Sulphur Springs News-Telegram (Sulphur Springs, Tex.), Vol. 103, No. 34, Ed. 1 Tuesday, February 10, 1981 Page: 2 of 12
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.4—THE NEWS-TELECRAM, Sulphur Springs, Tuxos, Tuesday, Fab. 10,1901.
Bill Haley: the comet winks out
( Founder of rock music
dies of natural causes
*
By SUSANSTOLER
‘ Associated Press Writer
. HARLINGEN, Texas (AP) —
' HiR HaJeyi sftsss SR record
‘CRock Around the Clock”
blared from 1950s Jukeboxes
and is credited for inspiring the
term “Rock N Roll,” spent his
filial years of life seeking a
privacy that was continued,
even in death, by his widow.
Haley died Monday at his two-
story wooden house where he
was pronounced dead at 12:35
pun. He was found alone and
lying fully-clothed on a bed.
justice of the Peace Tommy
Thompson ruled death was
from natural causes and said he
assumed Haley had suffered a
heart attack about six hours
earlier. A friend had gone by to
visit Haley, Thompson said, and
became concerned when he did
npt answer the door.
The former rock star was 56
according to a July 6, 1925,
bifthdate on his Texas drivers
license, Musicians reference
books listed his birthdate as
March 1927, making him 53.
The funeral home in charge of
arrangements, said Monday
night that his widow had banned
release of any information,
including the names of his
survivors.
“She doesn’t want anything
released right now," a funeral
home spokesman said.
, Haley lived the. last five or sk
ycars of his fife here in aeftii-
reclusion, refusing interviews
and even denying tys identity to
reporters.
One reporter went to his
house and was told he had never
lived there and was unknown to
the house’s occupants.
“He tried to keep a low
profile,” said Harlingen Police
Chief .Guy Anderson. “I
remember when he first moved
here and some of the TV people
found out and tried to do an
interview with him and he
refused.”
Haley got to know several
policemen, who frequently
picked him up wandering alone
at night and took him home.
“He was friendly with me but
he was not an outgoing in-
dividual,” Thompson said. “He
had problems.” *
A police officer, who asked
not to be named, said Haley
called him repeatedly last
weekend and appeared to be
“hallucinating.”
“He called me up again and
again to talk five or 10 minutes.
He just wanted someone to talk
to,” the officer said.
Haley was born in Highland
Park, Mich. His mother was a
church organist and his father
played banjo. Both encouraged
him to learn guitar.
Ilf left I«vinc at age 13 to
travel with a country band. As
an experiment, he played a
rhythm and blues tune one
night. He changed the name of
the seven-piece band to Bill
Haley and the Comets.
In 1954, he moved from a
small record label to Decca,
where his first release was
Jimmy DeKnight’s “Rock
Around the Clock,” but it
flopped at first. “Shake Rattle
and Roll,” a remake of a Joe
Turner tune, made the top 10 in
1954.
“Rock Around the Clock”
became the theme for the movie
“Blackboard Jungle” in 1955
and shot Haley’s group to
further fame.
The song returned 20 years
later as the movie theme for
“American Grafitti” and then
the “Happy Days” television
series.
Among Haley’s other top ten
hits were “See You Later,
Alligator” 1954, “Dim, Dim The
Lights” 1955, and “Crazy, Man,
Crazy” 1953.
Haley enjoyed success in
Europe, where he lived in the
1960s. He toured in the
rock’n’roll revival of the 1970s.
Hall selected to chair
key House committee
First District Congressman
Sam B. Hall Jr. has been
elected chairman of a key
subcommittee on the House
Veterans Affairs. Committee.
During an organizational
meeting of the Veterans panel
recently, he was named
chairman of the Subcommittee
on-Compensatlon, Pension and
Insurance.
The assignment means that
Congressman Hall will preside
over a budget estimated to be
$13.8 billion during the federal
government’s fiscal year 1982.
In addition, he will be charged
with legislative responsibility
over the veterans life insurance
program, which represents an
investment of some $93 billion.
Few congressional sub-
committees match the overall
dollar amount of budget
authority embraced by the
Subcommittee on Com-
pensation, Pension and In-
surance, Hall noted. The
Veterans Administration is the
third largest federal agency,
and the benefits programs
authorized by the sub-
committee account for the
major portion of the VA’s
budget.
There are 2.3 million veterans
receiving compensation
payments for disease or injury
received during military ser-
vice, and 1.3 million veterans
and dependents receive pen-
sions due to non-service-
connected disabilities.
In Texas, there are more than
145,000 service-connected
disabled veterans, 60,000 non-
service-connected pension
recipients, and 90,000 survivors
of veterans receiving VA
benefits.
Hall assumes the sub-
committee chairmanship after
WORTH STOCK
Show champion
Glen Mitchell daft) of Mitchell Swiss Farm in Brinker scored a
series of wins at the Fort Worth Fat Stock Show. His entries won
grand champion, junior champion, premier exhibitor, breeders
.herd of five, and captured six first places, four seconds, two
thirds and two fourths. Also in the picture are Judge James
Lewis, who has worked the local show, and leadman Wallace
Naff.
less than five years service on
the Veterans Affairs Com-
mittee. The immediate past
chairman of the subcommittee,
Representative G.V. “Sonny”
Montgomery, D-Miss., is the
new chairman of the full
Veterans Affairs Committee.
He will also chair the Sub-
committee on Oversight and
Investigations, on which
Congressman Hall serves as a
member.
Hall is also a member of the
House Judiciary Committee
where he serves on two sub-
committees. He is currently
completing a term as chairman
of the Texas Congressional
Delegation.
“I am grateful to my
colleagues on the Veterans
Affairs Committee as well as
the House Democratic Caucus
for entrusting me with this
great responsibility, and I
welcome input arttPadvice from
veterans and veterans
organizations fii Texas on ways
to strengthen and improve
programs designs to honor
America’s commitment to our
veterans,” Congressman Hall
said.
Area mule
tops show
“Texas Sue", a 7 year old
mare mule, captured Reserve
Grand Champion and Reserve
High Pefomance Honors at the
Fort Worth Fat Stock Show last
week.
Tlie mule, owned and shown
by Ron Sprague of Como, was
also named 1980’s “High Point
Mule of the Year” in the South-
western Donkey and Mule
Society and was honored by The
Ainerican Donkey & Mule
Society by being only the ninth
mule inducted in their Hall of
Fame.
“Texas Sue” completed her
honors at the Fort Worth Fat
Stock Show during the donkey
and mule sale where she sold
for $1,875, the top price for a
mule at the show this year.
PIZZA, PASTA i SALAD
Au. You Can Eat
(pluitax
& drink)
ONLY AT 113 HODGE (BEHIND K MART) 885-6111
Every Tuesday Nite, 5 to 9
Not good of any othor Pizza Hut
Donna Bodiford...
...Beta Club award winner
Cumby stbdent nabs
Beta Journal honor
CUMBY (Special) — Cumby High School senior Donna
Bodiford, daughter of Mr. and Mrs. Lee R. Bodiford, has
received the Beta Club Journal Award for her entry in the
October issue of the Journal.
Miss Bodiford’s poem, “Green”, reflects on her childhood
in England. She grew up in England before moving back to
her native Texas a year ago.
She received the award at the recent Texas State Beta Club
Convention in Fort Worth. Accompanying her to the awards
ceremony was Cumby Beta Club sponsor Sharon Hohhertz.
Miss Bodiford serves as student council reporter, and
attends French and physical education classes at East Texas
State University in the afternoons.
She was selected Student of the Month for January, an
honor bestowed by the student council after screening
candidates nominated by teachers. ;
Texas town's residents
unafraid of ’hot' water
said Hank May of the EPA.
“.Our standards are based on a
lifetime of consumption ... but
eventually the water supply will
have to be brought up to EPA
fadiunt than tSw-* feisrs!-, standards. We believe that it is system, 4 it • will mean a
government’s minimum daily practical that something? be tremendous economic impact.”
done. We have Relegated this to
BRADY, Texas (AP) -
Residents of this Central Texas
town are not exactly swimming
in fear about reports their
water supply contains more
the water had probably been
like that for a thousand years,
so no one got real concerned
about it,” he said. “But if they
force us to buy a filtering
allowance.
“That’s just a lot of pop-
pycock,” said a resident who
asked to remain anonymous.
“We’ve lived here for 40 years,
and I’ll tell you one thing: The
water here couldn’t be any
worse than San Angelo’s
water.”
The Texas Department of
Health, prodded by the En-
vironmental Protection
Agency, found tht! town’s water
contains seven picocuries of
radium, two more than the level
allowed by the EPA. A
picocurie is a measurement of
radiation.
The low-level radiation found
in water from Brady’s five
wells occurs naturally, and
even the state and EPA officials
admit it’s safe to drink.
EPA toxicologist Bill
McAnalley said the odds that
someone will die from drinking
the water is one in a million.
“You would encounter about
the same risk if you ate 100
charcoal steaks in a lifetime,”
he said. Charcoal steaks con-
tain a trace of benzopyrene.
To put it another way, he said,
for every 40 teaspoons of peanut
butter eaten, a person increases
his chances of dying of cancer
by one in a million.
"I would continue to drink it,”
the state, but we will monitor
what it does.”
So despite the slim chance of
contracting cancer by drinking
Brady’s water, the town
eventually will be forced to buy
a $3 rriillion-plus filtering
system.
Harold Underwood, Brady’s
assistant city superintendent,
said the city was notified by
letter last December that its
water supply contained radium.
“Some man from the Texas
Department of Health told us
May said the water probably
contains radium because it
flows through an area of
uranium content.
C.K. Foster, director of the
state’s water hygiene depart-
ment, said his office probably
would allow the city three years
to reduce the radiation level. If
it doesn’t, court action may
follow, he said.
Lifelong resident Robert C.
Brown says he doesn’t worry
about the water, even when his
faucets become clogged with
“some kind of brown stuff.”
Area scouts observe
71st year of activity
The 2,500 Cub Scouts, Boy
Scouts and Explorers in the
NeTseO Trails Council, Boy
Scouts of America, are ob-
serving the 71st anniversary of
the organization.
More than 100 men and
women in Hopkins County serve
as volunteer leaders, according
to Bob Rotunda, district
executive.
“Through the community
organizations that use the
Scouting program as a part of
their own youth work, these
leaders make it possible for
young people to participate,”
Rotunda said.
He added that an activity to
celebrate the 71st anniversary
of the Boy Scouts of America is
planned in the Hopkins Couiity
Civic Center beginning at 6:30,
p.m. Feb. 24. All Cub Scout, Boy ‘ /
Scout and Explorer units in the
county will participate in the
event.
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Keys, Clarke. Sulphur Springs News-Telegram (Sulphur Springs, Tex.), Vol. 103, No. 34, Ed. 1 Tuesday, February 10, 1981, newspaper, February 10, 1981; Sulphur Springs, Texas. (https://texashistory.unt.edu/ark:/67531/metapth824734/m1/2/: accessed July 17, 2024), University of North Texas Libraries, The Portal to Texas History, https://texashistory.unt.edu; crediting Hopkins County Genealogical Society.