HerefordBRAND.com
| Wednesday,
September 19, 2018 | P
rinted on recycled paper
Hereford BRAND Volume 118 | Number 22 WHAT'S INSIDE
HISD set to get word out on bond issue
By John Carson BRAND Managing Editor
Hummingbirds savor taste of late summer Page 5
Lady Whitefaces run away at Snyder meet Page 7
No. 5 Herd netters stomp No. 24 Dumas
10 pages | $1.00
Proudly Serving The High Plains Since 1901
Undaunted by past failures, Hereford Independent School District (HISD) has set wheels in motion to get the word out about a $22.4 million bond proposal awaiting voters in the Nov. 6 general election. In floating their third bond issue in as many years, HISD is again taking a proactive approach and has scheduled a series of
public meetings on the pending measure. “The purpose of the public meetings is to educate the public about the bond,” HISD Superintendent Sheri Blankenship said. “We want to give the public the opportunity to express opinions and ask questions. “My goal is to provide a venue in which community members may obtain information and ask questions about the proposed bond.” Not in her position when a 2015
bond failed, Blankenship was superintendent in 2017 and prefaced that May bond election with a series of public meetings to inform citizens and dispel rumors. Much the same is expected for this attempt with the first of three scheduled public meetings set to take place 6 p.m., Thursday at Amarillo College. The second is Monday, Oct. 15 at 7 p.m. in Hereford High School library, and the final one is slated for 7:30 a.m., Monday, Nov. 5 at
HISD Administration Building. Using 2017’s meetings as references, officials were more specific with scheduling this time around. “The locations and times were chosen based on a variety of options and in order to capitalize on other meetings taking place,” Blankenship said. “Our 2017 meeting at Amarillo College provided a fair turnout, so we chose to return to that location.
City passes budget, tax rate
Extra Effort
By John Carson BRAND Managing Editor
Page 10
FORECAST
Today
Partly Cloudy High: 89º Low: 66º LOCAL POLLEN ALERT
Thursday
PM Thunderstorms High: 82º Low: 63º
Friday
Showers High: 73º Low: 57º
Saturday
AM Clouds/PM Sun High: 77º Low: 56º
Sunday
Sunny High: 83º Low: 59º
Monday
Sunny High: 85º Low: 60º
Tuesday
Partly Cloudy High: 82º Low: 58º
INDEX Page 2......Public Record Page 3...................News Page 4................Opinion Page 5..............Outdoors Page 6.............RC Ballot Page 7..................Sports Page 8................Religion Page 9...........Classifieds Page 10................Sports
© 2018 Hereford BRAND A division of Roberts Publishing Group
GET IT IN YOUR
PLEASE SEE HISD | 3
Squirting through a pile of blockers and tacklers, Hereford’s Seth Dixon (21) lunges for an extra yard as part of his 22-carry, 181-yard, 2-touchdown rushing night Friday as the Whitefaces snapped a sevenyear, regular-season losing streak to rival Randall with a 27-0 win to spoil the Raiders homecoming. HISD photo by Bryan Hedrick
The Hereford City Commission got its annual, late-summer fiduciary duties taken care of Monday when a 2018-19 budget and tax rate was approved during a regular meeting. Approval of the budget came in front of a state mandate the city have a budget in place before the start of its 2018-19 fiscal year on Oct. 1. Although the actual city budget was just more than $10.24 million, the proclamation approved by commissioners totaled more than $17 million in expenditures with $6.155 million appropriated from Water and Sewer Fund for its operations and $845,000 to Hereford Economic Development Corporation via pass-through sales tax revenues. In addition to the budget, commissioners gave thumbs up to a tax rate of 33 mils (33 cents per $100 valuation) that was unchanged from the past several years. PLEASE SEE CITY | 3
U.S. House challenger brings campaign to Hereford By John Carson BRAND Managing Editor
Uphill battles are nothing unusual for Greg Sagan, so the retired U.S. Navy officer is damning the torpedoes and forging full speed ahead as he mounts a challenge to the status quo in 13th Congressional District in Texas. Sagan, a Democrat, was in Hereford last week as part of a tour of the district as he attempts to unseat 12-term Republican incumbent Mac Thornberry. While a Democrat on the ballot, the 70-year-old Sagan readily admits he is not your “usual” Democrat. “I know that many voters in this district voted for
Donald Trump, and I believe I understand why,” Sagan said as to why he chose to run. “I don’t intend to defend Hillary Clinton, and I don’t intend to mount an emotional takedown of either the President or Congressman Thornberry. “But I am outraged at muck of what our President has done since taking office, and the Republicans in Congress today seem to be willing or unable to stand up to him for your interests.” Sagan added that Thornberry was popular in the district, but “loyalty to his party” and lack of listening to constituents indicate he is “no longer effective” as a PLEASE SEE SAGEN | 3
Greg Sagan, Democratic candidate for the U.S. House of Representatives, has attendees to Thursday’s campaign stop in Hereford arrange seats in a circle rather than rows to make it more relaxed. BRAND/John Carson
Don’t miss an issue... SUBSCRIBE Call the BRAND office at (806) 364-2030 to learn more