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Archive 2002

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Daily Newspaper and Travel Guide
for Pecos Country of West Texas

Top Stories

Monday, April 1, 2002

Arson probed in Sunday fire at empty home

By LEIA HOLLAND
Staff Writer

PECOS, Monday, April 1, 2002 -- Arson is believed to be the cause of a fire that destroyed  an unoccupied home Sunday night on the east side of Pecos.

Pecos Fire Marshall Jack Brookshire said that he is still investigating the cause of last night's fire but believes that it was arson since no one was living in the home, located at 13th and Locust streets, at the time the fire started.

"There was no electrical power and no gas going to the residence at the time of the fire," he said.

The owner of the home is currently residing at Pecos Nursing Home, Brookshire said; therefore the home had been empty.

All fire units were called to the scene of the fire at approximately 11 p.m., at which the fire could already be seen from across town.

The home was fully engulfed by flames when the fire crews arrived.

"It went up in a hurry," Brookshire said.

It took firefighters about two hours to put out the fire, however, crews were called back to the scene at about 4 a.m., to put out a smaller fire that had rekindled, according to Brookshire.

Brookshire is currently investigating a few leads, which included an eyewitness who saw a vehicle at the home.

"There was some vehicles seen right before the fire," he said.

Arson is a second-degree felony and could lead to time served in prison.

The home that burned was located just east of the site of another fire that destroyed a vacant house on 13th Street two years ago. Arson was also suspected in that fire, which could be seen from over a mile away.

While Brookshire continues to investigate Sunday's fire, he said anyone that might have any information could call him at City Hall, Crimestoppers or the Pecos Police Department.

"Anyone can be eligible for a reward if their information leads to an arrest," Brookshire said.

Five hurt, one jailed in Seventh St. accident

By LEIA HOLLAND
Staff Writer

PECOS, Monday, April 1, 2002 -- A Friday night accident led to the arrest of one man and a hospital  visit for five people.

Pecos Police Investigator Kelly Davis said that Ricardo Cerna, 22, of Pecos, was charged with deadly conduct, driving while intoxicated and endangering a child after he caused an accident by running a stop sign, Friday evening.

The accident occurred at approximately 6:42 p.m., at the intersection of Seventh and Elm Streets after Cerna ran a stop sign on Elm Street, causing another vehicle to hit him.

Davis explained that Cerna was driving a 1998 white and gold GMC pickup and traveling north on Elm when he ran the stop sign at Seventh Street and was hit by an SUV driven by Maria Jaquez, 35, of Midland. Jaquez was driving a 2001 black Isuzu Rodeo who was traveling East on Seventh Street.

"Unit one (Cerna) went through the intersection and failed to stop and was struck on the left side by Unit two (Jaquez)," Davis said.

"Witnesses saw the pickup traveling at a high rate of speed," Davis said.

Davis explained that after Jaquez hit Cerna, Cerna's vehicle struck a dumpster, knocking it 78 feet away into a chain link fence.

Davis said that Cerna must have been driving very fast in order to cause that much damage.

Rosa Gonzales, 20, of Midland, was in the vehicle with Cerna while Geneva Ramirez, 33, of Odessa, Marissa Ontiveros, 15, and Alexandra Ontiveros, 12, both of Midland where in the vehicle with Jaquez.

All people involved in the accident were transported to RCH with "non-incapacitating injuries," according to Davis.

Davis said that four juveniles were walking on Elm Street when the accident occurred, which could have led to more injuries if the accident had not occurred.

"If he hadn't hit that other car it probably would have got them," he said.

Cerna was released into police custody after being treated at RCH, according to Davis.

PHS sending 11 to UIL regional academic event

By JON FULBRIGHT
Staff Writer

PECOS, Monday, April 1, 2002 -- Eleven Pecos High School Students will be advancing to  Region I-4A competition in UIL academic competition, following last  week's District 2-4A Academic Meet held at Pecos High School.

Pecos finished third overall in the academic standings, behind El Paso Mountain View and Clint High Schools. Mountain View scored 313 points in the various events, to 306 for Clint, while Pecos had 233.3 points, one-third of a point more than Canutillo High School.

Scoring for the academic competition went to the Top 6 finishers in each event, with the top team and top individual in the Science Competition, and top three individuals in other events advancing to the Region I-4A competition later this month at Angelo State University in San Angelo. Fourth through sixth place finishers are regional alternates in the individual events, while the runners-up in the team competitions and science events serve as the alternates.

"It was a good meet. Everything went really smooth," said Jim Workman, who served as District Director for the academic competition, which was held Wednesday and Thursday, following the UIL one-act play competition on Tuesday in the PHS auditorium.

In that event, Pecos' performance of "The Taming of the Shrew" finished in a tie for fourth place among the six schools, with Canutillo capturing first place for their one-act performance of another Shakespeare play, "Much Ado About Nothing."

PHS students fared best in the science, accounting and journalism categories of the academic meet. Jennifer Gooding, Oscar Ornelas and Isidro Renteria placed first in the Team Accounting competition, with a score of 725 points, to advance to regionals, while individually, Gooding was second, Ornelas third and Renteria fifth out of 12 students participating.

In Team Computer Science, Allan and John Chappell and Amanda Tremble placed first with 213 points, and Allan Chappell was first, John Chappell second and Tremble fifth individually out of 12 district students in the event. Allen Chappell also won first place in the Science Competition to earn another spot at regionals.

In the Journalism competition, PHS students Veronica Aguilar, Jena Cranfill and April Grace Hernandez earned the top three spots in Headline Writing, while Hernandez also took second place in Editorial Writing. In the News Writing competition, Kaci Harrison finished first and also earned a regional spot by finishing third in Feature Writing.

Cranfill earned a regional berth in Ready Writing, where she finished second out of 16 competitors. Pecos also picked up a third place finish from GeNelle Willis in Poetry, and earned their other points from a fourth place finish by Marcela Fierro in the Spelling and Vocabulary competition, and a sixth place finish by Daisy Chavez in Computer Science Applications.

Points in the one-act play competition were based on selections as Best Actor and Actress, along with those chosen for the All-Star Cast and Honorable Mention All-Star Cast. Canutillo picked up 38 points to 32 for Clint and 25 for San Elizario, while Pecos, Fabens and Mountain View each received eight points. Lisa Devine of Lubbock was the judge for the one-act play competition.

PHS student Vicente Navarro was named to the All-Star Cast for his portrayal of Petrundio in "Taming of the Shrew." While Marcela Fierro and Erica Caballero were chosen as honorable mentions, for their roles as Grunella and Katherina in the play.

Last week's one-act play and academic competitions followed the District 2-4A CX Debate competition, which was held in February. San Elizario High School placed first in that event, while PHS students Kristian Aguilar and Lara Weinacht were fourth out of the nine teams entered.

Pecos LL delays season openers

PECOS, Monday, April 1, 2002 -- The season opening games for the Pecos Little League, which were scheduled for this evening, have been cancelled, according to league president Ismael Mendoza.

Games were scheduled to begin tonight, while the league's official Opening Day is scheduled for this coming Saturday at Chano Prieto Field.

Weather

PECOS, Monday, April 1, 2002 -- High Sunday 73. Low this morning 46. Weekend rainfall at Texas  A&M Experiment Station .05 inch. Forecast for tonight: Partly cloudy. Lows  around 50. South winds 10 to 20 mph. Tuesday: Partly cloudy. Highs 80 to 85.  West winds 10 to 20 mph becoming north during the afternoon. Tuesday  night: Mostly cloudy with a slight chance of showers and thunderstorms. Lows  near 40. The chance of rain is 20 percent. Wednesday: Mostly cloudy and  cooler. Highs 65 to 70. Thursday: Partly cloudy. Lows 40 to 45. Highs 70 to 75.

Police Report

EDITOR'S NOTE: Information contained in the Police Report  is obtained from reports filed by the Pecos Police Department,  Reeves County Sheriff's Office, or other officers of those agencies.

The serving of warrants by an officer for outstanding fines of either traffic citations, animal control violations or other court costs are considered arrests and will be printed as such unless indicated that the fines were paid. In such instanced we will indicate payment and release.

***

Gonzalo Armendariz, 22, was arrested at 9:27 a.m., on March 17 in the 1200 block of Martinez Street for theft by check.

***

Gloria Menchaca, 24, was arrested at 6:21 p.m., on March 16 at the Pecos Municipal Criminal Justice Center for possession of a controlled substance (cocaine) and a prohibited substance in a correctional facility.

***

Eddieberto Patino, 42, was arrested at 2:30 p.m., on March 16 on East 14th Street for driving while intoxicated (felony) and evading.

***

Donny Ray Winfrey, Jr., 20, was arrested at 5:01 p.m., on March 16 at Third and Oak streets on warrants for running a red light and violation of promise to appear.

***

Gloria Menchaca, 24, was arrested at 5:16 p.m., on March 16 at Third and Cedar streets on warrants for no seat belt and violation of promise to appear.

***

David Dominguez, 51, was arrested at 8:31 p.m., on March 21 in the 500 block of Martinez Street for assault under the Family Violence Act.

***

Jacob Orona, 17, and Jason Orona, 17, were arrested at 2:46 p.m., on March 2 at the Municipal Court on a warrant for failure to attend school.

***

Carmen Matta, 17, was arrested at 2:35 p.m., on March 2 at the Municipal Court for a Capias Pro Fine warrant with original charge of minor in possession. Matta paid the fine and was released.

***

Two male juveniles were arrested at 1:04 p.m., on March 19 at Lamar AEP for probation violation.

***

Blonnie D. Walker, 50, was arrested at 2:58 p.m., on March 22 at Flying J Truck Stop for public intoxication.

***

Orlando Orosco Baeza, 21, was arrested at 10:11 p.m., on March 23 on County Road 406 for public intoxication.

***

Thomas Hinojos Marquez, 35, was arrested at 12:49 a.m., on March 22 in the 200 block of East Third Street for public intoxication.

***

Rosalinda Munoz, 54, was arrested at 8:21 p.m., on March 27 in the 1200 block of South Ash Street for disorderly conduct (profanity and vulgar language) and resisting arrest.

***

Travis Albert Homburger, 25, Paul Michael Langhorne, 30, and Alan Wayne Phipps, 20, were arrested at 2:25 a.m., on March 27 in the 200 block of South Cedar Street. Homburger and Langhorne were arrested for possession of drug paraphernalia while Phipps was arrested for theft under $50.

Obituary

David Warren Woods



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Pecos Enterprise
York M. "Smokey" Briggs, Publisher
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