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Daily Newspaper and Travel Guide
for Pecos Country of West Texas

Thursday, July 23, 1998

Program has Pecos students aiming high


Pecos residents Efrain Rodriguez, Noemi Perez and Jonathan Fuentes were among 35 high school students selected to be part of the Upward Bound program at Odessa College.

The students spend five days a week, for six weeks, getting
a taste of college life this summer, by living in a dorm,
attending classes and participating in activities on the OC
campus.

Upward Bound, funded by a four-year $897,980 federal grant,
is a college preparatory program designed to encourage
students to stay in school and go to college. Besides the
summer program on the OC campus, these students also
participate in Upward Bound during the school year by
attending Saturday classes, study groups and field trips.

State school principal retires


Patrick R. McGee, long time resident of the area and
principal at West Texas State School (WTSS) retired at the
end of June, 1998. McGee served as Principal at the Texas
Youth Commission (TYC) facility in Pyote for nearly two
years. He had also served five years as Assistant Principal
and four years as a Science Teacher there. Prior to coming
to TYC, he had been an educator in several other Texas towns
and also worked at several state and federal agencies. He
held a Masters Degree in School Administration from Sul Ross
State University in Alpine.

D.R. Haffier,Director of Federal Programs at TYC's Central
Offlce, joined WTSS teachers and other staff in honoring Mr.
McGee at his retirement. Staff brought their favorite dishes
and desserts for a festive meal. After the meal almost
everyone present commented on their fond, and sometimes
humorous, thoughts of Mr. McGee's years at WTSS. They
presented him a watch to help him manage his "travel
schedule and grandfather time" during retirement.
He also received a retirement plaque made by the youth and
their shop teacher to remind him of his years of dedicated
service. A student representative spoke for all WTSS youth
stating, "we want to thank you for building a winning team
of teachers and aids dedicated to helping troubled teens get
the most out of school . . . and helping them channel their
lives in a positive direction".

McGee and his wife will continue to reside in Monahans.
They expect to travel and spend quality time with their
family, especially their grandchildren.

Test can indicate risk of cancer


A blood test can reveal whether kids with the most common
childhood eye cancer have a form of the disease that might
be inherited by siblings.

"If they have the hereditary form of retinoblastoma, we
recommend that their brothers and sisters undergo DNA
testing to determine if they're also at risk of developing
the disease," said Dr. Sharon Plon, a geneticist at Baylor
College of Medicine and the Texas Children's Cancer Center
in Houston. The test analyzes DNA, the body's genetic
blueprint, for mutations in the gene associated with
retinoblastoma (RB).

RB is a tumor on the retina in one or both eyes that
usually occurs between infancy and the age of three. A cause
of vision loss, the tumor is treated by surgery, radiation
and/or chemotherapy.

"Children who are at risk need to have frequent thorough
eye exams starting right after birth, because the tumor
occurs on the back of the eye and is not easily detected,"
said Plon.



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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