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Daily Newspaper and Travel Guide
for Pecos Country of West Texas
Top Stories
Drug dog, street closing on city's agenda
PECOS, Oct. 27, 1999 -- The Town of Pecos City Council will discuss the
purchase of a drug detection dog, along with entry into the Texas Home
Investment Partnership and the closing of a street through the Maxey Park
Zoo during their regular meeting on Thursday.
The council will meet at 7:30 p.m. at City Hall to discuss those items,
which were touched on earlier this month.
The purchase of a drug-detection dog was discussed by the Pecos-Barstow-Toyah
school board at their October meeting. It would be bought for use both
in the local schools and the Pecos Police Department, the board was told
by police chief Clay McKinney.
Cost to buy the dog, along with three weeks of training, would by $5,300,
plus an additional $1,185 for the trainer's travel expenses. McKinney estimated
the total cost to the city and school district would be $17,951, spread
out over a six-year period.
The council was given a briefing at its Oct. 14 meeting on the Texas
Home Investment Partnership, for which applications are due by Dec. 20.
Recommended grant amount is $240,000, and cities will be notified by the
state next spring on whether or not the grant is approved.
The council will be hearing the second reading of an ordinance closing
the 2500-2600 block of Toliver Street, after voting unanimously to adopt
the measure two weeks ago. The street runs through the middle of the zoo,
and will be closed in order to improve the security of animals in nearby
cages.
Other items on Thursday's agenda include:
Discuss/consider 1998 errors and corrections for 1998 and prior tax
rolls;
Discuss/consider 1999 tax rolls;
Discuss/consider resolution authorizing additional penalties on delinquent
taxes;
Discuss/consider an ordinance establishing a Municipal Court Technology
Fund;
Discuss/consider a new telecommunications franchise fee collection law:
Discuss/consider and approve a meeting by Municipal Court Judge Amanario
Ramon and Mayor pro-tem Gerald Tellez with an El Paso County Justice of
the Peace to discuss the truancy prevention program in use there.
Christian Home seeks Thanksgiving help
By ROSIE FLORES
Staff Writer
PECOS, Oct. 27, 1999 -- Plans are already underway for this year's
free Thanksgiving dinner, sponsored by the Pecos Christian Home and set
for Nov. 25 at the Reeves County Civic Center. But the man in charge says
help is needed to make the event a success.
"Last year we fed about 210-250 people and hope to have the same crowd
this year," said Christian Home Director Bruce Dury, who is asking for
the community's help in providing enough food for the dinner.
Dury said turkeys, hams, vegetables and desserts will be needed for
the annual event.
"And of course, we'll need volunteers," said Dury.
The Thanksgiving Dinner is held for those individuals who otherwise
don't have a place to go during the holiday. Meals are also served to those
on the Meals On Wheels Program.
"We'll be delivering the meals to the homebound as well," said Dury.
If you would like to donate an item or volunteer to help serve the meal
contact the Christian Home at 445-2049.
The Christian Home sponsors the free holiday dinners each year at Thanksgiving
and Christmas.
Early voting going slowly
PECOS, Oct. 27, 1999 -- With no major national, state, or local offices
up for election this year, turnout has been low during the first 10 days
of early voting at the Reeves County Courthouse.
"It's been really slow, but we want to let everyone know they still
have a chance to vote early," said Reeves County Clerk Diane Florez.
Early voting will end Friday and so far, only 35 votes have been cast.
"We've only received one ballot by mail, and we mailed out three," said
Florez.
Items on the ballot include 17 propositions, summaries of which have
been appearing in the Pecos Enterprise.
Props deal with homestead, spousal aid
EDITOR'S NOTE: This is the sixth in a series of articles on the
proposed amendments to the Texas Constitution voters will cast ballots
on in next Tuesday's general election. Today's story includes information
on both Proposition 6 and Proposition 7 on Tuesday's ballot.
By PEGGY McCRACKEN
Staff Writer
Proposition 6: Increasing the maximum size of an urban homestead
to 10 acres, prescribing permissible uses of urban homesteads, and preventing
the overburdening of a homestead.
Background: Section 50, Article XVI protects a homestead from forced
sale for the payment of debts except for debts resulting from purchase
money to acquire the property, construction of improvements, taxes due,
certain partitions, refinance of a lien, and the acquisition of a home
equity loan or reverse mortgage. Section 51, Article XVI, limits an urban
homestead to a lot or lots consisting of not more than one acre and permits
the homestead to be used as either a home or a place of business. A rural
homestead is limited to 200 acres.
The proposed amendment increases the size of an urban homestead from
one acre to 10 acres, permits only a single lot or parcel constituting
contiguous lots to be considered an urban homestead, and permits it to
be used as a home or as both a home and a place of business.
Arguments for: 1. The proposed amendment extends the opportunity to
obtain home equity loans to a wider range of Texas property owners. Lending
institutions are unwilling to accept only the portion of the property owner's
residential property that constitutes homestead property as collateral.
2. Rejects the line of Texas case law that classifies certain lending
practices as creating an additional burden on homestead property and permits
lending institutions to offer loans routinely approved in other states.
Arguments against: 1. The wording of the proposition is vague and does
not provide voters with sufficient information to understand the effects
of the amendment, one of which is to further expand home equity lending.
The effect of the amendment expands the circumstances under which property
owners may obtain home equity loans without making this effect apparent
to voters in the wording of the ballot proposition.
2. Reverses an established line of Texas case law developed over the
past 60 years prohibiting certain lending practices that the courts have
indicated create an additional burden on homestead property.
Proposition 7: Authorizing garnishment of wages for the enforcement
of court-ordered spousal maintenance.
Background:
When a person owes a debt, the law provides several different ways through
which the lender may collect. The first step is to sue. If he gets a judgment
or court order and the debtor still fails to pay, he may use various remedies.
Among them are execution, which involves sending an officer to seize and
sell the debtor's property, and garnishment, which requires a third person
who has property belonging to the debtor to transfer the debtor's property
to the lender.
In general, Section 28, Article XVI does not permit garnishment against
an employer if the person who owes the debt is working for wages. In 1983,
the constitution was amended to allow the garnishment of wages only for
the enforcement of court-ordered child support. Before 1995, child support
was the only type of family support that could be ordered in Texas, and
that remains the only type of family support for which wages may be garnished.
In 1995, in reforming the welfare laws, legislators authorized limited
spousal maintenance following the dissolution of a marriage in an attempt
to keep a spouse with limited job skills and financial resources from having
to rely on governmental assistance programs for support.
Court orders for spousal maintenance have been difficult to enforce
without a garnishment provision.
In 1999, the Legislature adopted a law that will permit a judge to order
garnishment of wages to pay the spousal maintenance. But the law will not
take effect unless voters approve the amendment.
Arguments for: 1. Most other states authorize the garnishment or involuntary
assignment of wages for certain obligations.
2. Spousal maintenance in Texas is limited to circumstances in which
the recipient spouse is unlikely to be able to provide for the person's
own support and would therefore be likely to have to rely on governmental
assistance programs. The state has adopted other programs to assist spouses
who are displaced because of divorce, including job counseling programs.
Approval of the constitutional amendment would expand the types of assistance
available and would allow a dependent spouse to have secure support for
a limited period while the person becomes financially independent without
imposing an additional burden on the taxpayers.
Arguments against:
1. Garnishment of wages places the burden of collecting and paying spousal
maintenance on the employer rather than the employee.
2. The obligation to pay spousal maintenance is only one of many obligations
that a person may have, including payment of taxes, judgments and other
debts. Expanding the authorization for garnishment beyond court-ordered
child support logically will encourage adoption of additional exceptions
to allow garnishment to pay other types of obligations.
Taken from the Texas Legislative Council's publication, "analyses
of Proposed Constitutional Amendments. Next: Proposition 8, to provide
that the adjutant general serves at the pleasure of the governor.
School moves balloon release time
PECOS, Oct. 27, 1999 -- Time for the release of balloons at Bessie Haynes
Elementary School has been changed from morning to afternoon.
On Thursday, balloons will be released at 2 p.m., and parents are welcome
to participate. The time was changed from 8:30 a.m., to accommodate school
administrators who will be on hand for the special event.
Bessie Haynes Elementary School is participating in different activities
throughout the week in honor of Red Ribbon Week.
The balloons will have a note attached to them, written by the students,
and if anyone finds the notes they are asked to contact the school at 447-7244.
Firemen spraying cars in fundraiser
PECOS, Oct. 27, 1999 -- Pecos Volunteer Firemen will be using plenty of
water on Saturday, but it won't be to douse a fire.
The firemen will be having a Car Wash at the Central Fire Station on
South Cedar Street.
Cars, trucks and vans can get washed from 9 a.m. until 5 p.m.
Small and large cars will be washed for $8, while the cost to get vans
washed will be $12 and trucks will cost $10.
Obituaries
Margaret Bragg
PECOS, Oct. 27, 1999 -- Services are incomplete for Margaret Bragg, 81,
who died Tuesday, Oct. 26, 1999, at Reeves County Hospital.
Pecos Funeral Home is in charge of arrangements.
Julia Ward
PECOS, Oct. 27, 1999 -- Julia Hampton Ward, 93, died Oct. 6, 1999, at the
Pecos Nursing Home.
A memorial service will be held at 2 p.m., Thursday at the Pecos Funeral
Home Chapel, with Rev. Bruce Abbott officiating.
She was born Oct. 7, 1905, in Pecos, was a lifelong Pecos resident and
retired.
Lotto
AUSTIN (AP) — Results of the Cash 5 drawing Tuesday night: Winning numbers
drawn: 13-25-18-28-26. Number matching five of five: Two. Prize per winner:
$38,299. Winning ticket(s) sold in: Glenn Heights, El Paso. Matching four
of five: 238. Prize: $483.
***
AUSTIN (AP) — The winning Pick 3 numbers drawn Tuesday by the Texas
Lottery, in order: 2-5-1 (two, five, one)
Weather
High Tuesday 85. Low this morning 46. Forecast for tonight: Mostly
cloudy. Low around 50. South wind 5-15 mph. Thursday, partly cloudy. High
around 80. Southeast to south wind 5-15 mph.
Pecos Enterprise
York M. "Smokey" Briggs, 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 1999 by Pecos Enterprise
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