Levelland and Hockley County News-Press (Levelland, Tex.), Vol. 17, No. 100, Ed. 1 Wednesday, March 13, 1996 Page: 1 of 8
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Levelland And
Hockley County
N e ws-Press
500
VOLUME 17 Nl MBER 100 I sl»S I 16 380 Drawer 1628 Levelland. Texas 79336 1628 Phone (806) 891-3121 Wednesday. March 13. 1996 8 Pages In I Section & Supplements
County voters follow state trends
Democrat Jack Ayers will goon to
face Republican Ira Jephcott in the
November election for the position of
Precinct 1 county commissioner,
according to results of Tuesday’s
primaries.
Ayers, an area fanner, easily turned
aside challenges by businessmen
Bobby Altman and Bill Fietz.
He pulled in 370, or 70 percent, of
the ballots in the southeastern
Hockley County precinct.
Both Altman and Fietz trailed a
distant second and third, respectively.
Altman garnered 15.53 percent of
the vote, while Fietz’s support was
14.39 percent of the total.
In the Republican primary.
COLLEGE AVENUE COLLISION - No major injuries were reported Tuesday afternoon in a two-vehicle accident
at the intersection of College Avenue and Cactus Drive in Levelland. Kimberly Shugart of Levelland, the driver
of this 1994 Mercury, was driving north on College. James Brown Lowe, also of Levelland, was headed south and
was turning east onto Cactus when his Plymouth Volare struck the Mercury. Both drivers suffered minor bumps
and bruises in the accident. (Staff Photo)
Early Settlers' Day
starts
The countdown has already begun
for the 35th annual Early Settlers’
Day celebration which will be held
July 13th.
"If your organization has
previously rented booth space at
Early Settlers’ Day festivities, you
have already received Booth Rental
Information for this year’s celebra-
tion," said Roy Alexander, this
year’s committee chairman.
The Early Settlers’ Committee has
met several times and is hard at work
preparing for next summer’s event.
Sub-committees have been
assigned for major functions on
Early Settlers’ Day.
Committee veterans include Paula
Crunk, Wanda Lawless, Dorothy
Griffin, Keith Paxton, Todd Ellis and
Dan McIntire. New committee
members are Beverly Evans, Vickie
taking
Edwards, Vickie Roberts and Bob
Evans, Chamber manager.
According to parade coordinator
Paula Crunk, the theme of this year’s
Early Settlers’ Day celebration will
be 75 Years of Glitz and Glamour.
This is the largest annual community
event which brings people together
from all parts of the county.
More events have been discussed
to recognize and honor Early
Settlers. The committee would
welcome an organization volunteer-
ing to demonstrate life styles of early
settlers and helping to honor those
pioneers. One suggestion was that
early settles and their families could
be introduced from the entertainment
stage throughout the day. In order to
add that to the celebration, some
organization needs to come forward
to help organize that part of the
shape
overall celebration.
Plans are underway to identify
better parking, especially for senior
citizens and handicapped individuals.
Some different bus routes are
planned for the buses and vans which
are used to shuttle people into the
park. "The committee realizes it to
be a great challenge to smoothly
move 10,000 people around an area
and to make all events accessible to
everyone," stresses Alexander.
The event has run more smoothly
each year since moving it to the
community park, according to
veteran committee member, Wanda
Lawless. "We learn something new
each year which helps us improve
things for the following year," she
said. "The committee welcomes
comments from anyone who has
See EARLY SETTLERS Page 2
■
4
4
FOUNDATION WORK - New garden homes that are going up in the700block of East Hickory Street have been
the site of recentconstruction activity. Here FidencioDiaz, left, and Santos Alonzo guide fresh concrete intoditches
that will serve as a foundation for the buildings. The two men, employees of Alex Lannghenning of Seagraves, are
working as part of a project being overseen by Rogers Construction of Levelland. (Staff Photo)
businessman Ira Jephcott rolled over
banker Judy Broussard by a margin
of 2-1 in the Precinct 1 race.
Jephcott, owner of Script Office
Supply in Levelland, received 217
ballots or 66.56 percent of the vote.
Broussard took home 109 ballots for
33.4 percent.
Ayers and Jephcott are seeking the
position being vacated by incumbent
Sam Langford, who will retire at the
end of the year.
Reflecting state trends, Hockley
County Republicans gave the nod to
Bob Dole in his quest for the
Presidency.
But Patrick Buchanan had a strong
showing.
While county residents gave Dole
512 votes for nearly 56 percent of the
total, Buchanan grabbed 232 ballots,
or 25.35 percent.
Despite his popular flat tax proposal,
Steve Forbes attracted only 10.6
percent of the vote from his fellow
Republicans in Hockley County.
President Bill Clinton was an
overwhelming favorite in the county,
netting 74.68rpercent of the vote in
the Democratic primary.
His closest opponent, Fred Hudson,
garnered 8.28 percent of the vote.
Of 12,435 registered voters in
Hockley County, only 2,034 - less
than 17 percent - went to the polls.
The apparent lack of interest on the
part of county residents may have
stemmed from the number of
uncontested races, said County Clerk
Mary Walker.
"Maybe since there weren’t many
locally opposed races,” she said of the
possible reasons for the low turnout,
"... people didn’t care."
By contrast, a total of 4,138 county
residents voted in the Super Tuesday
primary four years ago.
Of that number, Walker said, 3,810
voted the Democratic ticket.
Republican voters numbered 328 in
that election.
In Tuesday’s election. Democrats
casting ballots numbered 1,094. But
Republican voters in the county
totaled 940.
Asked about the large number of
Republicans going to the polls
Tuesday, Walker said it appeared
many people may have switched their
party affiliation for the primary.
A number of uncontested local
elections - most of them Democratic -
will mean the return of familiar faces
in the November general election.
Democrat Gaiy Goff received 926
ballots in his bid for re-election as
district attorney. The Smyer resident
will face no Republican opponent in
November.
Hockley County Sheriff Leroy
Schulle is also a shoe-in for another
four-year term in office. Schul le got
891 votes in the Democratic primary.
He will run unopposed in the fall.
Democrat J.R. Stanley earned 101
votes in his uncontested re-election
bid as commissioner for Precinct 3.
Christy Clevenger, also running as
a Democrat, netted 889 voles. With
no opponent in the general election,
Clevenger is bound for another four
years in office.
“Pat Phelan was also unopposed in
his primary bid for re-election to a
four-year term as county attorney.
Phelan, a Republican, took home
750 ballots and will face no Demo-
cratic opponent in the fall.
In the Republican primary, Pat
Cowan was named Hockley County
chairman. He received 687 votes, or
98.56 percent of the ballots cast. He
will replace Judy Broussard who
resigned to run for office as a
Republican candidate in the Precinct
1 commissioner’s election.
Ron Presley was re-elected to
another term as county chairman of
the Democratic party. He had no
opponent.
See ELECTION Pagel
Chamber banquet
tickets available
A limited number of tickets are
still available for the annual
Levelland Area Chamber of
Commerce banquet which will be
held Tuesday, March 26th.
Tickets are available from the
Chamber and are $12.50 each. The
banquet will begin at 6:30 p.m. at
South Plains College, as it has for
the past several years.
Theme for this year’s banquet is
"Hats Off To Hockley County" in
recognition of the county’s 75th
anniversary.
This year’s program will be done
with all local people. A brass
ensemble from South Plains College
will play during the banquet. Under
the theme, "Hats Off To Hockley
County," the chamber will observe,
"Our Proud Past", "Our Prominent
Present," and "Our Promising
Future."
A barbecue cook-off will be held
again with 13-14 teams competing
against one another for the coveted
traveling trophy.
PLENTY TO DO - Levelland residendent Ken Foster had plenty to keep him busy this week as he dug up this patch
of ivy in front of his Rice Drive home. The retired school principal was digging up the greenery so that he could plant
a red oak, replacing a silver maple that he cut down. Excavating this ivy bed was challenging and tough; the handle
on Foster’s shovel broke soon afterwards. (Staff Photo)
County picks insurer
Despite objections by one member,
Hockley County commissioners
awarded a property insurance contract
Monday to the Bradley Insurance
Agency.
A bid that was $1,700 cheaper -
made by the Texas Association of
Counties - came in as a second choice.
Acting on a motion made by
Precinct 2 Commissioner El Lea
Hensley, the court approved Bradley’s
bid by a margin of 3-1.
J.R. Stanley, Precinct 3 commis-
sioner, voted against the measure.
Mrs. Hensley, supported by
commissioners Sam Langford and
Billy Thetford, said she thought it best
to have a local agent handling the
county’s policy.
Thetford agreed, saying, "I think it’s
in the best interest of the county . "
While awarding the contract to a
local carrier is important, Stanley said
it was more important that the county
save money.
Bradley made a bid offering $ 12.462
million in property coverage at an
annual cost of $23,924 with a$5,000
deductible.
The TAC entered a bid of $22,233
for the same coverage.
Levelland Insurance Associates Inc.,
which has provided properly
insurance coverage for the county for
at least four years, came in third with
a bid of $28,190.
Jim McFerrin, owner of Levelland
Insurance, said underwriters for his
company raised the annual premiums
about $3,000 from last year.
McFerrin blamed the increase on
$ 125,000 that was paid out in claims
for hail damage to the County
Courthouse roof in 1992.
He told commissioners that he had
argued for a smaller increase from
Hartford Insurance, which under-
writes policies written by his firm.
"I sure wish we could stay with
you," Stanley told McFerrin.
”1 wish you could, too," McFerrin
replied, "but you’ve got to make the
right choice."
Commissioners also selected
Bradley as the policy writer for
general liability and auto insurance.
Bradley bid $20,290 for liability
insurance and $14,280 for auto
coverage.
In other business, the court approved
four public assistance requests for gas
and elec trie bills that totaled $223. No
recommendations for denial were
presented to commissioners.
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Levelland and Hockley County News-Press (Levelland, Tex.), Vol. 17, No. 100, Ed. 1 Wednesday, March 13, 1996, newspaper, March 13, 1996; Levelland, Texas. (https://texashistory.unt.edu/ark:/67531/metapth1219055/m1/1/?q=Lamar+University: accessed July 17, 2024), University of North Texas Libraries, The Portal to Texas History, https://texashistory.unt.edu; crediting South Plains College.