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Daily Newspaper and Travel Guide
for Pecos Country of West Texas

Top Stories

April 7, 1998


Group works to bring park to Balmorhea


By GREG HARMAN
Staff Writer
PECOS, April 7, 1998 - Looking to generate interest and
all-so-necessary funds to bring a full-fledged children's
park with a playground to the center of her town, Balmorhea
resident Karen Pogue has announced the first ever in a
series of planned fund-raisers to be held in the Trans-Pecos
area.

From 9 a.m. until 2 p.m. Saturday, April 18, fourth-,
fifth-, and sixth-grade Balmorhea Elementary students will
scrub your car or pickup to a high shine for $5 per car and
$7 per pickup. The event is being held at the Balmorhea
Grocery, which has agreed to donate the water, with Rosendo
Carrasco donating lunch.

"They are so excited about this," said Pogue of the students.

BISD Superintendent Carl Hoffmeyer has also been valuable to
Pogue by helping search for sources of "free" money. "I've
been surfing the net looking for grant stuff," he said.
Hoffmeyer said Pogue's persuasiveness brought him into the
plan.

The Balmorhea community group working for the children's
park, comprised of about 10 local members and as yet
unnamed, also has plans for a booth at the Cinco de Mayo
celebrations in Alpine; a talent show and beauty contest in
the summer; and a five kilometer run to be held in
September.

"We've also thought of hosting a trail-ride and barbecue in
July," said Pogue.

Since the proposal would ultimately turn into a city park,
Pogue had to secure the official thumbs-up from the
Balmorhea City Council. "They gave me the go-ahead," she
said.

To secure the grant money to construct the park, Pogue said
that the group must form a non-profit organization and raise
half of the potential cost of the park, roughly about
$20,000. But, the physical labor of such an endeavor may be
eased, she said, by importing inmates from the Reeves County
Detention Center.

"We're still looking at several properties," said Pogue,
"and I have to butter up (the property owners), but I want
it to be in the center of town."

Pogue said she was indebted to Brenda Harrison, who got the
Town of Pecos City to bring in Kids City at Maxey Park, for
guiding her through the sometimes-complicated process.
Kidstruction, the Austin company which designed and
constructed Kids City, has already been selected by Pogue as
the designer of the future Balmorhea park.

Kidstruction, an 18-year-old company, began as a one-man
private landscaping company, and now designs, delivers and
builds its playgrounds from Mexico to Canada. It is also
moving into the world of international business, having
recently received requests from as far away as England and
Jordan.

The company uses redwoods, treated pine, metal and recycled
plastics in its playgrounds. It still does landscaping, but
mainly for large companies such as McDonald's and Dairy
Queen.

Pecos man drowns


By CARA ALLIGOOD
Staff Writer
PECOS, April 7, 1998 - A Pecos man drowned in the San
Antonio River in a work-related accident Wednesday.

Alfredo "Freddy" Chabarria, 32, was a lead man for Trace
Ventures Exploration Inc. and was running seismograph cable
when the accident occurred, according to Sgt. Stephen
Monsivais with the Karnes County Sheriff's Department.

The company had been using a helicopter to take the cable
back and forth across the river, but Chabarria became
impatient, according to what fellow workers told sheriff's
department investigators. He walked out into the river
despite warnings by the others not to do so.

Monsivais said that Chabarria's fellow workers were trying
to reach Chabarria when he went under the surface for the
second and final time.

Monsivais said that the emergency call came in at 1:01 p.m
and the first rescue workers arrived on the scene at 1:05
p.m., but by then it was too late. "It happened so fast," he
said.

"It's a dangerous river. We've had drownings in past years,"
said Monsivais. "It has an undertow, and it is worse in some
spots than others."

Chabarria's body was not discovered until it surfaced
Saturday, Monsivais said.

Chabarria left behind a wife and four children. Graveside
services were held this morning at 9 a.m. at Fairview Cemetery.

Search begins for Little Miss Cantaloupe


By ROSIE FLORES
Staff Writer
PECOS, April 7, 1998 - It's time for area girls to sign up
for the annual Little Miss Cantaloupe Pageant.

Entry forms can be picked up at Norma Jeans, 1227 S. Eddy or
at the West of the Pecos Museum. Deadline for application is Friday, April 24. Girls who want to participate must be between the ages of "exiting kindergarten" through "exiting second" grade. Contestants must attend Pecos-Barstow-Toyah ISD.

The winner must be willing and available to represent Pecos
in local functions as "Little Miss Cantaloupe" for the following year.

An entry fee of $25 and a photograph must be submitted with
the application. The fee may be paid by parents or a sponsor. Checks will be made payable to the Women's Division of the Pecos Chamber of Commerce.

"All girls will model in the Style Show on May 9," said
Brandy Owen. The Golden Girl/Little Miss Cantaloupe pageant will be held Friday, June 26, in the Pecos High School Auditorium. "All contestants will be required to attend rehearsals the two weeks prior to the pageant," said Owen.

All contestants will be judged on interview and stage
presence, according to organizers of the event. "Judges will not be from Pecos," said Owen.

For more information contact Owen at the West of the Pecos
Museum at 445-5076.

Museum looking for a few good members


By CARA ALLIGOOD
Staff Writer
PECOS, April 7, 1998 - The West of the Pecos Museum is still
trying to fuel its membership drive and is seeking more
local participation, according to Executive Director Brandy
Owen.

The museum now offers memberships to anyone interested in
supporting the popular tourist attraction. Memberships are
available at several levels to fit almost any budget,
ranging from $25 individual memberships to $1,000 partner
memberships, with perks varying among the different
memberships.

The Friends of the Museum group still exists though, with
their focus being volunteerism, according to Owen.

Last year, about 12,000 people toured the museum, according
to Owen. That is about equal to the number of residents of
Pecos, but most of the visitors were out-of-towners, she
said.

Last December the museum began a membership drive and the
response from people who live in other states has really
surprised Owen. Some current members of the museum live in
places such as Oceanside, Calif., Vancouver Wash., Fremont,
Neb., Paulsboro, N.J. and Falls Church, Va.

Owen said that there also are many members from throughout
Texas, from Monahans to Fort Worth and beyond, but there are
not as many local members as she thought there would be. "We
hope we can encourage more local people to participate and
invest in the museum," Owen said.

Money raised from memberships goes into the museum's
operating fund which is used to pay for day-to-day operating
expenses.

"The museum receives absolutely no city, county or federal
tax money," Owen said. "The tax money we do receive is from
the local bed tax. We receive one and one half cents out of
the seven cents per dollar tax, and the vast majority of
that money comes from travelers," Owen said.

The bed tax is a surcharge on hotel room rentals that is
collected and distributed by the city.

Where do local Catholic War Veterans meet?


By GREG HARMAN
Staff Writer
PECOS, April 7, 1998 - A branch of the Catholic War Veterans
has been active in Pecos since March 15, 1968, raising money
at fund raisers that have helped send, according to former
CWV Commander Arnie Calderon's estimates, 20-25 local high
school students on to college. But to find a meeting of the
veterans takes a good bit of snooping.

The group, homeless since being forced out of Santa Rosa
hall about 10 years ago, has been sharing the Veterans of
Foreign Wars space on West Third.

"At one time we were very active," current CWV Commander
Ralph Hernandez told the Reeves County Hospital Board last
month, "Now we are like orphans with no place to meet." The
lack of a permenant meeting place for the organization,
Hernandez emphasized, is limiting CWV's ability to attract
new members and perform vital functions.

"People don't know where we are meeting from one week to the
next," he said.

New CWV member Octavio Garcia, 45, said he thought he was
the youngest member to join the group. But, perhaps, Garcia
said, they may be able to start working to help the younger
generation again.

CWV could provide a positive link for a new generation. In
the words of Calderon, "Catholic War Veterans are willing to
push to help others, and are proud to do it. Kids just want
somebody to relate to them."

That's what prompted CWV to seek an abandoned, degenerating
property at the corner of Mesquite and East Third Street,
the former Mesquite Lounge. Three of the four taxing
entities in Pecos, the city, county, and hospital district,
have already approved the charitable sale of the location to
CWV for the symbolic sum of $10. It was the CWV bid on the
Mesquite Lounge that kept it off of the city demolition list.

Only the school district has refused to accept the veterans
group token bid, stating at the March board meeting that the
district tax attorney advised against accepting the $10 bid
because of a previous, higher bid of $1,100 from Paul
Hinojos. But, Bernardo Martinez, Reeves County Commissioner
in Precinct Four, claims that he has since called the school
district's attorney and was told that the school board could
do "whatever they want with the property."

Fire Marshal Jack Brookshire said that whatever the holdup
is on the part of the school board, "they need to go ahead
and deal with it" while there's a chance to "get rid of the
property." He estimated the cost to the Town of Pecos City
for demolition of the property to be several thousand
dollars.

City Manager Kenneth Neal said the city wasn't interested in
tearing down any more buildings. "It would be great if the
War Veterans could renovate and use the building," he said.

Catholic War Veterans was founded by Monsignor Edward J.
Higgins in May of 1935. He received permission from
Archbishop Thomas E. Molloy to begin the group, and in June
of that year he received from Pope Pius XI an Apostolic
Blessing for the new organization. Thus, the Catholic War
Veterans was born.

Of Higgins, Hernandez said, "next to his love for Christ and
his church, came his love for our country and for those who
dedicated their lives to our country's welfare in war and
peace."

The local post, the Gonzales-Garcia-Perea Post #1859, was
named for the first three local boys killed in the Vietnam
War.

"We have a total of 14,186 members nationally, and a total
of 662 in Texas," said Hernandez.

The current list of officers includes Ralph Hernandez,
commander; Octavio Garcia, first vice commander; Ben
Natividad, second vice commander; Juan Salcido, third vice
commander; Ben Madrid, adjutant; Felipe Arredondo,
treasurer; Isabel Florez, judge advocate; Frank Sanchez,
welfare officer; David Vejil, historian; Faustino Acosta,
officer of the day; Tom Rivera, service officer; B.L.
Natividad, director/three-year trustee; and Severo Jaquez,
director/two-year trustee.

PBT ISD board meets Monday


PECOS, April 7, 1998 - The Pecos-Barstow-Toyah Independent
School District Board of Education will hold its regular
meeting for the month of April at 6 p.m. Monday, April 13 in
the board room at 1304 Park Street.

After approval of minutes from the regular meeting on March
17 and the special meeting on April 2, candidates for
Teacher of the Year will be presented and the announcement
of Teacher of the Year will be made.

Correspondence will be heard on the Natural Resources
Foundation of Texas essay contest, and the 1998-99 school
calendar will be discussed.

The school board will also discuss a summary of finances for
the 1997-98 and 1998-99 school years.

Items up for discussion/approval include revising attendance
committee for grades K-8, summer school, request to use PHS
auditorium for Golden Girl Revue and waive fee, investment
policy CDA (Local) change, resolution approving independent
sources of instructions relating to investment
responsibilities, 1997-98 budget amendments, changes in
student council constitution, 10 percent local option
homestead exemption, interlocal agreement between P-B-T ISD
and Reeves County Detention Center for GED testing and
professional personnel appointments, resignations,
retirements and transfers.

Other items to be discussed include reviewing the district's
investment policy CDA (Legal and Local), investment
transaction report, depository securities report, Pecos High
School minimum attendance for class credit report, tax
report, cafeteria report, commodities report, approval of
payment of current bills and financial report, date for the
next regular meeting, calendar of events and request for
items for next agenda.

The meeting will also include a closed session to discuss
personnel or hear complaints against personnel.

Appraisal board meets tomorrow


PECOS, April 7, 1998 - The Board of Directors of the Reeves
County Appraisal District will meet at 5 p.m. Wednesday,
April 8, at 403 S. Cypress St.

The board will consider or take action on expenses and
balances for Jan., Feb. and March, Card, Graham & Co.'s 1997
audit, public officials liability insurance, progress report
and federal surplus property program.

The board will hold an executive session on personnel then
return to open session to discuss designation of surplus and
other business.

Other agenda items include receipt of public comments, Chief
Appraiser's response, and consideration and action for the
next board meeting on July 8, 1998.

No car, no suit, go to jail


BY PEGGY McCRACKEN
Staff Writer
PECOS, April 7, 1998 - An El Paso man who had transportation
problems and "no tuxedo" to wear to federal court Monday
will be a guest of the Reeves County Jail until his
appearance before Senior Judge Lucius Bunton Wednesday.

Luis Exiquio Carrillo, 18, is charged with transporting
illegal aliens. His attorney, Anthony Foster of Alpine, told
Judge Bunton Monday that his client called to tell him he
had no means of transportation and no tuxedo.

Foster said he told Carrillo he could borrow a coat and tie
to wear to court, but he failed to show up for docket call.
Judge Bunton said he would take Carrillo's guilty plea
Wednesday, but if he showed up before then, he should wait
in jail.

His co-defendant, Maria Guadalupe Rodriguez-de Cruz possibly
failed to appear because she didn't receive notice of the
court setting, Foster said. Judge Bunton said he would take
her plea Wednesday, when he will be back for a hearing and
three sentencings.

Sentenced Monday were Serbando Galaz-Bustos, 12 months and
one day; Antonio P. Murrillo, 37 months; and Melody Kathryn
Leard, 12 months plus one day, all for possession with
intent to distribute marijuana in October 1997.

Judge Bunton found two other defendants guilty of possession
with intent to distribute marijuana after denying their
motions to suppress evidence. Rachel Benavides and Joselito
Diaz, 32, of Hobbs, N.M. will be sentenced May 18.

Jesus Machado-Griego, aka Jose Vega, pleaded guilty to
making a false claim to U.S. citizenship.

Jose Carmen Baylon-Espino, 35, of Mexico, admitted illegal
entry after being deported.

Others pleading guilty were:

-Luis Rico-Urita, 27, of Chihuahua, Mex., importing 275.76
pounds of marijuana on Feb. 6;

-German Booker, importing marijuana;

-Denise Lujan-Sauceda, 19, of Odessa, possession of 83.70
pounds of marijuana with intent to distribute on Dec. 23,
1997;

-and Juan Manuel Gardea-Rubio, 32, of Delicias, Chih., Mex.,
importing marijuana on Feb. 10 (28.4 pounds).

-Martin Gonzalez, 29, of Chihuahua, Mex., failed to appear
on a charge of importing and possessing with intent to
distribute 62.4 pounds of marijuana on Feb. 16, and Judge
Bunton issued a warrant for his arrest.

CRIME OF THE WEEK


PECOS, April 7, 1998 - Crime Stoppers will pay up to $1,000
in reward for information leading to the arrest and Grand
Jury indictment of person(s) responsible for the incident
described below. Anyone having any information on this crime
or any other crime including narcotics can call "Crime
Stoppers" at 445-9898 and you will remain anonymous.

April 24, 1997, at approximately 10:22 a.m., the Pecos
Police Department received a call from Pecos Autoplex,
advising that sometime between April 22 and April 24 a
person or persons had taken a white, 1992 Chevrolet pickup
from the parking lot. The pickup was recovered in the 600
block alley between Palm and Oleander. Broken glass was
found on the front bumper. It is believed that this vehicle
was used in a burglary at Anthony's two nights prior and an
attempted burglary of Ernie's Smoke shop that same night.

POLICE REPORT


PECOS, April 7, 1998 - EDITOR'S NOTE: Information contained
in the Police Report is obtained from reports filed by the
Pecos Police Department, Reeves County Sheriff's Office, or
other officers of those agencies. The serving of warrants by
an officer for outstanding fines of either traffic
citations, animal control violations or other court costs
are considered arrests and will be printed as such unless
indicated that the fines were paid. In such instances we
will indicate payment and release.

***

Nelson Lee McGrew, 34, 811 E. 11th St., was arrested at
11:25 p.m. Mar. 23 at 9th and Cedar on an outstanding
warrant.

***

Jesus Manuel "Chapo" Martinez, 20, 915 S. Cherry St., was
arrested at 5 p.m. Mar. 22 at 8th and Palm for assault under
the family violence act and evading arrest.

***

Abel Alvarez, 38, San Angelo, was arrested at 9:30 a.m. Mar.
23 on outstanding warrants from Ector County.

***

A 1998, Toyota Tacoma pickup was damaged in Balmorhea
sometime between 10:30 p.m. Mar. 28 and 8:30 a.m. Mar. 29.
The right front fender was scratched with a sharp object,
the plastic under the fender had been broken off and a tire
was flattened.

***

Sylvia Roman, Balmorhea, was arrested at 3:55 p.m. Mar. 29
for assault causing bodily injury, a Class A misdemeanor.

***

Arturo Gallegos was arrested at 11:26 p.m. Mar 25 at 4th and
Cedar for public intoxication and possession of drug
paraphernalia.

***

Manuel Edmundo Nunez, 31, 1102 Veterans, was arrested at
9:46 p.m. Mar. 28 for public intoxication.

***

Elias Best, 42, 1102 Veterans, was arrested at 9:46 p.m.
Mar. 28 for public intoxication.

***

Antonio C. Salmon, 53, was arrested at 10:47 p.m. Mar. 28 in
the 200 block of S. Locust for assault under the family
violence act.

***

Raul Garcia was arrested at 9:20 p.m. Mar. 29 during a
traffic stop in the 200 block of W. 3rd for driving while
intoxicated.

***

Osvaldo Garcia was arrested at 3:59 p.m. mar. 31 in the 500
block of Mesquite for public intoxication.

***

Oscar Dominguez was arrested at 12:19 p.m. Apr. 1 in the 200
block of N. Pecan on a warrant service.

AREA NEWS ROUNDUP

April 7, 1998


The Fort Stockton Pioneer



FORT STOCKTON, Thursday, April 2, 1998 -The trial
prosecuting Greg and Karen Paulson, two Texas separatists
associated with The Republic of Texas and Richard McLaren,
began with jury selection taking place Monday, March 30, in
Fort Stockton. The Paulsons are charged with burglary of a
habitation, a felony. The indictment states they did
intentionally and knowingly enter a habitation, without the
effective consent of the residents Joe and M.A. Rowe, and
committed the felony offense of Aggravated Assault with a
Deadly Weapon on April 27, 1997.

The Alpine Avalanche



ALPINE, April 2, 1998 -An Alpine coalition was formed
Tuesday night to revitalize the fight against drugs in the
community. To start off the program, law enforcement from
the city and county, along with residents from Alpine and
the surrounding community, joined in on a discussion that
shocked members of the community.

The Sanderson Times



SANDERSON, April 2, 1998 -Complications have arisen in the
financing of the proposed sewage disposal system for
Sanderson that are causing some concern to the members of
the board of directors of the Terrell County Water Control
and Improvement District #1. The Texas Water Development
Board will not accept the engineering contract on the
project as it is currently set.

The McCamey News



McCAMEY, April 2, 1998 - U.S. Senator Kay Bailey Hutchison
will be at the Upton County Courthouse in the Commissioner's
Court Room on Wednesday, April 8, at 3 p.m. for a town
meeting. This is an opportunity for the residents of Upton
County to speak out on issues that are important to them.

The Monahans News



MONAHANS, April 2, 1998 -The only health care firm that made
a legitimate offer to lease and save Ward Memorial Hospital
has withdrawn its offer, reports Ward County Judge Sam G.
Massey. Massey said the confirmation of withdrawal by
Community Health Care Systems Inc. of Brentwood, Tenn., came
in a late Tuesday afternoon telephone call from Bob
Hardison, a top executive of the for-profit health care
agency.

WEATHER


High Monday, 78, low this morning, 46. Skies will be
clearing across most of Texas today and forecasts promise
pleasant weather across the entire state tonight and
Wednesday. It will be fair tonight and mostly sunny across
West Texas. Lows tonight will be in the 30s in the Panhandle
and in the 40s and 50s elsewhere in West Texas, highs
Wednesday will be in the 60s in the Panhandle and in the 70s
and 80s elsewhere around the state. Strong thunderstorms
roared across much of Oklahoma during the night, but th
storms stayed north of the Red River. Only a few brief
showers dampened scattered areas of North Texas Monday
evening.



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324 S. Cedar St., Pecos, TX 79772
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