The Big Lake Wildcat (Big Lake, Tex.), Vol. SIXTY-SECOND YEAR, No. 23, Ed. 1 Thursday, June 4, 1987 Page: 1 of 10
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SIXTY-SECOND YEAR
NUMBER 23
big lake, TEXAS (uspso55 860) June 4, 1987
Reagan County — birthplace of the fabulous Permian Basin
■ /
♦ glancing around
...by the editor
BEST
WISHES
Congratulations are in order
for County Attorney Jack Schulze
and his bride Tom Green County
Commissioner Mary Burk.
Schulze is about the last life-long
confirmed bachelor 1 knew. I
honestly thought he was destined
to spend his life with his bird
dogs, two goats, and old cars.
I got a call Monday night about
10:00 p.m. and it was Jack.
• 'You'll never believe this, he
said, but...' He was right, 1
didn't at first, but he convinced
me. Best Wishes to Jack and
Mary.
It is close to time to saddle up
for the Barnhart Trail Ride. It
is almost deadline time and if
you have not bought your tickets,
try to get them pronto. Here's
more information on the event—
I Advance tickets are now on
sale for the Barnhart Trail Ride
barbecue coming up Sunday,
June 7. The barbecue will be
catered, and coordinators need
to have an advance count on the
number of people who will
attend the barbecue. The bar-
becue will be held from 5:00
p.m. to 6:30 p.m. in Barnhart
at the old stock pens location just
west of Barnhart.
^ Tickets will be $5.00 a plate.
They are now available at the
Big Lake Chamber of Commerce
office and the County Agent's
office in the Reagan County
courthouse annex in Big Lake.
Tickets are also on sale in Ozona
at the Ozona Chamber of Com-
merce office, in Mertzon at the
County Agent's office, and in
Barnhart from any member of
the Barnhart Volunteer Fire
Department.
* This will be a three-county
wagon train and trail ride.
Wagon trains and trail riders
will ride from Big Lake, Ozona,
and Mertzon to Barnhart. Ozona
riders will start on Saturday
and spend the night in the mid-
way lane area. Mertzon riders
will start in Mertzon. More
information on when the Mert-
zon riders will start will be
% available shortly. Big Lake
riders will probably start at the
gas plant east of Big Lake and
follow the old road along the
railroad to Barnhart in a one-day
ride. Anyone wishing to join
the ride is asked to contact
their county agent in each
county where definite informa-
tion on the ride will be available.
% Buck Owens, one of the coor-
dinators of the ride, asks that
any person or group who wishes
to provide free entertainment at
the barbecue please contact
him. His telephone number in
Barnhart is 876-5819. Any
entertainers, single or group,
singers, fiddlers, bands, combos,
performers of any kind, who
% wish to join in the fun, are cor-
dially invited to come and per-
form at the barbecue.
County-school officials are working on budgets..
Low oil prices affect local budgets
Reagan County School
Trustees and Reagan County
Commissioners will have their
hands full in the coming months
as the two groups try to weather
a financial budget storm caused
by a drop in local oil values.
School trustees have already
met with department heads and
principals to discuss their
budget for the coming school
year. County Commissioners
will be starting the process very
soon and county department
heads have already submitted
budget requests.
Values of oil and gas prop-
erties in Reagan County have
fallen from a high of over 714
million in 1985 to the estimated
present low this tax year of
384 million. The taxable value in
Sheriff Paul Wealhtrbv wan on routine patrol Irldi) about 4:30 p.m. when he taw
a group "f children pla>inu in the 400 block of Mar>land. He observed a group of
children at play with one on the ground kicking and a group standing around him.
" there was just something unusual and I slopped." said Wealherhy. It's a good thing
he did because the boy on the ground was strangling with a nylon fastener around his
neck, the boys' father came out of the house and the fastener was cut off the hoys'
neck, the hoy had been wearing the fastener as a necklace and il was accidently
pulled tightly around his neck. "I'm glad I happened by on patrol," said Wealherhy,
"and obviously I wanted In advise parents they should discuss this potentially tragic
incident with their children.”
Reagan County has plummeted
approximately 46% in the last
two years and has placed county
services and salaries and bene-
fits of county employees and
elected officials in jeopardy.
Similarly, values on the school
tax rolls have also dropped 46%
from a high of 697 million in
1985 to an estimated low this
year of 362 million.
RCISD Superintendent Joe
White, Jr., said 'What the loss
in value amounts to is a one
million dollar loss in real dollars
from last year.' The super-
intendent explained that the
school would recapture some of
that loss from the state. 'Nor-
mally, we would recapture up to
66% from state sources, but we
do not know what the plan is
yet because the legislature has
not made a decision,' he said.
The fact is the school will
not be able to make up for the
loss in revenue dollar for dollar
from the state and the school
will be taking a lot of money out
of surplus. In addition to the
loss in value, the school is
projecting a 6% or approximate
54 student drop in enrollment.
The school is reimbursed $2,000
per student by the state so there
is another budget loss.
'There are a lot of factors that
are state mandated in regard to
school budgets,' said Mr. White.
'I wish I could say we knew
right now but we just do not.'
The superintendent said 'There
are no plans right now to cut
teachers and frankly that would
be the last thing the school board
and administration would want.*
Teachers now make $6,400 above
the state base salary. Other
area schools have already in-
stituted a salary freeze. If a
freeze was implemented here,
Reagan County teachers would
still make $5,260 above the state
scale. That could be a possibility
here this year.
Mr. White stated, 'Nothing is
final and we are still using
estimates as to what our final
taxable value will be. We do
know our income has been
severely cut by the drop in oil
and gas values, yet we still
have students to serve. I don't
see education as an expense, I
see it as an investment.’
The school board will have
their budget finalized and
adopted in August.
Similarly, Reagan County
Commissioners are fighting the
same budget battle with de-
clining values and lowered
revenue. In previous meetings,
commissioners have indicated
their road and bridge expenses
will be considerably less this
year compared to last year.
The commissioners spent over
$200,000 last year on crushed
rock for use on roads primarily
in the north part of the county.
Numerous county roads have
deteriorated even more this year
with heavier than usual rainfall.
County department heads are
in the process of finalizing their
budget requests and submitting
the requests to the county judge
and county auditor. County
Judge Frank Sandel said, 'The
commissioners have already
made substantial cuts in expen-
ditures in several areas. They
and the other department heads
are aware of the seriousness of
the problems we have with the
46% decline in value over the
last two years.'
Reviewing total county values
for the previous three years,
plus the estimated values for
1987 shows that in 1984 county
value totaled $650 million, 1985
$714 million, 1986 $585 million,
and in 1987 the estimated value
is $384 million.
'A review of the value
figures show our value stands
where it was about 10 years
ago. The court will have to
make a choice between current
salaries, benefits, services,
employees and other county
expenditures or cutting back on
the budget. A third option would
be to raise taxes to keep the
same level of services, salaries
and benefits, and other county
expenditures the same as it has
been in the past despite the
decline in values. The court is
working very hard, in my
opinion, to avoid a tax increase.’
The Commissioners Court
will be working the next few
months with department heads
and citizens to deal with the
budget problems caused by the
decline in oil and gas values.
May rain fops record
The month of May 1987 saw a
record 6.52 inches of rain in Big
Lake. The total was the highest
for a month of May since 1950
when the Wildcat started pub-
lishing a weather chart. Pre-
vious high rainfall totals in Big
Lake for the month of May were
5.16 inches in 1957; 4.25 inches
in 1982; 4.48 inches in 1986.
The highest yearly totals in
Big Lake for the past 37 years
have been 38.64 inches in 1974
and 28.30 inches in 1986.
Rainfall in May was as
follows: May 1, .62; May 16,
.37; May 17, .13; May 19, .28;
May 23, 3.58; May 26, .03; May
27, .02; May 29, .31; and May
31, 1.18; total 6.52 inches.
Rainfall Wednesday morning,
June 3 was .11 of an inch. This
brought the year-to-date total to
11.21 inches for 1987.
Temperatures for the past
week showed the following highs
and lows: May 27, 78-66; May
28. 77-62; May 29, 82-59; May
30. 79-61; May 31, 77-57; June
1, 75-58; June 2, 81-58; and June
3,81-58.
Grand jury indicts one
A Reagan County 83rd District
Grand Jury handed down one
indictment in deliberations held
Tuesday in Big Lake. The Grand
Jury returned an indictment of
theft over $20,000 against Bar-
bara Conaway. Theft over
$20,000 is considered to be a
2nd degree felony.
Conaway was indicted for
intentionally appropriate by
acquiring U.S. Currency of the
value of at least $20,000 from
owners Charles R. Dorsey and
Ronnie Lee Dorsey, without the
effective consent of the owners
and with intent to deprive
owners of the property.
In the last 112th District
Grand Jury held in April, Stacy
Grigsby was indicted for felony
theft over $20,000 in one scheme
and continuing course of conduct
from December 17, 1984 to
March 17, 1986. The indictment
listed 13 different instances in
which it was alleged that Stacy
Grigsby did intentionally appro-
priate and exercised control over
U.S. Currency from Cecil Dale
Fisher without the effective con-
sent of the owner and with the
intent to deprive the owner of
the property.
In other court action, Mike
Hunter was charged with two
counts of assault with bodily
injury. Hunter was arrested by
sheriff's deputies for allegedly
beating his wife, from whom he
is separated, and for allegedly
causing knife wounds to a minor
hispanic male. The incident
ocurred at approximately 4:00
a.m. at a local residence last
Saturday morning.
Hunter was previously con-
victed of the burglary of Jones
Garage. He was sentenced to
prison for 7 years. He only spent
approximately 6 months in prison
due to overcrowding and he was
paroled back to Reagan County.
Bond was set at $2,000 on each
count by Justice of Peace Pauline
Stout. His attorney posted bond
for him. Due to allegedly vio-
lating his parole, Texas Depart-
ment of Corrections issued an
emergency warrant for his arrest
and asked that he be held with-
out bond pending a hearing
before the parole board.
County attorney Schulze wins
hand of Commissioner Mary Burk
Tom Green County Commissioner Mary Burk called Reagan County Attorney Jack
Schulze's bluff Monday afternoon during a conversation they were having. Ms. Burk report-
edly told Schulze that if he was serious about marriage, he would meet her in Judge Royal
Hart's courtroom Tuesday afternoon for the official marriage ceremony. They were married
by Judge Hart at approximately 2:30 p.m. Tuesday afternoon in front of a crowd of friends
and family.
The two met several years ago at Mathis Field in San Angelo in the course of flying. Both
are pilots. About six months ago Schulze asked Ms. Burk out and love blossomed. About 4:00
Monday afternoon, the couple decided to marry and plans were quickly made. Friends were
called late Monday and early Tuesday.
Judge Hart entered the courtroom about 2:30 p.m. and said with a rap of his gavel, 'This
court is now called to order.' That was the entrance cue for the couple and they entered the
courtroom. As they were walking through the spectator area, Schulze got a laugh from all
present when he said. 'Your honor, may we approach the bench?' The ceremony lasted about
five minutes and the judge pronounced sentence at the end of the ceremony. A reception was
held at Emory's Restaurant in San Angelo. Mrs. Burk-Schulzc will continue her career as a
member of the Tom Green County Commissioners Court and Schulze will continue his career
as County Attorney of Reagan County and his private law practice.
In addition to family and friends, the Tom Green County Judge and County Commissioners
were present and sat in the jury box in the courtroom. Friends of the couple from Big Lake
attending the wedding were David and Alicia Werst, Frank and Bonnie Sandel, and Tammy
Powell.
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Werst, David. The Big Lake Wildcat (Big Lake, Tex.), Vol. SIXTY-SECOND YEAR, No. 23, Ed. 1 Thursday, June 4, 1987, newspaper, June 4, 1987; Big Lake, Texas. (https://texashistory.unt.edu/ark:/67531/metapth660263/m1/1/: accessed March 28, 2024), University of North Texas Libraries, The Portal to Texas History, https://texashistory.unt.edu; crediting Reagan County Library.