Polk County Enterprise (Livingston, Tex.), Vol. 102, No. 75, Ed. 1 Thursday, September 27, 1984 Page: 1 of 44
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GOOD
MORNING!
Polk County
ENTERPRISE
The dominant news and advertising source in Polk County, since 1882
THURSDAY,
Sept. 27, 1984
VOLUME 102
NUMBER 75
4 SECTIONS 34 PAGES
USPS 437-340
PRICE: 25 CENTS
County taxes increase by 5.4 cents
LIVINGSTON - Polk County
residents will be paying a little over a
nickel more of tax on each $100 of pro-
perty value, with a 6 percent county tax
increase given unanimous approval by
commissioners Monday.
The increase will bring the county’s
tax rate to 36.36 cents, compared to the
previous rate of 30.9 cents.
Approximately half of the tax in-
crease, expected to generate almost a
half million dollars in additional
revenue, will go toward construction of
a new county jail.
Although the county’s 1985 budget has
not yet been approved, part of the addi-
tional tax revenue will likely go toward
proposed increases in road and bridge
department budgets. Each of the four
commissioners have requested in-
creases in road and bridge funds, rang-
ing from a low of $55,000 in Precinct 2 to
a high of $79,000 in Precinct 4. Precincts
1 and 3 have requested an additional
$60,000 and $65,000 respectively.
The county’s 1985 budget is also ex-
pected to include some salary ad-
justments.
As requested by the board of direc-
tors of Livingston Memorial Hospital,
taxes in the Livingston Hospital
District will remain at 3.3 cents per $100
of value.
The court also approved a drop in the
tax rate for the Corrigan Hospital
District, as proposed by its directors.
The rate in Corrigan will drop from ap-
proximately 6.8 cents to 3 cents.
Precinct 3 Commissioner James J.
“Buddy” Purvis was quick to point out
that the decrease in hospital district
taxes in the northern end of the county
will lessen the impact of the county tax
increase for Corrigan-area residents.
Several commissioners expressed
concern that, although the county is
responsible for establishing the tax rate
for the hospital districts, most
members of the commissioners’ court
have never seen a copy of the hospital
district budgets to determine how the
tax monies are being used.
The court authorized the county
judge to request a copy of the hospital
district budgets for each commissioner
as well as copies of minutes from
hospital board meetings.
Corrigan project
Joining the ranks of the Housing and
Industrial development corporations
already established by the county, for-
mation of the Polk County Health
Facilities Development Corp., gained
full approval from the commissioners’
court Monday, opening the door for con-
struction of a long-sought nursing home
in Corrigan.
The non-profit corporation will allow
the issuance of tax-exempt bonds for
construction, acquisition, remodeling
and equipping of health facilities.
Formation of the Polk County Health
Facilities Development Corp. is design-
ed to aid in the construction of a nursing
home in the Corrigan area, a project
which has been in the works for the past
three or four years. Much of that time
has been spent in an attempt to gain a
certificate of need from the Texas
Health Facilities Commission, a hurdle
which County Judge Wayne Baker said
appears to have been passed.
Angelina Nursing Home, Inc., which
operates nursing homes in Angelina
and Cherokee counties, has proposed to
construct the Corrigan facility, with the
help of the tax-exempt bonds.
As with the Housing and Industrial
corporations, the commissioners' court
will serve as the health facility corpora-
tion’s board of directors.
Although initially formed to aid in
construction of the Corrigan project,
the corporation could also conceivably
be put to work in other areas of the
county.
No vet officer
The county's five veterans organiza-
tions have still been unable to come up
with a unanimous choice to fill the post
of county veterans service officer. The
matter was first discussed at the
court’s Sept. 10 meeting, at which time
the commanders of each of the five
VFW, American Legion and DAV posts
were instructed to meet and select a
single candidate whose appointment
they would recommend to commis-
sioners. A meeting was called, but two
See VETERANS pg. 2A
By Goodrich
Sewer system eyed
Local celebration sanctioned
Sesquicentennial Committee Second Co-Chairman Virginia
Smith, Chamber of Commerce Manager Honey Simons, Com-
mittee Chairman Wayne Baker and Chief Fulton Battise (1-r)
display the official flag for the 1986 Texas Sesquicentennial.
State celebration joined
LIVINGSTON - Already gearing up
for the Texas’ 150th birthday celebra-
tion in 1986, the Polk County Ses-
quicentennial Committee has had both
the committee itself and local plans for
the year-long event sanctioned by the
state. An official sanctioning ceremony
was held Monday night at which time a
“calendar of events” was released.
The calendar includes several ac-
tivities which are already annual
events in the county but will, in 1986,
help promote the theme of the state’s
birthday celebration.
“These goals and projects had to be
put into a master plan and approved by
the Polk County Commissioners’
Court,” Second Co-Chairman Virginia
Smith told those in attendance at Mon-
day’s ceremony. A resolution was
drawn up and signed by County Judge
Wayne Baker, who is chairman of the
local committee, and was then sent to
the Texas 1986 Sesquicentennial Com-
mission in Austin where it was approv-
ed.
Twenty-eight projects have been in-
cluded on the Sesquicentennial master
plan, the first of which is compiling of a
“wish book” of project needs and enlist-
ment of support from all clubs,
organizations, churches, schools and
communities in Polk County.
Plans also call for the development of
a “logo” to be used on bumper stickers,
buttons, flags and other Sesquicenten-
nial momentos.
The committee hopes to work closely
with local museums to support lasting
historical displays and materials.
Creation of an oral history is also be-
ing encouraged, as is development of a
community calendar of events designed
to include everyone in the community.
The committee will encourage publica-
tion of papers, readings, books, maps
and other items pertaining to local
history.
They plan to work in conjunction with
the Texas Highway Department in
planting a “living Texas flag” at some
focal point along the U.S. 59 Bypass.
A beautification program is also ex-
pected to be an important part of the
Sesquicentennial, a program which has
already begun with the chamber of
commerce’s lake beautification project
at J.S. 190 and the U.S. 59 Bypass. The
program will include some important
beautification projects adopted by each
community and completed during the
Sesquicentennial vear. Plans call for
See PLANS pg. 2A
By PAUL FORTNEY
’Enterprise staff
GOODRICH - Goodrich Mayor Miller
Moffett sees the proposed municipal
sewer system and the improvements to
the city’s water system as vital to the
future of the city.
When the system is completed, Mof-
fett believes the area will be able to at-
tract industry and capture a share of
the money spent by the thousands of
people who pass Goodrich on their way
to Lake Livingston and other resort
areas every weekend.
Without a sewer system, the city will
never really grow, Moffett said.
“Goodrich has a railroad, plenty of
water and a major highway. It is a
prime location for industry if we can
just solve the sewer problem,” Moffett
said.
Hot summer days in Goodrich can be
unbearable now, as anyone who has
been off U.S. 59 following a heavy rain
can verify.
Many of the private septic tanks and
the school’s septic system have a
tendency to overflow into ditches and
along the roads when rain soaks the
barely permeable soil.
Moffett and the city council began
studying the possibility of a sewer
system several years ago and had Tem-
ple Associates perform preliminary
engineering studies before rising in-
terest rates priced the city out of the
bond market.
The system presently being con-
sidered will be funded by grants from
the United States through the En-
vironmental Protection Agency.
The EPA grant will pay up to 75 per-
cent of the cost of portions of the sewer
system.
The city has been notified the Texas
Department of Water Resources has
approved the EPA grant and the EPA
should release the funds sometime in
October
The Texas Department of Communi-
ty Affairs announced Wednesday a
grant of $187,073 in Community
Development Funds has been approved
to be used by Goodrich as part of the
local share of the sewer system costs.
The city’s engineering firm, Everett
Griffith Jr. and Associates of Lufkin,
has proposed improving the municipal
water system at the same time the
sewer system is constructed since a lot
of the work will be duplication and the
city could save money by performing
both jobs at once.
The city is seeking grant funds from
the state for the water project but Mof-
fett believes they probably will have to
finance the entire cost of the water
system.
If that is the case, the city will pro-
bably try to combine the water and
sewer projects into one loan from the
Farmer's Home Administration.
See GOODRICH pg. 12A
_________
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Petting zoo, opera
among festivities
.11
MANPOWER EDUCATION AND
TRAINING CENTER
LIVINGSTON - A petting zoo,
celebrity impersonations and a Liv-
ingston Opera will be among the new at-
tractions at this year’s Polk County
Folklife Festival, Oct. 12-14.
The petting zoo, a project of Polk
County 4-H Club members, will be part
of festivities designed to entertain
youngsters and will be based on the
primary school campus on Jackson
Street. The primary campus will also
be the site of “fun and games,” spon-
sored by the Jaycees and other
volunteers who have targeted the ac-
tivities for children ages 9 and under.
Celebrities such as Joan Rivers and
Boy George may not be attending the
festival in person, but their look-alikes
will be on hand Saturday courtesy of the
Leo Club.
The Livingston Opera, featuring
children ranging In age from pre-school
\
through high school, will be held every
hour on the hour Saturday behind the
Cochran Building on Mill Street.
A concert and dance will be held Fri-
day night, featuring four hours of non-
stop entertainment by country music
star Johnny Rodriguez and the Whiskey
River Revue. The concert and dance
will begin at 8 p.m. at the Barney Wig-
gins Memorial Park Rodeo Arena. Ad-
vance tickets are $7.50 and are now on
sale at First State Bank in Livingston,
First National Bank in Livingston,
Southeast Texas Savings and Loan in
Livingston, Jasper Federal Savings
and Loan in Livingston, First Bank of
Groveton, Citizens State Bank in Cor-
rigan, Community State Bank in
Onalaska and Dick’s Western World in
Livingston. Wednesday, CM. 10, will be
See FOLKLIFE pg. 10A
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Sewer system proposed
This map shows the proposed Goodrich sewer system with room for future expan-
sion. The plant site has been shifted from the area shown on the map to north of the
existing pipeline but will be the same size. As noted, several areas will not be initial-
t
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White, Barbara. Polk County Enterprise (Livingston, Tex.), Vol. 102, No. 75, Ed. 1 Thursday, September 27, 1984, newspaper, September 27, 1984; Livingston, Texas. (https://texashistory.unt.edu/ark:/67531/metapth810884/m1/1/: accessed July 17, 2024), University of North Texas Libraries, The Portal to Texas History, https://texashistory.unt.edu.; crediting Livingston Municipal Library.