Palacios Beacon (Palacios, Tex.), Vol. 85, No. 51, Ed. 1 Wednesday, December 23, 1992 Page: 2 of 20
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Page 2A-Palacios Beacon-Wed., Dec. 23, l992|ij;|:iiiilil:lkl.9iflfl|1([i|Wff]
COUNTY JUDGE'
(Conlinued From Page 1A)
Commissioners lor approximately an hour.
Brhlik said he was pleased with the outcome
of the appointment process and feels that
Sneary will make a good county judge. He
added that the commissioners did plenty of
work over the past three weeks in reviewing the
applications and resumes of individuals who
applied to fill the vacancy.
Brhlik said that the commissioners wanted to
be as fair as possible and open up the
application process to everyone that was
interested. "We just couldn’t appoint someone
and then have people say they didn't know
about it (the vacancy) and didn't have the
opportunity to apply,” he said. "I believe the
way we did it gave everyone a shot at it."
"It was a tough job. and there were a lot of
good people (who had applied)," commented
Brhlik. He described the process the
commissioners went through in appointing a
person to fill O'Connell's unexpired term as
"one of the hardest jobs I’ve had since
becoming commissioner."
Sneary, who has never held or ran for public
office before, was up front about tackling the
job of County Judge, noting that the number of
times he had even attended a Commissioners'
Court meeting could be counted on one hand.
"It's such a big job and quite frankly there's
an awful lot of this job I'm going to have to
learn after 1 get there," he commented. "The job
is not something I've studied for or have tried
to be prepared for. Hopefully the experience I
have in my background is going to hcl.o.
"I want to stick as close to Burt O'Connell as
1 can while he's there," he said, pointing out that
with the holidays there is not "a whole lot of
time to get in there and observe. There's a lot
that needs to be learned and 1 just as soon get
started as soon as I can."
Sneary said he is looking forward to
working with the current commissioners on the
projects they have before them and "to moving
forward" with the county.
"1 think Matagorda County is moving in the
right direction and I'm just thrilled to gel to be
a part of it," said Sneary.
He added that although he has no intention
of making a career of politics, he will likely
Neiv Patrol Officer
PALACIOS Police Dept.’s newest patrol officer, Annette
Anderson, began work last week. Officer Anderson came to
Palacios from Austin where she graduated last June from the
Travis County Sheriffs Dept. Academy. Anderson said she
has had an interest in law enforcement for a long time and is
looking forward to being a member of the Palacios Police
Dept. (Beacon Photo by Nick West)
KILLINGS
(Continued From Page 1A)
MCHD-
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Once the board received the
petitions, they had to check
each one to make sure the sig-
natures were those of regis-
tered voters. At least 10 per-
cent of the county's registered
voters, 1,873, had to sign in
order for the petitions to be
valid. According to the board,
the petitions had 56 less valid
signatures than needed.
The resolution the board
approved stated, "...after sub-
tracting the number of unqual-
ified signatures pursuant to the
defects on the attachment, the
number of qualified petition
signatures presented in support
of the election request is
1,817."
With not enough signatures,
the board's resolution stated
that the board did not have the,
"statutory authority," to order
an election.
The Matagorda County
Taxpayers' Ass'n. (MCTA)
generated the petitions. James
Craft, MCTA chairman, said
the board of managers did not
review the petitions properly,
because he said there were
enpugh valid ^jgijatures.
"I believe we Still have a
petition," said Craft.
The resolution also stated
that the board conducted a
"fair and reasonable review," of
the petition signatures.
Craft does not agree that the
board's review of the petition
was fair.
"From what I've heard,
they've (the board) dissolved a
lot of good signatures. They're
playing with two sets of rules,"
he commented.
Chuck Schuetz, MCHD ad-
ministrator, said he believes the
board has done the best job it
can in reviewing all the peti-
tions.
"As far as the board is con-
cerned, the matter is over," said
Schuetz.
But Craft does not share that
opinion, not by a long shot.
Craft spoke with an attorney
from the Attorney General's
office immediately after hear-
ing the news of the board's ac-
tion. The attorney advised him
that the next step for the
MCTA will be to discuss any
discrepancies in the petitions
with the MCHD.
"We (MCTA) would cer-
tainly like to have our day with
them (MCHD). They're putting
themselves up as judge and
jury," commented Craft.
If nothing can be resolved
with that, Craft said the next
step would be filing suit
against the MCHD irf district
court.
"We (MCTA) don't know if
it will go that far yet. I hope it
does not go to that,” said Craft.
The MCHD board of man-
agers voted Aug. 31 to in-
crease the tax rate by .02 cents
per $100 valuation. On taxable
value of $35,000, the annual
increase is $7. On $67,000 tax-
able value it is $13.40 and on
$100,000 it is $20.
The board also stated that
the revenue generated from the
tax increase must go into a
special fund and may not be
used for general purposes. The
funds may only be used for
equipment or improvements
which are used directly in
treating patients.
Porter receives
degree at CCSU
Catherine W. Porter of
Palacios received here Master
of Science degree during the
1992 fall commencement cer-
emony at Corpus Chrisli State
University last Friday.
tions. Due to the fact that the
suspect is under the age of 17,
the maximum sentence he
could receive if tried as an
adult for capital murder under
Texas law and convicted is life
in prison.
The killings left the school
and community stunned with
disbelief. The two sisters were
both honor students at their re-
spective schools and active in a
variety of school activities.
Investigators say that the
two sisters were home alone
when the attack occurred
around 10:30 p.m. Wednes-
day. According to reports, the
suspect had been Lisa Wam's
boyfriend and was upset over
Wam's decision to break up.
The younger victim was re-
portedly on the phone with a
friend when the suspect came
to the house. The friend re-
portedly heard Julie Warn yell,
but after that all that was re-
portedly heard coming over
the phone was music from a
stereo. The concerned friend
told her father who subse-
quently drove to the Warn
residence. By the time he had
arrived, police were already at
the scene.
Capt. Cunningham said that
after the attack, the suspect
called the 911 emergency
number at 10:36 p.m., identi-
fied himself and asked for
emergency assistance. When
authorities arrived, however,
the suspect had already left the
scene. Authorities immediately
began a wide-scale search for
the suspect which included is-
suing an all-points bulletin.
Authorities recovered a
large knife which they suspect
to be the murder weapon.
Cunningham said that the
suspect told his parents about
the stabbings the following
morning and the parents thenl
called authorities. The suspect
was arrested at his residence
around 8 a.m. Thursday (Dec.
17).
K. Sebastian
M.D. F.A.A.P.
Infants ♦ Children • Adolescence
American Board Certified in Pediatrics
1410 Avenue F Monday - Friday
Bay City, Tx. 77414 409/2451305
run for a full four-year term after the
remainder of this term expires in 1994. He said
that was one of the decisions he made before
applying for the vacancy.
"To do this (take the appointment) for just
two years, I wouldn't have considered it," he
said. Sneary explained that taking the
appointment would be a fulltime job and
require that he make several changes to ensure
that his farming and ranching operations
continue to function smoothly during his
absences. "It wouldn't be worth (making those
changes) for only two years," he said. "1 don't
know how long it's going to take to kind of get
my feet on the ground-hopefully not too
long-but it could take at least a good part of
that two years to get my feel on the ground."
He said if he eventually docs run on his own
in 1994, it would only be for one tenn and then
he would return to private life. He said he
would like to see more political office-holders
limited to a given period of time in office.
A native of Lexington, Ky., Sneary received
a B. S. Degree in Sociology and Psychology
from Texas A&M University in 1972. A
TRUSTEES-
graduate of the Naval Officer Candidate School
in Rhode Island, he served on active duty with
the Armed Forces Police Detachment in :
Washington, D. C. from November 1972- I
October 1975. He was discharged with the rank • :
of Lieutenant in 1978.
Since 1976, Sneary has been a full time rice >;
and beef cattle producer in Matagorda County.
He has been a member of a large number of
agricultural organizations. Sneary was recently :
appointed as chairman of the USA Rice
Council's Western Hemisphere subcommittee.
He served as chairman of the Matagorda
County Farm Bureau from 1980-83 and as
chairman of its Rice Commodity Committee'
from 1987-88. He was also president of the
Matagorda County Farmers Cooperative in 1
1986-87 as well as county committeeman of
the U.S.D.A. Agriculture Stabilization &
Conservation Service from 1986-89.
Sneary was named the Conservation Farmer
of the Year in 1984 by the Matagorda County
Soil & Water Conservation District and, in the
same year, was honored as the county's Out-
standing Rice Farmer.
(Continued From Page 1A)
test will be required to drop
one or two electives during the
second semester and take the
appropriate class (cs).
•Each review class will have
a maximum of 15 students.
•As space permits, the class
will also be available to juniors,
sophomores and freshman,
starting with juniors who have
the greatest need to take the
course.
•Grades will be given based
on class work; however no
credit can be given unless the
student passes the TAAS test.
State or local credit, up to one
and one half units, can be
given to seniors based on need.
Juniors receive only local
credit.
•The district currently pays
teachers $100 a month
($1,000/year) to teach an addi-
tional class. Based on estab-
lished procedure, one semester
pay of $500 would be divided
among the instructors teaching
each TAAS course.
TAAS tests in the second
semester are not given until
spring, and results are not
ready until about one month
prior to graduation. Therefore,
any students in the TAAS
review courses, in the second
semester, will stay in the
courses even if they pass the
lest.
"It would be too late for the
students to get back into the
elective they dropped," said
PISD Superintendent, Rudy
Okruhlik.
The board had a light
agenda for its final regular
meeting of 1992. In its other
business, the board:
•Unanimously approved
one addition to the substitute's
list.
•Unanimously approved
four requests for the use of
school district facilities.
•Unanimously approved a
vocational advisory committee
for the district.
•Unanimously approved an
interlocal agreement with the
Matagorda County Navigation
District #1, concerning the
Palacios Marine Education
Center.
•Unanimously approved re-
newing the district's
membership with the Houston
Galveston - Area Council**
(IlGAC).
•Unanimously approved re-
newing the district's
membership with the Texas
Association of School
Administrators (TASA).
• Unanimously approved
changes in the tax roll.
• Unanimously accepted
TAAS results from September.
•Unanimously approved the
purchase of one school bus.
•Unanimously accepted to
purchase library books.
Matagorda County Women's
_Crisis Center__
If you are a victim of Family Violence
or Sexual Assault and need help call
409/245-9299 or
1-800-451-9235 24 Hour Hotline
We take this opportunity to say thanks for
your friendship and understanding. Happy
Holidays to all!
CENTRAL POWER AND LIGHT COMPANY
A Member of the Central and South West System
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West, Nicholas M. Palacios Beacon (Palacios, Tex.), Vol. 85, No. 51, Ed. 1 Wednesday, December 23, 1992, newspaper, December 23, 1992; Palacios, Texas. (https://texashistory.unt.edu/ark:/67531/metapth725063/m1/2/?rotate=270: accessed July 16, 2024), University of North Texas Libraries, The Portal to Texas History, https://texashistory.unt.edu; crediting Palacios Library.