The Bastrop Advertiser (Bastrop, Tex.), Vol. 155, No. 10, Ed. 1 Saturday, March 29, 2008 Page: 1 of 11
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SATURDAY, MARCH 29, 2008
50$
"Che jBastrop adocrtiser
Texas' Oldest Weekly Newspaper Since March 1, 1853 Semi-Weekly Since Sept. 5, 1977
Volume 155, Number 10
Bastrop, Texas
14 pages in two sections
Citizen calls for public forum with BISD
By Terry Hagerty
Assistant Editor
Citing "rumors, negativity . . .
and a lack of public trust" in the
Bastrop school board and some dis-
trict administrators, the Rev. Bernie
Jackson said Friday she would ask
the board to hold a community
forum "to clear up the issues."
During a public comment peri-
od at the school board's regular
meeting Tuesday night, Jackson, a
minister at Bastrop's Trinity Zion
Church, said, "There's seems to be
an elephant running loose (in the
room).. . and we have not identified
that the elephant is poor communi-
cation . . . and public trust."
Jackson's comments came
a short time before a second
speaker, Latreese Cooke, called
for the resignation of Bastrop
High School Principal Michael
Benedict four months after he
was put on leave for alleged
racially-tinged comments to two
African-American assistant prin-
cipals, plus a comment on the
physical appearance of one of the
principals.
Cooke said she had been "hor-
rified ... by discriminatory com-
ments" involving Benedict and
called for his "immediate termina-
tion."
On Friday, Jackson said the board
and district have not been forthcom-
ing about the events leading up to
the three-day paid administrative
leave given to Benedict on Dec. 5,
2007 for a series of "inappropriate
See FORUM, Page 2A
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The Bastrop Advertiser photos/Jacquelirie Davis
Katelyn McRae, left, and Molly Campos, both six, take a round on the carousel Thursday
night at a carnival at Riverbend Park for the Smithville Jamboree. The annual event
continues today and Sunday with a parade, baseball tournament, car show and more.
jamboree continues for Smithville
By Jacqueline Davis
Staff Writer
The 51st annual Smithville Jamboree, the city's
weeklong spring festival, is already in full swing,
but the grand finale is scheduled for today with a
heavy schedule of events lasting well into the wee
hours.
Events start early with Riverbend Park's
Chuckwagon Square opening at 8 a.m. and the
annual softball tournament starting up at the same
time. The tournament will last most of the day, and
continue on through Sunday with the final teams
facing off in the evening.
Also at 8 a.m., the FFA and 4-H Livestock show
starts at 8 a.m. at a show barn set up at Riverbend
Park. Hogs, lambs, rabbits, chickens and more will
be on display and up for sale by area youths at 4:30
p.m.
A volleyball tournament starts at 9 a.m., and
registration for the annual car show will last from
9 a.m. to 10 a.m., with car show trophies awarded
from 11 a.m. to 11:30 a.m. Those entering vehicles
See JAMBOREE, Page 3A
Principal's file
details complaints
By Terry Hagerty
Assistant Editor
Bastrop High School Principal
Michael Benedict was placed on
paid administrative leave Dec. 5,
2007 for a series of "inappropri-
ate comments," portions of which
are contained in a personnel file
the district released Thursday under
an open records request by The
Advertiser.
In a jointly signed Dec. 5 let-
ter to Benedict by Superintendent
Roderick Emanuel and Karen
Dooley, Assistant Superintendent
for Human Resources, they said
they were placing Benedict on
administrative leave for "inappro-
priate comments regarding both the
physical appearance and race" of
Assistant Principal Terrell King, an
African-American.
Benedict admitted he had made
inappropriate comments to King
concerning King wearing "Specdo'
swim wear on a senior class trip to
Schlitterbahn in New Braunfels and
also referred to King on separate
occasions as "Radio."
King said he was
because Radio was the
a mentally-challenged
offended
name of
African-
by Cuba
American man played
Gooding Jr. in the 2003 film of the
same name.
Benedict makes no mention of
See LEAVE, Page 2A
Armed 14-year-old robs
Tracy's grocery store
Store's first heist in 54 years
By Jacqueline Davis
Staff Writer
When the door opened near clos-
ing time at Tracy's Drive'n Grocery
Store on March 19, the store man-
ager and closing employees might
have expected to see a last minute
customer needing a quick loaf of
bread.
Instead, the manager saw a load-
ed revolver pointed in his direction
by a 14-year-old boy with a bandana
covering half his face, demanding
the contents of the cash register,
Bastrop Police said.
The manager complied, and the
boy calmly left the store with a sub-
stantial amount of the store's cash in
his possession, said Bastrop Police
Chief David Board.
The boy, who police did not
identify because he is a juvenile,
was described as a Hispanic youth
who lives in Bastrop. The instance
was the first time in 54 years that
the small grocery on the corner of
Main and Cedar Streets has been
robbed, Board said.
The store manager, who asked
not to be named because of possible
retaliation, alerted police at 7:30
p.m., and said he pursued the boy at
a distance on foot, and later in his
personal vehicle.
Board said the manager was the
"perfect witness," giving police
accurate information about the
boy's description and direction of
travel, all the while keeping a safe
distance from an armed suspect.
"He did an incredible job," Board
said of the manager. "He played a
vital role in officers being able to
successfully apprehend him."
The manager followed the sus-
pect out of the store north on Main
See ROBBERY, Page 3A
INSIDE
Bridge spitting- Part two.
Bears fall in San Antonio.
Page 7A
Page 8A
WEATHER! INDEX
■ Saturday's forecast:
Cloudy
High: 75°
Low: 60°
Rain: 30%
■ Last week:
High Low Prec.
Wed. 78 59 .01
Thursday 81 63 none
Friday NA NA NA
■ Provided by weather.com.
65668 78602 3
Classified ads 2B
Community 7A
Deaths 7A
Opinions 4A
Sports 8A
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The Bastrop Advertiser photo/Jacqueline Davis
More than 300 people gathered at 1402 Church Street Friday to be extras for a Verizon Wireless commercial.
The extras, mostly from the Austin area, got to represent "the Verizon network." See story and photos in the
Bastrop Living section on 10A.
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McAuley, Davis. The Bastrop Advertiser (Bastrop, Tex.), Vol. 155, No. 10, Ed. 1 Saturday, March 29, 2008, newspaper, March 29, 2008; Bastrop, Texas. (https://texashistory.unt.edu/ark:/67531/metapth252464/m1/1/: accessed April 26, 2024), University of North Texas Libraries, The Portal to Texas History, https://texashistory.unt.edu; crediting Bastrop Public Library.