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Daily Newspaper and Travel Guide
for Pecos Country of West Texas
Top Stories
Wednesday, March 10, 1999
Chamber eyes funds for fireworks
By ROSIE FLORES
Staff Writer
PECOS, March 10, 1999 - Naming a street after a former Pecos Chamber
of Commerce Director and the costs of organizing a Fourth of July fireworks
display were the topics at the regular noon monthly meeting of the Chamber's
Board of Director's on Tuesday.
The group discussed naming a street in Pecos after David Madril who
was killed in a car accident in January.
"He had expressed a wish to have a street named after him," said president
Linda Gholson.
She told the group that the executive committee had thought of the idea
during their meeting. "We still have go to the city council and discuss
it with them and get their approval," said Gholson.
She said she had talked to the city's utilities director Octavio Garcia
and he had said that he didn't think it would be a problem.
The group also discussed the proposed Fourth of July fireworks display,
but decided the chamber would not sponsor it.
"This is something that's very costly and we decided it would be best
if we didn't sponsor it," said Gholson. "We will however, help out and
back it up."
An exhibition display was held in the Buck Jackson Rodeo Arena parking
lot last month in hopes of having more businesses and groups interested
and willing to help out. "It would cost anywhere from $10,000 to $30,000
and we just don't have those funds available right now," Gholson said.
"There's also a real concern if there is a fire ban at the time, and
we would be out of that money," added board member Jeannette Alligood.
"At this time it is not cost-effective."
The Golden Gloves Tournament didn't fare very well, according to manager
of the local boxing team Fred Martin.
He said that the event didn't have a very good turnout, because of several
other events happening that weekend. "It didn't help either, that the (Oscar)
DelaHoya fight was also on that weekend," said Martin.
Martin said that the boxers weren't able to receive a jacket either,
and the group was short of funds. "If we're going to sponsor it again next
year, we need to let Fort Worth know, because there are other cities interested
in sponsoring it," said Martin.
Martin said that both Lubbock and Odessa have already expressed an interest
in sponsoring it. "Odessa used to sponsor it, but they quit doing it for
the same reason," said Martin. "Now it's different people in Odessa that
want to take it over."
Chamber members decided to wait until April to decide if they would
sponsor the event again next year.
A Fall Fair Committee meeting will be held at noon next Tuesday, at
Cattleman's Restaurant, according to Gholson. "We need all the help we
can get, so if you're interested please come to the meeting," she said.
A new education division for the chamber was created and Larry Sloan
spoke to the group about setting out goals for the education of everyone
in Pecos.
"We need to form some kind of a worker's group and see what everybody
thinks about the education in Pecos and what we can do to improve it,"
said Sloan. "We want to discuss what impact the chamber has and role it
wants to play in education."
Gholson told the group that they would have to start working on ideas
and getting workers for the upcoming Night in Old Pecos/Cantaloupe Festival.
"I'm new to the chamber this year and it would help if you would give
us a breakdown of all the committees and who is in charge," said Alligood.
Another new board member Dr. John Libbie said that a lot of times there
are willing people to help, but that they don't really know what to do.
"I'm also new and it would help a great deal to know what all we will be
in charge of and what needs to be done," he said.
County seeks to correct burial mistake
By PEGGY McCRACKEN
Staff Writer
PECOS, March 10, 1999 - Charlie N. Millan cannot rest easy in his grave,
because he was buried in the wrong plot. Family members are wondering if
his body will have to be moved, and are considering suing Reeves County
for their distress.
The problem arose because Felipe Arredondo, commissioner for Precinct
1, staked the wrong plot, he said in an emergency meeting of the court
Tuesday afternoon.
Millan's family purchased a space in Section 61, Block 3 of Greenwood
Cemetery, which belongs to Reeves County, said Dianne Florez, county clerk.
Instead, he was buried in Section 61, Block 4, which is owned by Lupe Garcia.
Arredondo said that he had volunteered to stake the location of graves
in the county cemetery, because Florez said her staff is too busy. He said
that he either was given the wrong numbers over the telephone, or he wrote
it down wrong.
"It was not intentional," he said. "It was just the numbers they gave
me. The end result, it was on the wrong plot."
Ironically, Garcia is a former commissioner, whom Arredondo defeated
to regain his Precinct 1 seat.
Garcia said this morning that he would hate to think Arredondo's act
was intentional, but he believes he should have noticed that Garcia's son
was buried in that block.
Michael Garcia, who died Jan. 4, 1998, is buried on a 25'x25' plot where
Garcia and his wife planned to be buried beside him.
"Now we can't do that," Garcia said.
Sally Gomez, Millan's daughter, said her family is "all very upset that
we may have to move him." But it is her mother's decision, she said.
Given the possibility of a lawsuit, commissioners met Tuesday to try
to resolve the situation and possibly reach a settlement with the two families.
County auditor Lynn Owens said that Pecos Funeral Home at one time sold
the plots and staked the grave locations themselves. However, after Martinez
Funeral Home began operating in Pecos, the books were moved back to the
clerk's office.
He said the county should not be responsible for staking the grave location.
When the family buys a plot, they should take the information to the funeral
home and let them be responsible for digging in the correct location, he
said.
County Judge Jimmy Galindo said he would place that question on a future
agenda, and called an executive session to discuss potential litigation
with District Attorney Randy Reynolds.
Reynolds agreed to do some investigation before anything is done, Florez
said.
Pecos hearing set on low-level flights
From Staff and Wire Reports
PECOS, March 10, 1999 - A series of public hearings have been scheduled
across West Texas, northern New Mexico and southern Colorado over the next
several weeks on plans by the U.S. Air Force to fly B-1 bombers on low-level
training flights, just hundreds of feet above
One of the hearings is scheduled for Pecos on April 9, in the Pecos
High School cafeteria from 5 p.m. to 9 p.m. Other area hearings are set
in Abilene, Snyder, Big Lake, Alpine and Pecos.
A group of farmers and ranchers in the Trans-Pecos and Jeff Davis Mountains
area have already filed one lawsuit over the proposed flights, and members
of a group that calls itself the Heritage-Environmental Preservation Association
have complained to U.S. Rep. Charles Stenholm. that the flights will poison
the ground with jet fuel and cause noise pollution throughout West Texas.
The meetings will come during a 45-day comment period on the plans that
begins on March 19, after environmental studies of the Air Force's bomber
training flights over West Texas and New Mexico close.
The Air Force's plans to increase flights over the area from out of
Dyess Air Force Base in Abilene come at the same time a increase in flights
by the German Air Force out of Holloman Air Force Base near Alamogordo,
N.M. is being sought. Luftwaffe jets train in over West Texas and Southern
New Mexico under an agreement with the United States, and the German Air
Force's U.S. headquarters is based at Fort Bliss in El Paso.
Landowners in the Permian Basin, Trans-Pecos and Davis Mountains area
filed suit last April in U.S. District Court in Pecos against the U.S.
Air Force and the German Luftwaffe, in the hopes of blocking the proposed
increase in low-level military flights over the area. Part of that suit
against the Luftwaffe was thrown out earlier this year by U.S. District
Judge Lucius D. Bunton, but the remaining portions of that lawsuit are
scheduled to come to trial in Pecos in early May.
The farmers and ranchers in the Abilene area have not filed suit, but
believe that Stenholm, D-Abilene, who for 20 years has represented the
district that includes Dyess Air Force Base, has the political clout to
pressure the Air Force into rethinking the plan.
Douglas Thompson, executive director of HEPA, said he and other members
of the group met this week with Stenholm to test the waters on the issue
and complain about the Air Force's decision to hold a public hearing scheduled
for April 7 in the lunch/multipurpose room at Snyder High School, which
they claim is hard to get to.
The training missions in the Snyder area would fly over a 50-mile by
100-mile stretch of West Texas covering eight counties — Lynn, Garza, Kent,
Stonewall, Dawson, Borden, Scurry and Fisher — covering most of the area
between Abilene and Lubbock.
The bombers' run through the Pecos area would include low-level flights
over parts of Reeves, Pecos, Jeff Davis, Brewster, Presidio, Culberson
and Hudspeth counties. The Federal Aviation Administration must approve
airspace for the Air Force's plan, but the Air Force itself can essentially
approve all other aspects of the initiative.
Stenholm said people may have jumped to conclusions about how harmful
the bomber training would be.
"The proposition will not place flight patterns over areas that will
have major activity," Stenholm said. "We have a lot of space in Texas and
New Mexico."
Thompson disagrees.
"This training site is not just another little site," Thompson said.
"If it goes through over our area, it would be one of the largest bomber
training sites in the country, with thousands of flights per year."
The Draft Environmental Impact Statement on the Realistic Bomber Training
Initiative will be sent to local libraries, agencies and citizens in West
Texas, northeastern New Mexico, Colorado and Arkansas after it is completed
next week. The Air Force said RBTI would improve air crew training by linking
existing low-altitude training routes with a military operations area and
providing electronic simulations of combat conditions.
Citizens and agencies will be able to comment by speaking at the hearings,
writing their comments at the hearings or mailing their comments any time
through the end of the 45-day comment period on May 2.
FEMA rep sees no big Y2K problems
By PEGGY McCRACKEN
Staff Writer
Transition to the Year 2000 is not expected to bring major, national
problems with the nation's infrastructure, said Mike Walker, deputy director
for the Federal Emergency Management Agency Tuesday.
But he urged local officials and business leaders to make sure their
computer systems are ready for Y2K.
"As leaders in our respective communities, we should as a matter of
first priority resolve to encourage those to fix that which has not yet
been fixed. For that is the surest way to prepare for Y2K," Walker said.
Walker spoke to emergency management and emergency services officials
from Arkansas, Louisiana, New Mexico, Oklahoma and Texas in the fifth of
10 regional Y2K workshops sponsored by FEMA.
"Based on current assessments, the sky is not falling," Walker said.
"Y2K does not have to be a major problem."
Disruptions in national services do not appear likely, said John Koskinen,
chair of the President's Council for Year 2000 Conversion.
"There is no indication that the Y2K problem will cause national failures
in basic infrastructures such as electric power, telecommunications, banking
and transportation," Koskinen said in the videotaped address.
Other speakers reinforced Koskinen's claim that critical computer systems
will be ready for the conversion to the Year 2000.
The Department of Energy reported that its own emergency management
system is 100 percent Y2K compliant and, in coordination with the North
American Electric Reliability Council, the department is working to erase
doubt about the readiness of America's electrical supplies for the Year
2000.
However, Koskinene said emergency managers should be prepared to respond
to a larger than average number of localized disruptions.
"We do need to be prepared for the possibility that the Y2K problem
could cause temporary disruptions in some services, especially in areas
where government and businesses have not devoted appropriate attention
to the problem.
"By themselves, such disruptions are manageable. But the unique challenge
the Y2K problem presents us with is the potential for numerous disruptions
happening all at once, which will place additional burdens on the most
well-equipped emergency response mechanisms," Koskinen said.
Pecos City Council on Thursday will discuss Y2K issues and consider
appointing a committee to formulate a contingency plan in case of a power
failure that could disrupt water, sewer and emergency services.
Council to discuss plans for Y2K
PECOS, March 10, 1999 - Pecos City Council will discuss Y2K problems in
their regular meeting at 7:30 a.m. Thursday.
Finance director Steve McCormick has proposed forming a Y2K committee
to ensure that city water, sewer and emergency services continue if computers
fail to work when the calendar rolls over to Jan 1, 2000.
Other agenda items include quarterly reports on the Reeves County Civic
Center operation and advertising/tourism, both from Pecos Chamber of Commerce;
tax abatement ordinance with M. Brad Bennett Inc.;
Texas Community Development Program for 1999, landfill committee recommendations,
advertisement for a new water well, amended ordinance regarding the Good
Friday holiday, bylaws of the Pecos Economic Development Corporation, and
amendment with Permian Basin Regional Planning Commission and the Town
of Pecos City.
The May election will be ordered, and a central counting station approved
for Reeves County Courthouse.
Juvenile faces coke charge after Tuesday evening raid
By ROSIE FLORES
Staff Writer
PECOS, March 10, 1999 - A drug raid on a central Pecos home Tuesday
night turned up cocaine and paraphernalia and landed one youth in the Reeves
County Juvenile Detention Center, according to Pecos police.
The raid was conducted about 8:51 p.m., when officers from the Pecos
Police Department and the Reeves County Sheriff's Department executed a
narcotics search warrant at 915 S. Cherry St.
Once the S.W.A.T. team had executed the warrant and subjects inside
were secure officers proceeded to search the premises, according to Pecos
Police Investigator Paul Deishler.
He said during the search of one of the bedrooms a powdery substance
which tested positive for cocaine and one set of scales commonly used in
the weighing of narcotics were found.
Officers completed their search of the premises and one male juvenile
was placed under arrest for the possession of a controlled substance (cocaine),
within a 1,000 feet of a school (Pecos Elementary). The charge is a third
degree felony and possession of drug paraphernalia, a Class C misdemeanor.
The male juvenile was placed under arrest for the offenses and transported
to the Reeves County Detention Center.
Ex-Marfa housing boss loses suit
By PEGGY McCRACKEN
Staff Writer
PECOS, March 10, 1999 - The former executive director of the Marfa Housing
Authority lost her federal court bid Tuesday for damages on her claim that
she was fired because she was a Mexican citizen.
Manuela Sanchez was employed by the housing authority in January, 1995
and later promoted to executive director.
Sanchez claims that board chairman Raul Lara and co-chairman Sarah Villa
told her on July 8, 1996 that she could not work for any housing authority
if she was a Mexican citizen.
Then on Nov. 13, 1996, the board told Sanchez in executive session that
they had complaints against her, and she was terminated for alleged poor
job performance. Her appeal of the termination was denied.
Manuel G. Rubio, a member of the board, testified that Sanchez's citizenship
was not an issue to him, and that he did not discuss it with any board
member.
He said that the board had complaints about Sanchez, "over and over,
yeah, we did. She said she would try to correct them, but she ignored us
most of the time."
"She said you fired her because she was not a citizen. Did her citizenship
play any role in your decision?" asked defense attorney W. Clark Lea.
"I didn't even know she was not a citizen," Rubio said. "I never heard
anything."
Marilee H. Brisbin, who was hired as executive director on Jan. 6, 1997,
testified that she found numerous problems, including low occupancy, uncollected
rent, residents not certified, poor maintenance and a lack of organization.
Several residents had to be evicted because of drug problems, she said.
Brisben said she had to ask the Department of Housing and Urban Development
for rules to govern the authority, since there were none on file.
Others testifying were JoAnna Sanchez, Raul Lara, Anselma Hernandez
Jr., Avilia Prieto and Oliver Catano.
Sanchez, through her attorney, Allen R. Stroder, asked the jury to find
the Marfa Housing Authority discriminated against her and to award her
lost wages plus compensatory and punitive damages.
U.S. Magistrate Judge Stuart Platt charged the jury to decide whether
Sanchez's non-U.S. citizenship was a motivating factor in the termination
of her employment.
Their answer was "no," and Sanchez will receive nothing.
Laredo was hottest place to be in 1998
By RANDOLPH E. SCHMID
Associated Press Writer
WASHINGTON _ Laredo edged past Lake Havasu City, Ariz., to claim the
title as the nation's most consistently hot city last year, while Stanley,
Idaho, dethroned West Yellowstone, Mont., as the chilliest.
Laredo was the hottest place in the 48 contiguous states on 34 days
in 1998, while Lake Havasu City _ No. 1 a year earlier _ topped the nation
on 33 days.
Close behind was Lajitas, Texas, with 32 days as the hottest, according
to the annual compilation of warmest and coolest places published in Weatherwise
magazine.
For the long term, Lake Havasu City maintains a giant lead over the
competition, scoring the top temperature some 511 days in this decade.
Bullhead City, Ariz., is a distant second at 202.
West Yellowstone, which had the most cold readings in 1997, slipped
to a tie for second in 1998 with Gunnison, Colo. Each had 29 days as the
cold spot, compared to 49 for Stanley.
Following the top three was Truckee, Calif., which was the coldest place
in the 48 contiguous states on 20 days. Then came Jackson, Wyo., with 19
days, and Alamosa, Colo., with 18.
But it was West Yellowstone that recorded the lowest reading in the
48 contiguous states last year, at 41 degrees below zero Fahrenheit on
Dec. 21. The daily average low reading for the year was 12.5 degrees.
So far in the 1990s, though, Truckee has recorded the most days as the
coldest place, with 200, while Wisdom, Mont., is second at 172 and Stanley
is third at 171, based on a review of the annual rankings put together
by David Hickcox, director of environmental studies at Ohio Wesleyan University.
On the hot side of the ledger, fourth ranking in 1998 went to Coolidge,
Ariz., and Presidio, tied at 29 days as hot point, followed by Thermal,
Calif., with 23 days.
Hickcox does not include Death Valley, Calif., in his totals because
it so often records extreme temperatures.
As if to prove his point, Death Valley recorded the year's hottest temperature,
129 degrees on July 17, and managed 125 degrees on Aug. 5, 6 and 7. The
average daily high for the year was 97.6.
Last year was the hottest on record worldwide, according to analyses
released earlier by NASA and the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration.
Communities that have been the coldest spot 20 or more times this decade
are:
Truckee, 200 days; Wisdom, 172; Stanley, 171; Fraser, Colo., 160; West
Yellowstone, 112; Pinedale, Wyo., 96; Alamosa, 71; Leadville, Colo., 65;
Gunnison, 48; Winter Park, Colo., 38; Jackson, 36; and Creede, Colo., 29.
Places that have been the hottest 20 or more days are:
Lake Havasu City, 511; Bullhead City, 202; Coolidge, 189; Lajitas, 144;
Borrego Springs, Calif., 136; Palm Springs, Calif., 132; Laredo, 127; Fort
Myers, Fla., 108; Thermal, Calif., 104; Presidio, 102; McAllen, 72; and
Yuma, Ariz., 22.
Texas Lotto
AUSTIN (AP) _ Results of the Cash 5 drawing Tuesday night: Winning
numbers drawn: 9-11-16-21-30. Number matching five of five: 2. Prize per
winner: $45,971. Winning tickets sold in: Irving, Rosharon. Matching four
of five: 283. Prize: $487.
***
AUSTIN (AP) _ The winning Pick 3 numbers drawn Tuesday by the Texas
Lottery, in order: 1-1-1 (one, one, one)
WEATHER
PECOS, March 10, 1999 - High Tuesday 81; low last night 42. Tonight, becoming
cloudy. Low in the upper 40s. South wind 5-10 mph, shifting to east after
midnight. Thursday, cloudy early, becoming partly cloudy. High in the mid
70s. Southeast wind 5-15 mph, increasing to 10-20 mph by mid morning.
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 1999 by Pecos Enterprise
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