TIVY SOCCER SQUAD LOOKS FORWARD TO PLAYOFFS Kerrville Daily SCHREINER COLLEGE, KERRVILLE, TEXAS-78028 Wednesday Inside PAGE 11A March 12, 1997 NEWSPAPER COUNTRY 50 CENTS Vol. 88, No. 293 Driver's blood had three times legal alcohol limit Classified 7-10B Comics 58 Editorials 4A Lifestyle 1-38 Lotto 2A 1 Obituaries 8A Sports 11-14A TV 68 Weather 2A Go nuts, see page 1B. Testimony begins trial in Kerr By Robert Klaus and Rayanne Carmines Times Staff Writers Melinda Riedweg appeared to have had a blood level alcohol content three times the state's legal standard for intoxication after being involved in an accident that claimed a Center Council director, showed a brief videotape of grease-loaded pipes and said such build-ups can take as little as a month to. develop and that it takes "70 manhours a month just to clear the lines." Vetter suggested phasing in the ordinance and reported that some businesses in town have been notified they are not in compliance and that they will need to upgrade their grease trap systems.
Johnson said the "is not unique to Kerrville," but he said the city had notification from the federal Environmental Protection Administration that the city must take steps to control such discharges into the sewer system this year. Failure to do so, he said, could result in the city's being fined $25,000 a day for each day and each incident as long as the problem continues. The problem arises, council was told, when sewer lines become partially or totally clogged by grease and other waste downstream of food establishments that have no, or inadequately sized, grease traps. Under the new regulations, an establishment that generates grease or oil waste products must install a grease trap when the business is established or there is a change in occupancy or extensive renovation. It likewise penalizes establishments which have no trap.
Under the new legislation, non-compliance can bring fines of not less than $200 nor more than $2,000 as well as civil penalties up to $5,000. Richard Ferris, owner of the Cowboy Steak House on Main Street, spoke on behalf of restaurant owners. Ferris posed questions as to how the law would be enforced, who would perform inspections and what criteria would be He also queried as to whether applied for differing businesses. gives OK to grease ordinance City adopts rules on greasy discharges By Robert-Klaus Times Staff Writer Grease turned out to be a slick question for Kerrville City Council Tuesday evening, but an ordinance designed to overcome that problem slid through on first reading. Council voted unanimously to adopt an ordinance regulating the discharge of grease, primarily from food preparation into the city sewer system.
Mayor Charles Johnson reminded council members the city had 38 instances of grease clogging sewer lines so badly there were overflows from manholes. Larry Vetter, city planning director, showed a brief videotape See GREASE, 5A in DWI courthouse 'RIEDWEG Point teenager's life. Barbara Smith, medical technologist for Sid Peterson Memorial 'RIEDWEG Hospital, testified Tuesday morning that a sample of blood from Riedweg, charged with intoxicated manslaughter, showed .307 mlgs (milligrama) per deciliter. In questioning after her testimony, Smith said the legal standard for intoxication' is .100 mlgs. Riedweg, 38, faces up to 20 years in prison if found guilty of the charge, which stems from an automobile accident that claimed the life of Ginger 18, last July 5.
The accident, which occurred Spring break splash shortly before 7:30 p.m., reportedly happened when the vehicle driven by Beth Fikes, 19, was making a left turn from the eastbound lane of Texas 27 into Airport Loop just outside city limits. Their vehicle was struck from behind by the vehicle being driven by Riedweg. Fikes died in a San Antonio hospital two days after the accident. Two drivers testified Tuesday Tiffany Cowlon, age 3, jumps into the arms of wait- and bad weather did not keep these youngsters ing brother Ryan Cowlon, age 13, at the Family from taking a dip in the pool. Rain and clouds will Sports Center's Sports Camp Tuesday afternoon.
give way to partly cloudy and mild weather later Area youngsters are on spring break this week, this week. (Times photo by S.K.Mclver) County By Rayanne Carmines Times Staff Writer Kerr County Law Enforcement Center's outside rock work and foundation will undergo testing as approved by county commissioners Monday. The court designated retired engineer Sam Cox to coordinate the two tests and limited costs to $1,000 during its regular meeting. "We are trying to satisfy any concerns the court might have," County Judge Robert Denson said. Denson said Cox agreed $1,000 wants study would be enough money to hire independent companies to test limestone on the exterior of the building and the slab.
One of the main criteria set by the court was that the companies selected be completely independent of the jail project, he added. Cox was among a group of retired engineers and citizens who expressed concern over the soundness of the law enforcement center since it was built in 1995. Opinions of mining geologist F.L. Whitney, written in a December letter to Cox, indicated the limestone blocks are Police following leads in missing clerk case Kerrville police today said say how that they were "continuing to follow could be interleads" but there were no signif- preted. icant developments in the dis- "It still doesappearance of Charles Ray n't point to a Odell.
definite concluOdell, 26, is the clerk who sion," he said, has been missing from his job "and we're still at the Goldstar Chevron sta-. viewing this as tion, 2137 Sidney Baker, since a possible Sunday Also evening. ODELL abduction." missing from the station Sgt. Rick is $1,170.45 in cash. Kneese, the investigator in the Police appeared to be turning case, was in Austin this morna skeptical eye on Odell's auto- ing and could not be reached mobile, a Chevrolet Camaro, for further word.
which has been parked behind Police described Odell as the station since Odell left. being 5 feet 7 inches in height, Sergeant Harry Fleming weighing about 115 pounds, reported that Odell had been with brown hair and brown "several months behind in his eyes. His address was listed as car payments" but declined to 503 Stephen Street, Kerrville. Longtime friends of Ginger Fikes exit the courtroom Tuesday. From left to right are Lindsay Rose, Ellen Ryan, Christina Packen and Amber Blackledge.
Rose and Packen are Students Against Drunk Drivers members. (Times photo by S.K.Mclver) they narrowly avoided accidents with Riedweg on the day of the fatal crash. Daniel Harvey Wolfe said he See TRIAL, 5A Post office looks for new Kerrville site By Robert Klaus Times Staff Writer The United States Postal Service announced this week it now is actively seeking a site for a new main post office in Kerrville. McKinney Boyd, spokesman for USPS in Dallas, confirmed his agency is going ahead with plans to construct the new facility here. He said the postal service has received "additional capital funding" that permits it to begin work on the project.
Boyd said the post office is seeking a site of 5.75 acres, on at least one main thoroughfare, with optimum dimensions of 328 feet of frontage and 492 feet in depth. Kerrville postmaster Bob Hanson said, "We've been waiting many, many years for this, and I'm very excited about the prospects. The people of this community deserve a new post office, and they've been very patient waiting for one." Hanson said the new post office will include a "Postal Store," at which post office supplies, such as stamps, postcards and other items, will be available on shelves accessible to patrons. "Everything will be packaged and bar-coded just like a supermarket, so folks won't have to stand in line to buy just a book of stamps or something similar," he reported. The present main post office, on Earl Garrett Street south of Main, was built in 1935 and was extensively remodeled in the early 1960s.
"We outgrew this building 15 to 20 years ago," Hanson said. The present post office does not have wheelchair accessibility at the front entrance of jail rock "turning from white to a rather tannish hue and are bleeding this discoloration to lower levels and streaking an otherwise white wall." His conclusion was the rock "seemed to have been taken from biohermal (life-mound) sections of a quarry and contain numerous fossilized sea shells as well as an uncommon amount of marl (clay) It is the marl that is weathering out of the selected block surfaces and staining the wall." Whitney wrote that the rock would not last more than 10 years. Splish splashing away "Post office buildings are so complex and specialized that we usually find it costs more to. refurbish and reconfig-. ure a standing to our specifications: than it is to erect a custom-built facility." Bob Hanson Kerrville postmaster although patrons in wheelchairs may use a ramp on the north side of the building.
Asked if the postal service would consider the old WalMart building on Sidney Baker, he indicated that "post office buildings are so complex and specialized that we usually find it costs more to refurbish and reconfigure a standing building to our specifications than it is to erect a custom-built facility." Boyd said that, unlike the present main post office, "the new one will, of course, con; form to all the requirements of: the Americans with.Disabilities Act." He said that, based on expe-' rience, he would expect the search for a suitable site to take no more. than three months, or until about midJune at the latest. Following site selection, he said, would be such steps as land clearance, engineering and other studies and preliminary steps. Once those are realized, he said he thought "it might take less than 18 months to open the new facility." He placed that target date as mid to late summer 1998. See POST OFFICE, 5A Motorists in Kerrville splashed their way through Guadalupe River and Johnson Creek area.
The roads with heavy runoff Tuesday. West Kerr U.S. Weather Bureau issued a flash flood warnCounty experienced a reported 2 inches of raining for that area during the evening. (Times within an hour around the south fork of the photo by S.K.Mclver).
