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Current Weekly News for Leakey, Camp Wood, Sabinal, Utopia and Surrounding Areas Vol. 4 No. 34
INSIDE
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UPDATE ON THE BORDER CRISIS ............................ Page 2
Hardy Baccus clan peppered with honor and heartbreak
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LEAKEY ISD TRUSTEES AUTHORIZE SALE OF BONDS by Julie Becker
At a Special Called Meeting of the Leakey ISD Board of Trustees on Friday, August 15th, Trustees adopted an Order authorizing the Issuance, Sale, and Delivery of Leakey Independent School District Unlimited Tax School Building Bonds. Andrew Clark, attorney for the District, advised the Trustees, while reviewing necessary documentation for issuance of the bonds it was discovered the District failed to hold an election at the beginning of their Chapter 41 status for voter approval. Required by the Texas Education Agency to equalize LISD’s wealth-per-student level to the state average, trustees called for a Nov. 4 Special Chapter 41 election during a Special Called Meeting on Monday August 18, 2014. Voters will be asked to vote on authorizing LISD trustees to “purchase attendance credits from the
state with local tax revenues. LISD is considered a “property wealthy” or Chapter 41 district because its property tax base exceeds the maximum levels allowed, as defined by Chapter 41 of the Texas Education Code. As a result, LISD must equalize its wealth-per-student level and return funds to the state. Clark advised the Trustees “At this point it is merely a formality.” Trustees approved the Financial Advisory Agreement between LISD and First Southwest Company. (see purchase information page 5) The sell of bonds was approved by voters to facilitate the construction of a new classroom, gym and cafeteria building. Demolition of the old buildings is scheduled for this month. continued page 2
Emergency Medical Services driver Fredrico “Freddy” Aviles along with companion, Roxane Alvarado, of 605 North West Front Street in Sabinal, were arrested Saturday night, booked in the wee hours Sunday morning at Uvalde County Jail. Sabinal Police Department officers and Department of Public Safety officer served warrants,
handcuffed them and separated them in different vehicles. Holding a search warrant, the home was found to have 3 grams of cocaine, 5 grams of methamphetamine, along with 1.6 ounces of marijuana. Street value of the drugs seized was approximately $2,050. Aviles is already out of jail but Alvarado remains in custody. She
The Spirit of ‘45
State News .................... Page 2 Legals/Jail Register ...... Page 3 Community News ......... Page 4-6 Feature Story ................. Page 7 Obituaries ...................... Page 8 Classifieds ..................... Page 12
Today’s Weather
High:99° Low: 77°
AREA RAINFALL TOTALS
is on probation out of San Antonio. Because of Aviles’s connection to the Sabinal Emergency Medical Services, his fate as a driver will be discussed Tuesday evening, past my deadline. His history of reported driving while intoxicated and domestic violence will reportedly be discussed as well as his recent arrest.
Born on the Ellis Ranch on February 3, 1928, the son of Vollie and May Pierce, Bill R. Pierce attended school at Camp Wood, a graduate of the class of ‘45. He went into an Army program at the college level for 17 year old boys in Texas and neighboring states at Texas A & M University, a course in engineering through the Army Reserves. It was offered with the understanding that at 18, they went into active duty, and when the time came, he reported in at Fort Sam Houston. Basic for Bill was at Fort Bliss in air defense artillery, then on to Fort Sill, Oklahoma to field artillery school. He served a year and was discharged at the age of 19. On the GI Bill, he then enrolled at the University of Houston where he obtained a business administration degree. The Army established the ROTC program and he graduated from it in June 1950, as a military distinguished cadet. On June 25, the Korean War broke out and he applied for active duty. He was assigned first to Fort Lee, Virginia for one year, where he was involved in basic combat training of new soldiers, and then to the San Antonio General Depot for a year and a half, where he was on July 27, 1953 at the end of the Korean War. Next up was Air Defense Artillary School at Fort Bliss, followed by an assignment at Fort Carson, Colorado. He then went to Fort Knox, Kentucky in 1955, was assigned to to the third Armored
LEAKEY - 2.0 CAMP WOOD - 1.10 SABINAL - 2.7 BARKSDALE - 1.8 UTOPIA - 3.75
By: Joel Pigg, General Manager
River flows were taken on the Frio River on August 7th and Nueces River on August 8th with all of the flows down considerably from last the measurement. A simple reminder if you are at your favorite swimming hole and it is around a culvert and you notice blockage, do not try to clear the blockage; it could be dangerous. Now the other side of that coin; I know we all like a good deep hole to relax in, but do not move rocks into the culverts and block them as this causes many problems when we get a rise in the river. Fulgham’s Crossing just south of the Alto Frio Baptist Encampment had a flow of 10,623 gpm (gallons per minute) last measurement and now has a flow of 4,351 gpm. This is approximately a 60% drop in the flow during one of the “hottest” months
Leakey FFA Members Attend Texas FFA Convention in Fort Worth
INDEX
Charlie Reagor, LISD Board President, and Shawn Gray, Secretary, sign the documents authorizing the sale of Leakey ISD school bonds, under the supervision of board bond attorney, Andrew Clark.
by Billie Franklin
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photo submitted by LISD
Suspected Drug Dealers Arrested In Sabinal
Water News and River Flows
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August 20, 2014
editor@hillcountryherald.net
of our summer. This site looks “OK” for now but one of the culverts has a lot of debris in it; the three culverts on the Rio Frio end have quite flowing again. The Leakey Springs Crossing had a flow of 4,147 gpm last measurement and a flow of 2,592 gpm this reading which is about a 40% reduction of flow. The Mill Creek Crossing is flowing about 20% lower than the last measurement, there are culverts on the south end of this crossing that have no flow reading, this crossing has a flow of 4,594 gpm this measurement down from the flow last measurement of 5,721 gpm. The Frio River Place Crossing this week has dropped considerably since the reading in June. This measurement was 5,568 gpm and the last reading was 15,663 gpm or about a 65% reduction in flow rate. continued page 6
by Billie Franklin
Division, serving from 1956 to 1959 as platoon leader and company commander there and Frankfurt, Germany, and was awarded the Army Commendation Medal in 1959. He was then assigned to the Quartermaster School at Fort Lee, Virginia from 1959 to 1961. He was then selected to attended the Univeristy
of Texas, where he received a Masters Degree in business administration in 1962. He was then assigned to the 8th Army Headquarters in Seoul, Korea, serving as a general staff officer for one year. He next went to Munich and Augsburg, Germany as a quartermaster supply officer. He attended the Army Command and General Staff College at Fort Leavenworth, Kansas, for six months, He was next assigned to the Headquarters of the Third Corps at Fort Hood, Texas, as a general staff officer. With the buildup of troops in Vietnam, he was then transferred as a general staff officer just after the TET offensive in 1968. For his service during Vietnam, he received the Bronze Start Medal. He served at Karlsruhe, Germany in the U
S Army Computer Systems Command. There he remained until his retirement in 1971, with the rank of lieutenant colonel, the only soldier to obtain the rank of Lieutenant Colonel from the Nueces Canyon. He had served 26 years in the military. But he wasn’t finished yet. He moved to Austin to be near friends and relatives and went to work for the Texas Department of Human Services as an administrative assistant staff officer, working from 1971 through 1990 when he then retired. Bill belongs to the Military Officers Association, American Legion, and the Admiral Nimitz Foundation. The latter is the one he is very proud of, recruiting donors primarily from Camp Wood, and the Nueces Canyon, but also Austin and Uvalde, for engraved bricks honoring all branches of service men and women who have been in service to their country. He is also a Master Mason, teaches a one hour class each year at Nueces Canyon high school on the history of Nueces Canyon and Texas history. He is married to Christa Neuroth of Frankfurt, Germany. On Friday August 29, Bill, along with several other major donors, will be honored at the Admiral Nimitz Museum located in Fredericksburg, Texas., for his contributions to the Admiral Nimitz Foundation, which are ongoing. He’s not finished yet.