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Tuesday, October 15, 1996

Red Bluff board retains Miller in GM's position

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By MARI MALDONANDO

Staff Writer


PECOS, October 15, 1996 - Board members for the Red Bluff Water Power
Control District voted Monday afternoon to strip the General Manager's
position of it's financial and taxing responsibilities, while keeping
its long-time manager in his job.

By a unanimous vote, Jim Ed Miller was appointed to serve as General
Manager for the district for another year, running from September 1996
through September 1997, at his present salary of over $50,000.

However, the duties of Tax Assessor/Collector, which had previously been
performed by Miller, was transferred by unanimous vote to Robin Felts,
who also serves as the district's office manager.

A time slot to allow for an executive session to discuss the employment
issues or dismissal of specific district employees was included on the
agenda, but board members opted to omit the item.

Directors R.C. Slack and Manuel Lujan opposed the motion made by
Director Theresa Walker and seconded by Director Lloyd Goodrich.

Felts was also appointed to the Financial/Investment Officer's position
by board president Randal Hartman. In addition, directors voted
unanimously to require Felts' and a board member's signature or two
directors' signatures on all checks issued by the RBWPCD.

During September's monthly board meeting, directors voted by a
four-to-three vote to postpone the annual appointment to the General
Manager's position, pending word on Miller's legal status.

Miller was found guilty of tampering with a witness by a Reeves County
jury on August 20, for which he received a 180-day state jail sentence
with no fine imposed. The sentence was the most lenient the jury could
impose, and under state guidelines, was automatically suspended for
probation.

Miller's tampering charge involved a then-pending case against the Ward
County Water Improvement District #1. The board and its members were
found not guilty earlier this month by 143rd District Court Judge Bob
Parks.

Austin attorney Tim Brown, was present for Monday's meeting. He told
directors that a government entity was not prohibited from employing
Miller due to his conviction.

Questions had been raised after Miller's trial on whether or not he
could remain in the position and be bonded to handle the district's
financial requirements.

Board members postponed employee bond consideration and designation
until the November board meeting. All directors are bonded for $10,000,
while both Felts and Miller are bonded to the board for $5,000 each.

In other action, disbursements totaling $136,536.77 and a report of
accounts payable in the amount of $12,480.57 were approved unanimously
by the board on Monday.

`Republic' members continue

filing legal action against state

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By PEGGY McCRACKEN

Staff Writer


PECOS, October 15, 1996 - Responding to a lawsuit filed against the
purported "Republic of Texas" by the state attorney general, ROT
officers have filed an injunction with the United Nations.

President Archie Lowe, ambassador Richard L. McLaren and Robert William
Kesterson, secretary of state, filed the petition Oct. 9 seeking to
"enjoin further unlawful actions on the soil of Texas by the United
States and agents of the former State of Texas against Texian Citizens
and the officers of their Provisional Government."

They cited the United Nations Charter, Article 2(4), which prohibits the
threat or use of force against the territorial integrity or political
independence of any state.

Lowe said that conditions in Texas have reached the same point as Nazi
Germany in 1939, when the government took away citizens' lands, property
and rights.

"The Republic of Texas has to take action now to prevent further
harassing and imprisonment of Texans for `bogus revenue violations'
implemented to bolster the failing and unlawful state and U.S.
governments," Lowe said.

He said that thousands of Texians are preparing in earnest to defend
their rights and property by force of arms if invaded by foreign (U.S.
or U.N.) troops.

State and federal officials are reported to be investigating the ROT and
its "citizens," who have allegedly harassed landowners by filing bogus
liens and issuing summonses to their common-law courts.

McLaren was warned earlier this year by U.S. District Judge Lucius D.
Bunton in Pecos federal court against filing legal documents in Texas
courts and county clerks' offices. He was taken to federal court over
property liens filed in the Fort Davis area.

City's sales tax check up for October

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PECOS, October 15, 1996 - August sales in the city of Pecos were up
17.26 percent this year over last, the Texas' comptroller's office
reported when mailing the city its October tax rebate check of $62,500
last week.

Tax rebates on the city's 1.5 cent share of the state sales tax are just
3.99 percent over last year's totals for the first 10 months of 1996,
while Balmorhea has shown a 21.71 percent drop, Toyah lost 3.35 percent
compared to last year and the Reeves County Hospital district fell by
15.9 percent.

The 17.26 percent rise follows a 27½ percent jump for Pecos' sales tax
collections in July. Taxe collections for the first six months of 1996
were virtually unchanged from a year ago.

Among other area cities, Fort Stockton's sales tax check was up 43½
percent, Kermit was up almost 40 percent, and Van Horn and Monahans were
up 66 and 50 percent, though most of that was due to a 50 percent
increase in their local sales tax rates since October of 1995.

Odessa and Midland were up just 1.1 and 0.7 percent, respectively, while
Andrews, Big Spring, and Presidio were other cites reporting declines
from a year ago.

Statewide, Comptroller John Sharp issued $145.7 million in October sales
tax payments to 1,084 Texas cities and 114 counties.

"It's yet another indication of the strength of the Texas economy that
the year-to-date returns are running about 8.5 percent ahead of the
total for the first 10 months of last year," Sharp said.

This month's payments include taxes collected on August sales. The city
of Houston received the largest rebate of $17.3 million, down less than
1 percent from the October payment last year. Year-to-date payments to
Houston are up by 5.4 percent.

Other Texas cities showed a similar year-top-date increase, Sharp said.

Weather

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PECOS, October 15, 1996 - High Monday 91, low last night 56. Tonight,
partly cloudy. Low around 55. South wind 5-15 mph. Wednesday, partly
cloudy. High 85 90. Southwest to west wind 10-20 mph.
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Copyright 1996 by Pecos Enterprise
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324 S. Cedar St., Pecos, TX 79772
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