News Bulletin (Castroville, Tex.), Vol. 42, No. 1, Ed. 1 Thursday, January 4, 2001 Page: 2 of 10
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Page 2 News Bulletin Thursday, January 4, 2001
Higher BMA rates may be only ladder out of financial hole
BMA
Adelina Gonzales needs to be, we could get our expenses, then field work
Staff Writer • rates down.” doesn’t get done.
; Talk of raising water He also questioned the Unfortunately, I think we’re
rates to balance the BMA validity of some of the legal going to have to raise the
2:001 budget led to closer bills that were included in rates,” he said.
scrutiny of the district’s the past debt. Carter pro- Stull said the board
mounting costs and ques- posed putting the money col- should consider more cuts.
tions of where to cut. lected from the raised rates “We need ============== nance and
; Board member Will into a savings account until to look at By getting some don’t see it,
Carter presented the budget it was determined which other opin- • • backbone and
and said he felt there was a bills were “appropriate” to ions of where . : .
need to raise water rates to pay. we can cut. I minding the
compensate for an estimated Board member Carlos don’t think store we can raise
$800,000 in past profession- Barrera agreed the district there are money
al debt. was mismanaged, but felt places we1 .
Currently the district there were other methods to can cut, but Board member Will Carter
charges a $14.50 an acre flat raise funds besides raising I’m all ears.”
rate and $8 an acre water water rates. Board mem-
rate. To raise $100,000, the “The contract with Bexar ber Jeanette
flat rate would increase by Met brought us a lot of Williams
$3 and the water would go money, but we’re still in the didn’t feel a -
up $2. hole. It’s getting worse. I raise was justified. “We
Carter acknowledged the feel we can change our field tried every way we could to
debt arose from a lack of leaders. I believe we need to come up with a budget we
proper management on the look at whether every field could live with. I cannot go
part of previous boards, but worker and leader is doing with a raise on the flat rate,
he felt it needed to be, the job the way they’re sup- but we have to do something
addressed. posed to.” in the management.”
“We need to get away Board secretary Brad Many audience members
from what was done in the Stull felt the rates needed to applauded Williams as she
past with over budgeting be raised. declared an increase was not
and robbing Peter to pay “If we use the money to justified until there was
Paul. If we could get our pay CDs and professional some control in the district,
district down to where it
She also spoke of money
being wasted on mainte-
nance.
“I feel like we should be
getting a dollar’s worth of
work for a dollar. When you
spend $145,000 for mainte-
there’s some-
thing
wrong.”
Carter
show for it.
“We probably have bought
enough shovels to dig Erie
Canal and no one knows
where it’s going to,” Carter
said.
Board member A.V.
Thurman reminded every-
one these problems didn’t .
exist in the past.
“I remember the first time
we raised the rates. In those
days it seemed like we could
spoke of con- put money in the bank. We
tracting just haven’t had good man-
maintenance agement since 1992,” he said
J
work in the
future.
“We’ve
to much applause.
Vice President Guy
Cooper, who chaired the
been looking meeting, said he felt there
---hard at get- was a lot of waste in the dis-
ting bids for getting contrac- trict.
tors in the field. This dis- “If we clean up the waste
trict has had somewhere in and supervise we could save
the amount of $6 million go a lot of money. I’m totally
through it in the last five against raising the flat rate
years and has very little to because it’s going to hurt
show for it in the field,” he everybody out there finan-
said.
cially. If we go through the
He also spoke of the budget, we can find the
$145,000 spent this year on money to balance the bud-
maintenance work, and get.”
asked what there was to ’ After such comments
Carter again stressed the
need for the raise. "I’m
going to get on the bandwag-
on of being politically popu-
lar. I don’t want to raise the
rates, but I inherited the
problem. I didn’t create it,”
he said.
“I respect you, Guy, but
where, tell us where to cut
it. If you want to cut health
insurance, then cut it.
You’ve seen the trucks, do
you want to cut that?
Anyone can sit up here and
say I don’t want to raise the
flat rate, but as a common
courtesy to us say where
we’re going to cut.”
Carter also refused to cut
anything on maintenance.
“That has been the Peter
robbed to pay Paul," he said,
adding that the legal bills
needed to be controlled.
Again he explained the
money would be saved until
a plan is in place to address
the problem.
“By getting some back-
bone and minding the store
we can raise money.”
Adelina Go
Staff Write
BMA A
Haak was ir
public hear
budget disc
to landown
dismay will
district.
The bud
the hearin
with the €
debt and pr
the range
the board’
questions v
the validity
bills.
It was th
board men
rates woulc
to begin
amount,
money ra
placed in a
until the 1
mine how :
priate” to
board mem
Landow
dance wer
the news a
satisfaction
Haak had i
Sheriff’s chief investigator takes a permanent vacation
M.V
Julie Dunnavant seven years working with off his desk.
Staff Writer the evidence unit. “I’ve been
HONDO— For the last His first two years in playing this
five years he’s served as Medina County were spent game
Medina County’s chief on patrol. 1968,”
Investigator, but On Jan. 1 Patrolling and answering said.
Bobby West takes up fish- calls is how he spent his getting
ing full time. last few days at work when
West worked in the sher- the department was short
iff’s department for seven handed.
years after retiring from "I put 221 miles on a
since
he
1m
CC
fun anymore; it’s better to "I’m just trying to get
I've been
playing this
game since
quit
get
off.”
than everything ready,” he said.
run
a lit- 1968. I'm getting a little
the San Antonio
department.
police [department] vehicle yes-
In San Antonio he spent
terday,” West said. "It was
all just answering calls.”
nine years on patrol, 10 On Dec. 29 he was pack-
years inplainclothes and ing up his files and clearing
tle tired of it.
In ‘ the last
few months
it’s been hard
to get out of
bed and come
to work. I
always said
tired of it.
Investigator Bobby West
We s t
didn’t know
who would
succeed
him as
“The department needs
someone in this job, but
right now I don’t know who
to turn these files over to.”
His wife, Kathy West,
was chief deputy under out-
going Sheriff Wesley Scott
3
investiga- and is staying with the
tor but said department.
Deputy Joe Bobby West just bought a
Tschirhart new boat and wants to get
had been it in the water.
assigned to He looks back on a career
survived.
“I shot two people and
that’s part of the down side
to this job,” he said. “A lot
of guys spend 40 years/
playing cops and robbers
and almost never take their
gun out. My philosophy is
‘I’m going home at the end
of the day and shame on
anyone who tries to change
that.’ I’m not Superman,
I’m just a regular guy.”
Adelina G
Staff Writ
As the I
little more
begin at N
Although
higher the
ing projec
way soon
annex anc
building.
A total
five diff
were rece
trict, accc
I’d do thisuntil it * wasn’t - him for the pa st month n e it that em akest h im-gl ad he 6
County heavy equipment sold to citizen with highest bid
Adelina Gonzales
Staff WRITER
A slew of bids were either
opened,
awarded
authorized, or
at
Commissioners’
Monday.
County
Court
on four pieces of equipment.
Jimmy Heiligman of
Yancy was awarded the two
pieces of equipment from
Precinct 1. He bid $2,550 for
a 40-foot low wide trailer
Bids were opened for used
heavy equipment from coun-
ty precinct 1 and precinct 4.
A total of six companies bid
and $1,055 for a 1979 20- $2,000.
yard belly dump.
La Coste
Hangin’ at the
Pico store
H Police were unable to
the 40-foot trailer and the roller ranged from $550
$1,001 for the 20-yard to $10,600, which did not
dump. cover its worth.
Ken Oster of Devine was The equipment cannot be
awarded the belly dump picked up until Feb. 4, and
trailer from Precinct 4 for payment should be made to
the County Treasurer’s
There was also a CAT office, which holds the titles
He beat out Bird Song of roller available, but no bid to the merchandise.
Devine which bid $2,501 for was accepted for it. Bids for Bids for a patching
Police Blotters
the scene and La Coste Officer Crocker found two stolen and claiming her
responded. The man parked cars and people warrant had been cleared,
removed his vehicle and the arguing beside them. Both She was halfway right.
power company was notified spoke Spanish only and
about the damage to the Animal Control Officer Billy
pole. Torres was summoned to the
Family Disturbance scene. In the translation it
Dec. 23, 5:17 p.m.: A 911 turned out a woman had
■I locate a man hanging call got police to a home on picked up a male and was
out at the Pico Store; a clerk Buchel Street where an 11- taking him to San Antonio.
Solis was driven back to her
home when the warrant was
determined to have been
cleared. San Antonio police
were notified about the
vehicle impoundment.
Child Locked in Car
machine were opened and
taken under consideration.
Cooper Equipment submit-
ted a bid for a Wildcat SP
550 for $36,970.
Duraco Industries bid
$35,000 on a new 125 DJ
spray injection machine and
$29,000 for the machine cur-
rently being rented to
Precinct 1. The machine has
about 100 miles on it.
Commissioners decided to
simply accept the bids and
award next week.
Bids for paving rock were
also authorized Monday.
The county will make no
changes to last year’s adver-
tisements.
mother. wanted to report the matter.
Dec. 23, 11:35 p.m.: Gas Theft
Jaime Gutierrez, 38, was Dec. 24, 2:25 a.m.: An
stopped by police for a defec- unidentified person, who
tive passenger tail light. He was driving a dark colored
claimed he did not have his vehicle that may have been
driver’s license when it was a jeep Cherokee, drove off
requested by police. After a after pumping $10 worth of
check, it was found that
Gutierrez’ license had been
at the store became suspi- year-old boy was allegedly His wife was following in Dec. 27, 8:30 a.m.: A suspended. He was issued a
cious when the man started beaten by his father. The her car and the first woman mother contacted police warning for the tail light
gas and not paying for it.
Police could not locate the
vehicle.
Be
Water
We can
but we s
you wi
For infoi
and price
complaining about a child showed no visible wasn’t happy. The man told after accidentally locking and arrested for driving
wrecked vehicle and lament- signs of injury. Police talked police he was only going to her child in her car, while license suspended,
ing because his wife had about discipline limits with town to pick up auto parts McVay’s Wrecker was able He was taken to jail and the
thrown him out of their the father. The child said he for his boss. His wife said to open the door for the dis- vehicle was released to his
home. He then tried to pur- was not afraid to stay in the she was only trying to catch traught mother wife.
chase store items but had no home and was told to call up to him to let him know Reported Intoxicated Assault Family
money. When he left the police if needed. their child was ill. Driver Member
clerk called police on Dec. Dec. 23: A family argu- The woman driving the Dec. 20, 5:10 p.m.: Dec. 24, 12:16 p.m.:
A
Email it to the
BULLETIN at
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AFF
30 at 7:14 a.m. ment on Buchel Street first car was told she would Police were notified an woman tore off her hus-
Other calls to the La ended with the wife trying need to get an attorney to intoxicated driver had band’s shirt in anger after
Coste police: to drive off and her husband obtain a protective order picked up several chilren he pushed her during an
Information grabbing her arm through against the wife, who then from the elementary school, argument. When she called
Dec. 29, 5 p.m.: A clerk the window to stop her. left wothout her husband- Police searched the area,
noticed a blonde, heavy set Loose Dogs he left with the other but were unable to locate
woman who bought beer and Dec. 23, 5:07 p.m.: A boy woman. Crocker and Torres the driver,
then gave it to minors wait- and his friend were chased went back to work. The call
ing outside the store, by a small dog as they rode came in on Dec. 20 at 2 p.m.
Assist Other Agency their bikes toward the Pico Other calls to the
Dec. 25, 7:12 a.m.: Store. The owner of the dog
Officers helped a DPS troop- agreed to keep it confined or
er get a drunk man out of °n a leash when out.
his vehicle. The man was
later arrested by DPS on
charges of driving while
Driving While License
Suspended
Dec. 22, 11:50 p.m.:
911 to report the incident,
he left the house. Although
she did not want to press
charges against him, she
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Castroville police: Felix Herrera IV, 22, was
Unauthorized Use of stopped for speeding 54
Motor Vehicle m.p.h. in a 40 m.p.h. zone.
Dec. 24, 10:40 a.m.: A While checking his license
red Dodge with handicapped to issue the citation, it was
plates was found at Super S found that his license had
intoxicated.,.
Dec. 24, 4:15 a.m.: A dri- She’s just a
ver trying to avoid a deer
swerved and smashed into a
power pole at the intersec-
tion of CR 4713 and CR
chauffeur, honest
5712. DPS could not get to hog
The call was for a wild
running loose but
and Rebecca Ann Solis, 24, expired Nov 7, 2000.
was arrested for possibly Herrera was issued a cita-
strealing it and having an tion for speeding and arrest-
outstanding DWI warrant ed for driving while his
from Bexar County. Halfway license was suspended. He
to jail though, Solis was still was taken to jail and the
denying the vehicle was vehicle was released to his
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Barnes, Thomas. News Bulletin (Castroville, Tex.), Vol. 42, No. 1, Ed. 1 Thursday, January 4, 2001, newspaper, January 4, 2001; Castroville, Texas. (https://texashistory.unt.edu/ark:/67531/metapth1689386/m1/2/: accessed July 16, 2024), University of North Texas Libraries, The Portal to Texas History, https://texashistory.unt.edu.; crediting Castroville Public Library.