The Hopkins County Echo (Sulphur Springs, Tex.), Vol. 105, No. 39, Ed. 1 Friday, July 25, 1980 Page: 1 of 4
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VOl. 105—NO. 39.
(ABSORBED THE GAZETTE CIRCULATION BY PURCHASE MAY 12. 1928)
SULPHUR SPRINGS. TEXAS, FRIDAY, JULY 25,19B0.
4 PAGES -10 CENTS PUBLISHED EVERY FRIDAY
Chamber opens search
to fill executive post
A search for a new executive vice-
president of the Hopkins County Chamber
of Commerce began Friday afternoon
following the resignation of David Jackson
from that post.
“We need to get the ball rolling to locate
a new manager,” chamber president
David DuPriest said. “We have a lot of
activities coming up this fall and we need
to get a manager on board.”
A resignation letter from Jackson, ef-
fective Aug. 1, was read to directors of the
chamber at a special called meeting
Friday afternoon.
The directors voted to begin an im-
mediate search for a replacement for
Jackson. The personnel committee and the
executive board will begin accepting
applications from qualified persons on
Monday. The board also set a tentative
cutoff date of Aug.15 for applications.
“We want to be flexible,” said Gene
Watson, a board member and past
prsshtont of the organization. "Hopefully
we cm locste and hire a aew manager by
Aug. 15. I! we don’t receive enough ap-
pticattens, or see Sm type of applicant we
are leaking for, we can extend the deadline
a little,” he added.
In accepting Jackson’s letter of
resignation DuPriest remarked that it was
an unpleasant duty to perform.
"David has an opportunity to further his
career and better his family, and I think
we all understand that. But I would like to
thank David for his hard work and efforts
in the industrial development field and his
professionalism as the chamber
manager,” DuPriest said.
The board of directors voted
unanimously to accept Jackson’s
resignation.
“Few get to come home where they were
raised after traveling around the United
States and contribute something to their
community,” Jackson said after his letter
was read by DuPriest. “I feel priviledged
to have been able to contribute to the
community over the past four years and
eight months I’ve been the manager,” he
added.
Jackson plans to remain in Sulphur
Springs following his resignation. He says
that he has business plans but,“I’m not at
liberty to discuss those plans at this time,”
he said.
Harried city crews
battle water breaks
By JIM MOORE
News-Telegram Staff
“It’s a combination of dry weather and
old water lines,” says Water and Sewer
Department Supervisor Darrell Wilks of
the seemingly unending string of water
main breaks in Sulphur Springs.
Public Works Director Bill Farler said
Wednesday morning that the city has had
seven major water breaks in less than 36
hours, but crews in most cases are able to
get the water line repaired and back into
service within a matter of minutes; more
complex repair jobs may take up to a few
hours.
Water mains come in all sizes and
Farler says that right now anything less
than a six-inch line is being ignored until
the crews can catch up with the long list of
major lines of eight, 10,12 or 14 inches that
keep bursting.
City Manger Travis Owens said that he’s
not sure why, but the lines on Houston
Street keep breaking.
A break on that line Wednesday morning
had enough pressure to throw rocks almost
to a residence and broke the rear window
of a car parked there.
At least three major water line breaks
have occurred on Houston Street and it is
believed that the type of soil along the
street is causing the six-year-old line to
deteriorate faster than normal.
On Rosemont, crews were kept busy
with five breaks within a matter of hours
Tuesday.
Wilks said that every time the line was
repaired, it would break loose again,
usually within five to 10 feet of where it had
County tops
state again
in dairying
For a county that ranks itself among the
nation’s leaders in milk production, it
should come as little surprise that it is the
Texas leader in that category.
The ranking for Hopkins County was
confirmed once again for 1979 Wednesday
in a report from Reagan V. Brown, state
agriculture commissioner.
Hopkins County led the state in 1979 milk
production and in the number of milk cows
that have calved, Brown reported.
County dairy farms carried 15.7 percent
of the state production of milk with 549
million pounds in 1979 and had 14.1 percent
of the milk cows that have calved with
46,700 head, the TDA figures show.
In 1979 there were 311,000 milk cows on
Texas farms producing 3.437 billion
pounds of milk and 122 million pounds of
milkfat.
From the milk produced for the year,
Texas farms had cash receipts of
$441,470,000 from sales to plants and
dealers and $8,791,000 from sales directly
to consumers.
The agriculture department reported
some of the dairy products produced in
Texas last year included 17.4 million
pounds of cottage cheese, 37.4 million
gallons of ice cream, 2.8 million gallons of
milk sherbet and 4.7 million gallons of
“mellorine type” mix.
Overall, Texas ranked ninth in milk
production and in milk cows that have
calved in national standings.
just been repaired.
Only one line thus far has had to be cut
and a new section welded into it.
That was at the intersection of North
Jackson and Putman, where a break oc-
curred early Tuesday morning.
The rupture caused the pavement on
North Jackson to buckle and traffic was
stopped on the street by police officers
until water crews could arrive.
Farler said that he is amazed at how
many of the water, lines are lying under
city streets.
That will result in a long series of work
projects as the dty crews not only repair
water linos, bet also the streets that have
been torn up to get at the errant pipes.
Wilks said that the water crews are
responding to the water breaks, digging to
find the pipes and then repairing the break
but not worrying about repairing the
street.
As the breaks are occurring almost
back-to-back or even more quickly, the
water crews repair the lines and put up
barricades, leaving the replacement of the
dirt, street materials and repair of the
streets to the street department.
News briefs
Owens said that crews have been ap-
propriated from the Quality Control and
Paries and Recreation departments to
assist the street and water crews in the
repair work.
“There’s no way that these same crews
can keep going without some rest and
that’s what we’re trying to do now — let
them get some rest when they’re not ab-
solutely needed,” Owens said.
He said that Farler had been called out
early Tuesday morning before dawn and
was still going at 2:30 a.m. Wednesday.
“I sent him and some others home about
3 a.m. (Wednesday) so they could get
some rest,” he said.
Farler was also generous in his praise
for the work of the city employees.
“These guys worked straight through
yesterday (Tuesday) - even through their
lunch hour and are still at it except for a
few that were so tired we just sent them
home,” he said.
Farler said that the crews were so busy
on Tuesday that Wilks repaired a major
break by himself — within 45 minutes.
"That’s the kind of city employees we
have,” Farler said in praise of the crews.
Como-Pickton adds to roll
Como-Pickton school board
members have approved a motion to
tax automobiles and recreational
vehicles. It was one of a series of
motions approved during the regular
July meeting with board members
Joe Pat Jordan, Ronnie Hux, David
Carr, Jack Bowen, Lester Arnold and
Arthur Skidmore in attendance.
Travis Cook was absent.
Larry Brown, Weldon Watkins and
J. L. (Boby) Odell were appointed to
serve on the board of equalization.
The trustees authorized a 10 percent
raise to all auxiliary employees.
Elizabeth Spencer, Betty Holden,
Marjorie West and Shirley Hogan
were employed as elementary
teachers, subject to assignment by
Superintendent James Smith.
The resignation of Karla Pope was
accepted.
The board also approved a motion
to pay Beverly Smith on pay grade II
for 11 months. She earlier had been
employed as secretary-aide to the
principal.
Hospital changeover in progress
Directors of the Hopkins County
Hospital District were told Thursday
night at their regular monthly
meeting that installation work for the
new air conditioning system is ex-
pected to be completed within the next
three to four weeks.
The conversion of the air con-
ditioning system from gas to elec-
trical is the final major capital ex-
penditure budgeted for the fiscal year
ending Sept 10, Glenn Kenley,
boapttal administrator, observed.
The new system is expected to be
more economical to operate and will
have an estimated two and one-half to
three-year payout. When the hospital
was constructed, natural gas was less
expensive. The new system has a cost
tag of about $1804100.
The directors reviewed engineering
drawings for the widening of the
street in front of the hospital as well
as the expanded parking lot to the east
of the building. The street will be
widened so that parking on both sides
can be accommodated. The expanded
parking lot near the emergency en-
trance will handle 23 more cars.
Kenley and the directors reviewed
the personnel policy. This is an annual
procedure. The policy had a few
expansions added.
The directors accepted the low bid
of Texas Floors of Dallas for new floor
covering for the dining room. The bid
was $3,164. The other bid was from
Duncan Interiors of Richardson for
13,325.
Current bills were authorized for
payment and other routine business
matters handled during the meeting.
Kenley reported that Dr. Phil
White, ophthalmologist, had set up his
practice in Sulphur Springs and is now
seeing patients.
Wildlife conference scheduled
The rtle tf wikUle in the revised
Cooper Lake Project will be explored
July 29 at a meeting sponsored by the
Army Corps of Engineers in Fort
Worth.
Col. Donald J. Palladlno, district
engineer, notified principals that the
session will be held in the Fritz
Lanham Federal Building beginning
at 10:30 a.m.
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Filling out the form
Kirby Vance, 20, was the first Sulphur Springs resident to
register with the Selective Service System Monday morning
when the local Post Office opened for business. Millions of young
men are scheduled to register this week across the nation,
unless the Supreme Court decides differently. An injuction over
the weekend cleared the way for registration to begin Monday
as schueduled. Vance said as he filled out the form, "I fust
wanted to get it over with. There doesn't seem to be any point in
waiting."
-Staff Photo
Local economy picture bright
By F.W. FRAILEY
News-Telegram Staff
Members of the Chamber of Commerce
Business and Industrial Relations Com-
mittee conducted a spot survey of the
health of the Hopkins County economy
Tuesday.
They decided their findings were so
impressive that they deserved sharing,
especially in view of the heavy emphasis
being put on recession by national
television announcers.
The committee expects to have a
specific plan of action to place before the
organization next week. A meeting has
been scheduled for Wednesday, July 23, at
10 a.m.
Among the inspiring points noted were:
-The continuing boom in the long-range
course of the dairy industry.
-No significant change in the local
unemployment rate, which was 4 percent
in April.
—Prevalence of help wanted ads in The
News-Telegram.
—Home construction picking up after
the spring credit squeeze and larger
projects under discussion.
—Soaring bank deposits.
-A continuing influx of new residents
from all parts of the country, many of
whom are retired.
“They are seeing something they want
to be part of,” Rick Plamer, president of
the First National Bank, declared. “I think
it is our people.”
Council okays water line
City commissioners approved the
borrowing of $60,000 and installation of a
14-inch water line between the new
pumping station at Lake Sulphur Springs
and the old one at White Oak Lake at their
emergency session of the City Commisson
Monday.
During the noon meeting, Joe Harrell,
engineer with the firm of Kindle Stone
Associates, said that at present there is a
14-inch raw water line from the new
pumping station to the Water Treatment
Plant.
The new water line is one of a series of
steps commissioners are planning to help
provide additional water pumping and
how capacity and “insurance” systems in
the event of the failure of equipment
currently in use.
There is also a 10-inch line that runs
from near the old pumping station at White
Oak Lake to join the 14-inch line and goes
toward the Water Treatment Plant.
The plan is to add approximately 3,500
feet of 14-inch line from the new pump
station to the old facility where it will be
connected with the 10-inch line.
Harrell says that the addition will
provide about 20 percent more raw water
for the treatment plant.
The Longview engineer says that an
interconnect is also needed between the
pumps at the new pump station, which is
located almost in the middle of a spot
between Lake Sulphur Springs, Century
Lake and White Oak Lake.
There are three pumps that can be used
to pump froth Century Lake and one large
pump that takes water from Lake Sulphur
Springs.
Officials say that the water from Lake
Sulphur Springs is preferable to that of
Century Lake, where a lot of silt is allowed
to settle before the water moves into Lake
Sulphur Springs, i
If the large pump were to go out, only the
three of lesser combined capability would
be supplying the city’s raw water.
If the interconnect were in place, the
pumps could pull from whichever water
supply was desired and provide a back-up
capability.
Larger pumps are to be installed on the
Century Lake input in the future but there
are no present plans to include the in-
terconnect.
City Manager Travis Owens said that
under the construction project approved
by the commissioners, the project would
take about 15 to 20 days to complete.
He said that the trenches for the line
would take about seven days at a cost of
approximately $2,000, the pipe would be
available within 48 hours but fittings
needed would not be available for 10-14
days. He said that the fittings would have
to be made and the cost of the pipe and
fittings would run about $44,500.
Surveying for the project will cost about
$3,000 and engineering will cost about
$4,400.
Owens also added in a contingency fund
of 10 percent, bringing the project cost to
$60,000.
“We’re running full throttle, 24 hours a
day, seven days a week right now,” Owens
said, citing the realistic emergency that
would exist if equipment failures
developed.
He suggested that the city borrow the
money for the project on a short-term loan
in order to keep some financial reserves
available in the city treasury.
Commissioner Millard Glover made a
motion to go ahead with the project under
the emergency provisions of the law and
Commissioner Gerald Bowers seconded it.
The motion was unanimously approved
and the water line project is now un-
derway.
Chairman Pro Tern Dee Mabe, who
chaired the meeting due to Chairman
Lewis Helm being on vacation, com-
mended the city manager and the city
employees for doing an outstanding job in
handling the water crisis and said, “I think
the people should give them a hand of
thanks.”
Both Owens and city crews have vir-
tually been working around the clock as
water breaks occur and are quickly
repaired.
Commissioner Vaden Richey suggested
that the city should look at the possibility
of connecting the 10-inch line to the water
plant from where it joins the 14-inch line.
Harrell said that an additional 300 to 400
feet of pipe would be needed and would
“provide reliability but not much more
water until new pumps were added at the
pumping station and the two lines were
completed all the way to the Water
Treatment Plant from the new pump
station.”
A discussion of the cloudy water oc-
curred just before the emergency meeting
was adjourned and Quality Control
Supervisor Maxie Chester said that the
water was being tested daily by the local
laboratory and once each month by the
state and was safe to drink.
Bar petitions
for courthouse
A need for a new courthouse — as well as
a new jail - for Hopkins County was
presented to county officials Monday by
the Hopkins County Bar Association. A
resolution to that effect was accepted by
the County Commissioners’ Court without
comment at the court’s meeting Monday
morning.
The resolution, signed by HCBA
President Joel Sheffield and Secretary-
Treasurer Larry Powers, noted the recent
discussions and proposals concerning the
construction of a new jail and possibly
other facilities with the jail at a recent
meeting of the body.
“The Bar Association unanimously
adopted a resolution urging the con-
struction of new courthouse facilities to
house not only a jail but all county offices
and courts,” it said.
“The Bar Association believes that the
interests of all tarpaying citizens will be
best served by such a project and that the
construction of a mw jail atone or with
limited other facilities would be the least
economical way to serve the needs of our
citizens,” it concluded.
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Keys, Clarke & Woosley, Joe. The Hopkins County Echo (Sulphur Springs, Tex.), Vol. 105, No. 39, Ed. 1 Friday, July 25, 1980, newspaper, July 25, 1980; Sulphur Springs, Texas. (https://texashistory.unt.edu/ark:/67531/metapth780112/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.