CLICK HERE to return to the Archives Index

Total Outdoor Burn Ban

CLICK HERE

Front Page Headlines

Tragic Vehicle Accident Claims Life of DHS Senior

By JERRY MORGAN, Reporter

A car crash into a large rock sign in front of the Armstrong Masonic Lodge resulted in the death of a popular DeLeon High School graduating senior last Wednesday evening.

Meagan Len Holder, 17, of Desdemona, died as the result of injuries suffered when she was ejected from her vehicle.

The accident occurred around 8:20 p.m. April 15, 2009, when a 2005 Ford Focus sedan carrying Holder and Aaron Michael Smith, 21, of Odessa was headed south on Texas Street.

A 1992 Dodge pickup pulling a trailer driven by John E. “Eddie” Holland, 58, of DeLeon, was at the same time crossing Texas Street westbound at the Plum Street intersection.

Holland was heard saying later that evening, “I just didn’t see them.”

The front end of Holland’s truck scraped the left side of the Ford sedan, which was owned by Meagan’s father, Donald Holder.

The initial impact caused the Ford to leave the roadway and to skid partially sideways…

For full article, subscribe to the DeLeon Free Press. E-mail edition is only $20/year.

Friday Forum to Discuss Alcohol Sales and

School Bond Election

A candidates forum, hosted by the Women’s Division DeLeon Chamber of Commerce, is scheduled for this Friday, April 24, beginning at 7 p.m. at the DeLeon City Hall auditorium.

Andre Koda, owner of the The Gallery Sports Bar, will be present to provide information on the local option election to legalize the sale of all alcoholic beverages in DeLeon, and Daylon Whitehurst, a DISD Board of Trustees member, will be present to provide information on the $6 million bond proposal for DeLeon schools.

Since there are no organized opponents to those two proposals, audience members will be allowed to ask questions.

For full article, subscribe to the DeLeon Free Press. E-mail edition is only $20/year.

Bond Election Details Provided, Site Not Yet

Special to the Free Press
By DR. RANDY MOHUNDRO

The DeLeon Board of Trustees have called an election for the purpose of seeking voter authorization to issue $6.0 million in bonds for the purpose of constructing and equipping a new high school. Voters will have the opportunity to vote on the issue at the May 9 election, with polling to occur at the DeLeon City Auditorium. Early voting will take place at the DeLeon City Hall and runs from April 27 until May 6.

The 2009 bond election has several differences from the election submitted to voters two years ago in 2007. There is only one purpose for this election, that is the construction of a high school building only. There are no other projects that are included in this proposal. The focus has been narrowed to address the building with the greatest need in the district.

The next difference to be considered is the amount of proposal. The proposal for this election is $6.0 million, which is $2.0 million less than the previous proposal. The elimination of all other projects is one of the reasons for the decline in the amount of the proposal.

However, the other reason for the decrease is the fact that the district is using approximately $2.0 million dollars out of fund balance for the purposes of construction. The Board in the past several years has been very careful with the district’s revenues and has been able to build the amount of money in the district’s savings account so that these funds can be used to keep the amount of a bond proposal as small as possible.

Building a new high school under this proposal will not cause classes to be disrupted. The plan that is being developed calls for the district to acquire property for the…

For full article, subscribe to the DeLeon Free Press. E-mail edition is only $20/year.

DeLeon ISD Board Report

Special to the Free Press
By DR. RANDY MOHUNDRO

The DeLeon Independent School District Board of Trustees met in regular session on April 20 to consider several important issues facing the district.

To open the meeting Roy Johnson took advantage of the citizen participation portion of the meeting to address the Board on two different issues. Johnson notified the Board that he would be interested in bidding on the old Desdemona fire house that was no longer being used by the volunteer fire department and was owned by the school district.

Johnson then spoke concerning the upcoming school bond issue. He told the Board that he was not in favor of the proposal and that, if the Board could, they should use some of the federal stimulus money that everyone was going to have to pay for to build a school building. He stated that there had not been much information released up to this point and that voters had been ignored.

The Board thanked Mr. Johnson for his comments.

The Board then reviewed the Consent Agenda that was presented. In addition to the regular monthly reports submitted for review, the Board was also given the preliminary scores on the most recent administration of the state Texas Assessment of Knowledge and Skills (TAKS) test.

The scores in Reading for grades 3, 5, and 8, those required to pass for promotion to the next grade, showed marked improvement across the entire district with all three grades scoring at 90% passing or better. In Math, grades 5 and 8, and required for promotion, scores jumped into the 80% range, an increase over the previous year.

Steps are currently underway to provide additional instruction and tutoring for those students not successful on the first administration of the test. The next administration for Reading will occur next week during TAKS week, and Math will be given again later in May.

The Board approved the Certification of Unopposed Candidates for the May 9, 2009 election. Both incumbent board members Larry Don Womack and Daylon Whitehurst will…

For full article, subscribe to the DeLeon Free Press. E-mail edition is only $20/year.

Danny Owen, the Mayor of De Leon, has a personal website.

Open Danny's website by Clicking Here

Scott Hall has creating an Internet website with history & photos of our town.

Click Here to visit his website

All content of this site, unless otherwise noted, is Copyright©2006-2009 Morgan Publishing Co.

All Rights Reserved. Any duplication, in any form, without the written consent of the copyright holder is prohibited.