ARCHIVES
|
|
|
TOP STORIESDecember 16, 1997
PBT board selects new administratorsPECOS, December 16, 1997 - Don Love, current principal at Zavala Middle School, will be the new Pecos-Barstow-Toyah ISD Superintendent, according to an announcement made by the PBT board after a closed session during a special meeting held last night. The board also decided last night that Gome Olibas, current principal of both Barstow Elementary and Lamar Middle School, will fill the position of PBT Administrative Assistant/Personnel Director. PBT board members made the announcements after spending close to two hours in closed session last night. Official hiring will take place at a special PBT school board meeting to be held Jan. 6, 1998. "I am very excited about this opportunity to be superintendent," Love said, "We've got great things going on and a tremendous educational team." Love said he thought very highly of Olibas and was excited about the opportunity to work with him. Olibas was unavailable for comment, but in a prepared statement said that he was honored by the "opportunity to work towards educational excellence for our children." He said he was optimistic about the change and delighted at the prospect of working with Love. "I look forward to the time ahead of me, and I will continue my commitment to the people of our district." Love, who holds several undergraduate degrees as well as Masters degrees in education and school administration, has been teaching since the mid-70s. He started with Pecos schools in 1985 as a teacher at Bessie Haynes Elementary. In 1988, Love moved to Pecos High School where he was assistant football and baseball coach. Love became the assistant high school principal there in 1994 and has been principal at Zavala Middle School since 1996.
Reeves County Hospital board meets tonightPECOS, December 16, 1997 - Meeting to bring the hospital into the new year, the hospital board will elect its representative to the Pecos Economic Development Corporation board and make appointments of administrator, alternate administrator, director and alternate director to the hospital's home health service. The board will consider emergency room contract bids, ambulance service agreements with the cities of Balmorhea and Pecos, the purchase of surgical instruments for podiatry and hospital storage. Also, the hospital board will consider the reappointment of its medical staff for years 1998-1999. The administrator's annual progress report will be given. The board meets at 6 p.m. tonight in the hospital classroom of Reeves County Hospital.
Team sprucing up ParkBy GREG HARMAN Staff Writer PECOS, December 16, 1997 - Although the Guadalupe mountain range, one of the most studied ranges in the world, rose out of the Permian sea to its present height of 4,000 feet millions of years ago without a nurturing human hand, it still requires maintenance, and lots of it. As Tony Armijo, Roads and Trails Supervisor for Guadalupe Mountains National Park, attested: Mother Nature doesn't prize level campsites, nor does she shy away from well-marked hiking trails. Every time the wind blows (and it does blow -- winds as high as 165 miles per hour have been recorded at a near-by wind power facility) and every time snow or rain falls, there is damage to roads and trails that must be repaired. With more than 80 miles of hiking trails and a great number of camp sites to upkeep it's more than a full-time job. The park employs a crew of six in the roads and trails division, not including Armijo (who said his six-man crew sometimes worked like 12). In fact, he had nothing but praise for his crew - but this didn't quell his gratitude to volunteer and conservation groups that come from time to time, helping the park service catch up on its great backlog of work to be done. Enter AmeriCorps, a national service program just starting its third year that allows people of all ages and backgrounds to translate community service into money for education. AmeriCorps members serve communities locally by renovating housing, caring for the elderly, working for immunization programs, and starting neighborhood watch programs. Also, there are two national programs: the National Civilian Community Corp and Volunteers in Service to America. One such group has been clearing trails and leveling campgrounds at the national park for the past two months. And for the second year in a row, members of the NCCC were at Guadalupe Mountains National Park repairing trails and cleaning up camp sites. "What makes my job easier is groups like this," Armijo said as he drove into McKittrick Canyon, where a line of helmeted bodies wound their way around a short hiking loop, cutting back weeds and removing rock. Two-year veteran Brad Bushur, team leader for the NCCC group at Guadalupe, laid his shovel aside temporarily and began to run down an abbreviated list of the agencies his organization works with. The list included national parks, public schools, U.S. Fish and Wildlife, and the U.S. Forestry Service. "We also try to incorporate as many non-profits as possible," said Bushur, citing a program in the team's Denver, Colo. home base for the next 10 months that provided tax help for inhabitants of section-eight housing. The group is in its sixth week of the 10-month program - living, working and socializing together. This forced intimacy has resulted in some pushed buttons. Bushur, who said the group had had its share of conflict, though not a lot, maintained that it "was cool being exposed to so many different backgrounds." He added, thoughtfully, that "people tend to live in a very homogeneous world. NCCC helps to break that down. "We've often joked that MTV's Real World (a program that documents the lives of young people flung together from a wide variety of backgrounds) should follow us around." Bushur, a college graduate, said his experience with NCCC has helped him get a feel for what it is like working within various organizations. The experience could also prove beneficial at a job interview, he said, when a potential boss is likely to ask what he had been up to the past two years - community service always looks good. Kari Sasportas, another second year member, said, "It's not just labor, but improving ourselves." Not ready for a career or graduate school, Sasportas was grateful for the opportunity to travel and try different things. "You get to wear a different hat with each project," she said. Later, while viewing video footage of the AmeriCorps team struggling in the back country of the park - where they repaired six camp sites and constructed two others - Armijho remarked, "I guarantee that this experience is something they'll remember for the rest of their lives." But not only memories followed the team of 14 when they left the park, each member became that much closer to an educational award, totaling $4,725, that is given to each worker who successfully completes a 10-12 month term. Other benefits of AmeriCorps service include a living stipend and health coverage while engaged in the program. The NCCC team is not alone in its service to the park; other groups have put in their time, too. Central Texas Trail Tamers, out of Austin, and members various high school back country groups have volunteered time and energy in the Guadalupe mountain range. There have even been volunteers from as far away as Germany and Mexico who come to gain a broader knowledge of conservation and preservation of national parks. "They try to get the nuts and bolts," Armijo said, "to take back to their countries." The park's Resource Adviser, Eddy Hernandez, who supervised the NCCC team, praised the group saying that they had worked right up to the last. The group returned to Denver, Colo., last Friday. Train hits pickupPECOS, December 16, 1997 - One person was transported to Reeves County Hospital following an accident involving a Union Pacific Train, Monday afternoon. Felipe Cobos, 33, was driving a 1986 Black Chevrolet S-10 pickup, northbound on the 100 block of Willow, when he noticed the train approaching, according to a Pecos Police Department report provided by officer Armando Garcia. Cobos tried to back up, placed the vehicle in reverse, but was unable to do so before the train struck his pickup on the front right side. The impact caused the vehicle to make a 360 degree turn, ending up in a ditch. OBITUARIESBill CallowayBill Calloway, died Monday, Dec. 15, 1997, at Midland Memorial Hospital. Funeral services are set for 11 a.m., Thursday, Dec. 18, in the Ellis Funeral Home Chapel. Cremation to follow funeral services. Calloway was a past president of the West Texas Funeral Directors Association, and was honored in 1995 as their Funeral Director of the year. He was a longtime Pecos resident and managed the Pecos Funeral Home. He moved to Midland in 1992 and became a part of the staff at Ellis Funeral Home. Ellis Funeral Home is in charge of arrangements. Santiago MartinezSantiago Martinez, 87, died Sunday, Dec. 14, 1997, in Rosie, Calif. Services are scheduled to be held in California. Martinez was a former Pecos resident, a U.S. Army veteran and a Catholic. Survivors include: his wife, Lupe Martinez, of Rosie, Calif.; one son, Ramon Martinez, of Dinoba, Calif.; four daughters, Margie Contreras of Pecos, Elena, Christina and Betty Martinez of Dinoba, Calif.; and numerous grandchildren. Roy MurphyRoy Murphy, 77, of Midland, died Saturday, Dec. 13, in a Midland hospital. Services are scheduled for 2 p.m., Wednesday, Dec. 17, at Wilshire Park Baptist Church with Rev. Steve Tims officiating. Burial will be in Resthaven Memorial Park in Midland. Murphy was born Sept. 25, 1920 in Homer, La. He attended high school in Hobbs, N.M., was a resident of Midland for 37 years and a machinist in the oil field business. He was a member of Wilshire Park Baptist Church and had helped to build churches in Texas and Hawaii with Texas Baptist Ministries. In Hobbs, he had been a member of First Baptist church, a boy scout leader, and a civilian crew chief at Hobbs Airfield and Carlsbad during World War II. Murphy was preceded in death by his wife, Kathy Murphy, April 13, 1995, and his parents Ella Bea and Bill Ingram of San Angelo. Survivors include: three sons, Pat Murphy of Albuquerque, N.M., Bill Murphy of Round Rock and Mike Murphy of Pecos; five grandchildren; one niece; and two nephews. The family request that in lieu of flowers memorials be made to Wilshire Park Baptist Church, 801 S. Bentwood, Midland, Tx., 79703 or Allison Cancer Center, 301 N. "N", Midland, Tx., 79701. Pipkin Funeral Home, of Midland, is in charge of arrangements. Efren NatividadEfren L. Natividad, 71, died Sunday, Dec. 14, 1997, at his home in Midland. Services are scheduled for 3 p.m., Wednesday, Dec. 17, in the Ellis Funeral Home Chapel with Rev. Alex Chavez officiating. Burial will be in Fairview Cemetery. Natividad was born July 8, 1926, in Saragosa. He was raised in Pecos, where he lived untl moving to Midland three months ago. He was preceded in death by his sister, Amada Baeza. Survivors include: four daughters, Francis Perez of Woodward, Okla., Mary Cavazos of Abernathy, Tx., Elvia Gomez of Seminole and Rosalie Sanchez of Odessa; five sons, George Natividad of Midland, Joe Natividad of Lamesa, Al (Cat) Natividad of Midland, Jimmy Natividad of El Cajun and Carlos Natividad of Springvalley, Calif.; three brothers, George Natividad of Tulsa, Okla., Ramon Natividad of Pecos and Manuel Natividad of Saragosa; four sisters, Sofia Gomez of Saragosa, Asensia Segoria of Jal, N.M., Cecelia Tarango and Ricarda Salcido of Pecos; 30 grandchildren; 16 great-grandchildren; and numerous nieces and nephews. Ellis Funeral Home of Midland is in charge of arrangements. Cruz VillaServices are incomplete for Cruz Villa, 61, of Pecos, who died Tuesday, Dec. 16, 1997 at his residence. WEATHERPECOS, December 16, 1997 - High Monday, 71, low this morning, 27. It will be slightly cooler across all of Texas tonight and Wednesday. A weak cold front moved through the Panhandle into the South Plains before dawn today, but wasn't expected to have much impact. It will be clear tonight and sunny on Wednesday across West Texas. Highs Wednesday will be in the 60s over most of West Texas, ranging from the 50s in the Panhandle to the 70s in the Big Bend area of Southwest Texas.
Pecos Enterprise
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.
We support |