Sulphur Springs News-Telegram (Sulphur Springs, Tex.), Vol. 102, No. 28, Ed. 1 Sunday, February 3, 1980 Page: 1 of 28
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Sulphur Springs
VOL. 102—NO. 28.
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Sunday
15 Cents
FEBRUARY 3 1980.
FOUR SECTIONS
News briefs——
Snow flurries
pay short visit
The weatherman called for partly
cloudy skies Saturday and warmer
temperatures. What he got was
cloudy skies, cold temperatures and
the first snowfall of the season in
Sulphur Springs.
The snow didn’t last long — just a
smattering of small flakes — or cause
any real problems to motorists, but it
did throw the forecast offa bit.
National Weather Service
forecasters are sticking by their guns
and are still calling for warmer, more
pleasant weather over the next few
days.
The forecast calls for clearing skies
and warmer temperatures on Sunday
with the mercury rising into the upper
50s to lower 60s. *
- Monday the skies are expected to be
mostly clear and the daytime high
temperature is expected to be in the
mid to upper 60s across the northern
section of the state.
The mild weather may not last long
though, according to the forecasters,
as another front is scheduled to pass
through the area on Tuesday bringing
scattered showers and cooler tem-
peratures.
The official high Friday at the
Sulphur Springs weather observation
station was 38 degrees. The tem-
perature slid to a chilly 19 overnight,
and at 8 a.m. Saturday with light snow
falling the mercury stood at 29
degrees.
Cooper Lake
meeting set
A special progress report to
sponsors of the proposed Cooper
Reservoir project has been scheduled
for Feb. 14 in Sulphur Springs.
Col. Donald J. Palladino and
members of his staff from the district
office of the U.S. Army Corps of
Engineers will attend the meeting to
make the report. Representatives of
cities and agencies involved in the
Cooper project will be invited, along
with news media representatives, but
the session will not be a public
meeting.
Walter Helm, president of the
Sulphur River Municipal Water
District, said Saturday that the
location and time of the briefing will
be worked out later.
“The Corps is working on this lake
and Col. Palladino has agreed to keep
us up to date on the progress,” Helm
said.
The issue at hand is the revision of
the Environmental Impact Statement
on the reservoir and downstream
improvements — currently blocked
by a federal court injunction.
'Witch' found
not guilty
PLAINVIEW, Texas (AP) - Self-
professed witch Loy Dean Stone is
financially drained, a free man for the
first time in 27 months and wondering
who*committed the crime for which
he was tried.
A state court jury deliberated two
hours and 20 minutes Friday before
acquitting Stone of the shotgun
slaying of 15-year-old Roxanne Casas
on Halloween 1977.
Raul Casas, the girl’s father, was
shaken and angry with the jury’s
verdict.
Inmates take hostage
at New Mexico prison
SANTA FE, N.M. (API - Inmates
armed with pipes and clubs seized the New
Mexico State Penitentiary Saturday and
took at least 11 hostages, demanding the
resignation of the deputy waVden and a
meeting with news reporters.
Some 240 policemen and National
Guardsmen surrounded the prison, which
houses 1,136 prisoners, including eight
women.
At least one hostage was released, but
there were conflicting reports on the
number of hostages inside the prison.
Inmates told Deputy Warden Robert
Montoya they had four hostages in
cellblock 3. They said all- four were in-
jured, but riot seriously,
Santa Fe Police Chief Jesus Sosa said 11
to 15 guards were being held hostage.
John Ramming, a spokesman for the
Corrections Department, said one injured
guard was taken from the prison by am-
bulance.
"The prisoners are allowing those who
were injured to leave," he said.
Warden Jefry Griffin said, the prisoners
started setting some fires inside, ap-
parently burning mattresses, “They're
hurting themselves because they're
making it difficult to breathe," he said.
State Police “Chief Martin Vigil said an
inmate also had been injured.
"I understand that he had been hit over
the head with a cleaver and stabbed
numerous times," he said
Griffin said he was not sure what the
inmates wanted, other than the
resignation of Montoya, who was handling
negotiations with inmates- via two-way
radio.
"Montoya's resignation is the only thing
I've heard they want, but they do want to
talk," Griffin said.
Griffin said the prisoners were armed
with pipes and clubs. He said they did not
have firearms.
The prisoners were in control of the
entire cellblock area and an information-
booth inside the main gate They told
Montoya they wanted to meet with
members of the news media inside the
gate, but would not allow them to come to
the eellbloeks.
Montoya told the inmates he would not
negotiate with them until all the injured
were out of the prison
Gov, Bruce King said he had agreed to
meet with the inmates.
"I think they have some grievances they
w anted to get out to the media," King said
in an interview from the governor's
mansion. "I'm going to be out there. Right
now I’m ready and standing by to see what
they're going to do."
Griffin said Montoya was negotiating
primarily with one inmate, but did not
identify him. The warden also said the
inmates were not trying to escape
County's appeal reflected
in chamber correspondence
Ready for the calls
Hopkins County Arthritis Foundation chairwoman Jackie Brice, left, receives
materials from telethon host Maureen Reagan as members of the local Business and
Professional Women's Club prepared to handle pledges called in to 885 3193 Sunday
from noon until 6 p.m. The telethon will be aired on KLTV 7, Tyler. The women will
be based at the Peoples National Bank but will not be able to view the telethon
themselves. "It can get pretty lonesome unless the phones keep ringing," said Mrs.
Brice. Donations are used to sponsor clinics and research for the treatment of ar
thritis victims.
By JERRYTITTLE
News-Telegram Stall
Hopkins County seems to hold con-
siderable appeal to potential new
residents, according to the number of
letters coming in to the Meal chamber of
commerce.
Chamber officials say a surprisingly
large number of "query" letters are being
received from people around the country.
Most of the letter writers indicate a
desire to relocate in the Hopkins County
area and request information on topics
ranging from housing and job availability
to county tax structures.
“Correspondence of this nature usually
slows down around Christmas, but since .
Jan. 1 we’ve been getting two and three
letters a day," said David Jackson,
executive director of the chamber. “And
the majority of the people writing to our
office has already made the decision to
move before writing the.query letter."
January letters arrived from as far
away as Morcerville, N.J.,tothe East, and
Santa Barbara, Calif., to the West, with
one bearing a Fleet Post Office number
from Seattle, Wash.
Jackson’s office also received numerous
letters from the Midwest section of the
United States as well as from Colorado,
and three letters were received bearing
Kansas postmarks.
"We have a basic data package that we
Candidate rips commission's record
By JIM MOORE
News-Telegram Staff
“People are paying attention to the
(Texas) Railroad Commission for two
reasons: one, higher utility bills and two,
it’s the only statewide race for the
position,” said Jim Hightower, candidate
for the TRC, in his unannounced stop in
Sulphur Springs Friday afternoon.
Hightower, 37, resigned his position as
editor of The Texas Observer last July to
begin his efforts at becoming a com-
missioner on the TRC. ,
“I gave up the editor’s job to run
because this office has more power than
any other office in the state,” he told The
News-Telegram. “The TRC has been
controlled by the oil and gas industry and
nobody else was going to run against
them.”
Hightower is seeking the unexpired term
of Jim Nugent.
He received a degree from North Texas
State University in 1965, worked as a
researcher for the Congressional
Research Service of the Library of
Congress until 1966 and studied in-
ternational affairs at Columbia University
until 1967 before becoming a legislative
assistant to Senator Ralph Yarborough.
Hightower worked with the Rural Housing
Alliance in Washington D.C. and became
Cable-Gilley rematch
on tap for Demo ballot
nother candidate has thrown his hat
i the political ring.
owell Cable announced late Friday
ning that he had filed his candidacy for
Texas House of Representatives to
resent District 10 which includes
ikins, Hunt and Rains Counties.
1 believe that due to my background
experience, which is the sum total of
r one votes, I can more effectively
resent the people of our district and
■e nearly reflect the conservative
ire of District 10 in the Legislature," he
l.
emocratic incumbent Smith E. Gilley,
Jreenville lawyer, has already an-
nced his intention to seek re-election
a Greenville spokesperson for the
mblican Party said that Pat Williams,
an employee at E-Systems in Greenville,
will also seek the position.
Both Cable and Williams unsuccessfully
sought the election in 1978.
My political philosophy is that of a
conservative Democrat,” said Cable, “I
am a businessman and I live on a stock
farm in rural Hopkins County. My wife,
Mary, and son Chad, a young lawyer, will
be assisting me along with many friends
and supporters."
"It is basically a contest between
myself, a conservative Democrat
businessman and an incumbent liberal
trial lawyer," Cable said. “The liberal
approach to our problems in Texas and the
Nation has caused more problems than it
has solved."
the director of the Agribusiness
Accountability Project there in 1969.
The candidate worked in a presidential
campaign for Fred Harris in 1975-76 before
becoming editor of The Texas Observer in
1977.
“The TRC has the most blatant conflict
of interest of any in the state,” he said,
citing that he was the only candidate at the
present who was “not obtaining any
campaign funds from any industry
regulated by the railroad commission.”
He said that he plans to raise about
$300,000 for his campaign and has already
received over a third of that amount from
individuals, organizations such as the
Texas Farm Union an the American
Agriculture Movement. “It’s basically
consumer oriented people,” he explained.
“We’ve got to tell these people no on rate
increases to cut our utility bills," he said.
He cited a “classical” example in the
Burlington-Northern rate increases for
hauling coal.
“It’s three times more expensive to ship
the coal than it is to buy it for the citv of
San Antonio,” he said,“they (the railroad)
have had eight rate increases since 1975.
The law requires the TRC to investigate
the rate increases and if they find it to be
unfair they are required by law to fight it,
but they didn’t.
“The TRC even has more power than the
ICC (Interstate Commerce Commission)
because the TRC is allowed to subpoena
records that the ICC can’t.
“The railroad commission was in direct
violation of the law and even gave 4he
railroad an intrastate increase at the same
time.”
Hightower stressed, “It’s high time to
tell them NO on rate increases. The Texas
Municipal league is fighting a rate in-
crease case now where they feel that a $7
million rate of return is unfair. The TRC
has recommended a $20 million increase —
plus 100 percent fuel adjustment cost being
passed through to the consumer instead of
the present 85 percent.
“They need to take a hard look at the
parent company’s books as well as the
individual company’s books. The parent
company in this particular case is having
its best years ever and a lot of it is because
the company iS buying the gas from
another of its sub-companies.”
The Denison natiye said that Texas
needs to concentrate on renewable
resources.
He cited an example where a state
college had cut its fuel costs by 35 percent
by using solar energy. However, they
maintained natural gas as a back-up
system and were having to pay a base rate
even when they were not using any of the
gas.
“That savings was used as the basis for
a rate increase which the company got —
based on the savings," Hightower said.
"The oil and utility companies don’t want
these alternative fuels developed. I’ve
been using gasohol for a long time and it’s
in my car right now. The TRC and the oil
companies refer to it as an exotic fuel but
its time is now:"
“The Texas Railroad Commission is
more important than ever to the con-
sumers,” Hightower said, “I began
looking at them two years ago and found
that the regulators were regulating
themselves.”
Why is he runnning for the office?
“It had to be done and one of us had to do
it,” he said, “so I answered my own
writing and quit my job in July to put this
campaign together.”
send to anyone requesting information
about Hopkins County," Jackson said,
"and it includes maps, a community
profile sheet, an industrial survey of
Sulphur Springs and a brochure which
briefly highlights annual events,
recreation and other attractions of the
county.''
Jackson's office also received a letter
from a Nebraska woman who requested
information about large, old homes for
sale in this area. The interested party said
she had "read about certain old Hopkins
County homes" and that is what she
wanted.
Meanwhile, the unemployment rate for
Hopkins County remained among the
lowest in the nation during the latter part
of the year just ended.
Preliminary December figures released
this week by the Texas Employment
Commission show unemployment in
Hopkins County down to three percent.
Coy Vicars of the Sulphur Springs office
of the Texas Employment Commission,
said most of the people who come into his
office from out of state seeking job
availability information usually have a
copy of the Chamber of Commerce
brochure with them.
“The Sulphur Springs Chamber has
spent lots and lots of money on a com-
mercial advertising package to be
distributed in rest stops and welcome
stations across the United States," Vicars
said, "and it really works because many
out-of-state people as well as Texas
residents come into our office with a
specific question about a specific industry
or agricultural interest which they have
read about.”
Vicars also said, "the TEC preliminary
report I got Friday for December shows
unemployment in Hopkins County to be at
its lowest since July of 1978 - three per-
cent.
“And that’s amazing," he said,
“because other TEC offices around us
report a rise in their unemployment rate
while ours just keeps coming down."
Campaign stop
Jim Hightower, former editor of The Texas Observer, made an unannounced visit to
Sulphur Springs Friday afternoon and talked with local barber Mike Briley about
his campaign to gain election to the Texas Railroad Commission. Hightower says
his campaign is a "grass roots" affair to stop rising utility costs and "give the
consumer a fa*r shake". He vows to return to Sulphur Springs several times before
the end of the campaign.
-St»H Photo
Judo classes
dropped; other
courses open
Two classes have been canceled and
three others have been filled in this
spring's Community Education
program, director Tommy Long has
announced.
Both judo classes - beginner and
intermediate — have been canceled
because of scheduling conflicts. Long
said all students who have aready
paid fees for the judo classes will
receive refunds.
The three filled classes include
aerobic dancing and beginning and
intermediate tumbling. Some spots
remain available in the advanced
tumbling class, Long said.
With recent inclement weather
cutting down on initial registrations,
students will be able to sign upon the
opening nigty of class for courses
which remain open. Fees must be
paid at the time of registration, Long
said.
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Keys, Clarke. Sulphur Springs News-Telegram (Sulphur Springs, Tex.), Vol. 102, No. 28, Ed. 1 Sunday, February 3, 1980, newspaper, February 3, 1980; Sulphur Springs, Texas. (https://texashistory.unt.edu/ark:/67531/metapth824451/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.