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What’s inside Classified ..........5B Entertainment ......4B Editorial ...........4A Obituaries ..........2A Lifestyles ..........1B Memos ............2A Sports ............3B Sunday Monday Tuesday 78/92 80/91 80/92 Tides High: 11:54 a.m. Low: 1:10 a.m. Tides High: 12:05 p.m. Low: 1:40 a.m. Tides High: 12:20 p.m. Low: 2:13 a.m. Deaths Obituaries, 2A ■ Irene De La Garza ■ Joe Pineda ■ Geraldine Dettling ■ Emma Cockrell ■ Beatrice Murphree Rain caused some street flooding J J u u l l y y 4 4 e e v v e e n n t t s s p p l l a a n n n n e ed d Localized street flooding and reports of a tornado were the result of heavy storms moving through Bay City and Matagorda County early Thursday morning. According to Matagorda County Emergency Management Coordinator Doug Matthes, the National Weather Service reported spotting a funnel cloud in Matagorda County around 7:30 on Thursday. As a result of that sight- ing, the county was under a tornado warning until 8:15 a.m. “My understanding is that it was about five miles south/southwest of Bay City but there were no reports of damage,” Matthes said. “At our office, we had recorded around 3.75 inches of rain as of around 2 p.m. on Thursday. “Because of the rain, there were some isolated reports of street flooding in Bay City as the result of leaves and other debris clogging drainage entries, but no reports of Jonnie Montalbo / Bay City Tribune Bay City’s homeless are sometimes hidden in plain sight. Though they are seen on a daily basis, it’s not always apparent who is homeless and who is not. The problem is more extensive than most people realize. See RAIN, Page 6A N N o o p p l l a a c c e e t t o o N N o o p p l l a a c c e e t t o o c c a a l l l l h h o o m m e e c c a a l l l l h h o o m m e e There is a silent epidemic of disconcert- ing proportions in Matagorda County, yet as a result of the old adage “Out of sight, out of mind” and similar inaccurate per- spectives, the critical issue of rural home- lessness in our area has invariably contin- ued to escalate. Usually associated with metropolitan areas like Houston or Dallas, the problem in Matagorda County is seriously com- pounded by the fact that citizens for the most part, do not believe there is a home- less problem because the veritable home- less aren’t always that easily recognizable. When thinking about the homeless, images of filthy derelict and unhygenic people pushing shopping carts full of trash and sleeping in squalor on the sidewalks of big cities come to mind. But that is not always the case. Many of today’s home- less population in Matagorda County are people that look just like the rest of us, but have been forced to live as homeless because of evictions or sudden job loss. “People don’t see it, so they don’t like to think about it, but it’s here and it can’t be ignored,” said Crisis Center Case Manager Diana Thornton. “The problem has become increasingly alarming in our area and people really need to know what is going on in Matagorda County. There is definitely a homeless problem here that needs to be addressed.” There were 228 homeless individuals documented in Matagorda County as a result of the annual homeless count imple- mented by the Texas Homeless Network. To break it down, 99 of those counted were adults and children counted by the field group conducting the count and 129 were documented as homeless by the schools. Coordinated by the Crisis Center, the homeless count is administered for the purpose of gathering information that can be used for the annual HUD CoC grant, as well as for local, regional and statewide planning purposes. The Texas Homeless Network started in 1991, but the data gathering in Matagorda County started five years ago. 228 documented as homeless in county Vol. 169 No. 52 Vol. 169 No. 52 Serving Matagorda County since 1845 Serving Matagorda County since 1845 $1.00 $1.00 The Tribune BAY CITY Sunday June 29, 2014 baycitytribune.com High Jump Charles Austin sets another high jump record SPORTS, 3B Education Tenaris, WCJC and BCCDC team up to offer new tech courses LOCAL NEWS, 3A History Library program visitors learned history of the Orphan Train LIVING, 1B With the Fourth of July holiday fast approaching, Matagorda County will once again offer plenty of patriotic activities to celebrate the day of independence, with events planned in Bay City and Palacios. Bay City Parks and Recreation Fourth of July festivities will begin at 5 p.m. Friday, July 4, at LeTulle Park. This will be the third year the celebration is held at its original venue, LeTulle Park, after many years of being held at the Municipal Airport six miles east of Bay City. Festivities will include inflatable bounce houses, live musical performance by Vince Vance and the Valiants and a spectacu- lar fireworks display at dark. The Palacios Lions Club 65th Annual July Fourth celebration, a three-day event, will offer families several activities and also culmi- nate in a dazzling fire- works show on the East Bay, directly over the waterfront. Bingo lovers can begin their celebration on Thursday, July 3, with Bingo from 5-9 p.m. Festivities will begin at East Bay Park on Friday, July 4, with a Kid’s Fourth of July Parade at 10 a.m. followed by a flag raising ceremony at 11 a.m. A barbecue lunch will be served from 11 a.m. to 1 p.m. and food and ven- dor booths will open at 1 p.m. Tornado spotted on Thursday; no damage Bay City fest at LeTulle; Palacios films re-enactment See JULY 4, Page 5A ■ CITY COUNCIL Funds for street repairs approved $4 million could be available for next phase in July The funds for the next phase of Bay City street repairs could be in the city’s accounts as early as the end of next month according to the city’s financial consultants. During Thursday’s meeting of the Bay City City Council, Jim Gilley of U.S. Capital Advisors told the council it could reasonably expect to have the “money in the bank” from the certificates of obliga- tion approved for sale at the meeting as soon as July 24. “And you can begin letting contracts at that point,” Gilley said. “In fact, with the approval of (City Legal Consultant George Hyde) you can probably begin letting contracts even before then.” City Finance Director Phill Conner introduced the certifi- cates of obligation sale by say- ing the city qualified for a competitive 3.08 percent inter- est rate on the sale of those certificates. Gilley confirmed the certificates of obligation would generate approximately $4 million and that the best bid of 3.088 percent interest rate was “considered outstanding.” According to Conner, the difference between municipal bonds and certificates of obli- gation is the residents of the taxing entity must vote bonds on while certificates of obliga- tion can be issued by the city council without such a vote. Gilley said the city would be selling $3.995 million in cer- tificates of obligation and will receive an additional premium of $138,000 to reach the $4 million mark. The low interest rate received by the city was based in part on a recent develop- ment in the financial standing of the city. According to Gilley, Standards and Poor’s rating service, one of the world’s leading credit rating market firms, upgraded the city’s rate to AA-. “That rating report reduced the interest rate considerably,” Gilley said. “While acknowl- edging the current economy is See CITY, Page 6A ■ COMMUNITY BY JONNIE MONTALBO [email protected] BY BARRY HALVORSON [email protected] BY JONNIE MONTALBO [email protected] WCA will change the normal trash pick up schedule next week due to the Fourth of July holiday. If your trash is picked up on Monday and Thursday it will change to Monday and Wednesday. If your trash is picked up on Tuesday and Friday it will change to Tuesday and Thursday. There will be no trash collection on July 4. The normal trash pick up schedule will resume the following week. Trash pick up holiday schedule TRIBUNE STAFF REPORTS BY BARRY HALVORSON [email protected] If you go ■ Bay City - Festivities begin at 5 p.m. July 4 at LeTulle Park ■ Palacios - July 3: 5 p.m. – 9 p.m. – Bingo July 4: 10 a.m. – Kid’s Fourth of July Parade 11 a.m. – Flag Raising Ceremony 11 a.m. – 1:00 p.m. – Bar-B-Q Lunch 1 p.m. – Food and Vendor Booths 3 p.m. – 9 p.m. – Bingo 3 p.m. – Helicopter Rides ($20 per person, 2 riders) 4 p.m. – La Salle Landing Re- enactment and filming for the documentary “Texas Before the Alamo” 9:30 p.m. - Palacios Lions Club Fireworks Show July 5: 8:30 p.m. - Premier of “Texas Before the Alamo” at the Texas Baptist Encampment Ampitheater “I believe that even one homeless person is a problem.” Mark Bricker| Bay City Mayor See HOMELESS, Page 8A How can you help You can help end homeless- ness by sim- ply CARE- ing C – Contribute (food drives, money) A – Advocate R – Reach Out (vol- unteering) E – Educate
