Saturday, November 26, 2016
Small Business Saturday Don't forget to shop local today.
Volume 118, Number 43 8 Pages $1.00 www.HerefordBRAND.com
Head Start info set Tues.
City gets lowdown on meters
Parents and guardians of Deaf Smith County children nearing school age will have the opportunity to get the lowdown on early-education assistance next week. Region 16 Head Start will host an eligibility screening clinic at Stanton Learning Center on Tuesday from 9 a.m.-4 p.m. Region 16 provides both center- and home-based educational programs out of Stanton. In addition to the education and nutritional benefits of the program, Head Start also provides medical and dental exams, mental health observations, parenting classes and GED and ESL classes, as well as parent meetings. All children who will be 4 years old by Sept. 1 are eligible to apply for the program, but acceptance is dependent upon meeting specific criteria. Children are accepted if the family meets federal income guidelines. A family receiving TANF or Social Security benefits is also qualified. Other criteria include any child with a documented disability and any child in foster care. Officials recommend those wishing to enroll to bring specific documentation to verify qualification. In addition to the child’s birth certificate, Social Security, immunization and Medicaid cards will be needed. Other documentation required includes income verification via a current tax return and information on child support and financial aid, and a letter verifying benefits from TANF, Social Security, SNAP and/or HUD. For details, contact Head Start family services assistant May Jan Granado at 806-363-7610.
Ways for the city and its residents to get a firm grasp on water usage were the dominate topic at Monday’s regular meeting of the Hereford City Commission. For the second time this year, representatives from Master Meter in Mansfield made a presentation to commissioners on automated water meters. After an initial presentation in June, Master Meter has been analyzing a number of city water meters during the past several months to determine how its system would aid the city. While some of the results were mixed, study showed an automated system could benefit both the city and residents. “The system is set up to remotely monitor and manage maintenance, as well as diagnose problems as and before they happen,” Master Meter’s Ric O’Connor said. “The meters do hourly readings, and those can help customers manage their water use and expenses,” Water meters in Hereford are currently read manually. Other utility companies – most notably electric companies – have begun using an automated system that reads meters via hand-held devices as an employee drives by. The automated water meter system takes that further in that all readings and information are immediately transmitted to a data cloud and dispersed as needed. “When problems occur, the system is designed to send alarms to the overall service entity and even to individual customers,” O’Connor said. Touting the process as being “more advanced as ever,” O’Connor showed where its readings have been used in other cities to rectify and solve numerous issues between provider and customer. Lauding the city for its belowaverage percentage of lost water, O’Connor added that analyzing the local meters showed an automated system would increase revenues by a projected $150,000. The automated system would also remove the city’s need to repair and purchase water meters – something $25,000 has been spent on during the past five years.
By John Carson BRAND Managing Editor
From Staff Reports
More than just caroling BRAND/Chris Aguilar
Students from Aikman E lementar y School performed a variety of songs for classmates, parents, staff and residents at Hereford Senior Center during this year's Festival of Trees. Following the per formance students were able to view the Christmas village surrounded by a powered train. Lights were dimmed in order for students to get the full effect of Christmas morning. Later students were treated with a candy cane from Mrs. Clause and a hug from the big man himself, Santa.
PLEASE SEE CITY | 3
Northwest gifted students impress school trustees By Chris Aguilar BRAND Staff Writer
BRAND/Chris Aguilar
HISD Board of Trustees president Angel Barela, right, presents certificates of achievement to Northwest Elementary gifted students at Monday’s meeting.
Hereford Independent School District (HISD) students had the opportunity to share accomplishments and success stories with the HISD Board of Trustees during Monday’s called meeting. HISD gifted/talented teacher Courtney O’Neal presented stories and accomplishments of her top five students at Northwest Elementary School. “A lot of times things come easy for our gifted students,” O’Neal said. “When they don’t come easy, the students tend to get mad at me really fast.” According to the Texas Education Agency (TEA), gifted and talented students are defined as those who perform at or show potential for performing at a remarkably high level of accomplishment when compared to others of the
BRAND/Chris Aguilar
From left, Hereford Independent School District gifted teacher Courtney O’Neal and Northwest Elementary gifted students Myla Swan, Aubrey Martinez, Ari McNeely, Anika McNeely and Sebastian Molina. same age, experience, or environment. The state’s goal for gifted students is to ensure that those who participate demonstrate skills in self-
directed learning, thinking, research and communication. “All these students exemplify a characteristic of a gifted student.” O’Neal
said. Assessment opportunities for gifted identification are made available to stuPLEASE SEE GIFTED | 3