Citizens Journal (Atlanta, Tex.), Vol. 112, No. 106, Ed. 1 Wednesday, June 5, 1991 Page: 1 of 18
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4
Bulldogs face Fredericksburg
in state finals - Thursday, 8:30 p.m.
See details on Sports on page 1B and see special page on 3B
Traveling? Smile!
you may be on
some trooper1 s camera
See story on page 3A
0
Citizens joti™
ATLANTA MEMORIAL LIBRARY
TKT it T
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Dec 31 90
Home of
Dennis Gunn
a subscriber
USPS NO. 114-160 VOL. 112, NO 106
WEDNESDAY, JUNE 5, 1991
50 CENTS
101 W HIRAM
ATLANTA
TX
75551
SECTIONS, 18 PAGES
ill—
City races to ready
water system before
summer's demand
Journal staff photo by JOHN COLEMAN
Atlanta firefighters made quick work of extinguishing a blaze at the home of Mary Jones, 905 Harris
St. last Friday night. Her son was arrested as a suspect In what officials are Investigating as an arson
case.
Revenge said motive in arson case
Journal Staff Report
A 30-year-old Atlanta man is in
the Cass County Jail charged with
arson. Theodore Jones is ac-
cused of intentionally setting fire
tc his mother's hou^e on Harris
Road in Atlanta.
According to Atlanta Fire
Department Captain Kerry Patter-
son, the fire department was
called to a house fire at Mary
Jone's home at 905 Harris Road
at 8:57 p.m. Friday, May 31.
After quickly extinguishing the
blaze, investigators discovered
evidence that the fire had been in-
tentionally set and Theodore
Jones was arrested.
Patterson said the motive for
the arson was apparently revenge
against his mother.
Officials estimate the property
loss to be approximately $38,000,
most of which was damage to per-
sonal contents within the home.
Jones remained in the county
jail Tuesday in lieu of $20,000
bond.
Patterson said the investigation
into the arson is continuing and
the case will be turned over to the
Cass County District Attorney's
Office.
By JOHN COLEMAN
Journal Editor
The onslaught of hot weather
and the prospects of a blistering
summer have Atlanta city officials
scrambling to ensure that the
city's water wells, pumps and
storage tanks are ready.
A large portion of Monday
night's city council meeting was
consumed by discussion of Atlan-
ta's water-providing system and
its antiquated and, in some cases,
obsolete components. The urgen-
cy of bringing the system to a
state of readiness as quickly as
possible did not escape the coun-
cil members.
"Summer's coming on in a hur-
ry, so let's get this thing done,"
remarked District 2 councilman
Dr. Jesse Brooks at one point.
"I'll start drawing up the specs
(specifications on a pump and
motor for the Ellington St. wel-
Ihouse) tomorrow," said city
manager Jim Long.
One of the more serious
problems facing the city is replac-
ing the pump and motor on the
well near Ellington Clinic in
downtown Atlanta. The impeller,
which attaches to the end of the
pump motor and, in this case
boosts water through the system,
is broken and can't be repaired.
"There's no telling how old this
is and it's been repaired several
times," city manager Jim Long told
the council, holding up the
damaged implement. "It can't be
repaired again; in fact, they don't
even make these things
anymore."
City water director Mike Partello
said that the equipment there was
"at least 30 years old, maybe ol-
der". He said the well was running
with the aid of a spare impeller,
but that the spare was "almost as
shot as the one we had to take
off."
The council authorized Long to
draw up a set of specifications for
Airport needs 600 more feet
Preliminaries begin
on extending runway
a motor and pump, in preparation
for possibly having to bid out the
purchase of new ones.
The city councilmen went head
and approved bids for sandblast-
ing and painting thfe interiors and
exteriors of the two water storage
tanks on Massey and Grandview
Streets.
T&L Service Co. of Texarkana
submitted the low bid of $68,950
for both tanks. Each tank would
be out of operation for ap-
proximately five days during the
work, but city officials say that the
water supply situation at the mo-
ment does not make that time
Please see WATER page 3A
To your health: heart attacks decline locally
Journal Staff Report
Cass County residents are less likely to die
from heart disease than they were 10 years
ago. More attention to personal health and
improvements in medical care are credited
with the reduced number of heart attack and
stroke deaths in Cass County over the past
decade.
A report released by the Texas Affiliate of
the American Heart Association reveals a 2.5
percent drop in cardiovascular deaths in Cass
County from 1979 to 1989. The decline in this
area is also reflected as part of a nationwide
trend, according to a compilation of Texas
Cardiovascular Disease Death statistics.
The percentage of heart-related deaths in
almost all Northeast Texas counties dropped
between 1979 and 1989, the 10-year report-
ing period. However, it is interesting to note
that the percentage temporarily went up in a
large number of local counties in 1984.
In 1979, a total of 179 of 367 deaths, or 48
percent, were attributed to heart attacks or
strokes in Cass County. That total dropped to
155 of 341 deaths, or 45.5 percent, in 1989.
In 1984, however, the county's percentage
increased to 50.6 percent when 180 of 356
deaths were diagnosed as heart-related. The
lowest percentage calculated over the 10-
year period was in 1988, when 151 of 339
deaths resulted in a countywide low of 44.5
percent.
Neighboring counties all showed overall
declines in deaths related to heart disease
from 1979-89. Bowie County dropped from
53.7 percent to 42 percent; Morris County's
heart attack death rate fell from 46 percent in
1979 to 41.8 percent ten years later,
Titus County showed a drop from 51.1 per-
cent to 42.9, and Upshur County's percentage
fell from 51.1 percent deaths in 1979 to 36.3
percent, for the lowest 1989 percentage in
Northeast Texas.
Camp County was the only local county not
showing a drop. In 1979, 44 percent of the
116 deaths there were caused
Please see HEART pago 3A
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By JOHN COLEMAN
Journal Editor
Despite design 'problems
caused by an unusual terrain, the
location of a county road, and
rigid federal regulations, the City
of Atlanta will proceed with plans
to extend the main runway at the
Atlanta Municipal Airport by
another 600 feet.
Discussions surrounding the
decision to begin pre-application
work on financing the next round
of improvements at the airport
were a large part of the city coun-
cil's business Monday night.
The city's consultant on the air-
port project, Bennie Lybrand, told
the council that after meeting with
Federal Aviation Agency repre-
sentatives in an effort to persuade
them to interpret some of their
regulations in Atlanta's favor, the
news was not that good.
"They said 'no' to any waivers,"
he told the council, "in fact, they
haven't approved any requests for
waivers that have come in on
situations like this. They're ap-
parently being cautious regarding
accidents and liability ."
The city was, in essence, left
with four options, Lybrand ex-
plained. Number one would be to
do nothing. Secondly, the city
could work up their plans to ex-
tend the runway only 500 feet,
thus eliminating some of the
obstacles. If the city wanted to
pursue a 600-foot extension, the
third option would be to close the
county road on the southwest side
of the airport at both ends and put
a cul-de-sac (turnaround) in the
middle, or go with the final option
— work to relocate the county
road, make the necessary grades
in the terrain, and shoot for the full
600 feet.
The extension would bring the
total length of the runway to 3800
feet, the length that Atlanta Airport
Authority members and design
engineers say is necessary for the
airport to handle the larger "small
Please see RUNWAY page 3A
Measles make
comeback; kids
need shots
Measles are making a dead-
ly comeback in the U.S. and
health care experts attribute
the increase in measles cases
to the failure of parents to have
their children vaccinated.
Nationwide, 4,079 cases of
measles have been reported
this year. More than 26,000
cases were reported in 1990,
according to the center for Dis-
ease Control in Atlanta, Ga.
The figure is high, especially
when compared to the 1,497
cases reported in all of 1983.
Vaccinations are available to
Atlanta-area residents through
the Cass County Health Clinic,
Please refer to the article on
page 5A of this issue for the
dates and times.
Public hearing to focus
on widening of U.S. 59
*
journal Matt photo by JOHN COLEMAN
Hundreds came to splash the day away
Saturday, June 1, was Splash Day, signifying the official opening of the city's swimming pool at the city park on N. Louise Street.
Hundreds of the city's youth enjoyed the afternoon of free swimming and musical entertainment. The pool Is open dally from 1 - 6 p.m.
and on Sundays until 5 p.m. Admission Is $1.
A formal public hearing on the
widening of U.S. 59 between At-
lanta and the roadside park south-
west of town will be held
Thursday, June 6, in the Atlanta
High School cafeteria. The meet-
ing is being held by the State
Department of Highways and
Public Transportation to officially
record and discuss the public's
response to this project.
Proposed plans call for
reconstructing and widening the
highway to create a "flush
median" separating the opposing
lanes of traffic. These plans will
be discussed, along with plans to
acquire the necessary right-of-
way for construction.
Maps and drawings showing
the location and design of the
proposed improvements will be
displayed. Highway department
personnel will be on hand to
answer questions and to take
comments from those citizens in
attendance.
All interested citizens are en-
couraged to attend the meeting
and express their views. Verbal or
written statements may be
presented at the hearing or within
10 days after the hearing. They
can be sent to the Resident En-
gineer's office at P.O. Box 1210,
Atlanta, TX. 75551.
Cool §111A Blast F
Hwy. 59 • 796-8177
Ice Cream with Heath Bar,
Butterfinger, M&M Candy or
Hydrox Cookies.
Good thru
June 30. 1991
$1.39
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Coleman, John. Citizens Journal (Atlanta, Tex.), Vol. 112, No. 106, Ed. 1 Wednesday, June 5, 1991, newspaper, June 5, 1991; Atlanta, Texas. (https://texashistory.unt.edu/ark:/67531/metapth348214/m1/1/: accessed July 11, 2024), University of North Texas Libraries, The Portal to Texas History, https://texashistory.unt.edu.; crediting Atlanta Public Library.