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Daily Newspaper and Travel Guide
for Pecos Country of West Texas
Top Stories
Tuesday, March 26, 2002
City breaks ground on new housing subdivision
By LEIA HOLLAND
Staff Writer
Tuesday, March 26, 2002 -- Local residents gathered together along with
the Town of Pecos City employees and officials this morning for the
groundbreaking ceremony of the new single family subdivision on Washington
Street.
The Town of Pecos City Council and Mayor Ray Ortega along with City Manager
Carlos Yerena has been working on developing a new subdivision for low-income
families for about a year.
Ortega explained that the new subdivision would be a 20-unit single family
project offering quality homes at an affordable price.
Ameriway Construction Company, which has an office in Houston and Fort
Stockton, will be in charge of building the new homes in four different styles.
President Jerry Reiner said that the home buyers would be able to choose
one of four floorplans that they want built and would also be able to participate
in the selection process of many things for the home, such as carpet and
paint color.
"We allow them to participate in the selection process," he said.
Reiner explained that each home would have three bedrooms and two bathrooms.
However, the size of the homes varies from 993-square feet to 1,200-square
feet.
"We don't want every home looking the same," he said.
Once construction begins it will only take 60 days for a house to be completed,
according to Reiner, and the completed homes will include a number of interior
items for the homeowners
"We really want to emphasize that the package is complete," Reiner said.
He explained that each house would include all major appliances, for which
the cost is included in the cost of the house.
Ortega said that the city is excited about this project along with the
many other projects in the works at this time.
"We're just happy about the groundbreaking," he said. "It's another step
in a positive direction for the city."
Yerena said that the city will soon hire an engineer to put together plans
and specs for the subdivision and within the next seven months the city would
be starting on construction of the infrastructure, including water and sewer
lines, streets, sidewalks and fire hydrants.
During the ceremony, Yerena explained to the citizens that with the development
of this project a lot of money would be invested into the economy.
"The Pecos single family subdivision represents an investment of over
$1.6 million dollars into our local economy, but more importantly it symbolizes
the fulfillment of a lifetime of dreams for many of you who in the months
ahead will become the proud owners of a piece of Pecos," he said.
Numerous interested citizens were able to fill out applications to buy
a new home after the ceremony.
Yerena explained that the city has a very simple plan on choosing who
qualifies for the new homes.
"The first 20 to get financing will get a home," he said.
However, he also explained that Reiner is bringing in his own financing
that would allow them to construct a number of houses before an owner is
chosen to allow people to see how the houses would look.
"He'll use his own financing to build the house and then sell it," Yerena
said.
Reiner, whose company has been in business for 17 years, explained that
they would open up the bidding for the construction phase of the project
to local businesses.
"We always try to use local people," he said.
Reiner also explained that if more than one homeowner were ready for construction
to begin, his company would start with however many houses are ready and
finish all within 60 to 75 days.
According to Yerena, this project is a "creative initiative that was developed
through the partnership of the City of Pecos and the office of Rural Community
Affairs."
Ortega said that this project is one of only a few projects selected by
the state of Texas.
"In fact, the Pecos single family housing project was the only project
in West Texas to be selected," he said.
Reiner said that he and his company appreciate the opportunity the City
of Pecos has given them to expand their presence in West Texas and would
be here for the city not only now but for years to come.
"We're here to stay," he said.
Zavala projects produce trips to state for students
By ROSIE FLORES
Staff Writer
Tuesday, March 26, 2002 -- Parakeets not only make good pets, they can also
help with school science projects, as one sixth grade student found
out.
Matthew Florez is one of nine students from Zavala Middle School here
in Pecos who will be attending the state science fair competition in Arlington
in April.
Florez who attended the Permian Basin Regional Science Fair and placed
second with his "Parakeets _ I Can Do Anything Better Than You," project
earning him a trip to the Texas State Science and Engineering Fair, which
will be held on April 11-13 at the Arlington Convention Center in Arlington.
He participated in the Zoology category of the science fair.
"I want to thank my parakeets for helping me with this project," said
Florez, who said that science was not his favorite subject, Physical Education
was.
Osvelia Calderon's favorite subject is science. She placed first in regional
competition with her project, "How Long Can You Take It?"
"This is the first time I'll be going to a state competition, but I'm
not nervous, just excited," said Calderon, who competed in the computer science
category of the science fair.
Ashley Ornelas placed first in mathematics with her project, "How to Lose
Weight."
"I'm excited about attending state competition," said Ornelas, who added
that she likes science just a little bit.
One student's project kept getting "crushed," but luckily he works with
a product that can be purchased at the local grocery store and can easily
be replaced.
"My egg shells kept getting crushed, they're always breaking," said Ramiro
Garcia, who placed third in the engineering section of the science fair,
with his project titled, "Eggshells That Are Superheroes."
"I think we'll do good at the state competition, I'm excited about going,"
he said.
Competitor Michael Gonzales received help from the patients at the Pecos
Nursing Home on his project, "Minds of Age."
"They helped me a lot," said Gonzales, who placed first in the gerontology
category of the regional science fair with his project.
Elias Valenzuela is not nervous at all, since his favorite subject is
science and this is his second year to attend regional competition in Odessa.
"I'm not nervous, I'm looking forward to it," Valenzuela said after placing
second in the chemistry category with, "Charcoal Crystal Garden."
Cassandra Mata is also a veteran at the regional science fair in Odessa.
"This is my first time to go to state and the second time I've been to the
Odessa competition," said Mata. She placed third in computer science with,
"Ready, Set, Download."
"I want to thank Lily Dominguez, she helped me a lot, she stayed after
school with me and kept the computer on for me," she added. "I'm nervous
and excited about attending state competition, but I think I'll do okay."
Amber Garcia placed second in gerontology with her project, "Eye and Brain."
She said she was excited about attending state competition and that her favorite
subject was science.
Zoology can get interesting when dealing with other types of animals,
some which are not so popular. Diana Parada placed third in Zoology with
"How Dogs Get Ticks." Parada said she wanted to thank her family for their
help and that she was excited about going to state. Her favorite subject
is math.
Cheyanne Carrasco won't be attending state competition this year, but
she's very happy anyway. Carrasco was awarded the National Corrosion Engineers
Top Projects Award at regional competition for her project, "Which Soap?"
Science fair committee members and teachers Diane Paz and Oscar Guerrero
will be traveling to Arlington with the students.
"I'm very proud of them, because this is the first year sixth graders
get to attend intermediate competition and they had to compete against seventh
and eighth graders," said Paz.
"We're very excited about just having the opportunity to go and are looking
forward to it," added Guerrero.
The students will again be competing against seventh and eighth graders
at the state level.
Home health policy, bids on equipment top hospital agenda
Tuesday, March 26, 2002 -- Reeves County Hospital District board members
are scheduled to ratify organizational policies and procedures for the hospital's
home health program and discuss giving property tax relief for charitable
organizations during their regular monthly meeting, scheduled for 6 p.m.
today in the hospital's classroom.
The board will also discuss granting clinical privileges to Dr. Rock Tiffault
for the RCH emergency room, and will open bids on the hospital's new ambulance
and ultrasound equipment during this evening's meeting.
Other items on the agenda include discussions of employee health insurance,
an update on the family master plan; discussion of the sale of property on
South Cedar Street and hear a report from RCH administrator Robert E. Vernor
and a report from the hospital auxiliary.
Monthly tax and financial statements are also scheduled, along with an
executive session at the end of today's meeting. The executive session is
on "New Services" with no other information given.
Weather
Tuesday, March 26, 2002 -- High Monday 62. Low this morning 32. Forecast
for tonight: Mostly clear. Lows 35 to 40. East winds 5 to 10 mph. Wednesday:
Partly cloudy. Highs near 80. South winds 10 to 20 mph. Wednesday night:
Partly cloudy. Lows in the upper 40s. Thursday: Partly cloudy. Highs
in the upper 80s .Friday: Partly cloudy. A chance of showers and thunderstorms
late Lows near 50. Highs 85 to 90.
Obituary
Eric Guzman
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 newsdesk@nwol.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 2002 by Pecos Enterprise
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