April 10,
2009
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By JIM STREET Ed & Pub When
we started the Marathon News Leader almost exactly three years ago, on April
7, 2006, it was with hopes of great things to come. Borrowing on something I saw when I was looking for a newspaper to buy four years earlier, we created the MNL as a companion to the Terrell County News Leader in Sanderson with its own front and back page and two inside pages. All the rest were common pages. Marathon
had not been able to support its own paper in the past and we figured this
would give us a chance to provide one without having to support a standalone
venture. The
MNL did break even in the beginning – but just barely. Today, it doesn’t come
close. At
the same time, we are feeling a real economic pinch at the parent paper in
Sanderson. We have had the business for sale for more than a year and we have
had a few nibbles. One looked particularly promising but that has apparently
just fallen through. We
have appealed to the business community in Marathon for help and they have
provided a little by buying ads from time to time but it’s never been enough. The
immediate solution to our problem in Sanderson is to cease publication of the
Marathon paper. It won’t solve all our problems but it will help. Believe
me, the last thing we want to do is close either paper. But we have to do
something. I
have never taken a dime from either venture. In fact, I have put my own money
in from time to time to just to keep it afloat. But
my little portfolio is just about used up. We
aren’t alone. Newspapers big and small around the country are closing shop. In
our own area, McCamey and Iraan closed a couple of months ago. The Iraan News
started publishing a couple of weeks later under a new owner. We
wish him well but the jury is still out on whether he’ll succeed. at Sul Ross ALPINE
– Sasquatch, the undiscovered North American ape, will be the topic of the
15th annual H.J. Cottle Lecture on Thursday, April 16. Dr.
Jeff Meldrum, associate professor of Anatomy and Anthropology at Idaho State
University, will address Sasquatch: Legend Meets Science” at 1 p.m. in
the Espino Conference Center on the second floor of the University
Center. There
is no charge to attend and the public is invited. The
Biology Club will host a reception immediately after the lecture. Meldrum
was chosen from a list of candidates because of his extensive background in
many biological fields. His
interests range from Paleontology and Anthropology to Cryptozoology and he is
considered the leading scientist in the investigation of the apelike creature
known as the Sasquatch. Meldrum
recently published a book, “Sasquatch: Legend Meets Science.” The
annual lecture series is named in honor of Dr. Harve James Cottle who was a
distinguished researcher, educator and member of the Sul Ross Biology
Department for several years in the 1920s and promoted student interactions
with outstanding scientists of various fields. MARATHON
– The Marathon Basin Quilting Guild will host its 13th annual quilt show from
1 to 3:30 p.m. Saturday, May 2, in the courtyard of the Gage Hotel. All
quilters are invited to participate by showing off their quilts. Registration begins at 10 a.m. the day of
the show and will end promptly at 12 noon so organizers can open the show on
time. Ribbons
will be awarded for first through third place for both hand-quilted and machine-quilted
entries in 12 different categories. In
addition, a “People’s Choice” award will be given to the maker of the quilt
which receives the most popular votes. A
“Grand Champion” quilt will be chosen by the judges for the event. The
Quilting Guild will also sponsor a raffle of a quilt made by one of its members,
Janie Roberts, and quilted by all the Guild members. Tickets
are $1 each and may be purchased from now until the date of the show at Front
Street Books here. Tickets
may be purchased at the show site on May 2.
Drawing for the quilt will take place at the end of the show. Winners
do not have to be present. There
will also be door prizes awarded every 30 minutes during the show. For
more information, call Patsy Cavness at 432/386-4288 or LaVerne Avery at
432/386-4311. MARATHON
– The population here is growing by proverbial “leaps and bounds.” Marathon
Baptist Church Pastor T.J. Joyner and wife Traci welcomed son Peyton Cash at
10:20 a.m. Thursday, April 2. Peyton,
who was born at Odessa Regional Medical Center, weighing in at five pounds,
six ounces, and was 20.5 inches long. The
family returned home to Marathon on Friday. Traci’s mother Gwenda Carrell of
Godley is in town to help T.J. and Traci as they become accustomed to being
first-time parents, as well as getting to know her newest grandson. Then
on Saturday, Ricky and Judy Briones added a baby girl to their family of two
boys. Izabella
Grace arrived at 9 a.m. Saturday at Pecos County Memorial Hospital in Fort
Stockton. She
weighed seven pounds, 6.9 ounces, and was 20.5 inches long. Baby
Grace was welcomed home by her parents and big brothers Isaac and
Isaiah. Proud
grandparents are Daniel and Hilaria Galindo of Marathon. By ARLENE GRIFFIS Marathon Editor MARATHON
– A grant from The Libri Foundation has provided the Marathon Library with 87
books, which have a total retail value of $1,412.89. Library
Branch Manager Carol Townsend announced the grant this week for the Marathon
Library, which is a branch of the Alpine Public Library. In
order to be a Libri recipient, a library is required to raise a portion of
the funds locally through a designated fundraising project. The
Friends of the Marathon Library hosted a community-wide salad luncheon and
book sale in October to satisfy the requirement. “We
would like to thank everyone who participated in either the luncheon or the
book sale,” Townsend said. “We could not have done any of this without the
support of the community, which is always amazing.” Although
the list of new books is too long to publish here, it includes a wide variety
of fiction and non-fiction for youngsters from toddlers through high-school
age. Some
of the books are bilingual, printed in both English and Spanish in the same
volume. Fourteen
of the new books are math and science books, most of which will be valuable
for students to use as research sources. All
Marathon parents, teachers, and children are encouraged to stop by the
library to see a list of the new books and to check out any that are of
interest to them, Townsend said. Hours
for the library are 11 a.m. to 5 p.m. Monday through Friday. |
If
something doesn’t happen in the next couple of months, we may also have to
abandon the Sanderson paper. It’s
not a good time to be in any business these days and newspapers are being hit
with what cartoonist Al Capp called a “double whammy.” Not only is business
off for everyone, newspapers are also facing stiff competition from the
Internet. We
wish we had better news. But it doesn’t look good from here. Unless
a miracle happens, this will be the last issue of the Marathon News Leader –
at least for now. We will continue to carry Marathon stories in the Sanderson
paper and everyone with a MNL subscription will be supplied with the TCNL
unless he wants to stop. MARATHON
– Sunday is Easter, the holiest day in the Christian calendar, marking the
ascension of Jesus into heaven. Today,
April 10, is Good Friday. The New Testament of the Bible says Jesus Christ
was crucified and died on this day. He
was buried but, by Sunday, had risen from the dead. Easter is a moveable
feast, meaning it is not fixed in relation to the civil
calendar. Easter falls at some point between late March and late
April after the cycle of the Moon. After several centuries of disagreement, all churches
accepted the computation of the Alexandrian Church, now the Coptic
Church, that Easter is the first Sunday after the Paschal Full Moon, which is the first moon
whose 14th day – the ecclesiastic “full moon” – is on or after March 21, the ecclesiastic “vernal equinox.” Easter follows the Jewish Passover, an eight-day festival that started Wednesday, April 8, and runs
through Thursday, April 16. The “Last Supper” with the apostles before Jesus was captured in
Jerusalem was a Seder meal for Passover. Passover commemorates the emancipation of the Israelites from
slavery in ancient Egypt. Cultural elements for Easter, such as the Easter
Bunny, have become part of the holiday's modern celebrations and those
aspects are often celebrated by many Christians and non-Christians alike. The Easter Bunny has no religious significance. It
commemorates the new life of Spring. SANDERSON
– The roar of motor vehicles will pierce the normally quiet West Texas air
for the next two weeks, the two-wheel variety next weekend and four-wheel
racers the week after. The
“West of the Pecos Motorcycle Run” will be Friday, Saturday and Sunday, April
17 to 19, at El Patio Bar in east Sanderson. A
group calling itself the “Bastardos Malos” will host the event that is a
sort-of replacement for the Buzzard Rally but backers do not lay claim to any
Buzzard Rally heritage. The
rally will take place at El Patio where Johnny D’s used to operate and which
served as headquarters for the old Buzzard Rally. Co-organizer
Joe Gonzales said there will be no fee for riders or vendors and there will
be music all day provided by “dos vatos locos” of Del Rio. Though
there will be no poker run, there will be games like the “Slow-Mo” in which
riders try to go as slow as possible without touching their feet to the
ground and the “Weenie Bite” in which the passenger on the back of the bike
must bite into a dangling hot dog while the driver maneuvers under it. There
will be a “Show of Strength Parade” down Oak Street at 1 p.m. Saturday, April
18. Camping
will be available at Legion Street Park along with extra restroom facilities. In
the past, an average of 200 bikers graced the streets of our quiet town, with
never any trouble. Last
year, attendance for the Buzzard Rally was down but Gonzales said they hope
to change that this year. “Tain’t
Nothing But A Party” is the theme for this years event, he said. Vendors
are welcome, free of charge. Contact Gonzales at JGONZALES2@TNPE.COM. The
next week, starting Wednesday, April 22, the 11th annual running of the Big
Bend Open Road Race begins with registration, technical inspections, classes
and qualifying and practice runs from Sanderson out US 90 ten miles to the
roadside park and back. That
continues the next day, culminating in a reception in Bicentennial Park
sponsored by the Sanderson Chamber of Commerce. Friday,
the event moves to Fort Stockton for more registration, technical inspections
and classes plus a car show at Zero Stone Park and a parade down Dickinson
Street. Sanderson
Volunteer Coordinator Dale Carruthers said she still needs course workers for
the race. Volunteering
as a “gate keeper” is the only way to actually see the race in progress, she
said. People
are stationed at all entrances to the race course from public and private
roads alike to keep people from straying in front of a racer, some of which
can reach speeds of 200 miles per hour or more. Carruthers
said workers are needed both for the main event on Saturday and for the practice
runs on US Highway 90 Wednesday and Thursday before the race. “Ideally,
some will volunteer for all three days,” she said. She
also needs vendors including someone to volunteer to wash race car windows as
they “turn around” at the Courthouse Lawn Saturday. She
said volunteers can collect money from tips offered by drivers for the
service. Volunteers
and potential vendors should contact Carruthers at Pecos County State Bank,
Sanderson Branch, at 432/345-2511. ALPINE
– The 20th Annual Big Bend Gem and Mineral Show “Hidden Treasures of West
Texas” will be Friday through Sunday, April 17 to 19, at the Highland Events
Center across from Sul Ross State University on US Highway 90. Admission
is free and numerous events are planned including a “rock food table”
featuring rocks that look like food. There
also will be a “Rock for Life” dance, a “grub run rally,” a kids’ corner and
field trips to Woodward and Red Rock Ranches. The
show is sponsored by the Chihuahuan Desert Gem and Mineral Club, the Highland
Events Center and the Alpine Chamber of Commerce. For
more information, call show chair Donna Trammel at 432/426-2924. Marathon
Library News By ARLENE GRIFFIS Library Friend Steve
and I attended the Texas Library Association annual convention at the George
R. Brown Convention Center in Houston last week. Steve’s
employer, University of Texas Press, always has an exhibit there which we set
up and man during the three-day event. The event rotates among the major
cities of Houston, Dallas and San Antonio.
It
was at last year’s conference in Dallas that I was first inspired to write a
book review column. I
have always loved to write and have always dreamed – and still do – of writing
a book and having it published but life always seems to get in the way. Last
year, though, I attended several of the sessions at TLA, one of which
featured three first-time authors. Each
of these authors stressed the same thing over and over. Just write something, even if you just
keep a diary or a journal where you simply jot down random thoughts. I
must admit that one of the impediments to my becoming a writer is that I like
to read so darn much. So
after I got home, I started thinking about how I could combine my love of reading
with my love of writing. Since
I had collected so many awesome books at TLA which I was dying to read, I
came up with the idea for a book review column. Realizing
that both the New York Times and
the Washington Post already had
established book reviewers, the next newspaper that came to mind was the News Leader, so I called Jim Street
and asked if I could write a “Friends of the Library/Book Review” column and
he graciously consented to let me give it a try. Over
the course of the next few months, as I wrote this column as well as covered
a few local events, Jim called and asked if I would be the Marathon editor of
the paper, so that is how that came about.
I
must say that the past year has been rich and full as I have gotten to know
all the folks at the school in Marathon, have had the opportunity to attend
numerous school sports events, and have just met some fascinating people. I
would like to thank Jim and my co-workers Kim Rapp and Lyn Rosas for being so
patient with me as I had no previous experience in journalism. I
have made a lot of mistakes but I feel I have learned from all of them and
those more experienced folks have never made me feel stupid or inferior in
the least. Thanks,
guys. Okay,
now for the book review. Please don’t
shoot me, but I read another book by one of my favorite authors that I just
have to tell you about. If
you have to blame someone, blame Marathon Librarian Carol Townsend because I
just dropped by the library on my way out of town to return the book that I
had just finished reading when Carol reached behind her desk and pulled from
the shelf “While My Sister Sleeps” by – you guessed it – Barbara Delinsky. Apparently
I am not the only one in town who is a fan and Carol had ordered this new
book which our library did not have. “While
My Sister Sleeps” is the story of Molly Snow, a successful horticulturist who
has grown up in the shadow of her older sister Robin who is a world-class
runner with aspirations of making the US Olympic team. Although
Molly is an expert in her field and has joined her parents in the family
business, she has always felt that most of her accomplishments have been
overshadowed by those of her sister. Molly
is proud of Robin and loves her very deeply but at the same time feels
resentment because Robin has always been somewhat of a prima donna who
depends on others to do her dirty work, so to speak. One
day as Robin has taken off on her daily run and Molly has just arrived home
after a busy day at work, she is summoned to the hospital where a nurse
informs her that there has been an accident involving Robin. Assuming
the obvious, that Robin has been hit by a car or has sustained a leg or ankle
injury, Molly is stunned to find that her athletic 32-year-old sister has
instead suffered a massive heart attack and has not regained consciousness. The
girls’ parents, who understandably have a difficult time accepting the
situation and coping with it, find themselves naturally turning to competent,
level-headed Molly to sort through Robin’s room and her possessions as they
hope and pray for a miracle that doctors warn them is unlikely to occur. Molly
is thorough as usual as she sets about putting Robin’s affairs in order but
in the process she discovers some shocking information about her family that
threatens to tear them apart more than Robin’s heart attack has already
done. As
usual, Delinsky delivers a brilliant family introspective that focuses upon
the relationships between siblings, between parent and child, as well as the
ultra-private bond forged by spousal love and commitment. By
the way, “While My Sister Sleeps” is in the library in both regular and
large-print editions. I
read the large-print and could manage without my “readers.” Happy
Reading. Arlene Griffis is a volunteer at
Marathon Public Library, which is a branch of Alpine Public Library. |
Thank
you, Marathon, for the support you did give us, particularly Arlene Griffis,
Andrea Johnson, Judy Briones, Marathon Library, Patsy Cavness, our loyal
advertisers and others. Marathon will always be a favorite
spot for me. MARATHON
– “Don’t blink or you’ll miss us.” That is the message on a new T-shirt designed
to “promote” Marathon and maybe make a small profit. Katrina
Martinez told the News Leader she
got the idea from tourists always asking, “Where are we?” She
said all her life, people asked where she was from and when she told them
they would say, “Oh yeah. Wow. Don’t blink.” She
got permission from the Brewster County Commissioners Court to use the “Marathon”
sign, at the east side of town and had the t-shirts printed. J
& G Shell, operated by Katrina’s mom Gilda Martinez, carries the new shirts along with Marathon
koozies. Katrina,
a 2000 graduation of Marathon High School, said she “hadn’t been that interested
in art before but it was fun. We’ll see how it goes.” SANDERSON
– A large female mountain lion was trapped over the weekend at the Pete
Zaionitz ranch about four miles northeast of Sanderson. The ranch abuts the
Sanderson Elementary School campus. The
cat was sedated and urine samples will be taken for study. Several
mountain lion sightings have been reported in recent weeks, including at
least three around the new Cactus Capital Hiking and Nature Trail on Hominy
and Javelina Hills in Sanderson. Dale
Carruthers said her husband Cody trapped a lion on the Stipes Ranch next to
the Carruthers ranch east of Sanderson last week. She
said the six-and-a-half-foot female was killed by the snare. It was the
second lion he trapped this year. Carruthers
trapped a 129-pound male on his ranch early this year. Sanderson
Game Warden Saul Aguilar said the mountain lion will normally avoid human contact
but will attack if it feels threatened or is protecting cubs. He
said the lion is not a protected species and there is no law against hunting
or trapping the animal. The
Texas Department of Parks and Wildlife says the mountain lion, also known as
cougar, puma and panther, has been an integral part of the Texas fauna for
thousands of years, as evidenced by the paintings and pictographs of Native
Americans and the fossil record. Lions
were once common throughout Texas, but since European settlement, they have
mostly been confined to isolated and rugged areas of the state. Lions
now appear to be moving back into historic habitats where they have not been
documented for more than 100 years. Lions
are solitary, secretive creatures. They are controversial animals that often
evoke love-hate feelings on the part of humans. Aguilar
said people can avoid a possible attack by installing outdoor lighting, remove
vegetation that could hide a lion and do not feed wildlife including deer. He
said lions prey on deer so feeding deer could attract lions to one’s back
yard. If
encountering a lion, Aguilar said one should stay calm, talk calmly and
slowly back away. If
the beast attacks, fighting back can be effective. Even children have driven
off a mountain lion by fighting back, he said. The
mountain lion is a large, slender cat with a smallish head and noticeably
long tail. The
color is a light, tawny brown which can appear gray or almost black, depending
on lighting conditions. MARATHON
– The Marathon Café has reopened under a new name after being closed for a period
of time. Marathon
Newcomers Ste-phanie House and partner Jorge Oliva have opened what is now
the “Peppercorn Café.” They
came from Georgia on vacation originally and loved Marathon. They went home
and packed and were back to stay a week later. “The
crowd really comes in for the ‘build your own burrito’ and the coffee,”
waitress Rachel Manera said. “Everyone is just wild about Jorge’s ‘secret
family recipe’ salsa.” Lichen, that blue-green, sometimes orange,
sometimes multi-colored fuzz we see on the rocks in the Trans-Pecos is a
composite symbiotic relationship between two organisms: fungi and algae. The fungi provide the surface area and the
colorful sponge-like receptacles to take in nutrients from the air while the
algae convert the nutrients through the process of photo-synthesis. Lichen has no roots and takes water and gas from
the air and converts it to digestible sugars. The plant, in turn, discharges chemicals that act
as biological erosive agents and, over time, transforms rock into soil. Lichen are known to live in extreme climates and
can tolerate extended periods of harsh conditions by shutting down their
metabolism and going into cryptobiosis, a state in which the cells of the
lichen eclipse into a stasis where almost all biochemistry stops. Because of the photosynthetic nature of algae, the
non-fungi side of lichen, it must compete with other plants for sunlight and
thus usually thrives in areas where higher, vascular plants cannot. Bare rock in the summer heat of the Big Bend, the
peaks of the Himalayas and the tundra of the Arctic are speckled with lichen. Lichen is very susceptible to changes in the
chemical composition of air and, because of this sensitivity, the plant has
been used as a bio-indicator in Europe since the 1850s and is now used worldwide
to determine the health of environments, especially air pollution and, in
particular, the sulphur-dioxide content of air. Recently lichen was released into outer space by a
Voyager probe and returned back to the planet after 15 days of deep space
exposure. No damage was found to the lichen. COLLEGE
STATION – The Texas Forest Service here has warned that extreme wildfire danger
could occur in much of West Texas through this evening, April 10. Dan
Byrd, a National Weather Service meteorologist working with TFS, said the
combination of strong winds and relative humidity values in the single digits
to low teens could create an extremely dangerous situation for the affected
areas. Winds
are predicted to gust as high as 50 to 60 mph over portions of the Permian
Basin and 35 to 45 mph as far east as Interstate 35. Fire
behavior analyst Darrell Schulte said flames could reach as high as 20 feet. Since
Jan. 22, the beginning of the winter wildfire season, TFS has responded to
565 wildfires affecting 104,633 acres. During
the same period, local fire departments have reported an additional 4,118
wildfires for 100,061 acres, according to an online database managed by
TFS. One
of the biggest fires reported was in Wheeler County near Amarillo affecting
some 15,000 acres. A
smaller blaze in Jeff Davis County, called the Black Canyon Fire, affected
some 300 acres. The Magic City Fire in the Panhandle
resulted in the loss of eight residences and 26 outbuildings – sheds, garages,
barns and the like. One recreational vehicle trailer was reported lost. There
were no known serious injuries or accidents but four firefighters were
treated for smoke inhalation and exhaustion and were asked to not return to
the fire line. Another 20 were treated for minor injuries and were released
to firefighting upon treatment. |
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