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Volume 126, Number 27
journal-spectator.com
Saturday, April 4, 2015
12 Pages, 3 Inserts
75 Cents
WHS teacher is killed in car accident
Tigers fall in area soccer playoff
INSIDE THIS ISSUE!
By NATALIE FRELS nfrels@journal-spectator.com
Today’s Funeral and Death Notices, Page A6
Officials responded to the scene of a fatal collision Thursday morning that resulted in the death of a 56-year-old Wharton High School Life Skills teacher. Raymond Ted Miller of Magnolia was transported via helicopter after a head-on collision on Texas 60, two miles north of Hungerford. He was pronounced dead at 9:19 a.m. by Dr. McCarthy at Memorial Hermann in downtown Houston. According to Department of Public Safety officials, Richard Light, 62, of Wharton was traveling northbound on Texas 60 driving a 2014 Chevy
George Randle Jr., Sandra Reeves, Billy Ray Robinson and Betty Williams.
Dateline Wharton n Food Assistance Just Do It Now is teaming up with the Victoria Food Bank to provide food for individuals and families in need. To receive assistance, go by Dawson Community Resource Center, 1619 Martin Luther King Jr. Blvd., and complete an assistance application. Once the application is complete, one may be eligible to receive food donations on the third Friday of every month beginning April 17. For more information, call the JDIN office at 531-1975.
Dually, also pulling a livestock trailer with 12 cattle. Miller, traveling southbound on Texas 60 driving a 2012 Nissan Versa, partially drove off of the paved roadway and overcorrected, colliding with the large truck and trailer. Light was transported to Oakbend Medical Center, where he was treated and released. Staff, teachers and students are mourning the unexpected and tragic loss of the special education teacher after they got a telephone call saying there had been an accident and Miller was involved. “We were told it was a terSee WHS, Page A4
n CUFN Easter Egg Hunt Coming Up From Nothing (CUFN) Trail Riders will host an Easter Egg Hunt at 3 p.m. today at Harris Park, Camellia and West Milam streets in Wharton. n Easter Sunrise Service An Easter Sunrise Service will be held at Sandridge Baptist Church in Egypt on Sunday at 6 a.m. The public is invited.
n Riverfront Park Service An Easter Sunday Sunrise Service will be held at Riverfront Park in Wharton on Sunday at 7:30 a.m. Mickey Reynolds from Caney Creek Church will bring the message. There is some seating, but you may want to bring your own chairs. If it is raining, the service will be held at Caney Creek Church, 118 W. Milam St., on the square. For more information, call 532-2533. n Babe Ruth Baseball signups Registration for the Wharton Babe Ruth Baseball League is currently open. Players from the ages of 13-18 are eligible to play. The sign-up deadline for the age 13-15 league is April 6, and the deadline for the age 16-18 league is May 6. For more information, visit whartontxbaberuth.baberuthonline. com. Registration forms are available online or from 8 a.m. to 4:30 p.m. Monday through Friday at Coastal Warehouse, 602 N. Sunset St. in Wharton. Forms will also be available at Tiger Field during Wharton High School baseball games. For more information, call William Loocke at 533-0148. n American Legion Meeting Rowland-Mays American Legion Post 87 will meet at 6:30 p.m. Tuesday, April 7 at the Legion Hall, 221 W. Park St. in Wharton. A light meal and sodas will be served, For more information, call 282-9610.
See DATELINE, Page A2
Staff photo by Keith Magee
Wharton’s Rodrigo Guerrero makes a play during the Tigers’ first soccer playoff in school history on Thursday night at George Ranch High School in Richmond. Playing in their first season ever, the Tigers finished third in district and had a first-round bye before losing to Royal, 5-1. See sports, Page B1.
Gulf Coast expanding mental health services By NATALIE FRELS nfrels@journal-spectator.com
On the upper floors of Gulf Coast Medical Center, Gerald Sanchez, Behavioral Health Program Director, walks the halls of the intensive outpatient unit, the newest addition to the hospital’s expanding mental health services. “Me gusta sus lentes de sol,” he tells a patient, who cracks a broad smile and playfully offers the director his sunglasses. Enthusiasm fills the air. It’s the first day of Gulf Coast’s outpatient program, one of two new transitional mental health programs at the hospital. In addition to the out-patient treatment, services will also include a partial hospitalization program – both of which treat depression and anxiety, bipolar disorder, obsessive compulsive disorder, post-traumatic stress disorder and other mental illnesses. Further, officials expect that in the coming months, there will be an expansion of services the hospital provides to the community, including screenings, depression screenings and support groups, among others. “Part of our goal is to educate the community,” Sanchez said. “You’ll definitely see more of Gulf Coast out there soon.” Four years ago, Gulf Coast opened its doors for mental health patients requiring in-patient care, filling a need in the community. Manned by social workers who offer individual and family therapy, Registered Nurses and LVNs, a nurse practitioner and intake coordinator, the program now houses 42 beds and still has a 17-bed capacity in their geriat-
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ric psych unit — 59 beds total. There is also a full-time psychiatrist on staff, who will extend his services part-time to a county who does not currently have access to such treatment. This deficit is certainly not exclusive to Wharton County. There are more psych patients in the Jackson County Jail than in any other single facility in the state. In fact, Texas is ranked 51st in the United States in terms of the availability of inpatient psychiatric services — below even Puerto Rico. Dr. Alan Tuft, managing director of behavioral health sciences, said that there is $5 million in uncompensated care, with funds available for indigent care. In light of the recent sentencing of Kevin Farris to 10 years in the Department of Justice for the attempted indecency of a child charge, contracting with the state and the county may be a more effective solution in treating the psychiatric issues of offenders. During Farris’ sentencing, prosecutor Nathan Wood argued in closing statements, “We’re not throwing him away. Wharton County doesn’t have the resources to treat him. The institution does. We’re sending him to get help.” District Attorney Ross Kurtz said that Wharton County’s probation department does not have the required treatment like the agency does for substance abuse; however, the judge could certainly mandate inpatient treatment for the offender, but there would not be a way to pay for it.
Details Page A2.
See HOSPITAL, Page A4
INSIDE
n Hungerford Sunrise Service An Easter Sunrise Service will be held at 6 a.m. Sunday at Faith Temple Church of God in Christ, 7410 Colorado in Hungerford. The host pastor is Elder Grayling Alexander. The Hungerford Community VBS Fellowship also includes Jerusalem Baptist Church, the Rev. E.G. Williams, pastor; Little Zion Jerusalem Baptist Church, the Rev. L. Collins, pastor; Center Union Baptist Church, the Rev. D. Dawson, pastor; and Seven Star Baptist Church, the Rev. Dr. R.I. Campbell III, pastor.
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Photo courtesy of Wharton County Junior College
Wharton County Junior College EMS Program Director Gary Bonewald has implemented cutting edge technology like an ambulance simulator and several lifelike mannequins in order to ensure his students have the latest training methods.
WCJC’s Bonewald stresses cutting-edge skills, training for college’s EMS students Special to the Journal-Spectator
There are no shortcuts when it comes to learning how to save a life. And that’s something students learn from day one when enrolled in Wharton County Junior College’s Emergency Medical Services program. “I tell the students that one of these days they’re going to be working on me — and that’s the standard we hold them to,” said EMS Program Director Gary Bonewald. Bonewald knows what it takes to be a successful paramedic, spending the past 34 years involved with EMS. His
Life & Leisure............ A5 Obituaries................. A6 Sports....................... B1 Sudoku..................... B4 Weather.................... A2
practical experience includes stints with Lavaca County Rescue Service, Washington County EMS and the City of Wharton EMS, where he spent 12 years as a full-time paramedic. Bonewald has the education to match his field experience, earning an associate’s degree from WCJC in 1995, obtaining a bachelor’s from the University of Houston in 1999 and achieving his master’s from UH in 2003. “There are two things I enjoy: being a paramedic and teaching others how to do it,” he said. See BONEWALD, Page A4
BURN BAN LIFTED
Wharton County’s burn ban has been lifted until further notice. For burning guidelines, visit www.co.wharton.tx.us/ Controlled burns must be reported to 532-1550.