Polk County Enterprise (Livingston, Tex.), Vol. 124, No. 52, Ed. 1 Thursday, June 29, 2006 Page: 1 of 16
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ENTERPRISE PHOTO BY GORDON LEBARRON
July 4th events slated
t.
LIVINGSTON - A patriotic
celebration, complete with a red,
white and blue parade and free fun
and games for the children is being
planned by Livingston Main Street
for July 4.
The day will begin with a parade
at 10 a.m. Patriots of all ages are
welcome to join in the fun with
floats, bicycles, tricycles, walkers,
wagons, horses, cars, motorcycles
and other modes of transportation.
The parade line-up will begin on
East Feagin Street and travel south
on Washington Avenue, turning
right on Mill Street to disperse.
Two rules that apply to the pa-
rade are: decorate in red, white and
blue; and no throwing any objects.
Those with things to distribute
are asked to have someone walk
along the route, handing the item to
the spectators. This is for the safety
of everyone involved.
The fun will continue with games
and fundraising activities at Anni-
versary Park until I p.m
Free games include two bounce
houses, a bean bag toss, horse
rides, putt-putt golf, football throw,
water balloon toss and more. There
will also be face painting and tem-
porary tattoos for $1 each.
Snow cones, cotton candy and
soft drinks will be available for
purchase.
The 5,h annual countywide
“Proud to be an American Celebra-
tion” at Lakeside RV Resort and
Marina in Onalaska will kick off at
7:45 p.m. on July 4 with a perform-
ance by the Livingston Area Com-
munity Band.
The patriotic musical, “The
Home of the Brave” by Deborah
Craig-Claar, performed jointly by
the Livingston Area Community
Band and the Community Choir,
will begin at approximately 8:45
p.m.
This year’s Community Choir is
being directed by Dr. Ed Byrom,
director of music/fine arts at the
First United Methodist Church of
Livingston. The Livingston Area
Community Band is under the di-
rection of Lowell Clark.
People attending the event are
encouraged to bring lawn chairs.
As in past years, shuttle buses will
be available at various locations in
See FIREWORKS pg. 4A
Pill bust made Tuesday
By EMILY BANKS
News Editor
LIVINGSTON - A search con-
ducted by the Poik County Sher-
iff’s Department on Tuesday led to
the seizure of 4,336 pills from a
residence in Canyon Park Subdivi-
sion with an approximate street
value of $13,008.
The pills included Xanax, Soma
and Hydrocodone.
Information obtained from an
inmate in the Polk County Jail,
combined with the cooperation of
the jail staff and the narcotics divi-
sion of the Polk County Sheriff’s
Department resulted in a search
warrant being obtained, Lieutenant
Andy Lowrie said.
The pills were confiscated from
the residence of Albert Mihnovich,
78, of Onalaska.
Mihnovich is currently ir< the
Polk County Jail for prescription
fraud and delivery of prescriptions
from cases that were worked in
December 2005, according to Low-
rie.
Additionally, Ernest Travis is in
the jail for several prescription
fraud charges and both Mihnovich
and Travis face additional charges
in conjunction with the search con-
ducted Tuesday, Lowrie said
“Back in December, several
Houston doctors were contacted
and advise of these individuals doc-
tor-shopping and selling pills in the
Polk County Area. During this
search Tuesday, several of the same
doctors’ names have come up
again,” Lowrie said.
“It’s obvious that some of these
doctors do not care about who
they’re writing prescriptions to, or
why, and we have seen a lack of
cooperation from most of these
doctors,” Lowrie said.
Along with the additional
charges, the sheriff’s department is
also considering seizing Mihno-
vich’s property in Canyon Park,
Lowrie said.
Those assisting with the search
included the narcotics division, the
criminal investigative division and
the patrol division of the Polk
County Sheriffs Department, as
well as the Onalaska Police De-
partment.
Compensation study eyed
NEW AC UNITS SET - Contractors with Polk County used a crane to set replacement air
conditioning units on top of the Polk County Courthouse Saturday. The crane was also later
used to set replacement units on top of the Polk County Jail.
LIVINGSTON - Action related
to the county compensation study,
USD hires junior high principal
LIVINGSTON - Matthew Smith,
former assistant principal in the
Aldine ISD, has been hired as the
new principal of Livingston Junior
High School.
The action was taken during a
regular meeting of the Livingston
ISD Board of Trustees last Thurs-
day.
The meeting also included a re-
port on a new method of call-
ing/assigning substitute teachers. A
new computerized system will be
in use this school year, which will
allow both full-time and substitute
teachers to go online and register
their preferences and schedules.
Substitutes may also go online to
see what positions are available.
When a substitute is needed, they
will be called by computer based
on the preferences in the database.
The system is already in use by
several school districts, including
Huntsville ISD.
Action on approving formation
of a swim team for the 2006-2007
school year was tabled due to the
absence of Trustee Sydney Mur-
phy, who has been among those
studying the issue.
Trustees approved a proposal
from Seon Design, Inc. to purchase
bus security cameras and related
equipment for a total of $45,960.
The cameras are to be purchased
through a federal grant.
The board also approved a drug
testing company proposal to help
implement the policy adopted by
the board in May. Under that pol-
icy, beginning with the 2006-2007
school year, students in grades
seven through 12 who are involved
in extracurricular activities will be
subject to random drug testing.
Several student overnight trips
gained board approval. High school
journalism students will attend the
Gloria Shields Publications Work-
shop in Dallas July 9-13 and the
Sam Houston State University
Communications Workshop in
Huntsville July 24-27 and eligible
high school choir students will at-
tend All State Choir Camp in at
Stephen F. Austin State University
July 17-20.
In addition to hiring the new jun-
ior high principal, the board ap-
proved the hiring the following
professional personnel: Bobbe
Dickerson and Melissa Reaux, high
school assistant principals; Joe H.
Sigler, high school head basketball
coach; Jesse Fielder, high school
biology teacher; Danny King,
woodworking teacher; Carrie Hair-
grove, junior high history
teacher/coach; Jessica Chapel, jun-
See RESIGNATIONS pg. 4A
including designation of bench-
mark employers to be surveyed,
was tabled for further review dur-
ing Tuesday’s regular meeting of
the Polk County Commissioners’
Court.
The county plans to compile a
group of 10-12 benchmark employ-
ers with jobs that are comparable to
those in the county, or with whom
the county might compete for
qualified employees. Employers
used in the 2002 study included
Angelina County, Cherokee
County, Hardin County, Jasper
County, Liberty County, Tyler
County, Walker County, City of
Livingston, City of Lufkin and
Texas Department of Criminal Jus-
tice. Although the county desired
three private sector employees to
participate, only one did.
A sheriffs department request
for the payment of certain overtime
hours required for labor pool tele-
communications operators during a
Judge elected to post
LIVINGSTON - Polk County
Judge John Thompson was elected
president of the National Associa-
tion of Regional Councils (NARC)
during the NARC 40lh Annual Con-
ference and Exhibition with the
theme Regional Readiness: Re-
sponding to Change.
“I am honored and at the same
time humbled to be selected presi-
dent of NARC. Honored because of
the opportunity to follow the many
great individuals who have served
as presidents of NARC in our 40-
year history, and humbled to know
that my colleagues from throughout
the country have chosen me to
serve,” Thompson said, as he ad-
dressed almost 400 representatives
of regional planning and develop-
ment organizations from across the
United States.
“There is great value in your
NARC membership,” Thompson
emphasized. “From my own ex-
perience, the value of NARC in-
creases as your level of active in-
volvement and support increases.
As president, I am committed to
deliver good value for your mem-
bership investment.”
NARC’s member organizations
are composed of multiple local
governments that work together to
improve American communities -
large and small, urban and rural.
Working together with the board
of directors, executive directors
committee and newly-appointed
NARC Executive Director Cam-
eron Moore, Thompson outlined
the cornerstones on which the suc-
cess of the association \RlI rest:
consistent and high quality profes-
sional service to members, sound
financial management, aggressive
policy development and advocacy
on behalf of members and effective
See JUDGE pg. 4A
ExmniBi photo »v cordon liumiun
MORE ROOMS FOR HIGH SCHOOL - Movers bring in the second of four portable build-
ings Tuesday that will be used as classrooms at Livingston High School. Three ofthe^buildings
Elementary.
staff shortage was approved.
According to Sheriff Kenneth
Hammack, some of the telecom-
munications operators were on va-
cation and one was out with an
injury, so the labor pool filled in
and worked overtime. However,
having talked to Judy Isaacs, the
county’s personnel director, there
was no mechanism in place to pay
overtime to labor pool employees.
Commissioners approved an
amendment to the sand, clay and
gravel lease agreement between
international Paper and Polk
County Road and Bridge Precinct
4, including extending the contract
period through Dec. 5, 2006. Ac-
cording to Precinct 4 Commis-
sioner Tommy Overstreet, the con-
tract was shortened to six months,
as the real estate is “changing
hands."
The lease agreement with Corri*.
gan Medical Center P.A. for the
clinic located in the M.G. Reily
Humanitarian Building in Corrigan
was approved for renewal for a
one-year term commencing June I.
Commissioners also approved
renewal of the Texas VINE Grant
contract for fiscal year 2007 with
the office of the attorney general,
as well as the related service agree-
ment with Appriss Inc. for crime
victim information.
See VETERANS’ pg. 4A
Kf-;..; N
if
Errors corrected
ONALASKA - The Onalaska
City Council met in a special called
meeting Monday and amended two
number sequence errors that caused
duplications of Ordinances 292 and
293.
The ordinances, adopted by the
council during its regular June 13
meeting, establish maximum
speeds of motor vehicles in certain
areas of FM 356 and US Hwy. 190
as designated by the Texas De-;«
partment of Transportation
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White, Barbara. Polk County Enterprise (Livingston, Tex.), Vol. 124, No. 52, Ed. 1 Thursday, June 29, 2006, newspaper, June 29, 2006; Livingston, Texas. (https://texashistory.unt.edu/ark:/67531/metapth788825/m1/1/: accessed March 27, 2024), University of North Texas Libraries, The Portal to Texas History, https://texashistory.unt.edu; crediting Livingston Municipal Library.