The Panola Watchman (Carthage, Tex.), Vol. 125, No. 32, Ed. 1 Wednesday, April 22, 1998 Page: 2 of 18
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Wsdneoday, April 22,1998
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Paul McComack photo
Members of the Panola County Development Foundation listen to a presentation by Chloe
Johnson at their Strategic Planning Seminar Monday. Foundation members took advantage of the
training to make plans for future economic growth and development In the county.
to
i page one.
♦
ige the clocks for
js Time," Rickert
Daylight S
said.
Many people may not realize
that battery operated smoke detec-
batteries are getting low. Rickert
’ noted.
"It’s a really annoying regular
sound, and sometimes people think
there's a cricket in the house," he
said.
Installing smoke detectors in check your smoke detecton is to
your home may be one of the most manually test the units each year
important decisions you can make when you
to ensure the safety of your family, ~
says Bryan Rickert, city fire mar-
shal.
"A smoke detector has to be in ___„ ____ _________
good working order and that re- tors emit a chirping sound when the
quires usually nothing more than a
twice-yearly test," he noted.
Having smoke detectors in-
stalled doesn't ensure safety unless
they are working properly.
"A good way to remember to
will af1
tots will
through second grade in order to
identify ny problems that peed to
be corrected through intensive.-ac-
celerated reading instruction.
During its last session, the
Texas Legislature approved $32
million to fund reading academies
in kindergarten through grade three
feet special education ;
depend upon the ind
Gents Admission Kevl
missal (ARD) commi
determines individual Education
plans apd decisions regarding
.. . . " placement and assessment for spe-
Part of the funding-would be cial needs students.
Smoke detectors advised for safety
Manufacturers recommend in-
stalling the units Outside, but in the
vicinity of, each separaUs bedroom.
If the bedrooms are served by the
same hallway, at least one smoke
detector must be installed in the
hallway in the immediate vicinity
of the bedrooms.
"We also recommend that peo-
ple keep bedroom doors closed
while they are sleeping. Then, if
the smoke alarm goes off, they
should check to see if the door is
hot before opening it,* he said.
v to help
- «8 F
Finally, a new back-to4
curriculum begins this fan to
on knowledge-based instru
including phonics. J * .
Total coat to the state th
the 2000-2001 biennium toi
S ,?ropowi “ e*“Ml
$203.1 million. ,
r
Conroy had filed litigation against
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Phone Number:
4
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Crawfish
By the Bag
99cib
Place a loving
line ad
for $8°°
Mom’s name
Happy Mother’s Day
You are a wonderful
mother and grandmother
We Love You
Your name
here
mobile homes in the trailer park.
"They were told three times to
undo that mess." DeFriend said.
photo will
go here
T
I
photo will
go here
in,
.Womack,
Texas Stat
Austin.
Fountain
Drinks
32 oi.
89*
Mom’s name
Happy Mother’s
Day!
Your a great
mom!
Love
Your name
CARTHAGE
LOCKER PLANT
021 E. Loop 59 • 693-6122
Custom Kill Beef or Hogs
'1
Mom’S name ®
Date Bom - Date Died ffl
. You will always be
remembered. fdf
> Love,
Fill out the coupon, printed as clearly as possible and mail it along with
payment and photo (if needed) to The Panola Watchman Newspaper at
BO. Box 518 or bring it by 109 W, Panola. DEADLINE IS MAY 7TH
CIVIL__________
► Continued from page one.
trators was introduced by Conroy
as being the instrument leading to
his wife's dismissal from employ-
ment with the college. Dated Oct.
5, 1995, the letter was addressed to
Conroy's supervisor, Betsy Wheal,
by CHS counselor Eva Johns. It re-
quested that Wheat find another
representative in lieu of Conroy to
conduct a transition meeting
scheduled for Oct. 10, 1995 on
CHS' campus.
In testimony delivered at a 1996
TEA complaint hearing against the
CISD employees, CHS Principal
Stuart Bird stated he had directed
Johns to write the letter requesting
the college find another employee
to send to the high school's campus
instead of Conroy.
Although Johns' letter did not
indicate why another employee was
requested, Conroy's suit alleges the
letter was referred' to by Wheat
when she recommended Conroy's
college contract not be renewed.
Further, in her suit Conroy
questioned Wheat's ability to fairly
evaluate her job perfomiance tak-
ing into consideration her marriage
to CISD Superintendent Mac
Wheat.. » « •
PC President William Edmond-
son met with Conroy on Match 21,
1996 to discuss the dean’s recom-
mendation and repeatedly refer-
enced the letter during the session
as is indicated in minutes obtained
from the meeting by The Panola
Watchman.
He further questioned Conroy's
ability to effectively provide coun-
seling to all high schools in the
■Your Name:_
1 Your Address:
I
I
| Your Message: _
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<t)e Panola Watcfjma
■u PO. Box 518* 109 W. Panola .
f ■ 693-7888
1
Place a photo]
& a special
note for $15°° |
V.' y1 - ■
BILL’S
SUPERETTE
503 E. Sabine • 693-3446
Prices good April 23-26,1998
Big Red
orRC
20 oi.
49*
has revealed the civil rights suit
alleges Mary Lee is not just a con-
cerned Panola County citizen, but
is also an adjunct college instructor
on Panola College's payroll.
Her separate letters written to
Edmondson and Wheat, were- in
fact, penned at the direction of
college administrators, the Con-
roy's allege.
Furthermore, the Conroy's al-
lege that swom depositions taken
from Steve Conroy's supervisor
James Martin, indicated he had
been instructed by Edmondson to
no longer utilize Conroy following
the end of the semester. Conroy
had been employed as a computer
instructor over a two-year period
between 1995-96.
Edmondson had apparently ref-
erenced problems the school was
having with Kathy Conroy and the
fact that Steve Conroy had repre-
sented his wife in filing the TEA
complaint against CISD.
Also included among the court
documents was an exhibit pur-
ported to have been part of "diary"
kept by Wheat with varying infor-
mation concerning Conroy's job
performance. Among those entries
were excerpts o( a memo summa-
rizing Kathy Conroy's beliefs that
the government was behind the
j. Bombin n incident
as well as her opinion that Texas the Conroy s ron8ina^ complaint)
should secede from the United '
States.
The civil rights suit charges the
couple's first, fourth, fifth, sixth
and fourteenth amendment consti-
tutional rights were violated and
seeks damage compensation far ex-
ceeding $1 million each for what
the couple describes as an elaborate
conspiracy between Panola College
and CISD to violate their civil lib-
erties.
The college's attorney, John H.
McElhaney spoke to The Panola
Watchman Monday and stated in-
formation indicating his clients
—:—
sucessfully represented former
county road and bridge employee
Jimmy Wade in a whistleblower
suit filed against Panola County. In
an out-of-court settlement, Wade
was awarded $700,000, which was
paid by the county's insurance pol-
icy.
UPR_________
► Continued from page one.
UPR's recent property purchases
indicate a move toward a focus on
exploration and production, rather
than gas gathering and processing,
.11 u jov j»>uulT • d
until 20 days after mediation talks.
CISD's attorney, Stephen John
Moss, of Austin, would not confirm
or deny whether his clients had
opted to enter settlement nego-
tiations, but did state his belief that
the case was without merit.
A "The case has just recently been
filed, but we have had an opportu-
nity to review the accusations and
found them to be groundless," said
Moss.
Charles W. Nichols, who is rep-
resentating the Conroy's, could not
be reached for comment.
.............Nichols name is not new to
would be entering settlement talks Panola County. In Sept 1996, he
was not correct and "whoever was " J '
supplying the paper’s news tips
were wrong.”
When the Watchman's reporter
stated she was reading from court
papers written on his Enn's letter-
head and signed by him, McEl-
haney clarified his remarks and
stated that while he would not
comment on the matter, there had
been no definite date set for medi-
ation talks.
His letter however, stated that
the defendant's, Panola College,
William Edmondson and Betsy
Wheat, had entered into an agree-
ment postponing answer dates (to spokesman Pat Doyle noted.
dguorfJ nt>vo .sib oi l>;''ollf >.,i.uiT’.fii.u
--
------• Ml
college service area, particularly
CHS.
Additionally, Edmondson ques-
tioned Conroy's own ethics and
asked her if she had considered the
effects on the college when she
filed a formal complaint against
CHS and its professional personnel.
According to minutes of that
meeting, Edmondson emphasized
he must answer to the people of
Panola County and the college's
board of trustees and that he could
not justify to the taxpayers why the
college did not have a good work-
ing relationship with CHS.
Also cited by Edmondson were
several conflicts Conroy had expe-
rienced with other college person-
nel, in particular PC Director of
Counseling and Testing Tim Self.
A letter from a Panola County
citizen regarding Conroy's behavior
in the community also factored as
further reason for not renewing
Conroy's contract, Edmondson
noted.
That letter, in fact, has formed
the basis of the latest civil rights
suit filed by the Conroy's.
The Panola Watchman has ob-
tained a copy of the letter penned
by Mary Lee, who described her-
self as a concerned citizen of
Panola County who had become
disturbed over rumors that Kathy
Panola County's educational insti-
tutions.
Further, the letter stated Lee's
concerns that Kathy Conroy could
be capable of filing litigation that
would hurt the school, which would
"fall victim to detrimental publicity
from a spurious lawsuit."
Sworn testimony taken in con-
nection with the whistleblower suit
FIRE
► Continued from page two.
mother, sisters Chaustia Beechum,
Desiree Holl and Jessica Holl, and
brother Terrell Bcecfaum, and Don-
ald Holt.
The mobile home, owned by
Alice DeFriend, was a total loss.
Beechum did not have renter's
insurance- on the contents,
according to her sister Martha
Colbert. She said the family lost all
their possessions in the fire. The
family van, parked next to the
mobile home, was also a total loss.
Community 4 VFD Fire Chief
Charles Blue said because of the
devastation, there was no way to
tell whether or not smoke detectors
were installed in the mobile home.
Colbert said the smoke detectors
in the home were not working
properly.
Landlord DeFriend said the
smoke detectors were working
when the family moved in.
"If a smoke detector is going
off, it should wake you up," Blue
said.
State law requires a landlord to
provide smoke detectors in
working order when a new tenant
moves in, according to Rick
ejyysor with, the
iMarshal’ioffice in
‘Z.- •F*' ■ <--a*!
He said The tenant is responsible
for maintaining the smoke detec-
tors and ensuring that the batteries
are charged.
Bryan Rickert, city fire marshal,
cited the specific passage in Texas
law that addresses the issue of
smoke detectors.
"The law reads The landlord is
not obligated to provide batteries
for a battery-operated smoke
detector after. a tenant takes
possession if -the smoke detector
was in good working order at the
time the tenant took possession.'"
DeFriend said the family had
replaced the home's natural gas |
stove with an electric unit, and had “
also installed an electric dryer in
the house. She said that during her
last visit to the home, she noticed a
large electric line running from the
stove across the house to the dryer.
DeFriend said that she did not
approve of the replacement of the
gas stove because she had incurred
1^
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Potatoes & Corn^
" Fu-Buflnys & S»ia«MU-«flaiy0FW|
^>“■1=00 anw — 8=00
P Crawfish Trailer will be set up In front ofsZJ|
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approximately $3,000 in expenses __________
in running a natural gas line to the 1018
Show Mom you fgv^ejler With
^Mother’s f)ay Greeting
•SUBWAY*
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Mot/ier’s Day'®'Happy Mothe
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perform th
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Leg
Quarters
490ib
Hamburgers
5 for
Skoo
Plate
Lunch
$400
Center Cut
Pork Chops
"lb
Wright
Bacon
*1"lb
Chicken
Nuggets
4 lbs
$799 .
Boneless
Sirloin
$2" lb
Frog
Legs
$6" lb
Mixed
Vegetables
2 lbs
$235
p!K>n
■________________
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The Panola Watchman (Carthage, Tex.), Vol. 125, No. 32, Ed. 1 Wednesday, April 22, 1998, newspaper, April 22, 1998; Carthage, Texas. (https://texashistory.unt.edu/ark:/67531/metapth1280195/m1/2/: accessed July 17, 2024), University of North Texas Libraries, The Portal to Texas History, https://texashistory.unt.edu; crediting Sammy Brown Library.