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September 26, 2018 | P
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Hereford BRAND Volume 118 | Number 24 WHAT'S INSIDE
Stadium safe for homecoming despite sway
By John Carson BRAND Managing Editor
Waterfowl season up-in-the-air prospect Page 5
Whitefaces eyeing homecoming revenge Page 7
10 pages | $1.00
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It is one thing for fans to have a football stadium metaphorically “rockin’.” It is quite another when that “rockin’” becomes literal, but that is a dilemma Hereford Independent School District (HISD) officials are dealing with at Whiteface Stadium. At several times during the Aug.
31 season-opening game against Caprock, fans on the home side – as well as those in the press box – felt the stands sway. “We were aware of the stadium swaying,” HISD Superintendent Sheri Blankenship said. “I had several reports during the game, and I felt the sensation of swaying myself.” Blankenship made im-
BLANKENSHIP
mediate contact with HISD architect Lenora Ask during the Aug. 31 game and was informed there happened to be an engineer in the visiting team stands. That engineer and Blankenship toured the stands and press box, as well as making inspection of the stands’ support structures. Although needing a structural engineer, the mechan-
ical engineer who toured relayed his observations to Ask. During the interim, Blankenship said Ask had met with and relayed the information to a structural engineer who toured the facility twice last year. Blankenship said during the engineer’s inspections last year “there was no evidence to support significant concern.”
Momentum shifter
Rezoning, renewal top city meeting By John Carson BRAND Managing Editor
Taylor makes it four straight XC victories Page 10
FORECAST
Today
AM Rain High: 60º Low: 45º LOCAL POLLEN ALERT
Thursday
Sunny High: 79º Low: 52º
Friday
Sunny High: 85º Low: 53º
Saturday
Partly Cloudy High: 78º Low: 56º
Sunday
Sunny High: 83º Low: 58º
Monday
Top and above, Herd WR Tye Davis slips a pair of tacklers and, left, Whiteface head coach Don DeLozier shows the result as Davis completed a 55-yard scoring play with 1 second left in the first half of Friday's comeback win over Estacado. HISD photos by Bryan Hedrick
Partly Cloudy High: 82º Low: 58º
Tuesday
Mostly Sunny High: 83º Low: 58º
Page 2............Obituaries 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
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The prospect of move housing in Hereford took a step toward reality when the Hereford City Commission approved the rezoning of property. The action came after a required public hearing on the matter during the Sept. 17 regular meeting of the city’s governing board. With no one speaking at the public hearing, commissioners gave unanimous approval of the measure that essentially rezones the entire west side of the 400 block of Greenwood Street. The rezoning, which was requested by Hereford realtor Mark Andrews, changes the area from R-2 (two-family district) to MF (multifamily, apartment and condominium district). Hereford City Manager Rick Hanna told commissioners the rezoning was to facilitate construction of 48 units of duplexes or triplexes. In addition to giving approval to a budget PLEASE SEE CITY | 3
Disaster drill proves ‘good learning experience’ By John Carson BRAND Managing Editor
INDEX
PLEASE SEE STADIUM | 3
Anyone passing the intersection of 15th Street and 25 Mile Avenue early Saturday morning was greeted by a veritable sea of flashing lights and a hubbub of activity as first-responders scurried about and around HISD Administration Building. The reason? The area had been hit by a tornado. Not really, but that was the scenario area emergency personnel was playing out as part of a disaster drill in coordination with Hereford Regional Medical Center (HRMC). “It was a mass casualty drill for HRMC,” Deaf Smith County Emergency Management Coordinator Dean Turney said. “It was a mock tornado touch-down at HISD
Administration Building. “We went through the entire ordeal from start to finish. We learned some things. We found out there some communication issues, but they were all little things that can be easily worked out. It was a good learning experience.” The drill was designed to replicate – as closely as possible – an actual tornado disaster. It began with a 911 call that started the reaction process. A total of 20 casualties were included in the drill with injuries running the gamut from very minor to those being declared dead on the scene. While the mock tornado touch-down was at HISD Administration Building, more PLEASE SEE DRILL | 10
An “injured victim” is pulled from an overturned vehicle behind HISD Administration Building as part of a disaster drill Saturday simulating a tornado touch-down. BRAND/John Carson
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