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Daily Newspaper and Travel Guide
for Pecos Country of West Texas

Top Stories

Thursday, December 3, 1998

Local INS set to deliver aid to C. America


By ROSIE FLORES
Staff Writer
Food, clothing and more will soon be on its way to victims
of Hurricane Mitch in Central America, just in time for the
holidays.

The supplies which have been collected for the past two
weeks, was an effort initiated by the Immigration and
Naturalization Services in Pecos to help those devastated by
the hurricane.

"I've been in contact with the consulates of Honduras,
Guatemala and Nicaragua about their situation," said INS
agent Felix Chavez.

Chavez' concern stemmed from the recent hurricane which
struck those countries and left many homeless.

Chavez and the local INS office has been collecting canned
goods and other items, such as food that is easy to make and
canned meats, to transport to Honduras, Guatemala and
Honduras.

U.S. Defense Secretary William Cohen met with his Central
American counterparts in Colombia on Tuesday and pledged
continued disaster relief from the nearly 3,000 U.S.
military personnel in the region. The soldiers - many of
them army engineers - are making temporary road and bridge
repairs and helping to prevent epidemics.

A revised figure this week from Honduras lowered the overall
death toll in Central America from Hurricane Mitch by over
1,300. However, officials said the storm still killed 9,071
people and left tens of thousands more homeless.

Chavez said in addition to food, the citizens of the three
countries were also in dire need of water.

The local INS office will be in charge of collecting and
transporting the items. Anyone wanting to make a donation of
any kind can take the items to the Pecos Enterprise.

"We really don't want to take cash donations, but if anyone
wants to make a cash donation to this worthy cause they can
contact the American Red Cross at 877-837-8827," said Chavez.

For more information they can contact Chavez or any of the
INS officers at 447-4102.

The supplies will be collected from the Enterprise office by
Friday and then transported to the impoverished countries.

The Associated Press contributed to this report

`Homes' tour proceeds to benefit needy family


Proceeds from an Friday's Christmas Tour of Homes will go
towards aiding a needy local family during the holidays.

Three homes have been decorated in preparation for the
second annual event, and proceeds will go towards "adopting
a family" in the community during the holidays. The family
has not yet been selected by the Women's Division of the
Pecos Chamber of Commerce.

The tour is scheduled from 6-8 p.m., Friday. Ticket booklets
are now on sale for $10 and can be purchased from any
Women's Division member.

Those attending the tour are invited for refreshments at the
Holiday Gift Show that is being held at the Quality Inn from
6-9 p.m.

Ticket booklets from the tour can be presented at the door
of the Holiday Gift Show to become eligible for a gift
certificate which will be awarded during the show.

Homes on the tour include the Nazaroff Home, 1511 S.
Katherine Street which was built in 1980 and is the home of
Celia and Natalie Nazaroff.

The Roy and Reita Prewit home is located at 810 Lincoln
Street. The four bedroom, three bath home was built in 1959
by J. Robert Scott and it was designed for a family.

The third home on the tour is the home of Charlotte and Dick
Slack, 1820 Jefferson Street. It was built in 1962 by Mary
Peyton, who helped the Slacks redecorate in 1985.

The Holiday Gift Show, held in conjunction with the
Christmas Tour of Homes will take place at the Quality Inn
this year, from 6-9 p.m. and no admission will be charged.

Everyone is invited to stop by and do their Christmas
shopping with local establishments which will be featured
including, Airlawn Furniture, Farm Bureau Insurance, The
Ceramic Shop, Needleworks, Etc., Norma Jeans, Oilfield Phone
Service, Old Dolls Shop, Rediger's Pharmacy and the Style
Shop.

Tougher water rules won't affect city


From Staff and Wire Reports
The federal government is tightening water purification
standards and giving states and municipalities nearly $870
million to bring their filtration plants up to snuff.

For about 90 percent of American households the new
regulations, which President Clinton was highlighting today
in a visit to Rhode Island, will add less than $2 to the
average monthly water bill, according to administration
forecasts.

The Environmental Protection Agency estimates that the
changes could prevent up to 460,000 cases of waterborne
illness a year and improve overall drinking water quality
for 140 million Americans who are not already served by
top-of-the-line filtration systems.

Octavio Garcia, utilities director for the city of Pecos,
said today that the city's system is already up to standard.

"Possibly when we can come up with the money and make this
other well field, we are going to be above standards,"
Garcia said.

By requiring municipal plants to use higher-performance
filters and to monitor filters more frequently, the higher
standards are primarily aimed at eliminating the threat of
cryptosporidium, a parasite spread through human or animal
feces. More than 100 Milwaukee residents were killed, and
another 400,000 sickened, when cryptosporidium contaminated
the city's water supply in 1993.

``This is a very complex subject with the health of the
American public hanging in the balance,'' said Sen. John
Chafee, R-R.I., chairman of the Senate Environment and
Public Works Committee.

Chafee, who co-authored the 1996 legislation requiring both
tighter standards plus the federal money to help implement
them, was accompanying Clinton on a morning tour of the
Newport, R.I., water treatment plant before the president's
public address at the oceanfront Fort Adams State Park.

``The proposals the president is announcing will
simultaneously reduce health threats both from the bacteria
and viruses that may be in our drinking water and the
disinfectants that are used to remove them,'' Chafee said.

The new regulations also toughen standards for allowable
concentrations of chlorine byproducts in drinking water and
reduce an individual's exposure to such byproducts by an
estimated 25 percent. Used to disinfect water, chlorine can
combine with natural organic materials and form
trihalomethanes, which are suspected of causing cancer or
birth defects in tests on lab animals.

The federal government is providing states with $775 million
in fiscal 1999 for low-interest loans to municipalities that
must upgrade facilities to bring them into compliance.
Another $93.8 million is being released to state
drinking-water monitoring and enforcement programs.

Most water treatment facilities must comply by December
2001. Smaller systems serving under 10,000 people have two
more years to meet the higher standards.

All told, the improvements are expected to cost federal,
state and local governments some $2.5 billion over five
years.

Bush orders flags lowered for Benavidez


AUSTIN (AP) - Texas flags were flying at half staff today in
honor of Roy Benavidez, the Medal of Honor winner who was
being buried in San Antonio.

Gov. George W. Bush issued the order and said his prayers
were going out to the Benavidez family.

``Roy was a great Texan, a Medal of Honor winner, a man of
great courage and determination. The flags being flown at
half staff are there to remind us of the sacrifice that
people like Roy have made for our country,'' Bush said.

Benavidez, who died on Sunday at 63, was a Green Beret who
won fame for his heroic efforts in a Cambodian jungle in
1968. Despite being clubbed, stabbed and shot, Benavidez
rescued eight soldiers before bringing one last group of
wounded to a helicopter. He was so badly injured that a
doctor initially thought he was dead.

He was awarded the Medal of Honor by President Reagan in
1981.

Dozens of admirers and friends of Benavidez gathered to pay
their respects during a memorial visitation on Wednesday. A
funeral for the Medal of Honor winner, who died on Sunday at
63, was set for today.

``I considered him one of my closest and best friends,''
said Joe Galindo, who drove from Lubbock to San Antonio with
two other Vietnam War veterans. ``He inspired me in a lot of
ways as far as not giving up.''

Even in death, Benavidez remains an icon. The former Green
Beret and longtime El Campo resident won fame for his heroic
efforts in a Cambodian jungle in 1968.

Despite being clubbed, stabbed and shot, Benavidez rescued
eight soldiers before bringing one last group of wounded to
a helicopter. He was so badly injured that a doctor
initially thought he was dead.

The efforts resulted in a Medal of Honor, awarded by
President Reagan in 1981.

U.S. Rep. Ciro Rodriguez, D-San Antonio, said Benavidez was
an important role model ``for a lot of people, especially a
lot of Mexican-Americans.''

Retired Army Master Sgt. Raul Rodriguez said Benavidez
brought some respect for Vietnam veterans.

``At the time that we came back, we came back to protesters
and people that spit on us and we couldn't even fly in a
plane in uniform,'' Rodriguez told the San Antonio
Express-News.

``I think he makes a lot of people aware that there should
be some pride, even if it was a war we didn't win.''

Weather


High Tuesday 74, low last night 43. Tonight, a 50 percent
chance of showers with a few thunderstorms possible,
otherwise cloudy. Low 50-55. Southeast to south wind 10-20
mph. Thursday, cloudy and breezy with a 30 percent chance of
showers. high in the in the mid 60s. Southwest to west wind
15-25 mph and gusty.



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Pecos Enterprise
Ned Cantwell, 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