The Hopkins County Echo (Sulphur Springs, Tex.), Vol. 105, No. 18, Ed. 1 Friday, May 2, 1980 Page: 1 of 6
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DALLAS TX 78235
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Sip Hopkins Comtia StJjv
VOL. 195—NO. II.
(ABSORBED THF. GAZFTTF. CIRCULATION BY PURCHASF MAY 12. 1928)
SULPHUR SPRINGS, TEXAS. FRIDAY, MAY 2.1980.
Court tables tax board funds
6 PAGES -10 CENTS PUBLISHED EVERY FRIDAY
J
PR
Hopkins County Conunissioners Court
members decided to put on hold the fun-
ding request of the Hopkins County Tax
Appraisal District until about the middle
of next month, when they can meet with
other taxing entities to discuss the matter
of the budget.
"We don’t have’ nothing set up in the
budget,” said Precinct 4 Commissioner
,L.T. (Son) Martin of the appraisal
district’s request for $6,432 from the
county.
County Judge Joe R. Pogue told com-
missioners that the district’s $30,000
budget was to organize the office.
Martin had questioned the potential
salary of the chief tax appraiser and
wondered what would occur if the other
entities decided not to pay the requested
amounts for the six-month period.
Pogue said that the $30,000 requested for
the ^-year’s operation would include
office equipment, supplies, a possible
Life term
assessed
in murder
MOUNT VERNON - Richard Thomas
Robinson, 18, was sentenced to life in
prison here Monday afternoon in Eighth
Judicial District Court.
Judge Lanny Ramsay assessed the life
sentence about 5 p.m. after Robinson pled
guilty to the murder of Gay Davis Joyner,
68, of the Purley Community.
District Attorney Jim Chapman said
that the Franklin County Grand Jury had
met earlier Monday morning and returned
a true bill of indictment of murder against
Robinson. That indictment came at 1:45
.*-..«** H» * '
Mrs. Joyner’s disappearance was first
noted on Valentine’s Day when neighbors
became suspicious as lights were left on at
the house and her car was missing.
Texas Rangers and DPS troopers were
called into the area to begin a search along
with Franklin County officers, and Deputy
Randy Lynn found the woman’s car about
4 p.m. Feb. 16 on a Franklin County road at
Lake Cyprus Springs.
Franklin County Sheriff Don Qualls
searched about Li-mile down that same
road and found the woman’s body on the
side of the road. He reported at the time
that it was believed that she had been shot
in the head.
Mrs. Joyner’s body was taken to the
forensic laboratory in Dallas where it was
determined that she had been shot four
times.
Robinson, also of the Purley community,
was arrested late the same night the body
was found and charged with murder. After
arraignment, bond was denied Robinson
by Franklin County Justice of the Peace
E.H. Gilpin.
Chapman said Robinson was taken to
Rusk State Hospital and to Dallas for
psychiatric and psychological evaluation
and both facilities returned findings of
Robinson being competent and sane at the
time of the murder of the elderly woman.
Robinson had also give a written
statement to officers regarding the in-
cident.
Sheriff Qualls said Wednesday morning,
“We took him on down there last night and
put him to bed at TDC (Texas Department
of Corrections) about 2 a.m. this mor-
ning.” ...
“It was... concerned citizens that solved
this case so quickly,” Qualls said of the
46^-hour investigation, “we had a list of
about 35 names to check with and the third
one gave us what we needed to know.”
secretary or other office help and office
space for the new entity.
Martin questioned as to what would
happen if the request was not honored and
Pogue replied that it would be voluntary in
1980 but after that, it would be an
assessment to each taxing entity.
Precinct 3 Commissioner Mervin
Chester requested a meeting of city of-
ficials and those from all of the school
districts with the commissioners to discuss
the expenses along with representatives
from the appraisal district who could
explain .the needs and reasons for the
$30,000 budget.
Judge Pogue set the meeting for May 12.
A1 Griffin Jr. of Greenville was present
to give the commissioners a report on
costs to repair the Tax Office which
burned April 15. *
The insurance adjustor said that repairs
would cost approximately $25,503.39 but
after depreciation of $3,514.05, the in-
surance would pay $21,989.34.
He said that Tax Assessor-Collector Jeff
Taylor had given him a list of the contents
Monday morning that were burned —
amounting to $5,001.11 - and that the list
would have to be gone over to determine
what would be allowed.
Pogue told the commissioners that
others had said it would cost much more to
fix the building and that the court would be
hearing those reports at a later time.
In other action before the Com-
missioners Court, a road near Emblem
was left open as the court rejected a
petition to close the county road. The
burial of four telephone cables was ap-
proved.
The cables are in Precincts 1,3 and 4.
Precinct 2 Commissioner J.D. Hatley
commented, “They’re not burying these
cables deep enough...It’s creating a
hardship on some of the people out there
when we cut those cables.”
The commissioners also approved bonds
for Susan Bassham of the District Clerk’s
Office and for David Jackson of the
Hopkins County Memorial Hospital Board.
Cooper Lake
on schedule
Colonel Donald J. Palladino assured
Walter Helm of Sulphur Springs that
“everything is on schedule” during an
informal meeting in Fort Worth during the
week.
Helm, president of the Sulphur
Municipal Water District, visited with the
district engineer of the Fort Worth
District, U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, to
maintain a continuing interest in the huge
Cooper Lake project.
Acres of lignite
News briefs
Area resident hospitalized
Larry Ponder, 19, of Route 2, is in
“fair” condition at Memorial Hospital
following a motorcycle-horse accident
on FM-2560 during the pre-dawn hours
Tuesday.
DPS Trooper Roger Maynard said
that the accident occurred at 4:45
a.m. Tuesday, abourtWo miles south
of Martin Springs.
Maynard said Ponder was riding a
1979 Yamaha motorcycle northbound
on FM-2560 when the vehicle struck a
horse.
“We couldn’t find the horse,"
Maynard said, “but it looked like
Ponder had a broken arm.”
The motorcycle had minor damage.
Ponder was taken to Memorial
Hospital by private vehicle and was
admitted after being treated in tne '
emergency room.
Nurses on the second floor of the
facility said he was in “fair” condition
late Tuesday morning.
Cyclist listed as serious'
Officials at Baylor University
Medical Center in Dallas report that
Ricky Wayne Hayes, 25, of 273 South
Locust was in serious condition
Tuesday morning.
Hayes was injured in a motorcycle
accident sometime Monday morning.
DPS Trooper Jack Counts said
Hayes was last seen on the borrowed
motorcycle shortly after midnight.
Counts said it was believed that the
accident occurred about 12:30 a.m.
and that Hayes was in a ditch about
four miles west of Sulphur Springs for
several hours before being spotted by
a passing truck driver about 5 a.m.
Monday.
He was taken to Memorial Hospital
by ambulance and after being treated
at the local emergency room, Hayes
was transported to Baylor where he
spent most of the day in the Baylor
emergency room before being ad-
mitted to the intensive care unit in the
Jonsson Building.
The lignite coal mining operation south of Sulphur Springs has
disturbed 292 acres of land to claim the coal underneath since
the mine went into operation in February 1978. Of those acres,
242 have already been reclaimed under state Railroad Com-
mission regulations. On Monday, the federal government turned
over the primary control of surface mining to the Railroad
Commission. Texas is the first state in the union to be allowed
self-regulation of surface mines.
—St«H Fit* Photo
Local officials pleased
at mine control switch
Residents bending elbows
Hopkins County citizens continued
to enjoy their mixed drinks during the
first quarter of 1980, with reports from
State Comptroller Bob Bullock’s
office indicating that total ex-
penditures ran $161,254 for the period.
Bullock’s office said that the first
quarter total Hopkins County tax
revenue amounted to $16,125.48. This
represents 10 percent gross receipts
tax on mixed drinks sold in Hopkins
County during January, February
and March of this year.
Counties and cities receive a 15
percent rebate of the tax collected on
mixed drinks sold within their
boundaries under the law that
legalized mixed drinks in the state.
Under this formula, Hopkins
County’s remittance for the first
quarter is listed at $2,418.82.
Sulphur Springs' municipal
government will get $2,132.60 from the
$14,217.34 tax collected during the
three months. Como’s check will run
$77.54 from a total tax of $516.94.
Both Hopkins County and Sulphur
Springs rebate checks posted slight
gains, while Como lost ground during
the quarter. Bullock said the sale
of mixed drinks in Texas during the
first quarter totaled almost a quarter
of a billion dollars. Texas counties and
cities will share more than $6.4
million in rebates from the state’s
mixed drink tax during that period.
By JOHN GORE
News-Telegram Staff
An action by the federal government and
the State of Texas has given local officials
of Texas Power & Light Company a reason
to smile.
The federal government has turned over
to the state Railroad Commission primary
control of surface mining in Texas, The
Associated Press reported Tuesday.
Texas is the first state to gain federal
approval of its proposed program to
regulate surface mining.
"We at TP&L are pleased with the
federal government’s decision to turn over
the primary control of surface mining to
the state Railroad Commission,” J.P.
Shull, local manager of TP&L’s Sulphur
Springs office said.
In a brief ceremony Monday, Texas
became the first state in the union to be
allowed control of regulations regarding
strip mining and reclamation.
“Since we are the first and only state to
be allowed to regulate our own operations,
the state must have a pretty good plan,”
Shull said.
"Of course, TP&L has been reclaiming
strip mined areas all along. We reclaimed
strip mine sites before there were federal
and state regulations, so this is nothing
new to us. What is good about this transfer
of power is that the state has control and
not the federal government,” Shull said.
“This way the Railraod Commission can
continue to make rules and regulations
that apply to Texas, and doesn’t have to
worry about regulations that deal with
mines in other parts of the country. We can
handle our problems and not some other
state’s problems,” he added.
Since the lignite operation first began in
Hopkins County in February 1978, 292
acres have been disturbed to uncover the
lignite. Of those 292 acres, 242 acres have
already been reclaimed, according to
Shull, to “as good a shape or better than
before the mining began, which is the
cornerstone of the state regulation.”
According to TP&L figures, the Hopkins
County lignite operation sends 80 railroad
cars, with each car holding 100 tons of
lignite, to the Monticello generation plant
six days a week - 27 percent of the lignite
used at the plant to generate electricity
daily.
In Monday’s ceremony, Commissioner
Jim Nugent noted federal bureaucrats now
“will have less control over Texas
business.”
Approval for the change in surface mine
control was granted Feb. 16 but Director
Walter Heine of the federal Office of
Surface Mining told a news conference he
had not had a chance until Monday to
attend a commission ceremony.
Texas ranks first in the nation in the
production of lignite, or heavy coal, and
was No. 10 in total coal production last
year with 27 million tons. Coal production
is expected to rise to as high as 90 million
tons a year by 1985.
The commission estimates Texas has 12
billion tons of lignite within 200 feet of the
surface and reserves of 12 billion more
tons of light coal.
Texas ranks third among the states in
uranium ore reserves, and total produc-
tion this year is projected at 6.3 million
tons, which would rank Texas among the
top four states.
“Our lignite and other surface mining
operations in Texas have left few scars on
our land. Under our present laws,
reclamation is conducted in a manner
which requires restoration of the land to as
good, or better, productivity than before
the valuable mineral was mined,” Nugent
said.
Heine said the federal government
would finance 50 percent of the cost of
regulating surface mines.
Man becomes third
Hopkins County fatality
GREENVILLE - Lewis Jones Jr., 39, of
2302 Bourland in Greenville became the
third 1980 fatality for Hopkins County.
Jones died at 7:51 p.m. Thursday at
Citizens General Hospital of injuries from
a Wednesday night accident just west of
Sulphur Springs on SH-11.
Jones was in a 1968 four-door hardtop
that missed a curve and struck a tree
about two miles west of Sulphur Springs at
8:25 p.m.
DPS Trooper Wendell Jeter said that
Jones and Michael Charles Mack, 29, of
3100 Polk Street were in the car when it
struck the tree - almost tearing the car in
half.
Mack was reported in satisfactory
condition Friday morning.
Food stamp recipients here facing uncertain future
By JIM MOORE
News-Telegram Staff
More than 2,000 Hopkins County
residents could find themselves in a
financial bind if the food stamp program is
curtailed or suspended, a possibility raised
by the state Department of Human
Resources.
Food stamps to buy groceries may be
late, reduced or even suspended, state
welfare officials are warning those par-
ticipating in the program, The Associated
Press reported Tuesday.
Jerome Chapman, Department of
Human Resources commissioner, said in
Austin Monday that Congress set a
national limit of $6.18 billion on the
program this year and that limit will be
reached by June 1. Congress is working to
extend the program, but it is uncertain
when and to what extent additional
financing will be available.
“At this time we don’t know how much
money Congress will provide for food
stamps for June through September of
1980,” said a letter to persons receiving
food stamps. “We want to alert you to the
possibility that your authorization to get
food stamps may be late. It also is possible
that the amount of stamps you receive
may be less.”
In Hopkins County, food stamp users are
increasing in both numbers of persons
receiving the coupons and the value of the
coupons received.
Figures supplied Tuesday morning by
the U.S. Post Office in Sulphur Springs
indicate that in January, 1979 there were
421 persons buying food stamps with a
total value of $22,083.
By January of 1960, the value was up to
$39,874 for 572 program participants - and
by the end of March, there were 664 par-
ticipants obtaining stamps valued at
$50,676.
“They’re (Texas Department of Human
Resources) certifying more people each
month,” says Assistant Postmaster Dee
Mabe.
He said the Post Office requisitions food
stamps on a monthly basis and is allowed
125 percent of the previous month’s
allotment.
“It’s hard to determine what you really
need,” Mabe said Tuesday. He said that in
March, the Post Office ran out of food
stamps but that he sent an emergency
requisition to Dallas and had the stamps
shortly thereafter.
Figures from the Post Office indicate
that January was the low month for 1979;
in almost every subsequent month, there
were increases in both number of par-
ticipants and the total value of food stamps
issued here. October was the biggest
month of 1979 with 564 participants and
$36,596 issued.
The number obtaining food stamps in
November was 557 and 550 in December of
last year.
Mabe said that 1980 is seeing continual
increases.
During January of this year, 572 par-
ticipants obtained $39,874 in food stamps.
February saw the figures go up to $46,025
with 612 participants; and in March to
$50,678 with 664 participants.
Mabe said that as of Tuesday morning,
657 persons had acquired food stamps
representing a total value of $51,537.
"And we’ve still got two days to go,”
Mabe said.
The number of participants does not
indicate how many people are benefiting
from the use of the food stamps, however.
The numbers given by the post office are
only the number of persons purchasing the
discounted food buying coupons.
The March figure of 664 would indicate
approximately 2,656 Hopkins County
residents are taking advantage of being
able to save money at the grocery store,
local estimates indicate. The figure is
based on the average of four persons per
household.
Statewide, Chapnian said 1.2 million
Texans are eligible for food stamps, and
about $40 million in stamps is issued each
month. Most recipients are children of low-
income families but many others are
elderly or disabled.
James Lowell, assistant administrator
for DHR’s regional office in Paris, said
that there are about 10,000 participants in
the program in the region.
Chapman said if Congress acts early
enough in May, the authorizations to
participate in the program in June will be
issued but may be late.
He said Congress also may finance the
program partially for the rest of the year.
If this happens, Chapman said, the U.S.
Department of Agriculture will determine
how much reduction will be made in
issuing food stamps.
Lowell said that he expects to have that
estimate by May 15 from the USDA. He
said that if Congress does not increase the
program, “it’ll end on June 1.”
“In addition,” Chapman said, "we
cannot rule out the possibility of a
suspension of benefits for June and
perhaps later months.”
“We’re just waiting to find out what
they’re going to do," Benny Johnson,
DHR’s Aid to Families with Dependent
Children supervisor in Sulphur Springs,
said Tuesday morning.
He said that the number of persons
utilizing the program is increasing.
“1 imagine it’s due to not having to make
a cash outlay for food stamps,” he said.
Johnson explained that prior to
December, 1978, participants had to pay
for the stamps but are now receiving them
without any expense.
He cited as an example that before
December, 1978, an individual would spend
$50 and receive $75 in food stamps. “That’s
called the bonus,” Johnson said.
Since that time, persons on the food
stamp program have been able to go to the
Post Office and can obtain the bonus
without paying any money.
Rowell said that if Congress does not
extend the program,“the local com-
munities will have to pick up the food
stamp program...like we used to do for
indigents.”
Johnson, however, said that local
governmental entities would not be able to
do that “The communities just don’t have
the resources available," be said, “the
only way would be through charitable
i
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Keys, Clarke & Woosley, Joe. The Hopkins County Echo (Sulphur Springs, Tex.), Vol. 105, No. 18, Ed. 1 Friday, May 2, 1980, newspaper, May 2, 1980; Sulphur Springs, Texas. (https://texashistory.unt.edu/ark:/67531/metapth780453/m1/1/?rotate=0: accessed July 18, 2024), University of North Texas Libraries, The Portal to Texas History, https://texashistory.unt.edu.; crediting Hopkins County Genealogical Society.