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June 17, 1996
By PEGGY McCRACKEN
Staff Writer
PECOS, June17, 1996 - While Christians prayed for rain during evening
services, a cloud moved into Pecos Sunday night from the northeast,
dumping about .80 inch of rain with tiny hail and ripping off a roof
here and there.
While under an inch of rain was produced by the storm, which began about
6:45 p.m. Sunday, it was still the heaviest rain in the area in over
half a year and managed to more than double Pecos' rain total for the
first 5½ months of 1996.
While other area communities had been given some relief from the
three-year drought by storms earlier this spring, Pecos' rain total
stood at just .75 inch for 1996 prior to Sunday's shower. The new total
of 1.55 inches is still well below average for the first half of the
year.
Earlier spring storms in Big Spring and Fort Stockton caused major wind
and hail damage, but Sunday's storm damage around Pecos appeared to be
minor.
James Nixon, who lives northwest of Pecos, found the southeast corner
of his roof peeled off and dumped in the front yard upon returning from
a trip to Midland.
His son, Pecos High School biology teacher James Nixon Jr., was "house
sitting" when the storm hit, and he said he heard a loud roaring that
could have been a tornado or just a strong wind.
"It was just a short burst," he said.
After the roof was ripped off, the rain soaked a bedroom, bath and the
kitchen, Nixon said.
Royce Cassell, who installed the simulated-shake roof last year,
inspected the damage this morning and said, "It looks worse than it is."
He said he would replace the back half of the roof with the same type
tiles, and while he is waiting for the order will "dry in" the roof
today so the Nixons can start clearing out ruined sheet rock, carpet and
furnishings from the interior.
Nixon said everything is insured. He and his wife will move into town
to live with James Jr. while work is underway.
"The house is unlivable," he said. "We didn't need this right now, but
here it is."
Some roofs in town were damaged, and a light pole bent at Bob's
Thriftway on South Eddy Street.
The area around Bob's appeared to be among the hardest hit inside
Pecos. A roof on one unit at Casa Manana Apartments was peeled back by
the high winds, and apartment manager Colleen Beauchamp said a support
pole on a section of the apartment's carport was also pulled out of the
ground.
Just to the west, the winds blew out a sign on Eddy Street in front of
the Professional Pharmacy building.
A lightning bolt knocked out power in a section of the downtown area
for over an hour, and cable TV service was also interrupted for while.
Gary Ingram said that Toyah got no rain at all out of the cloud, which
appeared to cover only a small area.
As usual in a hard rain, street intersections in Pecos were flooded,
slowing traffic to a crawl.
By MARI MALDONADO
Staff Writer
PECOS, June 17, 1996 - May water allotments by the Red Bluff Water
Power Control District continue to keep area canals full through the
ongoing area drought.
RBWPCD General Manager Jim Ed Miller said the water district has been
releasing water from the reservoir, "every since the last day of April,"
which was just after the new low water crossing, just south of the Red
Bluff Dam, was completed.
"We're releasing right now," said Miller, in discussing the May water
allotments that were approved during the board's regular monthly meeting
June 10. "That's what farmers are irrigating with," he said of the water
being released.
The water district manager admitted that Red Bluff Lake was lower and
the water saltier due to its longer storage period. A salt spring just
north of the lake dumps salt into the reservoir and Miller explained
that the quality of the water decreases the longer it stays in the
reservoir.
According to figures calculated at the newly installed low water
crossing, about 12,979 acre feet of water was sent downstream in May,
bringing the yearly total to 14,032 acre feet.
An acre foot is how much water is used to fill one foot of water in an
acre.
By MARI MALDONADO
Staff Writer
PECOS, June 17, 1996 - A resolution to the administrative retirement
package, involving a voluntary resignation incentive plan, was approved
by the Pecos-Barstow-Toyah school board Thursday.
The voluntary retirement plan is designed to reduce both the number of
administrators employed by the district and reduce administrative costs,
yet maintain administrative efficiency.
Eligible administrators will include all employees serving under an
administrator contract in effect for the 1996-97 school year, provided
they meet the years of eligibility set forth in the Incentive Plan.
The only change noted before the plan was approved was in the deadline
for declaring plans for participation in the program. The provision
states an eligible employee must notify Superintendent Mario Sotelo that
they wish to participate no later than 4 p.m. June 28, not June 26 as
originally listed.
In other action Thursday, of the five bids brought before board members,
they voted to approve three, while one was withdrawn and another was
rejected.
The first bid accepted came from Gilberto and Laura Gonzales, who
offered to pay $6,000 for the property at 310 S. Mesquite, which
includes a vacant laundromat, lounge and two-story house. Dissenting
votes were cast by Board Secretary Daisy Roquemore and Board President
Linda Gholson.
A unanimous vote was given to a bid turned in by Justo R. Dominguez III
and Sofia Dominguez of $500 for the property consisting of a vacant lot,
located at 623 S. Orange St.
The last bid board members voted to award was presented by John Lanahan
of El Paso for $141 for the property at 824 S. Ash St. Voting against
Lanahan's bid were Roquemore and Gholson.
Lanahan's bid of $299 for a lot located between Limpia and Sandia Roads
in Pecos' Lindsey Addition were rejected after a 3-3 tie. Board Vice
President Earl Bates joined Gholson and Roquemore in voting against the
bid.
A fifth bid turned by Lanahan, was withdrawn and no action was taken,
Pecos-Barstow-Toyah ISD Tax Assessor Collector Lydio Prieto told board
members. The bid was for $1,628 for a lot at 12th and Walnut streets.
An informal evaluation of the superintendent that was scheduled to take
place during an executive session of the board was postponed until all
board members could be present. Absent from the regularly monthly
meeting was Trustee Steve Armstrong.
The board was presented a plaque from the Future Farmers of America
officers for their support. The award was presented earlier at the
Career and Technology Education banquet.
In other business, school board members voted unanimously on the job
description presented by Pecos Kindergarten MaryLou Carrasco for the
kindergarten's parent training program.
The job title for the positions will be part-time facilitator/trainer.
Their purpose will be to facilitate and train parents, community members
and teachers to encourage links between home, school and community;
facilitate easier access to school for parents and community members;
and build a support system for our children involving school, parents
and community.
Board members heard comments from <fn11>Enterprise <fn9>
Publisher/Editor Mac McKinnon early on in the meeting.
He noted he was speaking for several members of the community that were
upset with students having to attend school on Memorial Day, which fell
on a Monday, May 27. "This infringes on one of the few three-day
weekends," students have, he said. McKinnon added that he was also made
aware that this was an insult to the memory of war veterans.
The board called for a moment of silence for school district employee
Jay Dannelley, who died in Africa June 12. Dannelley's wife, Sylvia, was
present for the memorial.
Jay and Sylvia Dannelly were Special Education Teachers at Bessie Haynes
Elementary.
PECOS, June 17, 1996 - High Sunday 98, low last night 67. Rainfall .80
inch. June rainfall .80 inch. Year-to-date 1.55 inches. Tonight, partly
cloudy with a 20 percent chance of mainly evening thunderstorms. Low
around 70. Southeast wind 5-15 mph. Tuesday, mostly sunny. Isolated
afternoon thunderstorms. High near 100. South wind 5-15 mph. Rain chance
less than 20 percent.
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_
Copyright 1996 by Pecos Enterprise
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324 S. Cedar St., Pecos, TX 79772
Phone 915-445-5475, FAX 915-445-4321
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