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Abilene News: September 1-15, 1996
- 9/15 - Bounty Hunters Will Do Whatever
It Takes
- 9/15 - San Angelo Councilman Sets Sights
on Stenholm's Job
- 9/15 - A Mystery Written in Stone Stands
in Callahan County
- 9/15 - Trip to Surprise Girlfriend
Turns Serious When Car Explodes
- 9/14 - Traffic Death Indictment Stands
Against Merkel Man
- 9/14 - Abilenians Using Less Water
- 9/14 - Local Man Loses $25,000 in "Pigeon
Drop" Con
- 9/14 - Enrollment Down Overall
in Area Colleges
- 9/14 - TSTC Grant to Get Sweetwater on
the Internet
- 9/13 - Citizen Praises Council's Decision
on Recreationl Vehicles at Church
- 9/13 - Council Tables Leasing
Downtown Restaurant
- 9/13 - Big Spring Voters to Decide School Bonds: New schools
are the object of a pair of bond elections that will go before voters in
Big Spring and Early on Saturday.
....More than 2,300 early ballots were cast in the $12.5 million Big Spring
school bond election. About 350 people cast early ballots for Saturday's
election in Early.
....If Big Spring's bond issue passes, $10.5 million will be used to construct
a new junior high school to replace 80-year-old Runnels Junior High. Another
$2 million will be spent on air conditioning for the district's other seven
schools.
- 9/13 - Firefighters Tackle Roscoe Blaze: The combined efforts
of firefighters from four departments were needed to save a farm located
south of Roscoe late Wednesday.
....More than 30 acres of thick, tall grass burned, pumping dense smoke
into the air that was visible for miles, said Roscoe Fire Chief James McFaul.
- 9/13- Another Murder Suspect Arrested: A fourth suspect in
the Sept. 5 shooting deaths of two Big Spring men was arrested Wednesday.
....Vaudelio Garcia, 35, of Big Spring was arrested at his job, Police Captain
Lonnie Smith said.
....Municipal Judge Gary Tabor set Garcia's bond at $200,000 for the murder
charge and $2,000 for marijuana he possessed at the time of his arrest.
....Garcia joined Rosendo Montana, Michael Viera and his cousin, Roland,
in jail. All four men are accused of the shooting deaths of Kenny Guzman
and Luis Hernandez.
- 9/12 - Abilene Mayor Suffering From
Rare Disorder
- 9/12 - WTU Undergoing Another Round of
Reorganizing
- 9/12 - TSTA president suggests restructuring
the teacher's work day
- 9/12 - Fraser, Perry Tout Lawsuit Reform
Backing
- 9/11 - Comissioners apporve
budget, tax rate despite protests
- 9/11 - TIF Investing More Funds in Downtown
Trolley Issue
- 9/11 - ACU, McMurry Make Magazine's
List for Best Value
- 9/11 (early) - Three Area Schools Suing State Board: Three
Big Country school districts are among 75 suing the State Board of Education,
saying it's sitting on $89 million that should be spent on technology in
the classroom.
....The school districts say that under the 1995 education reform law, they
should be getting $55 per student for technology this school year. Instead,
the board has OK'd only $30 per student, the districts said.
....The $89 million is the estimated difference statewide, said Austin lawyer
Buck Wood, who represents the school districts in the lawsuit filed Monday
in Travis County state court.
....Stamford, Munday and Goree school districts are among those taking part
in the lawsuit.
- 9/10 - Abilene ISD to "Fine
Tune" Boundaries This Fall
- 9/10 - Allens, City Partner for
New Downtown Restaurant
- 9/10 - City Considering Improvements
at Airport
- 9/10 - Wylie ISD Trustees OK New
Tax Rate
- 9/10 (early) - Eastland Settles Whistelblower Suit: Eastland
County will pay $50,000 to a former jail administrator to settle a whistleblower
lawsuit involving charges made against ex-sheriff Ronnie White.
....Elizabeth White's claim that she was fired after reporting alleged financial
abuses by the former lawman was scheduled to be heard Monday in Abilene
federal court. But the two sides avoided a trial by agreeing to a settlement
late Friday, reportedly at the suggestion of Ms. White's attorney.
....Ms. White, no relation to the former sheriff, was seeking $4 million
in damages.
....County Judge Scott Bailey said the county agreed to the settlement to
avoid further costs of litigating the case and to cap the county's exposure
to damages. The county's insurance carrier will pay the bulk of the settlement.
- 9/10 (early) - Grants Available for Home Buyers: Low-income,
first-time home buyers can benefit from grants through the Texas Department
of Housing and Community Affairs.
....The West Central Texas Regional Housing Finance Corporation received
$260,000 in home buyer assistance funds from the state agency.
....The money is to be used for down payments to 71 households of low- and
very low-income families in this area, said Alison Benton with the West
Central Texas Council of Governments.
- 9/9 - JP Andrew's 'Ignition Interlock'
Rulings Causing a Stir
- 9/9 - Thunderbirds Thrill Thousands
at Dyess Air Show
- 9/9 - Wylie ISD to Set Rate: Wylie school trustees will officially
set their district's tax rate at $1.34 per $100 of property value tonight.
....The action follows a public hearing on the tax rate at the school's
Aug. 26 special session.
....No Wylie citizens offered input on the tax rate at that meeting.
....Trustees set the $1.34 rate after learning that going any lower would
mean the loss of state funds used to pay the dis- trict's bonded indebtedness.
....The rate will allow the district to cover its roughly $12.8 million
expenditure budget, approved by the district the same night as the tax rate
hearing.
....In other business, trustees will hear reports on student enrollment
for all schools in the district.
....As of Aug. 30, 2,568 students were enrolled in the Wylie school system.
That compares to a total of 2,537 at the same time last year.
- 9/9 - Abilene ISD to Discuss Boundaries: Attendance zone boundaries
are up for discussion during tonight's Abilene school board meeting.
....Although school boundary issues top the agenda, the board will also
consider setting the tax rate for the coming year and hear more reports
on the algebra end-of-course exams and an awards program to recognize innovative
teaching.
....According to the meeting's agenda, the board will "conduct a preliminary
discussion of boundary fine-tuning for (the) 1997-98 school year and beyond"
during tonight's meeting.
....At the Aug. 27 meeting, Hundley reviewed the calendar from which the
board will operate this fall in the boundary fine-tuning process. At that
time, Hundley said he would present a letter stating the administration's
recommendations and expectations for the process at the Sept. 9 meeting.
- 9/9 - Stenholm Opening Abilene Office: U.S. Rep. Charles Stenholmwill
open his Abilene campaign headquarters Monday.
....A kick-off event is scheduled from 10:30-11:30 a.m. at the headquarters,4611
S. 14th.
- 9/8 - Thunderbirds at Dyess Appreciation
Day, Fair Make Busy Weekend
- 9/8 - Abilene Students Comment in National
Poll on Gender Gap
- 9/8 - New kid' brings long experience
to Silver-Haired Legislature
- 9/7 (early) - Thunderbirds Practicing Saturday: Weather permitting,
the Air Force Thunderbirds will practice at 9 o'clock Saturday morning for
their Sunday performance at Dyess Air Force Base.
....Dyess won't be open to the general public Saturday, but persons may
park near the base for a preview of the aerobatic show.
- 9/7 (early) - Two Dead in Big Spring Shooting: Two men are
dead, one wounded and three in jail after a shooting on Big Spring's north
side late Thursday night.
....Police received a call in the 400 block of Northeast 10th Street shortly
before 10 p.m. Thursday because of numerous reports of shots being fired
in the area.
....."We believe that shots were fired from at least three guns of
various caliber," said Capt. Lonnie Smith, who added that the investigation
of facts surrounding the shooting is continuing.
- 9/6 (early) - Dyess Elementary to Create Memorial: Dyess Elementary
is collecting cans and keeping change this year to make sure generations
of students always remember the men and woman who perished while serving
their country.
....The school's PTA has voted to erect the Dyess Memorial Playground on
the campus in honor of the eight individuals, three of whom had family connectionsat
Dyess, who died when their C-130 crashed near Jackson Hole, Wyo., last month.
....Janet Ardoyno, chairwoman of the playground, said members of the community
have been asking what they could do for the families of the crewmembers.
This playground, she said, is the answer.
....Ardoyno said the school will try to raise money throughout the year
to provide the estimated $25,000 needed to fund the project. Students will
collect cans to earn money to buy trees to plant around campus representing
each crewmember.
- 9/6 (early) - Healthier Food at Cafeterias: School cafeterias
are dishing up fewer french fries and being more modest with their mozzarella
this year in an effort to take a bite out of some of the fat found in lunchroom
fare.
....Leaner lunch menus will be seen in school cafeterias across the country
beginning this year as food service departments attempt to comply with a
new federal mandate requiring schools to cut down on the amount of fatty
foods they serve.
....Beginning this year, school lunchrooms are required to work toward decreasing
students' fat intake to no more than 30 percent of total calories from fat
a week and no more than 10 percent of total calories from saturated fat
a week.
....To accomplish this, meal planners will be trying to tempt patrons to
choose items such as peach slices over the usual side of fried potatoes
and spaghetti with meatless sauce over Frito pie.
....Martha Smallwood, dietitian for the Abilene ISD, said the new requirements
are a recognition of the importance of learning to eat right early in life.
- 9/5 - Mason Staggs Denied Examining
Hearing
- 9/5 - Almost 600 Join in Day of
Caring
- 9/5 - Hundley Discusses School
Boundaries on Talk Show
- 9/5 - Area Lakes Benefit from All the
Rain
- 9/4 - Lone Taxpayer Shows Up to Question
County Increase
- 9/4 - Local Residents Support Clinton's
Bombing of Iraq
- 9/4 - Rhodes Kicks Off Campaign: Tuesday 24th Senatorial District
candidate Rick Rhodes officially kicked off his grass-roots campaign for
the seat being vacated by retiring Sen, Bill Sims of Paint Rock.
....A large, enthusiastic group of home-town supporters, estimated in excess
of 300, attended the kickoff rally at the Nolan County Coliseum. Many were
wearing red and enjoyed hamburgers while mingling and exchanging thoughts
and ideas about political climate in the 24th district.
......The conservative Democrat and former 4-term mayor of Sweetwater said
the best place to start a campaign is at home in the company of friends,
neighbors and family.
- 9/3 - Abilene High Teacher Makes Learning
Fun
- 9/3 - Couple Found Dead, Apparent Murder-Suicide: A Comanche
County man and woman were found shot dead on the front porch of their Lake
Proctor home Sunday afternoon, an apparent murder-suicide.
....Joy Dean Hanson, 62, and Linda Jean Hanson Richards, 50, may have been
dead as long as two days when they were found by a friend, said Comanche
County Sheriff Billy Works. The house, at Rt. 1, Comanche, sits about 50
yards from the road, and its front porch could not be seen from the road,
Works said.
.....The sheriff's office was called at 5:08 p.m.
....Hanson apparently shot Richards, then himself, with a pump shotgun,
Works said. The couple had formerly been married, and apparently had gotten
back together again after a divorce, he said.
....An autopsy was ordered, to be performed by the Tarrant County Medical
Examiner's office.
- 9/2 - Minimum Wage Increase Won't
Affect Local Students At First
- 9/2 - Big Spring Fair Starts Tuesday: The 24th annual Howard
County Fair opens Tuesday at the fairgrounds west of town.
.....Entertainment includes a ranch rodeo at 3 and 7 p.m. as well as selection
of the Howard County Fair Queen at 8 tonight.
....On Tuesday, the Battle of the Cheerleaders features area school cheerleading
teams competing to determine who can best encourage spectators to show school
spirit.
....Clyde Foley Cummins performs at 7 and 9 p.m. on Wednesday and Thursday
and Jody Nix and the Texas Cowboys perform at 7 and 9 p.m. Friday and Saturday.
- 9/1 - Residents to See Substantial Rise
in Their Tax Bill
- 9/1 - Locals Applaud Efforts to Get
Tough on Teen Drinking
- 9/1 - Medical Care Mission Saving Taxpayers
Money
- 9/1 - Local Woman to Appear on Telethon: A local advocate of
rights for the disabled will appear before an area television audience Monday
during a local segment of the Jerry Lewis Labor Day telethon benefiting
the Muscular Dystrophy Association.
....Abilene resident Annette Campbell, who has an artificial leg because
of a bout with myositis, will be on the breakaway portion that airs from
4:10-4:30 p.m. on KTAB, the local CBS affiliate.
....Myositis is an inflammation of voluntary muscles, those that normally
govern movement, such as the muscles of the arms and legs.
....Campbell, a social work major at Hardin-Simmons University, said several
local businesses are becoming more accustomed to the needs of the disabled
- especially the Albertson's store on South 14th.
- 9/1 - Mayor Named to Committee Chair: Abilene Mayor Gary McCaleb
has been named to chair a committee on jobs, education and the workforce
for the U.S. Conference of Mayors.
.....He was appointed by the conference president, Chicago Mayor Richard
M. Daley.
....McCaleb, elected earlier this summer to the conference advisory board,
said his appointment will "empower Abilene to take a part in setting
the national agenda."
All content copyright 1996, Knight-Ridder/Tribune Media Services,
Associated Press, The Abilene Reporter-News and Reporter OnLine
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