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Yesteryears
Published May 24, 2009
70 years ago
Alvin won the preliminary skirmish in the $2 million road bond project for the eastern part of the county in a hard-fought battle in Angleton Wednesday. The preliminary skirmish developed strong opposition, and indicated that sentiment against the move was crystallizing and the proponents of the project would have much opposition to overcome.
The contest developed Wednesday when the Commissioners Court was asked to file a date for a hearing to determine whether an election should be called to vote on a $2 million bond issue for roads. The hearing was called for Monday, June 17th, three members of the commissioners court voting for it and one against.
Commissioner Frank Le Rebius of Brazoria made the motion following the discussion, to call the hearing, which was seconded by Commissioner C.W. Massie of Pearland. Commissioner E.H. Mayes of West Columbia voted with Commissioner Le Rebius and Commissioner Massie for the motion and Commissioner Neal Giesecke of Angleton voted against it.
The bone of contention Wednesday, and the bone of contention in the forthcoming hearing on June 17, will be the approximate $7 million values at Hoskins Mound, which the eastern part of the county is undertaking to include in the consolidated districts.
The six road districts, embracing Iowa Colony, Pearland, Chocolate Bayou, Liverpool, Sandy Point and Alvin, have a combined assessed value of around $11 million, whereas the Liverpool district, which includes Hoskins Mound, has around $7 million in values, over half. Hoskins Mound would have to carry over one-half of the burden, which would be over $1 million.
50 years ago
Negotiations begun four weeks ago by representatives of Dow Chemical Co. and union locals are still in progress, with a wage increase request of 20 cents per hour as the only issue. This was learned today by The Facts from reliable sources although neither the company nor the unions would make any official statements concerning the status of negotiations.
However, when questioned about prevalent local rumors about a pending strike, T.B. Crow, negotiating spokesman for the Operating Engineers Local 554, said that “nothing has been done for anyone to get upset about.”
He continued by saying that the unions have made a proposition and the company has not given them an answer yet. Crow said that it was not time for the company to make an offer yet — that usually any company offer would come later in the negotiations. When first contacted by reporters, Crow stated that he didn’t “know of anything that would be of interest or would clear up any rumors.”
The Facts learned that the present negotiations began on April 28, with the unions requesting an across-the-board wage increase of 25 cents an hour. This increase request has now been lowered to 20 cents per hour, to become effective June 1, 1959.
30 years ago
A maritime businessman was simply trying to discredit the proposed Freeport offshore terminal when he called it “just a plumbing facility” at a recent hearing on the onshore port planned for Galveston, said the chairman of a committee on the local port.
H.A. Jorgenson, chairman of the Brazosport Chamber of Commerce’s committee on the deepwater port, said the businessman, J.W. Hershey, would like to fit a description like that to the local port because the port wouldn’t benefit his business. Hershey’s concern, American Commercial Lines, handles tugboats and towboats, as well as other maritime business.
The Brazosport Chamber of Commerce doesn’t have an official position on the onshore port proposed for Galveston, said Dan Parkinson, executive director. “Some interests in Galveston have taken potshots at the offshore project in an effort, I guess, to justify their own project,” Parkinson said.
“We think that if they can afford it and justify it, then more power to them,” he said.
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