August
28, 2009 Use Back button
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SANDERSON –
The Sanderson Eagle football season was just hours away as these words were
written with the hometown football team traveling 200 miles northeast to take
on the Grady Wildcats at 7:30 p.m. tonight, Aug. 28. As he has in
recent years, Head Coach and Athletic Director Mark Dominguez scheduled tough
games for the early part of the season with district games coming later. Grady has
always given the Eagles a hard time and tonight should not be an exception. “Grady is an
experienced team and they have mainly juniors and seniors,” Dominguez said.
“They were picked to come out of the district and into the playoffs.” He said the
Eagles were “back to work this week” after last week’s scrimmage. “We’ll see how
we stack up against them,” Dominguez said. “They are sitting with about 24 or
25 kids. “They
continually run a [junior varsity] program,” he said. “By the time they are
juniors, they have been through the ropes.” He said here
freshmen are thrown into the action without the interim learning and action
they can get on a JV team. “That can help
or it can hurt,” he said. Will Grady be
as tough as it has in the past? Dominguez was asked. “They’ve always
been a good matchup,” he said. “The last time we went up there, we got 45d.
Our intent is to make it a good game.” In six-man
football, if one team is ahead by 45 points or more any time from halftime
on, the game is over. Dominguez was
also asked if having to travel 200 miles each way to get to a game is hard on
the players. “It is a
factor but our kids by now should be used to travel,” Dominguez said.
“Everywhere we go, we put in miles. It can’t be an excuse.” He noted that
only one of the district games is at home this year while the team would
travel 260 plus miles this season just for district games. “Out here, you
have to travel,” he said. “Yes, it takes a toll on the kids but to me that’s not an excuse why they shouldn’t perform.” Dominguez said
last week’s scrimmage with Some young
Eagles including Robert, or Bert, Montalvo looked
impressive on both sides of the ball and L.A. Galvan hauled in at least a
couple of passes, including from young quarterback Joseph Hopkins who also
hit Roy Shoemaker with a long gainer. Dominguez said
“They came in
prepared take their shot,” he said. “We try to get our kids to understand
that they have a big target on their backs. They can’t just sit back. “We are not
where we need to be,” he said. Dominguez said
the younger players provided some hope for the future but he said it is still
“a work in progress.” “It is always
promising to rely on the younger kids,” he said. The send-off
for tonight’s game will be at 1:50 p.m. today, Aug. 28, on the Courthouse
Lawn. The first home
game is next week, which is also Home-coming. The Eagles host the Grandfalls-Royalty Cowboys at 7:30 p.m. at Eagle Stadium
Friday, Sept. 4. Homecoming
activities will be all next week with election of the homecoming king and
queen Thursday. The candidates
will be selected today, along with the class princesses. Homecoming
Parade will be at 7:30 p.m. Thursday, Sept. 3, ending at the bonfire across
from the baseball field on The Homecoming
pep rally will be at 2:15 p.m. Friday, Sept. 4, with Homecoming festivities
at “The Pit” beginning at 6:45 p.m. The Eagles
will then host the Grandfalls-Royalty Cowboys at
7:30 p.m. By
DORA BENAVIDEZ Cheerleader
Sponsor SANDERSON –
The One varsity
cheerleader, Clarissa Brotherton, could not attend
because of personal reasons. I was excited
to have a big group of girls. My cheerleaders had their hands full. We work a
lot on sharp motion and jumps. Our goal was
to teach them the correct techniques so that when they do get to junior high
and high school and try out for cheerleader, it will be easier for them to
learn the material. The girls
learned lots of cheers, chants and dances. We ended with a pep rally on
Friday to show off what they learned. Everyone
worked really hard and the girls had lots of fun. We are ready for football
season. Several girls
received awards. In the Unicorn
group, Kylie Dominguez won dance diva, Natalie Lopez won most spirited, Katie
Jahn won jump queen and Landry Lowrance
won sharpest motions. For the
Daisies first group, winning dance diva was Alexis Calzada,
Michelle Lopez won most spirited, Amber Stutes of The Calzada twins are from For the Daisies
second group, winning dance diva was Brooklin
Zuniga, Kate Roberts won most spirited, Taryn
Mitchell won sharpest motion and Alliyanna Hopkins
won jump queen. For the Queen
Bees, Kailey Dominguez won dance diva, Aundria Hopkins won most spirited, Kenney-Mae Pacheco won
sharpest motion and Stephanie Lozano won jump queen. Winning MVP
awards were Kenney-Mae Pacheco, Kailey Do-minguez, and Kylie Dominguez. In junior high
Megan Seidel won dance diva, Brianna Lozano won jump queen, Grace Jahn won sharpest motion and Makayla
Baker won most spirit. SANDERSON –
The Terrell County News Leader website at www.tcnewsleader.com will no longer
be free. Starting
Friday, Sept. 18, the site will bring up the opening paragraphs of two or
three top stories but to read the rest, visitors will have to log on using a
password supplied by the News Leader. “We have
gotten some generous support to help us to continue offering the newspaper,” One of the
questions the paper received was why people can get the information free on
line but have to pay to get the print version of the paper. A year’s use
of the on-line version will cost $34, the same as the cost of a subscription.
For those already subscribing to the paper, the password will be provided for
an additional $10. “We said
initially we would not offer a website until we could make it at least
revenue neutral,” Street said. “We sort of fell into the site and it’s been
free ever since. “We cannot in
good conscience accept donations to keep us in business without making every
effort to increase the revenue stream from business activities,” he said. set next month ALPINE – The
Museum of the Weekly classes
will be offered for children ages 4 to 14. Classes will be weekly based on
age from 3:45 to 5 p.m. Classes are
designed to introduce students to several different types of media. They will work with paints, clay, oil
pastels, paper Mache, pencil, and ink.
Older students
will have the opportunity to put together a portfolio of their work and will
submit work to two art competitions in the spring. Once a month,
there will be a “Saturday at the Museum” program. These are
half-day classes are thematic and jam-packed with fun. Information
will be released soon about special classes for adults and young adults this
fall. Rural
districts to get state airing SANDERSON – A
meeting may be set up this fall with members of the Texas House Education
Committee to discuss unique problems faced by rural Staff members
for State Rep. Pete Gallego of Alpine conducted an
“office for a day” at the Terrell County Courthouse Friday and heard from the
top brass at Chief of Staff
Patrick Tarlton said Gallego
tries to bring the issue up at every legislative session. Tarlton asked Board
President Ada Lee Robbins and Superintendent Gary
Hamilton to supply him with information including the annual budget, teacher
salaries, bus routes and distances the school has to
travel for sports activities, among other information. He told the
News Leader that Gallego planned to be at the
Sanderson meeting but his presence was required in Alpine. As an honorary
regeant at Dr. Ricardo Maestas, the new president, is currently vice president
for student and university relations and dean of students at the New Mexico
Institute of Mining and Technology at Socorro. “We have to do
the same reports He said with
ten students in a grade, one failure gives the class a ten percent failure
rate. The top ten
percent of high school classes are honored by the state but in Sanderson,
that’s only one senior. “The
salutatorian is not in the top ten percent,” he said. Tarlton said he
understands some of the problems. “You are
losing 80 percent [of the taxes through ‘recapture’],” he said. “You have one
teacher who teaches five classes. You have a coach who teaches four classes
and has three sports and he also is the expert weed killer.” “And he drives
the bus,” “If I have to
send 86 percent to another district, “I’m operating on 13 cents,” he said. Tarlton said
Sanderson is “unique” in another respect. “There is a
lot of pride in this town,” he said. “There are not a lot of towns like this
and passing a $14 million bond issue speaks to that.” Tarlton said his crew
met with several people during the six hours of their presence in Sanderson. Other issues
discussed included Independence Creek and repair of a crossing that keeps
washing out with heavy rains, a possible new water tank for the Volunteer
Fire Department and correcting federal maps to reflect dams built after the
1965 flood. An agreement
is pending between the county and property owners on repairs to the Independence
Creek crossing. The dams took
Sanderson out of the flood plain but maps were never updated and people are
paying high insurance premiums as a result. Tarlton said he
realizes that is a federal issue but he said his office is working with US
Rep. Ciro Rodriguez and the Federal Emergency
Management Agency to get the problem corrected. |
SANDERSON – A
county-wide burn ban will be in effect Monday, Sept. 7, a week earlier than
was announced last week. But with the
called meeting this week, commissioners agreed to move it up to Sept. 7. The action
gave residents two weeks notice from the court action to do what burning they
need to do, though the notice through the News Leader provides only about ten
days. The Sanderson
High School Homecoming bonfire Thursday, Sept. 3, before the Homecoming football
game the next day will not be affected by the burn ban. Commissioners
discussed the possibility of having the bonfire at the landfill to take
advantage of wood stacked there. It is too late
to make the change this year but it could be considered in future years. The bonfire
next week will be in its normal location across from the baseball diamond on The school
traditionally has a parade down The parade
could continue out the highway to the landfill but that would involve a
lengthy closure of the highway. School buses
were suggested. The parade could still end on Smith said the
burn ban was needed because of the hot, dry weather in recent weeks. Some rains
earlier in the year caused the grass to grow but the hot, dry weather has
dried out the grass. Now it can
burst into flames with a spark such as lightning or human activities. The Forest
Ranch fire burned more than 700 acres before it was extinguished by the
Terrell County Volunteer Fire Department and crews from the US Forest
Service. No structures
were damaged in the fire. SANDERSON –
Homecoming comes early this year for the Sanderson Eagles, giving the school
little time to gear up after the start of school last week. It is next
Friday, Sept. 4, when the Eagles host the Grandfalls-Royalty
Cowboys at 7:30 p.m. at “The Pit,” or Eagle Stadium. The Homecoming
king and queen will be crowned at festivities beginning at 6:45 p.m. before
the game. Princesses
representing the high school classes also will be introduced. But at this
writing, we do not know who any of them will be. The four boys and four girls
and the underclass princesses will be elected today, Aug. 28, and the king
and queen will be elected during home room activities Thursday, Sept. 3. The three
girls not as queen chosen will be the senior class princesses. The homecoming
parade and bonfire will be at 7:30 p.m. Thursday. A pile of wood
was in place south of the Road and Bridge yard on The homecoming
recognizes alumni “coming home” to support their alma mater. Superintendent
Gary Hamilton said the early game was because there were “so few home games”
on the schedule and having it early will allow students to concentrate on
their studies and the game. Next week is
“spirit week” as part of the festivities. Monday is Tie
& Shade Day – “Tie and shade out the Cowboys,” Head Cheerleader Blakeney Chriesman said. Tuesday is
Crazy Hair and Fashion Disaster Day – “Wear your hair as crazy as possible
and mismatch your clothes,” she said. Wednesday is
Dress Like a Baby Day to “make the Cowboys cry like a baby – and don’t forget
to bring your stuffed animal,” Blakeney said. Thursday is
Twin/Multiplicity Day to “make the Cowboys see double,” she said. Friday is
Spirit Day and students are encouraged to wear the school colors of orange
and black. SANDERSON –
Nine Mexican nationals were in Chief Terrell
County Deputy Sheriff Kenneth Turner said he did not know if all of the
burglars were arrested “but there have been no reports of burglaries since
they have been in jail.” Turner said
several homes – “hunter’s cabins, primarily” – were broken into in a “band”
from north of the intersection of Ranch Roads 2400 and 2886 south to US 90. Food and water
was the main take in the burglaries. Turner
credited several US Border Patrol agents, the Texas Department of Public
Safety and the Texas Rangers as helping with the investigation. One home was
broken into Monday, Aug. 17, and the property owner spotted some of the burglars.
Turner did not identify the property owner. US Border
Patrol officer gave chase and caught up with the suspects a few miles away. Property was
recovered that tied the men to the one burglary plus two others that had
occurred between Aug. 10 and Aug. 17. Turner
identified the suspects as Juan Carlos Muñoz Ramos,
28, Jesus Natividad Martinez, 49, Maurilio Juarez Martinez, 21, Evelio
Watanave, 27, and his brother Juaquin
Watanave, 34, Oscar Sanchez Lopez, 30, Edgar
Mendoza, 34, Jorge Garcia, 29, and Ubaldo Castillo,
21. All nine were
indicted on two counts of burglary by the Terrell County Grand Jury
Wednesday. All are in custody. Minor
derailment delays Amtrak SANDERSON – A
single wheel on an engine of a freight train went off the track just east of
here last week, causing minor damage but delaying the eastbound Amtrak train. The entire
locomotive “did not derail nor any cars,” a Union
Pacific spokesman said. The train had
two engines and 81 cars and was going from There were no
hazardous materials on board, no injuries and no spills. But Amtrak
passengers detrained in Sanderson and were later bused to The train was
moved about 9 p.m. Thursday and the track was reopened Friday morning after
repairs had been made. BIG The Friends of
Big Bend National Park applied for and received a grant from the National
Park Foundation, which was combined with design, installation and fixture
donations from Musco Lighting of Forever Resorts
provided rooms for the Musco crews. The
first-phase accomplishments included improvements to the exterior lighting at
the The project is
aimed at improving the quality of lighting, minimizing the energy
consumption, providing adequate lighting and reducing the night sky
pollution. The newly
installed night sky-friendly lighting at the Panther Junction’s visitor
center entrance uses LED lighting with shielded fixtures. By focusing
the light on the intended target and shielding the source from the observer’s
eye, a superior lighting environment is created even at substantially lower
lighting levels, the Park Service said. As a result,
lighting at the center’s entrance, for example, has been reduced from 480
watts to 6 watts and the light sources are un-noticeable just beyond the
entrance area. The overall
exterior lighting at Panther Junction main headquarters and the nearby
service station provides a 98-percent energy reduction. The new
lighting allows the visitor to access the after-hours maps and information
available at the visitor center entrance while also allowing park staff to
safely access the parking areas and building entrances. The next
phases of the project will be the “ “With the
newly installed night sky friendly lighting this important resource will
remain available and more accessible for years to follow,” the release said. “I am
extremely pleased with the first phase results of the partnership and with
the partners who came together to improve this important park resource,” BBNP
Superintendent Bill Wellman said. “I also wish to thank our park’s
maintenance employees who provided expertise and services that helped this project
become a reality.” Maestas ‘finalist’
for SR head ALPINE – Dr.
Ricardo Maestas, vice president for student and
university relations and dean of students at the New Mexico Institute of
Mining and Technology at Socorro, was named the lone finalist for the
presidency of Maestas was selected
by a majority vote of the Board of Regents of the Texas State University System
Friday during their meeting on the Sul Ross campus.
He was one of
four finalists for the position, although Dr. Jaime Chahin,
dean of the college of applied arts at Other
finalists were Dr. Cheri A. Jimeno, president of “I am
delighted and humbled that I have been selected,” Masestas
said in a telephone interview. “I think there is a great deal of potential
that exists at Sul Ross. “During my
visit, I was truly impressed by the amount of dedicated faculty, staff and
administration who really care about this
institution,” he said. “The students as well really impressed me with their
concerns and the level of questions that they asked. “In my
opinion, Sul Ross is a diamond in the rough,” he
said. “With the right polishing and leadership, it can really move forward.” Maestas will be eligible
to assume the presidency 21 days after the contractual offer is made and
accepted. He will
succeed Dr. R. Vic Morgan, who is retiring Aug. 31 after 19 years as Sul Ross President. Dr. David Cockrum, provost and vice president for academic and
student affairs, will serve as interim president. “Dr. Morgan
will leave a very strong legacy and it will be difficult to fill his shoes,” Maestas said. Several
regents said Maestas’ credentials make him a good
fit for Sul Ross. “We have great
expectations,” said Regent Trisha Pollard of Bellaire, chair of the search committee.
“We think he [Maestas] is going to be a wonderful
ambassador for Sul Ross.” “This was a
highly competitive search and I am convinced he is the right fit for this
university,” said Regent Michael Truncale of “There was
lots of discussion involved, many hours of interviewing and searching . . .
but I think we have a clear winner and a marvelous choice,” Regents chair Ron
Blatchley of “I am pleased,” Morgan said “The Regents
have made a good choice.” Dr. Ken Craycraft, TSUS vice chancellor for academic affairs and
director of the presidential search, also commented on the selection. “The job of
any search committee is to make a difficult decision for the regents, based
on the positive qualities of the candidates,” he said. Maestas has served in
his present capacity since 2005. He is also an associate professor in the
Department of Psychology and Education. He received a
BA in Psychology and Spanish in 1974 and a Master of Arts in Teaching in 1977
from the |
at 37.38 cents SANDERSON –
Terrell County Commissioners Monday “proposed” a tax rate of 37.38 cents per
$100 valuation for the fiscal year starting Oct. 1. The rate is
about 15 percent higher than 32.43 cents in the year just ending but County
Judge Leo Smith said the taxes would bring in the “same amount of money” as
the 2008-09 budget. Tax valuations
in the county, based heavily on mineral properties, are down from an
“adjusted tax base of $893.9 million to $775.4 million for the coming year. Smith said the
higher rate is needed to bring in the same revenue from the smaller tax base. The court also
set a public hearing on the budget for 8:30 a.m. Monday, Sept. 14 and action
on the tax rate at the regular The proposed
budget includes 32.94 cents for the “maintenance and operations” budget – basically
everything except debt service. The other 4.44
cents will finance $345,315 in payments on county debt contracts. SANDERSON –
The long-awaited “Walking and Driving Tour of Historical Sites in The Chamber of
Commerce approved the final draft but gave author Additional
corrections, if indicated, could occur before the next printing. The 12-page
color book features 49 sites visitors can stop and see and a map on the
inside that shows the location of each. They are
repeated on the smaller brochure but without pictures or the map. Featured sites
include both Cedar Grove and Visitors can
pick the spots of most interest to each. “This is going
to be a valuable tool,” In other
action, the Chamber learned that Halloween will be on Oct. 31 this year. The holiday is
always scheduled on a Saturday nearest the actual date. This year, it just
happens to fall on a Saturday. School
Superintendent Gary Hamilton selects the date so it will not occur on a
school night. Vice President
Ruth Engledorf said St. James Hall has been
reserved for Halloween activities and Other
activities will begin to gel at the next Chamber meeting, tentatively
scheduled for noon Tuesday, Sept. 22. The Chamber
agreed to take over coordination of Halloween after a meeting last year to
determine which organizations would be responsible for which events. The school
district and other community organizations are also expected to participate. And Engledorf reported the Sanderson Arts and Education
Alliance will use the The event
celebrates The Chamber
also heard from Charlene McBride, partnership specialist with the US Census Bureau,
about the 2010 census. The US
Constitution requires a count of everyone in the country every ten years and
McBride said the bureau is getting geared up for next year’s census. Chamber
Secretary Lea Hawn agreed to study material and report back at the next
Chamber meeting if the Chamber should become involved in the effort. McBride said
the census next year will only be ten questions long and should take only ten
minutes to complete. By
BOB VARMETTE Pioneer
staff writer He recounted
the long days and even some late nights of consulting with officials of Lott
Brothers, the construction firm that built the new facility adjacent to PCMH. It all call
came to fruition last week as the “It’s going to
have far-reaching effects,” Tippin said. “This
facility is going to touch people’s lives. It’s going to change people’s
lives. It’s going to help the people of our community and those of surrounding
communities.” Construction
on the facility, which was financed by a $5 million bond approved by Tuesday
morning, Aug. 18, the indoor track was ready for walkers. The two
rehabilitation pools were filled with fresh, flowing water. The weightlifting
equipment was gleaming and new, ready to receive its first drops of sweat. Along with the
facility’s other departments, which includes a
dialysis center, a cardiac rehabilitation area, plus locker rooms and
examination rooms, it all made for an impressive first day. “This is a
beautiful facility,” State Sen. Carlos Uresti said
during the opening ceremony. “It’s something that all of you should be very
proud of. It’s an investment in the lives of the people here.” With the
completion of the And the size
of the new facility will allow the offering of new services, such as the
dialysis unit. “We’ve been
downtown for a long time, temporarily,” Tippin
said. Tippin also
announced a ten-year agreement for dialysis services at the new facility with
Access Care Dialysis of Lubbock. “This is going
to make a giant impact on people’s lives here,” he said. Uresti said the
people of He called it a
huge step in improving the lives of “ The above was
reprinted with permission of the Fort Stockton Pioneer. Deputy has anti-terror
experience SANDERSON –
Mark McAvoy of A native of In In the Navy,
he worked in anti-terrorism and was familiar with the drug gangs in McAvoy does not have
family with him in Sanderson. He has a son at He replaces
Eddie Evans, the Operation Linebacker deputy who moved into a permanent position
when Cort Tanner resigned take teaching job with By
STEVE LANG Sul
Ross News and Publications ALPINE – As a
banner was raised revealing the newly-named Vic and Mary Jane Morgan University
Center, the retiring Sul Ross State University
President and his wife were broadly praised. Morgan, Sul Ross’ chief executive since 1990 and a faculty member
for 34 years, will retire Aug. 31. The Board of
Regents of the Texas State University System and campus and community members
gathered for a dedication ceremony on the Mall last week. On June 5, the
Board of Regents officially approved naming the UC in honor of the Morgans. They were
publicly recognized during a sun-soaked ceremony on the “It is
appropriate that the “During his
presidency, Vic and Mary Jane Morgan together supported student activities,
invited faculty and students to the President’s home and generally involved
members of the TSUS
Chancellor Dr. Charles Matthews called Morgan “an icon in higher education.”
He said the numerous infrastructure improvements stemmed from the respect he
received in the Texas Legislature. “The
construction [that has taken place] is a direct result of Vic Morgan’s
efforts in the Legislature,” Matthews said. He also
praised Morgan’s service in academia, locally, regionally and nationwide. The Morgans were presented with a portrait of them taken by
Alpine photographer Jim Work. A larger portrait was unveiled on the wall
inside the In addition,
Pollard read a resolution honoring his accomplishments and Matthews presented
him with an engraved chair for his retirement. “This is
really special, but I feel sorry for the students who have to eat here,”
Morgan joked after the portrait unveiling. “Mary Jane and I have had the time
of our lives. “It’s
incredible, it’s amazing,” he said of the recognition. “We simply did a job
we were asked to do.” “This is a
very special honor,” Mary Jane Morgan said during a television interview
after the ceremony. “He has jokingly told people his blood
is red and grey [the Sul Ross colors.] We
have enjoyed serving this campus and seeing the changes that have taken place
is amazing.” When asked if
her husband’s final day at work would be emotional, she laughed. “When he packs
up that office and brings it home, it may get real emotional,” she quipped.
“We’re out of room.” |
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