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Glasscock County News
Court
Relieves 911 Coordinator of Duties The Glasscock County
Commissioner’s Court, in a unanimous vote, relieved Veronica Schroyer of her
duties as emergency management coordinator and 911 dispatcher at their
regular meeting April 10. The action,
which was to be effective immediately, came after two separate incidences on
April 4 and April 7 when 911 telephone calls were again unanswered. Schroyer’s job description as
emergency management coordinator and 911 dispatcher, which was dated Sept.
12, 1994, details the following responsibilities: “1) Develop disaster plan
2) Countywide addressing update for 911 3) Call in volunteers when needed 4) Answer and dispatch 911 calls 5) Keep records on all emergencies, consisting of: who, what,
when, where, how long, etc. 6) Have someone available to answer 911 calls
when full-time dispatcher is out of the office.” For these duties, Schroyer has
been paid $12,600 per year, according to County Treasurer Alan Dierschke. Before voting to terminate
Schroyer, County Judge Wilburn Bednar said, “We’ve dropped the ball here in
the past; we’ve tried, but haven’t tried hard enough, to correct the problem.
It’s apparent that the present situation is not working; the problem has gone
on too long and we have to find a solution.” Mitchell Jansa said the Emergency
Medical Technicians are tired of being blamed for the failures of the 911
system, when the system itself is not their responsibility. He said, “EMT’s
don’t run the system, we just respond to calls.” He said the EMT’s are ready to respond any time, around the
clock, and want to remain volunteers. Regarding the system’s current
problems, he said, “The 911 calls are going through; the problem is that the
system is sometimes unmanned.” Commissioner Hugh Schafer said the
flack for the system not working should come to the commissioners’ court, not
to EMS volunteers. “We [the commissioners’ court] are paid to make the hard
decisions and to fix the system,” he said.
Schafer added, “We don’t have equipment problems; we have personnel
problems.” Kathleen Miller, of the risk
management pool which handles the county’s liability insurance, stressed the
county’s need to correct problems, such as the unanswered 911 calls, very
quickly once the problems are recognized.
She said problems which recur and are not corrected, whether with
personnel or other situations, can cause a huge liability for the county. Subsequent to her termination,
Schroyer sent the county a reimbursement affidavit in the amount of $78,599 for 8,291 uncompensated overtime
hours during the period from April 1998 through March 2000. In a special meeting April 13, the
court voted to transfer the duties of answering Glasscock County’s 911 calls
to Martin County. The changeover should take place as soon as technical
details can be worked out. Bednar said Martin County will provide the service
at no charge, although Glasscock County may need to purchase some updated or
additional equipment. (Martin County also answers Borden County’s 911 calls
for no charge.) Until the actual change to Martin
County takes place, 911 calls will be answered by the Glasscock County
Sheriff’s Office on weekdays from 8 a.m. to noon and 1 p.m. to 5 p.m. At all other times, the calls will be
answered by either Jim or Diane Havlak or by
“Booger” or Beverly Pruit. Bednar will temporarily act as the
county’s emergency management coordinator until someone is hired for that
position. Cecilia Schwartz, president of the local EMS group, explained to
the commissioners’ court the need to have the permanent coordinator present
at EMS and volunteer fire department meetings. Other than transferring the 911
function to Martin County, the other option discussed for solving the problem
was for Glasscock County to hire enough people to provide around-the-clock
911 answering and dispatching from a location in Garden City. That option
would presumably be discussed again should the arrangement with Martin County
prove unsatisfactory. Representatives of the
commissioners’ court and the EMS volunteers were to meet with a
communications specialist at Terminal April 19 to discuss equipment. In
addition, a meeting was planned for April 25 between Glasscock County
officials and EMS personnel with representatives of the 911 answering system
in Stanton to iron out details of the arrangement with Martin County. Courthouse
Restoration Needs Your Input Architects who are working toward
restoring both Glasscock County courthouses want to get county residents
involved in the process. Barbara Slover, an intern with the Wagner &
Klein Group, told the commissioners’ court April 5 that her group needs
photos and stories of the courthouses and any activities in or around them
over the years. She said the two buildings are “historically significant,”
but the Texas Historical Commission needs to know that county residents, past
and present, are aware of the county’s history and want to preserve it before
the commission will allocate restoration funding. Slover asked that all involved
“stir the pot,” by contacting people who have moved away as well as current
residents to let them know what is going on with the restoration effort, and
how they can help. [This means you!!] A public hearing is scheduled for
Tuesday, May 2 at 7 p.m. in the courthouse for the purpose of getting input
for the project. Everyone is urged to attend, and to bring any photos of the
courthouses or other buildings on the property. Stan Klein, a Wagner & Klein
architect, was enthusiastic in describing what the group has found so far. He
said the original pressed metal ceiling in the courtroom is still intact,
only covered by acoustical tiles, and in the attic, there are new pieces of
the original roofing material which were never used. He said the original
roof may still be intact, except for decorative cresting which is visible in
old photos, but no longer exists. Klein said that historic buildings
are useless unless they can serve contemporary needs. He said, for example,
that it might be possible to restore the original courtroom ceiling and use
light fixtures which look like the originals, but acoustics and the need for
modern lighting levels must be addressed. He said those problems can be
solved. To enhance the chance for state
restoration funding, Klein said future uses for the original courthouse (“old
jail”) and other on-site buildings need to be found and suggestions are
encouraged. He said the fact that the courthouse has a historic landmark
designation is a plus in getting funding, and that having both an elevator
and second floor air conditioning puts Glasscock County ahead of many
courthouses in the state. Klein stressed the need for
long-range planning in the restoration project, since the work will have to
be done incrementally. Meeks,
Munn Resign from GCISD Meeting in regular session April
17, The GCISD School Board learned that Superintendent Charles Zachry had
previously accepted resignations from Mike Meek, Stacy Meek and Dean
Munn. M. Meek, who earlier resigned
from his duties as athletic director and head football coach, resigned his
position as secondary school math teacher.
S. Meek has been an elementary school teacher. Munn has been the
elementary school principal for the past three years. Zachry said he
anticipates more resignations, but to date, no others are official. He said that until around July 1, teachers
can resign without having the district’s permission. Zachry said he has posted the
elementary principal’s job on a state education web site, and applications
for the job have just started to come in. He said he has had “a world of
applications” for the athletic director’s job. Regarding enrollment, Munn
reported a loss of 5 more students, to 165 (K-6); Pre-K 10, and EE, 2, for a
total of 177. Secondary Principal Faith Scott reported a total enrollment of
158, down 3 from last month, making a K-12 total of 323. Zachry said the
school had an enrollment of 430 at one time, without counting Pre-K. In closed session, the board
discussed instructional and administrative personnel and the athletic
director’s position, but took no action. At newly hired superintendent Steve
Long’s suggestion, the board discussed the possibility of reducing the $6,000
stipend that the district pays teachers above the state base salary. Long said any reduction would affect only
newly hired personnel, not current employees. In an unofficial “straw vote,”
five board members were in favor of reducing the stipends, and two said they
were undecided. But while stipend reductions would save the school money,
Zachry said that eliminating positions was the only way to make large
reductions in salary costs. He said the board might be able to reduce the
number of teachers in the elementary school. Zachry said he has no written
estimate of storm damages to school property caused by violent weather last
month, but a verbal estimate from the insurance adjuster put the damages
above $200,000, not including damages to vehicles. He said the damages were
mostly from hail, and included roofs on school buildings, teachers’ houses,
air conditioning units, etc. Briefly •
The Garden City spring band
concert will be May 1 at 6:30 p.m. in the Ruth Cook Auditorium. A
retirement reception for Charles
Zachry will follow the concert. •
A public meeting will be held
Tuesday, May 2 at 7 p.m. in the courthouse regarding the courthouse restoration project. Everyone is urged to attend, in order
to be informed about the project, to voice what you would like to see done in
it, and to provide memories of past activities in and around the courthouse
and the old jail (the original courthouse). The county historical committee
is still asking for old photos of the courthouse and old jail, and for any
information any of you might have regarding the buildings. • The Glasscock County Senior Citizens are hosting an open house Sunday, April 30 from 2 until 5 p.m. in
their new center at 601 Highway 33 in Garden City. Everyone is invited! •
Seven candidates have filed
for the three positions open in the GCISD board election which will be held
May 6. The candidates, all running at large, are: Brad Avery, Kenneth
Branham, Ernestina (Tina) Flores (incumbent), Doug Schafer, Randy Schmitz,
Cecilia Schwartz and Paul Schwartz.
Early voting runs from April 19 through May 2 in the courthouse. On
May 6, voting will be at the St. Lawrence Hall (Precinct 1), the Garden City
Church of Christ (Precincts 2 & 4) and Drumright (Precinct 3). •
State approved septic system
inspections can now be done by
Jim Havlak, who is the county’s licensed inspector. The inspection fee, set by the county commissioners’ court, is
$110. If the TNRCC does the inspection,
the charge is $210. •
Fiddle lessons for any age
person will be offered in Garden City starting in June. Ricky Boen, a
world championship fiddler, will conduct classes at the Baptist Church.
Interested folks should call Tanya Multer at 354-2466 or Boen at 570-9609 in
Greenwood. • The Bearkat Booster Club
will host the 2000 UIL Banquet Tuesday, May 16 at 6 p.m. at the school
cafeteria. A meal will be catered by Al’s Bar-B-Q. Tickets are $10 per person
and are available at the high school office and from Nancy Hillger or Becky
Batla. Come and show your support to the youth of the community. •
Donna Donica was recently
hired as the Glasscock County Underground Water Conservation District’s
secretary at an annual salary of $19,000.
She will begin work April 24. • The GCHS Student Council
is primarily responsible for the trash clean-up west of town on Highway 158.
Please, help us keep it clean. Reminder:
when using your Target credit card, you may designate Garden City
Junior/Senior High School as the benefit school. •
A special message from Tresa
and Leon Reed “Thanks for the
memories –- 21 years of them. Thanks to all the great Glasscock County
friends and family who welcomed us ‘new comers’ into the community and helped
us raise our family there. We will miss you all. Whenever you’re in Midland,
please call or come by. (Of course, we will probably see you at
Wal-Mart!)” Address: 904 S. Bentwood
Dr., Midland, TX 79703-6863, Phone: 689-8001. •
The Glasscock County 4-H Club
is sponsoring a “Window Washin’ Day” Friday, June 2. They will be washing
windows for anyone in the community, with preference given to the
elderly. If you would like your
windows washed, please call Jill Hoelscher, 354-2449, so your name can be put
on a list. This is a community
service project and is free of charge.
However, they are accepting donations to purchase stuffed animals to
donate to a children’s hospital. Your
donations will be greatly appreciated. • Anyone who would like to receive
the Glasscock County News online
can register at this web site: http://wscope.com/glasscock/ Warning
Siren Possible in Garden City A recent tornado scare may have
prompted the Glasscock County Commissioners’ Court to investigate the possibility
of a warning siren for Garden City, an idea which has been tossed around
several times before. At the court
meeting April 10, Commissioner Michael Hoch said he thinks a siren would be
good for warning of severe weather, fires, or ambulance calls. Different
signals would be sounded for each type of emergency. Hoch said during the storm last
month, the weather service called the sheriff’s office to warn of severe
weather approaching, and the only way to warn residents was for the sheriff
and deputies to drive around town with their sirens on. Since the county now has its own
licensed septic system inspector, the court set fees for inspecting septic
systems at $110. Of that, $10 goes to the state, and Jim Havlak, the county’s
inspector, will get $100. TNRCC charges $210 for the same inspection. County Engineer Dan Glass
presented a preliminary cost estimate of
$346,000 for the county’s planned paving in 2000. Of that total,
$5,000 is designated for re-paving 2,500 yards of flood-damaged areas. These
estimates do not include costs for dirt fill. A brief discussion regarding a
bond election to finance a community center was tabled and is to be taken up
at a later time. Students
Honored for Academics Ten students from Garden City High
School were recently honored for outstanding academic achievements in a
ceremony at Angelo State University. The students are: Boyd Batla, Kyndra Batla, Ryan Batla, Tyler Coats, Collene Cox, Jared
Eggemeyer, Summer Eoff, Jill Hoelscher, M’Lynn Niehues and Jason Wilde. The activity was part of the State
Board of Education’s Celebrations of Educational Excellence awards program
which honored more than 6,000 high school students across the state. The
students received medallions and a congratulatory letter signed by Governor George
W. Bush. In The Spotlight •
Jason Wilde won first place
and qualified for state competition in Computer Applications recently at the
UIL Academic Regional Meet. He also qualified for state in biology, having
the top regional scores. In science competition, Jared Eggemeyer placed fifth overall, Wilde eighth overall, M’Lynn
Niehues fourteenth overall and their team placed second. •
Pfc. Curtis Schmitz, a 1999
graduate of Garden City High School, recently completed basic training at
Camp Pendleton. Schmitz is currently stationed at Twenty-nine Palms,
California, where he completed field wiring and communications school. • Marissa Schwartz placed second overall at the San
Angelo livestock judging competition recently. She is the daughter of Paul and
Tara Schwartz. •
Krystal Bell was inducted
into the Phi Upsilon Omicron National Honor Society at Texas Tech
University. Krystal is a sophomore. •
Linda Dewitt will receive a
Masters Degree in School Administration with an all-levels principals’ certification
from the University of Texas of the Permian Basin May 13. Dewitt teaches English and journalism at
Garden City High School. From the
Schoolhouse •
Two doubles teams from Garden City earned a trip to the Region 1,
Class 1A tennis tournament April 24-25. In the District 2-1A meet, Summer Eoff and Laura Braden won the girls’ doubles championship, with Jason Smith and Max Batla finishing second in boys’ doubles. Cory
Batla, third in boys’ singles, and Collene
Cox, fourth in girls’ singles, will serve as doubles alternates at the
regional tournament. •
At the junior high district
tennis meet, Garden City teams captured three championships and one
second place. In seventh grade
competition, Amanda Hirt & Brandi
Halfmann won 1st place in girls’ doubles; Terri Branham was 1st and Krystal
Sullivan was 2nd in girls’ singles.
Vanessa Medrano, Raquel Lopez, and Krystal Rodriguez also participated. The seventh graders won the team championship first place
trophy. In seventh grade boys’
competition, Chase Burks & Trey
Hillger won 2nd place in doubles and Chais
Goodwin & Todd Weishuhn
took 3rd place. In singles, Erasmo Talamantes won 2nd place and James Branham was the consolation
winner. The team finished second overall. Eighth graders Megan Niehues & Jessica Hoch won
1st place in girls’ doubles; Anna
Flores & Morgan Kight took 2nd;
Brecklyn Hughes & Amanda
Henson won 3rd place. In singles, Allison
Jansa placed 1st, Leslie Jansa
was 4th and Kim Webb won consolation.
The eighth grade girls won the team championship and first place
trophy. The eighth grade boys’ doubles
team of Andrew Zachry / Travis Coats placed 1st, and Blake Chudej was 2nd in singles, as
the team placed first in their division. • Members of the GCHS Student Council will attend the State Student
Council Convention in Austin April 27-29, They will receive state honors in
three categories: Pride and Patriotism, Drug and Alcohol Awareness and
Outstanding Student Council. They will also attend general assemblies and
small sessions to learn more about how to be an even better student council. •
High school cheerleaders
for the 2000-2001 school year are: Lori
Hoelscher, Bonnie Pelzel, Dendra Maxie, Brecklyn Hughes, Allison
Jansa, and Morgan Kight. The
mascot is Marianne Halfmann and
the sponsor is Melissa Schmitz.
The cheerleaders thank the community for its help at their fundraisers, and
ask for your continued support. •
Junior high cheerleaders for
next year are: Megan Niehues, Brandi Halfmann, Ashley Gonzales, Amanda
Hirt and Rebecca Cmerek. The
sponsor is Linda Dewitt. Court Discusses Sewage Facility On April 5, Steve Dennis urged the
Glasscock County Commissioners’ Court to immediately apply for a Colonia Grant
to pay for installation of a sewage system in Garden City before the deadline
for this year’s applications. Colonia grants are available to towns within
100 miles of the Mexican border, and were used to fund Garden City’s water
system. According to Dennis, Colonia grants use federal funds which come
through the Department of Housing and Urban Development and are managed by a
state agency. Dennis is the engineer
of the firm that installed the water system in Garden City. Dennis said a sewage system could
be done with a minimum of four phases costing $500,000 each. He said a system
would need 20 acres of land (located somewhere south of Garden City), and
that the system would require a one-half time person to operate it. He said
there is little problem with odor from modern sewage treatment plants. The court, however, had
reservations about applying for money to construct a sewer system without
sufficient public hearings and input from the residents of both Garden City
and the county. Commissioner Jimmy Strube was
especially reluctant to agree to a grant application, saying many of his
constituents were negative about the water system in Garden City. He recalled
problems with that system, which was originally to have been operated
separately from the county, but ultimately is owned and operated by the
county. He said the town of Garden
City could incorporate, and then install a sewer system. Strube said he would want complete
information and a questionnaire sent out to all county residents and
taxpayers before any public hearing in the matter. The court decided not to apply for
a Colonia sewage grant at this time, but left open the option to apply for
one next year. In
other action on April 4, the court agreed to hire David Decker to remove and
level tree stumps and to prune and shape trees around the courthouse. Little
League Cleanup Scheduled By Dean Munn The St. Lawrence and Garden City
Little League field cleanup day is Monday, April 24 at 6 p.m. Come to the
closest field and bring a rake, garden hoe, weed eater, or just your body. If
you have a child signed up for baseball, please try to participate. Both concession stands are in need
of a refrigerator. If you or someone you know would like to donate, loan, or
rent one to the league, contact Dean or Gina Munn at 354-2578. We are also looking for team
sponsors. Any businesses looking to advertise on the backs of future
professional baseball players should give Dean or Gina a call. Individual
contributions to the league are also greatly appreciated and can be used for
equipment and uniforms. Thank you and we’ll see you on April 24. Student
Council in Relay for Life The Garden City High School Student Council will
participate in the American Cancer Society’s Relay for Life May 12 and 13. If
you would like to make a donation, or to purchase a luminaria, contact a
student council member or call the school at 354-2244. Luminarias may be obtained for any donation amount and are
remembrances of those who are fighting cancer, have recovered from cancer, or
have lost their lives to cancer. Donations are a lump sum, NOT an amount per lap or mile.
Please make checks payable to the American Cancer Society. Sheriff’s
Office Report The following activities were reported by the sheriff’s office
for the month of March: two non-traffic accidents, two injured; four advise
complainant of rights; five alarms answered; seven ambulance calls, five
transported; three animal control requests; one felony arrest; one
misdemeanor arrest; ten assist motorist calls; three assist public calls;
three civil documents served; one domestic disturbance call; eight fire
department calls, two controlled, one vehicle, one grass, one utility pole,
one oil tank, one hay bale, one unable to locate; two hazardous material
responses, downed power lines; ten
loose livestock reports; one major motor vehicle accident, two injured; two
minor motor vehicle accidents; two property crimes; ten road hazards other
than livestock reported; eleven severe weather reports; one suspicious
vehicle investigation; twenty traffic
citations, ten warnings, one unattended death. About This Publication The next issue will be May 17. The deadline for that issue is May 15. The Glasscock County News is published by
Joe Melanie Calverley, P. O. Box 98, Garden City, TX, 79739. Phone or Fax: 915/354-2221; e-mail: gcnews201@aol.com. Website: http://wscope.com/glasscock/ |
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