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Special to the Free Press

By DR. RANDY MOHUNDRO

After taking possession of the property in September of 2007, and following seven months of intensive renovations and remodeling, the formal Open House for the DeLeon ISD Support Center was held on Tuesday, May 6 with approximately 75 district patrons touring the facility.

Referred to as the District Support Center or DSC, five different entities utilize the property that was once known as the DeLeon Hospital and Clinic.

WELCOME TO THE DISTRICT SUPPORT CENTER. Angela White and Janna Morris are pictured at the reception area in the main hallway of the newly remodeled old hospital.

The DSC is home for the district’s central administration, School and City of DeLeon Tax Office, Project Success, Comanche Shared Services Arrangement, and Region XIV Educational Service Center Cluster Site.

The amazing part of the DSC is the ability of the district to combine effort with so many entities to complete the transformation, and in doing so, lower the final cost to the taxpayers of the school district.
The district acquired the building from the Comanche Hospital District at a cost of $50,000 for all of the property, with the exception of the Kimmell Wellness Center.

Total renovations will cost approximately $100,000 to $110,000 for a total project cost of $150,000 to $160,000 for approximately 30,000 square feet. However, through efforts of the administration to share the building with various entities, the local taxpayer share of renovations has only been in the $50,000 - $60,000 range. The remaining costs have been paid by the entities that now call the DSC their home.
In relation to the cost of new construction, a building of similar size based on today’s prices would cost between $4 and $5 million.

When you first arrive at the DSC several changes on the outside of the building will catch your eye. The orientation of the building has been changed, with the front of the building now facing S. Texas Street, where the flag pole is now located. The ambulance bays and incinerator have been removed. The exterior metal coping on top of the hospital portion of the building has been painted and the most noticeable improvement is the painting that has been completed on the clinic building, as well as the replacement of rotted boards under the eaves and overhang.

New signage has been installed to indicate what part of the DSC is located at the entrance.

BOARD OF TRUSTEES MEETING ROOM. Located in what previously served as the emergency room, the “U” shaped table is described as the only new furnishings purchased for the District Support Center.

The entrance of the old emergency room has been transformed into the main entrance of the facility and the entry for the central administrative offices. As you pass by the old emergency room you notice that it has been transformed into the district’s new Board Room, home of the Board of Trustees and their regular meetings. In the past the Board floated between libraries and cafeterias to hold their meetings. Old medical equipment has been removed and the room holds a horseshoe table and chairs for spectators.

Coming through the lobby and entering what once housed the ICU/CCU section of the hospital, patrons are now greeted at the front reception counter by the Janna Morris, administrative assistant. Part of Morris’ duties include greeting and assisting the public as they enter the building.

Behind the wooden double doors, in what were once patient rooms, are offices utilized by the superintendent, and other business office employees. New lighting was installed to transform the patient rooms into offices. Two rooms were combined by the removal of a wall to all create a conference/meeting room.

Passing out of the central office section through the wooden double doors, you enter the classroom section of the building that houses Project Success. Project Success is the newly developed district program designed for high school students that have dropped out of school, but have returned to participate in a program that will allow them to gain credits and become eligible to graduate as they complete course work at their own pace.

This year, three students have qualified to graduate and nine students are waiting on state assessment scores to determine if they qualify to graduate at the end of the current school year. The program has a small student to teacher ratio of 15:1 to allow for individualized instruction.

This section of the building houses four classrooms, one office, and one break/dining room, where ten patient rooms once existed.

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By LAURA KESTNER, Editor

Incumbents swept the elections this past Saturday, handily defeating their opponents in all races -- city council, school district and hospital board.

In the city elections, incumbent Danny Owen defeated his only opponent, Cameron Canterbury, 121 to 21, to retain his seat as mayor. Lee Childers, who ran unopposed for Council Place 1, received 105 votes. Pauline Villarreal received 69 votes to Marion Quade’s 64 votes to take the Council Place 2 seat.

Lisa Nowlin and Dr. Brandon Gilmore, school board incumbents, retained their seats with Nowlin receiving 142 votes, and Dr. Gilmore receiving 97. Challenger Zachary Paul received 73 votes.

In the hospital board race, Charles Mazurek, running unopposed received 302 votes. Incumbent Gayle Easley retained her Place 3 seat, with 250 votes to challenger Larry Damron’s 124.

By LAURA KESTNER, Editor

A decision was made to purchase the PitneyBowes postal machine the city uses, rather than continue with the leasing agreement, during the most recent meeting of the DeLeon City Council Thursday, May 8, 2008.

All council members -- Mayor Danny Owen, Howard Gifford, Norma Locke, Avery Carlisle, Roy Dale Freeman and Gayle Stroud -- were present for the 6 p.m. meeting, as were Chief Ralph Dickey, Ray Helberg (emergency management), Rob Duncan (public works administrator) and Karen Wilkerson (city secretary).

Councilman Howard Gifford asked several weeks ago, during the routine review of accounts payable, just how much the PitneyBowes lease was costing the city each month. After learning that the city was paying $775 a quarter, for the next 42 months, for a total of more than $10,000, Gifford asked Wilkerson to investigate how much the current buy-out price would be. Wilkerson reported back that the purchase price (until 5-15-08) would be $3,959.37. After instructing Wilkerson to investigate the warranty details, and the cost for adjustments to the machine with each postal increase, council members voted to purchase the machine outright.

In other business, council members:

• Voted to approve Ordinance # 004-08, amending the existing gas franchise between the City of DeLeon and Atmos Energy. This amendment will result in a 50 to 60 cents per month increase for local Atmos customers.

• Approved the minutes from the April 24, 2008 council meeting.

• Approved accounts payable.

In the open discussion between city staff and city officials, Mayor Danny Owen reported on progress with the grand opening celebration, set for June 7, at the new Community Park. Council member Gayle Stroud reported on an erosion problem near Ayres St.

Councilman Howard Gifford said that since it would be his last chance to be involved in a staff report (he did not seek re-election), that he wanted to tell everybody how much he’d enjoyed serving on the council.

“I feel honored to have served the city in this capacity for the past four years,” Gifford said. “It’s been a pleasure working with all of you.”

Council members noted that they appreciated Gifford’s input and wisdom, and would miss him. Council members also noted that they appreciated Norma Locke’s efforts through the years. Locke also chose not to run for re-election.

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By JERRY MORGAN, Reporter

COMANCHE -- Assisting volunteer fire departments, the need for better control over utility companies using county roadways, and the high cost of providing medical care for county prisoners were some of the topics that were discussed by the Commissioners at Monday's meeting.

The Comanche County Commissioners met in the County Courtroom on May 12, in regular session with Judge James Arthur conducting the meeting. Commissioners Garry Steele (Pct. 1), Kenneth Feist (Pct. 2), Bobby Schuman (Pct. 3) and Jimmy Dale Johnson (Pct. 4) attended.

Other county officials attending included County Clerk Ruby Lesley, County Auditor Joey Boswell, County Sheriff Jeff Lambert, County Treasurer Billy Ruth Rust, Emergency Services Coordinator Ray Helberg and his assistant Trish Grimshaw, and County Court Coordinator Sherry Ward. Commissioner-elect Sherman Sides and commissioner candidates Corky Underwood and David Rogers also attended.

Proctor VFD Request for County Financial Help

Assistant Fire Chief Mike Evans of the Proctor Volunteer Fire Department spoke to the Commissioners seeking the county's help in the acquisition of a truck.

Evans began his presentation by expressing thanks to the Commissioners for the county's continuing financial support. He noted that the department had been in existence for about two years and has accomplished much during that time. He noted that in addition to helping in the local area, they had provided mutual aid to areas such as Gorman, Erath County, Gustine and Rising Star.

Evans stated that they had been following truck auctions on the internet and cited one truck they were interested in that had a minimum bid of $8,000. He then asked if the county would be willing to share half of the cost for either that or some other truck that could be used for firefighting. They would have to finance the balance of the cost.

Bobby Schuman asked how many trucks the department has and Evans described in detail the six trucks operated by their 15 members. The department owns two one ton brush trucks, a larger military surplus brush truck, a non-four wheel drive city pumper type fire truck, a 1,500 gallon tanker/tender, and a 5,300 gallon semi-tractor trailer tanker.

Jimmy Dale Johnson commented, "It sounds like you all have come a long ways," and Evans agreed.
Garry Steele commented that newly created fire departments have to go to the back of the line as far as grant requests are concerned.

Evans affirmed that as he recounted the Texas Forest Service's point rating system for volunteer fire departments that provides the basis for grant eligibility.

New volunteer departments have to prove their continuing viability in order to qualify for state assistance. Evans stated that it would take the Proctor VFD six years to accumulate enough points to qualify for grant assistance in purchasing new fire fighting equipment.

Garry Steele stated that he had no problem with helping the Proctor VFD, but added that more specifics would be needed before moving further in that direction.

Bobby Schuman asked if the county would be setting a precedent in helping Proctor, adding that he wanted to see the department grow and serve the public. He wondered if every fire department in the county would be asking for assistance if this request was granted.

Evans added that help had been sought from and promised by an area politician, but that so far they had seen no evidence that anything favorable was occurring. He added that it generally takes six months for a new fire truck to be built and delivered.

Joey Boswell was asked for his opinion and stated that what you spend now, you will have to make up for later, adding that it might be an item for consideration during the budgeting process which will begin in July.

Evans stated, "I know you need to discuss this. I just wanted to get it in front of you."

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