$10 million school bond passes
How Crockett County Voted
P1 P2 P3 P4 Early Total
For 33 37 47 21 194 332
Against 9 20 32 5 96 162
Total Voters: 494 Total Registered Voters: 2,396 Percent: 5
By MELISSA PERNER
Editor and Publisher
Superintendent Abe Gott has work to do.
The $10 million school bond passed by 170 votes Saturday. Voting for the bond was 332 voters, with 162 voting against.
A new elementary school is now in the works for Crockett County that will combine the primary and intermediate schools into one building with students in pre-k through fifth grades.
Turnout in the election was more than some though with 494 total voters turning out. However, this is only 5 percent of the total registered voters in Crockett County.
In the March primary election around 1,400 people voted.
“I am excited for the kids and for our community. I’m glad people came out to vote,” Gott said. “I am thankful to the facilities committee for all their work and to all the people that supported. I’m excited to make Ozona a building to be proud of.”
Work on tearing down the primary school and starting to build the new school will begin this summer, Gott said.
“First priority is getting portable buildings, the second priority is to get people moved out and then they will start,” Gott said.
Students, teachers and faculty that are in the primary school will begin the 2008-2009 school year in portable buildings and in different facilities while the new building is being constructed.
The school district plans on selling the intermediate school and using that money toward paying off the bond.
During five public meetings, Gott said that the district plans on having the bond paid off in 3-5 years.
The school tax rate with the bond will increase 16 cents from $1.04 to $1.20.
Unlike the district’s regular budget, the bond money will not have to be recaptured by the state and sent to poorer school districts.
“If we tried to build without a bond, this would not be feasible,” Gott said. “We only get to keep 30 cents of every taxpayer dollar.”
One of the major concerns that came up during the bond public meetings was having pre-k through fifth graders all in one building.
The new school will be two-stories with pre-k through second on the first floor and third through fifth on the second floor. Pre-k through first grades will be located in their own wing called “the village” with their own playground and needed classrooms.
“All schools of our size in the area have these grades combined,” Gott said.
The floor plan for a classroom in the new school is 720 square-feet with two storage areas, lockers, two boards and shelves. A current classroom in the intermediate school is around 710 square-feet.
Safety was also a big issue due to the current condition of the primary school with a severe leaky roof, mold and squirrels crawling through the building.
“When you look at a new building or a new project, the real focus is that the building is safe and meets all educational standards. The standards have changed so much in the past 10-15 years that they are more difficult to fit into an older building,” said Architect Douglas Koehne. “This will be a great benefit for the students and teachers to get to be in a building the meets all these requirements.”
The building will be limestone on the outside with a silver metal roof. The color silver for the roof is more heat-resistant, Gott said.
“We are designing a building that will be here in 60 to 80 years, and that will be the best value to the community as a whole,” Koehne.
Not only is money for a new elementary school being utilized with the $10 million bond, but the district will use part of those funds for new windows at the Ozona High School Heritage Building. The windows have been approved and will take 12 weeks to build before they are installed in the building.
Historical commission approves courthouse project
By MELISSA PERNER
Editor and Publisher
The Texas Historical Commission has approved the renovations to be done on the Crockett County Courthouse.
David McDurmitt, representing Henry Schmidt architects, said to the commissioners at Monday at their monthly meeting that approval from THC has been received to start work on the renovations.
The commissioners also looked at a proposal from Templeton Construction for the project. No action was taken on the proposal and the project will be discussed at the June meeting.
The county has budgeted around $300,000 for courthouse renovations. Once construction begins, the project should take around six months, McDurmitt said.
Commissioners also discussed emergency management plans and drills, but no action or dates were set.
The commissioners did decide to place a property for sale as part of a sheriff’s sale due to the property not being sold in a regular courthouse auction.
This decision came after Harvey Allen, of McCreary, Veselka, Bragg and Allen, the tax collection law firm for the county.
The commissioners also postponed the decision of approving the sale of fireworks during Cinco de Mayo to April 2009.
OTHER AGENDA ITEMS APPROVED:
• Authorize Grantworks Inc. to prepare an application for the Texas Community Development Block Grant Program, Colonia Planning Fund for a five-year planning grant.
• Authorize to advertising for mowing bids.
Crockett County gets Connect-CTY service for emergency preparedness
Submitted by the Crockett County Judge’s Office
Crockett County has announced it has selected the Connect-CTY mass notification service from Blackboard Connect Inc.
The county will conduct its first community-wide test call on Thursday, May 15.
The new service will provide county officials the ability to communicate with residents regarding time-sensitive incidents, which may include planned and unforeseen public safety matters.
The service allows officials to record, send and track personalized voice messages to thousands of residents, businesses and local agencies in just minutes, through a single phone call. Texas messages can also send text messages to cell phones, PDAs, e-mail accounts and TTY/TDD receiving devices for the hearing impaired.
The service requires no additional hardware and can be used from any computer with Internet access or just a telephone, ensuring that officials can send vital messages from wherever they are located.
“The Connect-CTY service will enable county officials to communicate with residents quickly and directly regarding urgent matters,” said Fred Deaton, Crockett County Judge. “This will be specifically helpful in coordinating with our volunteer fire fighters and emergency services during a time-sensitive situation.”
Messages can be targeted to an unlimited number of groups, including emergency response teams or volunteers.
Publicly available primary residential and business phone numbers in Crockett County will automatically be included in they system. However, residents can provide their complete information at www.co.crockett.tx.us/ips/cms or by calling 392-2965.
Residents with call blocking services can make sure to receive the county’s time-sensitive calls by calling 392-2965.
School district gets new phone system for announcements, emergency purposes
Submitted by Meg Fullenkamp of GroupCast Messaging
GroupCast Messaging systems, a leader in the emerging automated call notification industry, has partnered with the Crockett County Consolidated Common School Distirct to implement GroupCast’s SchoolReach system.
The SchoolReach system, already in use in many school districts nationwide, was designed to provide a recorded message from a school official to parents for emergency purposes or for a general announcement.
SchoolReach allows a school official, such as the principal, to record a brief message, which will be sent to a list of parents simultaneously.
Greeted by the friendly voice of a familiar school personality, parents know right away that the message is important.
Once the message is recorded, it only takes a few minutes to distribute to parents. The system then generates a report that tells officials which parents answered, when an answering machine picked up and whether those who answered listened to the whole message.
Replacing older forms of communication, such as phone trees and sending notes home with students, the system allows for effective, and timely dispensing of important information.
“SchoolReach allows a school administrator to more effectively and efficiently contact parents with important announcements,” said Paul Langhorst, GroupCast Vice President of Operations. “Schools struggle with day-of or night-before notices to parents; SchoolReach serves this need perfectly and requires no hardware, software or phone lines for use. We are very pleased that Crockett County Consolidated Common School District recognizes the need for such a communication tool and has selected GroupCast as its partner.”
In schools already using the SchoolReach system, officials have found that it is an ideal way to provide parents with important information, such as school closings or registration reminders. It also works well in emergency situations or for rumor abatement.
This system allows officials to send out messages to the entire student body or a select group affected by the announcement, such as a class or sports team. It also allows officials to call parents at work, home, or even on their cell phones if they prefer.
Photo by Melissa Perner
CHRIS EILLOTT site manager of Fort Lancaster shows intermediate school students (left to right) Erbey Blanco, Noe Medina, Jacob Talamantez and Juan Rodriguez how to load a civil war style pistol during a visit on May 7 at the Ozona Chamber of Commerce Visitor Center.
Life at Lancaster
Fort soldiers bring items to show school students, public
By MELISSA PERNER
Editor and Publisher
Prior to January 1, Fort Lancaster was operating with a part-time staff and only open a few days a week.
Thanks to a new bill and a transfer of department, the historical site located eight miles east of Sheffield on Texas Highway 290 is now open seven days a week with a full-time staff.
Several of Fort Lancaster’s soldiers brought pieces of history with them during a May 7 visit and luncheon at the Ozona Chamber of Commerce Visitor Center.
The visit and luncheon was part of “Texas Tourism Week,” which recognizes the Texas travel industry’s contributions to the state’s economy.
Tourism is recognized as a powerful economic development tool in Texas, producing revenue and jobs. In 2006, travelers generated almost $54 billion in direct travel spending, and the travel industry employed 521,000 Texans. Texas is one of the most visited states in the United States.
Site Manager Chris Elliott said that since Fort Lancaster has transferred from being part of Texas Parks & Wildlife Department to the Texas Historical Commission, life at the fort is changing for the better.
A bill passed during the 80th Legislative Session in 2007 transferring 18 TPWD state historic sites, including Fort Lancaster, to the THC on Jan. 1, 2008.
Along with this transfer, the THC will receive six percent of the proceeds from the sporting goods sales tax on an annual basis for site operation and a one-time allotment of $34 million for capital improvements.
Since the transition, the fort hosted 130 students from Sanderson for an education day in March.
“That was a big success. The kids were great,” Elliott said.
During the May 7 event, students from Ozona Middle School, intermediate and primary schools visited with the soldiers about the variety of firearms they brought, played with pioneer toys and got to site in an authentic stagecoach.
Kinley Coyan, the fort’s new educator and curator, is interested in working with teachers on future educational days.
Elliott also said that there are plans to renovate and build a new interactive museum at the fort.
The fort was established in 1855 to guard the San Antonio–El Paso Road and to protect movement of supplies and immigrants coming to the area. The fort was abandoned March 19, 1861, after Texas seceded from the Union.
Many local businesses have already stepped to help Fort Lancaster get on track: Accent Flowers & Gifts, B&K Trucking, C&T Auto & Feed Inc., Crockett Automotive, Grandad’s, Inman Realty, Iraan Insurance Agency, Nabors, Nina’s Café, Ozona National Bank, Ozona Veterinary Clinic, Ozona Wool and Mohair, Pecos County State Bank, Sheffield Service Center, The Wash Barn, Triple C Hardware, West Texas Trading Post and Westerman Drug Ozona.
On June 7, Fort Lancaster will be hosting a Women’s Outdoor Day where ladies can sign up to take classes on archery, birding, camping and Dutch Oven Cooking just to name a few.