Sulphur Springs News-Telegram (Sulphur Springs, Tex.), Vol. 102, No. 186, Ed. 1 Wednesday, August 6, 1980 Page: 1 of 16
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Sulphur Springs
VOL. 182—MO. 18L
Hewsrgr am
Wednesday
AUGUST 6.1980.
15 Cents
City adopts long-range plan,
eyes current problem areas
By JERRY TITTLE
News-Telegram Staff
The City of Sulphur Springs now of-
ficially has a long-range plan for the future-
— including same recommendations inr
easing current problems
Meeting in regular session 'Tuesday
night in the Council Roam of the Municipal
Building, the Sulphur Springs City Cam-
mission approved tile final draft of tie
Comprehensive Flan, a 26-vear projection
of tile city’s needs.
The plan calls for expenditure of some
$3.2 million over the next five years tc
improve the city's water system and
wastewater treatment facilities
If ultimately approved and funded,
about $2.7 million would be spent on im-
provements to tile water supply network.,
while just over $590,886 would he -ear-
marked for wastewater plant upgrading
Larry Stone and Joe Hark of £mdk
Stone t Associates, an engineering con-
sultant firm from Longview, presented
their final draft of the Comprehensive
Plan to the commission. The jfom is a
projection of the city's needs and
corresponding expenses for the nett two
decades.
In his presentation to the council. Stone
addressed lii
df specifically id the cityr$
water treatment and wastewater
collection facilities, firing pertain
priorities winch need the city's immedune
attention.
‘These priority areas are deficient fur
1910 ... and need to he corrected nght
now," Stone said.
Concerning the waste-water treatment
facility, the consultants concluded tie
performance of the plant was poor wati
eBhient exceed^ peaadWr,* standard*
The engineering firm recommended
immediate imjnnwments to the frwring
facility at an estimated total constructiur
cost of $514,880, with $420,880 of that to he
spent within the next five years.
Hie consultant also cited four prohJem
areas in the water treatment fatality.,
which if improved immediately would
increase the plant's pumping tapahQity to
seven million gallons of treated water per
day, in canqiarison to the three to four
million gallon "safe capacity ' now
Among priority improvements to the
water «S»m are two new raw water
paanga.. additional pipes, and
-engjhc^nnenC of die treatment plant
The atgniBers advised the city to
proesiBd with the recommended five-year
EBrowHnenQ program as outlined in the
pHan and perform. a detailed computerized
ffiadyss of the wader distribution pipe
nflUwirir So determine the network’s
'agaftiilliies of meeting fire demands and
makamar Sows.
Tie rimnnsfflnn approved the final draft
if tie Gstepnritoaaic Plan which will now
ite forwarded Da the appropriate state
amity Sir funding action.
The laancil also adopted Ordinance No.
BET winch provides for the dosing and
Taeaffing of an easement to a portion of
iLmgum Street, clearing the way for a
Cannurr Draft pfa—j evpanumn program
Cannon Craft awns the property in
pnsttum along Langino Street but because
if tie amount of traffic and use, the city
now ft™* tie easement. After hearing a
areseiUCnn Go tie Commission from Ed
Kigamond of Cannon Craft, City Com-
’EngHuner Millard Qover said, "H Cannon
Graft Mtesi tie property at one tine, I see
ti! reason why tie <nty cannot quit-claim it
adkaiateBL"
He Cannmasan agreed and tie motion
'.I aiiiipr tie ordinance earned.
■ on Tuesday’s agenda,
Lewis Helm ap-
pnnned a Sulphur Springs Census Ad-
vaay, Board to compile figures on the
lumber of vacant houses in tie city and
Bureau: an Tyler.
“As you taraw," Helm said, *we are
asappcinted with. tie recent official count
fxSunhBr Scringe ■*
The nine members of tie Advisory
Board are employed in areas of tie city
whndk would enable them to project the
lumber if vacant houses. The board
ouBHisa of Sad Richardson, General
Mepftnrar; Bill Farter, Director of Public
*urte.. Jan Blade. News-Telegram; Jim
Hidanai Lane Star Gas; Jim Collins, UJ>.
PifflOffice;: Sefly Bradford, KSST Radio;
IP Staifl. Texas Power k Light; David
ItePnesL. president of tie Hopkms Comity
Ghaiiiker of Commerce: and Ed Stevens,
aperuifemtent of Sulphur Strings schools.
Council selects
new city manager
The Sulphur Springs Qty nnmmnmmi
announced Tuesday night that Marshal L
Shelton, of Stephenvilk. had accepted as
offer to become the new City Manager
effective Aug. 19 when he wffl he formally
appointed to the post.
Stettin, however, will not assume ha
new duties until Sept. 1. interim City
Manager Travis Owens will retire to lid
former position as the city's Director if
Finance.
Shelton, 51, had served as the City
Manager of Stephenville from 1972 until
the present. Prior to that position, he was
the Assistant City Manager of Borger and
before that he served as the Qty Manager
at Beane.
Shelton, a Navy veteran, was test
employed in the Budgeting and Perwamei
department of Mohil Oil Company team
364 to E38L He is married mad has one son,
age a
Statin was graduated from Tahoka
ijgftiSttotim, 048 and holds a bachelor of
arts jggrw ■ government from Texas
Tech) University and a master of arts
degree m pufdic admuustration from
TarteSau State University. Be also at-
tended related framing schools at Mid-
western Umversty. Texas AAM. Kansas
Curocraty. Iowa University and tie U.S.
GmfiServwe.
to atetain to semag as president of the
after? Gab, Shelton also has held
■a tie International City
Araariatioo, Texas City
Association, Methodist
was announced at
executive session
Civic center manager
says business booming
A continuing buffd-qp of activities at tie
Hopkins Comity Regional One Center is
the year beginning Has tab was |
Wednesday by Burt
manager of the teg faeffity.
Events are bemg booked
Wharton told the ftewter tf I
mittee.
The brood variety reflected by
center's daffy fitewhr tins haw ■
different types of activities caa he
by the center, Winston steed, and al
attract viators into tie dty
“We are glad to do tamfly remnant and
ones," he added. te we need is hr
people to get wt and hetei
b progress in
a cattle shew was being
i to make the
s tie civic center as aa
■ tie rwnmwwtjr’s
fs recent ■
of
here is irwlipty efiectively
wwa mnr efltet needed He alw endorsed
tie ritystod fora togbrr cease figxre
Braty Im aid a interesting
tin tic amber tepespte from
tare i
It is the responsibility of the board to
compile the data and forward it to Tyler by
Aug. 10.
“It is most important for those citizens
who did not get a census form before the
official count to mail or bring by the
Municipal Building that information
needed to complete a census form,” Helm
said. “What took the census people a week
to do, they want us to do in a day or so.”
If the Advisory Board is able to shov the
Tyler office a substantial difference in
count, another official count will have to be
conducted in Sulphur Springs.
The Commission also reviewed the
current operational bills before hearing
from a citizen’s group concerned with the
proposed installation of a sewage line on
Arbala Road.
Mack Gammill, spokesman for the
group of homeowners, persuaded the
Commission to table the project tem-
porarily until an engineering consultant
can meet with city inspector Joe Cerretani
and review the route plans for the line. The
project was to be funded through an En-
vironmental Protection Agency grant
which would supply 75 percent of funds and
the homeowners would pay the remaining
25 percent.
However, spokesmen said it is the
group's belief that the project cost is too
high to begin with, and they (homeowners)
could get it done cheaper.
The Commission agreed to restudy the
project and the possibilities of modifying
the EPA grant.
Call from the top
Sulphur Springs Interim City Manager Travis Owens phones a
friend to share the good news of his “call from the top'. In
response to a letter Owens sent President Carter last month
concerning the status of Cooper Lake, the Sulphur Springs of-
ficial received a phone call from the White House Tuesday af-
ternoon. According to an administration spokesman, Owens
said, the White House staff is looking into the matter of Cooper
Lake and will report back to the city on the status and the
chances of getting the lake finally built.
-StaHVlHW
News briefs
Cumby gets
new mayor
CUMBY (Special) — Long-time
Cumby Mayor Luke Smith Tuesday
night followed through on his promise
to resign after being elected by write-
in voters in the last election, and the
city council named James Beasley to
Smith’s vacated post.
Beasley was elected to the city
board last April, and now will com-
plete Smith’s elected two-year term.
James Buchanan was appointed to
Beasley’s post on the city governing
body.
Smith had told city officials
following his write-in election that he
would hold office only until a suc-
cessor had been selected. He has
served as mayor of Cumby for eight
years, and had served one full term
previously as a successful write-in
candidate.
In other Tuesday night action,
councilmen voted to study a possible
ordinance restricting parking along
Highway 499 within the city limits.
The area currently is under open
parking regulation.
Little change
seen in weather
Not much change is in store in the
Hopkins County area over the next
few days as far as the weather is
concerned.
Forecasts prepared by the National
Weather Service call for clear to
partly cloudy skies and continued hot
afternoons through Sunday, with
daytime maxim urns near 100 degrees
and overnight lows in the 70s.
White House telephones local
official on Cooper Lake holdup
By JOHN GORE
News-Telegram Staff
The long-delayed Cooper Lake project is
beginning to draw attention from the
highest offices in government as of
Tuesday.
Travis Owens, interim city manager,
received a call from the White House
Tuesday afternoon after having written a
letter to President Carter regarding
Cooper Lake.
“I expected some sort of response,”
Owens said, ‘‘but a phone call from the
White House is more than you expect.”
Owens received a call - not from the
president personally, but from Eugene
Eidebury of the White House staff.
“I wrote the letter July 8 and explained
to the president that Cooper Lake had been
on hold for over 20 years. I also wrote that
we were presently facing a drought
situation and 1 asked the president point-
blank what our chances of getting Cooper
Lake were. I ask if they were good, bad, or
whatever,” Owens said.
Eidebury told Owens the White House
would look into the matter and try and
determine the current status of the project
from both the Corps of Engineers and the
Environmental Protection Agency.
The White House spokesman also said
that he would report back to Owens oo
whatever information he was able to ob-
tain.
“I feel like it might help the situation,”
Owens said. “It sure can’t hurt to have the
White House looking into the Cooper lake
project. Who knows, it might be just what
we need to get the ball rolling,” he added.
Redistricting at stake
Another 7,500 people needed
By JOE WOOSLEY
News Telegram Stalf
Texas’ State Representative District 10
needs about 7,500 people in addition to
those counted in the preliminary 1980
census. That is, if the district hopes to
remain intact for Hunt, Hopkins and Rains
counties.
State Representative Smith E. Gilley of
Greenville reports that the re-districting
which will be required following the of-
ficial release of the 1980 census will
mandate that each district include from
90,000 to 91,000 people. Each legislative
district had populations of between 72,000
and 73,000 based on the 1970 census.
The preliminary count for Smith’s three-
county district shows that the population
has climbed to 82,623. By counties, the
unofficial count is 53,267 in Hunt, 24,582 in
Hopkins and 4,774 in Rains.
There are 150 members in the House of
Representatives in Texas and the re-
districting will seek to have near equal
populations in each district.
The district's overall population gain
has been about 14 percent. Rains County
experienced the fastest growth with a 27.2
percent gain. Hopkins County has posted
an 18.7 percent increase and Hunt County
trailed with 11 percent.
Largest gains were centered in the lake
districts in the Quinlan-West Tawakoni
area and the eastern sector of Rains where
a new reservoir is awaiting the im-
poundment of water to mark its com-
pletion.
Gilley noted that Quinlan had reflected
the greatest growth — a whopping 126
percent. The growth has created unique
problems, making the Quinlan In-
dependent School District the second
largest in Hunt County with an enrollment
in the 1,400-1,500 level, Gilley pointed out.
It is second only to Greenville in Hunt
County, having passed Commerce in
student numbers.
“We would hope to hold our three
counties intact and add a portion of Fannin
County,” Gilley said, if the approximately
7,500 people needed to flex out the district
are not found by the time the official
census figures are released.
Gilley said that while the county judges
of the three counties had indicated they
believed the preliminary figures were low,
it is often very difficult to revise the counts
upward substantially because of the proof
required.
The Greenville lawmaker, who is the
Democrat Party nominee seeking re-
election with a Republican opponent in
November, said he planned to address the
problem of re-districting in talks before
area civic clubs and organizations during
the fall.
Local telephone rates going up
he was
News-Telegram Staff Special
Sulphur Springs residents will be among
thousands of other General Telephone
Company customers receiving a rate
increase on or about Oct. 1.
The rate increase fqr this area followed
this week’s ruling by the Texas Public
Utility Commission in Austin.
According to Rad Richardson, manager
of the local GTE office, the recent ruling
will mean a rate increase of 40 cents in the
basic monthly service charge for Sulphur
Springs residents.
“The rate for a residential private line
win go up from $$.75 a month to $7.15, not
including the instrument,” Richardson
said.
Richardson also explained that Sulphur
Springs is in rate band No. 2, the second
lowest rate band in the GTE system. The
lowest rate band under GTE rates is a
basic monthly charge of $6.65. He also said
that only four cities in the East Texas GTE
divison of 23 cities and towns would
recieve a rate increase under the new
ruling. In addition to Sulphur Springs,
customers in Winnsboro, Quitman and
Clarksville will be charged higher rates.
The other 19 cities or towns in the division
will remain the same or in some cases
actually receive rate decreases.
Although the PUC voted for an increase
in GTE’s rates it also voted for the first
time in its five-year history to penalize a
telephone company for poor service,
lopping $4 million off a General Telephone
Co. of the Southwest rate increase.
The three-member commission also
instructed its staff to begin an in-
vestigation Feb. 1 to see whether General
Telephone had complied with commission
service regulations. The PUC threatened
to revoke the company’s authority to do
busineses if it was not in compliance.
General Telephone, which serves 295
cities, had sought an increase of $58.3
million a year. Subtracting the penalty,
which lops one percentage point off the
company’s profit rate, the commission
approved increases totaling $31 million a
year, or just over half what the company .
requested.
Chairman George Cowden said it is
“ludicrous for the company to say its
service is good, acceptable or even slightly
deficient."
Cowden said he would have been happy
for the commmission to delay the rate
increases for six months.
He said the company's actions “can be
interpreted that General really has no
concern for the welfare of its customers."
An unofficial spokesman for GTE who
wished to remain anonymous said that the
local GTE office and the most at the East
Texas GTE system was not targeted by
PUC as to the allegations of poor service.
Most of the problem concerning GTE
service is with the South Texas branch of
the company, he said.
Most ordinary household customers of
General Telephone, which served 295
cities, would get increases in their monthly
bills for basic monthly sendee.
Monthly one-party household telephone
bills will rise by $1.30 in Denton, $1.78 in
Sherman, $1.25 in Plano, 30 cents in
Baytown, $1.20 in San Angelo, $1.00 in
Bryan-College Station, 75 cents in Kilgore
and 55 cents in Del Rio.
Brownwood’s residential one-party rate
would drop by $1.35 because of a change in
a rating device that clusters cities by
population.
4
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Keys, Clarke. Sulphur Springs News-Telegram (Sulphur Springs, Tex.), Vol. 102, No. 186, Ed. 1 Wednesday, August 6, 1980, newspaper, August 6, 1980; Sulphur Springs, Texas. (https://texashistory.unt.edu/ark:/67531/metapth823695/m1/1/: accessed July 18, 2024), University of North Texas Libraries, The Portal to Texas History, https://texashistory.unt.edu.; crediting Hopkins County Genealogical Society.