The Howe Enterprise (Howe, Tex.), Vol. 18, No. 9, Ed. 1 Thursday, August 26, 1982 Page: 1 of 4
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»* Howe Enterprise
Your Home Tows Newspaper
Vol. XVIII, No. 9 USPS 253240 Thursday, Aug. 26, 1982
25c
Howe’s ...
by Lana Rideout
CWtfM *ttr ACCUSES CITY ADM/NfSTRA TOR
Alleges Abuses Of Equipment /
OPINION according to Webster is a belief not based on
certainty or knowledge, but on what seems true or
probable; judgement; evaluation. Articles written in this
column (“Howe’s That’’) and Under the title “In Our
Opinion” are supposed to represent the opinion of the
editor and the publisher of this newspaper. Letters to the
editor are encouraged for all citizens of the town to write
their opinion. These letters-will be printed as long as they
are signed, whether the opinion is one shared by the
newspaper or not.
Items printed as news stories contain fact (Webster says
that is a thing that has actually happened or is true).
Anytime a mistake is found in a news article, the editor
or publisher would like to be informed so that a correction
may be run.
« * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * *
LAST THURSDAY NIGHT at the city council meeting,
Carol Cox advised council that a “city employee” was
ruining city equipment, not telling the “straight story”
about things, and was. getting a salary the city couldn’t
afford. When contacted by the Howe Enterprise, she
refused to name the employee or to give proof of her
claims.
1 would like to know how the council can deal with an
unnamed employee. How can they take care of a problem
when they don’t have some kind of proof to back up the
allegations of negligence or wrongdoing? In short, what
is the point of a vindictive statement being read to council
if it is all based on “rumor” or “second hand
information”?
Unlike Ms. Cox, when I see someone ruining our town, I
am not afraid to give the name. It is my opinion, based on
observations over the past few years, that Carol Cox is
determined to run (or should that be spelled ruin) Howe.
She ran for council three times and was defeated three
times. She was appointed by council to fill a vacancy and
served several months. During this time, she constantly
talked of consulting a lawyer before doing this or that.
This expense was not always necessary. Also during this
time, she often questioned the activities of the police
department. While it is not wrong to question the city
departments, her manner was always one that the police
officers were in the wrong and her sources of information
(always unnamed, confidential) were right - such as the
time the police car supposedly was involved in an
accident and shoot out. (It was later shown that this did
not happen.)
Last year at this time Ms. Cox pointed out that city
council was not holding budget hearing and tax rate
meetings properly according to state law. She was right
that they should do it legally, but if she noticed this why
wait to bring it up after council had published notices in
the paper? City Administrator Joe Fenton admitted he
made a mistake in the procedure, but we all make
mistakes. (The person who doesn’t make mistakes is
buried six feet under.)
People who have questions about the city government
and its workings are welcome to bring their questions to
the city administrator, the mayor, the council. Those who
really care about our city will do this when they hear a
rumor that bothers them. Those who don’t care about the
city will spread the rumors; they will do all they can to
tear down and destroy.
Does Howe deserve this kind of treatment? Howe has a
good school system. Our water, sewer, and sanitation
services are running smoothly for the most part. Our
community spirit enabled us to get a library going. The
summer youth sports league is well supported by
sponsors, coaches, and parents. How'e is a nice place to
live.
All communities have people who are unhappy about
things, but it they put their energies into solving
problems instead of causing them, imagine the good that
could be done! It’s a shame that a person like Ms. Cox,
who has the time and energy to really help our town, has
decided to look at the negatives.
Carol Cox doesn’t believe Howe can afford the “city
employee” whose salary is $18,000 because of his alleged
mistreatment of city equipment. I say, can Howe afford
Carol Cox?
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Shawn McMillion
Receives Scholarship
Shawn McMillion, 1982
graduate of Howe High
School, received a $1,500
music scholarship from East
Texas State University of
Commerce.
McMillion, who plays the
trombone, will major in
music education. At Howe
High School he won the
following music awards: he
was a member of the 3A and
4A All-Region Bands, he
participated in Solo & En
semble contests; he was a
member of the North Texas
Honor Band for 4 years; and
of the Howe Stage Band for
4 years.
He is the son of Mr. and
Mrs. Jimmy Don McMillion
shawn McMillion
of Howe. Grandparents are
Mr. and Mrs. Douglas Craw-
ford of Van Alstyne and Mr.
Jones McMillion of Howe.
by Lana Rideout
Thursday night, Aug. 19, at
the Howe City Council
meeting before council
adjourned into executive
session, Carol Cox read a
prepared statement to coun-
cil. She began her remarks
by saying that perhaps it
was all based on rumor. The
first part of the statement
dealt with the possibility of
firing a police chief on
“trumped up charges”
during the executive session
on personnel.
Then she said, “On
another matter, while you’re
in that executive session, I’d
like you all to think about
what one person seems to be
doing to us. We have one
city employee who was told
that the tractor out at the
city dump was overheating.
Dave Gunn knew it operated
two hours at a time. My
husband Joe and he had
talked about it, and the city
council couldn’t afford the
$700 to $800 it would take to
correct the problem on the
machine at that time. Poor
Dave was out there for two-
hour sessions trying to cover
garbage. This person was
told that that was overheat-
ing like that and yet he got
right on it and operated it
until the head was busted on
three cylinders, after being
warned.
“Then he got on the city
grader, apparently. This is
all, comes second hand, but
maybe (tape unclear here)
there is some question here.
He got on the grader, the
first week or two after it was
bought, and cut one of the
new tires with a blade.
“Then he took the backhoe
over from the operator who
was trying to dig a ditch and
he cut a phone cable.
“He talked the city council
into a $96,000 street de-
partment, and one year later
we have almost nothing to
show for it.
“He talked the city council
into buying several pieces of
equipment he said would
really fix the streets and
we’d have top streets. Now
he’s came back last meeting
and said that that wasn’t
what the city needed. He
wanted some more equip-
ment.
“He apparently knocked a
hole in the transmission case
on the grader. It’s kind of
patched and we don’t know
whether that will tear up or
hold.
“I don’t know about the
rest of you, but sometimes
you don’t get the straight
story from this person. I
found that out.
“You pay this man $18,000
a year and are. considering
uping the salary to $19,800
in the next budget. I just
think - can we afford this
man?”
This reporter contacted Ms.
Cox Friday, Aug. 20, and
asked for a copy of the
statement she read at the
meeting. Ms. Cox said,
“No, you can get it some-
where else or not print it at
all.”
Ms. Cox also refused to
identify the city employee
who was ruining city equip-
ment as described in her
statement and would not
give any information to back
up the charges.
The text of the statement
was taken from a tape re-
cording made by the council
of the complete meeting
Thursday night. These tapes
are routinely made at each
meeting and are available
for citizens to listen to
during regular business
hours at City Hall.
Although Ms. Cox did not
name the city employee,
from the description it can
be inferred she meant City
Administrator Joe Fenton.
This reporter interviewed
Mr. Fenton and received the
following answers to the
charges made by Carol Cox.
Fenton knew the engine of
the tractor at the dump was
overheating. He said that
water was added from time
to time and the engine
was allowed to cool. At the
time the head cracked, Mike
Wheeler was operating the
machine. Fenton said the
tractor was sold and it got
the same price it would have
gotten if it hadn’t been
cracked.
Fenton said, “None of the
tires of any city machinery
has been cut by a blade.”
He added that one tire on
the grader was punctured by
a spike in some planks
buried under some mud in a
ditch he was cleaning. The
tube was quickly repaired
and the grader was back in
operation.
Fenton said he did cut a
phone cable, but the cable
was supposed to be below
the flow line of the pipe and
it was above it. The phone
company has not billed the
city for this accident. (The
city and utility companies
have an agreement to repair
lines accidentally cut. Some-
times lines shift or are not
where they are supposed to
be.)
Fenton said he did not
“talk the city council into”
anything. The council had
already decided Howe
needed a street dept, before
Fenton was hired. They told
him what they wanted
accomplished'and asked for
his qualifications and ideas.
He added that the city has
not spent $96,000 as was
budgeted. By the end of the
fiscal year about $64,510 will
have been spent - $32,500
for operating expenses (in-
cluding fuel, oil, rock,
asphalt, machinery) and
$32,010 for salaries and
Social Security.
One reason less has been
spent than budgeted is a
shortfall in the areas the
street dept, money was to
come from. Howe did not
collect the expected rev-
enues from the sale of water
to Sherman. Due to the fact
that May and June were
wet, even Howe customers
have not bought as much
water as usual for this time
of year.
Fenton said the council
decided last year not to raise
the tax rate to the point it
would cover the expense of a
street dept. They lowered
the amount of increase in
the tax rate in order to
spread some of the costs to
everyone through the water
and sanitation depts.
Fenton said the city does
have something to show for
its expenditures. Street
equipment will be paid off
by the end of the fiscal year.
All the streets in town are
now passable. Rock has
been added where needed
and a groundwork is being
laid to eventually re-build
and/or re-pave the streets
that need it as the money Is
available.
Fenton said the council
could have asked for a bond
issue to pave all the streets,
but the interest on bonds
would have made the project
quite a bit more expensive
than a cash as you go basis.
Fenton also stated that
there was no promise that all
the streets will be paved. He
said the actual paving will
done by contracting it out
after the preparation work is
done by the city street dept. ’
As to a change in equip-
ment, it was not the July
meeting but the June meet-
ing in which he called to
council’s attention the
possibility of trading the
steel roller for a rubber tired
one and also a pickup truck
specifically equipped to
patch potholes. He wanted
the council to look at the
equipment, but it was never
brought to the city and other
concerns came up so the
matter was dropped.
The hole in the trans-
mission case on the grader
came from some foreign
matter inside the machine
breaking out. The hole broke
from the inside out.
As to giving a “straight
story,” Fenton said Ms. Cox
had asked him for informa-
tion very few times. Each
time he told her everything
she asked and he can back
up everything with receipts
and documents. (The Howe
Enterprise has also found
Fenton to be cooperative in
answering fully all ques-
tions. These answers have
always been backed up with
proof - facts, figures, etc.)
Fenton presently receives a
salary of $18,000 a year. In
the new budget everyone is
to get an 8% raise plus the
police department and the
city administrator will re-
Tournament
The first annual Men’s
Softball Tournament, spon-
sored by the Howe Youth
Sports League, held last
week at the Howe City Park
was won by Coke. Second
place went to Drifters, spon-
sored by Foster Datsun;
Texas Instruments’ Good-
times finished third; and
Fisher Controls’ Hardtimes
came in fourth.
Gary Engel, Youth League
Commissioner, and Dan
Horrell, tournament direc-
tor, would like to thank the
teams who participated, the
umpires, the scorekeepers,
and the people who helped
to keep the fields in good
condition throughout the
tournament. They would
also like to thank Richard
ftaney and Granny’s Kitchen
for getting concession
supplies, Flesher’s Funeral
Home for loaning the tent
cover and chairs, Fun-Time
Ice and Tom Thumb for
donating ice, Dr. Pepper'
Bottling Co. for their help
setting up the drinks, and
Tracy Powers for her pop-
corn and peanut stand and
for her donation to the Howe
Youth League. The publicity
provided by the Howe Enter-
prise and the Sherman
Democrat was also most
appreciated.
The tournament profits will
be used to move light poles
from behind first base and in
left center field at the base-
ball field. Another tourna-
ment is planned in the late
fall to continue field im-
provements.
Paper Drive
Howe Scouts will hold a
paper drive Saturday, Aug.
28, beginning at 9 a.m.
Scouts and their parents will
meet at the Methodist
Church for assignments.
Residents with papers to
donate are requested to
leave them outside, tied or
bundled, if possible.
Anyone not able to do this
may contact Scoutmaster
Jim Sutton, or assistant
leaders Millard Fairchild.
Dale Rideout, or Lanny
Rogers.
ceive longevity (5c per hour
per year employed by City of
Howe - the other city
employees are already
receiving this). Based on
these figures Fenton’s new
salary will be $19,544. His
raise is the same amount of
raise as all city employees.
Fenton stated that any citi-
zen in Howe is welcome to
call him anytime with a
question about the city. Part
of his job is to deal with the
public and explain the
various workings of a city.
He requests the questions
come during regular City
Hall business hours of 8
a.m. to 5 p.m. Monday
through Friday. If he doesn’t
know an answer, he will do
some research to find one,
he added.
COX SAYS COUNCIL
WRONG AGAIN
The Howe City Council met
in regular session Thursday,
Aug. 19. at 7 p.m. with
Mayor JW. Reed presiding.
Council present were Jack
Floodas, Jim Huckaby, Jack
Berry, and R.L. Cate.
Absent was Sam Haigis.
When the council started to
set the tax rate for ad
valorem taxes, Carol Cox,
who attends all regular
council meetings with a tape
recorder and a notebook she
writes in, told council they
were doing it wrong again.
Last year, on Sept. 8, 1981,
Ms. Cox protested a meeting
on the tax rate increase as
being in violation of Texas
law. She said the proposed
budget had the be presented
30 days before the tax levy.
Council had to re-set
meetings due to a mistake in
procedure.
Thursday night she said,
“you are getting the cart
before the horse again.”
Ms. Cox informed council
that the proposed budget
had not been made public
yet. Fenton said it had been
on file for 30 days as re-
quired by law\
Ms. Cox wanted to know-
how anyone in town was to
know. She wanted a note on
the water bill. She felt the
council was trying to keep
the budget a “big dark
secret.” Cox further stated
that state law dictates hotf
to publish notice in the
paper about a budget hear-
ing. She said it had to be a
public notice, not just a little
line in an agenda. “Who
goes picking things out of
the agenda?” she asked.
Referring to notice being
published in the newspaper,
she said, “I don’t read the
thing that much.”
Tim Smithart spoke up
from the audience, saying,
“It’s not up to the city to
make everyone aware of
what’s happening; it’s up to
the citizens.”
Cox also said it was her
understanding that the
budget hearing had to be a
meeting of its own, and not
part of another meeting.
(Editor’s Note: Friday
afternoon, Fenton learned
that the only thing that was
not done according to proper
procedure was to publish a
notice 10 days in advance of
the budget hearing. The
meeting can be a part of
another meeting, and the
published notice docs not
have to appear in the legal'
notices; it can appear any-
where in the newspaper.
Chapter 1, Section 12 of the
Howe City Code Book de-
clares the Howe Enterprise
as the official newspaper for
required newspaper
publication by the city.)
Councilman Jack Floodas
made a motion to table all
items on the agenda and
adjourn the meeting due to
the questions brought by
Ms. Cox. R.L. Cate gave a
second. The vote was tied at
2-2. Mayor Reed voted to
continue with the meeting.
After looking at other items
on the agenda. Floodas
amended his motion to table
the tax rate, water/sewer
rates, budget hearing and
TML-Lonc Star Gas rate
case. All eouncil agreed to
this mojjbn.
Othep business conducted
by the city council included
the following:
Jo Ann Thompson of TP&L
appeared in regard to the
second reading of an ordi-
nance on the recent rate
increase. Also included was
an ordinance on fuel clause
adjustments to be approved
quarterly. Ms. Thompson
said if the amount is over
estimated, customers will
receive^ refund.
Ms. Thompson also pre-
sented two checks to Howe;
one for $50 for the Howe
Volunteer Fire Dept, and
one for $100 for the Howe
Public Library.
Rad Richardson, area GTE
manager, met with council.
He explained that some im-
provements to the phone
system are being carried on
now. He also said that
Sherman city council has
voted to discontinue the Ex-
tended Area Service (EAS)
in which unlimited toll free
calls may be made between
Howe and Sherman. Jack
Berry asked if Howe has a
choice in keeping the EAS
since Sherman voted it out.
Richardson said he doesn’t
know, but assumes that
since both cities had to
agree to begin EAS in the
late 1960’s, then both cities
must agree to have the EAS
removed. It will have to go
before the PUC. In a recent
survey of Howe residents,
162 voted to keep EAS and
169 voted to discontinue it.
Council decided to table the
matter for more study.
On the matter of the street
to the house owned by
Logan Puckett, in city coun-
cil minutes of Oct. 7, 1971,
council voted not to accept
streets in the Roberts
addition until they were
paved, gutterd, curbed.
Berry made a motion to
table the matter until some-
one could contact Dwain
Roberts who built the house.
Police Chief Ken Vickers
gave the following police
report for July 15-Aug. 19:
Arrest - 8, tickets written -
25. warnings - 16. police
dept, assist - 11, motorist
assist - 9, disturbance calls -
8, theft reports - 5, vandal-
ism - 2. prowler calls - 2,
alarms & open doors - 3,
complaints - 7, emergency
messages - 1. Average of
patrol miles per 24 hours
was 139.9.
City Administrator Joe
Fenton reported he had
attended a workshop at
Arlington on planning man-
agement. He said he had
some good information to
pass on to the Planning and
Zoning Board. Earlier in the
week he had met with repre-
sentatives of the state high-
way dept, and the railroads.
The meeting concerned
railroad crossings, safety,
and other matters.
Berry asked Fenton the
status of the city vehicles
and equipment. Fenton said
everything was in working
order, although there was a
slight problem with the
roller.
Information on the sewer
grant was given. The city
will need to come up with
$16,000 by Oct. 1 and
$60,000 by Jan. 1 as Howe’s
part in the project. The item
was tabled to check with
Wortham and Associates on
alternatives for raising the
money.
Several citizens were
allowed to address the coun-
cil although Mayor Reed
requested that next time
they be on the agenda if
they wish to speak. Durward
Mills questioned why the
council was talking about
contracting out the paving
work on the city streets. He
thought the city street
department was supposed to
do that. (Note: City adminis-
trator said the city dept, will
be repairing and re-building
streets, the paving is to be
contracted out as money is
available.)
Carol Cox read from a pre-
pared statement “to get it
straight,” she said. She
stated that if someone in the
city could not control the
police chief like a puppet, he
would get some trumped up
charges to get the chief
fired. She said several
things in support of the
Howe police department and
praised Chief Vickers for
“refusing to write tickets on
(hwv.) 75.”
(Note: Council members
later informed the Howe
Enterprise that the executive
session was called only to
discuss personnel. There
was no mention of firing
anyone. Also Vickers has not
been ordered to write tickets
on Hyw. 75, councilmen
said.)
Following the statements
concerning the police de-
partment, Ms. Cox made a
statement about a “city em-
ployee” who was ruining
equipment, etc. (See article
on this statement)
An executive session
followed the regular meeting
Bike-A-Thon
Saturday
A bike-a-thon to benefit
Cystic Fibrosis Foundation
will be held on Saturday,
Aug. 28, from 10 a.m. to 12
noon, beginning and ending
at Ferguson Field. The one-
mile course will cover the
downtown area. Sponsor
sheets are available from the
Howe Enterprise office and
from Anne Engel (532-6143).
Each rider who turns in
their money by Sept. 10 will
receive a Dr. Pepper T-shirt
and a coupon for a free Big
Mac. Those riders who raise
$35 or more will also receive
a Ziggy T-shirt from the CF
Foundation.
Interested riders should get
sponsors to pledge money
for each mile ridden and
bring their sponsor sheets to
Ferguson Field on Saturday.
Half the sheet will be turned
in and the other part of the
sheet will be used to collect
pledges. All money must be
turned in to Anne Engel bv
Friday, Sept. 10.
For further information,
please call 532-6143.
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Rideout, Lana. The Howe Enterprise (Howe, Tex.), Vol. 18, No. 9, Ed. 1 Thursday, August 26, 1982, newspaper, August 26, 1982; Howe, Texas. (https://texashistory.unt.edu/ark:/67531/metapth1014181/m1/1/: accessed July 17, 2024), University of North Texas Libraries, The Portal to Texas History, https://texashistory.unt.edu; .