Sweetwater Reporter (Sweetwater, Tex.), Vol. 113, No. 357, Ed. 1 Thursday, January 12, 2012 Page: 1 of 10
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CM K
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DEDICATED TO PROUDLY DELIVERING LOCAL NEWS SINCE
Thursday, January 12, 2012
www.sweetwaterreporter.com
1881
Vol. 113, Issue 357 ■ 50 cents
Victim takes the
stand in Castillo case
BY BELINDA SERRANO
Staff Writer
The first day of testimony in the Julian Castillo trial
began on Wednesday, Jan. 11, 2012 at the Nolan County
Courthouse, with the state presenting their whole case
and the defense beginning their case by presenting an
audio recording.
Castillo is charged with two counts — aggravated sex-
ual assault of a child and indecency with a child — from
an incident occurring around May 15, 2002. Opening
statements were heard from both the state and defense,
32nd Judicial District Attorney Ann Reed and defense
attorney Jacob Blizzard.
Reed noted that the victim was an eighth grader at
the time of the incident and two weeks prior was inap-
propriately touched by her stepbrother. Following the
incident between the victim and Castillo, she was told
not to tell her mother and for several years kept silent
on the issue.
Her actions and life, however — which showed symp-
toms of a sexual assault victim, eventually led her to
reveal the incident, in which the victim's mother sought
assistance from counselor Leann Hicks.
Defense attorney Blizzard stated that the victim's
testimony could not be trusted due to her troubled past,
variations of the account and its timeline, and based on
the fact that she reported the incident seven years later.
He also said that the police investigation was not
extensive enough and that when the allegations were
Over $18K raised by grateful commun ty
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The final pledge was received this past week from the First Responders Appreciation and Recognition Dinner
held on Oct. 25, 2011, and the committee announced that the community raised $18,910.92 at the dinner. All six
Nolan County fire departments will each receive a total of $3,151.50 to help restock and repair what they used
in the many wildfires of 2011. "Our committee is most proud of the appreciation and recognition dinner for our
first responders and their families and the way our community came together to make it such a successful event.
Our community is so much safer and a pleasure to live in because of our police departments, sheriffs depart-
ment, fire department and volunteer fire departments."
Shown above are Kathryn Shadley with the appreciation dinner committee, Vance Taylor with the Blackwell
Volunteer Fire Department, his wife, Vicki Taylor, Gary Armstrong with the Roscoe Volunteer Fire Department
and Mickey Hayes with the appreciation dinner committee.
Photos by Tatiana Rodriguez
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Shown above are John Luckey and Richard Davis with the Lake Sweetwater Volunteer Fire Department and
Lita McEachern and Karan Bergstrom with the appreciation dinner committee.
placed on his client, Castillo was shocked.
The victim, who is now 22 years old, was the first
person to take the stand for the state, who offered an
emotional testimony of when she was inappropriately
touched by her stepbrother and then by her stepfather
in a two-week timeframe.
She recalled being told bv Castillo that if she told her
mother what happened, that their marriage could be
ruined. She left their house in Roscoe and fled to a park
near her home and waited for her mother to arrive, but
didn't tell her because of fear.
The victim noted that no other incidents occurred and
she never spoke of it, even as her mother and Castillo's
• See COURT page 3
SEED approves
resolution
for wind
development
tax credit
BY BELINDA SERRANO
Staff Writer
The SEED (Sweetwater Enterprise for Economic
Development) Board of Directors met for their first
meeting of 2012 on Monday morning, Jan. 9 at the
Chamber of Commerce.
The board approved a resolution supporting
the extension of the Production Tax Credit (PTC)
for wind development. Ken Becker, the Executive
Director for SEED, noted that this year he will
be attending the AWEA (American Wind Energy
Association) Washington Day in February, which
allows him and others associated with the group to
interact with and encourage Congress to take action
on the matter.
The resolution was customized to fit Nolan County
— a state and nationwide leader in wind energy, and
will be given to elected officials from Texas at the
national gathering.
Approval was also given on the financial state-
ments from November 2011, with sales tax numbers
still considerably high and almost doubled from
a year before. Unemployment was also presented
from the statements, as the number continues to
decrease in the city and was reported at 6.1%, lower
than the state and national numbers.
Furthermore, the payment of accounts payable
and the minutes from the December 2011 meeting
were approved as well.
Kirstin Smith gave a brief Asst. Marketing/Admin.
Director update in that vendors are being contacted
for this year's booth at the AWEA conference, slated
for June 2012 in Atlanta. Also, final touches are
being made on the website with their initial contacts
with local realtors.
Mr. Becker expanded on the website in his monthly
report that the site has now brought SEED ahead of
the curve from a technological standpoint. Updates
were also given on EMA and Infigen — who now has
53 workers from Nolan County, as both establish-
ments are vital in local business retention. The local
State Farm branch is also expanding by instituting a
second office in the city.
In regards to trade shows, it was noted that two
more shows — plastics and recycling — have been
added for SEED to attend in order to determine
future involvement. The opportunity was presented
through Ludlum Measurements, and a possible col-
laboration between SEED and Ludlum's could take
place at the Atlanta AWEA conference.
Additionally, Ludlum Measurements will be cel-
ebrating its 50th anniversary of business on Feb. 14.
A reception honoring the milestone will be held on
Wednesday, Feb. 15 from 4-6 p.m. at the Sweetwater
County Club.
—TEXAS—
LotterV
POWER BALL - 5-19-29-45
47 PB: 25 PP:2
PICK 3 (Day)- 6-0-8
Daily 4 (Day) — 7-1-1-6
PICK 3 - 8-7-2
Daily 4 — 1-0-4-0
LOTTO TEXAS
3-5-12-14-21-50
CASH FIVE
2-14-17-18-34
Brookshire s customer will win a
Chevy Camaro in the Food Club Frenzy
97
13 10522
Brookshire's Food and Pharmacy stores
have brought back the Food Club Frenzy
to give customers a chance to win $500
and a new Chevrolet Camaro valued at
approximately $40,000.
From Jan. 4 through March 6, when
customers purchase five Food Club items
in a single transaction, they earn a chance
to win. Customers simply fill out the
entry form on the bottom of their quali-
fying shopping receipt and drop it in
their store's entry box. One winner per
store will be randomly drawn to have the
"Frenzy Patrol" visit their home, and will
win $50 for each Food Club item they
have—up to $500. If the patrol finds 20
Food Club items the customer will then
be entered to win the new car.
On March 7, one additional custom-
er will be randomly selected to have a
chance to win the new Camaro. Five qual-
ifying "Frenzy winners" will be selected
to participate in a key-off to win the
grand prize at Texas Motor Speedway on
April 14. Visit brookshires.com to view
more details as well as alternate means
of entry.
About BGC
Since 1928 Brookshire Grocery Co.
has operated on the principle of putting
people first—customers and employees.
Known for friendly service, clean stores
and strong community support, BGC
operates 151 stores in three states — Texas,
Louisiana and Arkansas — with three dis-
tribution centers and seven manufactur-
ing facilities. For more information \isit
brookshires.com and superifoods.com.
CM K
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Sweetwater Reporter (Sweetwater, Tex.), Vol. 113, No. 357, Ed. 1 Thursday, January 12, 2012, newspaper, January 12, 2012; Sweetwater, Texas. (https://texashistory.unt.edu/ark:/67531/metapth229660/m1/1/: accessed June 4, 2024), University of North Texas Libraries, The Portal to Texas History, https://texashistory.unt.edu; crediting Sweetwater/Nolan County City-County Library.