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November 7, 2013
Milam voters okay 8 amendments, turn down one Tuesday Milam County voters pretty much followed the path set by the state Tuesday in deciding the fate of nine proposed amendments to the state constitution. Milam voters okayed eight amendments and rejected one. Turnout was a low 5.6 percent. Statewide, all nine passed by large margins. The amendment getting most of the attention, No. 6, passed in Milam 438 to 351, a spread of 56 to 44 percent. It authorized creation of state water funds. Milam voters opposed No. 5, by 405 to 365. It authorizes reverse mortgage loans when purchasing homestead property. Closest Milam vote was No. 3,
which was endorsed by 398-374. Milam County results: No. 1 (Killed in action spouse tax exemption)—Yes, 660; no, 131. No. 2 (Obsolete require ments)—Yes, 655; no, 130. No. 3 (Aircraft parts exemption)—Yes, 398; no, 374. No. 4 (Disabled veterans exemptions)—Yes, 602; no, 105. No. 5 (Reverse mor tgage loans)—Yes, 365; no, 405. No. 6 (Water board, fund)— Yes, 438; no, 351. No. 7 (Charter vacancies)—Yes, 524; no, 257. No. 8 (Hidalgo County hospital)—Yes, 519; no, 219. No. 9 (Judicial conduct sanctions)—Yes, 616; no, 158.
Jury selection continues in capital murder trial CAMERON—The lengthy jury selection process continues this week for the Brandon Charles Cotton capital murder trial. Prosecutor Bill Torrey is seeking the death penalty for Cotton, who is accused of the Nov. 25, 2011, shotgun slaying of San Gabriel area resident Sandra Phillips. On Monday interviews began for about 100 prospective jurors in the 20th District Courtroom. That’s the number culled from the 210 who answered a roll call from a pool of 500 summoned Oct. to the Williams Civic Center in the formal start of jury selections. Individual interviews of the 100 remaining began Monday, a process that is expected to take
from two to four weeks. Testimony in the trial is expected to begin on Monday, Dec. 2. Interviews are being conducted by Judge John Youngblood and attorneys for both the prosecution and defense. Torrey leads the prosecution and Russ Hunt Sr. of Waco leads the defense. Eventually the field of 100 is expected to be narrowed to 50. Each team of attorneys will have 15 “strikes” to dismiss anyone remaining in the jury panel. The list will be further narrowed to 20 and interviews will be conducted until 14 persons—12 jurors and two alternates—are selected. Questions on the death penalty are anticipated to be keys in the interviews. At the Oct. 15 initial meeting, moved from the courthouse to the Williams Civic Center because of space limitations, Judge Youngblood outlined seven qualificaContinued from page 1A tions that determined who was in the program which was listed qualified to serve on the jury and seven exemptions for which an as follows by Sanders: individual could be excused. 1:15 p.m.—Ceremony begins. 1:25 p.m.—Elementary students, patriotic songs, directed by Karen Laughlin. 1:35 p.m.—Junior-high students patriot’s pen presentations. 1:40 p.m.—Music by Rockdale High School and Rockdale Junior-High School bands. 1:50 p.m.—Rockdale High School Voice of Democracy contest winners. 2 p.m.—Presentation by intermediate school students. 2:10 p.m.—Presentation by Rockdale High School Student Council. 2:20 p.m.—Closing. STAY FOR PHOTO —A ll veterans are invited to attend and are asked to remain at the football field following the ceremony for a group photo. “In the event of bad weather the rally will be moved indoors to the new high school gym and there will be two separate ceremonies,” Sanders said.
Veterans
Filing Continued from page 1A headquarters, 202 West Sixth in Cameron, would not be open on Saturday, he would be available by phone or e-mail that day. Phone is 512-760-5748 and e-mail is richard2456@gmail. com. The party’s mailing address is: Milam County Democratic Party, PO Box 1251, Cameron, TX 76520. “Contact me and we will set up a time to meet,” he said. Stone said someone should be at the party office during normal business hours until the filing period ends Dec. 9. Other Milam County offices, and the current incumbent, to be filled in the 2014 election are: • District clerk, Cindy Fechner (D). • County clerk, Barbara Vansa (D). • County treasurer, Donna Orsag (R). • Precinct 1 commissioner, Chuck “Tank” Balch (R). • Precinct 2 commissioner, Kenneth Hollas (D). • Precinct 4 commissioner, Jeff Muegge (D). • Precinct 1 justice-of-thepeace, Rick Gommert (R). • Precinct 2 justice-of-thepeace, Sam Berry (R). • Precinct 4 justice-of-thepeace, Gary Northcutt (D).
Reporter/Kathy Cooke
DOWNTOWN HONORS—Rockdale Downtown Association held its annual membership meeting Monday night at Sho’ Nuff Soul Food Restaurant and President Chris Dyess (back row left) presented plaques to Mary Phillips (second from left), representing Place of Hope Pregnancy Center which won the Best Building Renovation Award, and to Rita
Juergens (third from left, front row) who won the Shining Star Award for outstanding service to the downtown association. The recipients are pictured with association members and board members. (L-R): Toby Johnson, Phillips, Dyess, Juergens, Janet Leininger, Elaine Gerren, Mary Lee Dyess, Gene Stork, Collier Perry, Adam Straznicky and James Perry.
Meters Continued from page 1A not even find the residence’s meter. • Meters have been reported “covered in dirt” even after employees have read them. • A meter was installed under a deck and “they don’t read it.” • Bills increase from $50 t0 $80 every couple of months with no changes in usage. • Rate hikes are understood but “why is my usage doubling?” • Water bill was $220 for three people in household. • “I just get the answer that I have a leak.” The patrons involved in the conversation discussed mass e-mailings, contacting the Texas Commission on Environmental Quality (TCEQ), petitions and attending city council meetings to protest. RED WATER—Together with complaints on pricey water bills, the thread also included plenty of scathing comments on Rockdale’s 60-year-old-plus red water problem. Ironically, the two situations
are connected and at least part of the increases are because of an effort to remedy the red water situation. Council members raised water and sewer rates five percent in August to fund a $525,000 expenditure designed as the first in a multi-year program to address major renovations to combat the red water that’s caused numerous complaints since at least the 1950’s. Those new rates kicked in on the water bills sent out in October, according to City Manager Kelvin Knauf. ‘NO ESTIMATES’—That, of course, doesn’t address the question of water meter reading by the city. But Knauf emphatically denies all the charges raised in the Internet site. “We read the water meters,” he said. “We do not have a ‘catch-up’ month. It is never our policy to estimate the readings.” “We don’t lie about usage to increase cost, either,” he said. Knauf said not everyone’s bills increased with the October billing. “Some customers had a lower
consumption and some had larger consumption. In fact, the total billing consumption was lower than the comparable time period last year.” Knauf said the city actually has a range built into the billing program that flags any unusually high readings. “Those meters are then re-read, at no charge to the customer, to see if a mistake has been made,” he said. He pointed out that the most recent bills covered the period Sept. 13 to Oct. 8, before the recent rainy period began. “Last week we had some rain, so people may think their water bills should be less than what they are,” he said. As for the meters covered in dirt. “The meters for the consumption cycle in question were read in early October so sediment may have covered the meter in the meantime,” Knauf said. HUMAN ELEMENT—A huge change is on the way. In October the council approved purchase and installation of new high-tech meters which should settle any doubts on whether meters are
being read. The old days of an employee walking into a yard, lifting a lid and reading numbers will be replaced by readers cruising the streets and reading meters on a laptop computer. “The human element will be taken out of the water meter reading process,” Knauf said. “They will be read once a month and software will allow us to show people their consumption by the date and the hour.” But, and it’s a big one. “The new meters are more accurate than the old meters, so some citizens may experience higher bills unless they change their consumption,” he said. Knauf said once installed, though, the new meters will allow city crews to focus more on leaks and preventive maintenance instead of water meter reading. The new meters are expected to be installed by the end of March. Municipal water and sewer systems may not be funded by general fund (tax) revenues but must be supported solely by fees (water and sewer rates).