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Wreck hurts 2
By Barbara Gartman
Monitor Staff Writer
SEVEN POINTS–A two-car collision about 2:30 p.m. Friday
resulted in one person being airlifted to East Texas Medical Tyler and
one taken by ambulance to the ETMC emergency room in Gun Barrel City.
A police report filed by Seven Points Police Officer Dusty Bryant noted
Courtney Nicole Roark, 18, of Kemp, was traveling south on County Road
2404, approaching Farm-to-Market 85.
Witnesses to the crash said Roark, driving a brown 2001 Ford F-150
pickup, failed to stop at a stop sign and entered FM 85.
Milburn Wade Rawlinson, 45, of Kemp was traveling west on FM 85, driving
a 1985 Mercury station wagon, and struck Roark’s pickup as it entered
the highway.
Rawlinson suffered incapacitating injuries and was airlifted to ETMC
Tyler.
Roark was carrying a passenger, Carl Douglas Roark, 45, of Kemp, who was
not injured.
Both airbags deployed in Roark’s pickup, and Rawlinson’s station wagon
tore through a short stretch of fence belonging to John Timothy Greenhaw.
Rawlinson was cited for having an expired driver’s license and failure
to maintain financial responsibility.
Bryant listed several factors he felt contributed to the accident –
Courtney Roark’s driver inattention, failure to control speed and
disregarding the stop sign.
GBC hires water/sewer attorney
By Pearl Cantrell
Monitor Staff Writer
GUN BARREL CITY–After a lengthy discussion, the Gun Barrel City Council
agreed to contract with Georgetown attorneys Russell & Rodriguez on
legal matters related to the city’s water and sewer utilities, as
directed by the city attorney.
Tuesday’s action was described by Mayor Paul Eaton as “giving the city
manager the tools, he needs to get the information we need to make an
informed decision.”
Councilwoman Kathy Cochran cast the only dissenting vote, arguing the
move sends the wrong message to the East Cedar Creek Fresh Water Supply
District (ECCFWSD).
“Hiring someone (an attorney) ramps you up to a court case,” Cochran
said. “When attorneys get involved, talking stops.”
“We’re not ‘ramping up’,” city manager Corrin McGrath answered. “I’ve
been here for four years and this subject has come up before. We have
the right to provide services that our citizens expect to be provided
with.”
“I thought we were collecting information to decide whether this
(replacing ECCFWSD) was going to be a good move or not. I’m still
waiting for detailed information,” Cochran countered.
“That’s one of the reasons we’re getting an attorney, to help get the
information we need,” McGrath responded.
“The objective for getting a water department is to provide water to the
islands. An attorney will advise us on how to structure what has to be
done to do that,” councilman Marty Goss interjected.
“No one has mentioned the islands in any of our meetings,” councilman
James Jacobs said.
“I have,” Goss said. “I mentioned it at the water board meeting
(Wednesday).”
“We’ve been talking about East Cedar Creek because the prior president
said ‘We do not have water for you,’ leaving Gun Barrel City out to dry.
And other members of that board aren’t even from this city,” McGrath
said.
“We need to solidify our own position, before we negotiate with anyone,”
he added.
“Then why are we meeting with the others?” Jacobs asked.
Goss explained that open dialogue gives the city a forum to explain its
concerns.
ECCFWSD General Manager Bill Goheen was in attendance, and was asked to
report progress in setting up the open forum discussed at the last water
board meeting.
He assured the council plans were being developed which included forming
some ground rules for discussions, excluding the past and concentrating
on the issues at hand.
Later, under citizens comments, Goheen congratulated the council on
providing experts to deal with their area of expertise, so the city
manager can get on with the day-to-day business of the city, and added
he hoped his board would change its mind about providing the same kind
of expertise to aid him in his job.
When employed, Russell & Rodriguez will be billing the city at a rate of
$210 per hour. When clerks and paralegals and other support staff
perform tasks not requiring the time of an attorney, the billing rate
drops to $90 per hour.
The city will also be charged with all expenses related to its legal
representation, such as 20 cents per photocopy and $1 per color page, $2
for faxes and all filing fees.
Consultant charges are to be paid directly by the city to avoid overhead
charges. All charges will be billed monthly and are due upon receipt.
In a related item, Goheen asked the council to grant his request of June
12 to put a request on the agenda – to apply for a $250,000 grant (which
ECCFWSD would match with $50,000) to help replace the deteriorating
sewer system in Tamarack.
The city would be the applicant and the vehicle through whom the funds
would be administered.
The grant deadline is Aug. 21, Goheen explained, so time is short.
Once the city agrees to be party in the grant process, the water
district’s engineer can go to work mapping out likely scenarios of work,
and the Tamarack property owners association can conduct the income
survey needed for the application, Goheen explained.
“There’s a million dollars worth of work needing to be done in Tamarack.
I’m sure the city and the water board can find an area we can both agree
on for doing the work,” Goheen said, after McGrath objected to the
proposal.
“I cannot recommend this action to the board without a specific plan,”
McGrath said.
“The city can always pull out, but the grant cannot even get started
without its approval,” Goheen said.
No burn ban for HC
Monitor Staff Reports
ATHENS–Another Monday went by without the Henderson County Commissioners
calling for a county-wide burn ban.
A discussion of a burn ban was tabled, though the issue is something
commissioners say they will continue to monitor as the summer
progresses.
The county’s Keetch-Byram Drought Index (KBDI) rating average is 466,
County Judge David Holstein reported.
Though 30 percent of the county registers over 500 on the Index, no part
of the county has surpassed 600 yet, Holstein said, and 15 percent
registers between 300-400.
The Index rates individual counties in Texas between zero and 800 to
describe ground moisture deficiency.
At zero, no deficiency of moisture exists; at 600 fire intensity will
significantly increase. Fires will readily burn in all directions,
exposing mineral soils in some locations.
Larger fuels may burn or smoulder for several days, creating possible
smoke and control problems, the KBDI describes.
It was noted Monday that Smith, Cherokee and Anderson counties did not
have burn bans in place.
Should the commissioners feel the need to implement a burn ban, Precinct
4 Commissioner Jerry West voiced a desire to add construction companies
to the list of regular ban-exempted entities, such as burns for
agricultural purposes, those begun by the Texas Department of
Transportation, and those being monitored by a burn manager.
“If they can’t burn, some of these people would be out of a job for who
knows how long,” West said.
Perhaps construction firms could be required to have a volunteer fire
department supervise burning at construction sites during a burn ban,
West suggested.
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