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TOP STORIESMarch 2, 1998Students celebrate Texas Independence DayBy ROSIE FLORES Staff Writer PECOS, March 2, 1998 - Texas Independence Day will be celebrated in Pecos by eating beans, corn dishes, corn and dessert tonight at the Pecos Senior Center. Students from Zavala Middle School will sponsor the $2 meal from 6 to 8 p.m. The students will also observe Texas Independence Day today in several creative, fun ways. Students along with their teacher, Cindy Duke, were present during the regular Town of Pecos City Council meeting last week. A proclamation in honor of Texas Independence Day, March 2, was signed by the mayor and the week of March 2-6, was proclaimed as Texas Independence Week in Pecos. A "Box Dessert Auction," will also take place during the dinner tonight. Tumbleweed Smith will be on hand telling Texas stories, from 8 to 9 p.m. at the West of the Pecos Museum, Lineberry building. Entry fee is $5 and free babysitting will be available. Students have also been working diligently on a special cookbook titled, "Lone Star Eaters Digest." The cookbook has been compiled, illustrated and colored by Zavala Middle School Taz students. Old family recipes are included in the book that is on sale for $4. The book will be sold during the dinner tonight. The students also presented a program for the Reeves County Retired Teachers Organization at 3 p.m. today at the Pecos Senior Citizens Center. "This is a fun way to get the students to learn more about Texas history," said Duke. Truck driver attacks DPS buildingBy CARA ALLIGOOD Staff Writer PECOS, March 2, 1998 - After apparently running over a sign with his rig on Interstate 20 Saturday night, a tractor-trailer driver apparently attempted a one-man siege against the Pecos Department of Public Safety building located on the I-20 West frontage road. Pecos Police Department officers were dispatched to the DPS building about 8 p.m. to respond to a man allegedly breaking windows at the building. Officers discovered the defendant, Andres Maciel II, 29, no address given, on the south side of the DPS building apparently under the influence of a substance other than alcohol. After being arrested, Maciel told police he had broken the windows in an attempt to get to a phone so that he could call the police. He claimed that there were two vehicles following him and the drivers of the vehicles had attempted to run him off the road. No evidence indicated that such an event had taken place and Maciel was taken to the Reeves County Jail where Maciel was charged with public intoxication other than alcohol, according to police reports. Man charged with enticing a childBy CARA ALLIGOOD Staff Writer PECOS, March 2, 1998 - A 19-year-old man, already in jail for driving while intoxicated with a suspended license, was served a warrant for enticing a child last month. Jesus Armendariz, 1707 South Alamo St., was arrested the evening of Feb. 20 in the 200 block of Pecan St. The next day, while still incarcerated in Reeves County Jail, Armendariz, also known as "Monster," was served the warrant for enticing a child According to Pecos Police Department Investigator Kelly Davis, Armendariz was served with the warrant for enticing a child because he had been attempting to date a 14-year-old girl. Davis said that the mother of the 14-year-old girl had told Armendariz not to come to their house and to stay away from her daughter but Armendariz wouldn't do as she asked. The mother then filed the enticing a child complaint against Armendariz. Armendariz was already on probation for possession of marijuana when he was arrested for driving while intoxicated, according to Davis. Both the DWI and the enticing a child charge are misdemeanor offenses, Davis said, that could result in county jail time for Armendariz, as well as a fine on the DWI charge. Armendariz was arrested Feb. 20 after police received a call that a someone was driving a vehicle past a residence in the 500 block of South Park St. and the driver was harassing the family living at the home. A Pecos patrolman located the vehicle and stopped it. The officer found that Armendariz was intoxicated while driving his father's 1991 Chevrolet pickup. A witness statement indicates that Armendariz had dented the truck while hot-rodding earlier that evening. Police records show that Armendariz's blood alcohol level was .18 at the time of the arrest. A person is considered legally intoxicated in Texas when they have a blood alcohol content of .10. After Armendariz was arrested, police found one open beer in the truck and four unopened beers behind the driver's seat. Armendariz was released from the Reeves County Jail Feb. 22 on two $500 bonds. Heroin found in drug raidPECOS, March 2, 1998 - Local law enforcement agents discovered heroin in one of two Pecos houses raided last Thursday. Pecos police and Reeves County Sheriff's deputies executed the first narcotics search warrant at about 5 p.m. at 419 East Fourth St. When officers searched the residence they found six foil packets containing a substance believed to be heroin, according to a narcotics division report. A syringe containing a dark brown liquid, believed to be heroin, was also found in the residence. Adan Ramirez Garcia, 33, of 413 South Pecan St., and Ruben Garcia Tercero, 38, of 419 East Fourth St., were arrested for possession of a controlled substance believed to be heroin. Both were placed in Reeves County Jail and charged with the above offense, a state jail felony. Later that evening, about 8, police and deputies executed another narcotics search warrant at 823 South Locust St. There officers found drug paraphernalia and a burnt cigarette which contained a substance believed to be marijuana inside the residence. Both residents of that address, Ramon Vega and Marilyn Villalobos, were arrested. Vega was charged with possession of drug paraphernalia and Villalobos was arrested on an outstanding municipal court warrant. Both subjects were placed in the Reeves County Jail. Community council at odds with PHABy CARA ALLIGOOD Staff Writer PECOS, March 2, 1998 - The Reeves County Community Council has a difference of opinion with their former landlords, the Pecos Housing authority on what they owe PHA after moving out or their former offices. The community council decided to pay some, but not all, of the items that the Pecos Housing Authority is billing them for since the council moved out of its former offices. The CCRC moved out of the building it used to have it offices in after the PHA decided not to renew the council's lease. When the CCRC moved, it took some carpeting out of an office that it had installed, believing it to be theirs, according to Chairman of the Board of Directors of the CCRC, Bill Wendt. CCRC also owned two window air conditioning units, which it had originally decided to leave at the former building because the units were permanently installed and CCRC officials didn't believe the units could be removed without breaking the windows, said Wendt. He then said that a PHA maintenance man told CCRC members that he could remove the units. The PHA maintenance man did remove the units for the CCRC, said Wendt, but broke the windows in the process. Now, said Wendt, the PHA is billing the CCRC for $602 in damage to the floor that the carpet was removed from, even though, he said, the PHA has a lower-cost estimate for the cost of having the carpet replaced and installed. Wendt said the PHA is also charging the CCRC $50 for removing the air conditioners the CCRC was prepared to leave behind and $18.44 to have the windows replaced that the PHA employee broke. In addition to those amounts, the bill from the PHA asked for $10 rent and $75 for trash hauling. Board member Felipe Arredondo made a motion to leave the $755.44 PHA bill unpaid and let PHA sue them, but that motion died for lack of a second. The CCRC Board of Directors voted to approve payment of the charges of $10 for rent, which they never disputed, plus the $18.44 for the window replacement and the $50 for the window removal. However, CCRC members said that they did not leave trash in the building and that the condition of the building when they left was approved by a PHA staff member, so they want to see a receipt for the $75 trash hauling charge. In addition, they will offer to have the carpet that was in the office re-laid at their expense. As for the Pecos Day Nursery, Wendt said, "The day care is doing real well. Both Mary Patino and Bertha Meierhoff are working real well together." He also said that the recent playground cleanup project was very successful, and that between the cleanup and the equipment being painted, that the playground looks much better now. There are a couple of vacancies on the CCRC board, for an alternate for Sheriff Arnulfo "Andy" Gomez to represent the poor sector and someone from Winkler County to represent the poor sector. The CCRC is made up of representatives from the public, private and poor sectors. The public representatives are county officials who hold an elected office, the private sector representatives are from organizations that want to be represented, and representatives from the poor sector are people who have been elected to the board by the public, and can be anyone who the public feels comfortable having represent low-income people, according to Wendt. Len Carson, a Pecos resident and alternate for Arredondo, addressed the board on the subject of indigent care. He expressed two concerns, one that there a lot of people who need life-saving medications, for which prescriptions are not covered by federal programs such as Medicaid and Medicare, that are too expensive for the people to pay for themselves, and that many low-income people are having problems keeping up with their utility payments and are in danger of having utilities disconnected. "I think what we need to do is look into grants," said Wendt, to try and come up with programs to provide for these needs. The board agreed, and voted to do just that. Also, Randy Graham, of Card, Graham and Co., presented the CCRC's latest financial report. "It's in good shape, a lot better shape than is has been," said Graham. Property exemptions must be filed by April 30PECOS, March 2, 1998 - "Non-profit organizations may qualify for a total exemption from property taxes, but they must apply for the exemption no later than April 30," said Carol King Markham, chief appraiser of the Reeves County Appraisal District. The April 30 deadline also applies to businesses that are receiving tax abatements with taxing units, to firms that ship inventory out of Texas and may be eligible for the "freeport" exemption on certain goods in transit and to businesses that acquired pollution control property after January 1, 1994. Property tax exemptions are available to non-profit charitable, youth development, religious organizations, non-profit private schools, cemeteries, veteran's organizations, historical and archaeological sites, and other organizations. Requirements vary for different types of organizations as set out in the Texas Constitution and the Property Tax Code. Effective beginning tax year 1998, cemeteries, charitable organizations, youth development associations, religious organizations and other non-profit organizations may receive a property tax exemption immediately upon buying or acquiring a property during the year and meeting the exemption qualifications. Before this tax year, the organization had to own the property on Jan. 1 of the tax year. Markham noted that cemeteries, charitable organizations, youth development organizations, religious organizations and non-profit private schools, once granted tax exemptions, do not have to reapply for the exemption each year unless the chief appraiser asks them to file again. However, they must reapply for the exemption each year if their exempt property changes ownership, if their qualifications for exemption change, or if they acquire new property. The law requires annual application for all other types of exempt organizations. Property owners who own mineral property or business personal property worth less than $500 are exempt from property taxes on those premises. No application is required for exempting these small accounts valued at less than $500. A property owner's mineral property accounts are added together to determine if the total value in each taxing unit is less than $500 and exempt. If the total value in any taxing units exceeds $500, then the property is taxable. The same process is used for adding together a property owner's business personal property accounts by taxing unit to determine if the properties are exempt from property taxes. "Often, organizations mistakenly believe they are entitled to a property tax exemption because they have received a federal income tax exemption or an exemption from state sales taxes." Markham said. The chief appraiser noted that state constitutional requirements for property tax exemptions are stricter than the provisions covering federal income and state sales taxes. "If a non-profit organization or a business with tax abatements, freeport goods, or pollution control property has any questions about tax exemptions, it should contact the appraisal district office by April 30," Markham added. Additional information is available from the Reeves County Appraisal District office at 403 S. Cypress or by calling 445-5122. Balmorhea school board meets tomorrowBALMORHEA, March 2, 1998 - Balmorhea school board members will discuss district improvement and infrastructure upgrades in a called meeting at 6:30 p.m. tomorrow in the board room at 1st and El Paso streets. After a public comments session the boardwill discuss the district improvement plan, an electrical infrastructure update, the Region 18 Board of Directors election and board and superintendent dialogue. Action items on the agenda include class size waivers, TSII participation by the superintendent, selection of parent, administrator and board representatives to the BISD Improvement Advisory Committee, appointment of an early voting ballot board, Region 18 ESC Interlocal Agreement Purchasing Cooperative, approval of Jan. 13 and Feb. 10 minutes and approval of accounts payable. A closed session will be held to discuss personnel and conduct principal and assistant principals evaluation and contract recommendations. After the closed session the board will reconvien to take any action necessary based upon discussion in the closed session. AREA ROUNDUPMarch 2, 1998The Fort Stockton PioneerFORT STOCKTON, Feb. 26, 1998 -The City of Fort Stockton, its Economic Development Board and the Fort Stockton Chamber of Commerce have taken an important step forward in implementing a strategic plan for economic development in the community. During their Tuesday night meeting, the Fort Stockton City Council voted unanimously to approve funding for the proposal drafted and presented by a chamber committee chaired by incoming Chamber President Choya Young. The proposition calls for a three-year economic development plan focusing upon job creation, business development and business retention. The Alpine AvalancheALPINE, Feb. 26, 1998 -The 12th Annual Cowboy Poetry Gathering will be held at Sul Ross State University Friday through Sunday. The Alpine Gathering is the second oldest cowboy poetry event in the United States. The Sanderson TimesSANDERSON, Feb. 26, 1998 -The board of trustees of the Terrell County Independent School District extended the contracts of five people at their regular meeting Feb. 18. The five were: high school principal, Gary Hamilton; elementary principal, Norman Woolsey; assistant principal, Michael Poppell; athletic director, Vance Jones and appraiser/business manager, Blain Chriesman. The McCamey NewsMcCamey, Upton County, Feb. 26, 1998 - Sammy Selby, Jr. was found not guilty of indecency with a child following his trial in district court last week. Selby was arrested last August by Upton County Deputy Dale Walker and was charged with indecency with a child. The incident allegedly occurred on or about March 1, 1997. Selby was released after posting a $10,000 bond. Iraan NewsIraan, Pecos County, Feb. 26, 1998 - Central and Southwest Corporation (CSW), parent company of West Texas Utilities Company, has announced plans to procure renewable energy from a new 75-megawatt wind-generation facility that will be built near McCamey. The wind-generation facility will be the largest in Texas. The Monahans NewsMONAHANS, Feb. 26, 1998 -The verdict is in, but not unanimous. Ward County Commissioners have decided to start negotiations expected to lead to the probable lease of financially-strapped Ward Memorial Hospital to a for-profit health care corporation. That's all that is certain. Commissioners Monday, Feb. 23, voted 3-1 to follow Judge Sam Massey's recommendation to negotiate with Community Health Systems Inc. of Brentwood, Tenn., which owns or manages several health care installations in the middle United States. WEATHERPECOS, March 2, 1998 - High Sunday, 60, low this morning, 24. Tonight skies will be clear with a light wind. The low is expected to be between 25 and 30. Tuesday will be mostly sunny with south to southwest winds at 10 to 20 mph and gusty. The high Tuesday will be in the mid 60s.
Pecos Enterprise
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