The Silsbee Bee (Silsbee, Tex.), Vol. 56, No. 21, Ed. 1 Thursday, July 11, 1974 Page: 1 of 18
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VOL. 56
. i
„ Lj, , Jf:
No. 21
SILSBEE, TEXAS 77656, THURSDAY, JULY 11, 1974 -18 PAGES IN 3 SECTIONS — 10c PER COPY
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LOST DEC. 21, H73
Bodies Of Air Crash Victims
I 5 t ‘
Located In Rugged Mountains
Burglars entered two build-
ings by peeling off wall panels
in cases reported to the Hardin
County’s Sheriff’s Department
July 5-6, Sheriff Billy Paine
taid.
About $1,100 in cash report-
edly was taken from the safe at
the Bell’s 7-11 drive-in grocery
on FM 92 on July 5, Paine said.
The burglars had used a lever-
age tool, probably a crowbar,
Paine said, to pry loose and re-
move paneling on the front of
the building. The safe, which
had a combination lock, was
not forcibly entered, Paine
said.
On Saturday, July 6, phar-
macist Aaron McBride reported
theft of $29.05 worth of assort-
ed “downers,” or tranquilizing
drugs, from the Giant Pharma-
cy, which is located in the Giant
Food Supermarket building in
Lumberton. Sheriff Paine said
that the burglars entered the i!|
building by removing wall pan- J
els from the north side—where
the pharmacy is located—and
apparently escaped via the
same passage. Nothing else in
the store was noted missing, he
said.
Deputies Mike Holzapfel and
Morris Cole investigated the
case at Bell’s 7-11; Holzapfel
and Deputy Bruce Gravis work-
ed in the Lumberton burglary.
The wreckage of their four-
>assenger red and white Cess-
na 172 aircraft and the bodies
of Mr. and Mrs. Marvin Cheek
and her seven-year-old daugh-
ter, Maurey, of Midland, Ore.,
who have been missing since
taking off on a flight to Silsbee
from Montague Air Landing
Strip near Yreka, Calif., on
Dec. 21, 1973, have been loca-
ted in a very mountainous area
approximately 30 air miles
south of Yreka, just south ol
Callahan, Calif.
The Checks were lost .last
Dec. 21 while enroute to Silsbec
to spend the Christmas holidays
with her mother, Mrs. Lueylt
Prewitt of Silsbec. An exten-
sive search of the area last De-
cember failed to reveal any
trace of the plane or its occu-
pants as extreme weather con
ditions and heavy snows made
the task difficult.
Wreckage ot the aircraft was
spotted from the air last Sat-
urday at approximately 8:30
p.m. and a ground party reach-
ed the scene at 7:30 a.m. Sun-
day. Identification was made
from- personal papers ’found at
the scene.
A message from the Sheriff’s
Office in Yreka to Hardin
County Sheriff’s Office said it
appeared that all three per-
sons were killed on impact.
The area in which the plane |
was found is very mountainous
{and there was a storm in that
vicinity on Dec. 21, 1973.
A court order had previously graveside in Resthaven Ceme-
declared the three missing per-
sons officially deceased and
memorial services were held for
Mr. and Mrs. Cheek and Mau-
rey at Silsbee's First Baptist
Church on March 17.
The bodies at Mrs. Cheel
and Maurey will be returned tc
Silsbec for burial. Farmer Fun-
eral Home will be in charge o,
services which will be held at
tery at 2 p.m. Friday. Rev.
R, E. Barclay, pastor of the
First Baptist Church of Sllsbee
will officiate.
Mrs. Cheek is survived by
her mother, Mrs Lucyle Prew-
itt of Silsbec Maurey is surviv-
ed by her father, Dick Spillar
of Houston
Services and burial for Mr
Cheek will be in Oregon.
Three Questioned In
Shooting At Police
Detective's Home
A suspect reportedly is being slon, Silsbce Detective Sgt.
questioned in Investigation of a
shooting incident which occur-
red at Valinda Estates subdivi-
SILSBEE’S MAJOR LEAGUE ALL-STARS will
meet their Lumberton counterparts on Monday,
July 15, to decide which team has the right to meet
the winner of a Buna-Kirbyville match in an all-
star playoff game set for July 19. Monday’s game
will be played at the Silsbee Little League Park at
7:30 p. m. Pictured are team members (front rew)
Jeff Knighton, El Ray Rush, Carroll Hatton, Mike
Grisham, Murray Cutbirth and Clay Crawford. On
the second row are Benton McDonald, H. B. Beech-
urn, Jim Guillory, Eric Lawrence and Pat Ratcliff.
Standing are manager Travis McDonald, David
Green, David Tarver, Darrell Ferguson, Bucky Kel-
ley and manager Billy Tarver.
Auditor, County Judge Urge Action On
Ben D. Smith Road ROW Acquisition
Youths To Replace
Damaged Mai
Hardin County Auditor Mor*t*wnsmtasked them for “com-
acc Moye and County Judge
Emmett Lack Monday urged the
Commissioners Court to “get on
the ground" and obtain right-
of-way price estimates required
by the Texas Highway Depart-
ment to expedite the Ben D.
Smith Farm - to - Market Road
project.
The state has completed all
engineering and environmental
studies required to give the
three-mile Ben D. Smith Road
FM status, according to Moye,
and it is now up to the County
to show some signs of progress
in obtaining the -n e c e s s a r y
right-of-way of construction.
"Every detail, engineering and
all, is done—right up to getting
the right-of-way,” Moye told
the Court.
Judge Lack said that he had
contacted several property
parables,” or cost estimates on
property comparable to the
Ben D. Smith right-of-way
property. “The people I talked
to were reluctant to give any
price estimates on their land to
apply to the Ben Smith Road,”
Lack explained. “They weren’t
sure it was ethical." He con-
tinued, “We’ll have to get on
the ground and do it ourselves.’
He said he thought he and the
Commissioners would have to
contact property owners per-
sonally and find out what their
prices would be. “It (the FM
project for Ben Smith Road)
amounts to us spending $30,000
and that’s about what it will
cost—for several million dollars
worth of road projects,” Lack
said.
Moye told the BEE that the
County had budgeted $35,000 in
owners in the north Silsbee Revenue Sharing fupds for Ben
BY HARDIN COUNTY
54 Delinquent
Tax Suits Filed
A total of $15,021.20 in delin-
quent taxes is sought by Kar-
lin County in 54 suits filed in
18th District Court this week
oy County delinquent tax at-
torney, Dexter Joyner, the BEE
earned this week.
Named in the suits are:
—Leon Goodman, 710 S,
12th, Silsbee, $159.71.
—Henry W. Hosea. 1634
(Voodward, Abilene, $140.95.
—Harold Lee Engineering
P. O. Box 34, Voth Rural Sta-
ion, Beaumont, $1,808.15.
—W. H. Shane, Kountze.
>213.67._
Robert. Forse,
31, Is Burned In
Cooking Mishap
Robert Forse, 31, of Silsbee
eportedly suffered first and
econd degree burns July 4
vhen gasoline thrown on a
iharcoal fire exploded in hi4
ace, spokesmen for Farmer
Ambulance Service and St.
Elizabeth Hospital told the
)EE last week.
Forse was tending a barbe-
:ue fire when the accident oc-
mrred about 9:30 a.m. on Inde-
jendence Day. He was taken to
it. Elizabeth Hospital and ad-
mitted. His condition was re-
torted as good that afternoon.
A hospital source said Forse
tad suffered first and second
legree bums on his face,.neck,
best, abdomen, arms and
—Robert S. Coe, P. O. Box
841, Kountze, $727.83.
—H. A. Coe Jr., Box 519,
Kountze, $666.75.
R. D. D’Armond, 617 Caro-
line, Houston, $206.64.
—Murphy John Jarrell, 7985
Ginger Lane, Silsbee, $353.10.
—Annie M. Coleman, P. O.
Box 192, Grayburg, $279.87.
—Clarence Verrett, P. O. Box
1171, Silsbee, $131.80.
—John tillis, 550 South 14th,
Silsbee, $461.87.
H. A. Langston, 915 West
Avenue B, Silsbee, $189.49.
—Hubert C. Coleman,-Route
2, Box 1350, Silsbee, $321.31.
—Bessie Mae Smith, 574 East
Avenue L., Silsbee, $310.70.
—Howard Gafford, Route 3,
Box 240, Silsbee, $242.21.
—Burt H. Collins, P. O. Box
166, Saratoga, $179.72.
—Ola Mae Barnes, 545 South
12th St., Silsbee, $96.63.
—J. O. and Clara Arline,
Silsbee, $177.92.
—Grace Drew, 710
Silsbee, $142.00.
—C. P. Freeman, 1380
field, Silsbee, $193.41.
—John H. Hudson, P. O. Box
1191, Silsbee, $141.76.
—Kenneth R. Keown, 104
Lucky Drive, Silsbee, $137.23.
-Herman Howard, 940 Bon-
ner, Silsbee, $109.62.
Bobbie I. Jones, Star Rt.,
Box 1783, Sour Lake, $125.99.
—Ruby and Pat King, P. Q.
Box 1253, Silsbee. $121.52.
—Essie Dalford, P. O. Box
1331, Silsbee, $247.47.
—Nehemiah Graham, 510
Kirby, Silsbee, $157.30.
(See Tax Suit, Sec. 1, Page 8)
tion. The property needed is lo-
cated on the north side of the
Ben Smith Road and totals 29.9
acres, according to Judge Lack.
Lack added that most of the
land on the north side of the
road was owned by timber
companies.
All Commissioners — Hugh
Bevil Means, Pete Trest, Virgil
Caraway, ana Rex Moore, ex-
pressed their desire to comply
with Highway Department
wishes. Lack also pointed out
that THD had offered road pro-
grams to the County before, but
the County had procrastinated
long enough to cause the funds
to be transferred to other coun-
ties where project rights-of
way were available. Trest said
that he felt THD would look
more kindly on funding other
projects in the County—notably
his offer of the Old Beaumont
Highway in Lumberton as a
Farm-to-Market Road—if Com-
missioners showed some initi-
ative by “getting the ball roll-
ing” on the Smith Road project.
Trest suggested the Court
wait until tne next meeting (set
for July 23) to discuss the 1974
division of the $225,000 Road
and Bridge Available Fund
among the four Commissioner
precincts. Virgil Caraway, who
had made a motion to divide
the funds as they had been for
the past two years, demurred
with the statement that since
the Court was talking about re-
districting, perhaps before the
statuatory August deadline, the
■racney
then,” he said.
Comms. Trest and Means
have been vocal of late in sug-
gesting the Court search for a
new redistricting formula which
would more equally distribute
road mileage. Trest’s Pet. 4,
which includes Lumberton and
Sour Lake, is second in' road
mileage only to Means’ Precinct
3, which stretches from Silsbee
west to the Hardin-Ljberty
County line and takes in south
oxes
Three Silsbee youths, ell over
16, and a 16-year old juvenile,
reportedly have agreed to re-
place 11 mailboxes knocked
down in the Avenue L Knupple
Road area July 3, with no
criminal charges filed, accord-
ing to information gained from
several officials.
Silsbee Police Detective
James Fulgham first told the
BEE that the youths had been
fined in Corporation Court, but
no records of that were avail-
able. The BEE then checked
with County Attorney George
Kirkpatrick, but he reported
that no charges had come
fund division could wait. “We 20 percent; Pet. 2, 25 percent;
portion of the Lumberton area.
When the Court redistricted the
County following litigation of
a lawsuit filed by Silsbee citi-
zens, it complied with legal re-
quirements to use population,
not area or road mileage, as
the basis for representation.
Means told the BEE Monday
that he understood the law re-
quired a population base, but
added that he still felt some-
thing should be done to equal-
ize the burden of road main-
tenance. Silsbee Commissioner
Rex Moore of Pet. 1 has the
smallest precinct by area and
a small amount of County road
mileage, but at least a larger
population than Precincts 2 or
3. Moore claimed more popula-
tion than Trest, but the latter
took exception, citing the rapid
growth rate of the Lumberton
area. Trest said he felt people
should be more equally repre-
sented in Road and Bridge
Fund expenditures.
In 1972 and 1973, the Court
decided to divide R&B Avail-
able funds as follows: Pet. 1,
straight fPet, A >9. percent; through-his office on the case.
Fulgham said that County
Judge Emmett Lack and a U.S.
postal inspector from Beaumont
had met with the suspects and
had agreed on institution and
one year’s “unofficial" proba-
tion instead of filing Federal
and County charges against
them. Judge Lack was unavail-
able Wednesday to comment.
The youths were arrested by
Police Officers Darrell Hart-
man and Morris Vogel at 12:15
a.m. July 3, but charges ap-
parently were dropped after
the reported meeting with
Judge Lack and the Federal of-
ficial.
percent. Auditor Moye told the
BEE the Court had the authori-
ty to divide the funds as it saw
fit.
Comm. Moore told the BEE
that he had completed work on
a public boat ramp at Village
Creek in Silsbee, then was
threatened with a lawsuit over
it. Jack Simmons informed the
Court that he owned property
at the end of Baby Galvez Road
where the boat ramp was con-
Kountze as well as a western structed, and charged that
Moore had taken about 60 feet
of his land and land belonging
to other persons to build the
(See County, Sec. 1, Page 8)
James Fulgham said this week,
Mrs. Fulgham and neighbors
reported to police at 11 p.m.
Tuesday that a small auto had
driven through Rainbow Cir-
cle, a cul-de-sac in the subdivi-
sion where Fulgham’s home is
located, and fired a gun several
times. “They reported seeing
flames from the firearm’s dis-
charge,” Fulgham said.
Three persons were later ar-
rested for investigation of the
incident and for alcohoi-related
charges by DPS Highway
Patrolmen Danny Smith and
Ralph Seaman, but no firearms
charges had been filed as of
Wednesday afternoon.
No injuries were reported in
the shooting incident.
Trustees Talk
DR. W. E. HUFFHINE8 III BUllCJBt/ ExtCIUl
Dr. w. E. Huffhines in Bid Deadline
To Begin Medical
Practice Here Monday
Dr. William E. Huffhines III
will begin the practice of medi-
cine in Silsbee next Monday
when he joins Dr. W. T. Wilde
at Wilde Clinic.
A native of Beaumont, Dr.
Huffhines is a graduate ot For-
est Park High School. He at-
tended A&M University for one
year and graduated from South-
western University in 1969. He
received his M.D. degree from
the University of Texas Medi-
cal Branch at Galveston, and
served his internship in straight
internal medicine at the Uni-
versity of Mississippi Medical
Center at Jackson. While at
Galveston he was a member of
the Phi Beta Pi medical fra-
ternity.
The son of Mr. and Mrs.
W. E. Huffhines Jr. of Beau-
mont, Dr. Huffhines plans to
reside in Silsbee.
Trustees of the Silsbee Inde-
pendent School District set a
regular July 10 meeting to dis-
cuss the proposed 1974-75 bud-
get and an extension of the
deadline for accepting bids on
the $1.8 million school renova-
tion program, Supt. Weeks
Crawford told the BEE Tues-
day.
The new budget probably
Will be set Yor public hearing
and adoption at the regular
Aug. 14 meeting of the Board,
Crawford said. School archi-
tect Augie Saxe haz asked the
Board to extend its deadline
for accepting contractor bids on
the school renovation program.
Originally, bids were to be
opened at a special meeting
called for next Wednesday,
July 17, but Saxe asked the ex-
tension until July 30 to allow
contractors more time to pre-
pare their bids. Mrs. John
Meade, chairman of the Board
building committee, told the
(See Trustees, Sec. 1, Page 8)
Council Affirms Alley Agreement
Reached By Bank, Landowners
With a 4-1 vote Tuesday to pave the entire strip to al-
night, the Silsbee City Council
agreed to allow the First Na-
tional Bank of Silsbee to pave
10 feet of a public alley adja-
cent to its newly-expanded
parking lot facilities between
South Fourth and Fifth Streets.
Council action came on a mu-
tual agreement between the
bank and several property own-
ers with lands abutting the east-
ern side of the 20-foot alley.
Last month, at landowners’ re-
quest, the City rescinded an
earlier order allowing the bank
low traffic between Avenue M
and Avenue N. At that time,
Hays asked both parties to work
out the problem together.
John Meyers, spokesman for
the property owners, and bank
president Nelson Long assured
the Council that both parties
had agreed on a plan to allow
the bank to pave only the west-
ern 10 feet of the public alley
and to use an additional 12 feet
of bank property to construct a
22-foot wide through street.
Councilman Frank Grote
made the first motion to accept nursing home on a 2.99-acre
A LITTLE SUNDAY EXCITEMENT — Silsbee citi-
zens were aroused from their usual summer Sun-
day occupations by the thump of helicopter rotors
July -7. They turned out en masse to see two combat
“Huey” copters land at the Silsbee Junior High
parking lot (above). The ’choppers were sent from
Fort Hood, near Temple, to transport a 16-man fun-
eral detachment here for the rites of 24 year-old
Sp5 Floyd A. Loftin, a former Silsbee resident, kill-
ed in an auto crash on July 4. Loftin was stationed
' Fort Leonard Wood, Mo.
the agreement, but had to
amend it later to clarify the
city’s position on maintenance
and liability. City Attorney
Roger Ratliff told the Council
the City had no liability tor the
proposed street other than un-
der general police powers, or
any other liability it might dC’
Cide to assume. Ratliff asked
for a signed agreement between
the two parties to clarify the
City’s position, but attorney
Earl Stover, retained by the
bank, suggested the motion be
more clearly worded, the mo-
tion finally adopted 4-1 reads
as follows:
“. . . to grant the request of
the First National Bank pur-
suant to the agreement of all
abutting property owners, to
use and pave the west one-half
of the alley without obligation
or liability whatever to the City
for expenses, maintenance, or
any other whatever; retaining
the right of the City at a later
date to open and maintain such
alley at public expense."
Councilman John Fordinal'
cast a nay vote, stating before
the question that he would op-
pose the motion because he
questioned the City's responsi-
bility for liability and mainten-
ance under the agreement.
Those voting for the motion
were Grote, C. F., TnndOlt Jr,
who seconded it, Mrs. I. F. El-
dredge, and David Shows.
Unanimous approval came
from the Council on a request
to allow Dr. George Tennison
to install a canopy with a height ollu uennli j
°I*r 8 P-“bUc "J* Patrolling FM 92 in SilTbee
tract of land near Silsbee High
School, east of the City; then
passed Ordinance 74-6 on the
second reading to re-zone that
tract to allow the development.
The tract formerly lay in an
R-l (residential) zone; the re-
designation is for C-2, or a
community business district.
The sewer project will require
the property owner to lay some
1,800 feet of eight-inch line.
The City will lay the first 100
feet, as provided for In munici-
pal statutes.
Roger Ratliff presented Or-
dinance 74-9, which requires
holders of City taxicab permits
to post notices containing new-
ly-amended fare rates and rate
zones in each cab. A $200 fine
is provided for each act and
for each day of violation of the
ordinance. The Council had
asked Ratliff to draft such a
(See City, Sec. 1, Page 8)
adjacent to his offices and
parking lot. Council had ap
proved installation of a 10-foot
canopy, but Dr. Tennison re-
quested the lower facility last
month.
City leaders also approved
a sewer line extension request
High Speed Chose
Ends With Arrest
Of Three Youths
A trio of youths led Sllsbee,
Hardin, and Tyler County law
officers on a high-speed auto
chase which began inside the
Silsbec city limits Monday night
and ended 25 miles and one
hour later in Spurger, accord-
ing to arresting officers.
Silsbee Police Officer William
Gilley and Dennis Jones
aoout b:io p,m. July 8 when a
black and white Chevrolet Nova
passed them, Gilley said. The
auto seemed to be exceeding the
posted speed limit, so Gillev
save pursuit, his flasher and
siren turned on,
lor E, A- Simpson of Lufkin, auto accellersteifsnd^prH nmrh
who has plans to construct a ra-* . !Pe<1 “Orth
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Read, R. L. The Silsbee Bee (Silsbee, Tex.), Vol. 56, No. 21, Ed. 1 Thursday, July 11, 1974, newspaper, July 11, 1974; Silsbee, Texas. (https://texashistory.unt.edu/ark:/67531/metapth820429/m1/1/: accessed April 26, 2024), University of North Texas Libraries, The Portal to Texas History, https://texashistory.unt.edu; crediting Silsbee Public Library.