Polk County Enterprise (Livingston, Tex.), Vol. 124, No. 27, Ed. 1 Sunday, April 2, 2006 Page: 1 of 44
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Polk County
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Volume ^24 Number 27
UPS 437-340 Price: 50 cents
For May local option election
Polling place changes ahead
By EMILY BANKS
News Editor
LIVINGSTON - All 20 polling
places in the county will be open
for voting in the May 13 local op-
tion election.
Action taken March 28 by the
Polk County Commissioners’ Court
to consolidate the county’s 20 poll-
ing places to five will be rescinded
at the next court meeting on April
11. At that time, commissioners are
expected to take action approving
all 20 polling places for the elec-
tion.
The change is due to a recent
change in the law governing the
holding of local option elections
regarding alcoholic beverages.
The court had previously ap-
proved consolidating the county’s
20 voting precincts to five - based
on the recommendation of the
county clerk - to save money.
"My recommendation that the
court consolidate the polling places
was purely a cost-cutting measure.
I’ve already depleted my elections
budget and haven’t even conducted
the primary run-off yet,” County
Clerk Barbara Middleton said.
According to Middleton, having
all 20 polling places open during
the May 13 election will cost in
excess of $15,000. Consolidating
the polling places would have
saved half that amount, she said.
"It was strictly cost-saving,”
Elections Coordinator Bob Zeigler
said.
“Staff, personnel is the major
cost. This being a Saturday elec-
tion, quite a few of the workers will
be on time and a half,” Zeigler said.
However, Section 501.103 of
See LIQUOR pg. 4A
ENTERPRISE PHOTO BV CORDON LeBARRON
GRAND CHAMPION MARKET STEER - Jimmy Duke from Big Sandy FFA showed this
year’s grand champion steer at the Trinity-Neches FFA and 4-H Livestock Show. The steer
sold for $15,500. The buyers were Duke Tracking, Duke Show Cattle, SIACK Logging, Tyler
County Parts, Inc., Texas Timberjack, Davis Forestry, Performance Track, Minter Logging,
Monica Bros, in Woodville, JSD Logging, Livingston Feed & Supply, First State Bank, Mattie
Duke, Gardner Oil and Amanda Duke.
Runoff voting starts Monday
LIVINGSTON - While many
voters are looking ahead to the May
13 local option, city council and
school board elections, there will
be another election before that - the
April 11 primary runoffs.
Early voting for the runoff elec-
tions starts Monday and continues
through Friday.
Republican runoff
There is only one runoff race in
the Republican ballot, that for
judge, Court of Criminal Appeals,
Place 8. Candidates are Charles
Holcomb and Terry Keel.
Holcomb, the incumbent, re-
ceived 45.20 percent of the vote
statewide in the March 7 primary
election. In Polk County, Holcomb
received 38.41 percent of the vote.
Keel received 30.20 percent of the
statewide vote and 36.51 percent of
the Polk County vote.
The third candidate in the pri-
mary race, Robert W. Francis, did
not make the runoff, having gar-
nered 25.06 percent of the state-
wide vote.
Democratic runoff
Democrats will be deciding two
statewide races, those for U.S. Sen-
ate and lieutenant governor.
Sixteen-minute chase
ends in Liberty county
,LIVINGSTON - With speeds
tapping 100 miles per hour, a lot of
ground was covered during a 16-
minute chase Thursday night that
began on the U.S. 59 bypass in
Livingston and ended in Liberty
County when the suspect bailed out
• of the stolen vehicle he was driving
and fled on foot.
Texas Highway Patrol Trooper
Darwon Evans saw a 2001 Cadillac
Catera, traveling in excess of 100
miles per hour, on the south end of
the U.S. 59 bypass at 10:24 p.m.
When he attempted to stop the car,
the driver continued southbound,
making a u-tum near where the
bypass and Business 59 merge, and
heading back north, Evans said.
Coming back into Livingston on
Pan American Drive, the suspect
then turned onto North Washing-
ton, where Livingston Police Offi-
cer Kurt Riley joined the chase,
then took Liberty Avenue to Hwy.
146.
With Polk County Deputy James
Buie also in pursuit, the suspect
continued speeding south on Hwy.
146 into Liberty County, then
turned west on FM 787. About
three miles down FM 787, the sus-
pect lost control of the car, which
came to rest after hitting some
trees, Evans said.
The driver fled on foot and
evaded arrest. Authorities do have a
suspect, but are not releasing a
name or description at this time.
The car, which was stolen from a
residence on Hwy. 350 South, was
towed to a Livingston wrecker
yard, according to Evans, who said
the investigation is continuing.
DPS and sheriffs department
units from Liberty County assisted.
Senate candidates in the runoff
are Barbara Ann Radnofsky, who
got 44.48 percent of the vote state-
wide and 47.90 percent of the Polk
County vote, and Gene Kelly, who
received 37.91 percent of the
statewide vote and 35.55 percent of
See PRIMARY pg. 5A
City egg hunt
next Sunday
LIVINGSTON - The City of
Livingston will host its seventh
annual Easter Eggstravaganza April
9 at the Trade Days pavilion area at
Pedigo Park.
The event is open to children
from walking toddlers to eight-
year-olds.
Free pictures with Peter Cotton-
tail will be taken from 2-3 p.m. and
the egg hunt will begin at 3 p.m.
Prizes will be awarded immedi-
ately following the hunt.
The children will search for ap-
proximately 15,000 candy- and
prize-filled eggs hidden in the park
area.
When the hunt is over, specially
marked eggs may be redeemed at
Pavilion B for additional prizes
donated by local businesses.
Areas will be divided for each
age group and a separate hunting
area will be provided for children
needing the assistance of their par-
ents.
Epperson vying to be finalist
on upcoming television show
By VANESA BRASHIER
Features/special sections editor
ON ALASKA - Amateur race
car driver Adam Epperson of
Onalaska is revved up about be-
ing selected as one of the 50 final-
ists for a new television show titled
“Racin’ for a Livin’.” The show
currently is in the preproduction
stage and is expected to be aired
later on this year.
"The show is racing related
and will be an American Idol type
show,” said Epperson. “The final-
ists will compete on and off the
track to get votes and impress the
panel. But ultimately who stays
or goes will be decided by the
fans.”
The show’s Web site touts the
participation of some pretty big
names in racing, including A.J.
Foyt, Sterling Marlin and Kenny
Wallace. It will be hosted by Mike
Joy and produced by JVI Produc-
tions of Wyoming.
Which network will air the
show is still a mystery to
Epperson, who said the details
have not been disclosed.
"I do know that the 50 final-
ists will be whittled down to 15
and then down to 12. The 15 will
go before the panel and do off-
the-air driving and what-not to
show that they are not going to
destroy the race cars,”' said
Epperson. “The final 12 will be the
ones who appear on the show.”
Amateur race car fans may
recognize some of the drivers who
have been selected as finalists -
names like Randy “Hurricane”
Hannigan and Costa Bertuzzi.
Epperson hopes his name will
soon by synonymous with pro-
fessional racing.
Unlike American Idol, the
show will have some unique
twists, like the introduction of
wild card drivers who are not in
.....>-■
* V "* Photo roortm of ADAM EPPERSON
Onalaska’s Adam Epperson will be featured on a new
television series, “Racin’ fora Livin’,” if he can get the sup-
port of the American public. His success on the show will
depend largely on his being able to get votes, much like
American Idol.
the top 50 but could still get a chance
to compete and eliminated drivers will
still appear on the show to race against
those left in the competition, accord-
ing to Epperson.
“So even if you get voted off, you
will continue to race,” he said, adding
“Just because a driver has a bad week,
the next week they could come back
and win the next 10 races.”
Epperson hopes the exposure
from the show will help him get no-
ticed by the major players in racing,
especially the NASCAR promoters.
“1 would like to be able to show
that I have what it takes to earn a spot
at NASCAR,” he said. “I have been
doing this my whole life but I haven’t
had the advantages that some of the
racers with money have had.”
He credits his father and grandfa-
ther, both of whom were named Roy
and were race car drivers, for inspir-
ing him to pursue the sport.
Epperson, who works as a service
manager for a Dodge dealership in
Lufkin, saidofhis father, “Ifit wasn’t
for my dad, 1 wouldn’t be able to run
the whole season. He definitely
sacrifices plenty of his time and
money to help me because he
loves it as much as I do. I’ve gotta
race. It’s in my blood.”
At age 30, Epperson has spent
two-thirds of his life racing, first
starting out as a young ioTractng
go-carts at a dirt track in Alvin. At
age 15, Epperson began racing
street cars using an old Monte
Carlo he and his father had pulled
from a wrecking yard in Abilene.
“We built it into a race car from
the ground up. I was just a kid,
hut I was always beside my dad
learning stuff,” he said.
When the car was ready,
Epperson won a competition in
San Angelo and traveled to race
tracks all over the state of Texas.
“Every Saturday, we could
count on going to a race track,
weather and money permitting. It
u as pretty much every Saturday,”
he said.
See RACER pg. 7A
Fatal accident, animal cruelty investigated
Libertarians unite
. LIVINGSTON - Libertarians
from Polk, Liberty and Montgom-
ery counties met in Livingston on
March 25 and unanimously en-
dorsed Kris Overstreet as the party
libminee for the office of Texas
State Representative, District 18.
Unlike the Democratic and Re-
publican Parties, the Libertarian
Pqrty is forbidden by state law from
holding primary elections. Instead,
nominations are made by an ob-
scure and arcane system of conven-
tions regulated in fine detail by the
Texas Elections Code.
“I’m sorry that potential support-
ers were unable to participate in my
nomination,” Overstreet said.
“Once elected, 1 will submit a bill
which would reform the elections
system to allow any and all politi-
cal parties to participate in the
state-funded primaries. Our elec-
tions need to be fair and equal f&r
all, not just for those in power at
the moment.”
Overstreet's proposed elections
reform would also mandate that all
electronic voting systems produce
paper ballots and that the paper
ballots, not the electronic tally, be
used to determine final results of
elections.
Overstreet also supports instant
See LIBERTARIAN pg. 2A
LIVINGSTON - The Polk
County Sheriffs Department re-
sponded to a 911 call Wednesday
morning regarding an industrial
accident that occurred in the Ala-
bama Point Subdivision.
The accident resulted in the death
of Luther B. “Jack” Moseley, 79, of
Livingston.
According to Polk County Sher-
iff Kenneth Hammack, a witness
said Moseley was operating a piece
of heavy equipment when the acci-
dent occurred.
Precinct 2 Justice of the Peace
David Johnson conducted an in-
quest at the scene and ordered an
autopsy be performed at the Jeffer-
son County Morgue in Beaumont.
The accident is being investi-
gated by the Polk County Sheriff’s
Department and will be forwarded
to the Polk County District Attor-
ney’s Office for review', pursuant to
departmental policy.
Cruelty to animals
In other recent activity, Polk
County sheriffs deputies investi-
gated a case of cruelty to animals at
a location on FM 2969 in the
Goodrich area on March 14.
“The case involved three horses
that were malnourished and in poor
physical condition,” Hammack
said.
As a result of the investigation,
deputies presented Precinct 1 Jus-
tice of the Peace Darrell Longino
an application for a warrant to seize
a cruelly treated animal so that the
three horses could be taken from
the owners. The warrant to seize
the animals was signed by Longino
on March 15.
The warrant was executed and
the three horses were seized at ap-
proximately 8:30 a.m. March 16.
“The animals were undernour-
ished to the point that one of them
was literally skin and bones,”
Hammack said.
Although a hearing on the dispo-
sition of the animals was originally
scheduled for March 21, the sever-
ity of the condition of one of the
horses prompted deputies to request
an immediate hearing so that ap-
propriate action could be taken,
Hammack said Longino granted
the hearing in his court after the
seizure was completed.
The owners of the horses ap-
peared before Longino along with
the deputies. Longino ruled that
one horse had been cruelly treated
and divested the ownership of that
horse from the owner. He further
ordered that the horse be humanely
destroyed in the best interest of the
animal.
The court also ordered the owner
to pay the costs of impoundment,
destruction and disposal of the
animal which amounted to $226.16.
Regarding the two remaining
horses, Longino ruled that the
horses were not treated cruelly,
although they were extremely un-
dernourished. The court ruled to
allow the owmer to regain owner-
ship of his two horses and the op-
portunity to bring the horses'
physical condition back to an ac-
ceptable level.
Hammack added that the horses
will be monitored on a weekly ba-
sis by the sheriffs department to
ensure proper care of the animals.
The Polk County Sheriffs De-
partment will still pursue criminal
charges against the owners for cru-
elty to animals, Hammack indi-
cated.
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White, Barbara. Polk County Enterprise (Livingston, Tex.), Vol. 124, No. 27, Ed. 1 Sunday, April 2, 2006, newspaper, April 2, 2006; Livingston, Texas. (https://texashistory.unt.edu/ark:/67531/metapth788753/m1/1/: accessed April 26, 2024), University of North Texas Libraries, The Portal to Texas History, https://texashistory.unt.edu; crediting Livingston Municipal Library.