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Daily Newspaper and Travel Guide
for Pecos Country of West Texas
Top Stories
Monday, August 6, 2001
Tax rate, budget security cameras on agenda
PECOS, Monday, Aug. 6, 2001 -- A public meeting to discuss the 2001-20001
budget and proposed tax rate will be a part of a special Pecos-Barstow-Toyah
ISD Board meeting scheduled for 6 p.m., Tuesday in the board room.
Following the special meeting, several items will be discussed during
the regular session including discussing and approving the installation of
security cameras at Crockett Middle School. The cameras are to be provided
by the Reeves County Juvenile Probation Department, which financed cameras
for the Pecos High School last year through grant funds.
Board members will discuss and approve the dedicating fund balance; amending
2000-2001 budget; adoption of 2001-2002 budget; adoption of 2001 tax rate;
call for election to ratify the adopted tax rate and discuss/approve the
designation of polling place locations for each of the election precincts
for the rollback election.
Increases in mineral valuations during the past year will increase the
school district's property tax collections by about $2 million, under the
current $1.50 per $100 property tax rate. Under state law, the increase automatically
will force a property tax rollback election for the P-B-T ISD.
The board will discuss and approve early voting election hours for the
election at the meeting, and will also discuss deficiencies identified by
the Texas Department of Licensing and Regulation at Crockett Middle School
addition and steps to correct; contract for election services between Pecos-Barstow-Toyah
ISD, Town of Pecos City, Reeves County Hospital and the election coordinator;
school repair and renovation grant and hear public comment; sale of foreclosed
property and Teacher Appraisal Calendar-2001-2002 and PDAS Appraisers.
Bus routes for 2001-2002 will be discussed and approved along with employee
health insurance and prescription co-pay proposals for 2001-2002 school year
and set premiums; notice of hazardous employer identification and hazardous
employer program; Student Code of Conduct for 2001-2002, cafeteria guideline
change to all handbooks, and Pecos High School Handbook.
The board will discuss and approve the groundskeeper job description;
disposal of property that is no longer necessary for the operation of the
school district and method of disposal; reduction in the minimum number of
college hours required to substitute at Pecos-Barstow-Toyah ISD and clarify
that special education self-contained and AEP substitutes, teacher or aide,
receive $50 per day, all other subs receive $40 minimum.
Board members will meet behind closed doors as authorized by the Texas
Open Meetings Act, Texas Government Code, Section 55.101 et. Seq., Section
551.071: private consultation with the board's attorney and Section 551.074:
discuss personnel or hear complaints against personnel.
Return to open session and take action, if any, on items discussed in
closed session.
Under regular agenda items the group will discuss and approve:
Professional personnel: assignments, resignations, reassignments, and
changes of contracts.
Tax report.
Depository securities report.
Current bills and financial report.
Investment transaction report.
Reconciled bank balance report.
Reeves County Community Recreation Report.
Set date and time for next meeting.
Calendar of events.
Request for items for next agenda.
Southern Union gives CCRC $2,500 for customers' payments
By ROSIE FLORES
Staff Writer
PECOS, Monday, Aug. 6, 2001 -- Southern Union Gas Company is contributing
$2,500 to the Community Council of Reeves County this week to assist
low-income customers with their natural gas bills.
"Southern Union Gas is proud to be one of the lowest cost energy providers
in the country, but we understand that last winter's gas prices impacted
our customers," said Johnny W. King, Area Manager of Operations for Southern
Union Gas. "We hope these contributions will help our customers that need
it most."
Donations will be used to help qualified low-income customers of Southern
Union Gas in Reeves County who need assistance in paying their Southern Union
Gas bills. Interested customers can contact the agency to determine their
eligibility.
"Customers can fill out an application and return them to me," said Reeves
County Community Council Family Services Director Velma Dominguez.
Dominguez said that individuals will have to meet the eligibility guidelines
of the program. "They will have to be in the 125th percent of
the poverty level," she said.
"These are guidelines set up by the state and if they meet the guidelines
then we can assist them," said Dominguez.
For more information on the program customers can call 447-4913 or go
to the Reeves County Annex, 700 W. Daggett St., Suite F and speak to Dominguez
about the available funds.
Local businesses get boost in sales from tax holiday
By JENNIFER GALVAN
Staff Writer
PECOS, Monday, Aug. 6, 2001 -- Department stores in Pecos saw a better turnout
this year than the previous two years for the third annual Sales Tax
Holiday Weekend.
Sales tax was not charged on certain items of clothing under $100 during
the weekend, which started off busy and continued the next two days for Wal-Mart,
Bealls and Desiree's Boutique in Pecos, according to store employees
"We were busy on Friday, Saturday was pretty steady and on Sunday our
layaway department was busy," Wal-Mart manager Olga Guebara said. "I think
a lot of people were getting ready for back to school and Christmas."
According to Guebara, people were buying clothes but focusing mostly on
undergarments.
"We would like to thank the people of Pecos for shopping at Wal-Mart.
They did not have to go out of town," Guebara said. "We appreciate it, especially
if they want a bigger store, a super center. It will help if they buy local."
According to Bealls Department store manager Delma Arreguy said that they
also had a real good turn out.
"We went over our goal everyday, Friday and Saturday," Arreguy said. "Yesterday
we were slow but it picked up in the afternoon."
Arreguy also said that those who may not been able to make it to the weekend
sale, could still take advantage of it as well as another sale that will
begin on Wednesday.
"In that sale we will give a free mini radio away with any $75 purchase,"
Arreguy said. "Tomorrow we will have the Club Fifty, in which anyone who
is 50-years-old or older can get 20 percent off their sales price."
However she did said that this sale excludes fragrances, cosmetics and
designer collections.
Desiree's saw a lot of business over the weekend as well, with people
buying shoes and clothes.
"We sold a lot of Sketchers, Eastland and Hi-Tech to RCDC employees,"
Saul Herrera said.
Merchants across Texas reported a busy weekend, as officials said Monday
the savings could come in even higher than the estimated $40 million predicted
earlier.
"Retail sales were up everywhere," said Mark Sanders, spokesman for Comptroller
Carole Keeton Rylander. "We had some people reporting a 45 percent increase.
It was phenomenal."
Final figures won't be available for a couple of weeks, Sanders said.
The Associated Press contributed to this report
Ghost Writer
Camp founded Pecos' first official hospital in 1929
EDITOR'S NOTE: This is one in a continuing series of features
on historical locations and events in the Trans-Pecos region
By The Ghost Writer
PECOS, Monday, Aug. 6, 2001 -- "500 attend the opening of the new Memorial
Hospital," that was the Pecos Enterprise heading in their December
13, 1954 addition. The new hospital on Daggett Street caused
the closing of the Camp hospital. The December edition also ran a
brief history of the Pecos hospitals until that time. Alton Hughes
covered the history of our hospitals in one of his books so if you
have read his account, you might not want to continue with this article.
But, you will miss what my "Mature" advisors are thinking, if that
is what it is.
Dr. Jim Camp came to Pecos in 1900 after receiving his doctorate from
the University of Tennessee and was a surgeon in World War I and fought the
flue epidemic in 1918 in the army and in Pecos. His first hospital was at
601 S. Hickory that was his home in 1954. It is unclear if the house served
as his home as well as a hospital. The West Park Baptist church building
was once a school and then a hospital. That hospital was under the management
of Mrs. J. L. Morrison who later supervised treatment at her home at 214
Bois d'Arc St.
Dr. Camp's hospital on Fourth Street and Ross Boulevard opened its doors
December 1, 1929. Dr. Jim Camp and his son, Hilliard, were the only doctors.
After Hilliard's unfortunate death in 1941, Dr. Bruce Hay and Dr. E. J.
Nelson joined the staff. In 1942, he added to the thirteen-bed hospital and
in 1946 he added another wing making it into the present two-wing building.
The building is now used for offices.
Dr. Camp was a pioneer in the practice of medicine. He operated on his
daughter, Mrs. Bob Dean, rather than wait for a doctor to come from El Paso,
a twelve-hour trip. He performed the first appendectomy in Reeves County.
A cowboy rode horseback from the W Ranch above Mentone complaining of a
stomach ache. Dr. Camp consulted with other doctors but was the only one
who would risk doing an appendectomy. He had a large pot of water boiled
and sheets and other equipment sterilized and did the successful operation.
The operation took place in the home of F.W. "Woody" Johnson. There was
talk around town that the cowboy was beginning to smell and that he would
never make it. Dr. Camp did gain the respect of the community and worked
on community improvements as well as his medical practice.
My "Mature" advisors are concerned that they might be out of step with
the modern generation. One of them opened a door for a lady and she called
him a "male chauvinist pig." Should they not open doors for women, should
they not rise when women enter a room, should they not help a woman with
a heavy load? Do many women dislike men being a gentleman or do they want
to be treated as a man treats a man?
Furgeson looks to keep control of Republic trial
From Staff and Wire Reports
PECOS, Monday, Aug. 6, 2001 -- After seeing one pre-trial hearing disrupted
and a second extended by several hours due to repeated interruptions,
U.S. District Judge Royal Furgeson has taken steps to ensure the Midland
trial of six Republic of Texas members does not become disorderly.
The trial begins today, a little over two months after a bond hearing
in U.S. District Court in Pecos had to be postponed for two days due to disruptions
caused by Republic of Texas leader Richard McLaren and three of his followers.
McLaren, 47, and his top lieutenant, Robert "White Eagle" Otto, 49, are
being tried on federal weapons charges stemming from an April 1997 kidnapping
at the David Mountains Estates near Fort Davis, after a state appeals court
overturned their convictions related to the same incident.
Only one of the six going on trial Monday in Midland, Robert Jonathon
Scheidt, 46, has not faced trial in any jurisdiction for his part in the
group's activities.
The kidnapping of a couple in the Davis Mountains led to a standoff between
the separatist group and scores of state troopers and Texas Rangers. Republic
of Texas members contend Texas was never properly annexed by the United States
and remains an independent nation.
A scheduled May 22 bond hearing in Pecos before U.S. Magistrate Durwood
Edwards was delayed for two days due to disruptions created by the defendants.
When the hearing was finally held on May 24, McLaren and three other defendants'
argued that the federal courts lacked jurisdiction in the case. The group
claimed that they were prisoners of war and as such were due a hearing under
an international court as provided for by the Geneva Convention.
Edwards ordered McLaren and four others detained pending today's trial,
and for the trial Furgeson ordered the four defendants who are representing
themselves - McLaren, Otto, Scheidt and Keyes - to submit in writing their
questions for prospective jurors and their opening statements.
Gregg Paulson and Karen Simon Paulson have court-appointed attorneys.
All six were ordered to wear civilian clothes rather than Republic of
Texas uniforms as they had requested. Furgeson also has informed all the
defendants that if he finds any one of them out of order three times, they
will be placed in a room outside the courtroom that has audio and visual
feeds of the proceedings and will be allowed only written communication.
"(Furgeson) has taken control of the case because if he doesn't, it'll
just get plum out of hand," said Lawrence Barber, who will be in the courtroom
on standby status to defend Scheidt. "I don't believe this should be a spectacle."
McLaren and Otto were convicted in October 1997 on state organized crime
charges and sentenced to prison. In August 1999, the state's 8th Court of
Appeals in El Paso overturned the convictions, saying evidence was legally
insufficient to support a conviction, and a judgment of acquittal was entered
for both men.
An appeal of the El Paso appeals court's ruling is pending with the Texas
Court of Criminal Appeals, officials said.
McLaren also has been convicted on federal fraud charges in Dallas and
is serving about 12 1/2 years.
The federal charges in the Midland case are for weapons and explosive
devices the separatists are accused of having during the 1997 standoff.
"We're ready for trial," said Daryl Fields, a spokesman for the U.S. Attorney's
Office for the Western District of Texas.
The other three defendants are Gregg Paulson, 49; his wife, Karen Simon
Paulson, 37; and Richard Frank Keyes III, 25.
In a state trial stemming from the kidnapping and standoff, Gregg Paulson
received a life sentence, and Karen Simon Paulson got 30 years. Keyes was
sentenced to 90 years. Their appeals either have been denied or are pending.
A sixth separatist, Mike Matson, was killed by police May 3, 1997, several
hours after McLaren and three other members surrendered themselves and their
self-styled embassy. Keyes fled into the Davis Mountains with Matson and
was captured several months later near Houston.
In April 1998, McLaren, his wife, Evelyn, and six other people were convicted
in federal court on charges that they participated in a fraudulent Dallas-area
scheme to distribute $1.8 billion in worthless Republic warrants, which resembled
cashier's checks. McLaren also lost a 1996 judgment in U.S. District Court
in Pecos filed by Houston-based Stewart Title Co., over McLaren's filing
of false liens on property in the Davis Mountain Resort area.
McLaren's wife was sentenced to about to 2 1/4 years on the warrants charge.
In August 2000, their appeal to the U.S. 5th Circuit Court of Appeals
in New Orleans was denied, said Mike Uhl, a prosecutor in the U.S. Attorney's
Office for the Northern District of Texas in Dallas.
WTNB hosting blood drive effort Tuesday in lobby
PECOS, Monday, Aug. 6, 2001 -- A Blood Drive is scheduled for 10 a.m.
until 3 p.m., Tuesday at West Texas National Bank.
The drive will be held in the "little coffee shop" inside the bank to
offer more privacy to the donors. United Blood Services will be on hand to
take the donations, and refreshments will be provided.
All those who donate blood will be given credit for their donation. When
they need surgery or transfusion the donor will not have to pay for that
particular service.
The United States and the Permian Basin area are in desperate need of
donations, since there is a big shortage. Everyone is invited to come out
and donate blood and all donations are appreciated.
Weather
PECOS, Monday, Aug. 6, 2001 -- High Sunday 99. Low this morning 67. Forecast
for tonight: Partly cloudy. Low in the lower 70s. East wind 5 to 15
mph. Tuesday: Partly cloudy. High near 95. East wind 5 to 15 mph. Tuesday
night: Partly cloudy. Low in the lower 70s. Wednesday through Thursday:
Partly cloudy. Lows 70 to 75. Highs in the 90s.
Obituary\
Alberto Varela, Sr.
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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