Week in Review: Pay raises, pigs, water woes and more

Morning traffic was stalled for more than an hour as emergency crews and first responders got the call at 6:42 a.m.

DPS troopers stated the preliminary investigation revealed a 2018 black Mercedes Benz, operated by 21-year-old male from Copperas Cove was racing the Audi on westbound I-14. The vehicles collided with each other near the Clear Creek Road overpass and the Mercedes Benz struck a 2007 blue Ford Taurus, operated by a 57-year-old male from Killeen, who sustained serious injuries.

Multiple reports and photos began appearing on social media shortly after the incident which indicated that the Mercedes caught fire and was burning when help arrived.

As of May 12, charges had yet to be filed.

Copperas Cove ISD drastically raises pay

Teachers, registered nurses and librarians in Copperas Cove ISD will soon receive a large bump in pay. In a drastic shift to the right of its entire pay scale, the school district sent salary levels well past other area school districts.

The new pay scale, which was unanimously approved last week by the Copperas Cove ISD board of trustees, includes a pay increase of $1,000 per year of experience after the sixth year of experience as well as a large increase to the top end of the scale. Employees paid on the teacher pay scale can now earn up to $73,000 if they have 20 years of experience.

All other employees will receive a 3% raise off of their position’s midpoint salary or wage.

Pigs approved with new Killeen ordinance amendment

After two weeks of discussion, the Killeen City Council voted 4-3 last week to approve amending the Chapter 6 ordinance to allow miniature pigs within city limits.

In the “Citizen’s Comments” section of Tuesday’s council meeting, several residents expressed support for Penny May — a Vietnamese pot-bellied pig, and her owner Jewellian Jones — including former mayoral candidate James Everard, who voiced his support.

Along with Everard, Bill Paquette and Kathleen Anguiano both voiced their support for resident Jewellian Jones to keep Penny May.

The topic came to the council’s attention when Jones came to present her citizen’s petition last month after Animal Services made attempts to seize Penny May.

Copperas Cove funeral home owner dies in tragic accident

Tragedy befell a local funeral home last week when its funeral director died in a boat-loading accident at Temple Lake Park. Ronnie Viss, who had been a funeral director in the area for many years, was pronounced dead at the scene after getting hit by the bow of a boat while loading it on a dock, officials said.

City leaders and his friends remembered Viss, owner of Viss Family Funeral Home in Copperas Cove, as being a man who was always looking for ways to help others. They also referred to him as a true friend who will be deeply missed.

Water woes strike Killeen area

What began as a water line break on May 7 quickly turned into a near-tragic situation as a power outage on May 8 caused the Belton Lake Water Treatment Facility to go offline.

As a result, area residents dealt with water restrictions and boil-water notices that lasted a few days.

The top 10 most read stories on kdhnews.com from May 8 through May 14 were:

1) “Copperas Cove ISD drastically raises teacher pay; all other employees to get bump, too” — https://bit.ly/3ldtSJc

2) “Copperas Cove funeral home owner dies in boat-loading accident” — https://bit.ly/3yzhRpz

3) “Killeen drug bust lands four in jail” — https://bit.ly/37QlRag

4) “Local pool business being sued, accused of shoddy work” — https://bit.ly/3yzer68

5) “‘Abnormal’ test leads to extended boil-water notice for 7,000-plus residents” — https://bit.ly/38nPz6P

6) “Power outage spurs Killeen-Fort Hood area boil-water notices” — https://bit.ly/3MiRJDf

7) “Central Texas cities begin lifting boil-water notices” — https://bit.ly/38oOTOy

8) “Killeen police: Drunken driver sneaks into back of patrol car, beer in hand” — https://bit.ly/3wehRto

9) “Major crash near Clear Creek overpass in Killeen” — https://bit.ly/3yDtlbE

10) “Judge sentences Killeen man to the max after racking up 7 family violence convictions” — https://bit.ly/3sxbTkX