Serving Burleson County for 130 years

Burleson County Tribune
Serving Burleson County for 130 years
[email protected]
Volume 130 No. 26
$1.25
306 West Hwy 21, Caldwell, Texas 77836-1122 • 979-567-3286
www.bctribune.com
Thursday, February 5, 2015
Men charged in robbery
Caldwell police investigate, make three arrests
LEIGHTON SCHUBERT talks to Rev. Jim
Heckman at a Tuesday, Feb. 3, gathering at
the Caldwell Civic Center.
Feb. 17 runoff set
for House seat
Tuesday, Feb. 17, is
the date when voters
will decide whether
Caldwell attorney
Leighton Schubert or
former Austin County
judge Carolyn Bilski
will represent them in
the Texas State House.
On Tuesday, Jan. 27,
Texas Gov. Greg Abbott set the date for
the runoff election between Schubert and
Bilski for the House
District 13 seat.
Voters from Lavaca,
Austin, Burleson, Colorado, Fayette, Grimes
and Washington counties will finally replace
State Sen. Lois Kolkhorst in the House.
Kolkhorst was recently elected to Senate
District 18 to replace
Glenn Hegar who was
elected as the Texas
State Comptroller.
Paula Bartnesky,
Burleson County elecSee RUNOFF, page 9A
Caldwell police on
Tuesday, Feb. 3, arrested three Caldwell men
on aggravated robbery
charges in connection
with the Jan. 24 armed
robbery of a Caldwell
Pizza Hut employee
making a night deposit
at BB&T Bank.
They included David
Cormier, 18, Aaron Michael Pierce, 17, and
Samuel Cristian Enrique, 18, said Caldwell
Police Chief Charles
Barnes.
All three were booked
into the Burleson
County Jail with bond
pending at press time,
Barnes said.
A 16-year-old boy will
also be charged in the
case later this week as
a juvenile, Barnes said.
Two of the men
charged worked at the
restaurant at the time
of the robbery, and the
third was an ex-employee, he said.
The juvenile did not
work there, he said.
Caldwell Police Detective Steve Reed and
Sgt. John Bennett made
the arrests on Tuesday
after a 10-day investigation, he said.
Police learned of the
robbery when an employee flagged down
Caldwell Police Officer
Casey Lourcey at 1:18
a.m. on State Highway
36 and Fawn Streets to
report that he had just
been robbed, Barnes
said.
The employee said
Hogs rounded up in annual hunt
137 head captured with record participation
With the feral hog
population ever increasing all over Central
Texas, hog hunting
remains a popular and
vital endeavor.
Locally, the issue has
been addressed with
the annual Boars of
Texas Hog Hunting
Competition, held this
year with a Sunday,
Feb. 1, weigh-in at the
Burleson County Fairgrounds.
Forty-three teams
participated this year,
THESE HOGS CAPTURED last weekend at the Boars of Texas hunt up from the average of
are pictured at the Sunday, Feb. 1, weigh-in at the Burleson County about 30-34, with 170
Fair Expo Center in Caldwell. -- Tribune photo by Roy Sanders
See HOG, page 4A
Yeguas win a thriller!
Somerville Yeguas
basketball players celebrate
a big win over rival Snook last
Friday in Somerville.
The Yeguas sank a last
second three-pointer
for a 51-48 victory.
See story inside. -- Tribune
photos by Roy Sanders
Ramirez pleads
in kidnapping
A 35-year-old Bryan
man indicted in 2013 on
an aggravated sexual
assault and attempted
aggravated kidnapping
charges pleaded guilty
on Friday, Jan. 30, to
the kidnapping charge
and was sentenced to
36 years in prison.
As part of a plea bargain agreement, the aggravated sexual assault
charge was dismissed,
district attorney Julie
Renken said.
The case stemmed
from a Feb. 21, 2013, incident on County Road
269 involving a 35-yearold Bryan woman, according to the indict-
ments.
Charles Lee Ramirez
was sentenced by District J u dge Ca rs on
Campbell in District
Court in Caldwell.
Ramirez was scheduled to go to trial on
Monday, Feb. 2, on both
charges, Renken said.
As part of the plea
agreement, Ramirez
pleaded to a second degree felony enhanced to
a first degree because
he has a prior felony
conviction for burglary
of a habitation, Renken
said.
He was also ordered
to pay restitution and
See KIDNAP, page 10A
ALEXANDER WELCH AND JORDEN Beran
placed ninth in junior ranch sorting at the recent 2015 Houston Livestock Show & Rodeo Go
Texan Contests. Pictured are Ken Shaw, Area
Go Texan Officer in Charge; Welch; Beran; and
Tommy Winkler, Chairman of Contest.
The Caldwell School
Board has given superintendent Dr. Tim Cuff
a one-year contract extension through 2017.
The board unanimously approved the extension at a Thursday, Jan.
29, meeting, following
an executive session.
A pay increase will be
considered at a later
time, Dr. Cuff said.
See CISD, page 11B
Beran, Welch place at
Go Texan Ranch Sorting
Annual competition held in Houston
Burleson County’s junior ranch sorting team
of Jorden Beran and
Alexander Welch placing ninth at the recent
2015 Houston Livestock
Show & Rodeo Contests.
The event, held Saturday, Jan. 24, was held
at the Great Southwest
Equestrian Center in
Katy.
Synagogue
transported
through town
One section of the oldest orthodox Jewish
synagogue in Texas was
transported through
Caldwell on Tuesday,
Jan. 27, enroute from
Brenham to its new
home in Austin.
A moving crew transported one section,
See BUILDING, page 8A
Winning the junior
sorting competition
were Cali Brookshire
and Rose Sansone of
the Houston Metro Go
Texan from Tomball/
Magnolia/Montgomery.
Placing second were
Cody Wallin and Tim
Beken of Area Go Texan
from Colorado County,
and third place went
to Levi Marbach and
a masked man approached him as he
made the deposit on the
Buck Street side of the
bank, he said.
The robber aimed a
pistol at him, demanded
the money and left on
foot, turning south on
Shaw Street and then
heading toward Buffalo
Street, he said.
Another suspect was
hiding nearby and also
fled the scene on foot behind him, Barnes said.
See ROBBERY, page 10A
Lane Marbach of Area
Go Texan from Victoria
County.
Senior Division ranch
sorting champions were
Lisa Ellis and D’Wayne
Reynold from Area Go
Texan of Polk County.
Second place went to
Lisa Sandling and Raymond Martinez from
Houston Metro Go TexSee SORTING, page 12A
Dr. Cuff’s
contract
extended
Lower interest rate
sought for clinic
The Burleson County Hospital District’s
board of directors has
agreed to pursue a refinancing of its $1.5
million bond used for
the Health Point Clinic
construction for an interest rate reduction.
The board approved
pursuing that option
at their Jan. 26 meeting, after learning they
A MOVING CREW moves this old synagogue building through could cut their interest
Caldwell on Jan. 27. This building was moved from Brenham to its rate from 7.8 percent to
3 percent, said hospital
new home in Austin. -- Photo courtesy of Troy Poehl
board chairman Kirk
Chapman.
The board was briefed
by Scott Blount, vice
president of Lancaster
Pollard, a firm specializing in refinancing
loans for small hospitals, Chapman said.
The reduction is possible because of lower
interest rates in the
market, he said.
“If we can save the
taxpayers money, we
See HOSPITAL, page 3A