Polk County Enterprise (Livingston, Tex.), Vol. 105, No. 23, Ed. 1 Thursday, March 19, 1987 Page: 1 of 56
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Trinity-Neches
coverage
pages 6-9A
Polk County
ENTERPRISE
Thursday,
March 19, 1987
Volume 105 Number 23
The Dominant News and Advertising Source In Polk County
USPS 437-340 Price: 25 cento
Hospital project topic
w
Three suspects arrested
High school burglarized
LIVINGSTON - Presentation and
discussion of proposed hospital con-
struction projects is among the
items on the agenda for Thursday’s
regular meeting of the Livingston
Hospital District Board of Directors.
Hugh Morrison and Cliff
Thomasson of HealthStar, Inc are
scheduled to be present to review
construction proposals with the
board. HealthStar signed a 10-year
lease for Lake Livingston Medical
Center (formerly Livingston
Memorial Hospital) in October,
pledging to begin improvements
w ithin six months.
At the tune of the lease signing,
the company indicated it would add
7,000 square feet of new facilities, in-
cluding two surgical suites, a
delivery room and a physicians
lounge. Renovation of the emergen-
cy room and dietary area, the latter
to include a larger employee-guest
dining room, were also included in
the plans, as were some cosmetic
improvements and a new roof and
generator.
Other items on the agenda include
discussion and possible action on
changes in the hospital district's of-
fice space and equipment in the Dun-
bar Building. There will also be
discussion and possible action on
proposed fee changes for the mater-
nity ob indigent healthcare pro-
gram.
Board members will also hear a
report on the cancellation of the
district’s hospital management con-
tract with Affiliated Hospital
Systems (AHS). Attorney Terry
Pace told the board last month that
the contract dispute had been resolv-
ed. The board voted to terminate the
contract, due to expire March 31,
after signing the lease with
HealthStar. Pace indicated AHS has
settled for a payment of $39,790, the
amount the company would have
earned through March.
Other business includes designa-
tion of Livingston Hospital District
bank accounts and authorized
signatures.
The meeting will begin at 5 p.m. in
the Dunbar Building.
UVINGSTON - The discovery of
expensive audio equipment, sitting
covered in plastic in a wooded area
near Memorial Point, has led to the
clearing of a burglary at Livingston
High School
Two adults and one juvenile have
been charged with entering the
school and taking approximately
$5,000 worth erf items from the band
hall, computer room and a govern-
ment room
Two of the suspects - Enc Shane
Hill, 17. and William Joseph Griffin,
19, both of Livingston - were each
placed under a $1,500 bond by
Municipal Judge Ruth Pritchard
The juvenile, 16, was turned over to
juvenile probation authorities, ac-
cording to Livingston Police Chief
larry Macomber
The audio equipment, a Pewvey
MOL power module and tri plex
speaker unit, was found Monday
morning off Stevens Ijine behind
Memorial Point. It was taken to the
Polk County Sheriffs Department,
where it was identified as belonging
to the Livingston Independent
School District
ljvingston Police Sgt Jim Har-
wood was dispatched to ljvingston
High School, closed for spring break,
where he found out-of-place equip-
ment in the school’s hallway,
several Apple and Tandy com-
puters, disk drives, color monitors
and a computer printer.
Macomber said entry into the
school was gained with a key.
Other burglaries cleared
The arrest of two other suspects is
believed to have cleared at least four
burglaries
John Robert Murphy, 17, of Liv-
ingston was arrested Sunday by Sgt.
Chns Gentz following a burglary at
Quick Eddie's Game Room on West
Church Street The following day,
Macomber interviewed a second
suspect, Charlie Wilson, 29. also of
Livingston, and recovered stereo
equipment and a video cassette
recorder believed stolen from Tara
l^ewis in a burglary investigated by
the sheriff’s department
Examination of Wilson's tennis
shoes showed they matched casts of
footprints made at the scene of a
March 9 burglary at Livingston
Wholesale Builders, Macomber
said Both Wilson and Murphy have
Rescuers
race thunderstorm to aid fishermen
been charged in that burglary.
In addition to being charged with a
burglary Sunday at the game room,
Murphy has been charged with a
burglary Friday at the same loca-
tion, according to the police chief.
Murphy was placed in the Polk
County Jail. Wilson, who was on
parole, has been turned over to the
probation department.
Car recovered
A black Z-28 taken Monday from
Pine Hill Apartments was found by
Officer John Ener near the baseball
field off Platt Street
The car’s engine was still running
when the officer arrived, although
the thieves had managed to take the
two rear mag disk wheels and Eagle
GT tires and two t-tops from the car
before fleeint the scene, according
to Ener's report
The vehicle, belonging to
Katherine Sipult, also had damage
to the windshield, steering column
and interior
Sec MAILBOXES pg. 2A
ENTERPRISE PHOTO BY KENN SCHMIDT
STICKY FINGERS - There may be more ice going to let a little thing like neatness come
cream on his face and fingers than ever between him and his favorite springtime
made it to his stomach, but 18-month-old treat.
Tony Jaramillo of Livingston shows he is not
Macomber said Ij*s was not im-
mediately determined because of
school officials being unavailable
during the holiday
Neighbors watching the area
around Stevens Drive reported see-
ing a red Mustang return to the
scene where the equipment was
found, according to the police chief
Follow-up investigation led to the ar-
rest of Hill, whose interview by
police led to the arrest of the other
two suspects, Macomber said All
three suspects gave statements to
police Tuesday morning and all
were charged with burglary of a
building
All property taken from the school
has been recovered, the chief said
In addition to the two pieces of audio
equipment found off Stevens Road,
police also recovered a Realistic
amplifier, a keyboard and tape
player, all believed taken from the
band hall.
A variety of computer equipment
was also recovered, including
LAKE UVINGSTON - Two
Houston men whose boat became
swamped in high winds Monday-
emerged as winners m a race bet-
ween the Scenic Ix»p Volunteer Fire
Department’s lake Rescue Squad
and a fast-moving thunderstorm
that swept across the lake early
Tuesdai morning.
Taylor Wayne Kelly, 29, and Omar
Bowman, 31, were rescued from
Fine Island about 30 minutes before
the storm hit
Kelly and Bowman had left
Houston about 5 30 a.in. Monday to
fish for crappie on lake Livingston,
putting their boat in the water from
Browder's Marina at about 8:30
am, according to SLVFD Chief
Terry lin ks Their 15-foot Monarch
bass boat began taking on water and
they put in at Pine island about 12:30
p.m. It was 11 hours later before
authorities learned the two men
were missing and a search began
Kelly’s parents, who own a lake
home in Camilla, notified the San
Jacinto County Sheriff’s Depart-
ment after the men, who were
scheduled to be at work at 6 p.m. in
Baytown, did not show up for their
jobs San Jacinto authorities called
the Polk County Sheriffs Depart-
ment. which called the SLVFD.
Rescue efforts were hampered by
the same strong winds which had
swamped the bass boat The area
was under a tornado watch until 5
am Tuesday and the weather ser-
vice had warned of a severe storm
moving in this direction.
The SLVFD Lake Rescue Squad,
San Jacinto and Polk County
deputies and Trinity River Authority
personnel at Lake Livingston Dam
searched the banks and marinas to
make sure the two men had not
made it to shore and verified that
their truck and trailer was parked at
Browder’s Marina.
Rescuers were keeping a close eye
on the weather and the location of
the severe storm, SLVFD dispatcher
Kathy Parker said, adding the Polk
County sheriff’s dispatcher kept
checking with the U.S. Weather Ser-
vice, relaying the latest storm
reports back to the rescuers. "She
(the sheriffs department dispat-
cher) was really a big help,” she
said.
SLVFD put their boat in the water
at approximately 12:15 a.m. "We
worked out of the state park so we
could go with the wind,” Hicks said.
Officials at the dam clocked
southwesterly winds between 25-35
mph at that time.
"We kept thinking we saw
something on Pine Island,” Hicks
said. As they neared the island they
heard shouting and found the two
men on the island’s west side at
about 3:30 a.m. Rescue squad
member Brett Hunter said the men
were cold and wet but were other-
wise alright. The men were taken
back to the their truck at Browder’s
shortly after 4 a.m.
None of the rescuers seemed to
know for sure what they saw on the
island that led them to the general
area where the men were found. “It
was so weird,” Parker said. “Our
guys kept seeing a light on the bank,
but when they picked them up they
didn’t even have a flashlight” While
s ome speculated the light could have
been a reflection of the search lights
off a belt buckle or other piece of
metal, Parker has her own explana-
tion. “I just think someone was sit-
ting on their shoulder."
Stabbing suspect sought
CORRIGAN - A warrant has been
issued for a suspect accused of stab-
bing a 28-year-old Houston man off
Stryker Road near Corrigan Satur-
day night.
The victim, Willie Earl Jackson,
was taken to Lufkin Memorial
Hospital, where he was treated for
stab wounds to the chest, stomach
and hands, according to Polk County
Sheriff’s Department Capt Chuck
Staton. Jackson has since been
released from the hospital.
The identity of the suspect is being
withheld pending arrest, Staton said
the suspect is a former resident of
Corrigan who has since moved from
the area.
Jackson told officers he and his
wife, Judy Ann Jackson, 26, had
come to this area with the suspect to
go fishing, Staton said. The victim
said while they were travelling on a
dirt road in the Stryker area, the
suspect “for no apparent reason"
started stabbing Willie Jackson, ac-
cording to the officer.
Deputies were notified of the inci-
dent by a resident in the Stryker
area, who said a black male
(Jackson) came to his door at ap-
proximately 10:15 p.m. saying he
had been stabbed and asking that
the resident call the sheriffs depart-
ment. The citizen left to telephone
authorities and returned to the door
to find the victim had left, Staton
said.
Sergeants Oeburne Swilley and
Rick Davis searched the area but
were unable to locate the victim. At
approximately 11:32 p.m., a
Comgan-area resident took Jackson
to the Corrigan Police Department
Lt. Billy Nelson and Deputy Barbara
Westerman conducted the follow-up
investigation which led to charges of
aggravated assault being filed
against the suspect, who was not in
custody at press time.
Four injured when jeep flips
PROPERTY KEl'OVKKEO - Livingston High School. Three suspects have been
Police Officer John Ener checks the serial charged with burglarizing the computer
number on one of several pieces of computer room, band hall and a government room at
equipment which was taken from Livingston the high school.
UVINGSTON - Four persons
were injured Sunday morning in a
two-vehicle accident on U.S. 59 at
FM 1968 in Goodrich.
The injured persons, all from the
Lufkin area, were riding in a 1966
Suzuki Samurai jeep, which collided
with a Dodge pickup driven by
William Alton King, 36, of Cokkpr-
ing at approximately t a.m.
Injured were the jeep's driver,
Richard LeVaughn Chittum, 22; and
paasengers Helenie Lynn Chittum,
21; Shaliaa Shawn Wagner, 17; and
Morris Dean Morehead, M. All four
were taken by ambulance to Lake
Livingston Medical Center. Both
Chittums have since been discharg-
ed. Morehead was transferred in
serious condition by Life Flight
helicopter to Hermann Hospital in
Houston. Wagner was transferred in
serious condition to Woodland
Heights Hospital in Lufkin.
According to the report filed by
Texas Highway Patrol Trooper
Jesse Neuman, King pulled out from
FM 1666 to cross the highway and
struck the right tide of Chittum's
vehicle, which was northbound on
U.S. 59 The jeep overturned, throw-
ing the two passengers in the back
seat out of the vehide, according to
the report.
King was charged with failure to
yield right of way at a stop Intersec-
tion and with failure to maintain
financial responsibility
At 7:to a.m Sunday a 66-year-old
Livingston woman was seriously in-
jured when her 1674 Chevrolet went
out of control and struck two large
pine trees off FM SUB, 9.7 miles
See TRAILER pg. 3A
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White, Barbara. Polk County Enterprise (Livingston, Tex.), Vol. 105, No. 23, Ed. 1 Thursday, March 19, 1987, newspaper, March 19, 1987; Livingston, Texas. (https://texashistory.unt.edu/ark:/67531/metapth782100/m1/1/: accessed April 19, 2024), University of North Texas Libraries, The Portal to Texas History, https://texashistory.unt.edu; crediting Livingston Municipal Library.