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Daily Newspaper and Travel Guide
for Pecos Country of West Texas
Top Stories
March 16, 2001
Three enter Toyah race for council
By ROSIE FLORES
Staff Writer
PECOS, March 16, 2001 - Newcomers are joining an incumbent in their
bids for seats on the Toyah City Council in the May 5 elections.
Elections for city council will be held in Toyah along with Pecos, Balmorhea
and Barstow. Elections will also be held for Pecos-Barstow-Toyah ISD Board,
the Balmorhea ISD board and two of the five seats on the Reeves County
Hospital District board.
Incumbent Diana Tollet of Toyah has filed to retain her seat on the
council and will be joined by newcomers Danny Wayne Enmon and Laura E.
Budlong.
There are three positions open in the Toyah election.
With the deadline to file for the May 5 election set for next Wednesday,
only one area race is assured of being contested as of this morning. Clark
Lindley filed for a position on the Reeves County Hospital Board, joining
Linda Gholson in seeking the two-year seat for Precinct 2. The seat is
currently held by Marcella Lovett, who has not filed for a new two-year
term.
Only voters in Precincts 2 and 4 will cast ballots in this year's RCH
election. Holly Key is the incumbent from Precinct 4 and no one has filed
to run in that race.
In the P-B-T school board election, Paul Deishler, who was appointed
last year to replace Frank Apolinar, Jr., on the board, filed for one of
the full three-year terms along with incumbent Brent Shaw in late February,
but since then no other candidates have entered the race.
Three of the board's three-year terms and Deishler's unexpired term
are up for election on May 5. The three-year terms are held by Shaw, Earl
Bates and Louis Matta, who is president of the board.
In the Balmorhea city election incumbent Olga Lopez has filed to retain
her seat, one of two up for election on May 5. In the Barstow City Council
race, all three incumbents whose terms are up have filed to retain their
seats.
Aldermen Olga Abila, Dora Villanueva and Lucio Florez have filed to
seek new two-year terms in the upcoming local elections.
In the Town of Pecos City, two of the three incumbents and one former
city official have filed. Incumbents Gerald Tellez and Larry Levario are
joined by former Pecos mayor Frank Sanchez in the council race. Johnny
Terrazas holds the other council seat whose two-year term expires in May.
If there are no opposed candidates, along with no propositions and no
vacancies to be filled by special election in the various city, school
and hospital board races, the election may be canceled anytime after this
date.
The last day a person may register to vote in the local elections is
April 5. Early voting by personal appearance will be April 18 through May
1. Polls will be open from 7 a.m. until 7 p.m., on Election Day, May 5.
Odd numbers for Loving on Census, labor force
By JON FULBRIGHT
Staff Writer
PECOS, March 16, 2001 - No county in Texas lost as large a percentage
of its population as Loving County during the 1990s, according to the United
State Census Bureau.
But no county in Texas gained a larger percentage of members of its
workforce than Loving County during the 1990, according to the Texas Workforce
Commission.
The numbers don't add up, but Loving County officials seem to think
the 2000 Census totals _ which showed the nation's least-populated county
is even less populated than ever _ is about right, while the TWC said the
county's small population causes problems for the commission's workforce
and job estimates.
Ten years ago, the U.S. Census showed Loving County with a population
of 107, while the total number of people in the county's workforce was
put at 58 in December of 1999 by the Texas Employment Commission, now the
TWC. Those numbers make sense, according to John Villarreal, a Labor Market
Analyst with the Texas Workforce Commission. "Not everyone who lives in
a county is in the workforce," Villarreal said.
But the Census figures released on Monday show Loving County's population
has dropped to only 67 residents, while the December 2000 numbers from
the TWC show the local labor force has grown to 170. That's a 37.4 percent
drop in population and a 293.1 percent rise in the workforce.
Villarreal said the size of the county is a problem for the TWC's labor
force formulas. "Loving County being a very small county is sometimes tough
for us to estimate. Whatever actual change there is will be a larger percentage
change than in a bigger county."
Villarreal added that the TWC is currently do estimates based on the
1990 Census figures. "We can't begin using it (the 2000 Census) until it
goes to the BLS (Bureau of Labor Statistics). Once they send us back the
census data we will be using it for labor information."
However, the TWC's figure of 170 people in Loving County's workforce
actually is more in line with a recent decision by an Odessa judge than
the Census Bureau's figures are.
As a result of the dispute over November's general election in Loving
County, in which 212 people were listed on the election rolls, a check
was ordered into 150 of those names, and around 110 of those were accepted
as being eligible voters. Combined with a 62 names not challenged, that
brought the number of people eligible to vote in the county to around 170,
though Sheriff Richard Putnam said on Tuesday that number still sounds
high.
"I think on the voter registration a lot of people who lived here don't
live here anymore, but were still on the voter lists," Putnam said. He
said the Census Bureau's figure of 67 residents for Loving County "is pretty
close" to whatever the actual total is.
Loving's different between is population figures and its labor force
was just the most glaring difference in the new Census numbers. Reeves
County lost 17 percent of its population in the new Census, but its December
2000 workforce number of 6820 was seven percent above its 1990 number,
while Brewster County saw a 2.1 percent population rise, and a 29½
percent increase in its workforce.
New Census numbers for other counties in the Permian Basin matched up
better with the TWC's labor force figures.
Ward County's population dropped 16.8 percent in the past 10 years while
its workforce was down 24.7 percent while Winkler County also saw a 16.8
percent population drop and had a 21.6 percent decline in it's labor force.
SSB names directors, starts up new division
PECOS, March 16, 2001 - Four new directors have been named to the board
of Security State Bank of Pecos, at the same time the bank announced the
start-up of a regional development corporation.
Security State President Bill Oglesby announced that the bank had formed
a new corporate subsidiary to be known as TransPecos Development Corp.,
which will provide technical and financial advisory services to new and
expanding businesses located in Pecos and the TransPecos Region. In addition,
the new corporation will serve as a means to provide equity capital to
business customers of the Bank and to others in the area for expansion,
acquisition and new business initiatives.
TransPecos Development Corp will promote equity capital formation to
augment the Bank's normal financing activities. Oglesby said the new company
would be operational within the next 30 days.
The new company will cooperate with and provide financial support for
existing organizations and community development initiatives underway and
will have four initial directors are Steve Armstrong, David Castillo, Pat
Kennedy, Frank Spencer and Ken Winkles, Jr.
Castillo, Spencer and Winkles are also three of the four new members
of the bank's Board of Directors, along with Steve F. Armstrong of Armstrong
Realty and Energy Investments.
Armstrong was born, raised and schooled in Pecos. After graduating with
a business degree from Texas Tech University, he spent four years in the
commercial lending department of El Paso National Bank. He has held a number
of civic leadership roles including President of the Pecos Rodeo, Rotary
Club and Reeves County Hospital District.
Castillo operates the successful La Nortena Inc., producer of high quality
tamale and tortilla products. He is a member of the Pecos Area Chamber,
Fort Stockton Hispanic Chamber and West of the Pecos Museum Board of Directors.
In 1999, Castillo was elected Reeves County Commissioner for Precinct 2.
He serves as Chairman of Reeves County Revolving Loan Fund.
Frank Spencer is President and sole shareholder of Frank X. Spencer
& Associates, Inc. a professional engineering and survey firm headquartered
in Pecos. Under Spencer's leadership, the firm has grown to over 40 professionals
and now maintains offices in El Paso as well as Pecos. He has been an active
participant in numerous local and area business and civic initiatives including
the establishment of the Odessa College Training Center in Pecos and is
a director of Pecos Economic Development Corporation, the Pecos Valley
Country Club and a member of the Finance Committee of Saint Catherine Church.
Winkles has been a resident of Pecos for over 25 years. He is a graduate
of Angelo State University with a business degree. After working as a Financial
Loan Officer for General Finance Corp., Winkles joined his family's trucking
firm, which is one of the largest in the state and is headquartered in
Pecos. He also has been a Pecos Housing Authority Commissioner and as a
director of Pecos Chamber of Commerce
Oglesby welcomed the new directors at a meeting held recently and stated:
"Security State Bank is fortunate to be able to attract community leaders
of this caliber. We are very excited about their involvement with the bank.
Each has contributed significantly to the Pecos community through their
active business careers, civic and community related service contributions.
Security State also announced the reelection of its present Board including
Mike Harrison, Greg Johns, James Kenney, Joe Keese, Patrick Kennedy, Dudley
Montgomery, Oscar Saenz, James Pattee and Oglesby. Archie Scott and Bill
Bickley were named honorary directors.
Church schedules farewell supper for next Saturday
PECOS, March 16, 2001 - A Pot-Luck Supper will be held at 5:30 p.m., Saturday,
March 24, at First Baptist Church.
The luncheon will be held to honor Joe Hay who is leaving the Christian
Home after six years of service to the community.
Everyone is welcome, bring a dish and come say farewell.
Obituaries
Ella Chasteen, Jane Ross, and Leola Tollett
Weather
PECOS, March 16, 2001 - High Thursday 69. Low this morning 37. Forecast
for tonight: Partly cloudy. Low in the upper 30s. Southeast wind 10 to
20 mph. Saturday: Mostly cloudy with a 20 percent chance of thunderstorms
High 55 to 60. Southeast wind 10 to 20 mph. Saturday night: Mostly cloudy
with a 40 percent chance of thunderstorms. Low in the mid 30s. Sunday:
Partly cloudy. High near 60. Monday: Mostly sunny days and fair nights.
Lows 35 to 45. Highs 65 to 75.
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
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Copyright 2000 by Pecos Enterprise
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