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ROUND ROCK – Sanderson High School’s Cross Country team ran
into history here Saturday on the school’s first trip to the state finals as
a team.
Travis Roberts took
home a first place ribbon and the Eagle boys took second overall behind
Plains among 107 runners from all 1A schools in the state.
Travis finished the
race in 16:30.63 for first place, outpacing Jonathan Lira of Plains, who came
in 16 seconds later to take second.
“Winning state never
seemed so easy and it was the best senior season I could ever hope for,” the
new state champion said. “I hope to compete competitively in meets to come.”
Jonathan was on his
fourth trip to state for cross country. He also is the reigning state
champion in one- and two-mile runs in track.
Plains Coach Ken
Barbour said Sanderson has been “under the radar for years but not any more.
Them Roberts boys can run.”
William Roberts placed
seventh with a time of 17:09.88 and Shawn Stegall
came in 11th place clocking in at 17:25.40.
Chris Marquez crossed
the line in 18:28.06 for 38th place, Joseph Hopkins ran the race in 18:48.24,
finding 53rd place, and Senior Darren Seidel clocked a time of 20:39.80 for
91st place.
The Sanderson boys
were led by Coach Brad Conway.
Sanderson graduate
Jimmy Rapp and SHS junior Juliana Castro made the
trip with Katie, Travis and Jesse Roberts among several Sandersonites.
Rapp said he finally
made it to State “somehow,” if only as a spectator.
He now runs cross
country for the University of the Southwest in Hobbs, NM,
and was the first Sanderson graduate to receive a scholarship for cross
country.
Also present were
members of the David Carrasco family, including seventh grader Abby who consistently
won her junior high school events this year.
“Because Abby had such
a great year in cross country, coming in first at district and the majority
of the meets she ran at, we thought it would be a great idea to take her to
the State cross country meet at Round Rock,” dad David Carrasco said.
“After watching the
Class 1A girls race and finding out that our former Coach [Landra] Stewardson had the
record for this race for eight years, she has pledged to continue her running
and to break Coach Stewardson's and Miss Byrd's new
record in this race,” he said.
Stewardson’s time of 11:33 set in
2001 was broken last week by Laurie Byrd of Round Top-Carmine with a time of
11:29.08.
“After watching the
boys Class 1A cross country race and watching Travis get his gold medal and
the team getting their silver medals, she was excited and inspired and said
her new goal is to make it to state in cross country all four years of high
school and being on that podium getting her own gold medal,” David Carrasco
said.
“I think it’s
wonderful,” School Board President Ada Lee Robbins
said. “We are all proud of you.”
She noted that the
cross country team’s travel to Round Rock was “under budget” and thanked the
runners.
“Without you, there
would be no [cross country] team,” she said. The team included two football
players, Joe Hopkins and Darren Seidel.
“Our Eagles had
nationwide support through prayer, Internet and texting,”
Katie Roberts said.
Though the season is
over, Travis and William are not done with running this year. They will
compete in the “Nike South Meet” tomorrow in Houston.
Bazaar opens season
SANDERSON – Christmas
decorations have been placed on Highway 90, officially launching the 2009
holiday season here.
The annual Christmas
Bazaar, sponsored by the Sanderson Culture Club will give it a big boost from
9 a.m. to 4 p.m. tomorrow in the Community building.
Santa will be at the
bazaar and will pose for pictures with good little boys and girls from to
2:30 to 4 p.m.
This year’s vendor
booths will feature arts and crafts, jewelry, gifts, antiques,
stocking stuffers and holiday and Christmas items. The concession stand will
be provided by the Band Boosters.
The Culture Club will
sell baked items to benefit the Family
Crisis Center of the Big Bend.
The club also will
sell M.D. Anderson Christmas cards with proceeds benefiting the Children’s Art
Project for children at the hospital.
For more information
call Christine Hinkle at 432/345-2977 or Nancy Henderson at 432/345-2268.
The bazaar will be
followed closely Monday, Nov. 23, by the annual senior luncheon, hosted by Terrell County Independent
School District at noon
in the High School Cafeteria.
Superintendent Gary
Hamilton said guests should enter through the east side of the gym across
from the Junior High School building or through the breezeway from Hackberry Street
between the school and the Courthouse.
The old entrance
behind the high school is congested with construction equipment working on
the school’s $14 million construction bond issue.
Senior citizens will
be treated to a free Thanksgiving dinner of turkey and all the trimmings. Each
will receive a door prize.
The Fifth Annual
Lighting of the Windmill at the Pavilion in Bicentennial Park
has been scheduled for 6 p.m. on Monday, Nov. 30.
Cookies and hot
chocolate along with hot cider will be served and a little caroling may be
done by young and old alike.
Christmas on Main Street has
been scheduled for December, 4 this year.
Santa Claus will
return to start the event by riding up and down Oak Street, also known as Highway 90,
in a fire engine, red lights and sirens blazing.
He will then set up
shop at Sanderson Bank to hear wishes of all little boys and girls and find
out who’s been naughty or nice.
Other businesses will
offer refreshments, music and other Christmas cheer.
The Grinch will return to the News Leader and, no, he doesn’t
stay all year long.
When he senses someone
passing by, the creature will break out in the theme song from the 1966 animated
TV program, “How the Grinch Stole Christmas,” an
adaptation from the 1957 picture book by Dr. Seuss.
The Grinch will remain at the News Leader office over the
Christmas holiday for those who want a picture taken with him. They are
available in 5X7 for $5 for color and $3 for black and white.
The annual Hunters
Feast is scheduled for December 5. It began several years ago as a “thank you”
to hunters for their contributions to Sanderson.
As with every year,
there will be a chance for top prize, a Camo
Kawasaki all-terrain vehicle for a $1 raffle ticket and a work of art will be
offered in a $10 playing-card drawing.
Contestants will buy a
playing card and another deck will be used for the drawing. If the card drawn
matches, the holder will own the painting.
Guns have been
ordered, items are being collected for the silent auction and the 2009 ATV is
on display at Sanderson
Tire Center.
Proceeds from last
year’s feast donated $1,000 to the Sanderson
High School shop class,
$1,000 to the Girl Scouts for a new heating and air conditioning unit, $500
to the Cactus Health Clinic and a $1,000 scholarship awarded to Carver Tate.
Proceeds from the feast
also recently purchased a few new tables for the fair hall.
The next weekend,
American Legion Commander Dean Autrey said he plans
to cook a smoked turkey and deer hams.
Anybody who wants
meats smoke, including game animals, can do so for a “donation” Dec. 11 and
12.
He said the Legion
also plans a Sweetheart” formal dinner and dance the Saturday before
Valentine’s Day.
For $50 per couple, Autrey said, people will get a gourmet dinner and
dancing. He hopes to attract about 50 couples.
“There’s no place close
for a really nice dinner and dance,” he said. “Last time we went out, it cost
$300 for the evening.
‘Toys for Tots’ resumes
By KIM
RAPP
Production
Manager
SANDERSON – Toys for
Tots will return here this year to provide something under the tree for every
good little girl and boy.
Toys
for Tots is
a nationwide charity event to help children have a merrier Christmas than
they might otherwise have.
Last year, the Terrell County sheriff’s office, Pecos County
State Bank and the News Leader collected dozens of toys to be given out.
The News Leader will
join forces again with the sheriff’s department this year, collecting
unwrapped or wrapped toys to be given to Sanderson children.
If wrapped, donors are
asked to note whether the toy is for a boy or a girl.
Toys For Tots began as
a Los Angeles
charitable effort in 1947.
United States Marine
Corps Reservist Maj. Bill Hendricks and local Marine Reservists collected
some 5,000 toys for local children that year.
In the fall of 1947,
Diane Hendricks crafted a homemade doll and asked Bill to deliver the doll to
an organization, which would give it to a needy child at Christmas.
When Bill determined
that no agency existed, Diane told Bill that he should start one. He
did.
The 1947 pilot project
was so successful that the Marine Corps adopted Toys for Tots in 1948 and expanded
it into a nationwide campaign.
That year, Marine
Corps Reserve units across the nation conducted Toys for Tots campaigns in
each community in which a Marine
Reserve Center
was located.
Marines have conducted
successful nationwide campaigns at Christmas each year since 1948.
The initial objective
that remains the hallmark of the program today is to “bring the joy of
Christmas to America’s
needy children.”
Hendricks was a Marine
reservist on weekends and was director of public relations for Warner Brothers
Studio in real life. This enabled him to convince a vast array of celebrities
to support Toys for Tots.
In 1948, Walt Disney
designed the Toys for Tots logo, which is still in use. Disney also designed
the first Toys for Tots poster used to promote the nationwide program.
Nat “King” Cole, Peggy
Lee and Vic Damone recorded the Toys for Tots theme
composed by Sammy Fain and Paul Webster in 1956.
Bob Hope, John Wayne,
Doris Day, Lorrie Morgan, Tim Allen, Kenny Rogers and Billy Ray Cyrus are a
few of the celebrities who have given their time and talents to promote Toys
for Tots.
First Lady Nancy
Reagan served as the national Spokesperson in 1983. First Lady Barbara
Bush served as the national spokesperson in 1992 and in her autobiography
named Toys for Tots as one of her favorite charities.
Toys
for Tots also has been joined by motorcycle clubs, local sheriff offices,
children’s hospitals and others.
People
can bring a wrapped or unwrapped gift to the News Leader by Monday, Dec. 15,
to be delivered to Sanderson children in time for the holiday.
Junior Eagles win
tourney
BUENA
VISTA
– The Junior Eagle boys won the junior high basketball tournament here last
weekend.
In the first round, the
Eagles defeated the Bears from Balmorhea by a score
of 39-22.
Scoring against the
Bears were Jalen Chriesman
with 18 points, Mason Blackmon with nine, Santiago Gonzales put six on the
board, scoring three points was Joseph Carrasco and Daniel Luevano added two points to the total tally.
On Saturday, the
Eagles defeated the Longhorns from Buena Vista,
outscoring the home team 38-22.
Holding high score in
that game was Jalen with 14 points.
Also scoring were
Mason and Daniel with six points apiece, Santiago added four points and Chris Birkenfeld scored two points as did Jake Alvarez and
Joseph Carrasco.
For the championship,
the Eagles edged the Cowboys of Grandfalls by two
points. Total score was 17-15.
In this tougher match,
Daniel took top score with six points, Jalen racked
up five points, Mason put four more points under his belt and Chris scored
two points.
In girls
action, the Balmorhea beat the Junior Lady Eagles
39-10 last week.
Kayla Fuéntez and Brianna Lozano scored four points apiece
while Abby Carrasco put two points on the board.
In round two of the
tourney, the girls faced off against the Longhorns from Buena
Vista, losing 10-22.
Kayla hit the net for
seven points, Grace Jahn
added two points and Brianna scored one point.
On Monday the ladies
went to Marathon where they lost 46-19 to
the Lady Mustangs.
Holding high score was
Kayla with nine points, Brianna scored six points while Grace and Mariah
Aguilar scored two points apiece.
The junior high Eagles
will play their first home game at 5 p.m., Monday, Nov. 30, when they host
the Cowboys from Grandfalls.
Sanderson Varsities
win, JV Eagles lose
By LYN
ROSAS
Business
Manager
FORT DAVIS - Sanderson Eagle
basketball teams traveled here Tuesday to play the Indians.
The varsity boys’
first game of the season was a success with a win of 39 to 30.
High scorer for the
Eagles was Travis Roberts with 12 points, followed by Cordell Lawson who had
11.
Darren Seidel added
seven. Tying with four each were Hector Urias and
Tim Hopkins. Chipping in one was Andrew Woosley.
Adding to the winning
streak for the Eagles were the varsity girls who beat their opponents by four
points, 51 to 47.
“We led the game for
the most part,” Coach Jerry Garza said. “The Indians got a one- point lead on
us in the latter part of the game but we came up with the win.”
High scorer was senior
Sarah Sivils with 20 points, followed by Lizette Ramirez with 12 and Amber Bon added ten.
Adding three each were
seniors Blakeney Chriesman
and Jessica Garza.
Noemi Nuñez
dumped in a pair while Roxanna Rodriguez added one.
The junior varsity
boys ended up on the losing end with a score of 12 to 26.
High scorer for the JV
boys was William Roberts with five. Tying with two each were Dryden Baker,
Alan Marquez and David Bon. Roy Shoemaker added one to the scoreboard.
The junior varsity
girls were unsuccessful in bringing home a win with a score of 14 to 35.
High scorer was shared
by two Lady Eagles with four each, Julianna
Larrinaga and Ashley Woosley, followed by a pair
who added two, Angelina Hopkins and Ashley Hagelgans.
School furniture
sought
SANDERSON – If you are
shopping for furniture, can completion of your house be far behind?
The Terrell County
School Board Monday shopped for furniture for the new high school classrooms
under construction south of the existing junior high school building.
It is scheduled for
completion by mid-January and Dan Irons of Lone Star Furnishings of Midland
presented several catalogues for board members to peruse.
No action was taken
but Irons said he would come back Monday to visit with Superintendent Gary
Hamilton after the annual Thanksgiving luncheon.
Hamilton said he will have
time after the luncheon is completed to start thinking about desks and
chairs.
Business Manager Blain
Chriesman said Lone Star is among the “approved”
suppliers by Texas Education Service Center Region 18.
The board is
considering new furniture for the new class- rooms and may replace other
furniture elsewhere in the system. Board members said it would be desirable
to have all furniture look alike.
While the new
classrooms will not be completed until at least mid-January, the new shop
building may be done sooner.
Work is just beginning
on the new field house at Eagle Stadium. Work could not get under way until
football season ended.
The old concession
stand has been removed to make room for the work. The new building will
provide a new concession facility.
Other work is
scheduled at the gymnasiums and elsewhere in the district.
The work is being done
with a $14 million bond issue approved more than two years ago.
In board action
Monday, the Nov. 3 bond issue election was canvassed, making official the
178-44 approval of a $1.6 million bond issue to hedge tax money from the
state’s “recapture” laws.
The state requires
“property rich” districts like Terrell county to share revenues with
“property poor” districts and it been estimated TCISD
will have to send 82 percent of its tax revenues to another district.
But revenues from
“voter approved bonds” are exempt from recapture.
The board approved
wording in the Elementary School Handbook for homework.
Administrator Tanna Lowrance said instead of
detention, which was “not working,” students will get a grade reduction for
failure to turn in homework on time and they will be given the option to
complete the assignment during lunch recess.
Textbook Committee
members for the 2009-10 school year will include
Hamilton, Jerry
Garza, Mark Dominguez and Lowrance.
Teacher members will
be Jessica Harkins, Suzie Grusendorf, Irma Mendoza,
Rosella Bilano, Beth Hamilton, Tami Carrasco and
Beverly Choate.
Cactus Chat
Hawaiian duo passes
through
Nicole Franco and
boyfriend Sean Payne visited Sanderson recently. The couple from Oahu, Hawaii came
through town on their way to Big
Bend National park.
“We rented this RV in California to drive
across the country in,” said Payne.
“We started our trip
in June. We drove from California to Oregon and to New
Jersey. That is where Nicole’s mother lives,” said
Payne.
“We are going to Big
Bend to check it out on our way back to California,” Franco added.
Another traveler on
the way to Big Bend national park was
Richard Alexander. He had not rented an RV but driving his car.
Alexander is from Plano, Texas and was on
his way to Big Bend for one last adventure
before returning home.
“I gotta
be back at work on Wednesday. I have to see the hot springs before I leave,” Alexander
said.
“I have been to Bottomless Lakes
State Park in Roswell. Then I made a few other stops. I
went to Deming, New Mexico to visit my mom. Then, El Paso, Marfa, and then
to Balmorhea to camp,” Alexander said.
That was not the end
of it though. He went on to tell of more adventures.
“I went to Krause
Springs and the last place I went to was Seminole Canyon
State Park,”
“I went swimming in
the Pecos River there. I don’t know if you are
supposed to or not. But I did. I asked and I was told that I could swim
anywhere but I don’t think they meant for me to launch my swimming from the
boat ramp and swim like I did,” Alexander said.
With a pulled
hamstring and bicycles in tow, he set off for his last adventure for the
week.
Local resident, Paul
La Fleur and children went on a road trip recently to visit relatives in Fredericksburg, Texas.
Daughter Elia La Fleur got car sick once the sun went down half
way to the destination.
Mark La Fleur, six
years old just enjoyed the trip to grandma’s house. La Fleur took the trip to
visit his parents Clovis
and Dot La Fleur.
“My dad got to see the
soap that I make and was very excited about it all. Mom was so excited about
seeing the kids that she made them blankets,” La Fleur said.
They returned to
Sanderson on Sunday, relieved to be home.
La Fleur said that
visiting family is lots of fun but it is always good to get back home and
rest afterwards.
TCISD releases honor roll
SANDERSON – A total of
22 Sanderson school students made the All-A honor
roll for the second cycle of the semester, including ten high schoolers, six each in junior high and in elementary
school.
Another 13 elementary
students turned in perfect attendance records.
Four seniors made the list, Clarissa Brotherton, Blakeney Chriesman, Travis Roberts and Darren Seidel.
There were five
juniors with perfect grades, Cameron Baker, Ernestina Gonzalez, Brianna
Johnson, Cordell Lawson and Noemi Nuñez.
William Roberts was
the only tenth grader on the list and there was none from ninth grade.
Jalen Chriesman,
Kayla Fuéntez and Daniel Luevano
all aced their grades in eighth grade.
In seventh, Luis Garza
and Grace Jahn make perfect grades and Jesse
Roberts was all alone with all As in sixth grade.
Kenny-Mae Pacheco and Mikey Shoemaker made the grade in fifth grade.
In fourth, Noah
Aguilar and Luke Carroll made the list.
Third grader Elijah
Carrasco aced all his grades as did Dohnavon Anaya
in first grade.
An even dozen high
school students had all As and Bs, there were seven in junior high and there
were 22 in elementary with As and Bs.
Seniors on the A-B
list were Jacob Benavidez, Vicky Busch, Alexa
Davis, Jessica Garza and Chris Marquez.
There were seven
juniors on the list, Casey Couch, L.A. Galvan, Julianna
Larrinaga, Kelly Lomas, Alan Marquez, Valeria
Orozco and Roxanna Rodriguez.
There were no ninth or
tenth graders on this list.
Mason Blackmon was the
only eighth grader on the list.
Abby Carrasco, Anthony
Fuéntez, Alexis Olivares and Cassie Woosley made the grade in seventh grade.
There were two on the
list from sixth, Aundria Hopkins and Valentine Shindel.
Andrew Hines and Sonya
Keyser had all As and Bs in fifth grade.
Four made the grade in
fourth grade, Lauryn Carroll, Chris Ibarra, Jacob Luevano and Hunter Truesdell.
Justin Flax and Kailey Dominguez made all As and Bs in third grade.
There were ten second
graders on the list, Isaiah Aguilar, James Bon, Analise
Galvan, Cori Hilton, Taryn
Mitchell, Jayden Montalvo,
Kate Roberts, Jason Woosley and Brooklin
Zuniga.
First graders with all
As and Bs were Teja Anderson, Koleman
Babb, Cisco Fuéntez and Anthony Rodriguez.
Not missing a day of
school were fifth grader Mikey Shoemaker, fourth
graders Sean Lopez, Jacob Luevano and Daniel Rodriguez
and third graders Kailey Dominguez, Justin Flax and
Wyatt Mills.
First graders with
perfect attendance were Dohnavon Anaya, Koleman Babb, Cisco Fuéntez and
Mark LaFleur and kindergarteners not missing any
school were Katie Jahn and Natalie Lopez.
Holland Hotel plans ‘soft’
reopening
ALPINE – The Historic
Holland Hotel here will have a “soft” opening in conjunction with Artwalk 2009 this weekend here.
“We have been working
day and night getting ready,” General Manager Keith Godwin told the News Leader. “For some, it will not be a surprise but
for those who haven’t stayed here since the former owners had it, they will
be very pleasantly surprised.”
Godwin recently
returned to Southwest Texas where she had
served as manager of the hotel at Lajitas, as
executive director of the Pecos Trail Region and other positions.
“The courtyard won’t
be finished yet but people will be involved up and down the street so it’s
not that important,” she said. “We will have a gallery [of art] in our
lobby.”
Godwin said the hotel
is being completely restored since new owners Jennifer and John Jones bought
it earlier this year.
“This won’t be a grand
opening or anything,” she said. “We want to be totally ready with everything
before we have a grand opening.”
Godwin said single
rooms will rent for $109 per night, the same as the new Hampton Inn on the
west edge of town.
Suites will be more
“but they offer so much more,” she said. “The Penthouse will go for $249 but
people don’t mind paying that if it’s for a wedding or a special occasion.”
She said there is no
other penthouse suite like it anywhere in West Texas.
The 16th Annual Artwalk will feature galleries up and down Holland Avenue
and adjacent streets in the downtown area, several displaying art and many
offering wine and other refreshments.
It all begins at 10
a.m. today, Nov. 20, with a silent auction and open air art and food markets
at Arbolitos
Park.
There will be musical
entertainment at 6 p.m. today at Kiowa
Plaza featuring Matt
Skinner and the Mystic Gitanas Dancers.
The same activity
continues tomorrow, Nov. 12 and featured entertainer Ray Wylie Hubbard will
perform at 8 p.m. at Kiowa
Plaza.
Silent auction bid
winners will be announced at 9 p.m. and bidders will have until 10 p.m. to
pick up their merchandise.
SandRidge drops Crusader bid
OKLAHOMA CITY – Sand-Ridge Energy,
Inc., announced last week it is no longer pursuing
acquisition of Crusader Energy Group, Inc.
As contemplated by the
bid procedures approved by the bankruptcy court, additional bidders have
submitted proposals to acquire Crusader.
SandRidge said it does not
intend to participate in the action triggered by these proposals.
“We remain committed
to a disciplined approach to managing the company,” SandRidge
CEO Tom L. Ward said. “While we execute our primary growth strategy of
developing the West Texas Overthrust, we will
continue to evaluate other opportunities that are accretive to shareholder
value.”
He said SandRidge expects to receive the agreed upon break-up fee
of $7 million.
Projected end-of-period
common and fully-diluted shares outstanding are updated to 183.5 million and
216.6 million from 194.3 million and 227.4 million respectively, for 2009.
For 2010, the
end-of-period and fully- diluted shares outstanding are updated to 187.3
million and 220.4 million for from 198 million and $231.1 million
respectively.
‘Fiesta’ planned for
Dec. 5
By KIM
RAPP
Production
Manager
MARATHON – The annual Fiesta
de la Noche Buena is right around the corner at 6
p.m. Saturday, Dec. 5, here.
The “party” is an annual
kick-off for the Christmas season, sponsored by the Chamber of Commerce.
Local merchants will
be open and most will have refreshments and some type of entertainment.
Santa Claus will make
his annual appearance at Trans-Pecos Bank, welcoming both young and old,
getting his lists so he could check them twice from boys and girls – surely
all of them nice.
In years past,
visitors have enjoyed tamales, chili and some good old Christmas caroling on
the sidewalk.
Also at the bank will
be cookies, punch and a box for toys for under-privileged children.
The “brown Santa box”
will remain at the bank and is sponsored by the Brewster County Sheriffs Office.
The toys collected will be distributed to children in Brewster County.
New this year will be
a children’s carnival to keep little ones busy so Mom and Dad can visit a
little.
“Thrill of America” will
set up on the empty lot east of Shirley’s Burnt Biscuit.
Retired school teacher
Alice Foss, along with hubby Ron, travel the country bringing joy and fun to
kiddos every where.
They call Sioux Falls, SD,
home but spend most of their time on the road.
They set up at town
events free of charge and this trip they will donate 10 percent of the take
to the Chamber of Commerce.
“Ron has been doing
this since he was 15 years old,” said Alice,
“and knows all about the business.”
The two senior
citizens bring two crew members with them and hire a few locals from wherever
they are.
They provide one train
ride and set up several games and, for a price, one
can find such delicacies as cotton candy and candy apples. And what’s a
carnival without funnel cakes?
Thrill of America is currently headed for Lajitas and Fort
Davis, but promises to make it to Marathon for the big night.
Burglaries decrease in
county
SANDERSON – A rash of
burglaries on ranches in Terrell
County, primarily
hunters’ cabins, may have subsided recently, Sheriff Clint McDonald said
Monday.
“We thought we’d have
a lot more when hunters came back and found they had been broken into,” he
said.
Whitetail deer season started
Saturday, Nov. 24, and mule deer season begins next week, Nov. 28.
Nine Mexican Nationals
are in Terrell County Jail awaiting trial on burglary charges.
They were arrested for
break-ins in an area near Ranch Roads 2400 and 2886. More break-ins were reported
later in eastern Terrell
County.
Many of the break-ins
have occurred in hunters’ cabins that are not occupied during the off season.
Gun rights to be aired
MARFA – The Second
Amendment to the US Constitution giving citizens the right to “keep and bear
arms,” will be reviewed on Marfa Public Radio’s “Talk at Ten” at 10 a.m.
Wednesday, Dec. 2.
Sul Ross State University
Professor of Criminal Justice Dr. Ray Kessler will discuss one of the most
important cases currently pending before the US Supreme Court, McDonald v. Chicago.
In McDonald, the Court
will decide whether the Second Amendment applies to the states.
In the 2008 case DC v.
Heller, the Court held that the Second Amendment gives individuals not connected
to official militias a limited right to keep and bear arms.
The Heller decision
involved only the District of
Columbia, which was treated as part of the federal
government.
The Court did not
decide in Heller if the right applied to the states. McDonald will
answer that question.
Kessler will discuss
some of the specifics and implications of the case.
Bach’s Lunch today
ALPINE – There will be
a “Bach’s Lunch” student recital 12 noon today, Nov. 20, in Room 200 of the Francois Fine
Arts Building
at Sul
Ross State
University.
The public is invited
to bring a lunch to enjoy the concert featuring Sul
Ross vocal and instrumental music majors.
SR fee increase on
agenda
BEAUMONT – Proposed
fee increases at the Alpine and Rio Grande College campuses are among the Sul Ross State University agenda items at the meeting
Board of Regents of the Texas State University System here next week.
The Regents will meet
at Lamar University in the first official
meeting for new Sul Ross President Dr. Ricardo Maestas.
Sul Ross-Alpine is
seeking fee increases of $6 per semester credit hour to a total of $78 per
semester credit hour for designated tuition, $1 per semester credit hour to
$17 for the technology services charge and $2 per semester to $56 per
semester for recreational sports.
Revenue from the
designated tuition fee would be used to cover the costs of services, use
and/or availability of all or any of the university’s property, activities,
operations or other facilities.
The fee would also be
used to supplement E&G operations and to
provide general support for different budget areas.
The increase would be
used to provide support for continuing cost increases, particularly in
utilities and personnel areas.
Revenue from the
technology services fee along with a designated tuition supplement is to be
used to fund Sul Ross-Alpine’s share of the
outsourced technology management and related services contract.
The cost is shared
proportionately by RGC. The proposed increase would
cover inflation adjustments to the contract cost and reduce the amount of
designated tuition used to fund Sul Ross-Alpine’s
share.
Recreation sports fee
revenue funds the Recreational
Sports Center
with the proposed increase used to support increased operating costs.
The overall increase
as a result of the fee increases would be about 3.9 percent.
If approved, all fee
increases would take effect with the Fall, 2010, semester.
Other Sul Ross agenda items include foundation annual reports
from the Sul Ross State University Support
Organization and the Sul Ross State University
Friends of the Center for Big Bend Studies Foundation, 12th class day
reports, small class reports and admissions data and personnel changes and
acknowledgment of $60,300 of gifts and donations.
Gifts include $10,000
from the Brown Foundation, Inc., of Houston to the Summer Theatre program,
$20,000 from the Carl B. and Florence E. King Foundation of Dallas to the
Museum of the Big Bend Education program, $5,000 from the RAS and Rodeo
Association of Fort Stockton to the ANRS &
Rodeo Exes Association Rodeo Scholarship Fund, $5,000 from Robert A. Bracken
of San Antonio to the Museum of the Big Bend Education program, $5,300 from
Dr. R. Vic and Mary Jane Morgan of Alpine to the Vic and Mary Jane Morgan
Mathematics Scholarship Endowment and to the Century Club Endowment, $5,000 from
Basil Walter of Basil Walter Architect PC of New York, NY, to the Museum
Advantage Fund for the maps exhibit and $5,000 from Texas Fleet Fuel Ltd. of
Austin to the Borderlands Institute Research Fund.
SR Kicker sets school
record
By STEVE
LANG
Sul Ross News and
Publications
ALPINE – His
collegiate competition ended Saturday but Sul Ross State
University’s Michael
Van Wagner has no intention of kicking his field goal habit.
Early next year, he
plans to put his best foot forward at professional football scouting
combines.
Van Wagner, of
Bandera, drilled a 57-yard field goal in a season-ending loss to the University
of Mary Hardin-Baylor Saturday.
The boot eclipsed
Clint Wallace’s 53-yarder in 1986 as the longest in
the Lobos’ 81-year gridiron history.
Not only was Van
Wagner’s kick a new Sul
Ross record but it is the longest in NCAA Division
III football action this season and just four yards short of the American
Southwest Conference standard.
The effort earned him ASC
Special Teams Player of the Week honors for the fourth time in his career.
It also will give him
impetus to test his abilities at a pair of professional scouting combines in
February, at Abilene Christian University
and the University of Texas at El
Paso.
The combines usually
draw scouts from arena and other professional football leagues as well as
from the National Football League.
An NFL combine – by
invitation only – is in Indianapolis
Feb. 24 to March 2 so Van Wagner hopes to make a lasting impression.
Van Wagner was
successful on three of eight field goal attempts this year, made 21 of 24
extra point tries and averaged nearly 63 yards on
kickoffs, including 12 touchbacks.
During a Nov. 7
contest against visiting Mississippi
College, the senior
recorded a touchback on a free kick from the Lobo 20 following a safety.
In one of his best
all-around games of the season – Oct. 10 against Texas Lutheran – Van Wagner
drilled all five extra point attempts, had a 51-yard field goal erased by a
penalty, knocked four of six kickoffs into the TLU
end zone for touchbacks and averaged almost 40 yards on six punts, with four
downed inside the Bulldog 20.
“This year, my leg is
a lot stronger,” he said. “I did a lot of conditioning on my lower body and
abs [abdominal muscles] and kicked most of the summer.”
Although he has had
seasons with higher field goal accuracy – 8 of 15 in 2007 and 8 of 13 last season – he is confident about his chances.
“If I go out and have
fun, I will kick far and kick accurately,” he said. “I am my own toughest
critic so I try not to think too much [when kicking].”
Head coach Wayne
Schroeder arrived at Sul Ross at the same time Van
Wagner did and has watched his progress for four seasons, the first two as an
assistant coach.
“Michael made an
immediate impact on the campus,” Schroeder said. “He is an all-around guy and
I cannot say enough for his work ethic.
“This year, he picked
up punting duties and there are not many kickers who do both jobs,” Schroeder
said. “His kick on Saturday was a real topping for a great four-year career.”
Schroeder noted that
Van Wagner’s leg strength has improved each season.
“What I gauge his leg
strength on is his kickoffs,” Schroeder said. “This year, about 50 percent of
his kicks went into the end zone.
“His leg strength has
just grown and gotten better every year,” he said. “If he maintains that
strength through the combines, someone’s got to give him a chance.”
Van Wagner started
playing soccer at the age of three-and-a-half and by the time he was a
seventh grader in San Antonio,
he decided to give kicking a football a try.
A year later, his
family moved to Bandera, and he kicked for his eighth and ninth-grade teams,
spent a year on the junior varsity and two on the varsity.
As a senior, he was
the fifth-ranked kicker among Texas
high school players.
Present University
of Texas
place kicker Hunter Lawrence was ranked number one.
Van Wagner and his
mother, Marianne, sent highlight tapes of his high school games to a number
of Division III universities and he was later contacted by Sul Ross assistant coach Neil Trammel.
“Coach Trammel called
and I met with Coach [Steve] Wright and Coach [Drew] Bridges,” Van Wagner
said. “I worked out a little on the field. They liked the way I kicked and
told me I would be the regular kicker if I came here.”
Van Wagner did not
take long to make up his mind.
“I loved the campus,”
he said. “I love small towns and I felt right at home.”
During his career, he
booted 22 field goals, including three game-winners, and converted 105 of 117
extra point tries.
He had 27 touchbacks
on kickoffs and, although he did not punt in high school, averaged over 37
yards a kick on 63 punts, 11 during his freshman season and 52 this year.
Van Wagner has kicked
a pair of 70-yard field goals in practice “but there was a strong wind at my
back,” he said. “I have gone up to 65 yards [in less favorable conditions].”
Although he has
received some special teams coaching both in high school and college, and
attended a couple of summer kicking camps, most of his work has been a
solitary effort.
“It is a lonely job,
at least the practice part, but I like it,” he said. “It gives me time to
think about what I have to do.”
A kicker has about 2.5
seconds to launch from the time the ball is snapped.
“There is pressure,”
he said. “The defense is coming straight at you. The game could ride on your
shoulders and you only have one play to do something.”
A kicker faces many
obstacles including 11 defenders intent on rushing or blocking the kick,
along with bad snaps, tricky winds, poor holds and varying field conditions.
Timing is essential.
When the snap is
perfect, the hold is perfect and the kick is perfect, a record-setting effort
can result.
“Going out there, I
didn’t even realize the distance,” Van Wagner said. “My holder Jacob [Warden,
also a Bandera teammate] told me it was 57 yards after I kicked it.”
After a short break,
Van Wagner plans to resume his workouts, getting ready for a chance at the
next level.
He is also pursuing a
bachelor’s degree in kinesiology and sports science, with a scheduled graduation
date of December, 2010.
Future goals outside
of football include teaching elementary physical education and coaching.
In the meantime, he
savors his Sul Ross experience, both on and off the
field.
“My teammates always
had my back. They believed in me and knew how hard I worked,” he said. “There
are lots of memories. It has been a fun time here.”
“We have no one more
deserving of post-season honors than Michael,” Schroeder said. “I hope his accomplishments
are recognized and that he gets a chance at the combines to show his skill
level across the board.”
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