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Daily Newspaper and Travel Guide
for Pecos Country of West Texas
Top Stories
Thursday, March 9, 2000
Air Force offers Pecos group Dyess tour
By ROSIE FLORES
Staff Writer
PECOS, Mar. 9, 2000 - A group of Reeves County residents will experience
something new next Friday, when they receive a tour of Dyess Air Force
Base in Abilene and learn more about the mission of the B-1 bombers stationed
there.
The group will tour the base on March 17 and get a look at the operation
of the B-1s, which the Air Force plans to fly in a low-level loop over
Reeves County as part of its Realistic Bomber Training Initiative.
"We want them to understand our mission and what we're talking about,"
said Lt. Wes Ticer. "We want to show them how we do our mission."
"The Air Force contacted us and told us they want to keep up a good
relationship with the community," said Town of Pecos City Manager Kenneth
Neal.
"We'll gather at the civic center, early Friday morning and board the
van," said Neal. "They wanted us to gather about 25 individuals from the
community, from different aspects, such as the city, chamber and county,"
he said.
So far a good number of people from the city and chamber have signed
up to go along on the tour, with five seats reserved for county representatives.
"Lt. Ticer was trying to get a hold of Herman Tarin (Reeves County Commissioner
Precinct 3) to invite him along on the tour," said Neal. Tarin's precinct
includes the area where B-1 and B-52 bombers from Dyess and Barksdale AFB
are scheduled to make their lowest runs, while targeting an electronic
scoring site to be built in south-central Reeves County.
Tarin was in the hospital in Odessa this morning, undergoing surgery
on his foot, following an incident that occurred while at work on Feb.
18.
"I was riding on a horse, when it slipped and fell on my leg," said
Tarin.
The horse crushed his leg and broke his toe. "They'll have to do surgery
and put a pin in it," said Tarin.
Tarin has been on crutches since the accident happened and is scheduled
for surgery for 9 a.m. today. "I think it will go pretty good, the surgeon
is a very good one and I'll have to stay in the hospital, at least overnight,"
said Tarin.
"Hopefully he'll be better by next week and want to come along on the
tour," said Neal.
Several residents along the bombing run have voiced their opposition
to the plan, which was formally announced by the Air Force last month.
They say the flights can damage buildings and windows and scare livestock
in the area.
The Air Force told U.S. Rep. Henry Bonilla's office in late January
that the electronic scoring site would cost between $3.5 and $5 million
to build, and would add 31 jobs and an annual $1.6 million to the local
economy.
"Lt. Ticer told me the Air Force wants to be a good member of the community
and possibly participate in other events in town, such as the parade and
the rodeo," said Neal.
Neal stated that this will be the first tour the air force offers the
citizens of Pecos, but it won't be the last. "Also, if other members of
the community ever want to visit and tour the facility, they will do the
same for them, as they are doing this time," said Neal.
The General Commander has invited the group, along with other citizens
from the Snyder area, including eight counties for the tour. "He invited
them to come out and see what we're all about," said Ticer.
Snyder is and the other counties are within the Lancer training site,
which the bombers will fly though at higher altitudes before beginning
their lower-level runs through Reeves County.
Both groups will receive a briefing when they first get there, a Wing
Mission Briefing, to let them know what they do and how they do it, according
to Ticer.
"We'll be taking them into the B-1 Simulator and they will be seeing
a weapons demonstration," said Ticer.
The group will also watch the load crews, load up, see the jet repair
center and go inside a real B-1, according to Ticer. "They will get a briefing
from the pilot, a familiarization tour."
"This is so that they will know exactly what we do and see it first
hand," said Ticer. "They can then answer questions other community members
might have."
"They'll know what it's all about and possibly squelch rumors about
the air force and their mission," said Ticer.
Ticer said the Air Force had asked the city to get a cross-section of
people to come to the tour so that they can return to Reeves County and
answer any questions.
The group will leave at 6:30 a.m. and be back in Pecos by 8 p.m.
Council honors swimmers, sets election
By SMOKEY BRIGGS
Staff Writer
PECOS, Mar. 9, 2000 - Town of Pecos City Council recognized the accomplishments
of the Pecos High School Swim Team today by declaring today as "Pecos Swim
Team Day."
Coach Terri Morse and her team attended this morning's meeting and the
council presented three plaques recognizing both swim team coaches and
the team.
"We are so pleased to have you all here to day and we are extremely
proud of your accomplishments," Mayor Dot Stafford said.
For Mayor Pro Tem Danny Rodriguez the day was extra-special as he recognized
the team and also presented one of the coach's plaques to his son, Rene
Rodriguez, a graduate of Pecos High and a former student athlete under
Morse.
Coach Morse told the council that the boys' team won their district
and region before going to state and the girls' team was the runner-up
in district and region this year.
At state, the Eagle boys placed fifth overall in the state's first-ever
Class 4A swim meet, and were the only swimmers not from a large metropolitan
area among the point leaders.
"We really appreciate the city council recognizing us like this," Morris
said.
In other business the council received Department of Health Director
Armando Gil's report regarding the remediation of the property located
at 5202 S. Cedar St, that used to be a gas station.
Earlier in the year the council solicited bids on the property, which
the city owns, and then rejected the bids at the last council meeting.
At that meeting, the council voted to have the property appraised and to
look into the cost of removing the underground fuel tanks buried on the
property, as well as the cost of demolishing the structures on it.
In his report Gil estimated that remediation could cost more than $100,000
over the long term.
The council took no action concerning the property besides receiving
the report.
"Since the property was a gas station, remediation (removing fuel products
from the soil and ground water that have escaped either from leaks or spills)
can be very expensive," Gil said. "The project at Ninth Street and Cedar
has been going on for five years or so and we are still pulling more product
(petroleum products) from the ground water than we are getting actual water."
The council also read and approved an Order of Election providing for
a city election to be held May 6. The city will elect two councilmen and
a mayor, all to two-year terms.
The terms of Mayor Dot Stafford, and councilmen Ricky Herrera and Johnny
Terrazas all expire this year. All three have announced their candidacies
for the upcoming election.
The council also adopted resolution #20-3-2-R, establishing a central
voting station for the election and appointing election officers. The voting
station will be the county clerk's office at the county courthouse.
In discussing matters to be put on the next meeting's agenda, Councilman
Ricky Herrera voiced his concern with the safety of the railroad crossing
at Alamo Street.
"When the railroad was replacing the rails it took some of the crossing
signs down and at least one is still down," Herrera said. "Also, there
are several empty train cars parked near the intersection that really block
motorists' view of on-coming trains."
Herrera asked that the topic be on the agenda for the next meeting and
that the city contact Union Pacific and Pecos Valley Southern Railroad
about the problem so that representatives from both could attend the next
meeting.
"Most importantly, I want to see the city contact the railroad before
the next meeting, to see if something can be done about this right away,
before someone gets hurt," he said.
The council asked City Manager Kenneth Neal to contact both railroads
that use the tracks, Union Pacific and Pecos Valley, to see what can be
done about the cars parked near the intersection and the missing crossing
sign.
"Since the item wasn't on the agenda the council couldn't take any action
but they did request that I contact the railroads and see what we can do,
and we'll do that right away," Neal said.
Area's tax rebate figures show increase for March
By JON FULBRIGHT
Staff Writer
PECOS, Mar. 9, 2000 - January sales in West Texas rebounded from a
bad December, with most area cities seeing their tax rebate checks from
Austin increase compared with a year ago.
Texas Comptroller Carole Keeton Rylander sent out checks to Texas cities,
counties and other taxing districts this week, and all three cities in
Reeves County saw their checks increase over last March's totals.
Pecos' check this month was up 5.6 percent, after a 16.9 percent fall
in February. The city got a check for $61,752 from Rylander's office, up
from the $58,476 sent back a year ago, based on Pecos' 1½-cent share
of the state's 8¼ percent sales tax. For the first three months
of 2000, the city's tax rebate total stands at $199,577, virtually unchanged
from a year ago.
Balmorhea, one of the few cities to see an increase in its check last
month, more than doubled its total this time around. The city's $474 check
was one-third of what it received in February, based on sales during the
Christmas holiday season, but it was still up 123 percent from the $212
check it got back last March.
Toyah, which saw it's check last month drop by two-thirds from a year
ago, got back $585 from Austin this time, double the amount from both last
month and a year ago.
Area cities like Fort Stockton, Marfa and Big Spring, also saw their
checks increase by about five percent, while others reported double-digit
jumps in their tax rebate checks.
The Reeves County Hospital District joined Pecos in getting about five
percent more back from Austin this month. The hospital received a check
for $22,814 as their ½-cent share of the state sales tax.
Couple heads to rodeo for 67th anniversary
By ROSIE FLORES
Staff Writer
PECOS, Mar. 9, 2000 - A long-time Pecos couple will be celebrating
their 67th anniversary on March 18 by attending a rodeo in the
city where they were wed.
Love was in the air in Pecos back in 1933, when a young 23-year-old
rancher, Norman Eisenwine had asked for the hand of his 20 year-old sweetheart,
Annevlyn Roberson.
Since both of the families were in the ranching business the young couple
thought it would be a great idea to get married in Fort Worth during the
Stock Show.
Back in 1933 times and things were different in a lot of ways. The Southwestern
Exposition and Livestock Show was the Fat Stock Show and Rodeo and it was
held in March instead of February.
Annevlyn's mother went along with the idea of a Fort Worth ceremony,
and they all made the then long trip to from Pecos to the big city where
their families had been sending their cattle to auction through the years.
They had a special time at the rodeo along with that very special event
of exchanging marriage vows at the St. Patrick Catholic Church in downtown
Fort Worth.
The bride's mother, Mrs. Roberson, was in attendance at the wedding,
but the couple kept it a secret from their friends from Pecos who had also
attended the rodeo. They, at the time, thought it was a fun thing to surprise
them by having a secret marriage and then springing it upon them later.
After 1933 the couple continued living in Pecos, where they raised their
five children. Norman is now 90 years old and Annevlyn is 87. Three years
ago they were persuaded to leave Pecos and move to Ennis, a Dallas suburb,
where Louis and Norma, two of their children live. They have two other
daughters, Carolyn, in Fort Worth and Marilyn in Georgetown. Another son,
Jim, is in Dallas.
They celebrated again this year in Fort Worth by attending the 2 p.m.
rodeo on Feb. 1.
"We had a good time," said Annevlyn. "We really enjoyed the show. We
met with family and friends for lunch, then went to the rodeo. It was nice."
She said she and her husband particularly enjoyed the fireworks show
and the chuck wagon races.
Although it has been years since they first came to the Stock Show Rodeo,
the Eisenwines have long been involved in the West of the Pecos Rodeo.
One reason Annevlyn came to Fort Worth in 1933 was to represent the Pecos
Rodeo, considered to be the oldest rodeo in the country.
She was queen of the Pecos rodeo and was featured on the front of the
March 15, 1933, Fort Worth Star-Telegram. The headline read, "Miss Roberson
Representative of Oldest Rodeo in United States." The photo showed her
wearing her banner across her chest.
"Wearing cowboy boots and breeches, a red jacket and a broad-brimmed
cowboy hat, Miss Roberson was a picture of the cowgirl of the old West,"
the story said.
Last year Norman was honored during the West of the Pecos Rodeo. He's
never missed a rodeo since he started going, and he's had the same box
seats since the current arena was built.
Seminar scheduled on business taxes at Civic Center
PECOS, Mar. 9, 2000 - The Pecos Chamber of Commerce/CVB, the Big Bend Region
Minority and Small Business Development Center of Sul Ross State University,
and the Internal Revenue Service will be presenting a workshop on "Understanding
Your Business Taxes."
The workshop will be held on Wednesday, March 29, from 5 p.m. until
8 p.m., at the Reeves County Civic Center.
This workshop is free of charge and will cover such topics as: Should
you be a corporation, a limited liability company or a sole proprietor?
How do I find out how much money I am making? And How do I determine my
employment taxes?
This workshop is open to everyone.
You can earn CPE credits on this seminar. Call Tom Rivera at the Pecos
Chamber of Commerce at 445-2406, to register or for more information.
Lotto
AUSTIN (AP) - No ticket correctly matched all six numbers drawn Wednesday
night for the twice-weekly Lotto Texas game, state lottery officials said.
The numbers drawn Wednesday night from a field of 50 were: 1-13-17-28-29-44.
Saturday night's drawing will be worth an estimated $13 million.
***
AUSTIN (AP) - The winning Pick 3 numbers drawn Wednesday by the Texas
Lottery, in order: 4-6-9 (four, six, nine)
Weather
PECOS, Mar. 9, 2000 - High Wednesday 75. Low this morning 45. Forecast
for tonight: Partly cloudy. Low around 40. West wind 10-15 mph. Friday:
Partly cloudy and breezy. High 70-75. West wind 15-25 mph and gusty. Friday
night: Mostly clear. Low in the mid 30s. Saturday: Partly cloudy. Lows
40-45. Highs 75-80.
Pecos Enterprise
York M. "Smokey" Briggs, Publisher
Division of Buckner News Alliance, Inc.
324 S. Cedar St., Pecos, TX 79772
Phone 915-445-5475, FAX 915-445-4321
e-mail news@pecos.net
Associated Press text, photo, graphic, audio and/or video material shall not be published, broadcast, rewritten for broadcast or publication or redistributed directly or indirectly in any medium.
Copyright 2000 by Pecos Enterprise
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