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Front Page Headlines

Chamber Banquet a Crowded, Entertaining

and Highly Successful Affair

By JERRY MORGAN, Reporter

The banquet hall at Prados Mexican Cafe was a packed place by the time the 2009 DeLeon Chamber of Commerce Honors Banquet started last Saturday evening, January 24.

A crowd of around 225, larger than in preceding years, was fed grilled steaks and chicken and treated to an entertaining occasion.

Chamber president and master of ceremonies, Dr. Randy Mohundro, used his school administrative skills to help guide the crowd to an orderly approach to the buffet lines. And, he refrained from telling any jokes.

New for this year’s banquet was a silent auction of donated items held in the back of the banquet hall.

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City Council Addresses “Good Problem” at Community Park
Appoints Billie Lightfoot to Finish Place 3 Term

By LAURA KESTNER, Editor

The DeLeon City Council met in regular session Thursday, January 22, 2009, and addressed, among other things, a “good problem to have” regarding several upcoming events at the new Community Park.

LIGHTFOOT SWORN-IN. Pictured above, City Administrator Karen Wilkerson, left, and Billie Lightfoot during a swearing-in ceremony Monday, January 26, at the DeLeon City Hall. Lightfoot was appointed to the Place 3 council seat, previously held by Avery Carlisle, during the January 22 DeLeon City Council meeting. Carlisle was removed from the council after repeated absences.

Council members also filled the vacancy left by Councilman Avery Carlisle’s departure by appointing Billie Lightfoot to the Place 3 seat. Carlisle was removed from the council after repeated absences.

All council members -- Gayle Stroud, Pauline Villarreal, Lee Childers and Mayor Danny Owen -- were present for the meeting. (Lightfoot’s first council meeting will be February 12). Also present were Karen Wilkerson, city administrator, and Detective Heather Hill, investigator with the DeLeon Police Department. Hill noted that she was “subbing” for Police Chief Ralph Dickey.

Mayor Owen’s “good problem” comment occurred after a lengthy discussion on agenda items relating to several proposed events at the Community Park.

With two separate event organizers hoping to use the park around the same time in early summer, Mayor Owen noted that it was a good problem to have and laughed when someone in the audience made a “build it and they will come” reference.

Representatives from 3rd Day Productions, and from Texas Truck and Tractor Pull Association (TTTPA) were present to discuss a motocross event and tractor pull event, respectively, with each initially wanting to utilize the tractor pull arena during the same time period. With each group trying to accommodate the other and still book their own event, calendars were examined and schedules discussed.

The motocross planning hit a bit of a snag when it was determined there was no dirt for them to use on-site (and hauling dirt in may prove to be cost prohibitive), and the exact dates for each event was never completely determined during the meeting, because a third event had, unbeknownst to the council, already made plans for the RV park for the same time period.

For full article, subscribe to the DeLeon Free Press. E-mail edition is only $20/year.

Town Hall Meeting Draws Little Participation

By LAURA KESTNER, Editor

A Town Hall meeting to discuss the city’s proposed new wastewater treatment plant generated very little participation but event organizers still conducted a 55 minute presentation, with a question and answer session, Thursday, January 22.

All current council members were on hand for the meeting, as were Scott Hay and Clint Bissett, representatives of the city’s engineering firm Enprotec/Hibbs & Todd. Rob Duncan, DeLeon’s public works administrator, was unable to participate in the meeting, due to an emergency call regarding a large water leak.

For the benefit of the newer council members, Hay began by explaining that the new plant is necessary because of issues with the existing wastewater treatment plant.

“Your existing plant can’t meet discharge parameters (established by Texas Commission on Environmental Quality) consistently,” Hay said. “That’s been going on for a number of years, and the city has been trying to use the least costly methods to bring it into compliance. But the bottom line is that the way the discharge standards have changed, that plant won’t meet the requirements consistently anymore and it’s time to put something there that can establish water quality…

For full article, subscribe to the DeLeon Free Press. E-mail edition is only $20/year.

All-State Recognition

Danny Owen, the Mayor of De Leon, has a personal website.

Open Danny's website by Clicking Here

Scott Hall has creating an Internet website with history & photos of our town.

Click Here to visit his website

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