No Relief in Sight Fuel, Tariffs, Raw Materials Drive Prices Up
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Familiar families Summer shows Local ties for team playing in Waco Hippodrome has live performances at Little League regional/Page 1B every week this month/Page 1C Waco Tribune-Herald Thursday, August 2, 2018 n $1.00 In God we trust Partly Sunny n High: 98 n Low: 70 Bellmead leaders split on tax hike for fi retrucks By CASSIE L. SMITH and Gary Moore cast the dissenting because it prevents council members [email protected] votes against setting 31.9999 cents per from changing their minds later if The $100 valuation as the maximum prop- they wanted to increase the tax rate Bellmead Bellmead elected leaders remain erty tax rate the city could adopt. The further. Fire De- torn on whether to increase the prop- current rate is 29.9999 cents per $100. Thomas said the council, like all partment erty tax rate by two cents to issue debt The two cents would be dedicated to other cities, must adopt a proposed is asking to replace fi retrucks that fi re officials debt service for the fi retrucks, City maximum tax rate to initiate the the city for say are prone to failure. Manager Bo Thomas said. process of required public hearings funding The city council on Tuesday got its Youngblood fi rst asked if the coun- on the tax rate prior to the budget’s to replace fi rst look at the budget for the fi scal cil’s vote meant the city had approved adoption. two aging year 2018-19 with the new certified ap- a 2-cent tax hike. City staff reiterated The two public hearings on the tax fi retrucks. praised values included, and by a 4-2 that the amount is a proposed maxi- rate will be at 6:30 p.m. Aug. 14 and vote officially proposed the two-cent mum rate and the council won’t adopt Aug. 20 at Bellmead City Hall, 3015 Staff photo — tax hike. the official rate until later this month. Rod Aydelotte, Council members Doss Youngblood Youngblood said he opposed the vote See BELLMEAD, Page 8A fi le No relief in sight Fuel, tariffs, raw materials drive prices up By DAMIAN J. TROISE and SARAH SKIDMORE SELL Associated Press The price of a can of Coca-Cola? Likely going up. A package of Pampers? That too. Plane tickets? They also may be more expen- sive. These items and more may cost more in the coming months as people start feel- ing the effects of higher fuel prices and raw- material costs as well as a range of tariffs. Janette Hendricks said she has noticed higher prices on “just about everything” in the past three months or so. That’s put a little pressure on the recently retired nurse in Washington. So she goes shopping less often, “makes things stretch,” and she al- ways shops for things on sale. She said she has also considered going back to work to have more cushion in the budget. “The economy is doing great, so why is everyone doing so poorly?” she asked. The consumer price index, the govern- ment’s primary measure of inflation, rose 2.9 percent in June from a year earlier, the fastest increase in six years. Starbucks said in June that it had raised the price of See PRICES, Page 8A MCC board eyes Staff photos — Rod Aydelotte Local farmer and rancher Vince Neuhaus said this year’s cotton crop is the worst he has seen in his 38 years in lowering tax rate the area. Semi-retired, he leases most of his land to other growers and still raises cattle. By TOMMY WITHERSPOON Local drought conditions among worst on record [email protected] The McLennan Community College By LAUREN DODD inches of rain, he said. In his Board of Trustees approved a budget [email protected] 111 years of records, only 1925 plan this week for the coming fi scal year and 1918 were drier. that would lower the property tax rate by McLennan County will soon “For the period starting last about a quarter-cent. enter the extreme drought fall, this is the third-driest on The board Tuesday adopted a resolution phase, according to the state record for Waco — drier than to consider lowering the tax rate from climatologist. With crops just about everyone living 15.0346 cents per $100 valuation to 14.7696 showing signs of the near-re- has ever seen there,” Nielsen- cents. The tax rate would support a bal- cord dry weather, the area’s Gammon said. anced budget proposed at $56.4 million, farmers are already feeling Three quarters of the state which is up $1.54 million or 2.8 percent the heat. is experiencing drought condi- over last year’s budget of $54.9 million. One local farmer and ranch- tions, and more than a quarter Even with a lower tax rate, MCC of- er was forced to sell half his ofthestateislistedinthesevere fi cials expect to bring in extra $1.7 mil- cattle herd because of tough to exceptional drought phase, lion in tax revenue over last year’s total conditions and a shortage of according to the National of $18.4 million, thanks to this year’s 9 hay to fi ll the gap and said cot- Drought Mitigation Center. percent increase in property appraisal ton crops are the worst he has McLennan County is in the values. seen in his 38 years working in severe drought stage, but with If the board adopts the proposed tax the area. no rain in sight, the county rate, the average homeowner in McLen- “It’s going to get worse be- will likely move up a notch nan County will pay $196.71 in MCC taxes, fore it gets better,” State Cli- on the drought monitor scale up from $183.65 last year, MCC officials matologist John Nielsen-Gam- before the end of summer, said. mon said. Nielsen-Gammon said. Stephen Benson, MCC vice president for In the past 10 months, since Neuhaus said this year’s drought conditions recently Oct. 1, Waco has gotten 13.26 See DROUGHT, Page 8A led him to take half his cattle herd to auction. See MCC, Page 8A Dorie Lager part of fundraising push for Miller memorial By PHILLIP ERICKSEN commemorative coins, mu- “It was real positive feed- last December, on the an- [email protected] sical theater productions back from the community,” niversary of the Japanese and gospel concerts that said Justin Veach, head of attack on Pearl Harbor. A local brewery’s Doris have benefited the project sales and marketing at Miller’s actions to help in- Miller-themed beer is the on Martin Luther King Jr. Bare Arms. “Even people jured shipmates to safety Bare Arms latest in an almost decade- Boulevard. Public money who didn’t drink said, and return fi re at Japanese Brewing long series of public and from special-use taxing ‘Hey, this is a really cool planes that day led to him private efforts to fund a me- districts and individual thing that you guys did. I becoming the fi rst African- created Do- morial to the Navy Cross donors have mostly kept it almost wish I would come American awarded the Na- rie Lager to recipient and Waco native. afloat. in and get one.’ ” vy Cross. Work on the rest benefit the Bare Arms Brewing an- The Dorie Lager did not Bare Arms officials said of the memorial, includ- Doris Miller nounced Dorie Lager last have a set sale price but they have no immediate ing a reflecting pool and a Memorial week and quickly ran out was given in exchange for plans to produce more but structure resembling the project. of its full run of cans depict- donations large and small are open to it. prow of a ship, is underway ing Miller. that will go to the memo- A statue of Miller was un- Staff photo — The beer joins sales for rial. veiled at the memorial site See BEER, Page 8A Rod Aydelotte Access Waco 1C Comics 3C Obituaries 4-5A Tune in Tonight 2C WacoTrib.com 126 years serving WT CENTRAL TEXAS NEWS, ALL DAY Briefly 2A Horoscope 5B Opinion 6A Wall Street 5A the Heart of Texas Classifieds 4-5B Lottery 8A Sports 1B Weather 2A 2A WACO TRIBUNE-HERALD THURSDAY, AUGUST 2, 2018 BRIEFLY Police name suspect in Dollar General DAR hosts free genealogy workshop robbery, add charges against another The Henry Downs Chapter of the Daughters of the American Revolution will have a free Genealogy/ Lineage Research Workshop from 1 to 4 p.m. Satur- By KRISTIN HOPPA a Dollar General on La Salle Avenue. servant with a deadly weapon, third- day at the West Waco Library and Genealogy Center, [email protected] Arnett was armed with a handgun degree felony resisting arrest and 5301 Bosque Blvd., to assist women 18 or older who and tossed it to one of the other sus- unlawful possession of a firearm are interested in joining the group. Police are searching for two sus- pects as they fl ed, police reported at and Class A misdemeanor unlawful Daughters of the American Revolution is a nonprof- pects considered armed and danger- the time. He was arrested on charges carry of a weapon. it, nonpolitical women’s volunteer service organiza- ous after detectives of aggravated rob- They have also gotten warrants tion dedicated to promoting historic preservation, re-evaluated inci- bery, possession of a charging Mays with third-degree education and patriotism. dents that followed a controlled substance felony unlawful possession of a fi re- Attendees at the workshop will hear a short pre- shoplifting call at a and possession of arm, state jail felony evading arrest sentation, then have the opportunity to work with Dollar General last marijuana.