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Ricebirds Face Exporters, Bye Week For Louise
A History of Service with an Eye on the Future
www.leader-news.com
Focus Special Section Inside!
Page 1-B
Volume 131 Number 66 • Wednesday, October 28, 2015
Copyright ® 2015
36 Pages, 3 Inserts
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By SHANNON CRABTREE scrabtree@leader-news.com
Repair work on the out-of-alignment FM 1160 overpass bridge will resume Thursday, according to a Texas Department of Transportation spokesperson. No timeline for completion was released. The primary access point into the Louise community closed in March when segments shifted as Lone Star Road Construction crews attempted to lift it about one foot.
Since then, efforts to restart the project have met a series of delays ranging from the need for specialized jacks to weather. “Complications during the lifting process required a re-evaluation of the bridge lifting plan,” TxDOT spokesperson Becky Ozuna told the Leader-News Tuesday. “This is difficult work and with safety being paramount, TxDOT and our contractor are proceeding cautiously to protect the public.” Lone Star, however, will not be doing the rest of the work. That company has hired a sub-contractor to complete the project.
In the meantime, Ozuna said, although canted, the overpass is safe to travel under. The state awarded Lone Star a $1,645,644.60 contract to lift the overpasses at FM 1160, FM 647 and FM 441 last year, a move designed to compensate for taller loads traveling the highway. At this point, however, the remainder of the project is on hold. “TxDOT’s current focus is completion of the work at the FM 1160 overpass. How to proceed with the remaining overpasses will be evaluated upon completion of FM 1160,” Ozuna said.
New Hill In Town
Early voting nears end, about 600 cast ballots By SHANNON CRABTREE scrabtree@leader-news.com
Registered voters have until Friday to take advantage of early balloting in the upcoming state election. Slightly more than 2 percent of Wharton County’s roughly 24,000 registered voters cast ballots as of Tuesday morning – 366 in El Campo and 235 in Wharton. Early voting continues through Friday, Oct. 30 with polls open at the El Campo Branch Library, 200 W. Church, and at the county annex, 315 E. Milam in Wharton from 8 a.m. to 5 p.m. today and from 7 a.m. to 7 p.m. Thursday, Oct. 29 and Friday, Oct. 30. Those wanting to cast ballots will still need to show a photo ID. The upcoming election is for state constitutional amendments only. There are no local races or propositions on the ballot. Propositions 1 and 7 have drawn the most interest statewide with one asking voters to raise the residential homestead exemption and seven asking for additional tax revenue for the state highway fund. If Proposition 7 is approved, it would pull $2.5 billion of state sales tax revenue into the state highway fund each year. (See NO LOCAL, Page 6-A)
INSIDE: VIEWPOINT......................................Page 4-A OBITUARIES.....................................Page 9-A SPORTS.............................................Page 1-B FOOTBALL CONTEST......................Page 2-B LIFESTYLE.........................................Page 3-B CROSSWORD...................................Page 7-B CLASSIFIEDS & REAL ESTATE........Page 8-B
LOCAL WEATHER Wednesday
Sunny DAY: 0% HIGH: 86º NIGHT: 0% LOW: 59º
Thursday
Mostly Sunny DAY: 0% HIGH: 81º NIGHT: 0% LOW: 67º
Friday
Chance of Thunderstorms DAY: 40% HIGH: 82º NIGHT: 60% LOW: 70º
Saturday
Thunderstorms Likely DAY: 70% HIGH: 81º NIGHT: 30% LOW: 62º Last Week: Avg. High: 81º • Avg. Low: 67º
RAIN GAUGE
Last 7 Days............................. 5.37 In.
Last 30 Days........................... 5.37 In. Same Time In '14...................... 2.82 In.
Year To Date......................... 41.06 In. Year To Date '14..................... 26.38 In. Data Collected by LCRA at El Campo Memorial Hospital
BURN BAN LIFTED COUNTY’S MEAN KBDI: 105 Burn Ban is put into effect when the mean KBDI reaches or goes above 500.
City street department worker David Reck shapes a couple dozen loads of dirt on the back side of Legacy Park into a berm about 75 feet long, 30 feet wide and 4 to 5 feet high. The idea for creating berms, or small hills, in city parks for children to run up and down came from Community Services Board member Dot Hermansen, who said her grandchildren enjoy something similar at a Houston park. Contributed Photo by Chris Barbee
75¢
EC planning effort gets go-ahead from Council By SHANNON CRABTREE scrabtree@leader-news.com
City Council approved a $90,000 agreement to continue the Comprehensive Plan update. The funds cover the last two phases, covering everything from streets and infrastructure to parks and housing. The effort will take two fiscal years to complete allowing the cost to be split over the two budgets. When complete, it will present a guideline for municipal efforts through 2030. The first section of the Comprehensive Plan update cost $45,000 and will present a general snapshot with a review of goals. The Marsh Darcy Partners contract for Phases 2 and 3 was approved 6-0 with Councilman Ed Erwin not present. “The total package is $125,000 over three years? When we get plans like this, I hope we follow through,” Councilwoman Gloria Harris told her fellow Council members. “With the first one, did we do anything?” The plan has been utilized, Mayor Randy Collins and Mayor Pro Tem Richard Young said. “A lot of things have been accomplished out of that plan,” Collins said. “Without the plan, you’re just walking through mud.” Most goals set forth in the 2000 plan have been accomplished, City Manager Mindi Snyder said. “Almost all of it.” Among the efforts, Collins said, was the extension of South Street, a now heavily utilized road. Specifically cited as a target (See COUNCIL, Page 6-A)
No damage reported with weekend downpours By SHANNON CRABTREE scrabtree@leader-news.com
Farmers Issue No Rain Complaints
Last weekend’s deluge dropped more than six inches of rain on El Campo without causing any damage reports. Eastern portions of the county received in excess of nine inches of rain, according to the Lower Colorado River Authority gauge in Wharton, but also weathered the storm without damage.
– See Page 5-A
“For the most part, everything went great,” Wharton County Emergency Management Coordinator Andy Kirkland said Monday. FM 1162 near the intersection of CR 442 was
briefly closed, but there were no reports of trees down or water in homes. “When the rain first started, we had issues with minor traffic wrecks, mainly due to people not negotiating water on the roads,” El Campo Fire Chief Jimmy George Jr. said, adding the department was not dispatched to any flooding situations. (See BURN BAN LIFTS, Page 10-A)
From Gridiron To Grilling
El Campo barbecue stand retired coach’s new effort By SHANNON CRABTREE scrabtree@leader-news.com
If the flags are flyin’, there’s barbecue for the tryin’. That’s not really The BBQ Place motto, but neatly sums up the laid-back business approach of Robert Crivellari, a man who gave up Friday Night Lights for family time. Situated along the edge of a North Mechanic parking lot, The BBQ Place looks, by design, like one of those iconic highway food shacks of a few decades ago. A small home kitchen makes this place look spacious. “I like the rustic hole-in-the-wall shack. I think it sets the mood for some great Texas barbecue,” Crivellari said. Plywood walls surround just enough room for two work tables (one with a warmer underneath), a tiny grill for buns, a roaster, refrigerator and two service windows in two separate rooms. There are no indoor tables and chairs. Grills are in a separate space to the side and a picnic table for non-drivethrough customers sits under a tin patio. That’s about it. “It used to be a sno-cone place,” Crivellari said. “I wanted it to look rustic.” The location came available right about the time he decided to open a business. “I stumbled upon it, to be honest,” he said. That was two years ago. Now Crivellari typically opens for breakfast and lunch Tuesday through (See BARBECUE, Page 8-A)
Come On By
L-N Photo by Shannon Crabtree
Robert Crivellari welcomes patrons to his roadside stand style restaurant known simply as The BBQ Place on North Mechanic. The stand keeps flexible hours giving him the ability to attend to family as needed.