The Daily Sentinel Wednesday, February 1, 2023
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Vol. No. 124 Issue 41
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❧ Home of Stephen F. Austin State University
NACOGDOCHES, TEXAS
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Remembering the SFA drops Westbrook’s Columbia tragedy interim title HIGHER EDUCATION
10th official president won t be in office long as the UT system does its own search BY VALERIE REDDELL Staff Writer
Andrew D. Brosig/The Daily Sentinel, fil
National Guardsmen stand watch over a pile of debris from the Space Shuttle Columbia on Sunday, Feb. 2, 2003, in Nacogdoches. The disaster led to a massive recovery effort across East Texas.
Shuttle disaster led to huge recovery effort in East Texas BY VALERIE REDDELL Staff Writer
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The morning of Feb. 1, 2003 had been off to a beautiful start. It was a clear, cool Saturday, and it was about 8 a.m. when then-reporter Emily Taravella felt her house shake. TV newscasts began reporting that Space Shuttle Columbia had disintegrated in the bright blue skies over East Texas, killing all seven astronauts on board. Her husband, Nacogdoches police officer Dan Taravella, turned on his police radio and the couple headed off to work: Emily to the newsroom at The Daily Sentinel; Dan and their daughter, Erin, to the police station. Nacogdoches County Deputy
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Look through our archive of photos from recovery efforts at dailysentinel.com Tim Barton, now the police chief in Garrison, had just finishe working an auto accident on Hwy. 21 near Melrose with his two shift partners, Gerald Moore and Rodney Whittington. He would spend the next two weeks leading 75-member search teams. Calls began flooding in as residents across the county reported Andrew D. Brosig/The Daily Sentinel, fil debris raining from the sky. The Larry Rogers, left, of Houston, and Tim Barton of the Nacogdoches spacecraft broke apart reentering County Sheriff’s Office eat lunch during a break in the search effo ts the earth’s atmosphere.
for debris from Space Shuttle Columbia on Wednesday, Feb. 12, 2003, Shuttle » 8A near Chireno.
Husband of astronaut focused on crew safety after wife died
In honor of the 20th anniversary of the Columbia disaster, the Texas Forest Service will host a rededication ceremony of Columbia Court at Banita Creek Park, 501 Pearl St., Nacogdoches beginning at 10 a.m. today. A new informational marker will be unveiled and two additional trees will be planted to honor Charles Krenek of Texas A&M Forest Service and Jules “Buzz” Mier Jr., a contract pilot for the US Forest Service who were killed in a helicopter crash during recovery efforts.
BY VALERIE REDDELL Staff Writer
Twenty years ago at the Kennedy Space Center at Cape Canaveral, Florida, Dr. Jonathan Clark was listening carefully for sonic booms — the first signs that the space shuttle carrying his wife was arriving. Laurel Clark was one of the seven members aboard the Space Shuttle Columbia that was due to touch down at Cape Canaveral on Feb. 1, 2003. As the shuttle re-entered the earth’s atmosphere, a wing damaged by a foam strike on take-off broke apart, causing the crew capsule to separate. The 12 children of Columbia crew members had been playing under the bleachers at the space center as families waited for the shuttle to land.
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Regents for Stephen F. Austin State University voted to remove the “interim” status from Dr. Steven Westbrook’s title for the remainder of his time with the university. Westbrook, who is now the 10th president of SFA, said the title doesn’t change his intention to retire for the third time once his replacement takes over. Board chairwoman Karen Gantt said the decision was made to Westbrook honor Westbrook’s long service to SFA. “I don’t have to tell anybody how much I love the university,” Westbrook said. “This is a great honor and I really appreciate it. It was an unexpected honor. We were talking Thursday and she mentioned this was going to be considered. I was concerned there would be this confusion. But I’ve been very honored and humbled by this.” Westbrook has stepped in to fill vacancies in the president’s office that occurred at critical times for the university. He took on the role of acting president Oct. 30, 2018, due to the illness of then-president Dr. Baker Pattillo, and was appointed interim president after Pattillo’s death on Dec. 29, 2018. He held the position until Sept. 15, 2019.
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Contributed photo
Dr. Laurel Clark, right, who died aboard the Space Shuttle Columbia, is seen with her husband, Dr. Jonathan Clark, chief of NASA’s Medical Operations Branch and their son, Iain. Obituaries » 6A
Opinion » 6B
LONG-TERM PLANS
Firm hears feedback on housing needs in Nac BY NICOLE BRADFORD Staff Writer
Initial drafts of an estimated $450,000 in plans and studies authorized by the City of Nacogdoches more than a year ago is expected to be ready for review by the end of March. “There’s a lot that’s been accomplished, but we also have a lot to do still,” said Keith Walzak, project manager for DTJ Design. The fi m was selected by the city in January 2022 to comWalzak plete a comprehensive plan, housing needs assessment, Interstate 69 corridor study and downtown master plan. Branded as NacTogether, a public engagement campaign for the plans began last year and has included online surveys, neighborhood meetings and focus groups. “Even though we are delivering a plan at the end of March, the conversations will continue,” Walzak told members of the city council and planning and zoning commission during a Jan. 25 input session on housing. Unsurprisingly, a lack of
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