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Daily Newspaper and Travel Guide
for Pecos Country of West Texas
Tuesday, September 23, 2003
Church to meet new pastor during event
PECOS, Tues., Sept. 23, 2003 -- A new pastor for the First United
Methodist Church will make his first appearance in Pecos during the
church's 50th Annual Harvest Day celebration.
Rev. Dick Marine from Montana will be the speaker for the 50th
annual event, scheduled for Sunday, Oct. 5, at the First United
Methodist Church on West Third Street.
"We hope to have a good crowd to help welcome our new pastor," said
Terri Spence, lay director for the church. "Since it is our 50th, we
would also like to have everyone who's ever been involved with Harvest
Day to attend."
Harvest Day is an annual celebration of the Pecos church that dates
back to times when agriculture was the primary occupation in the
community. Though occupations have become more diverse, Harvest Day has
continued to be a time of thanksgiving for material blessings and a
chance to give back a portion of those blessings.
Church members invite friends, family and former members to share in
Harvest Day. A guest speaker gives the sermon at the 10:55 a.m. morning
worship service, and a covered dish luncheon follows.
In recent years, longtime church members have been honored for their
service in celebration of Founder's Day, held in conjunction with
Harvest Day. Those to be honored this year for having been a member of
the church for more than 50 years are Catherine Jones, Elizabeth
McCree, Dagma Winne, Edna Stanton, Bonnie Green, Mary Farnum, Mary
Miller, Emma Shepherd, David Alan Smith, Emmit Miller, Patsy Bowles,
Annis Hollis, Garland Matthews and Helen Matthews.
Marine will be coming to Pecos after 22 years of service in the
Yellowstone Conference of the United Methodist Church in Montana. His
most recent parish was West Side UMC in Great Falls and a smaller
parish in Sun River, Mt. Before moving to Montana, pastor Marine served
in the West Ohio Conference at Clayton, Ohio, from 1978-1981. He
graduated from Methodist Theological School in Ohio in 1978.
Marine's wife, Tonia, has taught nursing at Montana State University
in Great Falls. She recently completed requirements as a Family Nurse
Practitioner.
Pastor Marine has two daughters: Mara, 23, who lives in Rio Rico,
Ariz., and teaches pre-school, and Shawna, who is studying nutrition at
Arizona State University in Mesa, Ariz.
PEDC approves land buy for north side homes
By BRENDEN BRIGGS
Staff Writer
PECOS, Tues., Sept. 23, 2003 -- The Pecos Economic Development
Corporation met this morning for its mandatory annual meeting and
approved next year's budget, along with the planned development of a
section on the north side of town to alleviate the town of Pecos'
shortage of affordable housing.
The project is a proposed rental housing development to be located
on the Roberson property, a 110-tract section of town between D Street
and Roberson Street (old FM 1216).
The Texas Department of Housing and Community Affairs, if approved,
will sponsor 60 percent of the capital required to build the units. The
project will cost approximately $4 million, with cost of each unit
estimated at $90,000 apiece.
The land was donated to the PEDC and is valued at $13,000 on the tax
rolls. However, the sale is for $5,000, with half that amount going to
a commission for realtor Reccia Pigman and the other half going back
the PEDC. Vaughan Mitchell is buying the property, with the final sale
contingent upon the TDHCA approval of the project.
Board members were told this is Mitchell's seventh year working with
state agencies in both Texas and Oklahoma in order to provide
affordable housing in under developed areas.
Similar state assisted housing projects have already been built in
the neighboring communities of Midland, Odessa, and Fort Stockton.
The approval is estimated to take eight to nine months, and
depending on that, construction is hoped to begin in September 2004 and
be finished within two years.
Each unit will be a three-bedroom, two-bath, stand-alone house.
One-car garages, central heat and AC and 50 feet of street frontage are
the proposed amenities to accompany each unit.
The rent will be fixed at $400 a month and the units must be rented
for at least 15 years before they can be sold.
An open meeting is tentatively scheduled for next month to allow
Mitchell a chance to show board members what is actually proposed to be
put into the area.
Economic board members also approved the proposed 2003-2004 budget,
with minimal changes. The only notable change was the movement of PEDC
president's car expense line item to his salary allocation. The carry
over this year is estimated to be around $30,000 dollars, and the PEDC
has made its final payment towards the loan that was taken out in
previous years to cover operating costs and investments.
Test sign-up times for PSAT/NMSQT continue
PECOS, Tues., Sept. 23, 2003 -- The PSAT/NMSQT will be administered
to sophomore and junior students on Tuesday, Oct. 21 at the Pecos High
School.
Fee for the tests is $10.50 and the deadline to register is Sept.
30, in the counselor's office at the high school.
The PSAT can be the first step on the road to college: it is good
practice for the SAT; helps assess skills in three areas: verbal
reasoning, mathematical reasoning and writing; enter scholarships
competitions (juniors: National Merit Scholarship); ask colleges to
send you information and compares academic skills with other students
who are considering college.
Weather
High Monday 92. Low this morning 70. Forecast for tonight: Mostly
cloudy with a 20 percent chance of showers and thunderstorms. Lows near
65. Southeast winds 5 to 15 mph. Wednesday: Partly cloudy. Highs 90 to
95. Southwest winds near 10 mph. Wednesday night: Partly cloudy with a
20 percent chance of showers asnd thunderstorms. Lows in the lower 60s.
East winds near 10 mph shifting to the northeast 10 to 20 mph after
midnight. Thursday: Partly cloudy with a 20 percent chance of
thunderstorms. Highs near 80. Northeast winds 10 to 15 mph. Thursday
night: Partly cloudy. Lows near 60. Friday: Partly cloudy. Highs near
85. Friday night: Partly cloudy. Lows near 60.
Obituaries
Elvira R. Herrera and Abel Leos
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 2003 by Pecos Enterprise
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