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Volume 51, Number 48
$1 Springtown, Texas 76082
What a difference a week makes! Back on March 5, man, beast, and bird were hunkered down, enduring another late winter snowfall. A week later, spring began bursting out with plants and trees blooming everywhere – including this peach blossom. Despite our recent drought, the area is more than 2 inches above its usual rainfall totals so far in 2015. Photos by Paula Campbell
Deep water
Moose mess-up
As new GM, Shaw stresses importance of groundwater
Springtown man fined $2,000 for failure to ‘salvage meat’ following hunt in Alaska
BY NATALIE GENTRY “Water is the driving force of all nature.” -Leonardo da Vinci As the new general manager for the Upper Trinity Groundwater Conservation District (UTGCD), Springtown resident Doug Shaw brings a vast array of experience to the table that will assist the UTGCD as it continues to manage the area’s groundwater. Past Shaw grew up on a dairy in Godley, and after finishing high school, studied agricultural economics at Tarleton State University where he earned both his Bachelor of Science and Master of Science degrees.
Doug Shaw, new manager at the Upper Trinity Groundwater Conservation district, plans to use education, data collection, and cooperation to help manage and mainPLEASE SEE SHAW, PAGE 4A. tain the areas groundwater resources. Photo by Natalie Gentry
400 Wins
Springtown High School baseball coach Stan Gideon won his 400th game as a head coach when the Porcupines beat Childress 17-9 March 13. After stops at Granbury, San Antonio Alamo Heights, and Northwest, Gideon arrived at SHS last season. He lauded the district’s administrative support, the community, and SISD’s exceptional facilities as positives for coaching here. Plus: “I also have two of my own kids in high school currently, which makes this a very special time for me to teach and coach.” Photo by Mark K. Campbell
BY NATALIE GENTRY Donald Lamont of Springtown pleaded guilty Wednesday, March 10 in Aniak, Alaska District Court to charges of failure to salvage all edible meat and transport of moose antlers from a kill site before all meat had been salvaged. Lamont was charged after he killed a moose in Alaska, but left much of the meat to rot. As a result of his plea, he forfeited the antlers, faces two years of probation, and was fined $4,500; however, $2,500 of the fine was suspended. The charge stems from September 2014, when Alaska wildlife troopers at the kill site discovered that meat had not been removed from the moose’s neck, ribs, inner loins and lower legs. Nor had the animal been gutted. At about the same time, troopers patrolling from the air spotted Lamont and a companion rafting the south fork of the Kuskokwim River with antlers and game bags.
Reno council douses VFD fee; it’s now voluntary once more BY NATALIE GENTRY The Reno City Council voted unanimously to strike the public safety fee from the city water bill and reinstate the voluntary Fire Department donation option that was previously offered. “The main concern I’ve heard during my conversations with citizens about the fee is that they don’t know exactly where their money is going,” said Briar Reno Fire Chief Shannon Smithers. Mayor Lynda Stokes noted that because many community members disagreed with the implementation of the fee, they stopped contributing donations directly to the Briar Reno Volunteer Fire Department (VFD) and the department ultimately lost a significant amount of funding. The fee was put in place back in October in an effort to help recuperate costs necessitated by the public safety apparatus. For example, the fire trucks use a substantial amount of water, so some of the money gathered from the fees would help reimburse the water department for its loss. However, because of the community’s confusion and concern about the Briar-Reno VFD Chief Shannon Smithers addresses the Reno City fee the council voted unanimously to Council March 16 to discuss concerns about the public safety fee revert back to the voluntary donation. instituted October 1. Photo by Natalie Gentry
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