Wharton Journal-Spectator (Wharton, Tex.), Vol. 125, No. 11, Ed. 1 Wednesday, February 5, 2014 Page: 1 of 12
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Lifestyle
SPAMALOT comes
to Plaza stage
Page A6
Sports
No. 24 Tigers
clinch district
Page B1
Bparton Journalfiffpectator
Volume 125, Number 11 journal-spectator.com
Wednesday, February 5,2014
12 Pages, 4 Inserts
75 Cents
( \
Today’s Funeral and
Death Notices, Page A7
Walter Stavena and Judith
Tant.
V_J
Dateliwe
■ Discount Cards on Sale
The Wharton Tigers golf team is
again offering Tiger Discount Cards
for its annual fundraiser. For the
fifth year the team has offered the
discount cards and they have sold
out every year. The cards cost $10
each and are available until sold
out. The cards offer discounts for
18 area businesses and many of
them are restaurants. Some offer
a 10 percent discount, while oth-
ers offer a free drink with a meal
purchase. The 2014 card is good
through March 1, 2015. For more
information or to purchase a card,
call coach Terry Freese at 532-6262
or Linda Lins at the WISD Education
Support Center at 532-6201.
■ Financial Program
Starting today First United Meth-
odist Church in Wharton will offer
Financial Peace University, a course
designed to help families get out
of debt and improve their personal
finances. Anyone is welcome to at-
tend and classes will be from 6:30
to 9 p.m. Wednesdays. For more
information, or to register, call 532-
1100 or go to fumcwharton.org.
■ WCJC Luncheon
First United Methodist Church
in Wharton will host a luncheon for
Wharton County Junior College stu-
dents and faculty from 11 a.m. until
1:30 p.m. Thursday in its fellowship
hall. The church is located across the
street from WCJC.
■ Senior Talent Show
The Senior Serve 2014 public
talent show will be held at 7 p.m.
Thursday, Feb. 6, at the Wharton
FHigh School Auditorium. Admission
fee is $3.
■ Salas Fundraiser
The second annual Salas Girls
Memorial Scholarship BBQ Cook
Off will be held Friday and Saturday
at Judy's Bar at 10220 FM 442 in
Boling. Friday will feature a beef
fajita contest with winner take all
the money. It has a $20 entry fee
and those entering must be entered
for the Saturday event. Entertain-
ment Friday will be Bubba Westly
and Interstate Fleartbreak at 8:30
p.m. Saturday's cook off will feature
pinto beans, pork spare ribs, whole
chicken and beef brisket. Entry fee
is $100 for one or all of the catego-
ries. Other events on Saturday will
include sale of barbecue sandwich-
es a live auction at 3 p.m., a silent
auction ends at 5 p.m. and cook off
awards given at 6 p.m. There will
also be a 50/50 raffle, shirts and
koozies for sale until supplies run
out. For more details on the cook
off, call Andy Guajardo at 832451-
4282. For more event details or to
make a donation, call Melissa Salas
at 979-533-2894. All proceeds go
to the Salas Memorial Scholarship
Fund.
■ Boling LL Tryouts
Boling Little League tryouts will
be this Saturday at the Boling Little
League field starting at 9 a.m. Par-
ticipants can still register up through
Saturday. Tryouts will be held for all
age groups, including T-ball. Par-
ticipants should bring their gloves.
Bats and helmet are optional, if they
have them.
■ Youth Bake Sale
Peace Tabernacle Youth Bake
Sale will be held at 9 a.m. Saturday,
Feb. 8, at Peace Tabernacle, 1416
N. Alabama Road in Wharton.
■ Mega Pet Adoption
Wharton County S.P.O.T., to-
gether with El Campo and Wharton
animal shelters, Friends of Wharton
Animal Control and Jackson County
Flappy Tails will have a mega adop-
tion Looking 4 Love from 10 a.m.
until 1 p.m. Saturday at Wharton
County Youth Fairgrounds at Cres-
See DATELINE, Page A2
Wharton, El Campo split up
Separate districts only affect football;
Boling, East Bernard remain together
By KEITH MAGEE
kmagee@journal-spectator.com
As expected, the Wharton Tigers and El
Campo Ricebirds will be going their separate
ways for the next two school years — but only
in football.
The University Interscholastic League on
Monday announced its biennial realignment
for its member schools with Wharton and El
Campo moved to different districts for the
2014-15 and 2015-16 school years.
The two schools, however, will remain in the
same basketball district. Alignments for other
sports will be announced at a later date.
Beginning next year, the UIL is changing
the classes, with Class 5A becoming Class 6A,
Class 4A becoming Class 5A, and so forth.
Beginning next year, Wharton and El Cam-
po will be in Class 4A, which is the old Class
3A.
Schools that play six-man football will be-
come Class A.
Also next year, Class 4A will divide schools
into Division I and Division II instead of wait-
ing until the playoffs begin as was the case in
previous years. Because El Campo is a larger
school, the Ricebirds will be in Class 4A Divi-
sion I, while the Tigers will be in Class 4A Divi-
sion II.
Wharton’s district schools for football will be
Bellville, Columbus, Royal and Sweeny.
See WHARTON, Page A5
UIL district realignment
(Football only)
DISTRICT 12-4A DIVISION II
• Bellville
• Columbus
• Royal
• Sweeny
• Wharton
New teams:
• Sweeny (moved over from Dis-
trict 24-3A)
Gone:
• El Campo, Needville and Sealy
(moved up to Class 4A Division I)
DISTRICT 13-2A DIVISION II
• Boling
• Brazos
• Danbury
• East Bernard
• Tidehaven
• Van Vleck
New teams:
• None
Gone:
• Hitchcock (moved up to Class
3A Division I)
Alignments are for the 2014-15 and 2015-16 school years
Source: University Interscholastic League
Just Do It Now celebrates 5 years
Staff photo by Benjamin Sharp
Charlotte Jackson, center, helps Just Do It Now members Sergio Simmons, left, and Evelyn Penaflor with a worksheet
Monday afternoon.
Program wants to do more
By BENJAMIN SHARP community outreach program that influence even more. Not only does
bsharp@journal-spectator.com has kept hundreds of Wharton’s he want to provide assistance to
children off the streets. students’ entire families, he plans
In five years time, Just Do It In the next five years, organi- to weave a new pattern into the
Now has grown from an after- zation founder and director Greg
school hangout to a multifaceted Baines plans to expand that web of See JUST DO IT NOW, Page A5
BHS student,
16, injured in
car accident
By BENJAMIN SHARP
bsharp@journal-spectator.com
A Boling student described as an “out-
standing young man” was seriously injured in
a one-vehicle crash Friday night on FM 442.
Joey Garcia, 16, was taken by Wharton
EMS to Gulf Coast Medical Center where he
was transferred via Life Flight helicopter to
Houston.
Boling Independent School District Supt.
Wade Stidevent said Monday afternoon that
Garcia’s condition was improving. The teen-
ager reportedly suffered injuries to his torso,
shoulder area and legs after his truck over-
turned alongside the roadway.
“The last report we received from the fami-
ly is that everything is very promising,” Stide-
vent said.
Department of Public Safety officials said
Garcia was westbound on FM 442 in a 1999
Ford F-150 around 7:55 p.m. Friday. The in-
vestigating officer — Trooper Wayne Cipriani
— said in his preliminary report that Garcia’s
truck went into a side skid and left the road-
way.
The truck rolled multiple times, ejecting
Garcia. The vehicle came to rest on top of him.
DPS said Garcia was wearing his seat belt
but the device’s “anchor” came loose when the
truck began to roll.
There were no other vehicles or passengers
involved.
See BOLING, Page A8
Study: San Bernard
River in bad shape
By BENJAMIN SHARP
bsharp@journal-spectator.com
The San Bernard River is
in bad shape — both for peo-
ple and for fish.
That’s the consensus of a
study recently completed by
the Houston-Galveston Area
Council. Deemed the San
Bernard Watershed Protec-
tion Plan, the study outlines
the various sources of river
contamination as well as sug-
gestions for combating these
pollutants.
“This gives you an idea of
how much bang you can get
for your buck,” said H-GAC’s
Aubin Phillips, referring to
strategies for improving the
river’s water quality.
Phillips presented an ex-
ecutive summary of the 150-
page study last Thursday. A
two-hour meeting was held
in the Wharton Civic Center’s
Duncan Auditorium to go over
the summary and to answer
any questions regarding the
document.
On hand were representa-
tives from the United States
Department of Agriculture,
the Texas State Soil & Wa-
ter Conservation Board, the
Friends of the River San Ber-
nard and the Texas Colorado
River Floodplain Coalition.
During the meeting, Phil-
See STUDY, Page A2
Staff photo by Benjamin Sharp
H-GAC Senior Environmental Planner Aubin Phillips goes over the executive summary of the San Ber-
nard River Watershed Protection Plan at the Wharton Civic Center this past week.
6
TODAY'S WEATHER Details Pa9e A2
Check journal-spectator.com
for current conditions, updated
2 forecasts and weather radar.
Ill
Classified............
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Crime..................
A5
5)
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Crossword..........
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Dateline..............
A2
Life & Leisure......
A6
Obituaries........
A7
Opinion............
A4
Sports..............
B1
Weather...........
A2
BURN BAN LIFTED
Wharton County’s burn ban has been lifted until further notice.
For burning guidelines, visit www.co.wharton.tx.us/
Controlled burns must be reported to 532-1550.
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Wallace, Bill. Wharton Journal-Spectator (Wharton, Tex.), Vol. 125, No. 11, Ed. 1 Wednesday, February 5, 2014, newspaper, February 5, 2014; Wharton, Texas. (https://texashistory.unt.edu/ark:/67531/metapth655974/m1/1/: accessed July 17, 2024), University of North Texas Libraries, The Portal to Texas History, https://texashistory.unt.edu.; crediting Wharton County Library.