The Ennis Daily News (Ennis, Tex.), Ed. 1 Sunday, July 8, 2012 Page: 1 of 14
fourteen pages : ill.View a full description of this newspaper.
Extracted Text
The following text was automatically extracted from the image on this page using optical character recognition software:
Noon Lions team
tackles stiff games
on way to state
See SPORTS, page 5
Real estate agent
chosen for
magazine honor
See page 3 A
972.878.4761
Nljfrls: 972.875.1892 * Fox: 972.878-1018
2702 S. Kaufman ■ Ennis, TX 75119
m ^The •
Ennis
Sunday, July 8,2012 www.ennisdailynews.com
$1.25
Weather
Sunday:
Chance of storms
High 95
Monday:
Chance of storms
High 92
Deaths
County cuts its purchaser
Phil Banker
phil@ennisdailynews. com
County officials are staying
tight-lipped after terminating
their second purchasing agent
in as many years.
The Ellis County
Commissioners Court will con-
sider action to ratify the termi-
nation of Purchasing Agent
Alisha Wickens during their 10
a.m. Monday meeting.
Kathy Eriksen, spokesperson
for the county, would not com-
ment on the reasons why
Wickens was terminated on
June 26, citing a personnel mat-
ter.
Before working as the coun-
ty’s purchasing agent, Wickens
held a position with the Texas
Department of Transportation.
The court approved Wickens’
hiring on June 13, 2011 after dis-
missing previous purchasing
agent Richard Denniston for
similarly undisclosed person-
nel reasons.
County Judge Carol Bush
said in an email Friday the job
would be posted soon, and
Hanna McCleary would do the
job until a full-time repacement
was found.
“We are so pleased that
Hanna McCleary has agreed to
assist us temporarily with the
Purchasing Department,” Bush
said.
McCleary served as interim
purchasing agent once before,
after Denniston’s termination
and before Wickens’ hiring.
The court will also discuss
action to approve an interlocal
agreement between the City of
Bardwell and the Ellis County
Tax Office to provide tax assess-
ment and collections for the
city.
The court approved similar
measures between the county
and the city of Ennis as well as
See COUNTY, page 9A
CLAXTON, Betty Jane
LAWRENCE, Elizabeth
Amanda
WAGNER, Rose Kelly
See Page 2 A
Around town
Don’t miss the
blood drive
Ennis Regional
Medical Center and
Carter BloodCare are
teaming up for the Great
American Give from
noon to 5 p.m. Tuesday,
July 10 at the hospital,
Room 119.
Every person who
donates blood in July
gets a free pint of Blue
Bell ice cream and will
also be entered to win
other rewards like a bed
and breakfast getaway
in Brenham and seats
for a Texas Rangers
baseball game.
One lucky donor will
win a year’s supply of
Blue Bell. For more
information, contact
Jeanna Gilmore at 972-
875-0900.
NARFE
to gather
NARFE, National
Association of Retired
Federal Employees will
hold their monthly
meeting at 11:30 a.m.
July 10 at Ryan’s, located
at 1400 Hwy 77 N
Waxahachie. For
NARFE information call
Waxahachie 469-939-
8102, Ennis 214-949-6197,
Corsicana 903-874-3092,
or Midlothian 972-268-
5793.
COT A SMARTPHONE?
Scan here to subscribe or
pay for your renewal to
The Ennis Daily News.
6
6
From left to right, Kimberley O’Donnell, Patty Miller, Bonnie Turner,
Elizabeth Webster, Wanda McBride and Tabetha Tyner celebrate Turner’s
retirement Friday.
BBVA bids executive adieu
Phil Banker
phil@ennisdailynews.com
Cake and cookies filled the lobby of
the BBVA Compass Bank on West Ennis
Avenue on Friday as the bank said
farewell to a long-time executive.
Bonnie Turner, branch retail execu-
tive for the bank, retired Friday after a
36-year-long career in the banking busi-
ness.
Turner worked for BBVA for 11 and a
half years, back when it was still
Guaranty and when the building stood
at the current site of CVS.
She said she’s loved working for the
bank, but her time has come to move on.
“It’s time to start enjoying the other
side of life,” Turner said. “I’m looking
forward to having personal time to do
all the things I haven’t had time for in
many years.”
Turner said over her 36 years in the
banking industry, she’s watched compe-
tition increase and her duties change.
“Things have changed, banks have
grown,” she said. “You see more of a
sales expectation for someone in my
role.”
She said the proliferation of new
banks added a new element of competi-
tion.
“When I first started in banking, we
weren’t out trying to garner business,”
she said. “People came to you.”
Turner’s colleague, Kimberley
O’Donnell, said while someone familiar
with the community and the company
See TURNER, page 3 A
Ennis plans
new budget
without hikes
Howerton
Nick Todaro
nick@ennisdailynews. com
City commissioners will knuckle down on
the coming year’s budget Tuesday to discuss
details of the city’s 2012-13 financial plan.
Going in to that workshop, city management
is confident Ennis residents can expect another
year without tax rate or utility fee increases.
“We are seeing positive changes in the econo-
my which have resulted in
the natural economy induced
growth of city revenues,”
said City Manager Steve
Howerton.
The possibility of an
employee raise plan has also
come forward, and Howerton
said the city hopes to provide
a “modest” cost-of-living
boost to offset a 2.7-percent
growth in the Consumer
Price Index in the Dallas-Fort Worth metro area.
“(The CPI) increase will have some impact on
the cost of products and materials,” Howerton
said. “We are hopeful to provide a modest cost of
living increase for city employees to offset the
2.7-percent loss in employee buying power.”
In general terms, Howerton said the city
expects to complete the current budget year,
which ends in September, above budgeted rev-
enues and below budgeted expenditures.
Sales tax revenues for June, for example, saw
a 6.85 percent increase and annual sales tax rev-
enues are expected to up “significantly more”
than the budgeted annual figure. To date, sales
tax is up about 1.8 percent over the to-date peri-
od in 2011.
Debt restructuring has also allowed the city
to free up the possibility of significant future
investments without raising taxes.
The next decade could see $15 millon in capi-
tal expenditures if the debt issuance plan is fol-
lowed, Howerton said.
Perry s presidential run security bill grows
AUSTIN (AP) — State security
agents who protected Gov. Rick
Perry as he crisscrossed the
country running for president
have filed for an additional
$104,000 in backlogged travel
expenses, according to state
records released Friday. That
raises the total cost of his failed
White House bid to Texas taxpay-
ers to at least $3.7 million.
The Texas Department of
Public Safety reported spending
about $104,000 on airfare, food,
fuel, lodging and other travel
expenses as it provided security
for the governor between
September and January.
Those expenses were not
yet processed when the
agency released quarter-
ly records in March that
detailed $1.8 million in
travel expenses as its
agents protected Perry
and his family on the
campaign trail.
The agency also paid
Perry
out at least $1.8 million in over-
time compensation to its agents
while Perry was a presidential
candidate, according to reports
previously obtained by
The Associated Press
using open records
requests. The latest
round of additional trav-
el expenses pushes the
total security expendi-
tures to more than $3.7
million, but additional
bills — such as holdover
travel expenses or over-
time filings that could
appear in the department’s
future reports — could raise the
cost to taxpayers even more.
Perry announced his presiden-
tial bid in South Carolina on Aug.
13, 2011, and called off his cam-
paign in the same state on Jan. 19
— two days before South
Carolina’s primary election. For
security reasons, Texas does not
reveal how many state troopers
accompany the governor or how
far in advance they arrive.
Friday’s report does not list
dates, but shows travel expenses
incurred in Des Moines and three
other cities in Iowa, where Perry
campaigned ahead of the state’s
first-in-the-nation presidential
caucuses on Jan. 3.
Not only do we stand
behind our windows,
we stand on them!
Locally Owned by
Jack & Wanda Terry
Home of the
•189
WINDOW
nff NATION'S LARGEST MMf REPLACEMENT COMPANY
"Simply the Best for Less
972-584-1811
401 N. HIGHWAY 77, SUITE 11 - A - WAXAHACHIE
Upcoming Pages
Here’s what’s next.
Search Inside
This issue can be searched. Note: Results may vary based on the legibility of text within the document.
Tools / Downloads
Get a copy of this page or view the extracted text.
Citing and Sharing
Basic information for referencing this web page. We also provide extended guidance on usage rights, references, copying or embedding.
Reference the current page of this Newspaper.
Todaro, Nick. The Ennis Daily News (Ennis, Tex.), Ed. 1 Sunday, July 8, 2012, newspaper, July 8, 2012; Ennis, Texas. (https://texashistory.unt.edu/ark:/67531/metapth771648/m1/1/: accessed July 18, 2024), University of North Texas Libraries, The Portal to Texas History, https://texashistory.unt.edu; crediting Ennis Public Library.