2-D Some progress has been


made concerning the Texas redistricting maps and sched- uling of the Texas primary. On Friday, January 27,


2012, in a Court hearing, the Western District three-judge panel in San Antonio issued a unanimous decision regard- ing the redistricting maps and subsequent primaries. The key points of that deci- sion were as follows: 1. They will issue an order suspending the deadlines of the December 16th order. 2. They advised the political parties that they can inform party officials and candidates that the February 1st filing deadline will be vacated and that the drawing for ballot positions next week should be postponed. 3. They indicated that if


the parties could agree on maps and submit those maps by February 6th that an April 3rd primary was still obtain- able. However, the court and the attorneys have been very specific that any agreement is not a settlement. 4. That if there was no


COMMUNITY Redistricting Update


agreement and maps were not drawn by February 6th, that an April 3rd primary would not take place. 5. In the event there is no settlement agreement and maps are not completed by February 6th, the court makes no present indication of when the new primary would be rescheduled. 6. In the event the parties cannot agree on new maps, the court requires them to submit advisories to the court as to which districts are still in dispute and the issues related thereto. The court will then schedule future hearings, as needed, and issue new orders, if nec- essary. The Court had heard from attorneys from various plain- tiffs groups, as well as law- yers from the Attorney Gen- eral’s office representing the State and the legislatively drawn maps, and also from the attorney for the Repub- lican Party of Texas (RPT), Donna Davidson, as well as hearing other witnesses con- cerns.


The Republican Party of


Texas’ position was that it was still possible to accom- plish a single unified primary on April 3rd if maps could be obtained by early February. If not, a date as late as April 17th would not jeopardize the state convention set for June 7th - 9th. Also during the court hear-


ing, the Attorney General’s attorneys reported to the court that they had been involved in significant nego- tiations with some of the plaintiff’s groups who filed the lawsuits against the state. The lawyers for the Attorney General indicated that it was a possibility that agreement on maps could be reached between the state and the plaintiff’s groups and that they would work over the weekend and report back as soon as this week. The Republican Party of


Texas was not been invited to participate in these dis- cussions.


_____________________


January 31, 2012 - The “Times”


A FUN WAY TO SPEND a cold day:


Group takes a tour of the Teague Post Office (photo left). Students taking the tour include Ava Moore, emery Black, Hank Moore, Grant ward, Tobie Franklin, Parker Black.


ON A FIELD TRIP to the Donut Palace (photo below) in Teague, liGHT Homeschool Group (left to right), Hank Moore, Tobie Franklin, Grant ward, emery Black, Ava Moore, and Parker Black, was able to see how donuts are made and were able to make their own, start to finish. (Photos submitted)


Homeschool Field Trips


liGHT Homeschool


Public Notices Public Notices


NOTICE TO BIDDERS FOR THE INTENTION OF THE CITY OF FAIRFIELD TO LET CONTRACT FOR REPLACEMENT OF THE EXISTING STEEL ROOF OF WATSON GROUND STORAGE TANK WITH AN ALUMINUM GEOMETRIC DOME.


FlAT STAnley ViSiTS THe FREESTONE COUNTY TIMES OFFICE last week, seen here interviewing salesperson Tonjia Scarborought. He interviewed each member of the staff for a classs project put together by Samuel Marsters. The Flat Stanley Project was started in 1995 by Dale Hubert, a third grade schoolteacher in london, Ontario, Canada. it is meant to facilitate letter-writing by schoolchildren to each other as they document where Flat Stanley has gone with them. Ten year later, In 2005, more than 6,500 classes from 48 countries took part in the Flat Stanley Project. However, Flat Stanley has been around a lot longer, making his first appearance in a book written by Jeff Brown in 1964, with original illustrations by Tomi Ungerer. (Photo by Mary McDonald)


Meeting Summary Teague ISD School Board


The Board of Trustees of


the Teague Independent School District met in Regu- lar Session in the TISD Cen- tral Administration Office on January 26, 2012 begin- ning at 5:17 p.m. Board Members present


were: Jeff Gonzales (Presi- dent), Debra Lawrence (Vice President), Lovie Whyte (Secretary), Brian Bowers (Member), Randy Bruce (Member), Stan Wal- drip (Member) and Sushma Walker (Member). Members absent - None. Administra- tive staff members present were: Ned Burns, Bryan Clemmons, Mary Clary- Smith, Carol Ann Dawley, Vickey Little, Donnie Osborn, Darrell Evans and Drake Paris. The meeting was called


to order and a quorum was established. The minutes for the meet-


ing held on December 15, 2011 were approved as pre- sented. Current bills were approved as presented in the total amount of $1,186,109.72. Budget amendments (no


net increase to the total budget) were approved as presented. The request from the


Teague Chamber of Com- merce to waive the build-


ing use fee for theirbanquet to be held on April 5, 2012 (except for TISD custodial fees) was approved. At 5:35 p.m., President Gonzales declared that the public hearing regarding the 2010-11 AEIS Report and the TEA School Report Card was now open. Mr. Bryan Clem- mons, Director of Curricu- lum/Instruction, presented and discussed both docu- ments. The public hearing was declared closed at 5:55 p.m. Internet web links to both documents will be placed on www.teagueisd. org. A call for election on May


12, 2012 for Trustee Place 5, Trustee Place 6 and Trustee Place 7 (full three year terms each) was approved. A motion that the only


Teague ISD authorized representatives to Tex- Pool Investments and Lone Star Investment Pool are Mary Clary-Smith; Christol George and Ned Burns was approved. As recommended by the Administration, Tacker Construction was awarded the bid to provideand install bus covers at the TISD Transportation yard for $99,000. TASB Policy Update 92 was


approved as presented. The Trustees authorized


the Administration to sell the two portable buildings located on the Teague Inter- mediate School campus for a fair market price (to be determined). The following reports/ information items were presented to the Trustees: a)Tax Collector’s Report; b) Monthly Financial Report; c) Quarterly Financial Report; d) Construction Report; e) Enrollment Report and f) TISD Policy GKD (Local) Nonschool Use of School Facilities. Substitute Teacher Appli-


cants were approved as presented. A motion was approved


to accept the resigna- tion from the following: Mary Clary-Smith (Business Manager) effective Septem- ber 1, 2012; and Jeananne Madden (Personnel) effec- tive January 27, 2012. A motion to employ Leslie Cockerham


(Business


Office); and Stony Coffman as Teacher/Coach for the 2012-13 school year as rec- ommended by the Adminis- tration. At 7:35 p.m., a motion


for adjournment was approved.


___________________


SEALED PROPOSALS addressed to Mr. Jeff Looney, City Manager will be received until February 16th at 2:00 p.m, for furnishing all labor, equipment, materials, sup- plies, and supervision necessary for the Love St. Ground Storage Tank ReRoof, in accordance with the plans and specifications on file at KSA Engineers, Inc. At the time stated, bids will be opened and publicly read at City Hall of Fairfield, 222 South Mount Street, Fairfield, Texas 75840. The proj- ect consists of the following major items:


REPLACEMENT OF ThE EXISTING STEEL ROOF OF ThE WATSON GROuND STORAGE TANK WITh AN ALuMINuM GEODESIC DOME AND REhABILITATION OF APPuR- TANENCES.


PLANS AND SPECIFICATIONS may be examined without charge at the City of Fairfield, City Hall. Contract documents including bid proposal forms, plan sheets, and specifications for the Project may be viewed and downloaded free of charge (with the option to pur- chase hard copies) at www.civcas- tusa.com on or after January 31, 2011. Scanned plans and specifica- tions (PDF format) are available for pick-up only on CD for a non- refundable price of $25.00 from KSA Engineers, Inc. 107 West Lufkin Avenue; Suite 200, Lufkin, Texas 75904, Telephone: 936-637-6061. Printed copies of the Contract Documents may also be viewed at the Engineer’s office.


Please submit questions for this project 72 hours prior to bid open- ing through www.civcastusa.com in the Q&A portal or to Alan Draper, P.E. at adraper@ksaeng.com.


Addenda issued will be posted on the www.civcastusa.com . You will be notified of addenda automati- cally through email if you down- loaded your plans and specifica- tions via civcastusa.com.


A CERTIFIED OR CASHIER’S CHECK, or an acceptable bid bond in an amount not less than five percent (5%) of the total bid shall accom- pany each bid as a guaranty that, if awarded the contract, the bidder will promptly enter into contract with the City of Fairfield and fur- nish bonds on the forms provided.


THE SUCCESSFUL BIDDER OR BID- DERS will be required to furnish a


Performance Bond and a Payment Bond, each in the amount of the contract, written by a respon- sible surety company authorized to do business in the State of Texas, and satisfactory to the Owner as required by Article 5160, V.A.T.C.S.


BIDDERS ARE expected to inspect the site of the work and to inform themselves of all local conditions. Time of substantial completion shall be 120 calendar days includ- ing Saturdays, Sundays, and legal holidays.


BIDDERS WILL be allowed to modify or withdraw bids prior to the scheduled closing time for receipt of bids. No bid received after the scheduled closing time for receipt of bids will be accepted or opened. No bid may be with- drawn after the scheduled closing time for receipt of bids for at least 90 calendar days.


IN CASE of ambiguity or lack of clearness stating the price in the bids, the City of Fairfield reserves the right to consider the most advantageous construction thereof, or to reject the bid. The City of Fairfield reserves the right to reject any and all bids and to waive any informality in the bids.


EQUAL OPPORTUNITY IN EMPLOY- MENT: All qualified applicants will receive consideration for employ- ment without regard to race, color, religion, sex, or national origin. Bidders on this work will be required to comply with the President’s Executive Order No. 11246, as amended by Executive Order 11375, and as supplemented in Department of Labor regula- tions 40 CFR Part 60. The require- ments for bidders and contractors under this order are explained in the specifications.


ATTENTIONis called to the fact that not less than the federally deter- mined prevailing (Davis-Bacon and Related Acts) wage rate, as issued by the Texad Department of Rural Affairs and contained in the con- tract documents, must be paid on this project.


ALL CONTRACTORS / SUBCON- TRACTORS who are debarred, sus- pended or otherwise exluded from or ineligible for participation on federal assistance programs may not undertake any activity in part or in full under this project.


City of Fairfield _________________________


Public Notices Texas Department of Transportation – Public Meeting


Notice The Texas Department of Trans- portation (TxDOT) will hold a public meeting on Thursday, March 8, 2012 from 4:00 p.m. to 7:00 p.m. at the Larry J. Ringer Public Library at 1818 Harvey Mitchell Parkway in College Sta- tion to receive public comments on the transportation needs for rural Texas. Over the past nine months, TxDOT has been develop- ing the Texas Rural Transportation Plan 2035. This plan will identify the transportation needs for all modes of travel in rural Texas over the next 25 years. In addition, it will include a prioritized list of highway projects that will allow TxDOT to focus its limited plan- ning funds on the most needed improvements. The meeting will be open-house format with no formal, scheduled presentation. Attendees are welcome to come and go at their convenience.


Interested parties who are unable to attend the meeting may submit comments to Mr. Bob Appleton, P.E., Bryan Director of Transportation Planning and Development at: TxDOT, 1300 N. Texas Ave., Bryan, Texas 77803 or by email (Bob.Appleton@txdot. gov).


http://www.txdot.gov/public_ involvement/rural_2035/pub_ involve.htm _____________________________


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