The Llano Ledger


Newsletter Text V36

This Website Is Full. Starting With The December 25, 2000 Newsletter, All Future Editions Will Be Posted In The Llano Ledger 2, Found By Clicking http://maxpages.com/llanoledger2.

*************April 17, 2000**************

Before continuing commentary and analysis of the Garrett Deposition, the following letter was snail-mailed to LISD Superintendent Jack Patton:
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Jack Patton, Superintendent
LISD
200 East Lampasas
Llano, Tx. 78643

Tim Chorney, Publisher
The Llano Ledger
http://maxpages.com/llanoledger
Rt 2 Box 464A
Buchanan Dam, Tx. 78609

RE: Open Records Request

April 15, 2000

Dear Mr. Patton:

This is a request for information under the Texas Open Records Act, Ch. 552, Gov't Code, Public Information. Answers to the following questions are respectfully requested:

1. What are the current student population figures for (a) the Elementary, (b) Junior High, and (c) Senior High Schools?

2. To date, what has been the amount paid to school architect Chuck Fields for professional services?

3. Other than the "goodness of his heart", is there, or has there been, any quid pro quo for Mr. Field's sponsorship of two LISD recognized schools billboards?

4. Would you kindly confirm final cost figures for the following projects: (a)tennis court lighting, $26,600; (b)tennis court windscreen, $3,985.00; (c)resurfacing and patching of tennis courts, $11,295?

5. (a)Has lighting been installed at the baseball field? (b)If so, what is the final cost figure?

6. (a)Was the bankrupt contractor, responsible for the $32,000 duplicate payment for the pressbox, bonded? (b)If not, why not? (c)If so, why were the taxpayers twice looted? (d)What is the name and address of the contractor?

7. How did the direct transfer of funds to two property poor school districts result in a $150,000 savings to LISD taxpayers?

8. (a)Was former Business Manager Cynthia Bauer responsible for the bond funds during her entire tenure? (b)Did she relinquish responsibility at any time prior to her retirement?

9. Has current Business Manager Carol Voit had uninterrupted responsibility for the bond funds during her entire tenure as Business Manager?

10. (a)During our meeting Mr. Patton, you claimed to have ordered an independent audit of all school finances. You could not, however, provide the name of the auditor with certainty. Would you kindly do so, sir, and provide the business address as well? (b)If there has indeed been an audit, would you kindly provide access to the results, please?

11. According to High School Principal Dennis Hill, the taxpayers were indeed looted to pay an $11,630.85 past debt due to Taylor Publishing Company for yearbooks. Mr. Hill asserted the ultimate responsibility for this fiasco, however, belongs to a retired female employee, but did not disclose her identity. (a)Mr. Patton, who is she? (b)Exactly what were the circumstances, and how was she responsible?

12. (a)What is the final cost figure for the additional 50 acres of land purchased to supplement the 48-acre industrial park used for the new high school? (b)Who is the former owner of this supplemental land?

13. At our meeting, you claimed to have waived the $1500 transfer or "tuition" fee to transfer students, thus negating the $3800 aggregate charge paid to the state and federal governments. Are Llano County taxpayers then looted to pay for the cost of educating the transfer student, or does the student's former district pay?

14. With LISD receiving 5% of its revenue from state and federal sources, precisely how did you arrive at your recent assertion "recapture" is indeed well over $.30/$100?

15. With a current annual budget of $15,225,384 and a combined school population of 1655, the annual cost per student is $15,225,384/1655 or $9,197.63. Yet, you claim the figure is $6,847. How precisely did you arrive at your figure, sir?

16. My "tour" of LISD facilities coincidentally occurred on a day school officials had received a terroristic threat from a Junior High student. Neither you, nor your three principals saw fit to inform this writer. (a)Why wasn't this information immediately disclosed upon my arrival? (b)Why wasn't the "tour" cancelled and then rescheduled for a more appropriate time? (c)How was silence preferable to honesty and candor? (d)Were you deliberately trying to withhold information from the public to suit your own best interests? (e)In effect, were you buying time to "massage" the truth and spin it to your advantage? (f)Don't you think the public is smart enough to know the criminal behavior of a child is a reflection on the offender, the offender's parents, and seldom if ever the School District? (g)When will school officials finally learn honest, open, and timely communication is vital to securing and maintaining public trust?

Sincerely,
Tim Chorney, Publisher
The Llano Ledger
cc: File
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As strongly asserted in last week's edition, the Sheriff's egregious lack of knowledge and indifference to daily jail operations is glaring. Consider questioning by Ms. Jones on pp. 42-43 of the Garrett Deposition:

Q. Okay. Who drafted the internal policies and procedures?
A. Chief Jailer Lawson.
Q. Did you have any input in drafting these procedures and policies?
A. I don't recall.
Q. Do you know if the jailers are tested on their understanding of what their duties are or their understanding of what the policies are?
A. I don't know.
Q. Have you ever tested the jailers to determine whether or not they have an adequate understanding of what their duties are?
A. No.
Q. Can you please tell me, Sheriff, what is the criteria for selecting a trustee in your jail?
A. First of all, my chief jailer, that is his job, to pick the trustee. That's his responsibility.
Q. All right. And he -- how did he get that authority to select trustees? Did you give him that authority?
Page 43
A. I'm sure that it's -- was probably passed on from the former sheriff.
Q. Well, you're the sheriff now, correct?
A. I understand that.
Q. Okay.
A. Yes.
Q. So how did he get that authority to select trustees? Did you give it to him?
A. Yes.
Q. So do you know what the criteria is that he uses for selecting trusties?
A. I know part of it.

Only part of it, Mr. Garrett? It's your job to know ALL of it, isn't it sir? After all by statute you, as Sheriff, are ultimately responsible for the jail. Sec. 351.041, Local Gov't Code. Consider the following line of questioning from pp. 44-45 of the Garrett Deposition:

Q. What personal involvement do you have in determining who will be selected for a trustee position in your jail?
A. I don't understand what you're --
Q. What -- as the sheriff of Llano County, what role do you play, what input do you give in selecting trustees in your jail?
Page 45
A. I'm trying to think what I need to say.
Q. No problem.
A. And --
Q. Take all the time you need.
A. I have changed policy. I have more on hands with the jail than I did before. The trustees that are appointed trustees now, the chief jailer comes down to my office and we go over who needs to be trustee and who don't.
Q. So you do have input now?
A. Yes.
Q. And when did your policy change or your practice change relating to your involvement in selecting trustees?
A. When we had this incident in the jail.
Q. So can you give me a month? Are you talking about last month or last fall or what?
A. Probably in October of '97.
Q. All right, sir.
A. I'm just -- approximately latter part of '97.

Not surprisingly, one of the legal beagles quickly asked for a break to re-group. Pitiful? You decide. Is this a Sheriff who understands jail operations? Again, the readers can make up their own minds. Think trustys were well-supervised? Consider the following questioning from pp. 50-52:

Q. So they're not there directly supervising at all times are they?
A. No. They're not standing right over them.
Q. All right. Are you aware that Johnny Pesina was allowed to go outside the jail unsupervised --
A. Yes.
Page 51
Q. -- leave the building unsupervised?
A. Yes.
Q. And what duties did he carry out while unsupervised outside of the jail?
A. Taking trash out to the dumpsters --
Q. Any other --
A. -- and washing cars.
Q. The cars of the sheriff's department?
A. Yes.
Q. Are you aware that Johnny Pesina placed a note to Jada Simpson, a bank employee, on her car while he was outside either taking out trash or washing cars?
A. Ma'am, could you repeat the name?
Q. Sure, Jada Simpson, bank employee. The question was, are you aware or were you aware that Johnny Pesina placed a note, a personal, handwritten note, on Jada Simpson's car?
A. No, ma'am.
Q. You've never been told that?
A. No, ma'am.
Q. Were you aware that Johnny Pesina was making phone calls to Jada Simpson, a bank employee, while incarcerated in your jail?
A. No, ma'am.
Q. No one ever told you about that?
Page 52
A. No, ma'am.

Stunning, isn't it? As taxpayers, we're PAYING the salaries of these stellar, committed officials. Consider the following line of questioning from pp. 56-60:

Q. Do you know whether or not there is a written code of ethics, either an internal written code of ethics for your jailers or some external code of ethics, that your jailers are required to abide by?
A. I'm not sure what you're asking for.
Q. Do you have an internal policy or a code of
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ethics for your jailers to follow?
A. What they can do and what they can't do? Is that what you're talking about or --
Q. The ethics code. Do you know what ethics -- you -- do you have a code of ethics -- a written code of ethics for your jailers? Do you know if there's a written code of ethics that exists for your jailers?
A. I'm not sure. We have our policy manual and our procedures. And I'm not sure exactly what you want, but that's what we -- we have our -- we have a county policy manual and then we have a department policy manual that addresses some of the issues.
Q. Okay. Do you know whether or not your policy manual for your department requires an officer -- excuse me -- a jailer of your office to report any illegal behavior that takes place within your jail either on the part of a jailer or an inmate?
A. What do you mean?
Q. In other words, do you have a written policy that requires a jailer to report illegal or unethical behavior to you, the sheriff of that department?
A. Yes.
Q. Is that part of your policies?
A. That's part of the policy manual.
Q. Has anyone ever reported to you any improper
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behavior on the part of any of your jailers at any time since you've been sheriff?
A. Yes.
Q. And when was that, please?
A. I don't -- I don't have the time. It's been several months ago.
Q. And what was the behavior that was reported to you?
A. You -- I don't understand what you're saying.
Q. All right. You indicated that improper behavior was reported to you; is that correct?
A. Yes.
Q. What was the improper behavior that was reported to you? What was the nature of it?
A. You want me to explain what happened or --
Q. Yes, sir.
A. Okay. It was reported to me that one of the jailers had dressed up a couple of the trustees and they was having trouble with this boy that was strung out on drugs. And he kept hollering and wanting to see his DEA agent and stuff like that, and they went up there and talked to him.
Q. And "they" were? When you say "they went up and talked to him", are these the ones that were posing as a --
Page 59
A. Yes.
Q. -- DEA agent?
A. Yes, the trustees.
Q. Were they -- these were inmate trustees?
A. Yes.
Q. And who authorized the inmate trustees to dress up posing like DEA agents?
A. One of the jailers.
Q. Which jailer?
A. Holland Ligon.
Q. And what did you do about that?
A. I brought Mr. Ligon down at the office and talked to him. And I had just had rumor of this, and then I had a report from one of the officers that heard this was going on. And I took immediate action and reprimanded him for it.
Q. What do you mean by "reprimand"?
A. I told him I didn't want no more of that going on.
Q. So it was a verbal reprimand?
A. Yes, verbal.
Q. Did you consider that incident to be serious?
A. Well, no need things like that going on in the jail. I considered it serious to me. I try to run a good jail.

Do you, Sheriff? Do you, really? Do you even know what the term "ethics" means? Is this a Sheriff who knows what he's doing? You decide. ... Much more to come.

Be sure to take a look at Reader Letters Vol 3. Recently, a letter from Carole Freeman was posted. Many of you may have already received a copy in the mail. Although no one asked for the plug, Friends of the Lakeshore Library is indeed a hard-working selfless group of volunteers raising funds privately to finance the building of a new library building.

Although the current facility looks cosmetically good inside and out as a result of hours of volunteer labor, Ms. Freeman is quite correct. There are serious structural problems, and the building is dilapidated. The selfless effort of this outstanding group will save the taxpayers an enormous amount of money. Private fund-raising and volunteer effort are certainly preferable, more cost-effective, efficient, and far better managed than leaving it up to our bumbling, corrupt, and abusive officials.

In the past, Commissioners have made egregiously poor and short-sighted decisions regarding this and other library facilities. As usual, such nonsense occurs because of corruption, greed, ineptness, and political squabbling among elected officials. Volunteer groups, however, such as the Friends ensure such nonsense is reduced. After all, citizen oversight and involvement is critical to good government. Hat's off to all who have worked so hard to selflessly better our community.

Volunteer efforts have indeed served the Llano County Library System extremely well. We need to see a lot more citizen involvement in other areas of County government as well, -- if for no other reason than to lower the amount of corruption and abuse in the system. Intense, concerted community mentorship of non-violent petty offenders is desperately needed to keep these individuals on the straight and narrow, -- from re-offending. After all, most criminals return to live in our neighborhoods. ... Mentorship is worthy of consideration if for no other reason than enlightened self-interest.

With rare exception, the cowardly failure of the community to financially support this publication is stunningly pitiful and selfish. Worse yet, the sickening defense and excuse of cowardice by some is appalling. If readers care so little for this community and each other, why should I? The visitor count stands in excess of 13,100. Another excellent week. Yet, there has been egregiously little financial support to date. Nearly all of you have been quite willing to COWARDLY allow this writer to take the risk, do all the work, put up with the harassment, and swing in the wind. Mighty neighborly, don't you think?

Despite an explosively expanding readership, businesses are too afraid to advertise. As repeatedly asserted, the banner and pop-up ads belong to Maxpages and pay for the website. _The Ledger receives no income from either. If you want desperately needed change in our community, financially support this publication. Regardless, _The Llano Ledger panders to NO ONE, and will remain unbeholden. If you don't give a damn about the community, each other, or this publication, why the hell are you reading this? Find something better to do. Want feel-good fluff and propaganda? Read another publication.

Tim Chorney, Publisher



Tim Chorney, Publisher
P.O. Box 997
Buchanan Dam Tx. 78609

llanoledger@mailcity.com

Page Updated Tue Oct 9, 2001 1:20pm EDT