Volume 62, Number 34
Azle News
Wednesday, February 5, 2014
THE
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Wacky weather quiz
Nine wrestlers headed for state
Page 1B
Page 10A Overcome by the Revolution
Spectators were treated to a preview performance of the Azle High School Indoor Drumline’s 2014 competition show,The Stand, Thursday, Jan. 30 in the AHS gym. Above, members of the drumline’s battery portray citizens 200 years in the future who have joined to put down an evil dictator who has taken power in America. The dictator, left front, is overcome by the revolution. Photo by Carla Noah Stutsman
Realignment unites Chamber honors Azle’s best Azle with Saginaw Take the Lake game is back on in 5-5A BY MARK K. CAMPBELL The biennial University Interscholastic League realignment keeps Azle traveling to Denton and Wichita Falls just like the past two years. However, for the school years 201415 and 2015-16, Azle will now just mosey over Eagle Mountain Lake to face the three Saginaw schools, too. Throw in Brewer and the fact that all classifi cations were bumped up one notch now that there’s a 6A in Texas and this is the new 5-5A: Azle Saginaw Saginaw Boswell Saginaw Chisholm Trail Denton Wichita Falls Wichita Falls Rider Brewer Azle ISD athletic director Scott Anderson said he felt the new alignment is “fair” as in even, he said. “I am pleased. It will be very competitive in every sport,” he said.
Traditional powers sent elsewhere Not having powerhouses Aledo and Denton Guyer as in the previous four years is nice, Anderson said. “So, everyone has a chance to win a district championship,” the AISD AD said. “But if you don’t play well, you can be out of the playoffs also.” He added that the addition of the Saginaw trio of schools and the retention of Brewer in White Settlement is nice, too. “It will be good to renew the old rivalries with Boswell and Saginaw and continue the one with Brewer,” Anderson said. The Boswell gridiron game – “Take the Lake” – has decades of tradition. And the Brewer football game has been building through recent years, too. While having trips to Wichita Falls and Denton means some travel, “that is better than Abilene and San Angelo,” he said.
BY CARLA NOAH STUTSMAN The movers and shakers of Azle’s business community gathered Friday night, Jan. 31, to honor those stars that shined the brightest among them in 2013. Most luminous of all the awards is the Bright Star Award, or Citizen of the Year. This year, the award was shared by good friends Dawn Zuilhof and Debra Jenkins, who have collectively “raised millions of dollars” for the public good in Azle.
Karen Kidd, an employee of the Azle Independent School District as well as independent Mary Kay consultant, was named Ambassador of the Year for her distinguished and devoted service to that group and the Chamber. Mark Laudenheimer, store manager at Brookshire’s, was selected Chamber Member of the Year. The Gold Star Award for Business of the Year went to Midwest Waste Services, owned by Kent Durham. Brian Rogers of Ace Hardware
received the Super Star Award for Businessman of the Year, while Paula Ambrose of Cafe Conversations was honored with the Twinkling Star Award for Businesswoman of the Year. The Shining Star Award for Beautifi cation and Improvement was given to Red’s Burger House. Laura’s Pharmacy was selected for the Rising Star Award for New BusiPLEASE SEE JENKINS, PAGE 3A.
Primary, general elections slated
BY CARLA NOAH STUTSMAN Election season is upon us and voters will be tasked with selecting statewide candidates in the upcoming primary election set for March 4, as well as electing representatives to local school boards and municipal councils. Early voting in the Republican and Democratic primary elections runs from Tuesday, Feb. 18 through Friday, Feb. 28. Specific dates and times are: PLEASE SEE TAKE, PAGE 2A.
• Tuesday-Friday, Feb. 18-21, 8 a.m.-5 p.m. • Saturday, Feb. 22, 7 a.m.-7 p.m. • Sunday, Feb. 23, 11 a.m.-4 p.m. • Monday-Friday, Feb. 24-28, 7 a.m.-7 p.m. The nearest locations for Azle area voters to vote early in Tarrant County include: • B.J. Clark Annex Room 4, 603 Southeast Parkway, Azle • Sheriff’s Office North Patrol Di-
vision, 6651 Lake Worth Boulevard, Lake Worth • Eagle Mountain-Saginaw ISD Administration Building 6 Training Room, 1200 Old Decatur Road, Saginaw White Settlement Public Library, 8215 White Settlement Road, White Settlement. Azle voters who live in Parker County may vote early at Azle MaPLEASE SEE ELECTION, PAGE 2A.
Quake concerns continue amid… a bubblin’ crude? BY CARLA NOAH STUTSMAN Although the ground-shaking seems to have slowed down around Azle, area residents still have concerns about the recent string of 30 quakes in 60 days. The last quake to occur in the Azle area was a 3.0 magnitude tremor Tuesday, Jan. 28, at 11:54 a.m. Its epicenter was calculated to be almost perfectly centered in a rectangle formed by FM 730 North, Peden Road, Liberty School Road and Moran Road, just north of the dead end on Schantile Drive. However, the U.S. Geological Survey (USGS) reported a magnitude 2.3 quake Sunday, Feb. 2 at 1:32 a.m. just east of Benbrook Lake. That quake’s epicenter is roughly halfway between the eastern shore of the lake and Old Granbury Road.
A view of that area on Google Earth reveals mostly barren land in a onemile radius of the epicenter – except for half a dozen oil and/or gas drilling pads. Hector Garcia of Reno doesn’t know what to think about the oily water that is bubbling up out of the ground in his backyard. Garcia and his wife, Alondra, built a new home on an acre of land about nine months ago. While clearing the back of the property recently, Garcia stepped into an area and quickly began sinking. “I was in above my ankles before I knew it,” Garcia said, shovel in hand. “It just seems to bubble up, and everywhere you dig, it fi lls with water mixed with oil.” Pointing to his lateral lines, Garcia says he doesn’t believe they are the problem, especially with a septic sys-
– is always soggy. tem that’s less than a year old. He’s checked with neighbors, as Garcia said he planned to talk with well, and so far, no one can come up Reno city offi cials about his concerns with a solution. and has left a message with the Texas Garcia fears underground pipelines Railroad Commission. and/or horizontal drilling pipes may have broken due to the recent earthquakes, causing water mixed with oil to rise to the surface. Even in the drought-like conditions the area has experienced, Garcia says the area in his backyard – only about two Water and oil are bubbling up in Hector Garcia’s back yard, causing him to wonder if Photo by Carla Noah Stutsman feet by three feet recent earthquakes have damaged underground pipes.
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In February 2004, the UIL realignmen t put Azle in 7-4A with Arlington Seguin, Birdville, Springtown, and four Fort Worth Schools – Carter-Riverside, Diamond Hill-Jarvis, Eastern Hills, and North Side. Fort Worth ISD appealed but lost.
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