The Bastrop Advertiser (Bastrop, Tex.), Vol. 154, No. 57, Ed. 1 Thursday, September 13, 2007 Page: 1 of 18
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THURSDAY, SEPTEMBER 13, 2007
500
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Texas' Oldest Weekly Newspaper Since March 1, 1853 Semi-Weekly Since Sept. 5, 1977
Volume 154, Number 57
Bastrop, Texas
20 pages in two sections
The Bastrop Advertiser photo/Terry Hagerty
Amy Duran, a pre-kindergarten student at Mina Elementary School, prepares to eat a healthy lunch last week.
Fried foods and sugary drinks are no longer served at Bastrop schools.
Fried food's out, veggies in
By Terry Hagerty
Staff Writer
Bastrop youth can still get
pizza, hamburgers and hot
dogs during school lunch.
But soda pop, fried foods
and most candy are out.
Drink vending machines
containing carbonated bever-
ages are also gone from all but
teachers" lounges.
And "French fries" are no
longer deep-fried — they're
baked.
At a spot check of sev-
eral Bastrop schools, the
Advertiser found youth eating
— and yes, enjoying — green
peas, potato chips that were
baked not fried, and plenty
of fruit.
"There are no deep fryers
at our new kitchen at Bastrop
High School," said A1 Gaines,
Child Nutrition Director for
the school district. "And we're
serving whole grain breads,
yogurt salads and baked pota-
toes at the schools."
It's not by happenstance
that youth are being encour-
aged to eat healthier, at least
See NUTRITION, Page 3A
BEDC
ooks
outside
for help
By Davis McAuley
Editor
Monday the Bastrop
Economic Development
Corp. board turned to
two outside agencies
for advice and guidance
on separate projects,
including a proposed
convention center for
the city.
The Texas
Engineering Extension
Service (TEEX), affili-
ated with Texas A &
M University, agreed
to undertake a market
study and plan for a cen-
ter as well as looking at
the economic impact of
such a meeting facility.
Based on surveys of
similar facilities, the
study will help city
officials understand the
competition and operat-
ing challenges Bastrop
is likely to face, accord-
ing to the TEEX propos-
al. The work will take
about six weeks.
Estimated cost of the
study is $14,700, but
TEEX offered to cover
half the expense.
With little discus-
sion Monday, the BEDC
board agreed to fund the
remaining $7,350.
BEDC CEO Joe
Newman said he expects
the study to show sig-
nificant needs for meet-
ing space in Bastrop.
Convention centers
seldom support them-
selves directly, but the
city is fortunate to have
a strong base of hotel
occupancy tax revenue
to cover construction
and operating costs, said
Newman. "Essentially it
will be paid for by visi-
tors," he said.
On a different front,
See BEDC, Page 2A
ex o ender dodges jail
By Davis McAuley
Editor
A jury was waiting to be
sworn in Monday afternoon
in Bastrop before a Smithville
man agreed to plead guilty to
sexual assault of a 13-year-old
about three years ago.
Willie Ray Smith, 26, decid-
ed to strike a plea agreement
with prosecutors for no jail
time rather than risk a stiff
prison sentence at the hands of
a jury in 21st District Court.
Because he had a prior felony
conviction, Smith was not eli-
gible for probation and faced a
sentence of five to 99 years if
found guilty.
Assistant District Attorney
Valerie Bullock and District
Attorney Bryan Goertz said
DNA test results proved Smith
had sex with the victim.
Under the plea agreement,
accepted by District Judge
Terry Flenniken, Smith entered
a guilty plea but the judge
deferred finding him guilty,
See JAIL, Page 3A
I
M 1441 gets makeover
— Under a Texas Dept. of
Transportation project, three-
foot "safety shoulders" are
being constructed for the 6.5
Drivers on FM 1441 will miles of road between Texas
have road shoulders on which 95 and Texas 21.
By Terry Hagerty
Staff Writer
to pull over, come Spring
2008.
INSIDE
Bears prepare for Dragons
The cost for the work on
FM 1441 — which began
in mid-
August
— is
approxi -
mately
$3.16
Page 1B
WEATHER! INDEX
■ Thursday's
Cloudy
High: 89°
Low: 70°
Rain: 40%
■ Last week:
High
Saturday 95
Sunday 94
Monday 96
Tuesday 81
forecast:
Low Prec.
76 none
76 none
75 none
70 .24
Classified ads 5B
Commentary. 4A
Community 5A
Farm & Garden 12A
Food 4B
Sports 1B
I Provided by the KXAN School Weather Network.
65668 78602 3
r
AUSTIN COMMUNITY NEWSPAPERS
This newspaper
is recyclable
million, said TxDOT Bastrop
engineer Ben Samuel.
The Bastrop project is
being done in conjunction
with shoulder widening of
FM 1977 in Caldwell County.
Young Contractors Inc. of
Waco, a subsidiary of Knife
River Inc., is the main con-
tractor for both projects.
The shoulder surface will
be the same as the current
See 1441, Page 3A
! ' J
Rainy and cool
The Bastrop Advertiser photo/Terry Hagerty
A pedestrian makes her way along Main Street in Tuesday's rain.
Temperatures dipped into the high 70s for a very fall-like afternoon.
Elgin approves 73'cent tax rate
Tax collections to total $1.24 million
By Terry Hagerty
Staff Writer
Elgin property owners
will pay 73 cents per $100
valuation under the 2007-08
budget approved by the City
Council on Sept. 4.
The owners of the fol-
lowing valued proper-
ties would pay the amount
shown in parentheses:
$75,000 ($547); $100,000
($730); $125,000 ($912.50);
$150,000 ($1,095); $175,000
($1,277.50); $200,000
($1,460); $250,000 ($1,825);
$300,000 ($2,190).
General Fund reve-
nues are forecast to total
$4,266,762. Utility Fund
revenues are forecast to be
$3,365,093.
The 73 cents tax rate
is expected to bring in
$1,248,775. Other large rev-
enue sources are estimated to
be $740,000 for sales taxes;
$738,000 for garbage col-
lection; $320,000 for fran-
chise taxes; $215,000 from
municipal court, $57,000
from inspection fees and
$55,000 from building per-
mits.
Some of the major city
expenditures for the General
Fund include: police depart-
ment operations ($1.35 mil-
lion, which includes $1.15
million in salaries/benefits);
public works ($833,292);
sanitation ($595,000); Parks
& Community Development
($169,650); General
Administration salaries/
benefits ($105,147)
City Manager Jeff Coffee
will draw a total salary/ben-
efits package of $109,013;
salary alone is $84,870.
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McAuley, Davis. The Bastrop Advertiser (Bastrop, Tex.), Vol. 154, No. 57, Ed. 1 Thursday, September 13, 2007, newspaper, September 13, 2007; Bastrop, Texas. (https://texashistory.unt.edu/ark:/67531/metapth252407/m1/1/: accessed April 18, 2024), University of North Texas Libraries, The Portal to Texas History, https://texashistory.unt.edu; crediting Bastrop Public Library.