August 1, 2008
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SANDERSON
– The Chamber of Commerce has agreed to publish the Terrell County Visitor
Guide annually. The
existing guide has not been redone for several years. Improved
printing capabilities provided by Bill Smith and First Cavalry Baptist Church
will allow the printing to be done in Sanderson, making annual revision of
the book possible. The
Chamber also agreed to extend the advertising deadline for the book from Oct.
1 to Nov. 1 this year. The
new book should be published late this year or early in 2009. Dana
Davis is coordinating production of the book with Smith. It will feature
several pages including features, attractions and services available in Sanderson
and Terrell County. SANDERSON
– With the price of oil and gas still high, although mitigated somewhat in
recent weeks, Terrell County and others in far southwest Texas find
themselves in the path of progress. SandRidge Energy of Oklahoma City announced last month it has entered into an agreement with Occidental Petroleum to build and operate a $1.1 billion carbon dioxide extraction plant, to be known as the Century Plant, somewhere in Pecos County. The
exact location of the plant and associated compression and transportation
lines, was not announced. The
announcement said the plant, combined with existing SandRidge CO2
facilities, will allow treatment of approximately 1 billion cubic feet of gas
by the end of 2011. The
company and its Lariat subsidiary are drilling primarily in Pecos County,
including in the Piñon field north of Marathon. SandRidge
sold some facilities in East Texas earlier this year to devote more resources
to West Texas. The
Baker-Hughes Rig Count report says SandRidge Energy and affiliates Lariat Petroleum
have 31 gas rigs working in the Marathon Thrust Belt, mainly on the
Longfellow and West Ranches. These
vertical drilling rigs are exploratory and most of them have been started
this year. Meanwhile,
reports that seismic exploring crews from Dawson Geophysical will leave the
area this month are true but only to make way for the fall deer hunting
season. Company
spokesman Mike Dawson of Sanderson said the company
is temporarily shutting down before the deer season but will be back in early
2009. “We
are not done by any means,” he said. Dawson
provides seismic exploration searching for possible oil and gas deposits. “It
is based on sound,” he said. “Vibrators send waves into the ground. They
bounce off rock formations and we get a reading. “It
is just a general reading,” he said. “It doesn’t say ‘drill here.’ It just
gives you underground faults and traps and the likelihood hydrocarbons might
be found is high.” He
said the method is expensive but it is “certainly better than poking holes in
the ground.” The
website for Dawson, which was founded in 1952, says it provides data acquisition
and data processing services including the analysis of 2-D, 3-D, and 4-D
seismic data to assess potential underground oil and gas deposits. Dawson
Geophysical’s customers, both major and independent oil and gas operators,
use the data in exploration and development activities. The
company’s 15 3-D seismic data acquisition crews work in the lower 48 states
of the US and data processing is performed by geophysicists at the firm’s
computer center in Midland. Another
seismic explorer, Global Geophysical of Houston, plans to be in
Terrell and Pecos Counties until deer season starts. “We
have a crew working in area but due to hotel availability, they are staying
in Sonora and Ozona and working in Terrell and Pecos Counties,” Corporate
Communications Director Carla Hundl said. She
said one crew should finish its work this month but another crew will work
until hunting season begins in November. “That
project will be wrapped up then but they may get other programs,” she said. SANDERSON
– We told you a few weeks back that, because the Ozona Stockman, which
“presses” the News Leader, was going to larger paper, the News Leader was
growing too. We
also lamented that the Stockman still had two rolls of “dinky” paper left
over so, until that was used up, some pages would be smaller than others. When
our paper had a number of pages divisible by eight, all pages were the same
size. But
when we were 12 pages, like we usually are, pages 3 and 4 and 9 and 10 had to
be on the “dinky,” a roll half the width of the regular rolls. No
more. The
last of the two rolls of old “dinky” paper were used up this week, meaning
that, starting with this issue, all our pages will be the same size. Will
wonders never cease? SANDERSON
– Planning for next year’s Fourth of July activities should start soon and
one group should have overall responsibility, the Sanderson Chamber of
Commerce agreed Tuesday. The
Chamber voted to ask President Jim Street to seek a determination from County
Commissioners on who would have the final authority. Then
a date should be set soon and meetings should start “not later than” January,
2009, to start planning for the event. “There
is no attempt whatsoever to interfere with anyone participating,” Street
said. “One of the reasons the Fourth has been so successful in years past is
that it has been a community project.” But
there was confusion this year over what group was responsible for what and
who was in charge. “By
coordinating our efforts, it can be much smoother than it has been,” Street
said. All
organizations will be asked to send a representative to an overall meeting starting
early next year. That
way, who is responsible for what can be worked out ahead of time. Traditionally,
the American Legion and Legion Auxiliary have sponsored the parade, noon
barbecue and other events. The
Chamber sponsors the annual street dance and fireworks, when conditions permit.
It has also coordinated booths on the Courthouse Lawn the last two years. The
Historical Society provides an “Old Timers Hour” and the Culture Club has its
annual homemade ice cream contest. There
are also class reunions, silent auctions and other events. Because
July 4 falls on a Saturday next year, the date is probably not a serious
issue, Street said. However,
some activities such as class reunions might be scheduled Friday, July 3, or
Sunday, July 5. “We just need to pin
down a firm date early and start planning soon enough that problems can be
worked out,” he said. SANDERSON
– The First Calvary Baptist Church here loaded up 12 youth, picked up five
more in Fort Stockton and drove the 12-and-a-half hours to Reserve, NM, for
Youth Camp. The
five from Fort Stockton came from First Cavalry’s “sister church,” Northside
Baptist Church. The
Sanderson church has fundraisers throughout the year to help cover costs. The
camp offered activities and competitions such as archery, singing, preaching
and even belching. Winning
first place in the preaching competition was Clay Corder. Jimmy Rapp took
third place. Clay
also brought home second place in a memory verse contest as well as second in
the group-singing contest. It
was “a life changing trip,” he said. Jimmy
was the proud champion in the belching contest. He received third place for
preaching and the three-on- three tournament in basketball. Noemi
Nuñez won first place in a memory verse competition, first place in singing
and second in group singing. She
enthusiastically said she would go back. Kelly
Lomas played basket-ball while there. He won first place in a three-on-three
tourney and second place in group singing. Cordell
Lawson won a first place in a memory verse competition, first in ping pong
and a second place in the three- on-three. “Thank
you, it was amazing,” he told the congregation Sunday. “Isn’t it awesome how
God works?” London
Camacho won first place in the archery contest. Cameron
Baker set a new record for eating pickled eggs. He also won first place in a
game called carpet ball and received the outstanding camper award. Ashton
Corder received a first place in the singing competition and another first
for memory verse. She
said the “camp was awesome.” Meagan
Seidel said she returned home with a new relationship with Christ. The
camp is located in the mountains of New Mexico. While they were there, heavy
rains knocked out the bridge. “The
kids were all a big help,” said chaperone Lisa Corder. “They started an assembly
line to get groceries into the camp and helped fix the bridge.” Cameron
Baker earned the Outstanding Camper Award. Clay
and Jimmy shared with the congregation the sermons that they used in
competition, something for which they had only five minutes to get the
scripture included and get their point across. Clay
told of Mark 2:1 to 4, where friends lowered a man down through a roof to see
Jesus. They could not see him until they removed the clay and mud roof. “Remove
the clay and you will find him,” Clay said. He referred to the clay and mud
as sin in our lives. Jimmy
told of Mathew 10:16 to 23 that tells how one should not be afraid when
sharing word of Jesus with others, though you will be persecuted for it. He
said God will provide the words at the appropriate time. By CLIFF McCAULEY Special to the News Leader AUSTIN
– I recently joined Texas Banking Commissioner Randall James at a State Capitol
news conference here, called to discuss the financial turmoil created by the
mortgage crisis and the strength of our state banking system. Commissioner
James called the times “stressful” due to the attention rightfully given to
the failure of IndyMac Bank of California and reports of bank customers
concerned about their bank’s financial health. He
stressed that deposits in Texas banks are safe. My
purpose was to bring some semblance of reason to what has become a frantic
feeding frenzy in the press and to let Texas consumers know the truth about
what’s really happening in the Texas community banking world. My
official role in the news conference was that of chairman of the Independent
Bankers Association of Texas, which represents some 2,000 Texas-based banks
and branches. However,
I also spoke as a concerned member of the banking community. My
day job is executive vice president of Frost Bank, based in San Antonio with
104 branches throughout the state. There
is no doubt that the financial sector is stressed. While
there certainly are some exceptions the root of the current problems stems
from the mortgage mess and the greed and unrealistic expectations exhibited
by virtually all of the parties involved throughout the chain — buyers
looking to make a quick buck or purchase more house than they could afford,
realtors wanting to close a sale, mortgage brokers steering a borrower into a
less-than-optimal mortgage product, lenders making what in hindsight was a
very imprudent loan decision and investment bankers offering aggressive,
exotic and high-risk products to their investors. It’s
not a pretty picture at all. In
his remarks, Commissioner James said the Texas banking system is strong and
healthy and reflects the Texas economy in general. He
stressed that Texas banks, as a whole, reflect higher capital levels, higher
loan loss reserves, better earnings and better management experience compared
to our past and compared to the rest of the country. I
offered a few observations of my own. Texas
community banks did not participate in the exotic mortgage frenzy that created
so much havoc when the bubble inevitably burst. We
pretty much stayed with the types of lending we have done for years—to local
consumers and small businesses. The
mortgages we made and still make are the same mortgages we have made for
years. I
suppose being conservative may not be flashy but it sure has been a good
thing for the community banks of Texas. Texas
bankers survived some very difficult times in the late 1980s. None
of us have any desire whatsoever to go through that again and, thus, have
taken a very conservative—boring if you will— approach to the business of banking. Frost
was the only one of the ten largest banks in Texas to remain autonomous
through this difficult period. Our
Texas economy remains strong. People want to be here. Job
growth, tax revenues, new construction and home sales—while no doubt impacted
by the overall slowdown in the national economy—continue at a pace to make
the rest of the country quite envious. Texas
real estate markets did not experience the ridiculous run up in market values
that set up so many other parts of the country for a substantial correction
and the ensuing pain of such a drastic decline in values. Community
banks across the country, but especially in Texas, remain very well capitalized,
in very good financial shape and doing business as they have always done it. Indeed,
many of our members have seen an increase in business opportunities as consumers
seek stability and the comfort of doing business with someone who knows them
and actually cares about their financial well-being. Particularly
disturbing is the recommendation that consumers shy away from smaller banks
if they are concerned about the safety of their funds. In
reality, nothing could be further from the truth. The bottom line is Texas
community banks are doing just fine. And,
we intend to continue to serve our customers—and any new ones who happen to
want to bank with someone committed to their community and financial future—just
as we always have. |
Advertisements
will sell for $100 for a full page, $50 for half page, $30 for a quarter page
and $25 for business-card ads. Color
ads will be available for an extra charge of $25. With modern laser printing techniques, the
expensive process of color separations and the need for four separate presses
are no longer needed to produce quality color photographs, Smith said. By KIM RAPP News Leader
Production Manager SANDERSON – Camry Lopez
and Andrew Cavender were crowned queen and king at the annual St. James
Festival Saturday. Queen
Camry is the seven- year-old daughter of Alma and Rick Lopez and attends Emerson
Elementary in Midland King
Andrew is the son of Myleah Stratton of Jasper. Andrew enjoys sports,
especially football. They
were crowned by reigning royalty Sean Lopez and Stephanie Lozano. Altogether,
the festival brought in roughly $11,000 with proceeds to benefit St. James
Catholic Church. The
festival started Saturday morning with a softball tournament at Legion Field
with six teams in the double-eli-mination tourney. Taking
home braggin’ rights with first place was Los Carnales from Del Rio. They received
shirts, caps and koozies. Second
place received shirt and caps, third place received shirts and fourth place
took home caps. The
entry fee was $100 per team. All
shirts, caps and koozies were donated by Sanderson State Bank. The
morning mass at 11 a.m. was followed by a turkey and dressing lunch offered
at the Legion Hall. By
1 p.m., the sounds of Mexico drifted through town, performed by Mariachi Fortuna. From
3 p.m. “till things ran out” party goers could find delicacies such as
roasted corn, funnel cakes and candied apples for those with a sweet tooth. At
5 p.m., there was a menudo cook-off at St. James Hall and Tavita Rodriguez
won in a close competition. Rick
Ruiz and Grupo Paz entertained at the dance from 9 p.m. till 1 a.m. Bobby
Stegall won the top prize in the raffle, an all terrain vehicle. Other
raffles included six gift cards from Wal-Mart, totaling $870, a decorated
cross, dinner at local restaurants, wind chimes and other goodies. Dominic
Picaso won biggest gift certificate from Wal-Mart, a prize worth $500. Adrian
Arredondo and Corina Castro each $100 Wal-Mart gift certificates. This
was the first year that there was not a “competition” for the honor of the
crowns. In
the past, children and their parents would conduct fundraisers and the boy
and girl who raised the most money took home the crowns. Due
to lack of participation this year, the only two candidates for the royal
thrones were both from out of town. The
festival honors “St. James the Greater.” He is called that to
distinguish him from the other Apostle, James the “Lesser.” The adjectives were presumably because of
their relative stature. James the Greater was
the brother of John the Evangelist. The two were called to follow Jesus as
they worked with their father in a fishing boat on the Sea of Galilee. LUBBOCK
– East and west all star teams split victories here Saturday as the west
all-star football team coached by Sanderson High School Athletic Director and
Head Coach Mark Dominguez and his coaching staff, along with football players
Ben Rubio and Raul Salazar, lost to the east 46-32. Earlier
in the day, the west girls basketball team with Hannah Black on the court
defeated the east 66-36. The
games were part of the Six Man Coaches Association All-Star contests. The
hometown players did not see a lot of action in the games. Ben
suited up but did not play due to an injury obtained during the Sanderson
softball season. Raul played center on the offence and defensive end. “It
was a good game,” Dominguez said. “We lost a couple of players to injuries
but it was a great time.” Hannah
did not score but her coach back home, Jerry Garza, said she had a few assists
and four rebounds for the west team. During
the week of practice before the games, coaches and players enjoyed putt-putt
golf and pizza. With
the all-star game in the books, the 2007 season is in the past and all eyes
turn to the 2008 season at hand. Two-a-day
football practices will begin at 7:30 a.m. Monday, August 4. Upcoming
freshmen and juniors need to have physicals. Midnight
Madness will be on Thursday, August 7. Midnight Madness is played at
midnight, of course, and provides a first look for the fans. It
is the first game played in full pads and Eagle fans show up and check out
what the new season has to offer. Dave
Campbell’s Texas Football Magazine has ranked the defending district champion
Eagles sixth in Division II. Coaching
the guys again this year will be Coach Mark Dominguez, Jerry Garza, Adam
Portillo and Leighton Conway. The
team also coached Saturday’s west all-star team. The
Eagles will scrimmage with Balmorhea, Fort Davis and Buena Vista Aug. 16 and
22. First game will be at home with the Eagles hosting Grady at 7:30 p.m.
Friday, Aug. 29, at Eagle Stadium. Businesses
will get posters SANDERSON
– Every business in town will be offered a framed poster showing blooms of
indigenous cacti of Terrell County, County Judge Leo Smith said Tuesday. The
county has purchased 5,000 of the posters displaying the cactus flowers and
touting Sanderson as the “Cactus Capital of Texas.” Rick
Vanderpool of State Art/US of Commerce, provided the posters for $8,900 and
said they could then be sold in the Visitor Center, the museum, banks and
retail outlets. Smith
said he has ordered enough frames for each business to be offered one poster
at no charge. The
business has to agree to display the poster to get a free one. “We
don’t want to give them a poster and then it ends up in a closet or something,”
Smith said. “We
also plan to offer them to restaurants, motels, visitor centers, convention
centers and others in surrounding towns,” he said. “We spent hotel/motel
[bed] taxes on them so let’s use them to advertise.” Posters
will be available for sale to the public at $20 each at the Terrell County
Visitor Center and the County Clerk’s office. Other
business and organizations that want to sell the posters will be able to buy
them from the county for a wholesale price, Smith said. He
said he hopes the county can sell the 5,000 posters in this run and order
another batch next year, perhaps with a different design. He
suggested an outline of the state with flowers pictured within. Terrell
County might also outline one picture. The
space around the state outline could be used to tout Sanderson attractions. “I know that would
sell,” he said. “Every foreign tourist will want one.” Cactus
Chat Festival,
shower bring folks By KIM RAPP News Leader Production Manager SANDERSON
– Many visitors rolled into town last weekend, some for the St. James
Festival, some for a wedding shower and some were just here. JoDale Castro & Bud Ritchie came
calling at the Castro residence,
saying “hi” to mom Corina Castro
and dad Jimmy Castro right down
the street. They
currently reside in Odessa where they are both employed by Televista. Cathy Delefuente made
the trip from Brady. Coming
along for the ride were charges eight-year-old Jacob, seven-year-old Emily
and of course Nina, who’s four. Cathy is the
daughter of Joe & Lupe Ponce of
Sanderson. All
the kiddos love to come visit. Jacob
loves it so much he’s going to stay an extra week with Grandma & Grandpa. I had quite a houseful
with Mary Peterson, Robert, Dustin
& Heather Rapp, Bobbi & Daniel Rapp. Dustin is Robert Rapp’s nephew and has recently
moved from Springfield, OH, to Hobbs, NM, where Robert and his niece Mary
live. Daniel & Bobbi are both living in Alpine for
the time being. Alex Gordon caught
a ride with Bobbi as did Logan Means. Isaac Ramirez
was also in the house as was James
Daniel Sanchez. Isaac, aka Bubba, now lives in Odessa. Bubba’s sister Marie also made the trip. Sean Amaro
was also spotted. Sean now lives
in Fort Stockton and is an upcoming junior at Fort Stockton High. Marie & Bubba
belong to Gennie Merrifield. Sean is an
ex-Sandersonite and the son of George
& Rosalinda Sanchez. Heading
out of town was Billie McDonald
and son Tommy, aka Buff. They
took off for San Angelo to visit her son Gary
and his wife Denise before
school starts. Georgianna, Bryan &
Bryanna Valdez enjoyed the pool
last week as well as some visiting. Georgianna
is the daughter of Diana Escamilla
of Sanderson. Though
they enjoyed cooling off in the pool, Georgianna
and sister Kristy were a little
bummed that Georgianna had to
return to San Angelo and miss Kristy’s
bridal shower. Kristy had
her shower and guests from out of town included her future Aunt Sally Parsons, Kristy’s step-mother Nora,
her grandmother Rosa and her
little sister Alexis Escamilla, all
from Del Rio. Haley Hagelgans
of Sheffield, Savanah Farley of
White Settlement and future Grandmother-in-law Helen Bell of Fort Davis all attended. All
the way from Bonifay, FL, was Billie
Jo Mott. She came to co-host the gala and be the matron of honor at her
friend’s wedding next month. She
brought with her daughter Lexie Coe,
also of Bonifay. Future
sister-in-law Stephanie Mudge came
and co-hosted the party with Mott.
She currently resides in Junction. Joann Mott
came down from Fort Stockton and daughter Valerie Mott made the trek all the way from San Antonio. Also
in attendance were Connie Gooch of
Alpine and her charges Vanessa &
Ryan. Kristy will marry Wes Billings on the courthouse lawn later this month. TxDOT
to reorganize its offices ODESSA
– The Texas Department of Transportation announced Friday it is reorganizing
its support services for design, construction and maintenance operations in
25 districts across the state. The
plan will create four Regional Support Centers, including a West regional center
in Lubbock, that will support the Odessa District office. Lauren
Garduño, the engineer who has headed up the Odessa District since 1999, has
been handed a temporary six-month assignment to get the West Regional Support
Center up and running. The
Lubbock center will support seven West Texas districts, in part using modern
“virtual office” technology that will allow some employees to continue to
work from current office locations. The
other regional centers are in Fort Worth, Houston and San Antonio. The
West Region will support TxDOT district offices in Abilene, Amarillo,
Childress, El Paso, Lubbock, Odessa and San Angelo. “The
objective is to eliminate duplication in job functions and save money,” Garduño
said. “Consolidating support functions will result in a cost savings of about
$35 million per year statewide.” He
said that the reorganization will get underway in September and take about a
year to complete. “But
it’s not just about cost-savings. It is also a response to some major changes
that have taken place in our business model in recent years,” Garduño said.
“A lot of the work we do now reaches across district lines, especially with today’s
emphasis on corridor management. “This reorganization will address that side
of our support system, too,” he said. He
said the regionalization will include right of way and environmental departments,
two key areas in the highway construction process. “That
will obviously make our planning process more transparent to the public because
they will only have to check in with just one office to find out what’s
happening up and down an entire corridor,” Garduño said. He
said TxDOT employee counts in the region are already at the anticipated level
needed to complete the first phase of restructuring. “Over
the next year or two, the West Regional Support Center will have about 40 employees
at the headquarters with the rest distributed throughout the region,” he
said. “But in this start-up phase, we will use a ‘virtual office’ concept
that will take advantage of modern technology to minimize the impacts on
employees affected by the restructuring.” Garduño
said the agency will work very hard to see that local employees do not lose
jobs with TxDOT. “Some
will remain at their current jobs working under the ‘virtual office’ concept,
some will move into the positions at the regional support center headquarters
location and some will move into other local TxDOT jobs that open as a result
of attrition [from people leaving to take other jobs in and out of TxDOT and
retirements],” Garduño said. “It
is possible there may be new people hired in regional positions if a
qualified TxDOT employee is not identified for the job but our preference is
to fill as many positions as possible with existing TxDOT employees.” Garduño
said. The
restructuring will not cut services to the public available at the local
district offices, he said. “TxDOT
is not cutting services,” he said. “Our goal is to provide services in a way
that is smarter and less expensive. “Our
local offices will continue to operate as usual, concentrating on our core
business functions of construction, design and maintenance,” he said. TxDOT’s
Area engineering offices and local maintenance sections will continue to operate
in their communities. In
a second phase in 2010, divisions and offices in Austin will be restructured
in a way that is responsive to the Sunset Review and the actions of the
upcoming 81st Legislature. |
For
ads or other suggestions or questions, contact Davis at 432/345-2200 or Ruth
Engledorf at 432/345-2850. ‘Living
with Nature’ By MARK GLOVER Marathon Bureau MARATHON
– Tonight’s 7 p.m. cocktail reception at Eve’s Garden Bed and Breakfast here
kicks off Marathon’s 4th Annual “Living with Nature” festival. The
three-day event is drawing a growing list of speakers from around the country
to highlight this year’s theme of sustainable living and green building
techniques. Zack Rabon, president of Mason Greenstar,
will speak about “Building Green” tomorrow. His
presentation will focus on minimizing environmental impact by sourcing
building materials from recycled waste. Aimee Michelle Roberson, a conservation biologist, yoga teacher and wellness coach, will
present “Creating Vibrant Food.” She
will discuss preparing local, organic, plant-based food as well as offering
Yoga sessions during the festival. David
C. Lynch
of Cummins Westport, Inc., a joint venture between Cummins, Inc., and
Westport Innovations Inc., will speak on “Alternative Fuels.” His presentation
will focus on the use of natural gas as a vehicle fuel source.
Cummins delivers
high-performance alternative fuel engines for the global market and last year
introduced the cleanest heavy-duty production engine ever built. Lynch, a veteran of 42
years in the diesel and natural gas engine business with Cummins, will be
visiting from Cummins headquarters in Columbus, IN. Dr. Richard Erdlac,
director of Energy Technologies Research and Commercialization for
Energy America Inc., will speak on Geothermal Energy for home heating and
cooling and community energy generation. Erdlac is co-founder
of the Earth Resources Institute in Midland, a non-profit organization that
conducts regional energy studies in the Trans-Pecos region. Kenneth
L. Starcher, director of the Alternative Energy Institute, will speak on wind energy for the home and community. Since
1977, AEI has collected and analyzed data on wind characteristics and turbine
performance and has designed a number of renewable energy systems. Filling
out tomorrow’s list of guest speakers, William Wren, special assistant
to the superintendent of the University of Texas at Austin McDonald
Observatory, will
speak about “Outdoor Lighting Control.” The presentation
will focus on the cost efficiency of different outdoor lighting
practices and the value of preserving the heritage of the dark night sky and
the subsequent ability of McDonald Observatory to do astronomical research. The
green products and services trade show will be set up at St. Mary’s Church
Parish Hall across from Eve’s Garden. Presentations
will be at the church Parish Hall and the nearby Community Building. Living
with Nature President Bennett Jones said the trade show will have vendors
from around the country offering “everything from do-it-yourself solar oven
kits to wind turbines and rain water harvesting devices. “All
things sustainable, including organic gardening, green building, solar power,
alternative transportation, health and wellness, free-cycling, composting
toilets, sustainable city planning, local currencies and green collar
employment are all part of this year’s festival,” Jones said. Live
music, food and games for children will be offered tomorrow. Sunday
will be dedicated to touring the region with stops planned at a local buffalo
ranch and the Big Bend National Park. All
proceeds from the festival will benefit construction of the new Brewster
County Library in Alpine. Ticket
prices are $10 at the door for tomorrow, or $15 for the entire weekend. Some
vendor booths are still available. For more information contact Bennett Jones
at 432/837-3008. SANDERSON
– With no school to attend this summer, some Sanderson students still found a
way to spend time in a classroom. Sanderson
teacher Tami Ca-rrasco instructed an “Enviro-Camp” for children in grades
pre-kindergarten through six about recycling, composting and other practices
friendly to the environment. Area
teens Danell Graham, Raquel Hinkley, Darren Seidel, Jessica Garza, Travis
Roberts and Kelly Lomas helped with the lessons. While
there is no recycling center in Terrell County, Carrasco said there is one in
Alpine, which can accept material from Sanderson. She
said the children will also learn composting as soon as “the worms” get here. “We
ordered 500 worms which we need for composting,” Carrasco said. Besides
learning about recycling, children were also hard at work on crafts projects
using recycled materials. “It
is amazing how much trash we throw away that could be recycled,” Carrasco
said. “The kids also are learning about the problems with landfills filling
up.” ALPINE – The first article of a trilogy by Sul Ross State
University faculty member Dr. Martin Terry has been published in the current
issue of Cactus and Succulent Journal. Terry, assistant professor of Biology, wrote, “Stalking the Wild
Lophophora,” regarding his journey to the states of Chihuahua and Coahuila to
locate populations of the cactus genus Lophophora, common name peyote, and to
collect tissue samples for DNA analysis. The
second part of his journey, “Zacatecas, San Luis Potosi, Nuevo Leon and
Tamaulipas,” will be published in a forthcoming issue. ALPINE – State Rep. Pete P. Gallego of Alpine will deliver the
Sul Ross State University summer commencement address, Saturday, Aug. 9. Commencement exercises will be at 10 a.m. in the Pete P. Gallego
Center on the Alpine campus. Gallego, a Sul Ross graduate, has served the 74th District of
the State House of Representatives since 1991. Texas’ largest House district includes Brewster, Culberson,
Edwards, Hudspeth, Jeff Davis, Loving, Pecos, Presidio, Reeves, Terrell,
Uvalde, Val Verde and Ward counties. The 74th House district is also the largest Texas district on
the US-Mexico border, stretching nearly 39,000 square miles and containing
over half of the Texas/Mexico border. Elected in 1990, Gallego is the first Hispanic to represent this
district. In 1991, he became the first freshman member and the first
ethnic minority member ever elected as chair of the House Democratic Caucus,
a post he held until January, 2001. In January 2001, Gallego was unanimously elected by his
colleagues to serve as chair of the Mexican-American Legislative Caucus, a
group of 43 House members who are of Mexican-American descent or who serve a
significant Mexican-American constituency.
He was re-elected as chair of MALC for the fourth time in 2006. Now in his ninth term, Gallego’s career has included
chairmanships of the General Investigating Committee and several select and
subcommittees. He has also served as a member of the Sunset Commission and the
Committees on Appropriations, Calendars, Criminal Jurisprudence, Higher Education,
Elections, Government Reform and Natural Resources. Gallego graduated from Sul Ross in 1982 with a bachelor’s degree
in political science. In 1985, he earned a Doctor of Jurisprudence from The University
of Texas School of Law. He is a member of the Sul Ross State University Athletic Hall of
Honor as an outstanding booster and has been named a Distinguished Alumnus by
the Sul Ross Ex-Student Association. In the Legislature, Gallego is an expert in appropriations, law
enforcement, criminal justice, campaign finance and victims’ rights. He
served on the joint House/Senate conference committee on the state budget for
five consecutive sessions from 1993 to 2001 and has received numerous awards,
including the Advocate for Justice award from a coalition of Texas victims’
groups and the Star of Texas public service award by Common Cause of
Texas. After the 1999 session, he was selected as one of Texas
Monthly’s Ten Best legislators. Most recently, he received the prestigious OHTLI Award from the Mexican
Ministry of Foreign Affairs for his contributions to the betterment of the
Mexican community in Texas. He and
his wife, Maria Elena, have one son, Nicholas. SANDERSON
– The November general election may provide some fireworks on the national
and state level but Terrell County will be very quiet with no opposed races
on the ballot. That
is, unless someone files as a “write-in” candidate for one of the positions. County/District
Clerk Martha Allen said people can file as a write-in candidate now through 5
p.m. Tuesday, Aug. 26, in County Judge Leo Smith’s office. Under
old rules, voters could write in anyone they liked for any position but now,
for the vote to count, the candidate must have filed as a write-in. There
is a filing fee of $750 for most county offices or a petition in lieu of
filing fee. The
petition must have signatures determined by a complicated formula depending
on the number of votes for governor from that district in the last
gubernatorial election. Smith
suggested voters interested in the filing fee or required signatures needed
should contact the Texas Secretary of State at its website, www.sos.state.tx.us, or call 512/463-5650. Unless
there are write-in candidates, Terrell County races are all unopposed. Marsha
Monroe is running for re-election as county attorney and Clint McDonald is
seeking to remain in his position as sheriff, tax assessor-collector. Two
county commissioners are seeking re-election, Yolanda G. Lopez in Precinct
One and Charles Stegall in Precinct Three. Kenneth Turner is
running in Precincts 1, 3 and 4 to the post of constable. win
tourney MIDLAND
– Brothers Victor and Jeremy Calzada won first place recently at the San Juan
Golf Tournament at Hogan Park’s Quail Course here, carding a 15-under-par 56. “It
was a team play,” Calzada told the News Leader. “We played a scramble and whoever
has the best shot, takes it.” Two players play one ball in a scramble, he
said. They
are grandsons of Tony and Elelmira Calzada of Sanderson. Victor
is a golf pro and a junior at Brownsville College where he is a member of the
golf team that flies to cities around the country to compete in tournaments. He
will compete this weekend in a three-day tournament in Midland. Jeremy
is a physical therapist in Fort Stockton and an athletic trainer for the
Sanderson High School Eagles. At
Fort Stockton, he works for Pecos County Memorial Hospital and plays golf in
his spare time. He
holds masters degrees in therapy and sports therapy from Texas Tech in
Lubbock. to
aid wetlands BIG BEND – Friends of Big Bend National Park said this
week it had received two grants for Big Bend National Park’s Rio Grande
Village Wetlands Restoration project. The grants include $10,000 from the Tourism Cares Worldwide
Grant Program and $6,500 from the Trull Foundation, They will go toward restoring habitat for birds and
other wildlife in Big Bend National Park. “We are extremely grateful to these two foundations for
their support,” Friends President Jack Lamkin said. “Combined with our previous
gift from the Brown Foundation, the park will be able to take a big step
toward restoring habitat in the park.” Friends of Big Bend National Park is one of only six
organizations worldwide to receive a grant from the Tourism Cares program for
Summer 2008. The Tourism Cares mission is to preserve the travel experience
for future generations. The Tourism Cares Worldwide Grant Program distributes
charitable grants to worthy tourism-related non-profit organizations worldwide
for capital improvements and educational programs. The Trull Foundation provides grants that improve the
coastal Texas environment, including farming, ranching, aquiculture and
birds. This particular area of the park provides critical
wetland habitat for birds, as well as a buffer zone for the adjacent habitat
of the federally endangered Big Bend mosquitofish. Restoring this disturbed site would bring welcome
habitat for many birds and animals, as well as spectacular wildlife viewing
for park visitors, Lamkin said. Friends of Big Bend National Park is a non-profit
organization whose mission is to support, promote and raise funds for Big
Bend National Park in partnership with the National Park Services and other
supporters who value the unique qualities of this national resource along the
Rio Grande. For
more details about the activities of Friends of Big Bend National Park, log
onto www.bigbendfriends.org Daniel
Boling FORT
STOCKTON – Singer, songwriter and musician Daniel Boling will perform for the
first time here next week. Boling
will perform at the “Summer Off the Patio” series at the Annie Riggs Memorial
Museum Thursday, August 7. The
free, outdoor concert is sponsored by Wallace Lumber Company and hosted by
Fort Stockton Historical Society. The
concert begins at 8 p.m. and all are welcome. For
more information, call 432/336-2167 or log on to www.danielboling.com. |