Polk County Enterprise (Livingston, Tex.), Vol. 129, No. 50, Ed. 1 Sunday, June 26, 2011 Page: 2 of 20
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PAGE 2A • POLK COUNTY ENTERPRISE • SUNDAY, JUNE 26,2011
J|,
I
4
Bennett recognized as
master trustee by TASB
FORT WORTH -Goodrich
ISD trustee-Brenda Bennett
has earned the designation of
“master trustee” upon com-
pletion of Leadership TASB,
a program sponsored by the
Texas Association of School
Boards (TASB).
During the fifth session,
June 16-18, school board
members in the 2010-11
Leadership TASB class made
presentations of their team’s
findings following year-long
research. Class participants
selected topics related to
nontraditional approaches to
challenges in today’s educa-
tional enterprises.
Their research focused on
topics that included charter
schools, home schools, tra-
ditional paradigms, alterna-
tives to the traditional educa-
tion setting, and understand-
ing the cultural mindset of
today’s educational environ-
ment.
The Leadership TASB
class met in conjunction with
TASB's Summer Leadership
Institute in Fort Worth. More
than 800 new and veteran
school leaders received in-
depth training on every facet
of effective board governance,
heard keynote addresses from
renowned education
experts, and picked up valu-
able ideas from district show-
cases and networking opportu-
nities.
After the graduation ceremo-
ny June 17, participants joined
the ranks of more than 600
school board members state-
wide who are Leadership TASB
alumni.
The 2011 Leadership TASB
class, composed of 30 school
board members, represents
Texas school districts of all
size?and property wealth. Par-
ticipants who completed all
required elements of the study
program earned Master Trustee
status, the highest designation
recognized by TASB.
TASB is a voluntary, non-
profit association established
in 1949 to serve local Texas
school districts. School board
members are the largest group
of publicly elected officials in
the state. The districts they rep-
resent serve more than 4.8 mil-
lion public school students.
Goodrich School Board member Brenda Bennett (right)
earned a “njjaster trustee” certificate after completing
the Leadership TASB program during the Texas Asso-
ciation of School Board’s leadership training class held
June 16-18 in Fort Worth. TASB Director of Leader-
ship Team Services William Nemir (left) presented the
certificate.
TRIAL
73% of Leggett students pass math exam
TAKS incentive plan eyed for district's teaching staff
LEGGETT - While all
scores have not yet been
reported for their latest Texas
Assessment of Knowledge and
Skills (TAKS) test, Leggett
students scored an overall 73
percent passing rate on the
math portion of the test.
During the June 16 meeting
of the Leggett Independent
School District’s board.
Principal Rick Perry presented
the TAKS update.
Perry reported that while
progress can be seen, a lot of
work is still left to be done.
A TAKS incentive plan for
teachers was also included in
Perry's report, to be discussed
and approved by board
members in the next regularly
scheduled meeting. The
incentive plan would provide
teachers with an additional
$ 1.800 to $2,600 if approved.
Leggett’s monthly financial
report was also included in the
meeting. Over $1.5 million
in taxes has been collected on
the year, signifying a 94.83%
collection rate. $92,153.28
in delinquent uncollected
taxes still remains. Budget
amendments to cover necessary
school maintenance fees over
the summer were approved by
the board.
A representative with Texas
Education Agency (TEA), who
has worked closely with Leggett
regardingTAKS accountability
in the elementary school,
presented to the Board the
Texas Title I Priority Schools
(TTIPS) Grant for discussion
and action on accepting or
rejecting the proposal. Linda
Murphy stated that due to the
elementary’s Academically
Unacceptable rating the
past two school years, TEA
requires that, among other
requirements the school must
meet, four mentors will be sent
to Leggett Elementary to work
with teachers over classroom
tactics and other areas, at a
cost of roughly $25,000 per
mentor.
The TTIPS Grant would help
cover this cost, which would
otherwise have to be funded
by the school. If approved,
Leggett could apply for as
much as $3 million to be used
over a three-year period.
Murphy said that the number
she would request would be
closerjo $2.1 million. This
grant could only be used on
the elementary campus, as
the high school campus has
performed well on TAKS
scores. The board moved to
an executive session to discuss
their action on the grant, which
was accepted by members.
Dress codes for the 2011-2012
school year were discussed,
including amendments to the
current code to include the
requirement for students to be
clean shaven, no hair on boys
below the collar, and no pants
with holes.
The employee dress code
was also discussed by board
members who suggested that
jeans and Leggett ISD t-shirts
only be worn on Fridays.
The current Student Code of
Conduct was approved by board
members to be implemented in
the upcoming school year. A
motion was brought to board
members concerning the
school’s cell phone policy.
Members agreed that students’
cell phones should not be
allowed in classrooms and that
teachers phones must be off
during class. The motion was
approved.
Finally, a discussion was
held concerning the initial
funding pf fundraiser events.
The Board approved the
motion that goods may not be
ordered until money for said
goods is in hand.
The next meeting will be
held Tuesday, July 19.
From Page 1A
for Poledore, Manning and
Fisher which showed that in
the hours leading up to the
murder/robbery, all three
were in Houston. The records
showed that as the evening
progressed, all three were
making calls that were pinging
off communication towers
increasingly closer and closer
to Livingston.
While a Shepherd cellphone
tower was the closest
investigators could link
Fisher’s phone to the scene
of the murder, Hon noted in
his closing arguments that
Poledore and Manning were
making calls at about the same
time that also were pinging off
the Shepherd tower.
Defense attorney Michael
Davis of Coldspring argued
that just because Fisher’s
telephone was near Shepherd,
it did not prove that Fisher was
the one making the call.
Hon countered by noting
that the call in question lasted
for only 37 seconds and was
placed to Fisher’s girlfriend in
Houston. Telling the jury that
Poledore and Manning made
many more calls of greater
duration than Fisher did, Hon
argued that he was limited in
his phone use because he was
driving.
While he noted Fisher is not
required to introduce evidence
during his trial, Hon pointed
out to the jury that there was
no alibi testimony presented
indicating the defendant was
anywhere else other than
Livingston at the time of the
murder/robbery.
“There are about 2.1 million
people in Houston. Don’t you
know that if one person could
give Quinton Fisher an alibi for
that day, that they would have
been called to testify,” Hon
said in his closing arguments.
“Even his girlfriend could
not give him an alibi. We
know they weren’t together
because they were burning up
their cellphones talking to one
another,” he said.
In his agreements to the jury,
Davis contended that Fisher
was being used as the “fall
guy” by the real mastermind
who he identified as Manning.
He noted that by testifying
against Fisher, the two men
will not face a sentence of
life in prison without the
possibility of parole and in just
a few years, will be walking
free.
“But if they don’t give you
Quinton Fisher, then their dead
could go away,” he said.
He argued that the state
was using “a carrot and a
stick” approach to obtain their
testimony,
“As long as they chose the
carrot, they won’t get hit with
the stick. Thats a powerful
reason to lie,” Davis said.
“He admits to lying when
he is scared. He admit to lying
when it suits his purpose.
Clearly, he is scared and it
suits his purpose now,” Davis
said.
Testimony earlier in the
week indicated that on the
night of Aug. 21, 2009, two
men forced their way into
a travel trailer occupied by
the murder victim’s brother,
Robert Kimberlin, and his wife
and six-year-old daughter.
The gunmen said they knew
they were “the Billy’s Donut
people” and demanded thg
money the family used to open
their business
Robert Kimberlin said when
the men learned the money
was kept in the family home
nearby, the robbers forced
them at gunpoint to take them
into the house.
Billy Kimberlin Jr. was
sleeping, sitting up in the
couch. When the men entered
and turned on the lights, the
victim awoke and said either
“he’s got gun or “they’ve got
a gun” before one of the men
shot him three times.
The bandits then kicked
in the locked bedroom door
where Billy Kimberlin Sr. and
his wife were sleeping. In the
master bathroom, they took a
small ice chest containing the
money the family used to open
their donut shop.
Testimony indicated that as
the men grabbed the ice chest,
they could hear police sirens
approaching.
Apparently, the suspects
who did not go into the home
then drove off and left the
other two men behind. Johnson
was subsequently arrested
in the parking lot of a fast
food restaurant in Livingston
that night and Clifton was
apprehended the following
week in Houston.
Although not entered into
evidence during the trial,
records indicated that Fisher
had previously been convicted
in connection with an armed
bank robbery in Louisiana
in which five men took part;.
He was sentenced in 1991 to
15 years in prison and was
released in 2007.
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Reddell, Valerie. Polk County Enterprise (Livingston, Tex.), Vol. 129, No. 50, Ed. 1 Sunday, June 26, 2011, newspaper, June 26, 2011; Livingston, Texas. (https://texashistory.unt.edu/ark:/67531/metapth658556/m1/2/?q=green+energy: accessed July 17, 2024), University of North Texas Libraries, The Portal to Texas History, https://texashistory.unt.edu; crediting Livingston Municipal Library.