ROUND 1 PLAYOFFS START THURSDAY -- SEE PAGE 1-B
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Copyright ® 2019
Volume 135 Number 72 • Wednesday, November 13, 2019
16 Pages, 2 Inserts
75¢
City water meters near end of life span Repaired Meters 15 Years Old, May Need Replacing By SHANNON CRABTREE publisher@leader-news.com
Most, if not all, of El Campo’s roughly 4,800 water meters are beyond their life expectancy, officials say. Now a review will be conducted to find out when residential and commercial meters must
be replaced. City Council approved the $40,000 Ameresco audit during the consent agenda of the Oct. 28 session. “Ameresco will collect data and prepare financial analysis of the costs and benefits of upgrades to existing meters,” City Manager Courtney Sladek said in her memo to council. The study cost, she said, “will be paid through a potential bond issuance, should the city elect to replace the meters. Should the city elect to not replace the meters, this fee will be paid through the operating budget.” Staff feels the meters are beyond their useful service time.
“The city is experiencing double digit water loss (about 16 percent),”
– Courtney Sladek “The city is experiencing double digit water loss (about 16 percent) or unbilled water (as a result of faulty meters),” Sladek said. The norm, she added, is about 8 percent. Should water meter replacement be ap-
proved, the work would likely begin in the late summer to early fall of 2020. The city changed out meters in 2004. A replacement program for the radio portion of the meter started in 2013. The next year, city council approved $75,000 for the effort. Former Public Works Director Clay Harris reported at the April 14, 2014 council session that 850 meters had been replaced as a result of that funding. More than 3,100 still needed to be replaced. (See METERS, Page 8-A)
Blowing Taps
FEATURED:
Time-Traveling Family Finds Itself In Midway – See Page 3-B
Legionnaire Anthony Twardowski salutes as Craig-Harriss American Legion Post 251 Honor Guard members stand tall and Charlie Merta blows Taps as part of a flag retirement ceremony Saturday. Between flags members of the general public brought up to the Legion post that day
Soldier’s Story: Army Over Priesthood – See Page 5-A VIEWPOINT......................................Page 4-A OBITUARIES.....................................Page 7-A SPORTS.............................................Page 1-B LIFESTYLE.........................................Page 3-B CROSSWORD...................................Page 4-B CLASSIFIEDS & REAL ESTATE........Page 5-B
LOCAL WEATHER Wednesday
Cloudy DAY: 0% HIGH: 52º NIGHT: 60% LOW: 42º
Thursday
Showers Likely DAY: 70% HIGH: 52º NIGHT: 20% LOW: 40º
Friday
Sunny DAY: 0% HIGH: 60º NIGHT: 0% LOW: 40º
Saturday
Sunny DAY: 0% HIGH: 63º NIGHT: 0% LOW: 44º Last Week: Avg. High: 64º • Avg. Low: 44º
RAIN GAUGE
Last 7 Days............................. 2.55 In.
Last 30 Days........................... 5.77 In. Same Time In '18...................... 5.26 In. Year To Date......................... 40.17 In. Year To Date '18..................... 34.06 In. Data Collected by LCRA at El Campo Memorial Hospital
BURN BAN LIFTED COUNTY’S MEAN KBDI: 243 Burn Ban is put into effect when the mean KBDI reaches or goes above 500.
and previously collected flags, about two pickup truck loads of flags were retired, by burning, as required by U.S. Flag Code. For more on the event, please see Page 6-A. L-N Photo by Shannon Crabtree
District attorney seeking re-election, cites record By SHANNON CRABTREE publisher@leader-news.com
Wharton County District Attorney Dawn Allison is seeking re-election in 2020, and has already drawn a challenger in the upcoming Republican Primary. With the filing period for the March races just getting under way, Allison has already received a challenge from attorney John Maher of Wharton, also running as a Republican. Initially appointed to the Whar-
ton County DA post by Gov. Greg Abbott, Allison won office in 2016. Previously, she had served as an assistant disALLISON trict attorney in the office, although she had been working in a private practice prior to the governor’s appointment.
“As an experienced prosecutor, I know how to be tough and fair while treating victims of crime with compassion and respect ... The courtroom has been my second home for years, and I look forward to being in the courtroom another term as your district attorney,” she said. Ensuring justice is served while balancing the cost of prosecuting criminals remains the greatest challenge. “As Houston keeps moving further South down Highway 59, we must be vigilant about the kind of
big-city crime that could bring,” Allison said. “In addition, a complex capital murder trial which is set to begin in September of 2021 will consume a great deal of time and resources in the DA’s office.” Under her administration, the DA’s office received 406 convictions or deferred adjudications on felony cases last year in comparison to 256 in the year before Allison took office. “Cases with convictions for prison time nearly doubled from 59 cases in (See DA RACE, Page 7-A)
Hemp farms not quite Texas reality but in works By EMILY LINCKE reporter@leader-news.com
The U.S. Department of Agriculture enacted the Interim Final Rule, which regulates U.S. hemp production, but local farmers still wait for growing the crop to be legalized in Texas. Licensing, tracking, testing procedures and requirements for hemp producers are outlined in the Interim Final Rule, including how to test the crop’s tetrahydrocannabinol (THC), the compound in marijuana that gives psychoactive effects, levels to ensure they’re lower than 0.3 percent. The rule was enacted on Oct 31 and is effective until Nov. 1, 2021. The USDA’s Final Interim Rule builds on the 2018 Farm Bill, which directed the USDA to create a nation(See STATE MOVING, Page 8-A)
Storm Winds Blow Through
Contributed Photo by Kevin Thompson
El Campo Public Works crew members Tony Solis, left, and Edward Falcon cut up a large water oak limb that came crashing down on Third Street near the intersection with South Mechanic Street Tuesday morning.The city received three calls for trees down on streets as the front came through.The chill temperatures it brought caused today to start out below freezing. Temperatures are expected to rise to 50 degrees today with no additional freeze in the forecast although nights will still be cold, predicted to fall between mid-30s and 40 for the rest of the week.