Palacios Beacon (Palacios, Tex.), Vol. 80, No. 1, Ed. 1 Thursday, January 1, 1987 Page: 1 of 10
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THURSDAY, JANUARY 1, |987
TEN PAGES
PALACIOS, TEXAS
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Body of man found in car
believed shot in Palacios
A bullet riddled body found
Sunday morning in a car on
‘Wells Point Road’ has been
identified as that of a 38-year old
man who had been living in
Palacios.
Investigators believe the man,
identified as Octavio Augusto
Rangel-Leal, was shot at his
mobile home in the 1000 block of
Morton in Palacios either late
Friday night or early Saturday
morning and then taken and left
in his abandoned car in the area
a mile south of State Highway 35
just inside the Jackson County
line.
An autopsy performed by the
Harris County Medical Examin-
er’s Office reported Rangel-Leal
had been shot with a .38-caliber
weapon five to seven times.
Three of the gunshot wounds
were to the head.
A resident of Brownsville,
Rangel-Leal had been living in
Palacios for approximately two
years while employed by a
contractor at the South Texas
Nuclear Project. His wife and six
children still live in Brownsville.
A farmer who had stopped to
check on the abandoned vehicle
around 6:30 a.m. Sunday disco-
vered the body wrapped in
blankets and lying on the back
floorboard. The vehicle, a 1976
white Cadillac which was regi-
stered to the victim, had first
been observed on the side of the
road near the intersection of
County Road 476 and Fm 3280
around 6:30 a.m. Saturday.
Investigators believe the driver
of the car was enroute to drop off
the body when the vehicle
apparently ran off the road and
got stuck in the mud.
According to Palacios Police
Chief Don Gullett, whose depart-
ment is assisting the Jackson
County Sheriffs Dept, in the
investigation, police discovered
two bullet holes through the
metal door of Rangel-Leal’s
mobile home. Several items,
Gullett said, were missing from
the trailer including a portable
black and white TV, a .22-caliber
rifle and possible cash.
Gullett said Rangel-Leal had
left work at STP around 3:30 p.m.
Friday. The chief said one
neighbor reported having heard
noise Friday night but had
thought they were fireworks
[See Page 2]
VOLUME 80, NO. 1
30 CENTS ]
\
Cable company
adds channels;
rate increase
Palacios television cable cus-
tomers have seen an increase in
the number of channels to choose
from recently with the addition of
four stations to the basic service
package of Amzak Cable.
Beginning Feb. 1st, Amzak
customers will iflso find an
increase in their basic service
bills.
Effective on that date, the
monthly rate for basic service
(non-premium channels) will in-
crease from its present $9.98
monthly rate to $13 per month.
Charges for premium pay
stations, such as Home Box
Office and Cinemax, will remain
the same at $10 and $8 per month
respectively. The charge for new
installation will also remain
unchanged at $22.50.
In previous years, the cable
industry was under federal reg-
ulation which required cable
companies to present rate in-
crease requests as well as
requests to carry additional chan-
nels, to municipal governments
such as the Palacios City Council
for approval. However, effective
January i the cable industry will
be deregulated, allowing cable
companies to set rates on their
own.
Michelle Conrod, regional
manager for Countryside Cable
in Portland which owns Amzak
Cable, said the ad’ition of the
four channels to the uasic service
package had no bearing on the
increase in monthly rates. Noti-
ces of the rate increase, she said,
will be included in the January
statements to cable customers.
Added in the past two weeks to
Amzak Cable in Palacios were
Home Shopping Network (Ch.
24), Galavision (a Spanish net-
work on Ch. 23), The Nashville
Network (Ch. 18) and Cable
News Network (Ch. 17).
Conrod said the cable system
is also considering the addition of
Nickelodean (children’s progr-
amming), MTV (music videos)
and Cable News Headline News
to the basic service package in
the future. She said the future
expansion of basic service offer-
ings will depend on the updating
of the Amzak system’* channel
capacity.
The four channels added to the
system brings to 18 the number
of basic service channels offered
by Amzak. The system’s two
premium (pay TV channels)
remain HBO and Cinemax.
Along with allowing cable
companies to base their rates on
what the market will bear,
Conrod feels deregulation of the
cable industry will allow for more
quality and varied programs.
She also pointed out that
Amzak is replacing and upgrad-
ing equipment in order to provide
better service to its customers.
The installation of line extenders
and upgrading of its microwave
system will help increase the
systems power and provide bet-
ter TV reception.
Although she says she has only
been in Palacios once, Conrod
was aware that there has been
some problems with reception
over the cable system. She noted
Amzak is replacing and upgrad-
ing equipment in order to provide
better service to its customers.
The installation of line extenders
and the upgrading of its micro-
wave system, she feels, will help
increase the system's power and
provide better TV reception.
New Year’s baby to find special welcome
The first baby of 1987 bom in
Wagner General' Hospital will
find a special welcome as gifts
from Palacios merchants, organi-
zations, and individuals greet the
infant and the new year.
Following a community tradi-
tion of gifts for the New Year's
baby, the Palacios Chamber of
Commerce has served as sponsor
of collection activities welcoming
the new citizen.
Chris Woll, chairwoman of the
Chamber’s New Arrival Com-
mittee, notes that gifts or gift
certificates have been given as
follows: floating baby seat-Aqua
Classic Pools and Spas; book-
Believer's Bookstore, keys to the
city parks (toy)-City of Palacios;
gift certificate-Hamlin’s Mini-
max; iron-on patch-Palacios Area
Historical Association; and one
year subscription to the Beacon-
Palacios Beacon.
Book and library card-Palacios
Library, Inc.; vaporizer-Palacios
Pharmacy; blanket/sheets/baby
items-Palacios Pro-Life Commit-
tee; shell clown-Phil's Shellara-
ma; 8x10 baby portrait. Photo-
graphy by Todd; and two pack-
ages disposable diapers-The Pic-
nic Basket.
Also gift Certificate-Prescrip-
tion Shoppe; case of baby milk-
Shark Drive Inn; dinner for
baby’s parents-Shimek’s Restau-
rant; car seat-Wagner General
Hospital; and soft sculpture
Mother Goose-Bob and Chris
Woll.
Donors to the Welcome Fund
are Bay City Federal Savings and
Loan Association, Bay Real Es-
tate, F.P. “Sonny” Brhlik, City
State Bank of Palacios, Palacios
Area Fund, Pier Drive Inn, Bill
and Linda Reaves, Serendipity
Resorts, Esther Smith, Jimmie
Smith, and Trull Foundation.
Persons or firms wishing to
donate gifts or funds to the First
Baby of 1987 project may contact
Chris Woll, Winfrey Horton,
Roberta Ripke, Esther Smith, or
the Chamber of Commerce off-
ice.
‘Inflow’ troubles;
Greetings
from IRS
THE IRS amt Its own style at
Christmas card and New Year’s
greetings to many Palacios
residents this week with the
mailing of income tax forms and
Instructions. With the changes
in the tax law, many taxpayers
will be trying to get an early
i
start far filling out their 1041
forms and meeting the notor-
kms April 15 deadline. [Beacon
Photo by Nick Westj
Garbage pickup
There will be no garbage
pickup on Thursday, New
Year’s Day. All garbage will
be picked up Friday.
City Hall will be closed
Thursday.
City urges residents to repair sources on private property
The City of Palacios is con-
tinuing to pursue the problem of
stormwater inflow into the waste-
water collection system and is
urging property owners to help in
the effort.
According to city public works
director Bob Brewer, although
the city crews have repaired
many of these inflow sources on
public property, many problems
still exist on private property.
The city has mailed numerous
letters to persons with inflow
sources on their property, some
have responded and made the
repairs required to correct the
situation. Others have ignored
the pleas for compliance, Brewer
said. The city is subject to fines
levied by the Texas Water Com-
mission if the over permit
discharge of wastewater conti-
nues.
The city plumbing inspectors
have increased enforcement of
the city’s sewer use ordinance.
They are issuing citations to
property owners that do not take
immediate action once notified of
a violation under their control.
Brewer pointed out that city
workers are checking every lot
and property in the city. Owners
will be notified in writing if a
violation is found on their
property. They will then have ten
(10) days to obtain a permit and
schedule work on their problem.
Failure to comply will result in
a citation, Brewer explained, and
a trip to the Municipal Court.
Downspouts off your roof, or yard
drains which empty into the
wastewater collection system are
serious violations of the city
codes and are punishable by
fines up to $200 per day of
violation, Brewer pointed out,
“Those who have not received
a letter may still be a contri-
butor to the inflow problem,’’
says Brewer. Some signs to
watch for are:
-An unexplained hole or de-
pression in your yard close to
where the sewer line runs.
-Downspouts from your roof
disappearing into the ground
with no apparent outfall.
-An open sewer cleanout with
no cap or riser.
-Do you remove your cleanout
ccps to help drain your yard?
-If your sewer line goes
through a septic tank, the field
lines are a severe source of
inflow.
"Property owners should try to
locate their source of inflow and
if they cannot find it, they should
call City Hall,” says Brewer.
“We will send someone to assist
them as time is available. Bear in
mind that several hundred letters
are being mailed and city crews
still must accomplish the normal
workload. Response time may be
greater then you might expect, as
additional personnal are not
available for this project.”
Those undertaking their own
repairs are reminded that the
repair or replacement line must
be inspected by the City Plumb-
ing Inspector. Some things to
remember when doing your own
work are:
-Obtain a plumbing permit.
-Use only approved materia)
such as sewer pipe SDR-35 or
SCH40
-Prime the glue joint use PVC
CPVCglue
-Cleanouts must not be more
[See REPAIRS, Page 2]
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West, Nicholas M. Palacios Beacon (Palacios, Tex.), Vol. 80, No. 1, Ed. 1 Thursday, January 1, 1987, newspaper, January 1, 1987; Palacios, Texas. (https://texashistory.unt.edu/ark:/67531/metapth726707/m1/1/: accessed June 20, 2024), University of North Texas Libraries, The Portal to Texas History, https://texashistory.unt.edu.; crediting Palacios Library.