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June 18, 1997
High winds knock out power,
kill one in Houston storm
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HOUSTON (AP) June 18, 1997 - A strong thunderstorm packing winds of near
hurricane force cut a destructive path across a vast area of Houston,
leaving about 234,00 homes without electrical power and injuring five
people.
Thousands of tree limbs were downed by winds that gusted to 70 mph, only
4 mph below hurricane force, on Tuesday. The storm also blew down parts
of buildings and shattered windows in downtown skyscrapers.
One person died in a weather-related traffic accident in suburban League
City. The victim's name was not released pending notification of
relatives.
Houston Lighting & Power spokeswoman Leticia Lowe said that as of 8
p.m., 65,200 customers still had no power. All available linemen were
working to restore power, she said.
Two window maintenance workers at Two Shell Plaza in downtown Houston
had to smash a glass pane to crawl through to safety when high winds damaged their metal platform as they worked five stories above ground.
Local entry events allow everyone
to participate in annual rodeo
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By RICK SMITH
Staff Writer
PECOS, June 18, 1997 - While most of the events of the annual West of
the Pecos Rodeo (July 2-5) are for professional rodeo cowboys, some of
the most fun comes from watching the nonprofessional local entry events
such as the wild cow milking contest, the wild mare race and the youth
boot scramble.
The PRCA books are closed for the 115th edition of the West of the Pecos
Rodeo with 742 entrants of professional cowboys. This is up from last
year and is the most entrants ever for the rodeo. The West of the Pecos
Rodeo is the world's first rodeo, the fourth largest rodeo in Texas and
one of the top 20 rodeos in the nation, according to Jim Bob McNeil,
West of the Pecos Rodeo Committee President.
"The increase in entrants makes the purse larger this year." McNeil
said. The purse is comprised of $70,000 the rodeo committee raises
plus the cowboy entry fees.
Those professional events and cowboys bring a lot of excitement to the
annual rodeo but the events that bring most of the laughs are three
traditional local entry events which anyone can enter by signing up at
the Pecos Chamber of Commerce at 111 S. Cedar. All three events are held
each night of the rodeo.
In the wild cow milking contest two cowboys rope and milk a wild cow.
One of the two then runs to the judges with their bottle of milk. The
first one to the judges is the winner. The winners of the Wednesday,
Thursday and Friday contests compete in the finals Saturday night.
In the wild mare race three cowboys attempt to saddle and ride a wild
horse to the finish line then unsaddle the horse. Again, the Wednesday,
Thursday and Friday winners compete in the finals Saturday. The winning
teams will receive a Gist Rodeo Buckle and a money purse. Contact the
Pecos Chamber of Commerce for entry details.
The boot scramble is for youth three to 10 years old. This year the
event will held at 8 p.m. before the official 8:30 p.m. start of the
rodeo. The kids are divided into two divisions: three to six year olds
and seven to 10 year olds. There are nightly winners and each winner
receives a $25 U.S. Savings Bond. The participant's ticket is the only
entry fee.
"With these local events any cowboy or cowgirl can participate in the rodeo," McNeil said.
Man found innocent in amphetamine case
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By PEGGY McCRACKEN
Staff Writer
PECOS, June 18, 1997 - Federal court jurors on Tuesday believed a young
defendant's denial of having knowledge that amphetamine was underneath
the car seat where he was a passenger and found him innocent.
Ernesto Alaniz, 25, of Tijuana, Mex., testified that he was traveling
from California to Dallas with a friend when they were stopped at the
Sierra Blanca Border Patrol checkpoint Oct. 3, 1996.
The friend, Raul Moreno Cedillo, has already pleaded guilty to
possession with intent to distribute amphetamine. Alaniz said the car
belonged to Moreno.
In his opening statement Monday, defense attorney Jeff Parras said that
Alaniz has been waiting a long time for his day in court. He had been in
jail since failing to appear for trial on the original indictment.
Alaniz said Moreno asked him to drive through the checkpoint because
Moreno is a Mexican citizen and Alaniz is a U.S. citizen.
"The government has to prove Alaniz knew those drugs were in there,"
Parras said. "It is not enough to show he was in the car at the same
time as the drugs."
Alaniz believed the purpose of the trip was to deliver the car to Dallas
for an obese woman who planned to fly to Dallas and meet them there,
Parras said.
"She was going to give them money and bus fare back to California. Maybe
he was naive," Parras said.
Alaniz did take the bus this morning, but headed east, saying he was
going to visit his grandparents in Kentucky.
Another jury trial set for today was continued to July. Judge Royal
Furgeson heard testimony this morning in a motion to suppress hearing
and sentenced several defendants.
Four defendants appeared before U.S. Magistrate Stuart Platt on charges
of importing 8.2 grams of cocaine on June 14.
Charged were Wade Wiggins, 20, Chad Taylor, 19, Justin Davis, 19, and
Ronald Emanuel, 20, all of Henrietta. They were arrested by U.S. Customs
officers at the Presidio Port of Entry as they crossed the Rio Grande from Mexico.
Young performer to sing National
Anthem at West of Pecos Rodeo
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By ROSIE FLORES
Staff Writer
PECOS, June 18, 1997 - Brooke Adams, labeled "the young lady with the
dynamic voice," will sing the National Anthem at the West of the Pecos
Rodeo.
"She will perform all four nights of the rodeo," said rodeo committee
member Annis Rasberry. "We wanted to do something different this year
and have heard a lot of good things about this young lady," she said.
Adams will be making her second appearance at the Texas Rangers game on
Thursday, June 19 to sing the National Anthem.
She is also a regular at the Johnny High Country Music Review in
Arlington. On her last appearance at the review, Leann Rymes was on hand
to sing and Brooke had the opportunity to have her picture made with the
young new talented artist. Leann was a regular on the Johnny High Show
for six or seven years before going professional.
Since her first appearance, Brooke Adams has been receiving acclaim from
her audiences. She was born in the Big Bend country of West Texas,
moving with her parents and brother, Jim Bob, to Lampasas at the age of
five. Her very first talent contest occurred in El Paso when she was
just three years old. At that contest, she took Overall Talent (with a
song and dance routine).
Since that time, she has been in numerous national beauty and talent
competitions.
A judge (and also a talent agent) at the American U.S.A. Pageant in
Austin where Brooke was a contestant recognized her talent and potential
and later signed Brooke to a contract. Through him, she received a
principal part (young Missy) in the movie "My Boyfriend's Back,"
produced by Touch Tone Pictures. This was on her first audition.
This young lady also does print work, radio and television commercials,
and in 1994 co-starred in a children's video entitled, "Railroaders."
It was in that same year that Brooke began taking vocal lessons from
Cissy Rowland in Cleburne, making the trip twice weekly for over a year.
She was advised to halt all performances for a period of time, which
ended up lasting for six months, but the improvements that have resulted
from this were worth the wait, according to her parents, David and
Robbie Adams.
Brooke is a very dedicated young lady and she daily practices her songs
and her vocal exercises. Remarkable in a youngster her age, since most
of her peers are out just having fun. In addition to her performance
schedule, she is active in school activities and is a member of the
dance and gymnastic show teams. Her dance team did a performance during
halftime at the Dallas/Giants game in Texas Stadium on Dec. 17.
August of 1995 found Brooke taking second place in a Dallas talent
contest, competing against about 150 other contestants, most of whom
were adults. This says a lot for a young lady of nine. The top three
winners of this contest were flown to Washington, D.C. in September for
the "nationals/finals" of this contest. Again, Brooke placed second,
bringing home a trophy and lots of great memories.
Turning 10 this year, Brooke makes regular performances at many of the
area Opry venues, and also performs at her local nursing homes. She is a
return performer on an annual basis at both the Exxon Retiree's Dinner
in Proctor and at the Miss Texas Preliminary Pageant in Austin.
Last June, while singing at her uncle's wedding, she was heard by an
official of Rex Allen's West Texas Rehab Center Telethon in Abilene. He
offered her a contract and she performed on the Telethon Jan. 13 of this
year.
She performed the National Anthem a-cappella for the exhibition game
between the Texas Rangers and Houston Astros on March 29.
She was wildly applauded and many calls were received exclaiming over
her performance.
In addition to her vocal abilities, she starred in a video by Big Kids
Productions on "What do you want to be when you grow up?" she has had
"print" contracts with Austin Medical Center, McDonalds and Scott Felder
Homes and she has received training from some of the top people in the
fields of improvisation, photo, on-camera acting and performance.
When she isn't on stage, she enjoys working out on the trampoline,
riding (western style), bicycle riding, swimming, ice skating and gymnastics.
Hospital district chooses schools to collect taxes
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By ROSIE FLORES
Staff Writer
PECOS, June 18, 1997 - Pecos-Barstow-Toyah ISD will be collecting taxes
for the Reeves County Hospital District, hospital board members decided
at Tuesday's regular meeting.
Two entities had submitted proposals to offer their services to collect
taxes for the hospital district. Representatives from both were on hand
for the evening meeting.
Reeves County Tax Assessor-Collector Elfida Zuniga told the board that
her office has a collection rate of 90 percent.
In her presentation, Zuniga told the board that her office is doing
everything possible in collecting delinquent taxes and has made
considerable progress in this effort.
The county office provides monthly reports and would give quarterly
reports to the entities they represent, according to Zuniga.
Tax assessor-collector for the school district Lydia Prieto told the
board that her office has a collection rate of 100 percent.
"I really don't have any numbers with me right now, but in August the
district had a collection rate of 100 percent for the city," said Prieto.
The school is currently providing tax collection for the Town of Pecos
City.
"We are doing the same thing and we don't have any problems," she stated.
Notices are sent from her office to taxpayers frequently and follow-up
notices are sent to delinquent tax payers.
Hospital board member Hiram Luna stated that even though the board would
be saving money by going with the county, the group already has a good
working relationship with the school district and would like to build on
that.
"We really do have a close alliance with the schools, a good working
relationship with them," said hospital administrator Terry Andris.
The board thanked both entities and stated that both are doing an
excellent job, but opted to go with the school district. Board member
Jesse Prieto abstained from voting due to conflict of interest. Prieto's
wife is tax assessor-collector for the school district.
"I was concerned about the legality part of it, because we didn't go
with the lower bid," said board member Chel Flores.
"We don't have to accept the lower bid, it's not a requirement," said
Andris.
In other business, the board reported that the hospital is doing very
well financially.
Andris praised hospital employees and stated that they are providing
better services at lower cost in order to keep the hospital in good
financial shape.
A bid on property located at 310 S. Mesquite was accepted by the board.
The bid was in the amount of $1,490 and had already been accepted by the
other local taxing entities.
Salvador Carrera explained that his bid was for the house only, since he
can't afford the other two buildings at this time. He did state that he
would like to purchase the other two buildings on the lot later and
demolish them or fix them up.
"I'm figuring that it will take about $8,000 just to fix up the house to
where it's livable," he said.
A contract with attorney Scott Johnson was approved.
"Scott is currently our attorney and this is just making our agreement
with him more official," said Andris.
The hospital relies on Johnson for certain matters and the only time
another attorney is needed is when the Justice Department is involved or
they have a question about their contract, according to Andris.
Chamber of Commerce Economic Development Committee Chairman Pauline
Moore was on hand to make a presentation to the board.
"We've been going to all the local entities in our effort to improve
economic development in Pecos," said Moore.
Moore outlined the group's plan to enhance the community and bring more
revenue into Pecos.
"We would also like to eventually hire an economic development
coordinator for Pecos," said Moore.
Moore explained to the board that this presentation was just for
information purposes only and required no action.
"We've been drawing up requirements for this economic development person
and would like to present it to the board at a later meeting," she said.
Moore told the group that other cities have an economic development
coordinator and that they are doing very well.
"Already we have had one company come to us about bringing in a new
business into Pecos," said Moore.
The company is from China and was steered toward Pecos by the economic
development coordinator from Monahans, Charlie Walker.
"Walker told them that they had the facility but didn't have the
work-force, but to come to Pecos and speak to Tom (Rivera)," said Moore.
Walker and the mayor of Monahans, David Cutbirth had been to a trip to
China which is where the two met the officials, according to Moore.
"We're just thankful that they thought of us and we're working on some
items that we want to present to this company," said Moore.
Reeves County Hospital is seeking a new employee.
"We're looking for an indigent care person, to take care of that end of
the business," said Andris.
The job had been held by Imelda Rodriguez, a hospital employee who has
been doing double duty, and it is just too much for one person,
according to Andris.
"She does a great job, but it's just too much, there's a lot to do,"
said Andris.
Board members agreed to meet for a budget workshop at 3 p.m. July 17.
Melodrama promises fun for all
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By CARA ALLIGOOD
Staff Writer
PECOS, June 18, 1997 - Greed and a lover's triangle add to the melodrama
of the Windmill Square Playhouse two-act, one-hour play, "Stop That
Villain!" opening later this month.
In the play, Ripley Roquefort, played by Roy Prewit, is left an
inheritance, but he must marry Little Jane Dovetonsil, portrayed by
Tabitha Montanez, in order to collect.
But Little Jane is madly in love with Mertin Manley, played by Jeff
Perkins, and has no intention of marrying Roquefort.
Both acts of the play are set in the lobby of the Pecos Orient Hotel.
Normally, Roy Prewit directs Windmill Square Playhouse productions, but
he had to take the major roll of the villain Roquefort in the play this
year because they didn't have enough men to play all the male parts, so
his wife, Reita, will direct this production.
"It's a major part, and I have to be on stage all the time, and you
can't direct when you're on stage most of the time," he said.
Jenny Flutterpearl, played by Betty Smith, is the propritess of the
Orient Hotel and an aspiring opera singer.
Kathy Hurley plays the hotel chambermaid, Comatose. "Her idea of
changing the bed linens is to move them from room to room," said Roy
Prewit.
Bathsheba Pickles, portrayed by Karen Hornberger, is a creative artist
and a yodeler in cahoots with the villain, Roquefort.
Judge Lynch, played by Jay Spence, is a Texas lawyer dealing in
repossessed buckboards who is also in on the scam.
Auntie Em is played by Robin Felts. She is the chaperone for the lovely
heroine, Little Jane Dovetonsil, a rock hound, in town to expand her
collection.
Perkins, as deputy Manley, the play's hero, falls madly in love with
Little Jane at first sight.
Poker Alice, played by Terri Spence, will probably be the president of
the First Gamblers' Anonymous opened in Pecos, said Prewit.
Horseback, not the brightest character in the play, is portrayed by
Tommy Jackson. He is always willing to lend a helping hand.
Matt Mettler plays used camel salesman Tin Pan Ali.
The phony French maid, Claudette, is played by Darla Blackstock.
Claudette is described as, "oui-la-la in cowboy boots makes her
something to look at."
Kim Clark is the troop's prompter, plus she takes care of the props and
sound effects.
Several short comedy skits will follow the play.
Performances are scheduled for 3 p.m. and 8 p.m. July 29, 8 p.m. June
30, 8 p.m. July 1, and a final matinee performance at 3 p.m. July 4.
A drawing for a quilt made by Roy Prewit will be held during the
intermission at the last performance.
Tickets for the quilt raffle cost one dollar and are available from any
cast member. Tickets can also be obtained at the Pecos Insurance office
at 117 West Second Street, or by calling them at 445-2449.
Senior citizens will be admitted free to the first performance, the
matinee on June 29, although everyone is invited to attend. Ticket
prices for admission to the play are $4 each, for all performances.
There will also be a concession stand at each showing of the play which
will sell soft drinks and popcorn.
The Windmill Square Playhouse was formed in 1990 by Dodd Burham, who was
also the first director. Brett Barrett directed the next two years, then
Roy Prewit took over in 1993 and has been director ever since.
Originally rehearsing and performing at the Reeves County Civic Center,
the troupe moved its operations to the Learning Center, 2024 South Eddy
Street, last year because of scheduling conflicts. "It works out
perfect, because our performances are the week they're closed for
vacation, and we don't have to tear our stage down," said Prewit.
The theatrical group's members make all their own costumes and design
their own sets. "Stop That Villain!" will be their eighth annual performance.
Old water main breaks on Irene St.
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PECOS, June 18, 1997 - One of the city's main water pipes broke earlier
this morning and at press time city crews were still working on fixing
the problem, according to Town of Pecos City Director of Public Works,
Octavio Garcia.
"We slowed it down (the water leak) and we're still trying to stop it -
it hasn't stopped completely," said Garcia.
The broken section of the water main is on the city's west side, on
Irene Street between 4th and 5th streets.
The 400 and 500 blocks of Irene are currently without water, Garcia
said. He estimates the problem will be fixed between 2 and 3 p.m. today.
Garcia also said that this happens from time to time and attributes the break to the old age of the pipe.
WEATHER
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>PECOS, June 18, 1997 - High Tuesday, 95, low this morning, 66. It will
>be sunny during the day and clear tonight with lows in the 60s. Highs
>Thursday will be in the 80s and 90s.
Pecos Enterprise
Mac McKinnon, 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@bitstreet.com
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Copyright 1997 by Pecos Enterprise
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