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Escapees
recaptured
Monitor Staff Reports
GUN BARREL CITY–One of the two men who recently escaped from the Van Zandt
County Jail and was recaptured the same night is also under investigation
for alleged involvement in a fraudulent check cashing scheme in the Cedar
Creek Lake Area.
Gun Barrel City Investigator Judie Burley recognized the man’s name
immediately when she returned from a trip to Florida to receive her
associate’s of science degree in criminal justice from the Kaplan University
of Fort Lauderdale, Fla.
“Casey Housewright is one of those we caught on video at an ATM machine,”
Burley said.
Back in November, Housewright was one of four adults in a car police
recognized as being involved in mailbox thefts and forgery cases, which
drove up to a drive-through teller station.
The teller was suspicious and called the police. When police arrived,
Housewright was one of those arrested on charges of drug possession.
Burley believes Housewright is also a suspect in other criminal activity in
the area, but couldn’t be specific.
Housewright, 26, and Kenneth Ray Wyatt, 29, jimmied a lock at Van Zandt
County’s minimum security, low-risk building sometime Friday, Feb. 23.
The Van Zandt County Sheriff’s Office reported the pair apparently climbed a
20-foot fence topped with razor wire to escape.
“The wire did its part – they were injured on the way over,” County Sheriff
R.P. “Pat” Burnett said Monday.
Burnett added the only previous escape happened when the main building of
the jail was new.
Canton Police Department spokesman Michael Echols said the men stole a city
truck from the First Monday Fair Grounds.
After a brief pursuit in Athens, troopers saw the two suspects run from the
vehicle wearing orange jail uniform pants.
Local, Canton and state law enforcement agencies joined forces in the
search, and rounded up the escapees about 3:30 a.m. at a carwash near the
Wal-Mart store in Athens.
Corrections tracking dogs were called to the scene.
Both men were transported back to Van Zandt County, according to the report.
An escape charge is a third-degree felony.
Prior to their escape, Wyatt was in custody on misdemeanor possession of
marijuana charges, while Housewright was being held on a failure to identify
to a peace officer charge.
The pair were arraigned on escape charges and are held on a $250,000 bond.
Brookshire’s has $1 million winner
Special to the Monitor
GLEN ROSE–The first $1 million winner in the Brookshire’s Food Stores
“Victory Lane Texas Motor Speedway Collect-and-Win Game” was announced
Wednesday.
The award was presented to Cody Mohan and his wife, Beth, at the Glen Rose
store.
For the 28-year-old coach in the Hico School District, the big win came as a
total shocker.
“I’ve never won anything in my life, and when we got the winning ticket we
weren’t sure until we took it in and Brookshire’s confirmed it,” Mohan said.
Parents of a 7-month-old child, the couple grew up in the Palestine area.
Both graduated from Palestine High School and Tarleton State University in
Stephenville.
They said they were not sure what they will do with the money.
“We want to use it wisely. We want to ensure our son’s college education and
pay off some bills. We just want to do our research first to see what is
best,” Mohan said.
The game offers customers the opportunity to win $6.1 million in cash and
prizes in Brookshire’s Food Stores in the company’s four-state marketing
area of Texas, Louisiana, Arkansas and Mississippi.
“Obviously, we’re excited for Cody and Beth, but there is still the
possibility of one more $1 million winner out there, in addition to all the
other prizes,” Brad Brookshire, president-marketing group for the Tyler
based grocery chain, said, adding the game runs through April 17.
Stoney LaRue
will perform at Gater’s March 10
Special to The Monitor
GUN BARREL CITY–Stoney LaRue will be performing at Gater’s Saturday, March
10.
At 3 years of age, Stoney LaRue could be found belting out “Swinging” by
John Anderson on his Mr. Microphone radio.
The son of a struggling bass player and a nurse, LaRue understood the allure
of music at an early age, and recorded his first works at age 12.
He earned accolades through school for his unmatched vocal abilities and
promising instrumental talents.
Many subscribe Stoney LaRue to the category of artists who are simply
natural-born performers; just don’t try to limit him by category.
Born in Taft, LaRue actually spent the majority of his adolescence north of
the Red River, in Southeastern Oklahoma.
He never really pictured himself doing anything else but making good music,
so LaRue eventually made his way to the state’s Red Dirt hotbed of
Stillwater, where he began to develop his individualized style from a
widespread range of influences.
From Willie Nelson to Ray Charles, to The Grateful Dead and Kris
Kristofferson, LaRue’s emerging style impressively blends varied elements of
country, blues and soulful rock into cohesive, vocal driven performances.
His abilities earned the immediate respect of then “up and coming” peers
including Cody Canada, Mike McClure, Jason Boland, and other cohorts of the
revitalizing Texas and Red Dirt circuits (now electrifying audiences
nationwide.)
In 2002, both fans and industry took good notice of LaRue after he
spearheaded The Organic Boogie Band and released ”Downtown,” which was
recorded in private sessions at Cain’s Ballroom in Tulsa and mixed in a
trailer on the side of a cliff in Bartlesville, Okla..
It was just the beginning, as the debut cemented LaRue’s following and
inspired a move to New Braunfels, where a vibrant music community and a
persistent touring schedule spawned a vast response.
Fans anxiously awaited the August 2005 release of Stoney LaRue-the Red Dirt
Album, which hit the Billboard sales charts in its debut week.
A far cry from the mixing trailer on the cliff, The Red Dirt Album was
recorded with a tight circle of players and professionals in a studio
setting.
The record was a pinnacle effort for LaRue and has inarguably established
his triple threat status as a truly gifted vocalist, player and performer.
Armed with golden ear musicianship, an amusing wit and soulful magnetism,
LaRue’s shows are infused with an uplifting quality, a cathartic barroom
brand of spirituality, where venues are complimented for good bar “feng shui,”
and where time and dimension can be traversed via emotive lyrics and melodic
riffs.
A charismatic performer, LaRue’s flawless vocals can draw a crowd to a open
mouth level of sonic mesmerization, and next have them singing “Forever
Young” so loudly that you can’t hear anything else.
At 28 years old, Stoney LaRue now performs close to 300 dates a year at top
festivals and venues across the nation and even the Caribbean, sharing bills
with renowned acts like Lee Ann Womack, Gary Allan,Dierks Bentley, Cross
Canadian Ragweed, Ray Wylie Hubbard, Radney Foster, and others.
With a newly assembled band that includes Jeremy Bryant (drums), Jesse Fritz
(bass), Rodney Pyeatt (guitar), and Steve Littleton (keys), Stoney LaRue is
poised for his upcoming addition to the famed Live at Billy Bob’s series and
even greater horizons to come.
The music is undeniably inside of Stoney LaRue, but he’s the type of artist
that doesn’t have to point it out to you, his belief in the music is strong
enough that it just powers through transparently.
Stoney LaRue is not trying to be anybody but the artist that he is, and his
sincerity just seeps out, spills off the stage, and overtakes any room. |