Abilene News: July 16-31, 1996

• 7/31 - Stenholm Says He'll Vote for Republican Welfare Package
• 7/31 - Minority-, Women-Owned Businesses to Get Unclaimed Funds
• 7/31 - Victim Identified in Big Spring: Department of Public Safety lab experts working from fingerprints have identified the victim of a Thursday night traffic accident near Big Spring.
  
  ....DPS officials in Austin said 28-year-old Sean Ray McCrohan of San Angelo was standing in a traffic lane of Interstate 20 when he was struck by a van driven by James Skaggs of Abilene.
  ....Skaggs told officers he took evasive action but was unable to avoid striking McCrohan. Howard County Justice of the Peace Jack Buchanan pronounced McCrohan dead.
• 7/30 - Upgrade of B-1 Bomber Should Secure Dyess Mission
• 7/30 - ACU's Jack Welch Dies Unexpectedly in Russia
• 7/30 - Abilene Family Leaps Personal Hurdles En Route to Atlanta
• 7/30 - Former Abilenian Aids in Olympic Park Reopening
• 7/30 (early) - Moore to Be Tried in October: Former county treasurer Anna Moore will be tried for theft Oct. 28.
  
  ....Moore's trial was delayed three weeks ago when District Attorney James Eidson recused himself to avoid potential conflicts. District Judge Jess Holloway did the same a few weeks earlier.
  ....Nolan County District Attorney Frank Conard will prosecute the case in Abilene before Senior Judge John Forbis of Childress. Conard could not be reached for comment Monday, but defense attorney Ed Paynter said the case will proceed to trial "as far as I know."
• 7/29 - New Radar System Peeks Inside Storms
• 7/29 - Branch Library on Wheels is Convenient
• 7/28 - Feds in Town Monday to Discuss Rural Firefighting Concerns
• 7/28 - Ranger Floods: The rains fell on Ranger Saturday, and the city flooded.
  
  ....The three to four inches that fell during the day combined with the three inches that fell Friday night to cause widespread street flooding.
  ....Jason Foster, a Ranger police officer, said water was deep in low-water crossings and lapped over Highway 80 in places, causing several cars to flood out.
  ....Bulldog Floral, 109 W. Main St., was in danger of having its roof collapse.
  ....Foster said that although it had not actually fallen, the roof was leaking badly, leaving water puddles inside the business and inside the Ranger Star next door.
• 7/27 - Council OKs Higher-Than-Expected Tax Rate
• 7/27 - Is Amtrak in the Future for West Texas?
• 7/27 (early) - Uribe to Visit Abilene: Former state senator Hector Uribe, a Democratic candidate for the Railroad Commission, will visit Abilene Tuesday morning.
  
  ....Uribe is scheduled to meet with local Democrats at 7:45 a.m. at the International House of Pancakes, 3750 S. Clack, then speak at a 9 a.m. press conference at the Taylor County Courthouse, 300 Oak.
  ....The press conference will be held in the jury assembly room on the third floor.
• 7/27 (early) - Potential ISD Savings Found: State auditors have found $470 million that could be trimmed from Texas' 1,055 public school districts - including $442,202 in the Abilene Independent School District.
  
  ....In a savings report released this month, potential savings are pinpointed by comparing non-instructional costs in each district with a group of 25 similar districts. Above average costs are potential savings.
• 7/26 - City and School Tax Rates Should Be Lower Than Expected
• 7/26 - Abilene Cops to Consider Work Team Approach to Authority
• 7/26 - City Gives Woman with Elders in Mobile Home a Break
• 7/26 - High Cost of School Supplies Upsets Some Parents
• 7/26 (early) - Developer Wins Another Round: O.B. Stephens has won another tussle with homeowners in southwest Abilene, convincing the City Council Thursday to close 114 feet at the end of a dead end street.
  
  ....The thoroughfare abandonment at the west end of Paint Brush, near Ward Elementary, lets Stephens build his neighboring patio home development without paving a cul-de-sac at the end of the street or extending it into his subdivision.
  ....Nearly 200 neighbors, some of whom battled Stephens' efforts last year to commercially develop the corner of Catclaw and Rebecca, signed a petition requesting Paint Brush be extended to Catclaw to relieve traffic near the school.
  ....But city staff noted the extension of Rolling Green, a block to the north, to Catclaw will be complete within weeks. City planners warned extending Paint Brush would increase traffic in front of the Ward campus.
• 7/26 (early) - Fraser, Rhodes to Speak: State Senate candidates Troy Fraser and Rick Rhodes will speak Sept. 30 at the annual fall barbecue of the West Central Texas Oil & Gas Association at the Abilene Country Club.
  
  ....Morris Burns, executive president of WeCTOGA, said each candidate will be given 25 minutes to speak and answer questions.
• 7/25 - Property Values Rise Almost 8 Percent in Taylor County
• 7/25 - City Employees Question Lambert's Savings Plan
• 7/25 - Man Attacked by Bobcat
• 7/25 (early) - Abilene Has no Inclusion Problem: A survey conducted by a state teachers organization revealed statewide problems with the practice of inclusion in the classroom, but Abilene teachers claim that's not the case in their district.
  
  ....Larry Comer, director of public relations for the Association of Texas Professional Educators, was in Abilene Wednesday to reveal results of an ATPE survey on inclusion, the practice of including students previously in resource classes in the regular classroom.
  ....He was also in town to promote a summit ATPE has convened for next week in Austin to address the issue in depth.
  .....The survey was sent to 1,500 members of ATPE's 75,000-member group; roughly 450 returned their responses, Comer said.
• 7/24 - Dyess Emergency Room May Close to Save Costs
• 7/24 - Difference of Opinion at City Budget Planning
• 7/24 - Teen Curfews in Coleman, Ballinger Seem to be Working
• 7/24 (early) - Forum on Area Codes Switch Set: A West Texas public forum on the likely switch to a different area code will take place in the Wichita Falls Municipal Auditorium Building next month, officials said Monday.
  
  ....Public Utility Commission officials have scheduled a public hearing on changing area codes from 5:30-8:30 p.m. Aug. 15 in the Municipal Auditorium Building, Room 500, 1300 7th St.
  ....State officials predict Wichita Falls and much of West Texas will be forced to change area codes this year because of rapidly depleting numbers in the 817 area code.
  ....Dozens of groups, including telephone companies, businesses and the City of Fort Worth, have applied to become intervening parties as the commission considers the change.
  ....Separate forums have been scheduled for Waco and Fort Worth.
• 7/24 (early) - Surplus Property for Sale: The Defense Reutilization and Marketing Office at Dyess will offer government surplus property for sale at a local sealed bid auction at 10 a.m. Friday.
  
  ....The public is invited to preview sales offerings from 8 a.m.-3 p.m. Wednesday and Thursday and from 8-10 a.m. Friday. The DRMO will catalog a variety of merchandise for home, office and shop.
  ....Property may be purchased using cash, Visa and MasterCard; no checks will be accepted.
• 7/23 (early) - TEA Investigates Ballinger Complaints: The Texas Education Agency is investigating complaints made against the Ballinger Independent School District by a Ballinger woman who, among other things, claims she was kicked out of a board meeting last month.
  
  
  ....Glenn Greenwood, public information officer with the TEA, said that the agency is currently investigating a number of complaints filed against the district but that it is against policy for them to discuss the nature of those complaints or the status of that investigation until it is over.
  ....Jeanine McGregor, director of a private San Angelo school for gifted children in San Angelo, filed the complaints last month.
• 7/22 - Some AISD Teachers Could Realize Big Raises
• 7/22 - AISD Contemplating Joining TEA Lawsuit
• 7/21 - Locals React to Texas Poll Results about TV Programming
• 7/21 - Old Settlers Gather in Buffalo Gap
• 7/20 - Reporter OnLine's "Strictly Troy" Page Makes Texas Monthly List
• 7/20 - Abilene's Affordable Housing Picture Like Rest of Nation
• 7/20 (early) - Coach Out of Erath Jail: A former Huckabay basketball coach who ran off with a 16-year-old female student is out of the Erath County jail on a $1,500 bond.
  
  ....Dwayne Scott Flynn, 33, was arraigned in Fort Worth Thursday night after he was arrested by Erath County sheriff's investigators Sgt. Dennis Howard and Sgt. Jim Cooley.
  ....Flynn, who was charged with a Class A misdemeanor for "harboring a runaway," expressed regret over the incident.
• 7/19 - Judge Delays Trial of Negligence Lawsuit
• 7/19 - County Hires Information Systems Director: Taylor County commissioners appointed Robert M. Vann as the new director of information systems Thursday after months of searching and reviewing applicants.
  
  ....Vann was most recently director of information systems at Hendrick Medical Center for six years, and at High Plains Baptist Hospital in Plainview for nine years before that.
  ....He will begin Aug. 26 but may be able to contribute in the budget process already started, County Judge Lee Hamilton said.
• 7/19 (early) - Abilene Pedestrian Killed: A 37-year-old Abilene man walking home from work was fatally injured when he was struck on a freeway access road late Wednesday.
  
  ....Ysmael Garcia, 37 was pronounced dead by Justice of the Peace Sam Matta Thursday just after midnight. He died at Abilene Regional Medical Center, where he was taken after the 10:20 p.m. car-pedestrian collision.
  ....Garcia was the eighth traffic fatality recorded in Abilene this year.
• 7/19 (early) - Veterans' Clinic Relocating: The Department of Veterans' Affairs Community Care Clinic serving area veterans will relocate effective Monday.
  
  ....The clinic will move from its present location on North Judge Ely to expanded facilities at the Abilene Regional Hospital Complex.
  ....The clinic will be staffed by VA personnel who are relocating to Abilene permanently, Congressman Charles Stenholm said.
• 7/19 (early) - Ballinger to Vote on New Jail: A 65-bed jail will be on the ballot Nov. 5 in addition to thegeneral election.
  
  ....The new plan is a no-frills, concrete and steel structure expected to costbetween $2.4 million and $2.75 million.
  ....Jim Wiginton, representing Wiginton, Fawcett, Hooker and Jeffry Architectsof Dallas, drew up plans for the proposed jail.
  ....Voters turned down a bond election in 1994 for a 104-bed jail.
• 7/18 - Local Music Professor Finds Yodeling Fame
• 7/18 - Mason Staggs to Be Retried as an Adult
• 7/18 - Abilene May Not Need Cell Phones for Watch Program
• 7/18 (early) - Life's Hectic When You're a Baseball Manager's Wife
• 7/17 - County Investments Showing Less Red, Report Says
• 7/17 - Fabio Comes to Abilene to Make 'Em Swoon
• 7/17 - DCOA Sets Tentative Budget: The board of the Development Corporation of Abilene approved a tentative $1.17 million budget for the coming fiscal year.
  ....That reflects a $71,000 reduction from the current year, but it does not include as much as $200,000 in yet-to-be-set expenses.
  ....Board member David Stubbeman reported the budget and finance committee's recommendations, which were unanimously approved. In explaining the budget, ....Stubbeman, a former Abilene mayor, said part of the Abilene Industrial Foundation request has not been determined yet.
• 7/17 (early) - Man Sentenced in Heroin Possession: A 42nd District jury found Jimmy Lynn Buckner guilty of heroin possessionTuesday.
  ....Buckner asked Judge John Weeks to decide the sentence. The judge gave himeight years in prison.
  ....Buckner, 46, was a passenger in a car pulled over for a traffic violation in April 1993. The car was searched because two other passengers, one of them in violation of his parole, were arrested for failure to correctly identify themselves to authorities. Authorities discovered heroin, and Buckner was arrested for drug possession.
• 7/16 - House Subcommittee to Hold Hearings on Council of Governments
• 7/16 - Abilenian's Cousin Sets Record in Space
• 7/16 - Go Expo! Raised $26,000 to Help Sell Package
• 7/16 (early) - Picture Brightens for Cattlemen: Some rains throughout the Abilene area in recent days have made the picture a bit brighter for some area cattleman.
  ....So did the recent USDA report of fewer hogs in the country. That should reduce the total red meat supply and, in doing so, help beef producers as well.
  ....Even a reduction in the nation's cattle herd is in sight.
  ....Nevertheless, cattlemen still have to endure the oversupply for a while to come. Beef production is projected to continue its increase at least through 1997.
  ....A cyclical increase in cattle numbers and a record-large supply of total meat have led to a big drop in cattle prices during the past two years.

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