Cherokeean Herald (Rusk, Tex.), Vol. 158, No. 2, Ed. 1 Wednesday, March 7, 2007 Page: 6 of 14
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Page 6A - Cljerokeeai? Herald of Rusk, Texas - Wednesday, March 7, 2007
Tornadoes touch down near Bulah, Hudson Chapel
Power lines ripped from homes, trees toppled March 1
By Leland Acker
Staff Writer
Damaged trees on FM 23 near
the Bulah community and FM
752 near Hudson Chapel were
probably the result of torna-
does, said Cherokee County
Extension Agent Jack White.
The storms hit between 6:30 - 7
a.m. Thursday morning.
"(The tornadoes) were not
confirmed by the National
Weather Service," Mr. White
said. "We were under a tornado
watch/"
He said the damage patterns
to the trees showed a circular
pattern, a pattern consistent
with tornado damage.
"This is probably one of the
fewinstanceslhave seen where
there was a good possibility
of a tornado," Mr. White said.
"Usually damage is caused by
direct winds, which are very
common in our area."
Mr. White pointed to the
damage along FM 23 to illus-
trate his pointv He said the
trees that fell across the high-
way fell from the west side of
the highway. Meanwhile, in a
nearby yard, trees were blown
northward.
"Several houses had the elec-
tricity pulled from their walls
and one truck ran into a tree
that had fallen in the roadway
(on FM 23)," Mr. White said.
The bulk of the damage vis-
ible from FM 752 was at the
residence of Faye Wilcox. Mrs.
Wilcox, who owns a hair salon
at the same location, said she
County grand jury indicts
former Rusk HS teacher
Sheriff's office performs forensic analysis
of computer hard drives
Former Rusk High School social stud-
ies teacher, Brian Edward Basse, 34, was
indicted last week by a Cherokee County
Grand Jury.
District Attorney Elmer Beckworth's office
said the matter was presented to the grand
jury and there was an indictment. However,
theofficehasnotreceivedformalnotification Brian Basse
from the di st riel clerk and no other informa-
tion was available to the press.
Mr. Basse has been charged with two second degree felonies,,
indecency with a child and improper relationship between
an educator and student. He was arrested Feb. 21, and bond
was set at $10,000 on each of the charges.
The charges against Mr. Basse center around off-campus
activities. The charges state that Mr. Basse improperly
touched the student.
The Cherokeean Herald learned last week that the
Cherokee County Sheriff 's Department was askedto perform
a forensic file recovery on the student's laptop computer.
So me explicit images were recovered, along with AOLinstant
messages that authorities believe were exchanged between
the student and Mr. Basse.
The Rusk Pohce Department obtained a search warrant
for Mr. Basse's residence, which included his personal
computer.
On the day of his arrest, Mr. Basse submitted his resigna-
tion. He had been a Rusk High School teacher since 2000.
During that time he and his wife chaperoned several high
school groups to foreign countries.
Friends ofTSR
continued from pg. 1A
heard they were even given an
outstanding business awardfor
their operation in Durango."
Robert Grossman, state rail-
road superintendent, reported
on the state of the Texas State
Railroad.
"We have not lost any more
employees, but we have not
filled any of our vacant posi-
tions," he said. Mr. Crossman
said mecha attention has died
off, due to the announcement
of American Heritage as the
frontrunner for becoming the
was thankful the storms did
not cause more damage to her
property.
"The Lord was with me with
the house and shop not being
hit," she said. "It was a tornado,
just look at how the trees are
twisted."
Mrs. Wilcox said the hail was
the worst part of the storm.
Around her property, trees
hadbeen uprooted and tree tops
had been torn off their trunks.
However, everything landed
safely between her house, shop
and powerhnes.
The storms producing tor-
nadic activity moved quickly
through Cherokee County
between 6:30-7 a.m. Thursday,
March 1.
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Tornadoes apparently touched down near the Bulah and Hudson Chapel communities
last Thursday when a spring storm swept through East Texas. A number of trees were
toppled and others had the tops torn off in circular patterns. The storm was accompa-
nied by hail.
PHOTO: LELAND ACKER
Deadline is March 12 to file for local elections
Candidates may file for places
on the May 12 city and school
election ballots until the close
of business on March 12.
Deadline to register to vote is
April 12. Early voting is sched-
uled for April 30-May 8.
Rusk
In Rusk, Mayor Suzann
McCarty and Councilmem-
bers Kris Morgan, District 1,
and Walter Session, District 2
have filed as candidates in the
upcoming election.
In the school election, incum-
bents Mike Ross, Roy Cavazoz
andDavidFulton and challeng-
ers Ohver Sturns and Karen
LaVergne are asking for elec-
tion. Three places on the school
board expire with the election.
Rusk spring break begins on
Monday, March 12. However,
the school office will be open
from 2-5p.m. to benefit anyone
who wishes to file asa candidate
for school board.
Alto
Carey Palmer has filed as a
candidate for Alto mayor. Terms
of Mayor Debbie White and
Councilmembers Glen Will-
hite and Kenneth Brethouwer
expire with the election. No one
has filed for the council seats.
Robert Hicks and Lee Pear-
man have asked for election to
the Alto ISD board of trustees.
Terms of Teddy Pearman and
Randy Sturrock expire with
the election.
Jacksonville
Jacksonville Mayor Dr.
Robert Haberle and challenger
Jon Hargett have filed for the
mayor's position on the city
council. Asking for re-election
are Hubert Robinson, District
1, and Kenneth Melvin, Dis-
trict 3.
Jim Tarrant Jr. has filed for
Place 1 on the Jacksonville ISD
board of trustees and Kenneth
Smith and Pat McCown have
filed as candidates for Place 2.
Terms of Sean McRight, Place
1, andRoyDarby, Place2expire
with the election.
Wells
Three incumbents have filed
for re-election to the Wells
City Council. They are David
Bussey. Rex Aycock and Eva
Brown.
Three incumbents, Larry
Bailey Susie Edge and Danny
Colbert are asking for re-elec-
tion to the Wells ISD board of
trustees.
Gallatin
Gallatin Mayor Juanita
Cotton and Councilmember
Dorothy Scurlock have filed
for re-election. The other
incumbent, Mickie Gunter, is
private operator of the train.
"Many think we are saved.
Ms not quite that cut and
dried," Mr. Crossman said.
"We continue to lean forward
into the wind and hope it all
works out."
Mr. Grossman announcedthe
"Kids Ride Free" program will
take place again this summer.
The next meeting of the Friends
of the Texas State Railroad will
be at 10 a.m. Thursday, April 5,
at the Rusk Depot.
i
Farewell
reception honors
Larry Long
Larry Long was
honored with a
reception at the
Cherokee County
Teachers Federal
Credit Union Friday.
He has accepted a
position at Austin
Bank and is leaving
the credit union after
13 years of service
as its CEO. At right
is Kellie Wilcox, who
will serve as interim
manager.
expected to file for re-election.
Reklaw
Randy Tappen and incum-
bents John Irwin and Jenelle
Laughlin area sking for election
to the Reklaw City Council.
Three seats on the council
expire with the election.
New Summerfield
No one has filed for election
to the New Summerfield city
council. Terms of Mayor Dan
Stallings and councilmembers
Billy Hall, Gary Brazier and
Maria Armas expire with the
election.
Incumbent Jason Wilcox and
challenger Glenna Weaver are
asking for election to the New
Summerfield School Board.
Two places on the school board
expire with the election. The
other incumbent James Green-
wood had not filed by noon
Tuesday for re-election.
Trailer park
continued from pg. 1A
operator of the recreational
vehicle park.
Before he opened the
park, he obtained resi-
dential one family utility
connections at city hall.
He pays for one residen-
tial sewer tap, one resi-
dential water meter and
one residential garbage
service.
Sewer and water lines
on the site are believed
to have been laid by Mr.
Bow den to serve the travel
trailers.
Mike Murray, Rusk city
manager. Said there are
probably water and sewer
chops on the property for
10-12 trailers.
The Bowdens could not
be reached for comment.
Spelling bee
continued from pg. 1A
Joint Commission
continued from pg. 1A
Should Paige be unable to
attend the regional spelling
bee, Gerald would be able to
compete,
"They were such great kids,"
said Roy Reynolds, who served
as emcee. "During the run-
through earlier, we wer e laugh-
ing and joking with the kids
to try to loosen them up. They
were very nervous. We had a
lot of audience participation. I
enjoyed it."
Mr. Reynolds said the county
spelling bee was open to chil-
dren in Cherokee County, who
attendpublic or private schools
or who are home-schooled. The
10 contestants in this year s bee
represented the towns of New
Summerfield, Alto and Rusk.
The rules of the spelling bee
are set nationally andhave to be
strictly adhered to. The contes-
tants chaw for the order which
they will be called on, then the
words are called out from a hst
which was set up before the bee.
The hst is designed to increase
word difficulty as the spelling
bee continues.
Should a contestant give an
incorrect letter, they are elimi-
nated even if they go back and
correctly spell the word. Even
with such clear-cut rules, there
can be situations which call for
judicial review.
One such episode took place
when a contestant spelled
"safari." The question was
whether the contestant inad-
vertently placed a third "a"
before the "i." Ultimately, the
judges ruled the contestant
correctly spelled "safari."
Another interesting moment
came when Paige was called
on to spell "stethoscope" in the
third round. She had trouble
pronouncing it.
"Can I just spell it?" she
askecl Mr. Reynolds, who then
gave her another shot at the
pronunciation.
The spelling bee continued
with contestants being elimi-
nated one-by-one. Then, in the
final round, Gerald got stuck on
"stucco." After he incorrectly
spelled the word, Paige was
given the opportunity to spell
it, before correctly spelling
"eulogy" for the championship.
Geraldgave Paige a congratula-
tory hug.
Each contestant was given a
ribbon for participation. Repre-
sen I i ng New Summerfield were
Jacob Calberson and Brianna
Leon. Billy Linclsey, A.J. Clark
and Gerald all represented Alto,
while Rusk Was represented
by Jansen Applegate, Marisol
Sepulvecla and Paige.
minor. "One involved having a
sign up on a bulletin board with
the Joint Commission's phone
number," saicl Mr. Debbs.
"Another involved Phillips
screws which secured a bath-
room ceiling's vent, They
wanted non-removable screws
on a geriatric unit to prevent
patients from hurting them-
selves. All five of the flagged
items were corrected before the
Joint Commission left."
Besides looking at screws
in the ceding and information
notices on bulletin boards,
members of the Joint Commis-
sion team scrutinized patient
records to see if follow-up
instructions are clear.
They poured over prescrip-
tions in the pharmacy to see
if the directions for use con-
tained unauthorized medical
abbreviations that coulcl lead
to confusion in administering
the medication.
Most hospitals receive at
least one demerit for transition-
ing a patient from one depart -
ment to another in delivering
patient care. But not at Rusk
State Hospital.
"This is our cleanest survey
yet," saiclMr. Debbs. "But what
this really shows is the ongoing
process of quahty that is in place
every clay," he saicl as he com-
mended the staff of 1,000.
"Our goal is to be ready for
an unannounced survey every
single clay," saicl Mr. Debbs.
The Joint Commission is
charged with accrechting hos-
pitals nationwide.
"For more than 50 years, the
Joint Commission has been
charged with accrechting hospi-
tals across the nation with a seal
of approval that inchoates a hos-
pital meets high performance
Standards," the organization's
web site states.
The purpose of an unan-
nounced survey is:
• To help health care organi-
zations focus on provichng safe,
high quality care at ah times,
and not just when preparing
for survey.
• To affirm the expectation of
continuous standards compli-
ance both by the Joint Commis-
sion of its accredited organiza-
tions anclby these organizations
of themselves.
• To enhance the credibility
of the accrechtation process
by ensuring that surveyors
observe organization perfor-
mance under normal circum-
stances.
• To reduce the unnecessary
costs that health care orga-
nizations incur to prepare for
survey.
• To address public concerns
that the Joint Commission
receive an accurate reflection of
the quahty and safety of care.
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Whitehead, Marie. Cherokeean Herald (Rusk, Tex.), Vol. 158, No. 2, Ed. 1 Wednesday, March 7, 2007, newspaper, March 7, 2007; Rusk, Texas. (https://texashistory.unt.edu/ark:/67531/metapth152772/m1/6/: accessed April 20, 2024), University of North Texas Libraries, The Portal to Texas History, https://texashistory.unt.edu; crediting Singletary Memorial Library.