Hondo Anvil Herald (Hondo, Tex.), Vol. 100, No. 29, Ed. 1 Thursday, August 7, 1986 Page: 1 of 20
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HONDO ANVII
ALD
Volume 100 Number 29
August 7,1986
25 Cents
One Section, 20 Pages
100 Years
1886 - 1986
HONDO
Saturday’s Texas Hay Drive
to receive* kick-off in Hondo
*-
r1:
A NEW BRIDGE...is beginning to take shape where the
Southern Pacific railroad tracks pass under Highway 90 near
Dunlay. When completed sometime nest year, the structure,
part of a $6.22 million state highway department project to
widen another section of the roadway. w ill carry tw o lanes of
one-w ay, w estbound traffic. Olmos Construction Co. of Aus-
tin is handling construction, which began in May and this
summer has been in the major earth-moving stages.(Photo by
Doug Johnson)
For Medina Memorial Hospitalt
Hondo is to be the first of nine
railroad depots that will be shipping
out hay donated by local farmers
The massive Texas Hay Drive is
designed to help drought-plagued
farmers ia Georgia and South
Carolina
The first trainload to leave Texas
is to be put together this Saturday,
Aug 9 According to Texas Agri-
culture Commissioner Jim High-
tower. 20 railcars are enroute to
Hondo already
Carl Lazzell. an area farmer who
owns a farm south of Hondo, has
donated 8.000 bales of hay. making
this weekend s effort possible
Approximately 70,000 square
bales and 5.700 round bales (which
equal 10 to 20 square bales in
weight > have been donated free of
charge by Texas farmers and will
be delivered free by four railroads
to the afflicted southern states
The local contact for the Hondo
leg of the Texas Hay Drive is Carl
Lazzell. whocan bereachedat (512)
492-1712
' Over 500 boxcars will be re-
quired to haul the statewide contri-
bution from nine different train
depots in our state. Hightower
said This will amount to the
largest donation of hay by any state
to assist the hard-hit farmers of the
parched Southeast
Because of the bountiful srping
and early summer rains in much of
Texas this year, many hay produc
ers have been blessed with an
abundant harvest With their barns
already stacked full of hay. for the
coming winter months, thousands
of tons of excess remain in their
fields
Through the DIAL-HAY hotline
(1-800-342-5429), more than 200
Texas producers have called the
Texas Department of Agriculture
(TDA) in the past 10 days to say
that they want to contribute some of
their surplus to the Texas Hay
Drive Thus far, 14 million pounds
of Texas hay have been offered -
enough to feed 12,000 head of
livestock for six weeks
Scattered shipments of donated
hay began leaving for the Southeast
this past week, Hightower noted It
departed by truck and railcar from
such places as Weatherford, Beau-
mont, Alice, Taylor and Victoria
The bulk of the donated hay,
however, will get from here to its
destination through a statewide
cooperative effort coordinated by
the TDA
“The plan is for farmers and
other volunteers to haul the donated
hay from the fields to any one of
nine train depots, located in Abil-
ene. Atlanta, Canton. Hondo, Robs-
town. Taylor. Terrell, Victoria and
Weatherford,1' Hightower said.
At these depots, volunteers will
load the hay into the boxcars of four
railroads that serve Texas -
Southern Pacific, Union Pacific,
Santa Fe and Texas-Mexico These
firms have agreed to move the hay
free of charge from Texas to either
Mimphis >r St Louis. From these
Set- "HAY". Page 2
Renovation project’s cost estimate
comes in $300,000 too steep
Management firm hired
By Doug Johnson
What is hoped will be a positive
change in direction is in store soon
for Medina Memorial Hospital, the
result of a decision made this week
to employ an outside management
firm
Meeting Monday night in a
special session held at Community
Hank the hospital s Board of
Managers \oted 4 3 to sign a
•hree war contract with Affiliated
Hospital Systems AHS of Hous
ton The deal will constitute an
affiliation w ith a network of not-for
profit hospital groups of Hermann
Hospital
The Board s meeting also fea
tured a joint gathering of officials
from Medina County and the City of
Hondo the two entities which are
considered owners of the 23-year
old hospital in a 3 1 split In
attendance were all four County
Commissioners David Montgo-
mery David J FitzSimon Henry
Santos and Henry Briscoe County
Judge Jerome Decker Hondo
Mayor A D Patterson City Man
ager Mike Rhea and Mayor
Pro-tem and City Councilman Tony
Hard!
What they 1 hospital board were
trying to get from that meeting
were opinions, said Mayor Patter
son who added that the City and
County officials did not stay for the
board s special meeting which
produced the decision
According to hiwpital board pres
ident Walter Joyce, who chaired
Monday night s meeting, the ar
rangement with AHS means, they
will manage the hospital for a fee
The changeover is scheduled to take
place in about three weeks
"It's going to cost us somewhere
in the neighborhood of $110,000 per
year, Joyce said Of that, about
$70,000 is considered the manage
ment fee. which includes an ad
ministrator head nurse, and ser-
vices of a controller for one week
each month Administrator of the
hospital for the past six years has
been John Rabidou. w ho resigned in
the spring but has stay ed on during
the boards recent management
search
The new administrator, Joyce
said, will be provided by and be an
employee of AHS He or she will be
selected by the hospital board,
however, be paid by Medina
Memorial Hospital, and be subject
to the direction of the seven
member hospital board
The hospital board retains con-
trol of the hospital. ' Joyce said
Perhaps most importantly, the
contract with AHS will include a
package for marketing and pro
moting Medina Memorial Hospital
to the local community, an effort
designed to improve its image and
to attract prospective patients here
who might otherwise go to San
Antonio
"It's expensive, but it also more
or less guarantees everyone in
volved that there will be a market
ing effort made by the board.
Joyce said "In the past, the board
has been kind of hesitant to do any
marketing
The main idea is to let the public
know what kind of medical facility
S,-,' HOSI’ITAI I'ai;.- 1
By Do«g Johnson
After heaving a collective sigh of
disappointment Monday when they
saw the projected bill, Medina
County Commissioners will be
looking for ways to whittle down the
County Courthouse renovation pro-
ject
According to a 45-page itemized
cost estimate provided by architect
Jesse Fernandez, the County could
expect to spend $794,623 for the
project as currently planned That
figure is nearly $300,000 more than
the $500,000 cap which Commis-
sioners originally hoped to keep on
things when they began planning
late last year
* “We re over budget ” said Fer-
nandez. “which means we either
have to reduce the scope or I don t
know what the alternative will be "
Commissioners had seen final
architectural drawings for the
project during their meeting last
week The 93-year-old building is
up for a complete internal overhaul
which could necessitate evacuation
of all County offices for a year or
more
"It s going to have to be cut
down, observed Pet 1 Commis-
sioner David Montgomery
"It's something that needs to be
done. Pet 4 Commissioner Henry
Briscoe said of the project, but he
added that the County needs to “be
realistic about the cost "
"Jesse, all I know to do is to go
line by line, said County Judge
Jerome Decker, "and see what we
can cut out
First suggestion in that depart-
ment w as not to replace the District
Courtroom balcony, which was
removed during a previous renova-
tion in the 1950s Anticipated
savings there could be up to
$100,000. but that would also cut out
some office space and lessen the
extent of intended historical reno-
vation
Fernandez was instructed to
come up with a list outlining other
possible cuts, which Commissioners
want to consider before they decide
to put the project out for construc-
tion bids
“It comes down to a question of
priorities," said Decker.
Fernandez said some cuts could
possibly come in the shape of using
cheaper materials in lighting, wir-
ing, carpeting, wall paneling and
other areas, but that the complexity
involved in renovating an old
building as opposed to putting up a
new one does not lend itself well to
the process. “It doesn't seem to
want to adjust itself well to
phases, he said
Some other items may be con-
verted to alternates on the project,
which could be bid separately.
The cost estimate given Commis-
sioners was for $690,978 for the
actual construction, plus a 10
percent overhead of $69,078 and five
percent profit, $34,548, for the
contractor Expected fluctuation of
the actual price was set at 10
percent, allowing for a possible low
of $715,161 and a high of $874,085
. Without robbing precincts
Decker asked County Auditor
Douglas Bohmfalk how much cash
the County will have on hand when
the 1986-87 budget year ends next
Oct l, and “without robbing the
precincts," to which was replied
about $400,000 That figure rises to
about $650,000, Bohmfalk said, if in
Decker s words Commissioners
consider "robbing but not depleting
the precincts."
V
V
COURTHOLTSE PLANS...Medina County Commissioners go
over final plans for the County Courthouse renovation project
during their regular meeting Monday. A cost estimate pro-
vided by architect Jesse Fernandez (standing) was nearly
$300,000 over what the Cou t had originally planned to
spend. Also pictured (clockwise from left) are: Pot. 4 Commis-
sioner Henry Briscoe, Pet. 2 Commissioner David J. Fitz-
Simon, County Auditor Douglas Bohmfalk, and Pet. 1 Com-
missioner David Montgomery. (Photo by Doug Johnson)
Hondo ISD school registration set /or Aug. 12
Hondo Independent School Dis-
trict registration for the 1986-87
school year will take place on
Tuesday. August 12. 1986. from 8:30
a m to 12 00 noon and from 1:00
pm to 3 30 p m
Prekindrrgarten students that
have not pre-registered will reg
ister in the principal's office at
Meyer Elementary
To be eligible for enrollment in a
prekindergarten class a child must
be at least four years old on or
before September 1. 1986 In addi-
tion. the child must be unable to
speak and comprehend the English
language or from a family whose
income, according to standards set
by the State Board of Education, is
at or below subsistance level Proof
of income must be furnished
Kindergarten students that have
not pre-registered will register in
the principal s office at Meyer
Elementary
All children who are five years
Road controversy continues;
County threatened with legal action
READY TO RIDE...Mindy
Snow, one of the younger parti-
cipHnts in the Medina County
4-H Horae Show, held last
weekend in Hondo, is saddled
up on her mount and ready to
take on the world. M indy, fi, is
the daughter of Mr. and Mrs.
Steven Snow.
By Doug Johnson
A fenced-off, overgrown county-
road remaini'd a hot controversy
this week for Medina County Com-
missioners Threats from one side
involve legal action if they don't
reopen it Promises from another
are for a to-the-death court battle if
they do
For their second Monday meeting
in a row. Commissioners heard
from San Antonio attorney Mary
Lou Holmgreen On behalf of her
client, Medina County landowner
Rick Gordon, she repeated a
request that an abandoned road off
FM 2676 near Quihi be reopened.
two gap fences removed and the
area cleared through for vehicle
traffic
"I am here once again to
encourage you to do the duties you
are elected to do, Holmgreen told
the Court
"That road is ’a county road.
Holmgreen said, explaining that the
County gave it that status in 1912,
and had never officially closed or
discontinued it
She claimed that the road was
passable in 1976 when Gordon
bought his adjacent property But in
1981, Holmgreen said, neighboring
landowner Frank Sturm placed two
gap fences along one stretch of the
road, which has since become
overgrown and impassable
Under the states Road and
Bridge Act. Holmgreen said, the
County has an obligation to main-
tain its designated roads They may-
be closed for non-use, but the
County cannot discontinue status
without providing a replacement
road, and cannot close them without
first giving proper notice
Such procedure was not followed
in this case, she said, and "there is
no provision in this statute for a
fence being permitted across a
Se* KOAI>' Pj»kp 2
old on or before September t. 1986,
are eligible to attend the full
day-full year kindergarten pro-
gram Children entering kinder
garten are requited to have a birth
certificate and immunization re-
cord upon entry
Grades I - 2 will register at Meyer
Elementary in the North Wing New
students to Hondo Schools must
have immunization record and are
asked to register in the principal s
office
Grades 3 - I w ill register at Meyer
Elementarv School in the Middle
Wing New students to Hondo
Schools must have immunization
record and arc asked to register in
the principal s office
Grades 5 - 8 will register in the
library of the McDowell School
New students to Hondo Schools
must have their most current report
card and-or grade slips and immu-
nization record
Hondo High School (’.fades 9-12
will conduct registration in the
principal s office Students who
were pre-registered during April
and May 1986. need not register un
less they wish to make a course
change New students are reminded
to have a transcript forwarded from
the last school they attended New
students to Hondo should bring their
most current report card and-or
grade slips and immunization
record
Students who will be out of town
or otherwise unavailable on August
12th should call the principal s
office as soon as possible after
August 12th
The first day of school for
students is Sept. 2 School hours are
8 30 a m to 3 30 p m
Faculty and staff will be involved
in inservice preparation program
from August 25th through 29th.
UJ the weather. „|
The Hondo Radar Station has
supplied the following weather
information for this past week:
High Low Rain
Wed . July 30 100 69 00
Thu . July 31 99 71 00
Fri .Aug 1 99 72 00
Sat . Aug 2 100 71 0
Sun . Aug 3 97 73 00
Mon . Aug 4 94 73 .00
Tue Aug 5 95 70 00
Avg high temp for the week 97 7
Avg low temp for the week 71.2
High temp tor 1986 100, on July 26,
July 27, July 28, July 30 and
August 2
Low temp for 1986 26 on Jan 20
and Feb. 11
Total rain for July 0.58 inches
Total ram for Aug 0 00 inches
Total rain for 1986 16 31 inches
Ram 1985. thru Aug 5 16 R2 inches
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Hondo Anvil Herald (Hondo, Tex.), Vol. 100, No. 29, Ed. 1 Thursday, August 7, 1986, newspaper, August 7, 1986; Hondo, Texas. (https://texashistory.unt.edu/ark:/67531/metapth817514/m1/1/: accessed July 8, 2024), University of North Texas Libraries, The Portal to Texas History, https://texashistory.unt.edu.; crediting Hondo Public Library.