Brownwood Bulletin (Brownwood, Tex.), Vol. 114, No. 175, Ed. 1 Wednesday, May 7, 2014 Page: 10 of 10
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Wednesday, May 7, 2014
KEVIN HOLAMON | BROWNWOOD BULLETIN
Blanket Middle School teacher Shannon Martin is very involved with her students. Follow-
ing her interview, Martin got down on the floor with her students in the hallway. From left,
Kaitlyn Graham, Mariana Hernandez, Martin, Kimberly Hiser, and Bailey Hood.
the small environment, “be-
cause it is so insular.”
“When they have to leave
it, they have to understand
that not everyone is family
and not everyone is going to
treat you as family,” Martin
said. “Sometimes that’s a
scary thing for kids from a
small school.
“Having been an adminis-
trator for pre-K to 12,1 know
what they need to know to
go to the next level, so I’m
always pushing.”
Martin said that, when the
students know the teacher
cares, they will take a lot of
pressure to perform well.
She concluded with her
belief that there are many
bigger tests in life than the
“bubble tests.”
“I tell my kids, I’m really
concerned that you pass
the character tests first,”
Martin said. “And we have a
lot more freedoms here that
teachers don’t have in larger
schools.”
Blanket ISD Principal Da-
mon Wilson expressed how
lucky the district is to have
Martin, from the viewpoint
of an administrator and a
parent of three students who
have attended her classes.
“She’s an awesome
teacher,” Wilson said. “She
says what is and isn’t afraid
to tell the parents or the kids
exactly what’s going on.
“The parents and the stu-
dents know that she cares
about them,” and I know she
cares about them.”
Wilson said Martin is actu-
ally one of three teachers on
the campus who have been
administrators and they take
care of their kids, with no
discipline issues.
Martin noted how the
advantage of having been
an administrator helped to
develop her teaching style,
watching other teachers in
the classroom.
When talking to her about
education, it is plain to see
she is excited about teach-
ing, but said she is planning
to return to administration.
Agencies plan
joint fundraiser
10 Brownwood Bulletin
MARTIN
CONTINUED FROM 1
at Blanket, she has taught
science, social studies, art,
health and was the cheer-
leading sponsor for one year.
She is also currently the 6th,
7th and 8th grades’ sponsor.
“As the sponsor, I’ll take
those classes on three field
trips this year,” Martin said.
“The 8th grade will have a
big trip to Austin.
“We’ll leave early in the
morning and come back late
that night. It’s sort of their
transition field trip into high
school.”
Martin said that, after 26
years in the field, she still
likes her job.
“I’m very fortunate to have
very supportive parents here
in Blanket,” she said. “And I
have a great rapport with the
kids.”
Because Martin has been
with Blanket for six years,
most of the high school
students have been through
her class.
“When you work with
them long enough and
spend that much time with
them,” she said, “you get
to where you really are like
family.
“Here, that’s good, because
when you put pressure on
the students to perform,
the parents understand that
there is a lot of love behind
that pressure and that com-
mitment.”
One of the challenges
Martin identified with small
school students is leaving
STERLING
CONTINUED FROM 4
Air Pollution Rule requires
Texas, as an “upwind” state,
to reduce sulfur dioxide and
nitrogen oxide emissions
that cross state lines. Such
pollutants react in the atmo-
sphere to form fine particles
and ground-level ozone
and are transported long
distances, making it difficult
for other states to achieve
air quality standards, ac-
cording to the EPA.
Graduation rate is near
best
According to the National
Center for Education Sta-
tistics’ “First Look” report
released in late April, for the
class of 2012, Texas posted
a graduation rate of 88 per-
cent, tying with three other
states for second highest.
Iowa posted a graduation
rate of 89 percent while the
national average was 80
percent,
Texas Education Com-
missioner Michael Williams
lauded the report and noted
that Texas’ overall gradu-
ation rate exceeded the
national averages release in
both 2011 and 2012.
Williams also pointed
out the Texas class of 2012
had the highest graduation
rate in the country among
African-American students
and tied for the highest
graduation rates for white
and economically disadvan-
taged students.
Enforcement result comes
in
Texas Department of
Public Safety on April 28 an-
nounced state troopers ar-
rested some 1,374 motorists
for driving while intoxicated
during the agency’s March
7 to March 23 spring break
enforcement period.
A Texas Department of
Transportation grant al-
lowed increased patrols in
high-risk locations during
the times when alcohol-
related crashes are most
frequent.
Furthermore, the DPS
reported, stops made during
the enforcement period re-
sulted in 18,826 speeding ci-
tations, 3,266 seatbelt/child
safety seat tickets and more
than 23,400 other citations,
plus 848 fugitive arrests and
713 felony arrests.
Ed Sterling is member
services director for the
Texas Press Association,
headquartered in Austin.
BY STEVE NASH
BROWNWOOD BULLETIN
steve.nash@brownwoodbulletin.com
There was nothing
complicated about how the
Heart of Texas Children’s
Advocacy Center (CAC) and
CASA in the Heart of Texas
teamed up for a May 17
fund-raiser.
Christy Robinson, the
CAC’s executive director,
said she and CASA Execu-
tive Director Michelle are
friends, and she knew both
agencies were looking for
a good fund-raiser. So, the
agencies are going together
on the May 17 event, Boots
and Bags Bingo, which will
be from 2-4 p.m. at the
Depot Civic and Cultural
Center.
Tickets are $35 per per-
son and include admission,
game cards, beverages and
hors d’oeuvres, door prizes
and entertainment. There
will also be a live auction.
Additional game cards
can be bought at the door
after admission.
Prizes include designer
handbags and boots.
To buy tickets, people
can come by the CAC
office at 1409 Early Blvd.
in Early or call the CAC at
646-7148, or they can go
by CASA at Family Ser-
vices Center 901 Ave. B in
Brownwood or call CASA at
643-2557.
A separate fund-raiser
this month at Taco Bueno
benefits the CAC. Each
Friday, from 11 a.m. to
8 p.m., diners who pres-
ent a flyer on paper or on
their phones, or who tell
employees they’re there
for the CAC, will trigger a
donation to the CAC.
Since its June 26 opening,
the Heart of Texas CAC has
conducted 83 interviews of
children from Brown and
other counties.
“Now a lot of our
cases are starting to hit the
(court) docket,” Robinson
said.
According to information
from the CAC:
The Heart of Texas Chil-
dren’s Advocacy Center co-
ordinates the investigation,
prosecution, and treatment
of child abuse while help-
ing abused children heal.
The CAC is the first stop
for children entering the
justice system as possible
victims of abuse or wit-
nesses to violent crimes.
Each year more than
40,000 children receive
services at one of the 60-
plus CACs operating across
Texas.
Most of the children
brought to the CAC are
victims of sexual abuse,
Robinson said. The agency
typically interviews one to
three children a week, and
the children are usually
ages 10 to 14.
The CAC has recently
started a support group for
non-offending parents and
caregivers of children who
have been abused, Robison
said. The support group
meets at noon on Mondays
at the CAC.
The CAC’s funding
sources are a state grant of
$55,000 which requires a
100 percent match, as well
as funds from local govern-
ment and private dona-
tions, Robinson said.
Wells, the CASA (Court
Appointed Special Advo-
cates) director, said earlier
that volunteers “stand up
for abused and neglected
children, giving them a
voice in an overburdened
child welfare system that is
hard-pressed to meet their
individual needs. A CASA
volunteer’s intense advo-
cacy can break the cycle of
abuse and neglect.
“Children with CASA vol-
unteers find safe, perma-
nent homes more quickly,
are half as likely to re-enter
the foster care system,
and do better in school.
That’s making a profound
difference in the lives of
hundreds of thousands of
abused and neglected chil-
dren across the country.”
STAR
CONTINUED FROM 1
“Ninety percent of our
classrooms have Smart
Boards, and all our students
and teachers have laptop
computers,” Marchbanks
said.
What Marchbanks
couldn’t do was find a way
to produce more students.
Star had 86 students when
she arrived in 2007. She
watched the average daily
attendance slip below 60
and finally 50. The combina-
tion of declining enrollment
and being a small district in
terms of square miles will
combine to close Star ISD.
Sports provided a win-
dow into Star’s declining
enrollment. The school
board voted to stop playing
six-man football in 2012.
Boys basketball was the
only sport Star played this
academic year.
“We offered cross coun-
try7 and track, but nobody
wanted to do it,” March-
banks said.
If voters in either Star or
Goldthwaite reject consoli-
dation, the matter will go to
Texas Education Commis-
sioner Michael Williams. He
has indicated he will kick
the issue back to the county
commissioners in the three
counties that comprise the
Star ISD - Mills, Hamilton
and Lampasas.
If that happened, Star
would be forced to keep its
school doors open and pay
to have its students bused
to other schools. Another
consolidation vote would
be called in November and
based on the county com-
missioners’ recommenda-
tion.
“We would have to borrow
money to stay open and
transport our kids, and who-
ever we consolidated with
would inherit that debt,”
Marchbanks said. “I feel
pretty confident our voters
understand the importance
of a positive vote. For our
kids’ sake, we don’t want it
to be strung out any longer
than necessary.”
Students who currently
attend Star may transfer to
any school. The consolida-
tion vote is about acquiring
more land for its tax base
in Goldthwaite. Adding the
110 square miles of Star
ISD to its 282 square miles
would put Goldthwaite over
the school finance magic
number of 300 square
miles.
“If you go over 300 square
miles, it increases the state
funding to operate your
schools by quite a bit,”
Goldthwaite superintendent
Ronny Wright said. “I think
the vote will pass over-
whelmingly in Goldthwaite.
It would create a tremen-
dous windfall here.”
From Star’s perspective,
consolidation is about
preserving and maintaining
its current school build-
ing, a sturdy rock structure
constructed in 1939 as
part of President Franklin
Roosevelt’s Work Projects
Administration that put
Americans back to work
after The Great Depression.
The wood floors down the
main hallway are still waxed
to a shine. Around and
above lockers lining the hall-
way, photos hang of each
Star High School graduating
class since 1930.
The main reason the Star
school board recommended
consolidating with Goldth-
waite instead of Evant, lo-
cated 10 miles to the east, is
because Goldthwaite agreed
to utilize and maintain
Star’s school facilities for a
minimum of three years.
Wright said Goldthwaite
planned to use Star’s school
for its Disciplinary Alterna-
tive Education Program
(DAEP) and for a credits re-
covery program for students
who fall behind academi-
cally. The Star library will be
used as a literacy vehicle for
children and adults.
Wright said Goldthwaite
will make sure Star contin-
ues to have a rodeo at its
arena behind the school.
Also, a committee of Star
residents will plan commu-
nity events at the school.
Goldthwaite also agreed
to employ longtime Star
ISD Facilities Engineer Paul
Carl Ising to maintain the
grounds and facilities at the
school.
“We want to keep this
community vibrant,”
Marchbanks said. “If they
completely close the school
doors, the community will
die.”
Although dairies dot the
surrounding area and a
Texas Game Warden As-
sociation training center is
located north of town, Star
has just two visible busi-
nesses from U.S. High-
way 84 - Moore’s Service
Center, a Kubota tractor
and equipment dealer, and
Duke’s Place, a restaurant
and convenience store. The
Star Post Office staved off
closure two years ago, but is
open only two hours a day.
The school was its biggest
customer.
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* f X
High 92, Low 68
Partly Cloudy
20% chance of rain
High 89, Low 63
Thunderstorm
80% chance of rain
High 82, Low 60
Chance of T-Storm
40% chance of rain
f
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Forecast for Wednesday, May 7
Low I High temps
High 93, Low 63
Sunny
10% chance of rain
National forecast
Forecast highs for Wednesday, May 7
V V
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High 93, Low 66
Sunny
10% chance of rain
O Fa
Sunny Pt. Cloudy Cloudy
-10s -Os Os 10s 20s 30s 40s 50s 60s 70s 80s 90s 100s 110s
m
L)
° O O . O „■ O O . o
Ol
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Showers Rain T-storms Flurries Snow Ice
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Weather Underground • AP
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Hanrahan, Thom. Brownwood Bulletin (Brownwood, Tex.), Vol. 114, No. 175, Ed. 1 Wednesday, May 7, 2014, newspaper, May 7, 2014; Brownwood, Texas. (https://texashistory.unt.edu/ark:/67531/metapth740677/m1/10/: accessed July 17, 2024), University of North Texas Libraries, The Portal to Texas History, https://texashistory.unt.edu.; crediting Brownwood Public Library.