Kerrville Times (Newspaper) - January 18, 1987, Kerrville, Texas v SUNDAY EDITION VOL 78 NO 245 KERRVILLE TEXAS JANUARY 18 1987 Mayoral Vote Petition Drive Revival Eyed By GARRY CHANDLER Times Staff Writer A proposal for direct mayoral elections may find its way onto April election ballot despite city council and charter review committee objections A petition drive to include the switch to direct mayoral elec tions with eight other city charter amendments facing voter approval in the April 4 city elec tion probably will be resur said James Murphy who collected 410 signatures on a peti tion for the same purpose last September The 410 signatures on the ear lier petition were more than the five percent of registered city vo ters required to force an election on the mayoral issue City Attor ney Tom Terrell ruled the peti tion invalid however because some signed copies werent accompanied by a list of the eight other proposed charter changes While the need for direct mayoral elections may be debat able the merit of letting voters decide the issue isnt Murphy said Im of the opinion that if they council dont agree to let the people vote on this then well come back with another petition and it will be just for that one he said Council voted Tuesday to in clude eight proposed charter changes on the April 4 city coun cil election ballot A charter re view committee recommended in July that the eight amend ments be placed on a future city election ballot The switch to direct mayoral elections was debated by the committee for three weeks but finally was rejected in a 107 vote June 12 Committee members opposed to the change agreed MIKE REDDELL Livestock Show Has Deep Roots THE SIZE AND BUSTLE of the Hill Country District Junior Livestock Show may surprise those new to the Kerrville area To the cursory view Kerrville wouldnt seem to be much for ture topography doesnt lend itself to big farms or sizeable cattle herds But like the rest of the Edwards Plateau the Kerrville area was sheep and goat country There was a time when warehouses dotted the Hill Country loaded with wool and mohair destined for America and the world Jack Taylor today scans the interior of the old Schreiner Warehouse on McFarland Street and remembers when the place was swarming with workers during the Kerrville was the center of the mohair selling world and carloads full of wool and mohair left the local Few people can rival Taylors knowledge of mohair Hes bought untold millions of pounds of the fiber mailing him a standout in an industry that has considerable roots here Mohair is a wondrous fiber and after 40 years of buying Taylor can pull a chunk from a bag and quickly determine its grade and a single fibers diameter Taylor was recuperating from wounds he got as an infantry officer in Europe during World War II when he started in the wool and mohair business in 1946 Wool and mohair markets have always fluctuated but back then demand was solid for both Synthetics the bane of natural fibers were still in their infancy Wool was pervasive in the garment world and mohair was commonly found inside cars and trains not to mention heavy sweaters and coats the present system of having city council choose the mayor from its own ranks works well and should remain City Council went on record last June as being against the proposal Doug Looney a former Kerr ville City Councilman and a member of the charter review committee said Friday that he favors resurrecting a petition to get the election proposal on the city ballot Regardless of what council or a committee feels about direct mayoral elec tions Kerrville voters deserve the right to decide the issue he said I feel very strongly that the people need to make the decision of how they want to elect their just two or three council Looney said They should have the opportunity at least to vote yes wed like to be able to vote for the mayor or no we like things the way they The eight charter amend ments approved for the ballot are An amendment providing that council vacancies be filled within 10 days after the vacan cies occur instead of within 10 days of when official notice is given An amendment providing for passage of emergency mea sures in accordance with state law An amendment clarifying when city ordinances become effective and defining when an ordinance that sets out penalties is required to be published An amendment authorizing thre city manager to approve purchases without council con sent up to the dollar amount spe Continued On Page Sunday Times HOIM Travelers advisory in effect Saturday night due to ice form ing on roads and bridges Cloudy with a 60 percent chance of rain and freezing rain Saturday night Low in the 20s Turning windy and colder late north wind 20 to 25 mph Sun day decreasing clouds windy cold High near 40 Friday t high was 47 the overnight low 32 with 39 in ches of rain reported Inside Today Tony Lorick Looks Back 2B Bridge Editorials Entertainment F Living Health Obituaries Opinion Sports Weather 1 16 2A BIBLE freedom u At hn t us b l ItV PRAYER I ord we bland in ut Ihy We lui who have never experienced i Amen 50 CENTS Freezing Rain Ice Predicted Forecasters Issue Travelers Advisory Rain mixed with rain could blanket Country tonight and to form on roads and after a mataive cold front moved into the area been Times Photo By R Michael Jenkins HILL COUNTRY JUNIOR LIVESTOCK SHOW PARTICIPANT GAYLA HOWARD With Entry In County Steer Competition AT JUNIOR LIVESTOCK SHOWS Exhibitor Prefers Victory By CHANDLER Times Staff Writer Ten years of livestock show competitions have taught Gayla Howard the thrill of victory and the agony of defeat She prefers the thrill of victory she says Win lose or draw though Howard said shes convinced kids who compete in the annual Hill Country Junior Livestock Show all get equal expo sure to a learning discipline that encompasses biol ogy business and barnyard economics A Tivy High School junior Howard started show ing market lambs in the livestock show at age six but has since switched to steers and heifers Howards steer Black Jack took third place in Thursdays county competition but was withheld from the district show to compete this March in the Houston Livestock Show she said A Santa Gertrudis steer Howard entered in the Houston show in 1985 took the reserve cham and sold at auction for a tidy A second Houston steer entry last year failed to qual ify for the category and ended up being brought home she said Even in losing years Howard said shes enjoyed competing in the livestock show For students will ing to make the extra effort raising a show animal isnt just an afterschool project she said Some people get their challenges from sports I get mine from raising she said Its a real learning experience It teaches you about re It teaches you about life It teaches yuu about Howard learned something about financial un certainties when she paid for Black Jack in Dec 1985 she said Although the animals pros Continued On Page and to tf Wool use is a fraction of what is was in the Warehouses have largely disappeared and sheep growers concentrate more on selling mutton and lamb for the dinner table ranchers are to make money on shearing any more South Africa South America and Australia raise and shear more with cheaper labor and dominate the wool market today MOHAIR IS MAKING A COMEBACK HOWEVER Produc tion levels today are not far off from what they were locally two decades ago says Taylor The difference between those days and now is Kerrville area ranchers mohair is bagged and goes directly to England for garments Taylor walks into a darkened warehouse room As he flips on the light he recalls the sight of dozens of warehousemen working tables and grading mohair for shipment Photographs line Taylors warehouse office of 33 years Perhaps the most enlightening are those of past wool and mohair sales Group pictures from Del Rio sales in the 1940s were filled with scores of people As a measure of whats become of the trade Del Rio sales photographs from recent years contain but a handful of people Mohair has a place in future Taylor says Besides the area needs goats for brush control Combining expertise market knowledge and hard work Taylor easily may have sold more mohair than anyone But the real pleasure for him has been people from all over the world Japanese Germans and Yugoslavians have learned from Taylor over the years Especially rewarding have been the ranchers and warehousemen he met on a sales circuit that included a big chunk of Texas Taylor figures he traveled around miles a year These are a wonderful bunch of Taylor says Doing business with rural people means talking over the phone shaking hands and looking people in the We never wrote anything That kind of trust can keep a man happily working for 40 years Beyond Scope Of Elder Abuse Report By CATHY KIRKHAM Times Staff Writer Interested parties statewide are eagerly awaiting a Senate Select Subcommittee on Elder Abuse report thats expected to be published by February That report however and proposed legislation expected to follow apparently excludes elderly clients transferred from state mental institutions to ing homes Sen Gonzalo Barrientos of Austin who chairs the said he plans to introduce legislation with penalties for not reporting elder abuse or neglect His legislation also would give the Texas Department of Human Services the authority to review Department of Health tions of abuse and neglect in nursing homes when theres a complaint against the original DH investigation Although physical violence makes headlines far more elder ly persons are harmed by unin I uina Ih to B K COUNTY KOAl I KATOK JACK SMITH Wattt from Spring abuse which includes neglect and the lack of needed Austin Gray Panthers representative Charlotte Flynn said at a recent Austin press con ference The Gray Panthers sponsored a study that includes comments from more than profession als who deal with the elderly Study findings will be used in the subcommittee report But as far as the Department of Mental Health and Mental Re we consider that beyond the scope of the Barrientos staff council Elliott said is a huge area A very hot investigates abuse in its own facilities There are no provisions for oversight of these a Texas Sunset Advisory Commission report says The commission emphasized in its report that the lities of DHS and other state Continued On Page AND SOME BUILDINGS Rains Give Life To Springs At Expense Of Kerr Roads By MICHAEL BOWUN Times Staff Writer Area farmers may welcome the abundant rainfall thats dren ched Kerr County over the last several months but the moisture is creating havoc on local roads and buildings and the repair may be high The soaking rains began in late November bringing natural springs some dormant for more than a half the surface and raising damage estimates to the tune of thousands of dollars Damage from a spring that started flowing underneath Ingram Tom Moore High SchooPs gym recently is estimated at about 000 worth of damage said school superintendent Harry Griffith There was water everywhere For three or four days here we had our maintenance people vacuuming water from the floor at 6 and midnight until we could dig a ditch and rerouted Griffith said Basketball games at the gym were moved to Schreiner until the problem is added Kerr County road administrator Jack Smith said area road damage is widespread its not major Weve had to do some patching and dig some to divert water but were just looking at that as normal maim Smith Permanent repairs await drier weather If we moved ui some of the bigger i do a patch job it would get stuck because its ko Smith lust can t do anything until it dries he With us the water has mainly just caused aggravation and
