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Newspaper and Travel Guide
for Pecos Country of West Texas
Friday, February 3, 2006
Police accused of leaving graffiti inside home
A drug raid Tuesday on a west side home has resulted in an internal investigation by Pecos police, after anti-gang graffiti allegedly was written on the wall of a second story room by an officer involved in the raid.
Pecos Police Chief Clay McKinney said he was informed of the incident on Wednesday, a day after the raid on the home of Pam Juarez, at 1921 W. Fourth St.
“There was an allegation an officer wrote some graffiti up there, and we’re looking into it,” McKinney said Thursday morning, after Juarez filed a complaint.
“They raided my house looking for somebody else who doesn’t even live here,” Juarez said on Thursday. She said the person officers were looking for in connection with the sale of drugs was the boyfriend of her mother, Sheila Juarez. No arrests were made following the search of the home.
She said officers did the warrant search just before 10:30 p.m. on Tuesday, checking the upstairs area. The area where the graffiti was written was on the north wall of the home, and said “BPG 13 s---- XIII d---. Pecos PD was here.”
“My mom’s boyfriend was hired to do some work. He fixed the stove, and that’s why he was here,” she said.
Her father, Jimmy Juarez, said, “They (police) said they saw him selling drugs there and did the raid.
“There was a 14 year old in there who just had knee surgery, and when the officers got there, they rounded everyone up and made him walk across the floor,” he said. “My daughter asked why they couldn’t carry him, and they said they weren’t allowed to do that.”
McKinney said Juarez gave her statement to police investigators on Wednesday. Pam Juarez said she was planning to call an attorney about a possible lawsuit in connection with the incident.
Couple escapes, home burns Thursday
An investigation continues into the cause of a fire that destroyed a trailer home on the southwest side of Pecos early Thursday morning.
Pecos Volunteer Fire Department members were called out at 3:20 a.m. to the fire, at 3008 Stanford, after a fire broke out at the home of William Rodriguez, according to fire marshal Jack Brookshire. Rodriguez and his wife were inside the home at the time and were able to get out unharmed.
“He said they smelled smoke and got out,” Brookshire said. “He said when he opened the front door the flames were all over the outside.”
Brookshire said that’s the area where the fire appears to have started. “It broke out on the front porch or right around the front porch, but I don’t have the exact cause,” he said.
Firemen were on site until 5:39 a.m. trying to put out the fire. The trailer was declared a total loss, and Brookshire said he believed the Rodriguezes were going to stay in a trailer owned by the family located across the street from their home.
Arson fires have plagued Pecos over the past several months, but Brookshire said as of now, there’s no reason to believe arson was the cause of Thursday’s blaze.
“I certainly hope it wasn’t arson, because there were two people in there,:” he said.
Brookshire added he’s still looking into an arson fire on Jan. 5 that destroyed the former Pecos Recycling Center building at Second Street and Broadway. Arson was listed as the cause of that fire and of a fire that destroyed another building earlier that day at Second and Locust streets.
District shifted for area schools by realignment
Realignment came out about as good as could be hoped for as far as travel time goes for the Pecos Eagles, while the Balmorhea Bears will also be seeing shorter trips due to big changes to their district as part of the bi-annual realignment by the University Interscholastic League.
The UIL released its realignment for the 2006-07 and 2007-08 school years Thursday morning, and as expected, the Eagles will be in a district with four El Paso area schools come this fall. But the Eagles will not have to make the 170- to 230-mile drives out west for other extracurricular events.
Pecos will be joined by Fort Stockton and Monahans in the new District 1-3A, but in all other sports, those teams will be part of District 2-3A, which will also include Presidio. It’s the same alignment that the UIL has had for District 3-3A in volleyball for the past two years, and that group will now be together as well in the other team sports and UIL extracurricular events.
Clint and Fabens, who were district rivals of Pecos between 1998 and 2002, will be part of the football District 1-3A, along with Anthony and Tornillo. Those two schools petitioned to play in Class 3A for the next two years, in order to cut down on travel, while Clint had Fabens have been petitioning for the past six years to play a Class 4A schedule, in order to remain in an El Paso-based district.
The new district set-up will likely mean two trips to El Paso for the next two years in football for the Eagles, Loboes and Panthers, along with a late season bye date due to the seven team district arrangement.
The Eagles have been in a seven team district for the past two years, but no bye date during district play was needed because Presidio currently does not have a football program. The change will also mean only four pre-district games and an earlier start to the district football schedule.
The other three teams currently in District 3-3A with Pecos, Monahans and Fort Stockton - Seminole, Greenwood and Lamesa -- will be divided into two districts, while another area school Andrews, is the latest to drop from Class 4A to 3A, as the top enrollment numbers for 3A rose from 900 to 950 this year. Class 3A enrollment includes schools with between 415 and 949 students.
Andrews, which reported 904 students, will join Greenwood, Lamesa and Snyder as part of the new District 3-3A, while Seminole will rejoin Brownfield, Lubbock Cooper as part of District 4-3A along with Levelland, which dropped from Class 4A to 3A in 2004.
The changes should make things easier for Pecos in football, though after back-to-back 1-9 seasons, the Eagles aren’t assured of a return to post-season play in 2006. Pecos qualified for the playoffs in all four years they were members of District 2-4A, but have not won a game in district for the past four years in football.
Pecos went 3-1 in four seasons of district play against Clint, and were 4-0 during that span against Fabens, while winning three of four non-district games versus the Wildcats between 1994 and 1997. Pecos has never faced Anthony or Tornillo in football. Pecos’ lone win this past season was a 7-0 victory at Kermit, while Anthony also won at Kermit, 28-27, but later was forced to forfeit the game for using an ineligible player.
Balmorhea’s changes are even bigger in football than for Pecos, after six-man district administrators approved dividing the schools into small and large school classifications starting with the 2006 season.
The Bears will be part of District 1-A Division II, which is made up of the smaller six-man schools in the state. They’ll have current District 6-A rivals Dell City, Marathon, Sanderson and Sierra Blanca with them, but will lose three other schools, Grandfalls, Imperial and Fort Davis.
Grandfalls, this year’s District 6A champ, and Imperial will be part of District 3-A Division II, with Lamesa Klondike, Loop and Welch Dawson. There will be no District 2-A in Division II, meaning the playoff qualifiers out of Balmorhea’s district will draw a first round bye.
Fort Davis will be part of Division I, made up of the six man schools with the largest enrollments, and will be joined by Ackerly Sands, Garden City, Lenorah Grady and Rankin, the latest area school to drop from 11-man to six-man football. As with the Bears’ district, the playoff qualifiers out of District 1-A Division I will draw a first round playoff bye.
In basketball, Balmorhea will remain in Division II, which is made up of all the six-man schools in the state. They’ll be part of District 9-A, which includes Dell City, Fort Davis, Sierra Blanca and Valentine. District 10-A will have Grandfalls, Buena Vista, Marathon, Rankin and Sanderson.
For other area schools, the bi-annual realignment resulted in few changes in Class 5A, while the move of Andrews was the only change in the line-up of District 4-4A. However, the loss of Anthony and Tornillo from Class 2A has reshuffled their former District 1-2A, which also included Kermit, Crane and Alpine. Those three schools will now be part of District 7-2A, and will be joined by Reagan County, Ozona and Van Horn, which moves back up to Class 2A after a two-year stay in Class A.
In Class A at the 11-man football level, Van Horn’s departure for Class 2A and Rankin’s move to six-man will leave District 8-A with Wink, McCamey, Marfa, Iraan and Fort Hancock. Those same five schools will also be paired up for basketball and in other sports, but they will be part of District 1-A.
Main St. group eyes downtown rehab grant
Pecos Main Street officials are seeking a state grant for the first stage of the Oak Street rehabilitation program, Main Street President Tom Rivera told board members during their meeting Monday morning at City Hall.
Board member discussed the status of their Plan of Work to submit to the state by mid-year, discussed plans for the Trans-Pecos Trail information to be submitted for a new state brochure by early March, and were also updated on the status of several downtown buildings during the 7:30 a.m. meeting.
Rivera said the city’s grant writer, Carlos Colina-Vargas, was in town last Wednesday to discuss applying for the first phase of a streetscape program, which would involve five blocks of Oak Street, from the West of the Pecos Museum south to City Hall. The first phase would involve redoing the area in front of the Municipal Court and Community Center in the 500 block of South Oak Street, as well as the replacement of the current lamp posts with 1930s replica street lights.
“They look almost identical to the ones that were here in the ‘20s and ‘30s,”Rivera said. City crews would do the work in-house, if the $5,000 grant from the Texas Department of Transportation is approved.
“We’ll use if for the first phase, and Carlos will check with TxDOT to see if we can apply for the whole thing at one time,” Rivera said.
Board president Debbie Thomas said that Oscar Mestas, Texas Forest Service urban specialist for West Texas, has been in contact with the city about transplanting trees currently in the 500 block of South Oak. The trees, whose roots have undermined parts of the current sidewalk, will be removed under the streetscape plan presented to the board.
“He has been in contact with Tom to check and see how we can take up the trees without cutting them down,” Thomas said. The trees would be moved to other city parks under the plan.
Thomas said the 500 block of Oak is being done first, because it won’t require as many chances as the area closer to the museum, where a center street median, power plugs and benches are planed as part of the renovation work.
The light poles shown to the board have their globes located on top of the pole, instead of extending over the street. The brochure members looked at listed the cost of each cast aluminum pole at $2,000 each, but the board will see if cheaper poles can be found by buying out of Mexico.
Thomas and Rivera also offered updates on downtown buildings, focusing on three; the former Pecos Garment Co. and the F.W. Woolworth buildings on Oak Street, and the former Conoco station at Third and Cedar streets.
Rivera talked with a Texas representative of the Georgia owners of the Pecos Garment Co. building, and said they would like to get rid of the 120,000 square foot building, which has part of its roof collapsed. Thomas talked about removing the roof and using the interior of the remaining structure as a site for a flea market, while fixing up an interior roof over the building’s office area.
Rivera said $35,000 was needed to repair the Woolworth building’s roof, but other than that the structure at Third and Oak streets was in good shape. “We’ve talked with the USDA about getting a grant,” Rivera said, as part of a small business incubator program.
“After a while the businesses can go off on their own, and you can shut down the program,” he added.
The Conoco station is being sought as a Tourist Center for the Pecos Chamber of Commerce, with a vacant area behind it to serve as a parking lot for downtown. West Texas National Bank owner J.L. Davis of Midland owns the property, and Thomas said she has talked with bank president John Grant about the situation, and have e-mailed Davis on the property.
“He doesn’t do gifts, but we can try and change it to a long-term lease,” Thomas said.
The Texas Pecos Trails Application is due by March 6, and a Community Resource Inventory Workshop is set for 5:30 p.m. Tuesday at the Community Center to go over the information for submission to the new tourism brochure. Other area city and county officials have been invited to the meeting, though Thomas said the information doesn’t have to be finalized for another month.
“This way if we don’t get it done tomorrow we’ll still have time to do it,” she said.
Thomas said the Plan of Work to be submitted to the Texas Main Street program by July would take information from four local Main Street groups; the design committee, organization committee, promotions committee and economic committee. The plan will give state officials information on Pecos’ Main Street Program plans for 2007, the first year after the three-year start up period for the city’s program expires.
City Manager Joseph Torres also updated the committee on the first of the city’s new promotional signs to go up, at the entrance to Maxey Park. “It looks really good, and the colors are contrasting colors you can see easily from the interstate,” he said.
Fernandes gets ‘Hero’ award from Chamber
Volunteerism and community service earned one Pecos woman the prestigious award of Hidden Hero, given out by the Pecos Area Chamber of Commerce.
Emily Fernandes, who was truly surprised at the honor, received the Hidden Hero Award during the chamber awards ceremony held Jan. 26 at the Reeves County Civic Center.
President-elect Venetta Seals presented the award to Fernandes during the ceremony, one of many awarded handed out during the banquet.
“Many people in this and every community shine in less than the spotlight. And, they prefer it that way,” said Seals. “This year’s ‘Hidden Hero’ is one of those people who prefers not to be in the spotlight, but they certainly shine in our community through constant volunteerism and community service.”
Seals said that the individual she was presenting the award to was well known for the numerous noble deeds they perform. “And, often, these deeds do take on colorful and original attire,” said Seals.
“There are too many of her generous deeds to mention all of them. But, the following are the ones that she has been doing for many, many years and what makes her so special to so many people,” said Seals.
Seals said that Fernandes has been a West of the Pecos Museum volunteer for over 20 years where she greets visitors and disperses local history and Texas charm. She has also served as a board member for this organization for many years.
She has been a very active member of the Reeves County Hospital Auxiliary for about the same number of years. She is always there with a cheerful smile for the patients, visitors and employees. She also serves on the Board of Directors for the Auxiliary.
“Whether it be in the rain, the snow and/or the West Texas heat and wind, she has been a devoted weekly volunteer since 1990 (15 years) for Meals on Wheels,” said Seals. “She is most devoted to her elderly friends and thoroughly enjoys visiting with each of them, always saying a kind word or two and brightening the days of those that she might be the only person who they see the entire day,” she said.
She is an active reader for the Reeves County Library and Pecos Nursing Home. “When possible, she appears in costume as a special treat to entertain her audiences even more. Spending many hours reading to eager listeners, she delivers her talents in both English and Spanish,” said Seals.
A “retired” teacher whose love of children has kept her very much involved with our school programs, volunteering in various capacities in the school system. Whether five or 105, her listeners are guaranteed an entertaining as well as an educational experience.
“She is on top of the call list of local civic organizations when they need a program. She is most eloquent in the many programs that she puts together,” said Seals. “She is definitely a good Samaritan, always on call to her many friends and acquaintances should they need someone to drive them to the doctor, store or run errands for them,” she said.
Seals said that she never forgets a person’s special day, always sending a thoughtful card or letter to her many, many friends and neighbors.
Over the years she has presented book reviews, special historic readings and interpretive programs for many special groups. “When it comes to giving of herself, this born teacher is always willing to share the gift of knowledge,” said Seals.
“This person shows great love and care for her church, her family and of course, her many friends and acquaintances. She is a fountain of generosity when it comes to smiles and laughter, a card or phone call to cheer you up, or a special errand in times of need,” said Seals.
Judge explains county position for Dutchover
A Pecos-Barstow-Toyah ISD administrator hired by Reeves County will help with economic development initiatives, County Judge Jimmy B. Galindo said on Thursday.
Jimmy Dutchover was hired by Galindo in January to assist in developing several economic development initiatives for Reeves County. Dutchover is the Transportation and AEP Director for the P-B-T ISD, as well as serving as president of the Pecos Chamber of Commerce and of the Reeves County Teacher’s Credit Union.
Dutchover was hired on a contract basis by Reeves County Commissioners for one year to serve as the County Judge’s Executive Assistant. He will earn $40,000 for his services.
Some local residents have voiced complaints about the salary being paid by the county, but Galindo said Dutchover has been working with him on a project to develop land along Interstate 20.
“Over the last six months, we have been preparing and planning several county economic development initiatives to develop and market county property,” said Galindo. “The county owns over 500 acres, along Interstate 20 and U.S. Highway 285. From an economic perspective, the flow of traffic along I-20 and U.S. 285 represents a new business market potential for Reeves County and the City of Pecos.”
“However, to develop the full market potential along I-20 and U.S. 285, we must create a business environment that will encourage investment and long-term public-private partnerships,” said Galindo. “This entails the creation of new State Enterprise Zones, Federal Foreign Trade Zones, use of ‘New Market Tax Credits’ and consistent local property tax abatement policies,” he said.
“I hired Jimmy Dutchover to work with me on these initiatives because he is in a very unique position as Chamber of Commerce President and a member of the City of Pecos Economic Development Corporation Board of Directors, to help us develop these projects,” said Galindo.
“Secondly, he is the most energetic and optimistic volunteer I have ever worked with,” said Galindo. “His passion for revitalizing Pecos has been an inspiration to me and his work ethic is contagious.”
Our initial focus is to begin the development of county property at the intersection of I-20 and U.S. 285, according to Galindo.
“If we can create the business environment to persuade Wal-Mart to partner with us to develop a SuperCenter on county property, we will be giving potential new customers on I-20 and U.S. 285 thousands of reasons to stop and shop. What we lack today is easy access to Wal-Mart and an anchor to pull new money off the interstate,” said Galindo.
Wal-Mart has begun building smaller SuperCenters in cities such as Sweetwater that are located along Interstate highways. They are larger than the current Wal-Mart in Pecos, but about 40 percent smaller than SuperCenters located in Midland or Odessa.
Galindo said the development of a Super Center would also create other opportunities for new businesses.
In Fort Stockton, several new hotels and restaurants have been developed over the last 10 years near the Interstate 10-U.S. 285 interchange. Most recently, IHOP and the Hampton Inn have opened for business.
“For many years, people have expressed a desire for people to ‘Shop Pecos First,’ but in order for this to happen more often, the prices of food and household items have to be affordable for working families and those less fortunate in our community,” said Galindo.
“Additionally, people in our community have expressed a desire for ‘more jobs,’ but in order to develop more jobs, we must develop public-private partnerships that are good for the people of Reeves County. Partnerships that will bring in ‘new dollars’ from outside our community to diversify our economic base and create long-term substantial jobs,” said Galindo.
“Reeves County is in a great location. It has two federal interstates within the boundaries,” said Dutchover. “It has Interstate 20 in the Pecos and Toyah area and Interstate 10 in the Saragosa and Balmorhea area.
“Growing up, I lived within a block of Interstate 20 and I would see all the traffic. To me it was a river of vehicles traveling east and west, with no obstacles to slow them down. Well I want to try and help the county slow them down. We can do this by providing the drivers of the vehicles and their passengers a reason to stop and spend some of their money right here in Reeves County,” Dutchover said.
“If we are able to establish commerce along the interstate, we will have found a way to help our economy grown through job creation, which leads to a stronger tax base, which leads to possible home building, which leads to possible family growth, which leads to more students in our schools, which leads to…Well, I could go on and on,” he added.
Dutchover said that there had enough blame placed on the leaders of the past. “People want to talk about making our area a better place to live, but they do not want to do what it will take, and that is be a true part of a team,” he said.
“I want to focus on the growth of tomorrow. Pecos and our surrounding area did not get in to the position we are in overnight. But we have to take the steps now if we are going to have success in the future,” said Dutchover.
The successful areas find a way for the people to work together. “They find a way to ignore the critics and work through the difficult times. It takes leadership and cooperation from everyone. If the study of economic teaches you one thing, it is buy low - sell high. If Reeves County was at the low point in the 80’s, and the late 90s, was a stabilizing time, then this decade can be the start of the high,” said Dutchover.
He said that his duties at the Pecos-Barstow-Toyah ISD are taken care of even with the added county responsibilities.
“I know I will be criticized for having another responsibility and that is normal. But for the remainder of this year, I plan to try and make a difference. Some will blame me for my chamber work, my work on economic development, my work with the youth of our community, but they cannot blame me for one thing, working,” said Dutchover.
Tarin candidate for Commissioner Pct. 2
A long-time legal secretary, who feels she wants to do something for the community, has announced her candidacy for the position of Reeves County Commissioner Precinct 2.
Alvesia Tarin, better known as “Tita” was born and raised in the Pecos-Barstow area. She is seeking the position currently held by Norman Hill.
Hill and Gabriel Martinez are the other two candidates in the March 7 Democratic Primary election.
Tarin graduated from Pecos High School in 1975 and her parents are David Sr. and Angelita Melendez, of Barstow. “I got married shortly after high school to Mario Tarin and we have two wonderful sons, Adrian, who lives in Midland and Daniel, a junior at Pecos High School,” she said.
Tarin said that she has over 20 years experience as a legal secretary.
“My last employment was with a local private attorney, for a period of over 15 years,” said Tarin. “As you all know, the commissioner’s court is the governing body of the county. The commissioner’s court has financial responsibility for the county, including setting the tax rate, but a commissioner must also be capable of carrying out the duties and responsibilities involved in the operation of the county government,” said Tarin.
She said she believes her experience as a legal secretary has prepared her to understand the various statues and local government codes that affect the county government, including the judicial operations at the county level.
“I am an honest and hard working person and with these traits, things can and will be accomplished,” said Tarin.
“I believe the time has come that we as citizens of Reeves County join together to make a difference and by this I mean, not only the Reeves County officials, but also the various representatives for the Towns of Toyah, Balmorhea and Saragosa, and this includes the Chamber of Commerce and Town of Pecos representatives,” said Tarin. “We cannot afford to lose any more businesses that are vital to this county,” she said.
“Lets work together to make this county a place in which our children will go get an education and come back home to a future that will be promising and bright,” said Tarin. “The future that I see if I am elected is a vision of hope and improvement for this county in that I promise that I will not step down but rather I will fight for what is right for all citizens of Reeves County as I will study and pursue every angle of each issue and challenge a vote if need be,” she said.
Tarin said she will have an open-door policy, will be a full-time commissioner and will work to protect and control the public’s money.
Forum organizers seek candidate questions
Organizers of an issues forum for candidates in the March 7 Democratic Party primary election are seeking questions to be asked at the event, scheduled for Feb. 16 at the Pecos High School auditorium.
Invitations have been sent out to candidates in the races for Reeves County Judge and for the Precinct 2 and Precinct 4 Commissioners races, as well as for the race for State Senate in District 19. “Fourteen candidates have been invited by letter, and I have five who have RSVPed,” said John Grant, West Texas National Bank president and one of the organizers of the event.
Terry Gilmour, Midland College Associate Professor of Government, will be the moderator for the event, which will run from 7 to 9 p.m. at the PHS auditorium. The event will also be broadcast on KIUN and KPTX radio, and aired on Cebridge Cable Ch. 6 in Pecos.
Grant said a committee has been set up to solicit questions from local residents to ask the candidates at the forum, which will also have a highly structured set-up
“The committee will take those questions and put them into categories, and then put them into a consistent format,” Grant said, adding that the candidates will be given the list of questions in advance in order to prepare their answers.
‘”We want to give the questions to the candidates no later than Feb. 13,” he said. “We need the questions in by Feb. 10.”
He said the questions should focus on issues affecting one of the particular offices involved, but should be something of interest to the entire community. “We don’t want questions like ‘When are you going to fix the pothole in my street?’” Grant said.
The questions can be submitted either to Grant at West Texas National Bank, or to Joe Keese at TransPecos Bank.
Grant said under the planned format, a candidate will have two minutes to answer the question directed at them, and then one of their opponents will be asked for a one-minute rebuttal. The first candidate will then get another minute to answer the rebuttal statement.
“It’s not going to be acrimonious or confrontational. It’s merely to discuss issues,” Grant said.
“The candidates will not be allowed to read a prepared statement or read their answers,” he said. “They can bring notes up and have statistics to refer to, but they can’t read their answers from a prepared statement.”
“The purpose of this is because there are 14 candidates in three (county) races, we would like to have the public have a better idea where the candidates stand on the issues, in order to make an informed vote,” Grant said.
Reeves County Democratic Party Chairman Bobby Dean sent out letters to the candidates, and as of Tuesday, county judge candidates Al Gomez, Sam Contreras and Bernardo Martinez have agreed to attend the event, along with commissioner hopefuls Alvesia “Tita” Tarin in Precinct 2 and Ramiro “Ram” Guerra in Precinct 4. “Gabriel Martinez (Precinct 2 candidate) said he would be interested, but hasn’t RSVPed, and Grace (Renteria, county judge candidate) has said she’d be interested, but hasn’t RSVPed,” Grant said.
Candidates will be able to meet with local residents before and after the forum, and during a 15-minute intermission during the event. Those in the audience supporting candidates will be allowed to being placards up to 8-by-12 inches, along with leaflets and buttons to the event.
The event is being sponsored by the Reeves County Democratic Party, and admission will be free. Grant said members of the Pecos High School student council will serve as ushers, time keepers and record keepers for the event, which will take place four days prior to the start of early voting for the March 7 primary.
Special guests speaks at meeting
The Modern Study Club met Wednesday, Jan. 11, at the First Christian Church parlor for an Americanism Department program planned by Paula Fuller, chairman of that department.
The thought-quote for the program was - “I pledge allegiance to the flag of the United States of America and to the republic for which it stands. One nation under God, with liberty and justice for all.”
Ms. Fuller chose as speaker, a member of the National Guard, Jason Foster of Pecos, who served in Iraq from Feb. 15, 2004 to Feb. 26, 2005.
Mr. Foster said he was influenced to join the National Guard, by his uncle who was also a member and that’s what motivated him to join.
Presenting the program, “Comments from a Veteran of Iraq,” Mr. Foster shared photographs which included the beautiful sunsets, the people, especially the children, the money of Iraq with Saddam Hussein’s photograph and also some marble from his palace in Bagdad, American and Italian tanks, Hummers, large trucks, some of which were much larger than the 18-wheelers we are accustomed to, the interior of the tent where he lived with the eight people in his squad, and fast food trailers.
The veteran told that his job was primarily to protect personnel and equipment. He said most of the time he drove a Hummer, but he also drove the trucks of all sizes, and that they hauled everything.
He stated that the largest truck would haul two hummers and a large tank and that his passenger, in whatever he was driving, carried an M-16 machine gun. He spoke of “lots and lots of sand,” shared a photo of a thermometer which read 140 degrees and talked a lot about the children, who wanted to sell things and were nearly always barefooted. Foster received eight boxes of shoes gathered by his friend’s daughter at Austin Elementary in Pecos after that information was shared at the school.
As he continued, Foster told that the United States troops and their help were appreciated by that suppressed people though they are terribly afraid of terrorists. He told of other military personnel from Italy, South Korea, Britain, Poland, Japan, Portugal and Guam, to name a few.
President Lena Harpham presided during the meeting. During opening ceremonies Betty Lee led the Club Collect and Margie Williamson led the pledges to the United States of America and Texas flag as those present repeated all in unison.
Secretary Joyce Morton read the minutes of the previous meeting and treasurer Betty Lee gave a statement of club finances. During correspondence, a letter from Lois Grant was read concerning contributions to the M.D. Anderson Cancer Hospital and also a letter from Safeplace in Midland. Reports on club projects and programs were also discussed; Feb. 1, is the deadline for mailing to Western District.
The club voted unanimously to sponsor Nan Cate of Verhalen for the competition of Outstanding Clubwoman/Volunteer of Western District of Texas Federation of Women’s Clubs for 2006. Mrs. Cate has served in many capacities locally and on the WD Board since joining The Modern Study Club in 1977.
Margie Williamson, Scholarship Chairman, reported on the outstanding of last year’s recipient Lilly Ann Valdez. She also discussed the progress made in the consideration of the 2006 candidate for the competition for the Alma Van Sickle Scholarship of Western District of TFWC.
A fundraiser bake sale was also discussed and Ways and Means Chairman Paula Fuller is to secure dates to be considered.
Catherine Travland, hostess, served delicious refreshments to guests, Jo Ann Gurule and Jason Foster, and club members.
Oglesby named to Dean’s List
Texas Christian University, in Fort Worth, announced the names of the students who were named to the fall 2005 Dean’s List.
Having completed fall 2005 classes with at least a 3.4 GPA, William Oglesby, of Pecos, was recently named to the Dean’s List at Texas Christian University.
Oglesby is the son of Bill and Karen Oglesby of Pecos.
Garcia named officer of the month
Michael Garcia has been recognized as the Correctional Officer of the Month for the month of January at the Reeves County Detention Center I/II.
He has been employed with RCDC I/II since Aug. 6, 2004.
“We would like to thank him for all his hard work and dedication,” said RCDC Warden Ed Gonzales.
Mendoza chosen as employee of the month
Magdalena Mendoza has been chosen as Employee of the Month for the Reeves County Detention Center I/II for the month of January.
She has been employed with the RCDC I/II since March 30, 2004.
Mendoza currently holds the title of Correctional Recreation Specialist.
“We would like to thank her for all her hard work and dedication,” said RCDC Warden Ed Gonzales.
Pecos Enterprise
York M. "Smokey" Briggs, Publisher
324 S. Cedar St., Pecos, TX 79772
Phone 432-445-5475, FAX 432-445-4321
e-mail news@pecos.net
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Copyright 2003-04 by Pecos Enterprise
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