click the logo to "listen live" 

HURRICANE SEASON JUNE 1 - NOVEMBER 30

NEWS

JANUARY 2010       

FEBRUARY 2010

MARCH 2010

APRIL 2010

MAY 2010

JUNE 2010

JULY 2010

AUGUST 2010

SEPTEMBER 2010

weekend recap

news story

06.28.10

over the weekend, kshn reported a liberty man was taken by air ambulance to memorial hermann hospital following a FIERY wreck friday afternoon around 4 on highway 90 between raywood and devers. according to dps trooper chris richmond, 64-year-old tennie dagle of liberty was westbound on u.s. 90 at county road 193 when the man’s pickup truck drifted into oncoming traffic. the eastbound driver, 81-year-old malcolm leboeuf (lah buff) of Houston, collided with daigle’s vehicle. tennie daigle’s truck rolled over and caught fire. a man IDENTIFIED as mr. lebeoeuf’s grandson, who as TRAVELING in another vehicle, rescued tennie daigle from his burning vehicle. trooper richmond said mr. daigle was airlifted to memorial hermann hospital with arm and head injuries not thought to be life threatening. the other driver, MALCOLM leboeuf, and his brother, donald, 80, a passenger in his car, were treated at liberty-dayton regional medical center for minor injuries. also on saturday, kshn reported the liberty hunger busters youth summer lunch program is off to what is described a fantastic start. according to liberty school superintendent cynthia lusignolo, volunteers have already served 11,800 free meals to liberty kids in only the first three weeks. this year’s summer program kicked off june 7 with 3,300 meals served that week. week two 4,000 lunches were passed out with 4,500 free meals last week. hunger busters is a communitywide partnership involving liberty school district, area churches, texas agrilife extension service and many volunteers. these free lunches have nothing to do with family income. all kids - 1 to 18 – are welcome. free lunches lunches are served mondays through fridays from noon to 1 p.m. at locations throughout the liberty school district. for feeding locations, call alexis cordova at 936-336-4558, ext 221, and doreen carlton at 336-7213. kshn also reported saturday that last week was big for those involved in creating a liberty community garden. liberty isd trustees have unanimously approved the use of the grounds of the old San Jacinto ELEMENTARY school at the corner of texas and grand avenue. last thursday at an organizational meeting, the group formed and elected officers. tracy williams and al brandli will lead the group. another meeting of the liberty community garden is set for tuesday, july 6, at 5 P.M. that gathering will be at st. stephen’s episcopal church on trinity avenue in liberty. the public is invited. anyone interested in learning more or securing a garden space in the new liberty community garden can call the extension office at 936-336-4558, ext. 221.

liberty isd BUDGET woes

news story

06.28.10

we’ve been reported on the liberty INDEPENDENT school district trustees struggle to adopt a balanced budget for the 2010-2011 fiscal year after two years of deficit spending which has reduced the general fund balance by 35 percent. during last tuesday’s board meeting, liberty trustees discussed reducing expenditures by even cutting staff in order to balance the budget. as kshn previously reported, lisd officials expect deficit spending of $1.2 million for the current fiscal year. that comes on the heels of the 2008-2009 fiscal shortfall of $600,000. as a result of the two years of deficit spending, the liberty school district’s fund balance has tumbled from $5.4 million at the end of the 2007-2008 budget cycle to an expected $3.5 million when this fiscal year concludes on august 31. that is a two-year drop in the fund balance of $1.9 million or about 35 percent. the texas education agency recommends a fund balance SUFFICIENT to cover three months of total district EXPENSES. based on projected expenditures of about 18.6 million for the 2009-2010 budget, the state suggested fund balance then should be $4.65 million. that is well above lisd’s expected fund balance of $3.5 million come this august. during last tuesday’s board meeting, lisd chief financial officer margaret lee highlighted the budget details for trustees. she said the district is expecting a drop in revenue coming from the state - for the upcoming 2010-2011 fiscal year - because of liberty’s lower student enrollment. the state sends districts money based on average daily ATTENDANCE, and ms. lee projects the district’s smaller student population will result in a loss of $140,786 from what they got for the current fiscal year. the list financial officer also projects a loss of another $200,000 from interest income and other sources of revenue. Since liberty isd has been operating with DEFICIT budgets the past two years, this greater loss in income further complicates the district’s financial woes. with that in mind, administrators have been targeting area’s to cut costs. several years ago, liberty trustees instituted a plan to purchase two new school buses each year to update an aging fleet. those new buses have been dropped from the planned budget. they also have eliminated 7 ½ teaching POSITIONS and one counseling job by not replacing those who have resigned or retired. in addition, they are replacing a registered nurse with a certified NURSE’s assistance at san jacinto elementary also through attrition. these cuts will save the district about $648,000, but that is not enough to overcome projected deficits for 2010-2011. in fact, discussions concerning the 2010-2011 budget show, without more cuts, the district will still have deficit spending of more than $400,000 in the next fiscal year without any raises for school staff. district’s across the state are waiting on a texas attorney general’s ruling on mandatory salary increases. if the district is required to raise salaries, that would OBVIOUSLY further complicate the budget situation in liberty and other district’s facing budget shortfalls. administrators say for each 1 percent increase to both parts of the district’s teacher pay structure, lisd would increase its spending by $121,718. during discussions last tuesday, lisd trustee bobby pope pointed out that more than 75 percent of the district’s budget expenses are for payroll. he said, from a strictly business point of view, it will be nearly impossible to eliminate deficit spending without addressing staffing even more than already cut. discussions then turned to what is called rif – or reduction in force. liberty superintendent CYNTHIA lusignolo told the board that to make staffing cuts beyond those OCCURRING through attrition, the district must declare a financial exigency. that is defined as an urgent or pressing situation that requires immediate action. one document provided to trustees last tuesday compares staff-student ratios at nine area school districts. the liberty and hull-daisetta districts had the greatest number of staff per 1,000 students. taking a look at some of those COMPARISONS, lisd has 36 more staff members per 1,000 students than huffman and 32 more than dayton. with that in mind, liberty school trustees directed administrators to compile information on rif requirements and provide them with a full list of staffing positions. No decisions have been made, but liberty isd trustees are expected consider their options for further reductions to staffing at their july 12 board meeting.

THREE INJURED IN WRECK

LOCAL NEWS

06/25/10

A LIBERTY MAN WAS PULLED FROM HIS BURNING PICK UP YESTERDAY AFTERNOON FOLLOWING A TWO-VEHICLE WRECK ON HWY 90. ACCORDING TO DEPARTMENT OF PUBLIC SAFETY TROOPER CHRIS RICHMOND, 64-YEAR-OLD TENNIE DAIGLE OF LIBERTY WAS WESTBOUND ON HWY 90 AT COUNTY ROAD 193. THAT’S BETWEEN RAYWOOD AND DEVERS. IT HAPPENED AROUND 4 P.M. FRIDAY WHEN, FOR UNKNOWN REASONS, THE MAN’S PICK UP TRUCK DRIFTED INTO ONCOMING TRAFFIC. THE EASTBOUND DRIVER, MALCOLM LEBOEUF (LAH BUFF), 81,OF HOUSTON WAS UNABLE TO AVOID COLLISION WITH DAIGLE’S VEHICLE. THE IMPACT CAUSED TENNIE DAIGLE’S PICK UP TRUCK TO ROLL OVER. IT CAME TO REST IN A DITCH AND CAUGHT FIRE. INFORMATION FROM THOSE ON THE SCENE IS THAT MEMBERS OF THE LEBOEUF FAMILY OF HOUSTON WERE TRAVELING TO LOUISIANA FOR A RELATIVE’S FUNERAL. TWO BROTHERS, MALCOLM AND DONALD LEBOEUF WERE IN THE VEHICLE STRUCK BY MR. DAIGLE. A MAN IDENTIFIED AS THEIR GRANDSON, TRAVELING IN A SECOND VEHICLE, MANAGED TO GET TENNIE DAIGLE OUT OF HIS BURNING VEHICLE. DPS TROOPER CHRIS RICHMOND SAID TENNIE DAIGLE WAS AIRLIFTED TO MEMORIAL HERMANN HOSPITAL IN HOUSTON WITH POSSIBLE HEAD INJURIES. THE OTHER DRIVER, MALCOLM LEBOEUF AND HIS BROTHER, DONALD, AGE 80, A PASSENGER IN HIS CAR, WERE TAKEN TO LIBERTY DAYTON REGIONAL MEDICAL CENTER WITH MINOR INJURIES. TROOPER RICHMOND SAID TENNIE DAIGLE WOULD BE CITED FOR DRIVING ON THE WRONG SIDE OF THE ROAD. ANY OTHER CITATIONS ARE PENDING THE OUTCOME OF THE INVESTIGATION INTO THE TWO VEHICLE ON HWY 90 YESTERDAY AFTERNOON. HULL-DAISETTA AND DEVERS VOLUNTEER FIRE DEPARTMENTS BOTH ASSISTED WITH THE CRASH SCENE AND DOUSING THE FIRE THAT DESTROYED MR. DAIGLE’S PICK UP TRUCK.

BRADY ON "YOU CUT"

LOCAL NEWS

06/25/10

THE U.S. HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES HAD INTRODUCED A NEW ONLINE PROGRAM THAT ENCOURAGES TAX PAYERS TO BECOME INVOLVED IN THE PROCESS OF CURBING GOVERNMENT SPENDING. U.S. CONGRESSMAN KEVIN BRADY SAID THE "YOU CUT" PROGRAM CAN BE FOUND AT THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES WEB SITE. EACH WEEK FIVE PROPOSED FEDERAL SPENDING CUTS ARE POSTED FOR ON LINE VOTING. THE CUT WITH THE MOST VOTES WILL BE PUT UP ON THE HOUSE FLOOR FOR A VOTE. CONGRESSMAN BRADY SAID SO FAR, THE RESPONSE TO THE PROGRAM HAS BEEN GREAT, THOUGH THE FIRST SPENDING CUT PROPOSED THIS WEEK WAS DEFEATED.

AUDIO.

REPUBLICAN CONGRESSMAN KEVIN BRADY’S 8TH DISTRICT INCLUDES A PORTION OF LIBERTY COUNTY. TO VOTE IN THE "YOU CUT" SPENDING PROGRAM, GO TO WWW.HOUSE.GOV. AND TYPE IN YOU CUT.