Citizens Journal (Atlanta, Tex.), Vol. 112, No. 118, Ed. 1 Wednesday, July 17, 1991 Page: 2 of 16
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2 A Wednesday, July 17.1091 CHIxen* Journal %
Mayor urges residents to oppose closing of highway office
I—I COUNCIL
'—' Continued from page 1
with a two-yard dumpster pays
$70.39 for twice-a-week service.
That rate would increase to
$73.91 per month.
"It's not something we like to
see coming, but they are allowed
to ask for it," city manager Jim
Long said.
Councilmen delayed respond-
ing to the disposal company's
plea for about 30 days, agreeing
to consider the proposal.
The council gave the city the
go-ahead to layer Rabbit Blvd.,
ABC Lane and the parking area in
front of the Atlanta Primary School
with the SS1 road surfacing
material currently being used on
some city streets.
The city agreed to help out the
school district with the repaving
and Long said it would cost the
city nothing except the "time and
equipment" to do the job.
Three representatives of the
city and the city's consulting en-
gineer will leave late Thursday for
a one day trip to Georgia to tour a
wastewater treatment facility. City
manager Jim Long, District 4
councilman Charles Riley, Atlanta
treatment plant supervisor John
Cash and engineer Terry Brannon
will examine the state-of-the-art
plant in Atlanta, which Brannon
says is being constructed and
operated along the lines of those
being considered by the city for
future needs.
Mayor Lawson McKelvey urged
city officials, council members and
local citizens to begin calling and
writing their elected representa-
tives in Austin to oppose the
adoption of any state budget
deficit reduction plan that would
result in the closing of the high-
way department district office in
Atlanta.
One of the plans favored by
legislators to head off a projected
$4.6 billion revenue shortfall in
Texas would consolidate the
Texas department of Highways
and Public Transportation district
offices, reducing them from 24 to
12.
That news could have serious
implications for the Atlanta area,
where the District 19 headquar-
ters is located. Closing the ad-
ministrative offices here would
eliminate almost 120 jobs and do
away with $4.5 million that flows
in and out of the area each year.
McKelvey, along with, plan to
travel to Austin later this week to
meet with State Sen. Bill Ratliff
(R-Mt. Pleasant) and Rep. Sam
Russell (D-Mt. Pleasant) in a lob-
bying effort against the Idea.
Council members delayed ac-
cepting the proposed city's new
personnel policy, pending some
clarifications. Changes will be in
the wording regarding grounds for
dismissal of a city employee and
the proper procedure for taking
sick leave.
Long reported that he, Mayor
McKelvey, councilman Randy
Lee, Brannon and financial ad-
visor Mike Byrd met with Texas
Water Development Board offi-
cials in Austin last Thursday. The
meeting was held to discuss the
city's participation In the State
Revolving Fund, which would ad-
minister a low-interest loan for
upgrading the sewer system.
"I feel very good about the out-
come of the meeting," Long said.
"I think we can push forward with
the process of obtaining a priority
place in that revolving fund."
Problems cause 'catfish water' season to begin early this year
□ WATER
Continued from page 1
pressure in the elevated tank.
Well, when that tank emptied, that
pump took off and started mov-
ing."
Partello further explained that it
is that pressure, or weight, that
keeps the motor slowed down. So
when the tank empties, the speed
picks up and, in Partello's words,
"it just sucked all the water out of
it.
"Then it has to sit and fill up.
But with the head pressure so
little, it'd just empty it out in just a
few minutes and suck air, so it
shut itself down."
As a result, some Atlanta water
customers arrived home after
work Friday and turned the water
faucets on to — nothing. The
problem surfaced earlier that day.
"It was early Friday morning.
That's when I went up and the
chlorinator pump was running. I
checked the well and it wasn't
going. I checked the chlorine
bottle and there wasn't any
chlorine because there wasn't any
water," Partello said. "So there
was nothing being pumped. I
opened up a valve to blow it off
and it blew air. So it had just
sucked the water out."
Basically what happened, he
said, was that it just took off and
started running faster since there
was no head pressure. He said he
left the valve wide open and now
that there is plenty of head pres-
sure, the operation at Reed Street
is running normal again.
Budget, lottery face
lawmakers in Austin
□
HIGHWAY
Continued from page 1
payroll of $3.25 million. The dis-
trict warehouse spends about $1
million a year, a lot of that locally,
and another $425,000 is spent an-
nually on additional services and
needs.
"In short, about $4.5 million that
flows in and out of this area every
year would be lost," Jester told the
Citizens Journal last week.
Local officials, from Atlanta
Mayor Lawson McKelvey to
chamber of commerce manager
Bob Embry to the local industrial
development foundation's presi-
dent, Millard Aud, have rallied to
lobby legislators against accepting
any part of a budget reduction
plan that would close the highway
department office in Atlanta.
Letters have been written and
phone calls made and, at Monday
night's Atlanta City Council meet-
ing, McKelvey again urged local
citizens to join the campaign. Ad-
ditionally, the mayor announced
that he and other interested repre-
sentatives from the area would be
willing to travel to Austin later for
face-to-face meetings with law-
makers.
Comptroller Sharp maintains
that by streamlining Texas
government, $4 billion of a
projected $4.6 billion revenue
shortfall could be eliminated,
present services maintained, and
a state income tax avoided.
State Sen. Bill Ratliff (R-Mt.
Pleasant) told the Journal Tues-
day that there was no formal dis-
cussion of the sales tax issue on
Monday and that he didn't expect
any until a budget was actually
drawn.
Ratliff predicted that a second
special session may be needed if
any type of tax increase is
proposed after the budget-writing
session ends. He also said he
doesn't think sales taxes would
rise more than a quarter-cent.
The District 1 Representative,
Sam Russell (D-Mt. Pleasant),
was on the House floor and could
be reached for comment Monday.
Rep. Barry Telford (D-DeKalb),
who may wind up replacing Rus-
sell as Cass County's representa-
tion in the House under the
proposed redistricting, reportedly
told Mayor McKelvey that he was
interested in keeping the highway
department district office here and
would be willing to "talk about it."
Meanwhile, Gov. Richards has
again urged lawmakers to place a
lottery proposal before the voters.
To implement a lottery, it would
take a constitutional amendment.
Public opinion polls have shown
overwhelming support for the
game, and past lottery bills have
passed the Senate. But they have
always died in the House.
For those who want to contact
Rep. Russell and Sen. Ratliff
about any of the issues facing the
Legislature, they may be written at
P.O. Box 2910, Austin, Texas
78769, for Russell, and to P.O.
Box 12068, Capitol Station, Aus-
tin, Texas 78711, for Ratliff.
The address and phone number
for Telford is P.O. Box 2910, Aus-
tin 78768. Gov. Richards has a
toll-free number: 1-800-252-9600.
Her mailing address is P.O. Box
12426, Austin 78711.
9.00%
YIELD 9.32 %
FNMA U.S. GOVERNMENT
AGENCY GUARANTEED
PAYMENTS OF
INTERl
Monthly C/ie
♦FNMA is an agency
rated AAA
♦May be sold at
current market value
•Your high interest
Term Interest rates
Call Capital Investment
Series 73-0 .DateT-NWl
bated on a
mm
The pump and motor installers,
W.E. Pender & Sons of
Texarkana, are supposed to arrive
in Atlanta this week, pull the motor
and make some adjustments to it
to slow it down.
"In the meantime, we've closed
a valve off to lower the amperage
on the motor and slowed the
motor down, so it's just keeping
pace with the water," Partello
added. "They're going to check
the screen down below it and see
if maybe it's corroded over with
barnacles as it looked like."
The city anticipates no problem
with pulling the motor this time,
since those problems were en-
countered and overcome when
the new system installed. Partello
said he believes they can have it
out and back in in a day's time.
"Not to worry," he said. "We
have plenty of catfish water."
2nd Annual Summer
BLOW OUT SALE
Buy Your Christmas Presents in July at Unheard of Prices
]\Wf
Off Suggested
Retail on All
In Stock Merchandise
4 HOURS ONLY
FRIDAY,
JULY 19, 1991
FROM 4 P.M - 8 P.M.
We will be closed Friday, July 19 until sale begins.
KEITH BARFOOT JEWELRY
Tow NooeiovoCustt) jetder* 703-B West Main St. • Atlanta, Texas • 903-796-2362
Cal
an(
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Coleman, John. Citizens Journal (Atlanta, Tex.), Vol. 112, No. 118, Ed. 1 Wednesday, July 17, 1991, newspaper, July 17, 1991; Atlanta, Texas. (https://texashistory.unt.edu/ark:/67531/metapth348102/m1/2/?q=%221964~%22: accessed July 16, 2024), University of North Texas Libraries, The Portal to Texas History, https://texashistory.unt.edu.; crediting Atlanta Public Library.