Dangerous waters claim life, no surprises during election
Year in Re2v00ie6w
By JIMMY GALVAN
Editor’s note: This is the second in a two-part series looking back at the year 2006.

EMERGENCY PERSONNEL launch a rescue boat during the October’s flood search for Coty Smith. Smith’s body was found later that evening in the floodwaters near M&M Ranch.

As 2006 began, Hurricane Rita was still a dirty word in Jasper and changes were blowing in the political arenas as county elections loomed.

July

Jasper County Precinct 6 Constable Fred Peters’ problems continued late last week as a petition was filed for his removal from office following his third arrest in 2006.

The beleaguered constable, who Jasper County Sheriff Ronnie McBride says he hasn’t seen in more than a year, was arrested in Silsbee July 5 as the result of a month-long drug sting. According to Silsbee police, Peters, 59, was the target of the sting and was arrested at the Pinewood Inn and charged with delivery of a controlled substance.

Jasper County Commissioners have decided not to appoint an interim Precinct 6 constable for the position left vacant by the resignation of Peters.

A tragic fire in the Glen Dell subdivision near Brookeland claimed the lives of two small children.

Authorities confirmed the deaths of two children, ages 1 and 3, at the home of Kevin Collins and Amanda Mitchell.

After examining the financial reports, Jasper County Commissioners voted to pay off the $2.5 million loan, which will save the county $11,000 per month in interest, according to Willie Stark, commissioner of Precinct 3.

For those who purchase drugs in Jasper, be warned, you may be buying from a police officer.

That was the message Jasper Police Chief Todd Hunter wanted to send Friday evening during a drug sting at the Pine View Apartments on Pollard Street.

“I think (the sting) was a success becaus drug dealers know we are still out there and still working,” Hunter said. “Those who purchase drugs now know we out there.”

Former Jasper County Precinct 6 Constable Fred Peters was indicted on federal drug charges in the Eastern District of Texas.

August

Jasper Independent School District 2006 Texas Assessment of Knowledge and Skills (TAKS) scores are mixed, with some grades and subjects showing substantial improvement while others show a drop from 2005.

Buna held a town hall meeting to discuss the pros and cons of incorporating, using the same plat map as Jasper County Water District #1.

Fireworks are now legal in the city limits of Jasper.

Jasper’s city council approved an ordinance that would allow residents to store, sell and discharge fireworks within the city during certain periods.

The city of Jasper shocks the Jasper Lake Sam Rayburn Area Chamber of Commerce by pulling its hotel-motel money from the chamber and form its own tourism department.

“We’ve been talking about doing this for the past three years,” Barber said.

Jasper County and the Kirbyville community are stunned when JCSO deputies find the bodies Eileen Moak Gunter, 56, of Kirbyville and Sadie Blevins, nine-years old. Police believe Gunter apparently shot and killed her granddaughter before turning the gun on herself.

Two people were killed when their pickup struck a Burkeville school bus head on. Miraculously, no one on the bus was killed and only two of the 23 occupants had serious injuries.

September

Tommy Ray Robinson was named by Jasper County Commissioners to fulfill the remaining term in the Precinct 6 constable’s position, vacated by Peters.

The Jasper athletic department is rocked to its knees when it is announced by Lloyd “Coach Spoon” Weatherspoon Jr. died in his home.

“Everybody knows that Coach Spoon had a great heart for kids,” said Jasper Independent School District Superintendent Dr. Eddie Dunn.

Jasper Newton County Public Health District has received confirmation of one case of human West Nile virus in Jasper County.

In meetings held throughout September, all 133 Jasper County employees have signed up to switch health insurance plans from TAC (Texas Association of Counties) to Cigna, a fully insured plan selected by Commissioners Court.

A Jasper Independent School District bus driver has been suspended from his duties after he was arrested and charged with sexual assault and indecency with a child.

Charles Everette Thomas, 26, of the 200 block of Cavin, was arrested by Jasper police and booked into the Jasper County Jail.

Saying the decision had nothing to do with the city’s resolution to take control of the hotel-motel tax, Jasper- Lake Sam Rayburn Chamber of Commerce Executive Director Susan Stover resigned from the chamber.

October

Members of Ennis Independent School District Board of Trustees made a site visit to Jasper and Jasper Independent School District to interview Jasper Superintendent Dr. Eddie Dunn, school personnel and community representatives, concerning Dunn’s leadership skills and performance as JISD superintendent.

People, who thought they escaped a rough storm season after recovering from Hurricane Rita last year, awoke to an Allison-style storm Oct. 16. It dumped 10- 12 inches of rain in an all-day deluge that left low-lying areas underwater all over Jasper County.

An 18-year-old Magnolia Springs man dies when he was thrown from a horse into floodwaters near the M&M Ranch near Jasper.

Roads and bridges in East Texas took the brunt of the

storm as record rainfall overwhelmed creeks and ditches, according to Jasper County Judge Joe Folk.

Jasper Independent School District Superintendent Dr. Eddie Dunn announces he is leaving Jasper for Ennis ISD.

“Certainly this is a professional move,” Dunn said. “It is important to advance professionally, and I am excited about the opportunity. We’re leaving some very special friends and East Texas still has some tough, unique challenges ahead.”

The board appointed Butch Dean, JISD Director of Finance and Operations, to the post of Interim Superintendent of Schools, effective Dec. 2.

November

Jasper County Judge Joe Folk extended the declaration of disaster due to flooding for another 90 days.

Local volunteer fire departments are pulling together to help the Zavalla volunteer fire department get back to business after a devastating fire Oct. 23, destroyed their fire station, trucks and gear.

Democrat Mark Allen garnered 4,517 (60 percent) to Republican challenger Janet Cherry’s 3,043 (40 percent) of the vote in the quest for the county judge’s post.

“It’s been a long hard fight — I’m tired but we made it,” Allen said after the final Buna box was posted at 11:33 p.m.

Buna voters turned back a proposal that would have incorporated the community by a margin of two-to-one.

Democrat Roy Parker easily defeated Republican challenger Kenneth “Cigar” Cofty by more than a three to one margin. Parker gained 1,159 (74 percent) to Cofty’s 400 (26 percent) votes to replace the retiring Rod Barger on commissioner’s court.

For the first time in more than three years, First Baptist Church will return to its home site with the opening of its new sanctuary.

“Even though the fire was a tragic event, because of it there has been healing and God had used the fire to bring about unity, peace, purpose and a spirit of love that this church is being blessed with right now that in the past was not here,” said Pastor Brian South.

The JISD search committee narrowed its list of prospective candidates to eight during an executive session. The position is being vacated by Dr. Eddie Dunn, who has accepted a similar position with the Ennis school district.

December

Newton County Sheriff’s deputies are investigating a father-son double shooting in the Sabine Sands subdivision.

According to Newton County Sheriff Joe Walker, James Hughey Sr., 62, and James Hughey Jr., 31, were both shot during the disturbance.

A Tyler County Sheriff’s deputy has been released from Christus St. Elizabeth’s Hospital in Beaumont after being shot twice during a routine traffic stop in Hillister.

Two weeks later, Parks confesses that he lied about the shooting and is dismissed from the sheriff’s department.

Criminal investigators from the Medicaid Fraud Control Unit of the Texas Attorney General’s office executed a search warrant on the Priority One ambulance office in Jasper.

The search warrants were executed in connection with Operation Easy Rider, an operation conceived by the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services to identify and investigate ambulance companies suspected of submitting false claims to Medicare, Medicaid, private insurers and the Federal Employees Health Benefits Plan.

Jasper County commissioners voted to pay all $1.3 million of the outstanding bills from Hurricane Rita, so that the new 2007 court and the county will start with a clean slate.

One era comes to an end at The Jasper Newsboy as Editor and Publisher Willis Webb announces his retirement, ending a 59-year career in journalism. Julie Webb, who served as a contributing editor for The Newsboy, also announces her retirement.

Newspaper veteran Jeffrey T. Reedy has been named publisher of The Jasper Newsboy.