Two volleyball ladies postseason honors earn Page 13A
Rollover injures two BY NATALIE GENTRY Two people were injured in a single vehicle rollover accident Nov. 27 on Prather Road southwest of Springtown. The accident occurred at proximately 3:27 p.m. Department of Public Safety (DPS) Troopers were called to the scene on Prather Road at the JE Woody Road intersection. According to DPS, a black Ford Escape was traveling west on JE Woody Road, approaching a stop sign. The driver stopped but could not see if the intersection was clear. When the Ford Escape moved forward to check the intersection, a northbound Dodge pickup saw the Escape, swerved, and lost control of the vehicle causing it to roll approximately two times. Both occupants of the Dodge were taken to JPS Hospital in Fort Worth. A woman was transported via air ambulance with serious injuries and a male occupant was transported via ground ambulance with non-life threatening injuries. An AirEvac helicopter lands in a field near an overturned Dodge pickup that rolled when it took evasive action to avoid a colliThe Ford Escape was not damaged. sion on Prather Road Nov. 26. Photo by Natalie Gentry The crash is currently under investigation.
Christmas Tour of Homes returns Dec. 7
Garbage is pulled from the holes dug at 600 Union Lane. Tom and Dorothy Odom had the pit dug after multiple sinkholes appeared in the property and the well water went bad.
Bad weather date Dec. 8 BY NATALIE GENTRY Saturday, Dec. 7 will feature Springtown’s Christmas Tour of Homes which kicks off at 5:30 p.m. at the Legends Museum. However, in case of inclement weather, the tour will be moved to Sunday, Dec. 8, from 5-8 p.m. Each of the houses on the tour is a visual feast of Christmas joy. The hosts have rolled out the proverbial red carpet and created amazing spaces that embrace the holiday spirit. While on the tour, keep an eye out for those details that add that special touch to the homes. Which home features a framed Christmas wish list from the homeowner’s childhood?
Who has a white ceramic Christmas tree adorned with adorable little red cardinals? Which house displays the story of The Night Before Christmas in a uniquely visual way? Who has a fabulous “big city” view of the Springtown night lights? And which one is home to mischievous hiding elves? One of the major attractions on the tour is the live nativity that will be displayed at the Agnes Baptist Church. All of the proceeds from the tour go to the Springtown Legends Museum. Anyone interested in participating in the tour next year should contact the Chamber office. They are always looking for new homes to join in the celebration.
Photo courtesy of Dorothy Odom
Local couple fights to have an illegal dump recognized BY NATALIE GENTRY Tom and Dorothy Odom knew something was wrong with the property at 600 Union Lane in Springtown. They first noticed the holes in the property when mowing the grass in 2010. “I had mowed a section in the back and I noticed a hole by the neighbor’s fence,” Dorothy Odom said. “We measured it and it was two feet wide by two feet deep.”
The Agnes Church at 350 Agnes North will feature a live nativity scene as the finale of the 2014 Springtown Christmas Tour Of Homes. Photo by Natalie Gentry
UIL changes will affect Springtown SHS now a ‘Big School’ in ‘4A’ BY MARK K. CAMPBELL On Dec. 2, the University Interscholastic League released conference cutoff numbers for the 2014-16 school years. In that unprecedented advance move, school officials were informed on which size classification their district would fall in; usually that happens every February and is a great mystery for some schools. Beginning next August, all classifications will bump up a number: six-man becomes 1A; 5A becomes 6A, etc. Last October, Springtown submitted
a UIL-required attendance number – the average daily membership, sometimes called a “snapshot” – for reclassification. SISD’s snapshot was 889. That falls squarely in the upcoming “4A” span of 465 to 1,059. But that’s not the big news. The substantial change is now 4A schools will be grouped in specific districts as Division I (“Big School”) and Division II (“Small School”). Currently, Springtown sits in 6-3A. PLEASE SEE SPRINGTOWN, PAGE 3A.
“I kept thinking ‘why would anybody dig a hole here and just leave it,’” she continued. But that was just the beginning. The Odoms noticed other holes forming and places on the property beginning to sink. They realized the holes were continuing to grow when some of the vehicles Tom Odom kept on the property sank down to the axles. “Then Tom’s horse fell in a hole and
broke its hip,” Dorothy Odom said. “But what made us finally report the property was when our well went bad in October 2010.” They then found out that the neighbor’s well had been bad for years. What’s wrong? Searching for answers, the Odoms called the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) which contacted the PLEASE SEE ILLEGAL, PAGE 2A.
TCU donation saves SISD 100K New bus technology, Special Ed., and concerns about a fight discussed BY NATALIE GENTRY November was a big month for the Springtown Independent School District’s (SISD) technology department. The department, in conjunction with the transportation, moved to a new server to allow for the use of the updated Transfinder routing program. This program tracks the buses on their routes. This new version enables the district to tell the path the buses take, the speed the buses travel, the speed limits on the roads they take, where the buses stop, and how long they are idle. In addition, the update provides a service program for the district’s mechanics. Huge news for the technology department and the district as a whole was the acquisition of 250 gently used Hewlett Packard (HP) computers from
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Texas Christian University (TCU). This purchase will enable the district to upgrade over 150 employees to Windows 7, replace outdated units in three computer labs, and replace and add student computers throughout the district. The district was able to purchase the computers at a tremendous discount that saved over $100,000. Special education The district is once again staged in the Performance Based Monitoring (PBM) system this year regarding the Special Education program. A leadership team made up of campus and central office administrators has been created to conduct a needs assessment and create an intervention plan to address any areas of concern for the special education program
such as passing rates on the state tests, placements in instructional settings, special education graduation rate, and ISS placement. Financial accountability SISD received a rating of “Superior Achievement” under the Schools Financial Integrity Rating System of Texas (FIRST). This rating is the highest that a school district can earn in the accountability system. Schools FIRST measures the quality of a district’s financial management and reporting. The system ensures that Texas school districts are accountable not only for student learning, but also for achieving results cost-effectively and efficiently. The information provided by the PLEASE SEE 100K, PAGE 3A.
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