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| Saturday,
April 22, 2017 | Printed on recycled paper
Hereford BRAND Volume 116 | Number 85
Proudly Serving The High Plains Since 1901
10 pages | $1.00
Arrest made for alleged church theft
WHAT'S INSIDE
By John Carson BRAND Managing Editor
Leadership tours city in Class 3 Page 3
A year-long investigation into an alleged crime that took place over a “period of time” has led to the indictment and arrest of a Hereford woman on theft charges. Gloria Baca of Hereford turned herself in to Deaf Smith County Jail on April 12 after a grand jury had handed down an indictment against her earlier in the day.
Baca is facing a first-degree BRAND reporters had inquired felony charge of theft of more about last spring. than $300,000 in connection “With any crime like this, with the alleged embezzlethe investigation takes a ment of funds from First Bapwhile,” Harrison said Friday. tist Church in Hereford. “The investigators did a great Hereford Police Chief Brent job getting enough proof. For Harrison confirmed the arrest a prosecutor to accept a case, was in response to the First there must be a quality invesBaptist Church incident his tigation. department had been inves“It must be a good case for BACA tigating for a year, while also the prosecutor to feel comconfirming it was the same incident fortable to take and present it to the
Page 6
Football in air as Spring drills open
By John Carson BRAND Managing Editor
Page 9
As a conference committee of House and Senate members in the 85th Texas Legislature hammer out differences for a 2017-18 state budget, the ultimate losers in the process could well be a number of counties in the state. Both houses have approved $218 billion biennial spending measures that featured $1 billion in cuts. However, the House version of the Senate’s original bill contained a number of differences – necessitating a conference committee be convened to reach a compromise measure. Although the House version did restore and increase school funding, proposed cuts in the state budget could prove a bane for a majority of Texas’ 254 counties. Few places will that impact be more potentially felt than in Deaf Smith County. “If most of the proposed budget cuts go through, there will be a reduction in state funding [to the county],” Deaf Smith County D.J. Wagner said. “If that happens, then we will have
FORECAST
Today
Partly Cloudy High: 63º Low: 37º
Sunrise: 7:08 a.m. Sunset: 8:28 p.m. Wind: NNE 16 MPH Precipitation: 0% Humidity: 53% UV Index: 9 of 10
Sunday
Sunny/Wind High: 73º Low: 49º
Monday
Partly Cloudy/Wind High: 90º Low: 59º
Sunrise: 7:06 a.m. Sunset: 8:29 p.m. Wind: SW 24 MPH Precipitation: 0% Humidity: 26% UV Index: 9 of 10
HEREFORD HISTORY 32 years ago • April 22, 1985
Hereford High School’s girls track team placed second in the District 3-5A meet in Amarillo, with five team members qualifying for regionals.
PLEASE SEE ARREST | 10
Budget could crimp counties
Moisture aids spring turkey season
Sunrise: 7:07 a.m. Sunset: 8:28 p.m. Wind: SSW 21 MPH Precipitation: 21% Humidity: 41% UV Index: 9 of 10
grand jury. This was the culmination of more than one person’s efforts. Several people were involved in bringing this about.” Despite no arrest having been made at the time, Deaf Smith County District Attorney Jim English presented the case to the April 12 session of the grand jury, which handed down the formal indictment. English said the formal charge is
Flipping over Easter Mark Casarez, 9, goes head over heels for Easter, then comes down for a graceful landing during a special event Sunday at Dameron Park hosted by the Unashamed Truck Club. Sporting a variety of inflatables – including, right, a pair of giant, crawlinside balls – as well as food and music, the free event featured a message coinciding with the holiday. For more photos from the day, see page 10. BRAND/John Carson
PLEASE SEE CRIMP | 2
INDEX
Obituaries................2 News......................3,6 Community...........4,10 Outdoors.................5 Classifieds...............7 Religion..................8 Sports......................9
© 2017 Hereford BRAND A division of Roberts Publishing Group
Schenk honored for farm conservation efforts By Jim Steiert Contributing Writer
Jonathan Schenk, a thirdgeneration Deaf Smith County farmer who uses drip irrigation and no-till practices to conserve water in crop and livestock production has been named the Tierra Blanca Soil and Water Conservation District’s Resident Conservation Farmer of the Year for 2017. The award was presented by Jerry Homfeld, chairman of the district board, along with Chris Urbanczyk, vice chairman, and board members David Wagner and Nathan Betzen. Schenk, his wife Jessica, and younger brother Aaron, operate Schenk Cattle and
Farms, on about 5,500 acres of farmland and 5,500 acres of rangeland in western Deaf Smith County. Their primary crops are silage sorghum, hay, and wheat for grazing and grain. Members of his family on hand to witness the award ceremony Thursday night included Eugene and Ann Schenk of Wildorado, and Ron and Jan Weishaar and Bob and Susan Barrett of Hereford. Jonathan returned to farming in 2009, after college and ag-related work elsewhere, fulfilling a lifelong dream of following in the agriculture legacy of his Dad and grandPLEASE SEE FARM | 3
Jonathan Schenk, second from left, was presented with the Tierra Blanca Soil and Water Conservation District’s Resident Farmer of the Year Award for 2017 Thursday night at Hereford Country Club. On hand for the presentation were far left, Chris Urbanczyk, board vice chairman, and to the right of Schenk, David Wagner, board member, Lisa Cherry, TBSWCD clerk, Jerry Homfeld, board president, and Nathan Betzen, board member. Photo by Jim Steiert
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