Wayne Bachus, a practicing Temple attorney who has served two terms as a judge in Bell County Court of Law No. 2, was a natural selection to direct the upcoming Temple Civic Theatre production of Inherit the Wind. David Stone photo

By DAVID STONE, Our Town Temple

Inherit the Wind, a fictionalized account of the 1925 Scopes Monkey Trial, opens April 1 at Temple Civic Theater.

The play — created by Jerome Lawrence and Robert E. Lee — has its roots in the 1925 trial of John T. Scopes, a Tennessee educator convicted for teaching evolution in his high school science classes.

Directing the local production is Wayne Bachus, a man who is no stranger to courtroom drama or community theater.

Bachus, a Temple attorney, is a former judge of Bell County Court of Law No. 2. He retired from the bench in 1989.

“I’ve been involved in theater since high school,” Bachus said during a weekend interview. “I played Count Mountjoy in our senior play, The Mouse That Roared.”

After graduating Temple High in 1964, Bachus returned to theatre in 1965.

“I was a student at Temple Junior College, and I received a phone call from Charlie Voelter,” Bachus remembered. “He needed someone to conduct a small orchestra for The Roar of the Grease Paint, The Smell of the Crowd.”

“Of course that was well before Temple Civic Theatre and its current building. The play was held at the old Cultural Activities Center in a former Church of Christ building at the corner of 7th and Avenue G.”

Over the years, the bulk of Bachus’ theater experience has been as a music director.

“I’ve directed a few productions and a one-act play, but I’ve been a music director for 20-something shows,” he said. “But I was asked to direct Inherit the Wind, and I figured with my real-life courtroom experience, it would be a good fit. Time will tell.”

Bachus called Inherit the Wind a “huge step” for a theatre that was shut down during the early stages of the COVID-19 pandemic.

“We were either shut down or doing things virtually for a while,” he said. “When we first came back live, we did shows with very small casts — Last of the Red-Hot Lovers had four people. But this show has a large cast. I believe we have more than 30 cast members.”

The original Inherit the Wind premiered in Dallas in 1955 to rave reviews, and soon Broadway picked up the rights. It has gone through several revivals since opening, and Hollywood released an Academy Award-nominated film version in 1960 starring Spencer Tracy, Frederic March and Gene Kelly.

The Temple Civic Theatre version of Inherit the Wind stars Gary Gosney as Henry Drummond, Chris Wohleb as Matthew Harrison Brady, Richard Tolleson as EK Hornbeck, Michael Gox as the judge, John Elwood as the Rev. Brown and Spencer Tolleson as Bertram Cates.

The production also features Leehana Preachers, Luke Picarezzi, Gracin Ivey, Anna Wohleb, Ken Miller, Ruby Jett, Earl Pian, Patrice Hunter, William Farthing, Brittany Robinson, Victoria Bongat, Dashon King, Chuck Ellis, John Ellwood, John Anderson, Margo Wyatt, Arden Stone, Cassy Stewart, Monty Roach, Bob Ritchie, Ted Hodge, Dan Becker, Jeff Howell and Jordan Brinkman.

Inherit the Wind centers around high school teacher Bertram Cates, who is arrested for teaching Darwin’s theory of evolution. Matthew Harrison Brady, a famous presidential candidate, comes to town to speak against Cates in court.

The town is excited by Brady’s arrival, and Brady promises to not only keep Cates in jail but to defend Christian values.

A town reporter, however, writes articles in support of Cates, and announces that progressive lawyer Henry Drummond from Chicago — an old friend of Brady — will defend Cates in court.

During the first day of the trial, a jury is selected, and it becomes clear that many of the jurors are highly in favor of Brady.

The jurors aren’t alone — that night a local minister leads a townwide prayer service, attended both by Brady and Drummond. The minister delivers a passionate sermon condemning Cates and his supporters. Brady interrupts the service, asking the town to remember Jesus’s message of forgiveness.

Temple Civic Theatre will present seven performances of  Inherit the Wind — April 1-3 and 7-10. For tickets and show times, visit templecivictheatre.com.

FRIDAY | MARCH 25, 2022

2022 Housing Summit is Tuesday at Mayborn Center in Temple

Our Town Temple

Industry leaders from Temple, Belton, Killeen and the surrounding area will discuss a variety of topics related to real estate and affordable housing at the 2022 Central Texas Housing Summit, set for Tuesday, March 29, at the Mayborn Civic & Convention Center.

The free summit begins at 8:30 a.m. and will run until 4.

Topics will include real estate investing, managing rental properties and affordable housing, in addition to identifying resources and government programs for builders, lenders, investors and small-business owners.

“Increasing affordable housing in the community will benefit Temple residents by allowing families to find homes within their budget and providing opportunities for individuals to start or grow their real estate business,” said Nancy Glover, Temple’s director of Housing and Community Development.

In a keynote presentation, Dr. Lloyd Potter, a Texas state demographer, will discuss the population growth in Central Texas and its impact on affordable housing.

For more information, call (254) 298-5997.

TC to host Poss-Abilities Job Fair on April 8

Our Town Temple

Temple College will host its Poss-Abilities Job Fair for high school students, college students and young adults with disabilities on Friday, April 8. 

Area employers will be on hand to meet with potential employees and job candidates. 

The event will be held in the Temple College Academic Center, 2600 S. 1st Street.

High school students are encouraged to attend from 9 a.m. to noon. College students and young adults with disabilities are invited from 1-3 p.m.

High schools can register online to bring groups of students. 

Individuals are encouraged to register online as well.

Sponsors include Workforce Solutions of Central Texas, UMHB Occupational Therapy, Central Counties Services, Altrusa International, and Heart of Central Texas Independent Living Center.

For additional information, call (254) 298-8335.

Rainwater harvesting program April 5 in Temple

Our Town Temple

Texas A&M AgriLife Extension Service’s Healthy Lawns and Healthy Waters Program will host a residential rainwater harvesting and turf management training on April 5 for Bell, Falls, McLennan and Milam counties.

The free event, which will be from 1-5 p.m., has both an in-person option and online option on the Zoom platform. The in-person training will be at the Texas A&M AgriLife Research and Extension Center Conference Room, 720 East Blackland Road, Temple.

Online registration is required at https://tx.ag/HLHWBEC or by contacting John Smith, AgriLife Extension program specialist, Bryan-College Station, at john.smith@ag.tamu.edu or (979) 204-0573.

Once attendees register for the event, updates and instructions to join the online meeting and materials related to the meeting will be sent via email.

The training is being offered in collaboration with Big Elm Creek Watershed Partnerships.

“The Healthy Lawns and Healthy Waters Program aims to improve and protect surface water quality by enhancing awareness and knowledge of best management practices for residential landscapes,” Smith said.

Dr. Becky Bowling, an AgriLife urban water specialist, said attendees will learn about the design and installation of residential rainwater harvesting systems as well as appropriate turf and landscape species based on local conditions and other practices.

“Management practices such as using irrigation delivery equipment, interpreting soil test results and understanding nutrient applications can help reduce runoff and make efficient use of applied landscape irrigation water,” Bowling said.

Belton Lake: Good

• Water lightly stained; 65 degrees; 3.33 feet low. The fish are less lethargic as the days increase and water warms. Check the wind forecast before heading out. Search in deeper water using deep topographic features for white bass. Success in 20 feet of water casting MAL Heavy Lures with silver blades and chartreuse tails while the light level was low just before, during and after sunrise. As the clouds thin and the skies brighten, fish deeper water using white, 5/8-ounce Bladed Hazy Eye Slabs vertically. This slab is attractive to white bass because it is the same size, color, and shape as the threadfin shad which make up the vast majority of the white bass diet. Next, the distinguishing feature of this lure, the small, spinning willowleaf blade attached to the treble hook, puts off flash and vibration. Finally, the stinger hook ups the catch rate on this lure by placing a hook at the head of the lure in addition to the standard placement of the treble hook at the tail end of the lure. Report by Bob Maindelle, Holding the Line Guide Service.

• Crappie and white bass continue to be excellent in the Leon River and Cowhouse Creek. Report by Zach Minnix, Jig N’ Jerk Guide Service.

Stillhouse Hollow: Good

• Water lightly stained; 51 degrees; 3.30 feet low. The fish are less lethargic as the days increase and water warms. White bass are hit-or-miss with small, nomadic groups milling around both upstream and downstream of the Lampasas River mouth. With a near total lack of current to draw these fish upstream to spawn, the fishing is not as consistent as it could be this time of year. Success horizontal casting with MAL Heavy Lures cast cross-wind. Report by Bob Maindelle, Holding the Line Guide Service.

TODAY’S BEST BETS :

• Artworks 2022 debuts today with an opening reception and ribbon-cutting at 5 p.m., and the CAC will be packed with children eager to show off their creations.

• Lonesome Dove: The Photo Exhibit is now open and runs through June 25 at Temple Railroad & Heritage Museum.

• Karaoke at Corkys, First song begins at 8 p.m.

• Megan Brucker live at Fire Base Brewery. 7 p.m. Lulamae’s Food Truck

• KCD Band live at Barrow Brewing at 7 p.m.

CALENDAR OF EVENTS

To include your events in What’s Happening, email information to OurTownTemple@gmail.com. Photos are welcome to for use in the publication as space permits!

NEWS FROM EVERYWHERE

At one time, there was a small community about halfway between Temple and Belton. Its claim to fame was the Interurban Station, a maintenance and transfer facility for the Interurban trolley system. What was the name of the village? ANSWER LOCATED AT END OF TODAY’S ISSUE

On this day in 1843, seventeen Texans were executed at Salado in Tamaulipas, Mexico. As the members of the defeated Mier expedition were being marched from Mier to Mexico City, they attempted a mass escape on February 11. Some 176 were recaptured, and Mexican dictator Santa Anna ordered that one in ten of the prisoners be shot. The victims were chosen by a lottery in which each man drew a bean from an earthen jar containing 176 beans, seventeen of which were black. This event has come to be known as the Black Bean Episode. The bodies were returned to Texas and are buried on Monument Hill at La Grange, Fayette County.

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On this day in 1918, in what proved to be the last serious incident of the border troubles initiated by the Mexican Revolution, Mexican raiders attacked the Neville ranch in northwest Presidio County. Edwin W. Neville's isolated ranch stretched for eighteen miles along the Rio Grande, six miles upriver from Porvenir. Neville and his son Glen were discussing the rumors of an attack when they heard a disturbance outside. Neville looked out and saw fifty approaching horsemen who opened fire on the house. Seeking protection, the Nevilles ran toward a ditch about 300 yards away. The older Neville reached the ditch uninjured, but the raiders shot Glen in the head and beat him with their rifle butts as he lay dying. The Nevilles' housekeeper, Rosa Castillo, was also shot and her body mutilated. As Neville wandered in the darkness, the raiders stole horses, clothes, bedding, and supplies. U.S. cavalry arrived soon after the raid and followed the trail of the bandits across the Rio Grande. In a gunfight at the village of Pilares thirty-three Mexicans were killed and eight were wounded. One American, private Carl Alberts, was also killed. The American soldiers destroyed all but one house in Pilares and recovered some of Neville's stolen property. It is likely that the Neville ranch raid was not a simple act of robbery, but retaliation for the Porvenir Massacre, which had taken place two months before. It is also likely that the raiders had Villista connections. In addition, soldiers found German-made Mauser rifles at Pilares, a fact that may suggest German involvement in the raid.

OurTownTemple@gmail.com | (254) 231-1574

TODAY’S TEMPLE TRIVIA ANSWER: There’s a strong hint in the clue: “Halfway” between Temple and Belton. Yep, Midway as in Midway Drive.