Polk County Enterprise (Livingston, Tex.), Vol. 119, No. 88, Ed. 1 Sunday, November 4, 2001 Page: 1 of 52
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Polk County
ENTERS
SOUTHWEST MICROPUBLISHING INC
2627 EAST YANDELL
EL PASO TX 79903-3724
COMP
Sunday
Nov. 4,2001
Volume 119 Number 88
The Dominant News and Advertising Source in Polk County
UPS 437-340 Price: 50 cents
amendment vote
fringing yawns
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Qidon
iw
^LIVINGSTON - With 19 pro-
changes to the Texas Consti-
on the ballot, less than 1
pefCent of the Polk County’s
SMHO-plus voters cast early bal-
lots in Tuesday’s amendment efec-
;8o*.
r->lbriy voting for the election
ended Pn
f
..
Iftiday.
% total of 361 early ballots woe
cast, according to County Clerk
.jfctftti Middleton. Of those. 219
voted by personal appearance in
Livingston, 86 cast ballots in On-
alaska, 38 voted in Corrigan and 18
cast ballots by mail.
Polls on Tuesday will be open
from 7 a.m. until 7 p m at all 20
voting boxes.
Voting locations
Following is a list of voting lo-
See ALL pg. 9A
Three-judge panel
to eye voting lines
LIVINGSTON - Although court
was to have started Monday on state
redistricting, it now looks as if it
. will not begin until the latter part
of next week at the earliest, as the
three-judge panel hearing the case is
not through with the congressional
map yet.
A three-judge panel comprised of
federal Circuit Court Judge Patrick
Higginbotham and federal District
Judges T. John Ward and John
HHbah is hearing the federal law-
jnit.and will also decide the state’s
jronfcressional redistricting map.
; Under plans adopted by the Legis-
lative Rediatricting Board (LRB)
JMy Mr Polk 'Comity would m-
Min in House District 18 and Sen-
ate District 3, although the districts
would not be looking the same.
; The board took a knife to State
Rep. Dan Ellis’ District 18, which
would lose three of the four coun-
ties now included in the district
Senate District 3, represented by
Sen. Todd Staples, would remain
relatively intact under the plan.
Ellis, a Democrat from Living-
ston, was elected by voters in Polk,
San Jacinto, Tyler and Walker
counties. Under the (dan approved
by the LRB, Ellis would lose San
Jacinto, Tyler and Walker counties.
Liberty County and the eastern prut
of Montgomery County would be
•fifed to his district
Under this plan, San Jacinto and
{Her counties would become pari
<jf a;new District 12 that would also
ihdfode Angelina and Trinity coun-
ties. Walker County would become
pari of District 13, which also in-
ojfedes Grimes, Washington and
Apstin County.
, Staples, a Republican from Pal-
estine, fared a little better under the
plan. His Senate District 3 would
lagc Panola County, which would
become pari of Senate District 1,
but would retain Polk, Anderson,
Angelina. Cherokee, Hardin, Hend-
erson, Jasper, part of Montgomery,
^SQOgdoches, Newton, Sabine, San
Augustine, San Jacinto, Shelby,
Uj part of Smith and Tyler coun-
%
ture failed to adopt plans during its
regular session.
However, the plan approved by
the board has been subject to nu-
merous challenges.
The case initially went before
District Judge Paul Davis of Aus-
tin, whose ruling was thrown out
by the Texas Supreme Court.
Districts are redrawn every 10
years after new census figures are
released.
ENTOPMSK PHOTO 1Y GORDON UBAMON
TROLLING FOR BLOOD - With fangs dripping, Dracula and his bride, a/k/a Steve and Kim
Young, drove their wagon around Livingston Halloween day collecting volunteers for die First
Baptist Church Blood Drive. Over 100 volunteer donors showed up, with 62 determined to be
eligible to give blood. Children were able to attend a carnival at the church while their parents
gave blood. Over 500 attended the carnival.
Appraisal
board votes
being cast
By EMILY BANKS
News Editor
LIVINGSTON - Having been
notified of their voting entitle-
ments, local taxing entities are cur-
rently casting ballots to elect a new
Board of Directors for the Polk
Central Appraisal District.
It takes a minimum erf 834 votes
to place a member on the board of
directors and the number of votes is
based on the amount of taxes levied
by each entity.
The nominees, and the taxing en-
tity that nominated them, are
Clarke Evans, Polk County; Sally
Hendrix, Big Sandy ISD; Steve
Willson, Corrigan-Camden ISD;
Melvin Joice and Joe Roth, Living-
ston ISD; John Byrd Jr. and Lynn
Camp, Onalaska ISD.
The board is comprised of six
members, five of whom are voting
members and one non-voting mem-
ber.
The five voting members serve
two-year terms and represent the
See FIVE pg. 6A
Travel trailer taxation among ballot issues
five-member LRB took over
LIVINGSTON - Following is a
review of Propositions 11-19 on
Tuesday's amendment election bal-
lot, with information provided by
the League of Women Voters of
Texas. The first 10 amendments
were reviewed in Thursday’s Polk
County Enterprise.
Proposition 11
"The constitutional amendment
to allpw current and retired public
school teachers and retired public
school administrators to receive
compensation for serving on the
governing bodies of school dis-
tricts, cities, towns, or other local
government districts."
Explanation: The proposed
amendment would allow public
school teachers and school adminis-
trators to receive compensation for
serving on local governing boards.'
A similar proposition was placed
on the November 1999 ballot that
would have allowed all state em-
ployees to be paid for serving on
public boards. That proposition was
narrowly defeated.
Arguments for: (1) This
amendment would remove an old
law that treats active and retired
school teachers and school adminis-
trators differently than other people
who serve on local boards by not
allowing teachers to take compensa-
tion for service. (2) The amendment
would increase the number of quali-
fied applicants for water boards and
local governing boards. (3) Poten-
tial conflicts of interest are covered
by state law and local policies and
thus are not a factor in the current
prohibition.
Arguments against: (1) The
prohibition against school teachers
and school administrators being
paid to hold a public office in addi-
tion to their school position is still
valid because time constraints can
make it difficult to do two jobs
well. (2) Because water boards and
school boards usually do not pay
their members, the need for this
amendment is questionable. (3) The
proposed constitutional amendment
should eliminate restrictions for all
state employees wishing to serve
their communities.
Proposition 12
"The constitutional amendment
to eliminate obsolete, archaic, re-
dundant, and unnecessary provisions
and to clarify, update, and harmo-
nize certain provisions of the Texas
Constitution."
Explanation: Because the
Texas Constitution has been
amended frequently since its adop-
tion in 1876, it contains provisions
that are obsolete or duplicative. In
some instances provisions have
been made obsolete by federal court
decisions or enactments. In other
cases provisions refer to programs
that no longer exist. The purpose of
this provision is to remove some of
this irrelevant language, to rewrite
other portions, and to relocate many
provisions in order to make the
constitution easier to understand.
PERFECT FALL WEATHER - With daytime high temperatures in the 80s, 4-year-old Osvaldo
t)eLeon, son of Uvaera and Francisca DeLeon, and Kathryn Griffin, the 4-year-old daughter of
Lauren Harrison, enjoyed a perfect autumn day Friday at Matthews Street Park.
Arguments for: (1) Thin pro-
posed amendment would eliminate
obsolete provisions and improve
clarity of the Texas Constitution.
Eliminating duplicate language and
obsolete provisions would make the
document easier to use. The pro-
posed amendment does not make
any substantive changes in the law.
, Arguments against: (1) The
Texas Constitution needs to be
rewritten and thus eliminate the
need for proposals such as this to
be presented to the voters every two
years. Because of the volume of
change involved in this proposi-
tion, some changes may not have
been examined fully to determine if
they are nonsubstantive.
Proposition 13
"The constitutional amendment
authorizing the legislature to
authorize the board of trustees of an
independent school district to donate
certain surplus district property of
historical significance in order to
preserve the property."
Explanation: This amendment
would let the legislature authorize
an independent school district to
donate surplus property, provided
the property has historic value and
the donation will ensure its preser-
vation. Under current law all sur-
plus school property must be sold.
Arguments for: (1) Most his-
toric schoolhouses are rural, one-
room schools that became outdated
when school districts were consoli-
dated in 1949.' Many of these
schools have been used as commu-
nity centers for a number of years.
By passing the ownership to other
groups, the continued availability
of these properties as centers for
rural gatherings will be maintained.
Whether another governmental en-
tity (cities or counties) or a non-
profit group receive these proper-
ties, they will be in the care of
people dedicated to preserving these
locations.
Arguments against: (1)
Rather than amend the state consti-
tution every session, it would make
more sense to overhaul the docu-
ment thus eliminating the necessity
of asking voters to approve changes
every few years to deal with issues
of this type.
«
Proposition 14
"The constitutional amendment
to authorize the legislature to
authorize taxing units other than
school districts to exempt from ad
valorem taxation travel trailers that
are not held or used for the produc-
tion of income."
Explanation: This proposed
amendment would authorize the
legislature to allow taxing districts,
other than school districts, to ex-
empt from ad valorem taxation cer-
tain travel trailers that are not held
or used for the production of in-
come.
Arguments for: (1) The pro-
posed amendment would promote
tax fairness. Under current law,
owners of travel trailers pay sales
tax when they purchase trailers and
also pay annual registration fees.
Taxing travel trailers again as prop-
erty is excessive. (2) The proposed
amendment would help tourism and
economic development. In some
areas of the state, especially the
Lower Rio Grande Valley, travel
trailers have become increasingly
popular as temporary homes for
“winter Texans.” These winter visi-
tors contribute significantly to local
economies and should not be dis-
couraged by additional taxation. (3)
Local appraisal processes would
become more uniform and equitable
under the new law. Currently, local
governments appraise travel trailers
in a variety of ways - as real prop-
erty, rental property, or personal
property. In other localities travel
trailers are not appraised as taxable
property.
Arguments against: (1)
Travel trailers can become perma-
nent homes, especially those with
attached structures. If occupied, they
should be taxed as real property like
manufactured homes. (2) TTie Lower
Rio Grande Valley, with its grow-
ing population, needs tax revenues
to finance and expand needed basic
services. Winter visitors use these
'*S> -rii" V •
services and should be taxed in the
same manner as permanent resi-
dents. It would be unfair to exempt
a $40,000 trailer from property
taxes, but not a substantial dwell-
ing in a nearby colonia. (3) Creat-
ing yet another exemption would
further confuse the system. Legisla-
tive action is needed to better define
real property (real estate) versus real
property as has been done for manu-
factured housing.
Proposition 15
"The constitutional amendment
creating the Texas Mobility Fund
and authorizing grants and loans of
money and issuance of obligations
for financing the construction, re-
construction, acquisition, operation,
and expansion of state highways,
turnpikes, toll roads, toll bridges,
and other mobility projects."
Explanation: Article III, Sec-
tion 49 of the Texas Constitution
prohibits state debt, requiring voter
approval of bond issues before debt
can be incurred. In addition, the
constitution requires repayment of
money spent on toll roads, toll
bridges, or turnpikes to the State
Highway Fund. The proposed
amendment creates the Texas Mo-
bility Fund administered by the
Texas Transportation Commission
(TTC). The fund is designed to fi-
nance acquisition, construction,
maintenance, reconstruction and
expansion of state highways. The
fund would also be used for pur-
poses related to public toll roads,
toll bridges, and other transporta-
tion projects. The fund would be
Ste BONDS pg. 7A
Military
tribute
planned
LIVINGSTON - In conjunction with Veteran’s Day on Nov. 11, the
Polk County Enterprise will salute individuals serving on active duty in
the U.S. military with a special tribute.
To recognize your friend or loved one serving in the military, submit his
or her name, picture (preferably in uniform), branch of service, mailing
address, name of high school and year he or she graduated from high school.
The only criteria is that the person must be from Polk County or have
parents or grandparents living in Polk County.
The deadline for submission is S p.m. Tuesday. The tribute will be
published in the Nov. 11 issue of the Polk County Enterprise.
For additional information, contact Bmily at 327-4357.
K:
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White, Barbara. Polk County Enterprise (Livingston, Tex.), Vol. 119, No. 88, Ed. 1 Sunday, November 4, 2001, newspaper, November 4, 2001; Livingston, Texas. (https://texashistory.unt.edu/ark:/67531/metapth790940/m1/1/: accessed July 6, 2024), University of North Texas Libraries, The Portal to Texas History, https://texashistory.unt.edu.; crediting Livingston Municipal Library.