wwwwwl Pecos Enterprise

Enterprise

ARCHIVES
Archives 62
Archives 74
Archives 87
Archives 95
Archives 96
Archives 97
Archives 98

1987 Tornado Photos
News Photos 1997
News Photos 1998

Area Newspapers
Advertising
Classified


|

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

Top Stories

March 19, 1998


Law allows Mexicans to hold dual citizenship


By ROSIE FLORES
Staff Writer
MIDLAND, March 19, 1998 - Mexican laws have recently been
amended to allow dual citizenship for Mexican nationals who
take on the citizenship of other nations, according to
information received from the Mexican Consulate in Midland.

"This amendment is for the Mexican legislation," said Maria
Ruiz, President of the Mexican Consulate in Midland.

The amendment's approval process concluded when the majority
of Mexican state legislatures approved the proposal and it
was published in the Official Gazette of the Federation
(Diario Oficial de la Federacion). It will enter into force
one year after its publication date.

"This will go into effect on March 20," Ruiz said.

According to Ruiz and the Mexican Consulate, Mexicans by
birth will be able to make arrangements to recover their
Mexican nationality if they have taken citizenship of other
nations.

This amendment takes into account that there are millions of
Mexicans currently living abroad. The amendment responds to
the demands of many Mexicans who have migrated and, having
the opportunity to become naturalized in the country where
they now live, do not do so because they do not want to lose
their Mexican nationality and wish to keep their ties to
their country, their culture and their values and traditions.

The amendment was approved, by all the country's political
parties in Congress, in support of the demands of Mexicans
living abroad. This bill was approved unanimously at the
Mexican Senate and Lower Chamber of Congress.

"This amendment establishes that no Mexican by birth will
lose his or her nationality. This means when a different
nationality or citizenship is acquired, the Mexican
nationality will always be preserved," said Ruiz.

Ruiz explained, that the amendment is a sovereign act by the
Mexican State in defining who its nationals are. Therefore
it is not an act of recognition of a new nationality in
addition to the Mexican nationality, but recognition of
those people who have this right by birth. Mexicans by birth
who acquire another nationality will always be considered
Mexicans both for the exercise of their right and for the
fulfillment of their obligations. Consequently, when they
are in Mexican territory, they will always have to identify
and conduct themselves as Mexicans.

One other important goal of this amendment is to ensure that
Mexicans are able to preserve their ties to Mexico. To
attain this objective, it limits the transmission of Mexican
nationality to persons born outside national territory who
are children of Mexicans born in national territory or
children of Mexicans by naturalization. Thus, transmission
of nationality is limited to only one generation.

"Beneficiaries of this amendment include all Mexicans by
birth living abroad who have the opportunity of naturalizing
in the country where they now live," said Ruiz.

Additionally, those people of Mexican origin who have been
naturalized as citizens of other nations may now benefit by
recovering their Mexican nationality.

With this amendment, Mexicans who acquire a different
nationality will maintain their rights in Mexico and will
not be treated as foreigners in the country where they were
born. By contrast, as they naturalize in the country where
they live, they will no longer be treated as foreigners and
will cease to be at a disadvantage as compared with the
nationals of that country, according to the Mexican
Consulate.

Mexicans living abroad will have their rights and interests
guaranteed in Mexico where they may return at any time,
especially if they encounter difficult conditions. They will
be free to travel to and live in Mexico whenever they wish
to do so, without complying to complicated formalities or
apply for permits required to foreigners. They will be able
to buy land in restricted areas under the same conditions of
all other fellow Mexicans.

In the case where Mexicans have already lost their
nationality, there will be a period of five years after the
entry into force of the amendment in which persons who lost
their Mexican nationality may recover it. The way in which
this recovery procedure will be carried out is currently
being studied, in order to ensure that is simple, quick and
reliable.

As a result of this constitutional amendment, a number of
federal and state laws containing aspects related to
nationality must also be modified. More than 70 laws that
need to be adjusted in line with this amendment are being
reviewed.

Finally, brochures will be prepared explaining in simple
terms the scope of this amendment and its consequences.
These brochures will be distributed through all Mexican
Embassies and Consulates.

Filing ends for local elections


By ROSIE FLORES
Staff Writer
PECOS, March 19, 1998 - Last minute candidates beat the
deadline to throw in their hats for the May elections on the
city council, school and hospital boards.

Town of Pecos City Mayor Dot Stafford has filed for
re-election in the city elections and will have a
challenger, Robert Hernandez.

Hernandez filed on the last day to become a candidate.

Pecos City Council incumbents Ricky Herrera and Danny
Rodriguez are both seeking another term on the council.
Herrera and Rodriguez are seeking at-large positions and
will be unopposed.

In the Pecos-Barstow-ISD race, positions up for election
include three full-year terms currently held by Linda
Gholson, Earl Bates and Frank Perea.

In that race, five candidates will be seeking a place,
including Frank Perea, Louis Matta, Earl Bates, Brent Shaw
and Frank Rodriguez. The candidates drew for a place on the
ballot this morning and will appear in that order.

The hospital board seats will be open for Districts 1 and 3,
along with the at-large seat for which all Reeves County
voters are eligible to cast ballots. These positions are
currently held by, respectively, Chel Flores, Jesus Prieto
and Greg Luna.

Reeves County Hospital District Board Vice President Greg
Luna is unopposed for the at-large position on the board.
Precinct 3 incumbent Jesus Prieto will face challenger Mike
Stallard. And Chel Flores was the last to file. He is
unopposed in Precinct 1.

In Barstow, city council incumbents, Robert Ortega and Benny
Avila have filed, while Salvador Villalobos has filed for
mayor.

In Balmorhea, school positions up will be those currently
held by Paul Ward and Armando Mondragon. Both Ward and
Mondragon have filed and will be challenged by Virgil Ray
Gage.

In the Balmorhea city elections, positions available will be
those of mayor, a position held by Ismael Rodriguez and two
council positions, held by Rosendo Carrasco and Rosendo
Galindo.

In that race, incumbent Ismael Rodriguez will be unopposed
in his bid for re-election. Two positions on that council
are available with three candidates including Rosendo
Galindo, Tami Marmillion and Danny Reynolds.

In Toyah, positions open are those of the mayor, a position
unoccupied at this time and council positions, held by
Howard Dennett and Linda Compton.

The mayor's position is being sought by Paul Budlong and
Jack Osborn.

Four people will be vying for the two Toyah council
positions available. Those include Howard Dennett, Jana
McHorse, Bart F. Sanchez and Clara McConnell.

Early voting will be held from April 15 to April 28 at the
Pecos Community Center. Election day is May 2.

Civic leaders prepare for up-coming forum


By GREG HARMAN
Staff Writer
PECOS, March 19, 1998 - Pecos City Councilman Ricky Herrera
found out last night that life is not easy when everyone
treats you like an `airhead,' and Reeves County Judge Jimmy
Galindo discovered that people can be cruel when you're
`insecure.'

Herrera and Galindo were participants, two of many civic
leaders, in last night's University of Texas, Permian Basin,
John Ben Shepperd's facilitators training class for the
up-coming day-long public leadership forum to be held in
Pecos for Reeves County youth.

According to Geneva Martinez, city secretary and Pecos Youth
Advisory Commission coordinator, each civic leader -voted in
by YAC to serve as facilitators for the leadership class
-was given a label to wear on his or her forehead. The class
leaders were given a fictional $10,000, and told to decide
what to do with the money to leave the best legacy. Each
participant was told to treat everyone the way they were
labeled. "We all had fun," said Martinez, "The kids will
really enjoy this."

Other labels that people often act on included `nerd,'
`class clown,' `Mr. Perfect,' `expert,' `leader,' `new kid in
town,' and `wallflower.'

Martinez said that this and other exercises would give youth
participants first hand experience on how it feels to be
labeled and judged by your peers. The facilitators will help
to guide the youth through the games and discussions at the
up-coming forum.

Students from Pecos and surrounding communities will be
preparing for their future at the day-long John Ben Sheppard
Public Leadership Student Forum on Saturday, March 28, at
the new gym of Pecos High School.

Topics will include goal setting, communications, leadership
and a special presentation by Straightway International, a
youth suicide and drug-abuse prevention team.

Any student from seventh to the 12th grade may participate
in the forum by contacting any Pecos Youth Advisory
Commission member or by calling Martinez at (915) 445-2421.
Lunch and snacks will be provided to all free of charge.

Speakers and panelists include: Mayor Dot Stafford,
Councilman Gerald Tellez and his wife Olga Tellez,
Councilman Ricky Herrera, Councilman Johnny Terrazas, City
Manager Kenneth Neal, Chief of Police Clay McKinney, County
Judge Jimmy Galindo, Lamar Middle School Principal Robert
Hernandez, Anna Marie Hernandez, Jacklyn Mandujano and Juan
Dominguez.

Rebates indicate area economy improving


By RICK L. SMITH
Staff Writer
PECOS, March 19, 1998 - Economic conditions in Reeves County
are on the up swing, if sales tax rebates from the state to
Pecos, Balmorhea and the Reeves County Hospital District are
an indication.

Total sales tax rebates to Pecos for the year-to-date have
increased by almost 14 percent from this time last year. Sales tax rebates on January sales delivered to Pecos this month increased almost 10 percent from the same period last year, growing from $52,797 last year to $57,990 this month.

Balmorhea experienced the most dramatic percentage increase
for the month, more than 226 percent, with $1,421 in sales tax revenues this month compared to $435 for March 1997.

Total sales tax rebates for the year to Balmorhea have increased more than 67 percent from this time last year.
Sales tax rebates to the Reeves County Hospital District
increased from $20,918 in March 1997 to $21,460 this month, a 2.58 percent increase. Year-to-date sales tax revenues to the hospital district have increased by 3.47 percent from the same period last year.

This month Monahans saw a 36.26 percent increase in sales
tax rebates from $46,895 last year to $63,901 this year. Monahans sales tax revenue for the year has increased more than 24 percent from the same period last year.

Odessa sales tax revenues for the month increased 2.85
percent and Midland increased 0.94 percent. This month 1,090 Texas cities and 118 counties received a total of $163.3 million in monthly sales tax payments, an 8 percent increase from the $151.2 million allocated to cities and counties in March 1997.

"Texas continues -for the fifth consecutive year -to
experience strong economic growth, while consumer confidence remains the highest in the nation," State Comptroller John Sharp recently said. "Sales state wide for the past several months have surpassed earlier expectations and far exceeded sales in the previous year."

Sharp delivered monthly sales tax rebates totaling $147.8
million to Texas cities, 7.1 percent higher than last March's payments of $137.8 million. Rebates of $15.5
million to Texas countries were 16.5 percent higher than allocations of $13.3 million in March 1997. Another $4.3 million went to 30 special purpose districts around the state.

The state's eight transit systems shared $216.1 million,
up 8.7 percent over the $ 198.8 allocated in March 1997.
The city of Houston received a sales tax rebate of $20.2
million in March, which was 8.4 percent above the previous March's $18.6 million. Year-to-date, payments to the city of Houston are up by 11.4 percent.

The $12.7 million local sales tax allocation to the city of
Dallas for March reflects a 3.5 percent increase from the $12.3 million in sales tax rebate for the same month last year. The year-to-date increase to Dallas is 10.5 percent.

The San Antonio sales tax allocation for March was $7.9
million, up 10.6 percent over the March 1997 payment of $7.2 million. Year-todate, San Antonio has received an 9.3 percent increase in local sales tax payments.

The Austin sales tax allocation for March was $6.6 million,
up 15.8 over the March 1997 payment of $5.7 million. For the first three months of 1998, Austin's sales tax rebates are 9percent more than those for last year.

Fort Worth's $4.1 million sales tax allocation was 10
percent more than the city's rebate of $3.7 million for March of last year, putting year-to-date rebates
8.7 percent ahead of 1997.

Arlington received $3.6 million in sales tax allocation, up
6.1 percent from the $3.4 million for the same month last year. The city's rebates are running 2.9 percent ahead of those for the first three months of last year.

El Paso's sales tax rebate of $2.7 million was down 2.3
percent from the $2.8 million payment delivered in March 1997. However, El Paso's local sales tax payments year-to-date are 3.9 percent ahead of those for the first three months of 1997.

March sales tax rebates to some other Texas cities showing
increased year-to-date rebates were: Plano with a $2.3 million payment, up 4.9 percent year-to-date; Corpus Christi, with an allocation of $1.9 million, up 9.6 percent for the year; Lubbock, with a rebate of $1 .7 million, up
4.3 percent year-to-date; Tyler, with a rebate of $1.4
million, for an increase of 8.4 percent for the year; and Abilene, with a $1.5 million rebate, up 6.9 percent year-to-date.

The monthly rebate to the El Paso City Transit Department
was $1 .4 million, up 3.4 percent for the first three months of the year as compared to 1997. The Laredo City Transit Department rebate for March was $208,576, for an 8 percent increase year-to-date.

Quarterly payments to the state's six Mass Transit
Authorities included: Austin MTA, $24.8 million; Corpus Christi MTA, $3.8 million; Dallas MTA, $80.9 million; Fort Worth MTA, $7.5 million; Houston MTA, $81.9 million; and San Antonio MTA, $15.4 million.

Zion Ministries offers helping hand


By CARA ALLIGOOD
Staff writer
PECOS, March 19, 1998 - Elder Billy R. Woodard of Zion
Ministries read a story in the Pecos Enterprise last week
that caught his attention and a young man with leukemia may
come home from the hospital today because Woodard decided to
get involved.

"We want to do something to make a difference in the Pecos
community," said Woodard. "When I read the story in the
paper last Thursday, it was like a cry for help from the
people who are falling through the cracks and we wanted to
help."

Woodard was talking about a story in last Thursday's paper
that discussed people in the community who have
life-threatening illnesses but can't afford the medication
they need and don't qualify for any program that will supply
the drugs for them.

Woodard said that Zion Ministries has already held fund
raisers and through funds generated by them, as well as
personal tithes and free will offerings, will support a
program he has set up between the hospital, the ministry and
a local pharmacy.

Woodard said that before reading the story, he hadn't been
aware that there were so many people with a need for
medication in the community. He said that he was moved after
reading the story and decided to see what he could do about
the problem.

Woodard went to Reeves County Hospital and talked to Becky
Dominguez, who is the hospital's indigent care program
director. While at the hospital, Woodard saw "a whole stack
of applications that were pending or had been rejected."
That was when he realized just how many local people are in
the same situation.

Woodard was told about a 22-year-old Saragosa man who is
being treated for leukemia and is being held in the hospital
in Odessa to make sure that he would receive his medication.

The young man's medication would cost $143 per month, and
his family did not know how they would shoulder the expense.

Dominguez put Woodard in touch with the Texas Oncology
Center in Odessa, he said, and he made a deal with them.
Zion Ministries will be able to purchase an eight month
supply of the young man's medication for $204, Woodard said
triumphantly.

"Hopefully, that will put him in remission," Woodard said.

The young man can come home as soon as the West Texas Cancer
Center receives the money and approves his medications,
which may happen today, according to Woodard.

Woodard said that Zion Ministries has an account set up with
the Wal-Mart pharmacy. The hospital will refer patients who
need medication to the ministry, and when they approve
someone for aid, they will call the pharmacy. The pharmacy
will fill the prescription and bill the ministry each month,
Woodard said.

Although Woodard enjoys ministering in the church, he said
that he really wanted to "get out in the streets" and make a
difference in peoples' lives. Now he has that opportunity,
and is jubilant about his chance to help people in need.

Obituary


J.L. Lovelace


J.L. Lovelace, 84, died Wednesday, March 18, 1998, at his
residence in Pecos.

Services are scheduled for 10 a.m., Friday, March 20, 1998,
at Pecos Funeral Home Chapel with Rev. Billy Foster
officiating. Burial will be in Mount Evergreen Cemetery.

Lovelace was born April 21, 1913, in Mercury, Tx. He had
lived in Pecos since 1953, was a retired grocery man, a
farmer and a Baptist.

Survivors include: his wife, Opal Lovelace of Pecos; one
brother, Bob Lovelace of Lubbock; one sister, Opal Brooks of
Roswell, N.M.; and three grandchildren.

Pecos Funeral Home is in charge of arrangements.

WEATHER


PECOS, March 19, 1998 - High Wednesday, 79, low this
morning, 44. Hurricane-force winds generated by a
fast-moving thunderstorm caused power outages and extensive
damage at Sherman in North Texas early today. About 2,000
homes were left without power at Sherman in the wake of a
storm that generated winds of 75 mph. Some residents said
they saw a funnel cloud, but police spokesman David Woods
said the damage resulted from straight-line winds. Strong
thunderstorms also moved through the Dallas-Fort Worth area
shortly after midnight. Hail was reported in the Dallas
suburb of Duncanville and hail nearly 2 inches in diameter
pelted Mexia in Limestone County early today. An upper level
storm system was moving slowly eastward across the Panhandle
before dawn. It will become fair tonight across West Texas
and mostly sunny on Friday although it will be very cold
tonight. Lows tonight will be in the 20s and 30s in West
Texas, highs Friday will be in the 50s and 60s.



Search Entire Site:


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

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.

Copyright 1998 by Pecos Enterprise