Cherokeean/Herald (Rusk, Tex.), Vol. 149, No. 26, Ed. 1 Thursday, August 20, 1998 Page: 1 of 16
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Cherokee
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Texas' Oldest, Continuously Published Weekly Newspaper - Established Feb. 27, 1850 as the Cherokee Sentinel
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Meet the
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see page IB for photos
Vol. 149, No. 26-16 Pages
Thursday, August 20, 1998
Rusk, Texas 75785
25 centi
dies after
altercation
I Investigation
concludes Rusk PD
acted appropriately
The Rusk Police Department did not
violate the Texas Open Records Law in
connection with the death of a Rusk
State Hospital patient, according to an
investigation by Rusk Mayor Emmett
Whitehead.
An editorial written Sunday in a
neighboring city's newspaper harshly
criticizes the Rusk Police Department,
asserting that information was with-
held in an altercation on a basketball
court which resulted in the death of one
of the patients.
"We are deeply
saddened by this
tragic event, and are
working to determine
how it occurred."
Harold R. (Buz) Parrish,
RSH Superintendent
"After careful investigation, it is my
opinion that Rusk Police Chief Larry
Robertson and his department handled
the matter in a professional manner,"
Whitehead said.
The patient's death Sunday evening,
Aug. 16 in a Tyler hospital, created the
necessity to have the flail story out in
the open.
"We are deeply saddened by this tragic
event, and are working to determine
Please see RSH, page 6A
Gov. Bush lends coattails to candidate
W
!" • 1 -v, *
More than 1,000 jammed into the Sum-
mers Norman Activity Center in Jackson-
ville Tuesday afternoon to hear Texas
Gov. George W. Bush.
"This is a typical afternoon turnout in
East Texas," State Rep. Todd Staples
quipped as he welcomed the Governor to
Cherokee County for a barbecue dinner
honoring Incumbent 369th District Judge
Bascom Bentley, who is seeking re-elec-
tion as a Republican candidate.
Gov. Bush is lending his coattails to
Republican candidates as interest in the
Nov. 3 general electioin builds.
By the end of the week, Gov. Bush will
have made personal appearances in six
additional Texas counties, from San An-
tonio to Bonham and Harlingen.
Among the honored guests at the Chero-
kee County event were Judge Bentley's
family, State Rep. Staples, Texas Insur-
ance Commissioner Elton Bomer, Texas
Department of Transportation Board
member Robert Nichols and Texas Parks
and Wildlife Department Executive Di-
rector Andrew Samson.
"About four years ago in this same build-
ing, George W. Bush, the man, told us
what he would do if he was elected gover-
nor. Those included local government and
good family values. He also told us that he
would be back and tonight here he is," Mr.
Nichols said.
"I wish Laura could have come," Gov.
Bush told the cheering crowd that greeted
him. "She was the one they invited and
she just couldn't make it, so they let me
come," he added.
In greeting Judge Bentley's family, Gov.
Bush made special recognition of his!
mother. "You know you can't escape your
mother." He told a story about when his ■
Please see GOV. BUSH, pg 2A
A crowd of approximately 1,000 jammed into the Summers Norman Activity
Center Tuesday afternoon to hear Texas Gov. George W. Bush. The $10 a plate
barbecue dinner was a fundraising project for incumbent District Judge
Bascom Bentley, III.
The East Texas Pot t,
In the Texas Governor's race,
who will you vote for?
If the election was held today,
Gov. George W. Bush would beat
challenger Garry Mauro in East
Texas.
The East Texas Poll reveals that
the Republican incumbent is fa-
vored by 64.93 percent of voters.
Land Commissioner Garry
Mauro, who is the Democratic
nominee, trails with 20.77 percent
of votes.
Another 14.28 percent say they
have not yet made up their minds
for the Nov. 3 election.
The East Texas Poll, sponsored
by the Cherokeean/Herald and CD
97.7 FM, queried 77 potential vot-
ers on Monday.
Campaign records show that Mr.
Bush has a campaign budget of $15
Mauro
Bush /
-Cherokeean/Herald graphic
i '®
million, compared to approxi-
mately $200,000 for Mr. Mauro.
Historically, Labor Day marks
the beginning of the campaign sea-
son for November elections.
Steppin' Out
H Main Street
coordinates new
sidewalk grant
The Rusk Main Street Project
hosted a meeting last week to
coordinate the details of
downtown's upcoming capital
improvement project. Repre-
sentatives from the City of
Rusk, the Rusk Main Street
Project, Texas Department of
Criminal Justice, SESCO, Gary
Traylor and Associates and
Wisenbaker, Fix and Associ-
ates met to coordinate efforts
and resources associated with
implementing sidewalk im-
provements around the square
in downtown Rusk.
The scope of the project will
include improved sidewalks,
lighting and parking. The bud-
get for the improvement project
is approximately $482,000. The
grant portion of the project
equals $150,000 and is admin-
istered through the Texas Main
Street Project's Capital Fund
Program. A significant portion
of the project will be funded
through in-kind donations of la-
bor and equipment from the
TDCJ and the City of Rusk. The
city will donate only $61,000 to
the project in the form of actual
dollars.
Suzanne McGraw of Gary
Traylor and Associates, is the
grant administrator on this
project. She has assisted the city
in acquiring necessary grant
funds to finance the upcoming
improvement and she will be
instrumental in implementing
the project through completion.
"I am very excited about the
level of community involvement
I've encountered here in this
community,"she said. "It's great
to see so many entities come
together to bring about these
important improvements to such
a critical area of the city," she
added.
Preliminary plans will be de-
veloped by Wisenbaker, Fix and
Associates and made available
Please see SIDEWSALK, pg. 6A
7,486 children return to classrooms
First Day of School
' •>**;••>'**• M ■-¥•! «
H
First day of school lunch break complete with corney dogs is
enjoyed by Kindergarten students Levi Blackman and Jimmy
Stlngley at Rusk Primary School. They are students in Tammy
Rasberry's class.
Cherokee County schools re-
ported a first day of school enroll-
ment of 7,486 students. This is a
drop from the 7,599 students reg-
istering on the first day last year.
Rusk is the only district in the
county showing an increase in en-
rollment.
At Rusk, 1,883 students reported
for classes on Aug. 13. By Monday,
Aug. 17, that figure had increased
to 1,944 students. On Aug. 13,
1997, the first day of classes last
year, a total of 1,857 students re-
ported. Superintendent Tony
Murray told the school board at its
last meeting that the district could
easily reach the 2,000 enrollment
mark.
Broken down as to campuses,
the high school had 521 students
on the first day, Aug. 13, and 553
on Aug. 17; junior high, 397 on
Aug. 13 and 412 on Aug. 17; the
elementary school had 474 on Aug.
13 and 480 on Aug. 17; the pri-
mary school, 491 on Aug. 13 and
499 on Aug. 17. Last year on the
first day, there were 544 students
in the high school; 403 at the jun-
ior high; 417 at the elementary
school; and 493 at the primary
school.
Attendance
Recorded on 1st
Day of School
1998 1997
1,883 1,857
4,321 4,410
Rusk
Jacksonville
Alto 632 664
Wells 282 293
New S'field 368 275
-data supplied by school
districts
-graphic: Cherokeean/Herald
Enrollment at Alto is somewhat
lower than it was a year ago. How-
ever, school official think the en-
rollment figures will rise as school
gets underway. There were 632 stu-
dents registered for school on the
first day. That compares to 664
students for the same time last
year.
Broken down to campuses on the
first day, there were 238 students
in the elementary school, compared
to 249 last year; 202 students at
Pisase see ATTENDANCE, pg. 6A
Alto ISD approves Head Start program
By Randall Birdsonq
Special to the Cherokeean/Herald
During the regular monthly
meeting of the Alto Independent
School District's Board of Trust-
ees approval was given to insti-
tute a Head Start Program for
three and four year olds. The
program will be set up through
the Region VII Education Service
Center in Kilgore. No outside
contractor will be involved in the
operation of this pre-kindergar-
ten type program. The district
will employ the certified teacher
and a teacher's aide for the class.
Money for the program will be
provided mainly by a federal Head
Start grant that is administered
by Region VII. The program will
be placed in service as soon as a
certified teacher can be employed.
Jim Duty, maintenance and
transportation director for the dis-
trict, gave a report on the expense
of upkeep on the school busses.
Duty outlined, preventative main-
tenance schedules and specific re-
pair charges for the district's bus-
ses.
Dr. J. Floyd Worley, superinten-
dent, reported on the negotiations
with the bonding company con-
cerning air conditioning units at
the middle school. The contractor
failed to install three filter holding
baskets. The baskets were in-
stalled by another company at a
cost of $112.50. Since this situa-
tion was an oversight by the con-
tractor, who has since gone out of
business, the bonding company is
responsible for the cost by con-
tract. Dr. Worley is working with
the bonding company to resolve
the issue.
Brief discussion was held con-
cerning employee health insurance
for the 1998-99 school year. Dr.
Worley recommended postpone-
ment of any action until further
information from Jimmy Murphy
could be obtained.
Two bids were received for prop-
erty insurance for the district.
Swain and Baldwin Insurance of
Lufkin was the low bidder with a
bid of $13,947.00.
The bid included coverage for all
property, school vehicles, liability
coverage, personal liability cover-
age on professional staff, support
staff, administrators, and board
members. Johnson Insurance
Agency of Alto submitted a bid of
$19,049.00.
During a discussion concerning
use of remaining construction
funds for additional classroom
computers it was suggested that
the superintendent apply for a
grant for the units from Temple
Inland. The approximately
$37,000.00 in the fund will be used
as "seed money" or matching funds
when the grant is written. Dr.
Worley is to write the grant re-
quest immediately.
Following an executive session,
trustees reconvened in open ses-
Please see ALTO ISD, page 6A
1
I
'Buy' option av;
to '97 ticket hoir
Rusk Eagle season football
ticket holders may exercise their
option to purchase reserve seats
by contacting Ricky Hassell at
Rusk High School by Aug. 21.
If a commitment has already
been made, tickets mi
up at the high school office be-
and4p.m.
lay after Aug. 1<
ickets is $20 for five
re seat tickets will '
go on e to the general public I
t-24.
in-
21 at 5 p.m.
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Whitehead, Marie. Cherokeean/Herald (Rusk, Tex.), Vol. 149, No. 26, Ed. 1 Thursday, August 20, 1998, newspaper, August 20, 1998; Rusk, Texas. (https://texashistory.unt.edu/ark:/67531/metapth152386/m1/1/: accessed April 30, 2024), University of North Texas Libraries, The Portal to Texas History, https://texashistory.unt.edu; crediting Singletary Memorial Library.