Rains County Leader (Emory, Tex.), Vol. 112, No. 41, Ed. 1 Tuesday, March 28, 2000 Page: 1 of 30
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60
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trains Countu Leader
Your Hometown Newspaper Since 1887
VOLUME exit, ISSUE NO. 41
EMORY, TEXAS -TUESDAY, MARCH 28, 2000
PRICE 500
NEWS BRIEFS
Phase One okayed for courthouse
Rains County Judge Bob Sisk received word Monday, March 27, that
the Rains County Courthouse Master Plan has been approved by the Texas
Historical Commission and the county can now formally submit its applica-
tion for a Texas Courthouse Preservation Program Grant. The deadline for
submitting a grant application is April 3. Counties that receive grants will be
notified in May.
Architect Wade Ellison of Wharry Engineering worked with six coun-
ties to submit Master Plans, and Rains County is the only one of the six to
be approved. The grants will be awarded on a point system and Rains
County will automatically have 10 points deducted since the commissioner’s
court did not approve allocation of funds for architectural plans to be sub-
mitted with the grant application.
Friends of the Library to meet
Friends of the Library will meet on Tuesday, March 28, at 7:00 p.m. in
the Meadows Room of the library to hear special guest speaker, Don Youngs.
Youngs was the principal fundraiser for the new 3,200-square-foot library
building at Cedar Creek Lake. This $1,100,000 building serves a population
of 723. Come and hear this man tell us how they raised the funds for this fan-
tastic building project. We desperately need to enlarge the overcrowded
Rains County Public Library building. Don’t miss it.
FSA moving, plans open house
The Wood-Rains FSA office will he closed on Friday, March 31, 2000.
We will move from our present location to 1022 E Goode Street. This loca-
tion is about one mile east of the courthouse in Quitman on the south side of
Hwy. 154. We will reopen for business on April 3, 2000. We will hold an
open house at our new location on April 13, from 10:00 a.m. to 2:00 p.m.
Bluegrass Reunion and auction
Saturday, April 1, The Mack Smith Family, 1-30 Express, Rose City
Bluegrass, Freddy York and Cross County will be performing at the Rains
County Fairgrounds Pavilion for the Bluegrass Reunion and auction benefit-
ing Johnny Franklin.
Show begins at 1:00 p.m. and an auction will begin at 2:30 p.m. with
the show continuing after the auction until 10:00 p.m. Bring items to donate
for the auction and help to contribute to the proceeds which will be used to
help pay for Johnny Franklin’s medical expenses. Admission to this event is
$6.00. Bring your lawn chairs and remember, absolutely no drugs or alco-
hol. Concessions will be available. Sound by Don and Virginia McLeroy. For
more information, contact R.J. and Ann Smith at 903-662-5720.
Extension office has new hours
The Rains County Extension Service will start new office hours effec-
tive April 3, 2000. The new hours will be 7:30 a.m. to 4:30 p.m. Monday
through Friday.
PTO meeting Tuesday, April 4th
Cullum Pipe Systems awarded
$180,000 sewer project bid
Board meets
with architect
by JAXIE MORGAN
Rains County leader staff
The Rains ISD board of trustees
met with Don Burleson, architect,
and Tim and Jonathan Jackson, con-
struction managers, in a special
meeting held Monday night, March
20. They reviewed and discussed
building plans (Study Two and
Study Three) for the new high
school.
It was the consensus of the board
to choose Study Three. Burleson
will make changes to the plan and
will meet again with the board for
further discussion and review and
possible board action to approve the
plan.
The board convened in closed
session at 7:45 p.m. and reconvened
in open session at 8:50 p.m. at
which time the board voted to ap-
prove a 3% salary increase on Su-
perintendent David Seago's current
1998-2001 contract for the period
March 1 through June 30, 2000.
The board had previously voted
during their regular meeting on
March 14th to increase Seago’s sal-
ary 3% beginning July I, 2000.
Burleson will meet with the
board in a special meeting at 6:00
p.m. on Thursday, March 30, to
finalize the basic design of the new
high school project. Also on the
agenda that night will be to issue an
order cancelling the May 6th school
trustee election due to all the candi-
dates being unopposed. The candi-
dates will be certified as elected to
office.
Daylight Savings
Time begins
this Sunday!
by JAXIE MORGAN
Rains County leader staff
Mike Donnan of Hayter Engi-
neering in Paris presented the
Emory City Council with a tabula-
tion of bids received for the Texas
Department of Housing and Com-
munity Affairs sewer grant project
Tuesday night. March 21, during
the regular council meeting. Don-
nan said they had several responses,
all bids were complete, and all the
contractors were qualified to do the
work. Cullum Pipe Systems of Gar-
land was low bidder at approxi-
mately $I80,(X)0. Since the actual
amount of the grant allocated for
construction is $216,(XX). this al-
lows for additional work to be done.
The council voted to award the
contract to Cullum Pipe, and Don-
nan said work will begin in about
three weeks. He added that al-
though he will be making periodic
inspections and reporting to the
council, submitting change orders
and requests for payment, the city
needs to get someone to act as in-
spector. The council said that Maxie
Chester, Public Works Director, had
suggested letting Charles Ball, one
of the city’s employees, act as in-
spector since he is highly capable
and fully experienced in this field.
Donnan said this needs to be taken
care of before the next council
meeting.
Pam Stout was not present to
give an update on animal control;
however, Councilman Emery Cath-
ey, who is on the board of directors
of the Rains County Animal Shelter,
said Pam had returned the radio and
expressed her appreciation for be-
ing allowed to use it. He said she
will continue to pursue getting an
animal shelter for Rains County and
will continue to work with the city
as much as possible. Cathey invited
everyone to attend a rabies control
seminar which will be held from
10:00 a.m. to 12:00 noon on April
7th at the Heritage Center.
Mayor Rubye McKeown gave an
update on abandoned houses locat-
ed within the city limits She said
some were to be burned but they
couldn’t because of the burn ban.
The Meadows house on Planters
Mayor gives
update on
abandoned houses
Street was bought by Gene and
Vickie Wade, who are fixing it up;
the house next to it, the Holmes
house, will soon be burned as will
the Upchurch house, also located on
Planters Street.
The city has not been able to find
an address for the owners of the
Embry house on Fletcher Drive, but
it will soon be auctioned off due to
delinquent taxes. Nothing has been
done to the Horrocks house on
Ravine Street, although the owners
were given notice last year that
something needed to be done with-
in three months. The council voted
to give the Horrocks until May 1st
to do something about this house.
Other houses discussed included
the Elsie Chastain house, the Mc-
Daniel house and Will Smith house
on Ravine Street. MayBelh Mc-
Mahan's old house, and the house
behind the Broken H Gallery
Marvin Northcull. Emory s
housing inspector, was directed to
check McMahan's house to see
what stale of disrepair it is in to sec
if it is repairable Northcull reported
that the McLeroy house has been
donated to the Farmers' Market to
be moved. It will be fixed up and
used as a location for conducting
canning and quilting demonstra-
tions.
Since the city has an ordinance
pertainine to parked cars that arc
not running, the council directed
Police Chief Bruce Fcagin to keep
an eye out for defunct vehicles that
need to be removed and report hack
to the council
Feagin presented his monthly po-
lice department report, which in
eluded charges being tiled in sever-
al forgery cases currently under
investigation.
After he expressed his willing-
ness to serve. Jerold Plumb was
nominated and elected by ac-
clamation to serve on the Emory
Economic Development Corpora-
tion board to fill the vacancy creat-
ed by the resignation of Nell Click.
The mayor reported that Maxie
hired two new employees, Thomas
Mims and Herman Ball. One was
hired to replace Curtis Reichle. who
is now employed by Point. The
council was reminded that Charles
Ball is planning to retire soon; how-
ever. the council hopes he will ac-
cept the job of inspecting the work
on the upcoming sewer project.
Court hears from citizens March 23rd
The Rains Elementary Parent-Teacher Organization (PTO) will have a
general meeting at the Rains Elementary School at 6:30 p.m. Tuesday, April
4th. All parents are encouraged to attend this meeting. Officers for the 2000-
2001 school year will be elected. There will also be a book fair for children
and parents to purchase new books. There will be a wide variety of books to
choose from with very affordable prices. The book fair will be ongoing the
week of April 3rd through April 7th. The PTO will also serve barbecue sand-
wiches at the conclusion of the evening. The public is invited to attend
whether you have a child in school or not.
Gifted/Talented Program meeting
On 'Thursday, April 6, there will be a meeting for parents/guardians
who are interested in information regarding Rains ISD’s Gifted/Talented
Education Program. The meeting will begin at 6:00 p.m. in the junior
high/high school library. The discussion will include characteristics of gift-
ed children', student nominations for the 2000-2001 school year and the
screening process for program admittance.
We are in the process of planning for the 2000-2001 school year. The
gifted program is designed to meet the needs of students who try to do things
or look at things in different, unusual, and/or imaginative ways. If you are
unable to attend the meeting but would be interested in completing a nomi-
nation form, forms will be available in each campus office.
Rabies Control Seminar April 7th
The Rains County Animal Shelter Association is hosting a seminar on
Friday, April 7, from 10:00 a.m. to 12:00 noon at the Rains County Public
Library in the Meadows Room. Topics to be covered are State Law Update,
Bite Investigation, Local Ordinances, and Rabies Information. The seminar
is given by the Texas Department of Health, Zoonosis Control Division,
regarding animal control. All city and county employees, or anyone who is
interested in knowing more about animal control, is encouraged to attend.
This is an opportunity to learn about the laws governing animals and to
become more informed of duties. It doesn’t cost a thing, only a little time.
For more information, please contact Pam Stout 598-3012.
Runoff election to be held April 11
There will be a runoff primary election for the Democratic and
Republican parties Tuesday, April 11, at the regular polling places designat-
ed by each party. Time precludes receiving permission from the U.S. Justice
Department for any changes in polling places.
If you did not vote in any primary and are a registered voter, you are
eligible to vote in the runoff election. If you voted in the primary, you are
eligible to vote in the runoff election but only in the same party’s primary.
You cannot vote in one party’s primary and in another party’s runoff elec-
tion. Persons who attended a precinct election should attend their county
convention on Saturday, April 1. The Democratic County Convention will be
at 7:30 p.m. at the home of the chairman, 280 Robinson Rd., Emory, and the
Republican Convention will be held at 12:00 noon at the Rains County
Public Library in the Meadows Room.
For more information, call Democratic Chairman Cay House at 473-
3314 or Republican Chairman Rusty Basham at 473-4010.
Amateur Radio VE Test Session
The East Texas Volunteer Examiners will be conducting a test session
Saturday, April 1, at the Rose Community Center. Time will be from 9:00
a.m. to 12:00 noon. We need to leave the building by 12:00 so arrive by
11:00 a.m. for testing. Please make copies of licenses (copier at the Emory
post office), bring any previous CSCEs, and $6.65 for the filing fee. There
will also be a paper upgrade and test session on April 17th at the TXU build-
ing in Sulphur Springs. Contact Chuck Carpenter, W5USJ, for further infor-
mation (903-598-6224).
Special Kids Farm and Ranch Day
The Golden Sweet Potato Festival and the Alba-Golden FFA are spon-
soring a Special Kids Farm and Ranch Day on April 27 from 9:00 a.m. until
1:00 p.m. at the festival grounds in Golden. This is going to be a really fun
day for about 80 great kids in Wood, Van Zandt, and Rains counties. We are
planning to have all kinds of entertainment and activities for these handica-
pable kids. There will be horseback riding, a petting zoo, wagon rides, hay
rides, and a hot dog cooked over an open fire. Everyone is encouraged to
come.
by CAROLYN HILL
Rains County Leader staff
For well over an hour and a half
of the Thursday, March 23, meeting
of the commissioners' court the
court heard from citizens through-
out the county expressing their sup-
port on several matters not on the
day’s agenda but pending before the
court.
Several members of the Rains
County Animal Shelter Association
as well as others in favor of building
a shelter for county-wide use were
present. Greg Stout presented the
court with blueprints and elevation
drawings of the proposed shelter
building. He estimated the material
cost to build the 32x62-foot build-
ing would be approximately
$40,000.
Pat Raney, Burke Burns, Linda
Curry and several others from
Woosley and Smyrna communities
expressed their support of the litter
nuisance abatement ordinance the
court is considering.
Linda Drake and Kevin Glanton
with the Texas Natural Resource
Conservation Commission (TNRCC)
in Tyler addressed the court con-
cerning permits for future septic
tank installations in the county and
litter abatement.
A discussion was held on the
need to set aside money from the
permanent school fund for the Lone
Oak ISD, Miller Grove ISD and
Alba-Golden ISD as a result of allo-
cating two million dollars to the
Rams ISD for capital improve-
ments. The funds will be a pro-rated
share based on tb" number of Rains
County students who are schooled
in the districts und issued by request
for capital improvements only.
On another agenda item involv-
Cities have last-minute
filings in local elections
by JAXIE MORGAN
Rains County leader staff
There was a flurry of activity at
the city of Emory as the March 22
filing deadline approached to file
for a place on the ballot in the up-
coming city and school elections on
May 6th, while all the candidates in
the races at East Tawakoni and for
the Rains ISD school board will be
running unopposed.
In last-minute filing at Emory,
Johnnie Corley and Rick Turner
joined Cay House in filing for
mayor, and Richard Jennings
signed up against incumbent Travis
Potts for Place 2. Mayor Rubye
McKeown had announced earlier
that she would not seek re-election
to that post. House is presently
serving as Emory City Councilman.
RAIN
REPORT
by Henry Potts
• March 21 ........0.15 \
^ March 22 .........0.25 \
<March24 ........0.lOJw
March 25 ........0.40
Total for week .. .0 90 \]
vTotal for month ... .2.90
'Total for year .....8.53
Place 1. Rusty Basham is unop-
posed for re-election to Place 4
Point also has contested races,
with Raymond Clifton filing for re-
election as mayor to face challenger
J. D. Jones, Jr. Competing for two
at-large council positions are James
Woodson. Brent A. Cason. Pam
Ladymon and Debbie Denme
Woodson and Denme currently
serve on the council.
One additional candidate filed at
East Tawakoni, which also has two
council seats and the mayor’s posi-
tion available. Bobbie Harman filed
for re-election as mayor. Walt
Pollard filed for re-election to Place
5, and Lowell Jones filed for Place
3, which is currently held by Jeff
Doster.
All the council and mayor posi-
tions are two-year terms.
No last-minute filers for the
Rains ISD board of trustees leaves
all four incumbents running unop-
posed. They are Mickey Cooper.
Place 1; Linda Terry, Place 2; Philip
Alexander, Place 3; and Becca
Munsch, Place 4. All are three-year
terms except Place 4. which is a
one-year unexpired term.
Early voting by personal appear-
ance will be conducted April 19
through May 2 from 8:00 a.m. to
5:00 p.m. weekdays at the respec-
tive city halls and from 8:00 a.m. to
4:00 p.m. at the Rains ISD Admin-
istration Building. Applications for
ballots by mail should be sent to the
Rains ISD superintendent’s office
and/or your respective city hall.
ing the permanent school fund, the
commissioners voted to hold all
interest payments of the permanent
school fund to any ISD and place
that interest back into the perma-
nent school fund.
On other agenda items, the com-
missioners:
• Voted to place advertisements
for bid contracts for the Rains
County depository and/or the
Permanent School Fund.
• Approved the selection of the
Housing Grant application of
Ronnie Clayton.
• Approved Norris Ray Mayberry
to serve on the Salary Grievance
Committee with his acceptance.
• Tabled action on a tax-resale
deed for A.W. Steed.
• Passed a motion to accept into
the county road system the road in
Stonebrier Addition after work to
meet county specifications has been
completed to the court’s satisfac-
tion.
» Approved the minutes of the
previous meeting.
In a special session held Monday.
March 27, at 3:30 p.m. the court
approved the allocation of $5,769 to
Petty Construction to further the
exterior renovation of the B&B
Building. The funds will cover the
removal of awnings from the front
and side of the building, cut back
rear overhang and clean-up, install
an eight foot R-panel fascia system
on the front of the building and
extend other R-panel fascia down to
match.
They approved the removal of
shrubbery from around the court-
house and transfer it to the B&D
Building as time permits.
They approved the warrants for
payment of accounts and all line
item transfers as presented
A 30-DAY COOPERATIVE RAINS/HUNT COUNTY drug investigation
ended Friday, March 24, with the arrest of a Hunt County man and the
seizure by Rains County of four shotguns, drugs (marijuana and metham-
phetamine) and drug paraphernalia, a 1986 Dodge pickup, over $2,000 in
cash and other items. A Hunt County search warrant was executed by three
Hunt County officers and six Rains County deputies after a controlled buy
was made from the West Tawakoni man. Rains County Deputy Russell Ross
displays a portion of the items seized. Staff Photo by Earl HU
1
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Hill, Earl Clyde, Jr. Rains County Leader (Emory, Tex.), Vol. 112, No. 41, Ed. 1 Tuesday, March 28, 2000, newspaper, March 28, 2000; Emory, Texas. (https://texashistory.unt.edu/ark:/67531/metapth768294/m1/1/: accessed July 17, 2024), University of North Texas Libraries, The Portal to Texas History, https://texashistory.unt.edu; crediting Rains County Library.