The Baytown Sun (Baytown, Tex.), Vol. 71, No. 296, Ed. 1 Tuesday, October 12, 1993 Page: 1 of 31
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What’s Inside...
Opinion 4A
Sports 14A
Lifestyle 13A
Keep up on
Baytown’s
club events
Around Town..
.........13At Movies'.............
.........2A
Business Update...8-9A Obituaries.........
.........3A
Calendar..........
.........4A
Classified........
..11-12A Police Beat.......
.........2A
Comics............
.......14A
Lifestyle...........
.........5A
‘Together We
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Volume 71, No. 296
Telephone Number: 422-8302
Tuesday, October 12,1993
Baytown, Texas 77520
50 Cents Per Copy
l
Trustees eye Feb. 15 for bond referendum
ByBruce Guynn
ofThe Baytown Sun
Goose Creek school trustees Monday reviewed a
timetable for conducting a bond election, which
included a tentative date of Feb. 15 for holding the
referendum.
At its next meeting on Oct. 25, the board is
expected to name a 15- to 18-member Facility and
Technology Planning Committee to develop the
bond package. This committee is expected to present
its report at a special meeting of the school board on
Dec. 6. Board members are expected to receive a
preliminary report in November.
The tentative timetable calls for the board to set
the date of the election at its Dec. 13 meeting.
If the board decides on the Feb. 15 date, early vot-
ing would be held from Jan. 26 through Feb. 11.
The timetable includes a number of suggestions
for promoting the bond package.
These include developing plans to publicize the
bond issue through speeches at service club meet-
ings and other events. This strategy also involves
fighting apathy by involving as many people as pos-
sible in the campaign for the bond program and con-
centrating publicity efforts on known supporters.
It also provides for the development of a group of
volunteers from various schools in the district to pro-
mote the bond package. These volunteers would
help publicize the district’s space and maintenance
needs, according to the timetable.
Also, student accomplishments would be high-
lighted to build on community pride in the schools.
The tentative timetable also suggests dealing with
the property tax issue in a direct manner.
State law prohibits school board members and dis-
trict personnel from promoting the bond package.
This work will have to be done through the com-
mittee and the various volunteer groups and profes-
sional organizations.
School officials have been discussing a bond issue
to finance campus construction projects, renovations
to existing buildings and the purchase of new tech-
nology for district schools. *• •
Center
trains,
cares for
The Baytown Opportunity
Center (BOC) is a sheltered
workshop that provides day
care, activities for daily living
and vocational training for
mentally and physically dis-
abled adults.
Its mission is to aid these
individuals in functioning as
independently as possible and
as contributing members of
society.
The BOC is unique in that it
is able to provide effective
programs and iraining for a
wide range of disabilities.
There is training for severely
disabled individuals as well as
for those needing only average
supervision.
Classroom and other support
services are available to teach
and reinforce acceptable social
and work behavior in the com-
munity.
Work contracts with area
businesses provide in-house
and on-site training in both
simulated and actual work sit-
uations, enabling the BOC to
teach the concept of work.
Work training is provided in
assembly and packaging of
Goal:
$1,400,000
As of Oct. 9:
$828,221
Harlem’s
name will
noi cnange
products; bulk mailing; janito-
rial work; kitchen help; green-
house work; and the manufac-
turing of wooden pallets, bar-
ricades and engineering
stakes.
Other areas include litter
control; park cleanup; lawn
maintenance; recycling and
limited training in office work
and computer input.
Families of clients attending
Photo by Carrie Pryor-Newman
Hard at work
From left, Jeanette Novak, David Robinson and Thomas
Arnold assemble transporters for treadmills at the Baytown
Opportunity Center while Joseph Singleton observes. Each
treadmill requires 50 transporters.
the center are able to go to
work or school knowing their
son or daughter is in a safe,
supervised learning environ-
ment.
The BOC also serves as a
referral source for families
and the public when the ser-
vices it offers are not appropri-
ate to meet their needs.
Youth commission fights gangs
By Jane Howard
of The Baytown Sun
The Baytown Youth Commission is devel-
oping many ideas as part of a multi-faceted
plan to help make Baytown a healthy place for
families.
Several members appeared at a forum host-
ed recently by the League of Women Voters.
They spoke on the commission’s history, pur-
pose, current projects and plans for the fiiture.
“This began with a cry for help,” said Ray
Wilson, Who co-chaired the commission’s pre-
decessor, an ad hoc group called the Gang
Task Force.
That task force was created at a time
approximately two years ago when Baytown
was experiencing a rash of gang-related shoot-
ings. “It was almost nightly,” said Wilson.
Barbara Kolaja, the Youth Commission
coordinator, explained that while the task
force identified the problems and sought to
address some of those on almost an emer-
gency basis, they also set the groundwork to
create a more permanent force. “Now we’re
setting the foundation for something that we’ll
do for a long time,” she sai'd.
In the next few months, she hopes the com-
mission will complete a directory of all avail-
able area family and youth services. In plans
for the following months, the commission
hopes to find funding for projects, establish a
job bank for youths and create a work program.
By early next year, as information is devel-
oped that will help define the Commission’s
future role, she hopes to submit recommenda-
tions to City Council for restructuring of the
commission and expanding of its boundaries.
“This is such a big job. Thirty-five people
alone can’t do it,” she said. Currently, the
Youth Commission is working on a number of
projects, both as a group and in conjunction
with other entities, such as the YMCA, the
police department and the school district.
Those include “Friday Night Live,” a weekly
recreation and entertainment program for
youths aged from nine through 14. For youths
at extreme risk, the Youth Commission is
working on an alternative residency program,
that would offer an escape from neighborhood
gang pressure and disturbing home situations.
Commission members urged the community
to get behind their efforts and not expect any
miracle cures.
“It took a long time to get into this situation
and it will take a long time to get out,” said
Wilson.
REL program targets lower dropout rate
By Bruce Guynn
of The Baytown Sun
David Hall, principal at Robert
E. Lee High School, unveiled a
plan Monday to reduce the student
dropout rate at REL to no more
than 1 percent by spring of 1998.
Initially, the plan calls for a
reduction of the dropout rate to 5.5
percent by spring of 1994 among
all segments of die student popu-
lation — white, black, Hispanic
and economically disadvantaged.
The Goose Creek school district
has received a “letter of concern”
from the Texas Education Agency
regarding REL’s 6.5 percent
dropout rate for the 1991-92
school year.
The TEA considers a dropout
rate of 6 percent or above as unac-
ceptable.
If the rate is not lowered below
i
this figure, the school’s rating
could be changed from “accept-
able” to “low-performing.” The
TEA will base its next evaluation
on the dropout rate for the 1992-
93 academic year.
School trustees expressed dis-
pleasure that the next evaluation
will based on r year that has
already passed.
Objectives of the program
include establishing a process of
investigating and documenting
“no-show” students with the intent
of getting them back into the regu-
lar school setting or the alternative
school; referring students who
meet criteria for enrollment in the
alternative school or Lee College’s
Upward Bound Pregram; attempt-
ing to locate students who have
not graduated; and establishing a
procedure for identifying potential
dropouts.
By Bruce Guvnn
ofThe Baytown Sun
Goose Creek school trustees
Monday voted 4-3 against a pro-
posal to rename Harlem Ele-
mentary School after the late
Clyde Messiah, a black educa-
tor.
Voting against the proposal
were Edward Lowell Hilde-
brand, president of the board,
and Trustees Clarence Albus,
Jim Jeffrey and Weston Cotton.
Voting for the proposal were
Trustees Rick Trout, George
Rincon and Olivia Messiah.
At a public hearing on Sept.
23, those addressing the board
opposed the name change by a
2-1 margin. Monday’s vote was
applauded by some members of
the audience.
Hildebrand said his opposition
to the name change was not a
reflection on either Clyde or
Olivia Messiah. He noted that a
' large segment of the community
is opposed to the name change.
Jeffrey said he thought the
public spoke “very clearly” on
the issue.
Cotton said he was against the
name change for “a lot of rea-
sons,” but did not want to publi-
cize them.
Albus raised three questions.
“Is it legal? Is it ethical? Is it the
best for 18,000 students?” he
asked.
Mrs. Messiah said, “Let me
first say thanks to Mr. Trout and
Mr. Rincon for their profound
Sun sponsors
essay contest
As part of Red Ribbon Week
anti-drug activities, The Baytown
Sun will sponsor a “Winners Don’t
Need Drugs” essay contest for stu-
dents in area schools. Winners will
receive $50 gift certificates.
To enter, write an essay about
“Why I Don’t Use Drugs” in 500
words or less. The essays will be
judged and winners selected in
four divisions. The entries will be
divided in grade groups — sixth
and seventh graders, eighth and
ninth graders, 10th and 11th
graders and 12th-graders.
Entries are limited to one per
person, and must include an offi-
cial entry form and the Drug-Free
Pledge found in this newspaper or
a reasonable facsimile. Incomplete
entries will be disregarded.
Send entries to The Baytown
Sun, P.O. Box 90, Baytown, TX,
77522 Attn; Essay Contest
Entries must be received by Oct
22,1993.
understanding of the issue at
hand.
“Personally, I feel the board’s
vote reflects the insensitivity of
the majority, possibly due to the:
opposing majority at the hear-
ings,” she continued.
Because blacks are a minority
in the school district, the city
and the nation, “our destiny is
determined by the majority,”
Mrs. Messiah added.
“The ‘colored’ label on the
water fountain and on Harlem
will not be removed by the
minority. It is a fact that the
majority controls our destiny,”
she concluded.
Trout, who made the motion
for the name change, said it was
a “sensitivity issue.” Before the
vote on the motion, he said, “We
have to be sensitive to the con-
cerns of everyone in this town.”:
Ray Wilson, president of. the
Baytown chapter of the National
Association for the Advancei-
ment of Colored People, spoke
to the board at the outset of the
meeting and urged approval of
the name change.
Wilson said the Harlem name
is a holdover from the era when
Baytown was segregated. Bay-
town is now “the most integrat-
ed city I have found,” Wilson
said.
Moreover, changing the name
of Harlem Elementary School'
would not do away with tradi-
tions at the school. “The tradi-
tions will always be there,” he
said.
Weather
Tonight; Cloudy with a
50 percent chance of
showers or thunder-
storms and a low in the
mid to upper 60s.
Wednesday: Cloudy
with a 40 percent
chance of showers and
a high in the low to mid..
80s. Drawing by Lori
Cisco, grade 5, Crock-
ett Elementary.
■mbmmpmmmmhkmm
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Dobbs, Gary. The Baytown Sun (Baytown, Tex.), Vol. 71, No. 296, Ed. 1 Tuesday, October 12, 1993, newspaper, October 12, 1993; Baytown, Texas. (https://texashistory.unt.edu/ark:/67531/metapth1052209/m1/1/: accessed July 18, 2024), University of North Texas Libraries, The Portal to Texas History, https://texashistory.unt.edu; crediting Sterling Municipal Library.