The Bastrop Advertiser (Bastrop, Tex.), Vol. 160, No. 58, Ed. 1 Thursday, August 22, 2013 Page: 4 of 14
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<PAGELABELTAG>
A4 The Bastrop Advertiser THURSDAY, AUGUST 22, 2013
LOCAL
CONSUMER INFORMATION
Gas prices in Bastrop beat Texas average
Pamela Jones, filling up at Smithville’s 7-Eleven, said she
has limited her traveling because of the cost of gas. terry
HAGERTY/ACN COMMUNITY NEWSPAPERS
$3.15 per gallon
marks the lower end.
By Terry Hagerty
thagerty@acnnewspapers.
com
Bastrop-area gasoline
prices have mostly stayed
below the Texas and na-
tional averages in the
past week or so. GasBud-
dy.com reports the na-
tional average at $3.56
per gallon and $3.40 for
the Texas average.
Bastrop had several lo-
cal stations at the begin-
ning of this week that
were well below state
and national averages.
The All-Star (Gulf) conve-
nience store, on the cor-
ner of Chestnut and Pe-
can streets, led the pack
with unleaded regular
going for $3.15 a gallon.
H-E-B and Buc-ee’s were
each selling regular at
$3.27 per gallon; the Shell
station at Texas 71 and
Childers was $3.29 per
gallon. The Bastrop Cor-
ner Exxon station at Tex-
as 95 and Chestnut Street
had gas for $3.39 per gal-
lon, while the Shell sta-
tion across the highway
had it for $3.35 per gal-
lon.
In Smithville, prices
were a bit higher: gas at
the 7-Eleven was $3.42
per gallon, while the Con-
oco station next to Brook-
shire Brothers was at
$3.44 per gallon. Out on
Texas 71, near the Loop
230 exit into Smithville,
gas was going for $3.59
per gallon at the Chevron
station.
Several customers said
they pretty much had “to
go with the flow” when
it came to paying for fu-
el. Musician John Inmon,
stopping at Bastrop’s All-
Star store, said, “I just
got back from a road trip
up to Lubbock. Bastrop
gas seems to be about 20
cents cheaper per gallon
than up in that area.”
Pamela Jones, stopped
at the 7-Eleven in Smith-
ville, said, “Gas prices
are definitely limiting my
traveling. But I always try
to look around on where
to find the cheapest gas.”
This summer has been
a seesaw of price hikes
and decreases, according
to experts who monitor
the national and regional
economies.
In early to mid-July gas
prices shot up 13 cents at
some Central Texas gas
stations. It was a com-
bination of summer de-
mand and tensions in the
Mideast, economists said.
The average price for
regular-grade gas was at
$3.50 per gallon at that
point. A year ago, that
average price had been
$3.25 per gallon. So far,
hurricanes have not hit
the Gulf Coast area of the
U.S., which had led to
significant jumps in the
past.
Last week, AAA report-
ed that a $3.55-per-gal-
lon national average (up
a penny this week) was
the fourth-highest price
for this calendar date be-
hind 2008 ($3.80), 2012
($3.69) and 2011 ($3.61).
The national average
had declined for 22 of 24
days. During this 24-day
stretch, the national av-
erage has fallen 12 cents,
somewhat offsetting the
nearly 20-cent jump in
the national average from
July 7-19.
Contact Terry Hagerty at 512-
321-2557.
Customers
surprised
by news
Bankruptcy
continued from A1
hearing being conduct-
ed by Randy Osherow, a
hearing trustee for the
U.S Bankruptcy Court’s
Western District. Next
to Davis sat his attorney,
Patricia Baron Tomasco.
One of the results of
Davis’ business failure
was that dozens, per-
haps hundreds of peo-
ple - including home-
owners and subcontrac-
tors - are without jobs
completed and money
not paid.
‘Do you know what
went wrong?’
Bob Schmidt, with
the Schmidt 2001 Fami-
ly Partnership Ltd., told
the gathered group, “I
am trying to establish
that (Davis) owes me
money.”
Schmidt showed Davis
a promissory note.
Davis, who acknowl-
edged he did not re-
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pay the loan, replied,
“I would not have giv-
en you back a promis-
sory note if I thought I
couldn’t pay it back.”
Alison Korell, who
said she represented a
hardware store in Co-
lumbus, said Davis ow-
es the store $76,000 for
materials.
“Do you know what
went wrong?” Korell
asked Davis.
Davis replied, “We
opened up a retail store
that was not going to
make it in Bastrop,” re-
ferring to, the Outdoor
Marketplace, which was
operated in tandem with
TD Landscape Design.
“We were growing fast-
er than we could keep up
with. I had debt.”
Korell then asked Da-
vis, “Do you suspect
fraud” of anyone who
was working for him at
his companies?
Davis replied he didn’t
suspect fraud in the
months leading up to his
bankruptcy filing. Then
he added, “I can tell you
that people have stolen
from us after the clos-
ing.”
When asked for some
elaboration, Davis said
that “trailers are miss-
ing,” but he also ac-
knowledged they might
have been repossessed
by Bastrop-area banks
to whom he owed mon-
ey.
The frustration was
visible of those who di-
rectly questioned Davis.
They shook their heads
at what they considered
incomplete - or no an-
swers at all - on where
their money went.
Also, some partici-
pants in the bankruptcy
hearing had said some
subcontractors had
been showing up at their
doors seeking payment,
since they allegedly had
not been paid by Davis.
Davis said he had used
some of the money col-
lected from clients to pay
for “salaries” and other
monies he owed.
Attorney Sam Chang,
with Brown McCar-
roll Attorneys at Law,
who was representing
one couple, asked Davis
about his businesses’ ac-
counting procedures.
Davis said funds be-
tween the Outdoor Mar-
ketplace and TDL were
The Outdoor Marketplace in Bastrop after its owner, Louis
“Tuffy” Davis, recently filed for bankruptcy, terry hagerty/
AUSTIN COMMUNITY NEWSPAPERS
“co-mingled” and he
couldn’t say for sure how
funds were transferred
between accounts for
both businesses.
Chang asked if Da-
vis channeled any funds
from either business into
his home or trust fund.
“Not past my pay-
check,” Davis replied.
Several people
claimed Davis was al-
ready looking into po-
tential bankruptcy ac-
tions as he continued to
take money for projects
that were never com-
pleted.
“Those discussions
started in April,” To-
masco said, referring to
when Davis initially had
contact with her.
Money is gone
Bastrop homeown-
er Dan O’Connor says he
doesn’t expect he will ev-
er see the $20,000 de-
posit he paid to Davis for
a pool.
“The guy had a good
reputation,” O’Con-
nor said. “We talked to
neighbors who had pools
installed.”
O’Connor said he
signed a contract with
the company and paid
a hefty deposit, but his
house was under con-
struction at the time and
the pool could not be in-
stalled until after the
stonework on the house
was completed.
“He went bankrupt,
the money is gone,”
O’Connor said, adding
he found out about the
bankruptcy from the
guys building his home.
“A lot of people lost
money,” he said.
Subcontractors
Van Stacey, owner of
Band and Orchestral Instruments
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‘We opened
up a retail
store that
was not going
to make it in
Bastrop.’
Louis “Tuffy” Davis
Outdoor Marketplace owner
Hydro Turf Sprinkler
System in La Grange,
said he worked for Davis
for five to six years pro-
viding irrigation work.
“It was taking him lon-
ger and longer to pay
me, but I never thought
it would come to this,”
Stacey said. “He messed
with a lot of people.”
Stacey said Davis owes
him roughly $20,000 for
several jobs.
“I doubt I will see a
dime of it,” he said. “I’d
like to have it.”
Stacey said when he
drives by a home and
sees what amounts to
a free sprinkler system
he installed, he puts his
head down.
“He had us start a new
job on Thursday - the
same day he told every-
one he was shutting it
down,” Stacey said. “He
never called me, texted
or emailed until after.”
The job that Stacey
and his crew were start-
ing was for a man who
had reportedly already
paid Davis $12,000.
“We finished the job
for him and he paid us,”
Stacey said.
Davis’ reported charis-
ma and friendliness were
apparent in Stacey’s
closing remarks.
“I feel sorry for him,
but you don’t do people
that way,” Stacey said.
TD Landscape
Before Davis built the
Outdoor Marketplace,
he had a successful busi-
ness in TD Landscape.
Based in Columbus, the
business was founded
in 2001, and according
BETTER
BUSINESS
BUREAU
According to the
BBS’s website,
seven complaints
lodged against TD
Landscape were
resolved, most of
them before the
business closed.
However, at least
five complaints
filed in July saw no
resolution, since the
BBBwas“unab!e
to locate the
business to process
complaint.”
One example:
Complaint:
Non-completion
of outdoor
kitchen. Failure
to replace dead
plants in installed
landscaping in
accordance with
six-month warranty
provided. Failure
to resolve issue
with cracks from
non-adhesion of
pool plaster to
gunite shell in pool,
resulting in stained
plaster, leak through
gunite shell, and
loss of use of pool
and swim generator.
Loss of use of swim
generator is now
ongoing since
October of 201 2.
Failure to provide
and install polaris
pool cleaner paid for.
BBB’s Final
Determination:
Business is out of
business.
to the website, the fam-
ily had been in the land-
scape business since the
early 1960s.
According to the web-
site, TD Landscape grew
from a one-crew, one-
truck operation in 2001
to seven crews and a
fleet of 15 trucks.
The website goes on to
say: TD Landscape has
received special recog-
nition by TNLA for work
performed to industry
standards and is licensed
as a Texas Residential
Construction Compa-
ny and ASAP member
for swimming pool con-
struction and certified
builder. We are a mem-
ber of the Better Busi-
ness Bureau.
Contact Cyndi Wright at
512-321-2557. Contact Terry
Hagerty at 512-321-2557.
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Wright, Cyndi. The Bastrop Advertiser (Bastrop, Tex.), Vol. 160, No. 58, Ed. 1 Thursday, August 22, 2013, newspaper, August 22, 2013; Bastrop, Texas. (https://texashistory.unt.edu/ark:/67531/metapth649170/m1/4/: accessed April 24, 2024), University of North Texas Libraries, The Portal to Texas History, https://texashistory.unt.edu; crediting Bastrop Public Library.