The Silsbee Bee (Silsbee, Tex.), Vol. 59, No. 27, Ed. 1 Thursday, August 18, 1977 Page: 1 of 30
thirty pages : ill. ; page 25 x 17 in. Digitized from 35 mm. microfilm.View a full description of this newspaper.
Extracted Text
The following text was automatically extracted from the image on this page using optical character recognition software:
Kl&oflM Cvnfeer, Inc.
KO. Box 45436
Terjs 75235 jfiiris
■ C. PY
|P^ |
^tv>i v
........"■•'; *-J
UK : *
The Silsbee Bee 15
VOLUME 59 — NUMBER 27
SILSBEE, TEXAS 77656
THURSDAY, AUGUST 18, 1977
20 PAGES IN 3 SECTIONS
Arrest Of Saratoga Man
Could Clear 20 Burglaries
A 24-ycar-old Saratoga maniat least five East Texas coun- it items stolen recently from
was one of the three persons! ties. Riley Mo ole Homes in Lum-
arrested by the Hardin Countyj David Benavides was arrest - berton in Benavides’ residence.
d on Aug. 13 after Sheriff Informants p ovid d informa-
Billy Paine and Chief Deputy tion which led to the search,
'har es Land found a number Laird said.
Suspect Held In
Wilson Burglary
sheriff's Department following
.he recovery of an assortment
it items stolen in burglaries in
LUMBERTON PICKET — James Drake is pictured
in front of a house under construction in Candle-
stick Park in Lumberton.
Carpenters Union Strikes
Two Construction Sites
Dismissals For DWI
Outnumber Convictions
In Hardin County Court
Potentially overloaded dock-1 schedule as county judge also
ets and the desire to “give a
man the benefit of the doubt”
are reasons county officials re-
ly on to explain a recently re-
leased report indicating that
Hardin County operates one of
limits DWI convictions.
“You just can’t sit up there
all the time and listen to a
bunch of crazy lawyers argu-
ing,” Lack said.
Although the county attorney
A strike
union
by a carpenter’si were in Hardin County
four county courts in the state!serving last year, George Kirk-
which last year recorded more Patrick, who is now district at-
dismissals than convictions for torney, declined to comment on
the report until he could see
the figures personally, he did
say that “if we tried every DWI
case that was filed, it would be
driving while intoxicated.
According to figures publish-
ed by the Texas Judicial Coun-
cil, the Hardin County Court ,,
whose membership|Candlestick Park in Lumberton ^1?19^ilge,^pji g32MdlF^]H“keepPa judge and jury busy
stretches from Port Arthur to and at the 32 apartments un-/ , aoDroximfte four to around the clock.”
Lufkin has interrupted carpen- der construction across from , J ratjo ofPdismjssals /0 ^ The DWI dismissals are re-
ry work at two Hardin Coun-j the high school in Silsbee ! leas h t j exceeded by8onlJ manded to the justice courts
ty construction sites. I Rice said he hopes the strike J, Texas counl Jacks/whic£ for hearings on charges reduced
B.l Rice of Carpenters Lo-1 will lead to negotiations with had ratjo f n;arl e’i ht to through p,ea bargaining, an ex-
cal Union 7S3, saul the strike.contractors over union requests y 8 pedient solution Lack consid-
was called Monday morning af- for higher pay. He declined to pr>. .<thp hp,t wav _.lt..
ter contractors failed to comply (predict, however, how long he A survey of the report also ____ . _
Benavides is 1 °ng held in
Hardin County ja i on a total
bond >f $10,000 after being
chared with two counts of
burglary.
Laird al-o said that Huey
Pierce O iver, 41, of Saratoga,
was arrested on a warrant in
Jennings, La., and is awaiting
extradition. A 16 - year - juve-
nile was also arrested.
More arrests are expected for
as many as 20 burglaries occur-
ring in Hardin, Jefferson, Lib-
erty, Harris and Orange Coun-
ties, Laird said.
Stolen goods recovered in-
cluded adding machines, type-
writers, calculators, televisions
and a copying machine, Laird
said.
Laird said that through in-
formation received by Bena-
vides he has been able to trace
the purchasers of other stolen
goods. He added that he has
been able to locate most of the
owners of the stolen goods.
More arrests are expected in
connection with the burglaries,
i aird said.
Sheriff’s deputies also inves-
* gated the aggravated burglary
of a Lumberton man which re-
sulted in the loss of an array
if items ranging from a shot-
gun and shells to sunglasses
and Levi jeans.
SfSD Bus
Regulations
Are Relered
i
Rules and regulations for
i students who ride Silsbee Ind".
pr*nd°nt School Dist'ift b:is<
during the upcoming schoo'
year were announced Tuesday
by Sunt, of Schools Weeks
Crawford.
The regulations become ef-
fective on Aug. 25, the first
day of school.
I Students may be cited for
the following artivities: failure son said the suspect agreed t
to remain seated: refusing to t po'ygraph test that was
obey driver: fighting; profan-i scheduled to be administered
itv: hanging out the window;;Wcdnsda.v afternoon. He said
bothering other riders; light-!money which might have bean
ing matches; smoking; throw- taken in the burglary was trac-
ing objects out of the bus; spit- cd to the suspect,
ting; and vandalism. ! The money was taken from
Penalties for the first occur- the safe in the front office at
renee of these offenses include j Wilson’s early Monday morn-
a warning to the student with jng. Burleson said an even larg-
i
A 20-year-old Silsbee man
I has been arrested for inve ti
ation of burgla y in connec-
! lion With a break in last week-
end at 'vVil on’s Supermarket lr,
! which nealy $6,0C0 was re-
I poi ted - missing.
Chief of Police A. L. Burlc-
a written report to the parents.
The second occurrence will be
referred to the school principal
and the third occurrence will
result in automatic suspension
of bus riding privileges.
er amount held in a smaller
compartment within the safe
was undisturbed.
Burglars entered the super-
market by knocking a hole in
the west wall of the building
with requests for higher pay.
He said journeyman carpenters
now make $10.15 an hour.
expects the strike to last I indicates that 32 county courts Although he said almost all! Joseph E. Tutt told deputies
“Sometimes (contractors) are of wide-ranging levels of ac- negotiations are conducted by that when he returned at 9:30
' ' L____1 ___ ____1 ____1-1 _ • 1 1 nruintir nnrl ™ A 9 In Uip Vinmn o4-
‘Bus riders should conduct ^hc safe was bit with a siedge
themselves on the bus the same hammcr alld **peeied'- with a
as they do in the classroom, crowbrir. Burleson said,
the driver should be treated Burleson said the safe door
with the same courtesy as the. was nuj equipped with an auto-
teacher in the classroom, andlmatjc a|arm
drivers may assign seats at any; 'Burleson r'eported 18 u t h e r
time to any student” Crawford arrests last weck, inc'uding
sa‘(J; nine for public intoxication,
“Parents are asked not to jWQ for possession of a stolen
stop a school bus, to discuss automobile, three for no valid
discipline or other problems driver-s licen.se, one for posses-
with the driver,” Crawford sion of marijuana) one for
said. “Items to be discussed pbone harrassment and resist-
with drivers should be referred jng arrest; a)1d one for driving
to the Transportation Director under the influence of danger-
at 385-5610 between 8:15 a.m. ous drugs
and 2:30 p.m. Monday through, Police also investigated an
Friday._^I aggravated assault that occur
■jw mane fiv.w an nuui. out here after a few hours, and tivity had records unblemished the county attorney and de-
Of the five jobs Rice said sometimes it takes a few days,” dismissals. Castro County, fendant, decisions aie subject
were struck Monday morning Rice said. “We just want to ^or instance, had 117 guilty to his review^ and are, finally,
in the East Texas area, two talk.” i P'eas recorded without a dis- in my hands.
missal, while Glasscock County] --•-
recorded one guilty plea with- .
out a dismissal. Volunteer Firemen
County Judge Emmett Lack ** ■■
said the relatively high propor-ldeCW vD 5vU"UUll0tl
tion of DWI dismissals results m . .■». ,14 _ , .
from prohibitively long peribds (ftiSOllRe Spill FfldOV
of time required to effect Con- - - * ... M
victions and a method of hand-
Lumberton Voters OK
Fire District; Plan New
Election For Tax Increase
ling cases that he said empha-
sizes compassion for defend-
Having approved the creationjunteer Fire Department was
of Hardin County’s first rural)approximately $20,000, Furlow ants.
fire prevention district last-said. | “i like to give a man the
week, Lumberton voters will! Furlow said the remainder of| benefit of the doubt,” Lack said,
now vote on a proposed in-| the funds would be gathered as j have t0 sleeP at nigh*. too.”
crease in the assessment rate )n . ... ... , . . J The county has few repeat
of proport, valuation that II,!"e!!S ,S^1*“' L“k ssid- which
approved will provide a little ‘ ' makes harsh punishment for
Lumberton voters last week first offenders unnecessary —
approved by a vote of 175 to “the record is not necessarily - „
41 the establishment of a fire bad unless you had a bunch of the Quick Pantry station on the
district .. ... . _ .
less than half the annual op-
erating expenses for the de-
partment.
Silsbee Volunteer Firemen
worked four hours through the
night on Aug. 12 to mop up a
500-gallon gasoline spill that
Fire Chief Russell Busby said
could have led to explosions
and fires along a three-block
stretch of Fifth Street.
Busby said the gas overflow-
ed at about 3:15 a.m. from a
transport truck unloading into
an underground storage tank at
p.m. on Aug. 7 to his home at
115 El Pinto St. in Lumberton
he discovered missing, in addi-
tion to the items mentioned
above, a wrist watch worth
$100, $225 in assorted coins,
record albums, boots, tools, and
jewelry valued at about $560.
A report of property stolen
from the Bell’s store on High-
way 96 in Lumberton was also
investigated by the Sheriff’s
Department. Reported stolen
during the night of Aug. 12
were about 10 gallons of milk
and a wire basket.
Hardin County Commission-
er J. L. Loftin told deputies
that during the night of Aug, 8
lights and batteries on barri-
cades on either side of a
bridge on Cooks Lake Road in
Lumberton were removed.
„,T. „ . the street while firemen plug-
‘(The county attorney) likes ged the sewer drain near Ave-
strict which will increase taxes : T ^ Busby said
oa,u u.a, ,1 u,c cents $j0() , ,, the change in county attorneys; „q
tr/nSonfcountJ^ f”S C0U1>ty’s <0 Percent assessment ®d °f.the ye3r’
„LL rate' The llew valuation, which
percent to a proposed 100 per- w;ji
cent, about $8,000 in funds will vot8 crease the
be generated. Last year, the
budget of the Lumberton Vol-
City Gets $13,479.19
Sales Tax Rebate
Silsbee received a city sales
tax rebate of $13,479.19 for the
month of August, Comptroller
decided in a Nov. 8 to el^an. *1's cases up, and that nue jyj prevent seepage and Bob Bullock announced this
11. rpcilltc in a Inf nr Hicmiccolc ** .. . r .
(See Tax, Sec. 1, Page 7)
results in
Lack said.
Lack said
a lot of dismissals, then removed the gas with a
ivaccuum pump. Once the fluid
his demanding1 (See Fires, Sec. 1, Page 8)
Twenty-Three Compete For Prizes
In Bee Subscription Campaign
Twenty-three persons have] Until Sept. 24, while votes
entered the Silsbee Bee’s cir- ■ are the highest, the workers are
culation campaign and are well making a special effort to se-
on their way in the scramble
for votes and the first place
prize of $1,200.00 cash, accord-
ing to campaign manager Dale
Nickeson.
Prizes awaiting the winners
are $1,200 for first prize; $800
for seednd; $5o0 for third; $300
for fourth; and $200 for fifth.
All workers who do not win
one of the cash prizes will re-
ceive a commission of 20 per-
cent on what he or she has
sold in subscriptions during the
campaign. This is one event
where there are no losers.
Funeral Services For
Two-Year-Old Bum
Victim Held Aug. 15
Funeral services for Jennifer
Sherdon Hunt, two years of
age, of Zachary, La.,.were held
Aug. 15 at 10 a.m. in the Char-
let Funeral Home.
She died Saturday at 6 a.m.
in Baton Rouge General Hospi-
tal from burns suffered a week
before in a boating accident.
While on an outing with her
family on Aug. 6 her parents’
inboard - outboard motorboat
exploded and burned on Old
River at New Rhoades, La. Her
parents received minor injuries.
Her grandparents, Mr. and
Mrs. Jimmy Stephens, are for-
mer residents of Silsbee. Local
survivors include her great-
grandparents, Mr. and Mrs.
Fred Denson; and her great-
great-grandmother, Mis. Joe
coodwyft. i
h '
cure subscriptions and convert
promises into votes.
This is the big opportunity
CAMPAIGN SCOREBOARD
The first tabulation of votes and positions in
The Silsbee Bee subscription campaign is published
below,
The votes are pro-rated with only a fraction
of the actual number given at this time.
Here are the standings as of Monday, Aug. 15:
JUDY HICKS
28,900
ELBERT WHITE
28,800
DOUG COSTLOW
28,700
KATHY NICHOLS „
28,600
MAVIS RODRIGUES
28,500
MRS. LEON FREEMAN
28,400
MARY BURNS
28,300
CATHY CLASSON
28,200
ELOUISE SMITH
28,100
DARLENE SIMS __
28,000
RENEE RODRTQUEZ
27,900
MRS. CHARLES RARON
27,800
GLENDA CRAVEY
10,000
MARY LATIRENT
10,000
ANN HARE
10,000
SHIRLEY SPURLOCK
10,000
SHARON JOHNSON
10,000
KARLA K. BEATTY
10,000
JO PITTMAN
10,000
MARIAN HETSE
10,000
JACKIE BONVILLION
10,000
NANCY ISBELL
10,000
ROBERT RICJE . .
10)000
periodp as each club of $30
worth of subscriptions turned
in will allow that candidate to
claim 500,000 extra votes. This
is the right time to help your
favorite candidate, Nickeson
said.
The campaign is not a game
of chance, but strictly a busi-
ness proposal with a chance for
employment and with each
candidate being his or her own
boss.
Each person starting or re-
newing a Silsbee Bee subscrip-
tion for one or more years will
receive a coupon good for a
free two-issue run of a classi-
fied ad. Such an ad would nor-
mally cost $3.20.
Now is a good time to start
or renew a Silsbee Bee sub-
scription, Nickeson said.
This week an added bonus
is being given to the contestant
who turns in the most money
on subscriptions — an R.C.A.
portable television set. This is
over and above the cash prizes
and commissions.
week.
Bullock said the August re-
bate brings the total for the
year to $157,786.67, an 18 per-
cent increase over the same
period last year.
Kountze was rebated $2,-
868.62, Bullock said, while Sour
Lake received $1,553.22.
Bullock said his office mailed
checks totalling $15.1 million to
868 Texas cities as their share
of the one percent city sales
tax.
“PEELED’’ SAFE — Nearly $6,000 was taken from
this safe last weekend in Wilson’s Supermarket,
which police say was opened with a crowbar and
sledge hammer. The smaller safe seen within was
reported to have held an additional $20,000 that the
thieves did not get.
City Secures Site For Water Plant
New Junior High
Students To Register
Registration for new students
who will be attending Silsbee
Junior High School will be
from 8:00-12:00 and from 1:00-
3:00 each weekday from now
until school begins.
No new students will be reg-
istered the opening day of
school. Studentl who were in
the Silsbee district last year
will not need tq pre-register,
officials said.
Officials of the Silsbee Inde-
pendent School District and the
City of Silsbee last week sped
through two days of legal
maneuvering in a cooperative
effort designed to put a c i t y
water plant on what is now
school property and to open up
an adjacent tract of school land
with a road to be constructed
by the city.
At a school board meeting
Aug. 16, members heard—and
accepted in concept—a request
by City Manager Ron Hicker-
son for an approximate two-
acre tract near the high school
on which to build the water
plant.
They informally agreed upon
swaps of land for city services,
including plans for extension
of an excess road the city needs
for the plant which would grant
access to adjacent school board
property. Such plans, however,
were nixed soon afterwards by
lawyers who said such an ar-
rangement was contrary to laws
regulating the transfer of lahd
between political jurisdictions.
City attorney Roger Ratliff,
after conferring with Tanner
Hunt, the SISD lawyer, then
drafted two resolutions intend-
ed to leave the agreement large-
ly intact and yet comply with
the law. The resolutions, ap-
proved by the city council at a
special session Aug. 12, provide
for the sale to the city of the
land at the appraised fair
offering the school board road
construction services for an
identical $11,077.
And if that amount is un-
acceptable to the school board,
the resolutions authorize the
land to be bought for $11,077
and the road to be jlaved for
free.
Dispatch in securing a site Administration by Aug. 22 in
for the water plant, not money,
was the aim of the negotiations,
according to Hickerson. He said
a plat must be submitted along
with other plans in an amend-
ed application for the water
plant that must be sent to the
Federal Economic Development
New County Court Docket
Call Is Aug. 23 In Kountze
The Docket Call for County
Court has been set for 10 a.m
Aug. 23 in the Hardin County
Courtroom in Kountze.
County Attorney Bo Horka
said each defendant’s attorney
should contact his office prior
to the docket date by phone to
discuss a disposition of each
case. If a defendant docs not
have an attorney, he also
should contact the attorney’s
office, Horka said.
Judge Lack will preside over
the docket call which includes:
Eddie Trevillion, DWI; John
Thomas Queen, UCW; Stephen
Eugene Love, possession of
marihuana; Larry Ray Howell,
DWI; Joe Martin Bledsoe,
DWI; Douglas Glenn Gore,
DWI; Richard William Wol-
bert, DWI; Dannie McClelland
Jacks, DWI; Edward Earl Cole-
man, possession of marihuana;
Steve Allen Graham, posses-
sion of marihuana; Dena Jor-
market value of $11,077 while dan, theft of property; Earl
Henry Williams, possession of
marihuana; Curtis Dewayne
Messer, DWI; Dixie Moore
Glover, DWI; Mary Tatum
Gardner, DWI; Robert Lee
Smith, DWI; Artty Gore, DWI;
Ira Sykes, DWI; Mickey Lee
Justice, DWI; John Truman
Sartor, DWI;
Ratio Rhone, DWI; Lee Jor-
dan, hindering creditors; pel-
bert Leon Jarrell, criminal non-
support; Jerry Monroe Arnold,
DWI; Donald Grishim, theft;
Teary Harper, theft; Carolyn
Harkey, theft; Melba Kirkland,
theft; Larrry L. Payne, theft;
Ribhard £ Wheeler, theft;
Earl Poster, theft; Margaret
Moore, .Ifcsjft; Virgil B. Jones,
theft; Sharon Kay Jordon,
hitdering creditors; Freddie
Bradley, DWI; James F. Bailey,
DWI; Melton Joseph Bertrand,
DWI (2); Billy Gene Berryman,
(See Docket, Sec. 1, Page 7)
order for the city to acquire a
$259,212 grant earmarked for
the project.
“The $11,077 is insignificant
when you consider the overall
project,” Hickerson said.
The water plant is expected
to cost about $530,000. Hicker-
son said the difference between
the grant funding and actual
cost probably will be bridged
by borrowing an additional
$280,000 from either a local
bank or the Texas Water De-
velopment Board. Another al-
ternative the council could ac-
cept, however, would be to re-
vise the plans so the total cost
does not exceed the funding
awarded.
red outside Conner's Dvive-In
on Aug. 14. Bur'cs°n said Rus-
sell G enu Daigle was stabbed
by Robert Connally alter an
argument.
A criminal mischief was re-
ported to police by Marilyn
Cox, 1120 Marshal Lane, who
said someone had fired a shot-
gun and hit her utility room on
Aug. 9. No charges we e filed.
Another criminal mischief
recurred at the City Park,
where police said $105 damage
was reported to the ladies rest-
room on Aug. 8.
A theft was reported by Gol-
den Triangle Contractors of
Nederland. Reported stolen on
Aug. 11 was 15 feet of 12-inch
pipe valued at $75.00.
Police also investigated eight
accidents and issued 42 tickets
and 23 warnings last week.
A story in last week’s Bee
concerning an accident which
occurred on Aug. 1 at the in-
tersection of Lee Miller Road
and FM 418 incorrectly stated
that Mollie G. Balia, who was
stopped at the intersection wait-
ing to turn left onto Lee Miller
Road, accelerated and “turned
nto” a car driven by Carl
Wayne Ferrell, which was
passing on the left. Actu-
ally, Mrs. Balia made the turn
and was struck by Ferrell. The
Bee regrets the error.
In other related law enforce-
ment action, Travis Johnson Sr.
of Silsbee pleaded guilty before
the Jefferson County Court-At-
j Law to driving while intoxicat-
ed and was fined $150 ,and
court costs and assessed one
year probation of 90 days in
jail.
Parents As Teachers
Workshop Planned
At Kindergarten
“Parents As Teachers”
(PAT), a workshop for parents
of preschool children, will be
held Wednesday, Aug. 24, from
9-11 a.m. at Robinson Kinder-
garten, in the building (old
field house) across the drive-
way in back of the Kindergar-
ten. The workshop is being
sponsored by the Title I and
Early Childhood programs of
the Silsbee Independent School
District.
The purpose of the workshop
is to promote awareness of the
importance of the parents’ role
in child development. All areas
of child development from lan-
guage to music will be discuss-
ed and parents will be given an
opportunity to improve their
effectiveness by learning ways
they can promote development
even while playing with their
children.
^ The workshop is being con-
ducted by Donna Cunningham,
language and speech therapist
and Louise Dyer, developmen-
tal skills teacher with the
Travel Learning Center. Enroll-
ment for the workshop is limi-
ted to 40 participants and res-
ervations may be made by call-
ing 385-5286.
Mrs. Henry Donelson and
daughter, Kathleen, accompa-
nied by Mrs. Susie Overstreet
of Kountze, recently returned
from a trip through the mid-
west where the focal points of
interest were the Rocky Moun*.
tain, Grand Teton, Yellov
Glacier, Waterton, Canada,
Mesa Verde National Pari
Stops were also made in
der to visit the Universif
Colorado and in Salt Lake <
The highlight of the trip
Kathleen was a
down the Snake 1
Teton Park, which
opportunity to
forms of wild!
teresting of
grazing inti
‘V
Upcoming Pages
Here’s what’s next.
Search Inside
This issue can be searched. Note: Results may vary based on the legibility of text within the document.
Tools / Downloads
Get a copy of this page or view the extracted text.
Citing and Sharing
Basic information for referencing this web page. We also provide extended guidance on usage rights, references, copying or embedding.
Reference the current page of this Newspaper.
Read, R. L. The Silsbee Bee (Silsbee, Tex.), Vol. 59, No. 27, Ed. 1 Thursday, August 18, 1977, newspaper, August 18, 1977; Silsbee, Texas. (https://texashistory.unt.edu/ark:/67531/metapth820195/m1/1/: accessed August 15, 2024), University of North Texas Libraries, The Portal to Texas History, https://texashistory.unt.edu.; crediting Silsbee Public Library.