Hondo Anvil Herald (Hondo, Tex.), Vol. 120, No. 32, Ed. 1 Thursday, August 10, 2006 Page: 1 of 74
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__ _________ _ Medina Countyi Lading Newspaper Our I20di Year Pubfabed ia Hondo. Texas .
I huruiiy August 10,2006 • Volume 120, Number 32 • WtiuitrHftnA>AnvimmliLa)m • Three Sections, 34 Paget • 75 Cenu
PHOTO BY FRANCES GUINN
2006-2007 MEDINA COUNTY FAIR COURT SELECTED .... Kara Groff of Hondo was crowned 2006-07 Medina County Fair
Queen Saturday evening, concluding the day-long pageant activities. Members of the court are (l-r): Miss Congeniality, Rachel
Ann Frey, is a junior at Hondo HS, daughter of John and Ella Frey, and sponsored by Susan Shepherd. Princess is Lindsey
Vollmer, a junior at Devine HS, daughter of Rodney and Lisa Vollmer, and sponsored by Air-Tex Heating and Air Conditioning.
Queen Kara, the daughter of Mike and Brenda Groff, is a junior at Hondo HS and sponsored by Tondre Transfer and Storage.
Duchess Kalelyn Coyle, a junior at Hondo HS, is the daughter of Michelle Glowka Coyle and Jimbo Coyle and sponsored by
Sigma Tau Sorority. First runner-up is Taylor Knox, a sophomore at Hondo HS, daughter of Pat and Dina Murphy, and spon-
sored by Tomey Realty.
Ttoo HISD campuses earn Recognized status
HISD Superintendent Clyde Parsons announced that he plans to
retire at the end of the 2006-07 school year during the opening day
ceremonies Monday in the Hondo High School cafetena. After the
program, Parsons (center right) and his wife Denise (center left)
visit with HHS faculty members Bette Wooten and John Zen
Parsons announces
plans to retire
By Jeff Berger
Anvil Herald Co-Publisher
At the conclusion of Monday’s opening day events for the
Hondo Independent School District, Superintendent Clyde Par-
sons had some news for the district's teachers, administrators
and support staff.
He'll be retiring at the end of the 2006-07 school year.
Supt. Parsons, a native of Hondo, and 1966 HHS graduate,
choked back the emotion as he told the group the school year
just beginning would be his last. The audience rewarded him
with two standing ovations.
He began working for the HISD as a teacher and baseball
coach in 1974. Within a decade's time, he had been principal
at Meyer Elementary, and had moved up to Assistant Super-
intendent. He remained in that post through 2002, when he
Was named the district’s new chief, succeeding Doug
Coleman, a three-year successor to long-time Superintendent
Scores from the Hondo
ISD’s 2006 TAKS testing have
been released.
While the numbers sent to
the school district can be inter-
preted in many ways, the bot-
tom line is that, of the 26 areas
in which the school was tested
2005, overall scores went up in
20 of those areas in 2006.
All HISD campuses scored
as to—die ‘frccepmMu*
range, while Woolls Interme-
diate and Nfeyer Elementary
earned “Recognized” status.
Last year, all of the campus
scores were acceptable.
“These were good gains,”
said HISD Assistant Superin-
tendent Clay Rosenbaum. “Our
goal is get get each campus to
die recognized level, and then
to start making strides toward
the exemplary level.
An exemplary mark comes
when across-the-board scores
4*MNMB{Mu avenge out to
90% passing. Recognized sta-
tus is earned at the 70% pass-
ing mark.
Scores are broken down
into four categories within the
HISD. Besides the total score,
figures are separated into cat-
egories for Hispanic, White
and Economically Disadvan-
taged students.
Of the 26 categories, which
span the grade levels from
third to eleventh, scores were
up across the board in 13 sub-
ject*, inolwding third grade
math; fourth grade writing;
fifth grade math and science;
sixth grade reading and math;
seventh grade math and writ-
ing; eighth grade math; ninth
grade reading and math;
tenth grade English and
math; and eleventh grade so-
cial studies.
Only two subjects, fourth
grade math and eighth grade
social studies, marked a de-
cline among ail four groups.
“We’re very pleased with the
teacher* and the kid*" Mid -}
Rosenbaum. “They took the
testing seriously, and that was
reflected in our scores.”
Bud Woolls.
During the program, the HISD staff viewed a history of the
district's “Middle Years,” from 1957 to 1981. Last year, the
district’s years from its founding through 1956 were chronicled.
Afterwards, staff competed for prizes from area businesses and
restaurants in a trivia contest, with answers pertaining to the
district history they had just been shown.
Teachers will be working on their respective campuses be-
tween now and Monday. Classes begin throughout the dis-
trict on Tuesday, Aug. 15.
Council hears charter committee update
Request made
to postpone
vote to May
By William Hoover
Anvil Herald Correspondent
The chairman of Hondo’s Home Rule
Chatter Committee, Bruce Poster, ad-
dressed council Monday asking the
home rule ballot item be pushed back
from November 2006 to May 2007. Fos-
ter made the request so the committee
would have six months more time to de-
velop a charter which would be tailored
to meet the city’s special needs.
Until a city adopts home rule, it is only
a subdivision of the state and must look
to state laws for guidance. Hondo is only
one of a few eligible Texas dries, having a
population over 5,000, that has not yet
adopted a home rule charter.
Addressing council bom the podium,
Foster said rite foil home rule charter writ-
ing commission had met five dines. “We
are working well together and we have
broken up into subcommittees,” he told
council. “The subcommittees are munici-
pal structure, finance, issuance of debt,
initiative referendum and recall, city per-
sonnel, planning and zoning, standards
of conduct, ethics and public awareness.”
In developing a proposed charter for
Hondo, Foster said a great amount of work
has beat dedicated to researching recent
charters which have been adopted by Texas
cities within the last few years. “The dries
looked at were Cibola, Heath, Rockport and
Granite Shoals,” he said. ‘We are also using
the old charter Hondo attempted to adopt
years ago as a guide, and that has been
helpful.
On July 26, the commission voted to
recommend to council that the vote on
becoming a home rule city be moved
from the Nov. 2006 ballot to rite May 2007
ballot
“The reasoning for the recommended
change is because this will allow us time
to develop a charter, as well as the op-
portunity to put together a public edu-
cation plan to Inform the voters of the
stands out as the reason?"
City Manager Robert Her-rera said,
“With all respect to Councilman Teague,
the questions you are asking the chair-
man should probably be directed to the
mayor and council because they are the
ones who said they believe a home rule
charter is important and now is the time
to move forward. The council appointed
a committee and Mr. Fostej is the chair-
man of the committee. So, l guess that is
a policy decision that was made prior to
your coming on board (council).
Council did vote unanimously to de-
velop a home rule charter for Hondo,
noted Mayor Jim Danner.
“We are the largest city in the state of
Texas that dqes not have a home rule char-
ter,” said the mayor. “The benefit to me of
a home rule charter is we can govern our-
selves and the citizens can set up the kind
of government they want with the rules
benefits that come from having a home they want, instead of just being obliged to
rule city,” said Foster. “Furthermore, with follow state laws. If you read some of these
the change in dates, city council will have charters, you can see there is flexibility in
ample time to review and digest our them. I think annexation (upon city re-
draft. If there is anything I can do, you all quest) is an important component, but
know how to contact me.” there are a whole lot of other components
Foster tola council he appreciated involved that are important to us. I think
PHOTO BY DAWN HOOVER
Home Rule Charter Committee Chairman
Bruce Foster addresses council during
Monday's meeting.
their time and patience and said the
home rule charter commission was mov-
ing forward.
Councilman Terry Teague, who was
elected after council unanimously ap-
proved moving forward with trying to
PHOTO BY JEFF BERGER
During a stop in Hondo on Tuesday, U S. Representative Henry
Bonilla (left) shares a laugh with Hondo Police Chief Johnny Martinez
The Congressman was in town to help promote glaucoma aware-
ness and screening, during Health Awareness Week at South Texas
Rural Health Services.
Filing starts over in
redrawn 23rd District
we would rather have ourselves and our
community governing our city rather than
the state.”
“I agree,” said Teague.
“Some of the work the committee is
doing, you will find is very advantageous
The United States District
Court for the Eastern District
of Texas, acting on orders from
the U.S. Supreme Court, on
Friday created a new map for
the 23rd U.S. Congressional
District of Texas. The redrawn
map also forced changes in
four other area districts.
Medina County, which sits
entirely in the 23rd District,
will stay there, but the state’s
largest geographical district,
represented since 1993 by
Congressman Henry Bonilla,
has undergone some signifi-
cant changes.
Gone from the district is
Webb County, which is now
entirely within the 28th Dis-
trict. That county, and specifi-
cally the City of Laredo, had
been split in half. Also gone
from the 23rd are Bandera,
Kerr, Kendall and Real Coun-
See 23RD DISTRICT, Page 5A
the
weather...
adopt home rule, questioned what the to us as a city,” said the mayor,
bweflts of home rule charter were. Teague said all he could see was that
’What )a die benefit besides annexation home rule would give more power to the
by tire fifty?” he asked. city's elected council. i
“There la more than that,” Foster told “I think it gives more power to the
the freshman councilman. “There are people,’countered Dan ner. “They are the
different rules and that is what we are ones who elect the council and mayor,
working through. We are attempting to They are the ones who, by vote, can change
resolve anything we see that is not ben- anything in the charter anytime they have
efldal to our city. You want to point out enough petitioners to do it. The way it is
annexation but there is also the power now, we can’t change anything with the
of referendum and recall, and many state (general law) charter. We just have to
other powers.” live with the state's rules.”
Teague said Hondo had lived as a sub- Councilman Vance Tomey said when
division of the state forever and asked the city needs a legal decision from the
why adopting home rule was necessary state regarding a local issue, it could
now “It is just the time we need to do it," mean a critical two-year delay because
said Foster, referring to the growth the the Texas legislature only meets regularly
city is experiencing. i every other year. “We have to wait until
/But udiy now?" asked Teague. “What Sm HOME RULE, Page SA
Museum closed
The Medina County
Museum will be closed for the
duration of the clean up
process following last week’s
fire.
Classes begin for
area schools
Classes will begin for all
Hondo ISD campuses
Tuesday, Aug. 15
D’Hanis ISD will begin on
Wednesday, Aug. 16
Sabinal ISD will begin on
Tuesday. Aug. 15
Medina Valley ISD will
begin classes on Monday,
Aug. 21
Anvil Herald weather info
recorded by Jeff Berger
Date
Wed., Aug. 2
Thun., Aug. 3
Fri., Aug. 4
Sat., Aug. 5
Sun.. Aug. 6
Mon.. Aug. 7
lues.. Aug. 8
High Low Rain
98 78 tr.
77
74
76
75
75
75
97
98
88
98
96
96
.00
.00
.00
.14
.04
.00
Total rain for the past week: 0.18 ia
Total rain for August: 0.16 in.
Total rain for 2006:7.43 in.
Avg. high temp, for the week 97.3*
Avg low temp, for the week 75.7*
High temp, for 2006:100* on July 18
Low temp, for 2006:24‘ on Feb. 12
Edwards Aquifer levels. Aug. 9:
Bexar well: 650.0 ft.
Hondo well: 698.7 ft.
Uvalde well: 869.4 ft
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Hondo Anvil Herald (Hondo, Tex.), Vol. 120, No. 32, Ed. 1 Thursday, August 10, 2006, newspaper, August 10, 2006; Hondo, Texas. (https://texashistory.unt.edu/ark:/67531/metapth818986/m1/1/: accessed July 18, 2024), University of North Texas Libraries, The Portal to Texas History, https://texashistory.unt.edu; crediting Hondo Public Library.