The Odessa American from Odessa, Texas • 11

Friday, February 4, 1994 ODESSA AMERICAN 'it IT ll'f 1 4' pfit ft ii 1 1 4 if II ii mm vi fcfe'li lit jui felfe- iftSi Deaths 3 Ag Energy 4 Columns 5 SI tfi II Iff. fci I WJs TOD ized lot1 acksh earbuyers City officials try to cement financial network as they prepare to pour foundations for units will play in the project, Fletcher said. "We are looking at various ways they can assist in this project," he added. The south Odessa subdivision, formerly known as the Blackshear development because it is located on the site of the former Blackshear football stadium, was approved by the City Council in December, Federal funds, allocated to the city by the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development in 1992, will be used by the city to build homes valued at about $40,000, which will then be sold to qualified low- and moderate-income families.

The project, which has been more than a year in the making, represents the city's first attempt to hjoost its supply of quality affordable housing. "I think we are moving forward in a steady fashion," said Odessa City Manager Jerry McGuire. "It's taken a lot of discussion and work to get to this point." Site development, which is construction meant to prepare the property for building, is scheduled to begirt later this month. If all continues as planned, city officials will begin accepting applications from interested month. The applications serve a twofold to determine whether a potential buyer meets HUD qualifications and to provide the lending institution with mortgage information, Fletcher said.

Officials are still working -toward putting together blueprints for the homes. If all goes as planned, construction on the first houses might begin as soon as late spring. By Johanna Bennett The American As Odessa city officials prepare to begin initial work later this month on a 53-unit affordable housing development, efforts are still under way to finalize the financial network through which potential buyers will purchase their homes. Community Development Director Jerry Fletcher said the city is working with local banks, forming a list of those interested in participating in the project and negotiating to develop loan packages favorable to the low- to moderate-income families that might reside in the 13-acre Hendley Development. Officials are also working with the Odessa Housing Finance Corporation a non-profit authority with the power to issue bonds for purchasing affordable housing to determine what, if any, role the non-profit agency Water washer i.

I i Empty jail beds to be counted Sharp wants auditors to find exact number (AP) Comptroller John Sharp said Thursday that his auditors will conduct a bed-by-bed count to determine how many empty state prison beds might be put to use without violating court orders and the constitution. Finding that number should take five to six weeks, Sharp said. "We're simply trying to answer the questions that folks have," Sharp said. "How many (empty beds) are out there? What would it take to use them?" Sharp acknowledged that is a wide difference of opinion" on whether any of the empty prison beds could be used to help alleviate severe overcrowding in county jails. More than 20,000 state inmates are being held in the jails awaiting transfer to state prisons.

Last week, the Houston Chronicle reported that Sharp's office had determined that as many as 6,000 Please see AUDIT ORS2B Awards for injured overruled AUSTIN (AP) The Texas Supreme Court has overturned jury awards in two cases that could make it tougher for injured people to collect damages. Justices opposed to the decisions released Wednesday called the majority opinions "legal fiction." In one case, Justice Lloyd Dog-gett, writing a dissent, said, "It is as if, to borrow a phrase from Will Rogers, this majority never met an insurance company it didn't like." In both cases, juries that decided injured plaintiffs had been wronged were overruled. In one case, the family of Richard York sued the University of Texas Medical Branch in Galveston because while he was being treated there in 1984 for severe injuries from a car accident, the hospital failed to diagnose he had a broken hip. This caused him severe pain, depression and regression in his Please see AWARDS2B The Odessa American: Jake Schoellkopf Odessa firefighter Lewis Lacey wipes down Station Four's tanker truck after returning from fighting a grass fire Thursday afternoon. The shift washed the truck in the morning and then had to rewash it after fighting the grass fire.

Police search for clues in slaying of Odessa woman By Karen Lister The American Police were searching Thursday for clues in the slaying of a 38-year-old Odessa woman whose partially clad body was discovered in some bushes in a West Odessa vacant lot, according to a statement released by the Odessa Police Department. Denise Christie Brothers was found at 3 p.m.. Wednesday among some brush near an abandoned building in the 2700 block of Van Street, police reports said. Ector County Medical Examiner Sparks Veasey conducted an autopsy on Brothers Thursday and ruled the manner of death as homicide, reports said. The cause and estimated time of death were not released Thursday.

"Homicide investigators aren't going to release anything that might hinder their investigation," said Cpl. Sherry Sparks, public information officer for the police department. The slaying was being investigated by the Metro Homicide Task Force and Texas Rangers. The Rangers happened to be in Odessa when the body was discovered and had agreed to help the Metro Homicide Task Force with the investigation, Sparks said. The Odessa and Midland chapters of the know how long Brothers' body had been on the lot before it was discovered Wednesday by a man backing out of a nearby business.

"The way it was in the bushes, it would have been hard to notice just walking by," Sparks said. The woman's body had already begun to decompose, but officers believe recent cold temperatures may have helped preserve it. "The weather probably helped to preserve the body," Sparks said. "A body can be preserved a lot longer in cold weather." Homicide detectives could not be reached for comment Thursday. American Red Cross were working together to help the family pay for funeral expenses.

The Red Cross is also trying to help a family member in Florida who cannot afford to travel to Odessa for the funeral. trying to work with the family to see what we can do," said Kris McLean, executive director of the Odessa chapter of the American Red Cross. Red Cross representatives in Midland said another group would be soliciting donations in the next few days, but the Red Cross would not provide an address for contributions. Detectives said Wednesday they didn't Heritage of Odessa Foundation honors 1 8 at dinner 1 1. :1 1 Emmert is a director of the First State Bank of Crane, the Key Energy group and the Ector County Enhanced 91 1 District.

He is a member of the board of directors of the Permian Basin Oil Show and an executive board member of the Permian Basin Petroleum Association. He is president of the Odessa Police Athletic League, a past member of the Odessa YMCA board of directors and the Texas State Commission on Judicial Conduct and former president of the Association of Oil Well Servicing Contractors. COMMUNITY SERVICE A.R. "Happy" Dyer moved to Odessa in 1931 and has been involved in the birth of some of the city's most venerable institutions. He was a charter member of the Downtown Lions Club, the Odessa Chamber of Commerce, the Odessa Chuck Wagon Gang and the Permian Basin Oil Show.

He was a founding member of the Odessa Boys Club and a member of the board of trustees that established Odessa College. He also served on the committee that planned and built Ector County Coliseum. Dyer retired from Odessa Savings in 1987 after 29 years as executive vice president, but still spends time at Texas Bank, where he is a vice president and marketing officer, and he is still involved with the Boys Club, the Rehabilitation Center and the Medical Center Hospital Development Corporation. EDUCATION In 20 years at Odessa High School, Barbara Chancellor has been chairperson of the English department and was instrumental in developing the school's advanced placement English curriculum. She also taught journalism and was sponsor of the yearbook staff.

The American The Heritage of Odessa Foundation honored 12 Odessans during the 10th annual Community Statesman awards dinner Thursday night at the Holiday Inn Centre. The awards, which are presented for distinguished public service, are sponsored by the Odessa American. Six other people were honored Thursday night as 1993 Distinguished Former OcJessans: George Thomas Rhodus, a Dallas attorney; Diana Marshall, a Houston attorney; Lynn Gaubatz, an internationally known performer and teacher of the bassoon; the Hon. Maryellen Hicks, Justice of the 2nd Court of Appeals in Fort Worth; Craig Ehlo, professional basketball player with the Houston Rockets, Cleveland Cavaliers and Atlanta Hawks; and Wilson E. Dolman III, a historical preservationist for the Texas Parks and Wildlife Department.

This year's Community Statesman winners are: ARTS Marvin Stevenson is president of the Odessa Art Association, president of the American Plains Artists, and a member of the board of directors and a volunteer gallery attendant for the Art Institute for the Permian Basin, He also served more than 10 years as a Boy Scout leader, and was a Sunday School superintendent, teacher and choir member at the First Church of the Nazarcne. BUSINESS Max Emmert III has been president of Yale E. Key Inc. since 1980. The company, which he joined in 1964, is one of the area's largest employers, providing jobs for more than 800 people.

The Odessa American: Matt Brunworth Distinguished former Odessans from left are Lynn Gaubatz, George Thomas Rhodus, Wilson Dolman, Maryellen Hicks and Diana Marshall. A Master Teacher, she led the Odessa High School Academic Decathlon team to six regional championships from 1983 to 1991, and she was co-Please see HER ITAGE2B.