Polk County Enterprise (Livingston, Tex.), Vol. 109, No. 86, Ed. 1 Sunday, October 27, 1991 Page: 1 of 58
fifty eight pages : ill. ; page 24 x 15 in. Digitized from 35 mm. microfilm.View a full description of this newspaper.
Extracted Text
The following text was automatically extracted from the image on this page using optical character recognition software:
BEST AVAILABLE COPY
BEbi
.
40 Trinity
28 Montgomery
13 Woodvillo............
' ' / ’r ft ''' ■'^-A V '
..7 Corrlgan-Camden
52 Elkhart
23 Diboll
New Caney.
Livingston
9 Tarkington.................8
20 Shepherd
14 Groveton
7 San Augustine
Polk County’s
role in
WWII
Special Section inside!
Polk
Southwest Micropublishinq incSS
2627 E Yandel1
El Paso Tx 79903
Comp
ENTERPRISE
Volume 109 Number M
* The Dominant News and Advertising Source in Polk County
UPSP 437-340 Price: 25 certs
Court to embark on projects
HOSPITAL REOPENS -- Brian Davis, chief
laboratory technician at Polk County
Memorial Hospital, explains the workings of
the laboratory facility as hospital controller,
Kathy Shelly, and visitors Lee and Marie
Coleman and Lester Moore listen. Hospital
administrators and department heads were
on hand to give guided tours to visitors dur-
ing an open house held Friday afternoon.
The hospital was reopened Tuesday after
passing inspection following a fire Sept. 30.
LIVINGSTON - Polk County
commissioners are expected to
agree to advertise for bids on
renovation of the Mid-Town Mall
building in Onalaska for use as a
Precinct 2 office and Onalaska sub-
courthouse when they convene in
regular session Monday.
The meeting will begin at 10
a.m.
The court approved an earnest
money contract with First National
Bank for the purchase of the
Onalaska building earlier this
month. The 1.36-acre tract and
9,000-square-foot building is being
sold for $100,000. Funds for the
building purchase and renovation
will come from the sale of $2.5
million in certificates of obligation,
the majority of which will go
toward funding expansion of the
county jail.
Also during Monday’s meeting,
commissioners will consider ap-
proval of First Southwest Com-
pany’s "intent to bid" on the sale of
the certificates of obligation. First
Southwest has served as the coun-
ty’s financial advisor for the certifi-
cate of obligation issue.
Commissioners will alsp con-
sider a contract between Angelina
and Polk counties for the detention
of Polk County inmates. The
proposed agreement to house some
prisoners in Lufkin is designed to
help the county comply with the
jail commission’s remedial order
limiting the capacity of the Polk
County Jail to 48 classified in-
mates.
The court is also expected to
receive the county treasurer’s quar-
terly report, consider nominations
for the Polk County Appraisal Dis-
trict Board of Directors, and review
and receive recommendations on
bids to purchase a used dozer from
the Solid Waste Department. Bids
on the sale of the dozer were
opened during the court’s Oct. 14
meeting, with action tabled until it
could be determined how much the
used dozer is worth.
Tax vote delayed
Commissioners are also
scheduled to review proposals for a
county-wide telephone system and
consider approval of roads in San-
dy Shores Subdivision for county
maintenance. Action to protect ex-
isting vacation and sick leave
benefits, after the Nov. 1 im-
plementation of newly-adopted
employee policies and procedures,
for Polk County Aging Services
employees presently qualified for
and/or receiving those benefits will
also be considered.
ONALASKA - Although the
Board of Trustees of the Onalaska
Independent School District met in
a special called meeting Friday to
adopt a 1991-92 tax rate, a tax rate
was not adopted.
A 40-cent tax rate was proposed
by the board at the Oct. 14 meeting.
If approved, combined with the
78.8-cent rate set by the Polk
County Education District, the total
tax rate would be $1.18. Last year’s
tax rate was 94 cents.
The board has called a special
meeting for 7 p.m. Thursday, at
which time a tax rate will be
adopted.
OISD Tax Assessor-Collector
Yvonne Pixley reviewed tax collec-
tions, reporting that as of Friday,
93.14 percent of the 1990 taxes had
been collected.
Pixley also reported of $16,619
in excess tax collections over what
Voters to decide on 13 proposed amendments
LIVINGSTON - One hundred
and twenty-seven persons had
voted early for the Nov. 5 constitu-
tional amendment election through
Friday.
Arguments for: Would facilitate
construction of more of these road-
ways. With construction and main-
tenance costs increasing each year,
public-private partnerships would
Prior "to now, cany
been held only at the courthouse in
Livingston but, beginning Monday,
polls will also be open at the sub-
courthouses in Onalaska and Cor-
rigan. The early voting period con-
tinues through Friday.In addition to
those who cast early ballots in per-
son at the courthouse, the Polk
County Clerk’s Office has sent out
339 mail-in ballots. All requests for
ballots by mail must be received by
this Tuesday.
On election day, Tuesday, Nov.
5, all 16 voting locations in the
county will be open from 7 a.m.
until 7 p.m.
Following is a brief summary of
each amendment, along with argu-
ments "for" and "against" their pas-
sage. The information is provided
by the Texas Voter’s Guide, pub.
lished by The Free Market Founda-
tion, a non-profit, non-partisan re-
search foundation.
Proposition No. 1
To change the home rule provi-
sion of the state constitution by al-
lowing municipalities that drop
below 5,000 in population to con-
tinue as home-rule cities even
though they no longer meet the
population criteria.
Arguments for: Would allow
cities facing declining populations
to continue to operate as usual.
Proposed change is necessary to
match recent population shifts in
the state.
Arguments against: Would
preserve the integrity of the home-
rule provision within the constitu-
tion whereby cities under 5,000
must operate under organizational
structure determined by the legisla-
ture. Voting against this amend-
ment would still allow cities cur-
rently chartered as home-rule to
retain their charter, although they
would not be able to amend it.
Proposition No. 2
To allow the state to spend
money from any available source
for the construction and main-
tenance of turnpikes, toll roads and
toll bridges operated by the Texas
Turnpike Authority.
early voting has create a more stable financial bond markets at the rate
crease.
Arguments against: Would
save the state from incurring
another $1.1 billion in general
obligation debt Concern exists in
the rate Texas is
climate for these ventures and
would help attract federal funds.
Arguments against: Would
retain constitutional prohibition
against using state funds to build or
maintain turnpikes, toll roads or toll
bridges, whose costs should be
borne by users. It would also
prohibit using state funds for fail-
ing projects and would protect tax-
payers from political decisions
made in regard to funding.
Proposition No. 3
To amend the constitution to in-
crease the power of the Veterans
Land Board to make investments
with bond proceeds and to allow
the legislature to delegate broad
duties, responsibilities, functions
and authorities to the board to ad-
minister the Veterans Housing
Program.
Arguments for: Would free the
Veterans Land Board from out-
dated investment policy and would
give it the flexibility needed to fol-
low current market trends.
Arguments against: Would
retain constitutional provisions that
protect public funds and require in-
vestments to be in stable bonds and
obligations backed by the full faith
and credit of the U.S. government
This amendment, if passed, would
expand powers and discretion of
the Veterans Land Board to con-
duct its loan programs.
Proposition No. 4
To authorize the legislature to
issue up to $1.1 billion in general
obligation bonds to construct new
correction and mental health and
mental retardation institutions, and
to repair and renovate existing
facilities.
Arguments for: Would facilitate
construction of prisons so that
prisoners would then be more like-
ly to serve full sentences, making
safer communities. Additional beds
would also satisfy federal court re-
quirements and alleviate current
problems with jail overcrowding.
Financing construction costs is
sound fiscal practice and would al-
leviate the need for a major tax in-
Arguments against: Would
create a new bureaucracy that
would bypass sunset review regula-
tions. It would also make it easier
for legislators to raise their own
salaries by eliminating the need for
a constitutional amendment to
implement increases. Opponents
say this legislation was hastily writ-
ten and pporly drafted.
Proposition No. 7
To allow the Teacher Retirement
System and the Employee Public
Retirement System to invest the as-
sets of their retirement funds in any
manner considered prudent by their
respective boards.
Arguments for: Would extend
greater discretion to the retirement
systems, allowing for more
profitable investments, thereby
facilitating badly needed benefit in-
creases for retired teachers and
state workers.
Arguments against: Would en-
sure the safety of retirement
benefits for teachers and state
employees. Conservative invest-
ment policies have kept both retire-
ment funds sound and earning
profits.
Proposition No. 8
accumulating new debt, risking the
state’s bond rating. Financing con-
struction costs means taxpayers pay
more in the end, since interest
doubles the total payout.
Proposition No. 5
To allow a municipality, county
or junior college district to grant a
business ad valorem exemption on
certain tangible property that is
brought into an enterprise zone. Ex-
emptions would apply only to
property bought in Texas to be as-
sembled or processed and then
shipped out of state within 175
days.
Arguments for: Would provide
local governments with a new tool
to foster economic development in
distressed areas without requiring
them to lose massive amounts of
property tax revenue by across-the-
board exemptions.
Arguments against: Would
retain current taxing provisions that
require local taxing entities to treat
all property equally within their
jurisdiction regardless of its
relationship to an enterprise zone.
Opponents say there are too many
exemptions now, and businesses lo-
cated in enterprise zones already
receive special tax breaks and
privileges.
Proposition No. 6
To create a new state agency
known as the Texas Ethics Com-
mission to regulate elections and
ethics. The commission would be
given authority to recommend
salaries of the lieutenant governor,
speaker of the House of Represent-
atives and other members of the
legislature. Voters would then be
given the opportunity to approve or
deny proposed salary increases.
Arguments for: Would create a
new state agency to regulate lobby
activity and to ensure ethical be-
havior by public officials. Allowing
the Ethics Commission to recom-
mend regular adjustments in legis- RFJY RIBBON PARADE — Hundreds of
lative salaries and per diem, elected Livingston schoolchildren cucie the court-
house during Wednesday’s Red Ribbon
final approval. parade. The parade was one of many ac-
To amend the constitution so that
state debt could be created through
voter proposition rather than
through constitutional referendum.
Elections must be approved by
two-thirds of the legislature and
propositions would be required to
describe the amount, purpose and
repayment source of debt
Arguments for: Would create a
more informed process by which
people would oversee the issuance
of state debt. Debt amounts would
not be written into the text of the
state constitution, which is already
too cumbersome.
Arguments against: Would
maintain current system regarding
state debt. Opponents fear that free-
ing state debt from the amendment
See BALLOT pg. 4A
was budgeted which will go in to
the interest and sinking fund. The
board approved the certification of
excess tax collections.
In other business, the board ap-
proved the renewal of the $200,000
operational loan at First National
Bank.
The board also chose not to sub-
mit a nomination for the Polk
County Appraisal District Board of
Directors.
Principal
search
begins
DALLARDS VILLE » The
Board of Trustees of the Big Sandy
Independent School District will
meet in an executive session in a
special called meeting at 7:30 p.m.
Monday to consider searching for a
principal, as well as appointing an
interim principal.
The board accepted the resigna-
tion of former principal E.D. "Bud-
dy" Sumrall at a called meeting on
Oct. 20.
Other items on the agenda in-
clude hiring a second appraiser.
Bond sale ahead
ONALASKA - The Onalaska
City Council will have a special
called meeting at 7 a.m. Thursday
to consider passage of an ordinance
authorizing the issuance, sale and
delivery of bonds to be designated
as City of Onalaska gas system
revenue bonds Series 1991-B in the
maximum principal amount not to
exceed $475,0°'
Did you remember to
turn your clocks BACK
one hour?
Central Standard Time
returned at 2 a.m. Sunday.
tivities ” Hch students united against drug
use during Red Ribbon Week, which con-
cluded Friday.
Upcoming Pages
Here’s what’s next.
Search Inside
This issue can be searched. Note: Results may vary based on the legibility of text within the document.
Tools / Downloads
Get a copy of this page or view the extracted text.
Citing and Sharing
Basic information for referencing this web page. We also provide extended guidance on usage rights, references, copying or embedding.
Reference the current page of this Newspaper.
White, Barbara. Polk County Enterprise (Livingston, Tex.), Vol. 109, No. 86, Ed. 1 Sunday, October 27, 1991, newspaper, October 27, 1991; Livingston, Texas. (https://texashistory.unt.edu/ark:/67531/metapth781984/m1/1/: accessed July 16, 2024), University of North Texas Libraries, The Portal to Texas History, https://texashistory.unt.edu.; crediting Livingston Municipal Library.