New Diana ISD Interviewing Superintendents

Nine first round candidates culled from a field of 39

DIANA, TX, Feb. 16, 2009 -- The New Diana ISD Board has begun interviewing applicants for the position of superintendent.

Robert Hunt, the retired New Diana principal charged with managing the applicant search, says nine candidates have been culled from 39 resumes he received, and the first round of formal interviews started today.

He says the board will likely pare that down again, and bring the narrowed field back for a second round of interviews.

The board, he says, would like to complete the process and introduce the lone finalist at the regular meeting board scheduled for March 9th.

Read More...

Summary only...

Ex Diana Teacher To Be Arraigned For Sexual Assault

John Tiger's arraignment scheduled for Jan. 29th

GILMER, TX., Jan. 23, 2009 -- John Cotcha Tiger, the former New Diana coach charged with a number of crimes stemming from his alleged misconduct with a former student, will be arraigned Thursday, Jan. 29th, in the 115th District Court.

Judge Lauren parish will preside.

Tiger is charged, in four sealed Grand Jury indictments, with four felonies:
* Multiple counts of Improper Relationship Between a Student and Teacher
* Multiple counts of Indecency with a Child
* Multiple counts of Sexual Assault of a Child
* Online Solicitation of a Minor

According to Upshur District Attorney Billy Byrd, each crime Tiger is charged with is a second degree felony, and each count carries a maximum penalty of 20 years imprisonment.

Byrd, who will be prosecuting the case, declined to comment on particulars of the case.

In addition to arraigning the Tiger case, Judge Parish has a full calendar on the 29th. Other arraignments scheduled for that day follow:

Willie Joe Gilmore, charged with Assault on a Public Servant.

Deverous Shjuan Davis, charged with Aggravated Assault with a Deadly Weapon.

Brady Dwayne Alsup, charged with two counts of Possessing a Prohibited Weapon.

Natasha Diana Hagler, charged with Forgery of a Financial Instrument.

Jimmy Wayne Black II, charged with Possession of a Controlled Substance.

Randall Oneal Mathis, charged with Possession of a Controlled Substance and Evading Arrest with a Vehicle.

Gwendolyn Denise Pearce, charged with Driving While Intoxicated.

David Fitzgerald Gunter, charged with Tampering With or Fabricating Physical Evidence and Possession of a Controlled Substance.

Shaun Christopher Abron, charged with Aggravated Assault with a Deadly Weapon and Obstruction of Justice or Retaliation.

Matthew Jason Comer, charged with Unauthorized Use of a Vehicle.

David Floyd McWhorter III, charged with Burglary.

April Michelle Gordon, charged with Theft of a Firearm.

Christopher Michael, charged with Theft of Property.

James D. Winrich, charged with Burglary.

Michael Wyatt Ebnetter, charged with Unauthorized Use of a Vehicle.

Robert Glen Jackson, charged with Assault of a Public Servant.

George Washington Sharper, charged with Possession of Marijuana.

Bobby Joe Crain, charged with Delivery of Marijuana in a Drug Free Zone.

Lonnie Ren Carr II, charged with Driving While Intoxicated.

Thomas Wayne Gibson, charged with Possession of a Controlled Substance.

Eric Lavon Quinn, charged with Possession of a Controlled Substance.

Donavan Lynn Brousard, charged with Aggravated Assault with a Deadly Weapon.

Melba Lilly, charged with Arson.

Colton Shane Guthrie, charged with Burglary of a Habitation.

Earl Henry Parker, charged with Possession of a Controlled Substance.

Dusty Diann Fussell, charged with Possession of a Controlled Substance.

Otis Ray Johnson Jr., charged with Burglary of a Habitation.

Jason William Lee, charged with Possession of a Controlled Substance.

Lakeevin Akeem Jones, charged with Aggravated Robery.

Brandon Burkett, charged with Deadly Conduct / Discharge of a Firearm.

John George McGuire III, charged with Aggravated Sexual Assault of a Child.

Willie Lee Skinner, charged with Unlawful Possession of a Firearm by a Felon and Possession of a Controlled Substance.

Carrie Lynn Wilcox, charged with Possession of a Controlled Substance.

Randy Shane Ogletree, charged with Possession of a Controlled Substance.

Brandon Lynn Coulter, charged with Possession of a Controlled Substance.

Chad Edward Wade, charged with Possession of a Controlled Substance.

Demarcrist Lopez Shepherd, charged with Delivery of a Controlled Substance.

Roy Edward Thompson, Jr., charged with Delivery of a Controlled Substance.

Kyle Zachary Jones, charged with Evading Arrest or Detention with a Vehicle.

Amanda Ruth Hunt, charged with Evading Arrest or Detention with a Vehicle.

James Jones Dupree, charged with Burglary of a Habitation.

Ralph Bradley Sustaire, charged with Burglary of a Habitation.

Ronald Wayne Smith II, charged with Forgery of a Financial Instrument.

Amber Gage, charged with Credit Card or Debit Card Abuse.

Monty Shane Gage, charged with Credit Card or Debit Card Abuse.

Amanda Gore, charged with Delivery of a Controlled Substance.

Kathy Lynn Jester, charged with Theft of Property.

Waldolf Manchester, charged with Indecency with a Child.

Devin Ray Matthews, charged with Burglary of a Habitation.

Todd Henry Pearson, charged with Driving While Intoxicated with a Child.

Marsha Anne Price, charged with Burglary of a Habitation.

Russell C. Turner, charged with Delivery of a Controlled Substance.

Chad Dale Walls, charged with Indecency with a Child.

Read More...

Summary only...

Ore City, New Diana School Busses Will Get Emisions Retrofits

ISD's will receive grants to install equipment that will reduce emissions from school bus diesel engines.

Students riding New Diana or Ore City buses will soon get a bit of fresh(er) air. Both ISD's have asked for, and will receive money to retrofit school buses from the Texas Clean School Bus Program.

The program, offered by the Texas Commission of Environmental Quality, is aimed at improving student and bus driver health by reducing the amount of pollutants they breath in while boarding and riding the bus.

According to information provided by the TCEQ, diesel exhaust contains small particles, known as fine particulate matter (PM). PM can easily pass through the nose and throat, penetrate deep into the lungs and pose serious health risks, including aggravated asthma and allergies. Some studies suggest that long-term exposure can increase the risk of lung cancer.

The information also says that children may be more susceptible to this pollution because they breathe more air per pound of body weight when compared to adults. In addition, as children’s respiratory systems are still developing, they are more susceptible than adults to environmental pollution.

To counter the risks, the grant money is to be used for the installation of any combination of the following devices:

* Diesel Particulate Filters - devices that collect particulate matter in the exhaust stream. Used with the correct fuel, these filters can reduce organic compounds, and carbon monoxide in the exhaust gases by 60 to 90 percent.

* Closed Crankcase Filtration Systems - devices that allow a diesel engine’s crankcase to be closed and use an air filter to trap oil droplets, carbon, traces of wear debris, and particles that are smaller than 10 micrometers in diameter. Blow-by gas emissions can be as much as 25 percent of the total emissions from a diesel engine. These systems may be more effective at reducing children’s in-cabin exposures to pollutants than control systems fitted into the exhaust systems alone.

* Diesel Oxidation Catalysts - devices that use a chemical process to break down pollutants in the exhaust stream into less harmful components. Diesel oxidation catalysts can reduce emissions of particulates by 20 to 40 percent, hydrocarbons by 50 percent and carbon monoxide by 40 percent.

* Partial Flow-Through Filters - tailpipe filters that can lower diesel particulate matter emissions by 70 to 75 percent. These can also reduce total vehicle emissions by up to 80 percent when paired with a closed crankcase filtration system.

The program does place limits on funding, based on the devices the ISD elects to install, and how many buses will be retrofitted. Closed crankcase filtration systems may receive up to $800, diesel oxidation catalysts up to $1,500, partial flow-through filters up to $6,000, and diesel particulate filters up to $8,250. These caps are per device and include installation costs.

Read More...

Summary only...

Upshur And Local ISD's Not As Transparent As They Could Be

Texas Comptroller Susan Combs takes the measure of online financial reporting by counties, and finds Upshur to be one among many counties not posting all of it's records on the web.

Texas counties are not legally required to post financial records online. Under the "Open Records" law, county financial information is available to the public, in paper form, upon request. Some counties go a step further though, and post the information online, making the information far easier for the public to access.

That open approach is known as transparency, and it makes it easy for citizens to examine documents, question decisions, root out inefficiencies and hold officials accountable for the way tax dollars are spent.

Texas Transparency Check-up is a website launched by the Comptroller earlier this year to gauge just how open and user friendly each county in Texas is.

The site looks online for a county's budget, financial report and check register.

According to the site, 109 counties currently post no records online, and only 3, (Collin, Grayson and Tarrant) post all three record sets. Upshur posts it's budgets and financial reports, joining the majority of counties that post some records, but not check registries.

Another website, Texas Budget Source, tracks the financial postings of the state's Independent School Districts. Like counties, online posting is not a legal requirement for school districts.

While fairly comprehensive, the site is in error in several regards:

• It reports in error that Harmony does not post it's check registries.
• It reports in error that Union Grove does not post check registries. The ISD posts budgets, financial reports and check registries in it's "Board Book" Agenda Packets.
  

A search of that site for Upshur County ISD's reveals that our local school districts can, for the most part, be judged fairly transparent.

Union Grove ISD leads the pack, posting all three record sets. Ore City and Harmony follow by posting their budget and monthly check registers.

Union Hill post only it's budget. New Diana has a budget site, but the posting is outdated.

No financial records could be found on either Gilmer or Big Sandy's website.

Upshur ISD Web Presence And Financial Postings

ISD Name	Website	Budgets	Financial Reports	Check Registeries
Ore City	Website	Budget		Registry
Harmony	Website	Budget		Registry
New Diana	Website	Budget
Union Grove	Website	Budget	Report	Registry
Union Hill	Website	Budget
Big Sandy	Website
Gilmer	Website

Read More...

Summary only...

New Diana High School Receives 2008 College Readiness Award

The Longview News-Journal has the story.

Read More...

Summary only...