The Azle News

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Volume 62, Number 9

Azle News

Wednesday, August 14, 2013

THE

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Group floods Texans with droughtdeflecting ideas Page 1B

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School bond election set for Nov. 5 By MARK K. CAMPBELL A special Aug. 13 meeting at Azle High School of the Board of Trustees of the Azle Independent School District called for a $20 million bond election. Voters will decide on the package November 5. The total annual cost to a district homeowner would be $25.32. Even with the $2.11 monthly increase, AISD would remain the lowest tax rate among other district’s in the area. Taxes remain frozen for those 65

Azle Hornets

or older. Earlier, at the Aug. 7 Gold Card luncheon – which had its biggest attendance ever – AISD superintendent Dr. Ray Lea explained much of the bond package to the assembled. Two major buildings are included in the vote: a Career and Technology Education (CATE) center and a new competitive/performance gymnasium. Required sprinkler system will also be part of the bond. A short video illustrated the PLEASE SEE $20 MILLION, PAGE 2A.

Blaisdell pulls trigger on retirement APD vet to become Tarrant County DA investigator By CARLA NOAH STUTSMAN After a storied 28-year career in law enforcement – 23 of those years with the Azle Police Department – Lt. Lee Blaisdell has announced his retirement effective Aug. 23. But at the tender age of 46, the veteran cop isn’t throwing down the badge. He’s embarking on what he thinks may be the best opportunity of his lifetime. Blaisdell was recently hired to be an investigator with the Tarrant County District Attorney’s Office, a position he has been eyeing for several years. “It’s a difficult job to get, and it’s not a job anyone ever leaves for a better one,” Blaisdell said. “I’m excited, but I’m also a little nervous and I’m sad to be leaving here – this is my home.” Growing up Lee Blaisdell grew up in Azle in a family that taught him to love law enforcement and to love the water. He’s a 1985 graduate of Azle High School. His father, Jerry Blaisdell, retired a captain from the Fort Worth Police Department in 1985 following a

notable career as an undercover narcotics cop. Then he served as Weatherford Police Chief for seven years before becoming Weatherford’s city manager, a position he still holds. Lee and his younger brother, Bruce, both decided as young men barely out of high school to follow in their father’s footsteps. Their sister, Shannon, is the only sibling that didn’t take the law enforcement route. Bruce, a longtime Fort Worth Police Officer, is currently assigned to the North Texas High Intensity Drug Trafficking Area (North Texas HIDTA) task force. Living near several lakes afforded the Blaisdell family lots of opportunities to fish and boat, and when he’s not chasing bad guys, Blaisdell has always enjoyed being on the water.

After the first-ever Midnight Madness event became the initial football practice on the improved Hornet Field Aug. 12, soon two-a-day practices got down to hours of speed and strength drilling – like flipping a giant tire over and over. Photo by Mark K. Campbell

Man found dead in apparent drowning Authorities say victim was reported missing earlier the same day By CHRIS AGEE Tarrant County Sheriff’s deputies responded to a reported drowning Aug. 12 on Power Squadron Road near Pelican Bay. While Tarrant Regional Water District officers ultimately had jurisdiction in the case, the drowning victim was identified as a missing person in a case deputies were investigating. “We got the call at 7:57 [that] morning,” said TCSO spokesman Terry Grisham. “We received another call at 7:45, just a few minutes prior. The caller said her husband was missing; he had been camping for two days. We opened a missing persons report at that time.” At first, he said, authorities could not definitively determine whether the two cases were related.

Career Lt. Blaisdell has seen many sides of law enforcement, from jail operations to an intense three-year assignment to the Tarrant County Auto Theft Task Force. PLEASE SEE AZLE, PAGE 3A.

“Not until the M.E. made positive identification,” he explained. “We determined the deceased individual in the lake was the person we were looking for.” The Tarrant County Medical Examiner’s Office identified the victim as Aaron Winterberg, 36, of Tarrant County. He died near a boat dock in the 10900 block of Power Squadron Road at 8:18 a.m., according to the report. As of Aug. 13, a cause or manner of his death had not been officially determined. According to a TRWD incident summary report, officers received a report around 8 a.m. describing a person laying face down on Eagle Mountain Lake. Upon arrival, officers observed the individual floating in shallow water. He was pronounced dead by a member of the Azle PLEASE SEE MISSING, PAGE 2A.

Champion bull rider brings rodeo to Wild West Arena By CHRIS AGEE A day of rodeo action is set for Aug. 24 at the Wild West Arena in Azle. The Azle Bulls and Barrels event kicks off with barrel races at 3 p.m., according to promoter Kelly Clark of Chute 2 Productions. At 5 p.m., Azle Christian School is sponsoring mutton busting, and the main event bull-riding exhibition is set to begin at 7 p.m. “It’s real, live bull riding and it’s going to be one block off of Main Street in downtown Azle, Texas,” he said. While he has brought similar shows to neighboring communities, Clark said this will be his first Azle event. “We’ve done a couple on the other side of the lake [in] Haslett and Justin,” he said. “Both of the mayors talk

This bull rider holds on to a bucking behemoth during a Chute 2 Promotions event in Justin earlier this summer. Promoter Kelly Clark is bringing a similar event to Azle’s Wild West Arena Aug. 24.

Follow us on Twitter @TheAzleNews THIS WEEK’S QUESTION: Is the beach better than the mountains for a summer vacation?

Vote at www.azlenews.net

LAST WEEK’S POLL: Should the Aggies banish Johnny Football?

YES: 7 votes, 70 percent 

 NO: 3 votes, 30 percent

about how it brings the community together with local advertisers and the public to come out and enjoy.” He said a 9-foot by 16-foot screen will show instant replays and other unique moments, allowing spectators to better follow the fast-paced action of the rodeo. A champion bull rider, Clark said he has been promoting such sporting events for the past two decades and looks forward to sharing the fun with this community. In addition to activities inside the arena, a bounce house and local vendors will be set up on the property. Gates open at 2 p.m. and admission is $7 for adults. Children 12 and under will get in for $4 and admission is free for those under 6. Wild West Arena is located across from Ash Creek Baptist Church on Stewart Street.

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