The Silsbee Bee (Silsbee, Tex.), Vol. 70, No. 33, Ed. 1 Thursday, September 15, 1988 Page: 1 of 26
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The Silsbee bee
VOLUME 70-NUMBER33 SILSBEE, TEXAS 77656,THURSDAY, SEPTEMBER 15,1988 20PAGES IN 2 SECTIONS
A . Grand Jury Indicts
25* Silsbee Man On
Murder Charge
Tennison Reports
Evacuation Plans
Are In Place
Local emergency personnel
are not sitting still as Hurricane
Gilbert threatens the area,
Hardin County emergency
management coordinator Ray-
mond Tennison said Wednes-
day morning.
Tennison and other officials
were scheduled to meet at 10
a.m. Wednesday in Jefferson
County with the Department of
Public Safety, Red Cross and
others to prepare in case Gil-
bert does head towards South-
east Texas.
Tennison said persons in the
area should be prepared for the
hurricane and should be ready
to move if necessary. Sand bags
were being readied early in the
week and can be picked up at
the county commissioners' of-
fices if needed.
Evacuation plans are already
in place for the whole Golden
Triangle area, with the main
evacuation routes leading to-
wards Jasper or Lufkin, he
said. If areas near the coast are
evacuated, shelters may be
opened in schools and the
county courthouse in Hardin
County.
School Enrollmont
Down By One Student
Enrollment in the Silsbee
Independent School District
was down one student as of
Friday, according to admini-
stration office figures.
The high school had 1,082
students registered and the
middle school had 556 students.
Reeves Elementary had 582
students, Read-Turrentine El-
ementary 641 students, Kirby
Elementary 632 students and
Robinson Kindergarten 334
students.
Total enrollment Friday was
3,827, mie less student than at
the same point during the
1987-88 school year.
Homicide Victim Identified
As Weldon Thomas Fossey
A man found shot to death in
a mobile home north of Silsbee
has been identified as a 44-
year-old Arkansas native who
was wanted on charges of
escape in two states.
Hardin County Sheriffs De-
partment spokesman Arthur
Guy said FBI fingerprint re-
cords identified the man as
Weldon Thomas Fossey. Fos-
sey had addresses in Florida,
Kentucky, Oklahoma and Ohio.
Fossey’s body was found in a
trailer on Twin Bridge Road
Aug. 22. He had been shot from
behind through the head and
wrapped in a sleeping bag.
Fossey was wanted on escape
charges in Mississippi and
Louisiana and had served time
in prison for armed robbery and
on drug-related charges, Guy
said.
Deputies found police scan-
ners, a pistol, a machine gun
and traces of marijuana in
Fossey’s trailer. Sheriff H.R.
“Mike" Holzapfel said earlier
that the items, along with the
construction of a fence and road
and other security measures on
Fossey’s property, indicated
Fossey may have intended to
use the property as a ware-
house-type location for drug
dealing activity.
Fossey reportedly bought
the property about two weeks
before he was killed.
A capital murder warrant
was issued shortly after the
murder for the arrest of a
person whose Identity has not
been'revealed. Guy said the
department may issue more
murder warrants in connection
with the case.
In other department action,
action, deputies are investi-
gating several burglaries
throughout the county.
Kathy Gore of Silsbee report
ed Friday someone took a $600
diamond ring from her purse
between Sept. 6 and Friday.
Lee Bruce of Beaumont, a
maintenance worker with Mar-
ket Place convenience stores,
reported someone took a 1.5
horsepower compressor from
the pump room at the store on
Highway 92 at FM 1122. The
compressor disappeared about
Sept. 8.
Matthew Ross of Sour Lake
reported someone broke a vent
window on his pickup truck
between 1 a.m. and 1 p.m.
Sept. 5 while the truck was
parked at his residence. Two
speakers valued at $115 each
were taken from the vehicle.
Byron McCauley of Lumber-
ton reported someone took two
rear tires and wheels from a
vehicle he had parked on vacant
property at the end of Oakridge
Lane in Lumberton. The tires
and wheels were taken be-
tween 5 p.m. Sept. 5 and 9:30
a.m. 8ept. 7.
Darrell Vick of Kountze re-
ported someone took a 100 watt
amplifier and a pair of speakers
from his vehicle while it was
parked in the Kountze High
School parking lot. The items,
which were valued at $663,
were stolen between 7:50 a.m.
and 11 a.m. Sept. 6.
Marie Tullier of Lumberton
reported someone took a CB
radio, a Q-beam spotlight and
tools from her husband’s ve-
hicle while it was parked at a
High School Choir Invited
To Sing In Carnegie Hall
Members of the Silsbee High
School choir may get a chance
to sing in world-famous Carne-
gie Hall in April if the SISD
Board of Trustees approves the
trip at a Sept. 22 meeting.
Choir director Susan Kil-
crease told trustees Tuesday
night that the a capella mixed
choir was invited to appear in
concert in Carnegie Hall with
the Manhattan Philharmonic as
part of a 250-voice choir. The
invitation waa issued by Mid-
America Productions on the
recommendation of Dr. Hugh
Sanders, the director of choral
activities at Baylor University.
MidAmerica Productions is-
sued a formal invitation in July
for the Silsbee choir to partici-
pate in its Big Apple High
School Choral Series, through
which choruses from across the
United States travel to New
York to appear with a disting-
uished conductor. Silsbee
would appear April 2 with
Sanders as the conductor.
Silsbee’s choir was one qf
only two high school choirs in
the state invited to appear,
Kilcrease said.
“I could never give this
(learning experience) to my
students as a teacher in my
choir room,” Kilcrease said.
She presented the board with a
detailed report on the program,
its cost and benefits and pos-
sible funding avenues.
Kilcrease estimated the cost
per student at $726. Funding
possibilities included a musical
dinner production at Christ-
mas; a garage sale; the sale of
pizzas, sausage, Gold C coupon
books and wrapping papor; a
who live in economically de-
pressed areas should not be
punished if they cannot meet
their fund-raising goals.
“My main concern is that
they will all be able to go,”
Trustee Richard Worley said.
Trustees plan to vote on
whether the choir will be
allowed to make the trip at a
special Sept. 22 meeting.
In board action Tuesday
night, trustees approved a
change in the district's dress
code to allow all students to
wear long shorts during the
first month of school. High
school principal B. A. Hicks said
shorts will be allowed which
come approximately 3 inches
above the knee or lower. En-
forcement of the code will be at
the discretion of the campus
principals, he said. The district
in the past has allowed students
to wear shorts only during the
last month of school.
The board approved a list of
school trips and accepted a low
bid from Fuller Oil Company
for gasoline products for the
district.
auction;
grants; and other activit'«
Students in the choir wow I
be required to help raise the
for the trip. Trustees
concern about an
proposal to prohibit
students who do not meet their
goals from making the trip,
agreeing that all eligible choir
students should be allowed to
go if it will be an educationally
enriching experience. They
said students who must work or
parking lot on the Highway 96
frontage road at Keith Road.
The items were taken between
6:15 a.m. and 4:15 p.m. Sept. 6
and were valued at about $120.
Persons arrested in the coun
ty recently include:
Janeile Sidney Johnson, 52,
P.O. Box 323, Warren, on a
charge of disorderly conduct;
$59 fine.
Pat Ann Stafford, 40, P.O.
Box 323, Warren, on a charge
of disorderly conduct; $59 fine.
Ervin Lee Lloyd, 31, P.O.
Box 148, Sour Lake, on a
charge of misdemeanor assault;
1500 bond.
Welton Gene Sangwin, 20,
113 Burns St., Silsbee, on a
charge of misdemeanor assault;
$500 bond.
Robert Jerry Flowers. 21,
204 Kirby Ave., Silsbee, on a
charge of misdemeanor assault;
$500 bond.
Michael B. Sangwin. 19, 113
Burns St., Silsbee, on a charge
(Sm Sheriff Sec. 1, Page 10)
Volunteers May Be
Needed If Coastal
Areas Are Evacuated
Volunteers may be needed to
man Red Cross shelters in
Hardin County if Hurricane
Gilbert forces the evacuation of
areas nearer the coast.
Cesar Dominguez, Silsbee
assistant city manager and
county Red Cross director, said
shelters would be opened if
necessary in Silsbee and Lum-
berton schools, followed by
Kountze schools if large num-
bers of persons needed shelter.
Volunteers will be needed to
manage any shelters opened
and to cook, serve food, regis-
ter evacuees and provide nurs-
ing services. Traffic direction
could also be needed.
Persons wishing to volunteer
may contact Dominguez at Sils-
bee City Hall.
PUBLIC HEARING SEPT. 22
Appraisal District Proposes To
Increase Budget By *59,874
Trustees accepted the resig-
nation of Rene Dodd from the
position of nurse’s aide at
Read-Turrentine Elementary
and accepted Mary Burns to
replace her. Also accepted for
employment were LaDonna
Perritt as a speech therapist
and Rozalia Stark as a sixth-
grade art teacher.
in other action, the board
presented a plaque to head
track coach Don Muckleroy
expressing appreciation to him
and his 1987-88 track team for
earning local and national hon-
ors. Muckleroy was named
track coach of the year by the
Texas Sportswriters Associ-
ation.
SitSBIl IQPCf WO. 927
New Masonic Temple
To Be Dedicated
Dedication services for the
new Silsbee Lodge No. 927
Masonic Temple will be held
Saturday at 7:00 p.m. Graham
H. Childress, grand master of
(See ledge Sec. I,Page IS)
The Hardin County Apprai-
sal District board of directors
delayed adopting the district's
1989 budget until taxing enti-
ties have been properly notified
of the budget and a public
hearing has been conducted.
Though adoption of the bud-
get was listed on the board’s
Sept. 8 agenda, directors de-
clined to take action after board
member Gehrig Brown pointed
out regulations which require
the district to provide written
notice to taxing units at least 10
days before a budget hearing is
conducted.
The board set a public hear-
ing on the proposed budget for
4 p.m. 3ept. 22 in the Red
Room of the county courthouse.
Notices and copies of the pro-
posed budget were mailed Fri-
day.
The proposed budget con-
tains 3 percent across-the
board raises for appraisers and
office personnel, Chief Ap-
praiser Ed Barry said. Salaries
for four full-time appraisers
and one part-time appraiser
would total $78,280, an increase
of $2,280 from the 1988 budget.
Total salaries for office person-
nel would come to $103,804,
down from the current year's
$110,780. A clerk's position was
eliminated from the budget.
Barry's salary would remain
at $41,530.
The proposed budget also
includes $25,000 for mapping
costs and $18,500 for mapping
equipment. The funds would be
used to update district maps
which werh completed in 1986
and were not updated this past
year, Barry said.
Building rent is increased in
the proposed budget from $10,
200 to $13,800. The increase
would be used to place a
pbfthMs building at the apprai
sai district office to ease over-
crowding. No decision has yet
been reached on whether the
district will move its office to
another site, Barry said.
The proposed budget would
cut expenses in half for legal
services. In the past, the dis-
trict has had its own attorney,
but is now working with the
county’s recently hired de-
linquent tax firm, Barry said.
The move dropped legal costs
from $6,000 to $3,000.
Other budget decreases came
under computer contract and
supplies, dues and subscrip-
tions, janitorial supplies, tele-
phone expenses, electricity
costs and coffee service. Addi-
tional cost increases are shown
under auto allowance, a data
processing programmer and ex-
penses, equipment, insurance,
janitorial service, water utili-
ties. Barry’s office expenses,
postage and a contingency ac-
count.
Expenditures in the pro-
posed budget total $650,824, up
from $590,950 in the current
budget. The district has a
projected carryover of $100,000
into the 1989 budget, Barry
said. Because of the surplus,
taxing entities will be required
to pay the district a total of
$40,150 less than they did this
year.
The board plans to adopt the
budget Sept. 22 after the public
hearing.
The Hardin County grand
jury Tuesday indicted a Silsbee
man on a charge of murder in
connection with the Aug. 26
stabbing of a 30-year-old wo-
man, according to the records
of District Attorney R.F. “Bo“
Horka.
The grand jury indicted
Reginald Bernard Miller, 21,
632 Bonner St., for allegedly
stabbing Diantha Mitchell to
death during an early morning
argument at her apartment.
Miller was arrested Aug. 30
in Beaumont on a Silsbee
murder warrant. A witness had
told police Miller and Mitchell
had been arguing shortly be-
fore she saw Miller run from
Mitchell's Silsbee Villa apart-
ment, The witness found Mitch-
ell dead with a stab wound to
her chest.
Miller was also indicted on a
charge of burglary of a motor
vehicle in connection with a
July 27 burglary at Armour J
Auto Salvage.
Others indicted by the grand
jury Tuesday were:
Joe Jacobs, 21, 719 Sheldon
Road, No. 1, Channelview, on a
charge of theft by check June
21. Jacobs is charged with
writing insufficient funds
checks to the Texas Fireworks
Co. Inc.
Ismael Jasso Tarango, 49,
Box 960, Presidio, on a charge
of theft by check July 5. He
allegedly wrote a $2,373.29
insufficient funds check to the
Texas Fireworks Co.
Carl Thomas Latino, 18,1047
Old Beaumont Highway, Sils-
bee; and Joseph Wayne Hop-
kins, 19, 198 Church Road,
Lumberton, on charges of for-
gery July 7. They are charged
with passing a $45 forged check
at Brookshire Bros. Super-
market in Silsbee on the ac-
count of Sandra Presley of
Lumberton.
Randy Gene Spurlock, 17,
Rt. 6, Box 217, Silsbee; Donnie
Lynn Pelt, 17, Rt. 6, Box 492,
Silsbee; and Wayne Everett
Lee, 17, 1316 Deer Park Lane,
Lumberton, on charges of burg-
lary of a motor vehicle Aug. 11.
They are charged with taking a
stainless steel gas cap and
approximately two cases of
bottled soft drinks from a Pepsi
Cola truck parked on the Old
Silsbee Highway.
Kimberly Kay Upshaw, 20,
P.O. Box 396, Evadale; and
Floyd Charles Lout, 18, Rt. 2,
Box 9C, Bronson, on charges of
forgery May 17. They allegedly
passed a forged $30 check at
Floyd’s Drive Inn Grocery and
Feed.
Clarence Huel Odom Jr., 24,
P.O. Box 622, Buna, on a
charge of felony driving while
intoxicated July 30.
Steven Craig Alfred, 20, and
(See Grand Jury Sac. 1. Png* IQ)
Citizens Ask Council
To Pass Leash Law
Silsbee City Council took no
action Monday night on a
request by two residents that a
leash law be passed to keep
pets in their owners’ yards.
Mrs. James Leggett and
Billie Heard requested council
members to adopt a leash law
so that dogs roaming loose
such animals under a recently
passed vicious dog ordinance.
“But we don't want to feel we
have to have every dog in the
city of Silsbee locked up or on a
leash.”
Mayor Wesley Latham said a
person threatened by a dog
must file charges against its
...... [ to be taken.
cannot funr packs or ertor owner for aetjen to be taken,
other residents'yards. Leggett The cosnefT wifi study the
said she has almost been bittoi. possibility of a leash law,
by dogs as she walked in town. Latham said.
"No one has to walk these No citizens were present to
streets with vicious dogs,'' Ma- speak at a public hearing on the
yor Pro Tem Thomas LaToof proposed 56.6 cent tax rate
said, because action can be conducted before the regular
taken against the owners of
Many Citizens Express
Interest In Hardin
County Clerk Position
SISD BOARD of Trustees vice president Devis Whltted
presents a plaque to hood track coach Don Muckleroy
in honor of tha treck team's success this past year end
Muckloroy being named Coach of the Year.
Hardin County commission-
ers are expected to appoint a
county clerk to fill the remain
ing two years of the late County
Clerk Geraldine Collins’ term at
their Sept. 26 meeting.
County Judge M.R. “Pete”
McKinney said commissioners
will probably accept appli
cations from persons interested
in taking the office until Tues-
day and may call a meeting
before Sept. 26 to interview the
candidates.
As of early this week, be-
tween 15 and 20 persons had
expressed an interest in the
job, McKinney said.
Douglas Files As
Write-in Candidate
For Commissioner
Precinct 3 Commissioner
Ronnie Douglas has filed an
application as a write-in candi-
date for the Nov. 3 general
•faction.
Douglas, who lost an April
run-off election to W.P. “BUI”
Fregia of Batson, said he de-
cided to file as a write-in
candidate alter constituents
acmes his precinct urged him to
throw his hat back into the
ring. Low voter turn-out in
portions of his precinct could be
remedied in the general elec-
tion, he said.
“I like my job.” Douglas said.
Td like to stay here.”
Formerly a Sour Lake farm-
er , Douglas was elected to the
office in 1984 after he defeated
a run off election opponent. In
the March 8 primary election,
Douglas received 1,201 votes to
(to*Dougin lac. I, Pag* 10)
Collins died Sept. 5 after a
long battle with cancer. Be-
cause her death came only 64
days before the November gen-
eral election, commissioners
are required to appoint some-
one to fill the remainder of her
term. If her death had come 65
or more days before the elec-
tion, the executive committees
of the political parties would
have been allowed to place
candidates on the ballot.
Commissioners must appoint
someone to the post before the
end of the month because the
law allows the office to stay
open only three weeks under
the direction of the chief deputy
clerk.
Collins worked in the county
clerk's office for more than 40
years. She was elected to office
in 1982 and won re-election in
1986.
Open House At
Two Schools To Bo
Hold Next Week
Open houses for parents of
students attending Kirby Ele
mentary and Silsbee High Sch-
ool will be conducted next
week.
Kirby Elementary will wel-
come parents Monday at 7 p.m.
in the cafeteria. A short gen-
eral meeting will be conducted
to acquaint parents with school
and campus rules and to meet
the principal.
SUabee High School will be
the host for the first PTA
meeting of the school year. A
brief meeting wiU take place in
the cafeteria followed by par-
(Soa School* Sac. I. Pag# 10)
EMERGENCY PERSONNEL carry 7-yoar-old Justin Nichols of Sllsboo to tho Air
Rescue helicopter after ho was hit by a pickup truck about 5 p.m. Tuesday. DPS
Trooper Brian Hawthorne said Nichols reportedly ran onto Highway 92 about six
miles north of Sllsboo into tho path of tha truck driven by John Falps of Sllsboo.
Falps took avasivo action but could not miss Nichols, who was listed in stable
condition in tho pediatric intonsivo core unit of Baptist Hospital Wednesday mor-
ning with Injuries to his hood.
Randall Dean Long's Trial
Is Scheduled For Sept. 26
District Judge Britt Plunk
signed an order Sept. 7 moving
the retrial of a man convicted of
murder in 1985 to a Galveston
district court.
The trial of Randall Dean
Long is scheduled to begin at 9
a.m. Sept. 26 in connection
with the 1983 death of Ham-
shire-Fannett student Lisa
Moye Wilber. A Hardin County
jury convicted Long of Wilber's
murder and sentenced him to
55 years in prison, but the
Ninth District Court of Appeals
reversed the trial court's de-
cision on the grounds Long
should have been given a new
trial after additional evidence
was presented in a December
1985 hearing.
The Court of Criminal Ap-
peals agreed with the Ninth
Court’s decision and returned
the case to Hardin County to
have a new trial date set.
Defense attorney Joseph
Saranello of Houston requested
the change of venue at an Aug.
22 pre-trial hearing because of
the publicity surrounding the
case. District Attorney R.F
“Bo” Horka did not oppose the
venue change, but Plunk delay
ed signing the order so the
court would not be forced to
move to Galveston to hear any
further pre-trial motions.
Plunk gave Saranello 10 days
after the pre trial hearing to
file any new motions.
Witnesses in Long's trial
testified they saw Long with
Wilber, 17, the night she dis-
appeared from a Beaumont
night club. Her body was
discovered near Honey Island
in May 1984.
At the December 1985 hear-
ing, a man testified he had seen
a women he believed to be
Wilber come into a topless bar
the night she disappeared. Two
other men testified they did not
believe the woman was Wilber.
District Judge Earl B.
“Smokey" Stover denied the
motion for a new trial baead on
the testimony, but the appeals
courts ruled a new trial sheuld
have been ordered.
Two
and t
club-
tober 1986 trial
o witnesses-a pathologist
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Read, R. L. The Silsbee Bee (Silsbee, Tex.), Vol. 70, No. 33, Ed. 1 Thursday, September 15, 1988, newspaper, September 15, 1988; Silsbee, Texas. (https://texashistory.unt.edu/ark:/67531/metapth820806/m1/1/?q=Homecoming+queen+1966+North+Texas+State+University: accessed July 18, 2024), University of North Texas Libraries, The Portal to Texas History, https://texashistory.unt.edu; crediting Silsbee Public Library.