The Ennis Daily News (Ennis, Tex.), Ed. 1 Thursday, June 7, 2012 Page: 1 of 10
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Shaw chosen
in draft, but
headed to DBU
See SPORTS, page 6
Follow these tips
to protect yourself
from summer sun
See page 3
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Ennis
Thursday, June 7,2012 www.ennisdailynews.com
750
Weather
Tonight:
Showers and storms
Low 70
Friday:
Chance of rain persists
High 83
Around town
‘God's Favorite'
opens tonight
The next production
of the Ennis Public
Theatre, Neil Simon’s
God’s Favorite, opens
tonight for a three-
week run. Showtimes
are scheduled at 7:30
p.m. June 7, 8, 9, 14, 15,
16, 22 and 23, with a
matinee performance
at 2:30 p.m. June 24.
Farmer's
market open
Local farmers are
once again be selling
their homegrown
fruits, vegetables, bed-
ding plants, flowers,
herbs, mints and so
much more at the popu-
lar Corsicana Farmer’s
Market. The market,
located off N. 7th St.
and Business 1-45 in
Corsicana, enters its
24th year this season,
offering customers the
opportunity to pur-
chase a great variety of
homegrown produce
from local farmers.
The 14-stall shed often
overflows with more
than 25 local farmers
selling their produce.
The 2012 season runs
on Saturdays and
Tuesdays only from 7
a.m. until noon or sell-
out.
To submit news items for
the Community Focus briefs
or photos and information
for stories, e-mail
editor@ennisdailynews.com
or drop hand-written, print-
ed submissions by The
Ennis Daily News at 213 N.
Dallas St. For more infor-
mation, call 972-875-3801.
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Scan here to subscribe or
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The Ennis Daily News.
Revenue growing
Nick Todaro
nick@ennisdailynews. com
Sales tax revenues climbed by nearly 7 percent
locally for the May reporting period, and cities
around the county saw similar increases.
Revenue reports released in June deal with
money collected in May for the April sales peri-
od, and Ennis saw its revenues climb by 6.85 per-
cent from $278,000 to $297,000 in the period that
coincides with its annual Bluebonnet Trails and
accompanying festival.
Peer cities in the county saw boosts as well,
such as Midlothian’s growth of 25 percent from
$253,000 to $317,000 in the period and Red Oak’s 34
percent growth from $140,000 to $188,000 for the
month. County seat Waxahachie has continued
its long upward trend in sales tax revenues for
another month with the release of the most
recent revenue figures from the state comptrol-
ler. The city saw a boost of more than 11 percent
from $816,000 to $909,000 for the month.
Of comparable cities in the county, Ennis has
experienced the slowest year-to-date growth of
sales tax revenues, yet it is still in the black at
1.81 percent higher than revenues in 2011.
Midlothian is up more than 12 percent, with Red
Oak up more nearly 25 percent and Waxahachie
sitting at 19 percent growth year-to-date.
Texas Comptroller Susan Combs announced
Wednesday that state sales tax revenue in May
was $2.09 billion, up 7.3 percent compared to May
2011.
“This marks 26 consecutive months of sales
tax growth,” Combs said. “As the recovery con-
tinues, the year-to-year rate of growth is stabiliz-
ing. Collections remain strong in the oil and nat-
ural gas-related sectors as well as other segments
of the Texas economy such as the restaurant
industry.”
Combs will send June local sales tax alloca-
tions totaling $514.1 million to cities, counties,
transit systems and special purpose taxing dis-
tricts, up 9.7 percent compared to June 2011.
Ennis Daily News photo/Nick Todaro
Crossings getting makeovers
Upgrade work has been scheduled for tonight at the Creechville Road-SH 34 rail-
road crossing as part of ongoing track and crossing maintenance by Union Pacific
Railroad. The work at the Creechville crossing is part of a project that will possi-
bly stretch over the next few months to bring crossings and track through the city
to a higher standard. City Manager Steve Howerton said Ennis has appealed to the
railroad for a number of years to perform consistent work to upgrade crossings,
which see a large amount of truck and vehicle traffic, and was pleased to see the
project under way. Crossings at Lampasas Street and Brown Street had already
undergone work as of this morning.
3-county
car chase
suspect
collared
in Ellis
Phil Banker
phil@ennisdailynews.com
A car chase tore through
three counties before coming
to a violent end in Ellis
County.
Lt. Rick White of the Ellis
County Sheriff’s Office said
seven Ellis County units
joined in on the high-speed
chase to stop Juan Garza Jr.,
a suspect in an aggravated
assault case out of Grand
Prairie, as he fled authori-
ties.
White
said the
chase began
in Fort
Worth at 3:43
p.m. on
Wednesday,
with Garza
driving up
and down
U.S. 287 in
an attempt
to evade cap-
ture.
Garza passed through
Midlothian during the chase,
before driving back into
Dallas County.
Midlothian police eventu-
ally used spike strips to dis-
able Garza’s vehicle on U.S.
Highway 67 near the 287
exit.
He jumped out of the vehi-
cle and ran away on foot, but
was stopped and arrested by
Midlothian officers.
White said the chase
reached speeds of up to 90
miles an hour.
Garza was arrested pend-
ing charges of aggravated
assault with a deadly weapon
and evading arrest.
Garza
Former attorney, fugitive gets life
EDN News Service
editor@ennisdailynews. com
James Gordon Leonard, a 64-
year-old former Waxahachie
attorney, was sentenced to life
in prison in the 40th District
Court of Ellis County on
Wednesday.
Leonard, who had pleaded
guilty to aggravated sexual
assault of a child, indecency
with a child by contact and
indecency with a child by expo-
sure on April 10, 2006, had been
granted community supervi-
sion.
In May 2007, Leonard
absconded from supervision
and fled the United States. After
four years of hiding in the
country of Honduras in Central
America, the United
States Marshall Service
located him, and in
October 2011, with the
assistance of the
Honduran authorities,
Leonard was detained,
expelled from
Honduras and escorted
by the Marshall Service
back to the United
States.
In a hearing on the
state’s amended motion to
revoke community supervision,
Judge Bob Carroll heard the
facts of Leonard’s resistance to
abide by the terms of supervi-
sion, his planning to leave the
country, and his fugitive escape
to Honduras. Carroll
also heard from one of
Leonard’s victims
about the impact his
crime made upon her
life and her family’s
lives.
Then the grandfa-
ther of twin girls that
were also victims of
Leonard told how the
crime had devastated
the girls’ lives and the
lives of he and his wife.
Leonard pleaded for mercy
due to the hardships the condi-
tions of supervision placed
upon him, and his being labeled
a sex offender. Judge Carroll
found that Leonard had violat-
ed his conditions of supervi-
sion, and revoked all three com-
munity supervisions.
Saying that there was a time
and place for mercy, but it was
not warranted in these cases,
Judge Carroll sentenced
Leonard to the maximum sen-
tence of confinement for each
case and then ruled that his
sentences would be served con-
secutively.
His sentences were life, 20
years and 10 years, respectively.
With the sentences being con-
secutive, Leonard will have to
serve a minimum of 45 years
before being eligible for parole.
Leonard
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Todaro, Nick. The Ennis Daily News (Ennis, Tex.), Ed. 1 Thursday, June 7, 2012, newspaper, June 7, 2012; Ennis, Texas. (https://texashistory.unt.edu/ark:/67531/metapth772150/m1/1/: accessed July 17, 2024), University of North Texas Libraries, The Portal to Texas History, https://texashistory.unt.edu.; crediting Ennis Public Library.