The Bastrop Advertiser (Bastrop, Tex.), No. 87, Ed. 1 Thursday, January 3, 1980 Page: 1 of 14
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Since March 1,1853
TEXAS’ OLDEST WEEKLY NEWSPAPER
Thursday, January 3,1980
Number 87
Reynolds won’t run for tax assessor
By DAViS McAi’LEi
Clyde M. Reynolds,
Bastrop County's Tax-
Assessor-Collector for the
past 25 years, announced
Wednesday he will not seek
re-election this year.
In a brief written notice
Reynolds wrote, "I wish to
inform the people of Bastrop
County that I will not be a
candidate for re-election.. in
the forth coming May Demo
cratic Primary.
“I have enjoyed serving
you and have enjoyed your
fellowship. I will always be
grateful for the opportun-
ities you nave given me.”
"The time’s right" to leave
the tax office which he first
entered as Deputy in 1946,
he told the Advertiser.
“This is the time for me" to
step down.
CHIEFTAXJOB
Reynolds discounted
speculation that he might be
a prospert for the chief
appraiser’s post under the
newly formed Bastrop Coun
ty Tax Assessment Board.
“No one’s approached me
about it," he said. “I don't
think I’d be interested."
But he apparently would
not rule out the possibility
-£x»iirxJy “Not rk0Ow4Of* • o
whole lot about" state rules
which would govern the
chief appraiser’s work, “I
couldn’t say, really," he said.
In the first place, "they
haven’t written the book" on
the job, he pointed out,
adding, “I don’t go by the
book.”
But Wednesday’s an
nouncement "has nothing to
do" with the Assessment
Board job possibility, he
said.
BOARD TO MEET
The new tax board will
meet Jan. 11 to discuss,
Filings to start for
elective offices
Democratic County
Chairman Stanley P. Smith
Wednesday Issued a call for
candidates for the coming
May 3 Democratic Primary
to file with him by the Feb. 4
deadline. Filing opens
Friday.
Smith said he expects a
spirited primary in which
Bastrop County has often
drawn more voters than the
final election.
“We do expect some
Republican activity this
year, also," said Smith who
took over as the Democrats'
chairman last year.
REPUBLICAN PLANS
Republican County
Chairman Nan Olsen said
"we hope to offer qualified
Republican candidates for
local office and we know the
Republican presidential
primary will be exciting,
probably drawing conserva-
tive Democrats in large
numbers this year.”
According to Smith, the
first candidate to tell him he
is filing is Ernest Ward of
Elgin who will oppose
incumbent Fourth Precinct
Constable Vernon Blisard.
Candidates for constable
must pay $200 filing fee or or
$300 if they file for the office
sheriff, tax assessor-col-
lector or county commission
or. v
PETITION ityUTE
"But if they can get two
per cent of the voters who
cast ballots in the last
gubernatorial election to
sign their petition, they can
avoid paying the filing fee,"
Smith said. The petition has
' to be certified by the same
Feb. 4 deadline, he said.
Offices open this year
include: County Sheriff
which pays $14,730 a year.
Ed Maynard dies at 89
W.E. (Ed) Maynard, mem-
ber of a prominent Bastrop
County famify and a former
Bastrop City Councilman
and Bastrop Independent
School District trustee, died
early Wednesday at Bastrop
Memorial Hospital. He was
89.
He was a courtly and
unassuming man who built
friendships with hundreds of
farm families as he traveled
the back roads and main
highways as Mobil Oil agent
from 1923 until 1961. He
transported petroleum
products to over 15 service
stations plus numerous
farms and also owned a
Mobil station where the
Bastrop Post Office now
stands plus a later location at
1010 Water St.
After Maynard retired in
1961 he worked for 10 years
to oohipile an accurate listing
of all persons buried in the
county’s 26 cemeteries.
Wiui vne neip oi ms laie
wife, Elsie Heard Maynard,
Mrs. G.P. Herndon and
others, the project was
completed and the names
were filed in alphabetical
and chronological names,
including inscriptions on
tombstones, then bound into
volumes that are being used
as references in cities as far
away as Los Angeles.
After his wife died in
October of 1978, he had been
in declining health but still
managed to walk or be
driven to his son’s insurance
and real estate office every
day. He attended many civic
events and parties and was
alert in con ve rsa ti,.
Relatives said he appeared
to have suffered a stroke
within his last week.
SERVICES SET
Funeral services have
been set for Friday, Jan. 4 at
2 p.m. at Newby Funeral
Home with burial to follow at
Continued on Page 2
among other things, .the rote
of the chief appraiser whom
the board must also name at
a later date.
Reynolds also declined to
speculate on who might seek
the county post he is
vacating. "Give it a little
time and let it settle down,"
he said.
Feb. 5 is the deadline for
candidates to file for the May
Democratic Party Primary.
"Ignorance," according to
Reynolds, will be the biggest
problem his successor will
face. He also advised
prospective candidates to
look first at what the job will
pay.
Elected county officials
now draw $14,730 a year.
Other problems a new tax
will
what he described as
"unstable government."
"Things are changing all
the time now,” he said.
The newly inaugurated
system of county-wide tax
assessment boards in the
state, according to Reynolds,
represents the third recent
attempt by officials of the
Texas Education Agency to
devise a “fair" tax system to
support public schools, and
the Assessment District will
l»e "under the direction" of
TEA, he charged.
"I can't see what (TEA)
has to do with the City of
Bastrop," he went on. But in
effect, he said, that state
agency will dictate part of
the city’s tax policy.
Tax Assessor Collector, pay
ing the same, Precinct 1
Commissioner, now held by
Wilma Wiley, paying the
same, Precinct Commission
er 3, held by Jerry
Alexander, paying the same,
and four constable posts.
Precinct 1 Constable now is
Melvin Barnes, Precinct 2
Constable is August Med-
una, Precinct 3 is M.L. Wise
and Precinct 4 is Blisard.
The 1, 3 and 4 posts pay
$6,930 a year plus mileage
and the Precinct 2 position
pays $4,158 plus mileage.
In addition, precinct chair
men are elected.
Smith said the Democrats
also may have a hot
presidential primary. "It’s
very critical in a presidential
year that we have an active
party in Bastrop County and
we intend to. This could be
Continued on Page 2
Going up
Satellite tower for Bastrop's Cable TV system rises
toward its eventual 400-foot height beside FM 304. Staff
Photo by Davis McAuley.
Moseley expected
to oppose sheriff
Veteran Department of
Safety Trooper Tommy
Moseley confirmed Wednes
day that he will retire from
the department “about the
middle of the month,” thus
feeding speculation that he
will run for county sheriff in
the May Democratic prim-
ary.
A long-tirrjg, Elgin resi-
dent, Moseley did not deny
he will oppose incumbent
I.R. “Nig" Hoskins for
re-election and promised
"some kind of announce-
ment” in late January.
“I can’t take part in any
politic? while I’m. in......uni-
form,” he explained.
Moseley’s near-announce-
ment this week brings to
four the number of candi-
dates who have indicated
they will step into the
sheriffs race.
Precinct 1 Constable Mel-
vin Barnes and Bastrop
cropduster Royce Young
have both said they will try
to unseat Hoskins.
Other local races are also
gathering steam In this
month prior to the February
5 deadline for filing in the
May Democratic Party Prim-
ary:
Deputy Sheriff Verlin
Hemphill says he will run for
Constable, Precinct 1, the
job currently held by
Barnes.
< I
1
Stage Band back
Mopedsandluau
met Bastrop band
They went spring at
Waikiki, had a luau in
Honolulu harbor, rode Mo-
peds around Oahu and
blitzed through the tourist
high points in four days.
And somehow had the
stamina to perform in two
jazz concerts.
“They” are 19 members of
Bastrop High School’s Stage
Band who accomplished the
impossible dream of going to
Hawaii during Christmas
vacation to play with four
other Texas high school jazz
ensembles.
After an all-night flight,
they arrived at home
Monday tired but still
talking about the adventures
of the six-day odyssey.
The trip started on an
exciting note when the
groiSfl, led By "Band
tor Ernest Biggers, arrived
in Dallas for a connecting
flight to Hawaii. Braniff
informed them there had
been a ticketing mix-up and
they had no seats.
After a two-and-one-half
hour layover, the Bastrop
musicians managed to hop a
flight to Tucson, then to Los
Angeles where they got
aboard a 747 to arrive in
Honolulu at 5:30 AM Bastrop
time.
Braniff sugared the delay,
however, refunding double
the price of thetr tickets to
each student plus $7 for
meals. Part of the money
More break-ins
cited at Elgin
Burglars hit three Elgin
business establishments late
last week, then apparently
stole a car which Austin
police recovered Friday
morning. The car was
wrecked and abandoned,
said Police Chief Dan
Gibson.
Broken into were the
Dairy Kreme and the
Patrick service station on
(J.S. Highway 290 and the
Central Coffee Shop.
Gibson described the
losses as "a little money”
taken from coin operated
machines and a television set
taken from the coffee shop.
The auto, a 1963 Chevro-
let, was taken from the
driveway of a home on
Avenue B., he said.
Police are still investigat-
ing.
was used later to pay for the
luau, complete with roast
pi**
On one of the flights, their
plane had trouble with its
landing gear.
In the Hawaiian capital,
the students bunked on the
third floor of a University of
Hawaii dormitory.
“The luggage got to our
rooms before we did--that's a
switch,” said one of the
students.
The concerts were at Ala
Moana Shopping Center and
Kapiolani Park, the students
said.
The band“played our usual
selections,” one of the
musicians said: “Do you dig
it, man?” and “Scrapple from
the Apple.”
Weather was good and
most of the students said
they had ample time to
enjoy the sun and sights of
the island tourist lure.
Some of the Bastrop
students spent time at the
giant Ala Moana Shopping
Center, termed the world’s
largest in the past.
Snapping photographs
also took up a lot of time.
The famed beach was
reported OK except the
water was cold.
(See Monday
edition for photo
coverage
of trip).
Serious crime dropped in ’ 79, law men report
By DAVIS McAULEY
County law enforcement
ficials, reviewing criminal
•tivity in 1979, say there
is been a noticable de-
ease in serious crimes and
ises involving drugs.
The county has had the
ime types of violent crimes,
ich as “Saturday night
abbings," said District
ttorney Neal Pfeiffer, but
lere have been fewer of
iem. In drug cases too,
Phe trend is down,” he said.
Sheriff I.R. Hoskins had a
milar evaluation of 1979.
Crime of all -'kinds are
>wn for the past “six or
ght months, I can’t tell
why," said Hoskins. He
could only recall one
burglary case, for instance,
“in the past 60 days or
more,” in his jurisdiction.
Though there are usually
“a lot of burglaries in the
county,” he said, sending the
deputies out “to be seen"
while they are serving
papers may have discourag-
ed some potential criminals.
If the department gets an
increase.-in gasoline mileage
rates in January, officers
could conduct even more
preventative patrols, the
Sheriff said. County
Commissioners have agreed
to review this month the
mileage rate for the sheriffs
department.
Hoskins also noted that
"dope is not near as bad as it
was a year ago." He said he
does not hear about it so
often now and very few have
been caught in violation of
drug laws.
LESS DOPE BUSINESS
There may not be less
drug abuse in the county
now, Pfeiffer said, but there
“may be less dope business"
going on now. Active
prosecution, he suggested,
may have cooled some drug
dealers to the idea of doing
business in the county.
Prosecutors may pay more
attention to such cases in
rural areas than in urban
districts, he indicated.
Whatever the cause, the
county is certainly “better
off then two years ago," said
the DA.
The existence of a "viable
probation office” plus a
“stable law enforcement
situation” in the county’s
towns has also contributed
to a quieter crime scene,
according to Pfeiffer.
PROSPECTS
Pfeiffer and Hoskins
were interviewed last week,
along with other civic
leaders, about the year just
ended and the prospects for
1980. Other projections
which emerged from those
interviews include the fol-
lowing:
The possibility of a hotly
contested race for sheriff in
1980 was on the mind of
Hoskins as 1979 drew to a
close.
“I don’t know of any”
serious opponents yet, he
said, "and I hope they leave
me alone. If they’ll let me
alone this time, I’ll let them
alone next time," that is, in
the 1984 elections, he said.
“It’s a job” being sheriff,
he went on, and if he is
opposed, “I can’t take out
and electioneer like I
should."
If in 1980 there is a hotly
contested race for the
sheriff’s office it will "have
no good effect" on the
county’s law enforcement
efforts, predicts Pfeiffer,
who adds that he’s “not
looking forward” to the
election year.
“I hope it’s cleanly
fought,” he went on. When
law officers have one eye on
the voters, the' distraction
tends to “interfere with
professional conduct” and
that "is just not good law
enforcement or justice," he
said.
In any event, Pfeiffer
stressed, he intends the
DA’s office to “keep a low
profile" and "not be involved
in any political race.”
TAX BOARD
The new county Tax
Appraisal Board which will
begin to function in January
will probably have the most
long-range effects on the
whole county, he predicted,
especially since tax valua
tions across the county are
“notoriously unequal,” with
equivalent properties vary-
ing in assessed values by as
much as two hundred to five
hundred per cent.
At the same time he
predicted that continued
high inflation and revolts by
tax payers will put a heavy
crunch on all county
services.
PEOPLE NEEDS
Mrs. Francis Hornsby,
Director of the Neighbor-
hood Center on Spring
Street, has a list of thing!
she'll be pushing for in 1980.
They all center on the needs
of “kids and old people,” she <
said.
One item is a larger, more
permanent site for the
community center, since its
present location is too small
and too expensive, she says.
Needed is a place not only
Continued an Page 3
-'1
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McAuley, Davis. The Bastrop Advertiser (Bastrop, Tex.), No. 87, Ed. 1 Thursday, January 3, 1980, newspaper, January 3, 1980; Bastrop, Texas. (https://texashistory.unt.edu/ark:/67531/metapth738648/m1/1/: accessed June 23, 2024), University of North Texas Libraries, The Portal to Texas History, https://texashistory.unt.edu.; crediting Bastrop Public Library.