Polk County Enterprise (Livingston, Tex.), Vol. 128, No. 50, Ed. 1 Thursday, June 24, 2010 Page: 1 of 16
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Don’t miss beach party,
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Polk Court
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[volume 128 Number 50
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CEDAR RAPIDS IA 52404-6309
www.easttexasnews.com
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Thursday
June 24,2010
The Dominant News and Advertising Source in Polk County
Sports
Dave Campbell’s
51st Texas Football
magazine is arriv-
ing in Livingston
and Deep East Texas.
Coaches (so they say)
don’t put much stock
in the magazine, but
they buy a copy just
to see where their
team is predicted to
finish this fall.
See Sports, Pg. 7 A
Swimmer drowns at
campground Sunday
UPS 437-340
Price: 50 cents |
LIVINGSTON - A 42-
year-old Livingston man
drowned Sunday night
while swimming at Lake
Tombigbee at the Alabama-
Coushatta Indian Reservation
campground , late Sunday
night.
Calvin Wenell Johnson
was swimming in Lake
Tombigbee at 8:30 p.m. and
family members saw him
swim to the ventilated slide
in the lake and slide down.
His sister then told him she
was leaving and he informed
her he would swim to the
west side of the lake and meet
her there.
She showered at the
campground facilities and
returned to the lake area, but
was unable to locate him.
Family members searched
all around the lake before
contacting Tribal Security.
Tribal Security conducted a
quick search of the area and
summoned the sheriff’s office
at 12:11 a.m.
The AC1R Volunteer Fire
Department responded
and after consulting with
marine search teams with
Texas Parks and Wildlife
Department Game Wardens
and Livingston Volunteer
Fire Department, emergency
crews decided to wait until
daylight to conduct a search
of the lake.
Johnson’s body was found
next to the ventilated slide at
about 7:30 a.m.
Tribal security, volunteer
fire department personnel and
Sheriff’s Office personnel
used a small boat to retrieve
the victim from the lake. The
See DROWNING, Page 3A
Suspect jailed for firing
gunshots Saturday
LIVINGSTON -
Livingston Police arrested
John Wesley McDuffy,
18, of Livingston Tuesday
afternoon on a charge of
deadly conduct following a
disturbance on Bluebird St.
at about 5 a.m. Saturday.
According to Sgt. Ronnie
Bogany, LPD was called
after residents in the area
reported hearing gunshots.
Officer Darrell Newman
responded to the area'and
found a projectile from one
of the shots entered a house
near the corner of Bluebird
and West streets.
An arrest warrant for
deadly conduct/discharging
a firearm was issued
Tuesday and Bogany
located McDuffy and took
him to the Polk County
jail.
No one was injured in
the incident.
Det. Leon Middleton
also reported LPD arrested
a suspect last week who
attempted to run over a
security guard at a housing
project on Circle Drive and
then fled from the vehicle
on May 5.
See POLICE, Page 3A
USD launches effort to ditch TAKS testing
Living
Childreifi Haven
gets help from their
friends in opening
office.
See Living, Pg. 1B
Quote for
the day
"Ahh, summer,
what power you
have to make us
suffer and like it."
— Russell Baker
(1925-present)
U.S. journalist
Local Weather
89/72
Thu
6/24
A few thunderstorms possible
Fri
6/25
94/72
JU
Times of sun and clouds. Highs in
the mid 90s and lows in the low
70s.
BY VALERIE REDDELL
Editor
polknews@gmail.com
LIVINGSTON - Trustees
from Livingston Independent
School District is sending
Henry Ager to this summer’s
Delegate Assembly of the
Texas Association of School
Boards with a mission: Work
to eliminate the TAKS test.
That battle began during
Monday night when Ager
suggested the board propose
an advocacy resolution to
eliminate the controversial
standardized test.
Advocacy resolutions are
decided by a vote of delegates
from all public schoohdistricts
in Texas. The resolutions that
gain approval are then made
a part of TASB’s legislative
agenda.
Ager, who has served on
the LISD board for 32 years,
told fellow trustees recent
news reports saying that some
results are adjusted based on a
“projection measure.”
One report in the Houston
Chronicle also said that while
some districts are applauding
gains on TAKS scores, in
reality the bar had been
lowered.
“This cookie cutter stuff is
not doing anything,” Ager said.
“Why do we put our students,
teachers and administrators
under all this stress when it’s
really not working like it’s
supposed to.”
Ager said districts were
better off with local control
over determining campus
performance.
Ager added that before
the standardized test
was implemented, good
administrators were able to
“send teachers on down the
Above, County Judge John
Thompson administers
the oath of office to Frank
Henderson and Casey Ev-
ans who began new terms
as Livingston I.S.D. Trust-
ees Monday night. At right,
the board thanked Brian
Bounds for his six years
of service on the board.
Bounds praised LISD’s ad-
ministrative team and prin-
cipals saying, most citizens
don’t realize how much it
takes to run a school dis-
trict.
road” if they weren’t doing
their job.
“I won’t get on my soap box
about TAKS, but you’ve got it
in a nutshell,” Superintendent
Dr. Darrell Myers said. “I
think good administrators
—regardless of what standard
you use — take care Of kids.”
The board nominated
Mike Nettles as the alternate
delegate with the instruction
ENTERPRISE PHOTO BY VALERIE REDDELL
“take your gun,” since Nettles
works as a deputy sheriff.
“If we were a rich district,
I would suggest we eliminate
federal funds, but we can’t,”
Ager added.
Of the approximately $32
million general operating fund
budget, between $7 million to
$8 million comes from federal
funds, LISD officials said.
LISD Director of Finance
Ben Davidson said the district
receives revenue from about
10 different federal funds.
LISD will hold several
meetings during July to
prepare the 2010-2011 budget,
Myers announced Monday.
Based on news delivered at
a state conference last week,
Myers said this year’s budget
process will be even more
complicated that usual.
Myers said LISD could be
looking at a very large deficit.
Among the cost-cutting
measures being proposed
are revisions'to the district’s
technology plan.
“I want to bring that back
to the board in July. While
there are some projects we
could fund now, I want to step
back and look at whether we
could sustain over the next
few years. That’s a concern of
mine,” Myers said.
The district will also look at
TDCJ inmates
to help build
shelter facility
LIVINGSTON - County
Maintenance Supervisor Jay
Burks told commissioners
Tuesday that officials at
the Texas Department of
Criminal Justice’s Polunsky
Unit have agreed to assist
with inmate work crews to
help build a county animal
shelter in Leggett.
Burks presented
commissioners with revised
plans for the facility that
Sheriff Kenneth Hammack
said he agrees with
"partially.”
Burks estimated the shelter
construction costs at $75,000,
but said that projection could
be greatly reduced by inmate
crews.
TDCJ officials have agreed
to being requesting inmates
with skills in construction
trades to transferred and
made part of the work crew.
Burks told the court the
work crews will be scheduled
to work five days a week, but
there are no guarantees they
will be able to work every
■■day........................... .................................
“You may have a brick
mason today that. makes* „
parole or is subject
to disciplinary action
tomorrow,” Burks said.
A lock-down at TDCJ
could cancel a work day for
the entire crew, he added.
Burks said his office will
begin preparing bidding
documents for a contractor
for concrete work and other
tasks inmates can’t perform.
He estimates a time line of
two to three months to finish
out the facility with four-foot
by five-foot kennels that are
six feet tall with fencing on
the top.
Hammack added that his
department needs office
space for animal control
officers to meet with animal
owners, an exam room, and a
wash room so fleas and other
pests can be removed from
the animals before they are
moved to kennels.
The sheriff added that
although it’s an unpleasant
reality, an area will have
to be set aside to euthanize
animals that cannot be
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Reddell, Valerie. Polk County Enterprise (Livingston, Tex.), Vol. 128, No. 50, Ed. 1 Thursday, June 24, 2010, newspaper, June 24, 2010; Livingston, Texas. (https://texashistory.unt.edu/ark:/67531/metapth656555/m1/1/?q=music: accessed July 18, 2024), University of North Texas Libraries, The Portal to Texas History, https://texashistory.unt.edu; crediting Livingston Municipal Library.