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Top StoriesApril 22, 1998Frustration voiced at Reeves County HospitalBy GREG HARMAN Staff Writer PECOS, April 22, 1998 - The frustration of a family over the treatment a relative received at Reeves County Hospital was given voice at last night's meeting of the Reeves County Hospital Board by Debbie Flores, daughter of Bea Herrera. Flores lodged her complaint about the way her mother was handled last month at the hospital by Dr. Richard Debendetto. "He was the rudest doctor ever," she told the board. "He made comments that were uncalled for and told us `Your mother is not going to die.'" When the ambulance arrived and her mother was loaded for transport, Flores said that Dr. Debendetto told her mother, "Ma'am, you might die on the way." Flores also complained about the length of time it took before an ambulance was provided to transfer her ailing mother to Odessa. "The doctor in Odessa said if we had been on the road for 20 more minutes she could have died." Interim Administrator Charles Butts, who said he thought the issue had already been settled, told the board that the situation was not as bad as it sounded. "If it was my family I'd be upset too," said Butts. The administrator said he did speak to the doctor about the incident. Saying only, "He had somewhat of a different story." According to L.G. Crawford, director of nurses, part of the delay in getting an ambulance to transport Herrera to Odessa was because the hospital's newest ambulance was not certified by the state for use. The other ambulance was unable to run because it was in the shop for repairs. He said that the Pecos ambulance, normally used as a back-up in such instances, was unavailable. With one Wes-Star ambulance already on the way to Pecos from Odessa for another patient, Crawford said they called and asked if the crew would be able to transport two patients at once. Told that it was not possible, they called for a second Wes-Star ambulance from Odessa to transport Herrera. Crawford said that the ambulance arrived soon after Herrera was ready for transport. "We couldn't have sent her sooner because she needed stabilization." Before leaving the room, Flores said, "I just don't want anybody else to have to go through that again. Thank you for listening." The hospital's new ambulance was certified only days after this incident and is now in use, said Butts in an interview this morning. Moving on to other business, the board quickly approved the donation of the older ambulance to the City of Balmorhea; the renewal of liability insurance; a new time and attendance recording system; and the lease of property located in Shackelford County, which was accepted several years ago in lieu of payment for medical treatment. Richard Mathis, hospital controller, who recommended leasing out the Shackelford County property, said, "Not in our lifetime will it pay off that bill." The board approved the tax collection reports for the months of February and March. The March report shows an outstanding balance of $542,014.40. The hospital's financial statements and budget amendments were passed, and the bills were approved to be paid as money becomes available. One budget item scrutinized, costing the hospital several thousand dollars last month, was Nurse Finders, a temporary nurse placement organization. Crawford said that the service was used "only when we absolutely have to. We are utilizing every licensed nurse we have access to." The hospital is still having difficulties hiring full-time nurses. In response to medical staff reports, the board approved removing clinical privileges to several doctors who are no longer employed by the hospital. These doctors included: Patrick Riggs, Nikolas Gajic, Daniel Fish and Sung Kim. The board also approved granting emergency room privileges for Dr. Richard DeBendetto and clinical privileges for chiropractor Edward Sigh. The board did not discuss the pharmacy contract listed on the agenda. First National acquires Kermit bankBy CARA ALLIGOOD Staff Writer PECOS, April 22, 1998 - The First National Bank of Pecos announced Tuesday that it has purchased Western National Bank's Kermit branch. The branch will be called First National Bank, Kermit Branch. First National Bank, Kermit was originally established in 1959 as First National Bank of Kermit, according to Keith Moore of the Davis Bank Group. Jack. L. Crouse has been elected by the First National Bank to serve as its Kermit president. He has 30 years of commercial banking experience including 19 years at the First National Bank of Kermit, where he served as president until 1990. J.L. Davis, Chairman of the board of the bank, expressed confidence in Crouse, "We are very pleased to have someone of Mr. Crouse's experience and local knowledge join our bank. We believe in community banks. We want a banker who is sensitive to the specific needs of the bank's customers and of the community. We feel Mr. Crouse is uniquely qualified to conduct bank affairs in such a manner as to achieve that goal." First National Bank, Kermit Branch will be affiliated with a group of banks comprised of The First National Bank of Pecos, The First National Bank of Ft. Stockton, Seminole National Bank and Denver City Bank. The association of the banks in Pecos and Kermit will result in customers with an account at one bank being able to do business at the other, but the banks in Ft. Stockton, Seminole and Denver City are separate, according to Bruce Duston, president of First National Bank in Pecos. The branching of the two banks will not result in an Automatic Teller Machine (ATM) being added to the Pecos facility immediately, Duston said. "We'll get one sooner rather than later, but I can't hazard a guess as to when," Duston said. Total financial resources of the group will be approximately $200 million in assets, $185 million in deposits and $60 million in loans outstanding. No Earth Day observance in PecosBy CARA ALLIGOOD Staff Writer PECOS, April 22, 1998 - Today is Earth Day 1998. Although the observance has not generated much local notice in recent years, the U.S. Chamber of Commerce is marking the occasion with a series of speeches across the nation this week. Pecos Chamber of Commerce Executive Director Tom Rivera said that he did not know of any Earth Day observances planned for the Pecos area. Judy Tipton of the Pecos Tree Board said that organization didn't have anything planned for Earth Day, but was planning to plant trees on Friday in observance of Arbor Day. School officials did not know of any teachers or campuses planning school-related Earth Day observances. In a statement released yesterday, U.S. Chamber of Commerce President Thomas J. Donohue outlined a proactive environmental message for American business. "It's time for business to stop hiding on the issue of the environment," Donohue said. "After spending $1 trillion on environmental clean-up and protection, we have made substantial progress with our air, land and water getting cleaner by the day. We don't need to apologize," Donohue said. "But before we spend a nickel of the next trillion dollars, business has earned the right to be heard on this important subject," Donohue said. "What business is saying is that the next generation of environmental protection needs to focus on performance not paperwork. Going forward, environmental regulations must be based on sound science and a clear articulation of the costs and benefits." Donohue cited the example of the Superfund Cleanup program. Since 1980, only 200 of 1,200 priority sites have been cleaned up at a cost of $32 billion -and 50-70 percent of that was spent on lawyers, lawsuits and consultants. "We need flexibility, sound science, and careful cost/benefit analysis," Donohue stated. "Above all, there needs to be a clear understanding that technology and strong economic growth are indispensable to environmental progress. Remember, without a strong economy and the technological advances developed by business, we would have neither the resources nor the means for our present accomplishments or our future goals," Donohue said. Donohue said that several new environmental issues, promoted by the federal government and the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA), threaten to severely harm the nation's economic growth while having questionable impact on cleaner air or water. The include the new NAAQS (National Ambient Air Quality Standards) regulations, the global climate treaty and an environmental justice policy. On the subject of the NAAQS standards, Donohue said that "these regulations are a prime example of how far Washington regulators have strayed from Common sense. With many of EPA's own scientists questioning the need for new, more costly clean air goals, EPA moves forward with regulations that guarantee to cripple economic development plans in hundreds of communities across America. Rivera said that many environmental laws, including the NAAQS, don't really have an impact in Pecos because this area doesn't have the industrial or population density to create pollution levels near the legal limits like bigger cities do. Rivera said that there are some environmental laws that do affect local businesses. He pointed out examples such as laws regulating what chemicals dry cleaners can use and regulations on how items such as used tires and motor oil can be disposed of as environmental laws which do impact local businesses, but said those laws don't have a damaging effect on local businesses. Donohue said the global climate treaty would "cede control of domestic policy to the United Nations," and that the environmental justice proposal would establish a procedure in which individuals, in low-income or minority areas, can bring lawsuits against states or local governments demanding that special conditions be placed on facilities operating in those areas, leading to lawsuits and a loss of jobs. "This proposal undermines any and all incentives on the part of business to locate in the more than 70 enterprise and empowerment zones," Donohue said. "You can't handcuff the economy in the name of environmental purity, because a booming economy is what's going to pay for further progress," Donohue said. City Council meets tomorrowPECOS, April 22, 1998 - The Pecos City Council will meet at 7:30 tomorrow morning to discuss with Duncan Disposal the disposition of animal carcasses at the landfill; consider the lease of the old shop building at the Pecos Municipal Airport to Nelson Aero; approve a contract with Raba-Kistner Consultants Inc., for the closure of Trench One Area B closure; and discuss possible newsletter and television advertising. The council will also review the monthly reports from the juvenile probation department, municipal court, tax collector and city financials. The council will enter closed session to discuss the performance of a police reserve officer, and then consider in open session the performance of Utilities Director Octavio Garcia and Health Department Director Armando Gil. PHS students exhibit Spanish skillsBy ROSIE FLORES Staff Writer PECOS, April 22, 1998 - Pecos High School students proved their fluency for the Spanish language bringing home several honors from a contest held Friday. "We didn't place in the top three, but we did really, really well," said Spanish teacher and sponsor Barbara Tarango. The students participated in the Foreign Language Festival at Angelo State University. One group performed a skit in Spanish," said teacher Barbara Tarango. The skit, which is titled, "Todo Por Una Maleta," was derived from the Spanish language hit show "Sabado Gigante," according to Tarango. Ribbons of "excelente" and "superior" were given out, with "superior" ribbons rating the highest. The Spanish skit won superior and was performed by, Gladys Izquierdo, Herman Seijas, Bacilio Ortega, Roy Ramos, Heydy Gomez and Angela Martinez. "Gladys and Heydy really saved the day, they ad-libbed when the guys would forget their lines and their fluency was excellent," said Tarango. "Everybody did a really great job and others placed in different categories," she said. Other students participated in prose, poetry, sight reading, extemporaneous and a written test. The students who performed the skit received points for fluency, how well they remembered their lines and their actions. Everything was put together and they were judged on all of it, according to Tarango. Over 30 schools participated in the annual event. In poetry, the following students received ribbons: Michelle Gabaldon, Herman Seijas, Veronica Marruffo received superior. Adriana Lara, and Suzanne Carrasco received excelente. In prose, Griselda Muiz, Michelle Gabaldon, Adriana Lara, Gladys Izquierdo, and Marissa Salgado received excelente. Marissa Salgado, Herman Seijas, Adela Garcia and Freddy Caballero netted superior ribbons in the sight reading portion of the contest. In extemperoneous, Karina Castillo and Gladys Izquierdo both received a superior. In the written test, Isabel Madrid, Noemi Perrez, Freddy Caballero, Marissa Salgado, Heydy Gomez and Roy Ramos received superior. Elma Gomez, Karina Castillo and Veronica Marruffo netted an excelente ribbon. "We are so proud of them and hope they do this well again next year," said Tarango. Teacher sponsors along with Tarango, are Jacqueline Mandujano, Juan Dominguez and Rick Martinez. New store in townBy CARA ALLIGOOD Staff Writer PECOS, April 22, 1998 - Stafford's Place is no more. Now Pecos has Thrift World, with expanded inventory and hours, according to one of the store's new owners, LaTosha Belaire. Belaire said a friend of the family had been working for Stafford's Place owner Joe Stafford, when he decided to go out of business. When the friend told Belaires and her husband, Dawayne, of Stafford's plan, she said. "Dawayne and I discussed it and thought maybe we could do something with it." Belaire said, she and her husband bought Stafford's inventory, rented the building at 211 South Cypress Street, where Stafford had operated his store, and before that a cleaning business for many years, and changed the name of the business to "Thrift World." In addition to Stafford's old inventory of used appliances, the Belaires have added more merchandise for their customers. "They can find tools, nick-nacks, lamps, living room stuff, office stuff, things for birthday parties, electronics, you name it, we've got it," Belaire said. Belaire said that business has been "great, it's been real good," since Thrift World opened. In addition to the new offerings, the Belaires will buy, sell or trade used appliances, and will make some repairs. She said the store has had a fairly steady flow of customers since opening on April 1. "We have our slow moments, but everybody has their slow moments," she said. Thrift World is open from 9 a.m. to 6 p.m. Monday through Friday, and about the same hours on the weekends for now, although weekend hours are on an experimental basis at the moment. The Belaires have lived in Pecos for about two years and have five children. Dawayne is originally from Pecos and LaTosha is from Odessa. "We're nice and friendly and we welcome anyone who comes in, Belaire said. WEATHERPECOS, April 22, 1998 - High Tuesday, 73, low this morning, 40. Mostly clear skies this morning should lead to a sunny, warm afternoon across the state. This afternoon should be partly cloudy with highs in the 70s. The night should be clear with lows in the 40s. Skies were partly cloudy over the Panhandle and fair elsewhere in West Texas. Temperatures at 5 a.m. were in the 40s and 50s, with winds under 10 mph. A mostly sunny day is in store, with highs in the 70s and 80s. Overnight lows should drop to the 30s and 40s. The afternoon should be sunny and warm with highs around 80s degrees and winds around 10 mph. Overnight lows should range from the 40s to the 60s.
Pecos Enterprise
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