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Abilene News: October 1-15, 1996
- 10/15 - Stories lost due to technical difficulties
- 10/14 - Wylie Board to Discuss Needs: The Wylie Board of Trustees
will discuss facility needs for the Wylie Independent School District and
also review the district's 1995-96 audit tonight at 7 p.m.
....Board members have been asked to do some preliminary brainstorming to
determine facility needs for the district in the next four to six years.
....The firm of Davis and Kinard will present the results of the school's
annual audit as prescribed by Texas Education Agency Bulletin 679.
....The school is required to allow an independent firm to conduct an audit
of its financial records each year.
....In other business, the district will consider renewing its contract
with the Central Appraisal District of Taylor Country.
....The District has collected taxes for most tax districts in Taylor County
since 1983.
- 10/14 - Hearing Scheduled before Second TEKS Draft: Those interested
in the future of education in Texas will have the opportunity next week
to express their opinion on the state's new proposed curriculum.
....Region 14 Education Service Center will conduct a hearing to receive
information from the public on the second draft of the Texas Essential Knowledge
and Skills.
....The hearing will be conducted from 6-8 p.m. Oct. 21 at Abilene High
School's west cafeteria, 2800 N. 6th.
....When adopted, the TEKS will serve as a substitute to the essential elements,
which has been used in classrooms across the state as the basis for what
teachers teach since 1985-86.
....The essential elements outlined to educators what students should have
the opportunity to learn and served as the basis for textbook adoptions.
- 10/13 - A Victim Fights for Victims
Rights
- 10/13 - AISD's Fine-Tuning Board Meeting
Postponed
- 10/13 - Stenholm, Izzard Debate Thursday: Charles Stenholm
and Rudy Izzard will debate in Abilene on Thursday.
....The two candidates for the 17th Congressional District will meet in
a 6 p.m. debate at McMurry University's Mabee Building. The debate is sponsored
by the Abilene Restaurant Association and McMurry Student Government.
....The public is invited. Questions will be asked by representatives from
KTAB, KTXS, KRBC and the Reporter-News.
....Stenholm, a Stamford Democrat seeking his 10th term, and Izzard, a San
Angelo Republican, also will debate in San Angelo later this month.
- 10/12 - Local Woman Abducted from Mall
Parking Lot, Raped
- 10/12 - Fraser Criticizes Latest Rhodes
Ad
- 10/11 - Seals Gets 80 Years in Baby's
Death
- 10/11 - City Unveils Home Page
- 10/11 - Council OKs Mobile Homes for
Care of Elderly
- 10/11 - Stenholm Scores Low with Hispanic Organization: Rep.
Charles Stenholm, D-Stamford, and other conservative Texas lawmakers scored
at the lower end of a survey of votes on Hispanic-related issues, released
Thursday by the National Hispanic Leadership Agenda.
....Stenholm rated 20 percent in the survey, which included votes in the
just-concluded 104th Congress on such issues as welfare reform, immigration,
education funding and amendments making English the official U.S. language.
....Only three Texas congressmen were among 50 lawmakers who posted a 100
percent rating by NHLA, which represents a number of Hispanic groups. They
were Reps. Gene Green, D-Houston, Solomon Ortiz, D-Corpus Christi, and Frank
Tejeda, D-San Antonio.
....Among those at the lower end of the ratings was Rep. Lamar Smith, R-San
Antonio, a sponsor of the House measure on immigration reform that cleared
Congress this year. Smith's rating was 10 percent.
....On the 10 votes in the survey, Stenholm voted in favor of NHLA's position
on two. He voted against sweeping welfare reform and in favor of a new agricultural
"guestworker" program, allowing up to 250,000 foreign workers
in its first year.
....Lawmakers with higher scores supported "policies that are positive
for our youth ... the future workers of America," said Rosie Torres,
a spokeswoman for the Hispanic group.
- 10/10 - Construction on Loop 322 to
Continue for Months
- 10/10 - More Scrutiny for Brownwood Museum: The finances of
the Brown County Museum of History will soon bescrutinized intensely.
....The Brownwood City Council voted Tuesday to audit the museum's use of
citytax dollars.
The museum is already the focus of a lawsuit filed on behalf of the BrownCounty
Historical Commission. The suit was filed against Museum Director EvansWalker
last month in an attempt to gain access to the facility's financialrecords.
....The Brown County Museum receives a portion of Brownwood's hotel/motel
tax,which averages about $6,000 annually.
- 10/9 - New library recommendtions
to be issued by January
- 10/9 - Commissioners agree on more
highway funding, but not lottery share
- 10/9 - Abilene Teachers Have Different
Views About Youthful Kissing
- 10/8 - Downtown Parking: Nuisance,
Positive Side Effect or Problem?
- 10/8 - Kmart Suit in Abilene Federal Court: An Abilene family
is suing a huge retail chain and a California manufacturer, claiming a defective
pair of rubber chest waders caused the drowning death of their patriarch.
....The family of Jerry Lee Ritter Sr. is seeking more than $2.5 million
in damages from the Kmart Corp. and the Pam & Frank Corp.
....The Ritters' lawsuit was removed from a state court to Abilene federal
court Friday at the defendants' request.
.....According to the suit, Ritter's wife, Jimmie, bought her husband a
pair of rubber chest waders, designed and manufactured by Pam & Frank,
at a Kmart Dec. 13, 1994. The Ritters believed the garment to be "safe
and free from latent defects," the suit contends, but later discovered
it was "inherently dangerous."
....Mr. Ritter, a 48-year-old nurse, drowned at Lake Fort Phantom May 27,
1995, when he was thrown from a flat-bottomed boat and his waders filled
with water. All attempts to release the waders' shoulder straps failed,
the suit said.
- 10/8 - Most Wanted Man Turns Himself In: A man featured as
Abilene's most wanted fugitive in last week's Crime Stoppers story turned
himself in to local FBI agents Friday evening.
....William Paul Boyd was wanted on a federal charge of trans- porting stolen
goods across state lines and on state charges of theft and bond-jumping.
Boyd, 43, was featured as Crime Stop- pers most wanted fugitive in Wednesday's
newspaper.
....U.S. Magistrate Judge Billy Boone ordered Boyd detained Monday morning
pending a detention hearing later this month in Lubbock federal court.
....According to a federal indictment issued last month, Boyd allegedly
transported two stolen compressors from Oklahoma City to Taylor County in
September 1991. If convicted, he faces up to 10 years in prison and a $250,000
fine.
- 10/7 - Abilene Students to Learn
About Fire Safety
- 10/6 - Abilene's Gang Situation Different
from Other Cities
- 10/5 - B-1B Maintenance Consolidation Confirmed: Congressman
Charles Stenholm Friday announced further confirmation of Air Force plans
to consolidate engine maintenance for the B-1B bomber at Dyess Air Force
Base.
....The Stamford Democrat said he was advised by Brig. Gen. Lansford E.
Trapp Jr. that the Air Force will include $790,000 in its 1999 fiscal year
military construction program for the test cell foundation, and approximately
$3.7 million support equipment procurement funds to buy the second test
cell.
....According to the Air Force, this schedule will provide adequate lead
time to meet increased workload requirements in the year 2000, Stenholm
said.
...."I am very pleased to have further commitment from the Air Force
to bring this additional capacity for engine maintenance to Dyess,"
the congressman said. "In the year 2000, when the engines of the entire
B-1B fleet will come due for overhaul, a second test cell will enable Dyess
to handle the increased workload."
- 10/5 - Area Airports Get Funds: Six area airports snagged more
than $4 million in grants to help spruce up rural facilities - an opportunity
state officials hope will spur new economic development.
....The grants, awarded last week, will go to airports in Colorado City,
Comanche, Eastland, Jayton, Snyder and Stephenville, according to the Texas
Department of Transportation.
....General aviation as an industry has an annual impact of more than $2.9
billion in Texas. The Partnership for Improved Air Travel estimates that,
in 1989, the industry generated about 36,000 jobs in Texas.
- 10/4 - Encoding Center Getting Busier: The postal remote encoding
center in Abilene will get busier in the next few days.
....Postal officials are hiring 150 temporary employees for the Christmas
rush. Most of them are people who already have qualified for employment
there.
....A hundred full-time workers will come on-line in the first half of 1997
to meet the demands of additional work from Amarillo and Lubbock, said Kim
Hill, manager of the center.
...."We are interviewing right now and will have the first of three
orientation sessions beginning Oct. 12," Hill said.
....The holiday rush is expected to increase the mail flow. Last year, the
center processed 1.2 million images (addresses) the Tuesday before Christmas.
Hill expects 1.5 million on the heaviest night this year.
....Part of the increase can be attributed to new equipment in Fort Worth,
she said. A high-tech stamp canceling machine will be in operation next
month. It catches hand-written addresses and automatically sends the image
to Abilene for reading. Formerly, the letter had to go through an additional
machine in Fort Worth before being zapped here.
- 10/4 - McLaughlin, Counts Arguing Debate: Scott McLaughlin
and state Rep. David Counts are engaged in a testy argument over whether
they should debate.
....McLaughlin, the challenger to the District 70 seat, claims the incumbent
is ducking his requests for a public sparring session on the issues. Counts
counters he's willing to meet in candidate forums.
...."I'm available for public forums all day if I'm given enough lead
time to clear my calendar," Counts said. "I'll meet him anywhere
and do anything. He's trying to make an issue where there is none."
....McLaughlin, a Big Spring Republican, sent a letter to Counts three weeks
ago inviting him to pick times and locales for a series of debates. He billed
the dates as an opportunity for "open and friendly dialogue" to
help voters determine "who can best represent the ideals of West Texas."
....But Counts hasn't responded to the request.
- 10/4 - Museum Lawsuit in Brownwood: A lawsuit alleging mishandling
of Brown County Museum funds has been filed against its president and director
Louis Evans Walker III.
....The museum directors, in conjunction with the Brown County Historical
Commission and Larry Nix, filed the suit in 35th District Court claiming
Walker mishandled thousands of dollars in museum funds.
....Among other allegations, the group claims Walker failed to perform his
duties as president, misled board members about museum finances and refuses
to step down despite being voted out of office.
....The 35th District Court issued a restraining order against Walker on
Sept. 20 that prohibits him from acting on behalf of the museum in any capacity,
including the use of its funds and exhibits.
- 10/3 - Officials Like Musgrave's Plan: City officials who have
long insisted revitalizing downtown will breed business activity there were
beaming Wednesday over Kenneth Musgrave's plans for a nine-block enterprise.
....Musgrave, perhaps Abilene's highest-profile developer, announced his
purchase of the NationsBank tower, the centerpiece of a "vision"
that, tentatively, will include retail outlets, restaurants, condominiums
and a day-care center.
....He vowed to complete the project without dipping into public coffers.
...."We need to do this with private funds rather than tax dollars,"
Musgrave told a large gathering of civic and business leaders. "I'm
not asking the city to do anything. If they'll stay out of my business,
I'll stay out of theirs."
....Musgrave's project would be the first significant downtown development
south of the Union Pacific railroad tracks.
- 10/3 - Election Sign Court Order in Eastland: Cardboard placards
stuck to wooden stakes stabbed into a soft piece of dirt are a sign of the
times - election season.
....Just don't tell that to the Texas Department of Transportation.
....State representative candidate Jim Keffer, of Eastland, obtained a court
order last week to block the transportation department from yanking his
campaign signs from some of his supporters' yards and fining them up to
$1,000 per day.
....Keffer is also seeking a temporary injunction to prevent the Department
of Transportation from violating his backers' freedom of speech and private
property rights.
...."It's almost like a bad rerun of the old TV show 'Twilight Zone,'
" Keffer said. "The TxDOT beautification agents are the government
sign police who throw folks in jail for the crime of putting campaign yard
signs in their lawns."
....The dispute stems from a federal law state officials concede is "unenforceable"
and may be unconstitutional.
- 10/3 - Sisco Promoted to General: A longtime Texas Army National
Guardsman who began his career in Abilene has been promoted to brigadier
general.
....Brig. Gen. Leroy Sisco, 52, of Southlake, near Dallas, is the son of
Mrs. Darlene Sisco of Abilene.
....Sisco enlisted in the TANG while he was a senior at Abilene High School
in 1960. He graduated from AHS in 1961 and was commissioned a second lieutenant
in the National Guard in 1965.
....He graduated from Abilene Christian University in 1967 and continued
to work in Abilene in the computer business until about 10 years ago. Meanwhile
he served in a wide variety of leadership and staff positions in the National
Guard, including commander of the 386th Engineer Battalion in Corpus Christi
and the 111th Area Support Group in San Antonio.
- 10/2 - Dyess Could Get B-1 Reserve Unit
- 10/2 - Musgrave to Announce Building
Purchase, Development Plans
- 10/2 - Warehouse Restaurant Investors
to Face Strict Criteria
- 10/1 - Abilenians Could See Lower
Home Insurance Rates
- 10/1 - District Clerk Forgets to
Summon Jurors
- 10/1 - Construction Dots Parts
of the City
- 10/1 - Snyder Quints to Get Big Shower
All content copyright 1996, Knight-Ridder/Tribune Media Services,
Associated Press, The Abilene Reporter-News and Reporter OnLine
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