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Year in Review
The Cherokee County Sheriff’s Department received a new computerized mapping system from East Texas Council of Governments. This equipment will assist dispatchers with the most up-to-the minute contact with calls coming into the office. They will be able to pinpoint wrecked vehicles and other calls from cell phones. State accountability ratings for Cherokee County included six exemplary; schools included eight recognized; and four acceptable campuses.
A wrap-up of activities for the last six months of 2009 follows: May Following a two-month search, the Rusk City Council named Joe Evans as the new Rusk police chief during a special session May 4. Mr. Evans assumed command May 18 of a 1 10-man force wit with an annual bud budget of almost $700 700,000. The city of Rusk contracted with Law Enforcement Management Services (LEMS) to help with the search and selection. After narrowing the field from 25 to five, a local review panel conducted a final round of interviews on Saturday and returned their recommendations to the city council.
Panel members included Rusk City Manager Mike Murray, City Councilman Kris Morgan, Maxine Session, a member of the local business community; Todd Hunter, chief of Police in Jasper and Marlin Price, a principal partner in LEMS. Mr. Evans has a law enforcement career spanning 40 years. At the time of his employment, he was employed by the Cherokee County District Attorney’s office as an investigator. Prior to that, he served as the sheriff of Nacogdoches County for 15 years. Earlier in his career, he served 16 years as a Department of Public Safety trooper. Mr. Evans has a bachelor’s degree in criminal justice from Stephen F. Austin State University, where he is currently working on his master’s. He is a graduate of the FBI’s National Academy in Quantico, Va., and has served as a law enforcement instructor for both the East Texas Women’s Shelter and Angelina College. He has also been appointed by the governor to serve on both the State Commission on Jail Standards and the Texas Punishment Standards Commission. He received the East Texas Award and Leadership Award from the East Texas Peace Officers Association – an organization he served as president. Mr. Evans is also an arson investigator. Voters in Rusk approved the sale of beer and wine for off-premise consumption and the sale of mixed drinks in restaurants May 9. The election made it legal to sell beer and wine in Rusk for the first time since the 18th amendment to the constitution of the United States was ratified Jan. 16, 1919. Even though the 18th amendment was repealed with the adoption of the 25th amendment on Dec. 5, 1933, Rusk citizens preferred “dry” over “wet.”
Voting in the election was probably the largest in recent years with 682 ballots cast. The next highest number of votes came in 1993 when 465 persons voted. A total of 248 persons voted early in the wet-dry election. Tallies showed proposition No. 1 drew 118 votes for and 130 against; and Proposition No. 2, showed 125 for and 120 against. Rusk Mayor Angela Raiborn was re-elected to a second term. Mrs. Raiborn received 480 votes. Her challengers were Jefferson Wayne Jackson with 139 votes and Gary Epperson, 56. Kala Michelle Finley, daughter of Lindy and Kenny Finley led the Rusk High School class of 2009 in graduation ceremonies June 6 at Eagle Stadium. Andrew Michael Bennette, son of Kelly Bennette, was salutatorian and Kebra Renee Monk, daughter of Traci and Wayne Monk, third ranking senior. Leading the class of 38 students at Alto High School were Jared Moore, valedictorian; Isabelle Threlkeld, salutatorian; and Kaylan Thacker, third ranking student. The Bonner Bank building, a historical landmark that previously stood just off U.S. Highway 69 across from the Southern Motor Inn, was moved to the vacant lot between the Heritage Center and Prosperity Bank in downtown Rusk. The building had been moved several times from its original location at 4th and Main streets, the current site of Austin Bank. “We thought it would be better to have the building within a block of the original site,” said Kevin Stingley, director of the Heritage Center. The move was the idea of Patsy Dawson of Jacksonville, a direct descendent of the Bonner family. It did not come without some work, however, as the Heritage Center had to receive approval from the Texas Historical Commission in Austin. “You’re technically not supposed to move a registered historic landmark or you lose the designation,” Mr. Stingley said. “There is quite a bit of legislation involved. “The commission deliberated for several weeks. Considering it had been moved several times before, the commission gave us permission to move it.” Funding for the move was secured by board member Stephanie Caveness and her husband, Louis. “They handled the project, secured the funding and took care of the logistics,” Mr. Stingley said. “It didn’t cost a lot of money to move it.” Mr. Stingley said the next plan was to determine when the building was actually constructed. “We’ll have to do a lot of backtracking and research,” he said. “We know it was there in the 1920s and 30s, but we hope to find when it was originally built.” Jeff Austin III, vice-chairman of Austin Bank in Jacksonville, was named chairman-elect of the Texas Bankers Association (TBA) for the 2009-10 fiscal year. Mr. Austin served as chairman of the TBA BankPac Committee from 1998-2000 and was elected to the TBA board of directors in 2005. He has served as chairman of the TBA government relations council and TBA treasurer. He holds bachelor’s and master’s degrees from the University of Texas at Tyler. He is a fourth-generation banker. When he takes his position as chairman in 2010, he will be the third successive member of his family to serve as TBA chairman. His grandfather, Jeff Austin, served as TBA chairman in 1966, and his father, Jeff Austin Jr., served in 1988. TBA was founded in 1885 and is the largest and oldest state bankers association in the nation. June The Camp Ground Baptist Church observed its 110th birthday with an all-day celebration Sunday, June 28. Dinner was served on the ground and the Southern Plainsmen from Hornbeck, La. presented special entertainment. Between 10,000 and 12,000 persons attended the 25th annual Jacksonville Tomato Fest June 13-14 in downtown Jacksonville. More than 200 vendors offered their wares to visitors. Jacksonville Chamber of Commerce spokespersons said this was the largest Tomato Fest in history and there were more vendors participating than ever before. Highlighting activities was the fourth annual Chili’s street dance Saturday night, June 14. Cherokee County, area water corporations and fire departments received more than $2.6 million in grants because of damage inflicted by Hurricane Ike in September 2008. The Texas Community Development Block Grant funds are earmarked for damages following the storm; however, approval for other entities may be announced later. Cherokee County received an allocation of $1,258,228. Renovations of county barns are not included in the approved federal funds. Ms. Tarrant said the county barn repairs do not qualify for federal funding. The funds will come from the Texas Community Development Block Grant Program–2008 Supplemental Disaster recovery fund between Cherokee County and beneficiary entities. The United Methodist ARMY visited Rusk in late June and did repairs on area homes. The UM ARMY participants stayed at First United Methodist Church. July The Cherokee County Sheriff’s Department received a new computerized mapping system to be used with its 911 calling system. The ORION Vela 2.0 computer system and hardware, which pinpoints the location of all incoming calls, was received from the East Texas Council of Governments (ETCOG). Cherokee County and other counties served by ETCOG all received the same system. Dispatchers said information pertaining to the cost was not with the equipment. Rusk Independent School District was approved for a grant worth $500,000. Lesa Jones, executive director of finance, told the Rusk ISD board, “We were notified that we have been awarded a grant.” The funds will be used for technology at the intermediate campus. “All our students on the campus will receive a laptop computer. We will have a year of training and the students should get the laptops by the end of next year,” Mrs. Jones said. The Texas Water Development Board passed a conditional resolution at their July 16 meeting to increase the agency’s financial stake in the Lake Columbia project. The condition stipulates that the Angelina & Neches River Authority must receive “a favorable record of decision” on its final permit request in order to access phase three funds for construction. Lake Columbia’s funding hit a plateau with 18 participants willing to purchase 63 percent of the $200 million price tag. A bill passed in the waning days of the 81st session of the Texas Legislature made it possible for TWDB to purchase up to 50 percent of the remaining water in the Columbia project. State Rep. Chuck Hopson D-Jacksonville) and state Sen. Robert Nichols (R-Jacksonville) sponsored HB 3861 and cleared the way for the TWDB to commit a maximum of $48.5 million more. A companion bill extended a looming deadline for the start-date of construction. TWDB had previously committed $15.7 million on the project during phase one and phase two. Matthew Barnes, a 2008 graduate of Alto High School and current FFA member, recently completed his term as State FFA president at the 81st Annual State FFA convention held in Dallas. Matthew was elected to his office at the 80th convention last year in Lubbock. Matthew took a year off from college to represent the Texas FFA organization. He had the opportunity to travel across the state and speak at more than 1,500 high schools, and meet the more than 63,000 FFA members that comprise the state organization. In addition, he traveled to Washington, D.C. where he met former President George W. Bush, and on a later occasion, returned to Washington and met current President Barack Obama. Out of more than 1,000 FFA chapters in Texas, the Rusk FFA Chapter was ranked in the top 10 in both chapter rating programs by the Texas FFA Association. This ranking puts Rusk in the top one percent in the state for the second consecutive year. The Rusk FFA was one of only three chapters statewide to rank in the top 10 in both rating programs. The Rusk FFA ranked seventh according to the National Chapter Award information and ninth in the Golden Horizon Award. The Rusk FFA was also the only chapter within its area to rank in the top 10 in either rating program. The National Chapter Award requires chapters to submit 15 activities in three categories; student, chapter and community. Cherokee County Commissioners voted in late July to purchase Fixed Base Operator rights (FBO) at the airport from Skyways Aero. The airport FBO sells gas to airplane owners and rents hanger space. The county also purchased gas pumps with new credit card equipment and a hanger. Purchase price was $277,000. Eric Collins is the new game warden assigned to the Rusk area. He joins fellow Cherokee County game warden Brian Bearden, who is assigned to the Bullard area. Both Mr. Collins and Mr. Bearden work from their homes, but their regional office is in Rusk. Mr. Collins moved to Cherokee County in March. His wife, Cadi and daughter, Riley, joined him in June. August The current accountability standings for Cherokee County schools are the best since TEA changed its testing system from the TAAS to the TAKS test. Six campuses received TEA’s highest commendation with an exemplary rating. Eight received “recognized” status; and four received acceptable ratings. The New Summerfield ISD was the only one in the county to receive a district-wide rating of recognized. Cherokee County had three exemplary campuses last year, compared to eight this year; and the county improved from seven recognized campuses to eight this year. In the “acceptable” category, there were nine campuses last year and only four this year as individual campuses moved into higher categories. Rusk ISD’s ratings remained unchanged. Two campuses – the primary and elementary schools – received exemplary ratings. The intermediate and junior high campuses were recognized and the high school was named acceptable. “We are proud of our campuses and they continue to perform well. Our campuses came within a few points of making the next higher rating. Overall, we are doing well. Our ratings are the result of the hard work our staff and administration", Dr. Jim Largent, superindendent said. The high school came within two points on two subgroups of being name recognized. Largent said he hopes that the district will soon become a recognized campus. Jacksonville received three exemplary ratings; two recognized and two acceptable. Superintendent Dr. Joe Wardell said, “We are so excited about our accountability ratings for 2008-09. Three exemplary campuses are something for us to shout about. Then, we add two recognized campuses to the mix. Our other two acceptable campuses are so close to being recognized. We are so proud of our students and staff and excited to see what the 2009-10 year will bring.” Fred Douglas, West Side and Joe Wright all received exemplary ratings; Nichols Intermediate and East Side Elementary, recognized; Jacksonville High School and Jacksonville Middle School, acceptable. Last year the Jacksonville Compass Center received an acceptable rating, but was not rated this year because of reorganization. The dropout recovery program was moved from the Compass Center to the high school. Students assigned to the Compass Center are physically counted on campuses from where they were referred. Alto came up in their ratings. The elementary and middle schools both received recognized status and the high school, acceptable. Dr. Ray DeSpain, superintendent, said, “This time three years ago (on July 31, 2006), we found out that our high school had been declared ‘academically unacceptable,’ and our middle school and elementary were rated ‘acceptable.’ “As I told the staff and students then, we had a choice to make–we could either sit around, sulk, make excuses, lay blame and point fingers at one another, or we could get to work on improving. Needless to say, we got to work. We were very pleased when our preliminary results indicated that our high school had improved to “acceptable” status, and that both our middle school and elementary had improved to “recognized” status. Our final scores verified these ratings. “A lot of people have asked me what we attributed these gains to. My answer is the same as the quote that I made three years ago: ‘Teachers preparing students, and students performing.’ Of course, it has also taken a great deal of planning (i.e. curriculum alignment), but, mostly, it has taken a great deal of dedication and hard work on the part of both the teachers and students. “Each year the bar continues to rise. There are more (and more difficult) tests on the horizon, and the passing standards as well as the ratings standards are higher. I have every confidence in our staff and students that we will continue to rise to the challenges. It is also very reassuring to know that the board of trustees and community are behind us and appreciate our efforts.” Wells ISD received a recognized rating for its high school and acceptable for the elementary school. Superintendent Dale Morton said, “The district, and on each campus, the total student group met the standard for the next higher rating. However, sub-populations in two of the 25 areas measured resulted in the ratings listed. “I am pleased with our results and the significant gains achieved by each campus and the district. However, we will continue to pursue 95 percent mastery for each student group in each testing area. This is our goal. goal.”
New Summerfield ISD is the only district in the county reciving a district wide recognized rating. The one campus district received the above-average rating of “recognized.” Superintendent Gregg Weiss said, “I am elated about our TEA rating. I feel this helps to signify the progress and changes our district has experienced. “In the three years that I have been employed with the district, we have focused extremely hard to fulfill our board goals that we had developed. These include improving district facilities to provide an environment conducive to learning, providing a safe environment for learning; aligning curriculum; reducing teacher turnover and being ‘recognized.’ Our goals and steps to incorporate and implement our goals have been instrumental in our progress. "In addition, I attribute our success to many things including the school board’s willingness to work together, the commitment and dedication of our administrators, teachers and all staff members including aides, cooks, maintenance and custodians. Most importantly, I attribute our success and test results to our students and their desire to excel and improve from year to year. “As a superintendent, I could not be prouder and feel fortunate to be a part of this district.” There were no unacceptable campus ratings in the county this year. Sixteen years ago, Cherokee County hired an unassuming, educator from Mississippi, named Joe Daniel, for the position of horticulture agent for the Texas Extension Service. He and his family settled in and he went to work with the area nursery producers that have become number one in the state for dollars sold and production. In addition, he ta ught many gardeners to be “masters" of their crafts. He worked with scores of students and volunteers daily in th Cherokee County Master Gardeners program. His notoriety blossomed with his weekly radio program on KWRW every Friday dubbed appropriately, “Plant Talk.” Quickly, Mr. Daniel became known for his knowledge of plants, insects and diseases. Much to the disappointment of the nurserymen and gardeners throughout the county, his office co-workers and staff and students everywhere, his last day as an agent was July 31. At Mr. Daniel’s request to not make a fuss over him, his fellow agents and staff members held a modest luncheon in his honor where he was presented with a mantle clock and plaque heralding his 16 years of distinguished service. The future plans of this recent retiree are riddled with “everything but paperwork” which is definitely not a job requirement that he will miss. In his absence, fellow extension agents, René McCracken and Aaron Low, will serve as substitutes for Mr. Daniel until his vacancy can be filled. On July 28, TSR received a $1 million check from the state of Texas for the operation and expenses of running the railroad. “It has taken us about six months or so to be able to get this loan,” said TSR Authority Board chairman Steve Presley. “We really started when we testified before the legislature two and a half years ago and told them we felt we’d need operational funds to get through a time period when the railroad was losing money.” Under the terms of the agreement with the state, TSR will have to repay the $1 million over time, but Mr. Presley said that continued operation would take care of that. “We’re giving a little now in order to get a lot back from sales taxes, property taxes and g the riders and guests who stay in our hotels, at our restaurants and shop at our stores,” he said. “It’s an enormous boost to the regional economy.”
The Rusk City Council approved the economic development corporation’s (REDCO) 2009-10 budget presented by Bob Goldsberry, REDCO’s executive director. The budget was approved earlier by REDCO’s directors. Anticipated budgeted expenditures are $100,266.20 with $109,633.81 remaining revenue to be used if needed for other projects. Anticipated revenue will include $42,500.01 in an Etech loan payment; $165,000 in tax revenue and $2,400 in interest income. Expenditures will include $40,000.08 to the Rusk Chamber of Commerce for Mr. Goldsberry’s salary; $38,256.12 with an estimated $277,000 remaining balance for loan payments given and loaned to Etech; $1,500 for a financial audit; $350 for Texas Economic Development Council dues; $200, office supplies, $3,000, web site update and maintenance; $10,000 in legal fees; $10,000, advertising; $1,250 miscellaneous; and $1,250 for current SFA project. The SFA money will be used for scholarships for nursing student students attendng ing classes at Rusk State Hospital. Sidney R iley, a rU etired U.S. Army co colonel, has be been emyed plo as the th Cheroee kee County Eme rgency Man Management Coor ordinator. He b began his duties at the office in Rusk Aug. 24 24. Mr. R Riley grew up in H enderson and gr an graduated from He nderson High School.
He received a Bachelor of Arts in business administration from the University of Oklahoma in December 1974. He majored in personnel management and minored in finance. He received a Master of Science in logistics management from the Florida Institute of Technology at Fort Lee, Va. in May 1990 and a Master of Arts Resourcing the National Military Strategy at the Industrial College of the Armed Forces at Fort McNair in Washington D.C., in June 1996. Cherokee County schools reported considerable increases in school enrollment on the first day of classes. On the first day of school Aug. 24, a total of 8,291 students reported for class. In 2008 8,089 students were enrolled on the first day of school, 202 less than the 2009 first day enrollment. Each member of Alto Elementary School’s student body became a part of history on the first day of school when they placed their hands in concrete to secure their legacy as the first group of classes to learn in the new building. The dedication ceremony included speeches by Sen. Robert Nichols (R-Jacksonville), SFA Regent Steve McCarty and school board president Freddy Johnson. The ceremony coincided with the first day of school and also included tours for the public. Coming next week: the conclusion of the Year in Review story. |
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