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Newspaper and Travel Guide
for Pecos Country of West Texas
Tuesday, August 22, 2006
RCDC guard pleads guilty, second wins trial
By ROSIE FLORES
Staff Writer
A former Reeves County Detention Center guard pled guilty to drug charges, while a second guard was acquitted in a trial last week in Midland federal court.
“One defendant pleaded guilty next and one was acquitted by a jury after seven and half hours of deliberation,” said Assistant U.S. Attorney Jeff Parras.
Raul Garcia Jr., pleaded guilty to possession with intent to distribute a controlled substance. He faces up to fives years in prison and a maximum fine of $250,000 when he is sentenced in late October, while Christopher Acosta Reyes was found not guilty in the jury trial. Reyes was the only one of the four guards charged in the case to take his case before a jury.
Prosecutors alleged during the trial that Cynthia Hernandez, a friend of Reyes, was wired payments to be given to Reyes. In exchange for the payment, Reyes, 32, brought marijuana that had been sent to the prison to Demone Wilson, an inmate in a unit that was comprised of prisoners brought from Arizona because of overcrowding.
“She (Hernandez) was a witness for the prosecution,” said Parras.
A grand jury indicted the four guards, with Garcia the last of the three who pled guilty, according to Parras.
“Rodney Carrasco and Alonzo Valenzuela had already pled guilty and will be sentenced later on,” said Parras.
In all, close to 20 guards, inmates and inmates’ families were convicted in this case, according to Parras.
“All these were related cases,” he said.
During Reyes’ trial, Wilson testified that Reyes brought him marijuana on three occasions, one time hiding it in a paper roll.
Reyes was seen in a car with Hernandez in the parking lot of one of two Pecos Western Union money transfer locations on the same day that a transfer was made to Hernandez, according to Parras.
Hernandez later testified that she believed the money that she was picking up for Reyes was to be used to buy equipment to start a career as a music disc jockey. She said that he wanted her to pick up the payments because he lacked identification.
Defense attorney Richard Alvarado said that Hernandez’ claims were baseless, because all detention center employees were required to have identification. And Hernandez herself was a former employee of the prison.
Maurice Williams, another Arizona prisoner, said that he paid Reyes between $250 and $300 in cash in exchange for marijuana. He said the money was smuggled in by his girlfriend and hidden in a baby powder bottle.
During his testimony, Reyes, who is on administrative leave from the correctional facility, said that Hernandez “bragged” about receiving drug money from associates in Ojinaga, Chihuahua, Mexico.
Parras said that there were no records of any money transfers of money from the Ojinaga area to Hernandez.
City, county deal with health insurance concerns
By JON FULBRIGHT
Staff Writer
Pecos City Council members were told their 2006 health insurance claims are lower so far than the claims submitted by city workers during 2005. But they shouldn’t expect to see much improvement in their rising health care costs for the upcoming budget year.
During a budget workshop on Tuesday, the council heard from Rick Holder of RH Administrators, the company that handles the city’s health insurance. He told them that while there were ways to lower the cost to Pecos on health insurance, almost all would involve either raising deductibles or lowering benefits to the city’s employees.
“I don’t live in Pecos, and I don’t know what you pay your average person, but I know (health) benefits are a big thing for them,” Holder said, adding that the city’s package was better than the one he offers his employees or than most other area businesses or government entities provide their workers.
“As long as you can afford it, that’s great,” Holder said, but went on to add, “Part of that is what is eating you all up. Your benefits pay for everything.”
He said when payouts by insurers exceed the maximum amount under the city’s self-insured program, the outside insurance company will raise rates the following year. So far in 2006, the “stop loss” payment is only $253, while last year the city went $180,000 over its “stop loss” level.
City finance director Sam Contreras passed out a sheet showing that while the city’s medical claims were $388,000 in the 2002-03 budget year, they hit $780,000 last year, leading to a sharp rise in insurance costs.
Holder said the city could look at raising the monthly premium cost city workers pay for family coverage. Currently, workers without dependants do not have any monthly premium, while those with family members on the city’s insurance plan pay $125 a month. That current affects 57 of Pecos’ 98 city employees.
However, he said raising the co-pay too high could end up costing the city in the long run, if workers drop their health benefits and stop taking any prescription drugs they need. “You can do things, but if you do them indiscriminately, it can end up costing you a lot,” he said.
“If it was $300, you’d probably have half the dependants you have. They’d probably go without coverage,” Holder said.
“If you want to really realize savings, you’ve got to cut benefits, but when you cut benefits, somebody is going to have to pay,” he said.
Holder did say one option would be for the city to combine with Reeves County on a health plan that would hire and pay for a physician to handle medical cases just for their workers and the worker’s families. He said a similar plan he is running in Oklahoma has saved money for a number of businesses.
The physician would direct workers to specialists if needed. Workers could go to see other doctors initially, but wouldn’t see the cost benefits from the program.
“It’s a good program, but you need about 680 people to break even,” Holder said.
County insurance
By ROSIE FLORES
Staff Writer
Health insurance will cost a little bit more for all Reeves County Detention Center employees, while no action was taken on new rules for the golf course by Reeves County Commissioners, during their regular meeting last week.
The group met last on Aug. 14, in the third floor courtroom to discuss several items including insurance premiums, golf course rules and other items.
“In order to keep our fund self-sufficient, we do small increases per year, instead of a large increase,” said Reeves County Auditor Lynn Owens. “The largest increase will be in dental,” he said.
For example, it costs $7.88 this year and next year it will be $9.17, for the employees dependant’s, according to Owens.
“There will also be an increase to the county of $20 per month,” said Owens. “They will be paying $11.54 more per payday to have dependents covered,” he said.
He said that they would be keeping the same co-pay and deductibles.
Owens said that employees now pay $152.01 per pay period and $165.32 with family dental. “They will pay $145 without dental and $157 with the dental coverage,” he said.
Out of all the employees, 327 carry employee only insurance and 230 carry dependent coverage, according to Owens.
“It’s a conservative increase that had to be done in order to be self-sufficient,” said Reeves County Judge Jimmy B. Galindo. “We’ve had an increase every year for the last 5-6 years, but we try not to make it a big increase and focus on the generic drugs.”
Galindo said that they had to make some adjustments because their claims were exceeding the funding.
The Reeves County Golf Course and Policies were discussed, but the item was tabled until the commissioners can look over them and come to some decision.
“We sat down with the golf course personnel and discussed all these issues,” said Owens. “We want you to look them over and make a decision on that later.”
He said that they are trying to make rules to where everyone knows what they’re doing out there and they know what they’re supposed to be doing.
“One of the biggest issues is that some of these individuals want to pay per month, but it’s supposed to be a yearly fee,” said Galindo. “County employees do pay per month, because it’s deducted from their paychecks, but that is one of the privileges these employees receive,” he said.
The group approved a policy for re-instatement of lapsed jailer license.
“We can have that license re-instated for $200,” said Owens.
This way, the individual does not have to re-enroll in school, which costs $300, and take time off from work, while they attend the school, according to Owens.
“It will be better to just pay the $200 and them go to work,” said Owens.
Council has school zones change, police issues
Town of Pecos City Council members will discuss plans to improved traffic control at Pecos Kindergarten, along with several items involving the Pecos Police Department, during their regular meeting Thursday evening at City Hall.
The council discussed a request by Pecos Kindergarten principal Robert Garrett earlier this year to improve the traffic control around his school, due to safety concerns about vehicles traveling too fast through the school zones. The city hoped to place new stop signs and school zone warnings on the streets around the school before the start of classes, but at a meeting, council members were told the city was seeking an agreement with Pecos-Barstow-Toyah ISD for sharing the cost of the new warning signs.
Thursday’s meeting will include an update on the progress of the plans, along with a possible ordinance expanding the safety zones at the Kindergarten, which began classes on Monday.
Council members will also have an executive session to discuss compensation and duties for police department personnel with advanced degrees, and will discuss/consider the evaluation and appointment of a municipal court judge. In open session, the council will discuss police department policy on vehicle operations, and the department’s volunteer handbook.
Other items on the agenda for Thursday’s 5:30 p.m. meeting include discussion of an interlocal agreement between the city and Reeves County for the Pecos Volunteer Fire Department; discussion of a Texas Forest Fire grant submission; discussion of approval to submit bills to a revenue rescue company; discuss the sale of one piece of property at 1217 S. Pecan St., and approval f monthly reports and the city’s tax planning calendar.
Cancer battle causes change in priorities, vacation plans
EDITOR’S NOTE: This is the 15th part of a story by Enterprise business manager Peggy McCracken on her diagnosis of cancer, surgery in April of 2005 and ensuing treatment for the disease.
By PEGGY McCRACKEN
Staff Writer
Cancer is like lightning, in that it can strike anywhere without warning. Since my breast cancer was diagnosed last year, many of my friends and acquaintances who prayed for me have learned they, too, have the dread disease. Like lightning, cancer can kill quickly, or it can make you wish you were dead. In my case, it has been both a blessing and a curse. A blessing because I am prepared to die, but am living more fully than ever before. “I am going to do that some day” has become “There is no time like the present.” Take my recent trip to Alaska. Friends had told me about the wonders in our 50th state to the north, and I had said I would go someday. When my sister invited me to be her roomie on a cruise being put together by a friend, I said, “Why not?” Except for a purse snatching incident that cost me a front tooth and could have kept Sister from getting aboard ship for lack of identification, the cruise was well worth the $2000+ it cost. I saw the hand of God in the wide ocean, big mountains, tall trees, endless sky and soaring eagles. “They that wait upon the Lord shall mount up with wings like eagles,” I remembered as I watched our national bird skim the treetops and dive into the river to retrieve a salmon. Wait upon the Lord I have done since I discovered a tumor the size of a duck egg in my left breast. Surgery removed the tumor and 11 lymph nodes, but the cancer had already spread to my bones. An oncologist predicted that I would be dead in six months if I refused treatment. And maybe I could live two or three years if I took the chemotherapy and radiation she recommended. I had so many irons in the fire that I barely had time to research the proposed therapy to learn that the cure could be worse than the disease. Five months later, when I decided to seek some kind of treatment, I went to a different oncologist, whose recommendation was a mild (or so I thought) bone strengthener and hormone suppressor to hinder the growth of breast cancer cells. In March of this year, I learned the bone “strengthener” actually is a bone “killer.” It works by hindering the breakdown of live bone, which in turn hinders its rebuilding. So instead of bones that have holes eaten in it, I have hard, brittle bone that will not heal if it breaks. Doctor Dave says that before they started using the “bone strengthener,” people with bone cancer suffered a lot of pain, and the holey bones broke easily. I had heard those horror stories from eye witnesses, and am wondering if dead bones are a good tradeoff. My recent mammogram was negative, and the bone scan showed little cancer activity except in the skull, where I have had pain since January. The pain bothered me so much on the cruise that I decided my first action back home would be to contact my prayer warriors and ask them to pray the pain away. My first night at church, that is exactly what happened. I have had a little pain since, but not enough to keep me awake. Now I am asking prayer for complete healing. I know God wants us all to be well, and He has the power to make it so, with our cooperation. I heard a man on TV last week say that cancer is caused by an evil spirit, and if we want to stay healed, we have to pray for that evil spirit to be expelled from our bodies. I have prayed from the beginning for spiritual, emotional and mental healing before physical healing. Cancer of the soul is the worst enemy of all.
Moody hopes long walk ends with seat on court
By JON FULBRIGHT
Staff Writer
William "Bill" Moody is almost a third of the way through his 1,000-mile walk across Texas, in his second campaign for a seat on the Texas Supreme Court, after a two-week trip across a cooler-than-usual West Texas that included a stopover in Pecos last week.
Moody got a break on the temperatures, though not on the rain, as he came through Pecos on Wednesday as part of the first leg of his walk across Texas. He completed it this weekend when he arrived in the Midland-Odessa area
Moody made a stop in Pecos as part of his 300-mile walk from El Paso to Midland, which is part of a longer walk across the state that began earlier this month and will conclude in November.
“We’re going to go back to El Paso, and then go right back out after Labor Day,” he said. His future walks will include trips to Abilene, and then from Junction to Austin, and then to San Antonio and southeast Texas. He plans to make his final walk in the Dallas-Fort Worth area just prior to Election Day.
The effort is part of his campaign for the Texas Supreme Court, in which the Democratic district court judge in El Paso is seeking to defeat the court’s newest member, Republican incumbent Don Willett, who was appointed last summer by Gov. Rick Perry.
“We tried to set up something to meet with people at each of the stops,” Moody said.
He said during his stops, there have been a couple of issues he’s heard about.
“Education is an issue. Most people are aware of the (Texas) Supreme Court decision holding the system unconstitutional, and they have a wait-and-see attitude to see if what the legislature did in the last session is constitutional,” Moody said. The legislature passed a school reform plan over the summer designed to lower property taxes while equalizing funding between rich and poor districts.
He said high valuations also have been something he’s hard about from the public, along with the water resource situation in West Texas.
“In this part of the county there’s still a great interest in water,” Moody said. “In the next 4-6 years Texas will be facing some significant water issues, and we can’t ignore these problems forever.”
Moody also ran for the Texas Supreme Court in 2002, losing to current Chief Justice Wallace Jefferson. In going up against Willett, Moody cited his experience as a reason for voters to choose him in November.
“I have 20 years as a trial judge and 11 years as a prosecutor,” he said. “I’ve tried over 500 jury trials. I don’t think my opponent has ever tried a case or even appealed one.”
Moody made stops in the lower valley near El Paso, along with Sierra Blanca and Van Horn before arriving in Pecos. He’s also accompanied by his son and is spending nights in an RV along the way, while updating his trip with a diary on his campaign website, www.moodyforjustice.com.
Moody cited former Florida Gov. Lawton Childs and current Tennessee Sen. Lamar Alexander as candidates who won statewide office after walks across their states, and said he had trained in El Paso to prepare for his effort.
“It’s grueling. It’s a real effort to put in 20-25 miles per day,” he said. “I do about 3.2 mph walking, so that means a good 8-9 hours a day, and your feet get a little painful.”
“I don’t do any walking on Sunday for rest and religious reasons,” Moody said. “I encourage all politicians to think about taking their Sundays off, but it’s easy for me. After walking for six days, I need the rest.”
He said he’s tried of avoid walks along the sides of Interstate 10 and 20, though in the areas where there’s no service road, that’s meant walking through the unpaved brush near the side of the road.
“During one of those walks, I ran into a rattlesnake. He wasn’t coiled, and he didn’t rattle until I was within 3-4 feet,” Moody said. “I have an XM radio I take with me, but it was more important to listen to the rattle.”
He called the walk “a unique experience” and said traveling West Texas at 3 mph instead of 80 mph is a different experience.
“You don’t realize how many things you miss seeing when you’re going by so fast,” he said. “You see things you’ve never seen before. Being out there with your thoughts gives you time to reflect.”
Three injured in Greyhound, pick-up crash
By JON FULBRIGHT
Staff Writer
A 91-year-old man is in critical condition in Odessa following a Saturday morning accident involving a pick-up truck and a Greyhound bus a mile west of Pecos.
John Oates was reported in critical condition in the ICU unit of Medical Center Hospital in Odessa early Monday afternoon as a result of the accident, which occurred at the Intersection of Business I-20 and FM 2119 (Duval Road). Two passengers on the bus also were treated for injuries.
A complete report was not available from the Texas Department of Public Safety, but the initial report said that a pickup driven by Oates was attempting to turn onto Business I-20 from FM 2119 when it was struck by the westbound bus at 9:09 a.m. Oates suffered arm and leg injuries in the wreck and was taken to Medical Center Hospital, while the two women, reportedly sitting in the rear of the Greyhound were transported to Reeves County Hospital for treatment of their injuries.
The report said that while the pickup was damaged in the collision, the bus was still drivable following the accident. However, a second bus was called in, and the remaining passengers were placed on it to complete their trip to El Paso.
A call to Greyhound officials at the company’s Dallas headquarters for more information on the crash was not returned by press time.
RCDC guard pleads guilty, second wins drug case trial
By ROSIE FLORES
Staff Writer
A former Reeves County Detention Center guard pled guilty to drug charges, while a second guard was acquitted a trial last week in a Midland federal court.
“One defendant pleaded guilty next and one was acquitted by a jury after seven and half hours of deliberation,” said Assistant U.S. Attorney Jeff Parras.
Raul Garcia Jr., pleaded guilty to possession with intent to distribute a controlled substance. He faces up to fives years in prison and a maximum fine of $250,000 when he is sentenced in late October, while Christopher Acosta Reyes was found not guilty in the jury trial. Reyes was the only one of the four guards charged in the case to take his case before a jury.
Prosecutors alleged during the trial that Cynthia Hernandez, a friend of Reyes, was wired payments to be given to Reyes. In exchange for the payment, Reyes, 32, brought marijuana that had been sent to the prison to Demone Wilson, an inmate in a unit that was comprised of prisoners brought from Arizona because of overcrowding.
“She (Hernandez) was a witness for the prosecution,” said Parras.
A grand jury indicted the four guards, with Garcia the last of the three who pled guilty, according to Parras.
“Rodney Carrasco and Alonzo Valenzuela had already pled guilty and will be sentenced later on,” said Parras.
In all, close to 20 guards, inmates and inmates’ families were convicted in this case, according to Parras.
“All these were related cases,” he said.
During Reyes’ trial, Wilson testified that Reyes brought him marijuana on three occasions, one time hiding it in a paper roll.
Reyes was seen in a car with Hernandez in the parking lot of one of two Pecos Western Union money transfer locations on the same day that a transfer was made to Hernandez, according to Parras.
Hernandez later testified that she believed the money that she was picking up for Reyes was to be used to buy equipment to start a career as a music disc jockey. She said that he wanted her to pick up the payments because he lacked identification.
Defense attorney Richard Alvarado said that Hernandez’ claims were baseless, because all detention center employees were required to have identification. And Hernandez herself was a former employee of the prison.
Maurice Williams, another Arizona prisoner, said that he paid Reyes between $250 and $300 in cash in exchange for marijuana. He said the money was smuggled in by his girlfriend and hidden in a baby powder bottle.
During his testimony, Reyes, who is on administrative leave from the correctional facility, said that Hernandez “bragged” about receiving drug money from associates in Ojinaga, Chihuahua, Mexico.
Parras said that there were no records of any money transfers of money from the Ojinaga area to Hernandez.
Elliott receives FFA scholarship
Matt Elliott, of the Pecos FFA Chapter received a $12,000 scholarship from the Houston Livestock Show and Rodeo through the Texas FFA Association on Thursday, July 13, at the State FFA Convention in Fort Worth.
Elliott, the 18-year-old son of Johnny and Angela Elliott of Pecos, has been an active FFA member for four years in the Pecos Chapter. He has two younger siblings, Josh and Lauren. This was one of 79 scholarships of this value. Over 1.7 million dollars were presented to active FFA members statewide at Thursday’s session of the 78th Annual Texas FFA Convention.
Elliott began his FFA Career through the Junior FFA program exhibiting hogs and heifers when he was in the third grade. He continued exhibiting livestock throughout his high school years. While in high school, he expanded his participation in FFA activities in the leadership development programs as well as the career development programs.
Elliott participated on the 4th place National Land Judging Career Development Event team his junior year. That team also received the trophy for winning the Regional Championship after winning 5th place at the state contest in May of 2005.
He also served the FFA as an Area II Association officer his senior year after serving as a local and district officer. “He has left a big gap to fill now that he has graduated,” said local FFA Advisor Tim Flanagan.
Elliott will begin his studies at Tarleton State University in Stephenville, this September. He will major in Agricultural Services and Development.
There were close to 10,000 FFA members and guests present in Fort Worth last week as the FFA convened there in the Fort Worth Convention Center downtown. Members from throughout the state were recognized for their dedication to the FFA and agricultural education.
Michael Lee, an upcoming senior at Pecos High School received his Lone Star FFA Degree, the highest degree a member can receive in Texas.
Stephanie Lucas, Josh Elliott, Nathan Duke, Joseph Rodriguez, Niki Lindemann, Adrienne Bagley, and Ashley Lucas all served on the Courtesy Corps at the convention.
Upper Pecos district holding incentives program meeting
The Upper Pecos Soil and Water Conservation District invites the public and any agencies with interest to participate in a Program Development Group meeting to be held Tuesday at the Reeves County Civic Center.
The two-hour meeting will begin at 10 a.m. and is to request participation and invite comments from a broad range of local agencies, organizations, businesses, and especially farmers and ranchers that have an interest in natural resource conditions and needs.
The discussion in the Program Development Group will help the Local Work Group (LWG), led by Jose M. Mendoza, USDA Natural Resources Conservation Service (NRCS) District Conservationist, to address county based funding for the FY2007 Environmental Quality Incentives Program (EQIP). The LWG will make recommendations on resource concerns to be addressed, eligible practices, cost share rates, and ranking for county based funding.
One of the guiding principles of the 2002 USDA Farm Bill is that conservation programs are locally led. Through stakeholder meetings the public is given an opportunity to help local conservation leaders set program priorities. These meetings are open to the public.
The Environmental Quality Incentives Program was established in the 1996 Farm Bill to provide a single, voluntary conservation program for farmers and ranchers to address significant natural resource concerns. Nationally, it provides technical and financial assistance to address natural resource concerns. Administered by the Natural Resources Conservation Service, EQIP was reauthorized in the 2002 Farm Bill and awards cost share assistance to agricultural producers who will apply cost share and incentive practices which provide significant environmental benefit. In Texas, NRCS provides funding to each county to address local high priority resource concerns.
For more information, call the USDA Service Center office in Pecos, Texas at (432) 445-3196. Service Center locations and program information can be found on the Texas NRCS website at www.tx.nrcs.usda.gov.
Briefs
Alzheimer’s Association meets Tuesday
The Alzheimer’s Association, Star Chapter is presenting a caregiving conference, “Alzheimer’s Diesease: The Journey Continues” on Tuesday from 1:30 p.m. until 4:30 p.m.
This program will be held at Odessa College, 201 W. University, Odessa.
Issues to be addressed include the middle stages of Alzheimer’s, choosing a new home, stress and the caregiver, respite care, and spirituality of caregiving.
The program is open to the public and provided free of charge, unless CEU’ are needed.
For more information on the conference or to pre-register, (recommended), contact Janet Cross, program coordinator, at 432-570-9191 or 1-800-272-3900.
Mata softball tourney next weekend
The CWII Johnny V. Mata Memorial Tournament will be held Sept. 1-3, at Martinez Field.
Opening ceremonies are scheduled for 6 p.m., Friday, Sept. 1.
To sign up call Rosa at 448-1280 or Mingo at 448-7494, by Aug. 23.
Proceeds to benefit the memorial scholarship established in memory of Mata who killed in Iraq in 2003.
Balmorhea ISD offers free student meals
Balmorhea ISD has been under Provision 2 for the past four years. Under Provision 2 all children at Balmorhea ISD will receive free breakfast and lunch meals throughout academic year of 2006-07, unless otherwise notified.
Be assured that the Balmorhea student will receive a free lunch and free breakfast regardless of the family’s income or size. All children are treated the same regardless of ability to pay.
For more information contact the Balmorhea school at 432-375-2223.
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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