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June 18, 1996
By ROSIE FLORES
Staff Writer
PECOS, June 18, 1996 - Despite the recent raindrops the area has
received, which prompted at least one West Texas county to opt against
imposing restrictions, the ban on fireworks within Reeves County remains
in effect, according to County Judge Jimmy B. Galindo.
"I don't think that was enough rain, it will be dry really soon," said
Galindo. "With the weather as hot as it gets here, the raindrops will
dry up really quick."
In Odessa on Monday, Ector County Commissioners opted against imposing
strict conditions over where and how fireworks could be used over the
Fourth of July holiday, Ector County Commissioners changed their minds.
Because of the drought and fire risk, commissioners were poised to pass
some kind of fireworks ban, but in the end opted to limit government
involvement in holiday activities.
Rainfall totals in Ector County have been higher than in Reeves County
this year. Sunday's .80 inch total in Pecos more than doubled the city's
total for the year, but the 1.55 inches remains well below normal for
the first 5½ months of the year.
Because of the drought, Reeves County Commissioners had approved a ban
on the sale and use of fireworks, with the upcoming Fourth of July
celebration in mind. The court had passed a resolution at their June 10
meeting asking Gov. George Bush to implement the ban, based on the
authority to him by the Texas Disaster Act of 1975 in accordance with
the state emergency management plan.
Galindo has since received an executive order from Bush, relating to a
ban on the sale and use of aerial fireworks in Reeves County.
The order read, "Reeves County is suffering from an extended
drought that has caused local vegetation to become dry and flammable,
thereby creating conditions that pose the threat of large, dangerous and
fast-moving wildfires which have the potential of endangering lives and
damaging property on large scale;
"The dim prospect of rainfall that would abate the drought, the
magnitude of the danger for potential damage, and the speed at which
such fires could escalate to major proportions constitute an imminent
threat of greater disaster."
Aerial fireworks are defined by state law as skyrockets with sticks,
fins or rudders used for the purpose of achieving aerodynamic flight.
Fireworks that shoot projectiles into the air, such as Roman candles,
are not considered aerial fireworks.
Bush's order further stated that the Texas State Fire Marshal believes
that the use of aerial fireworks in conditions of severe drought
presents the threat of wildfire and would constitute an imminent threat
of disaster and that the properly supervised use of ground fireworks
under current climate conditions would not present a threat of imminent
disaster.
Ector County Commissioners considered a similar order, but their
commissioners backed off after deciding restrictions would be difficult
to enforce and would be unfair to private property owners.
Commissioners allowed Truckload Fireworks co-owner Ted Tuminowski to
establish two ``safe areas'' in the county where residents can light
their fireworks under controlled circumstances.
Truckload Fireworks, the area's largest distributor, has joined other
Texas fireworks dealers in a voluntary ban on aerial fireworks.
Tuminowski said no rockets or missiles will be sold regardless of how
much rain falls between now and July 4.
``I'm just pleased with the commissioners' decision,'' Tuminowski said.
``They were very fair.''
Reeves County's ban will be in effect on all fireworks other than
municipally sponsored displays, until such time as no disaster from
drought is imminent.
The Associated Press contributed to this report
PECOS, June 18, 1996 - Despite the recent raindrops the area has
received the ban on fireworks will still be in effect, according to
Reeves County Judge Jimmy B. Galindo.
"I don't think that was enough rain, it will be dry really soon," said
Galindo. "With the weather as hot as it gets here, the raindrops will
dry up really quick," he said.
Reeves County Commissioners had approved a ban on the sale and use of
fireworks, with the upcoming Fourth of July celebration in mind. The
court had passed a resolution at their last monthly meeting asking Gov.
George Bush to implement the ban based on the authority to him by the
Texas Disaster Act of 1975 in accordance with the state emergency
management plan.
Galindo received an executive order from Governor George Bush, relating
to a ban on the sale and use of aerial fireworks in Reeves County.
The order read, "Reeves County is suffering from an extended drought
that has caused local vegetation to become dry and flammable, thereby
creating conditions that pose the threat of large, dangerous and
fast-moving wildfires which have the potential of endangering lives and
damaging property on large scale;
"The dim prospect of rainfall that would abate the drought, the
magnitude of the danger for potential damage, and the speed at which
such fires could escalate to major proportions consitute an imminent
threat of greater disaster."
The order further stated that the Texas State Fire Marshal believes that
the use of aerial fireworks in conditions of severe drought presents the
threat of wildfire and would constitute an imminent threat of disaster
and that the properly supervised use of ground fireworks under current
climate conditions would not present a threat of immenent disaster.
The ban will be in effect other than municipally sponsored fireworks
displays, until such time as no disaster from drought is imminent.
From Staff and Wire Reports
Low beef prices combined with high feed prices brought on by drought has
decimated herds on area ranches and in cattle feed pens.
Some ranchers have moved their cattle out of state to pastures where
some rain has fallen, said Debbie Russell, office manager for Pecos Beef
Inc.
"We had 2,000 head pulled out to do that," Russell said.
Feed yard lots are so dry that a cloud of dust overhangs the yards each
evening. "That could contribute to dust pneumonia," she said.
With pastures depleted, ranchers can't afford to feed cattle, either on
the range or in the feed yards, she said. And prices are so low they
would take a loss at the auction barn.
The high price of grain also cuts into feed yard profits, Russell said.
"Now that the price of grain is tremendously high, that's affected us,"
she said. "We have to have grain. We grow some alfalfa, but it doesn't
hold us all year."
On the five circles that Pecos Beef irrigates with a sprinkler system,
bare patches result from sprinkler failures and no rain.
"It's kind of scary," Russell said.
Most of the milo that Pecos Beef buys comes from the Plainview area,
where drought affects both farmers and ranchers.
Feedlot owner Pat Shepard said the cattle industry generally works on a
10-year business cycle. However, the three years of drought plaguing
much of the region has turned a natural recession into a brutal
depression.
``The shortage of grain is an extra burden on that cycle,'' said
Shepard, owner of the Shepard Feed Lot, four miles east of Hale Center
in the southern Texas Panhandle.
Texas' approximately $6 billion cattle industry accounts for about half
of the state's annual agricultural sales. Last year, record cattle
receipts ranked it ahead of natural gas production.
Drought has cost the Texas cattle industry nearly $794 million since
March 1995, further exacerbating what already would have been a bad year
for beef, a state reported concluded Monday.
Three dry years have combined with the industry's natural business cycle
and inadequate price-reporting techniques to fuel a ``wrenching price
slide'' since 1993, the report from State Comptroller John Sharp's
office said.
``One industry official told me he can't remember when so many things
were out of kilter at the same time,'' Sharp said.
The report, which tracked losses from March 15, 1995, through May 1996,
requested that studies of cattle marketing methods be available for the
Legislature before it convenes next year.
``The beef cattle industry plays a critical role in a strong Texas
economy, so it's important to separate fact from fiction and identify
the true long-range trends in these temporary setbacks,'' Sharp said.
Sharp said that the Texas Department of Transportation, at his request,
has directed its district engineers to promote their discretionary
program allowing farmers and ranchers to cut and bale grass from state
right-of-ways.
"The severity of the current drought clearly calls for making a
significant effort to inform the agricultural community about this
potential source of feed," Sharp said.
Shepard's father, Grady Shepard, said everyone anticipated a recession
because of the industry's cyclical nature. The weather is another story.
``This is the worst drought I've seen in my lifetime,'' said the elder
Shepard, who founded the feedlot in 1955.
The report says Mexican beef imports have factored into the price
plunge, but the same drought has curtailed their production and cattle
from south of the border soon should cease to act as a price depressant.
Once it begins raining again, the report says Mexican ranchers might
purchase Texas cattle to restock their depleted herds.
The report stopped short of accusing packers of violating antitrust
laws, but it called for greater availability of price data, which it
said often is hindered by contracting arrangements.
``Most of us feel like we have such a great amount of packer
concentration that there's no way to determine the true market value,''
said Chaunce Thompson, president of the Texas and Southwestern Cattle
Raisers Association.
Kansas-based Excel Corp. and Nebraska-based IBP Inc. and Con Agra Inc.
dominate the packing industry in Texas.
Recent testimony to the U.S. Department of Agriculture that packers
sometimes paid higher prices on the condition that the price not be
reported indicates ``price manipulation,'' the report said.
One packing industry executive said his business is an easy target right
now.
``Look at us two to three years from now, and we're going to be the ones
crying,'' said the cattle buyer, who asked that his name not be used.
``You're in the 10-year cycle, you're in a drought and you're in a time
when chicken is a better value.''
Thompson, in a telephone interview from his Breckenridge ranch 85 miles
west of Fort Worth, agreed that the drought and other conditions have
intensified the focus on packers. But the scrutiny is justified, he
said.
``More people are speaking up about this, and I think we'll see
something come from it,'' he said.
Nebraska Gov. Ben Nelson called for a recent ``beef summit'' to discuss
price issues in his state.
State efforts to block IBP's recent acquisition of a cow slaughtering
facility in East Texas failed in court, though Attorney General Dan
Morales says his office remains vigilant on beef issues.
``Whenever we receive any information indicating that there may be some
problem with regard to price fixing or consumer protection, we
investigate,'' Morales said.
By PEGGY McCRACKEN
Staff Writer
PECOS, June 18, 1996 - Richard McLaren, "ambassador" and "consul
general" for the purported Republic of Texas, said he filed documents
with the United Nations Monday that automatically makes everyone in the
state a citizen of the independent nation of Texas, rather than the
United States.
McLaren visited the federal courthouse in Pecos this morning to report
to pre-trial officers as ordered by Senior Judge Lucius Bunton.
Judge Bunton released McLaren from jail June 7 on a $10,000 bond secured
only by his signature.
His Fort Davis neighbors reported last week that McLaren packed up his
belongings and left for Dallas. They didn't expect him to return any
time soon.
However, McLaren said today that he returned home to take care of his
farm (he tends a small vineyard outside town). Two Republic of Texas
"citizens" from Midland drove to Fort Davis to pick up their leader for
his court appointment. They waited in the van in the courthouse parking
lot.
McLaren said he is touring the state on Republic business, but that it
is no longer necessary to sign up "citizens," because we are all now
citizens of the Republic.
EDITOR'S NOTE: Information contained in the Police Report is obtained
from reports filed by the Pecos Police Department, Reeves County
Sheriff's Office, Texas Department of Public Safety, or other agencies;
and from interviews with officers of those agencies.
A county deputy arrested Robert Glenn Smart, Jr., 34, for assault on
May 6. Smart's place of residence and age were not given.
Culberson County deputies arrested Allen Bernard, 53, of California, on
a Reeves County warrant charging him with theft of service after a
Reeves County deputy investigated a report by Howard Dennett, of Toyah
Mechanical on May 11.
A Sheriff's deputy arrested Enrique Falcon Ornelas, 30, of Toyah, for
theft over $50 and under $500 on May 11.
A Reeves County Sheriff's deputy arrested Manuel Melendez Quiroz, 30,
of Balmorhea, for assault on a peace officer on May 12, just after 3 a.m.
Paul Budlong reported an act of criminal mischief to sheriff's deputies
on May 13. He said the left back door window of a vehicle belonging to
Ensco Inc. of Houston, which he was towing for Pete's Wrecker Service,
was broken out while parked at Rose's Desert Saloon.
On May 15, police arrested Manuel Martinez Salcido, 45, 515 S. Almond
St., during a warrant service. He was charged with possession of drug
paraphernalia and possession of a controlled substance.
During a warrant service on May 16, police arrested Ricardo Pena at his
residence, located at 1938-B Scott St. He was charged with aggravated
assault. An age for Pena was not available.
Just after midnight on May 17, police arrested Micaela Pena for deadly
conduct. Place of arrest, age and place of residence for Pena were not
indicated.
Police arrested Ignacio Suarez, 54, for public intoxication and
resisting arrest on May 18, at 1005 E. 11th St.
Anna Munoz, 21, was cited by police for failing to yield right of way
at a stop intersection while driving a 1984 Mazda pickup. She collided
with Augustina Ortega Anchondo, 61, who was driving a 1992 Ford Taurus
at the intersection at Willow and Oak streets. Anchondo was northbound
and Munoz, westbound. The incident occurred on May 17.
On May 18, about 4 p.m., police arrested Armida Salgado Rodriguez for
driving while license suspended on Balmorhea Highway, just north of
Winkles Trucking.
Police charged Noel O. Baeza with public intoxication during a traffic
stop at Third and Orange streets. He was arrested about 2:22 a.m., May
19. Age and address for Baeza were not available.
Police arrested Hilario M. Garcia for public intoxication and
interfering with public duties just before midnight May 19 at the Farm
Labor Housing projects on West County Road.
On May 30, Tricia Carrasco reported to police that someone had spray
painted her vehicle while it was parked at her residence at 1522 Jackson
St.
On May 30, police were advised of a theft occurring at the Pecos
Emporium, 123 S. Oak St., during the late hours of May 25-26. The person
making the report said an air conditioner motor worth $60 was taken
without the owner's consent.
Police arrested Rodrigo Nunez on May 30 during a warrant service. Nunez
was charged with burglary of a vehicle and taken into custody while he
was at the Dairy Queen in the 1500 block of West Palmer Street.
Bill Allen reported to police on May 30 that sometime between May 27
and May 29 a John Deere lawnmower worth $150 was taken from his yard at
#6 Briarwood Circle.
Alberto C. Lara, 70, was cited for no proof of insurance following an
accident in the Reeves County Hospital parking lot on June 1. Lara
struck a parked 1995 Dodge Dakota pickup, according to police.
Marcus Louis Fuentes, 18, was arrested on a probation revocation
charge, on he an original charge of assault. He was picked up on a
warrant at the 1000 block of South Cypress Street.
Police arrested Albert Rubio Corrales, 28, 324 N. Walnut St., for
public intoxication at Uncle's Convenience Store, in the 200 block of
South Cedar Street, just after midnight June 2.
Police arrested Aguedo Rubio and Thomas Marquez for burglary of
building in the 2100 block of Eddy Street on June 3. Ages and addresses
for the suspects were not available.
On June 8, police arrested Toribio M. Rodriguez, Jr., for DWI after he
refused to submit to a breathalizer exam. He was stopped at the corner
of Seventh and Cedar streets just before 3 a.m. Age and address for
Rodriguez were not indicated.
Francisco Valdez was arrested for DWI on Oak Street June 8, about 8
p.m. Exact location of arrest, age and address for Valdez were not
available.
By PEGGY McCRACKEN
Staff Writer
PECOS, June 18, 1996 - Griffin and Brand began shipping the famous Pecos
cantaloupes today from fields covered in plastic.
Plastic warms the ground, enabling earlier planting and earlier
maturity. Last year the starting date for the harvest was June 25; the
year before June 20.
After today's picking, crews will skip one day and resume picking
Thursday.
Griffin and Brand operates their main farm at Coyanosa and contracts
with two outside growers, said the packing shed manager today. The shed
is located at 1701 W. Second St.
Pecos Cantaloupe Company expects to begin their harvest of a slightly
different variety of cantaloupe sometime next week, depending on the
weather, said Trey Miller.
Growers push to begin harvest before the July 4 rodeo, when visitors
from out-of-town and out-of-state are in Pecos.
A memorial service has been scheduled for Jay Charles Dannelly, 49, who
died June 12 in Nairobi, Kenya, for Wednesday at 10 a.m. at the First
Baptist Church in Pecos.
In lieu of flowers the family requests education donations be sent to
Security State Bank (Sylvia Dannelly Special Account) or First National
Bank (Sylvia Dannelly Memorial Account).
PECOS, June 18, 1996 - High Monday 98, low last night 67. Tonight,
widely scattered evening thunderstorms, otherwise fair. Low around 70.
Southeast wind 5-10 mph. Rain chance 20 percent. Wednesday, mostly
sunny. High around 105. South wind 5-15 mph.
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_
Copyright 1996 by Pecos Enterprise
Division of Buckner News Alliance, Inc.
324 S. Cedar St., Pecos, TX 79772
Phone 915-445-5475, FAX 915-445-4321
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