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Daily Newspaper and Travel Guide for Reeves County, Trans-Pecos, Big Bend of West Texas

TOP STORIES

Friday, January 16, 1998

Hunt continues for abduction suspect

By GREG HARMAN
Staff Writer

Area law enforcement officials are continuing their
investigation for an unidentified man suspected of abducting
a woman from Sherman, on Sunday, though with a lower
priority than earlier in the week.

An enhanced search that utilized a helicopter, horses and
dogs around Pyote earlier in the week was suspended at 5
p.m. on Tuesday, officials said.

The 48-year-old woman, identified as Lynda Smith, claims she
was abducted by a Hispanic male from a Sherman cemetery at
about 2:30 p.m. on Sunday while visiting her father's
gravesite.

According to Ward County Sheriff Ben Keele, the woman
escaped from the man around 11:30 p.m. Sunday night, when
the couple stopped on the side of Interstate 20 to relieve
themselves about two miles west of Pyote.

"They both got out of the car," said Keele when questioned
on Tuesday, "then she ran back and reached in the car and
grabbed the keys and her purse and ran away."

Smith then ran back east, to the West Texas State School in
Pyote, where law enforcement officials were contacted.

The ensuing search found few clues other then fingerprints
on the car and tracks leading away from the scene and east
toward Pyote. These tracks soon petered out and officials
involved in the case now believe the suspect hitchhiked his
way out of the area before the search even began.

"Evidently," said Keele, "he must have got a ride out of
here."

The suspect is reportedly in his early 20's, about 5 feet 2
inches tall and wearing a white T-shirt and leather jacket.

Attendance committees named by schools

By CARA ALLIGOOD
Staff Writer

Pecos-Barstow-Toyah ISD school board appointed elementary
and secondary attendance committees during their Tuesday
meeting, in order to comply with a new law passed by the
Texas Legislature.

Under the law, school districts are required to appoint one
or more attendance committees to hear petitions for class
credit by students who have been in attendance at school
fewer than the required number of days.

The boards may grant credit under extenuating circumstances.

Serving on the elementary attendance committee for
kindergarten will be Pecos Kindergarten Principal Lucila
Valenzuela, Sue Parent and Irene Lujan. Serving for first
and second grades will be Austin Elementary Principal Beau
Jack Hendrick, Laurie Walker and Frank Sanchez. Serving for
third grade will be Pecos Elementary Principal Gail Norris,
Elaine McKee and Julia McPherson.

Serving for grades four and five will be Bessie Haynes
Elementary Principal Mary Lou Carrasco, Jean Bracy and Ruben
Cervantes. Serving for the sixth grade will be Lamar Middle
School Principal Robert Hernandez and Richard Hamilton.

The secondary attendance committee will consist of Zavala
Middle School Principal Mike Belew and Jerry Parent for
seventh grade; for eighth grade, Crockett Middle School
Principal Juanita Davila and James Shank and at Pecos High
School, Principal Danny Rodriguez, Charlie Wein and Victor
Tarin.

According to the law, "a student may not be given credit for
a class unless the student is in attendance for at least 90
percent of the days the class is offered." Also, a child who
is at least six years of age, or who is younger than six
years of age and has previously been enrolled in the first
grade, and who has not completed the academic year in which
the child's 18th birthday occurred shall attend school. The
law further states that "a child who is required to attend
school under this section shall attend school each school
day for the entire period the program of instruction is
provided."

However, P-B-T ISD Superintendent Don Love said that he
wanted to make clear that students who miss part of a day of
school because they were being cared for by a health care
professional (doctor, dentist, optometrist, etc.) and return
to school that day do not have to be counted as absent for
the day. The student needs to bring a note from the doctor
back to school with them when they return from their
appointment. Love said that most health care professionals
have forms for this purpose.

By bringing the excuse back with them, the student isn't
penalized for their absence, and the school can count the
student as present when calculating the average daily
attendance of students in the district, which means that
they won't lose money as if the student had been absent all
day.

When a student is absent for a whole day or more, the must
bring a written excuse, signed by their parent or guardian,
within two days of the day the student returns to school. If
a written excuse is not received within two days, the
student's absence will be recorded as unexcused.

If a student does miss too much school, they have to make up
the time missed beyond the maximum number of allowable
absences. According to Love, this may be done either by
attending four-hour Saturday classes or after-school
detention hall. Saturday classes count as a full school day,
he said.

Chabarria enters race for district clerk's post

Rosemary Chabarria has announced her candidacy for Reeves
County 143rd District Clerk, in the March Democratic Primary
elections.

"I was born and raised in Pecos, and have lived here all my
life," said Chabarria.

Chabarria is married to J.R. (Jacinto) Chabarria and the
couple have three children. She has been employed by Reeves
County tax office for the past 4½ years.

"I began my employment under Alicia Navarrette Guevara and
I am currently under Elfida Zuniga," said Chabarria. "In the
past, I have been employed as a case/social worker," she
said.

Chabarria said this has allowed her to work closely with
the public and in understanding the needs of the community.

"My background and experience in this field will be a great
asset to the district clerk's office," said Chabarria. "As a
deputy tax collector I have seen first hand the operations
of the district clerk's office."

"They perform many functions that affect our office,
selection of the jury pools, filing on bankruptcies,
felonies, tax suits and other records, which we work with on
a regular basis," she added.

"While in the tax office I have been an active participant
in expanding my knowledge by continuing my education in this
department," said Chabarria. "I intend to continue my
education in keeping the district clerk's office updated in
office procedures."

Government, banks taking Monday break

Some businesses and utility companies will be closed Monday
in honor of Martin Luther King's birthday.

Both First National and Security State Banks will be closed
Monday, as will Town of Pecos City, Reeves County and
Federal government offices. All will re-open on Tuesday.

Mail will not be delivered on Monday and the Pecos Post
Office will be closed, and will re-open on Tuesday.
Pecos-Barstow-Toyah schools, which were closed today, will
remain shut on Monday before returning to regular schedules
on Tuesday.

The Pecos Enterprise will be published on Monday and all
state offices will also remain open on that day.

LL to elect officers tonight

The Pecos Little League will hold a meeting at 7:30 p.m.
tonight at Saragosa Hall to elect new league officers for
the 1998 season.

Tony Aguilar, who was elected new league president last
week, said all coaches for Little League, Junior League and
Senior League teams are urged to attend.

Former DA Archer dies at 73 in Midland

By GREG HARMAN
Staff Writer

Alva Rado Archer, former 143rd District Attorney, died on
Sunday, at the age of 73 in Midland.

Archer was most famous as the prosecutor who put Billie Sol
Estes behind bars for investment fraud, also won several
cases before the Supreme Court while in private practice in
Monahans.

"He had a tremendous legal mind," Odessa attorney Warren
Heagy told the Odessa American. "If he had a fault, it was
overtrying a case and maybe making the jury a little antsy."

Archer, a World War II veteran, earned a Doctor of
Jurisprudence from Baylor University after the war. He
practiced law in Monahans for 30 years and held the office
of district attorney for Ward, Reeves and Loving counties
from 1966 to 1970.

Services are pending in Midland and memorial gifts are
requested to be sent to the Shriners Burn Hospital in
Galveston, the Salvation Army or First Baptist Church in
Midland.

Ft. Stockton chief guilty of taping calls

Fort Stockton Police Chief Dee Johns was convicted Thursday
by an 83rd District Court jury of taping police department
employees' private telephone conversations.

He was sentenced to four years probation and fined $2,000,
along with being ordered to do community service, according
to the «MDUL»Fort Stockton Pioneer«MDNM».

Albert Valadez, 83rd District Attorney, was out of his
office this morning and did not leave an official statement
about the ruling, his secretary said.

Johns was charged with unlawfully intercepting private
employee conversations in May, 1997 after a dispatcher
discovered the recorded conversations when playing back a
911 call, which are supposed to be recorded.

Pioneer reporter Jeff McDonald, said that in addition to
probation and the fine, Johns was sentenced to 150 hours of
community service. He added that Johns could have received
between two and 20 years in prison and up to a $10,000 fine
for this second degree felony conviction.

The jury announced its guilty verdict in the case a few
minutes before 5 p.m. Thursday, McDonald said. They handed
down their sentence a little before 6:30 p.m.

AREA NEWS ROUNDUP

The Alpine Avalanche

ALPINE, Jan. 15, 1998 - One of the largest crowds ever,
about 345 people, attended Friday's night Alpine Chamber of
Commerce Awards Banquet. Clayton Williams, Jr. delivered the
main address and hailed Christian ethics as the main cause
for the United States being the leader of the business
world. Williams brought on laughter from the audience with
his recollections of the oil patch atmosphere he worked in.

The International, Presidio Paper

PRESIDIO, Jan. 15, 1997 - Presidio County Sheriff's Deputy
Marco A. Baeza set out Thursday night tracking a couple of
suspected burglars who earlier broke into a house in
Presidio. To his surprise, he came face to face with one of
them. Javier Guebara was charged with felony burglary of a
habitation. Once he's adjudicated the subject will be turned
back over to the Justice Department.

The Sanderson Times

SANDERSON, Jan. 15, 1997 - Monetary awards in the amount of
$500 were made to Sanderson Elementary School, Sanderson
Junior High School, and Sanderson High School as part of the
Texas Successful School Awards System, David Kennedy,
superintendent of the TCISD said. The schools are being
recognized for gains in student performance on indicators
that are part of the Academic Excellence Indicator System,
more commonly known as the state's school report card.

The Monahans News

MONAHANS, Jan. 15, 1998 - William F. O'Brien, administrator
of Ward Memorial Hospital in Monahans, has resigned to
accept a comparable position in La Grange, O'Brien confirms.
His resignation is effective Feb. 1. He will become chief
executive officer and administrator of Fayette Memorial
Hospital.
***
Superintendent Clifton L. Stephens of the
Monahans-Wickett-Pyote School District Tuesday night, Jan.
14, announced a $350,000 private subscription drive for a
major enhancement of Lobo Field. If all goes as scheduled,
the fund raising goal would be reached and construction
finished by July of 1999.

The Big Bend Sentinel

MARFA, Jan. 15, 1998 - Defense Department officials will
recommend permanently canceling armed military patrols along
the Mexico border in the wake of a fatal shooting of a
Redford teenager by a U.S. Marine last year, a senior
defense official said. An ongoing study of the military's
future role along the border has not yet been presented to
Defense Secretary William Cohen.

The Fort Stockton Pioneer

FORT STOCKTON, Jan. 15, 1998 - After nearly nine months of
investigation speculation and heated debate, Fort Stockton
Police Chief Dee Johns finally had his day in court this
week. The case styled "State of Texas vs. Dee Johns,"
charging the police chief with a single count of "unlawful
interception of oral communication," opened with jury
selection Tuesday morning in Judge Alex Gonzales' 83rd
District Court, in Fort Stockton.

WEATHER

High Thursday 63, low this morning 51. Forecast for tonight:
Partly cloudy with lows in the 30s. Highs Saturday in the
60s. Statewide, it will be mostly sunny and warmer across
Texas on Saturday following another chilly night across most
of the state. Temperatures will dip into the 30s as far
south as the Hill Country tonight. It will be mostly clear
tonight in North Texas in central and western sections and
partly cloudy in eastern sections. It will be mostly sunny
on Saturday. Skies will be clear across South Texas tonight
and sunny on Saturday. Lows tonight will be in the 20s and
30s in West Texas, the 30s in North Texas and in the 30s in
the Hill Country and the 40s and 50s elsewhere in South
Texas. Highs Saturday will be in the 50s and 60s over most
of West Texas, ranging upward into the low 70s in the Big
Bend area of Southwest Texas, the 60s across North Texas and
in the 60s and 70s in South Texas.



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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@pecos.net

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Copyright 1998 by Pecos Enterprise