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| Saturday,
March 18, 2017 | Printed on recycled paper
Hereford BRAND Volume 116 | Number 75
Proudly Serving The High Plains Since 1901
10 pages | $1.00
Stanton axed from bond, need remains
WHAT'S INSIDE
By John Carson BRAND Managing Editor
(EDITOR’S NOTE: This is the first of a four-part series looking at the individual segments – safety and security, multi-purpose activity centers, early childhood education center, and dressing and trainers learning facility – of a $45 million bond issue called by Hereford Independent School District. The bond goes before voters on May 6.)
Police Blotter Page 3
Taylor maintains winning ways Page 9
Bowl for Kids Sake drawing near
Hereford Independent School District (HISD) officials readily admit they “learned a lot” from a $42.6 million bond issue that failed in 2015. Subsequent fact-finding after the measure was overwhelmingly defeated pointed to several items that voters did not like. The biggest sticking
BRAND/John Carson
The major sticking point in a 2015 failed HISD bond issue was work at Stanton Learning Center. While Stanton has been removed from the current called bond, the needs the work addressed still exist and amount to 38.9 percent of the bond’s $45 million. point were plans for renovations and additions at the aging Stanton Learning Center. “Voters wanted Stanton
removed,” HISD Superintendent Sheri Blankenship said at a Feb. 6 joint meeting of the district’s facilities committee and 2016
C’ m o n ,
Page 10
FORECAST
bond steering committee. “That was glaringly shown by the surveys we sent out and other responses.” Subsequently, all work
PLEASE SEE BOND | 5
Indigent defense gives fit picture
blue
Today
Parlty Cloudy High: 79º Low: 52º Sunrise: 7:55 a.m. Sunset: 8:00 p.m. Wind: E 11 MPH Precipitation: 10%
By John Carson BRAND Managing Editor
larger storage capacity. Thus, the need to upgrade DSCSO video servers to a hoped-for 12 terabytes. In presenting the original grant request to the commissioners court last month, Butler at that time – as well as now – reiterated the value bodycams have as deputies perform their duties. “We have to have video,” he said. “The higher quality, the better.
As Deaf Smith and most other counties in Texas cope with an ever-increasing amount of unfunded and underfunded state mandates, there are few better illustrations of that than indigent criminal defense. Everyone has heard the portion of the Miranda rights which guarantees someone legal counsel if an attorney cannot be afforded. That is indigent criminal defense. The Deaf Smith County Commissioners Court confronted the ongoing problem during its Monday regular meeting by approving a resolution that the Texas State Legislature provide adequate funding for the program. The problem, according to county officials, is that funding for this mandate from the state has been sorely lacking. “We’ve been down this road before,” Deaf Smith County Judge D.J. Wagner said, “and this won’t be the last time to see [this issue]. “This is the main culprit of underfunded [state] mandates.” The resolution states the legislature “has failed” to provide adequate funding for the program, which has subsequently shifted that burden onto individual county taxpayers. That statement is supported by research revealed in a report from the Texas Association of Counties (TAC) on the cost of county government. Between 2001-16, the statewide overall
PLEASE SEE DSCSO | 4
PLEASE SEE INDIGENT | 4
Sunday
Mostly Sunny High: 89º Low: 52º Sunrise: 7:54 a.m. Sunset: 8:00 p.m. Wind: WSW 18 MPH Precipitation: 0%
Monday
Sunny High: 88º Low: 47º Sunrise: 7:52 a.m. Sunset: 8:01 p.m. Wind: NW 7 MPH Precipitation: 0%
HEREFORD HISTORY 40 years ago • March 18, 1977
Barela drops out of city race - Absentee voting gains little interest during first week Absentee voting in the four local elections scheduled for April 2 has been slow so far compared with earlier years when elections seemed to garner early voter interest. It began Monday.
BRAND/John Carson
Hereford softball coach Ashley Marquez pleads her case with the base umpire after the Lady Herd’s Erica Ramirez was called out to end the third inning on a questionable runner’s interference ruling following a nubber up the first-base line during Thursday’s home opener against Amarillo. For more on the game, see Sports, page 9.
INDEX Ag Day 3 Bulletin Board 6 Calendar 2 Classifieds 7 Community 6, 10 Crosswords 2 Fri. Night Lights 9 Horoscopres 4 Kids Corner 4
and any mention of Stanton were omitted from the current bond, which goes
News 3-5 Obits 2 Real Estate 8 Recipe 5 Sports Sked 9 Sports 9-10 Sudoku 7 Weekly Bonus 5 Weekly Pet 5
© 2017 Hereford BRAND A division of Roberts Publishing Group
DSCSO bodycam upgrade in the works By John Carson BRAND Managing Editor
With funding already approved, the Deaf Smith County Sheriff’s Office (DSCSO) is getting its paper ducks in a row to upgrade its body-camera system for deputies. Deaf Smith County Sheriff J. Dale Butler applied for and recently received confirmation of a grant request with the Office of the Governor that will provide $33,000 for technology improvements.
The grant came with an amenable 2 percent match from the county. “We are going to use it to upgrade our current bodycams and server,” Butler said. “We already have good bodycams, but [the new ones] will be more rugged and durable, as well as providing better video quality.” The hand-in-hand with improved video quality, he explained, is the larger files subsequently require
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