Sports|Opinion|Main Menu|Archives Menu|Classified|Advertising|Monahans|
PECOS, May 14, 1997 - A second contractor has informed Reeves County
Commissioners that he does not want to work for the county in its
current community development housing projects.
Housing inspector Augustine Hidalgo informed commissioners yesterday
that he did not want to work on the project because it was surrounded
with too much controversy, according to county grant administrator Mari
Maldonado.
As a result of Hidalgo's departure from the project commissioners
postponed a meeting that was scheduled for 5:30 p.m. yesterday, which
was a continuation of the day-long meeting the day before, until Friday.
Commissioners where surprised during their regular first-of-the-month
meeting Monday when Carlos Colina-Vargas, a grant writer from Austin who
has helped prepare grants locally and was currently working for the
county on a community development grant, told the commissioners that he
no longer would work for the county.
After much verbiage, Vargas' resignation was accepted and Maldonado was
given the responsibility to continue on with the project which
Commissioner Bernardo Martinez noted is very needed by those who need
help with their housing. This brought a hoot from Judge Jimmy Galindo
who pointed out that it was only a short time earlier that Martinez
questioned whether or not the project should be halted.
Efforts had been made to contact Hidalgo Monday, unsuccessfully, so the
meeting was recessed until 5:30 p.m. Tuesday to get him on-board as the
inspector for the project with the possibility of paying him more out of
money which will not be claimed by Vargas. That meeting will now be held
Friday.
Maldonado said commissioners will discuss advertising for a housing
inspector to take Hidalgo's place in the Friday meeting.
Whether the county owed Vargas any back pay for work he had already
performed was left in the air at the end of Monday's meeting. When
Vargas was asked if he was going to bill the county he replied that no
money could be used for his pay out of new grant and that money from
previous grants is no longer available. Vargas indicated he is undecided
on the issue and would write the county if there is money due him.
Also discussed in the meeting Monday was the fact that under a previous
housing grant were a number of houses that have not been completed
although almost all money has been spent.
A report from a Midland housing inspector was discussed that detailed
one house in the project that still needs $10,000 in repairs even though
the contractor has been paid 98 per cent of what was allowed for the
project.
Galindo reported that he was still waiting on a report from the state
which sent two people to check on houses involved in the program.
Martinez said that on a recent trip to Austin he was told by state
officials that it was up to local officials to solve the problem and
there wouldn't be a report coming from Austin.
"I gave you (Galindo) a letter to inquire about the program," Martinez
said.
About the report from the state, Martinez said, "It's not forthcoming.
We need to take care of it locally."
Martinez said he and Tarin looked at two of the houses involved.
Galindo asked Martinez if he had been talking to the contractors
involved and Martinez said that he had, but warned them that what they
said could be used against them.
Galindo accused Martinez of being misleading - a statement he repeated
throughout the meeting - and asked if the state is going to spend
resources and not produce a report?
Martinez then asked Tarin if he was misleading him and Tarin said, "No."
Tarin noted there were big concerns and big problems with the project.
He said he had asked for a report from one contractor but never got one.
"We were told to get involved but can't find it in the minutes," he
added, noting that since the county has gone to the taping system some
things that are discussed are not reflected in the written minutes.
Galindo said that Martinez had said this was the home-owners problem and
"we" should get them to sign off on the program and be done with it.
"I didn't say that," Martinez said.
Galindo then said that Martinez was not telling the truth, to which
Martinez replied, "The Judge called me a liar. I'm not going to climb
over there and whip you. I'm not going to call you a liar. All I'm
going to do is deny it."
Martinez then said they were all friends to which Galindo said he hadn't
spoken more than five words to Martinez outside of court in two months.
Martinez then shot back with a question about a conversation within the
past few weeks at the Sunday House about Martinez trying to buy a car
from the judge for his daughter because "it gets good mileage." Martinez
said he could never get a price on the car.
Commissioner Dr. W. J. Bang interceded to try to get the discussion
moving by making a motion that the county attorney Walter Holcombe be
asked to look into the matter to see what can be done to get it
resolved, whether the contractors can finish the work or if legal action
is needed.
Galindo said he doubts that the county attorney is willing to look into
anything for the court. Dr. Bang noted that Holcombe has been doing some
work for various county departments although a legal opinion has said he
is only liable for criminal prosecutions.
Yvonne Mora, owner of one of the homes involved in the program, spoke to
the court and asked when her house was going to be finished.
Work was started last June and it still isn't finished, she said. She
had to live elsewhere for a month due to the work on the bathroom. A
heater was never installed and with summer coming on, an air
conditioning system is still not in place.
Mora said she took it on her own to look into manuals published by the
Department of Housing and Urban Affairs (HUD) and found out what
standards should be.
She said her house was approved for $24,465 in repairs and she spent
$3,000 out of her own pocket for which she could have built a new house.
It was noted that the original plans under the housing program as
described by the state were vague, did not meet housing standards and
work wasn't done to have repairs meet those guidelines.
The motion was approved to have Holcombe look into the matter.
After lunch, the court set its next regular meeting for Tuesday, May 27
at 5:30 p.m. due to the Memorial Day holiday, approved a six-month
extension of holidays and vacations for personnel who missed that time
off due to a training schedule, and heard reports from various
departments.
PECOS, May 14, 1997 - Reeves County grand jurors on Monday returned four
indictments, three of which were on drug charges.
Leslie Young, 42, and Joe R. Looney, 41, are charged with possession of
heroin on April 2. Their bail is $25,000 each.
David Granillo Anaya, 24, is charged with possession of more than 50
pounds of marijuana on Feb. 5. His bail is $125,000.
County Attorney Walter Holcombe presented a driving while intoxicated
case against Manuel Florez. Florez allegedly drove while drinking on
Oct. 9, 1996, and he has two prior convictions. His bail is $1,000.
Arnold Williams, formerly of Port Lavaca and now of Austin with the
State Occupational Coordinating Committee, was guest speaker and led the
audience of almost 200 people in exercises to have fun. He emphasized
three points to the students - stay in school, stay determined to become
somebody and help others.
Employers who hire students through the office administration training
stations were honored along with clinical rotation stations involved in
the health occupations classes.
The clinical rotation stations include American Home Health Agency,
Pecos Home Health Agency, Pecos Nursing Home, Dr. Davis Lovett, D.D.S.,
Reeves County Hospital and Trans-Pecos Laboratory.
Businesses and industries who hire personnel through office
administration include Anchor West, First National Bank of Pecos,
Community Council of Reeves County, Needleworks, Inc., Luz Ortiz
Insurance, Pecos Air Conditioning & Sheetmetal, P-B-T ISD business
office, Pecos Insurance, Primera Iglesia Church, Justice of Peace
Amonario Ramon, Attorney Randy Reynolds, Security State Bank and West of
the Pecos Museum.
The welcome was given by R. James Alvarez, president of PHS business
professionals, Randa Taylor, FFA vice president, introduced the speaker.
John Paul Vasquez, president of DECA made closing remarks.
PECOS, May 14, 1997 - Red Bluff Water Power Control Board members were
given the water disbursements for March and April, and discussed the
salt cedar eradication program during their regular monthly meeting
Monday afternoon at the district's West Second Street office.
Board members voted to seek advice of their attorney to see if available
funds can be used on the Salt Cedar Eradication Project, in conjunction
with other political subdivisions and government agencies. Salt cedars
along Red Bluff Lake and the Pecos River consume much of the water which
would otherwise flow downstream within the district. The motion came
following discussion with Alfonso Leal of the Texas Natural Resource
Conservation Committee, who attended the meeting along with Brad Newton,
Pecos River Compact Commissioner.
General manager Jim Ed Miller was also asked by board members to look
into the permitting of arsonal herbicide for use within the State of
Texas. Miller was out of town and did not attend Monday's meeting.
Board members were told during March and April, only Ward County Water
Improvement District No. 1 used part of their allotted water. The
district used 391 acre/feet of its 7,110 total. Overall, the three Ward
County water districts, the two in Pecos County and the single districts
in Reeves and Loving counties have a balance of 24,554 acre/feet
remaining, board members were told.
The water report also indicated Red Bluff Lake's level was at 81,153
acre/feet as of March 27, and at 73,049 acre/feet on April 30. Computed
release at the new low-water crossing just below Red Bluff Dam was
10,114 acre/feet, with 5,115 of that going to Imperial Reservoir and the
remained lost to the salt cedars and evaporation.
Board members also approved accounts payable for April totalling
$10,302.14, and cash disbursements for the month totalling $27,273.18.
The largest single payment of that amount, $5,074.16, went for a new
computer for the district's office.
PECOS, May 14, 1997 - The possibility of transporting individuals to
Midland for a fun evening was the topic of discussion at the recent
chamber of commerce meeting.
"We need to figure out if we want to sponsor this event, organize
something or just give the tickets away," said chamber of commerce
president Paul Hinojos.
The event is a Midland Angels baseball game scheduled for Saturday, June
14.
"We could organize a couple of buses to transport those that would like
to attend, charge a small fee and possibly have a picnic or something in
Midland," said Hinojos.
The cost for the two buses would be $750 with a total of 100 tickets
available. Forty-five individuals can be seated in each bus.
"We could also purchase more tickets if needed," said Hinojos.
"It'll be work, organizing something like this, but I will help, if
others are willing to," said Hinojos.
Special guest Steve Cordova stated that he has learned from previous
experience that if you just give the tickets out, not that many
individuals will show up for the event.
"And if it's something geared toward the youth it might be worth working
on," he said.
A discussion ensued on what way would be the best to handle the event
with a group of five individuals volunteering to organize the trip.
A meeting will be held later by the group and a set amount on how much
to charge, buses and all the other details to be ironed out at the
meeting.
Beta Sigma Phi member Tracy Shaw was also on hand for the luncheon. Shaw
donated funds on behalf of the club to help with the Christmas Lighting.
An effort is being made to purchase new Christmas decorations for the
community and funds are still being sought.
Night In Old Pecos will be a "family affair" with no alcoholic beverages
on sale this year.
The one-day event has been scheduled for June 28.
"We need some help getting this off the ground," said Hinojos.
"I think that with the combination of the cantaloupe festival and Night
in Old Pecos we need to make this year's event even better," said
Hinojos.
The annual parade will be held July 2 with a 1950's theme in keeping
with the Golden Girl's.
"We would like to see more people get involved with the parade to make
it bigger and better," said executive director Tom Rivera.
Keeping the Reeves County Civic Center clean has proved to be a big
task, according to Rivera.
Rivera reported that he and other individuals had done a walk-through
and noted some deficiencies that need to be corrected.
"I've had like two complaints about the place not being clean after they
get there for the event," said Rivera.
The individuals who previously rent it don't leave it clean or fail to
do a good job at it, according to Rivera.
"That seems to be a problem, with people not leaving the center clean
after they have used it and we don't have time to go check after each
event," said Rivera.
Rivera stated that "it would be nice if we could get a full-time
custodian there."
Tables and chairs have been purchased from La Nortena Ballroom.
"They're very nice tables and chairs," said Rivera.
Rivera told the group about grant workshops sponsored by the Texas
Historical Commission with the closest one set up in Lubbock in July.
"I'm going to make an effort to attend and hopefully anybody else who is
interested and can go will do so," said Rivera.
Rivera stated that the civic center would benefit from a grant and that
was one of the main reasons he was interested in attending.
Women's Division president Brandy Owen gave an update on the upcoming
events the group is working on.
A style show is scheduled for Saturday at the Pecos Valley Country Club.
"We have 10 Golden Girl nominees and 17 Little Miss Cantaloupe girls who
will be modeling at the event," said Owen.
Proceeds from this fund-raiser will benefit the West of the Pecos Museum.
Rivera reported that the city had a lot of visitors during National
Tourism Week held last week and a couple of families were kidnapped.
"We treated them to some gifts from local merchants and tours of the
museum," he said.
Rivera reported that the first quarter was the highest in bed tax
revenues that it has been in a long time.
"Hats off to our local hotels, we must be doing something right," he
said.
Hinojos reported that the Adopt-A-Block cleanup had gone really well,
praised everyone for their efforts and encouraged others to adopt a
block and help with the clean-up.
"If you see a building full of graffiti, paint over it and do it again
and again and maybe the graffiti writer will eventually get tired," he
said.
There has been a complete turnover at the chamber office with new office
personnel. New office manager is Rachel Orona and secretary is Elsa
Martinez.
Rivera presented Karen Capers with a gift for her years of dedicated
service.
"It's employees like this that makes bosses look good, we wish her the
best," said Rivera.
ODESSA, May 14, 1997 - A hearing will be held at 7 p.m. today in Odessa
in order to get public input into plans to improve area highways,
following a decision not to extend Interstate 27 south from Lubbock.
The Texas Department of Transportation and their consultants will be
asking the public to help prioritize improvements that have been
identified in each of five corridors defined for the Lubbock to
Interstate 10/Amarillo North route study, including a corridor from
Lubbock to near Bakersfield that runs through the Midland-Odessa area.
The meeting will take place at the Holiday Inn Parkway, on Business I-20
at John Ben Sheppard Parkway in Odessa.
The Midland Odessa corridor would closely follow U.S. 87 and Texas 349
south from, Lubbock to Midland International Airport, and from there
south along U.S. 385 and FM 11 from Odessa to Bakersfield.
Plans proposed by the Midland-Odessa Transportation Alliance (MOTRAN)
would then continue the road along I-10 west for 50 miles, through Fort
Stockton, and then south along U.S. 67 to Presidio. The proposed
corridor would then go through Ojinaga and Chihuahua, Mexico to the port
of Topolobampo on the Gulf of California.
The route was picked over one that would have followed I-20 from Midland
to Pecos, then south along Texas 17 and U.S. 67 to Presidio. But it was
decided in late 1996 neither that route, nor any of the others proposed,
would carry enough traffic to warrant an interstate extension.
"The May public meetings were originally intended to identify a single
route in each corridor and then prioritize proposed improvements for
that route," said TxDOT spokesman Glen Larum. "But after evaluating our
data and reviewing public input from the round of December 1996
meetings, it became apparent that there was a consensus among the public
that, for the most part, the ultimate routes should follow existing
roadways between towns," said Larum.
"As a result, this next meeting will identify specific improvements
needed between towns, evaluate projects to improve traffic flow through
each city, and see whether generic reliever routes are needed around
some of the towns on the routes," he explained.
The meeting will feature a brief overview of the study by
representatives from TxDOT and HDR Engineering, Inc., of Dallas, the
consultant coordinating the two-year study. Then, the meeting will break
up into working groups to discuss the need for the various improvements.
The meeting will reconvene in a final session to attempt to reach
consensus on the priorities for the corridor. A spokesperson from each
working group will summarize their findings and present their priority
rankings.
Persons unable to attend the meeting can call a route study hotline
(1-800-661-3234) or submit written comments to Jose E. Morales, P.E.,
Odessa District Engineer, Texas Department of Transportation, 3901 E.
Highway 80, Odessa Tx., 79761 prior to May 31.Barbara Nell Fonville
MIDLAND, May 14, 1997 - Barbara Nell Barfield Fonville, died Monday, May
12 at Midland Memorial Hospital.
A graveside service was held at Garden City today.
She was born April 28, 1943 in Midland, was a 1961 graduate of Pecos
High School, was a member of the Reeves County Sheriff's Posse for four
years, rodeo queen all girl rodeo in Fort Stockton, 1954 and a member of
the First Christian Church of Pecos.
Survivors include two sons, Neal Fonville of Allen, Joe Dale Fonville of
Tulsa, Okla.; her parents, Mr. and Mrs. Jiggs Barfield; one brother,
John Barfield of Pecos.
Arrangements are with Nalley-Pickle Funeral Home in Big Spring.
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. Neither these AP
Materials nor any portion thereof may be stored in a computer except for
personal and non-commercial use. The AP will not be held liable for
any delays, inaccuracies, errors or omissions therefrom or in the
transmission or delivery of all or any part thereof or for any damages
arising from any of the foregoing.
_
Copyright 1997 by Pecos Enterprise
Division of Buckner News Alliance, Inc.
324 S. Cedar St., Pecos, TX 79772
Phone 915-445-5475, FAX 915-445-4321
e-mail news@bitstreet.com
Return to Top