The Baytown Sun (Baytown, Tex.), Vol. 80, No. 69, Ed. 1 Sunday, February 3, 2002 Page: 1 of 30
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NATION
SUPER BOWL XXXVI
Ex-Enron chairman comes
under scrutiny this week
PAGE 8B
Rams vs. patriots
5 p.m.,FOX
PAGE 1B
LIVING
Local band draws crowds
with classic country sound
PAGE 1C
SUNDAY
February 3, 2002
Cljr paptotun Until
SINCE 1922
Baytown, Texas
www.baytownsun.com
Volume 80 No. 69
Crime district tax renewal defeated
Unofficial results: 578 for, 712 against
By UA MARTIN
Staff writer
BAYTOWN — The Crime Control
and Prevention District half-cent sales
tax was defeated in spite of the effort
put forth by city leaders to inform citi-
zens of the merits of keeping the tax
for another 10 years.
Unofficially, those opposed to keep-
ing the half-cent tax numbered 712,
with 149 of those voting early. With
229 early votes included in the total,
578 residents voted to maintain the
crime district tax. That equates to a 10
percent margin, 45 percent for the tax,
and 55 percent against.
In 1998, the crime prevention district
tax passed by,a 3-1 margin.
With 34,000 registered voters in
Baytown, only 1,290 citizens voted in
the single-issue proposition.
Opponents of the crime district said
it was all about information — the lack
of it.
“I don’t find any great joy in playing
the devil’s advocate,” aid Bob Crunk, a
strong opposer of the crime prevention
tax. "The bottom line is that the ques-
tions we asked needed to be answered.”
* Another strong worker against the
city’s support — James Haarmeyer —
applauded the outcome, and said, “We
were expecting it to go down.”
City Manager Monte Mercer said
the city will have to go back and look
at the priorities for the next budget ses-
sion, to see what could be reduced to
balance the budget.
“After, this one year of CCPD fund-
ing, I will have to deal with the person-
nel we have on the payroll. We will
take alternative plans before the coun-
cil,” Mercer said.
The crime district’s half-cent sales tax
will continue one more year to fulfill
the five-year commitment the Baytown
residents made in 1998. The crime dis-
trict board also approved $600,000 con-
tingency in case the crime prevention
district proposal did not pass.
In the past for years, the Crime
■Control and Prevention District has
earned $14.5 million.
: Out of that, a new jail and court-
house complex was built for nearly $5
million, along with a police academy
yet to begin construction. The money
has been set aside to build the acade-
my, according to police and city offi-
cials, and the land has already, been
purchased.
Ten officers were added to the force,
police vehicles, and an upgraded
See ELECTION on Page 7A
Firefighter,
city court
date set
By JIM LIDDELL
Staff writer
BAYTOWN —,A court date
has been set for hearing a law-
suit filed against the city of
Baytown by 50 firefighters over
alleged back-pay in arrears. All
are members of the Baytown
Professional Fire Fighters
Association Local 1173.
Craig Deats, an Austin attor-
ney representing the group, said
, Wednesday that the trial would
begin Nbv. 4 in the 215th State
District Court with Judge Levi
J. Benton presiding.
Deats, who was not part of a
series early 2001 negotiations
between the city and the union
which led to the current collec-
tive bargaining agreement, said
that he was unable 76"'go into
detail about the current progress
of his case.
"We are still in discovery
mode,” Deats said, adding thbt
he was working against a Oct. 4,
deadline in the discovery
process during which plaintiffs
gather their evidence for
upcoming trials. —- - - -
“We still need to get (some)
payroll records,” he said.
Asked about the firefighters’
attitude toward the legal actions,
Deats, who has told the mem-
bers of the local to refer all
questions to himself, said that
there was a general consensus
that there was nothing personal
in the matter.
“They just want to get paid,”
Deats said. “Each joined (the
lawsuit) individually and this, I
think, represents their attitude.”
Deats repeated his belief that
the suit is over interpretations of
See COURT on Page 7A
A Matter Of Debate Barbers Hill
eyes policy for
drug testing
By MATTHEW COOK
Staff writer
'*r%.
■ , ... Photo by Lia Martin
Crosby High School students and two debate high school directors plan strategy for debates on Saturday
during their first NFL invitational tournament. From left, Peter Dobson, sophomore; Genna Shiach, fresh-
man; Jennifer Simonton, 1997 graduate; Mike Fain, Scaraborough High director of speech; Russell Rach,
Crosby High director of debate; Shannon Willoughby, senior; and Brianna Fry, junior.
Crosby a serious state title contender
By LIA MARTIN
- Staff writer
CROSBY — Students were dressed in busi-
ness-like black. They paced the narrow hall-
ways of Crosby High School all day on
Saturday, walking back and forth as they
rehearsed their debate strategies to themselves,
over and over again, because they wanted to be
the best debaters in Texas.
A serious contender for the state title, the
Crosby High debating department invited 32
schools to their first National Forensic League
invitaUonal Friday and Saturday. This would
mean that almost 400 students would descend
on the school for the two-day period.
A sweepstakes winner would be chosen, that
would show off overall debating team skills in
. every category, as well as first, second and
third place winners in different categories.
The meet will also help qualify students,
who want to earn the necessary points to
advance to the state meet, later this month.
Two school directors — Russell Rach, who
mans the debating department and Raymond
Blanchard, who heads the drama department
— worked together, with the student s help, to
pull the project together.
Rach came on board six years ago, after he
was hired by Miff Mendoza, who began the
schools first debate team in the mid-70s. She
had seen Rach in action years before, when
she was a debating judge and had seen him
debate at Nederland High. ■
See DEBATE on Page 7A
MONT BELVIEU — The
Barbers Hill School Board
believes there is a drug problem
prevalent in the district’s
schools and plans to implement
a drug-testing policy to combat
the issue.
A draft of the policy was pre-
sented to the board of trustees
during a workshop session
Thursday.
“We don’t want to catch any-
body, we just want to deter the
kids from using drugs,” said
trustee Jaime Harvey.
The school district plans to
conduct random drug tests on
all middle school and high
school students involved in ath-
letics and cheerleading. The
program would be voluntary for
all other students,
According to the policy draft,
“All students in grades 7-12
who participate in an inter-
scholastic athletic program or in
a cheerleading activity or who
choose to participate voluntarily
in the student drug-testing pro-
gram shall be subject to random
testing at a frequency and at a
rate to be determined by the
school administration."
The school district recently
conducted a survey of middle
school and high school students
regarding the use of drugs and
alcohol. According to the sur-
vey, 40 percent of high school
students and 21 percent of mid-
dle school students said they
At a glance
According to a draft of the
Barbers Hill ISD drug-testing
policy:
"All students in grades 7-
12 who participate in an'
interscholastic athletic pro-
gram or in a cheerleading
activity or-,who choose to par-
ticipate voluntarily in the stu-
dent drug-testing program
shall be subject to random
testing at a frequency and at
a rate to be determined by
the school
administration "appeal."
had used an illegal drug; 25 per-
cent of high schoolers and 17
percent of middle schoolers
said they had been offered
drugs'at school; and more than
50 percent of high schoolers
and 30 perceiit of middle
schoolers said they considered
drugs to be a problem at the
school. ■
All athletes, cheerleaders and
students who volunteer for the
program will be “tested at the
beginning of school. Then tests
will occur randomly throughout
the year, Sonnenberg said.
Testing positive during the
drug tests carry a variety of
consequences. Each time a stu-
dent tests positive, their parents
are notified and they are
required to attend a drug and
alcohol counseling program.
The student and his or her par-
ents will also.be required to
See TESTING on Page 7A
, Inside Sunday
Business
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Classifieds ......
1D
,6A
Community......
Living ..... ■ ■ • •
.1C
Obituaries.......
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Opinion.........
,4A
Sports .........
,1B
Nation .........
,8B
Television .......
,3C
Weather ........
2A
LOTTERY
Saturday drawings
Lotto: 2-10-21-29-30-18.
Pick 3: 9-2-8
Crowded fields in marquee Democratic, GOP primary races
Voter registration information/6A
By JIM LIDDELL
Staffwriter
In recent weeks, four area races have
caught the eye of local voters because of
their importance and the number of can-
didates crowding onto the field.
These are the March 12 general pri-
mary contests for Congressional House
District 25, State House District 128,
Chambers County Commissioner
Precinct 2 and Harris County
Commissioner Precinct 2. All promise to
be hard-fought battles, with one offering
rematches between candidates, and each
raising important issues for voters.
With the exception of the one
Chambers County rematch, there are no
incumbents in any of the races.
In the Congressional race, four
Democratic candidates square off to
decide who will meet Republican Tom
Reiser of Houston in the fall. The
Democrats are Chris Bell, Paul Colbert,
Stephen King and Carroll G. Robinson,
all of Houston.
The state house vying in state District
128 matches Republicans Tom Butler of
La Porte against Baytonians Wayne
Smith and Reggie Gonzales. No
Democratic candidate filed for this posi-
tion before the deadline to be eligible to
appear on the fall general ballot since the
makeup of the district at present virtual-
ly guarantees the election of
Republicans.
In Harris County, the Precinct Two
commissioners race places two
Democrats Jn competition, John E.
Castillo and Sylvia Garcia, and three
Republicans, Johnny Isbell, Richard
Risinger and Larry Tobin.
Chamber County 's Precinct 2 commis-
sioner's race pits four Democrats against
each other. These are David “Bubby”
Abernathy, incumbent Judy Edmonds,
Bennett “Benny” Jenkins and Mary
Tarver.
The winner of the Democratic pri-
maries will meet Republican Francis
Lynn Hughes in the fall in the gfeneral
election.
See PRIMARY on Page 8A
"iii i
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Cash, Wanda Garner. The Baytown Sun (Baytown, Tex.), Vol. 80, No. 69, Ed. 1 Sunday, February 3, 2002, newspaper, February 3, 2002; Baytown, Texas. (https://texashistory.unt.edu/ark:/67531/metapth1028750/m1/1/?q=wichita+falls: accessed June 23, 2024), University of North Texas Libraries, The Portal to Texas History, https://texashistory.unt.edu; crediting Sterling Municipal Library.