The Bastrop Advertiser (Bastrop, Tex.), Vol. 156, No. 34, Ed. 1 Saturday, June 27, 2009 Page: 1 of 12
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BASTROP-ELGIN BATTLE FOR MINORS DISTRICT CROWN • SPORTS B2
Wk jSastrop 2ldocrtis
Volume 156, Number 34
Texas' Oldest Weekly Newspaper Since March 1, 1853 Semi-Weekly Since Sept. 5, 1977
SATURDAY, JUNE 27, 2009
INSIDE
LOCAL LANDMARKS
What is the latest scoop on one
of Bastrop's most unique nooks?
Photographer Terry Hagerty takes
a peek at The Crossing.
—Page A8
JULY 4
Are you feeling patriotic? Want to
show your love of freedom? Then
attend the July 4th Tea Party.
—Page A2
BARN BREAK-IN
Employees of precinct 1 got a rude
surprise when they came to work
on Wednesday morning.
—Page A3
POLICE BLOTTER
■ On June 22, Officer Burnis
Bobbitt was dispatched to the
parking lot of the Texas Grill res-
taurant for a suspicious person, ac-
cording to the police report. Upon
arrival, Bobbitt found Masedonio
Rios, 27, of Bastrop, who had an
outstanding warrant from the Bas-
trop Municipal Court, the police
report stated. Rios was transported
to the Bastrop County Jail.
■ On June 22, Officer Sandra
Hernandez was dispatched to
Pine Point Apartments in refer-
ence to a man who refused to leave
the complainant's apartment, ac-
cording to the police report. After
an investigation, Don Anthony
Hedge, 42, of Bastrop was ar-
rested for assault: (Class C) family
violence
■ On June 22, Officer Dale
Hamilton was dispatched to Best
Buy in reference to a theft. Ham-
Iton met with store management,
and was told that an employee was
selling gift cards, not placing the
money ori the gift card purchased
and instead placing the money on
his own gift card, the police report
alleged. The case is pending addi-
See BLOTTER, Page A6
WEATHER
SATURDAY FORECAST
HI: 104
LO: 75
SUNNY
INDEX
Classifieds
Living
Page B5
Paae A8
News
Lfiife
Page A2
Sports
Page A4
Page B1
14 pages, two sections
Newsroom
(512) 321-2557
© The Bastrop Advertiser
We Recycle
AUSTIN COMMUNITY NEWSPAPERS
65668 78602
HEALTHCARE
Hospital posted for foreclosure
BY CYNDI WRIGHT
Editor
Lakeside Hospital's future
seems uncertain after a major
lender filed foreclosure papers
recently in Bastrop County.
Oklahoma-based Stillwater
National Bank has said in the fli-
ngs that the hospital is behind
on a debt that amounts to almost
$6 million, according to the pa-
pers filed in the district clerk's
office.
But one investor in the hos-
pital said that the bank posted
foreclosure to try to get a poten-
tial buyer of the hospital, Black-
hawk Healthcare, to commit.
"We have been trying for a
year to negotiate with the bank
to restructure the financing for
Blackhawk," said Gary Schiff,
of Bastrop. "It's been a very dif-
ficult transaction. It's been dif-
ficult because there are a lot of
parties here."
Blackhawk Healthcare,
whose most recent purchase in
Texas was Richards Memorial
Hospital in Rockdale, has been
running the hospital for about a
year. According to their Web site,
Blackhawk is a company that
specializes in bringing the capi-
tal investments, new technology
and the leadership and expertise
necessary for transforming rural
See HOSPITAL, page A6
^Keside
Nosprni
I N
.. -J .-a'
Ay-
Staff photo by Terry Hagerty
Although a major creditor filed foreclosure on Lakeside Hospital, investors seem confi-
dent that the hospital will be purchased soon.
ANIMALS
How 'tweet'
it is - or is it?
Some find owning a pet
bird can turn into nightmare
Staff photo by Cyndi Wright
This male cockatiel, getting a head rub at the animal shelter, had to have part of his beak amputated. Due to
neglect, the beak had curled to the point where it was pushing into the bird's trachea.
BY CYNDI WRIGHT
Editor
They have the intel-
ligence of a three- to five-
year-old child and the
emotional maturity of a
two-year-old. But what
separates pet birds from
your children of that age
is that a pet bird can live
up to 80 years, and will
never grow up.
And some people who
become pet bird owners
find they cannot cope with
that reality.
The recent surrender
of two cockatiels, both hor-
ribly thin, to the Bastrop
County Animal Control
is an all too familiar tale
to shelter director Betty
Wade.
The male's beak had
curled so far under it was
cutting into his trachea.
"They were concentra-
tion camp thin," Wade
said.
She quickly brought
in a bird behaviorist, who
helped to groom the birds
and cut off the male's beak
so he could eat again.
Wade, who paid for the
See THE BIRDS, page A5
CITY CONSTRUCTION
ouncil approves city hall design
3-2 split vote for design
of convention center
BY JACQUELINE DAVIS
Staff Writer
On Tuesday, the Bastrop City Council
unanimously approved a train depot themed
design for Bastrop's new city hall, set to be-
gin construction in November of this year on
Chestnut Street near the railroad tracks.
While the city has yet to go out for bids
on the 15,000-square-foot project, the total
project (including all professional fees, fur-
LOCAL DEATHS
niture, etc.) is expected to cost $3.4 million,
according to three estimates obtained by ar-
chitect Mervin Fatter of Austin-based Fatter
& Evans Architects.
The council did not agree as easily on ap-
proving the design of the convention center,
the now 26,500-square-foot building with
space for a 750-person, seated event. The de-
sign, which incorporates a tower that glows
the word "Bastrop" at night, was approved
3-2 by the council, with Councilmembers Joe
Beal, Bill Peterson and Ken Kesselus voting
yes and Councilmembers Julie Hart and Kay
McAnally voting no.
The project will be built across the street
from the new city hall at the same time; it
is currently estimated to cost $5.9 million.
The reasons for the no vote from Hart and
McAnally had little to do with the design it-
self, though, and more to do with financial
and other concerns.
Hart reiterated earlier unease with what
she sees as a lack of a marketing plan for
the building and concerns about operating
costs. McAnally said she needed more time
to look at budget numbers and expressed
that an earlier feasibility study that support-
ed the project was done "before the economic
crash."
"I don't believe we have the infrastruc-
ture i n place for the number of people we ex-
pect to be using the convention center, and
See COUNCIL, page A5
ormer bailiff dies in ladder accident
BY JACQUELINE DAVIS
Staff Writer
A former Smithville
educator, who also served
as a Bastrop County
bailiff for more than 20
years, died June 20 af-
ter falling from a ladder
while helping out at his
church, family and for-
mer colleagues said.
Ruben Whitfield, 86,
was changing an air filter
at Smithville Church of
Christ, where he served
as an elder, when he lost
his balance on a ladder
and fell, sustaining a se-
rious head injury from
which
he nev-
er re-
gained
c o n -
scious-
n e s s ,
said his
oldest
daugh-
ter Lynn
Doty of
Smith-
ville.
Whitfield was trans-
ported by helicopter the
morning of June 18 to Uni-
versity Medical Center at
Brackenridge in Austin,
according to a dispatcher
RUBEN
WHITFIELD
with the Smithville Po-
lice Department, but died
two days later. Doty said
her family found a scrap
of paper n Whitfield's
pocket at the hospital,
one of the to-do lists he
frequently carried, with
one task—"change the air
filter at the church."
The funeral Tuesday
was full of those who
knew and loved him, Doty
said, with more than 300
people filling the church,
even spilling into the
aisles and hallways. Be-
sides his large family,
many of his church's con-
gregation and others who
had worked with him at-
tended.
A varied career
Whitfield was hired as
a bailiff for Bastrop Coun-
ty in April of 1985 and re-
tired from his position in
August of 2007, said Dis-
trict Clerk Cathy Smith.
She and others who knew
him professionally said
Whitfield was a caring
person with a dry sense
of humor.
"He was probably one
of the gentlest men I've
met," she said. "He always
looked out for everyone.
He would come and check
in with everyone and see
how they were doing, and
he was the same way in
the courtroom...he was
a fixture around here.
Everybody looked up to
him."
Municipal Judge Char-
lotte Hinds and 335th
District Judge Reva Tow-
slee Corbett agreed.
"We all loved him to
death," Hinds said. "He
was an exquisite person.
He had a really dry wit
about him, but he was al-
ways very polite. He was
the thermostat watcher,
See WHITFIELD, page A5
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Wright, Cyndi. The Bastrop Advertiser (Bastrop, Tex.), Vol. 156, No. 34, Ed. 1 Saturday, June 27, 2009, newspaper, June 27, 2009; Bastrop, Texas. (https://texashistory.unt.edu/ark:/67531/metapth252591/m1/1/: accessed June 25, 2024), University of North Texas Libraries, The Portal to Texas History, https://texashistory.unt.edu.; crediting Bastrop Public Library.