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Will Stephenville and Hico add to their trophy cases this weekend? Our panel of ‘footballogists’ certainly think so… page 7
EMPIRE-TRIBUNE STEPHENVILLE
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F r i day, Novemb er 2 2 , 2013
What does E-T Sports Editor Brad Keith think of this week’s playoff football games? Find out on the Blitz Bit, online now in the multimedia player at yourstephenvilletx.com Scan this QR code with your phone to go to yourstephenvilletx.com
STEPHENVILLE, TEXAS ★ CITY OF CHAMPIONS
REMEMBERING
JFK Where were you when Kennedy was killed?
.75 cen t s
CONTRIBUTED
Pat (Ray) White, JoAnn (West) Bayley and Marilyn (Wagner) Stewart were three members of the Southwest Texas State Strutters who, along with the band, participated in the 1961 Presidential Inaugural Parade in Washington.
Local remembers marching in JFK’s inauguration parade
By J. MICHAEL ROSS
By JESSIE HORTON
JMRSET@Mail.com
jessie.horton@empiretribune.com
F
ive decades ago today an event with historic national and global implications played out in Dealey Plaza in Dallas when President John Fitzgerald Kennedy was assassinated. In modern times, perhaps only the Japanese attack on Pearl Harbor that yanked America into World War II, and the horrors of 911 years later compare. Untold questions remain about the assassination and how things might have unfolded for America had it not taken place. Was it a conspiracy that was covered up? Would we have pursued the war in Viet Nam the way we did if Kennedy had been alive? Those things we’ll probably never know, but for most of us who lived through it, we know what we remember about Nov. 22, 1963. Here’s what some of our neighbors who live in Erath County had to say: Arlis Parker: “It was very personal to me, a feeling much like when my brother was killed in World War II. I didn’t vote for Kennedy, but he was still our president, everybody’s. It was as if
She was so busy looking at the stage, that Pat White said she couldn’t perform the pom routine she’d memorized weeks before. “I know my hands weren’t doing the motions we learned. I don’t even know if I was in step, but I didn’t care,” White recalled. “All I was doing as we drew near the stage where the president and his wife were, was watching and looking for the president.” With the 50th anniversary of President SEE WHITE, A2
“
It was like everything and everyone stopped. For not only that day, but for the whole following weekend. It was the end of something special and everyone knew it.” — Pat White
The Kennedy Assassination: Who we were that day By J. MICHAEL ROSS JMRSET@Mail.com
On the morning of Nov. 22, 1963, Americans were the children of unprecedented historic privilege, heirs to a grand legacy. We were going to the moon and back. We were the “can do” people who knew we could do that
SEE WHERE WERE YOU, A2
SEE WHO WE WERE, A2
ELECTION 2014
Thompson files to run for County Court at Law judge By JESSIE HORTON
jessie.horton@empiretribune.com
Local attorney Blake Thompson, who announced his intention to run against Judge Bart McDougal earlier
Good morning, Subscriber
Marcelle Gregory, Erath County, Texas
14 pages ★ Vol. 113, No. 211 ★ ©2013
this year, has made it official by filing paperwork to get his name on the Republican Party Primary ballot. “I’ve been thinking about running for a while now,” Thompson said. “But my family and I had just moved
back to the area and I was growing a family and a business in the community. Now, I feel like it’s the right time for a campaign and I’m looking forward to the opportunity to serve the people of this area further.”
Thompson, who spent much of his childhood in Stephenville, graduated from Texas Tech with a degree in public relations and a Juris Doctoral degree. After practicing law across the state in cities like
Dallas and Lubbock, Thompson and his family — wife, Paige, daughter Ava, 8, and son Brooks, 4, — moved back to Stephenville in 2007. SEE ELECTION, A2
The Stephenville Empire-Tribune
www.yourstephenvilletx.com
Lifestyles
Sunday, March 24, 2013 | B1
Local film maker gets festival acclaim two months. We found out a few months later that a lot of the footage was completely lost. It was as if someone had erased it completely. [Note: It is believed that the footage must have somehow come in contact with a strong magnetic field.] Every once in a while, there would be a scrambled or distorted image but in any case, a lot of the footage was unusable. This meant we had to re-shoot much of the movie.” The lost half of the movie was reshot in a very piecemeal manner as the actors became available. In fact, some actors never became available and scenes had to be rewritten, often the night before they were shot. A few parts were even recast because the “Trial by Self” was nominated for four original actors were awards at the World Music and Indepenunable to reshoot dent Film Festival in Washington, DC. It their scenes. has also been accepted into the Gen Con “I knew we Indy Film Festival in Indianapolis. The film would have a very has already won Best Actor in a Female low budget while Role at the Sunset International Film writing the movie Festival in Los Angeles for Brownwood’s so I wrote a script Amanda Branham’s (shown above) peraround the various formance. She played the daughter of the locations I knew I alcoholic father. could gain access to,” he said. Securing the BY JESSIE HORTON locations was easier than Powell expected. The jessie.horton@empiretribune.com town granted him permission to shoot at every randon Allen Powell, a filmmaker location he requested. Still, there were some scheduling mix-ups from Gorman, has recently that led to some ‘behind the scenes’ drama. learned his no-budget feature The city office had used two calendars to re“Trial by Self ” has been accepted serve one of the locations and had accidentally to the St. Tropez International booked a heavy metal festival at the same time Film Festival which will be held in May. it had been reserved for the movie shoot. According to officials, approximately 60 of “It was a nightmare,” said Powell, “It was the best films are chosen out of thousands of our last day at this awesome location. We had features, shorts and documentaries that are been shooting there for four days, and on the submitted. “Trial by Self ” was given seven night before our last day, I received a phone award nods by the committee. Of the 60 call from Amanda (Branham) telling me about features, short films and documentaries acthis flier that she saw for a heavy metal festival cepted to the festival, five are nominated for that was to be held while we were supposed the Best Feature to shoot the climax to Film category and the scene we had been “Trial by Self ” working on. Lauren is one of them. Doxey (who was from The film was also Utah) and Jessica nominated for Guess (who lived in Best Lead Actor California) were sup(James Byron posed to fly home the Houser), Best next day. We had to Lead Actress (Cat shoot. I was furious. Angle), Best SupThe next morning we porting Actress called the city secretary (Jessica Guess), and informed her of Best Cinematogthe problem. We had raphy (Brandon reserved the park first, Allen Powell) but the man who was and Best Editing running the festival (Brandon Allen wanted us to Powell). let him have This isn’t the the park anyfirst festival “Trial way because by Self ” has been he had bands accepted to, and arriving from Powell said he is ‘almost Oklaexcited the film is homa.’ We getting so much told him that buzz. we had acThe film has tresses from already won California Best Actor in a and Utah and Female Role at that we were not bending for him. So the Sunset International Film Festival in Los after an hour of aggressive negotiaAngeles for Brownwood’s Amanda Branham’s tions, we promised to call after we performance. She played the daughter of an alcoholic father. “Trial by Self ” was nominated finished shooting. This did not stop rain from slowing us down or heavy for four awards at the World Music and Indemetal bands and fans from showing pendent Film Festival in Washington, DC. It up and interrupting. One angry fan has also been accepted into the Gen Con Indy actually tried to run over one of our Film Festival in Indianapolis. actresses. We called the police, and “Trial by Self ” was shot entirely in Gorman they held everyone off of us while we and the actors are mostly area residents. It finished, but it felt rushed. We got may have taken Powell the better part of four the scene completed, but not withyears to get the 70-minute film complete, but out compromises. I have to say that it was a labor of love, he said. Most of the film a heavy metal festival was not one of was shot on weekends and served as a learning exercise for Powell, who studied television, the problems I had anticipated in a town like Gorman.” advertising and public relations at Howard This wasn’t the only obstacle the Payne University. production had to overcome. One “The movie is really an experiment,” Powell of the actors got injured and had to said. “Originally it was supposed to take only
B
quit the production only a day before he was due on the set. “We were actually really lucky,” said Powell. “Robert W. Powell did a better job on the part than the original actor would have. We had to change the character a bit to suit him, but the character is much stronger now. He is a lot more likable which makes him more layered. It was a blessing in disguise.” Even with all of the problems that the production faced, Powell says he is happy he made the movie. “Making this movie has taught me a lot,” he said. “I think I am a different person than I was before making this movie.” The production company describes the plot as follows: “Torn apart by seemingly trivial life events, Tony Fisher, who was once a loving father and husband, is now self-destructive, despondent and emotionally unavailable. His daughter, Sarah, avoids being at home because of the awkward family situation, while his wife, Keri, tries her best to reach Tony. Meanwhile, people around them are meeting violent ends, and this is taking a toll on the family. They are all in for a wild and violent ride on the way to a suspenseful and thought-provoking conclusion.” Powell said it is always great to find an audience for a film that he’s worked so hard and long on. “It is even better when a festival believes that your film has merit of some kind,” he said. “It validates your hard work. It also creates opportunity for you. When you make a film, no one even cares until you have that important festival exposure. It is pivotal in finding distribution. I also love that I have seen places that I would have otherwise never seen.” The next step is distribution. Powell is hoping to gather enough interest that this becomes less of a chore. He is also currently writing two other screenplays that are very different from this project. While he is proud of the final product, he knows there is still work to be done. With the film being accepted to festivals, he hopes to use it as a springboard for his next project. “I have no fantasies about this film making me the next big movie director,” he said. “But I hope it can lead to work in the industry in some way.” To learn more about the movie, visit the film’s Facebook page and watch the trailer at www.tinyurl.com/trialbyself.
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THE STEPHENVILLE EMPIRE-TRIBUNE
Sunday, September 1, 2013
www.yourstephenvilletx.com
Viewpoint That foam finger deserves an apology
S
urely by now you’ve heard the good news: Miley Cyrus is all grown up. That in-your-face revelation was made during last Sunday’s MTV Video Music Awards where the once adorable Hannah Montana put on a jaw dropping performance that had us all wishing our innocence back. For the purpose of full disclosure, I did not watch the performance in its live glory. I’m usually overcome with narcolepsy about 9 p.m. most nights, and almost always miss primetime TV. So imagine my surprise when I woke up the next morning and found out Hannah Montana had turned into a hood rat. Surely, they jest, I told myself. So out of sheer curiosity I watched the video on YouTube and found no jesting had been involved. Indeed, there was Miley, scantily clad in a strange little getup with two devillike horns protruding from her head and showing off an unusually long tongue. I can’t bear to talk about what she did with that poor foam finger, but she no doubt owes it an apology. And the twerking? Need I say more? For a middle-aged woman who just recently learned what twerking is (and after a little chardonnay and girl time realized I’m no good at it), I blushed. Then I wondered what you wondered. Where’s mom? Miley may want to be all grown up, but her maturity seems stunted by a pre-pubescent mind. Surely there is an adult in her life that could have told her such a performance was a bad idea. As a mother of three — two of whom are now in college and another who will begin driving Wednesday — there has been no shortage of bad decisions in our
FROM THE EDITOR
SARA VANDEN BERGE household. When those occur, I tend to step in and offer advice when needed. Poor Miley seems to be missing that. Entertainers no doubt need to be outrageous at times. And it helps if they are sexy. But Miley’s performance was neither. It doesn’t take a prude to understand it was repulsive. But there is good news. Despite the usual tsk-tsking about the performance by the talking heads, the outrage seems to be different this time. Have people finally had enough? Could it be that average, main stream folks are finally saying enough is enough. I’m holding out hope that’s true. Meanwhile, like other moms across America who watched the Disney starlet grow up, the emotion many of us are feeling has more to do with pity than outrage. Pity for a 20-year-old young woman doing what young people sometimes do: Make poor decisions. Although I have done my fair share of tsk-tsking the performance, what I really want to do is smear Miley’s face with Clearasil, pour her a glass of milk and tuck her into bed. And once she falls asleep, I will hide that foam finger in a place that will never be discovered. Sara Vanden Berge is the managing editor of the Empire-Tribune. She can be reached at 968-2379 ext. 240. Follow her on Twitter @ ETeditor.
READER FEEDBACK
WHAT’S YOUR OPINION?
On Fort Hood shooter Maj. Nidal Hasan’s death sentence To some, death is not the ultimate punishment, are you sure this is the worst thing that can be done to him? Would life in solitary confinement where he slowly goes crazy (even more so than he already is) be worse? — Justin Catherine Pittman Yes of course you are right Justin, but I agree to just get the slime bag off the tax roll & move on. I hate to think of having to house & feed him & give him medical care for the next 20 yrs. he will find out what a Muslim “martyr” REALLY IS. — Hilda Swindle He’s lived in his crazy world for 5 years too long already... the victims and their families need peace and closure. — Deb Dyer I agree he needs to die but the death penalty is not the way to go. In his mind
Whether your agree or disagree with us, we want to know your opinion. Email us your feedback at news@empiretribune.com, or submit your letter using our submission buttons on the homepage of yourstephenvilletx.com. and culture/religion/etc. it makes him a martyr. Which just fuels others like him. — Lauryn Loftin In his mind he thinks it makes him a martyr. But boy, is he in for a rude awakening when he gets to where he’s going. It’s a little hot there! — Gayla Tibbitts Texas justice finally served. — Eric Quirl Oh he has a long military appeals process to suffer through. He’s not going anywhere anytime soon. Just long enough for his “friends” to forget about him And him die miserable and alone with regrets. (Ok yeah probably not.. But that’d be nice) — Cathi Guy They should put him in front of a firing squad forget lethal injection! —
Theresa Hutchins Should be a firing squad consisting of the family members of those the terrorist killed! — Trey Small He should get the same baptism in to Christianity that Bin Laden got. Colt M4 wielded by the Navy Seals — Steven Carr I can’t for the life of me think of why Texas is thought so poorly of. — Matt Gower Thou shalt not kill. Means everyone. What would Jesus do? What we do with him is about us, not him. Who are we now? How will we be punished? — James Huse Follow the Empire-Tribune on Facebook https://www.facebook.com/empiretribune
OUR VIEW
Police keep school traffic flowing The thought of a new school year is often dampened for parents dreading those morning and afternoon commutes. Traffic is often difficult to navigate in areas surrounding school zones, causing a spike in blood pressure for motorists. But Stephenville police officers directing traffic at busy intersections kept things running smoothly and blood pressure in check during the first week of school. Police Chief Pat Bridges
and his staff should be commended for making school safety and traffic control a priority. With all the construction surrounding busy school zones, traffic could have been much worse. Instead, it flowed easily, quickly and safely thanks to good planning on the part of our police department. - The Stephenville EmpireTribune Follow the Empire-Tribune on Facebook https://www.facebook. com/empiretribune
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Address: 590 South Loop, PO Box 958, Stephenville, TX 76401 Phone: 254-965-3124 (Subscription and service) | Fax: (254) 965-4269 Website: www.yourstephenvilletx.com The Stephenville Empire-Tribune is published 5 days a week, all rights reserved. Member, Associated Press, Texas Press Association, Inland Press Association.
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