May 9, 2008
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FORT
STOCKTON – After three runnings of the Road Runner Open Road Race between
here and Marathon, there is “no way” the race can be run this year, Race
Coordinator Kenda Furman told the News Leader this week. The
race was a spin-off of the Big Bend Open Road Race between here and Sanderson
that just completed its twelfth race last month. While
it did not look good for Marathon, a decision was not announced until after
the running of the BBORR. Drilling
activity along US Highway 385, the racecourse for the RRORR, is too intense
this year. Just
one day lost for producers of the valuable commodity can cost them $1
million. While they may want to support the event, it just plain costs them
too much. There
was talk among some of the drivers this year that, if RRORR could not be run,
the BBORR be repeated in October instead. “That’s
what some of the drivers want, but not this year anyway,” Furman said. Many
drivers prefer the race between Fort Stockton and Sanderson, not because of
any negatives from Marathon. MARATHON – Mother’s Day
is Sunday, May 11, and St. Mary’s and Mission Catholic Churches are
sponsoring an event to mark the day at Post Park. Brisket plates will be
sold for $6 per plate from 12 noon to 3 p.m. Disc jockey Coney Vega
of Alpine will provide music from 1 to 6 p.m. MARATHON – The time and date for
the traditional Graduates’ Mass at St. Mary's Catholic Church has been
changed from Saturday, May 17, to 12 noon Sunday, May 18. There will be ceremonies for
graduates from kindergarten, eighth grade and high school. “Everybody’s invited,” Organizer
Susanna Fuéntez said. “We hope to see you there.” Fuéntez said the Student Council
will sell menudo with all the trimmings and drinks at the hall. “You may eat there or take-out,”
she said. “We hope also to have vegetarian menudo.” The Senior/Parent dinner will be
at 6:30 p.m. Tuesday, May 20, at the Gate Hotel. By R.M.
GLOVER MNL Editor Like the Falcons
turning and turning in a widening gyre in William Butler Yeats poem “The
Second Coming,” plastic – perhaps as much as three million tons – swirls in a
Pacific Ocean gyre. Dubbed the Pacific Trash
Vortex, plastic, floats, bobs and semi-sinks in this stagnant part of the sea
that is wind-starved and hard to escape. Currents propel the
colorful flotsam until it reaches this part of the sea known as the doldrums,
a place sailors avoid. Once in it, the North
Pacific Sub-Tropical Gyre goes round and round in an area twice the size of
Texas, approximately 500 miles north of Honolulu. Like gravity, the gyre
does not release its captives easily. Run-off from the Ganges
River in India, the San Gabriel River in Los Angeles and a thousand other
rivers and beaches in North America and Asia feed the trash vortex with a
steady diet of billions of pounds of plastic each year that it devours but
cannot digest. Petroleum based
plastics do not bio-degrade. They photo-degrade into smaller and smaller
pieces. Every piece of this
type of plastic still exists. Approximately 95 per cent of the world’s annual
300 billion pound pre-production plastic is petroleum based. Plastic from as far
back as the 1940s, when this miracle material’s modern epoch began, tricks
birds and fish, luring them in with a myriad of color, replicating something
like their favorite meal, choking many and poisoning most, leaving a wake of
death behind. In 2003, Charles Moore,
founder of the Algalita Marine Research Foundation of Los Angeles, sailed
through the gyre and wrote about it. “I was confronted as
far as the eye could see with the sight of plastic,” he wrote. Moore recently sampled
seawater inside the vortex and found that for every six pounds of plastic,
only one pound of naturally growing plankton occurred. Moore has been studying
the Northern Fulmars, a bird like the albatross that spends most of its life
at sea. They are washing ashore
in the Pacific Islands dead and full of plastic at an alarming rate. Petroleum based
plastics are high in PCBs, a toxin that enters the food chain and effects the
hormonal structure of all that consume it. “The actual ability to
wipe out the entire vertebrate kingdom in the ocean is with the plastic particles,”
Moore said. Curt Ebbesmeyer, an
oceanographer, who specializes in ocean flotsam, recently sorted through the
stomach of a dead albatross on the island of Guam. Cigarette lighters,
bottle caps and hundreds of other plastics were found in its belly including
a war relic, a Bakelite tag from a World War II US Navy patrol boat that’s
been floating for 60 years. “If you could fast
forward 10,000 years and do an archeological dig, a core sample down through
the beach, you'd find a little line of plastic,” Ebbesmeyer said. “What
happened to those people? Well, they ate their own plastic and disrupted
their genetic structure and weren’t able to reproduce. They didn’t last very
long because they killed themselves.” And Yeats, who
predicted a calamity in his poem that would spawn the “second coming”
probably never thought plastics. MARATHON – Brewster
County Sheriff Ronny Dodson said this week there was “nothing new” in the
murder in front of the Gage Hotel April 26. T.J. Dunlap, 68, of
Presidio was still in jail in lieu $100,000 bond in the shooting of Richard Lyn
Purdy, 48, of Lubbock. The two were seen
walking up the sidewalk from The Oasis Café and the shooting stemmed from an
argument. Dunlap drove towards
Alpine but was arrested and was booked on a charge of first-degree murder. on
KRTS MARFA – Public radio
station KRTS will pre-empt its Saturday morning programming on Election Day
from 10 a.m. to noon tomorrow, May 10, for a special airing of interviews
with candidates in the contested races in the tri-county area. Races include Alpine
mayor and city council, Marfa city council and school board, the Big Bend
Regional Hospital District and others.
The station will
feature local artists on its weekday “Talk At Ten” program next week with
interviews at 10 a.m. The program replays at 6:30 p.m. Peter Orner,
writer-in-residence of Lannan Foundation in Marfa, will be on the program
today at 10 a.m. and there will be a special program by artist-musician Jon
Langford at 3:30 p.m. today. Julius Jacobson, author
of “The Classical Music Experience” will be on the “Talk at Ten” program
Monday, May 12. Edwin Leslie will
address the Lajitas development Tuesday, May 13 Wednesday, May 14, will
feature musician Marina Azar of Alpine and Psychiatrist Stuart Crane of
Calamity Creek will appear on Thursday. May 15. The Friday, May 16,
show will feature Alison Smith, writer-in-residence of Lannan Foundation in
Marfa. |
US
285 is simply more “challenging” with sharper curves and steeper hills than
US 385. “I
understand all the oil field traffic up there on the road complicated it,”
Marathon civic leader Patsy Cavness said. “We may loose a little business but
Fort Stockton loses the most. Maybe we can work up the M2M and West Fest
and make up for it.” The
M2M is the annual foot race from 26.2 miles west into Marathon, scheduled
about the same time as the road race. It
also features several shorter runs and has become a red-letter day for
Marathon. The race is a qualifier for the Boston Marathon. Basin
Quilt Show MARATHON
– Jean Palmisano was named “Grand Champion” and Sara Castle won the “People’s
Choice” award at the 12th annual Marathon Basin Quilting Guild’s quilt show
at the Gage Hotel Saturday. Despite
what started off as a very windy and cold day, the weather cleared up and a
total of 86 quilts were hung for display. LaVerne
Avery won first place in the Traditional category. Margarite Chanselor was second
and Alice Wallenberg was third. Lucy
Applegate won the Contemporary and Watercolor category, followed by Sara Castle
and Margarite Chanselor. Palmisano
took first in the Theme, Pictorial and Preprinted category. Applegate was second
and Alice Wallenberg third. In
the Applique category, Sara Castle was first, Maggie Miller was second and
Patsy Cavness third. Castle
also won the Machine-quilted category, followed by Anna M. Robe and Wallenberg. In
Lap and Baby Items, Linda Stone was first, Applegate second and Cindy Arnold
third. Romelia
Losoya won the Paper-pieced and Miscellaneous category, followed Palmisano
and Applegate. Applegate
also won all three places in Tied Quilts. Chanselor
won first in Quilt Tops, followed by Stone and Connie Springfield. Maggie
Miller was first in Quilt Blocks. Linda Stone won second and third. Palmisano
won in the Wall Hangings category, followed by Cindy Arnold and Wallenberg. In
the Novelty category, Romelia Losoya placed first, followed by Stone and
Applegate. Barbara
Cabana of Copperas Cove was the lucky winner in the drawing for the “Flying
Geese” quilt donated and pieced by Janie Roberts and hand-quilted by the
Marathon Basin Quilting Guild. Quilt
judges were Janie and Lee Roberts and the Gage hosted the event in its patio
space. Sam
Cavness, Jr., Patrick Cavness, Michael Christiansen, Shane Martin, Norman
Martin and Christopher Roberts helped set up for the show and hung all the
quilts. Cob
Homes By CHUCK HALL Culture Artist Since
cob homes are made from materials readily found in nature, they can be built
very inexpensively. The
tradeoff with a cob home is that it is a labor-intensive process. If
you’re not a hands-on, do-it-yourself type of person, cob is probably not for
you. But if you don’t mind getting your hands – and feet – dirty, then
cobbing can be a very relaxing and meditative experience. Most
of the cob structures I’ve seen were built by groups of people in ‘cobbing
bees,’ where friends and neighbors get together for a weekend or two to share
the experience. Since
no power tools are involved, people often spontaneously break into song or
conversation while cobbing together. It’s
a great opportunity to socialize while doing something positive for yourself
and the environment. In
fact, people who have experienced cob building firsthand often talk about it
in terms usually reserved for those who have undergone a religious
experience. Cobbing brings people together at an instinctual community level. Due
to the fact that cob is labor-intensive, cob homes are usually smaller than
the average stick-built home. This
loss of space isn’t really that noticeable in a well-designed cob home
because you can shape alcoves and shelving right into the walls to take
advantage of vertical space. Round rooms also look larger than square ones. The
organic shapes that are possible with cob also make it possible to use space
more efficiently. Housing
square footage is four times larger today than it was 40 years ago. Think
about how much unused space you have in your home now and you’ll see the
advantages of a smaller home. By
building smaller, more space-efficient and natural buildings, not only can
you save on building costs but you also save on the energy required to heat,
cool and light the extra space. Cob
homes can be designed to make living more comfortable in less space. Though
they may take a little longer to build than a traditional home, a crew of six
to twelve people can build up to a foot of height per day in a cob home of
about 800 square feet or less. One
advantage to cob building is that, other than applying plaster to the
finished wall, there is no finish work required. Plumbing and electrical
fixtures are laid in place inside the wall as it is built and there is no
framing to be done. There
is no need for insulation, sheet rock, taping and finish framing. Once the
final plaster coat is applied, the walls are done. I
have seen a small cob cottage, about 300 square feet, built in one weekend by
a dozen dedicated workers. But
racing to finish the home is missing the point. Half the fun in building with
cob is in taking time to feel the materials take shape under your hands. It’s
a very tactile experience, similar to sculpting with clay. If
you have a ready stable of volunteers, you’ll find that your group will
eventually settle into a rhythm that is almost like a dance. Cobbing
is an activity that naturally lends itself to parties since it doesn’t
require a lot of skill and who doesn’t like playing in the mud? It’s
a chance to indulge your inner child and, if you have children of your own,
they’ll love it. If
you don’t mind putting a little sweat-equity into building your own home, it
makes a lot of sense to return to nature’s most abundant, inexpensive and
healthy building material. If
you’d like to see pictures of cob homes, visit www.cultureartist.org/gallery/architecture/Cob/Cof1.html. Chuck
Hall’s latest book, ”Invasion of the Vegans!” will be available at the
Culture Artist website at www.cultureartist.org
later this year. You may contact Chuck by email at: chuck@cultureartist.org. ALPINE
-- Trisha Pollard, vice chairman of the Board of Regents of the Texas
State University System, will deliver the commencement address during Sul
Ross State University’s spring graduation exercises, scheduled tomorrow, May
10. Ceremonies
will be at 10 a.m. in the Pete P. Gallego Center on the Alpine Campus and at
7:30 p.m. in the Del Rio Civic Center for Rio Grande College. An
estimated 241 students are candidates for degrees, 175 on the Alpine Campus
and 66 at RGC. Pollard,
of Bellaire, is vice president of Pollard Development, LP. She was
appointed to the Board of Regents in 2007 by Governor Rick Perry. An
attorney, she has also had a lengthy career in the natural gas industry and
been active in civic and church volunteer activities. She
received a bachelor of Business Administration degree from Sam Houston State
University in Huntsville and a Juris Doctor degree from the South
Texas College of Law in Houston. Perry
appointed her to a three-year term as a Public Member of the Texas
One-Call Board in 2003. Pollard
has served as a director of the Sam Houston State Alumni Association, foreman
of the Harris County Grand Jury for three terms and chairman of the Building and Standards Committee for the City
of Bellaire. During
her career in the natural gas industry, she was assistant general counsel at
Kinder Morgan, Inc., vice president – Legal & Human Resources at
PennUnion Energy Services and attorney at Transco Gas Marketing Company after
working as Manager for Gas Purchases and in other business positions at
Transcontinental Gas Pipe Line Corporation. She
is a Presbyterian elder and is a member of First Presbyterian Church of
Houston. She also serves on Houston Bar Association committees, was chair of
the Oil & Gas Section of the Houston Bar Association and a member of the
State Bar of Texas. She
has been active in both the Girl Scouts and Boy Scouts, serving as an assistant
Boy Scout Leader and troop secretary. Pollard
and her husband Randy, a CPA, have three children, Matthew, a student at
Texas A&M University, Jenny, who attends Stephen F. Austin State
University at Nacagdoches, and Jonathan, a middle school student. |
The West Fest and
Cabrito Cook-off in September is another major event on the social calendar. It was moved last year from the Ritchie Brothers to the Post Park. Cathedral
grass fire contained MARATHON
– The Cathedral Fire in the Glass Mountains west of here was considered
“contained” last week after burning an estimated 23,000 acres. “Drove
the tanker up the hill through some seven foot flames,” Marathon Police Captain
Geoff Lemmers said. “It’s a five ton military unit. Bullet proof.” It
was about 10:30 at night, and most of the Texas Forest Service firefighters
had turned in for the night. But
a jump in the fire put Houston Hart’s ranch house in jeopardy. “We
took care of it,” Lemmers said. “But if the wind had come out of the
northwest that night, it’d pushed the fire through that house and down the
flats into Marathon, like the fire of ’93.” During
a squall that moved in April 23, lightning struck at Altuda then a second
strike northeast of there doubled the ignition. A
“norther” blew through over the weekend last week but did little to slow the
lines of flame creeping along the ridges of the mountains. One
residence was evacuated and two other residences were threatened. MARATHON – Dieter and
Christa Weigmann celebrated their Golden Wedding anniversary at the Gage
Hotel Saturday, April 26. The couple met while
attending the University of Heidelberg. Hans was studying chemistry and
Christa, language. That was in 1954. By
1958 they were married and, in 1961, their first daughter was born while
Dieter was obtaining his Ph.D at Aachen. In 1964, their second
daughter was born, this time in New Jersey where Dieter was teaching at the
Textile Research Institute at Princeton. “We came to the Big
Bend because of Russ Tidwell,” Dieter said. “He was our river guide on
several raft trips and then we bought one of his houses in Marathon. “Marathon is a great
place for a second home and the best part are the people,” he said. “We have
a lot of friends here.” ALPINE – The public
library here recognized three of its volunteers with awards at the 2008
luncheon for Volunteer Big Bend Monday. Chris Ruggia won an
award for his service on the Board of Directors as a former officer of the
board and chair of various committees, as well as being “the go-to guy for
graphics and Web Page design and maintenance.” Marilyn Terry, who has
served as president of the Friends of the Alpine Public Library, was honored
for her many hours of volunteering included organizing several book sales at
locations ranging from Re-Reads to the Center for Big Bend Studies
Conference. Gail Lewis was honored
for her service to the Friends of the Alpine Public Library. Terry said Lewis
“particularly enriches the lives of the library’s homebound patrons by taking
the time to understand each home-bound patron’s interest and takes them books
and books on tape on a regular basis.” Also honored were Kathy
and Albert Bork, Anne and Malcolm Calaway, Elizabeth Foley, Nina Foley, Jim
and Macy Chionsini, Kay and Don Green, Joan and Herb Kelleher, McDonald’s of
Alpine and Irma Campbell, Mary Jane and Vic Morgan, Carol and Pete Peterson,
Jan and Harold Skaggs, Mary V Stringfellow, Becky and King Terry, Texas Disposal
Systems, West Texas National Bank and Big Bend Telephone. The Alpine Public
Library serves all of Brewster County through its main library in Alpine and
its branch library in Marathon. For more information,
contact Library Director Anitra Clausen at 432/837-2621 or at alpinepl@sbcglobal.net. Golden
Pig By
SUSANNA FUÉNTEZ Special to the News Leader MARATHON – I heard this
story many years ago when I was a little girl and then again in the 70s from
my in-laws. Both stories were
similar and came from trustworthy families so I grew up believing it. Besides, my in-laws
said they actually saw this giant golden pig and her little ones in the
grassy meadow beside their house. Before I relate this
story, it’s important to understand that among the Mexican culture there was
a belief that if someone saw an animal in the meadow, there was sure to be
some kind of treasure buried there. This is why these
different animals appeared, to tell us of a treasure somewhere around there. So, anyone that saw
this apparition was sure to investigate it in the hopes they would find
treasures. Again, many people, as
were my parents and in-laws, were God-fearing and timid and they hoped
someone would find treasure so that those “sightings” would disappear. It was also rumored
that for anyone who did find treasure, some kind of bad luck would fall upon
him. Nevertheless, these
“sightings” were given a lot of importance, whether from curiosity or fear. Yes, it’s a bit short,
but very interesting. Supposedly, around the
20s, close to my in-laws, was a huge meadow or plain with tall, tall
grass. People referred to it
as “Chihuahuitas” because a family or two from Chihuahua had moved
there. It was a desolate
place, so not too many people ventured over there. (My husband and I live in
that area.) Well, one afternoon
when the sun set behind the mountains, one could hear a loud rustle through
the tall grass and a huge, bright light could also be seen. One afternoon, my
in-laws happened to be working in their vegetable gardens – as they did every
afternoon – and heard that noise as if horses were running through the tall
grass and they decided to investigate. What they encountered
was almost supernatural. There, running through the tall grass was a giant
pig and her piglets – and she was pure gold, which accounted for the bright
light. She saw them and stopped in her tracks and
looked at them as if asking them to follow her. Frightened, my
mother-in-law blessed them and went back to her garden. They never again
followed that “golden pig and her piglets.” To this day, no one
knows if in fact someone followed the giant pig and found a treasure or
what. Perhaps, those who have
lived longer in Marathon know this story better than I and have a much more
interesting ending than mine. EDITOR’S NOTE: We ran this story for our
Spanish-speaking friends last week. It is repeated here, courtesy of its
author. |