The Silsbee Bee (Silsbee, Tex.), Vol. 60, No. 51, Ed. 1 Thursday, February 1, 1979 Page: 1 of 32
This newspaper is part of the collection entitled: Silsbee Area Newspaper Collection and was provided to The Portal to Texas History by the Silsbee Public Library.
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j’.lorofll’i Center, Inc,
i.C. iiOX 45436
Clifts, fexao 75235
THE SlLSBEE BEE
VOLUME 60-NUMBER 51
SlLSBEE, TEXAS 77656, THURSDAY, FEBRUARY 1,1979
24 PAGES IN 3 SECTIONS
NEW CREEK BRIDGE SOUTH OF SlLSBEE
Route, Design Are Approved
For Highway 96 Completion
Approval of route and design
for widening Highway 96 from
Walton Creek bridge 1.5 miles
north to complete a four-lane
thoroughfare from Beaumont to
the Eastex guest house was
announced Tuesday by High-
way Resident Engineer Lester
Landgraf.
The project, estimated to
cost in excess of $3 million is
still in the planning stage.
However,1 it is expected that
the contract for the bridges and
roadway will be let in late
summer of this year with actual
work to start about a month
later, Assistant Engineer Ed-
ward Dominguez said. In addi-
NEAR EVADALE
Vidor Man
Is Killed In
Auto Mishap
An early morning auto acci-
dent two miles south of Evadale
on Jan. 28 took the life of a
Vidor man, according to a
Department of Public Safety
report.
Dead is 19-year-old Gary
Dwayne Stanley, 155 Cady,
Vidor, a Temple-Eastex em-
ployee. Investigators said he
was driving on Highway 105
when he apparently lost control
of his vehicle and it crashed into
an embankment.
Funeral services for Stanley
were held at Memorial Funeral
Home in Vidor on Jan. 29.
Interment was in Kitchens
Cemetery in Zavalla. A native
of Channelview, Stanley had
lived in Vidor for 12 years.
Surviving are his father,
Charles L. Stanley, of Evadale;
mother, Mrs. Shirley Kennedy
of Vidor; stepfather, Jim
Kennedy, Vidor; two brothers,
Randy and Ronnie Stanley,
Vidor; step-brothers, Monte
Kennedy, Orange and Mitchell
Kennedy, Monroe, La.; sister,
Shirley Stanley, Vidor, two
step-sisters, Mrs. Terrie
Stephenson, and Mrs. Julie
Pippen, both of Jonesboro, La.
Seven Auto
Accidents Are
Reported Here
A collision early Tuesday
morning brought the total
number of auto accidents to
seven within the city limits
during the past week.
According to investigators
Henry Robbins and Ralph Os-
borne, a truck belonging to the
Teledyne Corp. and driven by
Jose G. Valdez, 33, of Houston,
pulled into Highway 96 South
into the path of a pickup, driven
by Donniel A. Stratton, Star
Route, Silsbee. Robbins said
Stratton was sent to Silsbee
Doctors Hospital with a possi-
ble arm injury.
Two other accidents required
hospital treatment, according
to the police report.
A collision at North 4th
Street and Avenue G injured
three persons. Lee Cartrett of
Silsbee and Bertie Burch Griff-
ith of Evadale were drivers of
the vehicles. Both drivers and a
passenger, Irene Odom Burch,
were injured.
Drivers of both autos which
collided at Roosevelt Drive and
North 7th Street complained of
injuries, according to the re-
port. Rodney Hathan and Kath-
ryn Elaine Neff, both of Sils-
bee, were the drivers.
No injuries were reported in
four other accidents investigat-
ed by city police. The mishaps
occurred at Highway 96 South
at Highway 327; Highway 418
at Lee Miller Road; Highway 96
South and Ave. 0 and North
6th Street at Roosevelt Drive.
tion to route and design, the
approval included social, eco-
nomic and environment effects.
The Walton Creek bridge will
be widened to allow for four
lane traffic. A new bridge will
be constructed over Village
Creek and the railing on the
existing bridge will be altered,
Dominguez said. A relief bridge
is to be built next to the present
one north of Village Creek.
Dominguez said plans call for
a four-lane single roadway to
Village Creek. From that point
northward it will be a divided
highway.
Roadway improvements will
consist of grading, structure,
base and surfacing.
Based on a 1973 traffic
survey of that section of
Highway 96 which showed a
traffic flow of 9,400 per day and
Assistant Fire Chief Urges
Caution In Grass Burning
J '' 4_
v ■
I
Assistant Fire Chief John
Price has requested area resi-
dents to be especially cautious
in burning their property
and brush.
Price said the Silsbee volun-
teer firemen had not made as
many calls this year to extin-
guish grass fire because of the
rains. Records show that fire-
men answered 40 calls in
January and 30 more in Febru-
ary of 1978 to fight grass fires.
The assistant chief said many
people think that if the ground
is wet, the grass won’t burn. It
will, he emphasized.
Six fire c^lls were answered
from Wednesday, Jan. 24,
through Tuesday afternoon. On
Jan. 23 firemen extinguished a
grass blaze on Brittonville
Road. They were called out on
Gore’s Store Road on Jan. 24,
IN FOUR AREA SCHOOLS
NEW BRIDGE SITE - Lester Landgraf, senior resident engineer for the Texas
Department of Highways, points to the location of a new bridge to be built across
Village Creek, which will take southbound traffic when the new 1.5 mile section
of Highway 96 is completed. The new rood will complete a four-lone thoroughfare
from the Eastex guest house south of Silsbee to Beaumont. It will also eliminate a
traffic bottleneck which has been blamed for numerous fatalities.
ACCORDING TO STUNZ
Time-Keeper And Crowd Reaction
Were Key To Tiger Loss At Hebert
It started as a crucial game
for the Tigers and when it was
over Hebert was declared the
winner 64-62 but not before
Raymond Stunz and his players
had been subjected to "harrass-
ment” that required a police
escort out of Beaumont to avoid
pro-Hebert fans, the head
coach commented.
With six seconds remaining
on the clock, and a jump ball
Silsbee, down by two points got
the tip and Robert Gaines went
up for a 20-foot jumpshot that
rebounded into the waiting
hands of center man Dexter
Wallace, who in turn, dropped
a crucial game-tying basket.
According to Stunz the
standing room only crowd was
delirious as Hebert fans
screamed that the clock had run
out and Silsbee followers rush-
ed the court in protest that the
ball had cleared Wallace’s fin-
gertips before the buzzer
sounded (which disapeared in a
sea of noise).
Hebert coaches, including
head mentor Fred Williams,
were immediately at timekeep-
er Lee Sonnier’s desk for a
decision, as referees stated
that the final say was his
because of the noise that
drowned out the buzzer.
Upon Stunz’s arrival the
basket was declared good by
Sonnier and an overtime was
ordered as Silsbee Tigers head-
ed to their dressing room to
prepare for the crucial three
minutes of play.
Following the timekeeper’s
decision that it was good, came
a near-riotous crowd of Hebert
and Silsbee spectators, who
stormed on to the time table
toppling it over and sending the
timekeeper running for the
dressing rooms where he was
huddled with the officials and
Hebert coaches.
A change of heart was then
announced as referrees con-
fronted Stunz with news that
the ball had been shot after the
buzzer, and that Sonnier, who
Stunz stated was a representa-
tive of Hebert, had changed his
decision.
Fights were breaking out
between fans on the gym
floor, according to Coach Rich-
ard Strong.
Coach Stunz immediately in-
formed the referees that an
official protest would be lodg-
ed, and Hebert coaches, who
were accused by Stunz of
physically pushing him out of
an office where game officials
were, replied by threatening to
lodge a counter-protest against
the players who allegedly were
in fights.
On-court fighting spurred
calls for police back-up assist-
ance that was responded to
with the arrival of several
squad cars, who ushered Sils-
bee fans to the parking lots and
escorted the varsity players to
the Beaumont city limits, after
all Hebert fans had left the
school.
“My options are zero," com-
mented Stunz, on Monday
afternoon," and my mistake
was leaving Sonnier’s table
after he called it good.”
Both teams were informed
that there would be overtime,
seconds after the controversial
jump shot, and Strong stated
he witnessed a Hebert follower,
who walks the floor with the
coaches, joins the team huddles
and eggs the Hebert fans on,
completely intimidate the time-
keeper with screaming and
profanity leveled right to his
face.
"I definitely feel the fans
influenced him (timekeeper)"
accused Stunz, "and when the
table was turned over by the
pushing and shoving, he grabb-
ed his clock and headed out."
A question that is destined to
never be answered is, “was it
before or after the buzzer when
Wallace went up, for the
basket," but the one question
that has been answered is,
Silsbee has a 1-1 record in
round two of zone action and
Hebert leads the zone at 2-0.
Infuenza is on the wane in the
Silsbee area as four school
districts report absentees
diminshing daily.
Mrs. Emma Dean Glenn said
that absenteeism was only 11
percent in Silsbee schools early
this week. Of the 3,869 stu-
dents enrolled only 416 were
absent. The average is about
eight percent.
Patty Upshur told the Bee
that enrollment was about 90
percent in all but the primary
school at Lumberton on Mon-
day. In this school the figure
was 84 percent while the
middle school recorded 91 per-
cent and the high school was
90.30 percent. She said absen-
teeism began diminishing after
the first part of last week.
Evadale schools, which had
to close on Jan. 16 and 17
m"
CITY COUNCIL ACTION
Park Land Purchase
Authorized, Associate
City Judge Is Named
using the average 4% annual
increase, Dominguez estimated
that approximately 11,000
vehicles travel this route daily.
Dominguez said the project
would take about 200 working
days for completion. Weather
conditions permit approxi-
mately 15 working days per
month. Based on these esti-
mates the divided highway
should be ready for traffic
sometime in 1981.
but found the fire was controll-
ed burning by Kirby.
Someone set fire to a garbage
can filled with lumber scraps in
a rest room at Frank Robinson
School. The only damage was a
charred spot on the tile wall.
Three calls were answered
on Jan. 27. At 2:55 p.m. a
Volkswagen belonging to Char-
les Solly Jr. caught fire in the
woods off Woodward St. Fire-
men had to pull the vehicle
from the timbered area in order
to quench the fire in the
magnesium block, Price said.
A motorcycle caught fire at
3:46 p.m. on Highway 96 South.
Price said he did not get the
name of the owner. The last call
of the day came in at 4:23 p.m.
from 1950 Avenue J. where the
volunteers put out another
grass fire.
In a called session of the
Silsbee City Council Tuesday
afternoon approval was given
for purchase of land for c park
and an assistant city judge was
appointed.
Cesar Dominguez, assistant
city manager and parks direct-
or, said authorization was given
for the purchase of 1.8 acres of
land adjacent to the Exqusett
Club Park on 21st Street. The
land, to be purchased from
John Hudson, will be added to
the Exquisett tract of slightly
over three acres which the club
is in the process of donating to
the city for park development.
The council is expected to
accept the land at the next
regular meeting.
The council authorized pay-
ment of not over $4,000 for the
property. Dominguez said the
city and Hudson will share the
closing costs. Money for the
project is included in a com-
munity development grant re-
ceived from the federal govern-
ment to be used for the park,
water and sewer. The allot-
ment for the park is $21,000
from which the purchase price
will be deducted. The remain-
der will be used for develop-
ment of the project.
Dominguez said the combin-
ed area of approximately 4.8
acres will be developed into a
BY CITY POLICE
recreational area for the entire
community. Additional play-
ground equipment will be add-
ed. along with a baseball
diamond, basketball court, pic-
nic tables, restrooms and other
improvements. Dominguez
praised the cooperation of the
members of the Exquisett
Club, who have helped obtain
the park.
In other action by the coun-
cil, F. E. “Gene” Honsberger,
72, was appointed associate city
judge.
Honsberger, a retired dry
cleaning company operator,
succeeds Ira Moore, Moore
resigned recently to return to
the Hardin County Sheriffs
Department. A 20-year red-
dent of Silsbee, Honsberger has
worked for the Silsbee Police
Department and Sheriff Billy
Paine as a dispatcher for the
past several years. He will
serve as corporation court
judge in the absence of Judge
Frank Grote.
City Manager Ronald Hkker-
son said the assosciate judge is
paid on an hourly basis accord-
ing to the time he works. His
rate of pay is the same as that
of the city judge, the manager
said. The corporation court
judge’s salary is $950 per
month.
Silsbee Man Jailed On
Dangerous Drug Charge
Absentees Decline As
Influenza Siege Subsides
because of high rate of absen-
tees, probably had the highest
attendance percentage of the
four schools. Mrs. Linda Mur-
phy, high school secretary, said
only three or four pupils were
absent Monday and the pri-
mary attendance is getting
better.
Mrs. Romona Kelley, admini-
strative assistant to the super-
intendent, said Kountze schools
enrollment was "holding up
pretty well.”
The lowest mark reached by
the Kountze system was 13
percent absentees on Jan. 18.
She said attendance is below
normal, between Jan. 15-19.
However, only eight percent
were absent on Monday.
THE LASTEST IN DISCO or Bridge City looking frustrated in Tuesday nights action
in which the Tigers annihilated the visitors 103-54. Silsbee * David Green (30)
peers over his shoulder as Dexter Wallace (44) and Julian Nixon (22) steady for
any rebounds coming their way. See related story on Page 0, Section 1.
One possession of dangerous
drugs charge was the only
felony recorded by city police
who arrested seven persons
during the week.
Kenneth Ray Smith, 31, 310
Lincoln, Silsbee, was jailed
when officers Ralph Osborne
and Henry Robbins found in his
possession two yelkm and one
blue tablets, a quantity of
five-milligram valium and one
10-milligram valium tablet.
Two burglaries, one theft
and one criminal mischief com-
plaint were checked out by the
city police.
David Elmore, 1375 Highway
96 South, complained that
someone had taken a 12 gauge
Remington pump shotgun with
20-inch barrel from his pickup
which was parked at the rear of
his residence. The theft alleg-
edly occurred on Jan. 13. The
gun was valued at $226.33.
Dee Faye Francis reported
that a coin operated machine
located at the Silsbee Junior
High School was broken open.
The thieves pried open the
machine and damaged two coin
acceptors valued at $200. Only
$12.00 in assorted change was
taken.
Thieves returned to the
West-Gibson store to take an
aluminum boat only two days
after a minibike was rolled from
the mall inside the store. This
time the thieves cut a chain
which secured the boats outside
the store and took a 1978
14-foot boat. Loss was placed at
$180.00. The boat was taken on
Jan. 24 while the minibike was
reported stolen on Jan. 22.
Only one case of criminal
mischief resulting from some-
one shooting up things was
reported to police this week.
Silsbee Auto officials told offic-
ers that the hood of a 1979 Ford
Fairmont had been hit by a
bullet from an unknown caliber
gun and an unidentified object.
The vehicle, which was parked
facing the street, received
estimated damage of $250.
Other arrests included two
Gina Hignett On
ETSU Honor Roll
Commerce-A total of 1163
undergraduate students have
been named to the President's
Honor Roll and Deans’ List for
the 1978 fail semester at East
Texas State University.
The President’s Honor Roll
includes students who compiled
a 4.0 (A) grade point average
for the semester. The Deans’
List include students who had a
least a 3.25 grade point aver-
age. ETSU uses the 4.0 grading
system.
Students listed on the Presi-
dent's Honor Roll also are
considered part of the Deans'
List in their particular college.
Miss Gina Hignett of Silsbee
was named to the President’s
Honor Roll.
for theft under $5.00, one
public intoxication, one public
intoxication and possession of
less than two ounces of mari-
juana, one no valid drivers
license, and one misdemeanor
driving while intoxicated and
failure to yield right-of-way.
Officers issued 18 traffic
tickets and 46 warnings during
the week.
AT KIRBY
Blows Send
Employee To
Hospital
A reported argument be-
tween two employees of the
plywood plant at Kirby Indust-
ries resulted in the hospitaliza-
tion of one of them, according
to Deputy Sheriff James Will-
iams.
Injured is Eddie Etheridge,
20, of Kirbyville, who was
allegedly struck on the head
and knee with a piece of
galvanized pipe wielded by a
co-worker. Williams said the
men apparently got into an
argument over their work.
The men were working on
the “green chain” at the ply-
wood mill.
Williams said Etheridge
apparently received a concuss-
ion from the head blow and his
knee cap was severely injured.
He was transferred to St.
Elizabeth Hospital wher offici-
als would only say that he had
been entered as a patient.
Indictments Are
Returned Against
Lumberton Men
Two Lumberton residents
were listed among those indict-
ed by the Jefferson County
grand jury on Thursday of last
week*
Joseph Dale Ebarb, 23, Rt. 2,
Box 40, is charged with the
Dec. 21 burglary of the Yellow
Freight System, 4650 Lefin,
Beaumont.
Freddie Joseph Rodrique,
32, 2430 Highway 96, was true
billed for the theft of a
typewriter from Dresser Ideco,
1795 Laurel, Beaumont, on
Dec. 11.
David E. Johnson
Receives Degree
David Ernest Johnson of
Spurger received a Bachelor of
Business Administration de-
gree with a major in finance,
from Sam Houston State Uni-
versity in Huntsville at the
close of the Fall semester 1978.
Sam Houston, with 10,918
students, is celebrating its
100th year.
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Read, R. L. The Silsbee Bee (Silsbee, Tex.), Vol. 60, No. 51, Ed. 1 Thursday, February 1, 1979, newspaper, February 1, 1979; Silsbee, Texas. (https://texashistory.unt.edu/ark:/67531/metapth821038/m1/1/?q=%22%22~1: accessed August 15, 2024), University of North Texas Libraries, The Portal to Texas History, https://texashistory.unt.edu.; crediting Silsbee Public Library.