The Ellis County Observer - Correct Politically

Local Government Web sites

2009-11-13T10:21:00.002-06:00

Dallas County
www.dallascounty.org

Dallas Central Appraisal District
www.dallascad.org

Ellis County
www.co.ellis.tx.us

Ellis Central Appraisal District
www.elliscad.org

Ellis County

Midlothian
www.midlothian.tx.us

Midlothian ISD
www.midlothian-isd.net

Waxahachie
www.waxahachie.com

Waxahachie ISD
www.wisd.com

Red Oak
www.redoaktx.org

Red Oak ISD
www.redoakisd.org

Ennis
www.ennis-texas.com

Ennis ISD
www.ennis.k12.tx.us/

Ferris
www.cityofferristexas.org

Ferris ISD
www.ferrisisd.org

Palmer
www.ci.palmer.tx.us/

Palmer ISD
www.palmer-isd.org/

Rice
www.ricetx.com

Rice ISD
www.rice-isd.org/

Milford
www.cityofmilfordtx.com

Milford ISD
www.milfordisd.org/

Maypearl
N/A

Maypearl ISD
www.maypearlisd.org/

Venus
www.cityofvenus.org/

Venus ISD
www.venusisd.net/

Italy
www.ci.italy.tx.us/

Italy ISD
www.italyisd.org/

Ovilla
www.cityofovilla.org/

Oak Leaf
www.oakleaftexas.org/

Pecan Hill
www.pecanhill.com/

Garrett
www.cityofgarrett.com/

Glenn Heights
www.glennheights.com

Best Southwest Dallas County

Cedar Hill
www.cedarhilltx.com/

Cedar Hill ISD
www.chisd.org/

DeSoto
www.ci.desoto.tx.us/

DeSoto ISD
www.desotoisd.org/

Duncanville
www.ci.duncanville.tx.us/

Duncanville ISD
www.duncanvilleisd.org/

Lancaster
www.lancaster-tx.com/

Lancaster ISD
www.lancasterisd.org/

Wilmer
www.cityofwilmer.com

Hutchins
www.cityofhutchins.org/

Why Ellis County, Texas?

2009-05-02T18:29:00.001-06:00

Ellis County Observer Staff

2009-01-13T16:17:00.000-06:00

Founder/Publisher
Joey Dauben
joeydauben@hotmail.com
Cell: 972-891-2135

Editor-in-Chief
Megan Gray
flowerchildtoday@gmail.com
Cell: 214-673-9953

Assistant Editor
Nicole Monk
txniki18@yahoo.com

YouTube | Historic County Courthouse

2009-01-08T14:54:00.001-06:00

After the Appraisal Review Board hearing

2008-03-31T10:07:00.001-06:00

You have options after the Appraisal Review Board hearing

Texas property taxes are substantial and unavoidable. Since foreclosures and property values are stagnant, if not declining in some areas, homeowners may want to consider binding arbitration as a method to minimize property taxes if they have not been resolved through the CAD or ARB. Effective September 1, 2005, the Texas Legislature amended the Texas Property Tax Code (Binding arbitration – section 41A of the Texas Property Tax Code) to allow property owners the option of using binding arbitration to appeal an ARB decision for a property with a value of $1 million or less based on market value.

The advantages of binding arbitration compared to judicial appeal include a lower cost, informal process, speedier resolution and the loser pays provision. Also, the property owner does not have the burden of proof in a binding arbitration hearing. While the appraisal district hires and pays the ARB members, the arbitrators are independent, not hired or supervised by the appraisal district, and remunerated by The Texas Comptroller’s office. The homeowners can select an arbitrator or the Comptroller’s office can draw from a random pool. For further information on this process you can contact the Texas Comptroller of Public Accounts or go to www.window.state.tx.us/taxinfo/proptax/arbitration05/.

Judicial appeals are also an effective tool in appealing property taxes. Unfortunately, they are not financially feasible for most homeowners. Filing fees alone are approximately $300 and total costs for a judicial appeal typically range from $2,000 to $5,000. This expense is often too much compared to the possible tax savings. For example, based on a median home value of $150,000, a 3% tax rate and a 10% reduction, a homeowner would save only $450 during a judicial appeal. For the homeowner with an assessed value of $750,000 to $1,000,000, it may be possible to hire a property tax consultant or an attorney on a contingency basis, but the process of a judicial appeal is still more formal and time consuming than binding arbitration.

The protest filing deadline for property taxes is May 31st or no later than 30 days after the appraisal district mailed a notice of appraised value to you, whichever date is later.

Salli R. Smith
Property Tax Arbitrator
sallismith5@yahoo.com
972-644-6020

ECP/TAGG Poll

2008-02-10T13:45:00.000-06:00

About the polls: One vote per IP address.

2008 Polls

2008-01-21T23:17:00.000-06:00

The Taxpayers Alliance for Good Government is sponsoring these following opinion polls:

About the polls: One vote per IP address every 30 days.

New Format, New Blog!

2007-07-23T00:13:00.000-06:00

Readers, please refer to http://www.elliscountyobserver.com for the new Observer site.

The features are being added from this blog to the main site daily, and we welcome your patience during this transition. Keep sending your comments and news tips, though, to elliscountyobserver@hotmail.com!

Joey Dauben
Publisher

2007-07-20T16:21:00.000-06:00

Sims Backs Tax Increase for Roads
In the latest editorial column from the precinct 3 county Commissioner Heath Sims, the last sentence is telling: "...there is no other option than coming to the taxpayers again and requesting a multi-million bond election."

Sims is up for re-election next year, but no clear name has come up as far as a primary opponent. That might change with this latest editorial. We love Heath, we support him tremendously in the questions he asks and the votes he has made. But you have to figure that talking about another tax increase (bonds=tax increase) when the last county bond only passed by a few hundred votes might not be such a great idea.

Bardwell Mayor Accused of Urinating in Woman's Yard
The funniest blog in Ellis County is talking about some not-so-untrue things, specifically the mayor of Bardwell allegedly urinating on a woman's front porch.

Phil Smart to Appear Before Judge Curtis Polk
Smart, the Libertarian who has been arrested twice - in two separate elections he was running in - will appear soon before Democrat Curtis Polk of precinct 3 (east Waxahachie district). He'll discuss his case live on The Ellis County Observer Show.

WorldNetDaily.com
My friend Kellie Robinson - a very beautiful, yet talented reporter for The Ellis County Press - was recently offered a freelance position with WorldNetDaily.com, the most widely read conservative-independent news site in the nation. This is huge. We're very proud of Kellie. Who knows, maybe now The Ellis County Press will get their news department in gear and cover what needs to be covered...in case anyone missed it, here's a running count of stories that still haven't been touched by our county papers. The Leslie Davis case was even talked about on a national radio show last night...not to keep bashing and bashing here, but a church page column by Bill Riley was published the second straight week; it was the same column.

2007-07-19T20:51:00.001-06:00

Mid-Way Airport: A Vision

2007-07-19T18:55:00.001-06:00

Once we settle all of the allegations, lawsuits and negative aspects of the airport, perhaps we should consider a few of these visionary options for the surrounding parts of the airport.

A Running Count...

2007-07-19T12:27:00.000-06:00

Well, since I've designated myself as the news agenda-establishing blogger in this county, I'd like to point to a running count of the stories that no one has covered - the Waxahachie Daily Light, The Ellis County Press - this really isn't fair to subscribers or longtime, loyal readers, it's really not. But it is my hope that this short list will spur someone to start covering this...

(or, if people aren't careful, this blog will launch a print edition** and smoke all of the newspapers anyway)

Story 1: Navarro College officials admitting to breaking open meetings laws in discussions on giving Ellis County taxpayers a property tax. Isn't this illegal?

Story 2: Navarro College's efforts at getting the state Legislature - i.e., Rep. Byron Cook, R-Corsicana & Rep. Jim Pitts, R-Waxahachie - to tweak state law allowing for the passage of a property tax without a referendum (or at least the petitions);

Story 2A: The 92% conservative-ranked Cook and Pitts taking the "hell no" stance at Navarro's efforts (Cook isn't even our representative, but he fights for us anyway!)

Story 3: Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, and Firearms arrest of Midlothian "right-wing" activist Leslie Davis; the warrant originally stated the ATF and DEA, as well as Ellis County Sheriff deputies were searching for an inert rocket launcher (possession of this is not illegal, supposedly), but all that was found was a .22-caliber rifle in Davis' closet that he got when he was 14. To be fair, it's still illegal for felons to possess guns (which is a stupid law, in the first place, but hey, it's the law). Reports said that there were about 100 agents in Midlothian the day Davis was arrested;

Story 4: Mid-Way Regional Airport Construction Defects (allegations) + Video. I won't spend too much time on this, but you can Google Mid-Way Regional Airport Disaster and have a blast.

Story 5: Campaign contributions in the May 12 county facilities bond election. It's just interesting to know, that's all. Not a single newspaper has published the list. This blog has though.

Story 6: The stiff-armed lobbying supporters of Judge Gene Knize made to get their friend, Carol Bush, nominated to the open county court-at-law bench (when Bob Carroll retired suddenly), and the ensuing criticism of new-Judge Greg Wilhelm (elected last year as our county treasurer) from the same forces;

Story 7: The county treasurer appointment of Judy Burden over that of GOP county chair Rusty Ballard being a complete (personal opinion of the publisher, no one else) slap in the face; nothing against Burden, but Ballard would have been a great treasurer.

Story 8: Construction defects and ensuing lawsuit over the Midlothian Conference/Senior center;

Story 9: County Attorney Joe Grubbs' lawsuit and efforts to keep victims of Dr. Chitale of obtaining documents related to the case, despite the state Attorney General ruling requiring their release;

The BIG ONE: The 50+ aggravated sexual assault cases that have gone before Grubbs and his pedophile-protecting assistant Patrick M. Wilson, only to be plea-bargained for a quick conviction and in turn, probation. Resumes get padded while child molesters run the streets of Ellis County in droves.

Did I miss anything? Just for the sake of honesty and fairness, Wilson wasn't the prosecutor on all of the cases, but he was on most of them. The signatures of both Wilson and Grubbs, however, appear on the court documents and paperwork filed at the district clerk's office.

To send questions and comments to this blog, do so at: elliscountyobserver@gmail.com

To send questions and comments as to why our newspapers aren't covering these issues, use the following:

Editor@WaxahachieDailyLight.com
Editor@EllisCountyPress.com

**What would Ellis County politics look like if an infusion of one payment of $50,000 were to find itself under the management of The Ellis County Observer? Well, for a quick look at what the ideas are in driving such a print edition of this blog, visit www.ThePolitico.com.

Prepare for war, Ellis County. That $50,000 just hit the market. And I've got the team in place to make this a very interesting little county...

Sen. Kip Averitt Visit

2007-07-19T12:07:00.000-06:00

First it was Ag Commissioner Todd Staples that made a visit to Midlothian. Now it's state Sen. Kip Averitt. Do these guys only send out news alerts to newspapers? The questions that were asked to Averitt, according to what the Waxahachie Daily Light published, were amateur.

If you really want questions, someone better let me know who's coming to town (odd, but the WDL didn't see fit to cover a major-party presidential candidate coming to town), because I'll ask really good questions, like for instance, Mr. Averitt:

The expansion of the Children's Health Insurance Program that you sought - and secured - will cost taxpayers a lot more; wasn't it a good thing that the Legislature closed a shortfall a few years ago without raising taxes? Shouldn't the purpose be to get people off of welfare, not back on it?
You were answering questions regarding community college budgets this session (Gov. Perry vetoed a few million in funding requests), however, were you aware that our service-area community college, Navarro, has admitted publicly to breaking open meetings laws in discussions of passing a property tax on Ellis County citizens?
Are you aware of the outrage of small business owners under the Legislature-backed new business tax that will force many to pay 10 times what they were paying under the franchise system? And what do you think of that, Mr. Compromise?

Those are just two that I can come up with now. I don't need a script like the "audience" members were playing off of. I don't need softball questions like the WDL submits to their reporters to ask. Damn. I'm really getting sick and tired of these politicians playing us like fools.

I guess the cool thing about a blog is that you can bitch and complain and really give readers the "other" side of things, instead of these flake-puff little softball questions and community coverage.

Ed Harrison, I hope you're reading this. We really need you down in the Senate.

No Room for School Choice?

2007-07-18T14:12:00.000-06:00

According to today's Waxahachie Daily Light, the Italy school board was presented with a video from former Free PAC (Heritage Alliance)-maligned Lt. Gov Bill Ratliff about his organization that praises and lobbies for more funding for public schools. Question: would the same school board be allowed a video presentation on the advocacy of a school choice and/or voucher pilot program?

I wonder how long I'd be allowed to give a presentation on what organizations like Americans For Prosperity have to say about increasing school district-issued debt...

2008 Election Rumormongering

2007-07-18T13:56:00.000-06:00

Sources in and around Midlothian tell me that Paula Baucum, the 2004 mayoral candidate, former Midlothian councilwoman, current member of the Mid-Way Regional Airport and most recently, the president of the Ellis County Republican Women's group, will be running countywide next year.

Considering that most of everyone has GOP Chair Rusty Ballard going for treasurer, look for Baucum to vie for the tax collector post. These are rumors, but they are from very reliable sources in Midlothian...she'll win it too. No word on whether or not John Bridges plans to retire or run for re-election.

Dallas County Sheriff Deputy Looking at Commissioner Precinct 3 or County Office
Not sure of his name as of yet, but a Dallas County sheriff deputy from Midlothian is looking at either the precinct 3 commissioner's race (vs. incumbent Heath Sims), or a countywide post. Sheriff has been ruled out, according to one of my sources. If incumbent Sheriff Ray Stewart runs for another term, he'll be invincible.

Got an election tip or rumor? Send it: elliscountyobserver@hotmail.com or elliscountyobserver@gmail.com.

Paging Gordon Edwards

2007-07-17T21:14:00.000-06:00

Gordon Edwards, the 2004 third-place finisher in the GOP chairman race in Ellis County, told me his thoughts on the state Legislature's new business tax, and how it would cause all sorts of headaches for small business owners.

Gordon, if you're reading this...I'd like to publicly acknowledge your almost-prophetic take on the "it's all for the children" business tax.

Here's what Heritage Alliance has today (go to their site to sign up for these e-mail updates):

David Hendricks: Small Businesses Up in Arms over New State Tax (San Antonio Express-News)
A Texas-sized tax revolt is percolating as small-business owners are hit with sticker shock from the new state business tax. Some small-business owners who have begun calculating their 2007 state tax, due by May 2008, are seeing tenfold increases, sometimes more. Will Newton, executive director of the National Federation of Independent Business' Texas chapter, cited a typical example. Instead of paying $6,000 under the old franchise tax system, based on profits, the same business must pay $60,000 under the new margin tax, based on revenues. Some companies expect worse.

Edwards really needs to consider running for a countywide post next year. He's a small businessman in every professional sense of the word. I'm thinking tax collector. In the primary. We need someone with a taxpayer mindset to get elected...

Lancaster Councilwoman Resigns

2007-07-17T19:10:00.000-06:00

The ultra-gorgeous Kimberly Lankford is resigning, according to today's Dallas Morning News. She was elected several years ago after Vic Buchanon lost his mayoral race to now-Mayor Joe Tillotson. She represents the heavily black District 6 area. I covered Lancaster for eight months for Focus Daily News and loved every minute of it. Even met one of the most honest lawyers anywhere (Thomas Allen), and really fell in love with pissing politicians off via the paper. But it was covering Buchanon and his council colleague at the time, Tim Speaks, that really propelled my interest in doing political reporting.

Anyway, Lankford was the more moderate of the District 6 electorate, though she was a hand-picked successor to Buchanon. Though he's a Democrat, Lancaster needs Vic back. There's a special election in November - oddly enough, Lancaster's next-door neighbor, Red Oak, has a mayoral election then as well to fill the unexpired term of the recently-resigned Ron Bryce.

Speaking of Red Oak-Lancaster...
Red Oak just hired Lancaster's city attorney, Bob Hagar. I don't really know too much about Hagar other than his representing Ferris and teaching me what "objecting to the consideration" of a question was. During a Lancaster meeting one night, then-Councilman Steve Sanderfer threw out one of those parliamentary moves and silenced the entire council chambers. After about 10 minutes of people figuring out what the heck just happened, I made a vow to study Robert's Rules (the original Robert, not Hagar). I'd highly recommend the "objection to the consideration" move to any anti-consensus councilman or elected leader. They're rare. But effective.

Speaking of Consensus...
A good friend from Midlothian recently brought up something to think about and blog about: consensus. The worship of this go-along-to-get-along mentality is so prevalent in today's politically correct, sissified-man leadership. I'm talking about the go-along-to-get-along type of decisions that representatives from city council to Austin to Washington make - the ones that benefit no one. Consensus is the absence of leadership, of what this county lacks. I had been reading a lot of Margaret Thatcher when this friend posed the issue to me to blog about. It was the spark.

Want to know why we in this county are not moving forward? Because of girly-men who would rather get politically sodomized than stand up for what their constituents want; they'd rather take a bribe than speak out. Or, if they're anything like the Waxahachie City Council's lawyers -- the ones sitting on the council -- they'd say and ask absolutely nothing about recent issues with Mid-Way Regional Airport.

Carl Smith New Midlothian PD Chief

2007-07-17T12:45:00.000-06:00

UPDATE: Different Carl Smith.

If this is the same CNB Texas-backed Carl Smith that ran for school board in 2006 (came in second to winner Tom Moore), then he just might become Midlothian's police chief.

I was digging around the Midlothian minute archives to see if public smoking ban-opponent Ken Chambers - elected in May after knocking off the ordinance-writing Jimmy Beaudoin - has been opposing any thing to come up during the meetings. Haven't found anything interesting yet...

More Government Construction Projects Going to Waste
There is a lawsuit - if not one already that is - pertaining to the construction of Midlothian's taxpayer-financed conference and senior center.

There is just absolutely nothing else I or this blog can say other than...someone please ...just stop building government buildings in Ellis County period. Something has to change in this county. When will the tax dollar waste stop?

Mid-Way Airport 'Exaggerations'

2007-07-17T11:52:00.001-06:00

From the Waxahachie Daily Light today comes this:

The council also received a report regarding the box hangar project at Mid-Way Regional Airport, with director of finance Carl Wessels reporting that four of the hangars are completed and leased out. Wessels noted that during the projected 50-year lifespan of the buildings, the city will earn several million dollars on its investment of less than $500,000. Discussions regarding phase 2 of the project will begin in the spring, he said.

Wessels characterized rumors of construction issues as “exaggerations.” Airport manager Cam Fearis said some minor issues - Wessels specifically mentioned the hangar doors - arose with the 70-feet by 70-feet hangars, but the Nay Company began addressing them the same day Fearis was notified.

About 100 aircraft are now based at the airport, Fearis said.

Mayor Joe Jenkins praised the efforts and work of Wessels and Fearis, saying, “I’m personally very, very proud of the airport out there” and adding he is “really looking forward to the 6,500-foot runway.”

Note: Those "exaggerations" were in the form of half of the report to the city council and the airport board several days ago that included several print-outs of The Ellis County Observer pages detailing the allegations of major construction-related issues on the box hangars.

The videos of this ongoing story are available exclusively on EllisCountyTV.com.

Introducing...

2007-07-16T18:29:00.000-06:00

The Ellis County Observer would like to welcome our newest editions to the growing New Media movement in Ellis County:

Ali Akbar - You might have heard him last Friday on the radio show. His e-mail address is: RedOakObserver@gmail.com*

Kevin Crouch - You might have heard him on the show Friday as well. He's our resident Libertarian Party activist. Reach Kevin at: MidlothianObserver@gmail.com*

Sue Smith - She's our Ennis editor. She's been at this a good week or two now. Write to her at: EnnisObserver@gmail.com*

*The entire ECO team has access to the Observer e-mail addresses - [main: elliscountyobserver@hotmail.com or elliscountyobserver@gmail.com] - so any e-mail you do send will be read by us all.

We welcome these editors and will continue adding more as time goes on. Comments? News tips? Rumors? Send it: elliscountyobserver@hotmail.com or elliscountyobserver@gmail.com

Sources can remain anonymous.

2007-07-16T18:16:00.000-06:00

Commissioner Heath Sims' new column is available over on The Italy Observer blog site. The precinct 3 lines cover much of Midlothian as well, but we want to drive up traffic in the smaller City Blogs.

Who knows, maybe one day Heath will come on the radio show.

Joe Barton Voting Record - July 16

2007-07-16T16:12:00.000-06:00

Source: Congress.org
Dorgan Amendment-Bringing Osama bin Laden and Other Leaders of al Qaeda to Justice - Vote Agreed to (87-1, 12 Not Voting)
This amendment to the defense authorization bill calls for quarterly classified reports on the Bush administration’s work to capture al Qaeda leaders.
Sen. Kay Bailey Hutchison voted YES......send e-mail or see bio
Sen. John Cornyn voted Not Voting......send e-mail or see bio

Recent House Votes

Responsible Redeployment from Iraq Act - Vote Passed (223-201, 8 Not Voting)
The House voted to reduce the number of U.S. troops in Iraq.
Rep. Joe Barton voted NO......send e-mail or see bio

ADA Ramps Being 'Fixed'?

2007-07-16T08:00:00.000-06:00

There are reports from Waxahachie this morning that contractors are busy - and have been - redoing, fixing, and/or repairing the concrete ramps that the City of Waxahachie had to install due to Americans with Disability Act regulations (thank you, H.W. Bush for that one. Jerk). Anyone have a running count on the Ellis County governmental construction projects that go to you-know-what?

This is getting ridiculous.

Fred Thompson to Visit

2007-07-16T07:49:00.000-06:00

Lots of Ellis County Republican higher-ups might be interested in this (the ones who are backing Thompson at least):

It is OFFICIAL Fred Thompson is coming to Dallas on Wednesday July 25^th. We are ORGANIZING a HUGE WELCOME COMMITTEE to show him some Texas Love! This is a real chance for us to not only meet Fred but hear his personal opinions and stands on the issues.

The plan is to meet at 3:30p.m. (3:45p.m. at the absolute latest) near Love Field. Please call, email and reach out to everyone you know to join us at this event. The campaign is not official until Fred announces his candidacy, so we don’t have official campaign “stuff” but if you would like to make something, feel free to bring your Fred buttons, banners, signs, stickers, shirts and hats to show Fred your love!

I will send another email as we get closer to the event date with detailed information. I want several hundred people in attendance so please respond to this email if you plan to come as I would like to keep track of attendance.

Michael Flusche

Dallas County Coordinator, FredHeads USA

Home: 972-274-5494 Cell: 214-477-4047

2007-07-15T23:04:00.000-06:00

Republican Presidential Candidate Visits Ellis County

Pictures from presidential candidate Ray McKinney's visit to Courtside Bar and Grill in Waxahachie

Ex-Ennis Star Accused of Assault

2007-07-15T14:48:00.001-06:00

Ex-Ennis Lion football star Marlon Jones - who did a hit-and-run (and no, that's not a pass route) on two young women a few years ago, only to suit up for a football game two days later, was arrested recently for trying to assault a woman, reportedly his girlfriend.

Interestingly, the Ennis Daily News picked up on it with this headline: Woman crawls through window to escape assault - the sub-head: Suspect is the driver of the vehicle that killed two women along the I-45 service road in 2000

Should this surprise anyone, really? Jones got off scot-free in the two-for-one kill that he did while as a star player for Ennis' state championship team. The mother of one of the victims, Audrey Merritt, was recently on The Ellis County Observer Radio Show (that show has been downloaded 120 times now, btw) discussing the whole situation and how there are new plots and turns in the ongoing saga. I wonder if County Attorney Joe Grubbs is a football fan. If so, bet that Jones will get off again. If not, bet that Jones will get off again.

The Ellis County Press, The Ellis County Observer
So there is an active effort on my part to secure several investors to either (a) buy The Ellis County Press (I've secured a pledge of $50,000 so far) or (b) launch The Ellis County Observer print edition. With the addition of three new editors to this blog and the addition of the marketing/management team last week, readers will start noticing a remarkable shift in the efforts of not only this blog, but the radio show and the television element as well. Rumors are that The Ellis County Press can't be sold for less than $250,000; however, I've got the first pledge...either we make the paper better with money, or we make it better with competition. I'll fill ECO readers with the details as they become available...

Ray McKinney Coming to Waxahachie

2007-07-13T20:23:00.000-06:00

Raymond McKinney, a Republican Candidate for President, is coming to Waxahachie on Sunday, July 15. He will be at the Courtside Bar & Grill at 5 pm.

Letter from Robert Trevino

2007-07-13T13:12:00.000-06:00

I've blogged about the Robert Trevino case many, many times. It's also available on the ECO Message Forum on the left-hand sidebar of this blog. It's also located here: www.joegrubbs.com

With that said, here is Trevino's letter to the citizens of Ellis County:

[Editing only for spelling and grammar; all else is verbatim]

Mr. Dauben,

Sir, I want to thank you for writing to me and that God has put it in your heart to remember me and that the seed laid in fertile soil where it has prosperous by labor and prayers to God, who is able. (Exodus 2:23-25) where God heard the children of Israel cried out and their cry came up to God because of the bondage, their grooming, and God remembered His covenant with Abraham, with Isaac, and with Jacob. And God looked upon the children of Israel, and God acknowledged them.

The story of Joseph in Genesis 37-50 - where Joseph was first sold by his brother then falsely accused of attempt of sexual assault sent to prison, but God used Joseph to save many people from dying. So I pray that God will use me here to save people too and raised Joseph to [second] to Pharaoh in rank.

I have been incarcerated since 25, August 1995 falsely accused, tried by a specially all white jury who all had been a victim or a family loved one of a sex crime for a sure conviction. Defendent Vital Evidence withheld by Ellis County District Judge Gene Knize even when the judge outside the present of the jury acknowledged one of the main state witnesses Shawn Lankford impeach himself by a letter Shawn wrote to me on 4-12-1994 and proves Shawn fabricated his sexual assault charge against me. When Shawn filed his charge, it was in August 1994 after Patrick Lankford, his brother, had been filed "statutory rape" charge on a 12-year-old girl (Stacy Harris), who had been taken to the Waxahachie hospital emergency room for bleeding after having sex with Patrick for hours - no report on this was in court or the police reports which were taken at the ER room, nor the doctor's DNA kit report, nor was Patrick Lankford an adult of 17 or 18 years old at the time when he had sex with Stacy Harris who was 12 years old. No arrest the police detective who had 4 1/2 years experience at the time as being in charge of crimes against persons and testify in court was Det. Billie Wiggins said that the reason she didn't arrest Patrick was that no probable cause against this happened 4 August 1994 end at the tie of my trial 21 August 1995 after a year Det. Wiggins had not arrested Patrick but got Shawn, Patrick and his gang to file charges against me so Patrick would not go to court or prison! Patrick's signed statement dated 23 Sept. 1994 where he first moved in my house was also withheld because it also proves that Patrick fabricated his charges saying he had moved into my house on 1st March or 1st April 1994; lied to Judge Gene Knize, withheld for a sure conviction.

Mr. Dauben, you got my permission to print this and any thing about my case and to talk wit attorney Udashen, 2301 Cedar Springs Road, Suite 400, Dallas, Texas.

Respectfully,

Robert Trevino

Notes from Trevino in margin: Shawn's letter was thanking me, saying I was his homie and his best friend and that he should listen to me when I kept telling him good advice. But Shawn had falsely testified in court (see dates)

Editor's note: the words "me" and "my" and "I" are in replacement of Trevino's last name. For whatever reason Trevino used "Trevino" and not "me," "my" or "I.

Covering Up for Cars

2007-07-13T12:52:00.000-06:00

I'm glad someone wrote and launched the discussion. Bill McKelvie wonders aloud - in a recent Waxahachie Daily Light letter - why publisher Neal White's columns on vehicles each week are all positive, hardly -- well, never -- making issue of what downsides there are.

Bill, allow me to put it to you in this analogy:

The Texas Auto Writers Association - of which my first newspaper boss was the head of - purposely kiss ass to all of the major and minor vehicle manufacturers. Why? Because editors and reporters get to drive around in at least a new car or truck every two weeks. Now this is not saying this is a bad deal. Hell, who wouldn't drive a Hummer H2 and write about it? But ah...here's where you get into my analogy:

TAWA, which the WDL and White are members, doesn't want to offend the auto makers and in turn, keep from getting shiny new vehicles to drive. It's a lot like the news business. The WDL and other newspapers like it -- my former boss would always remind me, "don't bite the hand that feeds you" -- don't want to "offend" advertisers or big community types. These paper's editors want exclusive access to all of the pertinent community information. Consider the articles in the "news" section of the paper to be like the pro-vehicle columns these TAWA writers put out; they kiss ass and get rewarded.

Nobody wants to know the truth about cars and what happens with a particular part, etc. However, my dad -- whom I consider the leading expert on any machine that uses a gasoline-powered engine -- said he'd be willing to pen his opinions about certain cars. However, the name of the game is this: if you don't kiss ass, you don't get rewarded.

And so it's like that with all parts of a "community" newspaper. You kiss ass, you get rewarded. You don't kiss ass, you then become a pariah, or very unique, like The Ellis County Press (a rarity in the field of newspapering).

Perhaps Bill and my dad should team up to write car columns that tell people the truth.

Neal White is just practicing what his community journalism standards preach about his "product." And it carries no informative benefit whatsoever. Consider them "vehicle prostitutes."

I have come to see a pattern in the weekly section “Wheels.” Everything said about the cars featured is positive. I can understand one or two articles featuring BMW’s or Acura’s being nothing but accolades, but week after week without any faults at all almost makes the column redundant. Manufacturer’s Web sites and the dealer’s glossy folders provide us with the flowery accolades; it’s up to the journalist to provide us with a well rounded view of the product. Perhaps some discussion about reliability would be in order; in the long run that is what makes most people pleased or disgusted with a car. More than a few of the vehicles featured recently would score pretty low in this category, and I’ll bet many buyers down the road will look back and wish they had looked deeper into how their purchase will stand up over time.

Bill McKelvie
Waxahachie

New Host for the Ellis County Observer Show

2007-07-13T08:12:00.000-06:00

The Ellis County Observer show will now have two hosts, with Kevin Crouch joining Joey Dauben. The next show is Friday, July 13 at 6 pm.

Kevin Crouch's family has been in Ellis County since 1859, when they moved here from Tennessee. That's one side of his family, he has no idea about the other side...either way, he has deep roots in the County, and feels it's up to him to defend his home against Railroading Judges, renegade Politicians, and criminals. He promises to do his best throughout his career in Ellis County.

EllisCountyTV.com

2007-07-12T20:50:00.000-06:00

Aside from the legion of blogs under The Ellis County Observer name, publisher Joey Dauben has now added a television element to the list.

www.elliscountytv.com

"We're going to expose corruption in Ellis County by any means necessary, and with the blogs, the radio show, and now the TV project, we're going to be a force, and one that the Waxahachie Daily Light will have to start taking more seriously," said Dauben. "We're putting together a formidable team right now at the Observer, and come election time, the newest blog might be our most popular feature."

Plans also call for The Ellis County Observer to launch a print edition, but certain components must be put in place before that can happen, Dauben said.

"I'm getting more contributors, more editors, and a management team in place to make this blog more influential than ever, and it's exciting, it's an exciting time to be an activist in Ellis County. When we do a print edition (a la The Politico), even The Ellis County Press will be forced to follow our lead. Right now, and this is me being honest, The Ellis County Observer sets the news agenda in this county. Nobody else comes close to covering what this blog has uncovered. The Ellis County Press is still a great paper, and publishes more than the Waxahachie Daily Light will ever print, but the new media market is online news, and now and in the future, The Ellis County Observer will maintain 'market share' in those key sectors."

Aside from EllisCountyTV.com, Dauben also hosts The Ellis County Observer Radio Show. The Ellis County Observer started in October of 2005 after Dauben noted a "lack of investigative news" and political coverage in the county. Since that time, Dauben has added several "City Blogs" in each of the towns south of Dallas.

Interested in being a regular or part-time contributor? The Ellis County Observer is seeking editors and contributors for blogs in Maypearl, Italy, Midlothian and Waxahachie. Contact elliscountyobserver@hotmail.com (or the following) for more information.

- maypearlobserver@gmail.com
- italyobserver@gmail.com
- midlothianobserver@gmail.com
- waxahachieobserver@gmail.com

Texas' Insurance Commissioner

2007-07-12T20:31:00.000-06:00

Thanks to an Ennis friend for sending this latest news about our Texas Department of Insurance commissioner, who is from Red Oak.

I give it two or three years, and Mike Geeslin will be back in Ellis County ready to run for county judge or maybe even state senate.

Chitale Update

2007-07-11T20:19:00.000-06:00

So the big news out of Ellis County is today's Dallas Morning News/WFAA piece about this.

Of course, pull up any Google search on Dr. Chitale's name and more than likely, The Ellis County Observer will start showing the numerous comments from folks who are beating the drum wanting more "justice" in a county that usually refuses to give it.

I've got to hand it to Judge Gene Knize, though. Today he was on his best behavior. With all the camera trucks and journalists, Knize surely isn't the monster he was made out to be in the recent Dallas Observer feature that sits linked on this blog's left-hand sidebar.

However, there's still that whole issue about the 40th District Court rubber-stamping the 50+ aggravated sexual assault (child molestation-related) cases within the past two fiscal years that our prosecutors in Joe Grubbs' office continually plead out. The convictions-at-all-costs is the mantra of the county attorney's office. It's designed to make the campaign mailers really nice and pretty when Patrick M. Wilson runs for a judge position (assuming he can defeat Dan Altman, or if Al Scoggins retires), and all the rumors point in that direction.

Dr. Chitale should be praying daily for still being able to breathe. There were actually 20+ victims, not just two, and I'm really surprised one of the husbands hasn't blown Chitale's head off by now. It's not like it wouldn't be justified, but then again, we'll never know how a jury in Ellis County would have handled Chitale --- why? Because prosecutors - i.e., Wilson - didn't think a jury trial would be necessary.

And oh, poor Wilson, who a few months ago was quoted in a Dallas Morning News piece saying how horrible it was that Sherri Simpson - one of the victims suing Chitale - woke up with semen on her face; yet there's not a law that could be taken into account to prosecute Chitale?

That doesn't make sense, but then again, Wilson is a pervert himself, which is why he argues for probation plea bargains. The letter I'm sending out to his neighbors will expose this. Just watch.

I'm turning off comment moderation on this blog post. Let the followers of the Chitale case and the Dallas journalists who read this blog read all about the rest of the details, the stuff that the Waxahachie Daily Light still will not print.

The New Ennis Regional Hospital Open House July 14th

2007-07-10T21:14:00.001-06:00

The new Ennis Regional will be opening their doors on July 21st for patients. They will be having their open house to the public on July 14th from 3:00pm til 7:00pm. You can go in and have a tour of the hospital, there will be a cat fish fry, activities for the children, and more.

Republicans Voting Libertarian

2007-07-10T20:34:00.000-06:00

Three sitting Ellis County Republican Party Executive Committee members have indicated to me that they have voted for Libertarian Party candidates as recent as last fall. This really comes as no surprise. A couple of former exec. committee members admitted to voting for Libertarians over Democrats when there were "RINOs on the ballot" (Republicans In Name Only).

This could be good news for Justin Randall, the Ellis County LP's chairman. His party nationally grabbed an 18% increase in membership since January, as membership for both the Republican and Democratic parties fell.

By the way, Randall is looking for qualified folks to run as Libertarian candidates in the 2008 races in Ellis County. To do so, e-mail him at: jrlogic69@hotmail.com

Is Chad Adams Flip-Flopping?

2007-07-10T17:44:00.001-06:00

A comment-poster recently brought this Waxahachie Daily Blight quote to our attention:

“To look at the taxpaying citizens as the only source to address the problems is very narrow minded,” [County Judge Chad] Adams said. “There is a litany of avenues to acquire funds for roads as a result of new laws. I would encourage you (the commissioners) rather than raising tax rates, to seek out some of these creative financing mechanisms to be able to fund the roads.”

Just in case you folks out in Observer LaLa Land haven't paid attention to your local government at the courthouse (explains why nobody bitches about all those child molesters going free, doesn't it?), there's a big debate over the problem our county roads are having; well, in the Waxahachie Daily Blight a few issues before this quote, it stated that Chad had come out in favor of a potential road bond. Now, I look at it this way: (a) Chad was misquoted or his meaning was not made clear (highly unlikely. Chad is the No. 1 educator on the commissioners court; he's caused many lawyers' eyes to roll with his stop-the-meeting moves to educate the public); or (b) Chad is flip-flopping.

We all know Heath Sims faces re-election next year. It's no secret that Chad is looking for a primary opponent to Sims. (one guess as to which commissioner wasn't on the back of Chad's glossy re-election mailers last fall) So is Chad throwing this quote out to potentially damage Sims?

You know, and this whole time I thought it was the Chad Adams-Treasurer Ron Langenheder fued that got me goin.

Facilities Bond Committee Membership

2007-07-10T16:45:00.001-06:00

According to today's Waxahachie Daily Light, our county commissioners have appointed the following people to the county facilities oversight committee (this is the board that will make sure county officials do their job):

County Judge:
Chairman
Roy Orr
A former Dallas County commissioner and DeSoto mayor, Orr is considered a political heavyweight in this area.

Cathie Altman

John Tabor
Former Republican Party county chairman. He was instrumental in the creation of the Taxpayers Alliance for Good Government, which the WDL refers to as a "small activist group." Tabor also ushered in the first-ever censure of a sitting county judge (Al Cornelius) and county commissioner (Charles Waller). Oh, did I mention the WDL never printed a word about that?

Precinct 1:
Doug Young
Have no clue...

Cheree Barrett
Wife of Ferris Councilman Rick Barrett and a longtime activist with the Republican Women's club

John Wyckoff
Former county judge candidate (2002 GOP primary; WDL endorsed him).

Precinct 2
Jimmy Boon
Have no idea...

Bill Lewis
See above.

Bill Dodson will have his third appointment soon, he says.

Precinct 3:
Heath Sims didn't have all of his appointments as of the meeting, the WDL reported.

Precinct 4:
John Knight
Hmm?

Jim Moon
A developer I do believe? Or what we see at night time...

Charles Morton
Former Ovilla mayor and current Republican Executive Committee member.

I can't fault this committee-appointment process. I do believe the credit goes to Commissioner Heath Sims on this one, and it's a good thing too. The members of this committee are very dedicated, honest people. I can only hope our facilities don't flood like the airport hangars at MidWay Regional Airport in Midlothian :)

Change of Venue?

2007-07-08T15:42:00.001-06:00

An Italy-area resident who made headlines (The Ellis County Press) several years ago for wearing a sheet to then-Judge Bob Carroll's court at law is now attempting to move a property-rights dispute from Justice of the Peace Bill Woody's precinct 1 courtroom to a "sovereign" court in Harrisburg, Pennsylvania. This sovereign court is a "common law" court. Fred Van Horn is the Ellis County resident who has attempted to take his land - and in turn, not pay taxes on it - out from "under the system," so to speak.

This is the second attempt in the past month to have a "change of venue" from an Ellis County cort to this "sovereign court." The first attempt was to get a recently-arrested Midlothian man (Leslie Davis) on federal weapons charges to have his case transferred to the PA court. Supporters are still trying to go forward with that effort.

And now there's word that rather than PA, an effort to get a "common law" court established in Ellis County is taking place.

This almost smacks of a separatist Republic of Texas-type of deal.

More information: www.countynotary.org

Note: Davis' arrest still has not been picked up by any of the local media outlets besides this blog and the Midlothian Observer.

The Ellis County Observer Show

2007-07-06T17:14:00.000-06:00

Audrey Merritt from Ennis and a soon-to-be-Ennis resident Ali Akbar will be guests on today's show. Check back for the livestream or download the podcast from the direct link: www.blogtalkradio.com/eco

WFAA Channel 8 Headed to Ennis

2007-07-06T13:23:00.000-06:00

WFAA Channel 8 (ABC) is heading to Ennis right now regarding the situation with Audrey Merritt that has been getting a lot of heated discussion.

We really need to open a centralized office for Dallas' TV stations to have a bureau here. It'd be much easier.

Coverage: WFAA.com

Mid-Way Airport Board Members

2007-07-06T11:34:00.000-06:00

Special thanks to the City of Midlothian for providing this information to the public. It is this blog's hope that the problems and issues raised by pilots over the past two weeks will be addressed honestly, openly, and with a concern towards our taxpayers. Here's the list:

Mayor
Paula Baucum (Rotating Member)
1738 Creek Bend Drive
972-723-2080

Place 3
Al Castleman
5841 Waterworks Road
972-723-6132

Place 6
Aubrey Price
3640 Oak Tree Lane
972-723-3471

Waxahachie's Representatives:

Mark Morgan

Jim Odom

Dale Stevenson

Serves as advisory board to both Midlothian and Waxahachie Councils, oversees day-to-day operation of airport. Board is made up of seven members serving three-year terms; three regular members from Midlothian and three regular members from Waxahachie plus a rotating member appointed by each city on an alternating basis.

GOP Presidential Candidate to Visit?

2007-07-05T21:08:00.000-06:00

One of the more obscure candidates in 2008 - Ray McKinney - will be making a Texas campaign swing in mid-July, and I've contacted his campaign to facilitate a Waxahachie/Ellis County stop. If I'm not mistaken, this would be the first time a major party presidential candidate has visited Ellis County.

In 2004, the Libertarian Party's Gary Nolan - a former Republican - made a stop in Waxahachie, the first time a third party presidential candidate made Ellis County a visit.

Still working on getting Ron Paul here though...

New Ennis Editor

2007-07-04T16:34:00.001-06:00

The Ellis County Observer has named an editor for The Ennis Observer. There's a new feature on that blog, "What's Buggin' You, Ennis?" that will be interesting...

Open Thread

2007-07-04T15:56:00.001-06:00

Open Threads are pretty much that: open.

Meanwhile, if Republicans out there are proud of their party affiliation, the next step is getting a blog: a Republican blog. From Gopful.com. Check it out. Brought to you by eConservative.org.

Mid-Way Airport Damage...Control

2007-07-04T14:07:00.000-06:00

So apparently there's a letter circulating from a recent Mid-Way Airport Board meeting discussing what has been posted on this blog (and once we get it, that letter will be posted). Well, for those who are new to this situation and new to this blog, it's really quite simple:

The first video shows Waxahachie Finance Director Carl Wessels making a presentation to the Midlothian City Council about the need to approve a contract with the Nay Company; this was the same contract that contractor Ken Halverson and I sued Waxahachie over last year. Waxahachie's attorneys said regardless of the decision in then-Judge Bob Carroll's court, they were going to appeal. The case was thrown out on a single word ("resident") not being included near one of the other taxpayers to have brought forth the suit. Back to the video: turn up your speakers real, real loud, but you can faintly make out what Mayor Boyce Whatley and another councilman said about how Midlothian doesn't normally approve contracts like that, and that this would be the last time one like it would be approved. Thanks go to the Rural Citizens Against Annexation for this video footage.

This video shows the "after" part of the contract being awarded to the Nay Company. A number of pilots allowed The Ellis County Observer access to the hangars that are reportedly in such shoddy condition that it's hard for planes to navigate in and out of them; problems that have pilots buzzing at our airport include: major flooding, less-than-adequate drainage pipes and systems; the concrete "humps" the planes are having trouble crossing...those are just the major ones. One pilot reportedly swept six inches of water out of his hangar.

And I got word that there are a few "allies" not so happy with me on this. Allow me to explain something: what you people (critics of this blog and of what I do) need to realize is that my role in this county is not to make friends with anyone in public office. My role is not to go along to get along. It's not to compromise and turn a blind eye to crooked and unethical actions and decisions. No, my role is to do exactly this. And if you don't like it, that's just too damn bad.

I'll admit where I'm wrong, and if I've come out too harshly against someone, I'll admit to it. And if public officials do good, they will be praised.

But I'm done caring about how many "friends" I have politically. Just remember one thing: if you take a dime of taxpayer money, you're my property. And you become my business. And you become scrutinized. Twenty-four hours a day, seven days a week. If the newspapers in this county won't do their job, I'll have to do it for them...and yes, that includes all of them.

-Joey Dauben
elliscountyobserver@hotmail.com

Natalie Guyol is a communist

2007-07-02T18:14:00.000-06:00

This craze for socialized healthcare, or "single-payer" health insurance, is creeping into Ellis County, but the source is no surprise. Natalie Guyol is not "progressive." She's not "liberal." She's to a certain degree, communist. Yes, communist. Why? Because a "single-payer" health care system (like the mess that we already have in the form of Medicare and Medicaid that she proudly touts) comes straight out of the likes of Cuba, the Soviet Union, and even Britain. Never mentioned in the column, like in Michael Moore's new movie Sicko, is the entirely huge bureaucratic mess that results from the government picking one provider to administer everything. Guyol writes:

Each state (no big government threat here!) would solicit proposals from individual insurance companies or consortiums to administer that state’s share of the fund; the best qualifying proposal in each state would be awarded the contract for that state — subject to review and renewal as are other government contracts—under which the winning bidder would be paid to administer the fund.

For a look at what The Ellis County Observer and I personally have studied, click here (it's the free-market way of doing it)...Or here. Or here.

It's a lot like single-payer education. Each taxpayer pays for government schools, to be administered by one gigantic agency (TEA). If it costs (and it does) more each year to educate children, how much more would it cost to medicate them, and adults? Not only that, but when government schools don't perform, taxpayers sometimes go pay for private education anyway - on top of the taxes they pay for the government schools.

More pipe dreaming by socialists...it's unfortunate the free-market alternative never gets a fair shake. Even in the Republican Party, there are those who advocate this socialist-commie experiment.

Sickening Ennis SOBs

2007-07-02T13:52:00.001-06:00

As if Ennis' Audrey Merritt needed any more suffering. Here's the latest from the mother who lost loved ones to an Ennis Lions superstar football player several years ago:

Fact: On Nov 29th 2000, Chrystie Windiate and her girlfriend were killed by a hit abd run driver

Fact: The driver " Marlon Jones " plead out with 5 yrs defered

Fact: In 2001, I formed Chrystie's Kids " who help with domestic violence victims, child abuse, and families in need

www.chrystieskids-ellis-co.org

Fact: In 2005, we had grown to where the board members felt we needed a P O box at the Post Office, so I went down and got one.

Fact: Two days after I got our P O Box I received mail in it for " Marlon Jones " and "Anthony Lawrence"

Fact: I was so devestated but I asked for a new P O Box and was told they didnt have another one but they were be careful and not put anymore of their mail in my PO Box

Fact: Two years later, and notifing proper authorties, Post Master, Post Master General, several times,, MADD has tried to explain that it throws me in a tail spin everytime, and again we will watch, and a postit note was put up on the back of the box stating not to put Jones, or Lawrence mail in this box.

Fact: It continued and I went to the Police Department, at this time I felt I was being Harrased, because they have to go pass the note on the back to put the mail in the PO Box again we will be more careful.

It has been 2 years, and many tears, and it still is happening, I got a piece of mail for " Marlon Jones" Saturday.

It has thrown me so much it is like throwing salt in an open wound over and over. I cant do this anymore.

Its bad enough that I live with the fact that he got by with killing the girls, after 5 yrs the whole crash was wiped off his record as if the girls never existed, and to have the contant reminder

What are the odds of this happening

This kind of thing, maybe not the PO Box but Victims are RE-Victimized more and more everyday with things

This is just my nightmare

Audrey Merritt

972-875-1597

Ennis ISD Police Chief Won't Return (ya think?)

2007-07-02T10:50:00.000-06:00

There's lots of news coming out of Ennis (and Midlothian) this week, but first:

Ennis ISD Police Chief Won't Return
Kevin Haynes, who put the Ennis ISD police department - and Ovilla - on Fox News Channel with his videotaped intoxicated assault of fellow police officers - won't be returning to work, the Ennis Daily News reports today.

VIDEO: Chief Haynes Assaults Ovilla PD Officers

Did Ennis Daily News Sacred Cow a Crook?
It's bad enough that the Waxahachie Daily Cover-Up owns a paper in Ennis that doesn't report anything, but it's really bad when there are two newspapers in Ennis that don't report anything (to speak of).

Of course, the Ennis Daily News does allow for interesting editorials and letters to the editor, but readers of this blog (and to be fair, the Ennis Observer) are complaining about the arrest last week of Tim Southwell, a prominent businessman in the community that was your stereotypical "good 'ol boy."

The placement of the article about Southwell's arrest is what I and others are concerned about (it was buried on the very bottom).

What would have been the placement of the massive fraud and deception that the federal government accuses Southwell of being involved with had Southwell been, oh, say, just a regular Joe, or better yet, ex-Democratic commissioner nominee Victor Burnett? Burnett's arrest was top front page.

Southwell, who scammed millions perhaps on his selling of cellphones from his business to a "side business," was arrested and will face federal prison time if he's that lucky.

The EDN deserves to branch out and be a different paper than the Journal, which only comes out weekly and is usually distributed free.

However, it's an understood secret that the Ennis business establishment pretty much runs both papers. Thanks to the Internet, blogs like this one and this one can report the truth...

Can Midlothian Mirror's Editor Be Trusted?
Floyd Ingram sits on a bond election committee that will recommend the MISD school board raising taxes on folks (in the form of a bond election; yes, that's still considered a tax increase) in November to construct a second high school) Taxpayers from Midlothian continually point to the massive open space directly across the street from MHS (my alma mater) as proof that we don't need a second high school. However, it has been reported to me by one MISD school board trustee that that area will be home to a mixed-use development (think downtown Southlake or downtown Plano). The second high school land has already been bought -- the $3 million in "design" fees for it were rejected at the polls. Note: If approved, the second high school will be north of where CNB Bank Vice President Danny Rodgers, pictured below, lives (Walnut Grove Road).

Red Oak ISD's Bond Election Illegalities
The Red Oak Record carried a front page photo of a Red Oak ISD employee a month ago - I do believe she was a teacher - passing out signs and literature on the pro-ROISD bond. At school. During hours. On the clock? Not sure. But it was at (Shields Elementary) school. How is any of that legal? What would happen if say, a taxpayer group opposed to such bond elections were to sit out in a school parking lot handing out Vote No literature or signs? How quick would the ISDs respond and shoo those people away?

Italy Community Center Closes
The WDL reports that it had to do with water damage. Interesting. When will the WDL and other media outlets in this county (besides, of course, my articles and photos in The Ellis County Press) address the second part of the massive county facilities problem we have? You know, the fact that every time it rains, our tax anticipation noted Ellis County jail annex (administrative offices & new jail space) floods. Is that not news? The fact we had to raze a three-story Justice Center because of water, mold and construction damage is widely known (and it finally took about five years for the WDL to admit to it being constructed after voters told the county no), but what goes unreported for the most part is the fact our county jailers must remove inmates due to cells flooding.

I'd hate to have to publish the cellphone camera photos that I took two weeks ago of the "carnage"...gosh, darn, gee, I just might do it too.

Tenth Court of Appeals Opinions - June 30, 2007
The latest from Chief Justice Tom Gray and the 10th Court of Appeals...

From the Desk of County Judge Chad Adams
You know, for all of the support, praise and defense of our county judge I give on this blog, I should at least be put on the letters-to-the-editor e-mail list. Oh well, I stole this from the Ennis Daily News website:

Dear Editor
The Commissioners’ Court encourages the public’s assistance in keeping the building process accountable. We want you to be informed. Transparency with the funds you have voted to entrust to us is of utmost importance.
At Monday night’s regularly scheduled Commissioners’ Court meeting (June 25), Jon Vidaurri, representing the Staubach Company, and Ellis County Engineer Joe White, updated the Court on the preliminary overall Ellis County Campus project schedule and forecast.
The State of Texas has strict regulations on the entire process, and certain steps in the process also have to be approved by the State. For the County, the steps in the building process take more time than in the private sector because the law requires that various phases must be put out for bids. There are time constraints with each step under the law that the County cannot override, and would not want to override, because these laws are in place to ensure a high level of accountability for public funds.
There is an 11-step procedure for the Construction Manager-at-risk Selection, and the final step in that phase is that the contract must be approved by the Commissioners’ Court. The process is in motion for obtaining bids for the architectural design.
Along with design and construction of the facility is the process of obtaining underwriting services for the bond that was approved by the voters on May 12 for the construction project.
As a Court, we want transparency every step of the way. The formation of a 15-member bond oversight committee has been approved by the Commissioners. A dedicated link is on the home page of the Ellis County website at www.co.ellis.tx.us. It includes the above mentioned schedule and bid information, along with the preliminary Bond financial timeline. An explanation on the underwriting process is also available for the public to view.
The website will be updated as to new information and any changes to the preliminary schedules. Citizens can also sign up on the website to receive automatic updates when new information is posted.
We hope you will take the time to be involved in this exciting process and to help us ensure that the new County facilities will be designed properly, built right, and ready for us to use in serving you as quickly as possible.
Chad Adams
Ellis County Judge

Todd Staples Visits Midlothian - Did You Know That?
The architect of the controversial Trans Texas Corridor (at least in the Senate) was in Midlothian last week handing over a corporate welfare check to Midlothian Mayor Boyce Whatley, but it was under the radar for a lot of people. Think maybe the public could have benefitted had we known about it?

I didn't vote for Staples in November knowing that fact (I voted for Hank Gilbert). He lied on the campaign trail about the TTC, the massive superhighway that will help build this, and sure enough, he'll lie about it all the way from Ag Commissioner to whatever office he seeks (Ag Commissioner is one of those springboard roles for governor or another statewide office).

However, had the anti-TTC folks in Ellis County known about this, perhaps they would have had time to gear up a little "Q&A" for our Ag Commissioner.

Message Board - Reminder
Don't forget, loyal readers, The Ellis County Observer has a 24-hour Message Forum available for users to comment, editorialize, and post messages on.

Unlike the blog, posts on the Message Forum aren't moderated.

You can click here for the forum, or by viewing the top left-hand sidebar (above the advertisements).

Bookmark It: http://eco.informe.com/forum/

Bristol-Telico Evacuated

2007-07-01T15:08:00.000-06:00

From the Ennis Daily News today:

BRISTOL-TO-TELICO EVACUATION PLANNED

The National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) has announced flooding is expected along the Trinity River corridor from Bristol to Telico in the next 24 hours. NOAA and Ellis County officials are calling for a voluntary evactuation of that area based on NOAA predications that the river will reach 36 feet tonight and is expected to exceed the 1990 flood level of 37.9 feet before it crests.
“This past April, the water level rose to 35.9 feet and the levy held firm,” said Ellis County Judge Chad Adams. “But in 1990, when the water was at 37.9 feet, the levy gave way.”
The Ellis County Sheriff’s Department is working with area volunteer fire departments to notify residents in the affected areas.
Shelter will be available for displaced residents at the First United Methodist Church in Ennis, 300 N. Sherman.
Citizens are encouraged to monitor weather reports and in an emergency, call 911 , local police or fire or the Ellis County Sheriff’s office at 972-937-6060.

Video: Mid-Way Airport 'Disaster'

2007-06-29T16:58:00.000-06:00

This is exclusive footage from Mid-Way Airport. This is Part 2. Part 1 is located on the lower left-hand sidebar of this blog.

No Robbers in Red Oak Bank Heist?

2007-06-28T20:11:00.000-06:00

This is getting very bizarre.

Fox 4 has the scoop - I guess you could call it a scoop.

CBS 11 (includes video): Police say bank robbery was misunderstanding

KXAS Channel 5: Hostages Safe, Suspects in Custody

So, ROPD, which is it? One agency says it was a misunderstanding. Another says the suspects were caught (one being in the bank). What would recently fired-Chief Red Fullerton say about this?

You know, back in the old days, Ovilla's fire department would go out and purposely set fires to things -- mainly fields -- so they'd have something to do. Ask former Constable Bubba Curry about that. I bet he'd know ;)

Side Issues:
My question is this: what jurisdiction does the FBI have over a Red Oak bank robbery?

Second question: what jurisdiction does the ATF have in Ellis County by arresting a Midlothian man by the name of Leslie Davis?

Question 3: Why do government officials not want to answer questions?

The Robert Trevino Case:

2007-06-28T18:36:00.000-06:00

The Ellis County Observer Show
Friday @ 6 p.m. CST
http://www.blogtalkradio.com/eco
Guest: Olga Trevino, sister of Robert Trevino
Listener Call-In # 646-478-5811

Read the Robert Trevino Case Here: www.joegrubbs.com

(yes, I bought the domain to our county attorney and parked the entire Robert Trevino series on it; for the record, I also bought geneknize.com, judgeknize.com, 40thdistrictcourt.com, elliscountyda.com,knizelovesbabyrapers.com and waxahachiedailyblight.com)

Update: I have posted the entire Robert Trevino case on the Message Forum -- the trial transcripts are coded in red for easier reading. The message forum is available on all of the Observer blogs by clicking the link atop the left hand sidebar.

Sharon Allen Letter
Last week's guest on The ECO Show, Sharon Allen, has penned another editorial/open letter to the citizens of Ellis County. Read both over at the Waxahachie Observer.

Grubbs Wants Increased Funding, Staff

2007-06-28T16:48:00.000-06:00

County Attorney Joe Grubbs wants more staff and funding for the next fiscal year; that includes at least five attorneys and an investigator. I guess it pays to be a crime fighter. Oh wait, Grubbs' office doesn't really fight crime. They plea-bargain their way to ratcheting up convictions to make campaign mailer pieces look good.

If any department or agency needs to be scrutinized over funding requests at our commissioners court budget hearings, it's Grubbs' office. I'm just waiting for one of our outspoken commissioners to start requesting that whole separation of the county/district attorney arrangement. Nothing says conflict of interest quite like that...

Diana Buckley: Budget 'Star'
In case readers didn't catch the Waxahachie Daily Light yesterday, the most ardent conservative we have in county government is none other than Republican County Judge Chad Adams' best hire (I even said so in 2002 when Chad hired her - then his campaign's PR director and former Ellis County Press/WDL reporter): Diana Buckley. Regardless of how one feels about Chad personally (I didn't vote for him in 2002 due to some skepticism), you gotta admit, the things that Buckley has done for taxpayers in this county are first rate. County Auditor Mike Navarro, never the shy one, even called Buckley a "star." To put this in perspective, Buckley is even more conservative than the always-voting-against-tax-increases Commissioner Ron Brown -- and that's pretty conservative. In fact, I wouldn't even use the term conservative. Buckley would be described in economic terms as "libertarian." Every countywide elected official needs a Diana Buckley. Or a Joey Dauben. But Diana would work just as well :)

*I did vote for Chad in the '06 primary and in the general election

Richard Norman for Treasurer?
Midlothian's Richard Norman - who lost a GOP run-off to now-Judge Linda Sibley for the JP-4 slot - is being widely touted as a candidate for Ellis County treasurer next year. Judy Burden, who took over after Greg Wilhelm stepped down to accept Bob Carroll's court at law No. 1 judgeship, hasn't made an announcement as to whether she intends to seek the seat, but Norman would carry with him a lot of establishment support. Grassroots Republicans - if he were to run - would flock to Rusty Ballard, the current GOP county chairman (I lost $50 on a bet that commissioners were going to pick Rusty. Damn.) And with treasurer being a special election, look for even the Democrats to field a candidate (the last time the Donkey Party had a treasurer candidate was in 2002 when conservative Mike Grant lost to the eventual one-term Ron Langenheder). Already there's speculation a Constitution Party candidate and maybe even a Southern Independence candidate will file. Any party can register a candidate for this race (special election laws=fun).

Election rumors or news? Send them: elliscountyobserver@hotmail.com

City of Italy Website
Check it out: http://www.cityofitaly.org

City of Ovilla Website
This one too: http://www.cityofovilla.org

Red Oak: $600,000 in the Hole?
The latest from Red Oak...plus the bank robbery/hostage situation.

Should Homosexuals Get the Death Penalty?
Larry Kilgore, a highly controversial Republican primary candidate last year in the gubernatorial race (2nd place, 50,000 votes), is running for U.S. Senate against John Cornyn (primary), advocates the death penalty for homosexuals, as well as a return to God's law (we'll agree to disagree on oh, say most of that platform, but he is a good friend of mine), and of course a pullout of troops from Iraq. But he'll be on my Libertarian Politics Live! show tonight at 10 p.m. Or if you folks can't stay up that late, download the show tomorrow...

Listener Call-In: (646) 915-9887

(note: I fully intend to support Cornyn for re-election, but running for U.S. Senate - and paying the $5,000 fee - really is a good way to advance your ideals to a statewide audience)

Another Conservative Report Card on Pitts, Averitt
Texans for Fiscal Responsibility released their report card today on our just-completed Legislative session. Heritage Alliance released theirs last month and our very own Jim Pitts, R-Waxahachie, scored a 74% - the last two years, he's been hovering around 80% - but I'm kinda getting worried. All those flashy mailers mentioning "conservative" now need to show the results. The 70s is still better than the 40s and 50s Pitts was scoring before primary and general election opponents. But I will say this: Jim Pitts has fought against Navarro College's attempts to impose a tax on Ellis County, and for that I commend him. Now if he would carry some prominent pro-life legislation and an anti-annexation bill of some sort, I'd be content.

As for Averitt, there's just no hope for that guy. He's as liberal as they come. He's wishy-washy on practically everything, but I guess you have to be if you're a Baylor graduate -- ouch, sorry.

2007-06-28T13:20:00.001-06:00

Mid-Way Airport Disaster Area
And no, not a single plane has crashed; rather, it's been sheer taxpayer disregard on the part of the airport management (Cam Fearis) and the go-ahead that both city councils in Midlothian and Waxahachie approved for the construction of this hangar:

Unfortunately, it wasn't raining when I took photos last week, but a pilot did get access to all of the massive flooding damage and shoddy work on the hangar (planes are having a hard time navigating concrete "bumps"); one pilot was reportedly sweeping six inches of water out of his hangar -- the contract was given to the Nay Company for $800,000; with damages, change orders, and a 2002 hangar that is almost as bad (built by the same company), the loss to taxpayers is about $1 million now...

And yet our local daily newspaper - and the Midlothian Mirror - have yet to print a word about this situation. The Ellis County Justice Center should be Example 1 of what happens when good 'ol boys dole out the taxpayer dollars in contracts. Don't forget that the new jail annexation and the administration department in downtown Waxahachie floods profusely. Prisoners are being taken out of cells due to some of the rain storms.

County commissioners and city council members need to wake up and stand up against this waste of tax dollars. One can only wonder what our next go-around will be on facilities (the ones recently approved at the polls May 12).

Such a disgrace. But hey, on the bright side, right after The Ellis County Observer exposed the situation, Nay had employees scrambling around the airport...see, so good can come of this...

The Ellis County Press Blog
Well, the editor at least has one: ejcornelison.wordpress.com

Tenth Court of Appeals Opinions - June 28, 200
The latest from the Tenth Court of Appeals in Waco...

Ellis County for Ron Paul
The signs are already starting to appear...

I've got plenty more where that came from if anyone would like one: joeydauben@hotmail.com.

My Letter to The Corsicana Daily Sun
They replied that they would scale down and delete the references to the WDL, but for the most part, it reads like this:

Re: College freeze
I cannot tell you how much I appreciate the Corsicana Daily Sun's coverage of
> Navarro College's antics. As a former student at the Waxahachie (Ellis County
> Center) campus, I feel the moral duty to not only come down against a
> potential tax increase on Navarro voters, but also to make Ellis County
> citizens aware of the blatant disregard for open meetings laws about a
> potential tax increase for my county.
>
> In other words, Navarro taxpayers, we thank you for having the fortitude of
> electing tax-and-spend Democratic-voting bureaucrats to hike your taxes, but
> the 140,000 residents of my county don't want any part of it. You can imagine
> the reaction I received when I openly came out in favor of allowing students
> to pay more to attend school at the Ellis County campuses; after all, it
> doesn't make economic sense to tax 140,000 people to educate less than 3,000
> or 4,000 students.
>
> But that's not the issue. The main issue - and this is the one I hold the
> Waxahachie Daily Cover Up (Light) in contempt for - is the fact that Dick
> Sanchez and his board have openly admitted to breaking the law.
>
> Ellis County doesn't have a prosecuting county attorney willing to go after
> out-of-line public officials, and apparently, neither does Navarro County.
>
> This newspaper is a must-read for citizens up here, because it's obvious that
> we're not getting any help from the WDL.

2007-06-26T14:47:00.000-06:00

The Ellis County Observer Forum
Debate & Discuss all things Midlothian:
http://eco.informe.com/forum/

Look for the link on the top-left hand sidebar!

Note: The forum will not be moderated for comments, content, etc.

Updates: Mid-Way Airport 'Disaster'
Not only will there be a second YouTube video up very shortly documenting the numerous construction problems of new Nay Company-constructed hangars, but word from Midlothian is that this issue could find itself being discussed at the next Midlothian City Council meeting. We'll see how long it takes the Waxahachie Daily Light and Midlothian Mirror to cover this story. Ten bucks says it'll be a cover up.

County Facilities Oversight Committee

2007-06-26T12:21:00.000-06:00

Our commissioners court voted to create an oversight committee last night to check on the status of our newly-approved facilities bonds. The membership will consist of 15 people. To lobby your commissioner and county judge to be included on this important committee, use the following contact information:

County Judge Chad Adams
chad.adams@co.ellis.tx.us
972-825-5011

Commissioner Dennis Robinson - Precinct 1
dennis.robinson@co.ellis.tx.us
972-449-3260

Commissioner Bill Dodson - Precinct 2
bill.dodson@co.ellis.tx.us
972-875-3241

Commissioner Heath Sims - Precinct 3
heath.sims@co.ellis.tx.us
972-483-7477

Commissioner Ron Brown - Precinct 4
ron.brown@co.ellis.tx.us
972-723-8017

Mid-Way Airport Update

2007-06-26T11:15:00.000-06:00

Reports coming from Mid-Way Airport now are that scores of contractors, employees and other officials are busy making repairs and fixing the problems that this blog exposed yesterday. Here's what is being done as we speak (I rode out there with a camera the other day and will have those photos online ASAP.)

Pilots were seen sweeping large quantities of water from a hangar; the doors that allow for access to the airport hangars were in disarray, according to one source
The 27-inch (required) drainage pipe that contractor Ken Halverson was accused of not having any experience installing -- yeah, well, supposedly the Nay Company or their hired contractors went with a "makeshift drainage pipe," in the words of one pilot
There are problems with entrance and exit "bumps" as well, but it looks like The Ellis County Observer has kinda kicked some butts into gear in getting these problems fixed

Oh, wait, there's still that whole thing about firing Airport Manager Cam Fearis and Waxahachie Finance Director Carl Wessels for even allowing the Nay contract to go forward. If Fearis would pay more attention to managing the airport instead of running an appraisal business, there might be some good to come out of this; but, The Ellis County Observer has heard from many pilots and taxpayers: Fearis and Wessels need to go.

Taxpayers from both Midlothian and Waxahachie are subsidizing failure if those two aren't dealt with appropriately. And word out of Mid-Way is that Fearis didn't show up to work this morning.

Comments? Suggestions? News tips? elliscountyobserver@hotmail.com

MidlothianNow.com
This website isn't being published by some global warming-hyping lunatic. Supposedly it's from a conservative Republican author.

Italy Preacher Now a Dallas City Councilmember
Vonciel Jones Hill, for those of you electoral politics junkies, preaches at an Italy church, and just swore an oath as a Dallas City Councilmember.

Midlothian Mirror Editor in TIME Magazine

2007-06-26T10:34:00.000-06:00

And no, not talking about the current one, but a hero of mine, the late Penn Jones, Jr. In TIME's recent "JFK" issue, the author of the pro-conspiracy article mentions that the former Midlothian Mirror editor (back when the Mirror was worth reading) appeared in Bobby Kennedy's office to discuss the paper's coverage of the Jim Garrison-led trial in New Orleans. Wow, what I'd give for archives of those papers...

A good case study would also be to check with Robert Groden, who lives in Midlothian as well, and who is considered the world's leading expert on the evidence pointing to a plot to kill JFK by the CIA.

Barton Voting Record - June 25

2007-06-25T16:11:00.001-06:00

At the rate Congressman Barton is going, we might just endorse him for re-election. Let's hope he keeps it up:

Recent Senate Votes

CLEAN Energy Act of 2007 - Vote Passed (65-27, 7 Not Voting)
The Senate passed the first energy bill under the new Democratic majority.
Sen. Kay Bailey Hutchison voted NO......send e-mail or see bio
Sen. John Cornyn voted NO......send e-mail or see bio

Recent House Votes

State, Foreign Operations, and Related Programs Appropriations, FY 2008 - Vote Passed (241-178, 13 Not Voting)
The House passed this $34.2 billion bill that would fund State Department operations and foreign aid for the 2008 fiscal year.
Rep. Joe Barton voted NO......send e-mail or see bio

Tuition Hikes Likely, Navarro College Says

2007-06-25T13:21:00.000-06:00

Some of the stuff coming out of Corsicana is absolutely ridiculous, but then there's the real-life budget move from Gov. Rick Perry that Navarro College -- together with their two campuses in Ellis County -- will ultimately have to make up. President "Tricky" Dick Sanchez has indicated to Navarro's school board (college districts have elected trustees much like ISDs) that a tax increase to make up for Perry's recent veto of millions in community college funds would be on the table, but cautioned and said that it would only be "minimal." Next target: college students in the form of higher tuition (and rightfully so, they use it, they should pay for it -- and I'm a former student saying** that.) Included in that hiring freeze will/would be a new assistant dean for the Ellis County center in Waxahachie.

It should be noted, meanwhile, that Navarro College - Dick included - has openly admitted to breaking open meetings laws in discussions about passing off one of their tax increases on Ellis County citizens. Now, here's the interesting part of this whole thing: the lovey-dovey relationship that Navarro has with the Waxahachie Daily Light has resulted in absolutely zero coverage of this highly important bit of news.

The WDL owns papers in Midlothian (Mirror), Ennis (Journal), Red Oak (Chronicle) and Italy (News-Herald.)

Two of those towns listed either have a Navarro campus (Midlothian) or discussions are in place to put one there (Red Oak). Wouldn't it be pertinent for the taxpayers in those communities to learn about how Navarro College has openly admitted to breaking the open meetings laws?

It's in direct relation to Navarro wanting to pass a "maintenance tax" for Ellis County to foot the bill for Navarro taxpayers' willingness to fund facilities over here. One can only wonder what will happen in future phases of the Midlothian campus when it becomes apparent that Navarro has spent themselves into oblivion and therefore, must renege on the pledge to Midlothian taxpayers that funded revenue bonds for their campus and must in turn, hike taxes -- and/or get Midlothian taxpayers to fund a Navarro tax altogether.

Reps. Jim Pitts, R-Waxahachie, and Byron Cook, R-Corsicana have both objected strongly to Navarro's push for a tax on Ellis County citizens. If I were a prosecuting county attorney in Navarro or Ellis County, I would go after Dick and Navarro's board of trustees. But alas, we don't have one of those in either county apparently, so it's up to bloggers like me to keep the issue fresh in Google searches.

**Should be noted that while at Navarro, I openly argued against a property tax for Ellis County citizens; and the argument was simple economics: a county of 140,000 should not adopt a tax to pay for 3,000 - 4,000 students. It simply isn't worth it.

81,000 Hits Since 2005

2007-06-25T11:57:00.001-06:00

Since The Ellis County Observer launched in October of 2005, the following stats have been collected:

                
                 (s10elliscountyobserver)                 

                   -- Site Summary ---                    
         Visits

           Total ....................... 81,795           
           Average per Day ................ 339           
           Average Visit Length .......... 4:54           
           This Week .................... 2,372           

         Page Views

           Total ...................... 220,795           
           Average per Day ................ 767           
           Average per Visit .............. 2.3           
           This Week .................... 5,366

Hate to Say We Told You So...

2007-06-24T19:04:00.000-06:00

Remember that illegal contract Waxahachie and Midlothian approved late last year involving a Mid-Way Airport hangar - the one contractor Ken Halverson sued the city over?

Well that hangar, built by the good 'ol boys over at the Nay Company, is in such disrepair that pilots are calling airport management griping about massive flooding and issues regarding entrance-exit "bumps" that prevent pilots' planes from going too far.

That new hangar, built after a temporary restraining order in then-Judge Bob Carroll's courtroom was denied, is now in risk of joining the other project that the Nay Company half-way constructed: a paint hangar and another plane hangar (oh, and those flood too).

Aside from the haphazard construction, pilots are complaining of six-inch flood waters in their hangars. The contract for Nay to build the new hangar (photos and more YouTube video to come...) was approaching $1 million. Midlothian's city council has also refused nearly $75,000 in change orders on the hangar projects.

There are also reports of massive mildew damage in the original structure that the Nay Company built (the one Halverson complained about having faulty drainage); Midlothian's fire marshal was also reported as having been denied by Airport Director Cam Fearis to update structures on necessary fire-safety measures; the Mid-Way Airport Board - which consists of members of both cities - bypassed Fearis and adopted the fire marshal's standards.

Waxahachie Finance Director Carl Wessels and Mid-Way Airport Manager Cam Fearis should resign immediately; the two city councils in both cities should halt all construction and contracting at the airport and allow an independent investigation into how to go about repairing the damages.

Not just that, but every dime of taxpayer funds should be stopped if any is still going to this boondoggle; quick, someone get me the laws regarding filing against a contractor's bond - is that the city's role, or can a concerned taxpayer "have standing" on an issue like this? The city councils that voted to approve this contract were unanimous. It's time to start firing some people over this...because it's not looking good for anyone in this county, especially after dealing with the Justice Center fiasco.

June 22 Observer Radio Archive

2007-06-23T18:37:00.000-06:00

The archive of the Ellis County Observer radio show is now available.

Stream

Download

Tonight @ 6 p.m. - June 22, 2007

2007-06-22T14:32:00.000-06:00

What: The Ellis County Observer Radio Show
When: 6 p.m. Central - Tonight
Where: http://www.blogtalkradio.com/eco
Guest: Sharon Allen, author of soon-to-be-(updated) release of A Judicial Terror in Ellis County

Sharon Allen is no stranger to this blog. She's been fighting Ellis County corruption for years in an attempt to clear her brother's name and have him freed. She's also the author of a seven-page editorial that currently takes up the entire page of The Waxahachie Observer. It was simply too long to edit, but it's worth every inch of space it's published on. She covers all of the bases, from the Chitale case to the recent Tasering of a Waxahachie disabled man.

Pass around the direct link to that letter:

http://waxahachieobserver.blogspot.com/2007/06/open-letter-from-sharon-allen.html

Print it out. Distribute it to friends. E-mail it to friends. Get this letter in the hands of as many people as possible. It's that important.

And listen live tonight at 6 p.m. as Sharon and I discuss efforts to fight for the wrongfully accused. Funny how the "Victim's Rights Vigil" in downtown Waxahachie completely skipped over two of the most high-profile cases in Ellis County of wrongfully accused victims (Robert Trevino is the other).

Listener Call-In #
646-478-5811

Note: Callers are not screened and are not identified, per BlogTalkRadio's policy.

Sometimes It's Not Who You Are...

2007-06-21T20:01:00.000-06:00

I had this story relayed to me by a good friend, and because of the nature of political dealings in Waxahachie, I'm not going to use any names except the one I was given permission to use. So, it was real late at night, and a certain daily newspaper publisher by the name of Neal White strolled into one of my favorite bars in downtown Waxahachie - won't say which one - thinking that, since he was the publisher of the local daily newspaper, he could get in a quick beer. It was getting late, the bar was already closed, and apparently, the bar owner was quick to tell White something along the lines of, "look, we're closed, and we don't care who you are."

Apparently this didn't sit well with the WDL publisher, who then got furious and -- oh, did I mention it was during a very big festive event that the entire community was looking forward to? -- well, refused to help this certain business out in coverage of the upcoming event.

Well, little did White or the WDL know, but this bar owner calls the brand new company that bought out the WDL and complains over the actions of said publisher; within one day, not only was there coverage of the important event, but the bar in question was featured quite prominently.

All that talk about "it's all who you know" doesn't equal jack-crap sometimes...

Why Didn't the WDL Run With This?
I'm going through some archived e-mails from avid Observer readers and, as it relates to this blog's continuous crusade to expose the confusing actions of our district judge and county attorney's office, I'm starting to wonder out loud why our local daily newspaper isn't doing its job informing folks of what's going on. Then again, maybe part of me wants to think that due to the tight-knit relationship the newspaper and our above-mentioned county entities hold, the reason for holding off on such information (below) is apparent:

Hi Joann [Livingston, Editor @ the WDL],

This is [Name Removed]. I had a face to face meeting with [Asst. Prosecutor] Patrick Wilson about his decision not to take Aniruddha Chitale (former doctor) to trial. He sat across a table from me and swore that he told me and [Name Removed] (the other felony sexual assault victim) that we would absolutely win if we proceeded to trial. That is utterly and completely untrue. I was shocked to find out that the unsealed files reveal that over 20 women had come forward and filed complaints with the DA's office. He had told us that we were alone and there was no evidence that represented a pattern of behavior. I approached the probation officer, Mr. Albert Mims, about the fact that Chitale is required to have absolutely NO internet access and yet he owns and is operating an Internet business from his home. Chitale is still not registered as an offender. This system is broken. Mr. Mims says they currently monitor 60 offenders and they do not have the resources to monitor all these persons on a timely basis. I just thought you might want to hear this information. What if you or someone you worked with or loved had this happen to them? How would you want the situation to be handled? I asked Patrick Wilson if he had any intention to make the situation right by filing charges against Maria Ballard for perjury. He said he is done with this matter. I asked him if he intended to file charges on behalf of any of the other victims(20) that were assaulted by Chitale. He replied with disdain and extreme irritation in his voice, "I am done with the matter!" as he walked out of the room. I told him that if they thought for a moment that the way they handled this was justice they were wrong and that I would be reporting them to the State Bar. I've downloaded the forms and have been told by the State Bar that this is an option for me. Once again if you have any questions or just anything you would like to talk about concerning this matter please call me @ [Number Removed].

Sincerely,

[Name Removed]

And people really need to start saving these blog posts, because the more I go through the archives, the more I'm going to be publishing stuff.

And why hasn't the WDL reported on the lawsuit that Joe Grubbs has filed against the AG's office to keep from releasing any of the pertinent documents in the Chitale case? Does anybody even give a care about this? Do I have to set the news agenda for every media outlet in this county? I mean, it seems as if nobody seems to care about victims' rights in this county...it's sickening.

Mr. [County Attorney Joe] Grubbs,

I am writing you concerning the matter of convicted sex offender Chitale. Last week I was contacted by Sargent Guthry who stated that he was in the process of correcting all information posted on the sex offender registry. As of this date no changes have been made. Yesterday I was interviewed by three investigators with the Board of Nurses of the State of Texas. They had been led to believe that the former doctor had only plead guilty to ONE felony charge. These circumstances lead me and others to believe that someone with the county is covering over Chitale's crimes. I truly hope that you see the need to correct this matter. I want this to be easy but I am willing to push equally as hard to accomplish my goal in this matter as I did to get Chitale investigated in the first place. "I didn't want to have anything to do with this matter." Patrick Wilson, assistant District Attorney for Ellis County. Maybe you are not completely aware of how all cases are handled within your office. I am informing you now! As I told Patrick I will speak with EVERY AGENCY in the state of Texas and if I have to the federal government in order to get this situation taken care of properly. I feel that if your wife had been assaulted you would feel exactly the same way.

[Name Removed]

The Ellis County Observer Show

2007-06-21T17:40:00.000-06:00

What's it like being related to someone who was wrongfully accused?

Ellis County will find out - from their own words: tomorrow night at 6 p.m. Sharon Allen will be on The Ellis County Observer Radio Show to discuss not only her getting-updated book exposing Ellis County corruption (read: County Attorney Joe Grubbs & Judge Gene Knize), but her fight to have her wrongfully accused brother released from prison.

Then, the major news: Olga Trevino (now Dixon), the sister of the Robert Trevino (as in the 2004 Ellis County Press series of columns that now appear on JoeGrubbs.com) will be our guest live next week to discuss her family's ongoing fight to see her brother released.

Last week's show was downloaded 65 times. Let's push the number to 100-plus. Those who want to call in to ask our guests (or me) anything related to Ellis County politics and/or the current events of the show, please call: (646) 478-5811

Note: Unfortunately, callers cannot be screened. It's a live-fire radio broadcast, so if someone calls in, we wont know the identity of that person unless they state their name on air.

New Marketing Campaign - Again

2007-06-21T17:20:00.001-06:00

We hope to have t-shirts made (white lettering, black t-shirt) depicting a "brazen" brand of activism.

The Ellis County Observer takes its idea off this image.

And I'll figure out a way to work in the syringe. It was kind of unique...

This one is reader-submitted and goes along with the "editorial" posted here.

-Joey
elliscountyobserver@hotmail.com

Paul Perry

2007-06-21T16:44:00.001-06:00

Former Midlothian Justice of the Peace and county judge candidate (GOP) Paul Perry is a contributing writer to DallasBlog.com. His latest column is right on. The idiots who buy (i.e., use capitalism) the Communist Che crap are so misguided -- kinda like the guy who wrote in to the Dallas Observer after the big Gene Knize feature and called me and my supporters "anarchist brownshirts."

Speaking of communists, I'll be working with a team of free-market Bureaucrash "crashers" at the July 14 Warped Tour concert in Dallas. Communism reigns at these mostly-punk concerts. So having the "alternative" will be fun.

Red Oak Updates, 10th Court of Appeals, Etc.

2007-06-21T13:00:00.001-06:00

Red Oak Updates
Be sure to check out The Red Oak Observer for the latest news in that town. Also, Steve Miller's RO Window blog is reporting from the "front lines."

AFP Taxpayer Summit
Reminder: This weekend, for all of you grassroots anti-tax activists, Americans For Prosperity will be holding their Dallas Taxpayer Summit -- it's free. Gotta hand it to AFP Director Peggy Venable. She's made being anti-tax, anti-big spending more mainstream. Click here for more information...

Tenth Court of Appeals Opinions - June 20, 2007
More news from the Tenth Court of Appeals in Waco.

Joe Barton is My Hero - Sorta
I tried running against Congressman Joe Barton, R- Ennis, in 2005. The campaign made national headlines, almost appeared on Jon Stewart's The Daily Show, etc., etc. But Congressman Barton -- and believe me, I normally don't agree with him on pretty much everything -- has done some good of late. He's still inconsistent, which is the trait of a moderate. But even the AFP highlights some of the good he's done in Washington.

Now comes the question: Joe, why didn't you do this when the Republicans were in control of Congress?

Still, credit will be given where credit is due. Except if you're Judge Gene Knize or County Attorney Joe Grubbs, that I assure you.

SpendingResponsibility.org
In the future, I think I'll just devote an entire blog post to Americans for Prosperity. They give me so much ammunition about state government it makes me sick. Wanna know where your tax dollars are going? Visit www.spendingresponsibility.org.

How about for Ellis County? I did a little analysis about our county budget and each department. Might surprise you to know that every level of county government is controlled by a Republican, and yet budgets are still increasing.

Okay, maybe it doesn't surprise you.

The Ellis County Observer Radio Show - Tomorrow @ 6 p.m.
Our first show last week had 13 active listeners and 65 downloads. Not that great, but not that bad. But it was our first show. Tomorrow's show should be a little more interesting: last week I went off about how Knize, Grubbs and Patrick Wilson team up to allow accused child sex offenders on the streets with 10-year probation sentences. Now we'll shift into exposing the wrongfully accused who are in prison. It's not a rare event for a person to get railroaded. It unfortunately happens all the time. So with our first guest, Sharon Allen will help educate listeners and the public to her situation involving her brother that was wronged by our "criminal justice" system here in Ellis County. She's working on a second part of her book, but readjusting a few things (the title, etc.) and naming names. It's title: A Judicial Terror in Ellis County.

With all of the cases in this county, it might turn into a volume of books. No doubt the Waxahachie Daily Light won't be reviewing that one.

And if I can swing it on short notice, I'll try to have a relative of the Robert Trevino family on the air as well. That case has made big news of late, and I'll get into more of it tomorrow.

http://www.blogtalkradio.com/eco
Listener Call-In Number: (646) 478-5811

Re: Red Oak Mayor Resigns

2007-06-20T15:42:00.000-06:00

My web team comes up with some interesting stuff. Not only is Red Oak unique in that (all jokes about their football team aside) its municipal court is a court of record, but the mayor can veto decisions made by the city council.

A mayor with veto power?

Mayor Bryce, you resigned too soon!

More details on The Red Oak Observer. And on Steve Miller's blog.

I'll try to get Mayor Bryce on The Ellis County Observer Radio show this Friday (6 p.m.) if he is so inclined.

What Now?

My blog's research department says this:

"[We] don't know if there will be a special election or an appointment, the code of ordinances doesn't specify, and it doesn't seem to include a city charter."

And with only two uniform election dates per year, we could have ourselves a mayoral election in November. Guess it would help to have a city attorney's opinion -- if Red Oak had one (slight joke there).

Red Oak Mayor Resigns

2007-06-20T15:24:00.001-06:00

Not good, not good, not good news:

Mayor Ron Bryce resigned today in Red Oak.

This is not good, not good at all.

Comes a day after the city council fired the longtime city manager and city attorney. This is huge.

I love that guy.

Special election? I believe so. Maybe Lydia Bryce will want to run.

More on this ATF Arrest of Midlothian Man

2007-06-20T14:44:00.000-06:00

More information on last week's arrest of Leslie Davis keeps coming in, this time from even more sources. Friends of Davis, who was picked up by the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, and Firearms last week on weapons charges at his Midlothian-area home, had a friend-person-roommate by the name of Branda Houlk living with him; she worked at the coffee shop at Southwestern Assemblies of God University and reportedly came to work numerous times strung out on loads of medicine. Former co-workers told this blog she had an "overnight case" full of prescription drugs. This could explain why a Sandra Sanford was taken into custody for possession and a weapon charge (she was booked in the Ellis County jail, where she remains on $80,000 bail); not sure where Sanford fits in to this story, perhaps a friend of Davis'.

The Ellis County Sheriff's Office reportedly came in to the coffee shop at SAGU one day because Davis reported stolen property that he believed Houlk took from him; deputies wisked Houlk into an unmarked car and drove her to the Davis "compound." (sorry, couldn't resist that word in an ATF-related story.) Co-workers say that Houlk was "out of there [Davis' house]" quickly, mainly because of the reported struggles between the two.

And to clarify some things said about Davis' anti-annexation stances, it should be noted that officials with the Rural Citizens Against Annexation say they know of no known connection between their group and Davis.

One RCAA member says with almost near-certainty that the ATF found (his words) "two fully-automatic weapons" and a missile launcher "that could take out an aircraft." We'll see if that's true...

Note: The Ellis County Observer & sister blog Midlothian Observer have been the only media sources where the ATF arrest information is found on this case. The Midlothian Mirror has been silent. The Waxahachie Daily Blight has been silent. The Ellis County Press has been silent. Dallas TV stations aren't even covering this. So stay tuned to this blog for continuing coverage of the ATF's arrest of Davis and his associates.

RO City Manager, Attorney Fired

2007-06-19T20:07:00.000-06:00

This has been rumored for years, but finally it happened. As soon as incumbent Ben Goodwyn was re-elected in this month's run-off, a special meeting was called to evaluate the employment of City Manager Ken Pfeifer and City Attorney Betsy Elam. I personally like Ken, and Elam tanned too much (she was cute for her age though). But nobody seems to bring up the issue that before 2000's Census, Red Oak - under those two - annexed and annexed - illegally. Home-rule cities have to have 5,000. The Census showed RO as being under 5,000.

Why bring that up now? Just for reflection, that's all. Nothing more. Just reflection. With this much experience, Pfeifer could start his own town.

Stay tuned to the Red Oak Window blog for continuous updates and rumor-mongering :)

Friday: The Ellis County Observer Show

2007-06-19T19:21:00.000-06:00

I'm working on getting author and sister of a wrongfully accused victim Sharon Allen on Friday's show. It starts at 6 p.m. For those who don't know, Sharon Allen has been on a mission to not only free her brother, but to expose County Attorney Joe Grubbs and his office of pedophile-protectors and Judge Gene Knize. Let's see if any of the mongrelized filth that posts deragotory comments towards Allen and the backers of the Robert Trevino DNA (exoneration) movement call in to the show...

These are just two of the notable cases in which our prosecutors and district judge have been exposed for railroading people; there are more, though, just not as "active" as these two. However, send your horror stories to: elliscountyobserver@hotmail.com - victims can remain anonymous. If people are criminals, then we need to punish them. If the criminals in our "justice and judicial" system are in the wrong, people will know about it.

The Chitale case is still lighting up most of the comments on this blog, but Sharon Allen is busy writing an update to her book, titled, "A Judicial Terror in Ellis County." Hopefully she will join us.

And just for fun, submit your ideas on what to put on the following pages (I bought the domain names for educational purposes):

GeneKnize.com
JudgeKnize.com
40thDistrictCourt.com
EllisCountyDA.com
JoeGrubbs.com
KnizeLovesBabyRapers.com

Sorry, I have no anti-Todd Phillippi sites for those who have asked (nobody really asked, I'm just throwing this one out there because I know Todd reads the blog).

Midlothian Mirror Has a Facebook Group

2007-06-19T11:23:00.000-06:00

You know it's getting bad when critics of the Midlothian Mirror (and more importantly, the Waxahachie Daily Light organization as a whole) create a Facebook group about it.

It's a legitimate Facebook group. With lots of people. Editor Floyd Ingram - or whoever they have over there now - better shape up.

Ennis Reporter Appointed to City Board

2007-06-19T11:01:00.000-06:00

I'm having a hard time understanding this: so the Ennis City Commission appoints an Ennis Daily News reporter to one of their city boards or commissions. And we see why the newspapers don't watch the government as they should. However, if the platform of said appointee were say, "I'll still question the decisions with little or no regard to my employment or city role," then I could buy this arrangement. However, it's obvious that with publishers and editors of our county newspapers sitting on boards of very influential organizations -- chambers, YMCAs, etc. -- the purpose then becomes that of padding agendas and not watching out for what's best for the citizenry.

I have no problem whatsoever in a reporter being appointed to anything, but when that directly conflicts with the newspaper's mission of reporting what goes on, then it becomes a problem. Makes me wonder how the Waxahachie Daily Light got so much free access to the county attorney and district judge. Or better yet, the inside scoop from the Department of Public Safety. Either someone's being appointed, bought off, or people are sleeping with each other...maybe a combination of all three. I'm still a fan of the EDN, though, over the Ennis Journal. The Journal doesn't report anything worth anything. Kinda like all of the WDL-owned papers.

Commission appoints new board members
Matt Cook, Reporter
06-19-2007

Ennis Daily News staff writer Randy Bigham and Ennis City Commissioner Byron Walker were appointed to City boards at last night’s City Commission meeting.

Both men were, according to Mayor Russell Thomas, chosen for appointment because of their experience and interest in the various fields.
The City Commission carried motions appointing Bigham to the Ennis Arts Commission and Walker to the Ennis Airport Board. In a letter to the other commissioners Mayor Russell Thomas stated, "Both of these gentlemen will provide insight to their respective boards."
The Commission also carried a motion suspending the July 30, 2007, effective date of a proposal from Atmos Energy Corp. to increase gas rates. Howerton explained the adjustments would affect the monthly rates for residential sales by increments of 59 cents per measurement, commercial sales by $1.48 and industrial sales by $28.90.
He told the Commission the City doesn't believe the adjustments are appropriate and requested the City Commission approve the request that a study be made of the GRIP rate by the Railroad Commission of Texas.
In other new business, the Commission accepted three parcels of land during executive session related to the Ensign Road right-of-way project.
Two items requested by Sam Ventura were approved during the meeting. The Commission approved an annexation of 14.6441 acres located on the east side of the 800 block of the Hwy. 287 Bypass.
The commissioners also amended the zoning of a tract of land 15.1841 acres in size also located in the 800 block of the Hwy. 287 Bypass. The zoning was amended from "T" Transition District and "A" Agricultural District to "C-PD" Commercial-Planned Development.
A new drought contingency ordinance was approved repealing a previous ordinance. The new ordinance is a response to new state regulations addressing the need to conserve the available water supply and protect the integrity of water supply facilities, with particular regard for domestic water use, sanitation and fire protection, and to protect and preserve public health, welfare and safety and minimize the adverse impacts of water supply shortage or other water supply emergency conditions.
Absent from the meeting were Mayor Pro-tem Bob Taylor and Commissioners Byron Walker and Lola Searcy.
The City Commission meets every other Monday at 7 p.m. in the City Commission Chambers at City Hall. The meeting is open to the public.

Red Oak City Manager, Atty to be Fired?

2007-06-19T10:44:00.000-06:00

Longtime City Manager Ken Pfeifer & City Attorney Betsy Elam could be axed tonight - in open session, no less. Steve Miller over on the Red Oak Window blog will have the latest. Glue to that URL for the latest.

Zero-Tolerance, Zero-Common Sense
I'm helping co-host Libertarian Politics Live! (have for the past two weeks) tonight at 9:30 p.m., and we've got state Rep. Rob Eissler, R-The Woodlands, and an anti-zero tolerance activist for the first half-hour. Attorney Rodney Pat Ramsey knows a thing or two about zero-tolerance stupidity. All of these school districts around our county are so fixated on policy, policy, policy that they throw out common sense in making decisions (that was always the goal of the socialists, though).

Tune in live at 9:30. And don't forget: Friday @ 6 p.m. is the second broadcast of The Ellis County Observer Show.

Kay Bailey Hutchison for Governor - 2010
The governor's race in 2010 will be high-profile, especially if ex-Secretary of State Roger Williams and Land Commissioner Jerry Patterson make a run.

MidlothianMirror.com
They finally bought a URL. Check it out: midlothianmirror.com.

Gun Dealers Ratting People Out?

2007-06-18T15:39:00.000-06:00

This infuriates me to no end:

[Anonymous] I know people who sale guns for a living and they have turned a person in to local authorities and ATF. This person openly admitted they were trying to buy a gun for their spouse who couldn't have one and they had done it before. I think they just got put on a ATF list when they can get to them they will. It's bigger than a .22 if that many law enforcers are involved.

Personally, it should be nobody's damn business if someone wants to purchase a gun. Then again, I wonder how hard it'd be to get a list of all of the Ellis County residents with concealed carry permits. Hmm. That's still available, too.

I better do it before Sept. 1 though; Gov. Perry will sign into law the legislation that would keep that information sealed.

Can't believe gun dealers are ratting people out. What a bunch of snitches.

287(g)

2007-06-18T15:21:00.000-06:00

Should the Ellis County Sheriff's Office or individual Ellis County cities' police departments help the problem of illegal immigration? The issue is getting serious up in Dallas County, specifically the Republican Party primary for Sheriff.

The title of the program is called 287(g). Irving's city council shot themselves in the foot; only two council members voted for it. First Farmers Branch. Then Irving (sorta). What is going on up there most certainly should be coming down - south to Ellis County that is.

The Detention Model under 287(g) keeps illegals from being released back into the community after being arrested. The problem is, however, we also want to catch them before they commit a crime and that is the Task Force Model. The Criminal Alien Program is just one program that ICE operates under 287(g). We want them all...Research it at ice.gov and Mechlenberg, N.C. police department website

Thank You, Joe Barton!
Finally, finally, finally a vote by Congressman Joe Barton, R-Ennis, that I can be proud of: he actually voted against a spending bill! And get this: for the Department of Homeland Security at that (probably depended on the amendments the Democrats tacked on to it). But still, this is cause to celebrate. Congressman Barton has been in office since 1984. I was three. If someone gave me $4,000, I'd throw my hat in the primary just to teach him a lesson. But today, I'll give him credit. He voted like a conservative.

Homeland Security Appropriations, FY2008 - Vote Passed (268-150, 14 Not Voting)
The House passed this $37.4 billion bill that would fund the Department of Homeland Security for the 2008 fiscal year.
Rep. Joe Barton voted NO......send e-mail or see bio

(wonder if all of those hits from the House of Representatives in Washington were a result of this blog - and only this media outlet - publishing his Congress.org voting record?)

Re: HILCO, Privately-run, Publicly-funded Orgs

2007-06-18T14:37:00.000-06:00

The Waxahachie Daily Light fluffs their actual paper, but the real news is on their Voice of the Reader section. The big debate brewing is about prying open the HILCO co-op's financials. Unfortunately, state laws - I don't think - allow for the nosy public to go snooping around an organization's books - despite the fact many of these organizations (think: Sims Library) are publicly funded, privately run. Open meetings laws apply to charter schools don't they? Or do they?

Sounds like good fodder for legislation that our state Rep. Jim Pitts, R-Waxahachie, should author next session. The key to breaking hold of any corrupt government is to check their books.

Re: Ron Paul Signs
I'll soon have a shipment of very nice Ron Paul for President yard signs if anyone would like one or two.

Photos You Might Have Never Seen
This one is old, but it's of Phil Smart's hearing before Judge Gene Calvert ("The Good Gene"). Then there's the Justice Center photos both before and during the demolition.

Got a news photo people haven't seen? Send it to elliscountyobserver@hotmail.com

The Official Song & Beer of The Ellis County Observer
The beer part shouldn't surprise anyone, but yes, The Ellis County Observer has an official song.

Re: ATF Arrests Midlothian Man

2007-06-18T09:51:00.000-06:00

As the information keeps trickling in on this bizarre case involving the ATF arrest of a Midlothian man and his sister, The Ellis County Observer will publish it - exclusively. I went down to visit with Sandra Sanford [2903-07 MEDIUM], who is in the Ellis County jail for two charges: possession of a controlled substance and possession of prohibited weapons. She has been appointed former county attorney Mary Lou Shipley; original estimates for legal fees -- Judge Gene Knize set her bail at $80,000 -- were in the $12,000 range. Ouch.

Federal gun charges are being brought forth against Leslie Davis, who is now, according to relatives, in the Seagoville prison awaiting a hearing. Supposedly, Davis had a former houseguest rat him out for having a .22-caliber rifle in his closet. Now the Republic of Texas faction of folks around the state are getting involved, wanting to "file paperwork" to get the case moved to a "Title 3" court - whatever that means. It's supposedly a common law court based in Pennsylvania. They've got a website and everything. Not sure how much that will do. These are federal gun charges.

Oh, oh, then there's the whole thing about 30 squad cars from both the ATF and Ellis County Sheriff's Office surrounding the home, which is located on the outskirts of Midlothian (the MPD reportedly had no clue this was going down). Then there's the information about an inert missile launcher being found.

Keeps getting interesting. Stay glued to this blog for continued updates.

Waxahachie Eyes Annexation to the North

2007-06-17T15:48:00.000-06:00

Midlothian's Rural Citizens Against Annexation should launch a Waxahachie chapter. The City of Waxahachie plans to annex about 13 acres north of Highway 287, which would put city limit signs right on Ovilla's front doorstep. The Cimarron Meadows subdivision on Ovilla Road (FM 664) near Blackchamp Road has a big white sign that highlights "No City Taxes." Folks, you better get prepared - and get a lawyer pool going.

Campaign Management Opportunities
The mainstream media might be doing a slight blackout of the Ron Paul for President campaign, but people are still finding out about him. Saturday in Plano, I and a few other Ellis County residents made the trek to a Ron Paul MeetUp strategy session -- and the diverse group of views and people was exciting. Among kinda appointing me "campaign manager" for the Ron Paul-DFW campaign, I was offered a role as a campaign manager for a Republican in the District 4 congressional race (Ralph Hall's seat). There's some other interesting campaigns I might be getting involved with as well...but the excitement is building for Ron Paul's campaign.

Re: ATF Arrests Midlothian Man
Leslie Davis, a right-winger arrested last week on federal weapons charges, is being held in Seagoville without bail, according to family members. His sister, arrested by Ellis County Sheriff deputies, has her bond set at $80,000. According to the relatives, 30 ATF/ECSO vehicles surrounded Davis' Midlothian-area home. He's big in the anti-annexation movement, according to sources. The ATF arrested him on federal gun charges (possession of a .22-caliber rifle). Supposedly, Davis was arrested several years ago for having military explosives. This story keeps getting interesting, and yet not one single newspaper or TV station is on this. Hmm.

Duff Hale's Column This Week
Midlothian's Duff Hale - a columnist for The Ellis County Press - has a great editorial on the Second Amendment. It's not very often I highlight his editorials, but this one is a must-read.

2nd ECO Show - June 22 @ 6pm

2007-06-16T23:48:00.001-06:00

The next broadcast of The Ellis County Observer Show will be Friday, June 22 @ 6 p.m. The first show can be found by clicking here. Guests TBA.

The ECO Show -- Podcast

2007-06-15T18:06:00.000-06:00

Readers who weren't able to catch The Ellis County Observer radio show today can download the podcast (link above) or by clicking here...

Still not sure when the next ECO Show will be, but rest assured, I'll let people know about it...

http://boss.streamos.com/download/blogtalkradio/show_30539.wma

Glenn Heights MySpace Sex Offender Arrested

2007-06-15T12:30:00.000-06:00

A registered Glenn Heights sex offender has been arrested after MySpace.com released information to the Texas Attorney General.

The Ellis County Observer Show
"The ECO Show"
Friday @ 6 p.m.
http://www.blogtalkradio.com/eco
Topic: Ellis County child sex offenders (accused) released; current political news
Listener Call-In Number: (646) 478-5811

Re: ATF Arrests Midlothian Man
More details continue to trickle in about Midlothian resident Leslie Davis, who was arrested two days ago by the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco and Firearms; Midlothian police and Ellis County Sheriff's Office officials, when contacted, supposedly had no clue as to what happened. Really? So a federal law enforcement agency can just swoop right in to a county and arrest whoever the hell they want? Quick, someone e-mail me the ATF's jurisdiction:

elliscountyobserver@hotmail.com

Davis, active in many right-wing causes and most recently, the anti-annexation activities in Midlothian, was supposedly ratted out by a chic who had been living with him; she also worked at the campus-public coffee shop at Southwestern Assemblies of God University. That's at least what the family of Davis is alleging; he had served time several years ago for something relating to "explosives" and "weapons." Must be a member of a "right-wing militia." I know that's what readers are thinking...well supposedly Davis' sister got put into custody by the ECSO - funny how they didn't know about any of this, but allegedly they arrest the sister? - but this bizarre story is still unfolding, and for now, The Ellis County Observer is the only source reporting it.

Re: Southern Dallas County Items
The Dallas Morning News had a great mini-feature on new DeSoto Mayor Bobby Waddle today. You can read that item over on the Best Southwest Observer. He lives not too far from my parents' home in Ovilla, and attends Ovilla United Methodist Church. I met him a long time ago back when I wrote for Focus Daily News.

Hmm, could there be a link between all of the developers who put money in Lancaster Mayor Joe Tillotson's campaign accounts and his support for a massive development known as The Preserve? That wasn't addressed in this Dallas Morning News article, but Red Oak, you better be watching this: it's directly on your front porch.

"Lesbo Lupe" Valdez, Dallas County's first openly gay Hispanic sheriff, will for-sure have an opponent in the November general election, but first, there are at least two Republicans duking it out. Grassroots conservatives in Dallas County tell me that they're backing Charlie Richmond of Mesquite. He faces former Irving City Councilman Lowell Cannaday, the establishment-backed candidate.

Pro-lifers are still excited that Duncanville ISD voters elected staunch Right to Life advocate Cynthia Werner in May. Seriously. It's amazing.

2007-06-14T18:40:00.000-06:00

The Ellis County Observer
Government Education Series
Spotlight: Texas Board of Education

Of the thousand or so independent school districts in Texas, there's one gigantic one that meets in Austin: the State Board of Education, literally the "state's school board." Ellis County's state education board trustee is Patricia "Pat" Hardy from Weatherford. Ellis County citizens might remember the last SBOE primary (GOP), when Arlington's Warren Norred, a top staffer (and good friend of mine) to Ed Harrison's congressional campaigns, pushed the cause of homeschooling in the District 11 race.

Online:
http://www.tea.state.tx.us/sboe/board/bios/hardy.html

Trustee:
Patricia Hardy
900 North Elm
Weatherford, TX 76086
817-598-2968
Fax: 817-598-2833
sboesupport@tea.state.tx.us

Sex Crimes in Ellis County, Texas

2007-06-14T16:36:00.000-06:00

I went to the Ellis County District Clerk's office myself today and started digging (had a little break from work) around the computer for aggravated sexual assault of a child cases. What I found has reiterated and reinforced my purpose on this blog against three people: Judge Gene Knize, County Attorney Joe Grubbs, and asst. prosecutor Patrick M. Wilson.

Why those three? Because - like my records search found today shows - those three are responsible for allowing dozens and dozens of accused child sex offenders on the street. Look up the following numbers yourself. You'll see (names aren't put on here due to time limitations.) Whether or not the men and women were wrongly accused, that is up to a lawyer and a separate set of judges and the public to decide. But the facts are this: just for the simple charge of aggravated sexual assault of a child, more than 50 cases since my record search from 1992 to now have been dismissed and/or plea bargained out for our prosecutors' convictions-at-all-cost mentality. Most of those convictions end up placing accused pedophiles back on the streets. Remember, this is just for aggravated sexual assault of a child, no other charge.

Brief Sampling of Agg. Sexual Assault Cases (Cause #s)

1992: Cause Number 19167CR
1994: 20906CR
1996: 22280CR
1997: 20970CR
1994: 21538CR
1998: 19223CR
2003: 27102CR (Gilbert Garcia*** case)
1993: 20471CR
1998: 19223CR
1997: 20599CR
1997: 23116CR

There are pages and pages and pages of these cases. The prosecuting attorney is listed as Grubbs, but usually it's one of his assistants, and Wilson has done many of them...regardless, our county attorney - for whatever reason - will suffer the responsibility for so many cases allowing perverts to run free.

The quality of life in Ellis County, Texas' communities and towns should not take place until we interject these facts; and the facts are that -- it's all public record -- our county attorney's office has allowed accused child sex offenders to remain on the streets. If any of the accused are innocent, though, we will by all means rush to explain their side of the story.

If not, our county attorneys - using our tax dollars - have a duty and responsibility to tell Ellis County why they're allowing all these accused perverts to run free.

***Gilbert Garcia was accused of raping a girl from when she was 7 until turning 15. This was the case that put The Ellis County Observer on the map: during the heated bloodbath we call the 2006 GOP district judge primary (Gene Knize vs. Dan Altman), our prosecutors (Patrick M. Wilson), in an attempt at keeping the conviction-in-exchange-for-a-probation-plea-bargain out of the press and campaign, argued for a continuance until after the March primary. The strategy worked, because the Waxahachie Daily Light - in bed with Knize and the prosecutors - didn't report a single thing. It was only after days and days and days of blogging that this issue finally got a peep in Duff Hale's Ellis County Press column. Soon, after five continuances, Garcia was sent to prison for eight years. Someone asked me recently if I had compassion for the people I blog about. I said no, I don't. Because public officials don't deserve compassion. They deserve to be scrutinized and questioned every minute of every day. Regardless if it's past 5 p.m., they're still accountable. My second part of the answer was, "but what about compassion for victims? Who has compassion for the victims in this? Everyone wants to attack me for going after popular politicians, but nobody wants to be an advocate for the people who are getting screwed over. And we call this justice?"

More Tenth Court of Appeals Opinions

2007-06-14T10:35:00.000-06:00

Aside from the latest opinions from court cases down in Waco (Tenth Court of Appeals), Ennis folks are rumorizing that their new hospital - approved in a bond election a couple of years ago - was built haphazardly, and might even be rife with construction defects.

Speaking of defects, check out the Waxahachie Observer for photos of our Justice Center that you might not have seen...

Ellis County's Link to Dallas Mayoral Campaign...
First there was Heritage Alliance sending out calls to voters in Dallas urging folks to vote for Tom Leppert (like the Ellis County facilities PAC, he's being backed by Staubach too), who faces an openly gay city councilman in Saturday's run-off election for mayor. Now comes word that the Texas Eagle Forum is sending out e-mails and calls to urge its supporters to vote for Leppert. The Eagle Forum's Cathie Adams has been to Ellis County numerous times to generate activists in the county's only taxpayer group. HA plans to open up an Ellis County chapter, though we're unsure of the timeline on that one...

Ellis County's Link to Dallas Council Run-Off...
Vonciel Jones Hill is waging a run-off battle with black Republican Betty Culbreath for District 5's council slot. Hill is also the senior pastor at Italy's Mount Zion African Methodist Episcopal church. Interesting.

Lunch with Farmers Branch Councilman Tim O'Hare
The lightning rod councilman from Farmers Branch who authored the anti-illegal aliens-from-renting-apartments ordinance and I will be meeting for lunch next week. TAGG and the Ellis County Republican Party really need to book this guy. Watch activists come out of the woodwork for this guy...

Comment Policy Reversal

2007-06-13T18:06:00.001-06:00

Readers can now post comments anonymously again. I missed the arguing.

Send news tips to elliscountyobserver@hotmail.com or contact me directly at 972-891-2135. For those who might not be able to get the personal stuff here or on our City Blogs, I publish a personal blog as well.

Ellis County Fees to The Staubach Group
According to ultra-helpful County Auditor Mike Navarro, here's the low-down on what Ellis County has paid to The Staubach Group thus far (the contract was for $150,000):

Payments to Date:
$134,963
$75,000 of which were for "consulting fees"
$49,963 which were for "architectural services"
And, according to Navarro, "reimbursing them for a bill they paid to Lincoln Builders, Inc. on our behalf for $10,000."

Contributions to the pro-Ellis County Facilities PAC

The Ellis County Observer Show - Live @ 6 p.m. Friday
Reminder: The ECO Show will go live Friday at 6 p.m. Click here to listen live or download the podcast. It will be an hour worth of news and information about Ellis County politics. Have a suggestion for a guest or topic? Send it: elliscountyobserver@hotmail.com. Listeners can call in to the show at any time using this number: (646) 478-5811

ATF Arrests Right-Winger

2007-06-13T11:11:00.000-06:00

The Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco and Firearms (ATF) reportedly arrested Leslie Davis in Midlothian yesterday on a weapons violation. Davis, who supposedly knows quite a bit of dirt on some Ellis County pols, was taken into custody at about 7:15 a.m. for having in his possession a "22-caliber rifle." He's considered extreme right-wing, but that's not likely to be a cause of why the ATF would go and arrest someone...

Ellis County Justice Center Photos

2007-06-12T20:02:00.000-06:00

Who needs an Ellis County Museum? The people can view history from their laptop - especially when one researches the Ellis County Justice Center.

Still searching for the Red Oak City Hall fire photos that I took...

Wanted: New County Attorney

2007-06-12T16:38:00.000-06:00

Was reading the Corsicana Daily Sun's brief about their county commissioners meeting with attorneys from the Texas Association of Counties.

Commissioners met in a closed executive session to discuss pending litigation. An attorney with the Texas Association of Counties, representing Navarro County, addressed commissioners during the closed session, also attended by Navarro County Sheriff Les Cotten. No action was taken by the court after returning to open session.

If TAC provides the lawyers, can Ellis County commissioners not, in theory, get rid of Joe Grubbs as our county attorney?

The issue is the same, despite Ellis County pulling out of TAC this fiscal year: we need to separate Joe Grubbs' office from the county and district "parts." If Grubbs is our "district attorney," we need a county attorney. If he is our county attorney, we need a district attorney - but not the same guy, not the same office.

If I'm not mistaken, several commissioners/candidates over the years campaigned on separating the two. The bill is due for that to happen. Unfortunately, I don't see anyone taking the initiative to do it.

Speaking of Corsicana...
Navarro College has admitted to breaking open meetings laws. ATTENTION: NAVARRO COLLEGE, A PUBLIC ENTITY WITH TAXING POWERS, HAS ADMITTED TO THE CORSICANA DAILY SUN THAT THEY BROKE SEVERAL OPEN MEETINGS LAWS.

What in the %#$%& do I have to do to get someone to take issue with that? Where are the people who moan and groan about me on this blog at when a public entity admits to breaking the law? It's bad enough that Navarro College's financial statements are being scrutinized a heckuva lot more, but does Navarro County have a weak county/district attorney too? Could someone please locate some freaking leadership? I have yet to see any from anyone. These were about discussions relating to Ellis County taxpayers adopting a "maintenance tax" to pay for Navarro's grandiose new campuses --- and Navarro admitted to breaking open meetings laws. This is a big deal, folks. WHERE IS THE OUTCRY?

I usually don't get that ticked, but damn, there are some people with law degrees and law licenses that are just too stuck on someone's tit to have any worthy use...and that infuriates me. The worst part about it, the Waxahachie Daily Light is so far in bed with Navarro that they would not print an inch of this -- they'll nail HILCO all day long, but no way in Hell, Wisconsin will they publish and expose the financial scam that Navarro College is running...see, that's why people malign this blog so much, because I'm not in bed with anybody -- and you can take that as you want (it's in a political sense).

Real issues?

To the Editor: Bob Belcher’s story “Cook calls for financial reports” really puts everything we have been reading over the last few weeks into perspective. Also, Joe Hazewski’s column “Simple Truths” was right on. Mr. Wasson has yet to respond to the real issues. The lack of transparency in financial statements is more important to taxpayers of Navarro County than the lack of restrictions on establishing education centers. The fact the education centers were established without a mandate while incurring millions of dollars in new debt and only taxing Navarro County taxpayers is more important than who might have discussed what.

Although Mr. Wasson’s comment Navarro County tax dollars cannot be used to pay down the debt on the revenue bonds may be true, it is misleading. As Hazewski points out, if student enrollment declines the amount of money from tuition and fees declines. If a larger share of the money from tuition and fees goes toward paying down the debt, there is less money for all the other expenses. Then, the only source of new money is higher taxes for Navarro County, since no one else is paying any tax to support the college.

The college should stop incurring any further debt until they reformat their financial statements to reflect the clarity and transparency called for by Rep. Cook. Also, the college should work with our legislators and officials from all the taxing jurisdictions in Ellis County to collect a county-wide maintenance tax. State law sets the maximum limit at 5 cents per $100 valuation, but there is no need to be greedy and go after the whole nickel. With some effort a lesser, mutually agreed upon amount could be found. It is time to show openness, to share the burden, and to stop giving away the milk.

Finally, thanks to the Corsicana Daily Sun for informing the community.
Grover Pearson

And if anyone is curious, Joe Hazewski is the go-to guy down in Navarro County that is exposing the players who are breaking the law trying to pass a property tax on us. Look him up. And thank him.

2007-06-12T15:30:00.000-06:00

Re: Italy's Park Board
The only news source in Italy that's actually reporting news tells us that the Italy City Council plans to discuss reinstating the Parks & Recreation Board. Hmm. Something tells us Italy politics is about to get very interesting...

2007-06-12T14:05:00.000-06:00

Bardwell Blog
Watchdogs in Bardwell, near Ennis, have launched a news blog. Be sure to check out the latest controversies in that little town. Question: when a councilman -- not seated at a meeting (the only time he/she has power) -- goes around enforcing ordinances, why isn't that councilman arrested? The bloggers in Bardwell should have the latest on that one...

Red Oak's New Blog
Steve Miller, formerly The Red Oak Observer editor, has launched a blog. Check that one out. See, if The Ellis County Press were smart, they'd snatch up and hire these bloggers. Then again, blogs are where you get most of the real news anyway -- not to bash my former employer, but it's the truth. Steve's analysis from the council meetings will be good fodder for future races, just wait and see.

Blog Count: 4
Since The Ellis County Observer launched in October 2005, it has spurred many blogs, including the Waxahachie Daily Blog, the Ellis County Republican Party blog, and the Ellis County Republican Women's Group blog.

The Ellis County Observer Radio Show
Don't forget: Friday @ 6 p.m. The ECO Show will go live on the air (that's 6 Central Standard Time) for a full hour of political news, controversies, and possible guests. Listener Call-In number is located here or on the left-hand sidebar link.

Lawsuit in Knize's Court Postponed
I appeared in the 40th District Court this morning for jury selection on a trial against The Ellis County Press and yours truly -- but it was postponed until a later date. Interesting potential juror though in that case (the other party wants $18 million -- yes, I laughed at that too).

2007-06-11T18:11:00.000-06:00

Ron Paul Meet-Up
It'll be in Plano, but rest assured there will be an Ellis County contingent at this thing.

Ron Paul for President 2008 Meet-Up
Sat., June 16 @ noon
Parr Public Library
6200 Windhaven Parkway
Plano, TX 75093

2007-06-11T17:37:00.001-06:00

Americans For Prosperity - Dallas
Saturday, June 23 at the Westin Park Central Hotel in Dallas, my favorite economic freedom organization outside of Cato will be holding a Texas taxpayer summit. Starts at 10 a.m., ends at 1. Take a look at all of the big-name speakers at this thing. Peggy Venable heads up AFP-Texas; she was recently a guest-speaker at a Taxpayers Alliance for Good Government meeting (TAGG is Ellis County's taxpayer-watchdog group).

Related: Americans For Prosperity

Midlothian's New Fire Station - A Barn?
Back in high school, I'd make fun of Red Oak High School (examples 1 & 2) for being a school of "hicks." Something tells me Midlothian hired some "ROHS consultants" for their new fire station...

A few months ago the mayor made a comment that they were catching a lot of grief for going over board on the fire station #2 and the cost,and with the trouble from the annex groups down south this is their answer . I think their jumping the frying pan into the fire. On one side of town you have a well built brick fire station then on the south side of the tracks(287 bypass) you will soon have one built like a barnsiding no brick at all. I personally don't care what the buildings look like, the important thing is whats inside that counts. Well trained personal and the right equipment inside,but Government buildings are to match the neighborhood and since the City Council just started allowing concrete siding (hard plank) this is not the case. And I think the barn shape is meant to be insulting to the annexation neighborhood. All fire stations should be similar in style and materials. This is something the and solely out of neighborhoods should be up in arms over (at first the city was going to have a public meeting over this then decided not to, wonder why?).

David Lister
Rural Citizens Against Annexation

Cost-cutting move to design it that way? Hmm. Mayor Boyce Whatley has the floor if he so desires: elliscountyobserver@hotmail.com -- and by the way, ROHS only beat MHS in football once in the four years I attended MHS. Former Red Oak Mayor Todd Little is periodically reminded of this...

2007-06-11T17:14:00.000-06:00

The Ellis County Observer Policy Comment Changes
Effective immediately, if you don't have a registered username with Blogger.com, then you will not be able to post comments. Hundreds and hundreds of comments are posted weekly on all of our blogs, but 97% of them are anonymous.

When you go to register a username, you don't have to actually "blog" to post comments. This is simply a way for the editors - and me - to moderate comment-posters better. This might cut the number of active-posters, but with a 2-minute registration, readers can post comments on any of our blogs. The identity of the comment-posters will still not be known unless a specific username is registered with a real name.

Sorry we had to do this. I encourage all participants to register at www.blogger.com and continue posting, but now you'll need a username to do it.

-- Joey

2007-06-11T16:33:00.000-06:00

Re: Secretary of State Roger Williams
Ellis County Elections Department officials should be happy: Secretary of State Roger Williams has resigned. He's prepping for a gubernatorial run in 2010, just watch.

Recent House Votes

Ethics Committee Investigations - Vote Passed (387-10, 15 Present, 20 Not Voting)
The House adopted this resolution directing the Ethics committee to begin an investigation within 30 days of a lawmaker's indictment.
Rep. Joe Barton voted YES......send e-mail or see bio

Afghanistan Freedom and Security Support Act - Vote Passed (406-10, 16 Not Voting)
This $6.4 billion Afghanistan aid bill would cut off funds to local Afghani governments with ties to criminals, drug dealers or terrorists.
Rep. Joe Barton voted YES......send e-mail or see bio

Stem Cell Research Enhancement Act - Vote Passed (247-176, 10 Not Voting)
The House voted to expand federal funding of embryonic stem cell research.
Rep. Joe Barton voted YES......send e-mail or see bio

Source: Congress.org

2007-06-11T11:24:00.000-06:00

Re: Heritage Alliance
I've been keeping up with the Dallas political scene for about six years now, so much so that I can name practically every council member - and the district they serve. But in today's Dallas Morning News, I couldn't help but smile and go, "I love Clare Jones" after reading what Heritage Alliance - which, soon I hope, will have an Ellis County chapter - has been doing in the mayoral run-off.

2007-06-10T21:40:00.000-06:00

Taxpayers Alliance for Good Government
Thanks to The Ellis County Observer publisher for allowing us to contribute on a periodic basis. We won't let Ellis County taxpayers down.

Who 'won' last night's Ellis County Press/TAGG forum performance?
	Steve McKinney - Sheriff
	Rodney Pat Ramsey - DA
	Mike Jones - Constable
	Kyle Neal - Constable
	Heath Sims - Commissioner
	I wasn't there

The Ellis County Press/TAGG Poll

What is your reaction to candidates skipping the ECP/TAGG forum?
	I'm appalled. They lost my vote.
	I'm a voter. If they can't listen to us, who will they listen to?
	Perception is reality. This will speak volumes.
	No opinion/undecided
	There will be other forums

The Ellis County Press/TAGG Poll

County Attorney: Rodney Ramsey vs. Joe Grubbs
	Rodney Pat Ramsey
	Joe Grubbs - Incumbent

Taxpayers Alliance for Good Government Poll

GOP Sheriff Primary: Who Would Get Your Vote?
	James Ledbetter
	Johnny Brown
	Steve McKinney

Taxpayers Alliance for Good Government Poll

What Office Should Paula Baucum Run For?
	Tax Assessor-Collector
	Treasurer
	Sheriff
	Commissioner - Precinct 3
	None of the Above

Free polls from Pollhost.com