The Facts du lieu suivant : Clute, Texas • Page 6

THE FACES TUESDAY OCTOBER6, 1948 6A Call Got (409) e-mail: a The news Facts 265-2223 tip? newsroom nightly until 10 p.m. http://www.thefacts.com County news PAT SEBESTA Judge COUNTY COURT AT LAW ow. T1 7701 TIM KELLEY Justice Of The Peace Pct. 1. PI.

2 Identity released on victim of fatal collision with tugboat Traffic stop leads to arrest on marijuana charges CLUTE A man was arrested during a traffic stop early Monday morning after police allegedly found him carrying marijuana. Police said the man, 37, was stopped in the 100 block of Dixie Drive around 4 a.m. Monday. He was charged with possession of marijuana, a Class misdemeanor, though police did not say how much marijuana the man was allegedly carrying. Police discover warrants during family violence call FREEPORT Police arrested a 39-year-old Freeport man Sunday night after he allegedly hit his wife in the nose.

The incident occurred around 8:30 p.m. Sunday in the 1200 block of West 10th Street after the man allegedly got into an argument with his wife. The woman was treated for her injury at the scene. The man was charged with assault family violence, a Class A misdemeanor. As they booked the man into custody, police said they discovered 13 outstanding city warrants on the suspect.

By STEVE SCHEIBAL The Facts FREEPORT Police have identified the victim of a fatal boating accident as Joe David Nabors, a 69-year-old Surfside Beach resident. Nabors died about a quartermile north of the Surfside Bridge POLICE BEAT Sunday morning after his 16-foot fishing boat was hit by a tug boat that was pushing three barges. Freeport Police Sgt. Richard Miller said Monday that the Galveston County medical examiner has not yet determined the cause of Nabors' death, though the police investigation into the accident is almost complete. Teens detained during burglary attempt RICHWOOD Police arrested two Angleton teen-agers early Monday morning after they were caught allegedly trying to break into a car.

The alleged attempted burglary occurred around 12:30 a.m. Monday in at the 1900 block of Highway 288B. One suspect was caught at the scene, the other at a nearby gas station, police said. The men, aged 17 and 18, were apparently trying to steal a car radio, police said. They were charged with burglary of a motor vehicle, a Class A misdemeanor.

Off-duty officer nabs burglary suspect SWEENY A 38-year man was arrested on an outstanding burglary warrant Saturday after a Sweeny police officer on his way back from the fair parade spotted the man. Roger Dale Luker, had been walking down FM 1459 hear Highway 35 when he was arrested without incident. Sweeny police department officials said the burglary charge stems from a Sept. 15 break-In on Old Ocean Avenue where a checkbook was stolen and three checks were later passed in Bay City and Brazoria County. Officials said Luker is a suspect in two other residential burglaries and charges are pending on those cases.

Property taken in one of the bur. glaries has been recovered. Luker is held in the Brazoria County Detention Center with bond set at $25,000. Man arrested after taking vehicle SWEENY Erik Villarreal, 18, was arrested at his residence in the 100 block of N. Orange Street in Sweeny Friday and charged with robbery, a second-degree felony.

Police department officials said the arrest stemmed from an incident where Villarreal took a relative's vehicle by threat after being refused use of the vehicle. Villarreal was placed in West Columbia jail and transferred to the Brazoria County Detention Center. His bond was set at $35,000. Juveniles charged with series of burglaries SWEENY A 14- and 15-year-old juvenile were detained charges are pending for a series of vehicle burgiaries and criminal mischief cases which occurred on the Sweeny Community Hospital parking lot and surrounding residences. The incidents were reported on Oct.

19 and Oct. 23. Police department officials said items were taken from one vehicle which also was damaged and hubcaps. hood ornaments and vehicle emblems were taken from three other vehicles. The missing items were recovered from the juveniles.

CORRECT Steve Stathopoulos was misidentified in two photo captions in Monday's edition of The Facts. actually helps manage the Red Snapper Inn restaurant in Surfside Beach and is the head chef. LESER Computer, Inc. WHOLESALE PRICES ISM COMPATIBLE COMPUTERS LOWEST PRICE IN BRAZORIA COUNTY Order Today, Pickup Tomorrow 233-7112 Fax Miller said Freeport police still have to trade notes with the U.S. Coast Guard, which is investigating potential marine violations stemming from the accident.

Miller added that the case will probably be turned over to the Brazoria County grand jury next month, which will decide whether to file criminal charges. "Some loose ends need to be tied up," he said of the investigation. Miller declined to release the name of the tug boat operator or the company that owned the vessel Monday, saying the department probably won't disclose those names before the case goes Feline paradise Merle Walline the owner of Cat's at Play stand outside his shop were his company makes several types of cat trees. Playgrounds for pampered pets By YVONNE A. GUERRERO building.

But a showroom is under construction. The Facts Walk-up customers are welcome and plentiful and they buy items at wholesale prices, before the 75 to WEST COLUMBIA What started with some 80 percent retail markup, Walline said. scraps of carpet and wood left over from a home "We're just gradually moving our market in such improvement job turned into a growing business a way that we can grow employee-wise," Walline with Internet sales across the country. said. If unchecked, sales could easily outpace proBased in West Columbia.

Cats at Play is a feline duction, he said. Still, Walline attends major wholeparadise. sale conferences where large pet stores make yearly Merle Walline, founder and owner of Cats at Play, purchases. designs and builds cat condos from the basic 30-inch Out-of-state travelers, including a Tennessee scratching post to the deluxe 6-foot tall cat tree. His salesman, who have missed Hwy.

35's sharp turn, wares sell at wholesale prices from $3 to $329. have stumbled upon Cats At Play. Also, West Now in leased space at 402 West Brazos, Columbia residents have stopped in to welcome Walline started his business in the Houston area Walline and his operation. Visitors stop in out of while doing odd jobs after his 20-year stint in the curiosity and often leave with a cat tree, he said. U.S.

Navy. "I felt welcomed here right away," Walline said. "Once you get out of the Navy, you kind of want "I think I've been well accepted by the community to do something for yourself," Walline said. here." In 1989, with help from his daughter Gwen and As a carpenter, he has taken on special projects son Rodney, Walline built a few cat condos and for new friends in the area, including rabbit cages, sold them to a pet store in Houston's Galleria. They chicken houses, dog houses and children's playsold quickly, the store ordered more and a business houses, Walline said.

was born. Cats At Play is one of about four or five new But life in the big city became tiring and since a businesses that have opened in West Columbia man who worked for Walline was from West recently, City Manager Roger Mumby said. And Columbia, he decided to relocate his business here promoting growth has been a hot topic among city last November. leaders recently. Walline employs two part-time salesmen, one "We look forward to more new businesses," full-time worker and two high school co-op stu- Mumby said.

dents, one from Sweeny and one from Needville. The possibility of applying for West Columbia's From College Station, his son maintains the tax abatement program helped Walline decide to Internet website, at www.catsatplay.com, where buy the building he is leasing and expand, he said. orders come in mostly for the high-priced. deluxe The area also provides creative inspiration for items, Walline said. His daughter may soon rejoin Walline.

A large oak tree across the street from the business when she finishes her Navy duty in Cats At Play became the model for a still-unfinSaudi Arabia. ished project a cat tree larger than any other in Currently. Cats At Play resembles a warehouse the workshop. with scraps of carpet and wood and cat trees in var- "I'd never seen a Live Oak tree until I got here," ious stages of completion scattered around the Walline said. WHAT'S GOING ON to the grand jury.

"There's no criminal charges on these people right now," Miller said. He added that police believe Nabors was going crabbing when the accident occurred between 8 a.m. and 9 a.m. Sunday. He said a father and son in a nearby fishing boat tried to get Facts photo: Todd Yates information, call Cynthia Sutton at Timothy's Episcopal Church will 265-9241.

attend the Greek Festival in Galveston HURSDAY FLEMING OPEN HOUSE Fleming Elementary will host an Open House at 6:30 p.m. Parents and others are invited to meet in the auditorium to meet the teachers and staff and have a P.T.O. meeting. Meet teachers from 7 to 8 p.m. in their rooms.

SATURDAY GREEK FESTIVAL The Brown Bag Bunch of St. Nabors out of the tug boat's way until the accident occurred. The two men, aged 21 and 43, even threw Nabors a line and tried to pull his boat out of the tugboat's path, Miler said. While most of Nabors' family lives in Alabama, the victim had "several very close friends" in the area, Miller said. FEMA recovery center opens Staff fields questions about disaster assistance YVONNE A.

QUERRERO The Facts ANGLETON On its first day of operation, the Angleton Federal Emergency Management Administration disaster recovery center helped about 10 people with questions about aid for damages incurred during Tropical Storm Frances. FAST FACTS People seeking assistance with damage from Tropical Storm Frances should first register by telephone at 1-800-462- 9029 between 7 a.m. and 7 p.m. seven days a week. Management Agency disaster recovery center was the fourth opened in the four-county area declared a federal disaster area Sept.

23. Representatives from a variety of state and federal programs, including the U.S. Small Business Administration, disaster unemployment and insurance services, are housed at the center and ready to answer questions and assist with applications. People coming to the disaster center for assistance should first register by telephone at 1-800-462-9029 between 7 a.m. and 7 p.m.

seven days a week, FEMA officials have said. Since Hurricane Georges, tornadoes and flooding in Florida prompted other federal disaster declarations recently, the volume of calls has meant many busy lines and frustrated callers, FEMA officials said. But Wood encouraged callers to be patient since more personnel is being hired and trained. "We are working diligently to better assist disaster victims calling to report their losses," said Federal Coordinating Officer Jim LeGrotte. "We have up to 450 teleregistration personnel taking calls at any one time and are increasing that staff to better handle the 10,000 calls per day we are receiving.

"It's simply going to take time and we are asking people to be patient while we upgrade our capacity," LeGrotte said. The first step to disaster assistance for business owners and homeowners is the U.S. Small Business Administration, FEMA spokesman Lew Wood said. The Small Business Administration is the primary source of federally funded disaster assistance loans to homeowners, renters and businesses for long-term recovery. Even if flood victims do not want a loan or think they will qualify for one, they must complete and return their SBA disaster application as a prerequisite for other assistance, Wood said.

If the person does not qualify for a loan, referrals to other forms of assistance or grant programs may be made, As of the close of business Friday, more than $546.064 had been disbursed to 245 individuals who suffered property losses or damage from Tropical Storm Frances, according to numbers released by FEMA. In Brazoria County, 476 people had applied for assistance by calling the toll-free number to register. Harris County had the most applicants with 1,373 and Galveston was second with 662. "We urge people to tell their neighbors and friends, if you've had flood damage, be sure to call that number." Braddy said. "It's been a little slow our first day," said center manager Orlin Braddy.

"We're just trying to get the word out to everybody that we're here." The center, located at the Precinct Two Maintenance Barn on CR 171, will remain open until the number of people needing it builds and then drops off, Braddy said. Tropical Storm Frances hit the Gulf Coast last month, dropping large amounts of rain and bringing tidal flooding that damaged some coastal homes and businesses. The Angleton Federal Emergency TEACHER APPRECIATION The Lady Buc Volleyball teams will be honoring BISD teachers during their annual Teacher Appreciation Night. All BISD teachers are invited to attend the games free. Game times are freshmen at 5 p.m..

junior varsity at 6 p.m.. and varsity at 7 p.m. All games will be held in the Brazoswood Gyms. COUGAR BAND MEETING The 1998 All Clute Cougar Band parents will meet at 7 p.m.in the band hall (officers will meet at 6:30 p.m.). The group will kick off its cheesecake fund-raiser.

For more at the Assumption of the Virgin Mary Greek Orthodox Church. Cost for entry and dinner is $10. The group will meet at St. Timothy's Parish Hall at 9 a.m. and there will be an additional $3 passenger fee.

Call Anita Brown at 297- 2592 to register. In addition, the group will host an Antique Show Monday. Oct. 12. The speaker will be Frances Jeter.

Participants are asked to bring handheld size antiques or collectible trea sures to show for dating and possible appraisal. For more information, call Betty Corbett at 297-0964 or Ann Swain at 233-5855..