2025 Group Exploring Reasons for Bond Failure
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All-state band To dance or not Writer talks Back in the hoop Four Aledo High School band “Footloose” is the latest musical Author started out as an Aledo Ladycats knock off members earned places in the all- put on by the Aledo High School engineer but returned to Crowley to jump back into the state band. theater department. his passion. thick of the district race. PAGE 12A PAGE 7B PAGE 3A PAGE 7A January 16-22, 2015 · www.community-news.com · 75 cents HE OMMUNITY EWS T Serving C Eastern Parker County, Texas: Aledo · the Annettas · Hudson Oaks · NWillow Park ALEDO ISD 2025 group exploring reasons for bond failure w Survey reveals path to or had unavoidable work commit- The next meeting will include ments.) updates to financial information successful election The group will meet again Jan. and construction costs. 20 and Feb. 3 with plans to sub- If a bond election is to be called By Phil Major The Community News mit another recommendation to in May, the school board has a Feb. the board. 27 deadline. The next possible elec- Tongue in cheek, School Supt. “The board wants and needs tion would be in November. Derek Citty told the Aledo ISD your input,” Board President Jay After hearing the two presen- 2025 Committee that he apparent- Stringer said. He pointed to a tations, one committee member ly had lied to them. school board policy that he uses as pressed for whether more money The committee completed its a guiding principle and asked the would be needed. work in July with a recommenda- committee to do “what is best for Citty explained that Fort Worth tion to the school board to call a all students.” ISD has found construction costs $61.5 million school bond. Citty said that the failed bond is to be higher than estimated, but But the bond failed in November a part of the election process. the technology portion of the bond by almost 54-46 percent, and the “It’s a whole new process,” he could be lower. school board asked the committee said. “We reevaluate from scratch.” After seeing the school enroll- to reconvene and recommend the The group, about 24 strong for ment estimates that showed district’s next step. the first meeting, dug into a survey McAnally Intermediate would be PHIL MAJOR/THE COMMUNITY NEWS Citty said he was encouraged the district commissioned to seek at capacity in 2016-17, a teacher New administrator Charlie Snead, right, congratulates Randy Allen, senior that 34 of the original 38 mem- answers for the bond’s failure. They from that campus said closet spaces project manager for Ridgemont Commercial Construction, at the new Texas bers of the committee agreed to go also looked at updated demograph- are already being used. “It’s not two Health Resources campus in Willow Park, which will open Monday following a back to work. (The four who didn’t ic information. community event on Saturday. See Page 1B for story and photos. had either moved from the district Turn to AISD, page 11A ALEDO Suspect arrested in nine-year-old murder case Staff Reports was nude and partially submerged. artist visited the Tarrant County Jail, be of the last person known to have seen The Community News According to investigators at the time, where an inmate was documented as Hill alive. An arrest was made Wednesday eve- Hill’s body had been in the creek bed being the last person to see Hill alive. The Leads in the case had been exhausted ning in a nearly nine-year-old murder three or four days. witness gave a physical description to the until the release of the drawings. case near Aledo. The Tarrant County Medical Examiner artist who created two drawings of the Weatherford-Parker County Fugitive A drawing created by a Texas Rangers ruled that Hill had been strangled. The suspect – one described at the time of the Apprehension Strike Team members forensic artist released recently led to the Parker County Sheriff’s Dept. reported at murder and a second of the suspect using arrested Driskell on a warrant Wednesday arrest of Larry Wes Driskell, 52, of Aledo. the time that Hill had been involved in age-progression. evening. The body of Bobby Sue Hill, 29, was prostitution in the Fort Worth area, and Both drawings and a press release Driskell was charged with murder. discovered by two teenagers in a creek her last known address was Haltom City. were recently circulated to local media, He faces up to five to 99 years, or life in bed near a bridge a mile west of Aledo According to a news release following and several tips were received identifying prison, if convicted. off Jenkins Rd. March 5, 2009. The body Driskell’s arrest Wednesday, the forensic the suspect. The drawings were said to Turn to ARREST, page 11A Suspect-aged WILLOW PARK City OKs higher speed on I-20 Staff Reports The Community News The Willow Park City Council approved a TxDOT request Tuesday to increase the speed limit on Interstate 20 from 65 MPH to 70 to bring the city into conformity with neighboring I-20 cities. The 65-MPH limit was imposed by the Environmental Protection Agency 15 years ago to limit emis- sions, but “technology in cars and fuel” has made the limits obsolete, according to the city attorney. Volume 26, Number 03 Published Weekly RANDY KECK/THE COMMUNITY NEWS TO SUBSCRIBE CALL (817) 441-7661 Cubs in Pack 1099 watch as Pinewood Derby cars race across the finish line Saturday. Watch next week’s Community News for results and more photos. 24 Hour Automated Telephone Banking 817-594-1010 Copyright 2015, The Community News 2A January 16, 2015 News THE COMMUNITY NEWS Barton resolves lawsuit over defamation By Phil Major Declaration of Independence, Dr. the vitriol for decades. And with the The Community News Benjamin Rush, was also the sub- narrow definition of defamation in David Barton and his Aledo- ject of attacks, being called a quack U.S. law, economic damages had to based organization WallBuilders has among other things. be proven. long been a target for criticism, pri- He did sue, won a huge settle- Barton and his team were able marily from those he says have a sec- ment, and today history reflects that to prove losses, after some of the ular view of America and its history. indeed Rush was not considered a claims, as he noted, went viral and So it was no shock that Barton, quack. began to grow beyond their original who uses historical documents to So Barton proceeded with his messages. bolster the WallBuilders message suit, for posterity’s sake, to avoid Barton acknowledges, “Nobody about the Christian influence on Jefferson’s fate, and to protect his is immune from criticism, nor the early days of the United States, reputation. should they be. But there has to be would turn to two founding fathers The case was filed in district accountability.” for what to do about those attacks. court in Parker County. After a series He said that when the founding As a result WallBuilders received of legal proceedings all the way to fathers were promoting freedom of a $1 million settlement, and an the state supreme court over three speech and the other guaranteed apology, from two 2010 State Board and a half years, an out-of-court set- freedoms, they also spoke about the of Education candidates who had tlement resulted. responsibility that goes along with tried to claim Barton was known Though Barton would not dis- those freedoms, something that is no for speaking to white supremacist close what was done with the settle- longer being taught. groups. ment, he said it was all given away. Getting back to teaching the One of those founders, Thomas The suit was not about the original intentions of the founders Jefferson, was attacked with vicious money, he said. characterizes much of WallBuilders’ untruths when he ran for president “It helped kind of call in some work. in 1800. Jefferson decided not to things,” he said. And hopefully will The organization is involved in seek legal recourse, according to put an end to what he called “a lot of history and government curricula in Barton, for three reasons: 1. God this silliness.” several states. knows the truth. 2. The accusers will The suit has already helped “We teach the good, the bad and one day have to answer for their lies. Barton get another claim resolved, the ugly,” Barton explained. “History 3. The American people will know by alerting that perpetrator to the shouldn’t have an agenda.” the truth. result of the lawsuit. The group also develops its own While Jefferson was right, and Of course, Barton’s detractors curriculum and also has a daily the American people did elect him characterize that as him trying to radio show on 200 stations, helping as president, history has not been quell free speech – a topic with which citizens connect with their history. so kind. Barton is quite familiar though his “It’s fun to be able to reacquaint As a result, Barton explained, research. people with their history,” he said, by some academics have taken “This gives us a means to be reintroducing stories so people can Jefferson’s non-denials of the claims able to point out some false claims,” have an appreciation of who we are, and interpreted that to mean the Barton said. and why. accusations were true. He’s accustomed to being There are no other lawsuits A second signer of the attacked and has ignored much of pending.