HomeMy WebLinkAbout2007-09-14 Euless Articles DISTRIBUTED TO: / *
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MAYOR CITY CNCL CITY ATTNY CRIM HENNIG MCKAMIE RIDGWAY(2) BOYETT BROWN
' YOUNG McDONALD COLLINS� C.BARKER GETCHELL LIBRARY ADMIN
1 LIBRARY REF ANIMAL CNTR
DATE DISTRIBUTED 9 / /`7 /O 7 DATE OF ARTICLE / / 7 / V 7 NEWSPAPER FWST
BRIEFS
' Mosquito spraying scheduled in Euless
EULESS—The city is scheduled to spray for mosquitoes
at 9 p.m.Tuesday after a resident was diagnosed with
' West Nile virus.The city will spray between Farm Road
157 and Main Street,from Midway Drive and Ash Lane.
The city will not spray if it's raining or the winds are over
10 mph.The city advises residents to stay indoors and
take pets inside if the spraying is in their neighborhood.
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MAYOR CITY CNCL CITY ATTNY CRIM HENNIG MCKAMIE RIDGWAY(2) BOYETT BROWN
YOUNG McDONALD COLLINS C.BARKER GETCHELL LIBRARY ADMIN LIBRARY REF ANIMAL CNTR I
DATE DISTRIBUTED f ( `/ l 0 -7 DATE OF ARTICLE �7 /
cl 7 / 0 7 NEWSPAPER FWST
PROPERTY TAXES It's also notable that, for a I live in the Castleberry wife, Nina, and I were sur-
sizable majority of Tarrant res- school district. It slashed its_ prised to fmd that modest
THATCAl' idents, those "skyrocketing" tax rate from$1.536 to$1.2035 sized homes that would sell for
valuations aren't skyrocketing. per $100 assessed value — a: $150,000 to $160,000 in Fort
T T Fifty-nine percent of Tar- shrinkage of 33.275 cents, or Worth fetched $230,000 'or'
IS SILLY rant's 457,991 single-family 21.7 percent. I'll also enjoy a more there.
homes did not receive a valua- slightly lower bill from the city In Fort Worth, the average
tion notice from TAD this of Fort Worth,Tarrant County hone value is $115,470, de-'
spring — which means their and the county hospital dis spite thousands of bigger,
appraised value did not rise. trict because all three reduced more expensive homes being
Only one in 20 homes had a ' their rates. built here in recent years.
Predominantly unchanged valuation jump of more than An oversupply of homes, Property tax caps distort'
property valuations and 10 percent.Valuation increas- escalating foreclosures and a the concept of taxation based
lower tax bills in Tarrant es, .for tax purposes, are potentially slowing economy on fair market value.The caps
County reveal the folly of capped at 10 percent annually could put a continued damper shift a greater share of the tax
the crusade for tax caps. for homesteads, but state leg- on valuations. Local govern- burden to homeowners whose1
islation calling for even lower ment officials, in making fu- valuations are increasing only
Those Texans arguing for tax caps has failed. ture budget projections, modestly or staying flat.Caps,
caps and other ill-conceived, Even those with substantial shouldn't count on continued by depressing tax revenues,111
politically inspired gimmickry valuation increases in Tarrant large annual increases in tax heighten the chance that local 111
masquerading as "property County and various other revenues. governments will raise tax
tax reform" are likely to have parts of Texas could experi- Although average Tarrant rates or scale back services td:
an even tougher time making. ence only slight rises in their home valuations have risen compensate.Caps don't�lower:
their case in the future,if Tar- tax bills as a result of offsetting sharply since 1995, the in- the cost of filling potholes or
rant County is an example. tax-rate cuts by_school dis- creases have educating children by a single
Gov Rick Perry and others been much penny
have contended that caps I more moder- With a majority of Tarrant '
ON YOU
were necessitated by"skyrock= ' - ate than in County homeowners benefit-
eting"property valuations re i4;K 'fix many fast- ing from unchanged valua
suiting in appreciably larger gro •wing m_ tions and lower property tax
tax bills. , t. •ban areas of bills,the crusade for tax caps I
But look at what's happen- the nation.On looks even more ludicrous.
mg here.As a result of dramat- • l'
� k< a recent trip to
ically lower school district tax JACK Z. SMITH north central JACK Z.SMITH ISA STAR-TELEGRAM,
rates and a pronounced slow- jzsmith@star-telegram.com Florida, my EDITORIAL WRITER.
down in valuation increases,a 817-390-7724
majority of Tarrant County tricts and other governmental
homeowners actually will see entities.
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a reduction in the property tax My Fort Worth home was
bills mailed this fall,according among the 59 percent of Tar-
to John Marshall,executive di- rant homes with no valuation•
rector of the change. _ I
Tarrant Ap- •.•
praisal Dis-
trict. Some /*\
bills could fall Imore than 10 A ° v
percent. LE,I
The bill re I
ductions pri- II ual
manly result
from the new MCCLATCHY-TRIBUNE/NATASHA S.JOHNSON
state law, strongly backed by I Perry, that mandated sharply
lower school tax rates. School
districts in Tarrant County
typically are slashing rates 20
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to 25 cents per$100 assessed
valuation, Marshall said.
Some have chopped the rate
more than 30 cents,whacking t
the rate by more than 20 per-
cent.
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MAYOR CITY CNCL CITY ATTNY CRIM HENNIG MCKAMIE RIDGWAY(2) BOYETT BROWN
YOUNG McDONALD COLLINS C.BARKER GETCHELL LIBRARY ADMIN LIBRARY REF ANIMAL CNTR
DATE DISTRIBUTED -1 , /L 7
/ / DATE OF ARTICLE qiiii0 7 NEWSPAPER FWST
olar
adventures thrill Euless teen
,7,
e nature buff has visited the 2006 trip to the Antarctic with his latest trip, but Green said it's
Arctic and the Antarctic. grandfather. . -". easier than one might think to
"I'm really interested in wild- ... • , .. - keep several dozen teenagers in
IMARK AGEE life, so I thought I should,go seeline.
it,"Cortes said.
rmagee@star-telegram.com "Once they look a polar bear or
e raw liver of a freshly killed Students on Ice has taken more X a whale in the eye, they under-
opard seal tastes about like one than 500 students and teachers
i - stand the importance of following
uld expect, 14-year-old John from around the world on expedi- ° _ 1:t.... ., the rules,"Green said.
Cortes said. He sampled the del- tions to the Arctic and Antarctic, Doug and Maria Cortes said
cy after it was offered to him by said Geoff Green, who founded g
they have encouraged their son to
Inuit hunter last month. the group in 1999.The latest trip, be adventurous.
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"It tastes kind of like chicken of which Cortes was a part — "It's amazing what people can
-and fish at the same time,"Cortes Green remembered him being learn from books, but when you
d. "Having it once was "full of energy"—included more actually go there, it's different,"
Id.
than 70 teens from North Amen- Doug Cortes said.
The Nolan Catholic High ca,Europe and Asia. g 6 John Cortes said he prefers the
School freshman had' one of the • "It's like a mini-United Na- . i ` i� ws . Arctic to the Antarctic because
olest summer adventures: two tions,"Green said:"The kids teach i �� ' ' "there's more wildlife."
'West
in the Arctic Circle with the each other as much as we teach �.3 Y. l What's the most counterintui-
Canadian organization Students them." M - five thing he learned on his trav-
Ice,which aims to teach teens Cortes, who said he has been John Cortes visited Port Lockroy in 'els?Penguins—despite how cute
out nature,climate change,and swimming in the freezing waters Antarctica in 2006. Last month, he they are—smell horrible.
w the two interact at the oppo- on both ends of the planet,got the was in the Arctic. JOHN CORTES "It is the wild, you know," he
site poles of the globe. . rare sight of a polar bear feeding' - said.
ICortes, of Euless, a 'self-de- on'a walrus, and was on a ship South America and Antarctica. Online:www.studentsonice.com
ibed science and nature enthu- that endured 40-foot swells in the Cortes' parents acknowledged
st, decided to go north after a infamous Drake Passage,between that they were worried before the MARK AGEE,817-685-3821
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MAYOR CITY CNCL CITY ATTNY CRIM HENNIG MCKAMIE RIDGWAY(2) BOYETT BROWN
YOUNG McDONALD COLLINS C.BARKER GETCHELL LIBRARY ADMIN LIBRARY REF ANIMAL CNTR I
DATE DISTRIBUTED
q I 1 L7 / 0 7DATE OF ARTICLE 9 / /c) /0 7 NEWSPAPER FWST
CRIME I
Reopened
EULESS—Two years ago,two detectives were handed thefileThomas Willis,28.
Shot dead in a motel parking lot in 1993,
leads to arrest Bullet casings from three weapons. I Suspected drug deal turned robbery.
Last weekend, after hundreds of hours of investigation
•
'and trips to Houston,Louisiana and Tennessee,authorities
511tI EuleSpecs Inarrested two men in connection with the killing.More ar-
rests are possible,police said Tuesday.
A 32-year-old man was arrested in North Texas and re-
mFioEEE
ldmanwasS SkillingarJanWary Tuesda . I
Euless police did not identify the men,but a brother of
One of the men is being held in Ohio,and police say the man in Ohio identified him as Vincent Smith.Jail offs- I
I more arrests are possible: cials confirmed his name.
"We want to go over the case with the DA's office before
By DOMINGO RAMIREZ JR. we release any details,"Euless police Lt.Wayne Pavlik said
ramirez@star-telegram.com I
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onds before fleeing. fled. er surfaced in the first investi-
Tuesday.r Police believe three other "Investigators did the best gation,"Pavlik said.
Authorities will seek to ex- men also ran from the parking they could do at the time," Within the past few weeks,
tradite Smith to Texas. lot to a white car at a nearby Pavlik said Tuesday. "But ma- capital murder warrants were
The two men are accused of apartment complex and drove ny people just were not talk- issued for the men, police
fatally shooting Thomas Wil- away immediately after the ing." said, because the slaying oc-
lis,28,in the parking lot of the shooting. Almost two years ago, Eu- curred during a robbery.
Lighthouse Motor Inn,509 W At the scene,police discov- less Detective Brett Morgan "It was such an outstanding
Euless Blvd. •eyed bullet casings from at' was assigned the cold case job," Pavlik said, referring to
Records show that Willis least three handguns.. A wit- along with his regular duties. the detectives. "Sometimes all
checked into the motel alone ness told police he saw one He was later joined by Detec- they had was street names,
on Jan. 15; 1993. After his man armed with a blue steel tive John Haecker. and they managed to track
death two weeks later,a motel revolver with a 5- to 6-inch "They re-interviewed wit- them down."
tenant told Euless police that barrel. ; ' nesses and got some new
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he heard shots and saw a man Police checked every lead, leads," Pavlik said. "They DOMINGO RAMIREZ JR.,
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stand near Willis for a few sec- but ria suspects were identi- came up with names that nev-_L817-685-3822
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MAYOR CITY CNCL CITY ATTNY CRIM HENNIG MCKAMIE RIDGWAY(2) BOYETT BROWN
YOUNG McDONALD COLLINS C.BARKER GETCHELL LIBRARY ADMIN LIBRARY REF ANIMAL CNTR
DATE DISTRIBUTED (7 / I ! 10 ) DATE OF ARTICLE 9 1/3 /(-- 7 NEWSPAPER FWST
EULESS
I Council lowers tax rate, 7
X17 million budget increase
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By JESSICA DeLErN
jdeleon@star-telegram.com Euless budget
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EULESS — Residents and
businesses will see a nearly 2Adopted Percent
2006-07 budget 2007-08 budget change`
Adopted
*cent dip in the property tax Total budget revenue $83,758,109 $102,129,612 21.93%-
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budget expenditures $80,157,261 $97,028,765 21_05%'I
On Tuesday, the City General fund revenue $28,680,500 $33,293,039 16.08%-
General fund expenditures $28,815,584 $33,270,986 15.46%
Council unanimously' ap-
proved a tax rate of 47 cents General fund reserves $4,352,843 $4,860,332 11.66%,,
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per$100 of assessed value for New budget items
Rebates for businesses $785,725
fiscal 2008, down from 48.95 5%raise for employees $762,395
cents this year. Increase in health insurance $713,985
The city's portion of the Three new police officers,plus equipment $208,648
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tax bill for the average Euless Sidewalks,lighting,signalization $200,000
homeowner will drop slightly, 3 firefighters $166,880
despite a 3 percent average Converted 2 PT library positions into 1 FT $38,843
increase in property values. Part-time field tech for parks department $25,000
t In August,the council ap- Part-time utilty billing clerk $13,210
proved a $97 million budget "'What it means to you
for the next fiscal year.The Ci The budget is based on a tax rate of 47 cents per$100 of assessed property value.
I ty does,not require a second
reading on the tax rate or That's a decrease from the current tax rate of 48.9 cents.The tax bill of the owner of
an average-priced house will be$515.47,down from$518.99 lastyear.The
budget,which talCeeffect Oct. calculationsincludea20percenthomesteadexemption.Theaveragevalueofahouse
in Euless increased to$137094 this year,up from$132,668 last year.
1. ... �, . t >r. ?
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, Even with the tax rate de sour°eChy of Euless sra� c
crease, the city will increase
spending because of jumps ed to one-time projects, in- to the public library and Mid-
,in sales tax revenue and, eluding land acquisition and way Recreation Center.
' property values. design of a new senior center, Online:www.ci.euless.tx.us
The nearly$17 million in- expansion of the Conference
crease from the current $80 Centre at Texas Star, and re-
' million budget will be devot- modeling and improvements JESSICA DELEON,817-685-3932
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MAYOR CITY CNCL CITY ATTNY CRIM HENNIG MCKAMIE RIDGWAY(2) BOYETT BROWN
YOUNG McDONALD COLLINS ,C.BARKER GETCHELL LIBRARYADMINLIBRARY REF ANIMAL CNTR
DATE DISTRIBUTED 9 ///// -07 DATE OF ARTICLE ( / / ( 6)7 NEWSPAPER FWST
EATS BEAT
■It's fallSo it must be time
for Greek food. '
The Mid-Cities Greek
Foodfest leads off next week-
end. It's the smallest of the
three Metroplex Greek festivals
-but it still packs crowds into
a Euless church.
If you really like Greek food
and music,then you'll want to
go to the special "Taverna
Night" benefit dinner Thurs-
day
For a $50 donation ($60 at
the door), you get a dinner of
Greek chicken and beef souv-
laid with dolmas and spana-
kopita, plus Greek wines and
beers.It's all at the St.John the
Baptist Greek Orthodox
Church.
The festival follows next
weekend,featuring gyros ($6),
a Greek combinationAilaner
for $15 and special "baklava
sundaes"for$3.
The church is ear oto find.
It's three blocks south of Texas
183 on Main Street in Euless,
then one block east to 303 Cul-
lum Drive; 817-283-2291,
www.stjohn.ta.goarch.org.
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MAYOR CITY CNCL CITY ATTNY CRIM HENNIG MCKAMIE RIDGWAY(2) BOYETT BROWN
IYOUNG McDONALD COLLINS C.BARKER GETCHELL LIBRARY ADMIN LIBRARY REF ANIMAL CNTR
DATE DISTRIBUTED //2/ I� / DATE OF ARTICLE 9// /0 7 NEWSPAPER FWST
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CRIME
' Affidavit ,
' details
I
cold-case
I - .
, slaying :
A 28-year-old Euless man was fatally
shot in 1993 over a pound of
I
marijuana,according to an affidavit.
County Jail on Thursday in tion, authorities said Thurs-
By DOMINGO RAMIREZ JR. EULESS — On a cold night in January lieu of $750,000 bail. Smith, day.
1 i' ramirez@star-telegram.com 1993, Vincent Smith kicked open the 38, remained m the Trumbull Smith and Jamison are ac
door of a room at the Lighthouse Motor County Jail m Waren,Ohio,in cused of being the gunmen in
Inn and rushed in with Roderick Jamison . lieu of$750,000 bail. the shooting,according to the
and two other acquaintances to steal Smith was fighting extradi- 18-page affidavit.
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drugs from Timothy The shooting
Willis, authorities now Willis moved into the motel room Jan.15,1993.His mother told
believe. police that she last saw him Jan.30,1993,when he went to visit
v Within seconds,Wil- her about his tax returns.Relatives said that Willis used cocaine
1t"; j t hs,28,was shot twice in and marijuana and that he owed people money,according to the
' the back of the head and affidavit.
'-`' left for dead—all for a Euless police were dispatched to the motel shortly before 2 a.m.
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Smith pound of marijuana,ac- Jan.31,1993,on a report of a possible shooting.Officers found
cording to an arrest Willis lying face down near the front door of his room.He later
warrant affidavit re- died at Harris Methodist H.E.B.Hospital in Bedford.
leased Thursday. Witnesses told police that they heard several gunshots and saw
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The four then fled in -several men running away.
to the night.. Within hours of the shooting,police had information that Willis
The affidavit gave had planned to sell marijuana to a group of men that morning,
that account of a slaying according to the affidavit.Investigators even contacted a man they i
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Jamison that remained a,mys` believed set up the drug deal,but could not link him or anyone else
tery for 14 years unkl to the shooting.
last weekend. :- . The case lay dormant until January 2006,when detectives Brett
That's when police arrested Jamisatl Morgan and John Haecker were asked to re-investigate.
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in Fort Worth and Smith in Ohio on sus=
picion of capital murder in the slayingof Cold-case investigation
Willis. The two re-interviewed witnesses and rechecked leads. But it
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More arrests are possible, police said wasn't until May that police received information about two men-
Thursday. nicknamed Junior and Psycho—who may have been involved in
"In the cold cases I've read about, the shooting,according to the affidavit.
DNA has been what detectives worked Through FBI,Arlington police and Drug Enforcement Adminis-
1 on to match up with suspects," Euless tration records,Psycho was identified as Roderick Jamison and
police Lt. Wayne Pavlik said Thursday. Junior was identified as Vincent Smith.Other men at the scene
"This case was just one where a couple of also were identified,the affidavit states. -
investigators did a great job of tracking After many interviews with witnesses this summer,police be-
1 down leads." lieve this is what happened that January morning:
Jamison, 32, remained in the Tarrant Smith,Jamison and several other men met at an Arlington
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MAYOR CITY CNCL CITY ATTNY CRIM HENNIG MCKAMIE RIDGWAY(2) BOYETT BROWN
YOUNG McDONALD COLLINS C.BARKER GETCHELL LIBRARY ADMIN LIBRARY REF ANIMAL CNTR
DATE DISTRIBUTED 1 I /U DATE OF ARTICLE / 4 /0 7 NEWSPAPER FWST
is
apartment to decide how to obtain marijuana for the night,accord-
ing to the affidavit.They also decided to rob the dealer,police said.
One man recommended that they buy the drug from Willis,
who had moved into the Euless motel two weeks earlier,police
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said.
The group left Arlington in two cars-one carrying two men,
and the other,a white Ford Mustang,carrying five,according to the
affidavit.After arriving at the Euless motel,the Mustang was ,
parked near Willis'motel and the other across the street,the affi-
davit states.No one got out of the car parked across the street,
the affidavit states.
Smith,then 24,and Jamison,then 18,rushed in,followed by
two acquaintances who punched Willis,according to the affidavit.
Willis reached under his bed,but was shot in the back of the head
twice,the affidavit states.
Witnesses told police that when the men checked under the
bed,they found the marijuana.
Three men—described as"very hyped"-rushed out of the
room,ran to the Mustang and jumped in,the affidavit states.Smith
walked back to the car slowly and even pointed a gun at the Mus-
tang because they were about to leave him,the affidavit states.
The affidavit states:"Junior was very upset,threatening every-
one about being a snitch,and was angry because everyone had
ran"
The Mustang returned to the Arlington apartment,where Smith
continued being angry at the others,saying"he deserved most of
the marijuana"because he had done most of the work,the-affida-
vit
states.
The break in the case
The investigation in 1993 didn't turn up the names of any suspects.
And months after they began their investigation in 2006,detec-
tives Morgan and Haecker had only the street names as possible
suspects in the shooting.They traveled to Dallas,Houston,Shreve-,
port,and Memphis,tracking down leads.
The two detectives eventually identified Smith and Jamison and
others at the scene.
"The hardest part for them was that they only had street and
gang names at first.They had to find out who was who before they
" could talk to anyone about specifics,"Pavlik said Thursday."They
were going all over the place to get a name.It took a lot of.legwork
to track everyone down."
DOMINGO RAMIREZ JR.,817-685-3822
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