INSIDE SPORTS Ponder’s Morgan, Krum’s Wallace are area MVPs Page 1B
Denton Record-Chronicle An edition of The Dallas Morning News
DentonRC.com
Vol. 109, No. 248 / 42 pages, 4 sections
Sunday, April 7, 2013
Denton, Texas
One dollar
Portion of forfeiture money recalled Sheriff says $115,500 needed to properly equip vehicles By Megan Gray Staff Writer mgray@dentonrc.com
Denton County Sheriff William Travis has recalled $115,500 in drug forfeiture money that his predecessor pledged to four area constables for incar video systems, and that change has left at least one constable scrambling to better equip his deputies’ vehicles.
Last week, county commissioners approved spending $71,723 from the drug forfeiture fund to purchase two fully equipped 2013 Chevy Tahoes, one for Travis and the other for his operations chief, Randy Plemons. Travis said he reclaimed the money from the constables because several sheriff’s vehicles were not properly equipped, and that action had nothing to do with the purchase of the vehicles. “I need to take care of my own guys before I take care of everyone else. Their needs are what’s supposed to be first and foremost,” Travis said. Before former Sheriff Benny Parkey left office in December, he awarded a to-
tal of $481,785 in forfeited funds to 18 police agencies, five constables and the Children’s Advocacy Center for Denton County to buy those agencies equipment they needed to run more efficiently. Travis said there is about $500,000 to $600,000 in that fund now, and that money is needed to put basic law enforcement equipment in 14 vehicles in the sheriff’s fleet and to upgrade the county’s shooting range. He sent letters to the constables on March 25, saying he intended to take back those funds. “These funds will be used to outfit several fleet vehicles with basic emer-
gency equipment; equipment not considered in the regular budgetary process when these vehicles were ordered,” the letter stated. Precinct 5 Constable Doug Boydston of Sanger said the sudden notice during his own budget planning left him to look elsewhere for the money for the equipment. “This was the last thing Parkey did before leaving office to help smaller agencies out, and now it’s being taken away,” Boydston said. Donna Stewart, the budget officer for the county, said the funds can be spent for any law enforcement needs as the sheriff sees fit, as long as there is ap-
proval by commissioners to move the line items in the budget for recording purposes. Sheriffs have the option of driving a county vehicle or receiving a car allowance to drive their own, county officials said. Denton County Treasurer Cindy Brown said Travis has not received any compensation for car allowance in his tenure. While some of the drug forfeiture funds had been given as checks directly to agencies, some agencies were required to place purchase orders through the sheriff’s office. See RECALL on 15A
Panel passes SB 1247 to floor
TODAY IN DENTON
Mostly cloudy High: 77 Low: 59 Weather report, 2A
LOCAL A Denton man died at the city jail on Thursday afternoon, officials said. Page 15A
Short-term loans bill now in hands of Legislature
INTERNATIONAL
By Bj Lewis Staff Writer blewis@dentonrc.com
A new city ordinance to govern payday and title loan businesses might be for naught as a bill related to those sorts of businesses makes its way through the legislative process. A revised version of Senate Bill 1247, filed by Sen. John Carona, R-Dallas, to change how short-term loan companies operate and cities’ power to control them has made it through committee and next heads to the full Legislature. “I am pleased that the Senate Committee on Business and Commerce favorably reported a revised committee substitute to the Senate for SB 1247,” Carona wrote in a prepared statement. “The revised committee substitute incorporates the feedback we received from multiple stakeholders after our previous hearing, including city officials and consumer advocacy groups.
David Minton/DRC
Joe Duncan, curator of exhibits for the Denton County Office of History and Culture, makes a print of the Courthouse on the Square during the Denton County birthday party on Saturday on the downtown Square. Duncan created the print from a wood engraving he made.
Militants killed six Americans, including a young female diplomat, and an Afghan doctor Saturday in a pair of attacks in Afghanistan on Saturday. It was the deadliest day for the United States in the war in eight months. Page 11A
Happy 167th! Denton County celebrates birthday with party on the Square By Megan Gray Staff Writer mgray@dentonrc.com
The sounds of a strumming banjo and the sights of dogs playing on the courthouse lawn were more than a typical spring Saturday on the Square. Denton County was celebrating its
167th birthday with a party for young and old alike. “People thought I was crazy wanting to do something for the 167th,” said Peggy Capps, chairwoman of the museum committee. “I just wanted to throw a little party and have fun.” Capps said by no means was she ever
trying to compete with the much larger and known Denton events, including the upcoming Denton Arts & Jazz Festival. She said she just thought it was important to celebrate the day “we” became a county — April 11, 1846. See BIRTHDAY on 12A
FIND IT INSIDE
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See SB 1247 on 12A
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ART & COMMUNITY BUSINESS CLASSIFIED COUPLES CROSSWORD DEAR ABBY DEATHS OPINION REAL ESTATE SPORTS TELEVISION WEATHER
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Three vie for Denton’s District 3 council seat By Peggy Heinkel-Wolfe Staff Writer pheinkel-wolfe@dentonrc.com
A small forum for both school and city candidates at Robson Ranch this week underscored the diversity of constituents in Denton’s far-flung District 3, as well as their wide-ranging interests, from students who live on or near the University of North Texas campus and the older adults at Robson Ranch to residents in some of the city’s most established neighborhoods.
Two candidates are challenging the incumbent’s bid for re-election. A retired businessman, Jim Engelbrecht, 65, is seeking his third and final term on the Denton City Council. University of North Texas student Griffen Rice, 21, and local technology consultant Brendan Carroll, 43, both seek to unseat him. District 3 begins on the western edge of central Denton, where several multistory student apartments have been erected in the past two years. It sweeps out to the small ranches around Denton
Enterprise Airport and Westpark, the city’s industrial park, and down to Robson Ranch on the southwest edge. A retirement community of more than 1,400 homes, Robson Ranch was moved from District 4 to District 3 after redistricting following the 2010 census. During the forum, which was conducted by the Robson Ranch Republican Club, there were no questions from the audience; candidates only gave a short, prepared speech. Yet, themes have already emerged in the race, with some em-
anating from recent controversies. Some residents are concerned about the city’s risk in a proposed public-private partnership that would build a city-owned convention center on UNT property. Others are concerned about large capital and utility projects needed for a fast-growing city, some of which go before the voters while others do not. In addition to the District 3 race, Denton’s spring ballot will include races in See DISTRICT 3 on 10A
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LOCAL/NATIONAL
Denton Record-Chronicle
Video shows Mississippi police HQ deaths By Holbrook Mohr Associated Press
JACKSON, Miss. — Authorities have a video from a police interrogation room that shows a murder suspect shooting a detective to death before killing himself with the officer’s gun, a person with knowledge of the investigation said Saturday. The suspect, Jeremy Powell, was not handcuffed during questioning at the Jackson Police Department on Thursday, the person said on the condition of anonymity because they were not authorized to talk
about the ongoing investigation. Powell overpowered Detective Eric Smith and took his gun, shooting the veteran detective four times before shooting himself in the head inside a third-floor room of the department’s headquarters, the Mississippi Bureau of Investigation said. Other officers heard the shots ring out and rushed to the interview room, but both men were dead. The AP has asked for the video to be released under open records laws, but authorities have not responded to the
request. Powell, 23, was being questioned about the stabbing death of a man whose body was found Monday near a Jackson street. Ken Winter, executive director of the Mississippi Association of Chiefs of Police, said it’s not unusual for a suspect to be unrestrained during questioning. “It depends on the demeanor of the individual at the time. I would assume that the detective had no reason to believe this guy was aggressive or he wouldn’t have been interview-
ing him in the first place,” said Winter, who spent 36 years in law enforcement as a police chief, a detective and as director of the state crime lab. Winter also said it’s not uncommon for an officer to be armed during an interrogation. “I don’t think this detective was doing anything out of the ordinary. Sometimes you can do everything right and it still turn out bad,” Winter said. Smith, 40, is survived by his wife, Eneke, a sergeant with the Jackson Police Department, and two sons.
From Page 1A
BRIEFLY IN DENTON
Inmate dies in city jail before his release A Denton man died at the city jail on Thursday afternoon, officials said. Juan Portales, 47, was found laying on the floor unresponsive around 2 p.m. Thursday, when detention officers were ready to release him, said Officer Orlando Hinojosa, spokesman for the department. Hinojosa said one of the officers immediately started CPR while the other called the paramedics.
“From there, he was transported to Denton Regional Medical Center, where he was later pronounced [dead],” Hinojosa said. Police said he hadn’t even been in the holding cell for 24 hours. He was arrested April 3 on public intoxication charges, Hinojosa said. There was no one else in the cell with him at the time of his death, according to officials. Police said they don’t suspect foul play, but since he died at the city jail, the Texas Rangers are overseeing the investigation. — Megan Gray
OBITUARIES
Portales, Juan Manuel
Recall Precinct 3 Constable Jerry Raburn of Lewisville said he presented his department’s “wish list” to Parkey at the end of last year, before Travis took office. “We didn’t get everything, but I was able to get some ammo that we needed,” Raburn said. Parkey said during his eight years as sheriff, the office had accrued a sizable seizure fund from narcotics investigations. “I explored how this money could be used both internally in the sheriff's office and for other law enforcement agencies in Denton County,” Parkey said. Five constables had more than $155,000 promised by Parkey to purchase in-car video systems — something Parkey said was needed for the safety and well-being of their departments. Precinct 6 Constable Ron Smith’s office participated on a major seizure just before he took office, officials said, and that’s why he was not on the list to receive new cameras. In-car cameras from his own seizure funds were approved by commissioner’s on Tuesday. Smith’s office is in Carrollton. Boydston said his deputies now have old VHS recorders in their cars but they don’t always work. “We really need these, so I am just going to do what I can to try and work at least one or two into my own budget this year,” he said. Precinct 2 Constable Michael Truitt of The Colony was the only constable who received cameras from the sheriff’s fund. “I think it’s just because I immediately put my order in and stayed on top of the process all the way through,” Truitt said. “That, and I put in my order during Parkey’s administration, before Travis took over.” Additionally, Truitt said, his approval might have had to do with the kind of equipment he wanted versus what the others wanted. Truitt ordered Arbitrator systems and the remaining four constables ordered New Watch Guard systems. Travis said he preferred the Arbitor systems, which the sheriff’s office already uses, because those systems keep videos stored on a server while the Watch Guard systems are kept on a disc. “I want to be honest and just being able to throw away a disc is not what I want to see,” Travis said. “That’s what could and would happen, too.” Documents presented to commissioners on Tuesday show one of the reasons they are not purchasing the systems was based on legal retention requirements — disc storage and maintenance of the systems. The Arbitrator system is what Travis will be installing in some of his office’s own 10 patrol cars that need outfitting, he said. Four additional cars will also be fitted but with fewer add-ons than the patrol fleet. He said he was left with only about $34,000 in his regular budget to install lights, camera, radio, etc. — into all 14 cars — and that’s the main reason the constable’s orders were canceled. He said he is still trying to determine how much these upgrades will cost. Stewart said in her years of working on the county’s budget, the cars are always added into the budget with their additional required items in separate budget lines. “Starting last year with the sheriff’s office, the cars were packaged all together [completely outfitted] into a single-
15A
Sunday, April 7, 2013
line item,” Stewart said. “Even before then though, a car for patrol use wasn’t added without adding everything it needed as well.” Johnny Hammons, the senior deputy constable for Precinct 1 based in Denton, said they have no cameras in any of their vehicles now. “It would’ve been nice to have gotten our cars equipped, but we will survive,” he said. Background information given to commissioners detailing the purchase of the new Tahoes last week also showed the remaining constables’ in-car video system purchase requests were deleted. Travis said he plans to use the additional freed-up funds to add upgrades to the shooting range the county owns north of Denton. He said the range now is just a shell, with no bathroom inside the building. “The constables will use [the range], too — the finished product will benefit everyone in the county,” he said. Also on Travis’ mind was the training facility under construction by the Denton Police Department. Parkey gave $300,000 to Denton police Chief Lee Howell in September to help build the facility, pursuant to an agreement to secure the use of the finished project for five years to accommodate their basic peace officer academy. “Recently, I have been in contact with representatives of the sheriff's office inquiring about the status of these funds and the status of the training facility project,” Howell said. “There is no intention in the near future for funds to exchange hands.” Travis said he doesn’t believe anyone else was asked to return or give up promised items from
the previous administration. “I know the constables are upset, and I will reconsider helping them out in the future,” Travis said. “Right now, I gotta help
myself here.” MEGAN GRAY can be reached at 940-566-6885 and via Twitter at @MGrayNews.
OBITUARIES
Dr. George Erwin Holladay
Dr. George Erwin Holladay, 78, of Denton, TX, passed away April 5th, 2013. Born July 31, 1934, in Camden, TN, to John Milton Holladay and Sara Elizabeth Agnew Holladay, he attended the Columbia Military Academy, the University of Tennessee, and University of Texas Southwestern Medical School in Dallas and later served as a flight surgeon in the U.S. Air Force during the Vietnam conflict. After marrying Shirley Lynn Brink in 1964, he set up a private ophthalmology practice in Denton, where he saw patients from 1967 until his retirement from medicine in 1993. "Doc" served on the Board of Directors for the Cumberland Children’s Home and was active on the Denton School Board, where he served as President for several years. He was also a long-time member of the Texas Medical Association and was influential in making the Republican Party of Denton County the force it is today. Besides being an avid hunter and fisherman, Doc attended Bible study at the Denton Bible Church between music gigs with the New Horizons Band and the Young at Heart Dance Band. He was a member of Sigma Chi fraternity and helped start the fraternity’s chapter at The University of North Texas. Doc’s charity ran deep; he and his wife Shirley founded scholarships at Hillsdale College, Hillsdale, MI, The University of Oklahoma, Southwestern Medical School Department of Ophthalmology, and The University of North Texas music program. Doc is survived by his wife Shirley Lynn Brink Holladay of Denton, son George Hunt Holladay and his wife, Julie Kay Leske Holladay, and their two children Daniel Hunt and Samantha Kay of Castle Rock, CO. He is also survived by a daughter, Sara Lynn Holladay Avery and her husband, Kent Arthur Avery, of Denver, CO, a sister-in-law Sue Mayes Holladay of Conroe, TX, a niece, and numerous great nieces and nephews. The family will be receiving visitors on Sunday afternoon, April 7, from 5-6:30 PM, at DeBerry Funeral Directors, 2025 W University Dr, Denton, and request donations to a favorite charity in lieu of flowers or food.
Portales, Juan Manuel 47 of Denton, born June 24, 1965 in Lubbock, Texas to Alfredo H. and Dora Portales, passed away April 4, 2013. He is survived by Father, Alfredo H. Portales, Mother ,Dora Portales, Brothers, Joe, Javier, Jose Alfredo and wife Nichole, Patrick and wife Nancy, and Steven, Sisters, Leticia Tapia and Husband Pedro, Linda Sanchez and husband Jose, Venita Portales, and Lucinda Godinez and husband Jose, Grandfather Pedro Casarez. Visitation is Sunday April 7, 2012 at Denton Funeral Home 5-7 p.m. Rosary will be at 7 p.m. with Mass of Christian Burial at Saint Marks Catholic Church on Monday April 8, 2013 at 10:00 A.M. Burial to follow with Military Honors at Roselawn Memorial Park.
Jimmy Marion Reece,
Jimmy Marion Reece, passed away at the age of 68, in Denton, Texas on Thursday, April 4, 2013. He was born October 15, 1944 in Blairsville Georgia to Paul Eugene Reece and Willa Bell Fritz Ensley Caylor. He served in the U.S. Air Force during both the Korean and Vietnam Wars and retired after nearly thirty years of service. Upon retirement from the Air Force, Jimmy dedicated another twenty years to his country, serving with the Federal Emergency Management Agency. Jimmy Reece married the love of his life Jenny Westbrook on August 28, 1968 in Wilmington North Carolina. Visitation will be Monday, April 8, 2013 from 1:00 – 2:00 p.m. prior to the service at 2:00 p.m. in the chapel of DeBerry Funeral Directors with Rev. Ross Appleton officiating. Burial will be Saturday the thirteenth of April at Memorial Gardens Cemetery in Blairsville Georgia. He is survived by wife, Jenny Reece of Denton; daughter Helen Marie Reece of West Virginia.; three sons, Jimmy Reece of West Virginia., Thomas Reece of Denton and James Reece of Austin; mother, Willa Bell Fritz Caylor of Blairsville Georgia; sister, Phylis Stinson of Blairsville Georgia; brother Ronnie Reece of Georgia; eleven grandchildren and two great grandchildren.
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