|
Daily Newspaper and Travel Guide
for Pecos Country of West Texas
Top Stories
Wednesday, November 1, 2000
Area near RCH focus of group seeking jail site
By LEIA HOLLAND
Staff Writer
PECOS, November 1, 2000 - Two sites near Reeves County Hospital are
the focus of the Town of Pecos City's search for a location to build its
new Police Department and Municipal Law Enforcement Center.
The City Council appointed six members to the site selection committee
for the new Municipal Law Enforcement Center during a special meeting Monday.
Members of the committee include U.S. Marshal Billy Johnson, President
of Corplan Corrections James Parkey, Mayor Ray Ortega, Councilman Johnny
Terrazas, Interim City Manager Octavio Garcia and Police Chief Clay McKinney.
McKinney said the committee has two proposed site locations for the
new facility.
The first is city property west of the Reeves County Hospital and the
other site is property east of the hospital.
"Those are the two sites we'll initially look at and considered," he
said. "There's a possibility that the committee may reject both of them."
McKinney said there were several sites looked at for the facility.
"We kicked around a lot of different places to look at, these two sites
kept coming up," he said.
McKinney said the two sites were chosen based on several factors, including
using city owned property, easy access to Interstate 20 and close proximity
to town but far enough away from residential areas.
Once the committee chooses a site, McKinney said the next step would
be having an environmental impact study.
The new facility would allow the U.S. Marshal's Service to house inmates
awaiting trial at the Lucius D. Bunton Federal Courthouse in Pecos.
McKinney said the schematic floor plan was finished about two weeks
ago.
The building would include enough space for the whole police department,
as well as the jail facility.
McKinney said the space was designed with the help of Winkler County
Sheriff Robert Roberts, who runs a similar facility in Kermit.
"The ideas that he had were good ideas," he said. "He's been pretty
helpful."
Since the police department is moving into the new facility once it
is built, McKinney said he has talked with Reeves County Sheriff Andy Gomez
about the possibility of renting the currant police station building to
the Trans-Pecos Drug Task Force. The Police Station and Sheriff's Department
currently are located a block from each other on South Oak Street.
McKinney said the committee would probably meet next week to discuss
the sites.
Ex-DA facing Acker in Ward County race
By JON FULBRIGHT
Staff Writer
PECOS, November 1, 2000 - Contested races in the Nov. 7 general election
are few and far between on the local level in the area, but Ward County
voters, including those in Barstow, will have a little more choice to select
from than those in Reeves County, with a contested race for the Texas House,
along with two local write-in candidates.
One, former 143rd District Attorney Hal Upchurch, is running
against Kevin Acker for the position of Ward County Attorney. Upchurch
has been in private practice in Monahans since serving as DA for Reeves,
Ward and Loving counties in the late 1980s and early 1990s, while Acker
is running as a Democrat to retain the post of county attorney he's held
since the early 1990s.
All Ward County voters will decide the Upchurch-Acker race, while the
other write-in race will not involve voters in Barstow. Pablo Valles is
challenging incumbent Ron Widdess for the position of Precinct 3 Commissioner
in next Tuesday's election.
At the area level, Republican Steve Fryar is challenging incumbent Democrat
Bob Turner for re-election to the Texas House of Representatives. The 35-year-old
Fryar is seeking to unseat the 66-year-old Turner as District 73 representative,
which includes Ward and part of Ector County.
The other area race is for the 23rd Congressional District
seat, where Republican incumbent Henry Bonilla is facing Democratic challenger
Isidro Garza. That race is also on the ballot in Reeves County, along with
other regional judicial races, and the statewide balloting for president
and U.S. Senate.
Early voting in Ward County continues through Friday at the Ward County
Courthouse in Monahans. Voters next Tuesday in Box 1 (Barstow) can cast
their ballots from 7 a.m. to 7 p.m. at the Barstow Community Center.
Motel's owners donate $5,000 for vests
By ROSIE FLORES
Staff Writer
PECOS, November 1, 2000 - Reeves County's fundraising effort to purchase
new bulletproof vests for its deputies moved a lot closer to completion
on Tuesday, thank to a large donation from the owner of the Quality Inn
in Pecos.
Sam and Andy Patel presented Reeves County Sheriff Arnulfo "Andy" Gomez
with a check for $5,000, to go towards the purchase of vests for the department's
10 deputies.
The sheriff's department had been trying to raise funds for the Kevlar
vests equipment since July, both to outfit all deputies and to replace
the department's old vests, which no longer provided secure protection.
At the time, Gomez asked Reeves County Commissioners to approve the
sale of machine gun equipment, with some of the funds going towards buying
the vests.
"We have been offered $3,000 for this equipment that has been in storage
for many years, and want to use the money to buy vests for the deputies,"
said sheriff Andy Gomez.
Each vest costs about $500, the sheriff said during the July 10 commissioner's
court meeting.
On Tuesday, Gomez said the Patels' donation was very much appreciated
by his crew.
Patel said the equipment was very important, since the deputies are
always risking their lives to protect the community. "We appreciate all
they do for everyone in this community," said Patel.
A fundraiser was held this past weekend in an effort to get money for
the vests, and other events had previously been held.
"We had been trying for a couple of months now to raise money, and now
this gift, it's just great and we'll never forget it," said Gomez. "It's
people like this that make this a great community to live in."
"We plan to work even harder for the people," he said.
Garcia to receive Teacher of Year honor next week
PECOS, November 1, 2000 - Pecos Elementary teacher Eva Garcia will be honored
as the Region 18 Elementary School Teacher of the Year during a ceremony
set for Wednesday, Nov. 8, at the Region 18 Education Service Center, 2811
LaForce Blvd., near Midland International Airport.
Garcia is being honored along with Kathy Lollar of Nimitz Junior High
School in Odessa, who was named Region 18 Secondary School Teacher of the
Year, according to a press release today from the Region 18 Service Center.
Obituary
Ruby Walker
Ruby Evelyn Walker, 91, of Pecos, died Monday, Oct. 30, 2000, at her residence.
Funeral services will be held at 4 p.m., Thursday, Nov. 2, at First
Baptist Church in Pecos, with Rev. Greer Willis officiating. Burial will
be in Fairview Cemetery, following the services.
She was born on Sept. 7, 1909, to William E. and Susie Pearl Poer. Tiny,
as she was known to family and friends, was born on the V.H. Ranch near
Pecos and attended Sul Ross State Teacher's College and Mary Hardin Baylor.
She married Guy E. Walker on July 7, 1931. They made their home in Pecos
where Tiny taught in the Pecos schools. She was a lifetime member of First
Baptist Church where she taught Sunday School for many years. She was also
a "Life Member" of the Merry Wives Club, having been in the club for more
than 50 years.
Walker was preceded in death by her husband, Guy E. Walker in 1982.
Survivors include one sister, Edna Withers of Pecos; one brother, Truett
Poer of Monahans; three daughters, Carol Chinn and Kathy Garlitz of Pecos
and Evelyn Cowart of Arkadelphia, Ark.; two grandchildren, Cheryl Cowart
of Arkadelphia and Tim Garlitz of Pecos and several nieces and nephews.
The family requests that in lieu of flowers memorials may be made to
Paisano Baptist Encampment at "Paisano Memorials", P.O. Box 431, Pecos,
Tx. 79772.
Pecos Funeral Home is in charge of arrangements.
Weather
PECOS, November 1, 2000 - High Tuesday 85. Low this morning 50. Mostly
clear. Low in the mid to upper 30s. Northwest wind 5-10 mph. Thursday:
Partly cloudy. High near 70. South wind 10-15 mph. Thursday night: Increasing
cloudiness. Low in the mid 40s. Friday: Mostly cloudy with a chance of
showers and thunderstorms. Low in the mid 40s to near 50. High in the upper
60s to the mid 70s.
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
|
