BEARCAT REGIMENT!
Photo Feature, 12
September 10-16, 2010 · www.community-news.com
THE COMMUNITY NEWS
ALEDO ISD
School board
approves
new electric
contract
◗ Band parents speak
out about seating
By Randy Keck
The Community News
The Aledo ISD Board of direc-
tors voted to approve a new elec-
tricity contract at their monthly
meeting held Tuesday, Aug. 31.
Dan Manning, Executive
Director of Administration for
the AISD, told the board he was
“turning over every stone” to find
cost savings for the district.
By negotiating a new contract
with Direct Energy, the school
district’s provider, Manning said
the district would save between
$550,000 and $600,000 on elec-
tricity with a new 44 month con-
tract.
The district received a presen-
tation from New Energy, a solar
provider, at the previous mont’s
meeting. However, Manning said
he was not yet comfortable with
solar.
“It’s such a new industry,”
he told The Communty News.
“Maybe at the end of 44 months
solar is something we can look at
again.”
The board unanimously
approved the new contract at the
meeting that began with numer-
ous comments from band parents
unhappy with the new end zone
seating at Bearcat Stadium.
Speakers focused on the value
of the band to the spirit and
camaraderie at football games,
and said the end zone seating was
too far from the field, and, facing
west, caused difficulty in seeing
because of the angle of the sun at
the time games begin.
Since the meeting, the band
members voted to move back to
their traditional spot at the west
end of the home stands.
WILLOW PARK
Council addresses fire department funding
◗ Cuts in other
departments aimed at
balancing budget
By Dominic Genetti
The Community News
Just a few weeks remain in the
2009 fiscal year and Willow Park
city officials want to make sure that
everything is accurate and funded
as the 2010 fiscal budget nears.
Mayor Ken Hawkins asked all
city department heads to make cuts
to their budgets by 10 percent to
help the city deal with their current
budget deficit.
“It is my goal and intention to
solve all these problems without
raising taxes, but to do so we have to
fix our budget problems,” Hawkins
said at a budget workshop Sept. 7.
Public works, parks and recre-
ation and the police department
have all cut their budgets, but it is
the Willow Park Fire Department
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Copyright 2010, The Community News
Serving Eastern Parker County, Texas: Aledo · the Annettas · Hudson Oaks · Willow Park
ALEDO
Local hero to receive Purple Heart
◗ Grant Blaeser injured
in Afghanistan
Staff Sergeant U.S. Army Grant
Blaeser, who grew up in Aledo,
was on his third tour of duty with
the 82nd airborne when he was
injured on July 2 in Arghandab
River Valley, which is west of
Kandahar City in the Kandahar
Province.
Turn to BLAESER, page 3
Grant Blaeser with friends from the
Russell family: Sarah, HannahRuth,
Darrel, Stephen, Jordan, LeAnn
and Daniel at Brooks Army Medical
Center in San Antonio.
PAINTING WITH A PURPOSE
Clayton Hiebert, a junior at Aledo High School, paints a slide at the Aledo Community Center park on Saturday,
Sept. 4. Hiebert organized a project of refurbishing the playground as his Eagle Scout project. Several scouts
from Troop 326 out of Ridglea Presbyterian Church in Fort Worth helped paint equipment, add sand to volleyball
courts and paint backboards at the basketball courts. Clayton’s brother, Emery, is organizing an Eagle project to
paint the exterior of the community center building on Sept. 19.
that is seeing issues in making cuts
when they are already short staffed.
“I do not feel we can sustain
what we’re doing with the fund-
ing we’re currently receiving,” Fire
Chief Jim Witherow said. “(To) cut
back overtime and training means
volunteers have to show up on shift,
and these people have jobs.”
Currently the department has
two full-time firefighters.
Now the city is trying to figure out
what to do for the emergency service
department. The fire department is a
separate entity from the city.
One suggestion the city council
may consider is adding a fee on
monthly utility bills of up to $8.
Hawkins told the council they
need to “look at other venues to
fund the fire department.”
Willow Park once operated like
the Aledo Volunteer Fire Department
where volunteer firemen worked
different shifts throughout the day.
Yet City Councilman Barry Brown
Commentary
Election results
tell the tale
Richard Henderson tackles band seating
THISTLES&ROSES | PAGE 4
doesn’t want the city’s emergency
service to fall back to that status.
“I for one don’t want to go back
two years ago to that type of fire
response service,” Brown said.
A show of hands of residents in
attendance at the budget workshop
revealed approval of the concept
of a monthly utility bill fee to fund
emergency services.
Additional talks at the workshop
included discussion of several engi-
neering fees paid to City Engineer
Gordon Swift. The fees were simply
listed as “miscellaneous.”
City Councilman Gene Martin
informed the council that 35 per-
cent of the engineering costs paid
by the city this year are labeled as
“miscellaneous.”
A total of $37,500 went to
Gordon Swift under miscellaneous
calls and plat reviews.
“I don’t believe we gave them
any plat reviews this year,” Martin
said.
Life&Community
New Eagle
Aledo home to another new Eagle
Scout.
PAGE 17
· 75 cents
ON
THE
RANDY KECK/THE COMMUNITY NEWS
As a result, Hawkins asked City
Attorney Rider Scott to draft an
ordinance that would state council
approval is needed for expenses of
more than $5,000.
The council will possibly hold
two more workshops and special
meetings before the end of the
2009 fiscal year. Employee cuts are
also anticipated to help the city
financially in 2010.
The council has had several
executive sessions where they have
reviewed employee performance,
yet no action has been taken. Cuts
were already made recently in
the administrative offices and the
public works department, but city
officials have been mum on which
department or departments may
suffer from any additional reduc-
tions in force.
Sources close to the discussions
said the administration department
may have additional cuts.
Sports
Battle of Champions
Aledo, Lake Travis tilt set for Friday.
PAGE 5
SIDE
GRO hits Number 1
“The Morning Passengers,”
a new six-song CD released
by Green River Ordinance
this week, made the number
one spot on iTunes’ Top Ten
Singer/Songwriter albums.
Green River Ordinance (GRO)
has two Aledo High School
graduates within its five-mem-
ber band: Josh Jenkins and
Josh Wilkerson, both mem-
bers of the Class of 2003.
Jenkins is the group’s front
man and Wilkerson is guitar-
ist. The album was in the top
20 overall on iTunes as of
Wednesday.
White to visit County
Wife of Democratic guberna-
torial candidate to participate
in ice cream social
Andrea White, wife of
Democratic gubernatorial
candidate Bill White, will visit
Weatherford on Sept. 12 as
part of her husband’s cam-
paign tour around Texas.
White will be at the Parker
County Senior Center, 1225
Holland Lake Dr., from 3:30
- 5 p.m. for an “ice-cream
social” event. Guests can
meet White and chat with her
while enjoying some cold des-
serts and beverages.
“We’re really looking forward
to having Andrea White in
Parker County,” said Deb
Cascino, chair of the Parker
County Democratic Party.
“This will be an informal event,
and a chance for everyone to
talk with her one-on-one. You
don’t often get to interact with
a large campaign like this on
such a personal basis.”
White, a former attorney, is an
author of books for children.
In 2006, she won the Golden
Spur Children’s Literature
award given by the Texas
State Reading Association.
The event is sponsored by the
Parker County Democratic
Party and the Parker County
Active Democrats. For more
information on the event, call
Deb Cascino at 817-594-8683
or visit www.parkercodemo-
crats.org.