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Daily Newspaper and Travel Guide
for Pecos Country of West Texas
Top Stories
Monday, February 5, 2001
Ivy named Citizen of Year at annual banquet
By ROSIE FLORES
Staff Writer
PECOS, February 5, 2001 - A former Scout member and Marine veteran who
once saved the life of a young boy and has operated his own business in
Pecos for many years accepted the award of Citizen of the Year at the Annual
Pecos Area Chamber of Commerce Banquet, held Saturday night at the Reeves
County Civic Center.
"I should have known something was up when my father showed up," said
Citizen of the Year Jim Ivy, who said he was surprised by the honor.
Ivy was born at the Camp Hospital in Pecos, was a graduate of Texas
A&M University and served with the U.S. Marines during the Vietnam
War.
"He leads by example," said Greer Willis, pastor of First Baptist Church,
who presented the award at Saturday evening's event.
"Jim is a very dedicated Christian gentleman and family man," said Willis.
He is the owner of The Water Works in Pecos and married to Jeanne Johnson
Ivy, who is a teacher at Pecos High School. They have two children, Matthew,
a student at Baylor University in Waco, and a daughter, Kelly Deatherage
of Amarillo. The have one grandson.
Ivy is a member of the First Baptist Church where he is a deacon and
has served as Chairman of the Board and sings in the choir. He also serves
as Chairman of the Prayer Committee for Pecos Improvement Group, is a member
of the Pecos Area Chamber of Commerce, where he is very active in serving
in needed capacities and has also served on the city council.
He is a member of the Rotary Club International, where he has served
as president and has served on various committees.
"This man is very friendly, considerate, helpful person with great integrity
and honesty," said Willis.
"He is always ready to give of his time, talents and finances to assist
people when the needed arises. He has helped with Christmas in April, where
people build or repair homes for the needy. He is very helpful in that
he, on many occasions picks up articles of clothing and furniture and distributes
them to needy families or families less fortunate than others. He never
wants credit for this nor do many people know about it.
"A lot of us want to see this community improve and this man has demonstrated
Christian compassion," said Willis.
"I think Pecos is a really great place to live and raise a family,"
said Ivy, upon accepting the prestigious award.
Ivy said that he and his wife have lived in different parts of the world,
while in the armed forces, but "our heart was always in Pecos."
"It's not the mountains, or the trees or the scenery, it's the people
that make it a great place to live," said Ivy. "The people are the best
here."
State Rep. Gary Walker was guest speaker for this year's banquet, while
Town of Pecos City Councilman Johnny Terrazas served as the banquet's emcee.
Walker talked about the Texas Legislature's session, which began on
Jan. 9. He said that he was proud former Texas Gov. George W. Bush was
in the White House serving as our president, but added the rural areas
of the state are facing problems.
"Something happened with the state in regard to rural counties," said
Walker. "We don't have as much money, but we do believe something will
happen for Texas."
Walker said one of the items he is very interested in and working with,
is attracting and keeping good teachers.
"Education is very important and we'll do our best to improve the quality,"
said Walker.
Walker spoke of the rural economy and about plans to create a new agency.
"Rural counties in Texas are very important and we want to keep them
alive," said Walker.
"There's a total number of state dollars that are generated and the
rural areas are having a hard time," said Walker.
Walker said that redistricting is one of the major items on the Legislature's
agenda. The increase in population has been mostly in the state's big cities
and surrounding areas, and this new agency is designed to help the rural
communities that have seen their populations either remain stable or decline.
"We have all this available, but it's in other places, and we need to
make it simple for the communities, such as Pecos, Andrews and other communities
like this," said Walker, who said the agency would be able to better address
issues posed to rural communities and those that affect Texas.
"There are about 2.8 million (more) people in Texas, that's about a
20 percent increase and rural Texas has just kept up with that," said Walker.
"We want to keep rural districts, rural," said Walker.
Attaching rural communities to the larger ones makes addressing their
issues harder, according to Walker. "For example, Odessa and Midland certainly
have different issues to address, than Pecos or some of the smaller communities."
"What we see is San Angelo getting two smaller counties attached, Lubbock
getting two smaller counties," said Walker, referring to the changes that
will come from the redistricting plan.
He told those at the banquet to visit his office in Austin, whenever
they were in the city. "We welcome all visitors and we like to show off
our capital," he said.
Other awards handed out that evening included the Ruiz Profile of Courage/Hidden
Hero Award to Ben Natividad; Educator of the Year Award to Priscilla Cook;
Student of the Year to Randall Reynolds and the Agriculture Award to Ysidro
Renteria. A complete list of those awards will be in Tuesday's Enterprise.
Pecos teacher's condition stable
By LEIA HOLLAND
Staff Writer
PECOS, February 5, 2001 - A Pecos resident is recovering at Covenant
Medical Hospital in Lubbock from a one-vehicle rollover that occurred on
Saturday
Betty Cook, a local teacher at Zavala Middle School, was airlifted to
Lubbock Saturday evening with severe head injuries after the vehicle she
was driving was involved in a one-vehicle rollover on State Highway 17,
near the FM 869 intersection south of Pecos.
Cook is currently in the surgical ICU at Covenant where she is listed
in serious but stable condition.
The accident occurred around 5:30 p.m., on Saturday, 16 miles south
of Pecos on Highway 17 when Cook's car left the road and rolled three times,
landing on its top, as she was driving northbound towards Pecos. Ambulance
personnel were dispatched to the scene of the accident as well as the Jaws
of Life, which were not used.
Cook was also attended to at the site by Dr. Orville Cerna, who was
headed back to Pecos in another vehicle when he drove up on the accident.
Emergency Medical Service personnel called in the request for Aerocare
crews fly down to Pecos to transport Cook to Lubbock after Cerna had looked
at Cook's injuries at the accident scene.
Cook's daughter-in-law, Priscilla Cook, was unable to accept the Educator
of the Year award at Saturday's Pecos Area Chamber of Commerce Banquet
due to the accident.
Priscilla Cook is a teacher at Austin Elementary and is married to the
elder Cook's son, John who is a juvenile probation officer.
DPS trooper Emmett Moore is investigating the accident but could not
be reached for this article.
Low-income customers offered weatherization by state, T-NMP
PECOS, February 5, 2001 - Texas-New Mexico Power Company has teamed up
with the Texas Department of Housing and Community Affairs to provide weatherization
services for eligible low-income customers.
The program will give priority to qualifying households with elderly
and/or disabled individuals, who are the most vulnerable to the high cost
of energy for home heating and cooling.
"Keeping energy use under control can seem like a vicious cycle for
those struggling to make ends meet," Kella Taylor, TNMP Customer Relations
Manager. "While weatherizing your home seems like an obvious solution,
sometimes the cost associated with these steps may exceed your household
budget. That's where our weatherization services program can help," she
said.
Through this specially designed program, TNMP has provided funds for
weatherization, and TDHCA will be responsible for the actual delivery of
services. TDHCA also is responsible for screening applications to make
sure customers are eligible for the assistance and meet income guidelines.
The weatherization program begins with an energy audit to determine
which services will be cost-effective. Based on the results of that audit,
TNMP funds may be used to purchase and install the following items:
· Compact fluorescent lights, which are energy-saving replacements
for regular light bulbs.
· Water-savers.
· In limited cases, replacement of inefficient room or central
air conditioners.
· Insulation.
· Weatherstripping and caulking.
· Customer education.
To learn more about or apply for this service, contact the local TNMP
Office or Community Council of Reeves County at 447-4913 for an application.
Texas-New Mexico Power Company provides community-based electric service
to more than 233,000 customers in 85 communities in Texas and New Mexico.
It is the wholly owned subsidiary of TNP Enterprises, Inc.
Cotton growers set Bollworm meeting Thursday in Pecos
PECOS, February 5, 2001 - A meeting for cotton growers will be held at
10 a.m. on Thursday at the Reeves County Civic Center in Pecos.
The purpose of the meeting will be to discuss the Pink Bollworm Suppression/Eradication
Program that will be conducted by the Texas Boll Weevil Eradication Foundation
in the El Paso-Trans Pecos Zone this year.
Dr. Charles Allen, Texas Boll Weevil Eradication Program Director and
Edward Herrera, the Zone Manager for the El Paso/Trans Pecos will present
the plan for the pink bollworm program and answer questions about the program.
Area cotton producers should make plans to attend this meeting.
Obituaries
Lillija Huddle and John Totter
Weather
PECOS, February 5, 2001 - High Sunday 60. Low this morning 31. Forecast
for tonight: Mostly clear. Low in the lower 30s. Southwest wind 5 to 15
mph. Tuesday, mostly sunny. High near 70. light northeast wind, becoming
south 10 to 20 mph around noon. Tuesday night, mostly clear. Low in the
lower 30s. Wednesday, partly cloudy and warm. High in the mid 70s. Thursday,
becoming cloudy and colder with a chance of rain. Lows 30 to 35. Highs
50 to 55.
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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