The Mathis News (Mathis, Tex.), Vol. 58, No. 53, Ed. 1 Thursday, December 31, 1981 Page: 1 of 12
This newspaper is part of the collection entitled: Mathis Area Newspaper Collection and was provided to The Portal to Texas History by the Mathis Public Library.
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Thumbnail View Reveals
.1981 Not Bad Year
The year 1981 proved to be an
active one for the City of
Mathis, with activity falling
under both good and bad news.
The following thumbnail view
shows the headlined activity
during the year.
JANUARY
The City’s new park received
a donation of 53 trees; ex-
Mathis high schooler Shane
Well, here comes 1982, a new
year and I just wonder if you
are ready for it. I got a kinda
sinking feeling that I might not
be. It seems my motor runs
slower each year and
everything in the world gets
faster and faster.
Do you have a crystal ball?
And if so, is it worth Tinker’s
Damn at telling the truth about
the future? Well, I didn’t think
it was so I guess I’ll go it on my
own.
I don’t believe in resolutions.
For me I mean, because all I do
is break them as fast as I can so
I don’t have to spend all year
wondering when I’ll go wrong
on one.
But there are a few things I
would like to see done. I would
like for Americans to tighten
their belts and give President
Reagan’s programs a chance.
Sure, boss, I know it’s tough on
a lot of people, but compared to
complete bankruptcy, and that
is where we are headed-; belt-
tightening isn’t that bad.
Yep, I wish the foreign pic-
ture looked a little brighter, but
again I think it is way past time
for the United States to stand
up and talk back to the world,
especially the Soviet Union and
the small smart-aleck coun-
tries like Libya.
And I notice now where Red
China is beginning to publicly
criticize the United States. I
hope we tell them to “shut up.”
We got along for many years
without their friendship and I
see no reason-other than
several billions dollars worth of
sales-that we can’t survive
without them again. So I think
we should go ahead and do our
business with Taiwan and let
the Republic do what it thinks it
has to do. I bet you they will
back off.
You bet, I hope that the
unemployment rate drops and
soon. But, boss, it can only drop
after the economy gets to the
point where more jobs are
available because business and
industry are out of their slump.
There are thousands of
available in these United States
right now. I’m not saying that
everyone is qualified for all of
them. But I do maintain the
unemployment rate would drop
if more people would really
want to work instead of wan-
ting to exist on some kind of a
dole.
Right here in Mathis, the 1982
picture doesn’t look bad at all.
There won’t be any new taxes
and no increase is seen in user
fees. That should make
everyone smile, don’t you
think.
Our sales tax receipts will go
up, especially if more people
will make an effort to try home
first before they buy elsewhere.
And, boss, it wouldn’t hurt our
merchants to do a little soul-
searching to see if they can’t do
something in their places of
business to entice more people
to stay home.
You know, boss, the Lake
Corpus Christi Area Chamber
of Commerce is pushing hard to
gain a “resort image” for this
area. And there is no reason
why it can’t be. We have the
climate; we have the lake; we
have the friendly people.
A short conversation recently
with Buddy Hoskins of Sunrise
Beach gave me a better picture
of the growth of the area. He
says the number of visitors to
the lake area has jumped
dramatically in the past 10
years. He is talking about both
the winter visitors coming
bee DEAR BOSS, Page 10
Nelson and his Buffalo Bills
meet San Diego in playoffs;
Bob and Kay Roth re-open
Cur lee’s Restaurant as new
owners; Mathis Young
Farmers hold successful used
equipment sale, selling some
$260,000 worth; Zoning and
Planning Commission
members told to “fulfill their
obligation by making
meeting,” new water plant
dedicated by Senator Carlos
Truan; Mathis Fire Depart-
ment hosts South Central
District Firemen’s convention
for first time in 40 years; Larry
Wallek named district fireman
of the year; City Park on Frio
Street officially named Gonzalo
Paiz Park; water line breaks
give City $15,000 headache;
EMS unit appeals for help in
form of money and people;
Catherine Baen of Mathis nam-
ed Queen of 1981 A&H Show;
Superintendent Olan McCraw
given $3,000 raise and three
year contract; special $19,255
bus purchased for handicapped
students.
FEBRUARY
Audit snags withhold $300,000
federal funds from Housing
Authority; A&H grand cham-
pion steer brings $5.15 per
pound; Hospitality Night for
Lake visitors attracts 199
Winter Texans, Lake Corpus
Christi Area Chamber of Com-
merce officials pleased with
turnout; Lake City builds new
Civic Center; two full traffic
lights, featuring both red and
green, installed on San Patricio
Avenue at Hwy 359 intersection
and at Front Street; Mayor Jim
Flores announces he will not
seek re-election; City Coun-
cilman Luciano Rivera, Place,
3, files for re-election; three
school board members Charles
Neal, Place 3, James
Lehrmann, Place 4 and C. H.
Dominguez Jr., Place 5, file for
re-election; Guadalupe
See 1981, Page 10,
®1| t HatJjte
More Than 50 Years of Service to Mathis
and the Surrounding Area
Mathis and Lake Area
‘Where the Environment Spoils the People! ’
Neuia
Thursday, December 31,1981 — Mathis, Texas 78368
No. 53 — 12 Pages - Volume LVIII
Proposed City Budget Says:
'No New Taxes, Or User Fees'
Babson Reports
It may not be the top news of
1982, but the new City budget
being prepared by the City
Council will give Mathis tax-
payers a chunk of good news.
The budget proposes no new
taxes nor new user fees.
Mayor Guadalupe DeLeon
and City Council members are
determined to stay within the
City’s present income, and by
doing so they assure residents
“there will be no new taxes or
increased uses fees.”
By keeping the 1982 budget
within revenue available, the
Council will mark a second
year in a row for such an ac-
complishment. In doing so they
have in effect, within two
years, reduced the budget by at
least 25.5 percent.
Last year the Council reduc-
ed the budget by an actual 5.5
percent, or $60,000 below the
previous year. Then they
withstood the bite of at least a
10 percent inflation rate, which
in effect meant a 15.5 percent
reduction.
Ag Outlook Bleak; Housing Up
Babson’s Business And
Financial Forecast For
1982—By Bason’s Reports Inc.,
Wellesley Hills, MA.,
December 31, 1981. Economic
conditions and the status of
public sentiment in the closing
weeks of 1981 stand in stark
contrast to those of late 1980. A
year ago, overall business was
still trending upward.
Moreover, there was hopeful
expectancy that the change in
the nation’s leadership would
lead to an alleviation - and
ultimately a resolution - of pro-
blems which had been gnawing
at the core of the economy.
Now, as 1981 gives way to 1982,
the economy is gripped by a
recession and there is a rising
tide of anxiety that the Reagan
presciption will produce fur-
ther harsh dislocations.
Deep Pessimism Not War-
ranted—The staff of Babson’s
Reports feels it is premature to
summarily dismiss the Reagan
Administration’s efforts to
shore up the foundations of the
economy. It must be
remembered that not all of the
provisions of the Economic
Recovery Tax Act of 1981 are
yet in effect. In addition,
pessimism with respect to fun-
damental and long-term con-
siderations is not justified when
one gives due weight to the fact
that least some progress has
already been made in slowing
inflation and lowering interest
rates. Yet much more improve-
ment must be attained on both
fronts before their dangers are
genuinely subdued, and this is a
task which undoubtedly will
take a good deal of time - and
dogged persistence - to ac-
complish. The backlash on both
counts in 1980 attests to the ab-
surdity of band-aid type solu-
tions.
The true severity of the cur-
rent recession can also be bet-
ter evaluted by taking into ac-
count the postponement of
business capital equipment in-
vestment as soon as it became
evident that the benefits of
liberalized depreciation under
the tax legislation would not
commence until January 1,
1982. During the hiatus, this im-
portant element of industrial
activity has been kept on a sub-
par basis. Hence, it is only
reasonable to assume that we
shall have some catch-up buy-
ing as 1982 progresses. Of
course, the high level of in-
terest rates also served to stifle
business equipment demand,
but these promise to be a less
inhibiting factor in the year
ahead. Indeed, interest rates
have already worked down to
levels that are appreciably less
prohibitive to borrowers.
1982-From Recession To Ex-
pansion-Judging from the
behavior of- various key
economic indicators, the last
quarter of 1981 will prove to be
the low point for the year’s
business performance. After an
unexpectedly vigorous advance
in the first three months, the
economy softened a bit during
the ensuing two quarters and
then slumped sharply to close
out the year immersed in a ge-
niune recession. Thus, we have
slipped into recession twice in
consecutive years. Yet, unlike
1980’s credit-restraint-fostered
economic drop, which began
and ended within that year, the
recession of 1981 will likely
carry over into early 1982. even
so, due to the severity of the
nosedive during the past three
months and given the decline in
interest rates, there may be on-
ly a downward shading of
economic activity during the
first 1982 quarter, followed by a
flat performance in the spring
weeks. This scenario may not
be impressive, but it is far less
disheartening than the
pessimistic predictions which
have prevailed of late.
Moreover, scattered signs of
improvement should be emerg-
ing before long, though perhaps
not in sufficient quantity and
intensity to spell large-scale
overall business gains. Around
midyear, however, the
economy should be moving
ahead in concert, and we ex-
pect the final half of 1982 to
feature distinct upside pro-
gress even though the summer
weeks may be more robust
than the fall season. By autumn
new growth in demand for
credit may begin to take hold.
This should make for some
braking influence, though not
enough to prevent a definite
See AG, Page 10
“This year,” says the Mayor,
“we intend to live within our in-
come and still take the brunt of
at least a 10 percent inflation
bite. That means at least a 25.5
percent reduction in two
years.”
Everything is not worked out
completely on the 1982 budget,
which due to recent changes by
the council runs from January
1 through December 31, but Ci-
ty Secretary Romeo Alvarado
says “it will be ready for adop-
tion by the last week in January
of the first meeting in
February.”
The next workshop session on
the proposed budget will be
Monday night, January 4th, in
conjunction with the regular
Council meeting. “We still have
to cut a little here, move a little
around here and there to
finalize the budget,” Alvarado
said. “But we know already
that it will be within the
revenue we will receive next
year.”
Mayor DeLeon campaigned
last year on a promise to cut
the budget and has worked
diligently to do so, with the
Council in agreement. In a re-
cent interview with a reporter
from Corpus Christi he admit-
ted the spending almost got
away from him during the
year.
“In September the city spent
more than $80,000,” he said,
and he also said he decided
something had to be done to
slow the spending.
So he set a policy to make
every department head justify
every purchase and not to buy
anything if they had something
that would do the job. He also
started checking into waste,
and saw that some old equip-
ment could be canabalized to
prevent buying new items.
At that time the city was hur-
ting according to the Mayor
and was transferring money
See PROPOSED, Page 10
Police Reserves Will Benefit
From January 8th Wrestling
mil
Southwest Championship
Wrestling personalities will
provide all the action at the
matches slated for January 8th
at the Bucking Armadillo.
Main event of the night will
be a tag team match between
Scott Casey and Dick Slater vs
Tully Blanchard and Gino Her-
nandez.
Other matches will pit
former pro-football player
Nanny Fernandez vs Moon
Mulligan and Larry Lane vs
Mike Boyer.
Grunt and groan action will
begin at 8:30 p.m. that Friday
night.
Proceeds from the matches
will be used to send members of
the Mathis Police Department
Reserves to training school at
Bee County College and also to
purchase uniforms.
Advance tickets are on sale
at $6 per person. They may be
purchased at the Bucking Ar-
madillo, Bumper To Bumper,
Casa Jose, Hope’s Beauty
Salon and the Police Depart-
ment. They also will be sold
beginning at 6 p.m. on the night
of the matches.
“These tickets will be charg-
ed at the $6 price for anyone
who occupies a chair,” a
spokesperson for the depart-
ment said.
E.M.S. Giving Away Two Prizes
HE'S REAL...Scott Casey will
provide part of the thrills when
Southwest Championship
Wrestling comes to Mathis on
January 8th. T,he event, spon-
sored to raise money for the
Mathis Police Department
Reserve program, will be stag-
ed at The Bucking Armadillo
and tickets are $6 per person.
The Mathis E.M.S. unit needs
monetary help and has planned
the perfect way for the public to
give it-a “give-away” project
that can be a two-way benefit.
Members are taking dona-
tions of $1 per ticket or a book
of tickets for $8 on two good
prizes to be given away on
January 24.
Prizes include a 30-30 Win-
chester rifle and a TruTone
Stereo with speakers.
“We need financial help to
operate the unit,” said a
spokesperson, “and we wanted
to be able to give the public
something in return for their
money. So we came up with this
project.”
WEATHER REPORT
Date
High
Low
Rain
Dec. 22
79
42
.00
Dec. 23
58
42
.00
Dec. 24
52
32
.00
Dec. 25
60
39
.00
Dec. 26
71
42
.00
Dec. 27 .
78
47
.00
Dec. 28
67
45
.00
Dec. 29
62
45
.05
l:
wM
\ j£ C
TOO CLOSE...The five oc-
cupants in this Dodge van were
too close to this truck rig for
comfort Tuesday afternoon,
but they also realized it could
have been far worse. The acci-
dent happened three miles
south of Mathis at the in-
tersection of FM 881 and FM
666. The truck rig, belonging to
Rice Water Well Drilling Co. of
Kingsville turned south onto
FM 666 from FM 881 and
caught the van on the side,
dragging it backward about 50
feet. Van driver Nora Dealto,
20, received undetermined
neck and back injuries. Jovita
Gonzales, 27, received a frac-
tured leg. Other occupants of
the van, all of whom were from
Corpus Christi, were Yolanda
Rodriguez, 34, Terry Vela, 21,
Prisilla Rodriguez, 2. Rig
driver Celestino Basaludua III
of Kingsville was uninjured. He
said his brakes gave out.
Mathis E.M.S. unit personnel
answered the call and
transported the injured to a
Corpus hospital. Texas Depart-
ment of Public Safety
Patrolman Juan Castillo in-
vestigated the accident.
(NEWS PHOTO)
Wesley Seale Dam at
Lake Corpus Christi
,.V
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Lawrence, Burnis K. The Mathis News (Mathis, Tex.), Vol. 58, No. 53, Ed. 1 Thursday, December 31, 1981, newspaper, December 31, 1981; Mathis, Texas. (https://texashistory.unt.edu/ark:/67531/metapth1040332/m1/1/: accessed April 25, 2024), University of North Texas Libraries, The Portal to Texas History, https://texashistory.unt.edu; crediting Mathis Public Library.