Van Zandt News (Wills Point, Tex.), Vol. 2, No. 52, Ed. 1 Sunday, June 3, 1984 Page: 1 of 16
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Edge Point Cable opens
fSee Page 2A)
MMISD buys shop stuff
(See Page 7A)
Fruitvale moves building
(See Page 4A)
Canton
Van /mult N
VOLUMi 3 NUMMR S3
SUNDAY,JUKI 3, lf«4
VAN ZANDT COUNTY, TIXAS
OM MCTION, IS PAOB
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mwrti
Parole practices negate
jurors' wishes, DA charges
Wendi Turner, 13, of Wills Point, holds a piece of paper up so others can see the progress of the partial solar
eclipse Wednesday morning. At the time this picture was taken, the eclipse was near totality, as about 80
percent of the sun was blocked out in this pari of the country. Wendi was one of a group of children and
adults watching the eclipse through telescopes set up in Mr. and Mrs. Larry Turner's yard in Wills Point
(Photo by Kerry Yancey)
By Kerry Yancey
CANTON - A recent Texas Su
preme Court ruling on jurors discus-
sing parole laws points up what Van
Zandt County District Attorney
Tommy Wallace termed "the circle
of uncertainty."
The uncertainty comes when
juries deliberate punishments. "No
juror knows what his vote means.”
Wallace pointed out in an interview
Thursday. "I don't even know most
of the time."
Under present conditions, a per-
son getting a life sentence for com-
mitting a crime with a firearm can
be eligible for parole in 20 years, or
within eight years and two months if
a firearm is not used, Wallace repor
ted
“It's a circle," Wallace said.
Texas juries traditionally give higher
penalties than other states, but
Texans also pay taxes to support the
criminals in the nation's largest
prison system That system, due to
overcrowding. rotates criminals
back out more quickly than ever hv
increasing the amount of credit days
that a convict can accrue, he ex
plained
Texas convicts now have four
ways to accrue credits: the "good
time" credit, five days per month for
learning an employable skill. 10
days per month for going to school
'GED high school equivalency or
AA degree), or 15 days per month
for both employment and schooling
Bv taking advantage of the credits
a J 2-yea
tence (for example) will serve only
one year, seven months and 18 days
of his 12-year sentence before be
coming eligible for parole, Wallace
said.
"If I go to trial to get a 20-year
sentence, for example, I still know
all the time that in a few years,
they'll be back on the street, even if
I'm successful,” Wallace said.
If a person uses or displays a fire-
arm during the crime, he automa
tically must serve at least one-third
of the total calender days in the sen-
tence. Wallace reported. As an
example, a rapist serving a 20-year
sentence must serve six years and
eight months before becoming eli-
gible for parole
If a gun is not used, a rapist (for
example) serving a 20 year sentence
could b«y eligible for parole in just
two years, eight months and 10 days,
if he took advantage of all his credit
opportunities, Wallace noted
While "good time" is necessary to
give convicts an incentive to behave
themselves while in prison, "it’s gone
beyond that now." Wallace said
The longer the sentence, the more
(Continued on Page 6A)
10th annual Salt Festival
Wrestling opens
week's activities
VZ disaster plan awaiting changes
CANTON • Some minor changes
and missed communications have
delayed a proposed Emergency
Management Plan for Van Zandt
County for a couple of months, but
the plan shodld be approved and
sent to Austin quickly.
The plan is written along the
same lines as model federal and state
emergency preparedness plans, ac-
cording to the assistant county emer-
gency coordinator, Don Plemmons.
“A lot of it is word for word,"
Plemmons noted.
Plemmons assists the county
emergency coordinator, Sheriff
Travis Shafer, along with emergency
communications coordinator Jack
County Judge Sam Hilliard del-
egated the setting up of the plan to
Shafer back in January, and at that
time, the matter seemed fairly
urgent. However, Plemmons said
last week that the plan had been
submitted for Hilliard's signature
two months ago.
"We pan't do any training or try
for any (state or federal) funding un-
til we get his signature,” Plemmons
said.
Hilliard said Tuesday there were
some minor changes to be made in
the wording of the emergency prep-
aration plan, and he blamed missed
communications for not meeting
with Plemmons earlier to review the
plan.
"We just had a meeting three or
four weeks ago," Hilliard said, ad
ding, “there was nothing really ur
gent about setting it up." Hilliard
noted that he would be meeting with
Plemmons as soon as possible to
work out the changes needed.
"A lot of things in this plan are
just not applicable on the county
level," Hilliard said, but pointed out
that most of the changes that he
would be requesting would be a
matter of "just getting the termino-
logv right."
For example, one portion of the
plan would have volunteers and city
employees receiving compensation
from the countv in case of death
during an emergency action Hil-
liard noted that he would rather sav
that the citv employees would be
considered to be on duty for their
cities (who all carry insurance, any-
way), and that volunteers not be
compensated
"We'd just be opening up the
door, then." he pointed out Mem
(Continued on Page 6A)
GRAND SALINE Main event
wrestling Tuesday night is one of the
first events in the 10th annual Grand
Saline Salt Festival, running thro-
ugh Saturday night. June 9.
The wrestling site has been moved
from downtown to the Grand Saline
High School football field, ac-
cording to Salt Festival spokesman
Teddv Anderson
Action begins at 8 p.m , with
Grand Saline s own Dragon Master
facing Texan Number 2 in one of
the two main events. The other
main event features Dirtv Doug Pat
terson against Gemini
Other bouts on the evening's card
feature General Von Kessler. Gen-
eral Hans Von Bruner. Cowbov Ron
F.llis. and Rick and John Davidson,
among others. Tickets are $4 for
adults and S2 for children under 12.
Following a stork show Saturday
morning and the crowning of the
Salt Festival Queen Saturday night,
the first activity of the week is a
vesper service at the Grand Saline
Elementary School Auditorium
sponsored by the Grand Saline Min
isterial Alliance.
A continuing round of food and
music opens Wednesday, with a
kick-off breakfast from 6 to 8 am.
downtown Noon food festivals open
at 11 a m. the next three days, fea-
turing country and gospel music
groups
Wednesday at 8 p.m.. gospel
singing gioups will be featured in a
concert downtown
Thursday is Senior Citizen's Day
at the Salt Festival and the 23rd
annual CRA Rodeo opens with a
parade through downtown at 5:30
p m Following the parade, a Mex-
ican dinner will be served.
The rodeo opens at the rodeo gro-
unds off U. S. Highway 80 West at
8:20 p.m. Thursday, Friday and
Saturday nights. Downtown street
dances are planned each night at 10
p.m . following the rodeo
Friday is Kiddie Capers day,
opening at 9 a m Along with the
games for children, the Grand Sal-
ine Police Department will sponsor a
child identification clinic, offering
free fingerprinting of children aged
three to 12. and palmprinting of
children under three
The rodeo continues Friday night,
with the Bo Graham Band slated to
plav at the street dance afterward.
Saturday June 9. the annual arts
and craft ' ow opiens in the old gvm
Continued on Page AA)
Crew finishes destruction
CANTON Martin Contractors
of Ben Wheeler began removing the
front wall of the Western Auto
building in Canton Thursday night.
The front wall was about all that re-
mained standing after the roof and
west wall caved in at 1:40 p.m. May
26.
The building, estimated to be
around 100 years old, had been a
familiar landmark at the intersec-
Few voters
expected
Voters around Van Zandt County
were heading towards the polls Sat-
urday to vote on three statewide
Democratic runoffs and two county
runoffs.
As of Friday morning, 64 absentee
ballots had been accepted through
the mail at the county clerk's office,
bringing the total up to 105, in-
cluding the 41 personal appearance
ballots turned in before Tuesday.
All indications point to a light
turnout and close races in the two
county runoffs. One pits incumbent
Precinct 3 Commissioner Bruce
Wilemon against challenger Charles
Holland, and the other pits Louis
Mewboum against Clarence Lewis
for the vacant Precinct 4 Constable
position.
Jl
tion of Buffalo Street and State
Highway 64.
No one was injured in the mishap,
although the owner's wife, Mrs.
Tarpley Duke, was in the building at
the time of the collapse. She escaped
through a small rectangular hole in
the far west side of the store, which
had been cut to place an air con
ditioner.
Two men helpied her out of the
building as it was crumbling to the
ground. "I don't know who they
were or where they came from. -but I
want to thank them," Mrs. Duke
sajd.
Two automobiles parked next to
the west wall of the building were
destroyed when falling debris and
brick covered the tops of the cars
No one was in the vehicles at the
time of the cave-in.
The front wall stayed intact, tho-
ugh, down to the glass plate window
with the words "clearance sale"
painted in large letters.
That front wall was of much con
ccrn to Canton city officials during
the week following the collapse The
question on everybody's mind was.
"Will it fall?" And since no one had
the answer by Monday morning.
Highway 64 was closed in front of
the building.
A safety engineer from Dallas ar-
rived on the scene Wednesday mor
ning to determine the cause of the
mishap and the status of the existing
wall.
Thursday at 6 p.m., the crew
from Ben Wheeler arrived to begin
taking the front wall apart, brick by
brick. The event gained almost as
many spectators as the parade that
went through town an hour earlier.
Martin Contractors expected to
have the wall down by Friday and
the debris cleared for normal two-
way traffic on Highway 64 by Satur
day.
The traffic lane furthest from the
building on 64 was open to accom-
modate two-way traffic Friday. A1
though bricks were toppling from
the building to the closed portion of
the street below, the contractors,
city and law enforcement officials
felt no danger would come to
vehicles using the far lane.
Martin Contractors could not
predict a date for the complete
clearing of the fallen debris, as some
attempts to salvage merchandise in
side the building were planned.
"We have to take everything away
piece by piece," Martin said, ex-
plaining that they did not want to
damage merchandise in the store
"Otherwise, we could have bull-
dozed this thing a long time ago." he
said.
Things were pretty well back to
normal in Canton late Friday when
it was determined that the wall
would not present any danger to the
hundreds of persons who would pass
by it on the way to the First Monday
grounds.
A worker gingerly pries loose bricks from the front wall of the old Western Auto store in Canton Thursday
evening. Martin Contractors of Ben Wheeler had a crew working late into the night to remove the danger of
a further collapse of the wall. (Photo by Jacque Hutchins)
$ *
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Van Zandt News (Wills Point, Tex.), Vol. 2, No. 52, Ed. 1 Sunday, June 3, 1984, newspaper, June 3, 1984; Wills Point, Texas. (https://texashistory.unt.edu/ark:/67531/metapth990549/m1/1/: accessed July 17, 2024), University of North Texas Libraries, The Portal to Texas History, https://texashistory.unt.edu; crediting Van Zandt County Library.