The Panola Watchman (Carthage, Tex.), Vol. 123, No. 11, Ed. 1 Wednesday, February 7, 1996 Page: 1 of 14
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found herself being replaced by an-
other.
"Make no mistake, my feelings
are not hurt, but I was confused at
what happened," Shaw acknowl-
edged.
Her confusion, Shaw explained,
stemmed from the time in early
January when Pepper approached
her to serve a third term on the
board.
"He (Pepper) said the law had
changed and I was now eligible to
serve a third term. I had always un-
derstood that I could only serve
two terms before the law was
changed.
"I told him if the people wanted
me I would be glad to serve another
term,” Shaw stated.
The issue, no matter how con-
fusing to Shaw, is clear to Pepper.
He explained that after the Jan.
17 meeting when Shaw was elected
as an ARB officer for the 1996
year, he researched the appraisal
district's local policy outlining eli-
gibility requirements for ARB
board members. It was only after
the Jan. 17 ARB meeting, Pepper
said, that he discovered the local
policy precluded a third consecu-
tive term for ARB members.
Local policy would have to be
amended to allow Shaw to serve a
third term, Pepper indicated.
"After reviewing the policy, we
found a conflict. To change the ex-
► See ARB, page A2.
By Sherry Koonce
^4MfePANOLA WATCHMAN
Composition of the Panola
County Appraisal Review Board
has changed significantly for the
1996-97 term and questions have
been raised regarding whether or
not one of the newly-filled seats
should have been vacant in the first
place.
At the end of her second con-
secutive term, Nettie Shaw, the
board's senior member, was in-
formed she would be eligible to
serve another two- year term under
a new state law that went into ef-
fect Jan. 1.
Later that month, Shaw was
duly elected to the position of sec-
retary-treasurer during the board's
first meeting of the year on January
17. At the same meeting, Shaw
joined ARB board members Tom
Ben Williams and M.M. Bounds in
voting to appeal a recent court rul-
ing requiring leaseholders at Lake
Murvaul to pay property taxes on
the land they occupy. Another
board member, Harold Grant, voted
- Shaw said she was advised in a
letter 'from Panola County Chief
Appraiser John Pepper, that her
tenure was up and she would no
longer be able to serve on the
board.
In Pepper's letter to Shaw, he
indicated that a recent study of
ARB bylaws, that had been drafted
by the Panola County Appraisal
District Board of Directors, defined
qualifications and membership to
the ARB that excluded Shaw.
Pepper acknowleged that during
the PCADB's Jan. 18 meeting, it
was discovered local (PCADB)
policy does not allow ARB mem-
bers to serve a third consecutive
term. The local policy. Pepper said,
overrides the stale's newly-enacted
House Bill 674, that allows an ad-
ditional two-year term for ARB
members. Therefore, Pepper said,
she would not be eligible to serve
another term.
Despite the fact that Pepper had
personally invited Shaw to serve a
third term on the board, she now
Replacement of ARB meihber questioned
citizen nominations
By Sherry Koonce
and Daniel Humphries
THE PANOLA WATCHMAN
For more information, contact
Bill or Danny at 693-7888.
firmed that TDH was aware of the
Panola County case. She said that
at this point the department of
Although Panola County's first
case of meningitis was confirmed
this week, health officials warn that
residents need not be concerned
about the risks of the disease
spreading.
According to Panola County
Health Officer Keith Keeling a 15-
year-old Carthage teen was ad-
► Meningitis signs and
precautions.
See page A2.
Deadline nears for
The deadline to submit nomina-
tions for the Panola County Citizen
of the Year Award is fast ap-
proaching.
The award will be presented at
the annual Panola County Chamber
of Commerce Banquet, scheduled
this year for Monday, Feb. 26.
Nominations for the award must be
submitted by 5 p.m. Wednesday,
Feb. 14.
Each year The Panola Watch-
man honors a man or woman
whose efforts in the past year have
added something to the community.
Nominations are reviewed by a
panel of previous award recipients.
The panel chooses the person
who has made the most significant
contribution to Panola County in
the past year.
The citizen of the year can be,
anyone who has made a difference.
Nominations can be made by
friends, co-workers, family or
neighbors. Nominations should be
made in writing and mailed to The
Watchman at P.O. Box 518;
Carthage, TX 75633-0518; faxed to
(903) 693-5857 or brought by the
office at 109 West Panola.
any further action in Panola
County," Evans said. "It takes more
than one confirmed case before we
can start providing vaccination^"
Carthage schools, but rather is a
home-schooled student. Keeling
said those persons at risk of
exposure from the teen were
members of his immediate family,
all of whom have received
precautionary treatment.
Schumpert Medical Center for
treatment
"This is by no means an epi- risk of an epidemic, we won't take
demic," said Keeling. "This appears
to be a single, sporadic, isolated
case of the diseaapX
The youth does not attend
Debby Evans, district coordi-
nator for infectious disease epi-
mitted to Panola General Hospital demiology and surveillance for the
over the weekend complaining of Texas Department of Health, con-
flu-like symptoms.
After investigating the illness,
health care workers confirmed that
the young man did in fact have health is not planning any precau-
meningococcal meningitis and tionary measures, such as vaccina-
transferred him tb Shreveport's tion clinics, since this appears to be
Schumnert Medical Center for an isolated case.
"Unless it appears that there* is a
Panola County
confirmed in
Carthage emergency personnel prepare to transport Mitchell Allbrooks to Panola (
after his tuesday morning traffic accident
Three injuries were reported in a
Tuesday morning traffic accident
4A miles northwest of Carthage on
U.S.79.
According to DPS Trooper
Barry Washington, the collision
occurred about 8:15 a.m. on the
first of three bridges approaching
the Sabine River bridge.
According to witnesses at the
scene, a 1991 Oldsmobile driven
by Mitchell Allbrooks, 33, of Rusk,
crossed onto the wrong side of the
road and careened into a 1980
Cadillac driven by Willie L. Hall,
24, of Shreveport. The Olds was
eastbound and travelling toward
Carthage.
Washington said he planned to
cite Allbrooks with driving on the
wrong side of the road while not
passing.
The two drivers, along with All-
brooks' passenger, Vergal Ander-
son, were transported to Panola
General Hospital where they re-
ceived treatment for broken bones,
_ abrasions and other injuries. An-
Humphries photo derson was not wearing a seatbelt
isral Hosptial at the time of the wreck.
©Jje IjJaxurla pffatrfymai
Days Gone By
Classifieds ..
... .A4
A12-13
Sports
Tblevisi
Trenail Construction employees John KeHer (toft) and Dennis Smith (right) work on the office addition to erly Cranford's office
— _ _e_a _a^. a__aa '• flnnr Pnnnta Ci
<30 J
Primary poll
locations set
Polling sites in Panola County
for both the Democratic and Re-
publican primaries have been set by
Panola, is
house the
ment.
Structural changes to the build-
will be at the Rehobeth United
Methodist Church. GOP voters in
precincts 3 and 5 will vote al
Beckville High School.
Republican voters in precinct 4
will vote at Allison Chapel United
Methodist Church whu~ voters in
precincts 7, 8, 10 and 22 will vote
at the DeBerry Community Center.
GOP voters in precinct 9 will
vote at the Community Four Vol-
unteer Fire Department.
► See POLLS, pap A2.
only the first hurdle a candidate
must clear on the road to being
elected to an office. Political par-
ties in Texas, as in many other
states, hold primary elections to
determine which candidates will
represent the parties in the general
election held in November.
By requesting to vote in a pri-
mary and casting a ballot in a each party's chairman,
party's election, the voter is affili-
ating himself or herself with that
particular party. That affiliation is
valid for the entire calendar year
beginning Jan. 1 and ending Dec.
31.
Republicans will have six voting
boxes in which to vote while
Democrats will have 21.
Registered voters who live in
voting precincts 1 and 28 and wish
to participate in the Republican
Voters are asked to sign a roster primary will vole at the Panola
at the primary polling site affirming College Student Center,
that he or she is aware that partici-
pating in another party's primary or
Other Republican polling sites
_ B ... ■ include Box 2 for voters who live
convention during the voting' year in voting precincts 2 and 27 which
is a criminal offense. At the time a
voter casts a ballot in the primary,
the party affiliation is stamped on
the voter registration card.
The Texas Election Code pro-
hibits voters from casting ballots in
more than one primary and from
participating in more than one
party's elections.
For example, if a voter chooses
to vote in the Republican primary,
he or she will not be able to vote in
Those who would like to cast
ballots in the March primary elec-
tion should make sure they have a
valid voter registration card or
should submit an application for a
new card before this weekend.
Applications for new cards must
be postmarked no later than Sun-
day, Feb. 11. The last day to regis-
ter in person for a new card is Fri-
day.
Without a valid card, voters will
not be eligible to choose candidates
in the primary of their choice on
March 12.
Workers in voter registrar Bev-
: on the first
floor of the Panola County Court-
house will be available to accept
the voter registration applications
this week during regular business
hours.
Early voting in the primaries is
set to begin Feb. 21 and will con-
tinue through March 8.
Registered voters who are more
than 65 years of age. disabled,
jailed or who expect to be out of
the county on election day are eli-
gible to request a ballot that can be
mailed back to Cranford's office.
The applications for mail ballots
must be mailed in time to reach
Cranford's office by March 5.
Winning a party's primary is
also provide an adequate location
for municipal court sessions.
Police will have a formal patrol
office as well as a private interro-
gation room in the space that was
once occupied by the city manager
and water department.
An office for the K-9 officer and
► See POLICE, page Al.
the old city hall.
Police offices under construction
’’ - By summer, Carthage public
safety personnel should be able to
make a unified response to emer-
gencies from a common location.
Renovations began last week on
offices previously occupied by city
administrators and Carthage public
works employees. The old city hall
building, located at 321 West
renovated so it can
age Police Depart-
ing include the addition of two new will continue to be used for regular
offices, re-working space on the meetings of Carthage Volunteer
northcast comer of the building to Fire Department members, and will
accommodate two temporary
holding cells for prisoners and the
addition of a handicapped-accessi-
ble restroom.
City manager Charles Thomas
said that the municipal court clerk
and secretary will be moved into
the space previously occupied by
’ the city's tax office.
The commissioner's chambers
Sunday last day to register
to vote in primary election
r
Meningitis case
.A3
Arrest Report
Index
♦
/
50c
A3
A5
A7
A9
Sports
New edition of Gary High School’s
Loblolly on sale now.
See page A8.
Panola Ponies fall to
Jacksonville 89-74.
See page A7.
*
M
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7
ill >
» 9 ■
1 Sectio
Wednesday. February 7. 1996
Volume 123, Number 11
Panola County, lexas
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The Panola Watchman (Carthage, Tex.), Vol. 123, No. 11, Ed. 1 Wednesday, February 7, 1996, newspaper, February 7, 1996; Carthage, Texas. (https://texashistory.unt.edu/ark:/67531/metapth1279891/m1/1/: accessed July 16, 2024), University of North Texas Libraries, The Portal to Texas History, https://texashistory.unt.edu; crediting Sammy Brown Library.