Polk County Enterprise (Livingston, Tex.), Vol. 99, No. 36, Ed. 1 Sunday, May 3, 1981 Page: 1 of 32
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GOOD
MORNING!
Polk County
ENTERPRISE
SUNDAY,
May 3, 1981
The dominant news and advertising source in Polk County, since 1882
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USPS 437-340 PRICE: 25 CENTS
VOLUME 99
NUMBER 36
2 SECTIONS 24 PAGES
GISD returns may bring lawsuit
Coker, Duff, Long emerge as runoff winners
GOODRICH - The three school board
candidates who had received the ap-
parent endorsement of suspended
Goodrich School Superintendent Jerry
Easley were all defeated in a runoff
election Saturday and at least one of
them has indicated a court suit may be
filed challenging the matter.
In what school officials described as a
heavy voter turnout, Otis “Poochie”
Long, Q.R. “Cooter” Duff and incum-
bent Wayne Coker Jr. were each
elected to school board positions 1, 2
and 4, respectively.
_ .%?• J.E. (Betty) Cooper, the loser in
Saturday’s Position 4 vote, said Satur-
day night she believes the runoff elec-
tion was illegal and that a lawsuit pro-
bably wiU be filed challenging the
school board’s decision to call the
special election.
Cooper, who won more votes than any
other Position 4 candidate in the April 4
election, claims the school board did
not have the legal authority to call the
run-off. Last month she filed a lawsuit
in Second Ninth District Court seeking
an injunction to stop the election but
Judge John Martin dismissed the mat-
ter after ruling that no district court
had the power to prevent an election
from being held.
“My suit is still a viable suit,’’ she
said. “The run-off election was illegal
and should not have been held.”
The dispute centers around a section
of the Goodrich board policy manuel
which school officials contend makes
run-off elections mandatory in the
event that no candidate receives a ma-
jority vote. Cooper contends that this
section of the manuel was not properly
adopted and that candidates receiving
a plurality of votes should have been
declared the winners following the
April 4 election.
None of the candidates in the April 4
race received a majority vote although
Cooper, Duff and L.C. Randolph were
given more votes than their com-
petitors feu- the three positions.
In Saturday’s voting, Coker, the only
incumbent in the race, defeated Cooper
by a vote of 357-231 while Long narrowly
defeated Randolph 307 votes to 290 in
the Position 1 race. Duff won the Posi-
tion 2 seat over R.L. “Bob" Hill 327
votes to 264.
The slate of Cooper, Randolph and
Hill won the apparent backing of
Easley in the election. Easley was
suspended from the school superinten-
dent’s post Jan. 30 and is currently
awaiting a dismissal hearing before the
Texas Education Agency. The hearing
is set for May 13.
When contacted Saturday about the
election, Easley declined to comment
at the advice of his attorney.
GOODRICH 8CHOOL BOARD
RUN-OFF ELECTION RESULTS
Positiw 1
Vote
Candidate Total %
✓Otis “Poochie” Long 307 51.4
L.C. Randolph 290 48.6
Position 2
✓Q.R. “Cooter” Duff 327 #5.3
Bob Hill 264 44.7
Position 4
✓Wayne Coker Jr. 357 60.7
Mrs. J.E. (Betty) Cooper 231 39.3
For bank in Onalaska
Second charter filed
Summer preview
With summer just around the corner, many people are enjoy-
ing the wide variety of outdoor recreation available on Lake
Livingston. The Lake Livingston State Park, located in Polk
County, provides visitors with access to everything from water
sports and camping to picnicing and just plain horsing around.
John Williams (left), son of Otis and Ruby Williams of Liv-
ingston and James D. Pittman Jr., son Minnie Pittman of
Houston enjoyed the swings at the park Sunday afternoon.
i
Municipal power agency
to consider contracts
ii
i
LIVINGSTON - Contracts concern-
ing the Sam Rayburn Municipal Power
Agency (SRMPA) are scheduled to be
ratified when board members meet
Wednesday morning in Livingston.
The power agency, consisting of the
cities of Livingston, Liberty and
Jasper, was formed in an effort to hold
down power costs by purchasing in-
terests in plants under construction by
Gulf States Utilities.
The City of Vinton, La. is also par-
ticipating in the power agency, but
- because it is not in Texas it has the role
: of a power customer rather than an ac-
tual partner, according to Livingston
Attorney Robert Willis, who serves on
; the-SRMPA board. He added Vinton
will probably end up paying as much
toward ^the agency as any of the Texas
cities.
The contracts scheduled to be ap-
proved Wednesday are preliminary
steps to issuing bonds to cover the pur-
chase cost, Willis said. There are eight
“ mrits scheduled to be considered
jjjgiflng, many of which ap-
nearly the same subjects but
nt angles. The final item on
__ is adoption of a resolution
pfttjinriving the sale of $75 million in
.
!
«
P
1
la
eaction
md is a World War I
who is not eligible for a
Administration pension
due to income. Is he eligible for VA
The VA information services of-
fice says he is. The VA outpatient
tment is available for any condi-
even though he is not receiving a
(the Kowrprwe will
power supply interim notes to Texas
Commerce Bank.
Resolutions leading to the bond sale
authorization include:
a. ) an interim power supply agree-
ment with Gulf States Unities, Sam
Rayburn Dam Cooperative, G&T and
the SRMPA. Willis explained that G&T
is the term used for several REA
cooperatives which have banded
together. The interim agreement
basically assures the power agency
that it will not lose money or the source
of power. It would require Gulf States
Utilities to continue providing power
even if something happens to one of the
units in which the cities own an interest,
according to Willis.
b. ) a power supply agreement with
Gulf States Utilities, the Sam Rayburn
Dam Cooperative, G&T and SRMPA.
That resolution is similar to the first, in
that it assures power will be provided,
the attorney said.
c. ) a power interconnection agree-
ment. This agreement would assure
transmission and “wheeling” control,
Willis said, adding that “wheeling” is
using power transmission lines even
though they are not owned by the power
agency.
d. ) a joint ownership participation
and operating agreement between the
parties involved.
9.) an entitlement assignment con-
tract with Gulf States add the SRMPA.
The power agency is buying a 20 per-
cent interest in Gulf State’s Nelson Six
coal-fired plant, Willis explained, an in-
terest which includes the facilities sur-
rounding the plant itself. A second plant
is being built adjacent to the first and
will share some of the facilities. In ef-
fect, this agreement will allow the
SRMPA to have an interest in both
plants without actually owning either
one, he said.
f.) a reliability agreement contract,
which is a variation of the other resolu-
tions which assure continuance of
Cooperative. This agreement spells out
how power generated from the dam will
be allocated to each area, according to
Willis.
h.) a power sales contract between
the SRMPA, the cities of Livingston,
Jasper and Liberty and the Vinton
Public Power Authority. For the City of
Livingston, this contract will replace
the power sales contract the city has
had with the Sam Rayburn Electric
Cooperative since 1964.
Willis admitted the number of
lawyers involved in the project have
created a lot of “legaleze” and “red
tape” but stressed the purpose of the
SRMPA is to provide sufficient power
at the best price.
The meeting is scheduled to begin at
10 a.m. at Livingston City Hall.
ONALASKA - With the hearing cm
the Onalaska State Bank’s charter ap-
plication less than a month away, a se-
cond OnalaBka bank charter request
has been filed by another group of Polk
County residents.
According to the State Banking
Department in Austin, a group of
Onalaska and Ltyingston residents filed
an application April 24 to chartec. the
Community State Bank, of Onalaska, A
hearing date on the second application
had not been set Friday.
State officials said the new charter
request lists assets for the proposed
bank at $1.25 million including $625,009
in capital stock, $312,560 in surplus and
$312,500 in reserve.
' Proposed directors for the Communi-
ty State Bank as listed as being
Lawrence L. Charrier, Dorothy Gibson,
Nick Netter and M.L. “Doc” Vincent,
all of Onalaska and Charles N. Wells of
Livingston.
If the charter-is approved, the bank
would be located on the north side of
U.S. 190 in Onalaska just .2 miles east of
the highway’s intersection with FM356.
The proposed site of the Community
State Bank is just .2 miles east of the
site proposed in the Onalaska State
Bank’s charter application.
The Onalaska State Bank charter ap-
plication was filed March 30 and lists /
assets of $1 million with proposed direc-
tors listed as O.C. Nowlin, Anthony
Page and M.G. Reily, all of Corrigan,
D.E. Reily of Lufkin and R.H. Reily of
Livingston. AD of the men currently
serve as directors of the Citizens State
Bank of Corrigan.
Although neither the directors for the
Community State Bank bank nor their
attorney, Joe Peck of Houston, could be
reached for comment, state banking of-
ficials said they had requested the hear-
ing on their charter be consolidated
with the Onalaska State Bank hearing
on May 27.
“They wanted to consoUdate the two
hearings into one,” the banking depart-
ment spokeswoman said. “This request
has been denied. The first bank ob- ’
Court fines
set record
LIVINGSTON - Fine and court cost
collections through county court broke
a record in April, according to figures
obtained from the Polk County Clerk’s
Office. Nearly $19,500 was collected
during the month, the largest amount
ever collected, deputies report. County
Judge Wayne Baker faced a docket of
nearly 90 cases.
Cases tried are as follows: ;
Dismissed
Ricky Flynn Ross, charged with
criminal mischief, dismissed at request
of complainant.
Rachael Hawkins, charged with pass-
ing forged prescription, dismissed for
insufficient evidence.
Janet Yvonne Piper, charged with
passing forged prescription, dismissed
for insufficient evidence,
Jake Lacy, Jr., charged with passing
forged prescription dismissed for in-
suiuciem evidence.
Louis Veal Seale, charged with pass-
ing forged prescription, dismissed for
insufficient evidence.
See CASES pg. 2A
Council
to meet
-An on
I policies
d by the Onalaska City (
i meeting scheduled to b
'uesday in the Onalaska
will be
ONALASKA
with personnel.
ed by the Onalaska
a
Tuesday
During the meeting, the corn
will receive reports from the
hear any comments or
citizens and review the
report.
jected to the consoUdation and we have
sent out letters notifying both parties
that we’re not going to do It”
The spokeswoman added that it wUl
be up to the State Banking Commission
as to which charter, if any, wUl be ap-
proved. “It’s entirety up to the banking
commission but they could grant both
charters, only one of them or neither of
them.” • < ■ ■ ■ *'
of the proposed ^directors of the
Onalaska State Bank, said Friday that
the consoUdation request was denied
because the two applications are not
classified as competing charters.
“If the two applications had been fil-
ed within 14 days of each other, they
would have been competing charters
and one hearing would have been held
on both of them,” he said. “As it stands
now, will have our hearing before they
have theirs, in fact, we may have
already had the hearing on our applica-
tion before their hearing is scheduled.”
Page explained that according to the
Texas Banking Code, a state banking
charter can only be graniedlf five con-
ditions are shown to exist. These condi-
tions include (1) that a public necessity
Water
switch
delayed
LIVINGSTON - The switch from well
water to Surface water for the City of
Livingston has been delayed again and
the Trinity River Authority is hesitant
to guarantee the date the new water
system wiU begin deUvering water to
city homes. It appears now, however,
that water will begin being pumped
from Lake Livingston on Monday and
wUl be available to residents on Tues-
day, according to TRA spokesman
Grady Manis,
Manis said the date hinges on
whether or not any new problems crop
up at tiie water treatment plant and
pump station and whether a part
ordered for the intake pump arrives on
schedule.
He attributed the latest delay to
several factors, including the faulty in-
take pump and a leak in the main line
leading from the filters to the clearing
weU. Manis indicated the problems be-
ing experienced at the plant and pump
station are not unusual for a newly-built
facUity.
In a release from the TRA published
earlier, persons on the city water
system were advized the switch from
weU water to surface water will likely
cause a reaction in the city’s Iron pipes.
Ibis reaction may cause tile water to be
discolored for approximately one week
after the system becomes operational
Because of the discoloration caused
by dissolved solids, the TRA advized
citizens to keep/faucet screens, water
filters, purifiers and water heaters
checked and cleaned to avoid poafabie
exists for the bank, (2) that capital is
adequate, (8) that the volume of
business would be such as to Indicate a
profitable bank operation, (4) that the
officers and directors of the bank have
sufficient experience to insure a pro-
fitable operation and (5) that the ap-
plication was filed in good faith.
i StXSF* VW7rtron* ** ftve
ar«« fan :
vestment If m didn’t Mel I______
“It just tickled me to death that so-
meone else fa making an application for
a charter. It just confirms our idea that
there fa a need for a bank in Onalaska
because there are other people who are
thinking the same thing,” he said.
Page said he feels the need for a bank
in Onalaska can be seen by anyone tak-
ing a “windshield survey” of the area.
“If you just drive around the Onalaska
area you’ll see that there are quite a
few people out there. We feel there fa a
stronger need for a bank there than in
Corrigan, Coldspring or Shepherd and
aU of these towns already have banks.”
He said since the Onalaska State
Bank’s charter application was an-
nounced last month, he has received
nothing but favorable comments from
area residents. “In our conversations
with bankers in HuntsviUe, they in-
dicated they were surprised that some
hadn’t put a bank in Onalaska
already.”
The banker indicated the experience
of the board directors also wiD be a fag
factor in the state’s decision concerning
the two charters. “Our directors have
anywhere from 11 to 45 years ex-
perience in banks. They have aU work-
ed in banks and they have all been bank
directors.”
Currently, the only financial Institu-
tion in the Onalaska area fa a branch Of-
fice of Livingston Savings and Loan.
Bob Belt, president of the savings and
loan, said Friday mat no decision has
been made as to whether or not they
will oppose father of the bank charters.
According to state officials, in-
dividuals or business wishing to formal-
ly oppose bank charter appUcations
must file written notice of their inten-
tion at least 10 days before the hearing
date.
“With everything that a savings and
loan can now offer, there fa really
nothing a bank can do that we can’t. I
don’t see any need for one bank out
there and I certainty don’t see a need
for two,” Belt raid.
The savings and loan president said
that when the Onalaska branch was
opened, it was not opened with the idea
that it would be a big money-making
operation immediately.
“We’re proud of that area out there.
It has a lot of potential I think the
Onalaska area fa one of the fastest
growing areas In the county and when
we put our branch out there it was with
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White, Barbara. Polk County Enterprise (Livingston, Tex.), Vol. 99, No. 36, Ed. 1 Sunday, May 3, 1981, newspaper, May 3, 1981; Livingston, Texas. (https://texashistory.unt.edu/ark:/67531/metapth781796/m1/1/: accessed July 16, 2024), University of North Texas Libraries, The Portal to Texas History, https://texashistory.unt.edu; crediting Livingston Municipal Library.