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City has no say on sour gas well
Payne Springs City Council rescinds amendment
By Pearl Cantrell
Monitor Staff Writer
PAYNE SPRINGS–On the advice of the city attorney, the Payne Springs City
Council rescinded action recently taken to include Payne Spring’s
extraterritorial jurisdiction under its oil and gas permitting
ordinance.
That ordinance, passed June 30, would give the city council final say on
the permitting of a sour gas well stationed within its ETJ.
However, in a special meeting lasting three minutes, held July 18, city
council members voted to restore the ordinance to its “original state
and content.” In this form, the ordinance does not include permitting
rights into the city’s ETJ.
Councilman Carl Powell was not present at this meeting. However, at the
June meeting, Powell had abstained from the vote.
A letter from attorney Raymond Shackleford had been reviewed by the
council outlining why the extended ordinance was not in the city’s best
interest.
Since Payne Springs is not governed by homerule, its no powers of the
ETJ is limited to allowing subdivision developments in its ETJ, and only
after entering into an agreement with Henderson County in order to have
those subdivisions fall under its governing power.
This not being the case, the area of the proposed well falls within the
purview of the county, which doesn’t have any powers with regard to
licensing and issuing permits, Shackelford wrote.
“The authority falls within the power of the Texas Railroad Commission,”
he writes.
Apparently, the city attorney had not been consulted prior to the June
meeting extending the ordinance.
Mayor J.T. Noble had said the ordinance had been reviewed by an
attorney. It just wasn’t the city attorney.
“I took it to my personal attorney to make sure the wording was right,”
Noble said.
Shackelford said, that once a company seeks a permit, the city has a
right to voice its concerns directly to the Commission.
“It is my sincerest hope that the licensing board would recognize the
interests of the City of Payne Springs and prevent any type of licensing
that would put any of our residents into harm’s way.
“The city may also seek to annex the disputed area, however, this may be
difficult and be precluded by any type of contract that may exist
between the land’s owner and the company seeking to explore,” he wrote.
During Tuesday’s regular meeting, an audience of about 75 people heard
the reading of the minutes from the July 18 meeting.
During public comments, a Tool resident and advocate for closing down
sour gas wells encouraged the council to speak with Tyler oil and gas
lawyer Dwayne Vandorn.
“The city’s ordinance extension into its ETJ can most definitely be
enforced and upheld,” Galen Hartman stressed.
Council members asked Noble to contact Vandorn.
Likewise, many more lake-area residents used their full five minutes to
call for the shutting down of plans to drill a sour gas well just
outside Payne Springs off State Highway 198 across from the access road
to Enchanted Oaks and Indian Harbor.
Monitor Photo/Pearl Cantrell
Protesters hold signs outside Payne Springs Community Center during
Tuesday’s city council meeting.
Copper theft suspects arrested
Monitor Staff Reports
CRANDALL–Two men suspected of stealing copper were arrested Wednesday
after a five-hour manhunt north of Crandall.
Patrolling officers surprised two would-be copper thieves around
midnight at the Trinity Valley Electric Co-op’s Marshall substation at
1760 Farm-to-Market 741, north of State Highway 175, said Lt. G.W.
Huddleston of the Kaufman County Sheriff’s Department.
The suspects fled on foot. The call went out and Crandall Police
Department officers as well as sheriff’s deputies arrived four minutes
later, securing a search perimeter.
The search party located the suspects’ car and with the help of a
Department of Public Safety helicopter, authorities located Daniel
Lairsey, 27, of Quinlan in a muddy, overgrown area not far away from the
substation.
The manhunt was called off by 11 a.m. and a few hours later deputies
arrested his accomplice, John Kubat, 34, of Mesquite. He was held up a
few miles away from the substation.
About $10,000 worth of damage was caused in the attempt to steal copper,
it was reported.
Kaufman County grand jury
indicts two for murder
Special to The Monitor
KAUFMAN–A Kaufman County grand jury Monday, Aug. 18, indicted a pair of
murder suspects from two different communities.
Roman Jess Mendoza, 26, Kaufman, was indicted on the charge of murder
for his suspected role in the October, 2007, stabbing death of
24-year-old Juan Arturo Muro of Kaufman.
The incident occurred Oct. 13 in the vicinity of 204 S. Monroe Street in
Kaufman.
Through witnesses’ statements, police believe Muro and a group of others
were at the residence drinking alcohol.
At some point, an altercation broke out and Muro was stabbed to death.
Mendoza’s case will be heard in 422nd District Court Judge B. Michael
Chitty’s court, and will be prosecuted by special prosecutor Bill
Wirskye, because a relative of the suspect worked at the courthouse at
the time of the incident.
Meanwhile, Mona Lacretia Medlen, 49, of Terrell, was indicted on capital
murder charges for her involvement in the beating death of her
93-year-old neighbor, Wynell Bourns, in June.
Terrell police believe Medlen was attempting to rob Bourns June 17 when
the incident escalated to violence.
Medlen originally was charged in June with one count of aggravated
robbery and one count of unauthorized use of a vehicle for stealing
Bourns car.
However, Bourns died of her injuries Aug. 30, escalating the charges to
capital murder.
Grand juries also indicted:
Luis Estaban Saucedo, aggravated assault with a deadly weapon.
Yastrzemski Pugliesi Lipscombe, possession of marijuana more than 50
pounds.
Norman Douglas Moore, possession of marijuana more than 50 pounds.
Rory London Furr, assault on a public servant.
Tommy G. Barnes, evading arrest/detention with vehicle.
Adrian Drashawn Booker, manufacturer/deliver controlled substance in a
drug free zone and possession of controlled substance in a drug free
zone.
Darlene Renea Morrison, possession of controlled substance.
Tyron K. Brumley, possession of controlled substance.
Paul Hicks, theft of service more than $1,500.
Derrick Antoine Smith, manufacture/deliver controlled substance.
Jessica Renea Tindall, possession of controlled substance.
Randy Lee Rickman, burglary of habitation and burglary of building.
Jacob Matthew Redmon, manufacture/delivery of controlled substance.
Lawrence Oliver Lacour, possession of controlled substance.
Christina Ellen Ford, manufacture/delivery of controlled substance.
Tascha Sandra Clack, possession of controlled substance.
Michael Bruce Osborn, fraudulent delivery of controlled
substance/prescription.
John Todd Chalk, burglary of a building.
Michael James McQueen, theft less than $1,500 two or more convictions.
Arthur Dale Phelps, unlawful use of criminal instrument.
John Colin Thompson, unlawful use of criminal instrument.
Shane Lynn Boyd, injury to child/elderly/disabled.
Roger Dale Hall, possession of controlled substance.
Kimberly Kay Bourque, prohibitive substance in correctional facility and
possession of controlled substance.
Ricky Allen Jinks Jr., possession/promotion of child pornography.
Corey Anderson, secure execution of document by deception.
Laura Jean Ashton, secure execution of document by deception.
Jennifer Rachelle Blanton, secure execution of document by deception.
Kimberly Dawn Centeno, secure execution of document by deception.
Joel Dennis Clark, theft of less than 10 head of livestock.
Tiffany Glynn Morris, accident involving injury/death two counts.
Robert White, aggravated robber.
Margarito Soto Jr. possession of controlled substance.
Mayra Perez Becerra, manufacture/deliver controlled substance.
Hermilo Delarosa, manufacture/deliver controlled substance.
Byron Vernard Billups, manufacture/deliver controlled substance two
counts.
Justin Michael Smith, manufacture/deliver controlled substance.
Richard Moreno Reece, robbery.
James Alfred Singleton, DWI third or more.
Eric Carrizalez, DWI third or more.
Richard Lee Burger, DWI third or more.
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