The Allen American (Allen, Tex.), Vol. 22, No. 50, Ed. 1 Wednesday, June 26, 1991 Page: 1 of 42
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Veteran golfer to play in national seniors tourney. See Page 8A.
Wednesday
June 26, 1991
The A1 lon A merican Gon-
1 1 /ii AiiCI IC l.
A Harte-Hanks Community Newspaper HOAG BINDER MI 492
BPRINGPOR
HARTE
HANKS,
50C
Vol. 22, No. 50
2 Sections
Changing the flow of traffic
Cities enforce
ireworks ban
Allen, Fairview to send out
special patrols this holiday
Janice Hirmon/Allen American photo
A worker stops traffic on the east U.S. 75 service road west side was changed Tuesday. The changes will be
Monday afternoon while crews changed the road from a permanent.
two-way one to a one-way road. The service road on the
By MARK HUTCHISON “Residents who buy fireworks
Managing Editor there cannot bring them into Fair-
Allen and Fairview law enforce- view. We will be vigorously enforc-
ment officials will conduct special ing our ordinance against fireworks
patrols as the Fourth of July holiday through July 4,” she said,
approaches to ensure residents “We hope that Allen citizens will
comply with city ordinances that cooperate with the fire department
prohibit fireworks. in complying with the fireworks ordi-
“Persons need to be aware that, nance,” Gillis said. “We encourage
while a fireworks stand may be lo- people to enjoy fireworks by attend-
cated in an area that allows the sale ing the supervised fireworks dis-
of fireworks, these fireworks may plays in the area.”
be seized once transported into Gillis said the Allen Fire Depart-
Allen,” Allen Fire Marshal Craig Gil- ment responds to many fireworks-
lis said. related fires and injuries every July.
Allen first enacted an ordinance Twelve states ban all Class C fire-
banning fireworks in 1977. The cur- works and seven allow only spark-
rent prohibition, which has been on lers and/or snakes. Texas is one of
the books since 1986, includes the 29 states that allow Class C fire-
transport, possession and discharg- works as approved by local enforce-
ing of fireworks within the city and ment agencies. Nevada and Hawaii
for a distance of 5,000 feet from any are the only two states having no
incorporated area. Offenders may fireworks laws.
be fined up to $1,000 per violation. Professional fireworks displays
“We have prohibited fireworks planned in the immediate area in-
since 1979,” Fairview Mayor elude the July 3 Forever Free
Leahray Wroten said. celebration at Stonebridge Ranch in
She said the city can’t do anything McKinney, the Star Spangled Spec-
to prohibit firework sales at a nearby tacular at Plano’s Clark Field July 4
stand in an unincorporated part of and at Richland College in Richard-
the county, son July 4.
AISD tax rate hinges on new education district’s action
By MARK HUTCHISON
Managing Editor
Allen Independent School District is pre-
paring several possible 1991-92 budgets
without knowing its tax rate because the
new Collin County Education District has
@yet to determine its tax rate.
The new district is one of 188 in Texas
created under the so-called “Robin Hood”
bill to assess, collect and redistribute school
property tax money.
Because it is so new, the county educa-
tion district cannot provide answers to
questions the 14 local districts that com-
prise it have about their financial futures.
Local officials working to finish budget by Sept. 1 deadline
Allen ISD cannot set its tax rate until the
county education district sets its tax rate,
according to David Williams, AISD business
manager.
However, Izzie Waller, Allen repre-
sentative on the county education dis-
trict, said AISD will have a budget pre-
pared by the Sept. 1 deadline.
“We’ll have to go forward as much as
possible and have our things laid out, and
that’s what our staff is doing at this time,”
Waller said.
“Dr. (Gene) Davenport (AISD superin-
tendent) has laid out several scenar ios that
he will go over with us. If the tax rate were
this..., or if it were this... I think he has
three scenerios he’s going to go through to
illustrate how Allen will handle it.
Waller said the district may reach the
point that it will have to go with one of the
three scenerios.”
The newly created county education dis-
trict met for the first time last Wednesday
and established a subcommittee to study
the financial questions it faces. The dis-
trict’s next meeting will be July 24.
“The subcommittee will be working long
hours, in addition to their regular jobs, to
pull this stuff together,” Waller said. “It’s
really very general right now because its education district taxation of all personal
early in the game. We just don’t know much property not held or used to produce in-
right now. ” come, excluding manufactured homes; such
This year, the district is to collect for tangible personal property would include
redistribution a minimum of 72 cents per cars and boats; a 20 percent homestead
$100 valuation, which is to rise to $1 per exemption for the education district; and
$100 valuation within four years. Collin $10,000 exemptions for homeowners who
County property subject to the tax has been are 65 years old or disabled.
valued most recently at about $14.4 billion, The county will split the cost of holding
meaning an income of about $103 million for the election with the local districts.
the county education district.
The new district has called an election for
Aug. 10. On the ballot, voters will be asked
whether they support two amendments to
the state constitution and three local items:
education district taxation of all personal
County reviews
smoking policy
Helping end auto thefts
I Commissioner suggests ‘weaning
I period’ to help smokers comply
I By BOB SECHLER
N Harte-Hanks News Service
McKINNEY — Programs to help county employees
§ quit smoking and a “weaning period” to do so were
" among the measures discussed by Collin County com-
Janice Hirmon/Allen American photo
Allen Police officer Carl Osburn, right, places a Help End Auto Theft sticker in
the window of Tammy Clark’s car Saturday afternoon. Vehicles with the stick-
ers may be stopped by police at any time. To register in the program, take a
driver’s license and proof of registration to the Allen Police Department.
missioners this week after questions arose over a new
policy limiting smoking in county buildings.
“Are we going to offer any help to those who do
smoke to get them off of cigarettes or anything?” Collin
County Sheriff Terry Box asked commissioners Mon-
day. “Because the way it looks right now, everybody’s
outside hovered around an ashtray like a bunch of street
people.”
Box made his comments after commissioners clarified
that the newly enacted order prohibited smoking in all
areas of county buildings except private offices occupied
by one person. Box and other county department heads
had believed they were allowed under the order to set up
designated areas, such as within employee break rooms,
where smoking was permitted.
“It’s our responsibility to take care of the buildings,”
Commissioner Jerry Hoagland said. “I don’t think we
should delegate that to the department heads.”
Hoagland and other members of the Commissioners’
Court said the new order was meant to prohibit smoking
in all areas of county buildings except for private offices.
“We defined private office, and there’s no smoking
anywhere but in that private office,” said Commissioner
John Witherspoon.
A private office was defined in the policy as being
See County, Page 4A
Mark Hutchison/Allen American photo
Steve Terrell is at home behind the counter of his dry clean-
ing business in Allen. Terrell, who lives and works in Allen,
won the Place 5 seat on the Allen City Council in the Mav 5
election.
Vew councilman
enjoys challenge
Jail architect seeks fee increase
NDEX
By BOB SECHLER
Harte-Hanks News Service
McKINNEY — A request to increase by
more than $800,000 the architecture fees for
Collin County’s planned 384-bed new jail
probably won’t result in substantial delays to
the project while the issue is studied, officials
say.
Collin County Judge Ron Harris said a com-
mittee made up of certain county department
heads and commissioners would study the
request by HDR Inc. for two weeks in an
attempt to determine whether a fee increase
is warranted.
Harris said the two-week delay and poten-
tial hike in architecture fees would not sub-
stantially affect the completion date or cost of
the estimated $43.6 million initial phase of the
county’s planned justice center because offi-
cials had based both projections on a worst-
case scenario.
Construction costs from the first phase of
the justice center along with other county
expenses is expected to result in a 4 percent
hike in county property taxes next fiscal year,
from the current tax rate of 21.72 cents per
FORECAST: Today — Sunny. High 100. Low 75.
EXTENDED FORECAST: Thursday through
Saturday — Hot and dry. Highs near 100. Lows in
the 70s.
See Jail, Page 4A
INSIDE:
Community calendar..
Police report.............
AccessLine index......
Sports......................
Lifestyles.................
Classifieds................
.....2A
.....2A
.....4A
... 8-9A
... 11A
12-20A
By MARK HUTCHISON Terrell said he first considered
Managing Editor running for the council five or six
As the customers flow in and years ago.
out of Steve Terrell’s dry cleaning “I used to always tease every-
business, he stops to talk to them body. I’d say, ‘Oh yeah, I’m going
about golf, Allen Sports Associa- to run for city council.’ Well, I
tion baseball and — now that he is finally got my guts up this year.”
one of the city’s new councilmem- Terrell said his strategy was to
bers — politics, run against anybody who was un-
Terrell, 35, was elected to the opposed. He said he enjoyed
Place 5 seat on the Allen City meeting and talking to people dur-
Council in May. ing the campaign, but making
Because he lives and works in speeches was something
Allen, he sees many local people altogether different.
every day. That’s exactly why he "I'm not a public speaker,” he
ran for the city council. said. “I guess everybody knows
“I used to think we didn’t have that by now. I’m not very comfort-
enough people (on the council) able speaking to a bunch of peo-
that lived and worked in Allen, ple. For one thing, I’m not a hard
Texas,” Terrell said. “We had too core debater. My campaign
many people that got up at 7 speeches were pretty comical. I
o’clock in the morning and went to wrote them down, then basically
work and came back at 6 o’clock in got up there and read them. I was
the evening and never knew what shaking like a leaf.
A 11 1'1 1.
Allen was like during business
hours.”
See Terrell, Page 4A
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Hutchison, Mark & Epperson, Wayne. The Allen American (Allen, Tex.), Vol. 22, No. 50, Ed. 1 Wednesday, June 26, 1991, newspaper, June 26, 1991; Allen, Texas. (https://texashistory.unt.edu/ark:/67531/metapth1626231/m1/1/: accessed June 29, 2024), University of North Texas Libraries, The Portal to Texas History, https://texashistory.unt.edu.; crediting Allen Public Library.