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Thurs., Sept. 19, 1996

Council focuses on trash, cash at hearing

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By VIRGINIA SANDOVAL
Staff Writer

Town of Pecos City Council held a special meeting Wednesday night to
discuss the proposed city budget for the 1997 fiscal year.

The special meeting was a "workshop" to discuss changes in the
sanitation department, according to city manager Harry Nagel. It
centered around the five-year, $560,000 contract with West Texas Waste
the council tentatively agreed to earlier this month.

The contract would bring in $6,500 a month during the 90-day trial
period, a which will help increase revenue and bring down the deficit,
city finance director Steve McCormick said.

WT Waste will purchase about 160 dumpsters costing $48,000 and build a
transfer station if the 90-day trial period proves satisfactory. The
agreement is expected to save the city from building a new $1.2 million
landfill trench, to replace the one opened in 1994.

At such time as the contract is signed the budget will have to be
amended in order to state the changes in the sanitation department,
which will be eliminated.

Council members were also told by Armando Gil, Parks and Recreation
Department Supervisor, that because no overtime is allowed in the new
budget, he is considering closing the Maxey Park Zoo on Saturdays and
Sundays.

Mayor Dot Stafford proposed that overtime be allotted for the Parks
Department, in such emergency cases as the animals becoming ill, while
the Council agreed to approve a $1,500 increase in overtime for Gil's
department.

However, it was suggested that Gil look into the possibility of varied
work schedules or closing the zoo on other days of the week in order to
keep the it open on weekends, when more people visit.

Council members also discussed the need for a vehicle for the Pecos
Ambulance Service.

Originally $20,200 was allotted for the purchase of a Jeep, but Bill
Cole, PAS Chief, said that he did not necessarily want a Jeep, and that
depending on state contract, another less-expensive vehicle could be
purchased.

It was agreed by Council that there would be no action on the vehicle
purchase until a decision is made on what type to buy, but the city will
keep the $20,200 in for budgetary purposes.

City Shop Foreman Doug Cox and McCormick suggested to the Council that
the pay scale schedule and job classifications be considered for
possible revision. Both said they would like to see their employees paid
on the same salary level as other employees in other departments, and
also questioned the fact that some of their employees who have been on
the payroll for several years were getting paid less than the newer
employees coming in.

"This (discussion at the meeting) is the only time I really get to state
my opinions and stick up for my employees," said Cox. He and McCormick
said they do not want to see other departments or their employees cut
back in any way.

"We just want to see our people brought up the same level as the
others," added McCormick.

Council members agreed that the pay scale needs to be updated, and Nagel
and McCormick were appointed to look at the current scale and bring it
up to date.

However, the Council said that it was too late in the budget process to
revise the scale for fiscal 1997. The changes would have to be up for
discussion and approval during the next fiscal year.

The Council agreed to hold another special meeting next Tuesday at 7:30
a.m. for the first reading of the proposed budget and tax rate. Council
members said at an earlier meeting the rate would remain the same as
last year, at 69.67 cents per $100 valuation.

School looks to cut down on harassment

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By MARI MALDONADO
Staff Writer

Pecos-Barstow-Toyah ISD administrators are striving to make students
aware of what is considered sexual harassment, which they believe will
help in avoiding any future instances.

Pecos High School Principal Alice Duerksen stated that consultation
sessions last school year with students accused of sexually harassing
another student usually showed the accused did not realize what they had
done was considered sexual harassment.

The sessions were educational for the parents as well, she added.

Former PHS Assistant Principal Don Love, now principal at Zavala Middle
School, gave a "guesstimate," of, "not more than 10," cases of student
to student sexual harassment were handled by PHS administrators last
year.

Duerksen added that the students considered their actions as, "playing
around or horsing around." The disciplinary session is, "usually a real
eye-opener," for the student, she said.

"I think there has been an increased awareness" of the situation, she
said, and, "for the most part it stopped," once students were
disciplined for their actions.

"There were no repeats (of offenses)," Duerksen said.

There have been no sexual harassment cases in the local high school
since the beginning of the 1996-97 school year, she added.

Superintendent of Schools Mario Sotelo said that he was aware of two
sexual harassment cases occurring in recent years.

Sotelo added that he feels a lot of cases are probably, "not brought to
light," but for the most part, "I'm not familiar with any great numbers
(of sexual harassment cases)."

Love, who said he has not had to deal with any sexual harassment cases
this year in his new seventh grade post, explained that administrators
do not hear complaints from sexual harassment victims, "until it's
happened two or three times."

He did say however that instances of, "bumping or touching," and
sometimes name calling can be construed as an act of sexual harassment.

In a sexual harassment situation, Sotelo said, "police are brought into
the investigation," and it is then, "up to the parents," if they want to
pursue charges.

"Generally an investigation is handled by someone else (other than
school officials) once they're brought to us," added the superintendent.

A Texas Civil Rights Project release, dated August 28, offers a one-day
conference/training for school personnel in Austin on Sept. 28. It says
that, "Many harassers mistakenly believe that sexual harassment is, `no
big deal,' just another part of the learning process."

It states that girls endure more harassment than boys and an
investigation by the Department of Education's Office for Civil Rights
revealed that on a Bryan ISD school bus, sexual harassment was norm.
"According to the report, on a daily basis, male students would touch
girls on their legs, genital area, posterior, and breast," and students
generally engaged in obscene sexual language.

The press release stated that sexual harassment disrupts one's
concentration and class participation.

A 1993 survey of 1,600 students in grades 8-11 found that four in five
public school students often or occasionally experience sexual
harassment and that the victims lose their self-confidence, often feel
embarrassed and doubt whether they can develop happy romantic
relationships.

School districts have the ability to prevent and eliminate sexual
harassment through a variety of mechanisms. Adopting a "no-tolerance,"
comprehensive sexual harassment policy and grievance procedure sends a
staff message to both staff and students, according to the public
information excerpt.

It contends that handbooks, assemblies, and in-service trainings offer
excellent opportunities to publicize a policy and educate all personnel
and students.

School transportation employees require education and training to
identify sexual harassing behavior and address it immediately.

Sexual harassment is referred as the "hidden hurt" because most victims
suffer in silence, according to the piece by Sylvia Cedillo, coordinator
for the Stop Harassment in Public Schools project and recipient of a
National Association for Public Interest Law Fellowship for Equal
Justice.

Change cuts increase by seven cents

County recalculates effective tax rate

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By PEGGY McCRACKEN
Staff Writer

Reeves County taxpayers will not get quite as big a break as they were
led to believe if the commissioners' court holds the tax rate at 57.916
cents per $100 valuation.

After checking what appeared to «MDUL»Enterprise«MDNM» publisher Mac
McKinnon to be an excessive increase in the effective rate (10 cents per
$100 valuation), tax assessor-collector Elfida Zuniga realized she had
used the wrong tax base to calculate the rate.

Property values in Reeves County were $359 million last year. Zuniga
used a value of $403 million in making her calculations, which inflated
the effective tax rate to 67.525 cents per $100 valuation.

"I checked the calculations, but didn't check the valuations - and I
should have," said county auditor Lynn Owens.

He explained that he purchases a computer program each year that
calculates the effective tax rate automatically when the values and last
year's tax rates are entered.

But even when the computer works like it is supposed to, the end result
is in error if incorrect information is entered for the valuation and
tax rate, he said.

When last year's values are about the same as this year's, the effective
tax rate will change little from last year's tax rate, because the
"effective" rate is the rate that would generate the same amount of
operating revenue as last year's tax rate generated.

The calculations are complicated, and tax assessors across the state
have had problems this year due to changes, said Rusty McInturff, a tax
lawyer.

Zuniga and Owens submitted a corrected notice of 1996 Property Tax Rates
in Reeves County, which is printed elsewhere in today's Enterprise. It
shows an effective rate of 60.170 cents per $100 valuation.

The effective rate is the rate needed to collect the same amount of
property taxes as a year ago. Property valuations in Reeves County are
down by just under 3 percent compared to 1995's figure, resulting in the
higher effective tax rate.

County commissioners have scheduled a public hearing on the proposed
budget for September 30.

Ward County Agent McCurdy

dies after cerebral hemorrhage

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An active member in all Ward County 4-H programs and longtime Monahans
resident will be buried Friday after her sudden death there on Tuesday.

Lovine McCurdy, County Agent for Ward County, died unexpectedly of a
brain hemorrhage at the age of 46 on Tuesday.

McCurdy arrived in Ward County in 1973 as County Agent for the Texas
Extension Service. Later, she taught special education in Fort Stockton
from 1986 to 1987 and at Sudderth Elementary in Monahans from 1987-1991
before returning to the Extension Service.

She worked diligently with the 4-H Clubs and other programs of the
Extension Service and was one of the prime organizers and promoters of
the Monahans Wagon Festival.

In 1996, she received the Youth Appreciation Award from the Chamber of
Commerce. She was a member of Southside Baptist Church.

"I've known her for about seven years, and she will surely be missed,"
said Reeves-Loving Counties Extension Agent Carol I. Mowery. "She was a
very vibrant, gracious and certainly very outgoing person."

Mowery stated that all that knew her would miss her special personality
and her gracious and helpful manners.

"She volunteered a lot and helped do a lot," she said.

McCurdy was born in El Paso on Jan. 21, 1950 to Robert J. and Mary
Burton (Greer) Davenport. She is survived by her husband, Rick McCurdy
of Monahans; two daughters, a sister, Rhelda Davenport Harris; three
brothers, Rodney, Willard and Kenneth Davenport; two aunts and a host of
family members and friends.

Services are scheduled for Friday at 2 p.m. at First Baptist Church in
Monahans. Special music will be presented by Dan Gibbs.

The family requests that memorials be made to the C. Lovine McCurdy
Memorial 4-H Scholarship fund. To make a donation contact Theresa Baker
at 943-4112 or 943-2682.

Airbase caps, T-shirts

to be sold during reunion

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By MARI MALDONADO
Staff Writer

Souvenir items for this year's Pecos Army Airfield Reunion will go on
sale at the West of the Pecos Museum during the opening day of events on
Sept. 30.

Featured in a variety of colors, Pecos Airfield caps depict the local
Airbase's logo and the names and nicknames of the two types of planes
that cadets trained in during their stationing here during World War II.

The logo displays a jackrabbit riding on two airplane engines, while the
training units were the BT-38, otherwise known as the Vibrator, and the
UC-78, or the Bamboo Bomber, labelled for the amount of wood in its
structure.

T-shirts with the logo and Pecos Airfield labeled golf shirts will also
be sold at the museum on the first day of the second annual reunion on
Sept. 30, according to committee member Linda Bratland. Those items will
also be sold at the Best Western Hospitality Room during the final two
days of the gathering on Oct. 1-2, she added.

A detailed agenda for the reunion will be published in the Enteprrise
prior to the event.

AREA ROUNDUP

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Basin Detox Systems, Inc. of Midland has entered into an agreement with
Pecos County General Hospital in Iraan to provide medically safe
detoxification facilities at the eastern Pecos County hospital. The
program began on Sept. 1 and has resulted an increase in average daily
patient count at Permian General from 1½ to as many as eight per day.
The agreement is also expected to bring in an additional $350,000 to
$400,000 to the hospital
Fort Stockton Pioneer

Telephone customers in Monahans will receive ballots next month to
determine whether or not the city wants to expand its toll-free calling
service. The monthly rates would be a flat $3.50 per residential line
and $7 per commercial line. Customers will be asked to vote on Expanded
Local Calling to five sites -- Pecos, Fort Stockton, Grandfalls, Odessa
and the Terminal area near Midland International Airport.
Monahans News

Big Bend area citizens turned out on Sept. 11 for a 7½ hour public
hearing at Sul Ross State University on the proposed low-level nuclear
waste dump southeast of Sierra Blanca. Between 200 and 300 people
attended the hearing, with the majority of those speaking in the early
portion voicing their opposition to the site. Jeff Davis County Judge
Peggy Roberson and Catholic priest Raul Soliz of Alpine were among those
against the Hudspeth County site, while those speaking in support
included Diane Conrad, former geologist for the State of Vermont, which
along with Maine, has contracted with Texas to ship their waste to
Sierra Blanca.
Alpine Avalanche

Final plans have been made for construction of a new City Hall in Marfa,
with a statewide call for bids scheduled for Monday. Bids will be opened
on Oct. 16, and the contract will be awarded on Oct. 23. The plan
includes present a future space for City Hall staff, an assembly space
equipped with outlets and telephone jacks for computer workshops, and
wear resistant tile throughout its corridors, reception area and break
room.
The Big Bend Sentinel

A collection of ancient artifacts discovered this summer by Sul Ross
State University graduate geology student J.B. McHam is currently on
display at the university's Museum of the Big Bend. The cache,
discovered at a campsite near Calamity Creek, consists of 17 stone
preforms that would have later been made dart points. Robert J. Mallouf,
course instructor for the Department of Behavior and Social Sciences at
Sul Ross, estimates the dates of the tools as being between 1000 B.C.
and 500 A.D.
The (Sul Ross) Skyline

U.S. District Judge Lucius D. Bunton has asked the U.S. Attorney
General's office in San Antonio to see if members of the Republic of
Texas are violating an agreement they entered into in U.S. District
Court in Pecos two months ago. The new dispute comes after Republic of
Texas ambassador and counsel general Richard McLaren sent a letter to
Jeff Davis County Justice of the Peace George Vickers saying Republic
member Bert Lagarde was immune from traffic regulations because he is a
foreign diplomat. Lagarde was jailed by Jeff Davis County Chief Deputy
Steve Bailey on Tuesday on two Department of Public Safety warrants out
of Presidio County for no insurance registration and no inspection
sticker. He was ordered held without bond at the Presidio County Jail in
Marfa.
Jeff Davis County Mountain Dispatch

The Presidio Independent School District will pocket and estimated
$200,000 in a proposed `Robin Hood' agreement with the Plains ISD.
Presidio ISD board members will be asked in October to approve the
agreement, which would transfer money from Plains, considered a `rich'
school district, to Presidio. an earlier agreement with Fort Stockton
schools netted Presidio about $45,000, while another $300,000 was
transferred to the district from the Alamo Heights ISD, north of San
Antonio.
The International (Presidio Paper)

Jon Tom Lowrance was named the Terrell County 4-H Gold Star recipient at
that organization's banquet last Saturday. He has been involved in the
4-H program for several years, has served as president of the local 4-H
Club for the past two years, and last year was elected president of
District 6, which includes 23 counties in West Texas.

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.

POLICE REPORT

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Roberto Hernandez was arrested by police for public intoxication near
the Northside Park on U.S. 285 about 3:47 a.m. Sept. 1. Hernandez's age
and address were not available.

Police arrested Oscar Rubio for public intoxication at the Illusion
nightclub in the 600 block of East Second Street about 1:30 a.m. Sept.
1. His age and address were not indicated.

Police cited Clifton Ikeler, 16, the night of Sept. 5 for failing to
yield right of way while making a left turn, after investigating a
two-vehicle accident in the 200 block of North Cedar Street. Police said
Ikeler was driving a 1990 Honda Accord when he collided with a 1992
Chevy Blazer, driven by 59-year-old William Baggett.

Eric Muniz, 16, was cited for not having a driver's license and failing
to control speed when the 1991 Chevrolet S-10 pickup he was driving
rolled over at West County Road and West Pinehurst Street on Sept. 7,
just after midnight. No injuries were reported in the incident.

Oscar Leyva Castillo, 39, of Hobbs, N.M., was arrested by police for
public intoxication on Sept. 7 at 1:33 p.m., in the 300 block of East
Third Street.

On Sept. 8, Cruz Jimenez, 25, 1014 E. Eighth St., was arrested by police
for abusing aerosol paint during an investigation of an attempted
break-in at 1006-A E. 10th. A male juvenile was also taken into custody
for curfew violation and violating probation, police said.

Public intoxication was the charge brought against Alfredo Lopez by
police the night of Sept. 5 in the 700 block of Bois D'Arc Street.
Lopez's age and address were not available.

Police arrested Allen Arnoult for public intoxication the afternoon of
Sept. 6 at the Laura Lodge motel. His age and address were not indicated.

Patrick Villanueva was arrested by police after they investigated a
hit-and-run call at the Allsup's convenience store on South Eddy Street
during the early morning hours of Sept. 8. He was apprehended in the 600
block of Lincoln Street and charged with DWI, no driver's license and
leaving the scene of an accident. His age and address were not available.

Police charged Javier Faz with public intoxication after his arrest in
the 600 block of East Second Street just before 1 a.m. on Sept. 8. His
age and address were not indicated.

Ciro B. Ortiz was arrested at the Davilla Trailer Park for public
intoxication the afternoon of Sept. 8. His age and address were not
given.

Assault causing serious bodily injury was the charge on a warrant served
to Gerald Q. Saenz a the corner of 12th and Cedar streets the afternoon
of Sept. 8. Saenz's age and address was not available.

Adan Barrera was arrested by police after being served a warrant for
burglary of a building at the corner of 12th and Cedar streets on Sept.
8.

Failure to pay outstanding municipal court fines was the charge against
Urbano G. Herrera when he was arrested by police the afternoon of Sept.
8 at the corner of Third and Ash streets. Herrera's age and address were
not indicated.

A male juvenile was taken into custody after being charged with family
violence in the 500 block of Hackberry Street on the morning of Sept. 9.

Roman Noriega was arrested at the Pecos Municipal Court for outstanding
fines on September 11. His age and address were not available.

Obituary

Billy Barrett

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Billy R. Barrett, 70, died Wednesday, Sept. 18 in Irving.
Services are scheduled for Friday at Brown's Memorial Funeral Home in
Irving with Rev. Mike Walker and Rev. Arville McClain officiating.
Burial will be held at Oak Grove Memorial Gardens.
He was born March 20, 1926 in Mount Pleasant, was a longtime employee
for Western Gillette and Roadway Trucking Company and a member of the
local Teamsters #745 (Retiree).
Survivors include his wife, Doylene Barrett of Irving; two sons, Lonnie
Barrett of Winnsboro, David Barrett of Irving; one sister, Velma Mills
of Waycross, Ga. and nine grandchildren.
The family requests that memorials be made to the American Cancer
Society and Irving Healthcare Foundation.

Weather

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High Wednesday 96, low last night 62.



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Division of Buckner News Alliance, Inc.
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