The Nocona News (Nocona, Tex.), Vol. 102, No. 48, Ed. 1 Thursday, May 8, 2008 Page: 3 of 12
twelve pages : ill. ; page x in.View a full description of this newspaper.
Extracted Text
The following text was automatically extracted from the image on this page using optical character recognition software:
Thursday, May 1„ 2008, The Nocona News, Page 3
Prairie alley
schedules
orientation Lor
08 reshmen
On Thursday, May 22, at
6:00 p.m., Prairie Valley will be
holding its freshman orientation
for all incoming 9th graders and
any new students interested in
attending Prairie Valley ISD for
the 2008-2009 school years.
Parents and students are
invited to attend this meeting.
An overview of high school aca-
demics and extracurricular
activities will be presented.
Any questions students may
have will be addressed at this
meeting.
The meeting will be held in
the science room on the south
end of the building.
Prairie Valley ISD offers stu-
dents a quality education at an
exemplary school district.
sesame
(New
That's What I Like
About Texas. •>
www.dqtexas.com
Marrf lh» eHpw ihtpfd He taiiaMfcuf Im. HQ. (hp.
Mi «!«) U.S.Pif.iWQ? TiD.D Opi CwiY O 3006.
iKflV*"/ iiii'i Curtine, ht
Sitting Proud in the Saddle
A young lass proudly posted the national colors Saturday at the start of the 4th Annual Nocona
Bull Fest held at the Nocona Rodeo Arena.
olid ay pay request gets
tabled until court can
get origina time cards back
By Tracy R. Mesler
MONTAGUE - Former Jail
Sgt. Bill Johnson of Nocona will
have until next week to find out
if the county will pay him for
two year's worth of unpaid hol-
idays he says his supervisors
never let him take.
Other than Chief Jailer Harry
Bittlinger and Jail Lt. David
Durham, according to Johnson,
none of the jail staff had been
paid or given compensatory
time for a holiday since
Thanksgiving 2006. He had
been paid for three holidays
since the first of this year, and in
a memo to the court Johnson
said the jailers had been
informed they would be 12
hours pay per two week pay
period to recapture lost vacation
time.
But in Johnson's case, he
was fired April 4 before that
reimbursement could take place.
Since last fall the commis-
sioner's court has been working
on clarifying the county's
Personnel Manual. Some
employees had been hired under
the terms of a previous manual,
while others had been hired
under the more recent version.
Making his case .
Each had different approaches
to a variety of personnel issues,
and former County Auditor
Janice Blakeley applied the
older rules to the older employ-
ees and newer rules to newer
employees creating confusion
amongst the commissioners,
officeholders, department heads
and employees alike.
Earlier this year the Texas
Association of Counties was
asked to help prepare one, com-
prehensive policy manual, and
the court is still awaiting that
report.
Both policies had a "use it or
loose it" provision when it came
to compensatory time for holi-
days when employees had to
work a holiday. If the holiday
time was not taken off within 90
days of the holiday, it was lost
forever.
But what Johnson contends
was happening was a de facto
policy in the jail not covered by
the county's Personnel Manual
- What happens when the super-
visors do not allow the employ-
ee to take time off when they
work on a holiday, nor do they
get paid for the holiday?
Asked why he waited until
after he was fired to raise the
issue Johnson succinctly told
the court, "You would be termi-
nated at that exact moment."
The commissioners, and
other officeholders in the audi-
ence, got a shock when Pet. 3
Comm. Glenn Seay asked if the
employees marked their holiday
time down on your time sheets.
"You could mark them, but
Mr. Bittlinger would change
them to whatever he wanted
them to read." Johnson said.
At that point the commis-
sioners asked County Treasurer
Linda McGaughey if the time
cards reflected changes -
"white-outs" - only to learn that
she did not have the original
time cards. She is "only allowed
to copy them."
County Attorney Jeb
McNew, who was in the audi-
ence on another issue, com-
mented he provides "original
time cards" to the treasurer, who
serves as the county's Human
Resource Officer. In fact every
other officeholder in the county
Please See "Cards" Page 5
Re-elect
PAT KECK
NISD School Board
STUDENTS: Expanded opportunities in the classrooms & extra
curricular activities.
EDUCATORS: • Fair & equitable pay structure.
• Teacher pay increase above state plan.
• More money allocated to classroom instruction.
TAX PAYERS: Maintained a balanced budget.
These accomplishments have been met with combined efforts
of the board members & school personnel.
My personal goal:
Continue POSITIVE PROGRESS for Nocona ISD!
THANK YOU For Your Support!!
Please VOTE
Saturday, May 10th, Nocona City Hall,
Paid Political Advertising by Pat Keck; 6938 FM 1956; Nocona, Texas 76255
t
FOrmer Jail Sergeant Bill Johnson of Nocona states his case in
an effort to be paid for the holidays he never got to take whiile
workling for Montague County.
— Gifts For Mother —
Mother's Day is
Sunday, May 11, 2008.
If you are like the majority of people,
then you haven't even begun to think
of an appropriate gift for your mother.
Relax, we can help, so come by today
while selection is good.
* Citizen Watches * Kristine Wallets
• Crosses ♦ RAJ Collection Photo Frames
• Counter Art 'Treasured Time PhotoFrame
* Silicone Zone * Arthur Court Designs
* Circle E Candles * Jewelry • La-Tee-Da!
• Home Decor * Aromatique
* Sweet Shop Chocolates
Davis Jewelry
& Gifts
209 Clay St.
825-3873
1.800.ACS.2345
RELAY
FOR LIFE
www.RelayForLife.orc
Relay For Life of
Nocona, TX
May 9-10,2008
NOCONA
General Hospital
LEGEND
crEi
OH HO
STEPHEN B. KABISCH, DDS, RA
Family Dentistry & Orthodontics
108 E. Walnut Street
P.O. Bo* 38
Nocona, Texas 76255
940-825-6842
*1
Gibbs Drug Store
Sheer GDtiiwlW
Circle ©Dozer Service
Oilfield - Farm & Ranch - Residential
The Nocona News
P.O. Box 539-115 Cooke St. Nocona, TX 76255
(94(1) 825-3201
= B.O.S.
BREEZE OILFIELD SERVICES
Valley View
Baptist Church
"HoeotUl "PibctOtQ
&
Lamar
'{
Ws Med
Uibie ciass
Tour Harder
Bulldozer Work
ACE Hardware • Bra-De Oil • Chris Petty Enterprise • DBA One Stop • Chris Lemon, CPA
DJ's Beverage Stop • Dolly's • Fenoglio Construction Company • H20 Transfer Services, Inc.
Hill's Car Wash • Kyle Reynolds Insurance * Little Country School * Lone Star Finance
Nocona Building Center, Inc. • Nocona Dairy Queen • Nocona Martial Arts
Nocona Medical Clinic • Nocona Motors • Scott-Morris Hardware
Sewell-Uselton Insurance Agency * Steve's Equipment Repair * Sugie Horton
Tettleton Oil • Texas Turf Supplies • Tim Cole, Attorney • Cherry Street Village
Times Forgotten Steak House *Tres Ninos Mexican Food • State Farm Ins., Larry Mader
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.
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.
Mesler, Tracy R. & Mesler, Linda L. The Nocona News (Nocona, Tex.), Vol. 102, No. 48, Ed. 1 Thursday, May 8, 2008, newspaper, May 8, 2008; Nocona, Texas. (https://texashistory.unt.edu/ark:/67531/metapth439350/m1/3/: accessed July 16, 2024), University of North Texas Libraries, The Portal to Texas History, https://texashistory.unt.edu; crediting Friends of the Nocona Public Library.