Sulphur Springs News-Telegram (Sulphur Springs, Tex.), Vol. 102, No. 36, Ed. 1 Tuesday, February 12, 1980 Page: 1 of 10
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-News briefs
Center board
eyes seating
Members of the Hopkins County
Civic Center Board of Directors will
consider the acquisition of bleachers
and curtains for the show arena, hear
a report from a committee in-
vestigating curtains and lighting for
the auditorium and consider action to
approve the lease of the Central
Rodeo Association for the CRA Finals
Rodeo at their meeting Thursday at
the Civic Center.
• The board recently received a letter
from Syler Sales, the agent who
usually handles the Brangus sales
held at the Civic Center, who has
suggested obtaining bleachers to be
placed around the show ring as well as
curtains to be placed behind the
auctioneer. The board will consider
action on that request.
New committees will be named at
the meeting and the curtain and
lighting committee will make a report
on the status of their study.
leasing of cattle pens for rodeo
livestock will be considered as part of
the agreement to obtain the CRA
Finals Rodeo here for the second year
and a report will be received, on the
status of the water seepage problems
in the auditorium.
Members of the Hopkins County
Commissioners Court signed a con-
tract for installation of French drains
and approved additional djcaftage
work at their meeting Monday.
Civic Center Manager Bert Whorton
said that there will be a report on a
recent meeting with school officials
on the use of the Civic Center by the
school system.
Overdue tax
suits in mill
Tax laggards in the Sulphur Springs
Independent School District — ap-
proximately 840 of them — may ex-
pect legal actions soon.
That is the information handed to
trustees of the school district this
week by Mays, Hart & Co., lawyers, a
firm which holds a contract to collect
delinquent taxes.
The firm already has filed a series
of legal actions to recover past-due
school taxes, but the approximately
840 listed in the report are others that
require additional information before
suits are processed.
On Aug. 31, property owners, real
and personal, owed the district
$171,086.02 in delinquent taxes.
The overall bill for delinquent
taxpayers, however, may include
additional costs. If suits are filed,
court costs are involved. A15 percent
charge also is added for collection of
past due accounts, in addition to
penalties and interests.
Mild weather
expected here
After the brief, but cold, winter
storm of last weekend, Sulphur
Springs residents are in for a bit of
wanner, more spring-like weather for
the next few days according to the
National Weather Service.
Forecasters are calling for clearing
skies Tuesday and Wednesday with a
warming trend through Thursday .
The daytime high temperature
reading should be in the 50s Tuesday,
reaching into the 60s Wednesday and
Thursday under fair skies.
What wind there is, according to the
forecast, will be light and variable
from the south.
Overnight low temepratures will be
in the 30s Wednesday and in the upper
30s to lower 40s Thursday.
The mercury reached 48 degrees
Monday as a weak cool front moved
through the area.
yvv . .’
Sulphur Springs
Tuesday
VOL. 102 -NO. 36.
FEBRUARY 12, 1980.
15 Cents
Roses smell
like money
this season
Hostage release hints stronger
By The Associated Press
Iran’s Foreign Minister Sadegh Ghotb-
zadeh said today he hoped the hostage
crisis will end soon, adding that Iran will
cooperate with U.N. Secretary-General
Kurt Waldheim, Tehran radio reported.
There was no elaboration on Ghotb-
zadeh’s statement. A U.N. spokesman in
New York said Monday that negotiations
over the hostages’ release are at a “very
sensitive stage” and that Waldheim is in
constant touch with U.S. and Iranian of-
ficials.
investigate Iranian charges against the
deposed shah.
The radio said Ghotbzadeh declined to
give a timetable for the Americans’
release. But in what could be a related
development, the radio quoted Ghotbzadeh
as telling ABC News (hat an international
commission being set up to investigate
deposed Shah Mohammad Reza Pahlavi
will “probably” meet In Tehran within a
week.
commission.
The radio reported that President
Abolhassan Bani-Sadr, meanwhile,
repeated his offer to free the hostages
within a few days if America would admit
its “crimes" in Iran since it helped the
deposed monarch regainhis throne in 1953.
"If America agrees to our view this may
be possible,” it quoted him as saying in an
interview with French radio and
television.
Waldheim has attempted to arrange
freedom for the 50 Americans since they
were seized at the U.S. Embassy in Tehran
101 days ago. He has also proposed an
international commission be set up to
Ghotbzadeh said he was leaving for
Athens tonight to begin a five-day
European tour, the radio said. A broadcast
monitored in London said Ghotbzadeh will
also visit Italy and France. It was not
known if his trip was connected to the
arrival in Tehran of an international
When his offer was first made public in
an interview published Monday in the
French newspaper Le Monde, the State
Department said there will be no
profession of guilt from the U.S. govern-
ment.
Iran’s revolutionary patriarch, the
Ayatollah Ruhollah Khomeini, leveled a
strong warning to the “Soviet Union to
refrain from aggression against Islamic
countries, the radio reported in a broad-
cast monitored in London. It said the
warning came in a message sent to Soviet
leader Leonid Brezhnev and quoted him in
part as saying:
"Any aggression agaihstThird World
countries and Islamic countries, par-
ticularly in this region, is agaiiist'-4h£_
norms which should constitute a proper
basis and foundation between nations.”
The portion of Khomeini's message
broadcast by the radio, monitored in
London, did not mention by name the
Soviet armed intervention in Afghanistan,
an overwhelmingly Moslem nation to the
east of Iran.
■:A r '■«•
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Economic mix
An example of the balanced economy of Hopkins County is captured in tis photo
taken at the Sulphur Springs Industrial Park between Elm Street and Interstate 30
as the city's latest major industrial development, a new plastic film extrusion
plant under construction by Winzen International, provides a backdrop for milk
tanker trucks lined up to enter the Mid America service facility. The balanced
economy of the county has been credited with keeping unemployment rates low,
the standard of living high, and minimizing the impact of national economic
problems in the local area.
—SI*H Photo
By JOHN GORE
News-Telegram Staff
There’s the Tyler rose, the San Antonio
rose, the California, the Colorado, and the
Utah rose. They all come from different
places but they have one thing in common
- they are expensive, and even more so
this year,
Many husbands, sweethearts, fathers
and sons like to give roses to the ones they
love on Valentine’s Day. The lady who
receives a dozen long-stemmed red roses
this Feb. 14 will know that the sender is
either deeply in love with the recipient, or
at least has reached more deeply into the
wallet.
According to wire reports, there is a
shortage of roses across the nation this
year and many florists are having trouble
filling orders. Nationally, the cost of of a
'roses is quite high, with prices
ranging up to $65 to $70 a dozen.
A News-Telegram survey of * local
florists Tuesday revealed that there are
plenty of roses on hand locally, but they
are 25 to 30 percent higher this year than
last.
"We have plenty of roses on hand,” said
a spokesman for Flowerland Florist, ‘‘but
they are expensive. We haven’t had any
trouble getting our rose orders in from
California, but the price has really
skyrocketed.”
A dozen roses purchased locally will cost
anywhere from $35 to $50 — depending on
the stems — according to the survey.
Nohe of the local florists reported having
any trouble getting roses for the Valentine
season, but all said they had placed their
orders well in advance of the holiday.
A spokesman for Sulphur Springs Floral
Company said that the salesman who
supplies the firm said he had received only
60 percent of the order he placed.
"We got all the roses we ordered," the
spokesman said, “but we didn't order as
many this year as we have in the past,
because they have gone up in price so
much we weren't sure how well they would
sell."
The spokesman went on to say that
business was good, and that even with the
high prices roses were selling well.
Most of the florists contacted echoed
that response - despite the price, Hopkins
Countians want roses and are willing to dig
deeper to get them.
A spokesman from Dougan’s Florist said
that the high cost of roses hasn't hurt sales
any at all. —
“The price is really up," she said, “but it
. hasn’t slowed sales down at all."
The bottom line seems to be that the
price of roses is like the name. To
paraphrase Shakespeare, "A rose by any
other name may smell as sweet and cost a
six-pack of sixpence more...”
Pilot test to check students’ basic skills
By JERRYTITTLE
News Telegram Stall
Sulphur Springs freshman students will
be facing a different sort of "exam” this
week - a new pilot test which could have
far-reaching impact on future students
and curriculum planners, local educators
say.
Younger students also will get a shot at
the new test within a few days.
All ninth grade students from the
Sulphur Springs Independent School
District will participate in the first Texas
Assessment of Basic Skills (TABS) Test
Wednesday at the high school, officials
announced Monday. And all fifth grade
students will take the test Wednesday and
Thursday, Feb. 27-28, at Douglas
Elementary School.
The assessment plan, the first of its kind
in Texas, will be scheduled once each year
under requirements set by the Texas
Legislature during its 1979 regular session.
Officials said the purpose of TABS is to
assess the basic skills achievement of
specific groups of students, namely ninth
grade and fifth grade level students, (with
the third grade to be added next year), in
reading, writing and mathematics for two
specific reasons: (1) to determine the
learning needs of these specific grade
levels and (2) gather and analyze the data
necessary to help schools develop more
effective programs to meet the needs of
certain individuals or groups.
“Our students are just part of the 500,000
Texas students expected to take the test,”
Dan Durham, assistant superintendent of
instruction for the SSID, said. “In essence,
the test will cover the three basics in any
educational program, and 250,000
statewide fifth grade level students will
take part as well as 250,000 ninth grade or
‘exit-level’ students.”
The “exit-level” test includes the
minimum learning objectives each Texas
student should achieve before leaving
school. If a student does not score well on
these objectives in the ninth grade, special
remedial programs may be designed for
both individuals and groups. The student
may then continue to re-take the test
during the remaining three public school
years. Although districts will be required
to offer the remedial programs, students
at the exit-level will not — under Texas
Educational Agency guidelines — be
required to re-take the test.
Therefore, the reading and mathematics
portions of the test are being referred to as
“criterion-referenced” simply because
each test question in these sections will
relate to a specific objective or skill
students are expected to learn by the time
they complete the particular grade level
being tested, Durham added.
That is, each question is keyed back to a
specific objective already built into the
school curriculum. Thus, each student
competes against the test itself, and not
against other students. (In the more
widely-used norm-referenced tests the
student's score is compared with those
made by other students.)
The TABS test instruments will focus on
specific Texas objectives for students.
“There will be 11 specific skills tested in
reading and 11 in the mathematics sec-
tions,” Durham said, “and there will be
four questions for each skill. If the student
correctly answers three of the four (or all
four) he is considered to have mastered
that area."
The writing composition, on the other
hand, is something special. Students will
take both multiple choice and essay tests
in the writing section.
Durham said the multiple choice section
will deal with such areas as spelling,
capitalization, handwriting legibility and
punctuation, just to mention a few.
The educator also said the essay section
will present each student with a specific
topic and he will be asked to write a
paragraph of a specified length about the
topic. Special attention will focus on the
student’s ability to express himself and his
continuity of thought.
“TEA personnel designed the test within
the state,” Durham said, “and no one in
this district knows what, specifically, is
included in them. Westinghouse Data
Score Systems of Iowa City, Iowa, was
contracted by the TEA to actually compile
the tests and score them," he added. "Two
hundred specially trained readers will
work’ with the writing portions of the test
and each essay will be read by two
readers.”
Durham also noted that the test scores
should be returned to his office by May 1,
at which time the aggregate or collective
scores will be released to the public at the
next scheduled meeting of the school board
as required by the Texas legislature.
■ \
“The school district feels this test will be
very valuable in planning curricula for
district-wide programs as well as for in-
dividual students,” Durham said. “When
the results are returned a letter will go out
to the parent or guardian inviting them to
come to the school and review the in-
dividual results with the student and
school personnel.”
He added there are no overnight, cram-
study techniques which will enable the
student to score higher on the test.
“Nothing but a good night’s sleep,"
Durham said, “and we strongly recom-
mend that parents stress the importance
of this test to their students because the
long-range effects will be very, very im-
portant.”
County court posts gains in 79, judge says
By JIM MOORE
News-Telegram Staff
“It was a good year for County Court in
1979 and should be a better year in 1980,”
County Judge Joe R. Pogue said Tuesday.
It was a rewarding year “not only from a
revenue standpoint, but also from a view
of serving justice in Hopkins County,” he
quickly added.
Pogue explained that the County Court
docket never gets cleared due to the large
numbers of cases added each month and
those still pending. “Some of them go back
almost 10 years,” he said.
As of Dec. 31,1979 there were 284 DWI
cases pending, 690 worthless check cases,
three marijuana charges and 1,080 under
the heading of “other criminal” - which
includes traffic cases that have been
appealed — f<p a total of 2,057 to start the
new decade.
Last year was a busy year with 867 cases
added to the already crowded docket. In
1978, there were 728 cases added.
During 1979, the county judge’s first
year in office, Pogue disposed of 835 cases
including 294 that were dismissed. Former
Judge L.E. Goldsmith disposed of 1,220 in
1978, with 964 of those dismissed.
“The biggest problem we have is getting
the attorneys to court,” Pogue said. "A lot
of the time, they’re out of town and unable
to be in court due to commitments in other
courts.
“The dismisals are mostly due to the
Speedy Trials Act and the second biggest
reason is that often the officer who made
the arrest or has pertinent testimony has
left the force and is unable to be contacted
to appear in court."
Judge Pogue said other problems are
faced by the court in that defendants, their
attorneys or their bail bondsmen don’t
appear for court.
‘‘We’re taking action on that too," Pogue
said, ‘‘we’re issuing failure to appear
warrants for those defendants who don't
appear or have their attorney there - and
that’s another charge against them.
“As for the bail bondsmen who don't
have their clients at court, the sheriff and I
are working on eliminating their ability to
make bonds in Hopkins County.
“We have to have bail bondsmen, but
they have to have their clients there for
court or forfeit the bonds," Pogue em-
phasized.
DWI dismissals accounted for 214 cases
in 1978 and 38 in 1979; hot checks, 398
compared against 1979’s 54; 37 marijuana
cases in 1978 with none in the past year;
and 315 miscellaneous criminal charges in
1978 and 202 in 1979.
County Attorney John Perry says that
one of the problems is that a lot of the “hot
check” charges involve what ate known as
“John Doe checks” where the defendant
can’t be identified and therefore arrested
and tried.
“We received $25,113.12 in hot checks
turned in to us for collection in 1979,”
County Attorney Investigator Larry
Vandiver reported. “Of those, we’ve had
restitution of $10,495.98 during the past
year and $8,936 of that has been since the
first of June."
Something new has been added to the
County Court along with the addition of the
County Attorney’s investigator in June —
supervised probation for misdemeanor
offenses.
"As of the first of the year, we had 17 on
probation for hot checks. We've revoked
probation on one person who got 60 days in
the County Jail and have three more
people who will end up the same unless
they get their program straightened out,”
Vandiver said.
Dismisals for hot check charges are
usually for first offenders who make
restitution according to Perry, who
quickly added, "We’ll have fewer
dismisals like that in the future."
He said that many of those that have
issued hot checks have moved out of state,
are serving time in the Texas Department
of Corrections, or have felony warrants
outstanding as well and they are making
themselves hard to find.
Both Perry’s office and Pogue pointed
out that the Sheriff's Office is doing a good
job of serving warrants.
Other activity in the County Court
during 1979 included an increase in the
number of appeals from both Justice of the
Peace Court and Municipal Courts.
In 1979 there were 230 such appeals as
compared to 165 in 1978.
The past year saw 235 DWI cases added,
compared to 217 in 1978, while there were
285 check charges filed in the court against
204 in 1978.
Marijuana cases dropped as only 22
were filed in the past year from the 26 filed
in 1978.
“We’ve tried to change the image of the
County Coui£” Pogue said. "It used to be
that you could appeal your traffic ticket or
whatever and it would die in the County
Court. We’re actively prosecuting those
cases now and it’s starting to show some
results.”
violations were up from 62 to 145 for an
overall increase from 278 in 1978 to 537 in
1979.
As a result of that attitude, pleas were
more common in County Court in 1979.
DWI guilty pleas increased from 117 to
233; bad check pleas from 83 to 134;
marijuana violation pleas from 16 to 25;
"ther criminal charges such as traffic law
“But we’re not here just to raise money
for Hopkins County,” Pogue stressed.
“They tell me that 1979 was the first time
that a defendant was found not guilty in
quite some time." Pogue had found four
persons not guilty in July when they were
tried on DWI charges.
"We’re planning on having an even more
active year in 1980,” Pogue said. “Last
year I was still learning the job but I’ve got
a year's experience behind me now and we
are doing better all the time.”
Still, the County Court docket continues
to grow.
At the end of 1977, there were 2,539 cases
pending; the number was down to 2,025 at
the end of 1978 but that was primarily due
to the 964 dismisals. The docket stood at
2,057 cases when 1979 ended.
“The only answer to keeping this docket
current is a county court-at-law, but that’s
a whole different story,” Pogue said.
.....-■ >s“.
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Keys, Clarke. Sulphur Springs News-Telegram (Sulphur Springs, Tex.), Vol. 102, No. 36, Ed. 1 Tuesday, February 12, 1980, newspaper, February 12, 1980; Sulphur Springs, Texas. (https://texashistory.unt.edu/ark:/67531/metapth824508/m1/1/: accessed June 19, 2024), University of North Texas Libraries, The Portal to Texas History, https://texashistory.unt.edu.; crediting Hopkins County Genealogical Society.