The Azle News

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Volume 63, Number 20

www.azlenews.net

From Nashville to the pulpit

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Best of Azle 2014

AHS racers qualify for Region 1 XC meet

BEST of Azle 2014

THE

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Azle News

Wednesday, October 29, 2014

Insurance Agency

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ral Home

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Bronco Bustin’

Azle quarterback Jamie King is off to the races while Denton Broncos try to catch up Friday, Oct. 24. The Hornet rushed deep into Denton territory before getting hauled down. On the next play, Hornet back Chase Smith punched it in as Azle took control of District 5-5A with a 55-34 victory. Photo by Mark K. Campbell

Garza released from jail by carla noah stutsman April 5, 2014 was a night several Azle police officers will never forget. That’s the evening 26-year-old Robert Rubin Garza III of Springtown wreaked havoc in the parking lot of the Azle Police Department, crashing into a parked police vehicle and injuring two Azle officers. It took those two officers and two additional officers to subdue Garza and take him into custody. Garza reportedly told officers his attack was committed “on purpose.” The Azle News has learned that Garza was released from the Tarrant County jail on Sept. 26. He had been held there on five separate charges stemming from the incident since April 5. Azle Officer Richard Martinez, who was injured in the Garza incident on

April 5, suffered more serious injuries than were first thought and has not yet been medically cleared to return to active duty. According to court records, Garza was sentenced to 90 days in jail for a charge of driving while intoxicated with an open container, a class B misdemeanor. That sentence was fulfilled while he waited in jail to face additional charges. On Sept. 26, Garza pleaded guilty to three counts of assault on a public servant, a third-degree felony. He was sentenced to 84 months (seven years) deferred adjudication for each of those three charges. On the same day, Garza also pleaded guilty to a charge of criminal mischief $1,500-20,000 for damages he caused to the Azle police vehicle. He was sentenced to 60 months (five years) de-

Halloween House

Man who attacked APD officers gets deferred adjudication

ferred adjudication. Deferred adjudication is a type of probation that defers the finding of guilt, even though a defendant enters a guilty plea. If the probation period is successfully completed, the case does not appear in the defendant’s criminal history as a conviction. Court records indicate a psychiatric evaluation was conducted on Garza June 5 and that he was found to be competent on June 24. According to Azle Police Department Lt. Bill Russell, Garza’s mother called the department last week to express some concerns – both for her son and for Azle police officers. “His (Garza’s) mother was concerned for our safety and took the proactive step of calling to let us know,” Russell said. “We are very grateful for her cooperation and certainly con-

cerned for her and her son.” Garza’s mother told police her son has been having psychotic episodes, possibly due to not taking prescribed medications. She expressed concern he might try to make his way back to the Azle PD. Russell said the department conducted roll call briefings to make all patrol officers and investigators aware of Garza’s release as well as his potential state of mind. “We applaud her (Garza’s mother) for taking that step to contact us,” Russell said. “Now we can do our best to handle him in the most dignified way and get him the medical attention he might need if we are to run across him. “My heart goes out to this mother who is concerned for her son, but concerned for our safety, as well.”

Robert Rubin Garza III

We’re No. 4! City’s new rating may reduce insurance rates by carla noah stutsman For years – actually decades – the Azle Fire Department has worked diligently to improve the city of Azle’s Insurance Services Office Inc. (ISO) Public Protection Classification (PPC) rating. That rating impacts insurance rates in areas protected by the department. Like most small towns, Azle – un-

der the old “key rate” system used prior to the implementation of ISO – had a rating of 10 for many years. When the key rate was replaced by PPC, the AFD submitted information that improved its rating from 10 to 6. That rating went into effect in 1999. Now, the city has been notified its PPC rating has improved again – from 6 to 4. The change goes into ef-

fect Dec. 1. The city joins just 308 Texas cities with a PPC rating of 4 – 2,619 cities in Texas are rated by the system. Nationwide, 49,010 cities are rated by ISO; Azle joins 5,216 others with a PPC 4 rating. What does all this mean for resiPLEASE SEE NEW, PAGE 2A.

Early voting ends on Oct. 31 Watch for little ones this Halloween. The holiday falls on a Friday and an exceptional amount of traffic is expected in town and around Hornet Field when Azle hosts football rival Brewer on AHS’ Senior Night. Photo by Carla Noah Stutsman

Early voting continues across the state through Friday, Oct. 31. When polls closed for the day Monday, Oct. 27 in early voting at the B.J. Clark Annex, 886 people had cast votes there in the Nov. 4 General Election. Across Tarrant County, 99,967 early votes had been cast (including Azle’s 886) and 22,400 more recorded by mail. Voters across Texas will decide nu-

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This Week in 1 Year Ago Azle History

merous races for elected offices, including Governor, Lt. Governor and other state offices. They also vote for or against Proposition I, which will dedicate a portion of the state’s “Rainy Day Fund” to be used for completion of transportation construction, maintenance and rehabilitation projects, not including toll roads, if approved. Within the city of Azle, and regardless of whether they live in Parker or

Tarrant County, voters are charged with deciding whether to renew a one-fourth of one percent (¼ of one cent) sales and use tax to continue to provide revenue for maintenance and repair of municipal streets. Residents in Parker County Precinct One – generally in the northeast portion of the county around Azle and Springtown and stretching toward Weatherford – will elect PLEASE SEE OCT. 31, PAGE 3A.

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On Nov. 5 last year, Azle voters overwhelmingly approved a $20 million school bond package that included sprinkling AHS, a new tech and career center, and a competitive gym.

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$1 Azle, Texas 76020


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