Polk County Enterprise (Livingston, Tex.), Vol. 116, No. 59, Ed. 1 Sunday, July 19, 1998 Page: 1 of 33
This newspaper is part of the collection entitled: Polk County Newspapers and was provided to The Portal to Texas History by the Livingston Municipal Library.
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i
Volume 116 Number 59
Bus drivers to return to policy changes
USD summer projects on schedule
MOVING DAY -- Betty Overstreet, accounts payable and pur-
chasing clerk for the City of Livingston, adjusts her desk at the
new Livingston City Hall. City employees traded their "work"
clothes for blue jeans Friday, devoting the day to getting their
LIVINGSTON - Resurfacing of
the intermediate school parking lot
is under way, air-conditioning
equipment for the primary school
gymnasium has arrived and installa-
tion is scheduled to be complete by
the time school starts. The status of
these and other summer projects
were discussed during Thursday's
regular meeting of the Livingston
Independent School District Board
of Trustees.
Two special-called meetings are
scheduled for later this month, in-
cluding one this Thursday.
Some of the summer projects,
including electrostatic painting of
lockers at the intermediate school,
are already complete.
Dirt work has begun at the site of
the new seventh, eighth and ninth
grade campus. Designed to allow
grade shifts to ease overcrowding on
all campuses, the new school is
scheduled for completion in 2000.
In the interim, the district will be
leasing two more portable buildings
for the 1998-99 school year, one of
which will join others at the junior
high, with the other going to the
high school campus.
School bus drivers will face some
changes when they return for the
new school year, reflected in an up-
dated Bus Driver Handbook ap-
proved by the board.
Among the changes, no one will
be allowed to stand in the aisle of a
ENTERPRISE PHOTO BY GORDON Lt BARRON
POLICE DEPARTMENT RELOCATED - The police department got the jump on the rest of
the city offices, moving into its new building last week. Dispatcher Blanche Reeves monitors
the "comings and goings" as she conducts business from the dispatch center.
County under heat advisory
? LIVINGSTON ~ Polk County is
one of several counties that was
placed under a heat advisory Friday
;and local officials are pleading for
: people to take precautions regarding
'their health.
•» “The American Red Cross is urg-
ing Americans to take action to
protect themselves from extreme
heat,” Dick Cooley, chairman of
the Polk County Chapter, said Fri-
day.
“Health officials in Texas have
declared an emergency crisis because
of the heat wave in Dallas, as the
state’s official heat-related death toll
has climbed to 27," Cooley said,
adding that Louisiana, Oklahoma
and Georgia are other states also
sweltering under prolonged scorch-
ing and unrelenting heat
Cooley offers the following tips
from the Red Cross on how to beat
the heat:
In the hot weather...
•Dress for the heat. Wear light-
weight, light-colored clothing.
Light colori will reflect away some
of the sun’s energy. It is also a
good idea to wear hats or to use an
umbrella.
•Drink water. Carry water or juice
with you and drink continuously
even if you do not feel thirsty.
Avoid alcohol and caffeine which
dehydrate the body.
•Eat small meals and eat more of-
ten. Avoid foods (hat are high in
protein which increase metabolic
heat.
•Avoid using salt tablets unless
directed to do so by a physician.
•Slow down. Avoid strenuous ac-
tivity. If you must do strenuous
activity, do it during the codlest
part of the day, which is usually in
the morning between 4 a.m. and 7
a.m.
•Stay indoors when possible.
Know what these heat-
related terms mean...
•Heat wave - More than 48 hours
of high heat (90 F or higher) and
high humidity (80 percent relative
humidity or higher) is expected.
•Heat index - A number in de-
grees Fahrenheit that tells how hot
it really feels with the heat and hu-
midity. Exposure to full sunshine
can increase the heat index by 15 F.
•Heat cramps - Heat cramps are
muscular pains and spasms due to
heavy exertion. They usually in-
volve the abdominal muscles or the
legs. It is generally thought that the
loss of water and salt from heavy
sweating causes the cramps.
•Heat exhaustion - Heat exhaus-
tion is less dangerous than heat
stroke. It typically occurs when
people exercise heavily or work in a
warm, humid place where body
fluids are lost through heavy sweat-
ing. Fluid loss causes blood flow to
decrease in the vital organs, result-
ing in a form of shock. With heat
exhaustion, sweat does not evapo-
See HF.AT pg. 6A
Burn ban continues
LIVINGSTON - The Livingston
Volunteer Fire Department stayed
busy Friday night responding to
calls.
Two trucks and 11 men were dis-
patched to a fire behind Camp Cho-
Yeh that started when a tree fell on
an electrical line.
In addition, two trucks and 14
men were dispatched to the scene of
a van fire on Hwy. 59 North near
the weigh station.
Although there were numerous
reports of someone burning leaves
in the city, the perpetrator was
never found.
Officials are reminding everyone
that Polk County continues to be
under a bum ban which was put
into effect June 2. '
moving bus. Drivers are to keep the
transportation supervisor apprised
of increased ridership so additional
routes/lrips can be added before
buses reach standing-room-only ca-
pacity.
There will be more flashing
lights visible when buses line up at
schools for loading and unloading.
New requirements call for at least
the first and last buses in line to
have flashing lights on, and drivers
of buses within the line will also
be encouraged to use flashers.
Students will not notice most of
the other changes: Bus drivers will
now have had to work for the dis-
trict at least one month before be-
ing placed on the rotation schedule
for out-of-town trips; drivers will
be paid every two weeks, a practice
already in place but not reflected in
the handbook; they will be paid
regular wage for the first three and a
half hours of an out-of-town trip,
after which the rate will rise to $9
an hour; and the meal allotment for
those trips will rise from $22.50 to
$25 per day.
Trustees were apprised that the
district received a waiver from the
Texas Education Agency (TEA)
concerning summer school English
as a Second Language (ESL) re-
quirements for 1997-98. A TEA
audit in May showed the LISD pro-
vided 100 ESL instructional hours
in its summer school program,
rather than the required 120 hours.
The board accepted the lowest of
three bids received on the purchase
of a 12,000-gallon fuel tank for the
district's transportation facility -
$89.58.6 for the tank,and£UOQ for
blasting and painting, submitted by
Stubbs Pump Service. Trustee
Frank Henderson abstained from
voting due to his employment with
the bidder's parent company.
In other bid activity, the board
accepted the lowest of three bids re-
ceived, $5.25 each from Pizza Hut,
for the purchase of pizza for the
junior high and high school cam-
puses; received no bids on the pur-
chase of a 15-passenger van; ac-
cepted a $23,627.50 bid from
American Bankers Policy, the only
bid meeting specifications, for stu-
dent athletic insurance; and delayed
action toward accepting soft drink
proposals pending review of com-
pany incentive programs.
Various cafeteria item bids were
also awarded, with snack conces-
sions to be split between Little
Debbie and Lance, bread to be pur-
chased from Earthgrains Bakery;
milk from Borden's and ice cream
from Blue Bell. Ben E. Keith will
be the primary vendor for gro-
cery/frozcn/paper goods, with Sysco
as the secondary vendor.
In other business, the board:
• authorized the superintendent
and school attorney to negotiate an
easement with the city for electrical
service to the new campus;
• approved a financial report, in-
cluding a $92,336 payment to
Pfluger and Associates architects for
construction documents, blueprints
and other items relating to the new
campus;
• renewed a* contract with Blue
Cross/Blue Shield to act as third
party administrator for the self-
funded group health insurance plan;
• postponed approval of job de-
scription documents to be used as
appraisal instruments for non-
teaching personnel, pending further
review;
• and approved a trip by nine ath-
letic trainers to the Southwestern
Athletic Trainers Symposium in
Arlington July 22-24.
Superintendent Janet Morris pre-
sented notice of two sex offenders
residing in the district, presented a
wage and salary update which will
be considered during upcoming
budget workshops, and noted that
changes in substitute teacher pay
and extra duty stipends are being
considered. Also under consideration
is a plan to pro-rate vacation days
with the goal of getting employee
vacations on a fiscal year schedule.
A plan to allow Martin Luther
King Day and Memorial Day to be
counted as holidays is' also under
consideration.
Morris also reported that damage
from a fire earlier this month in the
Alternative Education Program
building is more severe than first
thought, with heat damage having
spread to rafters. Damage is esti-
mated at $34-$36,000 and the dis-
trict is considering using insurance
money to invest in a double-wide
portable building to house the pro-
gram. Formal action will be con-
sidered later.
In personnel matters, the board
accepted resignations from Karen
Puckett, fourth grade math teacher,
See PERSONNEL pg. 4A
Team takes message
to South Africans
By EMILY BANKS
Enterprise reporter
GOODRICH -- BC Compton, a
junior at Goodrich High School,
left Saturday on a three-week trip to
South Africa where he will serve on
a sports evangelism team this
summer through the International
Sports Federation (IFS).
A member of the First Baptist
Church of Goodrich, Compton was
attending an evangelism conference
in Dallas last summer when his
youth director - Robert Lantrip -
heard about the trip and brought it
to Compton’s attention.
Lantrip secured the necessary ap-
plication forms and as part of the
application process, Compton was
required to write an essay express-
ing why he thought he should be
able to go.
The ISF works closely together
with the International Mission
Board (formerly called Foreign Mis-
sions) of the Southern Baptist
Convention. Every project accepted
by the ISF is an official request
from the International Board field
personnel.
The ISF is a mission organiza-
tion that helps Christians utilize
the universal nature of sports to
spread the Gospel, provide disciple-
ship and support the local church.
The team will be used to attract
attention and a crowd and then uses
the opportunity to share the Gos-
pel, hand out Bibles and encourage
attendance at local churches.
Following his selection as a team
member approximately six months
ago, Compton was faced with the
task of raising the necessary funds
to make the trip. A bake sale, car
wash, garage sale and spaghetti
supper were held and numerous
donations were made by people in
the community. ■
“My church has been very sup-
portive of me going on this trip and
I really want to thank all of the
people who’ve made donations,”
Compton said.
Josh Wilson, a high school sen-
ior from Houston and a member of
Sagemont Church, is also going on
the trip. Although Wilson and
Compton had talked on the tele-
phone a few times in anticipation
of the trip, they did not actually
meet each other until Friday when
Wilson’s mother brought him to
Compton’s house in Goodrich.
Compton’s family left early Sat-
urday to drive the two young men
to Arlington where they were to
spend the remainder of the weekend
participating in a camp clinic and
being trained to be team members.
“The training camp will prepare
us for the mission and allow us to
get to know each other,” Compton
said.
The youth and their other team-
mates will fly out of Dallas/Fort
Worth Airport at 12:20 p.m. Mon-
day and following layovers in De-
troit, Germany and London, will
arrive in South Africa. They will
stay in Cape Town, but will also
travel to Numibia and Windhoek.
“We’ll go out and make friends
and play basketball with them and
also help in churches,” Compton
said, adding that 20-25 people will
be on the team which will include
high school and college students.
When asked what he’s most ex-
cited about, Compton said, “going
to Africa...and playing basketball.”
See ATHLETE pg. 4A
IIUIKIKUE rnviv »« wmnm ubxrrw
LOST LOAD -- The comer of South Washington and Gamer streets proved to be too sharp for one
truck driver who lost a portion of his load when his trailer twisted while attempting the turn
Thursday. The one-vehicle accident occurred around noon.
•vjf
4*
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White, Barbara. Polk County Enterprise (Livingston, Tex.), Vol. 116, No. 59, Ed. 1 Sunday, July 19, 1998, newspaper, July 19, 1998; Livingston, Texas. (https://texashistory.unt.edu/ark:/67531/metapth798113/m1/1/?q=%22%22~1: accessed July 12, 2024), University of North Texas Libraries, The Portal to Texas History, https://texashistory.unt.edu.; crediting Livingston Municipal Library.