Volume 62, Number 28
Azle News
Wednesday, December 25, 2013
THE
www.azlenews.net
Azle man pens Alabama Christmas Page 1B on the River song
Hornets drop district hoops opener Page 8A
Appian Way home leveled by gas explosion
Firefighters quickly put out a fire that resulted from a propane explosion in the 6500 block of Appian Way Tuesday, Dec. 17. At least one dog was killed in the blast, but no other casualties were reported. Photo by Carla Noah Stutsman
Owner, feared lost, returned from shopping to find house gone BY CARLA NOAH STUTSMAN that if her vehicle was parked at her home, she was there. Barbara Pickard is lucky to be alive. Fortunately, that was not the case. The Azle woman, who lived in the 6500 block Pickard’s home was leveled by an explosion and of Appian Way, is known in the neighborhood subsequent fire Tuesday, Dec. 17, about 4:40 p.m. for her love of animals. The explosion was mistaken by people as far And neighbors were sure on Tuesday evening
away as Briar as another earthquake. ard told reporters. Pickard arrived later in the evening to find She’d taken off work early, treated herself to Appian Way blocked by fire apparatus from nu- lunch out, and gone Christmas shopping. merous agencies, all of which responded to the At one point, she saw the large plume of initial call of an explosion and fire. smoke that was ironically coming from her nowShe had done something she rarely does, PickPLEASE SEE PROPANE, PAGE 2A.
Wandering baby turned in at ‘Bay PD BY CARLA NOAH STUTSMAN In his 30-year law enforcement career, Pelican Bay Assist Police Chief Stephen Combs says he’s seen many things “turned in” at police departments. But never – until now – a baby. According to Combs, a woman ap-
peared at the Pelican Bay Police Department about 3 p.m. Monday, Dec. 16 with a 19-month-old baby boy she found crawling on a roadway. The woman told police she was driving in the 1400 block of Sheri Lane North when she spotted something in the roadway. As she neared the object,
Oath of Office
she began to realize it was a baby. The woman stopped, picked up the child, and looked around the area but saw no one outside. Her instinctive reaction was to take the baby to the police department just a couple of blocks away, she told police. At the time, there had been no children reported missing, Combs said. An arrest affidavit obtained by the Azle News says the child appeared to be in very good health other than being extremely dirty.
“The child’s diaper was dirty and when (the woman) sat the child down, live cockroaches came out of the child’s diaper,” the affidavit stated. The boy’s knees were also scraped, according to a press release issued by Combs, presumably from crawling on the asphalt roadway. At 3:35 p.m. a woman identified at Tiffany Jenkins, a Pelican Bay resident, walked up to the police department and asked if anyone had found her baby.
Tiffany Jenkins … charged with endangering child
PLEASE SEE MOTHER, PAGE 3A.
Let’s get ready to rumble! TRC to hold earthquake Town Hall meeting in Azle BY CARLA NOAH STUTSMAN If you’ve been wanting to publicly express your opinion on the recent spate of earthquakes around here then you’re in luck. Texas Railroad Commissioner David Porter has responded to Azle Mayor Alan Brundrett’s request for a formal investigation into the cause of a series of a swarm of earthquakes that began occurring in the Azle, Reno and Springtown areas Nov. 5. Porter contacted Brundrett Tuesday to set up a Town Hall meeting in Azle. At that meeting, Porter will listen to Azle’s newest police officer was officially sworn in during the city council meeting Tuesday, Dec. 17. Above, Officer Alejandro resident’s concerns and outline what (Alex) Kuenzle, left, is congratulated by Mayor Alan Brundrett who he plans to do as Texas Railroad Comadministered the oath of office. Photo by Carla Noah Stutsman missioner. Other state and local offi-
Follow us on Twitter @TheAzleNews THIS WEEK’S QUESTION: Did you make any New Year’s resolutions?
Vote at www.azlenews.net
LAST WEEK’S POLL: Have you gotten all of your Christmas shopping done?
YES: 67 percent
NO: 33 percent
cials will be in attendance. The Town Hall meeting hosted by Porter is slated for Thursday, Jan. 2, 2014, from 5-7 p.m. at the Azle High School auditorium and is free to attend. The TRC is comprised of Chairman Barry T. Smitherman, Commissioner Porter and Commissioner Christi Craddick, along with a staff of 20. The Commission regulates the oil and gas industry, gas utilities, pipeline safety, safety in the liquefied petroleum gas industry, and surface coal and uranium mining in the state of Texas. And whether it’s true or not, there’s a widely-held belief that the area
earthquakes are somehow related to the oil and gas industry. Some blame fracking, but there’s more evidence to suggest the cause may actually be the disposal of saltwater from the fracking process into injection wells. That’s where the TRC comes in. Brundrett said that although Porter indicated he was responding to the request for a formal investigation into the earthquakes, such an investigation was not further discussed in the conversation. Anyone who wants information or has questions about the earthquakes is encouraged to attend this Town Hall meeting.
Like The Azle News on Facebook 20 pages plus supplements
$1 Azle, Texas 76020