Port Lavaca Wave (Port Lavaca, Tex.), Vol. 96, No. 195, Ed. 1 Tuesday, April 28, 1987 Page: 1 of 20
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Slovacek enters plea to court
on
STEVEN W \V XE SI OS )( Eh is escorted from the
jail elevator in the I alhoun Counts < ourthouse Mon-
day (or his arraignment on seven felon) charges,
slovacek was transported from the Nueces Count)
Hv P U I FORTNER
VVavr Sluff W Filer
Steven Wayne Slovacek entered pleas ot not guilty
to seven felony charges in district court Monday
Slovacek. along with Johnny Ayce McNeill, was in
dieted in March on two counts ot aggravated robbery,
two counts of burglary of a building, two felony thelt
charges in the burglaries and one count of attempted
aggravated robbery
The two former police officers were brought to
( alhoun County Monday morning from the Nueces
County Jail where they are being held on federal
charges tor arraignment on the state charges
McNeill was not arraigned because his attorney
was in court in Ketugio County and could not attend
the hearing
They were taken back to Nueces County following
the arraignment
I'he two men are scheduled to go on trial Monday in
I S District Court in Corpus Christi on two federal
bank robbery charges
I'he Calhoun County indictments charge txith men
with robbing three couriers for the First State Bank
while they were servicing an automatic teller
machine on Aug 15 of last year
According to the indictment, Slovacek and McNeill
forced a security guard for the bank to cooperate with
them while they took the bank's automobile contain
mg the money for the machine
That trank robbery is also the subject of one ot the
federal charges
I he other federal charge accuses the pair ot robb-
ing a courier for the First National Bank of Portland
7 separate felony charges
while the courier was servicing an automatic teller
machine in Taft on October 21
The second local robbery indictment charges the
two men with taking a money bag from an employee
of the H.E.B. Store in the store's parking lot on Feb
10
Police said the two men approached two employees
of the store while they were returning from a
"change run" to the bank and forced one ot them to
drop the money bag at gunpoint
The pair fled on a motorcycle which was later
found abandoned in a storage shed, police said
One of the burglary indictments charges the pair
with burglarizing a Port Lavaca business and steal-
ing a Ford vehicle on October 23.
The other burglary indictment charges them with
the theft of a Mercury automobile from another Port
Lavaca business on December 18
The attempted robbery indictment charges the two
men with attempting to force the manager of a
Stanley's store to open the store early on the morning
of November 21
McNeill was a member of the Port Lavaca Police
Department from April of last year until his arrest in
February
Slovacek is a former Victoria policeman
Visiting District Judge Joe E. Kelly set Slovacek's
trial on the state charges for May 18
Kelly postponed McNeill's arraignment on the
state charges until his attorney finishes the trial in
Refugio County.
Each of the seven felony charges faced by the two
men is a Class One felony carrying a maximum
penalty of from five to 99 years or life in the peniten-
tiary.
Jail, where he was being held on federal hank rob-
ber) charges, to Port Lavaca by sheriff's deputies tor
the arraignment hearing. (Staff photo by Rick
Welch I
Possible bidding conflict
to be examined by city
Standard Chemical
reports minor leak
4
County receives share
of mixed drink taxes
Hobby said.
The $39 4 billion House total in-
cludes $28 billion in spending from
the state's general revenue fund,
which provides money for most
government operations and is raised
largely from the stale sales tax and
other taxi's and fees
Altiert Hawkins ol the legislative
Budget Board said general revenue
estimates for the next year total
$24 9 billion, providing the 19ttt> tern
porary sales tax increase is extend
ed and taking into consideration the*
$1 billion ( urrenl deficit lieing left on
Aug (I
Since the House bill would spend
$28 billion Irom general revenue.
Bv I MARIAN FINN
Hrilri
CIIAKI \ X I IVX
Maff Hrilri
By P \l I ( OX \TZF K
Hmr stall Writer
$39 9 billion bill, and Lewis said
lawmakers are doing the best they
can
"We hope we can present to him
(Clements) a bill that's been well
thought out. that the legislature has
spoken and has spoken very loudly
that is the best we can do as tar as
meeting the needs of this stale and
the present situations," the speaker
said
“I'm certainly not for closing
down nursing homes I'm not for
shutting down colleges or univer
si lies I'm not for supporting local
school taxes to increase," he added
The House Appropriations Com
mittee finished work with its 20-8
Smith Electric Inc was the low
bidder lor a City of Fort Lavaca con
tract that involves renovating the
electrical hookups at Fishing Pier
Park, but the city council cannot
award the hid until it is determined
whether or not there is a conflict ol
interest
C H. Smith, an owner of the com
is also the city's municipal
$53,288 44 and received a check lor
$6,661 08 Its principal city. Bay Ci-
ty, collected $35,155.97 and received
a check lor $4,394 50.
Refugio collected $861 10 and
received a check tor $107.64
Victoria County collected
$171,925 05 and received a check tor
$21.49(1 t>3
Texas cities and counties each
receive a 12.5 percent remittance
from the 12 percent tax collected on
mixed drinks sold within their boun-
daries under the state law that
legalized the sale ol mixed drinks in
the states Cities and counties
received 15 percent rebates until the
rate was changed in 1984
Statewide, the mixed drink tax
collections were down almost $1
million from the same time in 1986
The entities that received the mix
ed drink tax checks deposit them in
their general revenue funds
The mixed drink tax is collected
by the Alcoholic Beverage Cominis
sion and city-county rebates are sent
out quarterly by Bullock's office
pany,
judge
The Port Lavaca City Council
could not gel legal advice at its Mon
day night meeting because City At
torney Jim Smith was absent so the
council awarded the bid to Smith
Electric Inc . pending a ruling from
the city attorney
It Smith does rule that there is a
conflict ol interest, the project will
go to Hays Electric, the second low
bidder
The work involves the renovating
ol electrical I look ups al 34 camper
sites on the hill at Fishing Pier Park
and hookups al the 19 cabana
camper sites Initially, the bid pro
posal stated there were 17 cabana
sites At Monday night's meeting
Public Works Director Jody Weaver
said a recount showed there were 19
sites
City Manager George Shackelford
said today that he had contacted
Smith this morning concerning the
possible conflict ol interest Smith
told Shackelford he would research
the matter and report later
Shackelford said Smith said he
was unable to appear at Monday
night s meeting tiecause he was held
up by a trial in Bay City.
According to Article 3 09 ot the
Home Rule Charter ol the City ol
Port Lavaca "No member ot the ci
ty council or any other officer or
employee ol thp city can be directly
interested in any work, business,
purchase, sale or contract in which
the city is in any manner interested,
or where the price ot consideration
ot which is paid in whole or in part
from the city treasury, or by an
assessment levied by an ordinance
or resolution of the city council "
The city received bid proposals
from Smith Electric Inc . Hayes and
H&H Instruments-Electrical of Port
Lavaca, a group ol independents
bidding together
The city council rejected Coun-
cilman David Martine/ proposal,
that the city pay a claim from Jesus
Saldivar for wastewater damages at
his residence located at 210 Bauer
Drive The proposal was defeated by
After the vole, Councilman
Zirkelback said he had "no
problem" with having the proposal
placed back on ttie agenda He in-
dicated he had voted "no" because
he thought the city council should
confer with its attorney before lak
ing action on the request Gutierrez
then asked to have the mutter pla< ed
back on the agenda
The council also found itself
deadhx-ked after Martinez made
another proposal Browning. Mar-
tinez and Gutierrez voted "yes. the
council should authorize the instalia
tion of storm drainage facilities on
Burkeshire Street and to maki other
drainage improvements in
Burkeshire subdivision Jones Brau
and Zirkelback voted "no.” instead
the council should table the proposal
until such time when a drainage
survey had been made at the
Burkeshire Addition and until such
time when it has a figure on the cost
ot a cityw ide survey
Mayor latter broke the lie by sup
porting the decision ol Jones Hrau
and Zirkelback
Mayor Lester said earlier that a
citywide capital improvement study
should tie made
< Please see < it(. Page 2>
AUSTIN (AP> House Speaker
Gib Lewis says a tax increase may
tie unavoidable lor the next two
years despite Gov Bill Clements'
threatened veto of slate spending
greater than $36 9 billion
"The numbers that 1 see. that I
I eel are very good numbers, indicate
to me that regardless ot what we do
well still tie short of revenue."
U-wis said Monday after the House
Appropriations Committee approv
ed a 1988 89 spending plan totaling
$39 4 billion
We re going to have to have some
revenue measure to make up that
difference." lx*w is added
the Senate earlier approved a
Tom Palmer of the TA( B s ( orpus
Christi office said. "Ttie company
reported the acrylo-nitrile and
hydrogen cyanide leak in the
pipeline The leak is not very large
and the pipe has tieen blocked oft
There is no danger They took the
correct action
Calhoun County Emergency
Management Coordinator Bin
Zwerschke said that his office hadn t
been notified but that area chemical
companies do notify him it a
dangerous leak occurs
Brau said that the plant is still
operating at full capacity and has
not been affected by the leak
"We need to stress there is no
reason for concern and there is no
danger," Brau said
State Comptroller Bob Bullock
sent cheeks totaling over $4,000 to
Calhoun County and the City ol Port
Lavaca as their share ot the state's
12 percent mixed drink tax collected
during the first quartet of 1987
Calhoun County had collected
$22,490 45 in mixed drink tax remit
tances It received a check tor
$2,811 31 from Bullock's office as its
share ol the mixed drink remit-
tances.
The City ol Port Lavaca collected
$15,823 58 and received a check total
mg $1,977.95 as its share ol the mixed
drink remittances
Aransas County collected
$53,891 01 in mixed drink remit
tances and received a check lor
$6,736.38 Its principal city.
Rockport, collected $23,501 77 and
received a check lor $2,937 72
Jackson County collected $424 23
and received a check lor $5303
. ....... ....... . .....................J Matagorda County collected
Spending bill ready for House debate
vote Monday Chairman Jim Rudd.
D-Brownfield, said debate by the full
House should come next week
"We're going to have a fight on the
floor," Rudd predicted. “It'll be too
much to some and too little to
others "
Rudd estimated the debate would
last at least two days
Aller the House completes action,
a tinal spending plan likely will be
drafted in a conference committee
Lt Gov Bill Hobby, who presides
over the Senate, said he wasn't sur
prised by how close the totals ot the
two versions are
"I don't think there was ever any
doubt that it would be very dose
Mayor Kenneth I-ester s tie break
ing vote
Martinez alleged that the city was
morally responsible to pay for part
ol Saldivar's $1,500 expenses
because the city's main sewer line
was stopped up He said Saldivar
has insurance but the policy has a
$506 deductible
The City ot Port Lavaca contends
it is not al fault. City Manager
Shackelford indicates Saldivar's
problem was created by a neighbor
who attempted to correct his own
sewage problem by not using stan
dard plumbing procedures.
( ouncilman ( harles Zirkelback
pointed out Monday night that "we
are not just talking about shaking
$5oo loose for a hardship cases we
are talking about setting a
precedence Zirkelback said the ci
ty council should confer with City At
torney Smith before taking any ac-
tion
( ouncilman Lupe Gutierrez made
the motion that the council approve
compensation to Saldivar and Coun-
cilwoman Tiney Browning seconded
the motion Brow rung, Gutierrez and
Martinez voted to award the pay
merit while John Brau. Zirkelback
and Fred Jones voted no
this leaves a $3.1 billion shortfall in
the state's most important revenue
source
Rep Jim McWilliams,
1) Hallsville, suggested that Increas-
ing the stale sales lax to 7'z cents
from the current 5U cents would
make up the $3 I billion difference
Rep Barry Connelly. R Houston,
tried to make a motion the bill
befcre the committee I* slashed 12
percent across the hoard in order to
send a balanced budget to the floor
for debate
Rudd refused to accept the mo-
tions. saying this was one of the
things to be settled in the coming
debate
Standard Oil Chemical Company 's
Green Lake facility had a small
chemical leak in an underground
pipe Thursday company olticials
reported today
Public Relations oft icer John Brau
of Standard Oil said, "There is no
danger or reason for concern The
protection ol our personnel and the
environment is always our main
concern."
According to Brau. water and
small amounts ot process fluids
leaked in an underground internal
drainage system "There were
traces ol acrylo nitrile and hy drogen
cyanide," Brau said
"The leak was discovered last
Thursday in a pipeline." Brau said
"We’re isolating and excavating it "
Brau said that the Texas Air Con
trol Board was called in and has
agreed with the action the company
has taken
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Sunset at 8 02 p in today
Area Forecasts
Tides
Tuesday
10 31 p m
Index
Business
Classified
Comics
Editorial
People's voice
Police beat
Sports
Wavelengths
10
8-9
4
2
2
3
2
Weather
Calhoun County
I'he high Monday was 85 with
an overnight low ol 60
Temperature at 9am this mor
ning was 73. The Wave recorded
no rainfall in the last 24 hours
Thought lor today:
"Specialist: a doctor whose pa
Bents are expected to coniine
their ailments to office hours
Unknown
The forecast tor tonight calls
lor lair skies and mild condi
tions The low temperature will
be in the low 60 s and winds will
be light and variable Wednes-
day. mostly sunny skies and
warm conditions The high will
tie near 90 and w inds w ill lie out
of the southeast at to to 15 mph
The extended forecast for
South Texas along the upper
Texas coast Irom Port Arthur to
Port O'Connor Tonight, nor-
thwest winds at to to 15 knots
Seas will he 3 to 5 teet Uednes
day. northwest winds near 10 to
15 knots, with seas up to 3 to 5
leet Scattered showers
throughout the area
A low ol -ol It at
in Indianola. 11:01
p m in Port O'Connor and 10 51
p m in Port Lavaca.
Wednesday. a high of 1.6 it. at
8 02a in in Indianola. 7:57 a in
in Port O'Connor and 8:07 a m
in Port Lavaca A low ol I 2 It
at 12:21 p m . 12:51 and 12 41
p m
A
Tuesday
10 1 Section
April 28, 1987
WHYHAK NO. I VS
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Port lavaca^XZAlVE
The family newspaper of dynamic Calhoun County!
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Surber, Chester C. & Fulghum, Gary. Port Lavaca Wave (Port Lavaca, Tex.), Vol. 96, No. 195, Ed. 1 Tuesday, April 28, 1987, newspaper, April 28, 1987; Port Lavaca, Texas. (https://texashistory.unt.edu/ark:/67531/metapth1280605/m1/1/: accessed July 17, 2024), University of North Texas Libraries, The Portal to Texas History, https://texashistory.unt.edu; crediting Calhoun County Public Library.