The Bastrop Advertiser (Bastrop, Tex.), Vol. 139, No. 7, Ed. 1 Thursday, March 26, 1992 Page: 2 of 38
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I
Page 2
THE BASTROP ADVERTISER
Thursday, March 26,1992
Winners again
Recount reveals the same results as election
Tax rate
Continued from Page 1
The numbers changed slightly
but results of the March 10
Democratic Primary for Bastrop
County sheriff and two constables
held up as a result of a Saturday
recount.
Sheriff candidate Jay Beggs
was joined by constable can-
didates Carl White and Ramon
Aranda in paying for a manual
count. They cited uncertainty
about an election night glitch in
counting ballots with a com-
puterized optical scanner.
A dozen counters spent about
four hours Saturday tallying 7,402
ballots in the three-way sheriff’s
race.
When it was over candidate
Fred Hoskins retained his lead
over Sheriff Con Keirsey by a
margin of 3,660 to 2,300 or 49.45
percent to 31.07 percent.
They face each other in a runoff
April 14.
Beggs took 1,442 or 19.48
percent.
At the same time Precinct 1
Constable Carl White got only one
vote closer to challenger Verlin
Hemphill. The recount dropped
White’s total by two and Hem-
phill’s by three from the optical
count, leaving Hemphill with a
15-vote victory over the
incumbent.
In the Precinct 4 constable’s
race, the recount confirmed that
incumbent Dutch Walker held on
to his job without a runoff in the
three-way race.
The hand count gave Walker 726
votes or 50.7 percent to Aranda’s
489 or 34.15 percent.
Elgin Fire Marshall Mike
Carter won 217 votes or 15.15
percent.
The original count confusion
arose after election officials
discovered a printed coding error
on some ballots at one Elgin
voting box. After officials cor-
rected the code, they reran all the
ballots through the counter.
Support lacking for prison hospital
Bastrop taxpayers after the Texas
Supreme Court has ruled the
state funding plan unconstitu-
tional, but frankly we have no
choice,” he said.
# “Our schools are extremely
overcrowded and it directly af-
fects the level of education all the
students are receiving,” accor-
ding to Fleming.
Bastrop is in worse shape than
many other school districts
because of the quick growth
froml983 to 1986.
“We have 1300 extra students,
and they are all in portable
buildings. Also space has been
depleted by special programs
such as special education, bil-
ingual classes and computer
labs,” the superintendent said.
“I have heard concerns that the
tax base could drop from its cur-
rent $501 million. Yes, it could but
it’s highly unlikely, he said.
With the development of the
CED, BISD had to set its tax rate
at 88 cents this year to bring it the
state mandated equalized 72
cents.
“If the CED tax is collected
next year, (the minimum) will in-
crease to 82 cents for equaliza-
tion. However, we do not expect
the tax rate to increase by more
than two or three cents for BISD
taxpayers,” according to
Fleming.
Actually it is highly likely that
a tax restructure will take the
load off local property taxpayers,
said Fleming.
In the worst case, according to
Fleming, the effect of the first $10
million bond sale in 1992 during
the next three years will:
• Have no effect in 1992,
because they will not be sold un-
til August and the first payment
is not due for one year.
•Increase to 14.577 cents per
$100 value or roughly $29 a year
for a $25,000 home in 1993. <
•Increase to 24.285 cents pej
$100 value or $48.57 for the same
$25,000 home in 1994.
If Proposition 2 for an
auditorium is approved, 2.178
cents per $100 value will be add-
ed to the tax rate in 1994.
The tax! rate is locked in for tax-
payers 65 or older unless they
make property improvements,
such as a swimming pool, he
added.
Private promoters seeking a
pact with Bastrop County to lure
a possible prison hospital unit to
the area ran into a hostile recep-
tion Monday.
Joe Vaughn, president of In-
diana based Diversified
Municipal Services, said with
backing from the county his firm
would approach the Texas
Department of Criminal Justice
in an effort to work out plans for
a pilot program for infirm, men-
tally ill or aged inmates.
The firm would expect no con-
sulting fees unless the talks
resulted in a project for Bastrop
County, he said.
The company would then
undertake to finance and con-
struct a facility and lease it to the
county.
“You have an opportunity to
create a concept and take it to the
Department of Criminal Justice,”
said Vaughn, who estimated a
boost to the local economy of up
to $400 million.
County Judge Randy Fritz at-
tacked the proposal as
speculative jail building and a
risk to the eounty’s credit.
The proposal comes at a bad
time, given the county’s recent
experience of building extra
county jail cells and expecting to
rent them profitably, said Com-
missioner Johnny Sanders.
Commissioner Elaine Seidel
said she invited Vaughn and his
Texas agent, James Matthews, to
Monday’s session because
Smithyille officials voiced
preliminary interest.
Outside the meeting Smithville
Mayor Vernon Richards said he
felt obligated to study any poten-
tial economic development op-
portunity, but his interest in
DMS’s proposal waned following
a meeting with Matthews and
other local officials.
“(Smithville City Manager)
Gerald Decker checked this out
- very’thoroughly,” said Richards.
The mayor said he was further
discouraged to hear Vaughn say
the firm would expect to be paid
for working out a deal with state
prison officials.
Fritz said top prison officials
have no plans to pay for the type
of facility suggested by Vaughn
and Matthews.
The state does have a $5.3
million pilot program to rent ex-
isting nursing home beds across
the state for inmates needing
special care, said Fritz.
EMS
Continued from Page 1
Attempts to revive victims of
cardiac arrest are critical during
the first minutes following a heart
attack, said Dr. Stephen Yount.
But reviving a patient requires an
ambulance with proper equip-
ment and a paramedic, he said.
Other cases involving children
need similar treatment, said
Yount.
Bastrop auto dealer and
chamber of commerce president
Wilford Navarro said the
chamber board has taken no of-
Smithville
ficial stance' but generally sup-
ports improvements. He sug-
gested that adequate ambulance
service can be important in at-
tracting new business to the area,
‘‘These are issues that need ad-
dressing,” he said.
Mayor Lock told the group they
are the first to pressJhe council
for ambulance improvements.
In 1986 the city considered
backing an advanced life support
ambulance service but shied
away at estimates putting startup
cost at more than $100,000, said
Lock. '
Giddings paramedic Jeff Dun-
can said buying used equipment
and other economy measures can
lower the startup cost
substantially.
Lock said a show of public sup-
port for upgrading service can be
crucial for council action:
In the past there has been little
vocal support for spending more
on ambulance service, said coun-
cil member Neil Gurwitz.
*
Continued from Page 1
Skunk
Continued from Page t
Although Mrs. Sanders was not
at the store during the 10-hour
escapade, she relayed the story as
if she had been.
According to Mrs. Sanders,
Cynthia and another employee,
Janel Horyza, telephoned
Bastrop Animal Control Officer
Betty Wade for assistance. Mrs.
Wade suggested they lure the in-
truder out with chicken scraps.
“Of course the poor thing was
Correction
Elgin City Council Ward 4 can-
> didate Henry Howard was im-
properly identified as Howard
Hughes in the March 21 edition of
The Bastrop Advertiser.
so scared by that time and it had
found a nice dark hole to sleep in.
It would not budge,” Mrs. Sanders
said.
Son-in-law Chris Cannon and
his friends, Gerald Gunn and
Matt Henderson, came to the
rescue. They sprayed the skunk
with three cans of repellent which
seemed to stun it, she said.
Then they shot at it with a gun
but missed. The second shot kill-
ed the shunk-when it sprayed its
distinctive and pungent odor, Mrs.
Sanders added.
“Fortunately the skunk did not
spray on any of the greeting cards
or books, but the smell is still
strong,” she said.
Another son-in-law, Chris Bentz
who works for Hi-Tech Restora-
tions, Inc., was called for help. He
had access to an ozone genator
which should kill the skunk odor
after a few days, Mrs. Sanders
said.
Mrs. Wade said skunks are a
common sight in downtown
Bastrop each spring.
“If you are out between 3 a.m.
and 5 a.m. you will probably see
skunks. They walk up and down
Main Street like they own it,” she
added.
“However it doesn’t necessari-
ly mean rabies,” warned the
animal control officer.
“They are nocturnal animals
and usually live in the sewers or
under a structure like a shed.
They like dark, secluded places,”
she added.
get a firm hold on the needs of
each department.
“Experts on plumbing, air
quality and state regulations will
also be brought in to ascertain
mechanical quality of the
hospital and its potential,” he
explained.
Then the group will perform an
off-site synthesis, or phase two,
said Walborg.
“They will evaluate the infor-
mation, identify deficiencies and
determine the needs, then begin
developing building concepts and
estimate costs, he added.
“By then the architects should
have a handle on our hospital
needs and be ready to give the
master plan report to the board,”
he said.
“We should be able to complete
the first three phases in about 30
days. We’ll shoot for the April
board meeting,” said Walborg.
After board approval, the ar-
chitects will develop conceptual
drawings and refine estimated
costs. After about 60 days, the
group should be ready to give a
comprehensive master plan
presentation to the board,” he
said.
Walborg added that after
checking the firm’s references, he
felt more comfortable with them
and that their estimates for
developing a master plan are
reasonable.
Repair
Continued from Page 1
temporary line with steel cable
and anchor posts.
Previously a break near the
west bank also required patching
after damage to the line was
confirmed.
Before the broken force main
was shut off it was pumping an
estimated 130,000 gallons of raw
sewage into the river daily.
Fisher blamed, the damage on
unprecedented high water flows
since late December.
A new crossing to move sewage
from the west side of the river to
the treatment plant may be need-
ed to avoid similar problems in
the future, Fisher said.
Fisher and City Manager
JoAnn Wilcoxen will , ask the
Federal Emergency Manage-
ment Agency to reimburse 75 per-
cent of the emergency repair cost
since the damage was caused by
floods. President George Bush
declared Bastrop and surroun-
ding counties a disaster area in
December.
911
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those on duty appeared to be
swamped with radio messages
and telephone calls.
Don Calvert, who has directed
planning for the 911 system across
the county, said he warned com-
missioners three years ago that'
extra dispatch help would be re-
quired when it goes on line.
A compromise might be to hire
extra help for thebusiest times
each day, Calvert suggested.
That could mean three instead
of five new employees, Sanders
said.
Fritz called on Taylor to study
ways to avoid some of the re-
quested positions: At the same
-Continued from Page 1
time the judge urged commis-
sioners to visit the dispatch
center in order to understand bet-
ter the pressure and demands on
current employees.
Commissioners said they will
take up the issue again Monday.
Taylor said 911 operators need
to be trained this month.
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McAuley, Davis. The Bastrop Advertiser (Bastrop, Tex.), Vol. 139, No. 7, Ed. 1 Thursday, March 26, 1992, newspaper, March 26, 1992; Bastrop, Texas. (https://texashistory.unt.edu/ark:/67531/metapth756135/m1/2/: accessed April 26, 2024), University of North Texas Libraries, The Portal to Texas History, https://texashistory.unt.edu; crediting Bastrop Public Library.