Tyler Morning Telegraph from Tyler, Texas • 8

3 8 Tyler Morning Telegraph SATURDAY, JANUARY 8. 1 994 Sec. 1 Continued From Page 1 RATE Continued From Page 1. OTTER feiture statutes as they relate to this arson-for-profit organization." The investigation began in March 1993, and was complicated because "some of the members of this organization were ex-law enforcement officers, firefighters and insurance agents and adjusters," Pearce said. "One member was the chief of police of one East Texas community during his involvement in the events," the agentcontinued.

"Their knowledge of investigative tactics and procedures made it difficult for the task force members to make headway and uncover evidence re AUSTIN (AP) Here are results of Lotto Texas Pick 3l winning numbers drawn Thursday by the Texas Lottery: 4-8-1 (four, eight, one) indictments returned by a federal grand jury which met in Tyler this week, and six were appearing voluntarily on informations. An information is a charge, which is made prior to grand jury indictment, but carries the same legal weight as an indictment. The suspects face charges ranging from conspiracy to arson to money laundering and mail fraud, The most serious of the charges is money laundering, and it carries a maximum 20-year prison sentence upon conviction. Conspiracy "and mail ijraud charges carry five-year maximum terms. "We've confirmed 12 fires," the Loudermilk was one of the principle players in thetoganization." Pearce said not all of the suspects quired to proceed turther.

knew each other, but all participated prosecutor said. He (Loudermilk) oJi cum ti.Vi unities, uu, uuui Ui "Hopefully the result of this case was an integral part to getting the Tyler; Christopher Buffington, 23, ring started and Thomas Buffington, 49, both of The stock price went back up a bit later Thursday but still was down $2.25 a share at the end of trading that day. At the end of trading Thursday, shares of Texas Utilities, TU Electric's parent company, were down by $2,125 on Wall Street, closing at $40.50 per share. Geoffrey Gay, a lawyer who represented a coalition of cities opposed to the rate increase, called TU Electric's claim or looming financial disaster unfounded. "The company's position is relatively absurd," Gay said.

"It could maintain its financial integrity with half the increase the commission granted." So. Tim Curtis of Texas Citizen Action, a consumer advo- cacy group, added, "The commissioners have been more than generous to the company." He said the PUC should ponsider lowering the rate increase even more. The PUC, considering numerous issues involving the company's revenue requirements, made decisions Thursday that the company calculated would mean a $438.7 million revenue increase, or about 8.8 percent-: administrative law judges had suggested TU" Electric deserved a 10.6 percent rate increase. But PUC Chairman Robert Gee said, ''Based upon the quality of evidence that the company provided, since it bore the burden of proof, we made a determination as to what the proper level of revenues ought to be." PUC spokesman Guillermo Garcia couldn't verify the 3438.7 million number, saying staff members were expected to work through the weekend to calculate the effect of the three-member commission's decisions. Dallas-based TU Electric, which serves Tyler and sur-rrounding communities primarily to the north and west, sought a 15.3 percent increase it said would have generated $760 million in additional revenue.

That rate was implemented in August on an interim basis. The amount of any refund was not immediately clear. The commission is expected Tuesday to decide how the revenue will be distributed among residential and commercial customers. Also on Thursday, the PUC granted TU Electric the right to recover about $144.5 million in unanticipated fuel costs. The commission is scheduled to meet again Tuesday to consideration and then can go to court to protest the order.

A' TU Electric officials said the company's service is 99.9 percent reliable, and that its operating and maintenance expenses are below the industry average. They said rates still would be 5 percent below the national average even with a 15.3 percent-increase. "As always, TU Electric will continue to do the best job it can with the resources it has to provide good quality customer service," Nye said. "But over the long termpwe will have fewer resources to apply to ensure that we can maintain this record if the PUC does not make the neces- i sary financial integrity adjustment." This morning, Ray Shaver, Tyler-based TU. Electric district manager, said the company had been prepared for the PUC to grant approval for an increase in the 10.6 percent range.

r- Although Thursday's judgment was preliminaryfwith' a final decision expected 26, Shaver said the 8 5 percent increase would mean a difference of more than $270 million to the utility. A 10.6 percent rate hike would have generated more than $700 million, while the 8.5 percent increase is expected to bring in about $430 million, he said. Shaver expressed concerns about the' lower rate's impact on TU Electric's credit rating, currently at Triple-B. "We had hoped the rate increase would help us turn that (the credit ratine) around," Shaver said. "A higher credit rating would allow us to borrow at lower interest rates.

"This definitely could have an impact on our ability to deliver service," Shaver said. TU Electric serves 2.2 million customers in 92 Texas counties. -i. i 1 The United Way of Texas expressed concern over a portion of the PUC's decision barring TU Electric from charging customers for contributions to charitable groups. "If this ruling stands, there will be a major impact on the ability of the charitable community to provide critically needed health and human services in Texas communities," said Earl Herring, chairman of the board of United Way of Texas.

(Business Editor Tony Floyd contributed to this report) will serve as a deterrent to what is a national problem," Ms. Curry said. "This is unfortunately one of those crimes where everybody that pays insurance premiums is a victim. Pearce said the investigation was a cooperative effort of several agencies, including the Hopkins County Sheriffs Office, the Texas Commission on Fire Protection formerly the State Fire Marshal's Office, the Tyler Fire Marshal's Office, the Texas Rangers and the ATF. Loudermilk pleaded guilty July 16 to one count of mail fraud and was sentenced Oct.

1 by U.S. District Judge William Wayne Justice to four years in prison, three years of supervised release and $50,000 in restitution. According to information provided by Pearce, the fires date to 1987 and occurred in Smith, Wood, Hopkins, Franklin, Titus and Rockwall counties. They involved both residential and commercial property, the agent said. "As far as we know, no one was injured or hurt in these fires," Pearce said.

"The estimated loss to the insurance industry and, ultimately to the public, on just these fires is approximately $1.5 Pearce said. "Approximately a quarter of a million dollars in assets and properties will be seized from these suspects under the U.S.. Treasury's asset for- tmory; Otis Wayne Campbell, 34, Arkansas; Mitchell Wayne Horn, 43, Mount Pleasant; and James C. Han-kins, 46, Dianna Irvin, 33, Amy Lit-tlefield, 21, Ted Littlefield, 48, Jack Morgan, 45, Coy Lynn Owens, 42, Mary Beth 47, and Marie Weeks, 30, all of Sulphur Springs. Thomas Buffington was the police chief in West Tawakoni, and Christopher Buffington and Ted Little-field were former police officers, Pearce said.

Morgan is a former firefighter. The arrest of Loudermilk "was actually the big break in the case. That led us on to the successful resolution today," Pearce said, adding, MacogaldDcSiies Stfatiioim Loses News Staff Him CwnsolMsntnoini Ti i i i .1 i 11 3 'Decide now mucn oi me increase wouia ds aiiocaieu Residential, commercial and other customer classes. Garcia noted that dissatisfied parties can ask for re- RALLY Continued From Page 1 News staffs of Region 56 KETK-TV in Tyler-Longview and its sister station Region 19 KLSB-TV in Nacogdoches are being consolidated, resulting in a loss of about nine news jobs in Nacogdoches, spokesman Philip Hurley said Friday night. "We decided, after a lot of research, that we wanted to consolidate the two news staffs and originate the newscasts from the Tyler studio; in doing so (we) reduced the news staff at KLSB to a bureau level," Hurley, president of Lone Star Broadcasting which owns bom stations, said.

Hurley, also general manager of KETK, said KETICs four newscasts (6:30 a.m., 5 p.m., 6 p.m. and 10 p.m.) will be produced in Tyler and fed to KLSB, and as news warrants, reporting teams in Nacogdoches will contribute to the newscasts. "It will mean more resources headquartered in Tyler and Longview, but at the same time, we will be covering news events in Lufkin-Nacogdoches," Hurley said. KLSB had 32 full-time and 10-12 part-time employees before the consolidation. Six to eight news persons may be rehired in Tyler and Longview for a net loss of about nine jobs, Hurley said.

KLSB will continue to have 20 employees, he said. The laid-off employees were given a severance check, Hurley, who acknowledged the employees had no advance notice of the layoff said. KLSB will continue as a full-service television station, Hurley said. Interviews were conducted Friday of KLSB laid-off employees interested in jobs in KETK's Tyler and Longview offices. "The decision we made was to provide one very strong regional newscast for of East Texas; we are one of many (in television) that feel we are dealing in a regional economy, a regional shopping area and need to provide news as a single organization," Hurley said.

tion to representatives from the Arlington chapter of Parents and Friends of Lesbians and Gays, a support group for friends and relatives homosexuals. Rally organizers also expecf a regional representative from the National Organization forvWomen. National media representatives scheduled to cover the rally include Newsweek magazine, the Montel Williams Show and CNN. Organizers expect a minimum of 300 people at the event. Tyler police say extra patrol is planned for the park Saturday.

A large wreath will be placed on the park grounds in honor of West and a candlelight vigil will also be held, organizers say. Episcopal Church are scheduled to speak. John Ramos, a board member of the Gay and Lesbian Victory Fund, said the Rev. Dr. Mel White, a renowned Dallas minister, is scheduled to speak.

Currently, White is the topic of a feature story being Compiled by Morley Safer of the CBS television "60 Minutes news program, Ramos said. "White used to be one of the top advisers for Rev. Jerry yalwell, who opposes homosexuality, but several years White came out of the closet and announced he was "gay," Ramos said. "Now, he fights Jerry Falwell and '60 has been following him for two weeks." Ramos said he has received information indicating Safer may be at thejalkfbr White's speech, Ramos is also scheduled to speak at the rally, in addi TAAS Continued From Page 1 BUDGET Continued From Page 1 Shrinking the $1.1 billion given to non-profit groups this year to provide housing for the elderly to less than $200 million. The so-called Section 202 program provides construction grants and rental assistance.

The program, which now helps more than 9.000 senior households, may help fewer than 2,000 after the reductions. Cutting the HOME Investment Partnerships to $1 billion from $1.25 billion. The money goes to state and local governments for construction, improvements and rental assistance. Increasing the Section 8 rental assistance from $1.1 billion to $2 billion. The program is helping 40,000 families this year, and would help 80,000 next Boosting the $800 million spent this year for to perhaps $1.2 billion.

This includes money for emergency shelters, temporary housing and renovation of single-room apartments. Leaving community development bloc grants at this year's level of $4.4 billion. The money goes to local governments for economic development and housing. Increasing the budget for the National Science Foundation, which finances many of the country's research scientists, to $3.2 billion from $3 billion this year. The public housing slashes illustrate the tight spending restraints Clinton faces as he prepares his budget.

Spending caps included in last year's deficit-reduction 'package require that total spending for all defense, foreign aid and domestic programs excluding benefit programs like Medicare remain at this'year levels. No extra money is allowed to cover the costs of inflation. That means that for every increase Clinton wants, he must cut an equal amount from other programs. "The White House isn't gunning for public housing. They have to live within the budget allocations," said Dolbeare.

The sources said that among housing programs, Clinton will propose: Slashmg the $4.6 billion spent this year to acquire, build and modernize public housing units to about $2.7 billion. i lish higher student standards, and that the state has tried to give local educators more flexibility to improve achievement. Of the seniors who have yet to pass all sections of the graduation test, 16,869 failed only one section and only must re-take that part. Of the rest, 6,628 failed two tests, and 3,150 failed all three. Also Friday, the State Board of Education: Gave final approval to guidelines for state-developed sex education materials.

Among them: The must stress abstinence and the failure rate of condoms; be optional for school districts; and allow parents to remove their children if they find the materials inappropriate. The materials, which address subjects including AIDS and pregnancy prevention, are being revised by the TEA staff after a controversy arose over them last year. That's when a 7th-grade teacher in the Houston area mistakenly distributed to students explicit information intended only for teachers. The board will consider approving tive members of the Class of 1994 either have moved out of state, left the public school system or dropped out, said TEA spokeswoman Delia May Moore. The 83 percent passing rate is better than that for the Class of 1993 at the same point in the testing program.

In the fall of 1992, 81 percent of the previous year's seniors had passed all sections of the test. Juniors this school year also have passed the test at a higher rate than those in past years, according to the agency. Their passing rate is 67 percent, compared with 54 percent in October 1992 and 48 percent in October 1991. This year's juniors were allowed to take the exam for the first time as sophomores. Education Commissioner Lionel "Skip" Meno says it's too early to tell -whether the higher passing rates are the start of a trend.

But he said he expects to see continued improvement, noting that the Education Board has moved to estab- Ex-Gov. White's Father Dies AUSTIN (AP) Mark Wells White father of the former Texas governor, is dead at 86. White died in his sleep Thursday from heart complications at St. Luke's Episcopal Hospital in Houston, hospital spokeswoman Karin Thornton said. He had been hospitalized since before Christmas, said Ann Arnold, who served as press secretary to former Gov.

Mark White. COOK Continued From Page 1 Erma June Cole ty," which also is included in the Austin and Dallas newspapers' circulation area. Nugent also argued that the state had a year since the last time to request a venue change, but waited until the "11th hour." Dobbs said he only selected Fredericksburg because there is a courtroom available there Jan. 14. Jones had moved the trial to Fredericksburg earlier this year, but rescheduled it in Georgetown when a courtroom became available.

Jones on Friday denied a request to move the trial back to Fredericksburg on a motion from the court, but agreed to review materials presented by the state in support of its venue motion. The judge is expected to rule on the motion before jurors return to the courtroom at 1 p.m. Monday. 70 postcards mailed to the district attorney's office. He also presented circulation figures from the Dallas Morning NewsL the Williamson County Sun and the Austin American-Statesman in an attempt to show that their coverage was "substantial" and had "saturated" Williamson County to the point where it would prevent the state from getting a fair trial.

Dobbs claims stories written by the Dallas Morning News were "very prejudicial" against the state. Defense attorney Paul Nugent disagreed, saying he believes those particular stories were "fair." He says the venue motion is nothing more than the state "jury-shopping," or seeking jurors who willbe favorable to the prosecution's case. He said the state provided percent evidence of lack of publicity in (Fredericksburg) in Gillespie Coun the materials after they are revised. The guidelines were approveU 12-3; with members Robert Offutt of San Antonio, Geraldine Miller of Dallas and Bill Hudson of Wichita Falls opposed. Member Monte Hasie of Lub-bock, who originally wanted to scrap the sex education materials, voted for the guidelines.

Approved a "Safe School Checklist" that's required by a new state law. to help schools assess their strengths and weaknesses on issues including school violence. The move is "only the very first piece of a plan" to make schools safer, said board Chairwoman Carolyn Crawford of Beaumont. "This is a very serious issue and one we want to have addressed before we start school next year." Dr. Bascom Bentley PALESTINE Graveside ser-vices for Dr.

Bascom W. Bentley 70, Palestine, are scheduled for 3 p.m. Saturday at the Palestine Ci ty Cemetery with Dr. Tom Rousseau and the Rev. Mike Hull officiating and arrangements under the dir faction of HerringtonLand of Memo ry, Palestine.

Dr. Bentley died Thursday af in a Palestine hospital. He was born July 31, 1923, in Palestine to Bascom W. and Memta Hockaday Bentley and was a U.S. Army veteran of World War II.

Dr. Bentley was a graduate of the University of Texas at Austin and the University of Texas Medical Sc hool in Galveston. He was the chief surgeon at the Missouri Pacific Hospital in Palestine until it closed, and after many years of private practice in Palestine, he served as the modical director for the Texas Departm emt of Corrections and also practioEid at Rusk State Hospital. Dr. Bentley was a member of the First Chr istian Church, Palestine.

Survivors include his wife, Kelly Newell Bentley, Palestine; two sons, Judge Bascom W. Bentley Id and Dr. G. Newell Bentley, both ol; Palestine; one daughter, Belle1 Todd, Palestine; and 10 grandchildren. Honorary pallbearers an Loyd James, Dr.

Don Carroll, Dr. Dean Wintermough, R.E. Thompson, Judge James Todd, William George. Murray Baxter, Pat Ferguton, Bud Wommack, Jim Bob Paxton, Ernest Swift, Dr. Emmitt McCall, Billy Gragg, Cliff Johnson, Tuck or Farris and Ron Johnson.

PRISONS Continued From Page 1 Joseph L. Hallmark In addition, the Department of Criminal Justice is to contract for another 250 beds in halfway houses for parolees and to construct or acquire a prison facility at an as-yet undetermined location. Besides adding the 15,000 new beds, the officials said the state will speed up construction of 6,000 state jail beds to be built and operated in partnership with "This will go a long way in relieving the dangerous and intolerable overcrowding in our county jails. The construction will be expedited and be completed in about half the time it normally takes to build prison beds," Richards said. Voters last November authorized about $1 billion in new state bonds for prison construction projects.

BEN WHEELER Services for Erma June Cole, 44, Ben Wheeler, are scheduled for 1:30 p.m. Monday at the Eubank Funeral Home chapel in Canton with the Revs. Russell Williams, Dan Tarno and Wiley Cole officiating. Burial will be in the Prairie Springs Cemetery in Ben Wheeler. Mrs.

Cole died Thursday in Ben Wheeler. She was born April 25, 1949, in Dodge City, to Houston and Alice Long Holden and lived in Ben Wheeler 17 years. Mrs. Cole was a member of Garden Acres Baptist Church, Ben Wheeler. Survivors include her husband, John R.

Cole, Ben Wheeler; one son, John C. Cole, Ben Wheeler; one daughter, Rena Jones, Ben Wheeler; six brothers, Bobby Joe Holden, Ben Wheeler, Jimmy Lee Holden, Gretha, Fred Holden, Dodge City, Ernie Holden, South Carolina, Franklin "Dusty" Holden, Bucklin. and Leland Holden, Riverside, three sisters. Vera Jean Holden, Riverside, Ernestine Moore, Dodge City, and Marie McGuire, Chapel Hill; and three grandchildren. Pallbearers will be Lee McGuire, Robert McGuire, David Cole, Jimmy Holden and Bill Cole.

Family will receive friends p.m. Sunday at the funeral home. COUNCIL Continued From Page 1 LARUE Services for Joseph Hallmark, 63, LaRue, are scheduled for 10:30 a.m. Saturday at the LaRue Baptist Church with the Revs. Bill Bnstow and Jack Mills officiating.

Burial will be in the LaRue Cemetery under direction of Foster Brown Funeral Home of Athens. Mr. Hallmark died Wednesday night at his residence. He was born Oct. 23, 1930, in LaRue to the late Leven and Iva Marie Watts Hallmark.

Mr. Hallmark attended LaPoynor Public Schools and Henderson County Junior College, and served with the U.S. Navy. He was formerly employed by Sobel Carpet and Drapery in Tyler. In addition to his parents, Mr.

Hallmark was preceded in death by a brother, Maurice Hallmark, in 1978. Survivors include one sister and brother-in-law, Lavonne and C.L Sparkman, Fort Worth; and numerous cousins. Pallbearers will be Pat Glasgow, Royal Ray Glasgow, 'Jimmy Dean Glasgow. Jerry Dean Glasgow, Glenn Glasgow and Joe Glasgow. 0 lni For the patio-home development, single-family zoning was changed to planned unit residential zoning on 10.5 acres along the west side of Copeland Road about 1,000 feet north of Rieck Road.

The developers, Dr. Samuel Houston and Adams Engineering, are to construct 35 residential units on smaller lots with smaller setback requirements than on conventional single-family houses. In another zoning item, the council approved a special use permit for Superior Manufactured Homes Inc. to use a demonstration home as an office at 2602 E. Front St.

The zoning items, as all other items, passed unanimously. Council members also; Amended the Smith County Public Health District contract with the Texas Department of Health by adding annual reimbursement vouchers to the Women, Infant and Children's Program; Authorized the city to participate In an oversized war ter main for a private, residential development in the Woods Subdivision at a cost of Amended two Texas Municipal Retirement System provisions to allow employees to redeposit sums previously withdrawn and receive municipal retirement credits for past military service; Approved a resolution authorizing the city to apply for a violent crime investigator grant from the Criminal Justice Division of the Governor's Office; Accepted a 1,000 donation from the Vaughn Foundation of-Tyler for AIDS education; and 0 Presented employee service awards Because the item was not on the agenda, the council could take no action, but City Manager Ernie Clark received council support in declaring the repairs an emergency, which allows the'eity to expedite its normal bidding process. Although declared an emergency by public bidding standards, the bridge will remain open to automobiles and light trucks. However, tractor-trailers rigs, particularly those traveling to and from nearby La Gloria Oil and Gas will be detoured. "It's not that the bridge couldn't support the weight today," Public Services Director Bill Ward said.

"It's just the continued use and the vibrations could cause some problems, and it's not worth the risk in our opinion." City Engineer Charlie Thomas said the bridge, built over a creelt in 1937, passed a state inspection last year. Erosion in the creek bed north of the bridge has created a void and caused concrete and stone supports to shift and crumble. The north lane of Commerce has been partially blocked off. 1 Ward estimated repairs would cost about $15,000. Council members took action on separate zoning cases allowing a retail development on South Broadway Ave-nue and a 35-unit, detached patio-home development on Copeland Road.

For the retail development, single-family zoning was changed to local commercial zoning on 2.2 acres at the southwest corner of Broadway and Muller Garden Road, The developers, Warren Simmons and Charles Muller, also own adjacent lota to the north already toned for con lercial use. Winning Lotto Numbers 533-0300 Select 1001 PITCH-FULL ssss1 Breaded butterfly ihrtmp, Med (elect oytten, catfuh. ufled crib, iMwray Minmp nunco wnn cwomeii, Douca cooaul innrap, rn oa the half toll, ml crab tep, aOed or few, foei or baked potato, huihpuppiei, tomato rellah ft enfood gumbo. cKAwrisH akm mu tiom WT SOUTH NOONDAY yi-OHH.