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Daily Newspaper and Travel Guide
for Pecos Country of West Texas
Top Stories
Wednesday, March 24, 2004
Pecos teen dies in Lubbock following Tuesday shooting
By JON FULBRIGHT
Staff Writer
A Pecos High School freshman student died Tuesday night in a Lubbock hospital, where he was flown after being found shot inside his family’s home Tuesday morning.
Jose Jesus Madrid, 15, was found on the floor of the bathroom of his home at 1009 E. Ninth St., Tuesday morning. Pecos Police Investigator Capt. Kelly Davis said officers received a call at 7:21 a.m. this morning from the teen’s father, Jose Madrid, after finding his son on the floor unresponsive, with a possible gunshot wound.
Pecos EMT crews were also called to the home, and transferred the teen to Reeves County Hospital. Madrid was stabilized by hospital personnel, then flown by AeroCare to Covenant Medical Center in Lubbock, but died at 11:50 p.m. Tuesday.
Davis said this morning that a weapon has been found that is believed connected to shooting, but said the exact cause has not been determined and the case remains under investigation.
Davis added that an autopsy was ordered in Lubbock after Madrid’s death, though the results won’t be returned to investigators for a while. “Those results take at least a week and the toxicology results take up to three weeks,” Davis said.
Madrid is the second Pecos High School freshman to die in just over a month. Rachael Licon was fatally injured in a one vehicle rollover on February 16 on Duval Road northwest of Pecos, in which three other passengers were only slightly injured.
PHS principal Danny Rodriguez said the district’s counselors were meeting with both students and teachers on Tuesday and this morning.
“We were hoping things would work out better for the young man,” Rodriguez said, after first reports said the teen’s condition had stabilized.
“We have had several students and teachers meet with the counselors, and they are available for anyone in the community,” he added.
“It’s a tragedy, when a ninth grade student comes into the high school and something like this out of nowhere happens,” Rodriguez said. “We feel for the family and will support them in any way.”
Following the autopsy in Lubbock, Madrid’s body will be returned to Pecos, where funeral services are pending.
Hospital picks dialysis center water system
By BRENDON BRIGGS
Staff Writer
The Reeves County Hospital Board met Tuesday night to approve bids on the water purification system for the soon to open kidney dialysis unit, part of the hospital’s new addition.
Board members also approved several other items during their regular monthly meeting, including the cancellation of the May 15 hospital elections due to a lack of candidates.
The water purification system was the last portion of the dialysis equipment to be approved for the new unit. In previous meetings the board approved the purchase of the chairs and dialyzers.
The purification system chosen by the board is made by MAR COR, a system that was chosen, according to RCH Board President Linda Gholson, due in large part to its affordability. “The MAR COR bid came in around $32,000 less than the next closest,” Gholson said in an interview this morning.
The board also looked into the second phase of the construction project, the renovation of the existing facilities. However the board decided to delay the start of that phase until a date is set for the final completion of the first phase.
Work on the $8 million expansion project began on March 11 of 2003, and the original Grand Opening date was set for March 11. However, a delay in the inspection date of the new section by the Texas Department of Health until March 10 forced hospital officials to at reschedule the opening. It was initially pushed back to this Thursday, but RCH Administrator Robert Vernor said last week that date also was called off, due to the recent heavy rains that set back the work outside the addition.
In other business, the board looked into and approved the application to West Texas National Bank for a loan in the amount of $435,000. “The funds from the loan will be used to purchase general equipment for the expansion,” Gholson said. “Then, through grants and the revenue generated by the opening of the new wing, the loan will be repaid.”
The board conducted its yearly ratification of the organizational structure, operating policies and procedures for the home health service that the hospital offers. According to Gholson the ratification is routine and “has to happen once a year. We didn’t have any big changes for the upcoming year.”
The board also decided to continue with the Blue Cross/Blue Shield coverage that they extend to their employees. “The service that we have received so far has been great.” Gholson said. “The only change for this year is that we have added hearing aid benefits to our prescription coverage.”
Four foreclosed properties were also approved at the bid price last night during the meeting. The property located at 336 W. Walthall St., which was previously approved by the Pecos-Barstow-Toyah school board. The property located at 115 N Cedar St., also previously approved by the school board, was approved by the hospital board at the bid price. The property located at 223 S. Oak St. was approved in the same fashion, and the multiple lots in the 100 block of S. Elm were also approved at the bid price.
Obituaries
Rafael V. Hernandez and Jose Madrid
Pecos Enterprise
York M. "Smokey" Briggs, Publisher
Division of Buckner News Alliance, Inc.
324 S. Cedar St., Pecos, TX 79772
Phone 432-445-5475, FAX 432-445-4321
e-mail news@pecos.net
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Copyright 2003 by Pecos Enterprise
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