Bastrop Advertiser (Bastrop, Tex.), No. 56, Ed. 1 Thursday, September 13, 1979 Page: 1 of 16
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Bastrop,Elgin schools to rule tax board
BY DAVIS MCAlLEY
When Bastrop County
school boards and city
councils elect a five member
board of directors for a
county-wide tax appraisal
office this November, the
school boards of Bastrop and
Elgin will control almost
two-thirds of the total,
according to official figures
prepared by County Clerk
Lucile Fraim last week.
Mrs. Fraim informed the
county's three city mayors
and four school board
presidents just how many
votes they can cast for the
county tax assessment
board.
Based on the dollar
amount of taxes levied on
property in 1978, the
Bastrop Independent School
District, for instance, will
have 1830 out of a total of
5000 votes, or 36.6 per cent.
TAX BOARD POWER
Bastrop County's seven taxing units are listed
below in the order of the voting strength of each in
electing the five members of a county-wide tax
assessment district.
Percent of
Tax Unit Total Votes Votes
Bastrop ISO
1830
36.6
Elgin I SI)
1185
29.7
Smithville ISO
960
19.2
City of Elgin
275
5.5
McOade ISO
190
3.8
City of Bastrop
135
2.7
City of Smithville
125
2.5
TOTAL
5000
100
The Elgin school district will
have 29.7 per cent or 1485
votes.
Each taxing authority
included in the new tax
district, set to begin
operation by January 1,
1980, may cast its total
number of votes for one or
more candidates.
Taken together, the three
municipalities in the county
will be able to control only
10.7 per cent of the votes,
according to the county
clerk's figures.
The City of Elgin, for
instance, will get only 275
votes, the City of Bastrop
135 votes and the City of
Smithville 125 votes.
NEXT STEP
The next step in
establishing the county wide
tax office will be the
nominations for tax board
seats. Each taxing unit may
nominate one person for
each of the five board seats.
These nominations should be
given to the county clerk by
October 30.
Informal discussions about
who to try to place on the
board will oversee tax-
assessment have already
begun. Bastrop School Supt.
C. H. Evans, Jr. has put his
school board on notice to
consider who they want to
name.
The nominations were also
set for discussion this week
by the Bastrop City Council.
Voting for the nominees
should be completed by
November 15, explained
Mrs. Fraim. She must
announce election results by
December 1, she said.
CAN OF* WORMS
The Clerk also predicted
that the new tax office will
turn out to be an expensive
"can of worms" dominated
by school board tax inter
ests. In addition it will be
"totally out of the hands" of
the county's citizens, she
charged.
Mrs. Fraim also vigor
ouslv applauded the decision
of County Tax Assessor
Collector Clyde Reynolds not
to "follow the crowd" and to
refuse to join the new
assessment district.
"I'd much rather have my
property assessed by Clyde
Reynolds who knows the
county like the back of his
hand" than by a commercial
tax-appraisal firm based
outside the countv, she said.
Reynolds has refused to
join, saying he prefers to
wait and see what changes
may be made in the tax laws
between now and the time
the new tax scheme is fully
implemented in 1982.
UNIFORM ASSESSMENT
Operating under a new
state Tax Assessment I'rac
tices Board, the county
assessment offices are
charged with assessing
property in the county for
tax purposes. Each taxing
unity, however, will continue
to set its own tax rate year
by year.
But those tax rates will all
he levied on a single
property valuation as de-
termined by the county tax
assessment board's chief
assessor and staff.
i
TEXAS' OLDEST WEEKLY NEWSPAPER
Since March 1, 1853
Thursday, September 13, 1979
Number 5(i
Bastrop eyes new Hill St. park
Main st. striping
one-way change
Painting new angle park-
ing stripes on three blocks of
Main Street will begin "this
weekend" Bastrop City
Craddock
resigning
Jo I. Craddock stunned
Smithville City Hall Monday
by saying she will resign as
City Secretary, effective
next Jan. 1.
Mrs. Craddock told The
Advertiser Tuesday: "It's
retirement time." She said
she has no dispute with the
city and had enjoyed fully
her 15 years of city service.
She had worked for four
mayors, George Woodress,
Albert Crawford, Lawrence
Skelley and incumbent W. R.
Davison. Before that, she
worked at Smithville Hospi-
tal.
Mayor Davison said Mrs.
Craddock will be hard to
replace since she handled
and supervised much other
work beside the traditional
duties of a city clerk.
Manager C. W. Patek told
the city council Monday
night.
Patek would not predict
how much time the long-a-
waited striping project will
take. Work will begin at the
north end of the business
district by Long's Grocery.,
he said.
Main Street south of
Chestnut can become one-
way as the painting reaches
that point and appropriate
street signs are installed,
Patek indicated.
The council will also have
time to reach a decision on
whether to allow Arthur
Luna of Bastrop Meat
Company to install a
driveway across the crub
and sidewalk next to
business on south Main, said
Patek.
Luna's request to be
allowed to install the
driveway on Main was
opposed by Councilman John
Sanders who argued that all
such drives present traffic
hazards. The steeet would
also lose two or three
parking spaces to the
proposed drive, he said.
But
deny
lack of
set;
next
Sanders' motion to
permission died for
a second.
City Officials got the
go-ahead from councilmen
Monday night to try to
negotiate a long term lease
for approximately 11 acres
on Hill Street just North of
the railroad tracks for
development as additional
baseball parks.
The council agreed to pay
for a survey of the property
as a first step.
Councilman John Sanders,
who has long sought
additional park space, re-
ported that several private
individuals have offered to
contribute dirt-work and
other labor to help develop
the site.
Sanders, announcing the
new park possibility, quipp-
ed, "I lost round one. I'm
ready to try round two."
Earlier this year the
council turned down an offer
of park land from Tahitian
Village Corporation on the
grounds that the access to
the site south of Gill's
Branch was inadequate.
SITE PROBLEMS
City Attorney Robert E.
Jenkins, Jr. discussed prob-
lems of developing the Hill
Street site which belongs to
members of his family.
Presently there is a shallow
tank on the site, and heavy
water run off from the hill to
the east crosses the proper
ty, he said.
The problems do not seem
insoluble, he indicated.
Jenkins said he has been
told "verbally" that the site
could be leased for a small
amount, assuming the city
would forego collecting taxes
on rt.
Jenkins also pointed out
that negotiations for playing
fields at the former Entile
School had not been broken
off by tin- Bastrop Indepen-
dent School District. Talks
on joint city BISD park
development were suspend-
ed when the Tahitian Village
park offer surfaced, he said.
Reynolds gives
back tax roll
Shelter sought
for runaways
Bastrop County Commis-
sioners Court Monday mov-
ed to support a grant
application for a three-bed
"emergency shelter" for
juvenile runaways and tru-
ants. The temporary shelter
would serve Bastrop, Lee
and Fayette Counties, said
probation officer Charles
Lucas.
Lucas said the grant is
being sought by the Capital
Area Planning Commission
(CAPCO) for the nine rural
counties in the CAPCO area.
The proposed shelter
would be available only for
"non-violent" juveniles. The
"beds" called for in the plan
could be in one or more
private homes in Bastrop
County, said Lucas.
Presently juvenile runa-
ways must be kept in jail,
said Lucas, even if they are
accused of no crime- other
than being under age and
away from home. Under the
plan, juveniles could be
housed for up to 10 days on
an "emergency" basis, he
said.
Lucas also announced that
the probation department
for the 21st Judicial District
is seeking a grant which
would pay for a bailiff for
District Court sessions in
Bastrop.
The Sheriffs Department
now supplies a deputy to act
as bailiff in Bastrop. The
grant application is part of
an attempt to make the
District Court "as self-suf-
ficient as possible," said
Lucas.
County commissioners
Monday accepted from Tax
Assessor Collector Clyde
Reynolds a delinquent tax
roll showing $46,605 in
uncollected taxes.
Also accepted were rolls
listing errors in assessment
and delinquent and insolvent
tax payers.
No "full" (i.e. complete)
tax roll for 1979 in available
yet, reported County Judge
Jack A. Griesenbeck.
msm
is
Griesenbeck also said that
the delinquent tax roll sent
in by Reynolds was the first
such roll "since I've been
here" (as county judge).
Precinct 3 Commissioner
Jerry Alexander, however,
recalled a list of a delinquent
taxes presented "last year"
showing about $36,000 in
unpaid levies.
The judge replied that the
new roll was "more com-
plete" than previous ones.
A pile of rubble is all that's left after Bastrop volunteer firemen fought a blaze in an
abandoned house at the southeast corner of Haysel and Government Streets for almost
three hours beginning about 3:35 a.m. Monday. The frame house was heavily involved in
flames when firemen arrived. Bastrop Fire Chief Carl Spooner said the building was a
"total loss." Two small wood sheds were saved. Staff Photo by Jack Fraser.
Smith scores police chief
Post-game dance
in Opera House
BY KATHLEEN CLAPS
Smithville Alderman Ro-
bert Smith used his law
enforcement committee re-
port to lash out at police
Dolicv during the city council
meeting Monday night.
"We're supposed to have a
working chief, but what we
have is an administrative
chief who spends too much
time in investigation. A dog
complaint takes three days
to investigate," Smith char
ged.
He also complained of too
few speeding tickets issued
during the day on State
Highway 71.
Councilman Charles Mc-
Keown pointed out that from
his experience even a
seemingly simple investiga
tion was a time consuming
process.
Mayor Bill Davison de-
fended Police Chief Tommy
! 7
The first dance to be held
Bastrop's historic 1889 Ope
ra House in many years is
set for Friday night,
following the Bastrop High
School Varsity football game
with LaGrange.
The dance is to last frorri
10:30 P.M. to 1 A.M.
Admission is 50 cents for
high school students and
recent graduates.
V.V.V.V.\V.V.V.\;«Xv
The Bastrop High School
Stage Band will play and
music will also be provided
by tapes.
Refreshments will be sold.
The Opera House Asso-
ciation is putting on the
dance to show how the old
facility can be restored to
community uses, said Mrs.
Georgia Compton.
No alcholic beverages will
be allowed.
Personality Parade
Cattle to oil—he's seen it all
One of a series of articles
on interesting persons living
in Bastrop County.
By Jack Fraser
W. Archer Maley, a thin
man with a gentle smile and
tough mind, raises register-
ed Hereford cattle on his
Cedar Creek ranch now but
from 1948 to 1962 he was in
charge of all U.S. oil
exploration for massive
Humble Oil Co. (now Exxon).
His life of nearly 80 years
has spanned the family
farms of Bee County,
through the optimistic age of
almost constant oil finds, to a
new dawn of scarcity and
doubt in the American
Dream
"It's a very <tark picture,"
Maley Wftttfdni when asked
what l« happening to (he
UM
no ba« k » long
0|,l| I lis VI.' su it Otis
4eveloping M * I""* "»'»
ill M>* *a4<y
"The American people
were spoiled," believing that
an endless supply of cheap
energy was on hand combin-
ed with a big federal
government that would take
care of them, he said.
"It's a tragedy that the
programs to combat the
1930s Depression never did
stop. They have gone on so
long that a great section of
the country has come to
accept them as a way of life.
Many people seem to think
they can exist without
working or making any
contribution to society."
Maiey says, the morality
of our office holders is
generally so low" that they
offer no leadership to
reverse the patterns and
push people to gainful work
Hui surprisingly, he sees
possible light alii ad
vot M. »>ol» MMI
O UT yoUNg pe (pit * 111
hi us nu' tall n •oiiieiiiiitg
H'sift | Is-s-'l M In »s>#
' tl.ef»» iiumldmij ho»
They have very little to say.
But when the next depres-
sion comes - another bad one
they'll figure out what to
do," Maley says.
Maley, who has homes
with his wife in Bastrop
County and next to the
Austin Country Club, was
born in Bee County on a
320-acre cot ton-corn-and-
cattle farm. His ancestors
had come to Texas in the
1830s, arriving in Bee
County in 1880.
Maley raised a cross
between the Texas Long
horn and other cattle breeds,
running the whole farm
before enrolling in the
Baptist Academy at San
Marcos in It#Im Hi- entered
the University of Texas in
IW'JJ, ' doing any old job to
stay in school I didn I own a
suit of clothe» till I finished
I I Inning summers hi
roughm# kid in mi) lii id*
Alii i insjxi uiy lit |p ology,
a b#MIM I I oi»Mui lot IvhsI
hull to I III mM i.jrUMH
Springs oil field to inspect
cuttings so the drilling crews
would know when to go on or
stop.
"We traced a fault right
through this area, including
Cedar Creek and Bastrop,"
he says.
"But the fields discovered
as a whole were very minor
and shallow but worth
while."
CORPUS JOB
In June, 1928, he was
moved to Corpus t'hristi and
put in charge of Southwest
Texas exploration. "At that
time there were some gas
fiekfs on the Gulf Coast but
no oil production between
Jackson County and the |tm
Grande " The oil finds were
immense and he was put in
charge of all domestic
exploration for Humble,
basfd out of How •ion
Hi had about 400 person*
wlifting under him at 'hi
slat* snd ) aoi> a hen lie left
Mis po*i iii I MO * uniiei a
giaiii no i gi-i In tu > nun 0i,
advisor to the company.
"I don't believe there ever
was a company like Humble
Oil," he says today. "You
could talk to any member of
the board or the president or
chairman and they would
take time to talk with you."
As for the drilling crews,
"they were a wild bunch at
onetime, in the early days,"
but settled down, he recalls.
Roughly, only one out of
eight wells produced, he
recalls.
"It was a thrill when one
came in but I always had
reservations, because it
could flow pure only for
awhile In a day or so, it
could Is- mixed with salt
waler"
The chief quality he
sought in pic king talent was
"(listing the way of thinking
of Hie men I tut they have
liiaw sense' Were they sblt
lo reaso«V A laige lompsny
0§01 Kin i «ii teitliogi ibis
1 Iti add* JI you don i
base iii* o*iisiw»ne' >sw
won't be successful."
Today Maley has hardly
any contact with Exxon.
"It was a life I had to get
away from. It was best for
me to retire 100 per cent," he
explains. "I never liked to
look baci and I didn't want
to meddle or make any
difficulty."
Maley says, "I'm an
optimist" about finding more
oil in the U.S. "There could
be great new fields. But
they will be very deep" and
ex|*'nsive to tap.
"We used to drill wells for
$12,000 to S14.000 Now it
costs millions just for the
offshore platforms."
And whatever is found,
the nation will have to
conserve, and eventually,
use other energy sources, Ike
•aid "Oil is a lossil fuel
They're ma making any
more lossil*
It It AMI Ml I ft ItOMI
in |W tie puiihastai
»uMM*** rf m I
I* 4 Water
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McAuley, Davis. Bastrop Advertiser (Bastrop, Tex.), No. 56, Ed. 1 Thursday, September 13, 1979, newspaper, September 13, 1979; Bastrop, Texas. (https://texashistory.unt.edu/ark:/67531/metapth602035/m1/1/: accessed July 16, 2024), University of North Texas Libraries, The Portal to Texas History, https://texashistory.unt.edu; crediting Bastrop Public Library.