Cherokeean Herald (Rusk, Tex.), Vol. 158, No. 43, Ed. 1 Wednesday, December 19, 2007 Page: 1 of 20
This newspaper is part of the collection entitled: Texas Digital Newspaper Program and was provided to The Portal to Texas History by the Singletary Memorial Library.
Extracted Text
The following text was automatically extracted from the image on this page using optical character recognition software:
500
Vol. 158, No. 43-20 pgs.
www.thecherokeeari.com
Rusk, TX 75785
WEDNESDAY
December 19, 2007
Texas' Oldest Weekly Newspaper
Newspaper will close
Dec. 24-25
The Cherokeean Herald office,
located at 618 N. Main St. in Rusk,
will be closed on Monday, Dec. 24
and Tuesday, Dec. 25.
News and advertising should be
submitted by Thursday, Dec. 20 at 3
p.m. for the Dec. 26 issue.
INSIDE
Casting company seeks
boys for acting roles
A statewide casting search is
underway by Francine Maisler
Casting forspirited, interesting rural
boys (ages 10-14) to be considered
for leading roles in an upcoming
major Hollywood family movie to be
filmed in Texas. For story reasons,
the filming company is only looking
for Caucasian boys at this time. An
open casting call will be held at the
Cherokee Civic Theater from 11
a.m.-5 p.m. Saturday, Dec. 22. The
casting call will consist of abrieftalk
with a member of the casting team
and possibly an interview on cam-
era. All participants should bring a
non-returnable photo. Interested
parties may call the information
line at (512) 637-9782 or e-mail
primrosepictures@gmail.com,
though no appointment is neces-
sary. While acting experience is
not necessary, the production will
provide compensation on the scale
of professional actors. Filmmakers
are specifically looking for children
with old-fashioned qualities in small
town environments.
"This story is set in Texas, and
the Primrose team is determined
to cast this part in Texas," said Bob
Hudgins, director of the Texas Film
Commission. "This could be a rare
opportunity for a young Texan to
land a lead role in a major film."
The role calls for a boy who is
confident, lively and thoughtful.
This statewide search has been
underway since September 2006
and will be completed by February
2008. Filming will begin in March.
Francine Maisler Casting has
cast films such as "Spider-Man,"
"Miami Vice" and "As Good As It
Gets."
248 children enjoy Day
with Santa Saturday
Saturday's Rusk Chamber of
Commerce sponsored Day with
Santa was well attended, said
Connie Brown, manager. Ms. Brown
said there were 198 Dream Tree
recipients and 50 other children,
who came for a visit with Ole Saint
Nick. "That's a total of 248 children
who had visits with Santa," she
said. Rusk area citizens provided
funds and gifts to sponsor all of the
names of the children and nursing
home residents listed on the tree.
Wayne and Toni Guinn, Dream
Tree coordinators, expressed their
appreciation to all who gave to make
this Christmas a merry one.
Weather Outlook
THURSDAY
partly cloudy
10% chance of rain
High: 63
Low: 43
OLDIES RADIO
KWRW - FM and KTLU - AM
SPECIAL SECTION INSIDE
Champs
Yellowjackets give Alto another state
championship title for Christmas
By Leland Acker
Staff Writer
As the final whistle blew and a crowd of
excited fans took the field following Alto's
22-0 victory over the Seymour Panthers, an
emotional Keith Gardner, Alto head football
coach and athletic director, accepted the state
(again)
&baylof
ledical ( en it
hi Waxahachie
KS
rbyhub
See STATE CHAMPIONS, pg. 6A
r
See sports wrap-up and special salute to the Alto Yellowjackets, pgs. 1-6 and 9B
Preparing for tomorrow
By Leland Acker
Staff Writer
Working to prepare students for
successful careers. Rusk High School
teacher Antly Marchetti exposes his
students to what they will face once
they graduate and go to college, ANGELS
"I think my kids can be prepared
to do what they want to when they
leave Rusk High School," Mr. Mar-
chetti said.
The veteran teacher of 22 years has taught in the
Dallas inner-city Huntington, NewBraunfels, before
coming to Rusk to teach Algebra II. Calculus and
Computer Science.
"Teaching is a family thing," Mr. Marchetti said. "X
didn't plan on being a teacher. I started in electrical
engineering, then changed my major to math."
Mr. Marchetti holds a B.S. of Mathematical Sciences
from Lamar University. His mother taught nursing
at McNeese University, his sister teaches in New
Braunfels andhis grandfather taught at Georgetown
University's medical school.
"It may be in my blood," Mr. Marchetti said,
-
MMM
Upon graduating from Lamar, he
said his professors suggested going
to work for a major company.
"I had no desire to get an office job
where you do the same thing day after
day," he said. So, Mr. Marchetti began
teaching at the Dallas Independent
School District
He said teaching is a rewarding
profession.
"The reward is seeing the students
appreciate learning, he said. "You don't see it always.
When you do, you see the student's face light up."
Mr. Marchetti said he also enjoys seeing students
who have graduated and gone on to be productive
people.
"It gives meaning to what I do, knowing I had a
small part in that." he said.
Mr. Marchetti teaches Algebra II.
"It's a function-basedapproach," he said. "I findreal
life examples of what we'll be working on, show them
that and help them see the connection between that
Please see PREPARING FOR TOMORROW, pg. 6A
REDCO begins transfer to rail authority
By Gloria Jennings
Staff Writer
Prior to Thursday evening's Rusk
City Council meeting at city hall a
check for $500,000 was presented to
the council by Bob Goldsberry from
the Rusk Economic Development
Corporation.
The funds are to be given to the
Texas State Railroad Authority to
be loaned to American Heritage
Railways.
During the regular meeting that
followed councilmembers accepted
a bid from Citizens 1st Bank as the
city's depository. Another bid was
submitted by Austin Bank.
City Manager Mike Murray said,
" The Citizens bidis the best bid and
See RUSK COUNCIL, pg. 6A
Bob Goldsberry, standing left, executive director of the Rusk
Economic Development Corp., presents a check for $500,000 to
Rusk Mayor Angela Raiborn, seated left. Members of the council
include seated from left, Mayor Raiborn, Don Jones and Walter
Session; standing Mr. Goldsberry, Donald Woodard, Sam Florian
and City Manager Mike Murray.
The high
price of
progress
City of Alto must move gas lines
when Highway 69 is expanded
By Leland Acker
Staff Writer
A high priority project for the Texas De-
partment of Transportation's (TxDOT) Tyler
district will come at a great price for the city
of Alto, said Alto Utilities Supervisor Charlie
Luse. The city of Alto will have to move gas
lines and meters when TxDOT expands U.S.
69 in Wells, Mr. Luse said. The Qity of Alto
provides gas service to the City of Wells.
The U.S. 69 expansion project in Wells
became a high priority for TxDOT when the
narrowing of the highway caused traffic de-
lays during the Hurricane Rita evacuations
of 2005.
Larry Ivrantz, public information officer for
TxDQT, said the existing two-lane highway
will be expanded to a four-lane highway with
Please see GAS LINES, pg. 6A
2 councilmen
criticize mayor
Mayor should be 'good
will ambassador' and not
micromanage city, tape reveals
By Leland Acker
Staff Writer
Former Alto Mayor Carey Palmer should
have spent his time being a good will ambas-
sador instead of trying to oversee city opera-
tions, said two Alto City Council members
during a special meeting held at noon Dec, 6
at city hall. The Cherokeean Herald, which
did not have a reponer at the meeting because
it had not been notified, obtained the audio
cassette of the meeting through an open re-
cords request.
Councilman Earl Clark said Alto was run
under a weak-mayor system, while Council-
man Monty Collins criticized Mr. Palmer for
micromanaging the city operations. Both
expressed disdain for Mr. Palmer's decision
to instruct Charlie Luse, Alto utilities su-
pervisor, to notify the Texas Commission on
Environmental Quality (TCEQ) of a sewage
bypass which occurred on U.S. 69 between
the Alto ISD campuses and the Alto Housing
Authority.
"Carey is a hands-on mayor,'' Councilman
Collins said. "I think maybe he would like
See AUDIO TAPE, pg. 6A
Sewage spill
may result in
fine by ÍCEQ
By Leland Acker
Staff Writer
A recen I sewage bypass on U.S. 69 in Alto,
which resulted in raw sewage running into a
pond owned by a local resident, may or may
not result in fines from the Texas Commission
on Environmental Quality (TCEQ), but it has
given the city a raw smell as far as the pond's
owner is concerned.
Dean Perkins, owner of the pond, said he
had been smelling sewage for several months
but couldn't trace the smell down. He said he
contacted the Alto utilities department and
reported the smell.
"I thought we had raw sewage from a
property owner who wasn't hooked up to the
system. Mr. Perkins said, "(CharlieLuse, Alto
utilities supervisor) said he thought it was a
bigger problem.
Mr. Luse told the Alto City Council during a
recent meeting that his crews began search-
ing for the smell near the high school football
field, where they located a manhole that had
backed up, but wasn't overflowing. He said
Please see SEWAGE SPILL, pg. 6A
CM K
Upcoming Pages
Here’s what’s next.
Search Inside
This issue can be searched. Note: Results may vary based on the legibility of text within the document.
Matching Search Results
View three places within this issue that match your search.Tools / Downloads
Get a copy of this page or view the extracted text.
Citing and Sharing
Basic information for referencing this web page. We also provide extended guidance on usage rights, references, copying or embedding.
Reference the current page of this Newspaper.
Whitehead, Marie. Cherokeean Herald (Rusk, Tex.), Vol. 158, No. 43, Ed. 1 Wednesday, December 19, 2007, newspaper, December 19, 2007; Rusk, Texas. (https://texashistory.unt.edu/ark:/67531/metapth152813/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.