The Baytown Sun (Baytown, Tex.), Vol. 73, No. 262, Ed. 1 Friday, September 1, 1995 Page: 1 of 16
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Ess
26 days until
the bridge opens
Bible Verse......
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Opinion................
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Calendar.............
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Our Town.............
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Classifieds........
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Police Beat.........
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Sports.................
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Lotto..................
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Sun Files.............
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Obituaries...........
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Television............
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Lee Band
Former R.E.L band
members plan reunion
Football
Ganders and Rangers
shine in football scrimmages
paptoton §s>uu
Volume 73, No. 262
Telephone Number: 422-8302
Friday, September 1,1995
Baytown, Texas 77520
50 Cents Per Copy
Carver parents file suits against Exxon
By ADAM KING
The Baytown Sun
Two groups of G.W, Carver Ele-
mentary parents and children sued
Exxon Thursday, claiming the compa-
ny was negligent and in violation of
federal and state pollution statutes
when it donated a patch of oil-conta-
minated land to the Goose Creek Con-
solidated Independent School District
in the 1940s.
The Baytown parents say their chil-
dren have suffered from headaches,
skin rashes, nausea, vomiting and
tiredness after playing near an oil-
contaminated site on the school’s
playground.
The tar appeared on the playground
after a rainstorm in late June.
One lawsuit was filed by Baytown
attorney Craig Muessig in the 164th
District Court of Harris County and
seeks unspecified actual damages for
past and future medical bills, pain and
suffering, mental anguish, physical
impairment and physical disfigure-
ment.
The suit, filed on behalf of 27 par-
ents and their 42 children, does not
seek punitive damages because “we
haven’t found enough information to
prove Exxon was grossly negligent,”
said Muessig.
Muessig was hired by the group
Wednesday, but has been investigating
the situation since Aug. 24.
The lawsuit contends that Humble
Oil — now known as Exxon —
“knew or should have known the
school district was going to build a
school on the site and knew or should
have known that the land on which the
school was to be built was polluted.”
ANOTHER LAWSUIT
Houston attorney Benton Mussle-
white said he had filed a separate
class-action lawsuit late Thursday on
behalf of another group of more than
two dozen Carver parents.
“It’s important that this be a class-
action lawsuit,” Musslewhite said,
“because it may be a long time before
the true extent of the health effects
can be determined.”
“There’s been exposure out there for
a long time,” he said.
Judge Tracy Christopher of the
295th District Court on Thursday
turned down Muessig’s request for a
temporary restraining order that
would halt Exxon’s plans to begin
cleaning up the site early Saturday.
The cleanup was OK’d by the Goose
Creek school board in a special meet-
ing early this morning.
The fence directly north of the
Carver playground was removed
Thursday to make room for the heavy
equipment needed in the cleanup.
Muessig said he believes Exxon is
attempting to remove evidence that
will prove the connection between his
clients’ illnesses and the petrochemi-
cals.
“They’re doing this as a public rela-
tions gimmick, and look what benefit
they get,” he said. “The evidence in
the case is gone, period.”
Despite Muessig’s concerns,
Christopher denied the request for a
restraining order.
“She said she wanted the mess
cleaned up,” Muessig said.
EXXON’S REACTION
Exxon public affairs coordinator
Ron Embry early Friday dismissed
Muessig’s comments.
“Why shouldn’t the objective be to
clean up the site? Isn’t that the most
logical approach? Why would some-
one want to delay this process? The
judge said proceeding with the
cleanup process was the highest prior-
ity,” Embry said.
“Exxon’s objective is to help our
neighbors in the school district and
the students in Carver,” Embry said.
Air and water tests performed at the
site last week came back negative for
contamination.
A detailed chemical analysis of
Carver’s drinking water won’t be
available until later today.
Embry said a representative from
the Texas Natural Resources Commis-
sion will be on hand Saturday to over-
see the removal of the contaminated
“And we plan to have our own ex-
perts down there as they clean up the
site,” Muessig added.
Exxon officials said the cleanup
could be completed in two or three
days. Students won’t return to Carver
until Tuesday.
The parents have said their children
fell ill after breathing fumes from the
black tar on the grounds at Carver,
which was built in the 1940s on or
near the site of a 1920s-era earthen oil
or fuel reservoir.
On Wednesday, Exxon hired Dr.
Clarence A. Riser, a Baytown family
Photos by Adam King
Goose Creek school officials ordered
the removal Friday of a restrictive
fence put up this summer around the
oil-contaminated playground, above,
at G.W. Carver Elementary School.
The fence was removed so that
Exxon’s cleanup crews can begin
early Saturday.
At left, American Rent-a-Fence em-
ployee Jerald Novak, wearing the blue
shirt, and Mario Gonzales, a school
district worker, load the fence.
physician, to examine any student or
staff member of Carver free of charge.
Exxon also made available a pedi-
atric toxicologist at the University of
Texas Medical Branch in Galveston.
Goose Creek CISD spokeswoman
Kathy Clausen said 22 children were
examined by Riser Thursday.
Baytown man gets
75 years for 1993
drive-by shooting
By RACHELANN FERRIS
The Baytown Sun
There’s one less gang member in Baytown this week.
Christopher Edward Juarez was sentenced in a Harris County
District Court last week to 75 years in prison after he was found
guilty of murder in connection with a drive-by shooting here two
years ago.
On July 3, 1993, at about 2 a.m., 19-year-old Manuel Molina Jr.
was shot in the head and killed during a shooting in the 100 block
of East Gulf Street because he belonged to a rival gang.
Several federal agents who were in town at the time heard the
dispatch over the Baytown police radio, and gave chase to a dark
four-door vehicle that was fleeing the area to an apartment on
Massey-Tompkins Road.
Baytown police also responded to the apartment, and seven
people who were found there were taken into custody so that they
could be questioned.
Five of the seven were released, and Mark Alejandro Soliz, then
20, and Juarez, then 17, were charged with attempted murder.
The case against Soliz is still pending in Harris County’s dis-
trict court, but Juarez’s case came to a close Friday with a guilty
verdict.
Dog day afternoon...
Photo by Carrie Pryor-Newman
Nell Martin and Peaches, her 13-year-old dog, take a
stroll through the Graywood subdivision. Peaches,
who is unable to walk, is taken for a stroll 2 or 3 times
a week. Attached is a sign that says, “My name is
Peaches and I’m handicapped.”
Labor Day weekend kicks off
By RACHELANN FERRIS
The Baytown Sun
Public safety officials are urging
Texans to take precautions this week-
end and avoid becoming one of the
three dozen people likely to die on
state roads before Tuesday.
In Baytown, all city, county and
state offices will be closed Monday
for the holiday, but will resume nor-
mal business hours on Tuesday. This
will include post offices and GCCISD
schools, as well as Lee College.
Most local banks will open Satur-
day at normal weekend hours and
Tuesday all day, but will be closed
Monday.
Department of Public Safety offi-
cials reported 42 fatality accidents
throughout the state last Labor Day
weekend (17 involving college stu-
dents), and they are asking that drivers
be aware of the risks.
The United States Coast Guard will
also be increasing patrols and enforc-
ing boater safety laws throughout the
weekend, and they are also asking that
everyone conduct themselves respon-
sibly.
Sterling Municipal Library will be
closed Saturday and Monday
Persons with trash pick-up sched-
uled for Monday should wait until
their next scheduled pick-up date to
set out their garbage.
Tonight: Fair skies. Lows in the mid-
70s.
Saturday: Mostly sunny. Highs in the
mid-90s Remainder of the Labor Day
weekend will be partly cloudy with a
slight chance of mainly afternoon show-
ers and thunderstorms.
Weather art by Cale Moye of Highlands
Elementary.
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Dobbs, Gary. The Baytown Sun (Baytown, Tex.), Vol. 73, No. 262, Ed. 1 Friday, September 1, 1995, newspaper, September 1, 1995; Baytown, Texas. (https://texashistory.unt.edu/ark:/67531/metapth1020778/m1/1/?q=denton+history: accessed June 18, 2024), University of North Texas Libraries, The Portal to Texas History, https://texashistory.unt.edu; crediting Sterling Municipal Library.