The Hopkins County Echo (Sulphur Springs, Tex.), Vol. 105, No. 9, Ed. 1 Friday, February 29, 1980 Page: 1 of 6
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(ABSORBED THE GAZETTE CIRCULATION BY PURCHASE MAY 12, 1928)
VOl. 105—NO. 9.
SULPHUR SPRINGS, TEXAS, FRIDAY, FEBRUARY 29,1980.
^—————
« PAGES -10 CENTS PUBLISHED EVERY FRIDAY
County survey:
No road taxes wanted
Many people in Hopkins County believe
rural roads are inadequate, but only 12
percent of respondents to a recent county
survey indicated they want county bonds
passed to build or improve roads.
In response to a county sponsored
survey conducted in January, 214 county
residents indicated they believe rural
roads are not adequate while 203 replied
affirmatively.
Of the 203 persons who said that the
county road system is adequate at present,
148 said it would be adequate for the next
10-20 years. When considering the an-
ticipated condition of roads in a 10 to 20-
year forecast, the number indicating
inadequate increased from 214 to 224.
In another question of primary
significance to county commissioners, 49.2
percent of those answering said they would
support the adoption of a one percent
county sales tax.
Such action would have to be taken by
the Texas legislature.
To that question, 40.7 percent said. no.
Unsure accounted for 23 persons and 22
failed to answer the question.
The survey, conducted by the Com-'
missioners’ Court, had 451 responses.
In seeking survey responses, county
officials had indicated that more funds
than those currently available from county
sources would be fequired to upgrade
conditions of roads not maintained by the
state. Financial possibilities suggested
included a bond issue or a county sales tax.
Only 12 percent (58) of the people who
filled out surveys said that they wanted a
bond issue passed and only 9.5 percent (43)
wanted a road district with taxing
authority.
There were 350 people who did not ap-
prove either of the options suggested.
The survey also asked what items
property owners would be willing to donate
for improvements to their own roads. Only
six persons were willing to donate gravel,
42 said labor and 43 said money. The
biggest donation was “nothing” with 284
selecting that option.
County commissioners have said that
wider roads are needed and that additional
right of way would be required to build
proper roads. Only 119 (26.3 percent) were
willing to donate land and move fences
while 258 said no, 21 were unsure and 53 did
not answer the question.
Men answered the surveys more than
women with 331 men responding and 104
women listed for the primary answers.
Sixteen surveys did not indicate which.
Most of the respondants were 56 years of
age or older, accounting for 279 of the 451
replies.
There were no replies in the under 18
category; eight in the 18-25 bracket; 35 in
26-35 ; 49 from 36-45 ; 60 from 46-55; 111
from 56455; 168 over 65 and 20 with no
response.
Of interest, 94.5 percent of all respon-
dents were registered voters with only two
persons indicating that they were not and
23 failing to answer. Almost 98 percent of
the people said that they were property
owners.
Most of the surveys indicated people
either living in rural unincorporated areas
(2-46) or in the city limits of Sulphur
Springs (182).
There were 13 residents of Como, one
who said that the residence was in Cumby
and nine did not answer the question.
Geographically across the county, each
of the four precincts was well represented.
There were 136 replies from residents of
Precinct 1; 115 from Precinct 2; 84 from
Precinct 3 and 86 in Precinct 4 with 30
declining to answer.
A breakdown of the responses to the Commissioner’s Court survey by precincts on
the pertinent questions follows:
1
2
3
4
Total from Precinct:
136
115
84
86
Road system presently adequate
59
34
45
54
Adequate for next 10-20 years
42
24
28
43
Prefer bond issue passed
18
23
11
5
Bond issue of $5-10,000,000
10
9
3
2
Bond issue of $10-20,000,000
10
12
10
3
Bond issue of $20-50,000,000
- - o
2
0
0
Bond issue of $50-80,000,000
1
5
1
1
Preferring road district
20
12
4
7
Would be willing to donate:
Right of way
34
39
23
17
Gravel
4
1
0
0
Labor
15
16
6
1
Money
14
13
9
7
Residents of:
Sulphur Springs
24
32
34
30
Como
NA
11
NA
NA
Cumby
NA
NA
NA
y 1
Rural area
61
72
49
53
F or the one percent sales tax
71
70
38
39
Against the above
31
30
40
40
Local barge port possible
Lowell Cable and Walter Helm of
Sulphur Springs reported Wednesday that
the recent meeting of the Red River Valley
Association in Shreveport resulted in
resolutions being passed to be recom-
mended to Congress for bank stabilization
of the Red River, one step in a process
which could supply a barge “port” for the
Hopkins County trade area.
Helm and Cable were representing the
Sulphur River Municipal Water District.
“This project is necessary prior to locks
and barge navigation,” said Cable. “The
state of Louisiana and the Shreveport area
have until now led the effort on this project
and have accomplished a great deal
toward making the Red River a navigable
stream for barge traffic.”
Under the auspices of the U.S. Army
Corps of Engineers, the bank stabilization
program is already authorized as far north
as Index, Ark.
“The construction of locks downstream
from Shreveport has already begun,”
Cable reported, “and some of them are
nearing completion with locks expected to
be built as far up as Shreveport.”
He said that the state of Louisiana will
lose interest in the project and shift
responsibility to Arkansas, Oklahoma and
Texas after the work is completed there.
“Realistically and possibly within the
foreseeable future, as a result of a con-
certed effort on the part of leaders in the
Northeast Texas area, there would be a
port for barge traffic just north of Paris,"
'Scared about all this stuff...'
Fourth grade kids look at draft
By JOHN GORE
News-Telegram Staff
Several years ago television personality
Art Linkletter pointed out that kids say the
damest things.
He also noted, in another one of his books
based on conversations he had with
children, that a child is full of wisdom that
would make a wise man sit up and take
notice, as well as a garden of misin-
formation.
A kid’s conception of the world has
changed somewhat over the years because
of more and better communication
techniques. But still, children don’t see the
world as adults see it. Often, children see
through the problem and can get to the
root of the problem with amazing clarity.
Other times they prepeive the question in a
totally different lightthan most adults.
One of the problems on the minds of
many Americans - and especially young
Americans — is the proposed im-
plementation of registration and the draft.
President Carter has announced plans
for the registration of 19 and 20 year old
men and women this year, with 18-year-
olds joining the registration next year.
Prior to the president’s announcement
Cumby School fourth grade teacher Cathy
Chapman asked her students to respond to
the question “Should women be drafted?”
Of the 16 students queried only four felt
that women should be drafted alongside ,
men. Nine students were against women
registering for the draft, and two students
wereundecieded.
The women’s liberation movement may
be making progress in many areas to
equalize the sexes, but the fourth graders,
both boys and girls, appeared to hold a
pretty solidly male chauvinist view of the
drafting of women.
One girl wrote, “Women can’t do the
work men can. Because they aren’t as
strong.” She adds that women are not very
good with guns or heavy artillery.
A boy wrote that women shouldn’t be
drafted, “Because women weren’t made to
fight as good as men. Because they were
made to clean house we (men) weren’t
made to clean house.”
Another girl felt that women might hurt
themselves in combat and therefore
should not be drafted. She wrote,
“Because they could throw a handgrenade
and drop it in front of them and it would
blow them up.”
One boy was against drafting women
unless there was no other way to win the
war. He felt that it was all right to sign
women up for the draft, but not to draft
them until the very end. He wrote with
some reservation, “Women could make
good soldiers with a LOT of training.”
The students that were for drafting
women had their own brand of logic to
back up their reasons.
“I think President Carter should draft
ladies,” wrote one girl. She reasoned,
“Asia has alot more troops, so U.S. needs
to draft ladies so it can be a lot stronger. If
we draft ladies, we might have a chance of
winning World War Three.”
One young man who was for the drafting
of women felt that women should be put
into “mobil army hospitals and some stay
in the states to fix jeeps and planes and
Making district
Four seventh grade students made the all district Middle trombone made the all district 7th and 8th grade band after
School band recently during try outs in Daingerfield. From competing against 250 other students for the honor. The
left to right, Todd Caldwell, bass clarinet; Sally Stanley, Middle School district band will perform in concert March 4
flute; Katherine Welch, bass clarinet, and John Beck in the Civic Center.
StaH Photo
he said.
He explained that when completed, the
project would allow for barges to be
brought from the Gulf of Mexico to Paris
or even as far as the Denison Dam
carrying imported goods as well as items
produced in the more southern part of the
country. “And it would be a boon to the
Great Plains states as they could bring
their grain to Paris or Denison and then
put it on a barge to be shipped overseas,”
he said, "and that is not to mention the
savings on the expense of geting finished
products back into our area.”
At the meeting, Helm and Cable spoke
with Gen. James C. Donovan of the Fort
Worth Corps of Engineers’ office who is
heading up the Cooper Lake project.
build guns, bombs, and planes.” He did
draw the line at married women however;
he felt that they should not be drafted.
A female student in favor of drafting
women based her belief on the fact that
women should have a chance.
She wrote; “Women should be drafted
because President Carter should give
women a chance. It might be good for
them to register.” She went even further in
stating that President Carter should let a
lot of people register “...from 18 to 26 years
old. Sometimes I think the president
should let 30 year old women register for
the draft. So I think he should let women
register from 18 to 26 at least.”
Rising to the women liberation
movement’s call, one young man wrote, “I
think President Carter should make the
women sign up for the draft. Because they
say that they want to be just like men. And
they are trying to be better than men. This
will give them a real good chance to prove
themselves to men...they could fight for
America.”
One young girl, who thought it was all
right for women to be a “nurse or
something, but not alright for women to be
in battle," may have summed up the the
question of the world situation.
She wrote: “Why doesn’t Iran let the
hostages go and let us be friends and
depend on each other. Little children like
us, may be scared about all this stuff going
on.”
“Out of the mouths of babes," as the old
saying goes. What the young lady may not
realize is that stuff like this scares us big
kids too.
Blowing for district band
Sulphur Springs Middle School band students competed for
chairs on the All District Band this weekend in Daingerfield
and blew up some winners. Eighth grade students making
the all district band are, Lauri Luce, clarinet, and Peggy
Boles, tenor saxophone (seated), Evelyn Ford, baritone;
Teresa Newby, baritone, and Regina Thompson, alternate
clarinet. Seventh and eighth grade music students from
around the the district will perform together in concert
March 4 in the Hopkins County Civic Center following a day
long music clinic.
Staff Photo
DA's office clears docket
It was a busy year for the District At-
torney’s office in 1979 as 322 felony
criminal cases were disposed of.
District Attorney Jim Chapman
released his end of the year report Wed-
nesday, recording 34 cases being tried
before juries and 223 in which guilty pleas
were entered by the defendants.
A total of 974 ft years were assessed to
be served in the Texas Department of
Corrections and 677 years were assessed in
probations. Four persons were sentenced
to serve life sentences at TDC.
During 1979, the court assessed fines of
$81,475 and ordered restitution of
$60,973.28.
There were 38 probation revocations
successfully prosecuted in the Eighth
Judicial District Court in addition to a
large number of contested juvenile, writ
and protective custody hearings as well as
sanity trials held.
Chapman said that there are currently
many cases which have been tried and
appealed by the defendant to the Court of
Criminal Appeals in Austin.
“It is currently taking approximately
two years for appealed cases to be decided
by the Court of Criminal Appeals and the
time delay has created a large backlog of
cases pending on appeal from the Eighth
District,” Chapman said.
“I am proud of the appellate record of
this office and the court,” the district
attorney said, “since we have not had a
conviction reversed on appeal since I have
been district attorney.”
He said that the continued maintenance
of a perfect appellate record would be
“nearly impossible" and that sooner or
later on of the convictions from the Eighth
Judicial District would more than likely be
reversed by the court in Austin.
Only 55 cases were pending on the
criminal dockets of the four counties that
make up the Eighth Judicial District at the
end of 1979, according to Chapmlan who
said, “Only 14 of those cases are active in
which the defendant can be tried. In the
other cases defendants have never been
arrested, have jumped bond or are serving
time as a result of other convictions.”
“I would attribute the successful year to
the efforts of a great many people in-
cluding District Judge Lanny Ramsay, the
Probation Department, the Sheriffs and
deputies of Hopkins, Rains, Delta and
Franklin Counties and the various police
departments throughout the district,"
Chapman said.
He added that the success of the efforts
of the district attorney’s office had been
due “in large part to the hard work of
Assistant District Attorney Steve Hughes,
Investigator John Sands and staff
assistants Mary Flowers and Carolyn
Willis.”
Since Chapman became district at-
torney, over 80 cases have been tried
before juries. “That’s more than were
tried in the previous 10-year period,” he
said, "with conviction rates well over 90
percent in the cases tried which is 20
percent higher than the national average.
"We will continue to vigorously
prosecute the crime violator within the
Eighth District in the hopes that the law
abiding ciizen will acquire an incrased
confidence in the criminal justice system.
We will do everything within the power of
the district attorney’s office to see that the
system works firmly, fairly and as quickly
as possible,” he said.
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Keys, Clarke & Woosley, Joe. The Hopkins County Echo (Sulphur Springs, Tex.), Vol. 105, No. 9, Ed. 1 Friday, February 29, 1980, newspaper, February 29, 1980; Sulphur Springs, Texas. (https://texashistory.unt.edu/ark:/67531/metapth780667/m1/1/: accessed June 19, 2024), University of North Texas Libraries, The Portal to Texas History, https://texashistory.unt.edu.; crediting Hopkins County Genealogical Society.