The Bastrop Advertiser (Bastrop, Tex.), Vol. 154, No. 30, Ed. 1 Saturday, June 9, 2007 Page: 1 of 13
thirteen pages : ill. ; page 24 x 14 in.View a full description of this newspaper.
Extracted Text
The following text was automatically extracted from the image on this page using optical character recognition software:
CYAN magenta
black
SATURDAY, JUNE 9, 2007
500
"ChE JBastrop SdDcrtiscr
Texas' Oldest Weekly Newspaper Since March 1, 1853 Semi-Weekly Since Sept. 5, 1977
Volume 154, Number 30
Bastrop, Texas
32 pages in three sections
Elgin
targets
streets
By Terry Hagerty
Staff Writer
Phase I of the city of Elgin's
utility and street repair project
drew closer to fruition during
a city council meeting Tuesday
night.
"We have a direction we're
going," City Manager Jeff
Coffee said, referring to a list
of streets which are likely to be
repaired first with $2 million
in certificates of obligation the
council previously approved.
The streets include: Central
Avenue (from S. Main St. to
S. Avenue A), Arthur Street,
Bill Street, Brenham Street,
Canary Street, Carolina Street,
Church Street, Ellis Street and
East 3rd, 5th and 6th streets.
The first phase of street
repairs will address paving
unpaved roads with asphalt.
Repairs to Central Avenue
— at an estimated $321,000
— will probably be the cost-
liest to fix up, followed by
East 6th Street (estimated at
$178,000) and East 3rd Street
(estimated at $87,000).
As many as 15 other streets
could be worked on in Phase
I since the city has prelimi-
nary plans to use as much as
$1,975,000 of the $2 million
in bonds.
However, Coffee said he
wants to see the recommenda-
tions of engineers who will
have a better grasp of costs
after a more thorough inspec-
tion of streets.
In other action, the coun-
cil unanimously approved a
rezoning request from Hutto
Market LP for 34 acres bor-
dering the south side of US
290, across from the Westwind
subdivision.
The parcel was rezoned
from R-l (residential) to C-3
(commercial). A retail center
composed of several business-
es is expected, Coffee said,
although he did not know any
further details.
The council approved a
second rezoning request from
Hutto Market LP for an adja-
cent 41 acres of land. The
rezoning would be from R-l
to A-Multi-Family-Residential
along County Line Road near
its intersection with US 290.
Plans call for an apartment
complex, Coffee said.
The two parcels come
together just before the wedge
of land, which forms the corner
of County Line Road and US
290. However, the "wedge"
will still retain a drive-in gro-
cery and several homes cur-
rently located there.
\YS* ' .
a
The Bastrop Advertiser photoATerry Hagerty
Chris Apperson works on getting ready a bronze sculpture of a firefighter by Clint
Howard, "In Moments of Valor," which will be dedicated at the Bastrop fire station
today at 2 p.m. See page 12A for more photos.
County faces radio change
By Davis McAuley
Editor
Bastrop County commissioners
will decide Monday how quickly to
begin replacing the county's aging
emergency radio communications
system. They could try to begin
almost immediately, even though
the cost will ultimately run into the
millions of dollars.
Many cities and counties across
the country are facing a 2012 dead-
line when current radio systems
will be phased out in favor of new
digital radio systems, said Scott
Hatfield, who oversees commu-
nications for the sheriff's depart-
ment. After 2012 the maker of
the county's current radio system,
INSIDE
AFL - CIO golfer Hubbard dies.
Page 8A
WEATHER! INDEX
□ Saturday's forecast:
Partly Cloudy
High: 92°
Low: 76°
Rain: 20%
Last week:
High Low Prec.
Weds. 89 69 none
Thursday 91 75 none
Friday 93 77 none
■ Provided by the KXAN School
Weather Network.
Classified ads
2B
Community
11A
Farm & Garden.
5A
Health
7A
Letters
4A
Lifestyles
12A
Real Estate....
1B
Sports
8A
65668 78602
r
AUSTIN COMMUNITY NEWSPAPERS
This newspaper
is recyclable
Motorola, will no longer service
and support the existing technol-
ogy, said Hatfield.
Total replacement cost could
reach $9 million or more, he said.
The rush for a Monday decision
is driven by the possibility that
Bastrop Count) could be eligible
for as much as $6 million later this
year to begin the work, according
to Hatfield. If commissioners want
to get started, an application is due
later this month, he said.
The catch is that the county
would be responsible for paying 25
percent of the bill for work to be
done. "For instance we could get
$3 million and we put up $1 mil-
lion for the (new) infrastructure,"
said Hatfield.
An application for the entire $6
million available for the Austin-San
Marcos metropolitan area this year
would require a $2 million match.
While Hatfield laid out the
county's options for commissioners
earlier this week, there was little dis-
cussion of where or how the county
might find money for the purpose.
Count}' Auditor Lisa Smith did not
attend the session. She was reported
to be out of town.
"We don't have $2 million," said
Pet. 2 Commissioner Clara Beckett.
"And we can't borrow it, in my
opinion."
Hatfield suggested planning to
replace the radio system over per-
haps three budget years.
The first question to be answered
is "what does Bastrop County really
need," said County Judge Ronnie
McDonald.
Pet. 4 Commissioner Lee Dildy
suggested that some other agencies
which now use the county's radio
system could help finance the local
matching money. He mentioned
that school districts and an emer-
gency services district already rely
on the county system for some of
their communications needs.
New sherrif
canidates still
lining up
By Davis McAuley
Editor
Anyone else who would like
to be sheriff of Bastrop County
has until Thursday to put their
names into consideration. By
the submission deadline next
week, it may be a long list.
On Friday the county judge's
office already had seven
resumes awaiting review.
At a special meeting this
week county commissioners
agreed on some minimum qual-
ifications they'd like to see,
set the Thursday deadline and
agreed that the judge's office
will collect the applications.
Judge Ronnie McDonald's
office is at 804 Pecan St. in
Bastrop.
Commissioners are asking
candidates to submit "your
resume and qualifications" for
their review.
They want a new sheriff with
experience managing a force
of more than 100 employees,
experience in law enforcement,
understanding of jail operations
and standards, communication
skills and familiarity with other
areas including civil process,
extradition and investigations.
Pet. 1 Commissioner David
Goertz, now under indictment
for abuse of office, abstained
from the vote to adopt the
minimum qualifications.
Commissioners must appoint
a new sheriff because former
sheriff Richard Hernandez
resigned after being indicted on
similar charges.
At least two possible sheriff
candidates attended the Monday
session. One was former Travis
County Chief Deputy Sheriff
Dan Richards who has also
served as treasurer of the board
which governs the Bastrrop
County Emergency Services
District No. 1.
Ron Lundrigen identified
himself as a retired peace offi-
cer from California. Others who
have openly voiced interest in
the appointment include for-
mer sheriff Fred Hoskins and
a former chief deputy, Rusty
Edwards.
McDonald turned aside
efforts by such hopefuls to
introduce themselves further to
commissioners Monday, saying
the session was not for any
"pre-mterviews."
At the request of local
officials the Texas Attorney
General's office has spearhead-
ed a corruption probe which so
for has resulted in three indict-
ments. In addition to Goertz and
Hernandez, former Pet. 1 road
foreman Bubba Powell was
indicted this week on charges
he falsified pay records to show
that another employee worked
20 overtime hours over a two
week period.
Normally the current grand
jury 's work would be done with
its June meeting, but this panel
has been held over for up to 90
days. On May 30 21st District
Judge Terry Flenniken signed
an order extending the grand
jury's normal term. According
to the order, the grand juror is
allowed to "conclude its inves-
tigation into matters before it,
specifically, public corruption
and gambling matters."
The grand jury is scheduled
to meet again July 17, said
District Attorney Bryan Goertz.
Normally a new state grand
jury is empanelled in Bastrop
County each Januaiy and July
for a six-month term. The
January panel is set to meet
again July 17, said District
Attorney Bryan Goertz. The
regular July panel will also
begin work next month.
The "gambling matters"
under scrutiny are believed to
be related to the seizure last
year of dozens of "eight liner"
machines from a gaming parlor
on Texas 71 west of Bastrop.
Since the raid, no one has been
indicted in connection with the
operation.
City council gets
lighter agenda
By Davis McAuley
Editor
The Bastrop City Council
doesn't want to spend too much
time Tuesday handling thorny
issues, not during a week mostly
devoted to celebrating the 175th
anniversary of the city's founding
in 1832.
That means the agenda for
Tuesday's regular business meeting
lias been severely pruned to avoid
taking up complex or contentious
issues, said City Manager Mike
Talbot.
"I was told, 'take it off (the
agenda,"' Talbot said.
Only three measures on the
agenda are eligible for final adop-
tion. The most notable, perhaps,
is the final step m annexing some
198 acres, mostly parcels which are
already almost entirely surrounded
by current city limits. Most parcels
are on the city's growing west side.
If completed next week the
annexations will become the
See Agenda, Page 2A
By Terry Hagerty
Staff Writer
Calvary Episcopal Church is part of Sunday's tour of city churches.
Old fashioned porch-sitting,
plenty of live music, tours of
historic churches, salutes to
Mexican heritage, a Juneteenth
Parade and fireworks are some
of the highlights of the 10-day
celebration marking Bastrop's
175 Birthday.
The town was officially
platted and named by Mexican
land commissioner Jose Miguel
de Arciniega on June 8, 1832,
See Celebration, Page 3A
A
I
4-
4-
Upcoming Pages
Here’s what’s next.
Search Inside
This issue can be searched. Note: Results may vary based on the legibility of text within the document.
Tools / Downloads
Get a copy of this page or view the extracted text.
Citing and Sharing
Basic information for referencing this web page. We also provide extended guidance on usage rights, references, copying or embedding.
Reference the current page of this Newspaper.
McAuley, Davis. The Bastrop Advertiser (Bastrop, Tex.), Vol. 154, No. 30, Ed. 1 Saturday, June 9, 2007, newspaper, June 9, 2007; Bastrop, Texas. (https://texashistory.unt.edu/ark:/67531/metapth252380/m1/1/: accessed May 1, 2024), University of North Texas Libraries, The Portal to Texas History, https://texashistory.unt.edu; crediting Bastrop Public Library.