People, Places & Events

Cedar Creek Rotarians hear TxDoT update
By Barbara Gartman
Monitor Staff Writer
GUN BARREL CITY–Sometimes it seems as if there is construction work underway on every well-traveled road in the state.
Texas Department of Transportation (TxDoT) assistant area engineer for Henderson and Anderson counties Chad Ingram listed the various projects and the projects’ stage of completion at the Rotary Club of Cedar Creek Lake’s weekly luncheon Friday.
Ingram showed club members a map showing road and highway projects in ongoing and on-hold construction modes, as well as long-range construction plans.
Ingram started with the project to widen State Highway 334 through Seven Points to the State Highway 274 intersection, saying the job is 80 percent complete.
“Once we get the permanent signals in, that will be done,” he said. “Barring weather and other problems, it will probably be completed by the end of summer.”
Then there’s the safety program in Eustace on the Farm-to-Market 316 South and State Highway 175 intersection, which has been delayed.
“We still plan to do a chip-seal job, but we must wait for better and warmer weather,” Ingram explained.
Plans to restore the pavement and resurface SH 31 from Loop 7 in Athens to Malakoff is on hold, due to lack of funding.
However, Ingram said the project has been submitted for funding through the promised federal economic stimulus package now under consideration by Congress.
“Construction workers will begin pouring the concrete for the new bridge from Caney City to Malakoff in the next three weeks,” Ingram said.
Safety bonding will be applied on FM 316 from Payne Springs to Eustace, starting sometime in March. That project will take about three to five months to complete, he said.
The plan to reconstruct SH 274 as a four-lane divided highway with a flush median from Seven Points to Trinidad is still listed as a long-range project.
The plan is a “place-holder,” with no definite start or completion date in mind, Ingram said.
Questions from the audience clarified some reasons for TxDoT actions.
Q. Why did U.S. 175 go around several cities and go through downtown Eustace?
A. City businesses were afraid if the highway bypassed their city, it would kill it.
“The original schematic had U.S. 175 bypassing Eustace. It (the change) made it a little more challenging for us,” Ingram said.
Q. Why was the Malakoff bridge chosen over the SH 334 causeway bridge between Gun Barrel City and Seven Points?
A. The superstructure on the Malakoff bridge was in worse shape than on the causeway bridge, Ingram explained.
In other business, members:
• welcomed new member William Jackson, 51, to the club.
• witnessed Dale Molander present a check for $1,500 to Tri-County Library director Claire Stout.
• heard the club’s annual golf tournament is set for Friday, April 24. Tee time is noon and the cost is $75 per player.


Monitor Photo/Barbara Gartman
Rotarians Robert Blaase (left) and Dale Molander, along with past Rotary president
Lee Montgomery (far right) present Tri-County Library director Claire Stout with
a donation check for $1,500 at the club’s weekly luncheon Friday.

Windfall or fallout?
Texas schools could gain millions from Obama’s stimulus package
By Michael V. Hannigan
Monitor Staff Writer
CEDAR CREEK LAKE–The $819 billion federal economic stimulus package passed by the House and a similar package recently approved by the Senate could have a huge impact on Henderson County schools, according to an Austin-based consulting firm.
Strategic Partnerships, Inc. (SPI) recently announced Henderson County schools could get more than $7 million over a two-year period, if the plan is approved without substantial changes by a House/Senate conference committee.
The economic stimulus package is backed by President Barack Obama. The Senate version is somewhat larger than the House bill, and differences in the two bills will have to be ironed out in committee before the final bill is sent to the President for signing into law.
“This is good news for schools, good news for the economy and good news for companies that sell to government,” SPI president and CEO Mary Scott Nabers said.
“Not only will the federal economic stimulus funding provide Texas schools with some much-needed additional funding for facilities, programs and technology, but it will also open up additional contracting opportunities for local businesses to sell their goods and services to school districts – providing a much-needed boost to local economies,” Nabers reported.
According to SPI, the Malakoff Independent School District could receive as much as $1,096,800 over two years.
MISD Superintendent Dr. John Spies said he knew about the possible windfall, but he isn’t counting that money just yet.
“The money is separated into special education, at-risk, and construction,” he said. “But there has been no time line released for when the money would be available”
Spies also said there has been no announcement on what requirements might come along with the money.
“We won’t determine how the money will be spent until all the rules and time lines are announced,” he said. “I don’t count my chickens before they are hatched.”
According to SPI, other Henderson County schools would receive the following amounts over two years if the package is approved:
• Athens ISD – $2,668,800
• Brownsboro ISD – $1,608,600
• Cross Roads ISD – $371,200
• Eustace ISD – $857,700
• LaPoynor ISD – $279,200
• Murchison ISD – $178,700
• Trinidad ISD – $195,900
“These millions of dollars estimated to be headed to local school districts in Texas will not only supplement school coffers, but also provide contracting opportunities that can put local workers back to work,” Nabers said.
Not everyone believes the economic stimulus package will work.
“I have serious concerns and reservations about the government stimulus package,” Henderson County Congressman Jeb Hensarling said in a press release.
“President Obama’s initial plan called for tax relief for small businesses, but congressional Democrats have removed the majority of the provisions that would provide relief as they are struggling in this turbulent economic climate,” Hensarling said.
“An economic stimulus plan should focus on preserving jobs, creating greater opportunity and providing tax relief for all families, as they are struggling to pay for their mortgages, their health care premiums and put their kids through college,” Hensarling added.
“Even if you believe that government spending can stimulate the economy, only 4 percent of the stimulus package is for infrastructure, only 2 percent is for our small businesses, the job creators of America, and an overwhelming majority of the rest is aimed at growing an already bloated federal budget,” he said.