THE LIBERTY GAZETTE Liberty County’s Only Home-Owned Newspaper Vol. 54, No. 49 Tuesday, December 16, 2014 Foster kids need your help for a Merry Christmas Agenda CASA DRAWING LIBERTY - CASA of Liberty/Chambers Counties will hold a drawing for a hunter green 2014 Suzuki 400 KingQuad 4x4 with trailer. Tickets are $20 each and no more than 700 will be sold. The drawing will be held on or before December 20. You need not be present to win. Tickets are available at the CASA office located at 2015 Scout Street, inside Trinity Lutheran Church. For more information, call 936-334-9000. NO ROOM AT THE INN DAYTON - The community is invited to attend the street ministry hosted by United Sisters in Action at Mount Olive Missionary Baptist Church, Sat., Dec. 20, from 10 a.m. until noon, at 1406 Beauty Street. The theme will be “No Room at the Inn” (No hay lugar en la posada). The reenactment will follow the journey of Joseph and Mary as they look for lodging and await the birth of the Baby Jesus. This will be a fun, learning experience with storytelling, prizes, and lunch will be served. For more information, call 936-2582285 or 713-305-4394. R.J. Revels Jr. serves as pastor. CHRISTMAS AT NORTH MAIN BAPTIST CHURCH LIBERTY - North Main Baptist Church, 4709 N. Main, invites the public to join in the celebration of the Christmas season beginning Sun., Dec. 21, with Christmas Brunch at 9:30 a.m. followed by the worship service at 10:40 a.m. On Wed., Dec. 24, the Christmas Eve candlelight service will take place at 6 p.m. Everyone is welcome. For more information, contact the church at 936-336-7252. FBC DEVERS CHRISTMAS PROGRAM DEVERS - First Baptist Church of Devers invites the public to celebrate the birth of Jesus, Sun., Dec. 21, at 6 p.m. with the performance of the Christmas program “Christmas Angel.” A time of fellowship and refreshments will follow the program. First Baptist Church of Devers is located at 106 Avenue A. For more information, contact Pastor Rick Edwards at (936) 549-7653 or (936) 776-6950. SOCIAL SERVICES OUTREACH PROGRAM DAYTON - The Houston Food Bank Outreach Coordinator will be at the Dayton Community Center Wed., Dec. 17, from 9 a.m. to 3 p.m. to assist individuals with SNAP, Medicaid and TANF enrollment. There is also a Woman’s Health Program, where women ages 18 to 44 years old can apply for assistance with early pap smears and birth control. For more information contact the Dayton Chamber of Commerce at 936-257-2393. Capt. Felix Skarpa (left) and Lt. Col. Don Fisher check the map prior to a flight in the Civil Air Patrol aircraft. Dayton Mayor Skarpa has had a lifelong love of aviation dating back to the 1960s. He currently owns a Cessna 182. Skarpa rejoins Civil Air Patrol, plans to assist in flying missions DAYTON - Dayton Mayor Felix Skarpa, member of the Civil Air Patrol (CAP) in years past, has recently resumed his involvement with this nonprofit organization. Skarpa was a member from 1995 until 2005 and recalls flying 20 missions one summer. Forced to take a hiatus due to some back problems, he has reupped his membership as of Sept. 2014. To maintain his membership in this elite group, he must recertify with CAP every year and with the FAA every two years. Captain Felix Skarpa’s CAP squadron commander Lt. Col. Don Fisher is working closely with him and they hope to rekindle local interest in the organization. CAP is the Air Force auxiliary and a national community service organization made up of professionally trained civilian volunteers. CAP uses locally-available talent as an asset pool for federal, state and local government entities. Their missions may include (but certainly are not limited to) search and rescue, disaster response, drug interdiction, law enforcement support, homeland security, ground and aerial digital imaging and reconnaissance, and much more. There are CAP chapters in all 50 states plus Puerto Rico and the District of Columbia. Skarpa and Fisher are “senior” members who range in age from 18 years and up. Senior members play a leading role in aerospace education and serve as mentors to nearly 27,000 young people nationwide in CAP’s cadet program for folks 17 years and younger. If you are not a pilot, there are still plenty of volunteer opportunities to serve in CAP; in fact most members do not fly. Adult members work with youth, assist with search and rescue or complete administrative duties required to keep the unit running. All CAP members are civilians and are under no obligation to the military. Lt. Col. Don Fisher, a Dayton native originally from the Eastgate area, is the Baytown Senior Squadron Commander, Texas Wing. If you would like further information about CAP, contact him at 281-383-1443 or 281-615-5057 or e-mail [email protected]. LIBERTY - Last Tuesday evening Liberty City Council members approved the proposed architectural contract for construction of the bell tower to be located behind the Humphreys Cultural Center which will house the Liberty’s bell currently esconced in the lobby of First Liberty National Bank. The tower will be funded entirely by private donations. Architects Fernando Brave and Val Glitsch presented renderings of the proposed structure to be constructed of steel and perforated steel. Councilman Louie Potetz expressed the desire to see American-made steel used for the structure. Estimated time for completion is six months which, of course, depends on the contractor who has not been selected at this time. Fundraising is ongoing for this project with special mention going to the Liberty Rotary Club, which is selling replicas of the bell. First Liberty National Bank CEO Paul Henry reported that the bell tower account has $77,656 currently on hand with an additional pledge of $24,000 expected. The Liberty County Historical Commission has pledged $5,000 and efforts are being made to increase that amount to $10,000. Projected cost of the bell tower is some $458,000. that the town is noticeably tidier following this effort. Liberty council approves architectural contract for bell tower City Manager Gary Broz reported that 23 résumés have been submitted for the position of Liberty police chief. Council will begin deliberations in January; Gary Martin is currently serving as interim chief. Broz also reported that Clean Up Day filled eight 40-yard dumpsters with refuse and Councilman Libby Simonson noted In further action council members accepted a bid of $11,000 for the tax resale property described as Liberty Inner Blocks, Block 87, Lot Pt 14 Tr 1, which is next to La Oficina on MLK Drive. Council then considered bids for maintenance of HVAC for all city facilities, including the city hall, police department, library and cultural center, airport and city maintenance facility. Lowest bid of $19,152 per year was made by Residential and Commercial Air Conditioning Service of Houston (RAS). This represents a $3,600 decrease from the previous contract held by ABS and includes all maintenance and labor costs. Any parts See COUNCIL, Page A-3 LIBERTY - The Liberty County Children’s Protective Services Board is once again seeking sponsors for their Foster Children’s Christmas Program. Donations in any amount will be gratefully accepted and used to bring Christmas cheer to the kids. Your donation will ensure that the children will delight in the magic of Christmas, unwrap gifts, and most importantly, know that someone cares for them today and throughout the year. Your donations provide for the children’s needs that are not met through the modest government funds allotted to the CPS Board each year. The donations are also used to purchase birthday presents for the foster kids and also take care of miscellaneous needs. Every tax deductible donation to the CPS Board will benefit the foster children of Liberty County. Organizers say many families, clubs, church groups and organizations make donations ranging from $5 on up to much larger amounts. Any donation is welcome. Please mail donations to John Hebert, CPS Board Treasurer at P.O. Box 857, Liberty, TX 77575. Mark checks for the “Foster Children’s Christmas Program” or “CPS Board.” Every tax-deductible donation to the CPS Board will benefit the foster children of Liberty County. A letter of thanks and receipt for tax records will be promptly returned. LPD’s Silver Santa program to assist seniors in need LIBERTY - For the fifth straight year, the Liberty Police Department will be assisting indigent and homebound senior citizens in the city of Liberty with food and supplies for Christmas through its Silver Santa program. The program is completely reliant on charitable donations in order to provide this service. Donations of money, blankets, throws, sock and non-perishable food are being accepted at Liberty Police Department at 1914 Lakeland Drive. For more information, contact Frances Wood at 936-336-5666. –––––o0o––––– Shown above is the architects’ rendering of the bell tower to be constructed behind the Humphreys Cultural Center. Estimated cost of the structure is in the neighborhood of $458,000. L-D CHAMBER MONTHLY BUSINESS LUNCHEON LIBERTY - Liberty-Dayton Chamber members and their guests are invited to attend this month’s Monthly Business Luncheon at the Liberty Center. The luncheon, set for Wed., Dec. 17, and will feature a special Christmas music program by the Liberty High School choir, under the direction of Christie Bean. The meal will be catered by Linda’s Catering, Linda Durio, owner. Serving gets underway at 11:45 a.m. The cost is $10 per person. Reservations are required and you can make yours by calling the chamber office at 936-3365736, e-mailing [email protected], or registering online using the Events calendar at libertydaytonchamber.com.
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