Cherokeean/Herald (Rusk, Tex.), Vol. 150, No. 3, Ed. 1 Thursday, March 11, 1999 Page: 1 of 16
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BEST AVAILABLE COPY
00/03/10 697
SOUTHWEST MI CROF'UBL ISHING
2627 E YANDELL DR
EL PASO TX 79903-3743
__ tu rmu IA /77VJ-JÍHJ
Uferokeeaif/iierald
Texas' Oldest, Continuously Published Weekly Newspaper - Established Feb. 27, 1850 as the Cherokee Sentinel
Law & Order
Rash of vandalism
prompts
crowd of 42 to attend
Wells City Council
meeting
see page 3A
Vol. 150, No. 3-16 Pages
Thursday, March 11, 1999
Rusk, Texas 75785
25 cent
pr;
S 1
This Little Piggy Goes to the Show!
Chad
McKinney and
puppy, Little
Bit, get ready
to feed
Chad's entry
in the
Cherokee
County
Livestock
Show. His
pig will be
entered in the
swine
competition
at the annual
show March
18-20 at the
Show Barn In
Jacksonville.
County must pay more
than $20,000 for overtime
I Commissioners
unhappy over
unbudgeted expense
Cherokee County employees will be paid
for overtime to the tune of $20,000. County
Treasurer Diann Norton said employees
have put in more than the allotted comp
time and will have to be paid for all extra
time over the federal guideline limits. L.
H. Crockett, county auditor said Monday
that a total of $20,156 will be paid to
employees in wages and fringe benefits.
Those to receive the funds work in the
sheriffs office, county attorney's office
and janitorial services.
Law enforcement officers can accumu-
late up to 480 hours of comp time and all
other county employees can accumulate
240 hours.
Mrs. Norton explained Monday morn-
ing to commissioners that five persons
have gone over the limit for comp time. Of
those two are in the sheriffs office and
each have approximately 350 hours for
which they must receive compensation.
This is in addition to the 480 hours that
each still has on the books. The county
attorney's secretaries have 747 hours to
be paid. One secretary has accrued 662
hours of additional time and the other, 85
hours. A janitor has 154 hours for which
he must be paid. In addition to these
hours, he will still have 240 hours of
overtime on the county books.
Cost to the county will be $7,316 for the
county attorney's secretaries; $8,596 for
the deputies; and $1,320 for the janitor. In
addition to this the county will be re-
quired to pay another $1,318 in Social
Security and $ 1,606 in county retirement.
Besides those who are being paid for
overtime, a bailiff in the court-of-law of-
fice has almost 400 hours, or the equiva-
"We will pay
the overtime
and take it
out of their
budget. Then
if they are
running out of money,
they can't go to seminars
and buy office supplies."
-County Judge Harry Tilley
lent of 10 weeks, of comp time for work at
the county firing range. Also, the Precinct
Please see COMMISSIONERS, pg 7A
93-year-old
nursing home
resident found
unharmed
M Helicoper, 75 volunteers
involved in search
An estimated 75 people were involved in the search
for a 93-year-old Oak Park resident who was discov-
ered missing around 8 p.m. Sunday. The woman was
found early Monday morning after spending the
night in Houston and Freddie White's garage, only 50
yards from Oak Park.
Rusk Police Chief Larry Robertson said that the
hunt began after a search of Oak Park's facilities
failed to locate the woman.
The Cherokee County Search and Rescue Team,
headed by Jack White, assisted in the search. A
helicopter was called from East Texas Medical Cen-
ter to assist. Other organizations involved in the all
night effort included Rusk Volunteer Fire Depart-
ment, Gallatin Volunteer Fire Department, employ-
ees of Oak Park and many individuals. Glenn Stanley
was especially helpful as he used his four wheeler.
The Skyview/Hodge React Team became involved
and dogs from the Anderson County TDC J Unit were
hindered due to a light rain.
Houston White explained that he closed his garage
door shortly after 8 p.m. for the evening. The woman
had apparently entered his garage and got inside his
Please see MISSING WOMAN, pg. 7A
DA won't seek
death penalty
in Sexton case
District Attorney Jim Cromwell will not seek the
death penalty in the capital murder trial of Patricia
Sexton, 23. Ms. Sexton, along with her grandmother,
Dorothy Bingham, was arrested in September 1998
and charged with the murder of her estranged hus-
band, Bobby Sexton. Michael Fielding, 30, of Jack-
sonville was arrested in March and confessed to the
murder. Willie Wright, 57, of Jacksonville was ar-
rested after he admitted to helping dispose of Mr.
Sexton's body.
The Sexton trial is scheduled for April in the 2nd
Judicial District Court of Cherokee County. Judge
John Robert Adamson set a pre-trial hearing for
April 6 and jury selection to begin on April 19.
The district attorney had asked for more time to
prepare for the trial. Defense attorney Bobby Mims
announced at the hearing that he was ready to try the
case.
If Ms. Sexton is found guilty and receives a life
sentence, she will have to serve at least 40 years
before she is eligible for parole.
Mr. Mims has asked that Ms. Sexton's bond be
reduced from $125,000. However, Judge Adamson
has not made a decision on that matter. She origi-
nally was jailed on a $500,000 bond. That amount
was reduced in October 1998, but Ms. Sexton still has
not been able to make the bond requirement. A
request to reduce the bond to $25,000 was denied in
January.
"Sitting in jail this length of time has been hard on
Please see SEXTON CASE, pg 7A
Physical assaults reported at Alto school
• >ov.',V k ■'
Ü Complaints filed with
Alto Police Department
(A
Trustees consider
discipline handbook in
wake of recent complaints
By Randall Birdsong
Special to the Cherokeean/Herald
Trustees received a report concerning disci-
pline problems in the district. Superintendent,
Dr. J. Floyd Worley, along with board president,
Don Parsons reported that the same few students
were the cause of most of the discipline problems
within the district.
Investigation showed that there is no set guide-
line as to the number of times a student can be
sent to the office for discipline infractions.
One student at the middle school and one stu-
dent at the high school had each been sent to the
principal's office in excess of 15 times for disci-
pline.
Mr. Parsons suggested that a policy or hand-
book rule be developed so this type of problem
student could be removed from the classroom and
placed in some sort of an alternative setting so
the classroom teacher could teach in a learning
friendly atmosphere. Suggestions were made to
look into a boot camp type program, an alterna-
tive school program with teeth, and even expul-
sion.
Trustees asked for a breakdown of the specific
number of discipline problems and repeat offend-
ers at the elementary school. Discipline is to be
put on next month's agenda and the discipline
Please see AISD, page 7A
Parents of two Alto elementary students are
wondering how safe their children are from physi-
cal assault while in school.
Alto Superintendent Dr. Floyd Worley says the
problems are being dealt with and that a very
small number of children are involved. But two
parents are so concerned, they have filed com-
plaints with the Alto Police Department.
Parents describe several recent incidents as
physical abuse. One fourth grade girl at AJto
elementary was the victim of two separate inci-
dents. The first incident occurred last November
and involved several students holding her down
while one girl hit her. The parents allege no adults
came to her aid. Their daughter finally wriggled
away and found an adult to report the incident. All
five of the participants received a three-day sus-
pension from school, Principal Douglas Dugat
confirmed.
Barely two months later in January, one of the
boys involved in the first incident participated in
a second incident targeting the same girl. In this
event, the boy allegedly pushed the girl away from
him by touching her breasts. Principal Dugat said
both the boy and girl were counseled at school and
removed from physical education class for a day.
According to the girl's mother, her daughter was
punished by the school because she pushed the boy
back in retaliation.
"Is she not allowed to protect herself," the mother
asked.
A third incident occurred between the same two
students Only days later. The boy allegedly
threatened to bring a gun to school and shoot
the girl. The parents considered that a terror-
istic threat and filed a complaint with Alto PD.
Mr. Dugat said the boy received additional
counseling with an aunt and his mother. "He
readily admitted to making the statement and
apologized," the principal said.
Another parent with a child at Alto Elemen-
tary is also concerned with safety at the school.
According to this parent, a third grade boy has
been responsible for touching her daughter in-
appropriately on three occasions and on a fourth
made an inappropriate remark-
The girl's mother told the Cherokeean/Herald
that her daughter is afraid to go to school as
long as the boy is in her class. After the first
touching incident, she spoke to Principal Dugat
and he promised to take care of the situation.
Dugat confirmed to the Cherokeean/Herald that
the boy received swats for his actions.
However, two more touching incidents, by the
same boy on the same girl, have been alleged by
the mother and a fourth incident involving an
inappropriate comment was reported to the
administration.
When interviewed by the Cherokeean/Herald
the young girl said that three other girls in the
third grade had been touched inappropriately
by the same boy.
Dr. Worley told the Cherokeean/Herald that
after the fourth incident, the boy was sus-
pended from school for three days.
"Furthermore," Dr. Worley said, "the boy will
be placed in isolation and taught separately
from the rest of the kids until he has demon-
Please see COMPLAINTS, pg. 3A
Full Steam Ahead!
Whistles and
all aboard will
be heard again
beginning
March 13 at the
Texas State
Railroad. The
antique
excursion train
will make runs
between Rusk
and Palestine
every weekend
from March 13
until Memorial
Day weekend,
when regular
summer
schedule
begins.
See related
story 7B
Candidates
file for May 1
election
Filing is underway through 5 p.m. March 17 for
positions on area city and school dist rict ballots. City
and school elections are scheduled for 7 a.m. to 7 p.m.
Saturday, May 1.
At noon Tuesday, Rusk City Hall, Mayor Emmett
Whitehead and District 1 and 2 Councilmen Jerry
Jordan and Walter Session had filed for re-election.
Incumbents Frances Long and Stephanie Caveness.
former board member Jan Pate, Sammie Attaway
and Vesta Downs have filed for places on the Rusk
School Board. Two at-large board positions are up for
election.
In Alto, Mayor Sandy Wallace and former Mayor
and now City Councilman Garwin Baugh have filed
as candidates for mayor. Also filing for a place on the
ballot is Carey Palmer for city council. In addition to
the mayor's position, two council seats now held by
Terry Black and Kyle Griffith are up for election.
Also, voters will be asked to elect a person to fill the
unexpired term of Kathleen Cornelius.
Incumbents Ricky Glaze and Don Parsons and
challenger Angela Campa have filed for two at large
seats on the Alto ISD board of trustees. Terms of Mr.
Parsons and Mr. Glaze are up for election.
At Wells James Booker, incumbent Jerry Ellerbee,
Rick Williamson and Ray Baxter have filed fori
positions on the city council. Terms of council mer
bers Hank Bloom, Eva Brown and Jerry Kllerbee
Please see CANDIDATES, pg. 3A
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Whitehead, Marie. Cherokeean/Herald (Rusk, Tex.), Vol. 150, No. 3, Ed. 1 Thursday, March 11, 1999, newspaper, March 11, 1999; Rusk, Texas. (https://texashistory.unt.edu/ark:/67531/metapth152415/m1/1/?q=music: accessed July 18, 2024), University of North Texas Libraries, The Portal to Texas History, https://texashistory.unt.edu; crediting Singletary Memorial Library.