De Leon Free Press (De Leon, Tex.), Vol. 118, No. 36, Ed. 1 Thursday, March 12, 2009 Page: 1 of 16
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Commissioners Approve Local Option
Election for DeLeon
By JERRY MORGAN
Reporter
COMANCHE - The
County Commissioners were
presented a certified petition on
Monday and were required to
call a local option election
regarding the sale of alcoholic
beverages in the City of
DeLeon.
Other matters given signif-
icant consideration included
procedures to temporarily lift
the total outdoor bum ban and
the possible approval of a pri-
vately funded firefighting and
emergency medical service.
The Comanche County
Commissioners Court met in
regular session in the first floor
County Courtroom on Monday,
March 9,2009.
Judge James Arthur con-
ducted the meeting with
Commissioners Gary
Underwood, Kenneth Feist,
Sherman Sides and Jimmy
Dale Johnson participating.
Other county officials and
employees present at the meet-
ing included County Clerk
Ruby Lesley, County Auditor
Joey Boswell, County Attorney
Craig Willingham, Sheriff Jeff
Lambert, County Treasurer
Billy Ruth Rust, Veterans
Service Officer Jim Coats,
Emergency Services
Coordinator Ray Heiberg,
Commissioners assistant Trish
Grimshaw, Central Dispatch
Administrator Tammy Poteet
and courthouse maintenance
worker Bobby Daniels.
Local Option Election
Ordered
The calling of a local
option election for the possible
sale of alcoholic beverages in
the City of DeLeon came rela-
tively late in the meeting. Most
of the crowd present early in the
meeting had already departed
by then.
Ruby Lesley presented the
Commissioners a letter of certi-
fication from County Tax
Assessor/Collector and Voter
Registrar Gay Green stating in
part, "there are 219 qualified
voter signatures in the City of
DeLeon on this Petition for
Local Option Election to
legalize the sale of alcoholic
beverages including mixed
drinks that was submitted to me
on January 30,2009. The num-
ber of signatures required to
call an election is one hundred
seventy-five (175)."
The certification letter was
dated February 12.
After noting that the peti-
tion had satisfied the law's
numeric requirements, Lesley
stated, "The Commissioners
Court is required to order the
election for May 9."
She then passed the list of
petitioners around to the
Commissioners.
A total of 291 signatures
were presented on the petition.
There were 26 signatures iden-
tified as not registered, and the
remaining 46 were simply
marked as "Not Valid" with no
other reason listed.
( See page 14)
De Leon ISD Board Report
FUNDRAISER DEEMED SUCCESSFUL. More than 200 people participated in a
benefit dinner and auction for the Salinas family, Saturday, March 7, at the DeLeon
City Hall auditorium. David and Teresa Salinas lost their 10-year-old son, Aaron, in
January, in an accident. Event organizers said they were overwhelmed with DeLeon’s
generosity and kindness. Numerous businesses and individuals donated auction
items, time and food, with many staying to bid on the items as well. Pictured above,
is the serving line about one-hour into the event, with some of Aaron’s teammates
manning the drink section. Anthony Brinson donated his time as auctioneer for the
event, and the band “Outlaw’s Prayer” volunteered to play throughout the dinner.
Jeweler Connie Winkles created a special pair of earrings for the auction -- white gold
hearts with halos - which she called Aaron’s Halo’d Hearts. After a local business-
man placed a very generous winning bid, he presented the earrings to a grateful
Teresa Salinas.
The DeLeon ISD Board of
Trustees regular monthly meet-
ing was pushed up to March 5
to accommodate the upcoming
Spring Break holiday and a
statutory deadline that faced the
district.
The meeting included two
major issues for consideration
by the Board, school personnel
and consideration to a final
decision on calling a bond elec-
tion.
During the public com-
ment section of the meeting the
Board heard from several par-
ents regarding concerns they
had to any possible coaching
changes for the coming school
year. The delegation expressed
support for the coaching staff
and hoped the Board would
give full consideration of the
needs of all of the athletes in the
district and the various sports
programs.
Following the public com-
ment section, the Board entered
into Closed Session to review
the recommendations of the
administration regarding the
teaching staff for the 2009-10
school year.
The Board returned to
Open Session after two-hours
and fifteen minutes. Upon
returning, a motion was made
to accept the recommendation
of the administration regarding
the employment of teachers for
the 2009-10 school year. The
motion passed by the Board
with six members voting in
favor of the recommendation
and one abstention from Larry
Don Womack.
Receiving contract
renewals for 09-10 included:
Elementary: Kallie Hare, Cindy
Abbey, Annette Bennett,
Kendall Brinson, Dosha Butler,
Terrill Casey, Sharon Coan,
Diana Denson, Jessica Dyson,
Pam Fox, Angela Gooden, Rick
Green, Brenda Huddleston,
Jody Janek, Vicky Lee, Donna
Schuman, Leah Sides, Crystal
Stipes, Maggie Thayer, and
Lori Womack.
Filing
Period Ends
for May 9
Election
Voters to Decide on
Possible New School
and Alcohol Sales
By LAURA KESTNER
Editor
The filing period for the
local May 9 election expired
Monday, March 9, at 5 p.m.
According to local officials,
there were no last minute fil-
ings.
For City Council, candi-
dates include Billie Lightfoot,
unopposed, Place 3; Bobby
Schuman, unopposed, Place 4;
and Marion Quade, and Gayle
Stroud (incumbent), Place 5.
The only two filings for
DISD School Board were
incumbents Daylon Whitehurst
and Larry Don Womack.
Two candidates, both
incumbents, also filed for the
CCMC Board - Joe Locke,
Place 4, and Janna Morris,
Place 1.
(See page 6)
(See page 16)
Blood Drive
A blood drive will take
place in DeLeon, Thursday,
March 19. The Meek Blood
Center bloodmobile will be at
Lawrence Brothers from 1
p.m. until 6 p.m.
There has been a critical
blood shortage since
December, according to infor-
mation provided by Meek
Blood Center, with less than a
one-day supply in inventory
on most days.
Meek Blood Center ships
an average of 60 pints of
blood each day used for
patient care in 15 area hospi-
tals, including Comanche
County Medical Center.
There is no artificial substitute
for human blood. Many dif-
ferent types of patients benefit
from blood transfusions,
including cancer patients, sur-
gical patients, accident or
trauma victims, newborn
babies, and those with chronic
blood disease.
Donors must be at least
17 years old, weigh a mini-
mum of 120 pounds and be in
good health. Each donor must
present a photo ID. Those
who have eligibility questions
may call Meek Blood Center
at 325-670-2798 or visit
www.meekbloodcenter.org.
Each donor will receive a
free health screening, total
cholesterol test and a T-shirt.
PLACE 5 CANDIDATE.
Gayle Stroud, incumbent.
Stroud
Candidate
for Place 5
I am again placing my
name in running for Place 5 on
the DeLeon City Council.
It has been my honor and
privilege to serve you for the
past term and, if you see fit to
vote for me this term, I will
faithfully serve you to the best
of my ability. I assure you that
my goal is to serve this com-
munity for its betterment.
Everyone deserves an
advocate and I strive to be that
for each of you. Thank you for
putting your trust in me.
Gayle Stroud
CANDIDATE FOR
PLACE 2. Marion Quade.
Quade Files
for Council
Place 2
My name is Marion
Quade and I’m running for
City Council Place 5. My hus-
band, John, and I moved to
DeLeon from Virginia Beach,
Virginia in the spring of 1999,
and you might say we found
home.
CANDIDATE FOR HOS-
PITAL BOARD. Joe Locke
Locke Seeks
Re-Election
to Hospital
Board
I am Joe Locke and I am
running for reelection to Place
4 on the Comanche County
Consolidated Hospital District
Board of Directors. I have a
combined total of six years of
hospital board experience with
the DeLeon Hospital District
and the Comanche County
Consolidated Hospital District.
When I was a member of
the DeLeon Hospital District
and we were discussing the
possibility of consolidation of
the two districts I told members
of both districts that we had an
opportunity for our new hospi-
tal district to become a shining
example of what two small
communities could accomplish
and create a medical center to
provide the very best medical
care possible to all the residents
of the district.
The consolidation has
been accomplished and after a
lot of hard work on the part of
every board member, adminis-
trator, employee, and volunteer
we are getting there. We may
not be shining yet but we are
certainly beginning to glow.
We now have some of the best
diagnostic equipment available
in this area and a fine staff for
doctors, nurses, employees,
and volunteers to make sure
everyone that comes to our
facility is treated with not only
the best medical care but also
with respect and friendship.
There are still some obsta-
cles to get over I believe it is
important to keep an experi-
enced board to keep the district
moving in the right direction.
BREAKFAST FOR THE TEACHERS. Armstrong Masonic Lodge continued their annual tradition of preparing a
breakfast last Friday morning for the teachers, administrators and staff of the DeLeon ISD. The Texas Masons have
a long history of supporting education in the state.
(See page 6)
(See page 6)
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Kestner, Laura. De Leon Free Press (De Leon, Tex.), Vol. 118, No. 36, Ed. 1 Thursday, March 12, 2009, newspaper, March 12, 2009; De Leon, Texas. (https://texashistory.unt.edu/ark:/67531/metapth844941/m1/1/: accessed April 25, 2024), University of North Texas Libraries, The Portal to Texas History, https://texashistory.unt.edu; crediting Comanche Public Library.