The Panola Watchman (Carthage, Tex.), Vol. 122, No. 89, Ed. 1 Sunday, November 5, 1995 Page: 1 of 14
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► See FIRE, page A2.
Index
Sports
Inside
Panola County, Texas
1 Section. 14 Pages
Volume 122, Number 89
Sunday. November 5, 1995
N
V
I
Diabetic group to
discuss glaucoma
See page A11.
Fire District
Proposal Timeline
I
Bearcats, Bulldogs
seeking victory
See page A7.
By Laura Negri
THE PANOLA WATCHMAN
the district, as well as their extrater-
ritorial areas, which extend one-
half mile outside their city limits.
...All
A10-11
Arrest Report ...
Classifieds.....
Courthouse News ...... A3
Know Your Heritage ... .AS
Area Boy Scouts will join the
battle against hunger when they
kick off the 1995 Scouting for
Food drive this weekend.
Boy Scouts and Cub Scouts
will distribute collection bags in
neighborhoods throughout the
county on Saturday morning.
Next weekend, they will return
to pick up canned goods donated
by area residents.
Items collected in the drive
will stock the shelves at Samar-
itan House, which helps local
families and individuals with
donations of much-needed gro-
ceries.
The Scouts will leave collec-
tion bags on doors with fliers
explaining the purpose of the
drive.
Residents are asked to fill the
bags with nonperishable food
1
,1
Obituaries ..........A3
SchoolMenus.......A12
Sports ............A” A
Strength For Living ...
A public hearing has been set to
air local opinions on the proposed
Panola County Rural Fire Preven-
tion District.
Panola County Commissioners
met Thursday to set the hearing for
Monday, Nov. 27, at 6:30 p.m. The
meeting will be held in the com-
missioners courtroom unless a
larger space is needed; in that
event, it will be held in the district
courtroom.
The proposed fire protection
district would assess taxes of up to
three cents per $100 of property
valuation within the district to pay
the costs of maintaining rural fire
departments.
Supporters of the proposal pre-
sented Panola County Judge John
Cordray with a petition signed by
more than 180 local property
owners calling for an election on
the issue. A public hearing must be
held before an election could be
called. ’
The district would include all of
Panola County except the corporate
limits of the City of Carthage.
Carthage's extraterritorial jurisdic-
tion — the area one mile outside
the city limits — would be in-
cluded in the fire district, and vot-
ers who live in that portion of the
county would be allowed to cast
ballots in the election.
Beckville, Gary and the portion
of the city of Tatum that is inside
"I don't want us paying for an
election and have a little lawsuit
because one 'i* wasn't dotted and
one't' wasn't crossed, then have to
pay for another election," he said.
The chief question is about the
extraterritorial areas of the cities of
Panola County would all be part of Carthage. Beckville. Gary, and
the district, as well as their extrater- Tatum. The three smaller cities
have all indicated they wish to be
included in the district; Cordray
complete packaged meals.
The Scouts undertake the
project each year as their "Good
Turn" to the community. The
drive usually collects nearly
6,000 items, enough canned
goods to keep Samaritan House
stocked for several months.
The annual drive is also part
of Scouring's promise to battle
hunger, one of the conditions in
the United States considered
intolerable by the organization.
Some 20 million Americans, 5.5
million of them children, go
hungry each day. Many suffer
toward the end of each month,
when paychecks and public as-
sistance run out.
Other conditions targeted by
the Boy Scouts of America
include illiteracy and child
abuse.
Before the public hearing takes
place, however, Cordray hopes to
find the answers to several "what
if" questions regarding the conduct
of an election on the issue. The
judge said he has extensively
researched state law regarding the
establishment of a rural fire
prevention district and hopes to
avoid delays by meeting all legal
requirements.
County commissioner Buddy
Harris agreed that attention to de-
tail now is needed.
wonders how lines would have to
be drawn if voters in an
extraterritorial area of one city
defeated the proposition.
"That’s where the crux of the
problem lies," he said. More infor-
mation is needed before the com-
missioners' court can be sure what
actions might be required.
Separate ballot boxes will al-
most certainly be required for resi-
dents of Beckville, Gary, Tatum,
and Carthage's extraterritorial
jurisdiction. Voters in the part of
the city of Tatum that is in Panola
County and its '/2-mile
extraterritorial jurisdiction will
vote at Harris Chapel.
Ballots for those within the
extraterritorial boundaries will have
to be kept apart from those outside
the boundary lines, the judge said,
in case voters' opinions on
participating in the district differ.
Cordray is scheduled to meet
Monday with fire district support-
ers, Panola County chief appraiser
John Pepper, and a surveyor to dis-
cuss some of the questions. He has
also requested a formal opinion
from Panola County District Attor-
ney Danny Buck Davidson on the
legal aspects of the problem.
On Thursday, Nov. 9, an infor-
mal meeting of the court and local
volunteer fire departments is
scheduled for 6:30 p.m. so that
Cordray can explain "if the com-
missioners court has to act in a
certain way. why we have to act in
that way."
Legal questions aside, however,
the judge believes the matter will
> Oct. 31 — Petition with
over 100 signatures filed with
county clerk
> Nov. 9 — Commissioners
court to meet with volunteer
fire departments at 6:30 p.m.
► Nov. 27 — Public hearing
slated at 6:30 p.m.
► Jan. 20, 1996 - Fire Dis-
trict election to be htld for all
county voters except residents
inside Carthage's corporate
limits.
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proposed fire district
Scouts unload canned food Items collected during the 1994 Scouting for Food drive.
Scouts launch food drive
items and place them outside
their doors before 9 a.m. next
Saturday, Nov. 11.
The bags will be collected
and taken directly to Samaritan
House for counting and storing.
Throughout the year, the food
items will be distributed to
Panola County families whose
paychecks or public assistance
won't stretch quite far enough to
keep the refrigerator full.
Many of Samaritan House's
clients are elderly people who
find it difficult to get by on So-
cial Security and food stamps.
Others are families with chil-
dren.
Healthy, nutritious food
items are recommended, such as
peanut butter, canned tuna, baby
formula, chunky soups, stews,
meats, fruits, vegetables, and
United Way reaches 55 percent
Board members Gail Goolsby (left), Sharon Ivy (center) and
Mary Ella Sherman hold the pledge packets that represent
k See UNITED, page A2.
k See DRUGS, page A2.
0
By Sherry Koonce
THE PANOLA WATCHMAN
H, Girls Softball. HUDCO meal
and senior volunteer programs.
*
age our caseload," Dowd stated.
County Court-al-Law Judge
Crawford Parker, who hears as
many as one-third of felony cases,
has sentenced defendants to a total
of 229 years in prison. Defcndcnls
have been assigned another 384
years probation, while a total of
$86,400 has been levied in fines
and another $38,547 has been
ordered by the court in restitution.
The remaining felony cases,
heard in district court, accounted
for 237 prison years, 384 probation
years, $97,150 in fines and $30,941
of light at the end of the tunnel,
said Criminal District Attorney
Danny Buck Davidson.
And, according to Davidson, the
guilty plea process is chiefly re-
sponsible for the court's accelerated
pace.
Davidson said his office has
been trying to take advantage of a
defendant's desire to waive his or
her right of indictment should he or
she desire to enter a guilty plea in
the cause.
"If someone wants to enter a
guilty plea it speeds up the some-
times lengthy court process and
saves the county money expended
for expensive trials," Davidson
Louisiana man facing charges
Panola County's felony court
docket is slowly being whittled
down, and if the trend continues the
court's backlog of cases could
become manageable in another
year.
Already, since Jan. 1, a total of
208 combined felony pleas have
been taken in the Panola County
123rd District Court and the Panola
County Court-at-Law. Whether
entered at the request of the
defendant or rendered by a jury
panel's decision, the numbers hint
Panola County United Way is
already halfway to this year's
annual fund drive goal.
According to Gail Goolsby
and Mary Ella Sherman, drive
co-chairpersons, efforts by vol-
unteers in recent weeks have re-
sulted in thousands of dollars in
donations from local businesses
and organizations. Pledges and
checks this week totaled
$11,500, about 55 percent of the
goal of the 1995-96 drive.
More donations are antici-
pated in the next few weeks,
Goolsby and Sherman say.
making this year's effort to raise
money one of Panola County
United Way's most successful
drives.
This year's goal of $22,800
includes funding promised by
United Way to a variety of local
and regional agencies. Money
collected in Panola County ben-
efits programs for the young and
old, families in crisis, sports
teams, educational programs,
and more.
The agencies that count on
funding from Panola County
-
False cargo hides
$250,000 in drugs
A false load of plywood
harboring 350 pounds of marijuana
was discovered Thursday,
signifying one of the largest drug
hauls made in Panola County in
recent years.
Worth an estimated value of
$250,000 the cache of illegal drugs
was confiscated by area law
enforcement officers after a New
Orleans man was discovered asleep
in his broken down vehicle along
U.S. 59 South, near Bramblett's
Auto Parts.
It was the local salvage yard, in
fact, that brought John Provost, 39,
to the attention of Panola County
Sheriffs deputy David Gray.
According to Panola County
Sheriffs Lt. Ronnie LaGrone. Gray
was en route to Bramblett's to
investigate an alarm that had just
sounded at the business when he
saw a suspicious looking Ford pick
up parked on the side of the road.
After questioning Provost
briefly. Gray left Provost to check
$11,500 promised so far.
United Way include the Ameri-
can Red Cross, Boy Scouts,
Camp Fire. Dixie League base-
ball. the East Texas Council on
Alcoholism and Drug Abuse. 4-
on the alarm that had called his
attentions initially. When he
returned to the scene to resume
questioning of Provost, Gray
became even more suspicious of
his story.
Basically there were two things
that tipped deputy Gray off,
LaGrone indicated.
"First, the truck was
transporting a very large load of
plywood that did not appear to
have any weight to iL Secondly.
Provost's Story concerning his
destination did not add up. He said
he was going to New Orleans from
Houston, but could not adequately
explain why he was taking such an
out-of-the-way route," LaGrone
stated.
After calling a wrecker service
to tow the disabled truck, Gray's
suspicions were further aroused.
The wrecker company also
Court backlog shrinking as cases processed
stated.
In one recent case, county
coffers had to absorb legal costs
associated with the week-long trial
of Enrique Maldonado Gomez,
who was found guilty of
involuntary manslaughter in the
1994 death of Bernice Blair, a
Carthage school teacher killed in an
automobile accident.
According to county auditor
Sydney Bums, taxpayers will have
to shoulder the expense of a
translator provided to the defendant
at a cost of approximately $3,000.
Another $1,000 was paid to jurors,
while the two attorneys assigned to
defend Gomez have submitted bills
for their services.
Ordinarily, explained 123rd
District Judge Steven Dowd, court-
appointed attorneys arc paid an
average of $75 per hour. Attorney's
legal fees must be approved by the
sitting judge, who determines the
hourly rate as well as the
reasonableness of time expended
on each case.
"Obviously, if a guilty plea is
entered it saves the county money
while streamlining the court's
docket," Dowd indicated.
In addition to saving taxpayers
dollars, a defendant who decides to
willingly take responsibility for his
or her actions by entering a guilty
plea also benefits from the process,
he said.
"Those defendants paying their
own legal fees stand to gain by
saving money. Also, the matter can
be disposed of quickly, allowing
the defendant to get on with the
punishment as opposed to dragging
the process out and putting (heir
family through additional grief."
Dowd explained.
According to Dowd,
implementation of the guilty plea
process has done much to
streamline both courts' dockets.
"The pace is going good and we
arc making progress in the direc-
tion of actually being able to man-
► SeeCOURT, page A2.
Amendment
election
T uesday
Voters will cast ballots on 14
proposed amendments to the Texas
Constitution next Tuesday.
Nov. 7 is election day in the
statewide election. Polling places
throughout the county will open at
7 a.m. and close at 7 p.m.
The Nov. 7 ballot includes pro-
posed changes to the constitution,
including Proposition 2, which
would waive property taxes for or-
ganizations chartered under the
Republic of Texas (primarily the
Masons and Oddfellows); Proposi-
tion 4, which would allow home
owners to take out equity loans to
pay IRS liens or to divide assets in
case of divorce; Proposition 7,
which reduces state expenditures
for the scrapped Superconducting
Supercollider project; and Proposi-
tion 10. a bill to abolish the office
of state treasurer.
Other propositions would allow
the state to issue bonds for agri-
culture market expansion projects,
veterans’ home loans, and student
loans.
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Leach, Ted. The Panola Watchman (Carthage, Tex.), Vol. 122, No. 89, Ed. 1 Sunday, November 5, 1995, newspaper, November 5, 1995; Carthage, Texas. (https://texashistory.unt.edu/ark:/67531/metapth1279718/m1/1/?rotate=90: accessed July 18, 2024), University of North Texas Libraries, The Portal to Texas History, https://texashistory.unt.edu; crediting Sammy Brown Library.