Sulphur Springs News-Telegram (Sulphur Springs, Tex.), Vol. 102, No. 185, Ed. 1 Tuesday, August 5, 1980 Page: 1 of 10
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By JOHN CORE
NewsTvIegram Staff
A three-year veteran of the Sulphur
Springs Police Department was being
hailed as a hero Tuesday after saving the
life of an 11-month old baby Monday af-
ternoon.
Quick action by Cpl. Ricky Roberts was
credited with saving the infant, who had
stopped breathing, after Roberts
responded to a distress call shortly after 2
p m. Monday at 207 Radio Road.
“When I arrived the baby was not
breathing and was already beginning to
turn blue,” Roberts said.
Having competed CPR training in April,
Roberts swung into action and began
giving the still-conscience child mouth-to-
mouth resuscitation. Within a minute, the
child responded and began breathing on its
own again, the officer said.
Eleven-month old Lacy Petty, daughter
of Mr. and Mrs. Steve Petty, was then
taken to Memorial Hospital were she was
examined and released. There seemed to
be no apparent reason why the child
stopped breathing, authorities said.
According to officer Roberts, Mrs. Petty
said the child was lying on the floor crying
and suddenly stopped breathing.
“This was the first time I ever had to use
my CPR training,” Roberts said. “I was
afraid I had forgotten how to do it, but it all
fell into place when I got started,” he said.
Roberts did have one complaint con-
cerning the incident - a situation which he
says could mean the difference between
life or death in similar situations.
“I was on the square when I received the
distress call,” Roberts said. It took me
nearly five minutes to reach the house on
Radio Road, even using my lights and
siren. I arrived in time to help this time,
but next time maybe me or some other
officer might not - because many people
would not pull over to the side of the read
to allow the emergency vehicle a chance to
get through.
“People need to pay more attention to
emergency vehicles and dear the way for
them. It could be the difference between
life and death,” he stressed.
Roberts received his CPR training under
Sulphur Springs firefigher Lee Ward’s
direction in the spring — and Tuesday
morning, a child was well and happy.
The infant's parents could not be
reached for comment.
'Diversion' tactic probed
Thieves hit downtown store
New chief appraiser
Thomas Witt became the new Chief Appraiser for the Tax Ap-
praisal District of Hopkins County at a board session Monday
night at the Chamber of Commerce Building. Witt and officials
of the District signed the contract at the meeting to make his
employment official. Witt was formerly employed in the
Delinquent Tax division of the Dallas County Tax Department.
Headquarters for the Hopkins County District will be located at
214 Connally St.
-JWHMwto
Witt takes over post
as tax appraisal chief
Sulphur Springs police Tuesday were
investigating a possible connection bet-
ween a burglar alarm In the southern part
of the city and the break-in of a downtown
jewlery store In which almost $4,000 worth
of merchandise was taken.
Shortly after midnight, the alarm at
Circle E Western Wear store sounded and
police converged on the scene within
minutes.
Officers found the east door of the
establishment had been smashed in with a
a Sag stand that normally sits near the
store. Although the door had been broken,
there was no one in the store when police
arrived and nothing appeared to have been
taken.
Police were still at the Circle E Store on
Shannon Road when another burglar
alarm sounded — this time on the down-
town square.
The front door of Tuck’s Jewerly on the
square had been smashed in with a
crowbar, according to police reports. The
intruders apparently went to the first
jewerly display case, smashed the top with
the crowbar and grabbed several dozen
gold rings before making their getaway
down Main Street.
In all, the thieves made off with one
Masonic gold and silver ring valued at
1195,12 rings valued at (600, 12 14K gold
Masonic rings valued at $2,400, and 12
birthstone rings valued at $600.
Police found the crowbar used in the
robbery and recovered one of the Masonic
rings and one of the birthstone rings. One
ring was found near the comer by Winnie
Lee’s Dress Shop and the second ring was
recovered around the comer on Main
Street.
Police investigators working on the case
believe there may be a connection between
the break-in at Circle E and the burglary
at Tuck's. According to a police depart-
ment spokesman, investigators think the
break-in at Cirde E may have been a rase
to get police in the south part of town while
robbing the downtown area.
No leads or suspects had been uncovered
early Tuesday morning, but Delbert
Harrell, chief of police, said it was too
early in the investigation to make any
judgments yet
Another alarm at almost the same time
sent police to the Unclaimed Freight Store
on 1-30 when the owner reported the glass
doors to the store were shot out The doors
were valued at $300.
Members of the Tax Appraisal District
of Hopkins County Monday night con-
firmed the employment of Thomas Witt as
Chief Appraiser of the district.
Witt, married and the father of two
children, will be moving to Sulphur
Springs from Farmers Branch, where he
was employed in the deliquent tax section
of the Dallas County Tax Department.
Employment contracts for Witt, which
will provide him with a $20,000 salary,
were approved and signed and board
chairman Ray Johnson officially
welcomed Witt to Sulphur Springs as the
new Chief Appraiser.
The Tax Appraisal District will be
headquartered at 214 Connally St., office
space recently acquired by the board from
W.A. Carothers, and the members present
at the Monday session agreed on and
approved the terms of the lease.
Witt presented the board with bids and
data packets from seven office furniture
and supply companies, (one local and six
from out of town) with whom he had
personally visited. After a lengthy
discussion the board unanimously ac-
cepted the bid of $2,729.00 from Office
Equipment Co. of Dallas. That sum will
provide office furniture for Witt and one
secretary as well as a conference table and
eight chairs. The board also approved the
motion to purchase an IBM typewriter,
unanimously agreed that Witt and his staff
would need at least two office calculators
with special memory features for use after
Jan. 1 and also agreed, on Witt’s
suggestion, that the office would not need a
copy machine at the present time but that
it would “be almost impossible for the
office to function without one later.”
The board also reviewed its current
expenses and issued five checks. Each
check issued by the board must have
Witt’s signature as well as that of the
board chairman and the secretary.
Witt recommended the board consider
Linda Murr as the office secretary and the
board approved the recommendation.
“However, under law the board has no
jurisdiction in the hiring of personal office
staff,” Johnson said. “That is the
responsibility of Tom himseif.”
Mrs. Murr, who currently lives between
Quitman and Yantis, “has an extensive
background in real estate and legal
matters and would definitely be an asset to
the office,’’Witt said.
In discussing organizational matters
with the board, Witt suggested the board
“come up with a code of ethics or some
sort of written policy to abide by." The
board agreed to let Witt investigate other
areas of the state concerning the matter,
and report later to the board on the ground
that has been broken by other districts
concerning conflicts or potential conflicts
of interest.
Witt will also visit with the local service
organizations, beginning with the Lions
Club, and will present an overview of the
district's function. Witt also expressed a
need to meet soon with city, county and
school tax representatives.
The board authorized Witt to “seek out
and purchase personal health insurance
within the guidelines set forth in the
contract.” The board also amended Witt’s
contract (as drawn up subject to terms
agreed upon in a prior board meeting) to
increase car allowance expense from 18*6
cents to 25 cents per mile, with Witt to
furnish his own automobile until after Jan.
1, 1981. The board agreed to consider at
that time the purchase of an automobile
for Witt and his staff to use in performance
of official duties for the District
News briefs
Two zone requests fall
before public protests
Public opposition to rezoning proposals
led members of the Planning and Zoning
board to deny two requests in a Monday
night meeting. A public hearing was called
Nurse shortage not
critical at Memorial
While most hospitals in Texas are
struggling to cope with a severe nursing
shortage — which has triggered high-
priced agency services and recruiting
“bounties” — Hopkins County Memorial
has so far escaped most of the pinch.
Hospital Administrator Glenn Kenley
said Tuesday morning that the nursing
department here is “pretty well staffed,”
but added, “You never have as many RNs
(registered nurses) as you think you
need.”
Statewide, hospitals are facing a
shortage of 9,000 nurses, according to a
House subcommittee report issued
Monday.
"We’ve always enjoyed close ties with
the Paris Junior College nursing school,”
Kenley said, “and that has helped keep us
out of major problems facing many
hospitals.
“We are feeling the nursing shortage,
just as any other city, but we don't have
the problems facing the metropolitan
areas,” Kenley said. “In many large
cities, nursing agencies have tight control
(over the availability of nurses), and
nurses are assigned to hospitals on an as-
needed basis.
“This leaves the hospital paying a
sizeable fee to the agency in addition to the
nurse’s salary. We’ve never utilized the
agency approach here," Kenley said,
“because we want our nursing staff and all
employees to have a careful orientation of
our operations here.”
Kenley said the hospital currently
employs about 80 nurses in various levels.
Shaw transferred to prison
The final chapter of the Janyth Kay
Wallace murder apparently closed
Tuesday morning when Hopkins
County Sheriff John E. (Junior) Tittle
placed Jessie Lee Shaw in the back
seat of the sheriff’s car and headed for
Huntsville.
Shaw, who was to have gone to trial
Monday for the 1979 slaying of Janyth
Kay Wallace, pled guilty to murder
charges last Friday and was sen-
tenced to 60 years in prison by Eighth
Judicial District Judge Lanny Ramey
in Mount Vernon. Billy Ray
Wallace, who pled guilty to similar
charges stemming from the murder
of his wife, was sentenced to life in
prison Dec. 13, 1979 and is currently
serving his term.
Shaw was an employee on the
Wallace dairy at the time of Mrs.
Wallace’s death. The woman was
reported missing on July 12, 1979,
when her car was found ap-
proximately two miles east of
Rockwall on the east bound shoulder
of Interstate 30.
Her decomposed body was found
Dec. 5,1979, in a shallow grave near
the East Caney community.
Daytime heat eases bit
Gusty southerly winds and a light
cloudy cover helped to keep die
mercury within the tolerable range
Monday.
The maximum temperature
reading Monday according to the
official observation station in Sulphur
Springs was 93 degrees.
The National Weather Service
forecast is calling for continued partly
cloudy skies and slightly cooler
temperatures through Wednesday.
Daytime highs are expected to be in
the lower to mid 90s with overnight
lows in the mid 70s. There is about a 20
percent of late afternoon or evening
thundershowers through Wednesday,
according to the forecasters.
The extended forecast is calling for
fair to partly cloudy skies and hot
temperatures throsgh Friday. There
is a chance of isolated thun-
dershowers on Thursday.
Center meeting scheduled
A substantial crowd is expected to
be on hand at 1:30 p.m. Wednesday at
the Hopkins County Civic Center for a
special called meeting regarding
completion of the auditorium
facilities.
" 7 '* ‘ - . > ' ' ; V. .. '
Hopkins County Judge Joe R. Pogue
and members of the commissioners
court will meet with interested
citizens and members of various
community organizations to explore
means of obtaining equipment, in-
cluding lights, a sound system and
curtains, to put the finishing touches
on the center auditorium stage.
Civic Center Manager Bert
Wharton said Tuesday he had set up
290 chairs in anticipation of a large
turnout for the session.
on a third request and a fourth proposal
was tabled.
Opposition surfaced during a public
hearing on c rezoning request from
Kenneth McAdams, representing Charles
Duncan, to change the classification of
1055 Church Street from Residential II to
Local Business.
McAdams filed his request in order to
operate a craft and gift shop at that
location.
Mrs. Malveme Glover, 1073 Church St.,
along with 10 other Church Street
residents, were on hand to protest the
rezoning move.
Acting as spokesman for the group, Mrs.
Glover told the board that the residents
were “...not opposed to the gift shop," she
said, “it is a nice shop. But if the property
is rezoned to business we have no way of
knowing what other kind of business might
move into our neighborhood. We have
enough business around us now and we
don’t want any more.”
The rezoning request was denied by the
board by unanimous vote.
Objections to potential noise led to the
denial of a request from Johnny Green for
permission to build a go-cart track on his
property located on 1-30 east near the
Family Entertainment Center under
Special Uses zoning.
Several residents of Sprite Street, which
is located at the rear of Green’s property,
were on hand to protest the proposed
rezoning.
The residents said the noise from such a
venture would only serve to disturb the
neighborhood.
Since the gocart track would be located
near a residenial area, the board voted to
deny the request.
A second public hearing concerned a
request from D.A. Heil that his plat in the
Clark Addition, Section II Lots 10,11,12
Block 3 and Lots 8, 9, Block 2 located on
Hilltop Drive off Arbala Road, which was
approved January 3,1977 be rescinded.
Heil told the board that he had the land
platted so he could develop the area, but he
later learned that he would be required to
build streets with curb and gutter work
from FM 2297 to his property. He ex-
plained that he would have to build the
road at his expense past the homes of other
residents in the area and that the other
owners did not wish to contribute to the
building of the street.
“In view of the cost of building a street
I’m asking that the plat be rescinded so
that I can sell the property as raw land."
Heil said.
The board voted to table the request and
take the matter under further study.
The board called a public hearing for
next month on a request from Gaylon C.
Price to rezone his property located ad-
jacent to 1425 Holiday Drive from
Residential I to Local Business. The
hearing is to give owners of neighboring
property a chance to respond to the
request for rezoning.
Mrs Peggy Price explained that if the
property were rezoned it would be made
into a parking lot for Price’s nursery
business.
Business booming for
state oil wildcatters
AUSTIN, Texas (AP) — Texas wild-
catters, independent oil hunters who say
they almost went broke seven years ago,
today are enjoying the biggest oil boom
Texas has seen in more than 20 years.
Backers for new oil drilling projects are
almost standing in line to invest their
money in a high-stakes gamble that
there’s oil in them there holes.
“We're seeing doctors, lawyers, anyone
that has some money to invest,” said Ed
McGhee, executive vice president of the
International Association of Drilling
Contractors.
Reports from the Texas Railroad
Commission, which regulates the state’s
oil and gas indtstry, show the number of
active Texas drilling rigs has jumped bySO
percent over last year, from 722 in 1979 to
the current number of 938.
One industry expert calls it “the biggest
boom in 24 years".
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Keys, Clarke. Sulphur Springs News-Telegram (Sulphur Springs, Tex.), Vol. 102, No. 185, Ed. 1 Tuesday, August 5, 1980, newspaper, August 5, 1980; Sulphur Springs, Texas. (https://texashistory.unt.edu/ark:/67531/metapth824842/m1/1/: accessed June 20, 2024), University of North Texas Libraries, The Portal to Texas History, https://texashistory.unt.edu.; crediting Hopkins County Genealogical Society.