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$1.00 Vol. 162, No. 18
coloradocountycitizen.com
Wednesday, May 1, 2019
24 pages, 2 inserts
SKULL CREEK
COLORADO RIVER at Columbus
BANKFULL
30
FLOOD
34
STAGE
13.87
FLOW
4048
AG: “Conditions… have only worsened” BY VINCE LEIBOWITZ vince@coloradocountycitizen.com
Levels are as of 11:45 a.m. April 30, 2019
BRING THE THUNDER
AUSTIN — Conditions at Inland Environmental & Remediation and at Skull Creek near Altair are getting worse, not better, attorneys for the state argued in state district court before a state district
judge yesterday in Austin during hearings on continuances and extending the currently in place temporary restraining order issued late last month ultimately resulting in a more restrictive order against the company.
■ AG, 7
SKULL CREEK: CONTINUING COVERAGE RRC records allege Inland discharged directly in to Skull Creek, 12
Thunder on the Colorado truck and tractor pull is this weekend in Columbus, 7 STATE BOUND
As pollution began, business as usual for Inland, 12
DSHS: No money for testing BY VINCE LEIBOWITZ vince@coloradocountycitizen.com
ALTAIR—A spokesperson for the Texas Department of State Health Services, the state agency responsible for issuing fishing advisories and bans on Texas waterways, told The Citizen
Monday the agency did not have money for water and other testing necessary to determine if contamination in the Colorado River at its confluence with Skull Creek was sufficient to issue a ban or advisory.
Citizen | Vince Leibowitz A sign erected by Colorado County warning of hazardous conditions at Skull Creek is shown early Monday evening as polluted water runs over the low water crossing at County Road 16. It is unknown who tied the handmade cross to the sign.
■ DSHS, 7
SPRING FESTIVAL FUN
Howard named CHS distinguished alumni
Golf, track athletes head to state, 9
HERCHEK RECEIVES SCHOLARSHIP
The local chapter of the Texas German Society has awarded its annual scholarship to Columbus High School’s Evan Herchek, 23
Michelle Banse Stokes | Citizen
Both old and young alike enjoyed the St. Michael Spring Festival in Weimar Sunday. If you missed out on this festival, there’s always another one around the corner. Queen of the Holy Rosary Catholic Church in Hostyn will host their annual Mayfest this coming Sunday with a Polka Mass at 10 a.m., a barbecue and sausage meal, and music by Texas Sound Check from 11 a.m. to 3 p.m. and Czechaholics from 3:30 to 7:30 p.m.
KINDNESS GOES VIRAL
National Day of Prayer tomorrow A Weimar Police Officer’s recent kindness to a stranded motorist has gone viral, 7
ALSO INSIDE Editor’s Note: Regular features Around Columbus, Weimar, and Eagle Lake, and A Look Back will return next week. They do not appear this week due to space constraints created by developing Skull Creek news. Applause ...................................................5 Around The County ....................................6 Church Page ............................................18 Classifieds ......................................... 20-22 Sports ................................................. 8-10 Obituaries ...........................................2, 22 Police & Courts ........................................13 Viewpoints ...............................................4
The Columbus Christian Women’s Organization has announced that observances for this year’s National Day of Prayer will be at noon this Thursday, May 2, on the Colorado County Courthouse Square. The national theme for this year’s observance is “Love One Another.”
The National Day of Prayer is an annual observance held on the first Thursday of May, inviting people of all faiths to pray for the nation. It was created in 1952 by a joint resolution of the United States Congress, and signed into law by President Harry S. Truman.
Dr. Lonnie L. Howard, president of Lamar Institute of Technology in Beaumont and a 1976 graduate of Columbus High School, has been named the 2019 Columbus Schools Distinguished Alumni. Howard will be recognized Thursday, May 15, during ceremonies as part of CHS’s annual academic awards ceremony, beginning at 6 p.m. Howard is the son of the late Lonnie Howard Howard of Eagle Lake and Mervie Howard of Alleyton. The son of a South East Texas sharecropper, Howard was born in a 4-room shack with no indoor plumbing. Placed in remedial classes and not viewed as college material, he had few options after high school. Due to his love of country, he joined the US Army.
■ HOWARD, 7
Sheridan’s new sewer system soon to be online BY VINCE LEIBOWITZ vince@coloradocountycitizen.com
SHERIDAN—Sheridan residents will soon be the beneficiaries of a brand new sewer treatment plant, several years in the making, thanks to the efforts of the Sheridan Water Supply Corporation. While area residents may not notice a difference in the way their waste is disposed from the consumer end, the changes mean increased capacity for this rural water supply in southwestern Colorado County. “The one we have was 25 years old and was used when we got it,” said Cliff Denton, Presi-
Citizen | Vince Leibowitz
Cliff Denton, President of the Sheridan Water Supply Corporation, stands atop the water supply’s new 50,000 sewer treatment plant while inspecting the ongoing construction last Thursday.
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50,000 gallon per day capacity. “This one has all modern day technology,” Denton said. “It uses gaseous chlorine instead of liquid,” to treat the waste, he said.
dent of the Sheridan WSC. “It is 50 plus years old,” Denton said. The new sewer plant, secured with the help of a roughly $700,000 loan from the US Department of Agriculture, has a
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Denton said it was rare for rural water supply systems to have sewer systems for their customers, although only a portion of the WSC’s 377 water customers are in areas served by the sewer plant. The system has 198 sewer customers. The plant, expected to be online later this month, isn’t the only improvement on tap for the Sheridan’s water system. The WSC has been approved for another $500,000 loan for an elevated water tower. “We are very proud of it,” Denton said of the supply’s new sewer plant. “It’s been a long time coming,” he said.
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P. O. Box 548 • 2024 Highway 71 • Columbus, TX 78934 • (979) 732-2304 • publisher@coloradocountycitizen.com