Polk County Enterprise (Livingston, Tex.), Vol. 102, No. 2, Ed. 1 Thursday, January 5, 1984 Page: 1 of 56
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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GOOD
MORNING!
Polk County
ENTERPRISE
The dominant news and advertising source in Polk County, since 1882
THURSDAY,
Jan. 5, 1983
VOLUME 102 NUMBER 2
7 SECTIONS 49 PAGES
USPS 437-340
PRICE: 25 CENTS
City, school board elections slated
LIVINGSTON - In addition to the
Democratic and Republican primaries
for county, state and federal offices,
Polk County voters this spring will cast
ballots in school board races, city elec-
tions and one special district.
All six school districts in the county
will hold hold regular elections on April
7.
In the Big Sandy School District, the
seats held by Forest Bracken and Jim
McWhorter will be up for election.
Incumbents in the Corrigan-Camden
School Districts whose seats are at
, stake this year are Alton Burris, Quin-
ton King and Johnny Powell.
In Goodrich voters will fill the posi-
tions currently held by Rufus Ibison
andQ. R. “Cooter” Duff.
Leggett School District seats held by
Thurman Harrell, Bill Bereman and
Felder Dubose will be filled this year.
In the Livingston School District Mar-
tha Watson, Kenny Holsberry and
Clark Evans terms’ are expiring.
Onalaska School Board members
whose terms are expiring this year are
George Allemang and Robert I^intron.
Voters residing in the city limits of
Corrigan, Goodrich, Livingston,
Onalaska and Seven Oaks will fill
municipal positions.
In Corrigan the terms of Mayor M. C.
Riley and Councilmen T.P. Crain and
Robert Smiley are expiring.
Goodrich voters will decide on the
positions held by Mayor Miller Moffett
and Councilmen Marcell Smith and B.
E. “Slim” Speights.
The terms of Livingston Mayor Joe
Pedigo and Councilmen Ben R.
Ogletree and Beamon Davis will expire
this year.
Onalaska terms expiring this year
are those of Mayor Robert Goodson and
Councilmen Darrol Vincent and Ray
Carlson.
Voters in Polk County Fresh Water
Supply District No. 2 will have the op-
portunity to either replace or give a
vote of confidence to the entire board.
Board President Grant Blackledge is
the only member who has said he in-
tends to seek re-election.
Other members are Carl Wolfe,
George Clark, Gus Timmerman and
Beryl Marx.
All of the elections will be held on
Saturday, April 7. Filing will begin Feb.
7 and close March 8.
Filing for the Democratic and
Republican primaries in May begins
Saturday and closes Feb. 6.
From Rocky Creek
Truck recovered
A New auditor
Former County Treasurer Dianne Bass was sworn into the of- announced her retirement last summer. Members of the Polk
flee of county auditor Tuesday by 258th Judicial District Judge County Commissioners’ Court will appoint someone to fill the
Joe Ned Dean. Bass was selected by judges Dean, Lynn Coker treasurer’s post vacated by Bass, possibly as early as Monday,
and John Martin late last month to replace Bennie Ellis, who
LIVINGSTON - A 1984 Ford Bronco,
reported stolen out of Pasadena Nov.
27, was recovered by Polk County
Sheriff's Department officers Sunday.
The vehicle was discovered submerged
in the waters of Rocky Creek, with just
the top of its roof above water.
The truck was taken to a Livingston
garage to be stored and Pasadena of-
ficials were notified.
Sheriff Ted Everitt, Capt. Chuck
Staton and Sgt. Raymond Edmonds
made the initial investigation.
Investigation is continuing into the
burglary of the O.E. Mittelslaedt
residence in Pine Harbor subdivision.
The burglary was reported Sunday. The
owner told officers someone entered the
house and took an undetermined
amount of household goods. Sgt. Ray-
mond Edmonds is the investigating of-
ficer.
Also under investigation is the,
burglary of a vehicle parked in the
driveway of a Lakeside Village
residence. Mrs. Clark Ferguson
reported Sunday that items were taken
from her son’s vehicle, including
casette tapes, a hairbrush and a key
ring. Investigator Billy Nelson is the in-
vestigating officer.
Sheriff's officers are also in-
vestigating a burglary at the Jeffrey
Davis residence in Soda. The burglary,
which was reported Monday, is believ-
ed to have occurred sometime between
Dec. 17 and Dec. 31 while the owner of
the house was out of town. Items
reported missing include guns.
Darrell Longino is the investigating
officer.
City court fines
to be increased
ONALASKA - Cit, Judge Andy
Palmer told the Onalaska Council Tues-
day the court costs the city is required
to collect for the state were increased
Jan. 1.
Palmer said a new state law requires
municipal courts to collect two 50 cent
Bus wreck, hospital among top stories
(Editor’s npte: This is the second of a
two-part series recapping the top local
news st Ties of 1983).
LIVINGSTON - Like the first six
months, the second half of 1983 brought
its share of controversy and tragedy.
Voters were asked to decide on a
hospital bond issue, there were more
changes in school administrators and
maps shown on national television and
in newspapers pinpointed a little town
north of Houston as the site of a tragic
bus wreck.
July
It was in July that the Board of
Managers of Livingston Memorial
Hospital decided to ask voters to ap-
prove the issuance of $12 million in
bonds to build a new public hospital.
Two of the three new members, ap-
pointed to the board the previous
month, voted against calling the elec-
tion.
The hospital board’s action im-
mediately sparked debate, even though
it still had to clear the commissioners’
court before an election could be of-
ficially called. The court tabled action
on the matter in July due to the absence
of one commissioner. They knew it
would be a close vote.
Corrigan voters would not be allowed
to vote on the Livingston Hospital
District issue, but they had their own
election to face. Corrigan City Council
members voted in July to set Sept. 10 as
the date for a $65,000 bond issue election
to complete the R.L. Rothe Municipal
Building for use as a city hall.
There was a lot to do for funseekers in
Polk County during July. The 23rd An-
nual Polk County Youth Rodeo at-
tracted the largest number of par-
ticipants in the show’s history. Over
1,000 persons chose to spend a day at
the annual Fourth of July celebration
sponsored by the Onalaska Volunteer
Fire Department..
The holiday was marred by two
drownings -one a swimmer in White
Rock Creek at the northern end of Lake
Livingston and another who slipped
from a log at Big Thicket Lake Estates.
Two area schools had major ad-
ministrative »changes in July. The
Goodrich school board hired Thomas G.
Bell to replace Jean Hillin as high
school principal. Bill Alverez, former
assistant principal at Corrigan In-
termediate School was selected new
principal at Onalaska Elementary
School.
Two Livingston firemen were injured
in a fire that caused extensive damage
at Lazy L Western Store.
August
The hospital bond election was set for
Sept. 10 during the first August meeting
of the commissioners’ court. Commis-
sioners H.N. “Red” Denham and Paul
Harrell voted “for” the hospital board's
request to call the election, Commis-
sioner R.D. Cunningham voted
“against” the election and Precinct 3
Commissioner James J. “Buddy” Pur-
vis abstained from voting. Although
unable to vote except in the case of a
tie, County Judge Wayne Baker wentjjji
record as being against the election.
Sides began to form. “Citizens for
Local Control” formed in support of a
locally-owned public hospital. Their
side was supported by most local doc-
tors. “Citizens for a Better Hospital”
questioned management of the present
hospital and challenged board
members and the administrator to pro-
ve their claim that they could build and
operate a new public hospital without a
tax increase. Each group held their own
public meetings to discuss the issue.
Public versus private, local manage-
ment versus management by a profes-
sional firm were a few of the options
debated.
Livingston gained a new grocery
store and within days lost one to a ma-
jor fire. Members of nine different fire
departments were called to fight a
blaze which closed Livingston Af-
filiated for four months. A new Safeway
store opened Aug. 24, the opening hav-
ing been delayed by Hurricane Alicia.
Alicia dumped from four to six inches
of rain in the area, but it was the wind
which caused the most problems. An
estimated 20-30,000 persons within the
10-county area service by Sam Houston
Electric Cooperative were without
power following the storm. Several
grocery stores shared their freezer
space with those faced with rapidly
thawing food. Alicia was a major in-
convenience, but no serious injuries or
deaths were reported in connection
with the storm.
It was August when County Auditor
Bennie Ellis announced her resignation
after 18 years of service with the coun-
ty. It was late December before a
replacement was appointed.
Trustees of the Livingston Indepen-
dent School District proceeded with
plans to relieve overcrowding on the
elementary and junior high levels, ac-
cepting a $540,384 bid for construction
of a new intermediate school.
September
Like all the related votes which
proceeded the election itself, the
hospital bond issue election was a fairly
close one. Voters opted not to allow the
issuance of $12 million in bonds to build
a new public hospital by a 1,765 to 1,457
vote margin.
Voters in Corrigan approved their
bond issue with 118 persons voting for
the issuance of $65,000 in bonds to com-
plete the R.L. Rothe Municipal Building
and 57 voting against the issue.
The Onalaska City Council made
headway also, giving final approval to a
long-debated building code ordinance.
Livingston city fathers added a penny
to their 11M>-Cent per $100 value tax in
order to support a $6.69 million budget
approved in September.
County commissioners also found a
small tax increase would be necessary
to generate the same income as the
previous year, opting to raise the tax
from 28.61 cents per $100 to 30.9 cents.
After issuing time warrants, and taking
care of the legalities involved in replac-
ing Rocky Creek Bridge, commis-
sioners learned in September that work
on the bridge had been halted after a
Texas Department of Highways and
Public Transportation archeological
crew unearthed Indian artifacts in the
' area.
Former San Jacinto County Sheriff
J.C. "Humpy” Parker and two, former
deputies were found guilty in federal
court of violating the civil rights of
prisoners. The trial date for another
former deputy, Floyd Baker, was set
for Oct. 17.
October
Parker also made headlines in Oc-
tober, when he was sentenced to serve
10 years in a federal prison, plus pay a
$12,000 fine, for having conspired to
violate the civil rights of six prisoners
who claimed they were water-tortured.
Former Chief Deputy John Glover was
sentenced to two years in jail, plus a
five-year probated term, and former
deputy Carl Lee received a four-year
term, plus a five-year probated
sentence. Baker later pleaded guilty to
one ebunt of violating prisoners’ civil
rights.
A dispute between Champion Interna-
tional Corp. and the Polk County Tax
Appraisal District was settled out of
court in October, when both parties
agreed to a $41 million assessment for
plant machinery, equipment, personal
property and inventory at the
company's Corrigan and Camden
plants.
Livingston Police Chief William F.
“Bill” Smith resigned after seven years
with the department, citing health and
the welfare of his family as reasons
behind his departure.
The 10th Annual Polk County Folklife
Festival attracted an estimated 75,000
persons.
November
November was a bloody month, with
accidents killing 10 persons.
Six persons were killed when a Con-
tinental Trailways bus crashed through
a guardrail and into Milton Creek just
north of Livingston during the early
morning hours of Nov. 30.
Four men were decapitated by a sw-
inging cable which had become stuck in
a fan at a Whitworth Lumber Co.
sawmill in Chester.
Mother Nature also continued on a
rampage in November. A passing cold
front spawned winds clocked at 90 mph,
causing numerous power outages.
Livingston City Council members
made several major decisions in
November. They appointed Larry
Macomber of Dumas as new city police
chief and voted to sell certificates of
obligation to buy 224 acres along the
U.S. 59 Bypass.
The Trinity River Authority filed an
application with the Federal Energy
Regulatory Commission for a license to
build a hydroelectric plant at Lake Liv-
ingston Dam.
Sally Dockens was named the new
Miss Polk County before a capacity
crowd at Florence Crosby Auditorium.
A brand new five-member board of
directors for the Polk County Tax Ap-
praisal District was elected to serve in
1984 by the taxing entities in the county.
The all-new board consists Of Grimes
Fortune, Robert C. “Bob” Willis,
Robert Smilley, Henry,Ager and Joe
(Hans.
December
The heavy rains which caused
cancellation of the Chamber of Com-
merce’s Christmas parade turned out
to be the least of the problems weather
would cause in the county during
December.
A major winter storm swept lVlto the
area later in the month, dropping
temperatures into the teens. Left in its
wake were hundreds of broken water
pipes, repairs on which continued into
the new year.
Former County Treasurer Dianne
Bass was appointed county auditor,
replacing Bennie Ellis, by the three
district judges who serve the county.
See ROAD pg. 2A
fees in addition to other court costs. One
of the fees goes into a fund to provide
for restitution to crime victims and the
other into a fund to provide for continu-
ing education of municipal judges.
The judge also announced the state is
requiring the city to raise the minimum
fine on several traffic offenses, in-
cluding lack of financial responsibility.
The new minimum fine for driving
with no liability insurance will be $100
plus costs, Palmer said.
Mayor Robert Goodson reminded the
council of the city election April 7.
The mayor’s job and the council seats
presently held by Ray Carlson and Dar-
rol Vincent will be up for election.
Goodson was authorized to pay for
temporary repairs to roads in Onalaska
East since the sewer contractors will
not finish m the area before the sum-
mer.
Some of the roads are being covered
with water during heavy rains and the
mayor will hire a contractor to open the
ditches and fill in the holes.
The mayor said the fund-raising ef-
fort to purchase emergency medical
equipment for the fire department is
still short of the goal, but response so
far has been good,
The city authorized borrowing up to
$9,000 several meetings ago to go ahead
and purchase the equipment and the
donations will be used to repay the
loans.
The meeting was held in the Onalaska
Elementary School because the fire
department was' using the council
chambers to conduct emergency
medical technician classes.
Fire damages
Jordan residence
LIVINGSTON — Damage was
reported to be extensive in a fire at the
John Henry Jordan residence off Loop
116 north of Livingston Tuesday night.
The fire, which was reported to the
Livingston Volunteer Fire Department
at 6:03 p.m., had spread throughout the
structure by the time firemen arrived
at the scene. It was reported to be ex-
tinguished by 6:51 p.m.
Three trucks and 24 men from the
LVFD responded to the alarm.
No cause of the fire was available at
press time.
Fire also damaged the Mike Kingery
residence in Wild Country Lake
Estates. The fire, which began at ap-
proximately 5:30 p.m. Monday, took
firemen about one hour to extinguish.
The Wild Country Volunteer Fire
Departmerft responded to the alarm.
Eight men and two trucks from the Liv-
ingston VFD assisted.
Policy review set
CORRIGAN - The Corrigan-Camden
Independent School District Board of
Trustees will approve new board
policies when they convene this Thurs-
day in their first regular board meeting
of 1984.
Also on the agenda are presentations
of monthly financial and tax reports.
An executive session is slated for the
purpose of discussing personnel mat-
ters.
The meeting is scheduled to begin at
7.30 p.m. in the Corrigan-Camden In-
termediate School Library.
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White, Barbara. Polk County Enterprise (Livingston, Tex.), Vol. 102, No. 2, Ed. 1 Thursday, January 5, 1984, newspaper, January 5, 1984; Livingston, Texas. (https://texashistory.unt.edu/ark:/67531/metapth810582/m1/1/?q=hamilton+county: accessed July 17, 2024), University of North Texas Libraries, The Portal to Texas History, https://texashistory.unt.edu; crediting Livingston Municipal Library.