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PECOS, February 7, 1997 - Rosa Mosby was not on the job as Pecos Head
Start center director this morning, despite a vote Thursday by the
policy council to re-instate her.
Head Start Director Norma Rubio fired Mosby Jan. 3; she appealed to the
Community Council of Reeves County board, and they voted Jan. 23 to
recommend she be reinstated.
CCRC board president Linda Clark said this morning she understood the
policy council has the final say in hiring and firing employees, and
Mosby's re-instatement would be automatic.
But Bill Wendt, who serves on both boards and chaired the policy council
meeting Thursday, said that Mosby's re-instatement would be up to Rubio
to carry out.
Rubio said this morning she has not re-hired Mosby. "I would not even
consider it," she said.
Meanwhile, parents of Head Start students and center staff have been
circulating a petition to have Rubio and CCRC executive director Yvonne
Martin fired.
Martin and Rubio had earlier said they would resign if the policy
council voted to re-instate Mosby. Neither would say this morning what
action they will take, but asked for an interview Monday to explain the
overall program and specifics of local problems.
Clark said the petition form - without signatures - was presented to the
policy council Thursday. However, because Martin is hired by the CCRC
board and Rubio by the policy council, separate petitions probably are
required, she said.
Rose Mary Archuleta, a parent who is secretary of the policy council,
said the council could call a special meeting before the regular meeting
date of March 6 to consider the petition if Rubio refuses to re-instate
Mosby.
"The petition is still going," she said. "We will take it up at a later
meeting, and there probably will be more signatures. We also need to
take it to the CCRC board.
"The way things are going, it would be wise to have a special meeting
because of the situation," she said. "There is a deadline to meet by
April on the deficiencies."
Head Start regional monitors have told the CCRC that if deficiences are
not corrected by April the council is likely to lose funding for the
$500,000 Head Start program.
That would not disappoint Ward County Judge Sam Massey, who wants to
take over Head Start and other programs CCRC administers in Monahans.
Massey served on the CCRC board several years ago but resigned and
"distanced myself from it."
"I resigned from the board because of the seeming lack of ability on the
part of the administrtion to be able to hold proper meetings and legal
open meetings, and for what I perceived to be the illegal mixing of
funds from grants," Massey said.
"They are borrowing money from one fund to pay another that has run
short," he said.
Clark said the staff is not borrowing money from one program to pay
another, but does have an operating fund that they pay expenses from
when a program runds short of money while awaiting reimbursement.
As for Ward County taking over administration of their own Head Start
program, Clark said she is all for it. "They are right there and they
know what is needed," she said.
CCRC administers grant-funded programs in five counties, said Wendt. One
of those counties is Winkler, and board members from Kermit and Wink are
also unhappy with the service they are getting.
The board long ago approved Meals on Wheels for Kermit, but the
administration has not taken any action to set it up.
Wendt said all the CCRC programs are in danger of being cut if Head
Start loses its funding, because half of Martin's salary and part of
that for controller Olga Contreras comes out of Head Start funding.
He said he opposed re-instating Mosby because of the friction between
her and Rubio.
"I don't really believe that Norma and Rosa would have a successful
working relationship," he said. "Right now we have deficiencies that
have to be corrected, and we need to have as much harmony as we can
possibly get for them to continue to work on them and get them
corrected."
Rubio said she tries to keep her focus on priorities despite the turmoil.
"It breaks my heart because the policy council, board members and
parents don't see what's going on," she said.
Board members listened to complaints from parents and center staff
without giving her a chance to tell her side of the story, Rubio said.
PECOS, February 7, 1997 - Valentine's Day is approaching, and Reeves
County farmers are still waiting for their Christmas check from Uncle
Sam.
Last-quarter 1996 subsidy payments were held up by the U.S. Department
of Agriculture, and it is almost time for first-quarter 1997 payments,
said landowner Bill Ramsey.
"They haven't made some of these payments since September, and the
bankers want to know when they will get their money," said Ramsey.
Part of the payments are due on Conservation Reserve Program acres that
are planted in grasses, and part is under the 1995 farm bill, Ramsey
said.
Although Ramsey is a committeeman for the Consolidated Farm Service
Agency that certifies acreage for payment, he has been unable to find
out what is going on.
"They have had several people in there the last four or five months.
They haven't told us what they were doing, except that some things are
wrong and they have all the payments held up. These farmers need the
money," Ramsey said.
"They keep telling us that in just a few days they will have it all
straightened out," he said.
Harold Bob Bennett, who heads the FSA's state office in College Station,
has promised to meet with the farmers and bankers and tell them what the
problems are, Ramsey said.
Josh Faddis, an aide in Congressman Henry Bonilla's office, said
Thursday he has pushed USDA to resolve the matter and cut the checks.
"What's going on now, there are two program experts there trying to
decide what kind of corrective action is needed to get the program
rolling again," Faddis said.
"Apparently after their investigation, they don't see any problems. They
are not alleging any fraud on the part of producers," he said. "It is
just simply a matter of sloppy paperwork and possibly mis-assignments of
bases."
Bases are the acreage numbers on which payments are made. Land that has
gone through re-constitution - changed bases or switched over to another
party - is involved, he said.
Faddis said the office was under-staffed for awhile, and it is possible
the staff shortage contributed to the problem. He said he does not know
what triggered the audit, but understands there have been problems in
the office for quite some time.
"It is not just a random audit," he said.
The first audit was done by staff from the state FSA office, and they
made recommendations, but now people from Washington are going over the
same ground, Faddis said.
"It is taking way too long and putting people in a bind paying notes and
servicing loans," he said. "I have been in touch with these people and
letting them know this can't go on forever and they need to come to some
resolution pretty quickly. The government made a deal in this "Freedom
to Farm Act" and we need to know they will keep their word."
Betty Kellog, spokesperson for FSA'southwest area office, confirmed that
two people from Washington are looking at FSA records "to determine
whether we will be able to go ahead and pay those producers."
When the staff returns next week to make their report, a decision will
be made, she said.
"It is likely the payments will be out in a week or two. The problem is
that some of the record keeping hasn't been very good in that office,"
she said.
Farmers have been asked to bring in documentation on their acreage
because auditors couldn't find that information in the files.
"It is a matter of trying to make heads or tails of things," Kellogg
said.
The audit was triggered by the retirement of the county executive
director, she said.
"He left the county, and when that happens, we normally do send a review
team in," she said.
However, the audit reportedly began before any personnel changes
occurred.
Mark Maynard, who took early retirement Nov. 1, 1996, said Thursday that
he knows little about what is going on. Since his retirement, both
clerks resigned, and the office has been without local employees about
three weeks.
Linda Alexander of Odessa and Harold Ross of Lamesa have been acting
county executive directors, and a clerk from the Fort Stockton office is
handling what business she can. Five auditors were in the office
Wednesday.
Alexander referred questions about the audit to the Washington office of
the USDA.
Bob Bickley, executive director for the Trans-Pecos Cotton Association,
said he contacted Bennett and Bonilla (R-San Antonio) in an attempt to
get the matter resolved.
"The farmers want to know why they haven't been paid," he said.
He said he doesn't understand how the files could be lacking
documentation.
"They never would let me have 15 cents in Mexican money without
documentation," he said.
PECOS, February 7, 1997 - As part of Career and Technology Education
week, Pecos High School will be hosting a week-long open house to
introduce the public to its local Career and Technology Education (CATE)
program.
CATE administrators want the public to see, "Education that Works."
CATE teachers and students will be welcoming the public into classrooms
and labs during regularly scheduled class hours next week to see how
"Education that Works" affects students, schools and the community.
CATE was created with the idea that America's young people deserve a
chance in life to achieve the American dream - a good education, a good
job and a good life. It seeks to show students that a good high school
education should lead to a good job and a college education plus result
in a productive and satisfying life.
"In this economy, a high school diploma doesn't mean what it used to
mean," according to CATE Director Larry Sloan and Guidance Counselor
Michelle Workman.
The skills students have been receiving are not preparing them to meet
the challenges in today's world, they said.
"Why? There are many reasons," the two administrators said. But one
thing is clear - students have a difficult time connecting what they
hear in the traditional classroom and what they see in the real world.
What young people need and want are skills that have meaning in the real
world.
"Our young people must learn critical thinking skills and develop
effective teamwork and communication skills," Workman said.
"They must develop technology skills, occupational skills, independent
judgement, self-initiative and work ethics," Sloan added.
Workman and Sloan outlines the skills necessary for a fully productive
citizenship.
They include Foundations Skills, which were split into two categories:
- Basic - reading, writing and mathematics, speaking and listening
Thinking - the ability to think creatively, make decisions, solve
problems, learn and reason
- Personal - a sense of individual responsibility, self-esteem,
sociability, self-management and integrity.
The other type, Competency Skills, include:
- Resources - the ability to allocate time, money, materials, space and
staff
- Interpersonal - the ability to work as a team member, teach others,
serve customers, lead, negotiate and work well with people from diverse
backgrounds
- Information - the ability to acquire and evaluate data, organize and
maintain files, interpret and communicate and use computers to process
information
- Systems - the ability to understand systems, to monitor and correct
-performance to design and improve systems and
- Technology - the ability to select equipment and tools, apply
technology to specific tasks and maintain and troubleshoot technologies.
"Career and Technology Education," contend both Workman and Sloan, "is
learning for life."
Scheduled times and room numbers for CATE classes can be found on Page 9
of today's Enterprise.
Visitors must make sure and check in at the Pecos High School office
before heading out to the classrooms.
PECOS, Feburary 7, 1997 - Fred Martin was hoping for a few more Open
Division fighters this season, for the third annual West of the Pecos
Golden Gloves Tournament.
That didn't happen. But eight Pecos-Barstow Warbirds fighters are
scheduled to compete in the two-day tournament, and Martin is hoping for
a big turnout of local fans, starting tonight at 7 p.m. at the Reeves
County Civic Center.
There will be four of eight Warbird boxers on tonight's card, and four
Open Division bouts as well out of 17 scheduled.
"I hope we have a good turnout," he said this morning at the Civic
Center. "We sure need people to support it. If they don't, eventually,
we'll have to drop it.
"People are always complaining there's nothing to do, and here's an
opportunity to come here and enjoy a night of boxing, support the kids
and the local community," said Martin, who is supervising the
tournament, with the support of the Pecos Chamber of Commerce.
Four of the 17 bouts will also be championship fights, including one
Open Division matchup, pitting Humberto Zubia against Matt Franco of the
Twin Cities Tigers.
"It's kind of a grudge match," Martin said. "They used to be teammates."
Fighters from across the Permian Basin and South Plains will be in the
Pecos for the two-day tournament, which continues with the remaining
championship bouts at 7 p.m. on Saturday.
Warbird boxer Isiah Juarez takes on Santos Martinez of Fort Stockton in
the first bout tonight, a Junior Olympic bout at 70-75 pounds in the
8-10 year-old division.
The other fights involving local boxers tonight match Michael Vasquez
against Henry Castillo of the Lubbock Warriors in a 11-12 year old bout
at 80-85 pounds, Paul Juarez against Snyder's Joseph Martinez at 90-100
pounds in the 12-14 division, and Gilbert Plasencia, fighting in the
15-year-old division at 119 pounds against Albert Luna of San Angelo.
"Some of the kids who fight tonight will have to come back if they win
and fight again on Saturday," Martin said, including all four Pecos
fighters. Other Warbirds scheduled to fight are Ricky Rubio, Jesus
Marruffo and Jaime Montano, all of whom were in action at the Civic
Center two weeks ago.
Martin said two weeks ago he expected more Open Division fighters to
compete in the Golden Gloves this year, but this morning he said the
number "was about the same as last year." Open Division winners are the
only ones who advance to the State Golden Gloves Tournament, set for
March in Fort Worth.
Three Lubbock Warrior fighters - Roman Garcia at 106 pounds, David
Thompson at 165 and Craig Mooring in the Super-Heavyweight class - all
automatically advanced to Fort Worth with no opponents in their
division, as did Snyder's Gabriel Vasquez, fighting at 125 pounds.
Pecos has had one or no fighter in the open division in recent years,
though Martin hopes that changes as the current group gets older.
"If Jesus Marruffo looks better he'll be going Open Division, and
Montano will go into the Open Division if he stays with it, and it looks
like he's going to," Martin said.
The other Open Division bouts tonight match the Warriors' Edward
Hernandez III against Jose Luis Lopez of Odessa Southside, in the 147
pound weight class, Chris Molina against Richard Urias of Fort Stockton
in the Light Heavyweight Division, and Lubbock's Gabriel Surita against
Roy Abalos of Rankin, fighting at 156 pounds.
PECOS, February 7, 1997 - An Open House is scheduled for Saturday
afternoon at the West of the Pecos Museum, featuring a special exhibit
on Kwanzaa as part of the observance of Black History Month.
"In observance of Black History Month the museum has a special exhibit
on the celebration of Kwanzaa," said museum curator Dorinda Venegas. The
open house will run from 2-4 p.m., she added.
The public is welcome to attend and refreshments will be served.
Other featured exhibits at the museum this month are a photographic
exhibit of parents of U.S. Presidents and a Valentine Exhibit.
The photographs of the president's parents cover parents from the first
president of the U.S. George Washington on through Richard Nixon. The
exhibit is on loan from the Presidential Museum in Odessa.
A collection of antique Valentines will also be on display. From the
simple valentines to the more elaborate three dimensional ones.
Kwanzaa is a unique American Holiday that pays tribute to the rich
cultural roots of Americans of African ancestry. Kwanzaa means "the
first" or "the first fruits of the harvest," in the East African
language of Kiswahili.
It is observed from Dec. 26 through Jan. 1.
Kwanzaa was founded in 1966 by Dr. Maulana Karenga, a Black Studies
professor who describes himself as a cultural nationalist. Kwanzaa
originated as a cultural idea and an expression of the nationalist Us
organization which was headed by Dr. Karenga.
It is unique in that it is neither a religious, political, nor heroic
but rather a cultural one and is based on seven fundamental principles
which are referred to as the Nguzo Saba.
Kwanzaa is not a substitute for the Christmas holiday, even though Dr.
Karenga recognized the undue hardship that the over commercialization of
Christmas has for Black people and others who are at the lowest rung of
the social strata. Therefore, those who find Kwanzaa to be more
meaningful to them, now have an option and can still be part of the
holiday season.
Gifts may be exchanged during Kwanzaa though it is suggested that they
not be given if they present undue hardship. When gifts are given it is
suggested that they be creative, such as handmade or functional gifts
like a book.
The holiday centers around seven principles of Black Culture. They are
unity, self-determination, collective work and responsibility, economic
purpose, creativity and faith.
The public is invited to come by the museum, Monday through Saturday, 9
a.m. until 5 p.m. and on Sunday 1-4 p.m.
"We want to invited the public to join us on Saturday or anytime during
this month to view the special exhibits," said Venegas.
All three exhibits will be on display through Feb. 28.
Tiburcio "Matilde" Muniz, 79, died Wednesday, Feb. 5 at the Monahans
Senior Care Center.
A rosary will be held Friday at 7 p.m. at Our Lady of Refuge Catholic
Church in Barstow.
Mass is scheduled for Saturday, Feb. 8 at 12:30 p.m. at Our Lady of
Refuge Catholic Church in Barstow, with Father Juan Lucdo of Monahans
officiating. Burial will be at Barstow Cemetery.
He was born April 14, 1917 in Redford, was a retired heavy equipment
operator, had lived in Monahans for 22 years, had previously lived in
Barstow and was a Catholic.
Survivors include his wife, Juanita Muniz of Monahans; five sons, Adolfo
Muniz of Andrews, Angel and Nickols Muniz of Monahans, Edward Muniz of
Fort Worth, Thomas Muniz of Monahans; two daughters, Olivia Blian and
Beatrice Muniz of Monahans; four brothers, Trine and Juan Navarrete of
Falmina, Mex., Silvestire Gonzales of La Mount, Calif., Francisco
Gonzales of Fort Stockton; five sisters, Vicky Fuentes of Roswell, N.M.,
Mary Hernandez of El Mirage, Ariz., Lupe, Benina and Thomasa Navarrete
of Falmina, Mex.; nine grandchildren and one great-grandchild.
Harkey Funeral Home in Monahans is in charge of arrangements.
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Copyright 1997 by Pecos Enterprise
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