The Silsbee Bee (Silsbee, Tex.), Vol. 71, No. 49, Ed. 1 Thursday, January 4, 1990 Page: 1 of 16
This newspaper is part of the collection entitled: Silsbee Area Newspaper Collection and was provided to The Portal to Texas History by the Silsbee Public Library.
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The Silsbee Bee
\j
Woman Involved In Auto
Accident Delivers Year's
First Baby Monday
VOLUME 71 - NUMBER 49 SILSBEE, TEXAS'f?656rTHURSDAY, JANUARY 4,1990
12 PAGES IN 1 SECTION
The 1980$: Boom, Bust And Recovery
V
By Bob Bullock
Texas Comptroller of
Public Accounts
When Texas entered the
1980s, oil and gas were king.
But just as Smndletop heralded
a new economic era, the eco-
nomic bust of tie mid-1980s and
resulting diversification of the
state economy have defined the.
course we will follow in the
coming decade.
The change in direction was
not by choice, and not without
hardship. But it was necessary
to ensure that Texas continues
to be an economic leader in the
nation.
2 Receive Probation In
3SGth District Court
Two persons were placed on
probation after they entered
pleas in separate cases in the
356th District Court, according
to the records of District Attor-
ney R.F. "Bo” Horka and
District Judge Britt Plunk.
Ri(a Woods Upshaw, 26,
P.O. Box 1212, Silsbee, pleaded
guilty to a charge of mis-
demeanor theft reduced from a
charge of theft by possession.
She was placed on one year of
unadjudicated probation and
was ordered to pay court costs
and $1,069.29 in restitution. A
charge of burglary of a habita-
tion was dismissed along with
an unindicted case of theft.
Beulah Maye Liggins, 38,
P.O. Box 2036, Kountze, plead-
ed guilty to a charge of burg-
lary of a building. She was
placed on five years of un-
adjudicated probation and was
ordered to pay court costs and
78.80 ^restitution.
YEAR IN REVIEW (CONTINUED!
Then and Now
We entered the 1980s highly
dependent on oil and gas. In
1981, the oil and gas industry
directly provided $2.2 billion in
state tax revenue, for 28 per-
cent of all state trtces collected.
When oil prices plummeted
from an average price of $32
Der barrel in 1982 to an average
price of $15 per barrel in 1986,
the ripple effect was disastrous
to the entire economy.
By fiscal 1989, oil and gas tax
reveue had dwindled to less
than $1.2 billion, representing 9
percent of the state's total tax
revenue.
Because we’ve become less
dependent on the oil and gas
industry, fluctuations in the
energy industry will- not affect
our overall economy as much as
they did five years ago.
Our economy has become
more service oriented since
1981, when 70 percent of Texas
workers had service industry
jobs. Today, 78 percent of
workers are in service-related
jobs, including fields such as
transportation and public utili-
ties, finance, insurance, real
estate, trade, government,
education, and health and busi-
ness services.
And today, we have a larger
population. In 1981, Texas had
14.9 million people. Today,
there are 17 million Texans,
with the population projected
to grow to 19.2 million by the
turn of the century.
1981-85: Boom and Recession
Years
When we entered the 1980s,
the oil industry was booming.
But in 1982-83, oil prices drop-
ped, and Houston, the state's
oil capital, „ was hit with 'a
recession that lasted until 1984-
85, when the oil industry stabi-
lized.
At the same time, the pro-
mise that Texas would become
a new mecca of high technology
generated real estate booms in
Dallas, Fort Worth, Austin and
San Antonio.
The atmosphere was akin to
that of the California gold rush.
The "gold” was in owning a pice
of Texas. Investors bragged
about buying a piece of proper-
ty and multiplying their invest-
ment dollars when they sold the
property to someone else,
sometimes the same day.
But when oil prices dropped
in 1986, oil workers were laid
off and fewer dollars were
available to fuel the economy.
Federal tax reform took away
many of the advantages of
holding real estate and an al-
ready overbuilt real estate
market collapsed.
Real estate investors were
left holding property that they
couldn’t finish paying for and
that they couldn't sell.
1986-87: Recession
I was considered a “nay
sayer” when I issued warnings
in early 1986 that our boom was
running on empty. But by
mid-year, our recession was in
full force.
People who had always paid
their bills found themselves out
of work. Homes they’d bought
at the height of the boom
wouldn’t sell-at any price.
Foreclosures reached record
highs.
People left the state to find
jobs in more prosperous eco-
nomies.
j Even now, some office build-
ings-constructed at the height
of the boom in anticipation of
continued exponential economic
growth-sit empty. But vacancy
rates are steadily dropping.
The bust was a rude awaken-
ing for a state whose people are
known for self-confidence and
grit. But it forced us to recog-
nize that we could no longer be
dependent on oil and gas, that
we needed to diversify our
economy.
1987-Present:
Expansion
Recovery and
Four Candidates For County Off ice
Draw No Opponents In Primary
Filing closed at 6 p.m. Tues-
day for candidacy in the March
13 Democractic primary elec-
tion, leaving four county offices
with unopposed incumbents, as
well as two unopposed party
chairmen.
Filing for candidacy in the
Democratic primary by office
were:
County judge: incumbent
Milton R. "Pete” McKinney, 52,
of Silsbee; Tom Mayfield, 52, of
Kountze; Ben R. Wagner, 37, of
Lumberton; and FYed “Bob”
Herron, 52, of Silsbee.
County clerk: incumbent Dee
Hatton, 52, of Kountze; and
former county clerk Clarence
McNeely, 72, of Kountze.
District clerk: incumbent
Aline Harper, 63, of Kountze.
County'treasurer: incumbent
Eddie Doggett, 50, of Silsbee;
and Joe Watson, 53, of Silsbee.
Precinct 2 county commis-
sioner: incumbent John H.
Golden, 56, of Silsbee; and Joe
Blair, 60, of Kountze.
Precinct 4 county commis-
sioner: incumbent John D.
Brown, 53, of Lumberton.
Precinct 1 justice of the
peace: incumbent Robert W.
Ward, 46, of Silsbee; Pat
Sullivan, 53 of , Silsbee; and
Bennie J. Smith Jr., 39, of
Silsbee.
Precinct 2 justice of the
peace: incumbent Bennie L.
Como, 61, of Silsbee; Robert E.
Watts, 34, of Silsbee; and Ron
Childress, 56, of Kountze.
Precinct 3 justice of the
peace: incumbent Cecil V.
Overstreet, 81, of Kountze. j
- Precinct 4 justice of the
peace: incumbent Gerald G.
Loper, 64, of Sour Lake.
Precinct 5 justice of the
peace: incumbent Sid Johnson,
65, of Lumberton; Eddie Har-
rell McCain, 59, of Lumberton
and David D. Hayes, 58, of
Lumberton.
Precinct 6 justice of the
peace: incumbent Kenneth En-
loe, 46, of Batson; and Richard
A. Campbell, 43, of Saratoga.
Precinct 6 constable, un-
expired term: J.H. “Buz”
Hatcher Jr., 35, of Batson,
Thomas Anderson, 59, of Sara-
toga; and J.R. “Randy” Mosley,
43, of Batson.
We worked hard to woo a
variety of investors and indus-
tries to the state, using our
central sunbelt location, large
workforce and low cost of living
as incentives.
As a result, manufacturing is
flourishing, scientific research
centers are thriving and service
industries are growing.
Statewide employment-at
6.8 million-is at an all-time
high, after bottoming out at 6.5
million at the end of 1986.
And the state’s general rev-
enue fund has recovered from
having a deficit of $745 million
in fiscal 1987 to having a
positive balance of $297 million
at the end of the fiscal year.
The 1990s
Texas has not lost its unique
character, but the new eco-
nomic diversity has made our
economy more similiar to the
(Sm Boom Soc. 1, Pago 12)
Commodities To Be
Distributed Jan. 10
Commodities will be distri-
A Silsbee woman gave birth
to the area’s first New Year's
baby after she and her family
were involved in a three-
vehicle accident Saturday north
of Silsbee.
A report by Department of
Public Safety Trooper Mark
Leger shows that a vehicle
driven by 34-year-old Joel
Lindsey of Silsbee was north-
bound on Highway 92 just
north of FM 1122 about 1 p.m.
when Lindsey reportedly lost
control of the vehicle and
crossed the center line.
Lindsey's vehicle struck a
southbound pickup truck dri-
ven by 46-year-old Curtis Jen-
kins of Silsbee. Jenkins’ 22-
year-old wife, Vinia, and eight-
month-old daughter, Ashley,
were in the truck.
The impact caused Jenkins'
vehicle-to roll onto its side.
After the impact, Lindsey’s
vehicle struck the car of 47-
year-old Jean Jenkins of Spur-
ger, who was southbound be-
hind Curtis Jenkins. Jean Jen-
kins and a passenger, 55-year
old Boyd Jenkins of Spurger,
were uninjured in the collision,
reports show.
Lindsey was taken by Air
Rescue to Baptist Hospital,
where he was treated and
released. Curtis Jenkins and
his wife and daughter were
taken to Silsbee Doctors Hospi-
tal. He was treated and releas-
ed, while Ashley was admitted
for observation and released
Sunday* Vinia Jenkins was
transported to St. Elizabeth
Hospital in Beaumont, where
she gave birth to a daughter
Monday morning. She was re-
leased Tuesday while the baby,
Casey Elizabeth, remained in
the neonatal intensive care unit
in critical condition Wednesday
morning.
Firemen Respond
To 60 Alarms
During December
Democratic party chairman:/ buted Jan. 10from8 a.m. - 9:30
incumbent Betty Ann Mitchell, a.m. at the Hardin County
57, of Silsbee.
In the Republican primary,
incumbent Republican party
chairman Helen A- McClellan
will run for election as chair-
man.
courthouse, according to Yvon-
ne Baker, retired senior volun-
teer.
These items are for the
Silsbee, Lumberton and Koun-
tze area.
The Silsbee Volunteer Fire
Department stayed busy dur-
ing December, responding a
record 60 times, Fire Chief
John E. Price said.
"We had a little bit of
everything,” Price said. "It was
a record month."
The department usually
makes approximately 35 runs a
month. Most of December’s
record-breaking activity came
after a hard freeze dried grass
to a point where it burned
easily, Price said. More than
half of the 60 runs were in
response to grass fires.
The dry conditions brought a
more than week-long mora-
torium on burning ‘wtikh was
lifted Monday after rain damp-
ened the area.
“The rains saved the day," he
said.
The department fought 260
fires during 1989, up from
recent years but still ^below
totals from five to six years
ago, he said.'
Tigers Beat Dayton
75-66 Tuesday Night
The Silsbee Tigers opened
conference play with a 75-66
win over Dayton Tuesday
nisrht.
The 17-4A boys basketball
game was played at Silsbee.
James Colomb paced the Sils-
bee team with 16 points.
Storms And Hurricanes Brought Much Flooding To Area
Floods continued to dominate
the headlines during the latter
half of 1989, though Hurricane
Chantal gave Hardin County
and much of Southeast Texas
an unexpected breather when
she dumped most of her rain
and high winds on her western
side. In October, Hurricane
Jerry again spared the county
the worst, leaving in his wake
isolated cases of flooding.
When the county wasn’t
flooding, residents were talking
about the floods. They talked to
county commissioners and to
city councilmen, requesting
that something be dSne to bring
relief to residents of areas
which frequently flood.
Floods also contributed to a
shortfall in Precinct 3 Com-
missioner Bill Fregia’s budget
when the precinct sustained a
substantial amount of road
damage during the frequent
spells of high water. Disaster
aid helped bail out the in-
undated precinct.
There were happenings un-
related to the continually rising
waters, however.
An appeals court overturned
the 57-year sentence of a
Kountze man convicted of ag-
gravated sexual assault, but a
jury in December sentenced
the man to 75 years in prison
during a retrial of the case.
Hardin County commission-
ers moved forward with pltos
for a new county jail in an effort
to relieve overcrowding which
cost the current jail its certifi-
cation. Commissioners also
agreed to work with a Houston
firm to bring a 500-bed private
inmate detention center to the
county.
The county and Silsbee voted
to grant tax abatement to the
Louisiana-Pacific Corp. and the
Silsbee City Council authorized
the issuance of more than,$2
million in bonds for renovations
at the city's sewer’treatment
plants. The city also took the
lead in the regional competition
for block grant funds.
An Evadale man was indicted
in Jasper County on a chargeof
murder in connection with the
disappearance of a Silsbee wo-
man in 1988, and a Port Arthur
man was indicted on a charge of
capital murder by a Hardin
County grand jury for allegedly
shooting a Lumberton man in a
1985 murder-for-hire case.
Silsbee got a new shopping
center and Lumberton hired a
new police chief. A radiation
scare at a Silsbee hotel proved
to be no danger, but the jury is
still out on whether a small
portion of a Type II hunting
area will be reopened after it
was closed following the acci-
dental shooting of a Silsbee
15-year-old.
Here’s what happened during
the last six months of 1989.
July 6 •'
More than 90 percent of the
students at Silsbee High School
and Silsbee Middle School re-
ported never having used
drugs, according to the results
released from an anonymous
questionnaire taken by stu-
dents in the spring.
Evadale ISD. Supt. Bert Fling
retired, handing his duties over
to Leland E. Edge, a Saratoga
High School graduate.
* A field of 52 players com-
peted in the Silsbee Country
Club Women’s Golf Associa-
tion’s Partnership Scramble
Tournament.
July 13
Hardin County commission-
ers heard from approximately
20 Pinewood residents who -
were unhappy about flooding
which had closed their subdivi-
sion’s bridge to traffic twice
within recent months and num-
erous times past years.
Valinda Estates Residents ap-
proached the Silsbee City
Council to ask that something
be done about reportedly wors-
ening flooding in the addition. ,
The Hardin County Economic
Development Commission and
others interested in bringing a
state prison to the county met
at the county courthouse to
discuss efforts to attract the
facilities.
A Hardin County sheriffs
deputy arrested two Sour Lake
residents after a search of a
home reportedly revealed a
quantity of marijuana and pills.
A 41-year-old Port Arthur
man died when a large bin fell
on him at Louisiana-Pacific
Corp.’s Kirby Forest Industries
plant in Silsbee. The man was
an employee of a Beaumont
company which was removing
steel from buildings at the
plant.
Silsbee police officers were
searching for a man who re-
portedly attempted to rob a
local convenience store at gun-
point.
July 20
Hardin County commission-
ers delayed taking action on the
rapidly disappearing funds in
Precinct 3 Commissioner Bill
Fregia’s budget. Several floods
and the amount of money in
Fregia’s budget when he took
office contributed to the short-
fall.
Testimony began in the ag-
gravated robbery trial of a
Silsbee man who allegedly rob-
bed a convenience store at
knifepoint before becoming in-
volved in an altercation with a
Silsbee police officer in March.
Two 19-year-old Hardin
County jail inmates who used a
crawl space to escape were
recaptured in Waco after they
reportedly stole a vehicle and
committed a burglary.
Opponents of a bill which
would add 14,000 acres to the
Big Thicket National Preserve
prepared a 2,904-signature pe-
tition to send to state senators
in an effort to persuade them to
vote against the measure.
Complete Count Of All Texans
In 1990 Census Teimed "Crucial"
AUSTIN-Governor Bill
Clements, in an effort to assure
a complete count of all Texans
in the 1990 census, has assem-
bled a committee of state
agency chiefs who will engen-
der increased census awareness
among state employees and
agency clients.
A comprehensive census
count is crucial to Texas in the
1990s, the governor said, in
ensuring the state gets its
allotted share of federal funds.
Also at stake is proper repre-
sentation in the U.S. House of
Representatives.
An accurate census count in
Texas could net the state and
loca^ governments as much as
$900 million more in federal
funds during the next 10 years,
according to the Texas State
Data Center.
In addition, Texas could gain
as many as four new congres-
sional seats if the 1990 count is
accurate^
’Texas literally cannot afford
to put forth anything less than
an all-out effort to make sure all
of our residents are counted by ‘
census-takers in 1990,” the
governor said. “This committee
will make sure that key state
agencies do everything possible
to help Texas achieve that
goal.”
The governor’s State Agenc^
Census Planning Committee is
part of a strategy designed to
avoid a repeat of the 1980,
undercount of Texas residents.
Estimates are the 1980 census
missed as many as 647,000
Texans, of which 396,000 were
minorities.
In 1987 alone, Texans lost an
estimated $21.3 million in Medi-
caid funds as a result of the
undercount in the 1980 census.
The committee, using agency
newsletters and paycheck in-
serts, will generate state, em-
ployee awareness of the impor-
tance of the census.
The committee will focus
special attention on agencies
with heavy public contact, in-
cluding those dealing in social
services whose federal funding
is tied to the census.
Promotional posters and in-
formational materials will be
distributed to targeted state
agencies, including local offices
of the Department of Human
Services and the Texas Em-
ployment Commission, health
department clinics and Depart-
ment of Public Safety driver’s
license stations.
The Health and Human Ser-
vices Coordinating Council will
take the lead in organizing the
census effort, with technical
assistance from the Depart-
ment of Commerce.
Assigned to serve on the
committee are the executive
directors or representatives of
the Texas Department of Com-
merce, the Texas Department
of Criminal Justice, the Office
of the State Comptroller of
Public Accounts, the Secretary
of State's office, The Texas
Education Agency, the Texas
Employment Commission,
Texas Employees Retirement
System, the Texas Health and
Human Services Coordinating
Council, the Texas Department
of Health, the Texas Higher
Education Coordinating Board,
the State Department of High-
ways and Public Transporta-
tion, the Texas Department of
Human Services, the Texas
Department of Mental Health
and Mental Retardation, the
Texas Parks and Wildlife De-
partment, the Texas Depart-
ment of Public Safety and the
Texas Rehabilitation Com-
mission.
Silsbee High School graduate
Shan Gilder prepared to play in
the Texas High School M-Star
baseball game in the Astro-
dome.
July 27
A county jury sentenced a
Silsbee man to 66 years in
prison and fined him $10,000
after finding him guilty of the
aggravated robbery of an area
convenience store.
The 11th Court of Appeals
ruled that a local district judge
erred when he allowed the
confession of a Kountze man on
trial for rape to be admitted
into evidence. The case was
returned to the t,rial court for a
new trial because the man’s
charge thaf he was forced to
give a confession on threat of
death had not been adequately
contested at a pre-trial hearing
by the police chief the man said
threatened him. The man had
been sentenced to 57 years in
prison.
Lumberton Police Officer Otis
Jennings was named interim
police chief by the Lumberton
City Council after Police Chief
Ronnie Sticker resigned.
The Silsbee City Council**
voted to deny a $67.5 million
GSU rate increase request af-
ter rejecting an ordinance
which would have favored a
decrease in the electric com-
pany’s current rates.
The Silsbee Police Depart-
ment announced it was contin-
uing investigation into the sus-
picious death of a Silsbee
woman found in her home a
year ago and had sent evidence
to a FBI lab in Washington,
D.C., for DNA analysis.
August 3
SISD trustees adopted a
salary schedule giving teachers
salary increases ranging from
$800 to $1,800. Increases in
local salary supplements
echoed earlier increases in the
state’s base pay.
An 18-year-old Lumberton
man died after he was shot
accidentally by a companion
while reportedly shooting fish
at a private pond.
Hurricane Chantal treated
Hardin County' much better
than June's tropical storm did,
dumping little of the expected
rain in the already saturated
area.
Jasper County Sheriff Aubrey
Cole said a Silsbee woman who
disappeared in 1988 may have
been killed in Jasper County.
Officers did have a suspect in
the case.
The sanctuary of the United
Pentecostal Church in Lumber-
ton was destroyed by a fire
which reportedly started when
lightning hit the steeple.
The Youth/Young Adult Fel-
lowship Alliance announced
plans to build a youth center in
Silsbee to give young people
alternatives to hanging out on
the streets and drug abuse, the
proposed center would have
such features as sporting facili-
ties, worship areas, a gospel
book store and novelty shop, a
snack bar, a computer training
room and a day care center.
August 10
The Hardin County grand
jury indicted a 24-year-old
Port Arthur man on a charge of
capital murder in connection
with a 1985 murder-for-hire
case which ’ exposed an exten-
sive insurance fraud scheme
involving the killing of horses.
The man allegedly shot a 42-
year-old Lumberton man to
death while committing a rob-
bery and in return for the
promise of pay in 1986. Records
kept by the dead man revealed
the insurance scam, officials
said.
•
Developer Johnny Smith an-
nounced that a small shopping
center he was building should
open in the fall with four
tenants.
A Hardin County jail escapee
was sentenced to 10 years in
prison, while another inmate
was sentenced to six months in
the county Jail for aiding the
inmate's esaqpn.
Hardin County received
$178,260 as disaster aid for the
first of two floods which inun-
dated the county earlier in the
summer.
Hardin County commissioners
began the 1989-90 budget pro-
cess by hearing funding re-
quests from the county clerk’s
office and from their individual
precincts.
Siisbee police officers arrest-
ed five persons after finding
crack cocaine in a residence.
August 17
Silsbee City Council opened
the way for local taxing entities
to grant tax abatement to the
Louisiana-Pacific Corp. by vot
ing to establish the city’s first
reinvestment zone. The zone
included almost 467 acres of
L-P property, including the
area of the Kirby Forest Indus-
tries plant slated for use as an
oriented strand board plant.
The council also voted to adopt ,
an ordinance designating the
L-P property as an industrial .
district, guaranteeing the com-
pany immunity from annexa-
tion for seven years in return
for a minimum annual payment
of $60,000.
SISD trustees adopted a $13.5
million budget and agreed to
give administrators and other
personnel raises ranging from 3
to 6 percent.
Precinct 1 Commissioner Bob
Burgess vowed to seek a lower
tax rate for residents of the city
of Silsbee after a commission
ers’ court vote to allow him to
repair three city streets failed
3-2. Burgess said city residents
were being double taxed and
received few direct benefits
from their county taxes.
Commissioners also voted to
remove a 25,000 pound weight
limit from Fresenius Road from
Highway 827 to a point just
north of a dirt pit. The dirt pit s
owner had requested the
change so he-could legally drive
his truck from the highway to
his property.
Residents of Valinda Estates
(So# Review toe. l.Pofol)
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Read, R. L. The Silsbee Bee (Silsbee, Tex.), Vol. 71, No. 49, Ed. 1 Thursday, January 4, 1990, newspaper, January 4, 1990; Silsbee, Texas. (https://texashistory.unt.edu/ark:/67531/metapth820428/m1/1/?q=technical+manual: accessed July 18, 2024), University of North Texas Libraries, The Portal to Texas History, https://texashistory.unt.edu; crediting Silsbee Public Library.