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Burglar bagged in manhunt

After a slew of burglaries in the DeLeon area in recent weeks that have deprived honest homeowners of thousands of dollars, two area men sit behind county bars following an eventful week in law enforcement action.

Wednesday morning, Dec. 2, turned out to be far from a typical day for the Comanche County Sheriff’s Office, as a fleet-footed fugitive tied up county and state resources for the better part of a day while on the run in an agricultural area northwest of DeLeon.

For several hours Wednesday morning and afternoon, law enforcement pickups and cruisers were busy winding their way through county and private roads between Hwy. 6, County Road 486, and Farm-to-Market 2921 in search of a subject who had taken to the trees rather than face a courtroom.

“While doing a follow up investigation, Investigator Ken Maltby of the Comanche County Sheriff’s Office observed a wanted Felon run from him. The subject, Brian Mayfield, 31, of Gorman was wanted out of the 220th District Court for Failure to Appear on a Burglary charge,” reported Comanche County Deputy Sheriff Chris Pounds.

Maltby chased the subject through a field before losing sight of the subject. Texas Department of Public Safety and Gorman Police Department were called to assist in the search and to establish a perimeter.

Eventually, Texas Department of Criminal Justice prison tracking dogs were called in from Abilene to search the area. At approximately 6:30 that evening information was obtained that Mayfield was at a residence in Gorman. Officers located and arrested Mayfield and he was transported to the Comanche County Jail,” said Pounds. “While officers were searching, the Comanche County Sheriff’s Office executed a search warrant at Mayfield’s residence located on FM 2921 just outside of Gorman and located numerous items stolen from several burglaries in Eastland and Comanche Counties.”
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DeLeon man dies after accident,

heart failure likely cause of crash

A DeLeon man died Tuesday, Dec. 1, following an automobile accident that resulted in massive damage to a local office building and two pickup trucks.

At 4:08 p.m. on that Tuesday afternoon, Everett “Bud” Cassady, 82, lost control of his red 1996 Ford F-150 and slammed into the office of Thomas Propane on Hwy. 6 in northwest DeLeon.

Cassady was on his way to purchase propane, and was driving westbound on Hwy. 6 when he turned too early into the entrance to Thomas Propane by about 80 feet, drove through a deep ditch, and then hit a white Ford F-250 that was parked in front of the Thomas Propane office.

The resulting impact caused Cassady’s vehicle to ricochet to the right, where it buried itself in the east wall of the Thomas Propane office.

Cassady was traveling with one passenger who reported that Cassady “didn’t look good,”  …

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CCTC sold, renamed Totelcom

By JON AWBREY, Publisher

The name “Comanche County Telephone Company” will soon cease to exist, as a name change was announced to CCTC customers this month.

The new name, Totelcom Communications, LLC, not only reflects a new company name, but also new ownership and a new vision.

While many telephone companies have been gobbled up by megacorporations over the last decade, CCTC’s new ownership is a little closer to home. In fact, the new owner, CCTC General Manager and President Toney Prather, has been doing business in CCTC’s main lobby and various offices since 1979.

Toney Prather

Although Totelcom signs have already been ordered and will soon be installed and company letterheads will soon reflect the evolution of the business, First American Communication’s sale of the company to Prather will not be official for four to six months, pending FCC approval.

“The opportunity came along,” Prather said about purchasing the company, “for [wife] Terrie and I to acquire it, and it was either that or retiring and moving along. We had no interest in retiring and moving away.”

“According to the rules,” said Prather, “I’m not allowed to run it yet, even though I’ve been running it all these years. It’s sort of an awkward spot.”

Prather’s first visible decision, renaming the company Totelcom, stems from new realities in the telecommunications world - especially regarding a telephone company whose service area includes all of Comanche County, half of Eastland, and parts of several other central Texas counties.

“The name has needed to change for a while,” said Prather. “One third of our customers are in Eastland County, and there are some in Erath, Mills, and Brown Counties. We don’t need a name that is a detriment to expansion.”

Possible expansion may include increasing the company’s broadband footprint, and perhaps acquiring smaller telephone companies - although any real conjectures are very premature.

In an age of greatly increasing telecommunications technology, Prather doesn’t see the end of the land line telephone company - rather it will have to adapt to new technology.

“It’s a change in business,” said Prather.

But the only real change for DeLeon consumers is the company’s name.

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Coming Events

Call 254-893-6868 if you have an event to list

Breakfast With Santa

Breakfast with Santa is scheduled for Saturday, December 12, from 8 to 11:30 a.m. at Prado’s. For more information call 254-979-4777.

Christmas Store

The Christmas Store at the Desdemona Activity Center will be open Thursday, Friday and Saturday, December 10,11,12, from 9:00 a.m. until 6:00 p.m.

Tuna Christmas

Purple Lily Theater will have it's annual Dinner Theater Production of Tuna Christmas on Friday, Dec. 11 and Saturday, Dec. 12. Dinner starts a 6:00 pm and the show starts at 6:30 pm.  Tickets will be $10.00 and the show will be at the De Leon City Hall. For reservations and more information call 254-893-4824.

CCMC Jewelry Show

CCMC Healthcare Volunteers will host a jewelry show, Monday, December 14 in the CCMC Lobby from 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. Jewelry to be featured is: Beading by Paula, and Velda's Valuables. Proceeds will benefit CCMC.

House and Business Decorating Contest

Women’s Division Chamber of Commerce will sponsor a Christmas house and business decorating contest which will be judged on December 19, 2009. You can nominate yourself, or someone else. Categories include: Most Original, Most Beautiful, Most Religious and Town Favorite.

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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