NEWS
Howard gets new indictments; Cole joins DA’s investigative team
By BARBARA GREEN
editor@bowienewsonline.com
Ricky Dale Howard, a person of interest in the spring 2015 disappearance of Caleb Diehl, was indicted this week on 15 new felony counts that include indecency with a child connected with Diehl and 12 counts of possession of child pornography with unknown victims.
District Attorney Casey Polhemus said the indictment was issued by the grand jury in a special Tuesday session.
The 57-year-old Nocona man has been serving prison time in the Hamilton Unit of the state prison system in Bryan since June 2016 when he pled guilty to possession of firearms by a felon. He received five years on the 11 counts. As a convicted felon for federal bank fraud it is illegal for him to possess firearms.
Howard was up for parole consideration earlier this summer, but it was denied in July after he was indicted in April on two counts of indecency with a child sexual contact and 34 counts of child pornography.
Thus far in the investigation that began with the search for Diehl on April 1, 2015, Howard has been indicted in sexual indecency cases involving three male victims, including Diehl and two others. (See the related timeline story).
Howard has since moved to the Robertson Unit in Abilene where he may serve out the remainder of the five-year term which ends in 2021.
New indictment
The first three counts in Tuesday’s indictments involve missing teen Caleb Diehl said Polhemus. It is one count of first degree felony indecency with a child sexual contact and two counts of second degree felony indecency with a child by exposure.
The indictment states the alleged incidents occurred on March 15, 2011. Polhemus says evidence in all these cases surfaced during the examination of of Howard’s computer seized during an earlier search.
Polhemus said this was another “cog” in the wheel as the investigators continue to plug away at these cases, including Diehl’s disappearance.
“It links him with Caleb, but we can’t prove anything other than what is stated at this time. We will continue pursuing the investigation,” said the DA.
The rest are 12 counts of second degree felony possession of child pornography.
Prosecution
The 97th District Attorney has gained some assistance from an experienced prosecutor as former longtime DA Tim Cole has joined the investigation team as an assistant DA.
Read the full story in the weekend News.
NEWS
Amon Carter Lake Board to meet
Members of the Amon Carter Lake Water Supply Corporation will meet at 6 p.m. on May 26 in the office at 607A Lindsey for a monthly meeting.
Items on the agenda include a consent agenda and minutes and financials. Possible discussion/action may be considered on the following topics: Treasurer’s report, review of finance and current loans; president’s report as to the written agreements with contractual employees; consider current water rates and a possible increase; and review of expenses and areas that need amendment.
An executive session may be entered to discuss personnel issues.
NEWS
Saint Jo City Council hires fire marshal
The City of Saint Jo has a new fire marshal as the city council made the appointment during its May 13 meeting.
Gary Hines, a retired professional firefighter and certified fire investigator, will take the position. City Secretary Debbie Dennis said the post is required by ordinance but has not been filled for a long period.
The council set dates for a budget workshop for 2 p.m. on June 14 and 2 p.m. on June 28 for the ordinance workshop, as the council works to update its rules.
Aldermen gave their support to a proposition by Councilman Jack Dunn who is asking the Legislature to allow Texas’ smallest cities, those with 2,500 or few in population, to receive an additional share of sales and use tax. He would like to see the funds used in these communities to repair and replace aging infrastructure without new taxes or reliance on state grants.
In letter to State Rep. David Spiller, whom Dunn will meet with on June 1, the alderman explains much of the state’s 6.25% share generated locally flows into general funds and is spent on other priorities. He would like Spiller to author this legislation. Dunn gave the letter to the council along with a powerpoint on the plan.
“A single water treatment plant upgrade or sewer rehab carries massive, fixed costs that do not shrink with population size. These communities, often with only a few hundred or a couple thousands residents, simply cannot spread those costs across enough ratepayers or a broad tax based,” the letter states.
Dunn suggests a “graduated sales tax retention policy:” 1% additional share for cities with 2,500 or fewer residents; .75% for those 2,500 and 5,000; and .50% for cities between 5,001 and 10,000. It would be dedicated to infrastructure. Dunn says the overall statewide fiscal impact would be negligible, but could help sustain small, rural cities.
NEWS
City of Nocona buys water storage tank, review dam repair
The Nocona City Council approved a bid for a new 203,000 gallon capacity tank for potable water at the water plant and learned a slide repair to the lake dam is going to be pretty costly.
At its May 12 session the council received three bids on the tank and went with one from Tank Depot of Cleburne for $193,923. It is for a a 217,600 gallon tank usable for 203,000 gallons. The price could change slightly since it was based on estimate freight costs.
Read the full story in the Thursday Bowie News.
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