Thursday, August 28, 1997
Area news roundup
Pedestrian critical after accident
BROWNWOOD -- An employee of the Brownwood State School was
in critical condition Wednesday after being hit by a car Tuesday
night.
Billy Allen Bryant, 33, of Brownwood was walking across Old
Bangs Road, between the state school and the nearby Sanction Unit,
when he was struck by a 1992 Mitsubishi Eclipse driven by Paul
Cantreras, 19.
Bryant was taken to Columbia Brownwood Regional Medical Center
where he was stabilized, then flown by First Flight to Hendrick
Medical Center in Abilene.
Brownwood Police Lt. John Harper said Bryant and another person
were using the crosswalk, but Cantreras said he did not see the
pedestrians.
Bryant suffered a collapsed lung, fractured knee and shoulder
and was reported to be in a coma. He has been a youth activities
supervisor since June 1994 and had just finished his shift at
the time of the accident, officials said.
Elderly man dies when clothing catches fire
LAKE BROWNWOOD -- A 72-year-old man died early Tuesday after
his clothes caught fire at his north Lake Brownwood residence.
Obert Volley Scott was pronounced dead at 12:30 a.m. by Justice
of the Peace Walter B. Croft, after sheriff's deputies found Scott
with burns covering 90 percent of his body.
"It's believed that the victim was smoking or about to
light a cigarette when his clothing caught fire," said detective
Brian Thompson, who responded to the 911 call. Thompson said this
is the second time in a month that an elderly person died after
catching clothing on fire.
There was no evidence at the scene of foul play, Thompson said.
It had not been determined what kind of clothing Scott had
been wearing, but family members told investigators Scott always
wore polyester pajamas.
"Which are extremely flammable," Thompson said.
On Aug. 8, Mabel Lancaster, 84, of May died in a similar fire
at her home. She reportedly was also wearing polyester pajamas.
County eyes road improvements
BAIRD -- Callahan County will seek to hold a March referendum
on road improvements, County Judge Bill Johnson said Tuesday night
at a public hearing on the issue.
About 75 people attended the meeting, representing all four
precincts.
The plan proposed Tuesday called for county commissioners to
to draw up a list of roads and then for the list to be published,
along with costs, for voters to decide whether to pass a bond
issue for the improvements.
Johnson assured the courthouse audience that the bond money
would be earmarked for road improvements and could not be used
for other purposes or merely deposited in the bank.
He said no figures exist yet for the proposed project.
"We will have to wait and see what the traffic surveys
tell us and then make estimates of the cost of repairs on the
roads that need the work," Johnson said. "We will then
publish the results before asking citizens to vote on the bond."
He said commissioners had reconsidered their original idea
of borrowing $900,000.
"The $900,000 would have just been a drop in the bucket
and would only pave about 70 miles of roads in the county,"
Johnson said.
"My major concern is we need to pave roads, but when we
do, it needs to be enough to really do some good," he said.
Cisco sets new tax rate
CISCO -- The Cisco City Council set the 1997-98 tax rate at
at 79.5 cents per $100 valuation, up only slightly from the present
rate of 79.3 cents.
City Manager Mike Moore said the city has a tax base of $51,899,351.
The taxes will help fund the approved budget of $2,039,100
-- up only $3,000 from the current budget.
In other business:
-- Police Chief Doug Fairbanks announced that Larry Wiekel
has been promoted to sergeant and introduced two new police officers
-- Noah Gray of Breckenridge and David Rollins of Snyder.
-- The council awarded a lease on a special lot on the north
shore of Lake Cisco to the second-highest bidder, Darrell Young.
The highest bidder never contacted the city nor paid money on
the lease.
-- The council passed on second reading an ordinance increasing
rates to dump at the city convenience station, effective Sept.
1.
-- The council passed on second reading an ordinance increasing
water rates by $1 for the first 2,000 gallons, effective Sept.
1. This will make the minimum cost $16.
$3.6 million electrical update proposed in Coleman
COLEMAN -- A Texas engineering firm recommended Tuesday that
Coleman undertake a $3.6 million upgrading of its electrical system.
Jim McCord, head of McCord Engineering in College Station,
suggested the city convert to a 12.5-kilovolt system from its
current 4-kilovolt setup.
"We found that there were some voltage problems in town
and some overloading of conductors. They are not terribly severe
at this time but we feel like they will be severe in the future
if some action is not taken," McCord told the Coleman City
Council.
McCord said the transition would take from eight to 10 years
but result in a system capable of handling Coleman's needs for
the next 25 years, given its current rate of growth.
The council agreed that McCord should complete his study and
asked for a council committee working on the project to meet with
West Texas Utilities officials to determine how their power should
be used.
The city uses its own power plant to produce about 15 percent
of its electricity, with the remainder being purchased from WTU.
In other business, Barney Ransberger of Coleman presented a
petition signed by 653 residents, complaining about the quality
of cable TV service in Coleman.
Cable-Comm, the current provider, had no representative present
at the council meeting.
Ransberger said petition copies will be sent to U.S. Sen. Kay
Bailey Hutchison, U.S. Rep. Charles Stenholm, D-Stamford, and
the Federal Communications Commission.
Board appoints new member
COLEMAN -- Mark Griffis of Coleman has been appointed to fill
the unexpired term of Dean Teegarden on the Coleman County Medical
Center board of directors.
Teegarden resigned this summer.
Griffis, who has ranching and oil interests, managed the Coleman
Chamber of Commerce from 1974-76, has served on the school board
and also has been Coleman's civil defense director and fire marshal.
The board, meeting in session Tuesday, also approved a tax
rate of 24 cents per $100 valuation.
In other action, the board accepted the $13,950 bid of Dale
Bradley of Santa Anna to tear down the Burke house which is next
to the hospital. Work is to begin Sept. 15 and be completed by
Oct. 31.
5 arrested in drug bust
EASTLAND -- Eastland police and Texas Ranger Gene Kea arrested
five people and seized a quantity of suspected drugs Tuesday night
in a room at a local motel.
Jailed and charged with possession of a controlled substance,
less than one gram, were: Joey Wayne Petree, 19, Mac Millan Ray
Jr., 19, and Cody Aiden Cox, 18, all of Eastland; and Desiree
Denise Carnes, 18, and Chastity Elaine Luck, both of Crystal Beach.
Eastland Justice of the Peace Jack Graham set bond at $5,000
each.
Police Chief Cecil Funderburgh said officers found what they
believed to be marijuana and methamphetamine in the room. He said
they also found alcohol, noting that all the suspects are under
21 years of age.
Gorman woman still hospitalized
GORMAN -- A Comanche County woman remained in serious condition
in Hendrick Medical Center in Abilene on Wednesday, six days after
she was injured by a horse near here.
Marylou Fincher, 52, was left unconscious after a horse she
was riding fell on her. Medical aides from the Gorman Volunteer
Fire Department said the woman was bleeding heavily from head
injuries and did not regain consciousness before she was transferred
from the scene by FirstFlight helicopter.
Fincher reportedly was riding horses with her husband, Dale,
at the time of the 4:30 p.m. accident. It was not clear initially
if she were kicked or trampled or if her horse fell with her and
rolled over her.
Injured motorist upgraded to serious
SANTA ANNA -- A Santa Anna woman injured in an accident near
here on Saturday is improving, but is still in serious condition.
Diane Patricia Smith, 42, remains in University Medical Center
in Lubbock, where she was airlifted Saturday.
Smith was injured about 8:15 a.m. Saturday in a two-vehicle
collision four miles south of Santa Anna, suffering fractures
of the neck, arm, leg and nine ribs plus internal bleeding. Initially,
she was listed in critical condition.
Department of Public Safety Trooper Pat Salas said Smith was
making a U-turn when her Jeep and a 1997 Dodge pickup truck collided.
The truck was driven by Bill Hennig, 47, of Glen Cove, who was
not injured.
Salas said Smith, who works in a doctor's office in Brownwood,
was turning around to render aid to a stranded motorist when the
accident occurred. Smith was taken first to Hendrick Medical Center
in Abilene, then flown to UMC by FirstFlight.
New tax rate set by Mitchell hospital
COLORADO CITY -- A new tax rate of 38.444 cents has been set
by the Mitchell County Hospital Board of Directors.
The rate represents a decrease from the 1997 rate of 39.13
cents, but total revenues will actually increase by $47,449 due
to higher property values in the county.
In session Tuesday, the board instructed administrator Rick
Rickard to place the additional revenues in an investment account
to be used for hospital capital expenditures rather than for operating
expenses. The intention, the board agreed, is for the hospital
not to exceed last year's operating budget.
The board also appointed 13 local citizens and two hospital
board members to oversee the newly formed Mitchell County Hospital
Charitable Foundation created to accept charitable donations to
the hospital.
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Copyright ©1997,
Abilene Reporter-News / Texnews / E.W. Scripps Publications
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