The Silsbee Bee (Silsbee, Tex.), Vol. 70, No. 27, Ed. 1 Thursday, August 4, 1988 Page: 1 of 22
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C of C Committee
To Study Workmen's
Compensation Reform
The Silsbee Bee 125*
VOLUME 70 - NUMBER 27
SILSBEE, TEXAS 77656, THURSDAY, AUGUST 4,1988
16 PAGES IN 2 SECTIONS
A committee to review and
study the current workmen's
compensation insurance plan
and to make recommendations
for changes has been appointed
by Gehrig Brown, president of
the Silsbee Chamber of Com-
merce. Serving on the commit-
tee are: Randy Gates, chair-
man, Rowena Caraway, Dean
Robinson, Charles Watts, Billy
Caraway, Gehrig Brown and
Lola Burgess.
In making the appointments
Brown said that workmen’s
compensation insurance is al-
ready recognized by elected
officials as a number one prior-
ity and that tax reform will
most likely occupy much of the
1989 Legislature's attention.
He said current rates being
paid by business people can no
longer be tolerated and that he
feels the high premiums are a
major deterrent to economic
development in the state.
The Silsbee Chamber passed
a resolution on May 27 calling
for reform. The resolution was
sent to elected officials in the
House of Representatives, the
Senate and the governor's
office.
Lola Burgess, executive vice
president, said she hsd re-
ceived a letter from State
Senator-Elect Bill Haley asking
for recommendations for
changes in the present system.
Haley stated in his letter that
he is a member of the Subcom-
mittee on Unemployment In-
surance and that he will report
the findings of the Silsbee
Chamber to the committee
when it meets November 1. She
said she has also heard from
State Senator Carl Parker,
State Representative-Elect
Curtis Soileau and Lieutenant
Governor Bill Hobby, who
agreed that the current system
needs to be studied and re-
vised.
City Property Taxable Values
Show $4 Million Increase
The city of Silsbee’s 1968
total taxable value has been
Season Ticket
Holdeis May Pick Up
Tickets Aug. 8 - 9
Silsbee Tiger season football
ticket holders may pick up
tickets Monday and Tuesday
from 4 p.m. until 7 p.m. at
Silsbee Independent School
District Administration Office
Building, 415 West Avenue N.
There will be five home
games and the tickets are
$17.50 per set, Athletic Direc-
tor Raymond McGallion said.
The general public may pick
up season tickets on Aug. 15
and 16 from 4 p.m. to 7 p.m. at
the administration building.
listed at $114,279,555. Assis-
tant City Manager Cesar Do-
minguez said.
The figure, which Dominguez
received Monday from the Har-
din County Appraisal District,
showed an increase in total
taxable value from the approx-
imately $110 million listed in
1987. The majority of the
increase in taxable value came
from the mandatory reduction
of the allowed homestead ex-
emption from the 30 percent
given the last three years to 20
percent this year, Dominguez
said.
It is too early in the budget
process to comment on the
effect the increase in value
might have on the tax rate,
Dominguez said. City Council
has scheduled a workshop on
the budget following Monday
night's regular meeting.
Contract Negotiations
At Temple-Eastex
Are Continuing
Contract negotiations bet-
ween three union locals and
Temple-Eastex Inc. were still
underway Tuesday after the
company and locals agreed to
extend an expired contract.
Herbert George, director of
human resources at Temple-
Eastex, said Tuesday it was
still too early in the talks to
name specific points of negotia-
tion between the company and
United Paperworkers Internat-
ional Union Locals 801 and 825
and the International Brother-
hood of Electrical Workers
Local 390.
The contract talks began
July 25, but new contracts
were not signed by Monday,
the current two-year contract’s
expiration date. George said
the company and unions have
agreed to extend the contract
for an indefinite period of time
while negotiations are under-
way.
"We're continuing to nego-
tiate and make progress,"
George said.
Waxman Named Administrator Of
County’s Block Grant Program
Hardin County commission-
ers chose the administrator and
engineering firm for the coun-
ty’s block grant project and
voted to accept a van to
transport indigent patients at a
meeting July 28.
County Judge M.R. “Pete"
McKinney said commissioners
voted to accept David J. Wax-
man Inc. as the administrator
:of the county's $293,244 Com-
imunity Development Block
IGrant, which will be used to
•improve the roof, air condition-
ting and parking at the court-
house annex. Waxman submit-
ted the only administration
iproposal and stated his fee as
$28,800.
Accepted as the engineering
firm for the project was Archi-
tects and Engineering Design
Group Inc. of Beaumont. The
firm's fee was listed as $25,745.
Commissioners accepted the
proposals after hearing pre-
sentations from Waxman, Ar-
chitects and Engineering and
another firm proposing to act as
the engineers, McKinney said.
Two other firms which sub-
mitted engineering proposals
did not make direct presenta-
tions to the court.
Preparatory work could begin
as early as this week and the
project should be completed by
April, McKinney said.
Commissioners voted to ac-
cept the donation of a van with
a wheelchair lift to be used to
transport indigent medical pa-
tients to health care facilities.
Dr. Ron McMurry, director
of the Jasper-Newton County
Health Program, notified Mc-
Kinney in July that the pro
gram was able to get its
state-funded Primary Care
Program grant amended to
allow some of its unused funds
to purchase the van for Hardin
County.
The Jasper-Newton program
will buy the van and pay the
salary and benefits of a full-
time driver. The program will
also provide maintenance funds
and technical assistance for
eligibility determination.
Hardin County will have to
provide insurance for the van,
which should run about $1,200 a
year, McKinney said. Fuel
costs should run about $100 a
month and will be paid by the
county. Under the current bud-
get, about $2,500 had been
spent by the end of July for
indigent transportation, so the
county should be able to save
Investigation Continues In
Death Of Silsbee Woman
Silsbee police officers con-
tinued their investigation Tues-
day into the death of a 26-year-
old Silsbee woman found in her
home July 28.
Police Chief Dennis Allen said
a friend found the body of
Caroline Susan Bolen in Bolen's
home at 1280 Cooks Road about
10:15 a.m. and notified the
department. Bolen's 5 year-old
son was also in the residence.
Justice of the Peace Robert
Ward pronounced Bolen dead
at the residence and ordered an
autopsy.
Allen said Tuesday the autop-
sy was performed at Farmer
Funeral Home. Information
from the autopsy was forward-
ed to the Travis County medical
examiner for lab testing, which
Kountze Man Dies Friday
Following Gunshot Wound
A Kountze man died Friday
after being shot in the ab-
domen, Hardin County Sheriffs
Department spokesman Arthur
Guy said.
The sheriff’s department went
to the man’s residence on Jake
Patton Road about 9 p.m. July
28 after receiving a call about a
gunshot victim, Guy said.
When officers arrived, they
found 29-year-old William Dar-
rell Powell with a single .20-
gauge gunshot wound to the
lower abdomen.
Powell was taken by ambu-
lance to a nearby supermarket
parking lot, where he was
picked up by Air Rescue and
taken to Baptist Hospital.
Powell died at 2:43 a.m.
Friday, Guy said. Judge Harold
Engstrom had not yet ruled on
the death Tuesday.
In unrelated department ac-
tion, deputies arrested Regin-
ald Bernard Miller, 21, 3115
Washington Blvd., Beaumont,
on a charge of burglary of a
motor vehicle July 27. Reports
show Miller was arrested in
connection with the theft of a
radio from a vehicle at Armour
J Auto Salvage. Bond was set
at $6,000.
Deputies arrested Clarence
Alex Lee, 33, Star Rt. 1, Box
5084, Silsbee, on a charge that
he was absent without leave
from military service. Guy said
Lee had been listed as AWOL
in 1980 but had been absent
from the military since about
1978. Lee was released to
military police.
Arrested on a charge of ag-
gravated assault with a motot
vehicle was Jeff Allen Mitchell,
33.810V. W. Polk St.. Liberty.
Guy said Monday no details on
the incident were available.
Bond for Mitchell was set at
$1,000.
Arrested on a charge of mis-
demeanor assault was Michael
Dale Lovell, 29, Rt. 6. Box
1360, Silsbee. Bond was set at
$500.
Tracy B. Davis, 19, Rt. 6, Box
140, Silsbee, was arrested on
two charges of misdemeanor
theft. A $500 bond was set for
each charge.
Officers arrested Wendel
Wayne Ener, 23, and Ramona
Lea Ener, 23, both of P.O. Box
274, Hull, on charges of bur-
glary of a habitation. Bond was
set at $5,000 for both.
Deputies are investigating
the theft of several items from
the Kountze residence of Ken-
neth Childress. Childress re-
ported someone entered his
residence between 7 a.m. and
5:30 p.m. July 27 and took a
television, two guns and a
watch. The items were valued
at about $755.
The department is also in-
vestigating the theft of candy
bars and $15 in change and bills
from the Short Stop conven-
ience store in Evadale July 24.
A clerk at the store reported a
two-tone green pickup truck
pulled into the store's parking
lot carrying a number of per-
sons. Several of its occupants
entered the store and a Mexi-
can male in a black shirt
allegedly took the missing ob-
jects, reports show.
was not yet complete. Some
items of evidence were also
sent to the Beaumont Regional
Crime Lab for analysis, he said.
Though the death seemed to
be of a suspicious nature, Allen
said, the department was not
ruling it as a homicide Tuesday.
“However, at this point, (a
homicide) is not being ruled
out," Allen said. “We're collect-
ing evidence and going ahead
with the investigation-we're
not just sitting on our hands
(waiting for the autopsy re-
sults)."
Texas Rangers Haskell Taylor
and L.C. Wilson are assisting in
the investigation of the case.
Bolen was a microfile pro-
cessor at St. Elizabeth Hospital
in Beaumont and had gone
bowling the night before her
body was discovered, Allen
said. She had been living in
Silsbee about two weeks and
had moved here from Lumber-
ton.
Bolen was born in Germany
and lived most of her life in the
Chattanooga, Tenn., area. She
had served in the U.S. Army
for three years.
Bolen's funeral was conducted
at noon Tuesday at Lane Fun-
eral Home in Rossville, Ga. She
was buried in the U.S. National
Cemetery in Chattanooga.
Survivors were listed as a
daughter, Carrie-Anna Blevins
of Loughman, Fla.; a son,
Richard Dale Bolen of Silsbee;
mother, Edeltraud Graham of
Chattanooga; three sisters,
Monika Stanke of West Berlin
and Patricia Boyd and Georgia
Graham, both of Chattanooga;
and a brother, Gary Graham of
Chattanooga.
money by accepting the van
donation.
Administration of the van
will probably be placed under
the county’s indigent health
care department, he said.
McMurry said in the letter
persons eligible to use the van
are persons who are residents
of the state with income less
than 150 percent of the federal
poverty index.
It will probably be at least 90
days before the van goes into
operation, McKinney said.
In other action, commission-
ers voted to appoint Robert W.
Owenby as a fire commissioner
in Fire District No. 1 and Jim
Zinn fire commissioner in Fire
District No. 5.
McKinney said the court will
probably begin budget hearings
with county department heads
Tuesday.
Volleyball Players
To Meet August 8
Students in grades 9-12 who
are interested in playing volley-
ball should report to the high
school gym at 9 a.m. on
Monday, August, 8, Coach
Kathy Nichols has announced.
ON AUGUST 13
Public Hearing
To Be Held On
Rabies Ordinance
The first of two public hear-
ings will be conducted Tuesday
night to allow Hardin County
residents to state their opinions
on a county rabies ordinance.
Commissioners called the pub-
lic hearings after Precinct 2
resident Pete Holland request-
ed in June that the county
enact some type of law to
protect citizens from vicious
dogs. Holland's daughter was
attacked by a dog earlier this
year.
Hardin County Judge M.R.
"Pete" McKinney said the state
rabies law can be adopted by
counties and made as liberal or
as stringent as a county wants.
The law could involve im-
poundment and veterinary
checks of dogs who have bitten
someone; possible fines to the
owners of dogs who have
bitten someone; restraint of all
pets to owners' yards or re-
straint by owners if out of the
yards; and mandatory vaccina-
tion.
The hearings at 7 p.m. Tues-
day and Aug. 16 in the com-
missioners’ courtroom will give
residents a chance to tell com-
missioners what, if any, mea-
sures they would like to see
adopted.
“We don't want to do any
more than people want," Mc-
Kinney said.
Area Students To
Receive Degrees From
Lamar University
Several area students are
scheduled to be among a total of
374 candidates for 381 certifi-
cates of completion and degrees
at Lamar University-Beau-
mont's graduation ceremonies
Aug. 13.
Commencement ceremonies
are scheduled to begin at 9 a.m.
in the Montagne Center. Six-
teen students will be candi-
MADD Chapter To
Meet On Aug. 11
The Hardin County area
chapter of Mothers Against
Drunk Driving will meet at X,
p.m. Aug. 11 at the First City
Bank of Sour Lake. Chapter
founder John Robertson said he
will update persons attending
the meeting on the progress of
the chapter. Officers may be
elected if a quorom is present,
he said.
Reforger Military Equipment To
Move Through Beaumont Port
The annual REFORGER ex
ercise will enter its 20th year
when U.S. Army forces begin
their deployment to Europe in
early August. REFORGER is
one of the largest military
exercises the United States
conducts each year. The pur-
pose is to demonstrate the
resolve and capability of the
United States to honor its
NATO commitment.
This year’s exercise will fea-
Postal Officials Warn Of
Scam To Underpay Postage
The postal inspection service
has warned consumers not to
fall prey to a nationwide mail
order scam that is encouraging
the underpayment of first-class
postage. Promoters of the mail
order scam are selling an
information package at a rtout
ranging from $5 to $100 that
describes how to mail first-class
letters for 2 cents rather than
the current rate of 25 cents.
The scheme is designed to bilk
the postal customers out of
their money for inaccuarate and
out-of-date information, chief
postal inspector Charles R.
Clauson says.
The information packages
cite Title 39. United States
Code, Section 4253 as a legal
bask for the 2 cent first-class
rate. Chief Clauson advises that
this section was eliminated in
August 1970 under the Postal
Reorganization Act. The cur-
rent first-class rate is 26 cents
for the first ounce or fraction of
an ounce.
Unfortunately, some letters
bearing only a 2 cent stamp
have been delivered without
collection of the deficient poet-
age and that has given credence
to the claims made by pro-
moters of this fraudulent
schemq, Postal inspectors in-
vestigating this scheme have
filed administrative and cri-
minal complaints against the
promoters. It is our goal to
protect the postal service from
loss of revenue and to stop this
fraudulent promotion, skys
Chief Caluson.
Postal employees have been
alerted to the scam and are
being instructed to check first-
class mail for appropriate post
(SmScorn So*. I.Fogel)
ture the deployment of active
Army, Army Reserve and Na-
tional Guard units from 28
states to West Germany for
field exercises. The units'
equipment will be moved by
highway and rail to the ports of
Savannah, Ga., and Beaumont,
Texas. There, the Army's Mili-
tary Traffic Management Com-
mand will supervise the loading
of the more than 2,700 pieces of
equipment onto three Military
Sealift Command ships for the
voyage to Europe.
The ships are the Navy’s
super cargo carriers known as
fast sealift ships: the USNS
Algol, USNS Denebola and
USNS Altair. The 946-foot-long
vessels are combination roll-
on/roll-off and container ships
and are capable of speeds
exceeding 30 knots. Port opera-
tions in the States are set for
Beaumont August 11-12 and
16-18 and Savannah August
16-17 and 20-22. The vessels to
be used have not yet been
determined.
Upon arrival in the port of
(Sm Port See. 1. Page •)
dates for certificates of comple-
tion, with 42 candidates for
associate degrees, 241 for bac-
calaureate degrees, 74 for mas-
ter’s degrees and one for the
doctorate of engineering.
Silsbee candidates for asso-
ciate degrees are Billy Jay
Coplen, industrial electronics;
and David Hayes, industrial
electronics and computer elec-
tronics and robotics.
Associate degree candid tt'-
from Lumberton are Douglas
Jay Levack, industrial elec-
tronics; Richard Chris Huff,
refrigeration and air condition-
ing; and James Mullins, law
enforcement.
From Sour Lake, David Pa-
trick Matheny is a candidate for
an associate degree in welding.
Candidates for bachelor's de-
grees from Silsbee are Tammy
Elizabeth Roy, elementary ed-
ucation; Brian Wesley Weath-
ersby, political science; Starts
Kay Gore Gray, secondary
education; Gregory Paul Fost-
er, computer science; James
Keith Huggins, sociology; and
David Hayes, industrial techno-
logy.
Lumberton bachelor's degree
candidates are Myreta Yates
Cooper, accounting; Julia Mer-
line Ainsworth Adkins, bio-
logy; and Lorri Lyn Taylor,
criminal justice.
Bachelor's degree candidates
from Kountze are Diane Rachel
Langlois Lehmiller, French and
Spanish; Theresa Elizabeth Bil-
al, finance; and Patricia Boyett
Mitcham, elementary educa-
tion.
From Evadale, Pamela Joyce
Giroir is a candidate for a
($m Lamar Sac. 1, Pago •)
County Gets Check For $520 As
Share Of Mixed Drink Tax
ARVAl NMRT (LIFT) and Carlton WhHw survey thw lew cream Uttering Highway W east of Sllsbww after thwtr Blow
Ml lew Cream truck overturned Monday afternoon. The truck's freezer door opened with the impact and scattered
several varieties of Ice cream products on both sides of the highway. Hebert, a passenger in the vehicle, received
a cut on one arm In the accident, while driver White received bruises.
Hardin County received a
check for $520 recently as its
share of the state's 12 percent
mixed drink tax collected dur-
ing the second quarter of the
year.
State Comptroller Bob Bul-
lock Friday mailed checks total-
ing $10.8 million to 221 counties
and 440 cities that tax mixed
drink sales. According to state
law allowing the sale of mixed
drinks, cities and counties each
receive a 12.6 percent share of
the state's tax collected on
mixed drinks sold within their
boundaries.
Bullock said the state collect-
ed $45 million in mixed drink
taxes for the second quarter,
compared to $45.3 million col-
lected during the same period
in 1967.
Of the total $45 million,
counties received $5.6 million,
the same amount rebated for
1987 second quarter collections.
Cities received $6.2 million this
quarter, a slight drop from last
year’s allocations of $5.3 million
for the same period.
The remaining $84.2 million
balance was deposited in the
state's general revenue fund.
Last year $34.4 million from
second quarter collections was
(SmTan Sec. I.PagaS)
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Read, R. L. The Silsbee Bee (Silsbee, Tex.), Vol. 70, No. 27, Ed. 1 Thursday, August 4, 1988, newspaper, August 4, 1988; Silsbee, Texas. (https://texashistory.unt.edu/ark:/67531/metapth821105/m1/1/: accessed July 17, 2024), University of North Texas Libraries, The Portal to Texas History, https://texashistory.unt.edu.; crediting Silsbee Public Library.