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Remembering a dedicated teacher
New Diboll ISD facility will be named in honor of Ramsey
By GARY WILLMON
The Lufkin Daily News
Saturday, December 16, 2006
A lifelong educator who spent 29 years with Diboll ISD, the
late Robert T. Ramsey Sr. will be memorialized Sunday as a
new classroom/lab building on the Diboll Junior High campus
will be dedicated and named in his honor.
The ceremony begins at 2 p.m. today in the Diboll Junior
High library and then moves to the new Robert T. Ramsey Sr.
Education Building for a reception, tours and refreshments.
"Construction began in April and they moved
pretty fast on it," said Diboll Junior High Principal Mark
Kettering of the new building which includes four
classrooms, a science lab and a content mastery computer
lab.
Ramsey spent 37 years in education, the last 29 of which
were at Diboll. He was the longest-tenured principal of
Diboll High School, serving in that capacity for 27 years,
from 1947 to 1974. He retired from DISD in 1976 but remained
active in the community until his death in 2005.
Ramsey was also a coach and was responsible for bringing
11-man football to Diboll, which prior to 1948 had played
only six-man football. He was also responsible for heading
the project to build the Lumberjacks' original football
stadium. Prior to that, the Jacks played their games at
Miller Park, which was actually a baseball park and had no
lights for night games.
Ramsey was named by the Angelina County Chamber of Commerce
as the Angelina Award recipient in 1982, an award for a
lifetime of public service that was bestowed to him by
former U.S. President Gerald Ford, who had been invited to
Lufkin to be guest speaker at the Chamber's awards banquet.
A crowd of 1,500 overflowed the Lufkin Civic Center to
witness the event.
Ramsey was inducted into the Diboll Lumberjack Hall of Fame
in 1996, the first year for the new DHS football stadium
which replaced the one Ramsey helped build in 1948. A 2004
exhibit at The History Center in Diboll showed highlights of
Ramsey's life as an educator.
"I was honored to have had Mr. Ramsey as my principal," said
Patsy Colbert of The History Center. "His smile was
contagious, and he was a great role model for me."
Ramsey and his late wife, Rita, had three children — Dr.
Robert Ramsey Jr., head of the Department of Communications
at Stephen F. Austin State University in Nacogdoches; Nita
Hurley, a counselor at Diboll Primary School; and Deanna
McMillan, who taught in public schools for 15 years.
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Diboll approves red-light cameras at
major intersections
By GARY WILLMON
The Lufkin Daily News
Tuesday, December 12, 2006
Diboll is going high-tech with the city council's approval
of red-light cameras at the city's three major intersections
as traffic passes through town on U.S. 59.
Action came at Monday's regular monthly meeting of the
Diboll council as members approved contracting with Nestor
Traffic System to install the red-light cameras at the U.S.
59 intersections of Lumberjack Drive/Harris Street,
Hines/Judd streets, and Thompson/Dennis streets.
"The cameras will be trained on the north-south traffic on
U.S. 59, and the council set fines of $100 per ticket," said
Diboll City Manager Kenneth Williams. "Of that, $30 will
cover Nestor's expense, and the city will realize $70 from
each ticket."
Diboll council members also approved the 300-foot ordinance
limiting the sale of beer and wine in neighborhoods where a
church or a school is located.
"Council members also passed a permit fee of $30, an
application fee of $200 and a renewal fee of $100 related to
the liquor sales," Williams said.
The council had an agenda item to consider a variance
requested by Brookshire Brothers for that grocery chain's
Diboll store, which sits basically next door to the Diboll
ISD administration offices in downtown Diboll. However,
Brookshire Brothers pulled its request before the meeting.
"They withdrew for now," Williams said, indicating the store
may decide to petition the council for the variance again
sometime in the future. "When that time comes, they'll ask
that it be placed back on the agenda."
Council members also approved holding joint elections in May
with the city of Diboll. Early voting will take place at the
Diboll subcourthouse, and on the day of the May 12 election,
polling will be held in the Diboll Primary School cafeteria.
Williams also noted that the city had earned two favorable
commendations from governmental entities.
"We were notified that the city's new hike-and-bike trail
has been certified by the U.S. Department of Justice as
meeting all Americans With Disabilities Act requirements,
and also our water system has been certified by the Texas
Commission on Environmental Quality."
The Diboll city council will meet again at 5:15 p.m. on
Monday, Jan. 8, at Diboll City Hall. The meeting is open to
the public. |
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Library expansion may close part of
Park Street
By GARY WILLMON
The Lufkin Daily News
Tuesday, November 14, 2006
The $2 million upgrade and expansion of the T.L.L. Temple
Memorial Library may close a portion of Park Street in
Diboll, but it's too early to know for certain if that will
take place, according to Diboll City Manager Kenneth
Williams.
Architect Malcom McKinley made the presentation of the
library's proposed expansion project to the city council at
Monday's regular monthly meeting, but Williams said a
determination hasn't been made as to whether the street,
which borders the library on its west side, will need to be
closed.
"There's not been a public hearing yet, just a presentation
made, that's all," Williams said. "It may be that the street
would be partially closed, but there hasn't been a vote of
the council yet. They would have to approve it.
"This is all just in the preliminary stage right now," said
Williams, who cited several residences on Park Street that
have to be considered in the decision.
The library's expansion project will double the size of the
Diboll facility.
In other action at Monday's meeting, Diboll council members
awarded a bid for fleet fuel to Polk Oil Company and chose
Raymond K. Vann & Associates as the administrator for the
2006 Texas Community Development Program Disaster Recovery
Fund Grant.
Council members tabled several items, including accepting
bids for two police patrol vehicles so that administrators
can verify they meet specifications. Also tabled were
decisions on Nestor Traffic Systems cameras at the city's
red lights and a planning and zoning recommendation on
subdividing a residential lot on Hendrix Street.
The Diboll city council will meet again in regular session
at 5:15 p.m. Monday, Dec. 11, at Diboll City Hall. |
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FYI: 3 inducted into Diboll's Wall of
Honor
The Lufkin Daily News
Friday, November 10, 2006
Q: What's the story behind the three people who were
inducted last week into the Diboll Lumberjack/Ladyjack Wall
of Honor? I missed part of the ceremony at halftime and
wondered what their accomplishments were.
A: Sheila Gordon, class of 1987, was a member of the state
champion Diboll Ladyjack girls track team that won the title
in 1986.
Carol Drake was a longtime coach of Ladyjack athletic teams
both in track and in volleyball; she spent 22 years with
Diboll ISD from 1978 to 2000 and coached not only a state
track champion but also six bi-district championship teams
in volleyball.
Joel Gordon, class of 1988, piled up 1,163 yards in his
senior season to snap an 18-year DHS single-season rushing
record. He had seven 100-yard-rushing games that season. He
was a two-time all-district selection.
The DHS athletic department inducts three to five athletes
every year into the Wall of Honor, which began with the
opening of the new Lumberjack Stadium in 1996. A wall at the
north end of the stadium bears the nameplates and plaques
honoring the Diboll athletes from years past. |
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$2 million expansion planned for
Temple Library
By GARY WILLMON
The Lufkin Daily News
Wednesday, November 01, 2006
DIBOLL — A $2 million expansion and renovation project has
been announced for the T.L.L. Temple Memorial Library, set
to begin in 2007 which will add 7,123 square feet of space
to the building, doubling its current size.
"The goal is to provide the community of Diboll with a
state-of-the-art library that meets the reading,
informational, educational, cultural and recreational needs
of our traditional and nontraditional users," said Kathy
Sample, chair of the library board.
 An
artist's rendering shows what Diboll's T.L.L. Temple
Memorial Library will look like upon completion of the $2
million expansion project that will double the library's
size. The project will get under way in 2007.
Plans for the improvement project are based on significant
input gathered over the past two years from community
surveys, according to Librarian Brenda Russell.
In addition to the surveys, program and service evaluations
and strategic planning reports were prepared by Sheila Ross
Henderson, director of the Pasadena Public Library and
Houston Area Library System consultant.
"Because the library has been in a prominent location within
the Diboll community since its opening in the 1960s, a major
goal of the renovation is to preserve the look and feel of
the building," Sample said, adding that Malcolm McKinley of
Goodwin-Lasiter Inc. will be the project designer. McKinley,
who has won numerous awards for his architectural plans, may
be best known for designing The History Center in Diboll.
Russell said the current library facility opened on April
25, 1963.
"This year it is 43 years old. It's hard to believe we have
been here this long," she said. "Right now, we plan to have
our groundbreaking for this project on April 25, 2007, the
day the library will turn 44 years old."
The library expansion project will include a reading room
dedicated to Federal Judge John Hannah Jr.
Hannah, who grew up in Diboll and graduated from DHS, served
as Chief Judge for the Eastern District of Texas. He died in
2003.
Russell said the expansion project has the entire community
buzzing.
"Words really can't explain how we all feel. It is truly
amazing how this project has fallen into place in just a
short time," she said. "We know this is what we need to do,
and the timing is right.
"When we did the community survey, the community spoke and
the board listened. As a result, we have this beautiful
expansion about to start. We are truly blessed. "
Russell said they are already planning programs and services
that can be offered when the project is finished.
"We have a lot of excitement and anticipation around here,"
she said.
Sample said the library's board of directors is calling for
support from the community to help complete the project.
"There are various levels of sponsorships available, and any
support is greatly appreciated," she said.
Donations to the T.L.L. Temple Memorial Library Building
Fund can be sent to the library at 300 Park St., Diboll TX
75941. Make checks payable to the T.L.L. Temple Memorial
Library Building Fund. Anyone with questions can contact
Russell at 829-5497 or bcr@consolidated.nt.
Gary Willmon's e-mail address is gwillmon@coxnews.com |
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