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Local Doctor Orville D. Cerna made the comment after returning from the
trip, which was funded and sponsored by Pecos Seventh Day Adventist
Church.
Abner Razon, pastor of the church, said the trip was fulfilling in that,
"we got to see so many people being blessed by our services."
"The purpose (of the trip) was to help people that have not accepted
Christ, make that decision," said Cerna, "and as far as that was
concerned, we were quite successful."
The three-week-long trip by the 20-member group, which included both the
families of Cerna and Razon, as well as that of local Chiropractor Dr.
Edward Sigh, included a two-week period of seminars and free health
clinic services at Lucena City, Philippines, which Razon said was about
a four hour trip from Manila.
The events were coordinated by the local church in cooperation with the
Lucena City government and other Philippine Adventist Church groups.
Funds for the mission were raised by the church he added and $2,000 of
that was used to purchase medical supplies.
Razon and Sigh agreed that the, "it was an expensive trip, but worth
it," added the pastor.
Every night, a crowd of some 500 people filled the Lucena City Executive
Hall, with hundreds more lined up to get in, said Razon. The event
featured a program on Health and Happiness, with Razon counseling on
spiritual issues and Cerna and Sigh on health matters.
Most of the audience members were of impoverished backgrounds Sigh said.
Programs also included singing and entertainment by children and wives
of the local group while Cerna played his violin and the piano. Guest
singers were also featured, Razon added.
Both Sundays, the group provided a free health clinic that aided some
1,000 people, Razon said. The doctors and nurses on hand performed
chiropractic care, dental extractions, circumcisions and minor surgeries.
Nurses Solomon and Milany Tolentino, Seventh Day Adventists from Big
Spring, joined the local group and helped with the clinic and program
Razon added.
Sigh said that with only one chiropractor in the whole country his
particular field of service kept him busy during the clinics. He said
doctors at a Manila hospital were extremely interested in what he had to
share in regards to his profession.
Razon said since there was no baptistery in the church, "we needed to go
to the open sea," for baptismal ceremonies. He added that some 100
people were baptized.
"The main thing," Cerna said about the trip, was that the group
experience, "doing the Lord's work on this Earth."
All three men agreed that the Philippine people, who speak Spanish, were
more receptive to the spiritual aspect of the trek, "because they're
(Philippines) are always looking for something better, something new."
"Most of my topics," said Razon, who conducted his portion of the
lecture in his native tongue, "were about Christ and the love of
humanity, which is attractive to a Third World Country...they're always
looking for something better, something new."
"They're drawn to the Lord Jesus Christ," he said and added, "the
Philippines is the only Christian county in the southeast (of Asia)."
The heat and humidity of the tropical country was something all three
men agreed was the most difficult portion of the trip.
Sigh believes that the Philippines is a developing country and that
there are a lot of opportunities over there. "The Philippinos are very
industrious," he said.
He added that the trip, "wasn't what I expected," but he was thrilled
with the experience. The most memorable portion of the trip for him was
his visit with doctors while at the Manila Sanitarian Hospital. "I made
a lot of friends," he said, "and I got to work with three of the top
surgeons."
He had to leave the group behind early after his wife got ill and he and
his family had to remain in Manila for the latter portion of the trip.
During the preparation period and throughout the trip, the group got the
opportunity to see cultural shows, take bamboo raft rides, take train
cars pulled by the native water buffalo, experience the native cuisine
and ride, "in the typical vehicle, the jitneys."
Sigh said he will remember the country's substitute for ice cream, which
is a delicacy in the Philippines, called a `halo halo,' which is a
combination of ice, cream and crushed fruit.
All believe the trip was a, "very good experience," and hope to share
the experience during a local seminar planned for October.
Cerna explained the upcoming event will be monitored, "via satellite
hook-up," and the church is inviting the public.
"It's certainly a serious situation that needs to be addressed," said
Reeves County Judge Jimmy B. Galindo.
Forty-eight employees from the RCDC have placed applications for jobs
elsewhere, though not all of them are veteran workers, according to
Galindo.
"We certainly don't want to lose any of our employees, but under no
circumstances do we want to lose our veteran core staff,' said Galindo.
Six employees have turned in letters of resignation, so far, but others
have submitted applications at other correctional facilities and are
waiting to hear from those sites.
"We're very concerned about being able to compete because of monetary
incentive, since we're losing core staff," said Galindo. He and Reeves
County commissioners are scheduled to discuss pay increases for RCDC
workers during Monday's commissioners court meeting.
Galindo stated that the Reeves County Detention Center doesn't want to
become a training center for the Texas Department of Criminal Justice or
the U.S. Bureau of Prisons, since the staff is seeking employment at
other state and federal facilities.
Galindo said salary increases were implemented in the 1996 adopted
budget, but due to circumstances which left the facility in a financial
slump, the increases did not materialize.
Galindo cited the fact that at the beginning of the year the facility
had three successful escape attempts followed by a riot in late
February which resulted in an estimated $100,000 in damages.
He said the 18-hour riot by Bureau of Prison inmates "left the facility
with only 350 inmates and it stayed like that for three months," said
Galindo. The total was about half the RCDC's normal capacity, and
translated into a substantial loss of potential earnings.
"We lost $10,000 a day for 60 days, which accounts for a substantial
amount of money," he said.
One of the main issues is that the Pecos facility houses federal inmates
and there are certain things that Pecos needs to provide to the BOP, and
in some cases it involves additional staff.
The facility upgraded their staff and currently employees five case
mangers because of the case load.
There are presently 600 inmates at the facility, with one staff employee
for every 48 inmates, according to Galindo.
"We've been financially conservative, trying not to spend money, to
recuperate the loss," said Galindo. "We came back, though, from losing
$700,000 at the beginning of the year and the revenue projection is
right on now," he said.
Galindo credited the staff at the facility for the comeback and praised
their efforts.
"Because of the experienced staff that work at the facility we have been
able to recuperate," said Galindo. "It's certainly a tribute to the
staff because of the confidence the BOP has in them, in their ability to
perform the service that they require."
Galindo spoke to department heads at the facility about three weeks ago
and updated them on the situation.
"I told them, `We're out of the woods now, we made it through the
toughest six months and now it's time to move forward and provide the
best possible service for the BOP,'" said Galindo.
Galindo stated that he hopes the staff decides to stay, following
commissioner' decision on the salary increases on Monday.
"We want to do everything we can to keep them," said Galindo.
He added that they have invested a lot in the staff at the facility by
providing them special training, such as disturbance, riot control and
crisis management.
"All that training was a big investment in our staff, giving them the
tools to provide the service to our client," he said. "It's the veteran
core staff that we certainly don't want to lose."
District Attorney John Stickels added the names of Lupe Garcia and
Mickey Michael Vasquez to the indictment as alleged victims of attempted
fraud or harm.
Dean, Reeves County's Democratic Party chairman, failed to notice a
filing petition submitted by Vasquez had not been signed, and notarized
the document. The mistake was discovered two days after the filing
deadline and Vasquez, who was seeking to run against Garcia for Precinct
1 commissioner in March's primary election, was forced off the ballot.
Vasquez has since filed to run as a write-in candidate against Garcia in
the November general election.
Dean's attorney, Scott Johnson, had filed a motion to quash the
indictment, and he objected to its being amended. He also filed a motion
for change of venue, which Judge Parks reset for next Friday.
Judge Parks has set a jury trial for 9 a.m. Monday in the trial of an
Americans with Disabilities suit filed against Reeves County Law
Enforcement Center by Elizer G. Flores.
Flores claims he applied for a job at the LEC on Mar. 1, 1994 and was
questioned about his disability - missing fingers - and whether he would
be able to perform correctional officer duties.
Also on Monday, visiting Judge Paul McCollom will try the Reeves County
vs. Pecos River Livestock case across Cedar Street, in the magistrate
courtroom of the federal courthouse.
The county loaned the corporation funds to start a goat dairy south of
Pecos, which never materialized.
LUBBOCK (AP) - As expected, Lubbock Mayor David Langston filed his
resignation Thursday to join the chase for the state Senate seat vacated
last month by new Texas Tech Chancellor John T. Montford.
City Council will formally accept the resignation Tuesday. Mayor Pro Tem
Ty Cook will take over until the city holds a special election.
``One of the things I'm going to have to do is replace the leadership of
John Montford,'' said Langston, who has expressed interest in the seat
since Montford's name became associated with the chancellor's job 1½
months ago. ``We need an active, hard-working individual to provide
leadership and make sure West Texas gets its fair share.''
Montford's District 28 is centered in Lubbock, but extends westward to
El Paso, and takes in northern Reeves County, along with Ward and Loving
counties.
Only Box 9 (Orla) in Reeves County is part of District 28. The rest of
the county is part of District 19, represented by San Antonio Democrat
Frank Madla.
The Texas attorney general's office this week concluded Langston can't
be barred from running as a Democrat in the Nov. 5 special election for
District 28, even though he voted in last spring's GOP primary.
Under Texas law, a person who votes or runs in one party's primary can't
run in succeeding elections as an independent or another party's
nominee. But special elections are an exception.
Langston, a bankruptcy lawyer by trade, must resign before filing to run
for the Senate under Texas election rules. Former Fort Worth Mayor Kay
Granger had to make the same move earlier this year as she runs for the
U.S. House.
Langston is the only Democrat among the four men who have said they're
running for the Senate. Lubbock state Rep. Robert Duncan, State Board of
Education member Monte Hasie and national GOP committeeman Tim Lambert
are the other announced candidates.
Associated Press text, photo, graphic, audio and/or video material shall
not be published, broadcast, re¬ written for broadcast or publication or
redistributed directly or indirectly in any medium. Neither these AP
Materials nor any portion thereof may be stored in a computer except for
personal and non-commer¬ cial use. The AP will not be held liable for
any delays, inaccuracies, errors or omissions therefrom or in the
transmission or delivery of all or any part thereof or for any damages
arising from any of the forego¬ing.
Copyright 1996 Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may
not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.
Western Wireless, the cellular distributor in this area, reported they
believe a cable was cut somewhere, and spent much of the morning trying
to find the site.
"They have been working since 6 a.m. today," said Don Alligood, a local
Cellular One representative. "We have had a lot of calls."
The break was located late this morning, and Cellular service was
restored to customers shortly before noon.
Cellular telephones work off of microwave towers connected to a cable
network that goes all over the United States. In West Texas, cellular
lines can be piggybacked from AT&T or Big Bend Telephone Company,
depending on who has the cable, Alligood said.
Dave Thomas, Plateau Cellular Network's local dealer, said that their
cellular network was not affected by the cable problems. Plateau is the
other local cellular service provider in Reeves County.
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. Neither these AP
Materials nor any portion thereof may be stored in a computer except for
personal and non-commercial use. The AP will not be held liable for
any delays, inaccuracies, errors or omissions therefrom or in the
transmission or delivery of all or any part thereof or for any damages
arising from any of the foregoing.
_
Copyright 1996 by Pecos Enterprise
Division of Buckner News Alliance, Inc.
324 S. Cedar St., Pecos, TX 79772
Phone 915-445-5475, FAX 915-445-4321
e-mail news@bitstreet.com
http://www.pecos.net/news
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