The Bastrop Advertiser and County News (Bastrop, Tex.), Vol. 139, No. 92, Ed. 1 Monday, January 20, 1986 Page: 1 of 10
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Smithville drowns proposal
Road Election
Results by Voting Box
V
N
Y
N
1. So. Bastrop
K
□
11. Paige
8
□
2. IVasant Grove
□
K
12. E. Smithville
□
81
3. W. Smithville
n
PC
13. N. Bastrop
□
4. Rosanky
□
PC
14. W. Bastrop
*
□
5. Cedar Creek
X
□
15. Utley
W
*□
6. East Elgin
□
X
16. South Elgin
□
X
7. Pin Oak
□
X
17. kovar
□
n
8. McDade
K
□
18. E. Bastrop
□
9. Watterson
□
X
19. Bluebonnet
10. Red Rock
□
X
Acres
□
Voters reject road dept
Voters Saturday by a narrow
margin refused to set up a new
combined Bastrop County Road
Department under a licensed
professional engineer.
The vote was 893 for and 945
against, a margin of 52 votes.
Deciding factor in the election
was the overwhelming opposition
of Smithville area voters.
Voting for the new road system
were South Bastrop, Cedar Creek,
McDade. Paige, North Bastrop.
West Bastrop. Utley. East Bastrop
and Bluebonnet Acres.
Opposing the so-called unit road
system were voting boxes at
Pleasant Grove, West Smithville,
Rosanky, East Elgin. Pin Oak.
Watterson, Red Rock. East Smith-
ville, South Elgin and Kovar.
Voter turnout was 10 percent of
the 18.050 eligible registered
voters.
Although campaigning for and
against the ballot proposal had been
quiet in the weeks bef^e the elec-
tion, the four incumbent county
commissioners made no secret of
their opposition Precinct 2 Com-
missioner candidate Robert Seidel
actively fought the measure.
Some rural voters told The Ad-
vertiser they feared they would not
get a fair share of road maintenance
money if the new system, replac-
ing four separate road departments
under the commissioners, went into
effect.
Supporters did not put out much
factual information before the elec-
tion but they did man telephone
banks and some circulated leaflets.
A bipartisan committee of
Democrats and Republicans last
year started a successful petition
drive that forced commissioners to
call the election. But after the pe-
titions were in, there was little or-
ganized activity in favor of the
measure.
“There weren't enough people
working for it and the commission-
ers were working tooth and nail
against it." said County Judge Jack
Griesenbeck, a supporter of the
unified road system.
“I look for it to come up again
until it passes," he said.
However, the issue can’t be put
to another election for two years,
under state law. Griesenbeck said.
Bastrop County is now spending
$1.5 million a year on its roads and
bridges under a system that allows
each commissioner to set his
projects, hire crews and buy and
Keep equipment. Some rural voters
said they like the present system
because they feel they have more
access to a commissioner than they
would to a county road department.
Bryan Wilson, who led the peti-
tion drive, argued the current sys-
tem leads to a waste of taxpayers
money, duplication of crews and
equipment and provides no coher-
ent overall road plan for the
county.
The results by voting box: Ab-
sentee voting box, 12 yes, 6 no;
South Bastrop, 111 yes, 50 no;
Pleasant Grove 47 yes, 78 no;
West Smithville, 58 yes, 84 no;
Rosanky, II yes, 77 no; Cedar
Creek, 76 yes, 40 no; East Elgin,
Continued on Page 2
Commissioner T.J. Adams found not guilty
By Jack Fraser and Stu Osborn
A jury last week ruled Precinct
1 Counts Commissioner Tom I' J
Adams innocent of felony miscon-
duct m a case that had stirred Bas-
trop County lor over a year
It look the jury of eight women
and four men exactly two hours to
return a not guilty verdict to Visit
mg District Judge Tom Blackwell
The foreman, Ron Davidson,
said jurors simply didn’t believe
that Adams had done a criminal act
and realized he had investigated
county employee Judy K Edwards
with the approval of ocher county
officials who were not on trial
The verdict broke Adams com-
posure and a tear could be seen in
his eye as he was hugged by friends
and neighbors
“I feel I’ve earned a PHD...in
humanity and humility,” he said
after the one and one halfday trial
was over
But Adams Friday also said he
thinks the felony indictment against
him was a miscarriage of justice
and that some w itnesses before the
Grand Jury lied He said he is con-
sidering legal action against those
he claims gave false testimony .
The case cost Bastrop County
$20,000 to $30,000, Commissiners
were told last week. Adams said he
had spent over $20,000 on his
defense.
Adams was indicted by the Bas-
trop County Grand Jury last year
and charged w ith improper conduct
after he submitted a false bill for
$ 1.200 to cover work done by Eric
Boynton, his former aide, in inves-
tigating Ms. Edwards. The probe
started after Adams and Clardy
heard rumors that Ms. Edwards
was alerting persons indicted but
not yet arrested Ms. Edwards, at
one time chief investigator for the
Bastrop County District Attorney s
Office, under Neil Pfeiffer and
later Charles Pemck. was not in-
dicted as a result of anything Boyn-
ton found. But later she was
indicted, and faces trial this year,
on a felony theft charge.
After Adams’ trial was over last
Wednesday. Margaret Moore.
Special Prosecutor in the case, was
asked why she didn’t seek less than
a felony conviction for Adams. She
said the grand jury insisted on a
felony indictment
She told the jury try ing Adams
last Wednesday , in her summary ,
that the commissioner was guilty
of a felony since he got money
from his road and bridge fund and
used it to pay Boynton "because
he'd gotten himself in debt to Eric-
Boy nton and he needed to get
paid."
Further, "Eric Boynton is
weird " and even though the inves-
tigation by Boynton didn't turn up
anything on Ms. Edwards it was
still better for Adams to pay Boyn-
ton off because "he's totally un-
predictable and God knows what
he'll do." She said Adams may
have thought "We ll just pay off
Eric Bovnton so we can get rid of
him.”
Mrs. Moore told the jurors if
they didn't convict Adams "You
will say it's all right in Bastrop
County to do clandestine investi-
gations, falsify government
records, hide the people's business
from the people...”
But Bill White, one of Adams'
two defense lawyers, argued "The
question is: did he knowingly and
intentionally misapply $1,200?
Not, what you think about Judy
Edwards or whether he messed up
or exceeded his authority etc. But
instead did he intend to benefit
himself? No, he intended to benefit
Bastrop County. He didn't steal
money for himself...”
White pictured Adams as a new
Continued on Page 5
Commissioner Tom T.J.
Adams (left) shows stress of his
three day felony trial as he is
hugged by Tom Klinginsmith af-
ter not guilty verdict is read.
Staff Photo by Jack Fraser
LCRA may close mine
By De’Ann Weimer
After only a year in operation,
Bastrop County’s only natural
cmfrgy resource —the Powell Bend
lignite mine— is facing aban-
donment
In his first act as the new gener-
al manager of the Lower Colora-
do River Authority, S. David
Freeman, ordered a comprehensive
study of the cost effectiveness of
the Powell Bend mine.
"We don’t want to continue
mining out there if we can buy
western coal cheaper,” said Ralph
Thompson, a spokesman for the
LCRA.
Freeman, who is the former
chairman of the Tennessee Valley
Authority, has a national reputation
for championing environmental
concerns.
"Any lignite mining we do is go-
ing to be with tender loving care
for restoring the surface and pro-
tecting the environment,” Freeman
said Thursday.
Freeman also said the LCRA
would become the “Lignite
Watch" under his administration.
"Lignite Watch" refers to the
group of Bastrop and Fayette
county residents who organized
into an environmental watchdog
group. r
“We’re very pleased. We’ll be
very interested to see what they
come up with (in the Powell Bend
evaluation Freeman ordered),”
said Maggie Lambert of the Cen-
tral Texas Lignite Watch.
Currently, LCRA officials say
they do not luiow how much it cost
to operate the mine in 1985. The
LCRA spent about $10 million dol-
lars to buy the land and to set up
the mine.
One of the objections that the
Central Texas Lignite Watch had
three years ago to the opening of
Powell Bend was that it would be
uneconomical.
The high cost of mining die low-
grade lignite combined with the
cost of shipping the lignite 40 miles
to the two electric generating units
at the Fayette Power Project near
La Grange would make the lignite
much more expensive than western
coal, they contended. '
In 1983, an LCRA consultant's
report indicated that unless the
Camp Swift lease area (the LCRA
holds the lease for the mineral
rights to a portion of Camp Swift)
was included in the mining opera-
tion, the Powell Bend mine would
be too expensive to operate.
At the 1985 December meeting
of the LCRA Board of Directors,
the ftiel cost each month for the
Fayette plant was listed in btu: the
average Fayette fuel cost was
$1,856; Powell Bend lignite cost
$1.929; Western coal provided by
Exxon cost $1,603.
LCRA spokesman Larry Seiler
said Friday that “one reason (the
Powell Bend project was started)
was to save some leases that might
Continued on Page 2
Buford Price home burns
"...
Members of the Lake Bastrop
Acres Volunteer Fire Department
and elements of the Bastrop VFD
were called out early Friday to bat-
tle a fire at the home of Buford
Price at Lake Bastrop Acres.
/ • v,
At 2:20 a.m., the Bastrop units
were summoned for mutual aid at
the blaze and responded with a
pumper, tank truck and equipment
truck, manned by 14 firefighters.
According to Bastrop Fire Chief
Mike Fisher, the Lake
Acres volunteers had the fire un-
der control by the time the Bastrop
units arrived, but his firemen re-
mained at the scene for a couple of
hours.
Bonnie Price said she awakened
when she smelled smoke and she
and her husband went to the home
of Mike Price, their son, and called
the Bastropf County Sheriffs
ailment, who notified the LBA
Localites
to attend
Pickle rally
Congressman J.J. Pickle Thurs-
day will launch his reelection bid
and a busload of Bastrop support-
ers will be there.
A rally for Pickle is to be held
from 5:30 to 7:30 p.m. at the
Austin City Coliseum on Riverside
Drive at Townlake.
A.A. Sanders and Cecil Long
are arranging to charter a bus to
take Bastrop area residents to the
rally. Sanders said Saturday that
persons wishing to join the group
can contact him at 321-4353 or
Long at 321-2561.
Tickets at the door for $10 will
be good for food, beverage and en-
tertainment.
Pickle, who represents Bastrop
and four other counties in the 10th
District, will be facing opposition
this year in the Democratic
Primary May 3 and from a Repub-
lican in November.
Candidates
Hi
FM 812 burglaries solved;
two suspects arrested
paused by what Bluebonnet Elec-
tric officials thought to be a pow- _ _ __ „♦
er surge in a transformer near the «DDC<iriIlE
Price home. She said that thekitch- * **
Department, who i
unit.
Mrs. Price said that the I
r-~. M
en of the home was completely des-
troyed by the fire, which
apparently starred near a refriger-
ator or dishwasher. There was con-
siderable damage to the roof, and
a 12-foot section of rock wall will
have to be replaced as well. In ad-,
dition, other parts of the house
suffered from smoke and wider
damage. There were no injuries.
'
* ' .,
Republican candidates for 10th t
Congressional District and other
offices Will be in Bastrop Tuesday
night, Jan. 21 at a candidates
forum.
The public is invited at 7:30 p.m.
in die Bastrop County Commis-
sioners Courtroom, 804 Pecan St.
A reception will follow at Old
Town
■ > ■
Two Austin men were arrested
in connection with recent bur-
glaries in West Bastrop County, ac-
cording to the Bastrop County
Sheriffs Office.
On Jan. 9, Austin Police Officer
Vic White, Bastrop County Deputy
Mike Price and Chief Deputy
Tommy Adams arrested 27-year-
old Randy Earl Hacker at his apart-
ment on Dessau Road in Austin.
Hacker was charged with burglary
of a habitation in connection with
a Dec. 12, 1984, break in at the
Daniel Davis residence on FM 812
east of Highway 21.
According to the Sheriffs
Office, an alert neighbor saw a
white 1977 Datsun parked on FM
812 near the Davis home on the
day of the burglary and recorded
the Indiana license plate number.
Deputies found the vehicle, which
is registered to Hacker at his old
address in Indiana, parked in front
of the Austin apartment.
Upon his arrest, Hacker gave
deputies Mrs. Davis’ stolen wrist
watch, which he had given to his
wife. The other property taken in
the burglary was recovered in
Round Rock, where Hacker had
pawned it the same day it was
stolen.
Chief Deputy. Adams was ac-
companied by AUstin Police Ser-
geant Keith Burt of APD’s
Burglary Detail on Jan. 14, when
27-year-old Armando Fonseca was
arrested at the Greenway Plaza
Apartments on East Rundberg 1
Lane ip Austin. Fonseca was ar-
rested on a Bastrop County
Fonseca is charged in the Jan. 9
burglary at Charles Tompkins’
residence on FM 812 between
Highways 20 and 21. A video cas-
sette recorder and a turntable taken
in the break in were recovered with
the aid of Round Rock Police
Department’s Dan Lemay, who
was also instrumental in the recov-
ery of a video cassette recorder and
color television taken in the Davis
burglary.
Hacker, who gave a written con-
fession to Chief Deputy Adams,
waived indictment and pled guilty
before visiting Judge Tom Black-
well in Bastrop County District
Court Jan. 15. On recommendation
of the Chief Deputy, Hacker
received a 10-year probated sen-
tence and will be required to make
restitution for a door destroyed in
the Davis burglary and pay court
costs and a $1,000 fine.
Fonseca remains in the Bastrop
County Jail under $10,000 bond
and additional charges will be filed
him, according to die
iffs Office.
The Bastrop County Sheriffs
Department urges all citizens to
make note of license numbers aad
descriptions of vehicles seen under
suspicious circumstances, as very
often, this information pays off (as
in the Davis burglary).
Chief Deputy Adams also sug-
gests that you take the time to make
a thorough inventory of valuable
property in your home, listing
make, model and serial numbers,
and keep a copy of the list in a se-
cure place.
P»*e2
M
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Osborn, Stu. The Bastrop Advertiser and County News (Bastrop, Tex.), Vol. 139, No. 92, Ed. 1 Monday, January 20, 1986, newspaper, January 20, 1986; Bastrop, Texas. (https://texashistory.unt.edu/ark:/67531/metapth738780/m1/1/: accessed July 17, 2024), University of North Texas Libraries, The Portal to Texas History, https://texashistory.unt.edu.; crediting Bastrop Public Library.