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Daily Newspaper and Travel Guide
for Pecos Country of West Texas
Top Stories
April 30, 2001
City, county say water available for RCDC plan
By SMOKEY BRIGGS
Staff Writer
PECOS, April 30, 2001 - City and county officials gathered at 7:30 a.m.
this morning for a planning workshop regarding a possible 960-bed expansion
of the Reeves County Detention Center, and the increased demand the expansion
would place on city water and sewage systems.
"No decisions were made," Reeves County Judge Jimmy Galindo said.
Galindo said that the County presented the rough plan to the city and
really just wanted to get the process started.
Town of Pecos City, City Manager Carlos Yerena, said that the city requested
at least three weeks to study the proposal before giving the county even
preliminary numbers, but that the City thought it could handle the necessary
water and sewage demands.
Yerena said that if no unforeseen problems arose, the city's new South
Worsham Water Field was scheduled to be operating in about 18 months.
"That timeframe runs parallel to the construction of the 960 beds,"
Galindo said.
The target date for completing the new addition is 18-20 months in the
future, Galindo said.
Galindo said that without the new water field the prison could not be
expanded unless it developed its own water sources.
At first glance, it looks like the city's existing infrastructure will
support both the increased water flow and the increased sewage.
"The new 16-inch water line running from the city to the RCDC (installed
last year) should be sufficient to feed all three RCDC facilities," Galindo
said.
The Reeves County Detention Center just completed an expansion that
doubled the size of the prison from 1,000 to 2,000 beds. One of the improvements
made as part of that project was the installation of 1½ miles of
new water line by the Town of Pecos City from Eddy Street to the prison
on the southwest side of town.
Galindo said that the 960-bed addition would translate into about 200
more jobs in the area with an average pay of $28,000.
That average includes prison management salaries that are significantly
higher than the rank-and-file employees.
However, Galindo said he felt the average was an accurate reflection
of the prison payroll since after the first year, all employees who complete
their training receive a salary increase to $24,000 per year.
Man survives brush with train after argument
By ROSIE FLORES
Staff Writer
PECOS, April 30, 2001 - A train/pedestrian accident that occurred Saturday
left one man injured, but lucky to be alive, according to Pecos police.
The accident occurred at about 12:14 a.m., Saturday, at the railroad
crossing in the 100 block of Locust Street.
"The conductor saw a pedestrian on the tracks and then saw him step
out the way," said Pecos Police Investigator Kelly Davis.
Davis said that in his statement to the police the engineer of the Union
Pacific freight told them that the man was in the middle of the tracks
waving his arms. "He then saw the man step out of the way to the south
side and thought he had moved," said Davis. "The conductor blew his horn
to warn him."
Davis said the engineer then heard a noise, which led him to believe
he had hit something. "The conductor then stopped and went to check to
see if he had hit something," said Davis.
The pedestrian, Gilbert Chavez, 28, received a gash on his head and
a broken hand. "He lost his balance and fell back and his head hit the
brake box," said Davis. "That bounced him back," though not far enough
to be hit by the train, he added.
The incident stemmed from an argument the pedestrian had had earlier
with his girlfriend, according to Davis.
Enterprise wins two awards at APME contest in El Paso
PECOS, April 30, 2001 - Pecos Enterprise Editor and Publisher Smokey Briggs
won first place in General Column Writing at the Associated Press Managing
Editor's Convention, held this past weekend in El Paso.
Briggs also shared a second place award with staff writer Rosie Flores
for Community Service in Class dealing with a series of stories on allegations
of grade changing at Pecos High School last year.
Briggs won for columns on the Y2K scare, "The Greatest Generation" of
World War II and Depression-era Americans, and on "Trick or Treat" guilt.
Even though the judge of the column writing competition for Class A (circulation
10,000 and below) newspapers had questions about whether or not Briggs
really owns a cowboy hat (he does), he went on to say, "A light touch makes
for fun reading. A plethora of fantasy friends obviously makes is life
very interesting. Plus, he was the only entrant who wore a cowboy hat in
his mug shot."
The stories on grade changing at Pecos High School involved the allegations
made by PHS teachers Brenilda and Bruce Bauer, and subsequent actions taken
by the Pecos-Barstow-Toyah ISD board against the couple. Litigation in
the case is still pending. The Enterprise's series finished second in Class
A to a series of stories by the Marshall News Messenger on racial profiling
in that city connected to traffic stops by police.
The community service award was given out on Saturday during the AMPE
meeting, while the column writing award was announced during the final
session on Sunday. Other area papers winning awards were the Midland Reporter-Telegram
and Odessa American in Class 2A and the San Angelo Standard-Times and Lubbock
Avalanche-Journal in Class 3A.
Immunization shots offered to kids in Thursday sessions
PECOS, April 30, 2001 - All children will have an opportunity to receive
vaccinations they are missing at a special "Shots Across America" project
scheduled for this week and next week in Pecos.
The immunization effort is sponsored by Trans Pecos Health Center, Pecos-Barstow-Toyah
ISD, Pecos Volunteer Ambulance Service and Texas Department of Health.
Vaccinations will be given this Thursday, May 3, and again on Thursday,
May 10, and are available to all school age children in grades kindergarten
through 12th grade.
Immunizations will be offered from 1-5 p.m., on both Thursdays at Bessie
Haynes Elementary School at 11th and Sycamore streets.
All children given a vaccination will receive a Dairy Queen certificate.
Tornillo woman jailed in pot bust after traffic stop
PECOS, April 30, 2001 - A routine traffic stop netted about 60 pounds of
marijuana and landed a Tornillo woman in jail on Friday about four miles
west of Pecos.
According to a report by the Trans-Pecos Drug Task Force, at 12:08 a.m.
on Friday, Sergeant Investigator Arnulfo Rivas of the task force, assisted
by Reeves County Deputy Fernando Valenzuela, conducted a traffic stop on
I-20, at mile marker 35 west of town. As a result of the traffic stop,
about 43 bundles of marijuana were found in a hidden false compartment
located in the front bumper of a two-door Chevrolet.
"The marijuana weighed at about 60 pounds and has an estimated street
value of $30,360," said Trans Pecos Drug Task Force Commander Gary Richards.
Arrested and charged with possession of marijuana, a second-degree felony
was Armida C. Hernandez, of Tornillo, located 30 miles east of El Paso.
Along with assistance from the Reeves County Sheriff's Department, Pecos
Police also assisted the task force in the arrest.
The Trans Pecos Drug Task Force covers eight counties in West Texas
and is under the direction of Sheriff Arnulfo "Andy" Gomez and Commander
Richards.
Enterprise to run candidate profiles in May 3 edition
PECOS, April 30, 2001 - The Pecos Enterprise will be running profiles of
candidates for the May 5 city, school and hospital district elections this
Thursday, May 3. The profiles will be for the candidates in the contested
area elections.
The profiles will be those provided by the candidates, and can be up
to 400 words (10 inches) in length, and will be run with an accompanying
photo, if available.
Candidates wanting to be included in next Thursday's profiles should
bring in their information to the Enterprise by 12 noon on Wednesday, or
e-mail the information to news@pecos.net by that time.
Reeves-Loving 4-H meeting on Tuesday
PECOS, April 30, 2001 - The Reeves-Loving 4-H Club will hold a meet on
Tuesday at 6:30 p.m. at the Reeves County Extension office at 700 W. Daggett
St., Suite E.
Those involved with the 4-H Club or other interested persons are asked
to come and give your input at the meeting.
Obituaries
G.Q. 'Shine' Avary, Jr. and Jesus Casillas
Weather
PECOS, April 30, 2001 - High Sunday 89. Low this morning 61. Forecast for
tonight: Partly cloudy with a slight chance of evening showers or thunderstorms.
Low in the upper 50s. Southeast wind 10 to 15 mph. The chance of rain is
20 percent. Tuesday: Partly cloudy. High in the lower 90s. South wind 10
to 20 mph. Tuesday night: Partly cloudy. Low in the lower 60s. Wednesday:
Partly cloudy. High in the lower to mid 90s. Thursday: Partly cloudy with
a slight chance of thunderstorms. Lows in the lower 60s. Highs in the upper
80s to the lower 90s.
Pecos Enterprise
York M. "Smokey" Briggs, Publisher
Division of Buckner News Alliance, Inc.
324 S. Cedar St., Pecos, TX 79772
Phone 915-445-5475, FAX 915-445-4321
e-mail news@pecos.net
Associated Press text, photo, graphic, audio and/or video material shall not be published, broadcast, rewritten for broadcast or publication or redistributed directly or indirectly in any medium.
Copyright 2000 by Pecos Enterprise
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