Polk County Enterprise (Livingston, Tex.), Vol. 114, No. 57, Ed. 1 Thursday, July 18, 1996 Page: 1 of 34
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Senior citizens,
law enforcement
unite
See Page 3A
Polk County
ENTER
south—* mcropabH^ihS *«"
2627 East *ande^
El Paso Tx 7990 Comp
Thursday.
July 18,1998
Volume 114 Number 57
The Doahinl New* and Advertising Source in Polk County
USPS 437-340 Price: SO <
Oakridge
addresses
problems
By SHERRI BURRIS
Enterprise Reporter
LIVINGSTON - Oakridge
Water Company management has
been holding a series of meetings
involving Oakridge customers for
the purpose of explaining boil
water notices, water rationing and
bankruptcy proceedings.
Approximately 15 people at-
tended the meeting Tuesday. Most
of those attending represented their
property owners associations.
Oakridge General Manager Don
Simmons and bankruptcy Trustee
Marc Schwartz began by saying
they were attempting to improve
communications between Oakridge
and its customers. Schwartz ex-
plained that the current manage-
ment is under court orders not to
spend any money on capital im-
provements, rather the manage-
ment’s priority is to find a suitable
buyer for the bankrupted company.
Previous owners of Oakridge put
the company in bankruptcy in
December of 1994 to ward off a
hostile takeover by a for-profit
company, PLS. PLS, which stands
for Polk, Liberty and San Jacinto
counties, the primary counties the
water system serves, was formed in
1994 for the sole purpose of obtain-
ing Oakridge.
Although Schwartz and Sim-
mons attempted to explain the
reasonings behind the boil water
notices and the water rationing, the
crowd continued to ask questions
concerning the bankruptcy.
Schwartz explained why he is sup-
, See OAKRIDGE pg. 6A
Municipal complex
options considered
EIGHTEEN-WHEELER LOSES LOAD -
An 18-wheeler traveling through town Tues-
day evening lost its load of asphalt equip-
ment in front of Livingston Lawn and Gar-
den, located at 108 S. Washington. Police
believe that the rear of the trailer came off
the ground causing the trailer to strike a light
Police asking for help
ENTERPRISE PHOTO BY GORDON UBARRON
pole, tear a storm drain out of the ground
and do heavy damage to the store. Traffic
was rerouted for approximately 30 minutes
and the Livingston Volunteer Fire Depart-
ment contained the small amount of motor
oil and diesel fuel that spilled. No one was
hurt and no tickets were issued.
LIVINGSTON -- Livingston’s
proposed municipal complex will
consist of entirely new buildings.
That and the fact city government’s
hub will remain at its present
downtown location are about the
only sure things at this point
Whether or not the project will
be done in phases, in which case
the police station would be built
first; whether the oak trees on the
site can be preserved; how the
project will be financed; and
whether or not funding for other
city improvements will be included
in a lump financing plan are among
the many things yet to be decided.
Architect Jerry Hill presented
several schematic concepts to the
city council Tuesday night. Those
ideas were the result of several
weeks of study and visits with the
city manager and department
heads.
Renovating the existing city
complex and building a new police
station, linking the buildings with
atrium-type walkways, was one of
the ideas. Upgrading the existing
police department building and city
hall and putting the municipal court
on the second floor of the fire sta-
tion, with a jail/holding area on the
lower floor was also proposed.
Hill, however, reverified infor-
mation that engineers had delivered
to the council several months ago:
It would cost as much, if not more,
to renovate the existing city build-
ings than it would to remove those
structures and build new ones.
Compliance with the Americans
with Disabilities Act (ADA) and
asbestos removal for the old build-
ings would add to renovation costs,
as would upgrading ventilation sys-
tems to bring in the required
amount of fresh air. While not a
federal or state requirement, having
electrical systems that can handle
growing computer technology
should also be considered, the ar-
chitect said.
You can spend a lot of money
(on renovation) and still have a 50-
year-old building," Mayor Ben
Royden Ogletree said. He later
added, "There will probably be
some political heat for tearing
down these buildings, but they
don’t know the condition of these
buildings."
The council, based on informa-
tion and cost estimates previously
See CITY pg. 2A
Couple scams local woman for $6,000
By SHERRI BURRIS
Enterprise Reporter
LIVINGSTON - Robert Red-
ford couldn’t have done it better in
The Sting. Two ladies found a bag a
money and graciously offered to
share it with a third lady. The
catch, the victim had to put up
$6,000.
ENTERPRISE PHOTO BY GORDON UBARRON
DRIVER KILLED - A 45-year-old truck was driving ran off U.S. 59 just south of
driver from Mississippi was killed early Livingston and collided with a large tree.
Monday when the cabover truck-trailer he
Cause of fatality not determined
Livingston Police Officer Robert
Alston described it as the classic
scam. Around noon Tuesday a
Filipino woman from Onalaska was
about to enter a local grocery store
when a young black woman sitting
on a bench outside the store struck
up a conversation. They talked
about native Philippin food and
eventually the conversation turned
to an incident the young woman
said she witnessed.
The young woman told the vic-
tim she saw a man drop a bag and
an elderly black lady attempted to
give it back to the man, but the man
appeared to be rude to the old lady.
About that time, the elderly woman
came out of the store pushing a
shopping cart. The young woman
on the bench called out to the older
lady telling her she saw what hap-
pened. The older lady replied the
man told her to get away and called
her a nigger.
The young lady on the bench
asked the older woman what was in
the bag. The elderly lady saia she
did not know and at that point all
three women opened the bag and
found a large amount of bills
wrapped in bank wrapping.
According to the victim, the el-
derly lady suggested they turn the
money over to the police but the
young lady suggested they keep it
and split it because the bag had al-
ready been offered to the man and
he turned it down. The victim said
she agreed they should split the
money.
The young woman suggested the
three should go to another location
to split up the money. The old lady
said she knew a man who bought
stocks and bonds and could make a
good return on the ladies’ money.
The old woman told the victim the
man’s office was in a local store in
Livingston.
The three went to the store and
the old woman told the younger
black woman that if she would give
her $8,000 she would go into the
store and invest the money. The
money plus a nice profit would be
returned. The victim said she saw
the young lady count out $7,800.
The old lady took the money, went
into the store and returned about 20
minutes later with the $7,800 plus
an additional $20,000 in cash.
The two black women then
asked the third woman if she had
$8,000 to invest She told the two
she only had $1,000 in her check-
ing account and her husband con-
trolled the; savings account. The
young woman then told the victim
that if her name was on the check-
ing account she had access to the
savings account.
The young woman drove the.vic-
tim to her bank in Livingston. The
victim withdrew $6,000. The two
returned to the store and the old
lady told the victim she would loan
her an additional $2,000 so she
could invest the entire $8,000.
The old lady went into the store
and returned a short time later tell-
ing the victim the investment
broker needed to speak to her and
she should go into the store. The
victim reported to police that at that
time she asked for her money back
because she "got a weird feeling,'’
but the older lady convinced her to
go talk to the investor while they
waited in the car.
See SCAM pg. 2A
New middle school
becoming a reality
ONALASKA - The Onalaska
ISD board of trustees will take one
step closer tonight (Thursday) to
begin the process of constructing a
new middle school.
Trustees are expected to adopt
the order authorizing the issuance
and sale of $1.8 million in bonds.
The action will come at the board
meeting which begins at 7 p.m.
Trustees are also scheduled to
approve design plans and authorize
the architect ttj. proceed with the
working drawings.
Also on the agenda are con-
siderations of the 1996-97 wage
and salary plan and the student
handbooks and code-of-conduct.
Trustees will also consider ap-
proval of the optional student in-
surance carrier for the upcoming
school year.
LIVINGSTON - A Mississippi
truck driver died early Monday
when the truck-trailer he was driv-
ing ran off U.S. 59, 1.1 mile south
of Livingston, and struck a tree.
Kenneth Lee Murrah, 45, of
Randolph, Miss, was southbound
when the truck left the righthand
side of the road, overturned and
struck a large tree, according to
Texas Highway Patrol Trooper
Darron Anderson.
"Jaws of Life" equipment from
the Livingston Volunteer Fire
Department was used to free the
truck driver from the wreckage, but
he was pronounced dead at the
scene by Precinct 2 Justice of the
Peace David Johnson.
Murrah was alone in the truck
when the accident occurred, at ap-
proximately 2:35 a.m.
An autopsy has been ordered to
help determine if the driver simply
fell asleep at the wheel or if a medi-
cal condition contributed to the ac-
cident.
Local man charged with 'pimping'
' By SHERRI BURRIS
Enterprise Reporter
ONALASKA - A 52-year-old
Onalaska man has been charged
with promotion of prostitution after
reportedly attempting to solicit a
woman to work for him.
Ellis Sydney Pope allegedly ap-
proached a woman on July 5 at a
local washeteria. Pope said he
worked for Easy Time Home
Health Care and was looking for
women to take care of elderly men.
He offered her $7.65 an hour.
Reports state that Pope went on
to, explain that she would have to
give sponge baths and that some of
the men would require a T.D.C.
massage, a term police believe
Pope made up. He further stated
that masturbation would be re-
quired on some men and that she
would have to charge $125 for that
service. Additionally, some of the
men would require her to have sex
with them for medical purposes.
That service would be an additional
$200 to $500.
The woman told the Livingston
Police Department she became
suspicious and told the man she
needed time to think about it She
gave the man her phone number
and address. Police say at that point
the woman went to the police with
her story.
See PROSTITUTION pg. 2A
FIRE CONTAINED - This travel trailer
and shed were destroyed but a nearby
mobile home was saved after fire broke out
on the Patricia Peden property in Leggett
Sunday morning. A passerby discovered the
fire and alerted the homeowners, who
reported the fire to the Livingston VFD at
ENTERPRISE PHOTO BY GORDON UBARRON
6:35 a.m. The fire was reported to be out at
7:10 a.m. The mobile home sustained some
heat damage, according to LVFD Chief
Corky Cochran, who said the cause of the
fire has not been determined. Twenty-two
firefighters and five fire trucks responded to
the alarm.
♦•'A -
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White, Barbara. Polk County Enterprise (Livingston, Tex.), Vol. 114, No. 57, Ed. 1 Thursday, July 18, 1996, newspaper, July 18, 1996; Livingston, Texas. (https://texashistory.unt.edu/ark:/67531/metapth820192/m1/1/: accessed July 7, 2024), University of North Texas Libraries, The Portal to Texas History, https://texashistory.unt.edu.; crediting Livingston Municipal Library.