The Bastrop Advertiser and County News (Bastrop, Tex.), No. 9, Ed. 1 Thursday, March 31, 1983 Page: 1 of 24
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And County News
TEXAS' OLDEST WEEKLY NEWSPAPER
THURSDAY EDITION
KstahlLshrd March I, 1853
Thursday, March 31,1983
Number 9
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Road repairs demanded
By Eric Williams
Angry McDade area
residents Monday told the
Bastrop County Com-
missioners they want their
roads fixed and they would
not mind having to pay ad-
ditional taxes if the county
does not have the money.
"You fellows say you
don't have the money to fix
the roads," said Clyde
Cayton. "Well, it's your
fault; you set the tax rate."
Marvin Markert, who
took over as Precinct 4
Commissioner in January
after working for Travis
County, said that it is true
that the county has very lit-
tle money.
Another man com-
plained that with property
re-evaluations and ad-
ditional development, the
county should have
enough additional revenue
to make a showing in im-
proving roads. Markert
pointed out that the county
had cut its tax rate for the
road and bridge fund from
15 cents per $100 valuation
to eight cents per $100.
Markert added that if
the county raised taxes and "
then made visible im-
provements to the county
roads people j, wouldn't
holler about taxes in-
creasing.
20 From McDade
Approximately 20
residents from McDade at-
tended the meeting, and
many angry words were
directed at Precinct 1
Commissioner r Bryson
French.
In his defense, French
pointed out that he took
over the roads around
McDade less than a year
ago, and as some of the
residents agreed, the roads
were in terrible shape at
that time.
"Three hands and
myself have 150 miles of
to mainlain," French said, ex-
plaining that with that kind
of a work force, no com-
missioner could keep the
county roads as sji><foth as
people would like.
No Confidence
But two persons in the
audience said they had no
confidence in his ability to
bring the roads up to ac-
ceptable standards.
"The best thing Com-
missioner French can do is
to sit down and let
somebody else fulfill his
term," said Kelly Wayne
Kastner. s>
He said the road
situation is so bad that
some people can't get to
work.
"It's done got so bad
that we can't live with it
anymore,'' Kastner said. A
woman stood up to say that
she agreed that the Mc-
Dade area needs a new
commissioner.
Severe Wear
Cayton said that the
roads cause severe wear on
automobiles, noting that
he ran over some rocks
piled in the roadway by a
previous commissioner
and broke the crankcase on
his automobile. Others
said that their vehicles
wear out fast and they have
to go frequently to
mechanics to have the
front-end of their cars
aligned.
They said that in many
areas the roads do not
drain properly and that
when the roads were
graded, dirt was moved
from the road to fill the bar
ditches, making water flow
down the middle of the
road.
French said he is aware
of the problems, and in the
period he has worked the
roads he has spent $15,000
merely on culverts for the
area that he took over after
redistricting changed
precinct lines.
Need Drying
Precinct » 3 Com-
missioner Jerry Alexander
also said that with the wet
weather of this winter and
spring, it is virtually im-
possible to patch potholes.
He noted that unless the
base underneath the
pothole is dried properly,
patching will be ineffective
and temporary.
French told the persons
at the gathering that he has
crews working over roads
near McDade now. But he
noted that within the
budget and manpower
constraints of his crews, is
will take years to get the
McDade area roads into
good condition.
Kastner said the
problem extends beyond
the McDade area.
"The people that live
around Lake Bastrop are
in just as bad shape as we
are," he said. "It's not just
McDade, it's the whole
cotton-picking precinct.''
Kastner said he would be
happy to see an increase in
the taxes if all the money
was spent on improving the
roads.
sAlexander said that he
and all the other com-
missioners are receiving a
number of calls com-
plaining about roads. He
said that the wet weather
causes the number of
potholes and washouts in
roads all over the county,
and the repairs cannot be
made until the weather
clears up and the ground
dries.
* *
Polls open Saturday 7 a.m.-7 p.m.
City Manager Road repairs election
may come inSV topic in Bastrop races
Elizabeth Kesselus, 10, and Anna
Kesselus, 6, have their Easter baskets
ready for egg hunt atBastrop County
Courthouse grounds at 5:30 p.m.
Saturday, one of many Easter events set
for the area. Smithville youngsters 10
and under are invited to a hunt Saturday
at 10 a.m. at the Lawrence Skelley
home, 401 Main St. See Story Page 1 for
more events.
case
After Saturday Smith-
ville could end up with a
heavyweight panel of for-
mer city officials returned
to office and possibly a big
push to get a city manager.
Ex-mayor W.R.
Davison and former coun-
cilmen Robert M. Smith
and Roy Adams are
challenging for three open
seats, along with incum-
bent Charles Diltz Jr.,
frequent candidate Willie
Ferrell and Charles Harris,
father of former Coun-
cilman Dwight Harris.
"It should be in-
teresting," said another
ex-councilman who didn't
run. Voting will take place
7 a.m. to 7 p.m. at City
Hall. 1,200 ballots were
printed and by noon
Tuesday around 30 absen-
tee ballots were cast-more
than in Bastrop. Normally
it takes from 450 to 600
votes to get elected at a
Smithville Council elec-
tion.
One of the issues in the
campaign is current Mayor
James Reader who has
been exercising strong con-
trol at city hall since he
took over a year ago.
Mayor Reader was ex-
perienced as the boss of
civil works at San Antonio
air bases and he attempted
to get streets patched,
Continued on Page 7
How hot is the Bastrop
City Council election race
to fill three seats Saturday?
It's hard to tell from sur-
face signs this year. With
1,200 ballots printed, only
about 19 absentee ballots
had been cast by mid-
Tuesday, according to City
Secretary Artie McLaurin.
(Voting will take place 7
a.m. to 7 p.m. at City
Hall).
But there was a stan-
ding-room only crowd at a
candidates forum last
Friday evening and there's
plenty of coffeeshop talk
SISD battle for board
focuses on buildings
By Ellen Moore
The ghost of last year's
$6.5 million school bond
defeat by a four to one
margin hangs over the
Smithville school board
election April 2 as seven
candidates grapple over
what to do with the
school's building needs.
Voter interest also seems
intense judging by absen-
tee voting, which had
already risen to 66 votes
early Tuesday. There were
2,000 ballots printed for
the election.
Here are some of the
viewpoints of the can-
didates.
William Breeden
William Breeden Jr., 51,
is the only incumbent
seeking reelection. He
currently serves as board
president, and is being
challenged in Place 5 by
Rosemary Kalina.
"I personally do not
regret anything I have
done. The beautiful thing
is that I served on the board
with people who had the in-
terests of the school district
at heart, and my aim and
goal is to continue to look
at the issues and weigh
them," he told a can-
didates forum last week.
A new junior high is
Breeden's "number one
priority," but he is not in
favor of "sticking it in a
place that won't allow for
future growth." More
space is also needed by the
high school, he added, and
"we need to renovate the
Sam Houston School.''
A Package
Breeden favors offering
voters a package of
building projects and let-
ting them ' 'select what they
want."
Regarding the Mary A.
~ Continued on Page 8
about who would be best at
helping get streets fixed.
With seven candidates
running, around 400 votes
should be enough to get a
seat.
One of the hidden issues
is how much independence
voters want to get on to the
council to balance the
strong mayor role or
Mayor Benton Sims. Last
summer discontent was
voiced after the mayor
backed, and lost, an elec-
tion to kill the city manager
form of government.
This year, however,
things appear calmer.
"We're starting to put
money in the bank every
month instead of not
having enough to pay our
bills," Councilman Allen
Eskew, the mayor's gran-
dson, told the candidates
forum. Eskew is seeking
re-election.
Issues Tagged
The major issues talked
about by six of the can-
didates recently include:
How to pay for massive
utility improvements and
Continued on Page 7
Misdemeanor charges
against Gregory French,
who was charged with
stealing Bastrop County
gasoline, will remain pen-
ding until investigation in-
to possible further thefts of
county gasoline are com-
pleted, District Attorney
Neal Pfeiffer said
Tuesday.
Pfeiffer said that the in-
vestigation into the
gasoline theft continues as
he awaits a report from
County Auditor James
Schmidt. That audit report
could be made public as
early as the April 11
meeting of Bastrop County
Commissioners.
Pfeiffer said that his of-
fice has not had anyone
step forward to indicate
that there has been any
previous thefts from
gasoline stocks at the
warehouse.
Unless there are in-
dications that Gregory
French had stolen gasoline
previously, the charges
against him will likely be
downgraded from a class B
misdemeanor to a class C
misdemeanor, Pfeiffer
said.
T rial for class C
misdemeanors are held in
Justice of the Peace court
and a $200 fine would be
the maximum punishment
upon conviction.
LCRA faces new lawsuit
Lower Colorado River
Authority faces yet
another lawsuit as it plans
to mine for lignite in the
Powell Bend Area.
Arthur Mitchell has filed
a lawsuit saying that he,
not T.C. Steiner, has the
deed to the property on
which much of the LCRA
mining is planned.
Mitchell claims to own
approximately 1,200 acres,
that he says were conveyed
to him from Otis Evans
and Opal Evans.
Deed records in the
Bastrop County cour-
thouse show the Evans
selling the property to Mit-
chell on Aug. 3,1971.
Steiner's title to the ran-
chland dates to Oct. 3,
1971, when he purchased it
from National Finance
Credit Corporation.
That Corporation laid
claim to the Evans proper-
ty Nov. 3, 1970, as a result
of default on indebtedness,
according to county recor-
ds.
Mitchell, an attorney
with offices in Austin, is
represented by John Ryan,
another Austin Attorney.
Mitchell is also special
counsel to State Attorney
Jim Mattox.
If the suit is successful,
the LGRA would have to
make arrangements with
Mithcell in order to mine
the land. Mitchell also
seeks $3,000,000 in
damages from defendants,
Steiner, T.C. Steiner Jr.,
LCRA and TP&L.
Bountiful Easter awaits
LET US
REJOICE
May this holiday
.of miracles reawaken your hearts
.^rofheglory that i§ Easter...
/ ■- ■,
Easter will be celebrated
, in solemn and joyful ways
this year in Bastrop. There
will be activities for young
and old beginning with the
observation of Maundy
Thursday on March 31 at
the Bastrop Christian
Church, numerous Easter
egg hunts, church services,
and an exhibit of Easter
eggs at Bastrop's Public
Library through the month
of April.
The Maundy Ttfursday
Service at the Christian
Church begins at 7:20 p.m.
on March 31 and is open to
the community. It will be a
Communion Service.
Regular Sunday services
will still be held, beginning
at 10:30 on Easter mor-
ning.
Egg Hunt
On Friday, April 1, there
will be an Easter egg hunt
at 10 a.m. for children un-
der 12 at the Bastrop Nur-
sing Center, announced
Center Administrator
Sherri Hoskins. She said
this would be the first year
for this event. Some
residents of the Center will
also participate. Also, she
added, residents will have a
special Easter Sunday
mealy- in which they can
choose favorite items from
the menu for the day.
At the United Pen-
tecostal Church in
Bastrop, there will be a
special Gospel singing at
7:30 pn Good Friday,
featuring the New
Kingdom Heirs. The
public is invited. On
Saturday, Rev. Homer
Green will conduct services
and there will be more
special music by churches
from the surrounding area,
beginning at 7:30 p.m.
Everyone is urged to at-
tend.
Old-Fashioned Parade
On Saturday, beginning
at 3 p.m. there will be an old-
fashioned Easter Parade in
Bastrop, sponsored by the
Downtown Merchants
Association. It will start at
the First United Methodist
Church and continue down
Main Street.
Prizes will be awarded to
the person with the fanciest
frock, the best decorated
bicycle, wagon and Easter
basket, and for the most
original costume. Children
and adults will compete for
the same prizes, and only
bicycles, tricycles and
small wagons will be
eligible.
Everyone can enter the
parade, according to
Tammy Sanders,. co-
chairman oQJie event, but
those wishing to be eligible
for prizes must register at
Sanders Texas Threads or
Carey's Casuals by the
Thursday, March 31
deadline.
Following the parade
will be a big egg hunt at
5:30 p.m. on the grounds
of the Bastrop County
Courthouse. Two hunts
will be held, according to
organizers Cherry
Dickson, Don Long and
Joe Emmert: one for
children five and under,
and one for those six
through 10. One golden
egg and several prize eggs
will be hidden along with
the others.
Sunrise Service
On Easter Sunday, the
Bastrop : Ministerial
Alliance invites the com-
munity to its annual
sunrise Easter service in
Bastrop State Park at 6:30
a.m. Reverend Jim
Lawless, of Calvary Bap-
tist Church, and president
of the alliance, points out
the services are held early
so that church members
can also take part in their
own denominational
Easter Sunday services.
The sunrise services have
become a great part of
Bastrop tradition and
everyone is urged to at-
tend. Taking part in the
services include pastors
from the Living Word
Church, Calvary
Episcopal Church, the Fir-
st Baptist Church, Good
Shepherd Lutheran Chin-
ch, First United Methodist
Church, Ascension
Catholic Church and Mt.
Pleasant Baptist Church.
Musical Offerings
The Choirs at Calvary
Baptist Church are
celebrating this Easter with
two musical programs. At
the morning service, the
Sanctuary Choir will
present "The Crimson
Bridge" by Derric John-
son. It is a graphic descrip-
tion of the miracle of
Calvary, and includes
songs familiar to many, as
well as some dramatic new
songs. Soloists will be Ray
Barron, Charles Lucas,
Earl Rollier, Gloria Kap-..
pes, Joan Lawless,
Charlotte Lucas and San-
dra Barnett.
The evening service will
be the dramatic musical
"Vinegar Boy" by David
Culross, presented by
Calvar^ Baptist Youth/
Choir. "Vinegar Boy" i^
Continued on Page 14
15
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Williams, Eric. The Bastrop Advertiser and County News (Bastrop, Tex.), No. 9, Ed. 1 Thursday, March 31, 1983, newspaper, March 31, 1983; Bastrop, Texas. (https://texashistory.unt.edu/ark:/67531/metapth601981/m1/1/: accessed July 10, 2024), University of North Texas Libraries, The Portal to Texas History, https://texashistory.unt.edu.; crediting Bastrop Public Library.