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By ROSIE FLORES
Staff Writer
PECOS, December 13, 1996 - Calling Number Identification will be
available in Pecos within the next 90 days, according to an official for
GTE.
However, the exact date it will be available may depend on what calling
prefix residents have, according to Public Affairs Manager for GTE,
Charles Watkins.
The newest in telecommunication services, Calling Number
Identification, CNID, will be available in Pecos in February. Notices
about the new service were sent out with December's phone bills by GTE.
Watkins said that while `Caller ID' will be offered here for the first
time within two months, not all the city will be hooked up at the same
time.
"We have two different offices that serve Pecos," said Watkins,
referring to the 445 and 447 phone number prefixes. Barstow and areas
east of Pecos also have a 445 prefix.
"Since Pecos has two prefixes, it will arrive at two different times
according to the prefix the customer is located at," said Watkins.
Caller ID provides the date, time and information about the calling
party such as the telephone number of the person calling or that the
call is "anonymous" or "out of the area."
The service will be available for a per-line monthly charge of $4.95
for residential and $7.50 for business customers.
CNID requires a display device which must be purchased separately.
Other area communities served by GTE also will be getting the new
service within the next year, according to Watkins.
GTE has annonced plans to modernize the Mentone, Orla, Imperial and
Balmorhea telephone switching centers in September, 1997. The new
telephone offices will provide faster and highly reliabale service in
addition to offering some of the of the latest optional services, the
company said.
The new switching centers are a part of an accelerated plan by GTE to
provide digital telephone service to all of its Texas customers by the
end of 1997, two years ahead of original plans. The company said the
overall project involves an investment of over $37 million.
GTE already serves 96 percent of its Texas customers with modern
digital technology. The newer techology provides added services, such as
the basic call waiting, call transfer and call forward, as well as the
more advanced series in most cases, such as automatic call return, busy
number redial, call block and VIP alert.
"Providing the on-ramp to the information superhighway for our
customers through office modernization is a high priority at this time
under the legislation passed this year to make Texas a leader in
telecommunications infrasctructure," said Joe Thornton, Area General
Manager for GTE in Hobbs, N.M.
As a part of the regulatory reform, GTE committed to accelerate the
company's original five-year plan for digital modernization into four
years. That plan was accelerated into a three year plan early last year.
The Texas/New Mexico operations of GTE, headquartered in Irving, serves
1.9 million customer lines in the two states.
By PEGGY McCRACKEN
Staff Writer
PECOS, December 12, 1996 - Seventeen indictments returned Thursday by
the federal grand jury in Pecos brings the number of cases filed this
year to 106 - a 500 percent increase over last year.
U.S. attorneys began about three months ago to prosecute all narcotics
law violators arrested by federal officers. Since 1993 they had been
rejecting those involving less than 200 pounds of marijuana, sending
them to state courts in the 10-county Pecos Division.
One of Thursday's indictments was sealed. The remainder charge 22
defendants with importation and/or possession with intent to distribute
marijuana.
Four defendants face aggravated possession charges for more than 1,000
kilograms allegedly found in their possession Nov. 26, as well as
importation.
They are Marvin Ray Marsh Jr., 26, of Irving; Alex Monty Dawson III, 20,
of Bowie; Arthur Joseph Preston, 26, of Farris; and Paul Theodore
Preston Jr., 42, of Mesquite.
Felicitas Gonzales de Castillo, 43, of Fort Worth, is charged with
importing and possessing with intent to distribute marijuana on Nov. 21;
conspiracy to import and possess marijuana; causing and attempting entry
into the U.S. by an alien at a place not designated by the Immigration
and Naturalization Service; causing an alien to elude examination and
inspection by the INS and defrauding the INS.
Angel Saul Gonzalez, 41, of Aldama, Mex. and Edgar Saldana Arzate, aka
Mario Enrique Tarin, 22, of Chihuahua, Mex., are charged with possession
with intent to distribute marijuana on Nov. 22. Saldana is also charged
with making a false claim to citizenship.
Indicted for allegedly importing and possessing with intent to
distribute marijuana are:
* Ignacio Villagran-Cerros, 23, of Cuauhtemoc, Mex., Nov. 18;
* Roberto Carlos Sanchez-Garcia, 34, Dardanelle, Kan., Nov. 26;
* Filiberto Villalobos-Monge, 31, Chihuahua, Mex., Dec. 9;
* Saul Marin-Morales, no age or address given, July 26;
* Arturo Paz-Perez, Dallas, Nov. 29;
* Rex Bently DeBord, 27, of Brownfield and James Floyd Worthy, 20, of
Lubbock, Nov. 20;
* Martin A. Ramos-Chavez, 30, Camargo, Mex., Nov. 20;
* Juan Alberto Macias-Calmenero, 27, Odessa, Dec. 7;
* Jaime Florres-Aquino, 30, Chihuahua, Mex., Dec. 10;
Charged with possession with intent to distribute marijuana are:
* Jose Concepcion Villarreal-Ortiz, 35, of Chihuahua City, Mex., Nov. 23;
* Luis Alejandro Espinosa-Urrutia, 20, Fort Stockton, Nov. 27;
* Juan Moreno-Hernandez, 37, Dec. 8;
* Gabriela Espinoza-Santill and Gricelda Moreno-Villalobos, 31, Dec. 9;
In addition to accepting the indictments, U.S. Magistrate Judge Stuart
Platt held initial hearings for two Mexican citizens arrested by local
Border Patrol agents.
Jose Guadalupe Soto-Soto, 29, was arrested by a Department of Public
Safety trooper near Monahans Wednesday on a traffic violation. He had no
identification, and Border Patrol agents were notified.
Ramon Robles-Sanchez, aka Carlos Granado-Flores, 26, of Chihuahua, Mex.,
was taken off a Greyhound bus. He is charged with illegal entry, fraud
and possessing false documents.
Judge Platt denied bail for both defendants.
By MICHELLE MITTELSTADT
Associated Press Writer
WASHINGTON (AP) - Bilingual education would be provided to nearly
315,000 fewer children with limited English skills than planned this
year under an Education Department proposal to shift $33 million out of
the classroom for teacher training.
The department wants to transfer $33.4 million into teacher development
and research - reducing the number of students helped through federal
bilingual education grants this year from slightly over 1 million down
to 753,700.
California would be the hardest hit, losing $13.6 million in grants that
would serve an estimated 128,135 students. New York would lose $5
million to help 47,214 fewer students; followed by Texas, foregoing $2.1
million in grants assisting 20,533.
The proposal has drawn the wrath of some congressional Republicans, who
argue that children's needs are being sacrificed.
``This administration is stealing from the taxpayers and students to
give to the bureaucrats and interest groups,'' said Rep. Henry Bonilla,
R-San Antonio, who is a member of the House Appropriations subcommittee
that funds education programs.
``We need to ensure that our kids can speak English,'' he added.
Federal officials defended the plan, saying money must be used to train
new teachers.
``The shortage of educational personnel qualified to teach (limited
English proficient) children is a particularly pressing national
problem,'' Education Secretary Richard Riley wrote congressional
appropriators last month, asking for approval to transfer the funds.
Congress is providing $157 million this year in bilingual education
grants to states, up from $117 million last year. But lawmakers ignored
the department's request to put some of the money into professional
development or support services.
Even with the $33 million transfer, the department still would be
providing $6.1 million more in grants this year - serving 246,500 more
children than last year.
``We are not literally taking away money from kids that are receiving it
now,'' said Delia Pompa, director of the department's Office of
Bilingual Education and Minority Languages Affairs. ``There will be
money enough for the continuation of those grants.''
By shifting funds, the department estimates it could train 5,800
teachers annually, with some 2,000 obtaining bilingual education
teaching certificates.
``We really do believe this is in the best interest of children,'' she
said Thursday.
Bonilla said Congress already has provided enough money for teacher
instruction, giving the Education Department $520 million in other
budget accounts for teacher training and research.
The Council of the Great City Schools supports the department's plan -
provided that the funding shift, which in budgetary parlance is known as
a reprogramming, isn't permanent.
``At this point, we're probably more in need of training, retraining and
professional development,'' said director Michael Casserly, whose
organization represents the nation's 50 largest urban school districts.
``We're mostly talking about new money anyway, so if things work
correctly the reprogramming should not be at the detriment of kids.''
Of Bonilla's criticism, Casserly said: ``This is an issue where rhetoric
can really get in the way of solid programming.''
The Education Department requires congressional approval to shift the
money. House appropriators, who are publicizing the Education
Department's request, hope it will be withdrawn.
``It's a very rare instance that we would reject a reprogramming
request, which is why we are hoping that making this known about how
this will affect students will convince the Department of Education or
at least encourage them to drop this request,'' said House
Appropriations Committee spokeswoman Elizabeth Morra.
Replied Ms. Pompa: ``We currently have no plans to withdraw the
request.''
Copyright 1996 Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may
not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.
AUSTIN (AP) - Two state senators say another 25,000 adults who don't
have children shouldn't lose their food stamp benefits because they live
in high unemployment areas.
Under new federal welfare laws, able-bodied people must move quickly off
welfare and into jobs.
Already, the state has asked the federal government to exempt as many as
18,000 childless adults in counties with high unemployment from losing
food stamps.
Now, Sens. Carlos Truan and Rodney Ellis say the state should seek
another waiver for another 25,000 adults.
``It is unrealistic to think people living in these areas will suddenly
find work,'' said Truan, D-Corpus Christi.
Although the law allows the state to seek the additional waiver, Gov.
George W. Bush and other welfare reform advocates say the state
shouldn't.
``We can't say there's going to be time limits and exempt everybody from
it,'' said Rep. Mike Krusee, R-Williamson County. ``We have to start
with somebody and the ones to start with are those most able to work.''
On Nov. 22, the Department of Human Services began notifying childless
adult food stamp recipients that they had three months to find a job or
be cut off. Recipients who don't work at least 20 hours a week will get
three months of benefits over three years.
Almost 80,000 childless Texans, some of whom have jobs, receive food
stamps worth $9 million per month.
Truan and state Ellis, D-Houston, are seeking the waiver for residents
of so-called labor surplus areas. To be considered a labor surplus area,
a city of 25,000 or more people or a county must have had an average
unemployment rate at least 20 percent higher than the national average
during the previous two years.
Karen Hughes, Bush's press secretary, said the governor doesn't consider
the labor surplus calculation to be as valid a measure of whether work
is available as current unemployment rates. Truan and others argue that
unemployment rates are flawed, because they don't count people who have
stopped looking for jobs.
The six-member Department of Human Services board will decide whether to
seek the waiver. Three members are Bush appointees.
Copyright 1996 Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may
not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.
The Fort Stockton Pioneer
FORT STOCKTON, Dec. 12, 1996 - Fort Stockton's reverse osmosis plant
should be in operation by the end of January. It will serve the city,
Alamo Ranchettes area and the state prison at Belding. Water lines and
brine lines are already in, said Tony Cordova, director of utilities.
The plant will remove brine and other contaminants from the water and
mixed with untreated water. Brine water will be used for irrigation.
Jeff Davis County Mountain Dispatch
FORT DAVIS, Dec. 12, 1996 - Warm temperaturees and high winds have
driven mule deer into the tall grass, making the 16-day hunting season
tough for hunters. Game Warden Randall Brown said he has seen a few good
deer in camps, but overall the numbers are down. Deer are fat and in
very good shape, he said.
Big Bend Sentinel
MARFA, Dec, 12, 1996 - Academy award winner Tommy Lee Jones has
purchased the 84-section Boracho Ranch in Jeff Davis and Culberson
counties near Kent. The ranch is part of the Reynolds family original X
Ranch, which was once one of the largest ranches in the state. Jones, a
member of the Chinati Foundation board of directors, owns a ranch near
San Saba and has homes in San Antonio and Los Angeles.
The Alpine Avalanche
ALPINE, Dec. 12 1996 - Board members of the Big Bend Regional Hospital
District Monday night are expected to sign agreements with Paracelsus
Health Care that will bring a brand new hospital to this area.
Paracelsus proposes to build and operate a $15 million hospital and
nursing home.
The International, Presidio Paper
PRESIDIO, Dec. 12, 1996 - Presidio County won't make its next jail
payment due Jan. 2, but it may have the funds to do so by the end of
that month, said County judge Jake Brisbin Jr. Due is $238,000 in
principal and interest. Brisbin said the jail has had enough paying
prisoners the last six months to make the payment, but the county has
not received funds from billings. The 96-bed jail is currently full. The
county is in arrears $479,000 on jail payments.
The Monahans News
MONAHANS, Dec. 12, 1996 - A youth activities supervisor at West Texas
State School in Pyote and an inmate pleaded guilty Tuesday in district
court to sexual assault in return for dismissal of other sexual predator
charges. The indictments were based on documented alcohol and hard core
video porn used to prey on two Monahans girls in their early teens in
August or September. Adrian B. Niblett, 24, and Gerald A. Harris, 18,
were placed on probation. The incidents occurred in Niblett's apartment
while he was working at the state school for delinquent boys.
Services are incomplete for Manuel Montanez, 73, of Pecos, who died
Thursday, Dec. 12 at the Pecos Nursing Home.
Martinez Funeral Home is in charge of arrangements.
PECOS, Dec. 13, 1996 - High Monday 73, low last night 37. Tonight, fair.
Low near 40. Light south wind. Saturday, mostly sunny. High around 70.
Southeast 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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