Polk County Enterprise (Livingston, Tex.), Vol. 114, No. 66, Ed. 1 Sunday, August 20, 1995 Page: 1 of 62
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Football
*951
Polk County
Southwest Micropublishing Inc55
2627 East Yandel1
El Paso Tx 79903
Comp
Sunday,
Aug. 20,1995
Volume 114 Number 66
The Dominant News and Advertising Source in Polk County
DSPS 437-340 Prices 25 cents
USD calls bond election for Oct. 3
LIVINGSTON - Voters will
decide Oct. 3 if the Livingston In-
dependent School District will
build a new high school and
elementary school and/or tennis
courts, an all-weather track, prac-
tice fields and a softball field.
LISD trustees called the election
during their regular meeting
Thursday night, deciding to divide
the bond issue request into two
propositions.
Proposition 1 on the ballot calls
(br issuance of $28.7 million in
bonds to construct a new high
school and a new elementary
school.
Proposition 2 calls for the is-,
suance of $1,025 million to con-
struct and equip the tennis courts,
track, practice fields and softball
field.
The decision to call a bond elec-
tion came as the result of literally
years of studies and discussion as
to how to meet the facility needs of
the growing school district.
As proposed, the high school
would be constructed on a 45-acre
tract purchased earlier this year on
the north end of the bypass.
Preliminary designs call for the
school to serve up to 1,700 stu-
dents, with core facilities -- such as
the cafeteria and library - designed
to handle up to 2,000 students. The
school would include a 700-seat
cafetorium and a vocational wing
and would be designed to accom-
modate future technology.
The practice and softball fields
and track would also be built on the
bypass site.
"It’s a good site with good ac-
cess," said USD Superintendent
Ron Preston. The site also allows
for future expansion. For example,
if voters later decide to build a
stadium - something not under
consideration at this dine - it eould
be built around the all-weather
track now on the ballot
And, it is not in the floodplain,
as some have wondered. "When we
had the big flood, we physically
viewed the site," Preston said. "It
did not flood."
The present high school would
become the junior high, which
would alleviate some traffic
problems, he said.
What would happen to die old
L2_LA . - .
junior nignf
"There are a lot of options," the
superintendent said, adding that the
school board has not yet decided
which option would be best "Our
intention at this point is to find
some other utilization for to. It is
not the board’s intention to tear it
down. The board realizes its his-
torical significance."
The elementary school would be
built at a different site, as yet un-
determined, and woflld house
grades pre-kindergarten through
four.
That would allow the existing
elementary and primary schools to
also serve grades pre-k through
four.
"It would allow for continuity,"
Preston said. As it is now, with the
primary campus serving grades pre-
k through two and the elementary
campus housing grades three and
four, the kids just get used to one
campus when it is time to move to
another, ha said. "If we go on the
way we have been, we’d have a dif-
ferent campus for every grade.”
Impact on taxes
The LISD’s lax me presently
stands at $1.4448 per $100 valua-
tion - $1.2208 for the general fond
and 2240 cents for debt service.
If both propositions me approved
by voters — each proposition stands
independently — it would mean an
increase of 27Vi cents in the debt
service portion of the tax rata, so
passage of the propositions would
bring it to about 50 cents.
It is the board’s intention to pay
the bonds off over a 20-year period
The avenge property value in
toe USD is $35j000, according to
the sppreiial district. For a taxpayer
with property valued at $35,000,
portage of the p*n|r*Ta*t0T would
add $96 a year, or $8 per month, to
tito tax bflt. For tin person with
property valued at $50000, ums
would riae by $137 a year, or
$11.45 par
The phut oa which USD
tie
meet educational and facility needs
for years to come, the superinten-
dent said. "This plan sets that
course. Anything else just main-
tains what we have and doesn’t
adequately address future needs.”
He added, if the LISD were to
build a junior high school, the dis-
trict would still have the problem of
what to do with 1,700 high school
students. That is the projected LHS
population by the year 2005.
The existing high school is
designed for 1,000 students. As of
late last year, there were ap-
proximately 1,100 students at the
high school.
Allowing 25 students per class,
the maximum capacity of the
present junior high is about 600 »
which is what the enrollment is
now, Preston said.
With a studcnt/teacher ratio of
22:1 at the elementary school, that
campus can adequately serve 638
students, he said. At the end of last
year, elementary enrollment was
630.
The primary school, also with a
22:1 ratio, is "maxed out" at 961
students. Last year, 901 children
were enrolled.
While Preston said the primary
school is a well-designed building -
- the proposed elementary school
would be built along a similar
design - there are traffic problems,
and serving over 900 kids in the
cafeteria has resulted in lunchtimes
starting as early as 10:30 a.m.
To the superintendent, the ques-
tion is not so much "bond issue" as
it is a "community issue.”
"This whole corridor is going to
grow. If we have good schools,
good churches, good hospitals,
we’ll attract a different population
than we will if we don't.” The kind
of foresight shown in the past has
enhanced the quality of life now
seen in this area, he added.
The superintendent will be meet-
ing with various civic groups to ex-
plain the issue. In addition,
citizens’ committees — finance,
publicity, speakers and "get out the
vote" -- are being formed.
The LISD will host a public
meeting at 6 p.m. Thursday to ex-
plain the proposals on the ballot for
Oct. 3. The meeting will be held in
Florence Crosby Auditorium at
LHS.
Other business
In other business during
Thursday night’s regular meeting,
the board:
•Agreed to continue health in-
surance coverage through Accordia
Insurance, with an increase of 25
cents per month to the employee.
Maximum coverage will increase
from SI million to $2 million.
•Accepted shelf price bids from
Wal-Mart and HEB for the pur-
chase of food and general merchan-
dise.
•Accepted the only bid received,
from Swiccgood Music, for band
instrument repair.
•Accepted the bid of Swiccgood
for the purchase of band instru-
ments.
•Accepted the highest bids
received - from John Holt, Mike
Kelley and Henry Agcr -- on the
sale of several lots of surplus
property being cleared to make
more room for storage. The ad-
ministration will accept the best
"reasonable" offers on remaining
surplus items, according to Assis-
tant Superintendent for Business
Barry Tackcr.
•Approved Texas Association ol
SeeTAAS pg. 4A
Jury hands down
40-year sentence
By SHERRI BURRIS
Enterprise Reporter
LIVINGSTON - Gennette Mar-
shall was found guilty of murder
and sentenced to 40 years in prison
for the shooting death of her
boyfriend Roy Carrol Holman.
The verdict was handed down
Thursday in District Judge Fired
Edwards’court
When Marshall took the stand,
she told of a man who beat her
when he was drinking and made
unfounded accusations about her
faithfulness to him.
On Dec. 4. 1994, Marshall and
Holman had just returned from a
Christmas party when Holman
began accusing his girlfriend of
flirting with men at the party. Mar-
shall testified that when Holman
began beating her she tokl him to
stop or she was going to shoot him.
Holman was shot once in the chest
and twice in the back as he was
running away from Marshall.
Holman’s aunt and cousin took
the stand and characterized Holman
m to man w#Iia uiftfl ormimFitflli va
05 H iiibii wiiu wbo tagumviiMiu
and unreasonable when he drank,
but was a nice person when he was
sober. Autopsy report showed that
Holman’s blood alcohol level was
twice the legal limit for driving.
Court-appointed attorney Tom
Brown pul Marshall on the stand
hoping the seven-man, five-woman
jury would believe Marshall was
acting in self-defense. But when
District Attorney John Holleman
cross-examined Marshall she made
conflicting statements about the
night of the murder. Those state-
ments may have led to the stiff sen-
tence the jury returned.
Although Marshall testified that
Holman beat her minutes before he
was shot, Corrigan Police Officer
James O’Brian said that when he
took Marshall into custody that
night he asked her if Holman as-
saulted her in any way and she said
no.
If the jury had thought Marshall
acted in self-defense or acted under
the immediate influence of sudden
passion arising out of an adequate
cause, they could have sentenced
her to 2 to 20 years. Instegdthj;
jury voted to convict her of murder
with a possible sentencing range
from five to 99 years or life in
prison. The 44-year-old defendant
will be 64 before she is eligible for
parole.
■■ ■
*d?**-,m*d.
enterprise piioto »v cordon urarron
STORAGE BUILDING DESTOYED - The the Magnolia R.V. Parte, located on FM
Livingston fire department assisted the 2665. When the 10 firemen and two trucks
Goodrich depatment in a 4 a.m. blaze Friday arrived on the scene the building was heavi-
that totally destroyed a storage , building at ly involved.
City makes offer for church site
LIVINGSTON - If the
Livingston City Council has its
way, the city’s municipal complex
will remain on West Church Street.
Presented with several options
for expanding municipal offices,
especially the overcrowded police
department, the council first had to
decide if it wanted to construct of-
fices at a new location or expand
the existing facilities. With the con-
sensus being to stay put, the coun-
cil authorized Mayor Ben Royden
Ogletree to offer $125,000 for the
abandoned First United Methodist
Church building adjacent to the
police station. Church officials will
rule on the offer later this month.
Purchase of the church property
was recommended by Engineer
Terry Brannon, who presented the
pros and cons of seven options to
the city council during a special-
called meeting Tuesday night
Options discussed included: 1)
remodeling the existing space at the
police station, with expansion into
the basement; 2) remodeling the
existing space at the police station
with expansion into the present city
auditorium; 3) relocating the police
station to the former First United
Methodist Church building site; 4)
relocating the police department to
the existing fire station on Jackson
Street; 5) constructing a new police
station at the existing site; 6)
relocating the police station to
various existing buildings; and 7)
constructing a new police station
on a new site.
After reviewing the advantages
and disadvantages of the various
options, both Brannon and Ar-
chitect Chris Johnston, recom-
mended purchasing the church
property. If that purchase is ap-
proved, the city would demolish the
former church building and, also
utilizing part of the existing police
department parking lot, construct a
new police station.
That construction would be the
first phase of a two to five-year
construction project The next
phase would involve expansion of
city hall, possibly by expanding in-
to the present city auditorium. That
decision will be made at a later
date.
If the city is able to expand its
complex while remaining at the
present West Church Street loca-
tion, city officials indicated new
construction/renovation would
move the buildings further back
toward Polk Street, to allow park-
ing areas to be constructed along
West Church.
The council’s next regular meeting
is scheduled for Sept 12.
GISD officials say TEA rating misleading
By SHERRI BURRIS
Enterprise Reporter
GOODRICH - Despite their
accredited-warned district rating,
Goodrich school district officials
,say things are not as bad as they
High School Principal Thalia
Chaoey used a series of posters as
visual aids at toe board meeting
Thursday night to explain how both
campuses in the district were rated
acceptable and the district as a
whole was rated accredited-wamed.
Accredited-wamed is the worst
of four possible ratings given by
the Texas Education Agency. The
rating means that the TEA will in-
voke sanctions and intervene when
necessary.
But Superintendent Edward Bur-
leson ana Chaney say the rating is
misleading and it is the high school
African-Americans’ scores on the
math portion of the TAAS that
caused the low rating. Burleson
said teachers who were responsible
for that segment of students are no
longer teaching for the disttict.
One way TEA rates districts is
on their TAAS scores. TEA divides
student populations into five
groups, all students, African-
American, Hispanic, white and
economically disadvantaged. If leu
than 25 percent of any of those
groups pass any portion of the
TAAS - reading, math, writing -
then that district is rated accredited
warned.
Both GISD campuses were rated
In Onalaska ISD
acceptable. The acceptable rating
means that at least 25 percent of all
groups passed each section of the
TAAS. The exception to the 25
See GISD pg.4A
Enrollment rises
Convict fails to report to prison
SHERRI BURRIS
By SHERRI
Eatarprhe
LIVINGSTON - A Livingston
man who was convicted in federal
coart of conspiracy charges in rela-
tion to civil rights violations of two
«ah.
i he dM not
report to a federal prison to begin
Richard Ciyer, 19, was to begin
serving a
term Jniy S
from Louisiana to Texas. If con-
victed, he could serve up to 10
years in federal prison and receive
a fine up to $250,000.
Oyer was also indicted on a
failure to appear charge relating to
the civil rights violations. If found
guilty, he could receive not snore
than five yean in a federal prison
and fined not more than $250,000.
diets is designed to bmx- Brename remaned two indictments Magistrate Judge Harry
Darrell Fields, a
of toe attorney general’s office,
Cryer is caiendy in the Gregg
ntv m awaiting his Ai* 25
U.S.
W.
McKee's courtroom. If convicted
concunendy, Fields said.
Darren Kingston, 19, Milton
"Trey" Schultz IQ, 20 and Hams
Thompson, 19, all of Livingston,
and Onalaska resident Robert Finis,
20, were found guilty of toe same
conspiracy charge. ^
The five white men attacked two
black men on the night of Dec. 31,
1993. The men attacked the black
men so as to intimidate aad
threaten a separate group of yoaag
Mack juveniles who were seen at a
Livingston teen club with a white
female.
The Mack men were attacked in
separate incidences. They were
kicked and beat with belt buckles
and guns.
ONALASKA - Onalaska school
board trustees were informed
Thursday night at their board meet,
mg that enrollment is up from last
year.
In grades pre-kindergarten
through fifth 304 students were
registered and 154 students en-
rolled in grades six through eight
Superintendent Janet Morris said
children are still enrolling so the
final figure will be slightly higher
than the first day figure of458.
In other board business, trustees
renewed a bank note for an addi-
tional year. The note is for the
middle school building. Honeywell
was awarded a contract to write an
energy conservation program for
the district.
Trustees also approved a bid of
$1,000 for lots seven and nine in
Paradise Acres m.
In personnel matters, Troy Lilly
was hired as a part-time teacher for
the middle school bend program.
A budget workshop will be con-
ducted at 7 pm. Thursday. Follow-
ing the workshop trustees are ex-
pected to adopt the 1995-% budget.
Leggett hosts
budget talks
LEGGETT ~ The Leggett school
board will conduct a budget
workshop at 6:30 pjn. Tuesday to
discuss the 1995-% proposed
budget
A special called meeting will
begin at 8 pm. Tuesday for toe
DUfDOse of certifying I public
___a principal. Dicki
Jones, who has been principal for
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White, Barbara. Polk County Enterprise (Livingston, Tex.), Vol. 114, No. 66, Ed. 1 Sunday, August 20, 1995, newspaper, August 20, 1995; Livingston, Texas. (https://texashistory.unt.edu/ark:/67531/metapth790994/m1/1/: accessed May 7, 2024), University of North Texas Libraries, The Portal to Texas History, https://texashistory.unt.edu; crediting Livingston Municipal Library.