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Daily Newspaper and Travel Guide
for Pecos Country of West Texas
Top Stories
Friday, November 8, 2002
Thanksgiving food donations needed for Christian Home
By ROSIE FLORES
Staff Writer
PECOS, Fr., Nov. 8, 2002 -- Turkeys, dessert and especially volunteers are
needed for the annual free Thanksgiving dinner put on by the Pecos
Christian Home, and scheduled for Thursday, Nov. 28 this year.
The dinner is an annual event and will be held beginning at 10 a.m. until
2 p.m., at the Reeves County Civic Center.
Christian Home Director Bruce Dury said that the number of individuals
that attend the annual event has grown in recent years, and between 250-300
people attended last year's event.
"Right now, we need everything, from turkeys to desserts," said Dury.
Dury said that at least two dozen turkeys are needed to complete the meal,
which will include all the trimmings.
"I'm also working on finding volunteers to cook for us, because our cook
is out of town on a family emergency," said Dury.
Thanksgiving Dinner will also be delivered to the individuals on the Meals
On Wheels list. "That's over 100 people," said Dury, since regular Meals
on Wheels deliveries do not take place Thanksgiving Day.
Dury said the dinner has been a success each year, and he feels confident
the community will once again reach out and help.
"But of course, we always need volunteers, to help us serve the meal and
to deliver the Meals on Wheels," said Dury.
"Everybody is always welcome to join us," he said.
Donations can be taken to the Christian Home, located at 1201 S. Elm Street
or by calling 445-2049 and someone will pick up the items.
Top Optimist in Pecos for group's meeting
By ROSIE FLORES
Staff Writer
PECOS, Fr., Nov. 8, 2002 -- Creating more projects aimed at youths is the
goals of the Optimist Club and it's International President, who is
in Pecos this weekend for the club's quarterly meeting.
Bill Teague, a retired Director of Vocational Education for the Buncombe
County Board of Education in North Carolina, will be a special guest at the
club's quarterly meeting which is being held in Pecos this weekend.
"We have 52 Districts and the president tries to visit half or more of
them," said Teague. "Governor Mickey invited us to attend the first quarterly
conference here in Pecos and we decided it would be a nice place to visit."
Governor E.W. "Mickey" Fischer, who is the District Governor for New Mexico
and West Texas will hosting the quarterly meeting.
Teague said that Pecos looked like a nice community and that the people
were very friendly.
"Everybody has been really nice to us and they have been friendly," said
Teague.
Teague has been an Optimist since April of 1976. "I even have perfect
attendance and am a charter member of the club," he said.
He lives in Leicester, North Carolina with his wife, Linda, holds a Bachelor
of Science, from Berea College, in Berea, N.Y. and a Master of Science degree
from the University of Kentucky, in Lexington, Kentucky.
Teague travels quite frequently and has been in the western part of the
U.S. before. "I was in Arizona about a month ago, and before that was in
Alberta, Mont., and on the first of October was in North Wyoming," he said.
"We travel almost every weekend."
Teague added that he and his wife will be riding on the Optimist Float
at the Tournament of Roses Parade on New Year's Day in Pasadena, Calif. "We'll
also visit the district in California while we're there and a week later
we'll go to a governor's meeting in Tucson, Ariz. We were in Canada and then
went to Caribbean, also," he said.
The club's goals for the coming year are to make the organization grow
so that more young people will be served. "We have a number of projects that
we sponsor geared towards the youth," said Teague.
Teague said that the Optimist Club sponsors Youth Appreciation Week, Oratorical,
which began in 1928, and a contest for the deaf and hard of hearing among
other projects. "All these carry scholarships at the district level," he
said.
"One that we will be focusing on for the next five years, is the Childhood
Cancer Campaign," said Teague. "It would be nice if we could eradicate cancer,
but we want to do this project to focus on the children with cancer."
Teague said that the club's slogan for this year is, `Where Every Kid
Counts.'
"I truly believe this, every kid is important," he said. "That's what
we're trying to emphasis, we'd like to be able to serve them to the maximum
of our potential."
Another program is Safety on Wheels. "We also focus on a lot of programs
for kids and their safety," said Teague.
Teague said along with its own youth programs, The Optimist Club helps
out the Boy Scouts, with a mentoring program. "Our past international president
met with President Bush to focus on a mentoring program and also met with
the Big Brothers/Big Sisters to form a relationship with them and their program,"
said Teague.
Teague said that they already have two clubs, one in Indiana and one in
Georgia that have been focusing on the Big Brothers/Big Sisters program.
"They work with the youngsters for the next few years, as the young person
grows and then they are also eligible for scholarships," said Teague.
Respect for the Law is a program sponsored by the Optimist. "That one
has been around for a long time," said Teague. "We have something for the
youth almost every month."
"We have programs for almost every type of sport," said Teague, and golf
is one of the major sports programs the Optimist sponsor.
"We play on a major course, at the PGA National," said Teague, with 688
golfers from 25 different countries participating in the most recent golf
tourney.
"Tiger Woods and other well-known golfers have been out there, who participated,"
he said. "That is a great program, there were some kids that were playing
that were scoring in the high 60's and low 70's and that's on a major golf
course."
Teague's Optimist International Service over the past 26 years includes:
at the club level; Optimist Club of Erwin; Honor Club/Distinguished President,
1979-80; secretary-treasurer, 1997-98, 1983-84, 1978-79; vice president,
1991-92, 1981-82.
At the District level Teague is a Optimists Hall of Fame (Charter Member)
2000; secretary-treasurer, 1996-97, 1989-90; Distinguished Governor, 1987-88;
Distinguished Lieutenant Governor, 1982-83; Lieutenant Governor, 1981-82
and District Foundation Representative.
His service on the International Level include International President,
2002-03; chair, Leadership Development Committee, 1999-2002; Member, New
Club Building Committee, 1997-99; International Vice President, 1994-96;
member, Leadership Development Committee, 1993-94; member, Rules Committee,
1992-93; member, Credentials Committee, 1990-92 and International Ambassador,
1992-94.
Teague said that his main goal as International President was to focus
on all these programs for the youth and make everyone more aware of them.
Medical testing, flu shots offered at church's hall
PECOS, Fr., Nov. 8, 2002 -- Santa Rosa Catholic Church will be providing
free flu shots, blood pressure screening, diabetes screening, pulse oximetry
and health information, from 8:30 a.m. until 1:30 p.m., on Sunday at the
Church Hall on East Third Street.
Everyone is invited to attend.
Partners for good health are Reeves County Hospital Home Health Services
and American Home Health and Hospice.
Hunter's safety class scheduled Sat., Sun.
PECOS, Fr., Nov. 8, 2002 -- The Texas Cooperative Extension Service and
Reeves County Game Warden Brad Reeves will be conducting a hunter's safety
education course this weekend at the Texas Cooperative Extension Service
office at 700 W. Daggett St., Suite E.
The course will run from 3 to 9 p.m. on Saturday and from 2 to 6 p.m.
on Sunday. Cost of the course is $5 per person.
For further information, contact either Brad Reeves, at 447-0077, or the
Texas Cooperative Extension Service office, at 447-9041.
Rain causes city crews 'hole' lot of problems
By SMOKEY BRIGGS
Staff Writer
PECOS, Fr., Nov. 8, 2002 -- Apparently everything has a cost, even rain in
West Texas.
Last month's rains took its toll on Pecos' streets in the way of potholes,
according to Director of Public Works, Octavio Garcia.
"Every time it rains the water hurts the streets," he said.
Water seeping between the smallest of cracks in the asphalt saturates
the ground beneath the street creating a soft spot where the asphalt is not
supported.
The weight of cars passing over the soft spot depresses the asphalt and
cracks develop.
More water seeps in and the situation gets worse with each passing vehicle.
Eventually a pothole develops.
"Probably every street in Pecos has some damage," he said.
After almost three weeks of intermittent rain, city crews are just now
able to begin to address the problem.
"We have to wait until the ground begins to dry out," Garcia said. "If
the ground is wet, the emulsion won't stick and the patch won't hold."
Garcia said that city workers began patching potholes on Thursday and
that it could take two weeks to patch all the holes that have developed around
town.
The cost is estimated at about $2,000.
"A load of asphalt costs about $4,000 and it looks like we will use about
half a load to make all of the repairs," Garcia said.
Although the rain did speed up the process, Garcia said that patching
the streets was business as usual for his crews.
"It is a constant process," he said. "Temperature cracks the asphalt too.
The city buys about two loads of asphalt a year and we patch the streets
year-round."
Garcia said that the streets fared better due to the spread-out nature
of October's rains. Rains from storms that passed through the Pecos area
fell on and off throughout most of the month, instead of all come closer
together.
"It helped that the streets were not covered in water for long periods
of time. The ground would have been saturated quicker and for a longer period
of time and the damage would have been worse," he said.
Holiday closings for government, banks Monday
PECOS, Fr., Nov. 8, 2002 -- Government offices and local banks will be
taking Monday off for the annual observance of Veteran's Day.
The holiday was changed to the second Monday of November by Congress 30
years ago, but will be held on its original date of Nov. 11 this year. It
was originally begun in 1918 as Armistace Day to celebrate the end of World
War I in Europe, but was changed to honor all of the nation's Veterans following
the end of World War II in 1945.
Security State Bank and West Texas National Bank will be closed for the
day, as will all city, state and federal offices. Reeves County Courthouse
will also be closed, and the regular Reeves County Commissioner's Court meeting
on the second Monday of each month will be pushed back a day to Tuesday.
The U.S. Post Office will also take Veteran's Day off, but Pecos-Barstow-Toyah
ISD schools will be open as usual on Monday, as will almost all local businesses.
The Pecos Enterprise will also be open for regular business hours on Veteran's
Day and will publish its regular Monday addition along with a special Veteran's
Day supplement.
Weather
PECOS, Fr., Nov. 8, 2002 -- High Thursday 71. Low this morning 46. Forecast
for tonight: Partly cloudy. Lows 45 to 50. Southwest winds 5 to 15
mph. Saturday: Partly cloudy. Continued warm and breezy. Highs in the
mid 80s. Southwest winds 15 to 25 mph. Saturday night: Partly cloudy.
Lows 45 to 50. Sunday: Partly cloudy. Highs near 80. Veterans Day:
Partly cloudy. Lows 40 to 45. Highs in the mid 60s.
Obituary
Elva Rayos
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 2002 by Pecos Enterprise
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