Sulphur Springs News-Telegram (Sulphur Springs, Tex.), Vol. 113, No. 11, Ed. 1 Monday, January 14, 1991 Page: 1 of 10
ten pages : ill. ; page 23 x 14 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:
*
BEST AVAILABLE COPY
Sulphur Springs
78 7 Mi 04 4it'A
SOUTHWEST MITKOPUBI I SHIN
£8*7 E YHNDE l...f •, I)w
EU PP'-.O, TX 7m?
- Jj . ^ .
•^curs-Srlrgrmn
JANUARY 14,1991
25 CENTS
VOL. 113-NO. 11.
Gulf
crisis
grim
By The Associated Press
Please see Gulf, Page 10
Winnsboro man
killed in accident
A Winnsboro man was killed
Sunday night when the vehicle he
was driving crashed into a tree on
County Road 2331 in Como,
Department of Public Safety
officials said Monday.
Armondo Abida of 611 Mul-
berry, Winnsboro, died in the ac-
cident.
According to Department of
Public Safety officials at the
scene of the accident, the GMC
Suburban had been reported
stolen from a parking space at a
church in Winnsboro.
The vehicle was owned by
Mike Gibson, Route 4, Win-
nsboro, according to DPS
spokesman Gene Barnett at the
scene Sunday. The DPS trooper
working the accident was Darrell
Estes. Also on the scene were a
Hopkins County Emergency
Medical Service ambulance unit
and Sulphur Springs Fire
Department and volunteer rescue
and county fire truck units.
The GMC front portion was
crushed and separated from the
rear of the vehicle, the latter scat-
tered in a nearby field.
The vehicle had been reported
stolen about an hour before the
accident occurred, DPS said.
School board
plans to hire
new principal
Sulphur Springs Independent
School District Board of Trustees is
expected to approve the hiring of
an elementary school principal
during executive session at the 7
p.m. Tuesday meeting.
In other personnel matters, the
board will discuss health services
personnel and an athletic trainer.
Board members will hear the
final results from the Texas As-
sessment of Academic Skills
(TAAS) test that was given to
students in grades three, five, seven
and nine, along with the exit level
test. Sulphur Springs students
received scores that were above the
state average in all categories at all
testing levels.
Randy Reed, assistant superin-
tendent/curriculum, will present
board members with a progress
report on the Reading Recovery
Program. The purpose of the
program is to provide early inter-
vention for first and second graders
experiencing difficulties in learning
to read. The program is provided at
Houston, Austin, Bowie and Lamar
elementary schools.
Trustees will consider approval
of a Student At-Risk Policy. The
purpose of the policy is to raise the
academic performance level and to
reduce the drop-out rate of at-risk
students.
In other business, trustees will
consider approval of appointment
of a district representative to serve
on the Hopkins County Regional
Civic Center Board.
©The Echo Publishing Co., Inc. 1990
Li
ill
|L jJilL
i
ms
| Wet ground
gives cattle
tough time
PARIS (AP) — U.N. Secretary-
General Javier Perez de Cuellar
said Monday that he made no
progress toward peace during his
meetings with Iraqi-leaders and no
longer had hope for a diplomatic
settlement to the Persian Gulf
crisis.
“I’m going to speak to you
frankly and clearly. Unfortunately I
don’t see any more reasons to be
optimistic, I don’t see any reason to
have real hope,” he told reporters
after a 45-minute meeting with
President Francois Mitterrand.
“The hope that I had is already
gone,” he said. “I’m going to make
a report to the Security Council.
1
J
*8.
<4
Citizen selection
Former winners of the Citizen of the Year Award are pictured here at the Hopkins County Chamber of
Commerce offices where they reviewed nominations for this year’s honoree. The award will be presented at
the chamber’s annual banquet Thursday, Jan. 24, and is sponsored by Echo Publishing Co.
—Staff photo by Mary (Irani Davis
Court eyes late taxes
Hopkins County commissioners
voted today lb contract the Tyler
law firm of Calame, Linebarger and
Graham to begin proceedings for
publishing the county’s delinquent
tax list
Donald Wolf, attorney for the
firm, told the commissioners a list
of delinquent taxpayers would be
published by Feb. 1. ...
The firm would advertise with
local media before the list was
published to give people owing
money to the county and other
taxing entities sufficient time to pay
their bills, he said.
“We’re trying to work with
people in every way possible,” he
said.
The firm plans two advertisments
warning of the publication. After
that, the firm would work with the
tax assessor’s office to update the
list and remove those who had paid
their bills before the final list is
published.
In other action, the court ap-
proved advertising for bids for cul-
verts and road materials. Also, the
commissioners rejected the bids for
two sheriff’s vehicles so that the
department could rewrite the
specifications and new bids could
be accepted Jan. 28.
The court also approved mem-
bers for the Hopkins County His-
torical Commission, chose a
grievance committee and approved
county bonds, bills and financial
statements.
Summit on hold
WASHINGTON (AP) — The White House said today the Moscow
summit is “up in the air” as it weighs whether to impose economic
sanctions on the Soviets for the brutal military crackdown in the Bal-
tics.
White House spokesman Marlin Fitzwater said Kremlin officials
had assured the American ambassador in Moscow that President
Mikhail S. Gorbachev still wants a peaceful resolution of the turmoil
in Lithuania.
- “Clearly the trip to Moscow is up in the air. I think there’s a
general skepticism that we would go,” Fitzwater said at a news
briefing.
The White House said last week that the Persian Gulf crisis and
lingering arms control problems could delay the summit
Staff and Wire report _
Hopkins County dairy cattle are
plodding through sodden ground
these days as a result of heavy
rainfall and thawed soil —
elements that can spawn mastitis
and lower milk production.
“The rain is not that much of a
t problem for their hooves and feet,”
David Black, a Sulphur Springs
veterinarian, said. But, he added,
should the ground freeze again af-
ter the animal traffic has caused
deep ruts the sharpness can cause
cracked feet and stone bruises.
However, the greatest .threat
comes from mastitis, an inflamma-
tion of the udder. “The mud makes
it hard to keep the udder clean,”
Black said. At the same time, he
added, the udder is stimulated by
the milking so that when the animal
leaves the bam and the organ drags
in the mud and manure, the
likelihood is greater of acquiring
more than usual bacteria.
Gordon Ford, county agent, said v
that often the dairyman may not
notice the infection immediately
and delay treatment, causing addi-
tional problems.
“You just get the usual reduction
in milk this time of season when
we get all this rain,” Ford said.
Black noted that a hard rain
would be welcome because it
would pack the soil down and leave
less leeway for it to become sod-
den.
Although the situation costs are
measured in lower milk production,
Ford noted that hot weather reduces
production even more. In the win-
ter, he said, the cattle are not stres-
sed severely if they are kept clean,
have a clean place to rest and are
out of the wind.
Maintaining a feeding schedule
can also be difficult as movement
slows down for both the animals
agd their masters.
While livestock owners are wres-
New grading
suggested for
dairy c•
WASHINGTON (AP) — Dairy
cows would be rated in sort of a
beauty pageant being considered
by the Agriculture Department
There would be no Moos
America, however.
Daniel D. Haley, head of the
department’s Agricultural Market-
ing Service, said the proposal to
establish standards for dairy
breeding cows and heifers was in
response to initiatives by the
dairy industry and exporters.
Four grades would be con-
sidered: Supreme, Approved,
Medium and Common. Currently,
Haley said, there are no uniform
grade standards for dairy cows
nationally. Those that do exist
vary from state to state.
Haley said features to be con-
sidered when grading a cow
might include: weight adjusted to
age; body capacity; condition of
legs and feet; mammary
development; and dairy character,
including thinness of hide, an-
gularity and shape of head.
Officials debating probation funding
Editor’s note: This is the second In a two-part series on the pros and cons of
accepting money available from the state to help finance the probation
program in Hopkins County. The first part was In Sunday’s News-Telegram.
By CARLMILLEGAN
News-Telegram Stuff
In September, the Hopkins County 8th Judicial District declined to ac-
cept more than $114,000 in state-sponsored funds from the Community
Justice Assistance Division of the Texas Department of Criminal Justice.
As a result of that refusal, some district officials believe the district lost
funding that could have been beneficial to the local adult probation
department However, to the people making the decision, the move served
to get the state out of the district’s hair and was a logical exercise in effi-
cient management of the taxpayer’s dollars.
So, who’s right?
“I don’t believe that we should require the taxpayer to pay for a system
if the beneficiaries of that system can pay for it,” 8th District Judge Lanny
Ramsay said.
Each district must provide funds to pay for its adult probation services,
according to Vernon’s Texas Statutes Annotated Codes of Criminal
Procedure.
The law allows districts to charge as much as $40 for supervision fees
in addition to whatever state monies it receives. The 8th district charges
probationers a $25 supervision fee which currently provides $175,000 of
the adult probation department’s total 1991 budget of $187,500.
But, District Attorney Frank Long argues, more money could be avail-
ably, if the district wished to apply for it.
Recording to the law, “...the responsible judges are authorized to accept
state-aid, grants or gifts from political subdivisions of the state or as-
sociations and foundations, for the sole purpose of financing adequate and
effective probationary programs and community-basedo correctional
facilities other than jails or prisons in various parts of the district”
That law gives the district judge the power to accept or not accept any
state financial aid he deems necessary, including the $114,650 the district
didn’t apply for in September.
“That was a conscious decision to not accept the funds,” Mark Miller,
director of the district’s adult probation department, said. “Judge Ramsay
and I sat down and decided we couldn’t use the money on the program we
wanted to build, so we decided not to submit the budget (rnoney applica-
tion).”
Ramsay said the state funds were not necessary to cany out the duty of
the adult probation program in the district, adding that it is accomplished
with the current funding.
“The ultimate purpose is to carry out the function of the system,” Ram-
say said. “The purpose of the adult probation system is to assist in
rehabilitating persons who have committed criminal offenses and who
choose to be rehabilitated.”
“I believe the judge is trying not to be a burden on the taxpayers,”
Miller said. “We are trying to be self-sustaining.”
The costs of criminal rehabilitation and supervision, unfortunately, are
high, and those costs can overwhelm the department.
And, according to Long, current revenues aren’t enough for the efficient
and effective functioning of the adult probation department
This year’s expenditures are expected to reach $228,882, a full $41,382
more than projepted 1991 revenue, according to the official budget.
“That budget can be misleading,” Miller said, “I had projected higher
expenditures than we’ll probably spend. That’s to provide a cushion, just
in case.”
The cushion, however, still doesn’t cover actual spending. According to
Miller, the actual spending put the 1990 fiscal budget for the adult proba-
tion office approximately $10,000 in the red, and the first quarter of 1991
is $3,000 in the hole. But, neither the state nor the county had to pick up
the tab.
According to Miller and Ramsay, the red ink was dried up with funds
from a special account started a few years ago.
“We had a big surplus of funds when we withdrew from the state assis-
tance program,” Miller said. “We put it in a special account, and now in-
terest on that account pays for a portion of our current budget.”
This fund is also helping provide an added cushion for the probation
department until the program can match what it earns with what it spends.
“We feel the responsibility to be good stewards of our tax dollars,”
Ramsay said. “We are proving in the adult probation department that
government can be run the way it ought to be run — the way people run
their businesses and the way a wise person would handle the money if it
belonged to him.”
According to both Long and County Judge Joe Pogue, the problem has
a lot to do with money, but it also has a broader scope than just money.
“The provisions for accepting the state funds suggest a lower number of
cases each officer can handle, helping provide better supervision on each
case," Long said. “The program also provides guidelines which give
procedural suggestions and program information and standardized form
supplies. All designed to help, not restrict the department”
To Ramsay and Miller, however, accepting state dollars has various un-
acceptable strings attached.
According to a court employee who asked not to be identified, the state
requires that all funding which is left over at the end of the fiscal year
must be returned to the state for redistribution.
A complicated state formula is supposed to allow funds raised within
the district to remain there, but Miller said many of the left over dollars
would be sent back.
Moreover, Miller said that the district is able to do many of the state-
sponsored programs without state aid, including the bootcamp program,
eletronic surveilance and alternate supervisory techniques.
“I got the figures over five years and pencilled out what we received
from the state, and what it amounted to in actual net cash didn’t turn out to
be very much,” Miller said.
Also, since the district does not accept state funds, all unspent funds at
the end of the year remain with the county.
The 1991 budget revenues officially fall $41,000 short of expected ex-
penditures, so, at the end of the year, there wouldn’t be anything left over.
Also, the shortfall will have to be paid by that cushion fund
Ramsay and Miller contended that not accepting the funds was no great
loss but an exercise in fiscal responsibility, and they noted that the dis-
trict’s savings account was designed to aid the program until it could pay
for itself.
Regardless of the arguments, the final responsibility for the effective
and efficient operation of the adult probation department rests with the dis-
trict judge, according to the law.
By law, it is his duty, as “the responsible judge," to accept or not accept
government funding on what he considers the best interest of the district
and the taxpayers.
“We plan to keep operating this way as long as it works,” Ramsay said,
“If every district did things tnis way, there wouldn’t be so much deficit in
Austin.”
ding with the soil condition —
“It’s probably harder on the
dairyman than the cattle," Ford
said — those who were planning to
build lagoons or stockponds are
finding their projects on hold until
the weather improves and the soil
dries out.
Jim Griffin of the Soil Conserva-
tion Service said, “The old ground
is so saturated they haven’t been
doing any. dirt work or anything.”
He said about 12-15 SCS projects
are awaiting dry weather.
In other areas of the United
States, much of the nation’s food-
producing area is brimming with
moisture that will be needed in a
few months to produce key crops
such as com, wheat and soybeans,
says the Agriculture Department’s
chief weatherman.
“We’re sitting with saturated
soils over much of the eastern part
of the nation right now,” said Nor-
ton D. Strommen, chief
meteorologist for the department’s
world agricultural outlook board.
“Most of the Com Belt has got
more moisture in the ground right
now than when we started the
growing season last year,” he said.
No weather is perfect for all
people. Too much rain or snow has
caused floods and hardship for
many. There also are huge pockets
of severe drought where long-time
moisture deficits still lurk
ominously.
WSMNMR
I
i
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.
Keys, Clarke. Sulphur Springs News-Telegram (Sulphur Springs, Tex.), Vol. 113, No. 11, Ed. 1 Monday, January 14, 1991, newspaper, January 14, 1991; Sulphur Springs, Texas. (https://texashistory.unt.edu/ark:/67531/metapth823614/m1/1/: accessed July 12, 2024), University of North Texas Libraries, The Portal to Texas History, https://texashistory.unt.edu.; crediting Hopkins County Genealogical Society.