Cherokeean Herald (Rusk, Tex.), Vol. 157, No. 29, Ed. 1 Wednesday, September 6, 2006 Page: 1 of 18
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Vol. 157, No, 29-18 pgs.
WEDNESDAY
September 6, 2006
Rusk, TX 75785
Texas' Oldest Weekly Newspaper
INDIAN PLAY-MAKERS
JACKSONVILLE DEFEATS BROWNSBORO ■
Larry Kranz says that the Jacksonville Indians'
victory over Brownsboro began with a lackluster
first half. See pg. 2B for more
[ pound
I
e Vandals
EAGLES ON THE
1 -WiWiVMI
Hslsliill UQ®□©©
KTLU-AM, 1580 is now simulcasting
the Rusk Eagle football games on the
?l! ®Ljií world wide Web. See pg. 1B.
Cherokee County sales
continue to grow
In the imporfantyear-to-date
column for sales tax rebates, all
cities in Cherokee County are
showing signs of growth and
healthy economies with the
lone exception of Cuney.
For a detailed report on
sales tax rebates in, includ-
ing year-to-date reports, see
pg. 3 A.
COMING
State park meeting
planned Sept. 13 in tyler
Texas Parks and Wildlife Com-
missioner John D. Parkerand State
Parks Director Walt Dabney will
speak to theTyler Chamber of Com-
merce at noon Sept. 13. To make
reservations and obtain directions,
call Pam Grime at (903) 593-2004,
ext. 245. Cost is $8, which includes
a catered meal.
Museum seeks
volunteers to staff center
starting Sept. 9
The Heritage Center of Cherokee
County will re-open Sept. 9 at it loca-
tion on Henderson Street in Rusk.
The board is seeking volunteers
to staff the center during hours
of 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. Saturdays
and 1-5 p.m. Sundays. Volunteers
may contact Kevin Stingley at (903)
683-5643.
The museum consultant from
the Texas Historical Commission
will be in Rusk on Sept. 21 for an
evaluation of the Heritage Center
of Cherokee County.
Meals on Wheels will not
deliver Sept. 11-15
The Palestine Senior Center
will get a new roof the week of
Sept. 11-15. The Palestine center,
which includes the central kitchen,
will not be able to provide meals
for Anderson, Cherokee and Rusk
counties.
Instead frozen meals will be
delivered to clients this week with
the assistance of D&R Express
Trucking Co.
Frozen meals will be dropped off
at the Henderson, Jacksonville and
Palestine centers for distribution to
home-bound clients.
Sacred Heart sponsors
Mexican food meal
Sunday
Sacred Heart Catholic Church
will sponsor its second Sunday
dinner beginning at 11:30 a.m.
Sept. 10.
A Mexican food meal will be
served for $6.
Weather Outlook
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V V
<9k A
THURSDAY
sunny and hot
20% chance of rain
High: 92
Low: 66
OLDIES RADIO
KWRW • FM and KTLU - AM
Cities receive grants
for hurricane relief
Alto Herald receives $270,000 to build evacuation shelter
By Leland Acker
Staff Writer
Three Cherokee County cities will
receive Community Development Block
Grants (CDBG) to improve and repair
infrastructure which was overextended
during last year's hurricane evacua-
tion.
The biggest awardin Cherokee County
went to the Alto Herald Mu seum. Debbie
White, of the Alto Herald Museum's
non-profit corporation, said the funds
would be used to renovate the Alto
Herald building, then build a hurricane
evacuation shelter on to it.
"We're going to put a new roof on
the Herald building," Mrs. White said.
"Then we'll fix the back wall, and add
an exit to the back room.
"We'll put showers and bathroom
facilities in the back of the Herald build-
ing and either build a shelter onto the
side or purchase an existing building,
whichever the stipulations in the grant
will allow.''
Such is welcome news for Alto, which
did not have a facility to house Hurri-
cane Rita evacuees la st ye ar. The rep air s
Please see GRANTS, pg. 6A
Engineering a ride
US. Army lieutenant shores Iraqi war experiences
before returning for second tour of duty
By Leland Acker
Staff Writer
hen IstLt. BrandonMcEl-
roy travels in uniform,
one question often asked
of him is if things in Iraq are really
as bad as they seem.
"People want to know that there
are good things happening over
there too," Lt. McElroy said. "They
do not have a good impression of
where we're at.
See TSR task
force, pg. 6A
"Where we were, things were,
not that bad. For those who got
caught in the hot spots, things
were terrible.
"Nobody enjoys war," Lt. McElroy
continued. "I can't tell you when
it's going to be fixed. I hope sooner
than later."
Lt. McElroy said the troops in
Please see IRAQ, pg. 6A
1 st Lt. Brandon McElroy takes the engineer's seat in #400 at the
Texas State Railroad steam engine. McElroy fulfilled a dream by
helping drive the train after returning home from Iraq.
Soldier expresses frustration at state's hesitation to fund the train
By Leland Acker
Staff Writer
From the time 1st Lt. Bran-
don McElroy was a child,
he knew what his life would
bring. He dreamed of serving in
the U.S. Army and being a steam
locomotive engineer. By the age of
.31, Lt. McElroy, the son of Ronnie
McElroy of Rusk, has seen those
dreams materialize.
"When Brandon was a little boy,"
Ronnie McElroy said, "he told me
he was going to be in the Army
and he was going to be a train
engineer.
I asked him, 'how are you going
to be an engineer when you are in
the Army?1
He said'I'll be an engineer when
I retire from the Army."'
While Lt. McElroy has not yet
retired from the military and is
not currently employed asa steam
locomotive engineer, he has gotten
Please see TSR, pg. 6A
Rusk State Hospital s new
ibrensics unit now open
The new forensics unit at Rusk State Hos-
pital officially opened la st Friday and for the
first time in more than a year, the hospital
has open beds for new patients.
The census on Friday was 300 with a
capacity of 335.
"We're at full size now," said Ted Debbs,
Rusk State Hospital superintendent.
On Tuesday, Mr. Debbs began advertising
the official opening of the new unit to commu-
nity centers in the 33-county catchment area
to make them aware of the availability.
The forensics unit is designed to treat
patients who have criminal charges pend-
ing against them but are unable to proceed
through the court system without mental
evaluation and treatment first.
The 35-bed facility triggered a hiring
frenzy at RSH with 167 new positions,
"We have two psychiatrist openings right
now," said Mr. Debbs, "but one of those
openings is because of the recent death of
an existing staff member, The area where
we still have openings is in nursing."
Positions for mental health worker s, social
workers, food service and janitorial service
are currently in place.
"Right now we have a payroll of 990, and
we'll probably top 1,000 when all the posi-
tions are filled."
Mr. Debbs praised the work of his staff in
helping remodel an existing building and
prepare it for occupancy.
"I can't say enough about our staff," he
said. "It was a massive effort to handle the
training, and they did a wonderful job."
One of the features of the new unit is
an external visiting room where patients
can meet with family members and other
visitors.
INSIDE
Former chairman of the Texas
Parks & Wildlife Commission
Jack Stone visits the Texas
State Railroad. See Scene in
Passing, pg. 2A.
Is Cherokee County
prepared for more
hurricanes?
By Leland Acker
Staff Writer
Last year's hurricane season
turned out to be a nightmare for
most East Texas communities. Just
as refugees from Hurricane Ka trina
got settledin. Hurricane Rita made
landfall, sending thousands more
refugees into the area, overwhelm-
ing shelters, food and gas supplies
and crowding roadways.
As Hurricane Ernesto broke
Please see HURRICANES, pg. 6A
Lake Fastrill
remains on
planning list
East Texas water group will
submit 11 proposals
By Terrie Gonzalez
Managing Editor
Despite the June 12 announcement
by the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service
approving the establishment of the
Neches River National Wildlife Refuge,
a water development group is proceed^
ing with recommendations for a feser-
voir that occupies the same footprint.
The East Texas Regional Water Plan-
ning Group which represents Region I,
met in Lufkin Aug. 23 and identified 11
water planning proposals which will
likely become the basis for the group's
five-year plan.
Among those projects is the recom-
mendation for a study to determine the
impact ofproposedLake Fastrill on the
upper Neches River and to explore its
impact on water management strate-
gies in East Texas.
More than 10,000 signatures in sup-
port of the refuge and in opposition
to the reservoir were gathered by a
non-profit organization. Friends of the
Neches River.
"They (the water group) can proceed
all they want, but they aren't going to
take over the refuge," said Dr. Michael
Banks, co-chairman of the group. "We
are stronger now than we were on June
12, and we are prepared to jump in and
put on the gloves."
The City of Dallas, working through
the Upper Neches River Authority,
Please see LAKE FASTRILL, pg. 6A
City gets more
complaints on
camper trailers
Letters of reprimand will be
followed by legal action
A fourth camper trailer has been
moved onto a North Main Street lot,
owned by W.R. and Kevin Bowden, As
the trailers are added to the lot, employ-
ees at city hall continue to receive
several protest calls each day.
The front portion of the two-acre lot
is zoned R-1 for residential one family
dwelling.
The back porl ion is zoned MH-1,
mobile home. However the city code
states a mobile home park must be
located on a tract of a minimum of 10
acres.
Kevin Bowden, a former city manager,
said he is not breaking laws and plans
to continue with theplacement of travel
trailers on the property.
Hetoldthe Cherokeean Herald, "The
Please see CAMPER TRAILERS, pg. 6A
CM K
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Whitehead, Marie. Cherokeean Herald (Rusk, Tex.), Vol. 157, No. 29, Ed. 1 Wednesday, September 6, 2006, newspaper, September 6, 2006; Rusk, Texas. (https://texashistory.unt.edu/ark:/67531/metapth152747/m1/1/: accessed July 18, 2024), University of North Texas Libraries, The Portal to Texas History, https://texashistory.unt.edu; crediting Singletary Memorial Library.