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November 12, 1997

State tire recycling program will end soon

By CARA ALLIGOOD
Staff Writer

PECOS, November 12, 1997 - Although a state-mandated tire recycling
program will end with the calendar year, and the state will no longer
require tire retailers to charge a recycling fee when they sell a tire,
tire purchasers will probably still be paying the fee.

Pecos tire retailers have not decided what their tire recycling fees
will be after Jan. 1 because they are waiting for more information from
the tire scrappers they will have to pay to haul away used tires they
receive.

The state currently charges a $2 fee for a new automobile tire, $3.50
for a new truck tire and $1 for each used tire. Beginning Jan. 1, 1998,
tire dealers may add a fee to the price of tires they sell to pay for
the delivery of tires to a recycler or a disposal facility. The amount
of the fee will be solely at the dealer's discretion and not regulated
by the state.

According to Lupe Garcia, manager at Eagle Tire and Service in Pecos,
"there is going to have to be a fee," even after the state stops
requiring it.

Garcia said that tire scrappers will still charge retailers a fee that
will have to be passed onto the consumer.

"We're between a rock and a hard place because we don't know what the
scrapper will charge," said Garcia.

He is concerned that there isn't much of a market for scrap tires. Tire
scrappers are currently being subsidized by the government, Garcia said,
and he can't predict what will happen when that government involvement
in the program ends.

Garcia thinks that his fees for passenger tires may stay the same, but
the fees on truck tires will likely go up, maybe to $4.50 or $5 apiece.

"I feel like the state should stay in it because they are the ones who
are mandating all this," Garcia said. He wonders what will happen if the
current scrappers decide it is no longer economically feasible to
continue picking up scrap tires after the state bows out of the program.
Garcia expressed concern that "there will be a lot of tires ending up by
the sides of the roads," if scrappers stop picking up tires.

Not to worry, says Jody Webb, operations manager of Safe Tire Disposal,
the current scrapper used by Eagle Tire. He said his company plans to
continue picking up scrap tires.

"The only difference is that after Dec. 31, the generator (retailer)
will still have to charge a fee, but it won't go to the State of Texas
anymore," Webb said.

Safe Tire Disposal, out of Midlothian, covers a 95-county area of Texas.
Webb said that the company did a survey that indicated tires can be
recycled for even less than the $2 fee currently charged by the state.

Webb said that Safe Tire Disposal will charge a flat fee for a trailer
load of 1,000 tires. That fee will be determined by the area where the
tires are being picked up and how far that is from their base of
operations in the Dallas/Fort Worth area.

Plans by Safe Tire Disposal include leaving a trailer in Pecos at a
location where someone will be able to monitor it. That supervisor will
be in charge of collecting enough money to pay the tire scrappers. He
said the fee for a trailer load of tires from the Pecos area will be
around $1,075.

"The best part of it is that the state will be out of our business,"
said Webb.

Hector Garcia of Hector's Tire Repair and Road Service said he will try
not to raise fees from what they are now unless other factors force him
to set his fees higher.

Mickey Black Well, owner of Blackwell Trucking, said that his company
hauled scrap tires in the Midland/Odessa area in the past and may get
back into that business after Jan. 1. He doesn't expect to be doing
business in the Pecos area, however, he does not discount the
possibility of operating here also.

Blackwell said that "the big problem is where to take them." He
explained that once tires are shredded, there is no market for them.
However, he said, "they have to be shredded or quartered for a landfill
to take them." Therefore, what is to be done with the tires needs to be
known when they are picked up.

Landfills may accept split, shredded or quartered tires. Tire dumping
remains illegal. To prevent unauthorized dumping, the state will
continue to use a registration and manifest system to track used tires
until they are recycled.

Because the recycling program will end and fees will be discontinued,
there will be no state funds available to pay scrap tire transporters
and processors who have been picking up waste tires and delivering them
under the current program. The state encourages local governments to get
involved in tire recycling for many uses, such as playground material,
road construction and landscape mulch. Shredded tires can be used as
daily cover or in leachate collection systems in landfills.

Tire shreds can also be used for on-site sewage facilities, or septic
systems or in place of gravel on the construction of lateral lines and
leach fields.

According to the state, in the past two years there has been a 50
percent increase in tire recycling in landfills and a 64 percent jump in
the use of tire derived fuel. During the past year the tire recycling
rate in Texas was 94 percent.

In its five years of existence, the Texas waste tire recycling program
eliminated more than 600 illegal tire dumps containing nearly 20 million
used tires. In the first six months of 1997 more than 208 million pounds
of scrap tire material was diverted to recycling markets.

Local recyclers hold drawing for recycle day

By CARA ALLIGOOD
Staff Writer

PECOS, November 12, 1997 - This Saturday, Nov. 15, has been declared
"Texas Recycles Day" by Governor George Bush. A local recycling company,
C & J Recyclers, accepts many items for recycling, hopes to add a couple
more categories soon, and is registering customers this week for a
giveaway, according to one of the company's owners, Christie Blake.

For this week only, when a customer brings in items to be recycled and
signs their payment ticket, they will be entered into a drawing for a 24
percent lead crystal mantle clock. The center will not be open on
Saturday, so the winner's name will be drawn just before closing on
Friday.

C & J Recycling is open Monday through Friday from 8 a.m. to 5 p.m. and
is located at 2505 Highway 17, just past the I-20 overpass on the
southbound side of the highway. Also, the company began hosting a flea
market last Saturday which will operate every other Saturday, and the
recycling center will be open during the flea markets, Blake said. The
flea markets will be held at the recycling center from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m.
The next flea market will be Nov 21.

C & J Recycling takes in a lot more than just empty aluminum cans. They
take in aluminum other than in can form, brass, copper, stainless steel,
car transmissions, whole catalytic converters, radiators, heater cores,
fiberboard, computers and computer parts. They don't currently accept
paper or plastics, said Blake, but they are "looking into it."

Blake said that they are looking for a refinery close by that they would
be able to ship the paper and plastic to, instead of having to send it
far across the country.

Blake's partner in C & J Recyclers is James Petty. She said that they
started the Pecos Recycling Center on Third Street in 1986. "At first we
just took in cans," she said, and they built the business up over time.

"We started the recycling center to help clean up the environment for
our children and grandchildren," Blake said.

Blake is enthusiastic about recycling as a way of making a better place
for everyone to live and continually looks for ways to expand the scope
of operations at C & J Recyclers, such as looking for a way to make it
feasible for them to accept paper and plastics. That is why they take in
computers, computer parts, and the fiber board that is used in their
construction, even though they do not make a profit by doing so.

She explained that they do not charge people to take their used
computers, even though they have to take them apart and separate the
components inside according to the materials they are made of. They only
require that people turning in computers pay to ship the computers or
parts to C & J.

"I think this is a good thing, really. There is so much going into the
landfill these days."

C & J Recyclers also "helps kids to help themselves," Blake said. The
recyclers will pay 4-H members two cents per pound over the going rate
for the aluminum cans that they bring in so they can earn extra money to
feed and care for the animals they raise.

Blake said that this helps to keep both the kids and the cans off the
streets while rewarding the children for doing something productive in
their spare time.

"4-H is the only organization that has approached us," she said about
the company's special deal with that particular club.

Blake said that by the time Earth Day rolls around next April C & J may
have another event planned to commemorate that environmental observance
as well, "maybe another drawing or something like that."

Christmas bazaar benefits community

PECOS, November 12, 1997 - Pecos residents will have a chance to do
their Christmas shopping early right here in town.

The Beta Sigma Phi Fifteenth Annual Christmas Bazaar will be held
Saturday, Nov. 15, from 9:30 a.m. until 5:30 p.m. at the Reeves County
Civic Center.

About 25 booths will display items for sale including jewelry, ceramics,
wreaths, toys, dolls and paintings.

Admission to the bazaar is free. The club will have a concession stand
and will give door prizes donated by the booth vendors.

The proceeds from this annual fund raiser are donated back to the
community, such as to the Christmas Lighting project and Christmas gifts
for needy children.

For more information, contact Terri Spence at 447-4738.

Pecos police officer wears two hats

By CARA ALLIGOOD
Staff Writer

PECOS, November 12, 1997 - For almost a year now, the 143rd Judicial
District Attorney, Randy Reynolds, has had an investigator from the
Pecos Police Department on duty at his office to assist in prosecuting
criminal cases in the district. The 143rd Judicial District is comprised
of Reeves, Ward and Loving counties.

According to Orlando Franco's job description, "The objective for an
investigator working for the District Attorney is to investigate,
prepare and assist the District Attorney in bringing criminal cases to a
conclusion by either dismissal or jury verdict or verdict by the judge."

Franco began working as the District Attorney's investigator when
Reynolds took office in January, 1997. Franco's job as the D.A.'s
investigator is not a permanent position, but both Reynolds and Franco
agree that it is working well so far.

"The investigator is my right-hand man," said Reynolds.

Even though Franco works in the D.A.'s office and investigates those
cases, he is still an officer of the Pecos Police Department. "That is
his commission, this is his assignment. His boss is (Pecos Police) Chief
Troy Moore," said Reynolds.

"The City Council, including us at the police department, decided that
since the D.A. doesn't have funds for an investigator, it would be
conducive for us to provide someone," said Chief Moore. According to
Reynolds, all three counties in the district provide funding for the
investigator.

"When you look at the whole scheme of things, cooperation is key," said
Reynolds. "I'm a state D.A. and they give me some funds, but they expect
the counties to provide local law enforcement. Now the city is stepping
in to help as well by providing me with manpower."

Moore volunteered to put one of his officers in the position, said
Reynolds. He said that "there are very few districts that don't use an
investigator," and that the position was created "to become more
effective and to most efficiently perform for the people."

"I'm in court a lot, and there are a lot of things that need to be done
out of court," said Reynolds. "He goes through every step of the way in
the cases, so he knows the whole case and makes a great contact person
for people to talk to when I'm not available."

Reynolds said that Franco "knows just about as much as I do about what's
going on in the office."

"We're always looking for ways to improve because we know we have some
weaknesses," said Reynolds. He said that Franco helps him to keep
perspective from both the regular person's standpoint and from an
officer's standpoint. Also, Franco is continually learning more and more
about the job. "He has been to three district attorney schools since
this began," said Reynolds.

Reynolds explained that while Franco works out of his office now, he
still works with the police department and still goes over there to help
out.

"Orlando and I work great together," said Reynolds. "I feel like I'm
better prepared and more informed. Two heads are better than one."

Franco also helps direct people where they need to go for proper
assistance. "The D.A.'s office is not an intake agency," said Reynolds.
"We receive the cases after investigations by the appropriate law
enforcement agencies.

Ramon seeks another term in upcoming election

PECOS, November 12, 1997 - Amonario Ramon, who has been Precinct One
Justice of the Peace since 1987, will seek another term in the upcoming
election March 10, 1998.

A longtime volunteer fireman, Ramon says he was initially inspired to
seek the J.P. post by fellow fireman, and then J.P. Cliff Presler.

Ramon said that Presler encouraged him to seek the post, saying that he
had the potential to serve the community through the office.

"It will be the voters who decide (if he will continue to hold the
office)," Ramon said, while emphasizing his qualifications. He said that
it was his experience and a capacity for "fairness to treat each
individual right...and protect the interests of the community" that made
him a good candidate for the job in the first place.

"We (J.P.'s) are elected to serve the public," Ramon said, "My doors are
open all the time...not just for the few but for (everyone)." He said
that he has a difficult time ever saying "no" to those who need help.

Ramon said that the hardest part of the job for him is informing
families of the loss of a child, and that the pain is compounded when he
knows the family personally. But there are good times too. Officiating
weddings are the happier times, he said. These he called "an honor and a
privilege".

He recently returned from a J.P.'s conference where the committee spent
two hours of training on the legal aspects of anti-government trials.
Two cases which fall under that category are under Ramon's jurisdiction.
"I believe that everyone deserves a hearing," said Ramon, "I never deny
a hearing."

The office of J.P. he called "very challenging," but he enjoys helping
people, he said, without discrimination. "Every day is a new learning
experience."

So far, no one has filed to challenge Ramon for the office of Justice of
the Peace, Precinct One.

PBT board meets Thursday

PECOS, November 12, 1997 - The Pecos-Barstow-Toyah school district Board
of Education will meet at 6 p.m. Thursday, Nov. 13, at 1304 S. Park St.

Agenda items include:

*Approval of minutes of the October meeting

*Restructuring study update

*Discuss/approve hiring Frank Spencer and Associates to conduct an
independent restructuring study

*Discuss/approve agreement for education of non-resident students

*Discuss/approve memorandum of agreement with Region 18 ESC

*Discuss/approve technology plan

*Discuss/approve campus technologist job description

*Discuss/approve Gifted/Talented plan

*Discuss/approve resolution to appoint three representatives to serve as
directors on the Reeves County Tax Appraisal District Board

*Second reading and discuss/approve Policy Update 56

*First reading of Policy Update 57

*Discuss/approve sale of foreclosed property

*Discuss/approve sale of school warehouse - 2nd and Ash Streets

*Discuss/approve sale of house located at 1006 S. Cherry St. Block 33
Col. Lots 9 & 10

*Discuss/approve 1997 tax roll

*Discuss approve negotiating inservice contract with Connie Podesta

*Discuss/approve workshop for board governance

*Discuss/approve disposition of objection AP reading material
requirements (Policy EFA [Local] 7 EFA [Exhibit])

*Discuss/approve Donna Davis as PDAS appraiser

*Discuss/approve alternative accountability proposals

*Closed session as authorized by the Texas Open Meetings Act, Texas
Education Code 551.101 et. Seq., Section 551.074: discussing personnel
or hear complaints against personnel

*Discuss/approve professional personnel: appointments, resignations

*Tax report

*Depository securities report

*Cafeteria report

*List of commodities received

*Discuss/approve 1997-087 budget amendments

*Discuss/approve budget amendment for new sound system at Pecos High
School auditorium.

*Payment of current bills and approval of financial report

*Set date and time for special meetings

*Next regular meeting date

*Calendar of events

*Request for items for next agenda, and

*Adjournment.

City council will meet tomorrow

PECOS, November 12, 1997 - The City Council of the Town of Pecos City
will meet at 7:30 a.m. tomorrow at council chambers in City Hall.

The council will discuss and consider the position and duties of Police
Chief Troy Moore in closed and open sessions. The council will consider
the formation of a regional water planning group, a request for computer
system proposals and changing the next council meeting date.

Also to be discussed are the 1997 tax rolls, contracting with the Pecos
Chamber of Commerce for expenditures of hotel/motel occupancy tax funds,
appointment of a representative for the steering committee of the
coalition of the Texas-New Mexico Power Company's servicing area cities
and a possible appointment of a committee to investigate the issue of
employee health insurance.

An ordinance to adopt prior service credit for probationary employees
will be considered. The juvenile and municipal monthly court reports,
and accounts payable, are subject to approval at the meeting.

OBITUARIES

Sisto D. Carrasco

Sisto D. Carrasco, 77, of Odessa, died Tuesday, Nov. 11, 1997, at
Medical Center Hospial.

A rosary will be held Wednesday, Nov. 12, at 7:30 p.m., in the Odessa
Funeral Home Chapel.

Mass is scheduled for 2 p.m., Thursday, Nov. 13, at Holy Redeemer
Catholic Church with burial in Sunset Memorial Gardens.

Carrasco was born March 28, 1920, in Pecos. He had worked for ref-Chem
as an electrician and served in the U.S. Army.

He was preceded in death by his wife, Erlinda B. Carrasco.

Survivors include: three sons, Bobby, Hector and Joe Carrasco of Odessa;
one daughter, Emma Durham of San Angelo; two brothers, Jesus Carrasco of
Pecos and Canuto Carrasco of Midland; and five grandchildren.

Odessa Funeral Home is in charge of arrangements.

Florene Huckabee

Florene C. "Flo" Huckabee, 81, of Andrews, died Monday, Nov. 10, 1997,
at her residence.

Funeral services are scheduled for Friday, Nov. 14, at 10 a.m., at
Calvary Baptist Church in Andrews, with Rev. David King of Andrews,
Pastor of Good News Fellowship; Rev. Billy Simmons of San Angelo, of
Trinity Fellowship; Rev. Eric Lovell of San Saba, of New Hope Christian
Fellowship; and Rev. Stan Roberts of Dennison all officiating.

Graveside services will be at 3 p.m., Friday, Nov. 14, at Mount
Evergreen Cemetery in Pecos.

Huckabee was born July 28, 1916, in Levita, Tx., and moved to Pecos in
1946. She was a life insurance agent for Western Insurance in Pecos for
11 years and established the Way Inn (1977-1987) in Pecos, a Christian
home for women and children and attended several churches.

She was preceded in death by her husband, Bill Huckabee, on April 26,
1982.

Survivors include: two daughters, Martha Fleming and Rebekah Sawyer of
Andrews; one son, Robert "Bob" Huckabee of San Angelo; one sister, Ruth
Clem of Roswell, N.M.; and six grandchildren.

Memorials can be sent to Prime Time Christian Broadcasting, P.O. Box
61000, Midland, Tx., 79711-1000.

McNett Funeral Home of Andrews is in charge of all arrangements.

Manuel Valdez

Manuel Salazar Valdez, 73, of Pecos, died Tuesday, Nov. 11, 1997, at
Medical Center Hospital in Odessa.

Viewing will be held from 9 to 10 p.m., Wednesday and Thursday, Nov.
12-13, at Martinez Funeral Home Chapel.

Graveside services will be held at 2 p.m., Friday, Nov. 14, at Greenwood
Cemetery.

Valdez was born July 31, 1924, in Balmorhea. He served in the U.S. Army,
was a lifetime Pecos resident and a Christian.

Survivors include: his wife, Eva P. Valdez of Pecos; three daughters,
Hilda Valdez of Dallas, Linda Valdez of San Antonio and Gloria Valdez of
Van Horn; one son, Manuel Valdez, Jr. of El Paso; one step-daughter,
Irma Perea of El Paso; one step-son, Andres Amador of El Paso; one
sister, Frances Navarrette of Pyote; one brother Juan Navarrette of El
Paso; one step-sister Demecia Navarrette of Odessa; 13 grandchildren;
and 12 great-grandchildren.

Martinez Funeral Home is in charge of arrangements.

WEATHER

PECOS, November 12, 1997 - High Tuesday, 63, low this morning, 33.
Widespread rain will continue across most of the state tonight and
Thursday. Some light snow fell across the Panhandle during the night and
early today. The rain was being triggered by a broad upper level low
pressure system. West Texas will have partly cloudy to cloudy skies and
a chance of rain. Lows tonight will be in the 30s and 40s in West Texas.
Highs Thursday will be in the 50s and 60s.

Pecos Enterprise
Mac McKinnon, Publisher
Peggy McCracken, Webmaster
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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