Longview News-Journal from Longview, Texas • Page 8

8A Thursday. Jum 10, 1999, Longview Nawt-Journai Lav5 From 1A removes the prohibition against cremation if a friend or relative Last year Gregg County had a $72,000 piece of electronic equip-' ment that it never used and no additional $5,000 raise if the commissioners court approves a $40 increase in filing fees for civil cases $Jd $15 increase for criminal cases, 4jsaid.y 0r Some think those two bills are separate and mutually exclusive so that a judge could get a raise only under one of them, but Allison said he thinks a county judge could get raises under both, for a combined $15,000. One bill would repeal a state law that requires the commissioners court to post a notice in a newspaper if the court plans to increase the tax rate. The notice provision would be reinstated if the increase exceeds 3 percent, he said. Allison said that bill also would require the commissioners court to.

post notice of a tax increase on the Internet if the county has a Web site. And if a community is served by cable television, the commit sioners court would have to post notice of the increase on the public access channel. Gregg County has interlocal agreements with the cities of Long-view, Kilgore and Gladewater under which the county works on city streets and the cities provide fire protection and ambulance service to rural areas. There is no limit on how much the county can spend on projects for those cities. But existing law sets a limit of $3,000 if the county works on a project for ny other city or school district.

That limit would be increased to $15,000 under a bill sent to the governor. Allison said a county in the past could not accept a gift or donation from someone who offered to provide the money if the county would perform some project, such as fixing a road in front of the donor's house. A proposed law would allow such donations, he said. A bill would allow a county to sell surplus or salvage property to another local government in-the county without going through the competitive bid process. escort any time a female patient is transported and would prohibit counties from simultaneously transporting patients in the same vehicle with a convicted felon being taken to prison, he said.

Any time a county buys something costing more than $15,000, the county must seek competitfte bids. That was increased to $25,000. Another bill would allow the commissioners court to establish minimum infrastructure requirements for rented mobile hofoe communities. Allison said ho standards had been required, such as establishing a minimum distance between homes. objects.

bHl regulates transportation of people with mental illness, including fundamental provisions such as requiring they be transported inside an enclosed vehicle, Allison sakL That would affect primarily sheriffs departments transporting patients to mental treatment centers. Allison said the. bill was passed because of practices in some counties, in which patients were transported in the back of a pickup truck in bad weathef. The bill would require a female longer intended to use. The city of Longview could use it, but officials said they could not legally transfer (.

it to the city. The bill would make that possible. State law now requires counties to dispose of bodies of paupers through burial or cremation. But current law prohibits cremation if a friend or relative of the pauper objects. That law was amended by a bill that provides the commissioners court "shall consider any information, including the religious affiliation of the deceased pauper," but Safety From 1A dUMl Misses Petites Dillard's Woman rn mm fiil i BE 1 mtJ utJ vJiu Teflorf-treated Joan Leslie and Napa Studio separates! i 'J on no those plans.

Retired FBI agent Max Howard, one of the speakers at the workshop, said he can attest to schools' increased interest in safety. Howard owns a crisis management training firm that develops crisis plans for both businesses and schools. "My involvement has been more since Columbine," he said. "We recognize that there is a level of violence among young people, as with all people. The process I'm going to use is taking the skills that law enforcement use when handling a particular situation, and applying those skills to what a school administrators can use with irate students." Although some Austin schools had crisis management plans in place before the Columbine shooting in Littleton, administrators like Lanier High School Assistant Principal Wayne Skrhak said the incident prompted them to take a second look.

"We're probably a little more cautious," Skrhak said. "We're more watchful, we listen more carefully. We tell teachers to let us know when they have that gut level feeling. When we have events like Columbine, you're more cautious, it puts us on alert." Skrhak, who spoke at a seminar on gangs, said Lanier encourages students to report possible safety violations. Students are sometimes given monetary awards, and can remain anonymous.

"People watching and people reporting makes a big difference," he said. "When you have a large majority trained on what to look for, you can head off situations before they head to something else." Austin High School Assistant Principal Bill Glover said safety concerns are also foremost in the minds of parents and students. Two days this spring, he said, a lot of their students refused to come to class after hearing rumors of possible copycat incidents of the Columbine shootings. "After Columbine, there were heightened concerns," he said. "Through communications and being very honest with the students, it got away a lot of the fear." Glover said security now makes more frequent sweeps of their buildings, and they take a closer look at suspicious looking objects.

Glover said this year, one set of brass knuckle and a few knives were collected from students. Despite rising safety concerns, the Center for Public Policy Priorities reports that juvenile violent crime in Texas is actually declining. A recent study states that since 1994, the arrest rates for all juvenile violent crimes has declined. Administrators told their peers that monitoring what students bring into the school building is a big part of the battle. Wallace, of Bastrop Middle School, moderated a session on using dogs to detect contraband.

Wallace said he regularly uses trained school dogs to survey his campus of 950 students. Unlike drug dogs, school dogs are trained to detect a variety of substances such as illicit drugs, alcohol and gunpowder-based weapons. Orig. Long- Short-Sleeve Jackets till EACH PIECE Orig. Pants Skirts It's the ultimate in office mixers! Great separates from our exclusive Joan Leslie and Napa Studio lines now at savings of 30-40! Each piece is crafted of a linen-look polyesterrayon Teflon'-treated fabric designed to resist stains.

Available in assorted styles and colors for misses, petites and Dillard's Woman sizes. rds If it deals with wire, we're experts. LANCE LACY Dillard's welcomes your Dillard's charge, Visa, MasterCard, American Express, Discover or Diners Club card. SHOP MONDAY-SATURDAY, 1 0 A.M. TO 9 P.M.; SUNDAY, NOON TO 6 P.M.

Longview Mall, 758-4436 295-0505.