Published: December 31, 2008 12:04 am      

The Top 10 Stories of 2008

Number 1

Power Plants debate

In December 2007, Pin Oak Creek Energy filed a request with the state for an air emissions permit, one crucial piece of paper needed to build a 1,200 megawatt natural-gas-fired power plant in southern Navarro County.

Since then, the people in the county have become embroiled in a struggle between two sides — one of which is looking to preserve a rural lifestyle without industry, while the other sees industry as a cure for the county’s persistent poverty.

The ensuing 12 months have seen developments on both sides of that struggle.

Numerous meetings have been hosted, by the city, individual lobbying groups, and the state, to discuss, educate, influence and persuade the public about both sides’ positions.

In late October, the state gave Pin Oak Creek Energy tentative approval for an air emissions permit, although that can still be reversed. Navarro County Commissioners created a policy which opens the door to tax abatements to power plants or other big companies that want to come into Navarro. Corsicana has begun building the water pipe that will make it possible for the city to draw water from Richland Chambers and sell it to the power plants. In July, a second power plant, Navarro Generating, applied for a permit for a 690 megawatt power plant to be built near the Pin Oak Creek site.

Pin Oak Creek has changed its air permit request at least twice since it first applied, with each change cleaner than the last. The price of natural gas, which could determine whether or not a natural gas power plant is viable, has gone from a July high of $13.51 for a million BTUs of natural gas, to about $5.67 in mid-December.

The main opponents of the plant, Citizens Opposing Power Plants, have applied for non-profit status, and hired a lawyer to formalize their position. Opponents of the plants have said they intend to fight until the end, partly in the hopes that the developers will give up and go away.

The most recent meeting was hosted by the state on Nov. 20, and more than 300 requests for a contested hearing were made, meaning it’s almost certain to go to the State Office of Administrative Hearings, or SOAH, which will decide whether or not the power plants are within their rights, and if they are violating the rights of residents near the sites.



Number 2

Police department conflict

The Corsicana Police Department was in turmoil during much of the second half of 2008, following the indefinite suspensions of a police sergeant, Lamoin Lawhon, and an officer, Justin Williams by then-Police Chief G.M. Cox in July.

The suspensions, which are basically terminations, stemmed from violations of department policy in mid-May, and the subsequent internal affairs investigations. One man has leveled charges of police brutality against Williams.

In late 2008, about a dozen current and former members of the department were subpoenaed to testify in the arbitration hearings for Lawhon and Williams, revealing the inner workings of a department with discipline problems. The Lawhon hearing finally ended in mid-December, although a decision on his reinstatement isn’t expected until March. The Williams hearing will continue in February.

Since then, Cox retired from the department, was honored at a city-sponsored event, only to be hired as chief in the city of Murphy less than a week later.

In November, the city hired a new chief administrator, Randy Bratton, formerly of Paducah, Ky., a self-described “agent of change.” Despite several promises to make public a list of finalists being considered for the position, the city chose instead to announce Bratton’s proposed hiring, approved by the City Council in December.

Bratton is serving as “police administrator” until he receives his Texas law enforcement certification, which he expects to receive in early 2009.



Number 3

Cpl. William O’Brien dies in Iraq

The war in Iraq struck home in Navarro County in mid-March when a young man from Rice was killed in Baghdad. Cpl. William David O’Brien, 19, the son of Thomas O’Brien of Mabank, and Dawn O’Brien of Rice, was killed two weeks before his 20th birthday in March.

Will O’Brien attended Rice Elementary School, but was home-schooled as a teen-ager, and was able to finish high school early as a result. He joined the Army at 17, following in the footsteps of two older brothers, who were also in the armed forces.

Thomas O’Brien, Will’s father, lives in Mabank and works as a travel agent. His mother, Dawn, is a restauranteur in Corsicana, and lives in Rice.

When he wasn’t working, Will O’Brien enjoyed golf, and was a junior PGA player, John said.

He died of wounds suffered when he was attacked by small arms fire during combat operations, according to the Department of Defense press release.

A moving funeral service and tribute to his life was held March 17 at Northside Baptist Church.



Number 4

Hurricane Ike hits Texas

Mid-September had Navarro County dealing with evacuees who fled the onslaught of Hurricane Ike. The county put up hundreds of people without shelter, and hundreds more found sanctuary in local hotels and motels. For days leading up to the storm, cars clogged the Interstate, and local gas stations and fast-food restaurants were running full-tilt to handle the additional business.

Navarro Regional Hospital, two nursing homes, the Salvation Army, Navarro College, a church and the Dream Center were also used as temporary shelters for more vulnerable residents threatened by the incoming storm.

The emergency management office coordinated shelters at local churches, and even the Youth Expo center for hundreds of La Porte residents. Some of the coastal residents stayed for nearly two weeks before they were allowed to return to their homes.

The hurricane, which devastated parts of the Texas coast came on the heels of an earlier storm, Gustav, which had threatened damage but didn’t prove to be the monster storm that Ike did.

Ike’s path veered east as it approached North Central Texas. That slight move in the storm’s path made a tremendous difference in the impact it had on Navarro County. Still, the storm remains as one of the most significant to visit the area.



Number 5

Elections bring change

Navarro County elections weren’t as revolutionary as the national election in November, but still showed that voters can surprise.

The top local election in November was the choice of James Lagomarsino for district judge. Lagomarsino fought a tough primary campaign, and then successfully won out over Clay Beard in the general election. Lagomarsino replaces the retiring John Jackson.

William Baldwin, Precinct 3 county commissioner for the last 12 years, was beaten by challenger David “Butch” Warren, 57, a former Mildred city councilman.

County Tax Collector/Assessor Russell Hudson won re-election against Michael Kaster. Kit Herrington, precinct 1 commissioner won out over write-in challenger Rice’s mayor, Larry Bailey.

Sheriff Les Cotten successfully won his primary election, allowing him to serve an additional four years, in addition to the 16 years he’s already served as sheriff.



Number 6

Evett dies in accident

A summer’s afternoon on July 22 was interrupted with the tragic death of Donnie Evett, a local mail carrier, in a collision between his mail van and a construction crew’s truck and trailer at the intersection of East First Avenue and Business 75.

Evett’s van was struck when the construction crew’s truck ran a red light at the intersection. Evett was taken by air ambulance to a Dallas hospital, but passed away as a result of the injuries. The driver of the pickup truck that struck Evett’s van fled the scene on foot, and has eluded local, state and federal authorities ever since.

U.S. Postal Service authorities posted a $50,000 reward for information leading to the whereabouts of 25-year-old Daniel Gonzalez Rodriguez. Louisiana authorities, acting on a tip earlier this month, raided a construction site where Gonzalez Rodriguez was said to be, but he was not among those taken into custody. About two dozen suspected undocumented workers were rounded up in that raid.

Evett, 27, left behind a wife and two daughters. His wife, Jackie, said Evett was a loving father and husband.

“Everything he did was for us.”



Number 7

Suspended JP arrested again

The ongoing legal proceedings involving suspended Justice of the Peace Donna Murray continued in 2008. Murray was arrested in October 2007 on a drug-related charge, and ordered suspended with pay by the State Commission on Judicial Conduct.

The year 2008 found Murray in a courtroom on several occasions, including an order cutting her paycheck in April, and another re-instating it in November.

Murray was also charged in June 2008 with another crime — ordering an unauthorized criminal background check to be run on an individual.

Still on appeal is a judge’s order in July that ruled the search of Murray’s vehicle on the original drug charge was inadmissible. Other proceedings against Murray, including her possible removal from office and possible sanctions by the State Commission on Judicial Conduct are on hold pending the outcome of her appeals.

County commissioners appointed former JP Bob McQuary as acting Precinct 3 Justice of the Peace last January while Murray continues her legal battles.

Murray’s JP seat is up for election in 2010.



Number 8

Two murder cases resolved

Three capital murder trials were originally scheduled for 2008, but only one made it to court.

Over the course of two weeks in September, Beverly Latimer, 57, was tried for the death of a 16-month-old foster child in her care who died of blunt force trauma. A Navarro County jury sentenced her to life in prison without possibility of parole, rejecting her attorney’s argument that the child was injured in another home before arriving at her home.

In mid-October, Gary Thomas Sharron pleaded guilty to the 2006 murder of Sammie Joe Hawkins of Kerens on the first day of what should have been his trial, and received a 20-year prison sentence. Sharron, 61, was also known as Glenn Boelter, who fled Alabama in the 1970s after killing a man in bar fight and receiving a 25-year sentence for that crime. For more than 30 years, Sharron lived under other names, ran businesses, and started a family before being arrested by Navarro County deputies for the Hawkins slaying.

The trial of Shaun Earl Arender, 21, charged with murdering 6-year-old Hanna Mack, was originally set to be heard in September, but was delayed. No new trial date has been set. For more than a year, Arender has remained in the Navarro County Justice Center, unable to post the $2.5 million bond necessary to secure his freedom. For most of that time, he has been under close scrutiny because of repeated suicide attempts.



Number 9

Interurban Railcar finally back

In early November, the city went and fetched back its partially renovated railcar from Alabama, where it spent five years in the yard of the Edwards Railcar Company, a professional restorer that specializes in trains.

The No. 305 spent much of that time exposed to the elements in what was to be an on-again, off-again process. The owner of the company admitted that he underbid the project, and didn’t have the funds to finish the job. In the end, local residents urged the city to say “enough,” and bring it home.

While the project wasn’t completed as contracted, the company was paid in full by the city for the contract to restore the railcar.

The next step is to build a protective metal shed for the railcar, so the reconstruction process can resume locally.



Number 10

Residents fight ‘sour gas’ wells

Two words — Hydrogen Sulfide — brought about a year’s worth of moves by county officials and O’Ryan Oil and Gas in the company’s attempt to drill a “sour gas” well within 5,000 feet of Richland-Chambers Lake.

The Navarro County Lake Planning and Zoning Commission tackled the oil company’s request to drill first in January 2008. Protests from surrounding neighbors and property owners over the dangers of exposure to Hydrogen Sulfide kept the item moving from agenda to agenda, before the commission finally gave conditional approval for such a well within the 5,000 foot zone of the lake — provided certain conditions and safety information was provided.

Navarro County commissioners, however, never acted on the request, waiting for the requested information.

Another permit for a “sour gas” well was filed by O’Ryan in August, this at a new location, this one about 3,000 feet beyond the Lake Planning and Zoning Commission’s authority.

The company was expected to return to the Navarro County Commissioners Court in December to pursue its original request, but the item was struck from the court’s agenda. They are expected to return seeking approval for the “sour gas” well in 2009.