Volume 138, No. 49 $1.

00

The Kaufman Herald www.kaufmanherald.com

Thursday, DECEMBER 8, 2022

INSIDE
Passenger shot during a multi-city police chase
Kaufman Police Department Highway 175.
The officer radioed that the driver of the vehicle
Two men have been charged with evading arrest wouldn’t stop and two people were inside.
and aggravated assault after allegedly shooting at a A suspect leaned out the window and fired a hand-
Kaufman police car during a chase. gun at the officer, striking the patrol vehicle at least
The driver, Jaiden D. Smith was charged with three times.
evading arrest or detention with a vehicle and for The pursuit continued westbound on Highway 175
aggravated assault against a public servant. At time to Interstate 635, where the suspect headed North.
of press, his bond is set at $1,030,000. The passenger, The pursuit continued east on Interstate 20 back into
Brandon D. Thompson, was charged with aggravated Kaufman County. The suspect vehicle’s tires were
assault against a public servant. At time of press, his spiked on Interstate 20, but the driver continued
bond is set at $1 million. driving east and south on FM 429 while his tires were
On Tuesday, Nov. 29, a Kaufman Police officer flat. The suspect vehicle crashed into a ditch at FM
observed a small, dark-colored sport utility vehicle 429 and SH-243. Both the driver and passenger exited
running stop signs and driving erratically. The offi- the vehicle with their hands up and were taken into
cer attempted to stop the vehicle, but the driver chose
Christmas to accelerate to a high rate of speed Westbound on See CHASE on Page 3A Th o m p s o n Sm ith
on the Square
Children’s Advocacy
Center for Kaufman County
dedicates new facility
By Bailey Daniels patience and creativity, the
Have a news tip? What Herald Reporter new and improved CAC of-
about an idea for a fers staff and families a safe
feature story? Starting their journey in and expansive space.
2008, the Children’s Advoca- “Children’s Advocacy
Call The Kaufman Herald, cy Center (CAC) for Kaufman Center is proud to serve all
972-932-2171. County has overcome sever- of Kaufman County’s young-
al battles throughout their 14 est citizens to provide hope
Enjoy reading our years serving the communi- and healing to families,” said
e-edition at ty. Not only have they served Shannon Gardner, the cen-
kaufmanherald.com the community in ways that ter’s CEO. “This new center
would emotionally drain any allows us to create a safe,
regular individual, but they child-friendly space in the
OBITUARIES struggled to find a building heart of our growing com-
that would suit the commu- munity. We will be able to
nity’s needs. provide even more children
Lance Tawater On Dec. 1, the CAC ded- much needed services to
Connie Beth Vrzalik icated a 10,000-square-foot overcome their abuse and
— Page 3 renovated building at 2005 S. move on to a life full of prom-
Houston Street in Kaufman. ise and possibilities.”
Through their Building The new areas include the
Hope capital campaign and following:
Also Inside: Kaufman County, the non- Eight counseling suites:
profit was able to secure an These places will offer
Opinion .......................... Pg 2 expanded new home that children and families evi-
Church .......................... Pg 4 serves all of Kaufman Coun- dence-based counseling in a
ty—particularly its youngest private setting to help them
Classifieds ..................... Pg 6
members—at no cost to fam- heal from their abuse.
Sports/Schools ........ Pgs 7, 8 ilies. Six victim advocacy and
Christmas on the The CAC has been located forensic interview rooms:
in multiple buildings over These private areas are
Square............................ Pg. 9 the last 14 years, but noth- where children and their
ing quite like their new ren- families begin to receive
THOUGHT ovation. Their most recent support services.
building was 1,600 square Two soundproof forensic
feet and included a disjoint- interview rooms.
The worst enemy to ed, separate location in For- Two rooms for law en-
ney. Staff had to turn away forcement to view forensic
creativity is self doubt. — families in need, with simply interview rooms.
Sylvia Plath no room to accommodate A dedicated office for law
all the families seeking help. enforcement, child protec-
When they secured the new tive investigators and the
LOCAL WEATHER location, it was merely a shell
of a building. But after much See CENTER on Page 3A

The Kaufman Herald/Bailey Daniels

J.T. Pease is featured on a mural painted by
Dallas artist Ryan Stalsby on the back side of
the Hard Bodies Gym in downtown Terrell.
Thursday
Isolated T-Storms
High 73, Low 59
Kaufman County’s
walking cowboy is
forever memorialized
Friday By Bailey Daniels
Cloudy Herald Reporter
High 67, Low 60 For many, it’s hard to imagine a
world without cars. For J.T. Pease, the
only set of wheels you need is a good
pair of cowboy boots.
Pease, 69, a long-time resident of
Saturday
Kaufman County, has made strides in the
T-Storms community with his outgoing personality,
High 66, Low 52 his stylish, outlaw get up, and his prefer-
ence to walk the streets of the county, rath-
er than drive them. For over 30 years, Pease
has walked around Kaufman County wheth-
er he was going out for groceries or heading
to work. Some have wondered why Pease is
Sunday
only ever seen walking, and when asked why
Mostly Sunny
he chooses two feet over four wheels, he sim-
High 67, Low 57 ply remarked, “I don’t have a car.”
Pease has no fear of vehicles but enjoys
walking over being behind the wheel. He got
his first car when he was 23 years old, but
with no license or insurance, decided to sell
it and stick to walking. Pease was so com-
mitted to walking in fact, his longest ven-
ture was returning home all the way from
Arkansas. However, he spends most of his
time stomping around at home, occasion-
ally walking to Dallas or Kilgore and back.
See PEASE on Page 3A
New facility needed to house
young offenders as juvenile
crime rates rise dramatically
By Karel Holloway
Special to the Herald
A dramatic increase in
juvenile crime shows the
desperate need for a juve-
nile detention center in the
county, a coalition of judg-
es, the district attorney’s
office and law enforcement
said.
“I would say this is a di-
saster,” District Attorney
Erleigh Norville told county
commissioners at their reg-
ular Tuesday meeting.
County Court at Law
Judge Tracy Gold showed
commissioners statistics
on the increase in juve-
nile crime over the last five
years. There have been 155
juvenile felony and 224 class
A&B misdemeanors referred
to the courts this year. That
compares to 47 felonies and
69 misdemeanors referred
in 1918, according to the
Kaufman County Juvenile
Probation Department. And
the head of the probation
department said there have
been 40 cases since those
statistics were collected.
Monday night, he said,
he got a call concerning do-
mestic violence by a juve-
nile and a half hour later a
call concerning a stolen car
in Forney.
See CRIME on Page 5A

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