De Leon Free Press (De Leon, Tex.), Vol. 124, No. 7, Ed. 1 Thursday, August 8, 2013 Page: 1 of 22
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Mostly sunny
through the week
Thursday: 103/76
Friday: 99/74
Saturday: 95/74
Sunday: 94/74
Monday: 95/72
Proctor Lake Level: 58.51%
Weekly Precipitation: 0.00”
Annual Precipitation: 18.28”
Burn Baa Off
De Leon
Welcome to the Festival
Section B inside
Hometown paper of
Zollie Steakley,
exas Supreme Court
Secretary of State
Thursday, August 8, 2013 22 Pages
Seventy-five Cents
Volume 124, No. 7 DeLeon, TX 76444
*pe&Utwt Royalty
PEACH AND MELON QUEEN. Samantha Flower was LITTLE MISS DELEON. Payton Chupp was named
named 2013 Peach and Melon Queen at Tuesday 2013 Little Miss DeLeon at Tuesday night’s DeLeon
night’s DeLeon Peach and Melon Festival Pageant. Peach and Melon Festival Pageant.
JUNIOR MISS DELEON. Jamie Garrison was named PETITE MISS DELEON. Baylee Burrow was named
2013 Junior Miss DeLeon at Tuesday night’s DeLeon 2013 Petite Miss DeLeon at Tuesday night’s DeLeon
Peach and Melon Festival Pageant. Peach and Melon Festival Pageant.
Hospital District debates IMS rides
Sheriff’s Office arrests
husband for murder
On July 30,2013, Michael
Logan Lowery was arrested
and charged with the murder of
his wife Amber Lowery. He is
being held at the Comanche
AMBER LOWERY.
County jail on a $1,000,000
bond. Amber was reported as a
missing person on July 24,
2013, when she failed to show
up to meet her brother. Michael
stated that he had last seen his
wife the night of July 23,2013,
but had not heard from her
since.
On July 27,2013, Amber’s
2011 Honda vehicle was found
abandoned in Rising Star.
Authorities interviewed wit-
nesses and discovered that
Michael drove the Honda to
Rising Star, parked it and then
obtained a ride back to his resi-
dence.
On July 30, investigators
executed a search warrant
relating to the case, and
obtained search warrants for
Michael’s residence, located
about a mile inside the
Comanche County line, sur-
rounding property and his per-
sonal vehicle.
On July 31, 2013, during
the execution of the search war-
rants, human remains were
located on the property sur-
rounding Michael’s residence.
The remains were collected and
are being sent to the Forensic
Service Unit at the University
of North Texas.
Michael Lowery was
arrested at the Brown County
Law Enforcement Center on
the charge of Murder, and was
then transferred to Comanche
County, where he remains.
The Comanche County
Sheriff’s Office led the investi-
gation and was assisted by the
Texas Rangers, Texas Highway
Patrol, Comanche Police
Department and DeLeon Police
Department.
During the investigation,
DeLeon Police stood guard
over the crime scene to keep it
from contamination.
Tragically, Amber
Lowery’s parents, Chris Lee
Christensen and Linda
Hamilton Christensen, were
killed in a single vehicle acci-
dent between DeLeon and
Rising Star on April 24 of this
year.
MICHAEL LOWERY.
DISD tax rate to remain
similar for next year
By JON AWBREY
Publisher
DeLeon ISD Board of
Tmstees met Monday in a spe-
cial meeting, and agreed to a
proposed maintenance tax rate
of 1.04 per hundred, with an
additional debt service rate of
0.205 per hundred.
The proposed tax rates are
essentially the same rates as the
previous year, with only a frac-
tion of a cent increase in the
debt service rate.
Ken Thompson, the dis-
trict’s financial manager,
reported Monday that tax val-
ues were much underestimated
earlier this year when next
year’s district budget was ini-
tially discussed.
Thompson said that tax
values rose $18 million above
what was anticipated.
“We’re going to collect
more tax money,” said
Thompson, who added that the
district will see an increase of
$170,000 if it remained with
the same tax rate as last year.
However, he said, state
money will decline by
$109,000.
Even so, the district should
gain about $60,000 in revenue
because of the higher property
See Tax Rate page 8
By JON AWBREY
Publisher
On Tuesday, the Board of
Directors of the Comanche
County Hospital District named
David Freshour, recently hired
as the hospital’s Chief Financial
Officer, Chief Executive
Officer of the hospital district.
All approved the motion,
except board members Brad
Bettis and Lanny Butler, both of
whom abstained from the vote
citing conflicts of interest.
Directors also formed a
corporate by-law committee to
revise the district’s by-laws, last
revised in 2006, long before the
hospital and district split as
entities.
Board president Barbara
Williams will chair the commit-
tee, while Joe Locke and
Sharon McKinnon will serve as
members.
In other news, Freshour
reported that cash declined for
the month by $26,000, “largely
due to additional payments to
nursing homes.” Freshour also
noted that patient accounts
receivable were down
$107,000 for the month, and
that accounts payable had
increased $152,000 for the
month.
EMS revenue, said
Freshour, was above budget by
about $ 11,000, and total operat-
ing revenue was 3 percent
above budget for the month.
Significant expenses in wages
and benefits were below budget
for the month.
Freshour did report, too,
that year to date, the net income
for the district is two-and-a half
times higher than what was
budgeted.
Kristi Taylor, Home
Health and Hospice administra-
tor, reported that five patients
had already signed up for the
district’s new palliative care
program. Taylor also said that
there appears to be room for
growth in the home health and
hospice field in Erath County,
and expects good things within
30 days. Taylor added that the
home care program needed
attendants, workers to cook and
wash, as it is currently under-
staffed.
Further, Taylor reported
that a Home Health/Hospice
See Hospital page 7
School starts on August 26
By JON AWBREY
Publisher
That time of year is
approaching - a time for fall
football games, squeaky volley-
ball shoes on a gym floor, and
the smell of paste and green
beans in every hallway.
In DeLeon, teachers will
welcome their students back for
the first day of school on
August 26. Computers will be
in every child’s hands, and les-
son plans will be ready, said
DeLeon ISD Superintendent
Dana Marable. Teachers new to
the district will begin on August
12, while all teachers will return
by August 14.
A district wide Open
House will be held Friday,
August 23, from 6 p.m. to 8
p.m. so that parents can meet
teachers and students can
become familiar with new sur-
roundings.
This year, there will be a
few changes in DeLeon
schools.
School meal prices have
increased. At DeLeon High
School and Perkins Middle
School, breakfast will now cost
$1 and lunch will cost $2.15.
Reduced breakfast will be
$0.30, and reduced lunch will
be $0.40. At Elementary
School, breakfast will cost $1,
and lunch will cost $1.70.
Reduced breakfast will be
$0.30, and reduced lunch will
be $0.40.
Elementary School itself
has changed, and now sports a
new look.
“It’s a more welcoming
environment, and increases
safety tremendously,” said
Marable of the renovations,
which included tiling the hall-
ways - a task well performed by
Howard Gifford and his crew.
What hasn’t been redone
with hammers, nails, and vari-
ous forms of mortar and grout,
has been cleaned stem to stem,
said Marable.
Over at Perkins Middle
School, Troy Abies has been
See School Starts page 4
City retains cooler fees
DeLeon City Council met large cooler.
Tuesday, July 30 to discuss No glass bottles are
amending the contract with the allowed.
Peach and Melon Festival During this meeting, a rep-
Committee regarding cooler resentative from the festival
fees. committee was not in atten-
In prior years, the agree- dance. However, the city coun-
ment between the festival com- cil approved allowing cooler
mittee and the city has been $5 fees to remain the same as in
for a small cooler, $10 for a past years,
medium cooler, and $15 for a
Deleon police receive
thanks from Comal Co.
DeLeon Police Moulton, Texas to Canyon
Department received thanks for Lake, Texas.
a job well done last week from After speaking with
the Comal County Sheriff’s Young, Baker and Cole recog-
Office. nized the need to have Young
According to Detective transported to Comanche
Doug Phillips of Comal County Medical Center for
County, DeLeon police officers evaluation.
Ian Baker and Clint Cole locat- Shortly after Young was
ed Dora Young, a missing per- transported, Comal County
son from Comal County, while Sheriff’s Office was notified
she sat in her car in the parking that she had been located,
lot of a DeLeon business on “If not for Officer Baker
July 17, about 2 a.m. and Officer Cole locating Dora
Young had been reported and recognizing the need for
missing on July 15, and had medical attention,” said
apparently become lost and dis- Phillips, “the outcome could
oriented on her way home from have been much different.”
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Kestner, Laura. De Leon Free Press (De Leon, Tex.), Vol. 124, No. 7, Ed. 1 Thursday, August 8, 2013, newspaper, August 8, 2013; De Leon, Texas. (https://texashistory.unt.edu/ark:/67531/metapth787171/m1/1/?q=j+w+gardner: accessed June 17, 2024), University of North Texas Libraries, The Portal to Texas History, https://texashistory.unt.edu; crediting Comanche Public Library.