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Glasscock County News
Electronic Delivery an Option for Readers
Glasscock County News subscribers who have Internet access can opt for electronic notification of the newsletter’s publication and read it online. Just send your e-mail address to us at gcnews201@aol.com or complete the online form at http://wscope.com/glasscock. You will be able to print the entire newsletter with one command by using the printable format option on the newsletter site. You will also be able to view and to print past issues dating back to January 2000. Electronic delivery enables readers to get the newsletter much faster than regular mail delivery and saves us money in printing and postage. Recent additions on the GC News homepage are links to weather sites, area newspapers, search engines and a dictionary. Other links include the school, water district, county, extension service, and state offices. Many thanks to those of you who already are electronic subscribers!
County Finalizes Budget; Sets Tax Rate
At a special meeting Sept. 16, the Glasscock County Commissioners' Court adopted a 2002-2003 budget which projects income of $2.3 million and expenses of $2.5 million. The county ended its fiscal year with reserves of $290,000, down $3,000 from the previous year, according to County Treasurer Alan Dierschke. The tax rate was set at .52588 for maintenance and operation plus an additional .05 for debt on the community center, for a total of .57588 per $100 valuation. In final work on the new budget, the court set aside $40,000 for courthouse repairs and upkeep, anticipating the possibility of having to pay for a new roof. The court removed $13,000 from the county clerk's budget, deciding instead to use funds from the clerk's state-mandated records management fee to pay for that office's microfilming. That special fund currently holds $37,000. This earmarked fund comes from a $5 fee charged for each document recorded in the clerk’s office and must be used only for record keeping. County Clerk Rebecca Batla said it had taken several years to build the fund to its present level, and she had planned to use it in a future document imaging program that would make recorded documents computer accessible. She said this type of imaging will ultimately be required and will be very expensive to implement. No pay raises for county employees were included in the new budget. The court budgeted $17,000 for operation of the community center.
Sewer Inspection Rules Left Unchanged
In Glasscock County, state inspection of a sewer system installation on property of 10 acres or more is optional with the landowner. The Texas Natural Resources Conservation Commission requires inspection of systems on less than 10 acres. The county can require state inspection of all sewer installations, but opted not to do so at a meeting of the commissioners' court Sept. 30. An application is required by the county, so that the location of sewer systems is recorded, according to the county’s state certified inspector, Jim Havlak. The county charges $160 for a state-licensed inspection of a new sewer system installation or $80 for inspection of a modification to an existing system. Ten dollars of those fees go to the state. The court approved 47 amendments to close out the 2001-2002 budget. Most were interdepartmental, but necessary to bring accounts into balance. Purchase of a pressure washer for the community center was approved, with the price expected to be around $400.
In The Spotlight
• GCISD’s Students of the Month for October are first grader Cody Halfmann, son of Ricky and Becky Halfmann; Lauren Wheeler, sixth grade daughter of Andy and Karen Wheeler; seventh grader Samuel Nunez, son of Jesus and Maria Nunez and senior Daniel Martinez, son of Juan and Rosalinda Martinez.
• For the third straight year, the Howard-Glasscock Unit of the American Cancer Society’s Relay for Life 2002 raised more money than any other unit its size in Texas, and was sixth nationally. The relay netted $163,633, or $4.85 for every person in the unit’s area, according the Big Spring Herald. To put that figure in perspective, the 2003 state goal will be to raise $1 per person in each area.
Briefly
• Glasscock County is taking sealed bids on a 1995 F510 John Deere lawn mower. The minimum bid is $1,001. Bids must be turned in to the county judge's office or to the county clerk's office no later than 9 a.m. Nov 12, and will be opened at 10 a.m. that day. Call Douglas Plagens at 270 -8576 for more information.
• The school will hold an auction Nov. 16 beginning at 9 a.m. in the bus barn. Various items will be sold, including tires, two buses, and furniture. These will be available for preview on Nov. 15 from 8 a.m. to 3 p.m.
• Those interested in weather should take a look at the National Weather Service’s Climate Prediction Center online. Go to http://www.cpc.ncep.noaa.gov/
• The Glasscock County Senior Citizens will meet Nov. 5 at the Senior Citizen’s building. Turkey and dressing will be provided. Each member is asked to bring a vegetable, salad, or dessert. Anyone over the age of 50 is invited to attend. The seniors meet the first and third Tuesdays of each month at 6 p.m.
• The November general election will be Tuesday, Nov. 5. Early voting is Oct. 21 – Nov. 1. No local positions are contested.
• The Lion’s Club Halloween Carnival will be Saturday, Oct. 26 at 6:30 p.m. in the Glasscock County Community Center.
• Poinsettias are being sold by local 4-H’ers. The plants are $10 each and will be delivered the second week in December.
• The school library is open every Monday and Tuesday night from 6 to 9 p.m. for anyone who wants to use a computer or surf the Internet, according to School Superintendent Steve Long.
• A Rangeland and Watershed Restoration Demo will be held from 1:30 p.m. to 3:30 p.m. Nov .5 at the Wagon Wheel Ranch in Upton County. Topics include chemical IPT strategies for mesquite control, individual plant mesquite grubbing with backhoe, land reclamation with contour ripping/furrowing, and mapping with GIS. For more information, call Steve Sturtz at 354-2381.
• Spaces are still available in community computer classes, which are being held every Monday night from 5 to 6:30 p.m. in the elementary school computer lab (Kenneth Chandler’s room), according to Steve Long. The classes are free and began Oct. 14. The first sessions will teach basic computer skills, keyboarding, and how to use the Internet. Later sessions will cover Word, Power Point and Excel. Call 354-2230 to sign up.
• The Farm Services Agency’s County Committee election will be held this year in Local Administrative Area Number One, which is all portions of the county north of County Road 110 and Hwy. 158. That position is now held by Joe Melanie Calverley, who is not running for reelection. Generally, to be eligible for the committee, a person should live in LAA #1 and be eligible to participate in a local FSA program. Call 354-2391 for more specific information. Nominations are being taken until Oct. 28.
• The Glasscock Groundwater Conservation District’s board of directors elected Larry Wheat as its secretary and reelected Kenneth Braden chairman and Dennis Seidenberger vice-chairman at its meeting Sept. 17, with director Mike Hughes absent. District Manager Rick Harston reported that there would be no cloud seeding from October to March because of too few opportunities and the possibility of too much icing on the planes.
• Jackie Schaefer has been hired as the part-time secretary for the Texas Cooperative Extension Service. Steve Sturtz said there were seven applicants for the job.
• Clarification: Glasscock County has budgeted $100,000 for all road equipment, not just for a maintainer, as we indicated in the September issue of this newsletter.
County Court Supports Cloud Seeding
The Glasscock County Commissioners’ Court passed a resolution Oct. 14 supporting continuation of weather modification (cloud seeding) in the county and in areas adjacent to it. The Glasscock Groundwater Conservation District participates in the West Texas Weather Modification Association, which conducts a rainfall enhancement program in eight counties. The goal is to provide enhanced recharge of aquifers, increased runoff and economic benefits for the region. County Extension Agent Steve Sturtz advised the court of plumbing problems in the community center, and said the company that installed the plumbing is now out of business. He suggested having the building’s architect contact the general contractor to have the entire plumbing system re-inspected. The system’s warranty expires in January. Sturtz and the court decided to make parking places at the center ten feet wide rather than the regulation eight feet due to the number of pickups and Suburban-type vehicles driven here. Anna Flores, Alicia Frysak, Morgan Kight, Angela Schraeder, Keith Batla and Trey Hillger of the county’s 4-H council reported to the court on local 4-H activities. The court passed a resolution making October Czech Heritage Month in Glasscock County.
School Changes Pay Scale for Bus Drivers
At its regular meeting Oct.14, the GCISD School Board decided to change the salary schedule for bus drivers. They changed the pay scale slightly to start at $8.16 per hour and go to $12 per hour at 20 years, and eliminated the per child fee formerly paid drivers. In closed session, the board considered an agenda item regarding an interim high school principal, but took no action. The board, also in closed session, heard an appeal regarding a recent student discipline and upheld the administration’s decision in the matter. The board approved computer checkouts for students who don’t have access to a computer at home. School Superintendent Steve Long reported that old computers are being reconditioned by high school students for use as check-outs. Board member Cecilia Schwartz reported that she has had parents request that the school close its campus again, and she asked that discussion of that matter be put on the agenda for the November board meeting.
Water District Discusses Weather Modification
Glasscock Groundwater Conservation District Manager Rick Harston told the district’s board on Oct. 15 that 279 clouds had been seeded in the weather modification program between March and September. He said West Texas Weather Modification Association, of which the county is a part, is training two more pilots, one to be stationed in Midland and the other in San Angelo. Harston and the board discussed the High Plains Groundwater District suspending, then canceling its weather modification program because of continuing opposition from landowners, especially in Bailey County. He said he has been told that the program’s critics in the High Plains district control only four percent of the land in the district. He said there is also an effort in the Panhandle district to stop cloud seeding there. Harston said his understanding is that critics of the program believe the cloud seeding deprives some areas of rain by making it fall on other areas. He says 20 years of data has proven that isn’t true. Harston said a small but vocal number of people in various areas are trying to get state permitting and state funding for weather modification reduced or eliminated, which he said would effectively kill the projects across the state. GGCD directors seem solidly in favor of continuing the local cloud seeding effort, which has been going on for six years. They say that the planes flying out of Midland are giving Glasscock County better chances for rain by seeding clouds while they are building to our west. Director Dennis Seidenberger said one of the pilots had been skeptical of the effectiveness of seeding until he saw the almost instantaneous results inside seeded clouds. He said the pilot’s changed opinion had bolstered his own belief in the program. Seidenberger said the effort will not be stopped if the drought ends. He said that would be when there are more good opportunities for seeding. Harston agreed, and mentioned the need for recharge of aquifers and lakes.
About This Publication The next issue will be
Nov.13. The deadline for that issue is
Nov.11. 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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