanuts before the rains
The Lexington Ministerial
Alliance is sponsoring a living
nativity presentation Monday
and Tuesday, Dec. 9 and 10
from 6:30 p.m. til 8 p.m. on the
square.
This is the fourth year rep-
resentatives from churches in
Lexington have joined to-
gether to stage the nativity.
The scene will tell the Christ-
mas story and feature local
adults and young people in
Flatonia, Wharton and Sealy.
Dime Box and Lexington will
first see action against each
other in Lexington on Thurs-
day at 4 p.m.
Giddings will play their first
game at 4 p.m. Thursday
against Sealy at the Lexing-
ton High School gym.
Construction slowed consid-
erably in the month of Novem-
ber in Giddings, with only five
permits issued for a total con-
struction value of $24,700.
This brings the total con-
struction in Giddings to
$8,997,590 for the first 10
months of the year.
Wells Fargo Bank is putting
up new signs at its newly-ac-
quired bank at the intersec-
tion of Main and Austin
Streets. Southwest Neon
Signs is the contractor for the
job.
The Giddings Area Chamber
of Commerce is sponsoring a
Christmas at the Plaza Thurs-
day, Dec. 5, from 6 p.m. til 8
p.m. at Union Station Plaza.
Santa Claus will be arriving
on a Giddings fire truck at
6:15 p.m. Pictures with Santa
will be taken.
The Giddings High School
Band will perform Christmas
music. Santa's Singers will be
singing Christmas carols, and
Chris Brade with DECA will
be featured soloist singing
Christmas carols.
Lexington bands
to perform concert
The Lexington Middle School
and Lexington High School
bands will perform a Christ-
mas concert on Thursday, Dec.
5, at the elementary gym at 7
p.m.
The annual performance will
be preceded by a baked potato
and salad supper at 5:30 p.m
at the cafeterium.
costume with live animals.
Costumed Carollers and a
children's choir and hand bells
will also perform.
This year the city lights and
nativity scene may be viewed
from a special Trail of Lights
Hay Ride. The ride will leave
the Arbor and return to the
Pioneer Village for hot choco-
late and cookies.
Lexington students are sell-
See NATIVITY, page 12
5
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program. The paper and tape
will be used to wrap the toys.
Over 3,400 children have re-
ceived toys and gifts over the
past 12 years. Last year 150
families received toys.
See TOY, page 17
DECA Club of Giddings will
serve hot chocolate. Candy
will be given to the children.
The New Horizons Lions
Club will serve punch and
cookies. Christmas trees will
be provided for decorations for
the evening.
See PLAZA, page 2
price for the tour is $7 per per-
son, regardless of age, and is a
tax deductible contribution for
the restoration of the Schubert-
Fletcher house.
The tour will feature the
homes of Amy and Ted Weems,
Marian and Jack Wiederhold,
and Jean and Randy Stewart.
Also featured will be the
Retke House and the Stuermer
Store in Ledbetter, the Lee
County Museum, and St. Paul
Lutheran Church in Serbin,
where the church bells will be
See HOMES, page 9
The Blue Santa toy distribu-
tion program in Lee County
will have its annual toy drive
Saturday, Dec. 7 from 10 a.m.
til 2 p.m. at the Wal-Mart
parking lot.
This is the 12th annual toy
collection drive for needy chil-
dren in the county. Santa
Claus will be on hand to meet
with children of all ages.
Representatives from the
Giddings Police Department,
Lee County Sheriffs Depart-
ment, and DPS will be there
to accept toys, cash, wrapping
paper and scotch tape for the
Christmas Home
Decorating Contest set
The Giddings Garden Club
will conduct their annual
Christmas Home Decorating
Contest this year to help pro-
mote Christmas spirit and civic
pride.
All judging will be done dur-
ing daytime hours and lighting
will not be a factor in the deci-
sions. Decorations must be set
up by Dec. 15.
City approves oil
well application
The Giddings City Council
approved an application to
drill an oil and gas well inside
the Giddings city limits by
Union Pacific Resources.
The company will re-enter
the Fox No. IRE, located
See APPLY, page 2
and cooler weather arrived.
The rainfall for the year is
still below the normal and
Giddings would have to get
about 10 inches of moisture in
December to make up for the
dry conditions.
The monthly rainfall for Gid-
dings for 1996 is as follows:
See RAIN, page 17
4
Six out-of-town vehicles were
in accidents Tuesday, Nov. 26
at 7:20 p.m. about 3.2 miles
northwest of Dime Box on
S.H. 21 when they came upon
a black calf in the roadway
and all hit it one after another.
Involved in the wreck was a
1996 Ford Contour driven by
Bradford Lee Westmoreland
of Lockhart, a 1992 Mazda
MX-5 convertible driven by
George Guzman II of Austin,
a 1996 Chevrolet S-10 pickup
driven by Tammy Luanne Bell
of Austin, a 1990 Mazda LX
driven by Criselda Delia
Longoria of McAllen, a 1982
GMC Sierra pickup driven by
Martimigno Gaspa Cayetano
I
bucket lift is shown lifting
one worker up while an-
other stands nearby. The
wreaths are lighted at night
with three little candles in
the middle.
-Times & News Photo
After the first two vehicles
struck the heifer, the four
other cars ran over it while it
was lying in the roadway, said
Trooper Thorp.
Mr. Guzman, 28, and a pas-
senger of his vehicle, Hal
See DAMAGED, page 12
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fered unique holiday shop-
ping for people purchasing
early Christmas gifts.
-Times & News Photo
10 inches needed in December to reach normal year
After a dry October, Novem- take advantage of the dry
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SERVING LEXINGTON, DIME BOX, LINCOLN, SERBIN, NORTHRUP, PAIGE, LEDBETTER, FEDOR & GIDDINGS
PUBLISHED AND EDITED BY A NATIVE LEE COUNTIAN - - PREUSS PRINTING CO., INC.
Pat Burttchell is building a
See SLOWS, page 17
Judge sentences man
In manslaughter case
District Judge Harold
Towslee offiically sentenced
Gayion Mueller Monday to 6
years in prison and a $10,000
fine. His sentence will begin
on Jan. 7 when he is scheduled
to turn himself in to the Lee
County Sheriffs Department.
He declined an appeal of the
See SENTENCE, page 2
malam-mm..
ARTS AND CRAFTS - The
Giddings Chamber of Com-
merce held their annual
Christmas Merry Market-
place at the Sons of
Many homeowners
complain of tax bills
Some Texas homeowners are
complaining that they're pay-
ing too much in property taxes.
And many of them are blaming
the local appraisals.
In Lee County, taxes have
been rising, but not nearly as
much as in some of the faster-
growing areas within a 60-mile
radius.
The value of an average home
in Lee County rose 7.5% last
year and has increased 30% for
the 1991-96 period - not nearly
as much as many other places.
These complaints about rising
taxes from around the state
center around the process cit-
ies, counties and school boards
use to set values on taxable
property.
As Gov. George W. Bush's
Citizens' Committee on Prop-
erty Tax Relief criss-crossed
the state, it heard lots of com-
plaints from disgruntled home-
owners.
They contend that the aprai-
sals are wildly inaccurate, ris-
ing so fast for some that their
Little Dribblers
registration set
The Giddings Optimist Club
Basketball League will hold
registration Saturday, Dec. 7 at
Giddings Elementary School
from 9 a.m. to 12 noon. Regis-
tration can also be made at
Prime Time Sports at any time
See REGISTER, page 11
Dime Box girls named
to all-district teams
Members of the Dime Box
varsity girls volleyball team
received all-district honors
last week.
Coaches in District 26A
named Melanie Fritsche to the
first team.
Lamanda Kostelka, Cyrstal
Mikulin and Stacy Spacek re-
ceived second team honors.
Laura Baker was given hon-
orable mention honors.
Juanesha Maxfield was
named freshman of the year
and Melanie Fritsche was aca-
demic all-district.
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tax bills exceed their house
payments.
But are these homeowners
putting the blame on the wrong
place?
Probably so, according to a re-
view of valuation data that was
compiled by the State Comp-
troller's Office.
It shows that most of the
counties where appraised val-
ues have increased sharply also
have experienced big gains in
population and employment.
One of the counties with the
biggest increases in residential
valuations is neighboring
Williamson County, which in-
cludes Round Rock, Taylor and
Georgetown, with a 53%
change from 1991 to 1995 and
11% from 1994 to 1995.
Caldwell County, which in-
See APPRAISALS, page 9
Martin Luther extends
call for senior pastor
Martin Luther Lutheran
Church in Giddings has ex-
tended a call for a senior pastor
for the congregation.
Rev. Ralph Lien of San Anto-
nio, who is doing interim min-
istry work in the SWT Synod,
was sent the call on Nov. 24.
This is the first call issued by
Martin Luther since Senior
Pastor Don Marquardt re-
signed that position and moved
to Galveston.
Monument dedication
for Officer Joe Bryant
A special monument dedica-
tion will be held Thursday,
Dec. 12, for slain Giddings Po-
lice Officer Joe Bryant.
A special granite monument
commemorating Officer
Bryant will be dedicated in
front of the Giddings Police
Department at 2 p.m.
Officer Bryant was shot to
death in the line of duty in
October. A suspect was ar-
rested after a two-day man-
hunt around Giddings. The
suspect has been charged with
capital murder.
Officer Bryant was a five
year veteran with the Gid-
dings Police Department.
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Preuss, L. M., III & True, David G. Giddings Times & News (Giddings, Tex.), Vol. 107, No. 25, Ed. 1 Thursday, December 5, 1996, newspaper, December 5, 1996; Giddings, Texas. (https://texashistory.unt.edu/ark:/67531/metapth1611858/m1/1/: accessed June 29, 2024), University of North Texas Libraries, The Portal to Texas History, https://texashistory.unt.edu.; crediting Giddings Public Library and Cultural Center.