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July 16, 1997
Father shoots son while
defending disable woman
No charges filed
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By SHANNON BRYER
Staff Writer
PECOS, July 16, 1997 - At about midnight Monday night, an intoxicated
man was shot in the arm by his father in claimed self-defense, for
beating up a woman in front of his father's house, which is about six
miles north of Pecos on 285.
According to sheriff's department statements, 36-year-old Robert Smart,
Jr., of Carlsbad, New Mexico, had been drinking all day. When he started
beating up his 47-year-old disabled girlfriend, she went inside the
house to get help. The alleged assailant's father, Robert Smart, Sr.,
came out to calm him down.
Once outside, the father and son got into a fight during which the
father picked up a shovel that the son took away. The father then
grabbed a pitch fork. When Smart, Jr. went to his van, his father
thought he was going to get a gun, so Smart, Sr. went into the house and
got a 22. He came outside and shot his son in the arm.
Smart, Jr. drove himself to the hospital, and at about 3 a.m., after
treatment, was there arrested for public intoxication by Reeves County
Sheriff's Deputy Tony Aguilar.
Smart, Jr.'s father, mother, and girlfriend went to the sheriff's office
to report the incident a few minutes after midnight.
According to the Sheriff's office, Smart, Jr. was released, and no one filed charges against him.
Head Start town meeting
typifies program issues
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By RICK SMITH
Staff Writer
PECOS, July 16, 1997 - Events surrounding a town meeting called to
inform citizens about the local Head Start program may be an example of
what is wrong with the program, bad luck and a lack of strong leadership.
People arriving at 7 p.m. Monday at the Reeves County Civic Center
where the meeting was scheduled to be held were greeted with a sign that
said the meeting had been moved to the Pecos Head Start Day Care Center
at 1001 10th Street because the civic center was infested with flies.
Bad luck.
Upon arriving at the day care center everyone had to wait outside about
15 minutes until someone showed up with a key to unlock the building.
The air conditioning had been turned off in the building so it was hot
when everyone entered. But, to make matters worse, the crowd of about 35
adults were hearded from the relatively cool foyer to what might have
been the hottest room in the building for the town meeting. Luckily, the
crowd was soon given handouts which everyone promptly turned into fans.
The first half of the meeting was spent introducing various Head Start
administrators from the Pecos, Saragosa and Monahans programs, policy
council members and Reeves County Community Council members. Some of
those introduced gave prepared speeches about the functions of their
department.
The meeting was halted at about the halfway point for cookies and punch.
Everyone moved back into the foyer and got some relief from the heat of
the meeting room.
Those organizing the meeting made a wise decision and allowed everyone
to remain in the foyer for the second half of the meeting which was
mostly more of the same from the first half.
However, there were a few refferences made to the problems facing the
local program.
Troubles for the Head Start program began last year when evaluators from
the Dallas office of the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services
Administration for Children and Families found deficiencies in the local
program.
The Reeves County Community Council is working to maintain control of
the area Head Start programs by correcting some of the deficiencies but
when department of health officials returned in the spring they still
found problems in the program.
Reeves County Community Council President Linda Clark, Community Council
Executive Director Caprice Cox and President of the Policy Council Board
for Head Start Laura Carrasco went to Dallas on in June to meet with
Head Start administrators. There they signed an agreement with the U.S.
Department of Health which specified what the community council needed
to do to maintain control of the area Head Start program.
The agreement gave the council until Nov. 1 to rectify the deficiencies.
(See box for a list of deficiencies the agreement includes.)
"We are having problems with Head Start administrators in Dallas," Clark
told the crowd Monday. "In April we corrected a lot of the deficiencies
but we still need to do more.
"We signed an agreement to get an extension to get compliance up to what
they think it should be. They will be back in November to see if we've
gotten things done."
Clark went on to say that if the department of health takes the program
away from the Reeves County Community Council the department will bid
oversight of the program out to agencies from as far away as Lubbock,
San Angelo or El Paso.
Cox told those present that parental envolvement would be essiential to
get area Head Start programs running smoothly.
"All parents are invited to be part of the policy council," she said.
Cox added that there are three vacancies on the policy council.
Clark added to what Cox said by stateing that the federal agency
overseeing the Head Start program is unsatisfied with the local policy
council.
"We have got to get it to be more eficiant," Clark said. "We need to
elect members that will show up every month. To take action the council
has to have a quarum at its meetings. The policy council has not had a
quarum for five months.
"Parents have to participate to get a good policy council that makes
decisions on how the Head Start program operates."
The Comunity Council of Reeves County will meet at 6 p.m. tomorrow, July
17, at the Monahans Community Center at 400 E. 4th Street. Items on the
agenda include a review of the meeting in Dallas and an update on the
Head Start program.
Also on the agenda is discussion of an increase in day care demand,
approval of a new head start director, approval of a parent involvmenent coordinator and reports on day care and the Head Start program.
Areas of deficiency in the
local Head Start program
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PECOS, July 16, 1997 - Points of agreement between the U.S. Department
of Health and Human Services, Administration for Children and Families,
Region VI and the Community Council of Reeves County on deficiencies to
be corrected by Nov. 1.
- Develop and implement a revised Quality Improvement Plan
- Amend the training plan to provide individual training for staff
- Document training to staff, board, policy council and volunteers
- Implement a "Program Plan" with time lines, clear lines of
responsibility, process to ensure timely dissemination of information,
monitoring and follow-up provisions to ensure quality service delivery,
conduct joint orientation for staff, board and policy council prior to
dissemination to ensure that lines of responsibility are clear
- Because of continual staff turnover, evaluate the agency's personnel
policies' enforcement practices to ensure appropriate execution, high
absenteeism and resignations do not continue to create instability in
the staffing pattern, resulting in unqualified personnel in various
classroom settings, the Head Start program is administered effectively
and efficiently, uninterrupted service delivered to children and
families on a continuous basis
- Implement the program option indicated by the Community Needs
Assessment to meet the needs of the children and families
- Submit biweekly progress reports to the community council board of
directors, Head Start Policy Council and the health department
- Conduct a state-wide search for the vacant Head Start director position
PHS graduate receives medical scholarship
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By CARRA ALLIGOOD
Staff Writer
PECOS, July 16, 1997 - Didio Martinez III, who just graduated from Pecos
High School in May, has been notified that he has received a prestigious
scholarship that will help him tremendously in his medical studies.
The scholarship, awarded by the National Institutes of Health (NIH), a
branch of the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, will pay for
his college tuition and fees, as well as what the NIH considers
"reasonable educational expenses," according to literature from that
organization.
"I'm very happy about it," said Martinez.
The scholarship, called the NIH Undergraduate Scholarship for
Individuals from Disadvantaged Backgrounds, will pay up to $20,000 per
academic year for his tuition and educational and living expenses,
provided that Martinez fulfills two service obligations to the NIH, a
10-week paid summer laboratory experience at NIH and a year of NIH
research service (post-graduation) for each year of scholarship support.
Martinez was one of only 20 undergraduate students nationwide to receive
the scholarship this year, out of a pool of 220 applicants. Even more
impressive is the fact that he received the scholarship as a high school
senior. High school seniors are on the lowest rung of the priority
ladder for this scholarship, as it is geared to college students who
have already successfully completed several science courses at their
universities. Martinez will attend the University of Arizona at Tucson
starting next month, majoring in microbiology. He plans to become a
doctor and work in the field of biomedical research.
"I want to study and find cures for diseases that people don't really
know about," Martinez said.
Martinez wants to work with Level Four diseases, which are highly
communicable and have no known cure, such as Ebola.
"My mother doesn't want me to do it. She's scared and says it's
dangerous," he admitted.
"When I talked to Didio about applying for the scholarship, I told him
that it would be extremely competitive, and that the NIH would expect
him to be dedicated to them if he was awarded the scholarship," said
Barbara Scown, his high school biology teacher. "He told me that he'd
love to work for the National Institutes for Health.
"This program looks for students who have teacher-mentors," she said.
"I think, in talking with Dr. Horowitz (the scholarship director), that
Didio fits the bill for the scholarship perfectly, in being an
intelligent, hard-working student who is dedicated to science," said
Scown.
"This scholarship would not have been possible if it were not for the
help of my dedicated teachers," said Martinez.
"I want to thank Mr. Workman, for it was he who gave me the preliminary
application and got me started on the scholarship. I thank him for
spending time to track me down and speaking with me when things needed
to get done," said Martinez.
"I also thank Mrs. McNutt for helping me with the application. She
proofread my essay and advised me on what I should mention on my essay.
Mrs. McNutt also spoke with the director of the scholarship."
Martinez continued, "I thank Miss Scown for the endless hours she has
spent speaking with the University of Arizona trying to get them to
cooperate. I thank her for also reviewing and proofreading my essays."
Martinez would also like to thank Marc Horowitz for his input in the
scholarship.
"I think his input is what helped me get the scholarship. Their priority
isn't normally with high school seniors, but students already majoring
in science at the college level.
"Most of my interest lies in field study. I'd like to go out in the
field and study the diseases," Martinez explained about his career plans.
He wants to make his life's work a study of deadly filoviruses, such as
AIDS, Ebola, Marburg and Reston. He said that filovirus are different
from human viruses because human virus are round, while filoviruses are
spiral shaped.
Martinez hopes to study the animals who first brought the diseases to
humans - where they lived, what they ate, what caused the diseases to
break out.
He believes part of the problem lies in human encroachment upon places
that were once completely wild, bringing humans into closer contact with
the hosts of these fatal diseases.
Martinez explained that Marburg is Ebola's cousin, but Ebola kills
faster, and most people who contract Marburg recover eventually. He said
that Reston is an airborne virus, which is so named because it first
occurred in a factory in Reston, VA where monkeys are killed to
manufacture penicillin. The fatal virus broke out once in Texas, he
said, but the owners of the monkeys involved in that case killed all
their monkeys to prevent an epidemic.
Martinez hopes to research these types of diseases in an effort to find
cures for them.
"We're real proud of this young man. He's an excellent student, always
on time and organized," said Scown. "It's a pleasure to teach a student like him.
Progress on Red Bluff desalination
project "like walking through tar"
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By JON FULBRIGHT
Staff Writer
PECOS, July 16, 1997 - Progress on the proposed desalination project for
Red Bluff Lake is at a near standstill, members of the Red Bluff Water
Power Control District were told Monday during their regular monthly
meeting.
General manager Jim Ed Miller said he has had little success getting
action on the project from either officials in New Mexico or within the
Texas Attorney General's office in Austin.
"It's just like walking through tar," Miller said.
Red Bluff is seeking to divert water from a salt spring located at
Malaga Bend away from the Pecos River. The spring is just inside the New
Mexico state line, and feeds into Red Bluff Lake, raising its salt
content.
Miller said he has to negotiate both with New Mexico for the right to
divert the water, and is also awaiting word on who actually owns the .8
acre site where the well will be located that pumps the water out of the
spring.
"If we go outside the .8 acres where the replacement well is, we'll run
into environmental problems," Miller said.
He indicated that the site is owned by the Interstate Stream Commission,
but the U.S. Bureau of Reclamation believes they may own the site. A
court may have to determine ownership.
Miller said a permit is already set up for a pond where the salt spring
will be diverted, and an agreement also is in place for contract to mine
the salt in the pond. "We've got to get a pump set up, and set up an
agreement with New Mexico on how much water we'll have to give up."
Board president Randal Hartman asked Miller to talk to Red Bluff's
attorneys on what type of a deal New Mexico was offering. The general
manager indicated that the state was seeking 30 acre feet of fresh water
in exchange for pumping rights.
"I don't want to give them everything, but we stand to benefit more than
we would lose from that deal," Hartman said.
Miller travelled to Roswell, N.M. in June to meet with an official from
the state's regional water watch division, who directed him to the New
Mexico State Engineer's Office in Santa Fe.
He said he has had trouble getting a update on the situation from Santa
Fe, and has not heard back from Attorney General Dam Morales' office in
Austin. Any deal to exchange water for pumping rights must be made
through the state, Miller told board members.
The lake itself contained 51,281 acre/feet of water on Monday, down
10,000 acre/feet from the end of June and 13,000 acre/feet lower than at
the end of May.
"We've been running heavy on delivery since the first of the month,"
said board member Lloyd Goodrich, who added that the quality of the
water, "is better now than at the beginning of the year."
Ward County Water Districts 1 and 2 and Pecos County Water District 3
have used about half of their annual allotments as of June. Overall,
10,616 acre feet of water have been used by the seven water districts
downstream from Red Bluff, with 14,329 acre feet still available.
Both Goodrich and Hartman said long-range forecasts for the area called
for a wetter-than-usual fall and winter, and the board agreed to allot
an additional 5,000 acre/feet of water for the month at a cost of $2.50
per acre/foot.
The allotment will require a 10,000 acre/foot release from Red Bluff
Lake, due to a 50 percent evaporation rate as the water flows down the
Pecos River. Goodrich said the lake has a 20,000 acre/foot maintenance
level.
The board also voted to allow Miller to advertise for bids on tracts of
land in the Eat Ford Unit in Reeves County which is owned by the
district. A Florida man, Joel S. Castillo, offered the district $45,000
for the royalty interest in the tract, in a letter received by the board
in June. Miller said it's the first time the district has discusses
selling oil and gas interests.
Board member Dick Slack said he was unsure if Castillo was seeking the
royalty or mineral interests in the tract, and asked Miller for an
abstract search to clarify the situation.
"I have a little concern about selling the assets," Slack said. "But I
kind of make a distinction if it doesn't have anything to do with
irrigation."
The action would await clarification on the legality of the sale, and
Slack said the board could reserve the right to reject all bids in the
legal notice.
Accounts payable for June, totalling $12,028.57, were approved by the board, along with cash disbursements of $30,562.32.
Car thief leads police
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By SHANNON BRYER
Staff Writer
PECOS, July 16, 1997 - Area law enforcement agencies were involved in a
high speed chase Monday evening, which originated in Ft. Stockton and
sent cruisers racing through Reeves County on I-10. The 180-mile chase,
which reached speeds up to 130 m.p.h., ended six miles west of Sierra
Blanca, where a stolen Lexus was recovered but the driver got away.
The chase began at the 7-D Exxon in Fort Stockton when a man in a white
1996 Lexus drove away without paying for his gas, according to Pecos
County Sheriff Bruce Wilson. When the station attendant reported the
drive-off, a warrant was issued, and officers were dispatched to stop
the car.
The Exxon is located on I-10, near exit 261. When the attendant
authorized the driver of the Lexus to pump gas he did so and drove away,
heading west on I-10.
"The gas was $12.07. The attendant called the police, who quickly
located him. They tried to stop him with a road block but he went
through it," said Carmelita Ramirez, assistant manager of the 7-D Exxon.
"Apparently when the driver saw the police vehicle's lights, he took off
going about 130 m.p.h.," said Culberson County Sheriff's Deputy Alberto
Urias. "He was swerving from lane to lane and had his lights off at
times," Urias said.
The Pecos County Sheriff's Department pursued the vehicle about 70
miles. "We terminated pursuit at the I-20 exchange, and Van Horn started
pursuit," Wilson said.
Reeves County Sheriff Arnulfo "Andy" Gomez said, "We joined the chase at
8:58 in Balmorhea. We chased him all the way to Van Horn, where the
highway patrol took it over."
The subject got away but we recovered the vehicle," said Sergeant Hector
Urias, of the Hudspeth County Sheriff's Department. The driver turned
off the interstate onto a dirt road with his lights off, got stuck, and
abandoned the vehicle.
"We found the car about 10 last night, about a mile west of exit 87,"
Urias said. "He took off on foot. He was tracked, but we lost him. He
may have been picked up by someone driving on the highway," Sgt. Hector
Urias said.
The vehicle was reported stolen Tuesday morning from Corpus Christi,
Texas.
A border patrol officer saw the driver briefly and said the fugitive was
Hispanic, had short hair, and had a tattoo on his neck, according to Sgt. Hector Urias.
Enterprise wins two awards in 1997
Texas Better Newspapers contest
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PECOS, July 16, 1997 - The Pecos Enterprise recently won two awards in
the 1997 Texas Better Newspaper Contest conducted by the Texas Press
Association (TPA).
The Enterprise took Second Place in General Excellence - Division 2 and
Third Place in News Writing - Division 2.
In the contest, 182 TPA newspapers submitted 2,609 entries. Kansas Press
Association members judged most of the contest and the staff of the
Topeka Capital-Journal judged the rest.
Awards were presented last month at the Texas Better Newspaper Contest
awards breakfast during TPA's 118th Annual Summer Convention at the
Amarillo Radisson Airport Inn.
Division 2 in the contest included daily newspapers with a circulation
of 7,000 or less.
In winning Second Place in General Excellence, judges said of the
Enterprise, "This is a newsy paper. Writing is solid. Content is timely.
Photos break up gray. Nice job."
In winning Third Place for News Writing, judges said, "The Pecos paper has good, comprehensive coverage. Writing looks good, too."
PBT school board to meet tomorrow
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PECOS, July 16, 1997 - The Pecos-Barstow-Toyah ISD Board of Education
will meet Thursday at 6 p.m. for their monthly meeting.
The main topics to be discussed during the meeting are the Pecos High
School dress code, the PHS discipline plan, and discussion/approval of
the superintendent's resignation.
Some other items on Thursday evening's agenda are a report on a request
for Elementary Spanish Language classes, discussion/approval of a
Professional Development and Appraisal System (PDAS),
discussion/approval of a Gifted/Talented Cooperative contract with
Region 18, discussion/approval of and agreement for the education of
tuition-free transfers for students attending Wink ISD,
discussion/approval of high school, middle school and elementary
handbooks, and appointment of and officer to calculate the effective tax
rates.
All regular monthly business will be discussed as well.
The meeting will be open to the public until the closed session, which
is scheduled near the end of the meeting.
The public may make brief comments at the beginning of the meeting
during the "Audiences" section. Comments may not attack any specific
person. Groups may be asked to elect a spokesperson. Comments will be
limited to a specific amount of time, ordinarily no more that five minutes.
Redford residents protest
military on border patrol
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WASHINGTON (AP) July 16, 1997 - The residents of tiny Redford, Texas,
say they've seen the damage four Marines could do in their town. They'd
hate to see the results if 10,000 troops are deployed along the
Southwest Border.
Leaders from the West Texas border town where a Marine on a drug patrol
killed 18-year-old Esequiel Hernandez Jr. are in Washington to express
their opposition to further border militarization.
The Hernandez shooting also has raised interest in Congress. U.S. Rep.
Lamar Smith, who was to meet with the Redford group today, said Tuesday that there will be a congressional inquiry.
OBITUARY
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Carlos Rodriguez Sr.
PECOS, July 16, 1997 - Funeral services are incomplete for Carlos
Rodriguez Sr., 48, of Pecos, who died July 9, 1997 in Berkley, Calif.Arrangements are being handled by Martinez Funeral Home
WEATHER
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PECOS, July 16, 1997 - High Tuesday, 99, low this morning, 67. There
will be chances of isolated thunderstorms in the Panhandle, the low
rolling plains and in the mountains of Southwest Texas. It will be
mostly sunny during the day and fair at night across West Texas. Lows
tonight will be in the 60s and 70s. Highs Thursday will be in the 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
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. Neither these AP Materials nor any portion thereof may be stored in a computer except for personal and non-commercial use. The AP will not be held liable for any delays, inaccuracies, errors or omissions therefrom or in the transmission or delivery of all or any part thereof or for any damages arising from any of the foregoing.
Copyright 1997 by Pecos Enterprise
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