Polk County Enterprise (Livingston, Tex.), Vol. 125, No. 74, Ed. 1 Sunday, September 23, 2007 Page: 1 of 48
This newspaper is part of the collection entitled: Polk County Newspapers and was provided to The Portal to Texas History by the Livingston Municipal Library.
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11. -----1__
at Livingston
schools
Inside Today
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ENIknrmSE
'
September:
Volume 125 Number 74
The Dominant News and Advertising Source in Polk County
UPS 437-340
Price: 50 cents
LIONS
4-0
Sports
Sports fans get a dou-
ble-dip in today's edition.
All the latest on area
football teams in today's
sports section and the
annual football section.
See Sports, Pg. 7C
Living
FUMC Book Review
series to benefit
community starts in
October.
See Living, Pg. 1B
Quote for
the day
"Trouble is
only opportu-
nity dressed
up in work
clothes"
— Henry J. Kaiser
(1882-1967)
U.S. industrialist
Weather
gp :
. . 4
I vx.....
a# HWmm
Hr
____Isolated and scat-
tered afternoon thun-
derstorms continue
through Wednesday.
:Highsin the mid 80s
degrees, lows in the
upper 60s degrees.
Index
Bulletin Board.........5B
Business Guide.......8B
Classified..........9B-12B
Crossword...............9B
Community Calendar... 5A
Obituaries................6A
Official Records......3A
Opinion....................4A
Living..................1B-7B
Sports...............9A-12A
Growth in value offsets increase in county expenses
By VALERIE REDDELL
Editor
LIVINGSTON - The growth
in Polk County property values
is outpacing increases in county
expenses, and allowing county
officials to keep property taxes at
62.77 cents per $100 for the fourth
straight year.
The proposed budget for fiscal
year 2008 projects $13,964,489
in property tax revenue, up from
$12,735,641 in fiscal year 2007.
Several budget amendments were
discussed in a public hearing on the
2008 budget held Sept. 17.
Fees paidby Trinity River Authority
were increased by $78,116 to fund
security at the Lake Livingston
Dam. TRA reimburses the sheriff’s
department for overtime salaries for
deputies assigned to provide security
at the dam. The adjusted amount put
the annual salary for TRA security at
$240,359.
TRA administrative fees were also
increased by $10,664.
Commissioners also approved a
$31,115 increase in the county's pro-
rate share of the annual budget for
the Polk Central Appraisal District.
The county’s annual share is now
$310,947.
The revised budget also included
a $10,000 increase in support for the
Child Welfare Board that provides
necessities to children in foster care.
The budgeted interest payments
for the 2007 tax notes for the county
jail expansion project was changed
to 0. The $6,668.75 was transferred
from the jail construction account to
pay that interest payment.
After receiving an order from
the district judges that serve Polk
County, commissioners approved an
increase in salaries for the County
Auditor, District Court bailiffs and
court reporter as well as increase
in the pro rata payment to Trinity
County for the 258,h District Court’s
annual budget.
To cover these final increased
expenses, contingency funds were
decreased by $7,000.
Final estimates on sales tax revenue
were also increased by $1,500 in the
final draft of the budget.
Contract janitorial services
previously budgeted for $40,000
were eliminated.
Other miscellaneous changes
- line item corrections and reduction
in the budget for longevity pay added
$12,465 to the final budget.
The budget has an unreserved
balance of $2.65 for the general fund
and $17,518 in the Road and Bridge
Fund, budget documents show.
The general fund had an unreserved
balance of $2,975,092 at the end of
the 2006 fiscal year, according to
the independent audit prepared by
Sanderson, Knox & Belt.
General fund revenues have grown
by 38.6 percent since fiscal year
2004, County Judge John Thompson
said.
The Road and Bridge fund has
a balance of $854,564 and $5,449
million is anticipated for 2008.
The road and bridge fund has
grown by 86.3 percent since fiscal
year 2004.
The proposed $3,2333,859 in debt
service for 2008 was increased from
$2,436,052 in 2007 and has risen
52.1 percent since 2004.
Taxpayers can also analyze the
county’s monthly financial reports
in depth online. Monthly auditor
reports detailing actual expenses
are posted at www.co.polk.tx.us/ips/
cms/countyoffices/county Audi tor.
html.
Gas leak closes Houston St overnight
By VALERIE REDDELL
Editor
LIVINGSTON - A ruptured natural
gas line prompted city officials to
close North Houston Street Thursday
afternoon and evacuate children and
staff from First Baptist Church’s
Mother Day Out program and staff
from the Livingston Telephone offices
on the corner of North Houston and
East Polk.
City crews working to install a
sanitary sewer connection at the
Central Baptist Church construction
site struck the line with boring
equipment because they were given
incorrect information about the depth
of the line, Livingston Fire Marshal
Mark Taylor said.
The crew was boring out to a
manhole in the street when they
clipped the bottom of the gas line
about five feet in the bank, Taylor
said. CenterPoint Energy officials
had marked the location of the line
and told city crews it was between
seven and eight feet deep.
Gas monitoring equipment showed
strong readings around the site of the
leak and in a nearby sewer manhole,
Taylor said.
As a precaution, city crews
evacuated a one-block area around
the leak site, including First Baptist
Church and the telephone office,
Taylor said.
Livingston firefighters and city
crews set up gas monitors at the edge
of the perimeter that would have
sounded an alarm if the natural gas
vapors spread further, Taylor said. The
alarm sounds when the concentration
of gas reaches the lowest limits of
explosive levels.
Livingston Fire Chief Corky
Cochran said a rotating crew of
firefighters stood by at the scene
until about 1:30 a.m. just in case the
leaking gas caused a flash fire.
Once CenterPoint Energy crews
arrived from Lufkin, Taylor said they
were able to vent the leak into the
atmosphere instead of into the ground,
removing the danger from gas leaking
into the city’s sewer system.
With the gas safely dissipating into
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ENTERPRISE PHOTO BV JAMES E HAIK.lt
LIVINGSTON POLICE blocked off North Houston Street for a three block area while
work crews from the City of Livingston and CenterPoint Energy repair a gas leak. The clo-
sure was expanded when a truckc carrying an oversize load could not make the detour.
NATURAL GAS SAFETY TIPS
You cannot predict how much danger actually exists. It is better to
over react to a possible gas problem, than to assume that no danger
exists
In its natural state, natural gas is colorless and odorless, so utility
companies add a distinctive odor: rotten eggs. This additive makes
even the smallest leaks easier to detect.
If you smell the odor of Natural Gas, indoors or outdoors, DO
NOT USE A PHONE IN THE AREA THAT THE ODOR IS
DETECTED.
If you small-aa odor of natural gas: — . ..-------------------
• Do not smoke or strike a match and never operate an electric
switch, a flashlight, a cigarette lighter, an automatic garage door, or
a telephone; each of these can ignite natural gas.
• Immediately open the doors and windows and quickly check to
see if any appliances have been left on accidentally or if a pilot flame
has been extinguished.
• If the odor persists, TAKE NO CHANCES; get out of the house
immediately, then call CenterPoint Energy from a nearby phone at
713-659-2111 or 1-800-752-8036.
Call CenterPoint Energy immediately:
• If you observe a pilot flame or burner suddenly burning much
higher than normal, which indicates a sudden surge in gas pressure.
• If your gas service is cut off at the meter, or it should fail for
any other reason.
the atmosphere, officials allowed
the evacuated workers to return to
collect their vehicles shortly before
5 p.m., Taylor said.
At about 5 p.m. Livingston police
had to extend the closure of North
Houston street a few blocks north
to West Sherman after tractor-trailer
truck carrying an oversize load was
not able to detour around the street
closure.
The size of the equipment the
truck was carrying prevented the
driver from turning onto any of the
smaller side streets north of Church
Street, and he could not back up,
said Det. Matt Parrish, Livingston
Police Department spokesman.
Officers directed the driver and
escort vehicles accompanying
the truck to park on Houston at
Sherman.
CenterPoint crews blocked oft the
leak at about 12:30 a.m. Firefighters
were able to stand down at about
1:30 a.m. and CenterPoint crews
completed work at about 3 a.m.,
Taylor said.
City workers stayed at the scene
of the leak until about 4 a.m. and
returned to work at 8 a.m.
The oversize load was moved to
the Central Baptist Church parking
lot at about 4 a.m. and was allowed
to continue on its route at about 7
a.m.
Man dies
in 1-car
collision
By JAMES E. BAUGH
Staff Reporter
LIVINGSTON — A 26-year-old
Livingston man was pronounced
dead at 4:30 a.m. Sept. 20 following
a single-vehicle accident.
Clint Russell Stanford was
southbound on Stale Highway 146
just south of Tony Peebles Road
when his 1997 Dodge Dakota
pickup left the roadway and struck
a tree, killing him on impact, DPS
reports show.
Livingston Volunteer Fire
Department dispatched 10
firefighters with three trucks at
3:21 a.m. to extricate the man from
the wreckage
Driver runs stop sign, hits tree
On Sept 16, two Livingston
residents, Kathy Renee Smith, 43,
and Jessie Carter, 45, were flown
by helicopter to Memorial Hermann
Hospital after colliding with a tree
on FM 2457 at about 9:40 p.m.
Both occupants of the vehicle
face misdemeanor charges for
having an open alcoholic beverage
container in a motor vehicle.
DPS reports show Smith ran
a stop sign on northbound FM
3126 Her 2004 Chevy impaln then
crossed FM 2457 and struck a tree.
Unsafe U-turn causes crash
Kimberly Lane Tate, 19, of
Livingston was charged with an
unsafe turn after she struck another
vehicle while attempting to make
a u-turn from the shoulder of U.S.
Hwy 190 East.
Tate was eastbound on U.S. 190
at about 5:45 p.m. Sept. 17 when
she pulled to the shoulder of the
road in order to turn around and
head back west.
According to DPS reports, Tate
failed to see an oncoming vehicle
Sec CRASH , Page 2A
Agents want technology upgrades
made on Appraisal District website
By JAMES E. BAUGH
Staff Reporter
LIVINGSTON - A group of 30
area real estate agents^ attended
the August Polk County Central
Appraisal District board meeting ,
delivering an en masse request to
make more property data available
online.
The agents and appraisers showed
up to speak during the public
forum portion of the meeting with
their questions about using newer
technology to speed the flow of
information from the appraisal
district.
Board chair, Marion “Bid” Smith,
opened the discussion by reminding
everyone present that while the board
allots time to hear public comments,
the board is legally restricted from
taking action on items presented
during the public forum.
Rick Drake, an appraiser with B L
Clarke Appraisal Firm of Livingston,
provided samples of the data that
is made available on surrounding
counties’ websites. Drake pointed
out that quite a few counties ~
including Liberty, Tyler, Jasper, San
Jacinto, Trinity and Montgomery —
all have more detailed information
available on their sites at no charge.
When questioned by the board
about what was missing from Polk "
County’s site, the agents said that
the three things needed most are
an accurate square footage that
separates the living area from the
total square footage, a deed history,
and a physical (street) address.
Mary Burnette, owner of the
Century 21 office in Livingston,
questioned the accuracy of the data
found on the appraisal district's
site.
Chief Appraiser Carolyn Allen
answered that all the data on the
site was accurate and current for the
2007 tax year.
Burnette countered that records
on her property still reflect her
ex-husbaftd's name although her
divorce was finalized over two years
ago and all paperwork was filed with
the Polk County courthouse. Allen
said she would look into it.
This discrepancy raised another
round of questions from the audience
regarding the accuracy of square
footage listings on the website.
Allen told the audience that in
previous years the square footage
had included garages and other non-
living spaces,^ but as of 2007 only
the living space islTsTed. —•
Investigation by this reporter
found discrepancies with personal
tax records including an incorrect
square footage listing - the entire
second floor of my home was not
listed. Also, the website cannot be
searched by physical address, only
by account number, owner’s name
or mailing address (which is rarely
the same as the physical address in
rural areas).
Drake also noted that in Hardin
County people inquiring at the
appraisal district can fax a signed
request and receive the information
needed via email, again at no
charge.
Pat McCulley, owner of Country
World Realty, asked about the use of
money budgeted in 2006 to.help the
appraisal district go online. Smith
informed her that prior to 2006
See APPRAISAL, Page 2A
Victims Remembered
ENTERPRISE PHOTO BY CORDON LEBARRON
County Judge John P. Thompson, center, proclaims Sept.
27 as National Remembrance Day for Murder Victims. Vic-
tims Assistance Coordinator Sherry Sprayberry, Assistant
District Attorney Pamela Walker and District Attorney Lee
Hon joined in the signing ceremony held this week. For the
complete text of the proclamation, see page 4A.
;G -
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Reddell, Valerie. Polk County Enterprise (Livingston, Tex.), Vol. 125, No. 74, Ed. 1 Sunday, September 23, 2007, newspaper, September 23, 2007; Livingston, Texas. (https://texashistory.unt.edu/ark:/67531/metapth788406/m1/1/?q=music: accessed July 18, 2024), University of North Texas Libraries, The Portal to Texas History, https://texashistory.unt.edu; crediting Livingston Municipal Library.