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Newspaper and Travel Guide
for Pecos Country of West Texas

Friday, July 8, 2005

T-storm, winds hammer homes, park in Barstow

For the second time in less than a week, high winds from a storm caused damage in the Barstow area of Ward County, this time damaging both homes and the Barstow Community Center Park late Wednesday evening.

Barstow was on the southern edge of a line of storms that passed through the area about 9:45 p.m. on Wednesday. Severe thunderstorm warnings were issued by the National Weather Service for Loving County and northern Reeves County, but no warnings were in place for western Ward County when the storm hit.

The winds were strong enough to knock down a concrete wall at the Community Center’s park, as well as blowing a pitched roof off one of the picnic table areas. Several other homes in the community were damaged, including that of Precinct 1 Commissioner Julian Florez.

“We had some damage. The north side wall of the park where the Community Center is was knocked down, and I had some damage to my roof. Some of the tin was blown off,” Florez said. “We also had some trees blown down.”

Workers from the Ward County Precinct 1 road and bridge barn were out Thursday morning making initial repairs at the Community Center, which serves both people in the Barstow area along with those from Pecos.

“What we will probably do on the cement wall is put it back up,” Florez said. “With the wind that blew the top off the picnic table, we’ll probably just go back up with tin and pipe.”

Tuesday’s storm was the latest to cause damage in western Ward County. Last Friday, a line of storms that came up from the south knocked down power lines next to Interstate 20 just to the south of Barstow and caused a tank battery fire, while lightning from a storm that passed through the area on May 26 caused a fire that destroyed the home of Johnny Terrazas, which was located just north of town.

Friday’s storm did more damage to the east of Barstow, and Florez said county crews were busy earlier this week cleaning up storm damage in the Monahans area. “We just got through cleaning up the golf course at Monahans. We finished hauling trees and branches to the dump,” Florez said.

According to Texas-New Mexico Power Co., 10 transmission poles were damaged in the July 1 storm. Additional crews were brought in from two other T-NP locations to complete repairs and restore service.

T-NP said the outages began about 8 p.m. on Friday, and full power was restored to homes by 5:25 p.m. the following day.

“Because we maintain a local presence in Pecos, our crews were on hand and ready to respond quickly to the outage,” said Donald Hunt, customer relations manager for the company.

Daytime heating that has sent temperatures into the mid and upper 100s for all but one day during the past week have helped spark the evening Thunderstorms. The National Weather Service said a slight chance of thunderstorms would continue in the forecast through the weekend, though high temperatures were supposed to decline slightly to around the 100-degree mark.

Eddy St. crash involves police, pick-up trucks

Three people were slightly injured in an accident Tuesday evening involving a Pecos Police Department car and two other vehicles.

The accident happened at 10:15 p.m. on Tuesday at the intersection of Third and Eddy streets and was investigated by the Department of Public Safety, due to the involvement of the police vehicle. According to DPS Cpt. Emmit Moore, the police car was en route to a disturbance when it struck a red 1994 Chevrolet pickup, which spun around and struck a Nissan pick-up, which was stopped at the intersection.

Five people were involved in the accident, the drivers of all three vehicles, pluss a passenger in the Nissan pickup and an officer riding in the police car.

“No one was seriously hurt,” Moore said, though the two officers in the patrol car, Olga Urias and Julio Quinones, were transported to Reeves County Hospital, along with a passenger in the Nissan pick-up.

“Last night (Tuesday) when I left the hospital, everyone seemed to be OK,” Moore said. No citations were reported issued as of Wednesday evening in connection with the incident.

Police continue investigations into shooting, death of infant

Pecos Police are continuing their investigations into two separate late-June incidents, one involving a drive-by shooting and the second involving the an infant found dead in a bathtub in her family’s home.

Police Cpt. Kelly Davis said on Wednesday that investigators are awaiting the final autopsy report on the death of Kyera Alyzae Archuleta. The 11-month old girl died on June 17 at Reeves County Hospital, just over an hour after Pecos Police officers and ambulance personnel were called to the home, in reference to a possible drowning. Town of Pecos City Police Chief Clay McKinney said at the time of the incident that Kyera’s mother, Heather Archuleta, told officers that she had been giving the baby a bath at the time of the accident.

Three officers responded to the call at 1111 S. Cherry St. and McKinney said officers and then EMS personnel administered CPR to the infant, while a family member later told the Enterprise that Archuleta also gave CPR to her daughter before officers arrived on the scene.

Efforts to revive the child failed, and McKinney said that the baby was pronounced dead at Reeves County Hospital, at 9:20 p.m., by Justice of the Peace Jim Riley.

Riley ordered an autopsy be performed on Kyera Archuleta, and on Wednesday Davis said that while preliminary results had come in, they were still awaiting a final autopsy report before making any further determinations in their investigation.

“We’ve gotten the preliminaries, but they haven’t finished the tests yet,” said Davis, who added officers have conducted further interviews with family members.

The drive-by shooting took place in the early morning hours of June 25 in the 1200 block of South Willow Street. McKinney said immediately following the incident that a bullet did strike the door area of the house, but there was no one injured.

Police were told the vehicle reportedly used in the shooting was a car, and that a shotgun apparently was the weapon fired at the home. McKinney added at the time that a dispute between the nephew of the owner of the home and some other people on June 24 may have led to the incident, but as on Wednesday no arrests had been made in the case.

Evans receives Walton scholarship

Zachary Evans, of Kermit, received the Sam Walton Community Scholarship. He will be attending Texas State University and major in history.

While attending Kermit High School, Evans was in the Student Council; the National Honor Society; Texas Technology Students Association; was class president; was a member of the Interact Club (community service); International Thespian Society; Junior Leadership; played varsity football; varsity track; the set the district meet record in 110 meter high hurdles with a time of 14.4 seconds and in 2005 qualified for regional competion, 110 meter high hurdles, high jump and 300 meter hurdles.

In powerlifting from 2000-2005, he received the Most Improved Award in his sophomore and junior years.

Honors he has accomplished include: the TAKS Academic Recognition in History and Science 2002; Junior Class Favorite 2004; TAKS Academic Recognition in Math 2003; received a First and Best in State at the TTSA State Competition 2004; received a First and Beset in State at the TTSA State Competition 2005; Rotary International Student of the Month for August 2004; Senior Class Favorite 2005; voted Mr. KHS for 2005 by high school student body and voted Most Talented by Senior Class 2005.

Police Report

EDITOR’S NOTE: Information contained in the Police Report is obtained from reports filed by the Pecos Police Department, Reeves County Sheriff’s Office, or other officers of those agencies. The serving of warrants by an officer for outstanding fines of either traffic citations, animal control violations or other court costs are considered arrests and will be printed as such unless indicated that the fines were paid. In such instances we will indicate payment and release.

*** Cesar Carrasco Venegas, 18, 2128 S. Park St., was arrested by Pecos police on July 1 in the 200 block of South Oak Street. Police said Venegas attempted to flee officers after they tried to stop the vehicle he was in for a traffic violation, finally running from the vehicle in the alley in the 1200 block between Walnut and Pecan streets. Venegas was caught at 13th and Walnut streets and taken to the Criminal Justice Center on a charge of evading arrest or detention, a State Jail Felony.

*** and German David Venegas, 25, of Irving, Tex., was arrested on July 3 in the 500 block of Walthall Street on a charge of driving while intoxicated, a Class B misdemeanor, and on a warrant issued out of Dallas for another DWI charge. Police were called to the scene following an accident involving Venegas’ Nissan pick-up and another vehicle. No one was reported injured in the accident, but Venegas was transported to the Criminal Justice Center on the two DWI charges.

*** Delfino Lujan, Jr., 53, was arrested by police on July 2 on a charge of public intoxication. Police said the incident occurred at the Buck Jackson Rodeo Arena.

*** Hernando Losoya, 18, 1005 s. Pecan St., was arrested by police on July 1 at his home and charged with assault under the family violence act. Police said they were called to the address in response to a disturbance and met with Edubigen Ocon, who told them her husband, Losoya, had assaulted her. Police said they confirmed an assault did occur, and then transported to Losoya to the Criminal Justice Center.

*** Harold Eugene Wade, 47, of Springfield, Colo., was arrested by police on July 1 at the Amigos Shell gas station, 5301 S. Cedar St., on a charge of public intoxication. Wade was transported from the gas station to the Criminal Justice Center following his arrest.

*** Arturo Saenz, Jr., 20, 2109 Cactus St., was arrested by police on June 22 and charged with possession of marijuana and requirement of financial responsibility on a motor vehicle. Police said the arrest was made in the 600 block of South Eddy Street following a traffic violation, after a records check showed the violation involving the vehicle, and a search turned up the marijuana in the vehicle. Saenz was then transported by police to the Criminal Justice Center.

*** Ismael Menchaca, 29, 704 East Fourth St., was arrested by police on June 22 at his home on warrants charging him with failure to appear on several traffic violations out of the police department and the Ector County Sheriff’s Department. Police said the local charges included four counts of no liability insurance, parking on a roadway, four counts of no valid driver’s license, theft of service, expired registration, expired motor vehicle inspection and the Ector County warrant for motion to revoke probation on a possession of marijuana conviction. Menchaca was arrested and taken to the Criminal Justice Center.

*** Javier Aguilar Herrera, 42, 901 E. Ninth St., was arrested at his home on June 22 on a warrant charging him with criminal non-support, issued by the Reeves County Sheriff’s Department. Herrera was taken to the Pecos Criminal Justice Center.

*** Mike C. Garcia, 20, 311 S. Willow St., was arrested by police on June 20 at the intersection of Jackson and Johnson streets on a warrant charging him with assault causing bodily injury, a Class A misdemeanor. Police said the arrest was made following a traffic stop, and Garcia was then taken to the Criminal Justice Center.

*** Raul Barrera, 18, 324 N. Walnut St., was arrested by police on June 25 in the 100 block of South Cedar Street on a warrant charging him with criminal mischief over $500 and under $1,500, a Class A misdemeanor. Police said the warrant was issued through the Ward County Sheriff’s Department, and Barrera was arrested while attending the Night in Old Pecos celebration. He was then transported by police to the Criminal Justice Center.

*** Julio Venegas, 35, 2128 Wyoming St., was arrested by police on June 26 in the 1000 block of Normandy Street on a charge of public intoxication. Police said the arrest was made after officers stopped a vehicle in which Venegas was a passenger. He was then taken to the Criminal Justice Center.

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Pecos Enterprise
York M. "Smokey" Briggs, Publisher
324 S. Cedar St., Pecos, TX 79772
Phone 432-445-5475, FAX 432-445-4321
e-mail news@pecos.net

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