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Top StoriesSeptember 8, 1995Ector lost, then won legal rulingBy ROSIE FLORES Staff Writer PECOS, Sept. 8, 1995 - The dispute over the salary for Reeves County Court-At-Law Judge Lee Green is not the first involving an area court-at-law judge and its county commissioners in recent years. A similar situation led to legal litigation in Ector County two years ago that the county first lost, then won on appeal. Reeves County Commissioners voted 3-2 to approve a budget proposed by County Judge Jimmy B. Galindo that cut Green's salary from $53,000 to zero for fiscal 1996. Galindo unsuccessfully sought earlier this year to abolish the court-at-law, saying it was a drain on Reeves County's funds. The judge said in August the county was facing a deficit of nearly $l million for fiscal 1996. Green said earlier this year the court-at-law ran about a $7,000 deficit in 1994 due to a decline in the number of cases filed with the court. A lower case load led Ector County Commissioners to seek to cut the pay of its two court-at-law judges in 1993, but Ector County Judge Jim T. Jordan said, "It's a different situation because those salaries were only reduced from about $89,000 to $60,000 a year and not to zero." "Realistically, what happened, is that we got into a program where you got more from defendants, we were approved to add about $10 or more to each, so therefore, could afford to pay them more," Jordan said. Commissioners voted to reduce county-court-at-law judges salaries. "Two of the judges did sue the county and won," said Jordan. "It was appealed in El Paso and the decision overturned, back to the commissioners favor," he said. The salaries were reinstated this year, due to the number of cases handled by the court-at-law judges, said Jordan. "I read somewhere that you have to set a reasonable salary and zero isn't a reasonable salary," he said. Commissioners voted for the cut during Tuesday's budget hearing, with Galindo breaking the 2-2 tie. Green said after the hearing he did not know if he would take legal action over the pay elimination. Planning continues on YMCA meetingBy MARI MALDONADO Staff Writer PECOS, Sept. 8, 1995 - Plans are continuing for a meeting later this month between local community leaders and representatives of the Young Men's Christian Association (YMCA) to discuss the possibility of forming a branch of the non-profit, community service organization in Pecos. The YMCA Project Planning Committee, comprised of 19 active community members, will meet on Sept. 20 at the Holiday Inn Banquet Room with YMCA National Field Representatives. They will conduct in-depth interviews with each member "to see if we (Pecos residents) are really committed to having and supporting a Y' in our community," according to Oscar Saenz, Anchor West, Inc. manager and YMCA project organizer. Saenz has already notified all committee members of the meeting and has put together another group of individuals scheduled to meet with the field representatives on the morning of Sept. 20. This second set of interviews, said Saenz, is so that "the national Y' representatives can see a cross section of the townspeople and determine if everyone in Pecos wants to support a Y'." These meetings represent the third stage of the process to bring a YMCA to Pecos said Saenz last month. The first stage involved the initial organization of the YMCA Project Planning Committee and its first meeting in October of 1994 and the second stage the distribution of a questionnaire to "movers and shakers - people that get things done," and to a random selection of the Pecos population. The questionnaire was designed to receive feedback from the community on whether or not Pecos needed a YMCA and results indicated that in fact it did. According to a YMCA fact sheet, the organization "is the largest non-profit community service organization in America. It is all the heart of community life in neighborhoods and towns across the nation. It works to meet the health and social service needs of 13.5 million men, women and children. Y's help people develop values and behavior that are consistent with Christian principles. Y's are for people of all faiths, races, abilities, ages, and incomes. No one is turned away for inability to pay. The YMCA's strength is in the people it brings together. Pecos has not had an indoor recreation facility for the public since December, 1990, when the West Pecos Gym was closed due to unsafe roof supports. The gym was being operated by the Pecos Community Recreation Department, which itself closed down earlier this year, after continuing to operate outdoor softball, T-ball and flag football leagues since closure of the gym. Private individuals had to organize softball leagues this summer, while the Pecos Little League took over supervision of the summer T-ball Pee Wee Ball leagues. Saenz noted that anyone wishing to volunteer to be interviewed during the YMCA field representatives visit on Sept. 20 can contact either him at 447-2828 or Tom Rivera at the Pecos Chamber of Commerce on South Cedar Street (445-2406). County tries to fill RCDC food service jobBy ROSIE FLORES Staff Writer PECOS, Sept. 11, 1995 - Reeves County Detention Center Food Services Administrator's salary was the focal point of discussion at this morning's regular commissioners court meeting. The meeting which was held on the third floor of the courthouse took up the entire morning, but was completed without the need for an afternoon session. Commissioners finished up their business by agreeing to a proposal for hiring a food services administrator. "This position has been open for some time and we desperately need to fill it," said County Judge Jimmy B. Galindo. "I have a resume from an applicant who seems very qualified," said RCDC Warden Joe Trujillo. "It may require a modification to the salary." Trujillo told commissioners that U.S. Bureau of Prisons representative Tommy Duncan and Ray Beery from the Federal Correctional Institute in Big Spring, came to inspect the food services department and in their verbal interview expressed their concern in reference to the lack of an administrator. "I haven't gotten the written report on the inspection, but when I talked to them, they told them they were very concerned about this," said Trujillo. "There hasn't been one (food services administrator) for over a year." "We've been advertisin |