Wharton Journal-Spectator (Wharton, Tex.), Vol. 124, No. 18, Ed. 1 Saturday, March 2, 2013 Page: 1 of 10
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Celebrate
Texas
Independence
Day!
March 2, 2013
Lifestyle
Youth show
in progress
Page 5
Sports
Tournament
concludes
Page 10
liparton Journals# pectator
Volume 124, Number 18 journal-spectator.com
Saturday, March 2, 2013
10 Pages, 3 Inserts
75 Cents
INSIDE THIS ISSUE!
f \
Today’s Funeral and
Death Notices, Page 6
Michael Anderson, Mabel
Clark, Selestino Garcia,
Mabel Kocurek, Margarita
Rodriguez and Beatrice
Townsend.
V___J
J
A
■ Vote on School Calendar
The Wharton Independent
School District Calendar Committee
has designed three different calen-
dars for the 2013-2014 school year.
The public is invited to vote for their
choice during the weeks of Feb. 25
through March 8 at the Wharton
Education Support Center located
at 2100 N. Fulton St. between the
hours of 8 a.m. and 4 p.m.
■ Next Habitat Applications
Habitat for Humanity of East
Wharton County is now accepting
applications to purchase the house
to be built in Wharton in 2014.
Persons with an income of $1,330
to $2,660 per month can apply
by calling 282-9302 or by going
to habitatewc.com, or obtaining a
gualification brochure at the Whar-
ton County Library, Wharton Civic
Center, Share, the Habitat ware-
house at 707 Jefferson in Wharton,
the East Bernard Library Branch and
Vista Bank in Boling.
■ Babe Ruth Registration
Wharton Babe Ruth League
registration is currently open. Reg-
istration forms can be picked up
and/or submitted at Stephenson &
Company, 1609 N. Richmond Road
in Wharton, from 8:30 a.m. until
4:30 p.m. Monday through Friday.
■ Lenten Fish Fries
Holy Family Catholic Church will
be having its Lenten Fish Fries from
5:30 to 7:30 p.m. every Friday until
Friday, March 22, at the Holy Family
Life Center. Menu consists of fried
catfish fillets and all the trimmings.
Prices are: inside all-you-can-eat $10
per plate and drive-through $9 per
plate.
■ JDIN Fish Fries
Just Do It Now will be having an
all-you-can-eat fish fry from 11 a.m.
until 2 p.m. every Friday through
Friday, March 22, at the Dawson
Community Resource Center Caf-
eteria. Dine-in plates will consist of
fried fish, onion potatoes, green
beans, bread, cake, and tea for $10.
To go plates will be available with
fried fish, onion potatoes, green
beans, bread and cake for $8. All
proceeds benefit the wide variety
of programs conducted through
the Just Do It Now organization.
For more information or to place
an order, call Barbie Fortenberry
or Charlotte Jackson at 531-1975
Monday through Friday from 8 a.m.
to 5 p.m.
■ Gourmet Guys Cook
The 12th annual Gourmet Guys
world tour will arrive at the Whar-
ton County Historical Museum,
3615 N. Richmond Road, at 7 p.m.
today. Benefiting the museum's
general operating fund, the annual
fundraiser will feature Tastes From
Around Wharton County, with se-
lections including Mexican, Danish
and Czech dishes, among others.
Tickets are $50 for first timers and
$75 for anyone who has attended
a prior event. They are available at
the museum ahead of time or the
day of the event. Call 532-2600 for
information.
See DATELINE, Page 2
Hospital promotes Flynn, Starling
Gulf Coast moving
forward with its
restructuring plans
By BENJAMIN SHARP
bsharp@journal-spectator.com
From finalizing its administration to updating
its computer system, Gulf Coast Medical Center is
moving forward on its restructuring plans.
Hospital officials say the changes will provide
better stability for both employees and patients.
‘We’re tweaking some things around,” said Lo-
retta Flynn, the hospital’s newly named Chief Oper-
ating & Human Resources Officer. ‘We’re trying to
stabilize the team.”
Flynn has served for the past several months as
the interim Chief Operating Officer, assisting inter-
im Chief Executive Officer Ermanno Mariani. Mari-
ani is the temporary replacement for outgoing CEO
Loretta Flynn Barbara Starling
Randy Slack, who resigned in January.
Flynn, an 11-year employee, received her per-
manent position earlier this month. Also promoted
was Barbara Starling, who has worked in the hospi-
tal’s financial department since 1998. Starling was
named Chief Financial Officer, replacing former
CFO Gary Williams, who resigned on Feb. 4.
‘We’re just trying to make sure the hospital is vi-
able,” Starling said this week.
Flynn noted that Starling was a natural choice
for the job.
“Barbara had already stepped up and was part of
the administration team and was doing a lot of the
financials,” she said.
Starling added, “I’ve already been doing about 75
percent of what I’m doing now.”
The changes are the latest development in GC-
MC’s reorganization efforts. The hospital last fall
terminated numerous positions in an effort to cut
costs and streamline its services, and currently
plans to shut down its OB Women’s Services depart-
ment next month.
Also this week, hospital officials said that con-
tracts will not be renewed for several of its vendors.
“It’s cost savings for us,” Flynn said.
She stressed, though, that salaries for some staff
have actually gone up. And most of the nurses in the
OB department will transfer to other in-house posi-
tions.
See HOSPITAL, Page 4
Staff photo by Benjamin Sharp
The Ramirez family stands on the front porch of their new home, made possible by the East Wharton County Habitat for Humanity. At
the top, left to right, are Pablo Jr. and Pablo Sr. Middle row, left to right, are Julia and Martha. At bottom is Caleb.
Built With Love, Sweat And Cheers
Boling family ready
to move into their
new Habitat home
By BENJAMIN SHARP
bsharp@journal-spectator.com
BOLING — There’s two pallets of sod
grass in the yard, waiting to be spread
out by hand. Pablo Ramirez attacks the
stack quickly, transferring the rectan-
gles to the dirt, forming a quilt-like pat-
tern on the ground.
He’s not alone in his work. Pablo’s
wife, Martha, and three children — Ju-
lia, 16, Pablo Jr., 13, and Caleb, 8 — all
pitch in Thursday afternoon, doing their
fair share.
The easiest of jobs it’s not, but no one
seems bothered by a little sweat. This
plot of ground, after all, will soon become
the Ramirez family’s front yard. And the
house that sits behind it will on Sunday
become the family’s brand-new home.
“I am excited about this,” Martha
said, her face beaming with pride.
Her husband added, “I’m ready to
move in now.”
The Ramirez home — at 6613
Gwyneth St. — is the latest project of
the East Wharton County Habitat for
Humanity. On Sunday, the Ramirez
family will receive the keys to the home
during a dedication celebration and
open house, which begins at 3 p.m. The
public is invited.
It’s actually the eighth home con-
See BOLING, Page 4
Automobile accident leads to man's arrest
Bay City resident fails
to put 18-month-old
niece in a car seat
By BENJAMIN SHARP
bsharp@journal-spectator.com
A motorist who lost control of his car
near Boling this week was arrested for
not having his niece in a car seat.
The 18-month-old child was unin-
jured in the crash, but Department of
Public Safety officials said things easily
could have turned out much worse.
‘Thank God the child was safe, which
was my main concern,” said investigat-
ing Trooper Mark Contreras.
“We had a good talk about (the im-
portance) of having children secured in
a car seat.”
Bay City resident Lexus Deaundre
Johnson, 22, was charged with unse-
cured child and no driver’s license and
was booked into Wharton County Jail
on Wednesday evening. He was later re-
leased on $1,000 bond.
DPS officials said Johnson was be-
hind the wheel of a Toyota Camry
around 4:30 p.m. Wednesday and was
heading south on FM 442 toward Bol-
ing. He lost control of the car and ran it
off the right side of the road into a large
culvert.
“He claimed another vehicle swerved
into his lane and he swerved to avoid be-
ing hit,” Contreras said.
There were no witnesses.
See ACCIDENT, Page 2
Calfee
set to be
honored
in Austin
Special to the Journal-Spectator
AUSTIN — On Wednesday,
just five days short of the 45th
anniversary of the attack on
Lima Site 85, State Rep. Phil
Stephenson and State Sena-
tor Glenn Hegar will present
to Master Sgt. James H. Cal-
fee’s family in Austin, a reso-
lution to memorialize Calfee’s
valiant fight and posthumous
award of the Silver Star.
Calfee was born on Jan. 5,
1932 and grew up in Newgulf.
After graduating from Boling
High School, he enlisted in the
Air Force to avoid forcibly be-
ing drafted into the infantry in
the wake of the Vietnam War.
Calfee was chosen for a
special top secret operation
in Laos, Vietnam that is now
known as Lima Site 85. Site
85 was a secret base that was
overrun by the North Viet-
namese Army on March 11,
1968. The base was not even
supposed to be armed, as
they were considered “civil-
ians.” However, these “civil-
ians” were given M-16s by
CIA agents responsible for the
safety and protection of the
site. M.Sgt. James Calfee and
Chief M.Sgt. Richard Etch-
berger helped train the men
as best as possible without the
opportunity for live fire train-
ing.
On March 11 the men
found themselves fighting for
their survival. Eleven out of
the 15 Airmen lost their lives
that day; with eight bodies
never to be found or returned
to the U.S., including Calfee.
The men were all awarded the
Bronze Star.
Eyewitnesses to the attack
testified to Calfee’s valiant ac-
tions, stating that he remained
fighting for the safety of his
brothers-in-arms, despite be-
ing fatally injured himself.
The family petitioned to have
his Bronze Star upgraded to
the Silver Star. Congressman
Ron Paul approved this.
In 2012 M.Sgt. Calfee was
upgraded to a Silver Star and
his family recognized in Lake
Jackson.
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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Obituaries.........
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Crime..................
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Sports...............
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Dateline..............
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Sudoku.............
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Life & Leisure......
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Weather............
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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. 124, No. 18, Ed. 1 Saturday, March 2, 2013, newspaper, March 2, 2013; Wharton, Texas. (https://texashistory.unt.edu/ark:/67531/metapth661213/m1/1/?rotate=270: accessed July 17, 2024), University of North Texas Libraries, The Portal to Texas History, https://texashistory.unt.edu.; crediting Wharton County Library.