The Hopkins County Echo (Sulphur Springs, Tex.), Vol. 111, No. 4, Ed. 1 Friday, January 24, 1986 Page: 1 of 4
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NO. 4.
SULPHUR SPRINGS. TEXAS, FRIDAY, JAN. 24, 1986.
4 PAGES - 25 CENTS PUBLISHED EVERY ERIDAY
v*-.
4^
Swinging in the sunshine
- —,
Ashley Shackelford, 20 months, and her
grandmother, Norma Dulude, left, appear to
be watching Don Holder swing his daughter,
Lori Holder, 7, in the park. The two couples
were actually enjoying the sunny weather at
Council denies
builders' request
By MICHAEL PELRINE
News Telegram Staff
Requests from three developers to
extend the effective date of new city
street construction specifications
were unanimously rejected by the
City Council Tuesday night.
The requests came from John
Beezley, Tim Kelly and Wayne
Cooper and were considered as
separate items.
All developers in the city received a
letter by registered mail from the
city August 8, Informing them of.a
Sept. 2, 1985, deadline for completion
of streets under old specifications. A
contingent of developers appeared
- before the council prior to the Sep-
tember deadline to ask for an ex-
tension. It was granted and The hew
^deadline was set for Dec. 31,1985.
Then came the autumn rains,
which Beezley and Kelty said halted
their work for several weeks. A total
rainfall of 18.48 inches was recorded
by The News-Telegram in the Idst
four months of 1985.
In addition to the rainfall, some
pipes burst near the area where
Beezley was building, causing further
delays.
Cooper said hisd projects were
delayed because construction at city
two different sections of the park. The un-
seasonably warm weather Sulphur Springs
residents have enjoyed lately is coming to an
end as temperatures dip back into the 50s
and 60s. -St«H Photojby Richard H«il
Angels vets
being sought
schools tied up nearly all of the
available contractors in the area, in
addition to dejays because of the
weather.
The councii stood firm on the Dec.
31 deadline and deflected a claim by
Kelty that developers were beginning
to be depicted as villains’' in the
community.
"For some unknown reason
developers have gotten a black eye in
this cofnmunity," Kelty said. "The
purpose and intent of the'developer,
everything be does,'is to help people
and help the community.” ‘
,C’ouhcilrwaft Norman Bedford,
responding to Kelty’s claim, said,
"We have had situations in the past
where developers and City Hall yere
not working together, and the tax-
payers have had to pay for other
people’s mistakes."
In other business, an option con-
tract to purchase seven tracts of
downtown land at $195,561.56 was
approved with one dissenting vote.
Councilman Stephen Bonner ob-
jected, to buying the land, located at
the corner of Church and College
streets, because he felt the city could
have negotiated for a lower price. .
The council passed an ordinance
amending the city's newest zoning
ordinance to read thaT it will not be
effective until the council approves
the zoning district maps being
completed by the Planning and
Zoning Commission.
A contract with the Hopkins County
Chamber of Commerce was approved
that will , provide funds to the
chamber for- an advertising -cam-
paign to promote the city and county
and to stimulate tourism. The funds
will come from the hotel-motel oc-
cupancy tax.
An ordinance was approved on first
reading that would renew a franchise
agreement with General Telephone
Company However, the ordinance
would increase the franchise tax rate
from 3 percent to .;4'percent of the
company’s gross receipts.
According to a lettdr to the council *
from City Manager David Tooley,
"The base upon which this fee is
charged has been reduced (because
of federal deregulation of the in-
dustry); as a result, if the city is to
net the same revenue as prior years,
an increase from 3 percent to <
percent is necessary.”
The council granted an easement to
General Telephone Company so it
could install an underground conduit
cable. The easement is located on city
property on League Street at the
Kansas City Southern Railroad west
to property owned by the Sulphur
Springs Independent School District.
Final payment of $4,050.95 to#'
Jamar Construction Company for its
work at Raintree Circle was ap-
proved.
Child dies in accident
Gasoline prices tumbling
Drops in gasoline prices during the
past week will help consumers'
pocketbooks, but may have little
effect on retail sales, a local
distributor said Wednesday
"It’s a buyer's market right now,
and that's the bottom line.” Dwayne
Davis of Pogue Oil Company told The
News-Telegram "Consumers can
profit from this situation.”
A spokesperson from Family Mart
1 on Main Street said she was in-
formed of the price changes Tuesday
and as yet she has seen little change
in gasoline-sales
The price decrease at Family Mart
was about three cents per gallon for
each type of fuel.
Ammonia leak drives
workers from building
An ammonia leak at Johnson Ice
Cream at 7 50 a m Wednesday
disrupted operations at that facility
for about three hours, but no injuries
were reported and only minor
damage was done.
A pressure fluxuation in the am-
monia system filled a compressor
with liquid ammonia causing its head^
to blow, according to Fire Marshal
Jerry Bolding.
The main line that feeds ammonia
into the plant was immediately shut
down, Bolding said, and three
firemen and one Jolmson employee,
equipped with self-contained
breathing equipment, entered the
plant and closed interior, valves.
Employees we.re evacuated. The.
building was opened and large fans
set up to .ventilate the area Bolding
said owner Bill. Johnson estimated
the building should have been cleared
of any danger within three hours.
The leak-was not big enough to
present a danger to residents in the
area, Bolding said, but if a cloud had
formed they would have ^>een
evacuated. \
"The problem with ammonia,,"
Bolding said, "is that it will displace
oxygen and cause asphyxiation, but it
normally dissipates and goes up, as it
did this morning.”
Fuel prices in Sulphur Springs
Wednesday ranged upward from 99.9
cents a gallon for regular and $1.07.9
for unleaded
"It the pricg change hasn’t
changed our sales flow’ any.” Davis
■ said. Where you'd see some changes
would be with a drastic drop in
prices."
Davis said it would take a decrease
of about 10 cents per gallon before
any real change in sales flow would
take place
Consumers may begin buy ing more
gasoline, taking driving trips that
they may otherwise have taken by
plane, because of the lower prices,
Davis said.
Two full-service stations in town,
B&W Service Station and Massey
Service Station, both on Main Street,
have not lowered gasoline prices, but
spokesmen from both outfits said it
has hot affected sales.
Davis said he could not predict if
prices will fall even lower, because
the petroleum industry is ps erratic
now as it has ever been m the past.
The crude oil price is so low now.
Davis said, and could fall still lower,
that producers in West Texas may
shut down their pumps to decrease
supply. This may cause an increase
in priy^sjirjjhghiture.
Two L'.S. Army associations are
seeking former members of their
active duty regiments — the 187th
Airborne Regimental Combat Team
Angels) Association and the 42nd
Infantry (Rainbow) Division
.Association.
Tom Purcell of Odessa and an
Angels veteran was in Sulphur
Springs in an attempt to publicize the
187th's project.
Members of any of the battalions
and attached units, either when the
regiment was a glider infantry
regiment, a parachute infantry
regiment, an airborne regimental
combat team, designated air assault,
or its present configuration as an
infantry regiment are invited to
participate in the association
membership and activities.
An effort is being made to contact
former World War II Rainbow
members who served in combat in
France . and Germany and were
evacuated to the hospital as wounded
or sick. Sjome became prisoners of
war. ^
Any former member of the 42nd
Division at any time between July-
1943 and July 1946 is invited to join the
association.
For more information about the
Angel organization, contact Purcell
at 926 East 18th St . Odessa 79761.
For more inforniation ablmt the
Rainbow organraa'Mdn, contact
James V. McNicol. 4ld Bentlev St.,'
Newell, W.V. 26050.
Meal center open despite fund freeze
By MARY GRANT
New* Telegram Stall
Hopkins County Senior Citizens
Meal Center remains open and
continues to serve meals despite a
funding freeze that local officials say
was sparked by the recently passed
Gramm-Rudman bill.
“Until the funds get here, we are.
going to see, that that center is open
and that it continues to operate until
more funding ls^vailable,” County-
Judge W^UJ»^STOtL said Tuesday of
the equity -Commissioners Court
agreement on fhe issue.
, Mary Jo Eddy, NETO execu
director who heads the myfcil
^•-program, said she contacted
Congressman Jim Chapman of
Sulphur Springs- in an effort to
alleviate the problem.
A spokesman in Chapman’s office
said Wednesday that Chapman's-
inquiries resulted in -a statement
from the Office of Management and
Budget, funds administrator, that the
iponey would be released
"momentarily,” However, ah exact
date was-nnt available
January 9, Ark-Tex
(Vtuneil
Governments (COG) officials
recommended the meal center on
College Street be closed after the
second quarter funds were frozen.
Ark-Tex COG administer? the funds
through NETO, a hoi/profit sub-
contractor. Funding is filtered down
from“the U.S. Office of Management
and Budget to the State Commission
on Aging to COG.
Hopkins County budgets ari ad-
ditional $3,000 for the center, of which
$2,600 remains for this fiscal year.
Scott said. If necessary, those funds,
along with others obtained by a
gounty budget amendment, will go
toward continuing the food service,
he said.
Tfie center provides a noon iiieaNbi
residents, 60 years of age or older1
five days per week, as w;ell as meals
delivered to shut-in’s, Eddy said .
Executive director for LXXi ui
Texarkana, James Goerke, told The
News-Telegram that the situation has
two implications, orie*mmediut^;aii$J
the other longer range
"It all relates, back to Congress in
implementing the Graiiun-Kudman
bill,” he said The immediate
situation refers to the freeze now in
effect- that halted January funding.
On the, other hand, he said, future
funding’ is expected to he reduced 4L-
5 percent. We will get our January
money...and 1 -imagine it will feel the
reduction," he said.
He repeated the understanding that
the current ‘funding release is im-
minent. He also noted that in other
areas of Texas. COGs have initiated
carryover funding that is filling the
gap for this period. But, he saidDArk-
Tex COG spends the meal c/iter
funds as budgeted «
In Kilgor.e at the East Texas COG,
Glqin Knight, executive director,
said that the Older Americans Act,
the Congressional legislation that
prompts .the senior citizens
Sograms. has escaped funding cuts
• unhUniplenicntatmtrof the Gramm-
Rudraan bill, J li was always
exempted tK'ffirr.* The real crunch is
■going to cgi-i'il’ ui fiscaj^ear 198T-, he
Eddy said. The budget cuts an
going to hurtAmr .scuwi cili/cns?
soiye more than others We have
elderly people in out sei vuv ^irea
who depend on NETO every day for a
hot meal. Until a person works with
the elderly, they don't realize just
how many elderly people we have in
our county who cannot do for
themselves and have no one to do for
them." ‘ -
The local center serves ap-
proximately 590 meals per month and
defers 800,-to the homebound. The
.center accepts contributions for the
food from those who wish to make
them.
"At the present time, our meal
center staff is working on a volunteer
basis and food donations from private
citizens and local businesses are
being brought to the center to keep it
in operation,-" she said
Anyone who wishes to make con-
tributions to thc^Bcal center should
contact Eddy at (214) 537-2256 or
Scott at (214 ) 885-3926 Donations
should be made to the . Hopkins
Count) SentOi i itizens fkfyatfCenter if
they are to remain ii^jhe county
Donations made olhcrwikc'Wlll go to
NI ll' s program that covers Several
counties in Northeast TcxiisNifficials
said '
\
A 3-year-old Hopkins County
. youngster was accidentally struck
and killed late Saturday afternoon as
he played in the driveway of his
home, according to Hopkins County-
Sheriff’s Department reports.
John Allen Morris, son of John
"Johnny” Gordon Morris and Cheryl
Newkirk Morris, was pronounced
dead at 4:57 p.m. at Hopkins County-
Memorial Hospital.
The child was in the circular
driveway at his borne in the Mahoney
area when a family friend, Danny
Woods, 27, of Sulphur Springs, left the
home after visiting with the family,
according to officials.
. Woods vehicle struck the child as
he attempted to drive away. After the
accident, the youngster was rushed to
Memorial Hospital, according to the-
sheriff's office.
The accident has been established
as accidental, according to officials.
Funeral services were held Mon- •
day afternoon in the- Murray-
Orwosky Funeral Home chapel.
Firefighters responded to a general alarm tire at 6:53 p.m.
Tuesday at a house located at 231 College, formerly a Mini-
Mall, where they were on duty for an hour. The cause of the
fjr* is still under investigation. Damage to the house, owned
by Johnny Heitmanv Is estimated at $7,000, according to a
fire department spokesman. The house was not occupied at
the time of the blaze fireman said Kerry Taylor said he
was. passing by when he saw the ■;.eke’ He ttoryipted to
check the house for, occupants- betore the firelighters
arrived T
Mhflir. i- > Anri Mr Ada mi
N v
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Keys, Clarke & Hillsamer, Dave. The Hopkins County Echo (Sulphur Springs, Tex.), Vol. 111, No. 4, Ed. 1 Friday, January 24, 1986, newspaper, January 24, 1986; Sulphur Springs, Texas. (https://texashistory.unt.edu/ark:/67531/metapth775728/m1/1/: accessed July 18, 2024), University of North Texas Libraries, The Portal to Texas History, https://texashistory.unt.edu.; crediting Hopkins County Genealogical Society.