Citizens Journal (Atlanta, Tex.), Vol. 112, No. 30, Ed. 1 Sunday, September 2, 1990 Page: 1 of 14
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Feds take control late Friday; thrift to re-open Tuesday
Atlanta Federal falls victim in S&L crisis
By JOHN COLEMAN
Journal Editor
Atlanta Federal Savings and Loan Association
became the latest Texas thrift to fall into receivership
of the Resolution Trust Corporation. The Office of
Thrift Supervision told the Citizens Journal at 6 p.m.
Friday that the RTC was assuming control of the local
institution.
A new federally-guided mutual association was im-
mediately created to assume all deposits and certian
assets and liabilities of Atlanta Federal. The RTC was
further appointed conservator of this new instituion,
which will be known as Atlanta Federal Savings As-
socation.
Atlanta Federal Savings will maintain normal busi-
ness hours and operations under a managing agent
that is appointed by the RTC. In the meantime, the
Resolution Trust Corporation will be negotiating a
permanent resolution for the troubled thrift.
Atlanta Federal had approximately $97 million in as-
sets and $92.7 million spread out over 8,725 deposit
accounts when it went into receivership Friday.
Deposits continue to be insured by the FSLIC.
A spokesman for the RTC office in Washington said
that when they become conservators at institutions
like Atlanta Federal, the managing agent brought in is
responsible for minimizing losses, limiting growth, and
ensuring that operations are conducted in a fiscally
sound manner.
"They (the managing agents) work to conserve as-
sets and preserve banking services to deposit and
loan customers at the thrifts," the spokesman said.
No one answered at the savings facility Friday
evening. Atlanta Federal president Henry King was
also unavailable for comment Friday evening.
Citizens
10785 ^1 Dec 31
ATLANTA MEMORIAL LIBRARY
90
101 W HIRAM
ATLANTA
TX
75551
ial
CASS COUNTY TEXAS • 1 SECTION, 14 PAGES
SUNDAY, SEPTEMBER 2, 1990
USPS NO. 114-160 VOL. 112, NO. 30
50 CENTS
HH| SB '*V
Judge to hear from Giesler, Womack
Hearing date set for suit
filed after AISD election
By JOHN COLEMAN
Journal Editor
A district court hearing has been
scheduled in a suit arising from last
May's Atlanta school board election.
The setting of the court date is the
first action taken since school board
candidate Michael Giesler filed the
suit contesting the outcome of the
election.
Visiting judge Hollis Garmon, of
Greenville, will hear the details of
the action in Cass County's Fifth
U.S. District Court on Sept. 14. The
litigation was begun after Max
Womack, who apparently had lost
to Dr. Giesler in the May 5 trustee
election by four votes, was declared
the winner following a recount.
Texarkana attorney Josh Morriss
III, who is representing Giesler, con-
firmed Thursday that "it looks like
the hearing will happen at that time.
It looks like we can get all of the
players and the courtroom on Sept.
14."
Following the swearing-in of
Womack as the new trustee, Giesler
said he was basing his appeal on
the discovery of a loose ballot in the
absentee box and what appeared to
be a change of votes on a ballot in
the Douglassville ballot box.
According to Citizens Journal ac-
counts of the election aftermath,
Giesler received 691 votes to
Womack's 687 on May 5 and was
declared the winner. The canvass-
ing of those totals on Monday, May
7, did not change the results.
Womack, however, asked for a
recount and a new total emerged.
He was subsequently declared the
new winner by one vote, 689-688.
During the recount, Giesler lost one
vote each in Atlanta and Douglas-
sville and Womack picked up one
vote in each of those boxes. That
brought the vote total to a tie until a
single ballot, not bound with the
others, was found in the absentee
ballot box. It was marked for
Womack, thus pushing him past the
tie by one vote.
Dr. Giesler questioned the cir-
cumstances surrounding the loose
ballot and the Douglassville ballot,
which he said appeared to have
been originally marked for him but
chanqed to reflect a vote for
Please see ELECTION page 2A
High temperatures result in warning
to those vulnerable to hot weather
Photo courtesy of GARY WALKER
Two local men were Injured Monday night when their Cavalier smashed Into a tree and the car be-
came lodged between two trees. Atlanta Fire Chief Waylon Jackson, left, Is shown directing some
light on the rescue effort.
Latest rash of car accidents happen
on two-lane roads with sharp curves
Journal Staff Report
Four Atlanta-area residents were
injured in two separate automobile
accidents last week. In both
mishaps, each involving only one
vehicle, the drivers failed to nego-
tiate sharp curves on local rural
roads.
According to Texas Department
of Public Safety Trooper John Elder,
two men were hurt late Monday
night when their car left Farm-to-
Market Road 249 about three-and-
a-half miles east of Atlanta. Scott
Verrett, 18, reportedly lost control of
his late-model Chevrolet Cavalier
about 10:45 p.m., left the road and
struck a tree. The force of the im-
pact flipped the car so that its rear
end became lodged between two
trees.
Elder said that Verrett was taken
to Atlanta Memorial Hospital and
later transferred to Wadley Regional
Medical Center in Texarkana. Mar-
Please see WRECKS page 3A
Journal Staff Report
At least four deaths in the North
Louisiana area have been attributed
to the heat in the past week, but no
deaths have been reported in the lo-
cal area so far.
Still, Excessive Heat Advisories
have been issued by the National
Weather Service for the entire Ark-
La-Tex region until cooler tempera-
tures develop.
"This is the type of weather where
we see an increase in heat exhaus-
tion, heat cramps or even heat
stroke," said Ernest Ethridge of the
NWS office in Shreveport. "The
chronically ill and elderly are espe-
cially vulnerable."
The American Red Cross offered
the following advice for reducing the
risk of heat-related problems: drink
lots of liquids, especially if any
length of time is going to spent out-
side; remain inside between 10 a.m.
and 2 p.m., generally the hottest
time of day; use whatever cooling
methods are available: fans, air
conditions, shade, umbrellas, etc.,
and wear nalural fiber clothinq, such
as cotton, and clothing that is light
in color.
Ethridge said that a dome of high
pressure over the area is keeping
the intense heat in place. He
predicted that the hot weather will
continue unabated for at least the
next several days.
QC residents to conserve water
Journal Staff Report
Queen City residents are
being asked to conserve water.
Mayor Jamie Rawls has re-
quested that all Queen City
water users refrain from using
water to for lawns, swimming
pools, washing vehicles, or other
non-essential uses.
"We are asking that our cus-
tomers use our well water for
household use only," she said
Friday. "Otherwise, if the
demand reaches the point where
our wells can't keep up, we'll
have to go to Texarkana lake
water until the demand drops or
we qet a very good rain."
Workshops, training, job searches all part of readjustment program
Expected layoff victims to be assisted in finding jobs
By JOHN COLEMAN
Journal Editor
It's ironic, but the U.S. military
buildup in the Middle East has
forced Red River Army Depot's
command to ask many of the
workers due to be fired next month
to put in overtime hours to meet the
increased workload. That has in-
creased speculation, and hope, that
the announced Reduction in Force
(RIF) of almost 1,000 people will be
cancelled or postponed. But depot
officials said Wednesday that they
are still preparing for the scheduled
layoffs.
During a briefing for city and
county officials and government
agencies Wednesday, plans were
outlined for those losing their jobs at
area military installations to receive
assistance in looking for new jobs.
"While possibly an RIF cancella-
tion does exist because of Opera-
tion Desert Shield, no decision to
that effect has been made at this
time," RRAD Commander Col.
James Hinebaugh told almost 75
people gathered at the Bowie Coun-
ty Courthouse. "We've got to
proceed as if everything would hap-
pen according to the previously an-
nounced plans. We're also looking
at the possibility that if the RIF is
scaled back or even postponed, that
workers will be affected at a later
date."
Since early August, depot
employees have worked to meet an
increasing number of supply orders
and repairs on military equipment,
he said. In certain areas of the
depot, activities are going on
around the clock.
Military budget cuts in fiscal year
Please see LAYOFFSpage 2A
Chapman says cancel cutback
Journal Staff Report
U.S. Rep. Jim Chapman Wed-
nesday said he has urged
Secretary of Defense Dick
Cheney to cancel the planned
Reduction in Force at Red River
Army Depot. Chapman, D-
Sulphur Springs, stressed the
fact that the Middle East Crisis is
Please see CHAPMAN page 3A
£
Journal staff photo by JOHN COLEMAN
Hightower behind family farms
Journal stafl photo by JOHN COLEMAN
Carrying on the political tradition of shaking hands and klsslnc.
babies, Texas Agriculture Commissioner Jim Hightower, right,
courts the future vote ot Daniel Vaughn, 10 months, during a cam-
paign stop In Atlanta. Violet Stanford, the proud grandmother,
looks on.
By JOHN COLEMAN
Journal Editor
Texas Agriculture Commissioner
Jim Hightower told a group of Cass
County supporters Wednesday that
the future of the family farm is in the
hands of those who create and
regulate state and federal agricul-
ture policies.
During a campaign stop in Atlan-
ta, the three-term ag leader also
said that only 2 to 3 percent of the
state's population is involved in
farming now. He pledged to con-
tinue to work to make agriculture in
Texas both economically and
ecologically viable.
"We're trying to build an agricul-
ture future that links farmers with
their natural allies, despite the fact
that the Farm Bureau Insurance
Company, the chemical lobby and
too many politicians keep trying to
tell farmers that their enemies are
their own customers.
"Farmers are hearing that the en-
vironment is their enemy and small
business and labor are their
enemies. We're not enemies, we're
allies."
Hightower said that if the family
Please see FARMS page 3A
Cass County Judge Tommy Kessler, center, was one of many officials present Wednesday to hear
plans for helping almost 1,000 Red River Army Depot workers find new jobs.
Atlanta trustees okay $6.6 million
budget for 1990-91 school year
By JOHN COLEMAN
Journal Editor
The 1990-91 school year budget
for the Atlanta Independent School
District will reflect almost $640,000
in increases. The district's school
board adopted the $6.67 million
budget Thursday night following a
public hearing on the spending plan.
District administrators attribute
the monetary needs largely to state
mandated teacher pay raises and
state required new teacher hirings.
Looming in the background are the
overall results of the new Texas
school finance plan, designed to ob-
tain equity in state funding between
rich and poor school districts.
Board members had trimmed
$276,032 from the budget originally
proposed during several workshop
sessions in the weeks prior to
Thursday's hearing.
The new budget procedures have
been a source of frustration for
many school districts, including At-
lanta.
"Projecting state revenues is like
shooting in the dark," explained
AISD Superintendent J.D. Cox. "It
has been very challenging because
of the many variables involved in
trying to project revenues based on
Senate Bill 1."
The budqet is exoected to be
Please see BUDGET page 3A
County commissioners look at spending plan
By VALERIE EAVES
Journal Staff Writer
The Cass County Commissioners
Court spent Thursday afternoon
sorting out the Cass County budget
during a budget workshop. The
commissioners were getting the
budget ready to be voted on at their
next regular meeting Sept. 10. In
the course of getting the budget
together, the commissioners also
discussed the tax rate that will prob-
ably be needed to fund the budget.
Since it has been two years since
the county employees have
received a raise, the commissioners
decided that, if at all possible, they
should have a raise this year. Al-
though very nominal, a 5 percent
raise was figured into the budget.
In order to keep the budget as
low as possible, the commissioners
cut anything they didn't feel was ab-
solutely necessary to the day-to-day
operation of the county.
"Necessity, that's what we're
looking for in this budget, is it
necessary," said Precinct 1 Com-
missioner Taylor Duncan.
Among the items not deemed
necessary this year was $18,000
budgeted to paint the courthouse.
Please see COUNTY page 3A
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Coleman, John. Citizens Journal (Atlanta, Tex.), Vol. 112, No. 30, Ed. 1 Sunday, September 2, 1990, newspaper, September 2, 1990; Atlanta, Texas. (https://texashistory.unt.edu/ark:/67531/metapth348155/m1/1/: accessed May 8, 2024), University of North Texas Libraries, The Portal to Texas History, https://texashistory.unt.edu; crediting Atlanta Public Library.