Levelland and Hockley County News-Press (Levelland, Tex.), Vol. 21, No. 33, Ed. 1 Sunday, July 25, 1999 Page: 1 of 25
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EL PASO TX 79903-3724
Levelland And
Hockley County
News-Press »
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Property values slide for second year
For the second consecutive year, "Overall values are down because
property values are down for most of the mineral component, because
Hockley County taxing entities. of the depression in oil and gas,” he
A report released Friday by the said. "The effects were not quite as
Hockley County Appraisal District detrimental as we (first) thought,
showed that 1999 values for 14 of but they were bad enough.”
16 local taxing entities were down Values for oil and gas properties
compared to last year. were based on prices as of Jan. 1 -
The figures are tentatively not their current levels, he noted,
scheduled to be certified Monday With tax rates for most local
by the Appraisal Review Board. school districts already at their
Apprs
Once that is done, Tax Assessor-
Collector Christy Clevenger will
begin working with local taxing
entities on issuing truth and taxation
notices, said Chief Appraiser Nick
Williams.
Those notices will include
information on what level tax rates
should be set to raise the same
amount of revenue as in 1998.
This year’s lower appraised
values are largely due to low
mineral values, especially crude oil
prices, Williams said.
districts.
Smyer ISD’s property values
dropped 27.066 percent, falling
from S54.722.618 to $39,911,345.
Values for Sundown ISD slid
31.903 percent, tumbling from
$573,938,320 to $390,834,134 in 12
months.
Cities that have lower values have
the option of raising their tax rates.
So does Hockley County, whose
total values have plummeted 24.312
tors can do little but cut spending, percent, falling from $1.59 billion
Williams said. in 1998,to $1,205 billion this year.
"That’s where the rub comes," he
said. "School districts don’t have
nearly as much money to operate
on.
Values for the Levelland In-
dependent School District fell
20.613 percent, going from
$723,593,641 to $574,437,794 in a
year’s time.
The drop was even more dramatic
for the Smyer and Sundown school
County commissioners will hold
a workshop Monday to discuss the
2000 fiscal year budget.
County Judge Larry Sprowls has
said he hopes the county can keep
the tax rate from rising above 30
cents per $100 valuation. It is
currently 26.5 cents.
According to die report, farmland
in the county rose in value from
$205,324,040 a year ago to $205,-
330,790 this year.
At the same tune, mineral values
tumbled from $1,200,502,910 to
$802,974,450.
Total values for the City of
Levelland slipped 2.207 percent,
going from $287,916,997 in 1998,
to $281,561,270 this year.
Mineral values for the city fell
from $51,920,260 to $42,362,630
in the same period.
However, the city’s housing
stock, including improvements, rose
from $143,203,270 to $144,858,290
in one year.
For the city to raise the same
amount of revenue as the current
fiscal year, Levelland officials
would have to raise the property tax
rate by slightly more than 1 cent.
Itnow stands at 65.5 cents per$100
valuation.
An increase in the tax rate is
unlikely, said Assistant City
Manager Rick Osbum.
But spending cuts and an increase
in the tax rate are possible in Sun-
down, acknowledged City Manager
Brad Stafford.
Sundown’s mineral values fell
from $19.37 million to $13.44
million this year.
Total values for the city dipped
17.38 percent, falling from $33,-
224,131 to $27,447,212, according
to the report.
"We’re going to try our best not
Commission ended with a recomme-
ndation that the paint an the tower
be removed and other work be un-
dertaken.
"It may be cheaper to replace the
tower,” Stafford said.
A new water tower could cost
Sundown $250,000.
The first figures are 1999 values,
followed by 1998 values in brackets.
The third figures show losses or gains
compared with 1998, fol- lowed by
to raise taxes. We may have to go percentage increases or decreases,
up a few cents,” Stafford said. He They are:
Anton ISD
$30,625,430, ($32,776,617),
added that the city may have to dip
into reserves as well.
Sundown’s ad valorem rate is
96.9 cents per $100 valuation.
The city’s aging infrastructure,
including water mains and streets,
needs attention, he said.
And the city may need to replace
its water tower.
A recent visit by the Texas
Natural Resource Conservation
-$2,151,187, -6.563 percent.
Levelland ISD
$574,437,794, ($723,593,641),
-$149,155,847, -20.613 percent.
Ropes ISD
$42,853,024, ($43,748,450),
-$895,426, -2.047 percent.
Smyer ISD
See VALUES Page 2
Cotton's prospects cool
growers' spending habits
*
fw» Bg- x.
YOUNG FARMERS — Eleven-year-old Brent Patterson and his brother Daniel, background, were on the
move Wednesday afternoon in this cotton field by their home off FM 2306. The two brothers and their sister,
Julie, were hoeing weeds in a two-acre patch of cotton that they are caring for this summer. They plan to donate
the proceeds from the cotton to their grandmother, Josephine Patterson. (Staff Photo)
Algerita Berry Festival
plans begin taking shape
Businessmen and agriculture
experts are remaining cautious about
prospects for this year’s cotton crop
and its impact on the local econo-
my.
The crop is already considerably
smaller than what producers had
banked on back in May.
Producers planted 252,754 acres
in cotton this spring, but about
99.000 acres of that failed, said
Mike Sweatt, executive director of
the county Farm Service Agency.
Sweatt estimated that growers
replanted 80,000 acres in milo. The
remaining acreage was replanted in
such crops as soybeans, sunflowers
and haygrazer.
The excessive rainfall and hail-
storms that destroyed young cotton
plants in late May forced growers
to replant. They did, with some of
them losing their crop again to
heavy rains in June.
Sammy Means, manager of Ropes
Farmers Co-op, estimated that his
outfit sold roughly 10,000 50-pound
bags of cottonseed to farmers this
year.
"We did move a lot of seed
. becauseofthe replant," Means said.
a normal year - without much
- tm ’•Vs of a replant - the gin might sell
6.000 to 7,000 bags of seed, he
said.
Cotton in the Ropesville area is
now in "all stages," Means said.
Plants there did not produce
blooms until July 8, he said, adding
that some plants "won’t bloom until
the 15th" of August.
The condition of the county
cotton crop is one of extremes,
agreedKerry Siders, integrated pest
management specialist with the
Hockley County Extension Service.
"It’s so mixed out there. We are
made up out of these extremes,"
Siders said. "We have some plants
out there that have just begun to
square, and others that have been
blooming for 10 days now."
If a cotton plant has not
developed a square by July 30, it is
unlikely that a harvestableboll will
develop in time, he said.
Siders said the peanut crop is in
good condition, as is much of the
local milo crop.
Both crops could use rain in die
near future, he added.
Aphids have appeared in cotton
f elds and substantial numbers of
boll weevils are also turning up
Siders said.
As of Monday, he said, the pes-
ticide Furadan 4F had been cleared
for use in fighting cotton aphid
infestations.
He said that green bugs, boll-
worms and Lygus bugs are also
appearing in some fields.
Efforts to control insects will cost
money, but so will the developing
weed problem, he said.
"Weed control in all those crops
is a big problem," Siders said.
Concerns about money already
spent on this year’s crops - and low
commodity prices - are prompting
growers to be cautious about future
spending plans, he said.
"We have input costs that are
required. We have to look at input
costs, it protects that yield po-
tential," he said. "It’s important that
producers not have a defeatist atti-
tude and throw their hands up."
Larry Beseda, owner of Larry
Beseda Fertilizer & Chemical Co.
in Whiteface and Levelland, said
farmers’ spending has slowed down.
Beseda estimated that 40 percent
of the cotton crop around Whiteface
was wiped out this spring. Growers
replanted with milo, soybeans and
peas.
"It seems like we’re starting to
slow down," he said. "We’ve been
doing something about weevils.
They’re bad."
Beseda’s crop dusters have
already sprayed several thousand
acres of cotton for boll weevils in
the area. Some fields have been
sprayed more than once.
"They’vareaHy got a foo’frold in
Hockley County," he said of the
weevils.
Cochran County appears to be in
better shape crop wise than Hockley
County, Beseda added
Jimmie Johnson, owner of Homer
Johnson Oil & Butane Co. in Level-
land, said fuel purchases by farmers
have been down considerably the
last two years.
"The last two years have been
horrible," Johnson said. "The
economy’s down. You could say
prices are suppressed."
Fuel dealers’ profit margins are
off quite a bit, he said.
Jim Davis, co-owner of Ag Pro-
ducts Inc., said growers have
become conservative in their
spending.
"I’m not a pessimist, but it’s
See COTTON Page 2
Planning for the upcoming
Algerita Berry Festival got under
way Thursday, with members of a
Promotions Committee agreeing that
the annual event will be similar to
last year’s one.
The festival, scheduled Sept. 11,
is named after a plant that is in-
digenous to this area.
Although the times that the
different events will start has not
been set, the committee mulled 11
a.m. as a kickoff time for the
parade.
Debra Dye, Main Street program
director, said it was important that
local schools be contacted as soon
as possible to see if their marching
bands will participate in the parade.
"We need to be focusing on that,"
Dye said, adding that judges and a
parade marshal are also needed.
She said it was also important to
determine what would be the best
time to start the parade.
Pat Blair said some merchants on
the downtown square have indicated
that they would be open to dis-
playing children’s art exhibits in
their stores.
"All have said they would like to
have them in their stores," Mrs.
Blair said.
She said it would make more
sense to display the art entries in
businesses rather than in vacant
buildings.
Last year, hundreds of youngsters
in grades Pre-K through 5 entered
the art contest.
Dye said the contest would tie in
with the festival, which is geared
toward families.
"This is mainly for family fun,"
she said of the festival. "We’ll have
music with the South Plains Opry
and other things. It will be a di-
versified event."
Buildings where art entries are
displayed could be identified with
balloons, she said.
Dye said she is working on an
information packet about the fes-
tival.
Eddie Courtney said it might be
best to replace last year’s roping for
kids event with stickhorse races.
Horseshoes were another option, he
said.
Courtney said he would check to
see if a sponsor can be found for
the pie melon bowling contest.
Committee members agreed that
pony rides would have to be held
on the courthouse lawn because of
promoters’ concerns about the
effects of asphalt on the animals’
hooves.
This year’searshow will involve
10-15 vehicles, Courtney said.
"It’s on. (Mike) Wilks and I will
take care of that," he said. "We’ll
need a sponsor."
The best location for the car show
would be on Austin Street east of
Avenue H, Courtney said.
He said a good location for a
Boat and RV Show would be on
Austin Street on the south side of
his store.
The committee decided to put the
idea of buggy rides and a petting
zoo on the back-burner for the time
being. The idea of having an oil-
field equipment exhibit was also
sidelined.
Rick Osbum noted that last year’s
Kingdom of the Golden Plains event
was very popular with youngsters.
The event, sponsored by a re-
enactment organization, allowed
kids to hold mock battles on the
lawn.
"That went over really well,"
Osbum said, noting that the event
will need a sponsor.
"There are still plenty of things
we need sponsors for," Dye said.
Blair told the committee that this
year’s festival will once again have
a Beanie Baby Bop.
The committee discussed but took
no action on where to hold the
Bake-off Contest.
But they agreed that it would be
best to have it in an air-conditioned
building.
The committee also mulled the
idea of holding a Sumo wrestling
event like the one held at the Early
Settlers’ Day celebration.
Blair noted that the event "was
a hit" at Early Settlers.
The question of whether a Main
Street booth should sell anything
was not resolved.
Osbum said the issue should
probably be considered by the Main
Street advisory board.
Dye said the faster the commit-
tee moves on resolving issues, the
better it will be. "I’d like to get
rolling," she said. "I know we can
make it happen.”
A planning session will start at
5:30 p.m. Thursday at City Hall.
GETTING IT RIGHT — Harald Joehnk, left, of Germany goes through the chords with fellow banjo player
Kenneth Polk of Wimberly. The two men were jamming with four other musicians and instructor Susan Daifey.
They were among the more than 100 musicians from near and far who attended die weekkmg Camp Bluegrass
festival at South Plains College. The annual event has featured daily instruction in such instruments as the
banjo, mandolin and fiddle, as well as nightly concerts. (Staff Photo)
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Rigg, John. Levelland and Hockley County News-Press (Levelland, Tex.), Vol. 21, No. 33, Ed. 1 Sunday, July 25, 1999, newspaper, July 25, 1999; Levelland, Texas. (https://texashistory.unt.edu/ark:/67531/metapth1168979/m1/1/?q=mission+rosario: accessed July 18, 2024), University of North Texas Libraries, The Portal to Texas History, https://texashistory.unt.edu; crediting South Plains College.