Citizens Journal (Atlanta, Tex.), Vol. 111, No. 118, Ed. 1 Sunday, July 8, 1990 Page: 1 of 10
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CASS COUNTY TEXAS • 1 SECTION, 10 PAGES
SUNDAY, JULY 8, 1990
USPS NO. 114-160 VOL. 111, NO. 118
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Texarkana man shot twice; Biggs arrested
QC coach charged in shooting
By SONNY LONG
Journal Sports Editor
Queen City assistant coach
George Biggs ha, been charged
with murder in the Tuesday, July 2
slaying of Bernard Walker in a
Texarkana apartment complex park-
ing lot.
Biggs, 29, had just completed his
first year on the Queen City coach-
ing staff. He served as assistant
football coach, assistant basketball
coach and assisted with track and
field in the spring.
According to Texas-side police
spokesman Ed Sartor, the alleged
murder took place in the parking lot
of The Park at Summerhill Apart-
ments about 3 p.m. on Tuesday.
According to Sartor, police found
Walker lying in the front seat of his
car with a gunshot wound below his
left ear and in the left side of his ab-
domen.
According to published reports,
witnesses have said, that Biggs
GEORGE BIGGS
went to his car and removed a gun.
He then walked up to the driver's
side of the Walker vehicle, and ac-
cording to the witnesses, fired at
least one shot through the window.
Biggs then allegedly opened the
door of the Walker vehicle and fired
twice more.
According to witnesses, Biggs
was seen putting the gun into
another car and walking into the
nearby apartment after the shots
were fired.
After refusing to surrender to
police for about 15 minutes, Biggs
came out of the apartment he had
entered after the shooting and gave
himself up.
Biggs was charged with murder
and bail was set at $25,000. Biggs
posted bond that night.
The gun believed to be the mur-
der weapon was recovered, but ac-
cording to Sartor the weapon is still
being studied and has not officially
been determined to be the murder
weapon. The caliber of the weapon
has not been released.
Walker, 27, was transferred to
Wadley Regional Medical Center
where he died a short time later.
Sartor said the investigation is
continuing and that no motive has
been officially determined.
Unofficially, sources told the Jour-
nal that the 29-year-old Biggs and
his wife were having marital
problems which may have led to the
confrontation with Walker.
According to the sources, Biggs
and his wife, Sheila, had been
recently separated. The sources al-
so indicatec) that Walker was a new-
ly wed who had only been married
three weeks, and worked with Mrs.
Biggs.
The sources also told the Journal
Please see COACH page 7A
Hughes Springs stung by brutal murder
Journal atafl photo by VALF3RIE EAVES
Walkin' and talkin'
First District Congressman Jim Chapman was In Northeast Texas
Thursday to visit with constituents In several cities. Hero he Is
shown with a Linden resident during his rounds of the courthouse
square downtown.
Kennedy: Former Atlanta
businessman, mayor dies
Funeral services for former Atlanta mayor and businessman Willie
"W M." Kennedy were held Thursday, July 5, in Atlanta Kennedy, Ri,
died July 4 in a local hospital.
Mr. Kennedy was born in Cass County and lived in the Atlanta area all
of his life. He was a three-term mayor of Atlanta, serving from 1963
through 1969. He owned and operated a real estate company for more
than 30 years and was an automobile dealer. Mr. Kennedy was a 32nd
Degree Mason and a Shriner. He was also a member of the First Baptist
Church.
He is survived by his wife, Chrystal Walker Kennedy of Atlanta; one
daughter, Sally Allday of Atlanta; three sisters, Mamie Burt, Mary Alice
Johnson and Dorothy Hetherwick, all of Shreveport, La.; three
grandchildren, and five great-grandchildren.
Services were held at Hanner Funeral Home Chapel with the Rev. Joe
Srygley and Larry Smith officiating. Burial followed in Pinecrest
Cemetery.
By VALERIE EAVES
Journal Staff Writer
A 31-year-old Mt. Pleasant
woman is in the Cass County Jail
charged with the murder of her
mother and the attempted murder of
her father. Carla Ann Gautney was
arrested by the Cass County
Sheriff's Department as she was
discharged from Wadley Regional
Medical Center in Texarkana
Thursday. Bond was set at
S125,000.
According to Chief Investigator
Dale Gentry, the incident began at
3:51 p.m. Monday.
"We received a call from a very
excited person, Charles Smith,"
Gentry explained. "He said he
needed an ambulance and a
deputy. He said his wife was injured
and there was a gun involved."
Gentry said he, Bill Page and
Jack Runnells went to Smith's
house on Farm-to-Market 2929 near
the Crossroads Church between
Hughes Springs and Marietta.
While en route, the dispatcher ad-
vised them that a woman covered
with blood was at a grocery store
near the Smith House, Runnells
went to investigate. It turned out to
be Carla Gautney.
Gentry and Page proceeded to
Woman named in mom's death
the Smith residence, where they
found Smith performing CPR on his
unconscious wife, Carol, 59.
"To the best of our knowledge,
this is what happened," Gen'ry said.
"Smith got off work at the Precinct 2
barn at 3:20 p.m. When he got
home he saw Carla's car in the
driveway. He said he got a real un-
easy fealing because he thought
she was there to ask for money."
Gentry said that according to
Smith, Smith walked into the house,
didn't hear anybody, so he called
out, but there was no answer. When
he started down the hall, his
daughter allegedly hit him in the
head with the blunt end of an ax. He
retreated outside to the carport,
where he finally got the ax away
from Carla. He said he ran back in-
side, locked the door, and began
looking for his wife.
Smith said he found his wife in
the bathroom, bludgeoned to death.
She had a nylon stocking around
her neck and tied to a towel rack
above the bathtub. He said he cut
her down and took her to the
kitchen to try to revive her.
Smith told authorities that while
he was trying to revive his wife, his
daughter was able to get back into
the house, this time she allegedly
had a pistol in her hand. He had
retrieved his shotgun from the
bedroom before he began trying to
revive his wife, but elected not to
use it. Instead he tackled his
daughter and wrestled the gun
away from her. During the scuffle,
the gun went off, hitting her in the
arm. After she was hit, Smith said
his daughter ran away. She was
later picked up at a nearby grocery
store.
Smith's story differs greatly from
Gautney's. She told authorities that
when she and her mother came
home from a shopping trip to
Hughes Springs there was an in-
truder in the house. She said she
heard her mother scream in the
bathroom and saw a tall, blonde
male beating her with a baseball
bat. She said she attacked her
father with the ax because she
thought it was the tall blonde return-
ing.
Gentry said the investigation
turned up evidence that ruled out
Gautney's intruder story and
pointed to her as the assailant. A
warrant was issued for her arrest.
Gentry said money is believed to
be the motive behind the killing.
Gautney was apparently in financial
trouble, and stood to inherit some
money if both of her parents were
dead.
Gautney was taken to Wadley for
treatment of her injuries, Smith was
treated and released from Linden
Municipal Hospital for his.
Park roads set to
be repaired soon
Sections of roadway in the Atlan-
ta State Park will get a facelift this
summer. The Texas Parks and
Wildlife Department and the State
Highway Department have teamed
up under an interagency funding
agreement to do the work in the
park.
Proposed plans call for new pave-
ment to be placed on various sec-
tions of roadways in the Atlanta
Please see FACELIFT page 2A
Waste Management uses new, lighter trucks
Council dumps Western Waste for new company
By JOHN COLEMAN
Journal Editor
Atlanta City Council members
Monday agreed to let the current
contract with Western Waste In-
dustries expire this month and sign
a new contract with Waste Manage-
ment Inc. of Dallas.
The council has been studying
the possibility of changing trash
pickup firms since Western Waste
first approached the council in
February and asked for a total 24
percent increase in residential and
commercial trash pickup rates.
The city reportedly notified West-
ern Waste Friday of its intentions to
discontinue using their trash pickup
services, effective July 31.Since
February, there have been offers
and counter-offers, but city officials
maintain that even if the current
hauler's rates were brought in line
with the city's preferences, a major
problem is the damage being done
to the city's streets by Western
Waste's heavy-duty trash trucks.
By contrast, Waste Management
Systems (WMS) has begun using a
smaller and lighter truck, but a type
that offers versatility for the com-
pany's clients and at a competitive
rate. The new type of truck was first
explained to the council at an April
council meeting and was
demonstrated for them prior to Mon-
day's meeting.
Waste Management's proposed
contract calls for a monthiy rate of
$7.55 for twice-a-week residential
trash pickup. That's a dime per
month lower than Western Waste's
final offer of $7.65 per month for
residential customers and 27 cents
lower than Western's original in-
crease quote. Business customers
would pay from $34 a month for
once-a-week pickup from a two-
yard container to $155 per month
for an eight-yard container dumped
three times per week.
Western Waste initially proposed
to raise their monthly residential
rates from the present $6.39 to
$7.82. A once-a-week collection of
a commercial two-yard dumpster
would go from the present $41.93 to
$51.92. From the time they
proposed their increases in a letter
to the City of Atlanta on January 30,
they reduced their original rate to
$7.65, That was after Waste
Management appeared before the
council in April.
At the end of May, the council of-
fered Western Waste a counter-
offerof $7 per month and hasn't
heard from the firm since. The city
did receive a letter late last month
from Western's bond carrier saying
they were cancelling their coverage
heard from the firm since. The city
did receive a letter late last month
from Western's bond carrier saying
they were cancelling their coverage
in Atlanta effective July 19. That's
the date that the city's contract with
Western expires. However, there
Please see WASTE page 3A
Council officially bids city
manager Collum farewell
By JOHN COLEMAN
Journal Editor
The resignation of Atlanta City
Manager Bill Collum was one of two
business items on the city council's
agenda Monday night and it was ac-
cepted with little discussion. That's
exactly the way Collum preferred it.
The city manager announced his
resignation Friday, June 29, in a let-
ter to Mayor Lawson McKelvey. He
gave July 13 as his last working day
and put the item on the agenda for
the July 2 council meeting. At that
time, he said he didn't see any
reason for an executive session to
discuss the situation because he
had already accepted the city
manager's job in Rusk.
The five councilmen, who were all
present for the vote Monday, had all
been notified of Collum's announce-
ment the previous Friday. Still,
some council members expressed
their surprise at Collum's decision.
"Bill, it kind of shocked me that
you're resigning," councilman Bogie
Price said. "Anything we can do to
change your mind?"
"No, Bogie, probably not," Collum
replied. "I appreciate y'all's support
and wish you all the luck in the
world."
Attached to his resignation was a
request to be paid for three weeks'
vacation, which the council ap-
proved. Collum, who has more than
25 years of municipal management
experience, has been city manager
in Atlanta since December, 1988.
Prior to coming to Atlanta, he was
city manager in Malakoff.
In an interview with the Citizens
Journal last Friday, Collum said he
was taking the city manager's job in
Rusk, an East Texas town of about
5,1000 people and the county seat
of Rusk County.
"Good jobs in my field don't come
around very often," he said at the
Z ■ •" ->
Journal atafl photo by JOHN COLEMAN
Please see COLLLIM page 2A
Jim Carroll of Waste Management Systems Is shown demonstrating one of his company's new
trucks. The lightweight waste pickup trucks will be used for residential garbage pickup In Atlanta.
The council agreed to go with the new firm at their council meeting Monday. If contract details can be
settled, then garbage pickup with WMS will commence on the day that the current contract
with Western Waste expires.
VACATION BIBLE SCHOOL - July 9-13
FIRST BAPTIST CHURCH - ATLANTA
9:00 a.m. - 12:00 Noon Ages: 4 Years - Grade 6
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Citizens Journal (Atlanta, Tex.), Vol. 111, No. 118, Ed. 1 Sunday, July 8, 1990, newspaper, July 8, 1990; (https://texashistory.unt.edu/ark:/67531/metapth348109/m1/1/: accessed April 24, 2024), University of North Texas Libraries, The Portal to Texas History, https://texashistory.unt.edu; crediting Atlanta Public Library.