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Daily Newspaper and Travel Guide
for Pecos Country of West Texas
Monday, September 29, 2003
County to hold budget hearing at courthouse
PECOS, Mon., Sept. 29, 2003 -- A public hearing on the proposed Reeves
County budget for fiscal year 2004 will be held at 9:30 a.m., Tuesday
in the third floor courtroom.
The group will discuss the adoption of the Reeves County budget for
fiscal year 2004 and setting of tax rate for Reeves County budget for
fiscal year 2004.
The county has yet to set its budget and tax rate for 2004, due to
the ongoing financial problems connected with the Reeves County
Detention Center. The county is in need of inmates to meet bond
payments on the $40-million RCDC III, a 960-bed addition to the
2,000-bed prison that was completed in March of this year.
The county also is scheduled to make a $422,000 payment to the Town
of Pecos City for its share of the construction costs of the South
Worsham water field. City officials finalized their 2004 budget last
week, maintaining the current tax rate, while saying the budget is
based on receiving the payment, which will then be sent to the Texas
Water Development Board before Nov. 1.
Other items will be discussed during the "special meeting" and the
public is invited to attend.
Harris gets life for Ceniceros' carjack death
From Staff and Wire Reports
A Monahans man was sentenced Friday to life in federal prison for a
fatal carjacking and the use of a firearm during a violent crime in May
of 2002, and received an additional term in the firebombing of the
Monahans Police Department offices in June of 2002
Travis James Harris, 24, was also sentenced Friday to 30 years in
federal prison for firebombing the Monahans Municipal Building in June
of 2002.
Appearing before United States Magistrate Judge Durwood Edwards in
Pecos on April 3, Harris pled guilty to one count of "damaging a
building by fire and explosive materials" and one count of "use of a
destructive device during an arson."
A federal jury then convicted Harris of the carjacking and use of a
firearm charges on June 26 of this year. At trial, testimony revealed
that on Memorial Day weekend of 2002, Paul John Ceniceros, an Odessa
waiter, disappeared. His car was found some days later in Lubbock.
In July 2002, Ceniceros' body was found in rural Midland County by
an oilfield worker. He had been shot at least five times in the chest,
and his body had been dragged from a road and covered with mesquite
branches.
Harris was found to be in possession of Ceniceros cellular phone and
car keys and investigators found Harris's DNA in the car.
The gun that was used to kill Ceniceros was recovered in a ditch in
Gaines County by a road crew, on one of the routes between
Midland-Odessa and Lubbock. Bullets of the same three brands matching
the shell casings found at the scene were recovered in a dumpster
behind Harris' house in Monahans.
The Memorial Day carjacking was followed a week later by the
firebombing incident. In the early hours of June 3, 2002, a
gasoline-filled bottle with a burning rag stuffed in the top was thrown
into the window of the Monahans Police Department.
There were no injuries, but the section of the building housing the
police department sustained severe damage.
"Mr. Harris is an extremely dangerous man and our West Texas
community will be safer now that he is behind bars," U.S. Attorney
Johnny Sutton said in a news release on Friday.
"Travis Harris earned every day of the life sentenced that the
received this afternoon by brutally killing Paul Ceniceros during the
robbery of his car and firebombing the Monahans Police Station with a
Molotov Cocktail. Mr. Harris is an extremely dangerous man and our West
Texas Community will be safer now that he is behind bars. Our thoughts
and prayers go out to the Ceniceros family," said Sutton.
Harris was arrested in Odessa the day after the firebombing of the
Monahans Police Department. He was in jail at the time he was charged
with Ceniceros' carjacking and murder.
The Federal Bureau of Investigation, Odessa Police Department,
Midland County Sheriff's Office, Texas Rangers, Monahans Police
Department and the Texas Department of Public Safety Crime Laboratory
in Lubbock investigated the cases. They were prosecuted for the
government by Assistant U.S. Attorney Jeff Parras.
Local teacher runs off with biathlon title
PECOS, Mon., Sept. 29, 2003 -- Pecos High School teacher Carry
Hannsz was setting a scorching pace last year, at the inaugural Run 'n
Gun 'n the Sun when his rifle malfunctioned and effectively took him
out of contention.
"I'll be back next year," he said at the time.
Back he was Saturday for the second running of the event held near
Pecos where he posted a near record run time and a record setting
modified time for the event.
Billed as the world's only desert biathlon, the event combines
cross-country running and marksmanship much like the Olympic biathlon
that combines skiing and rifle marksmanship.
"We do not have much snow out here so we decided to substitute
running for skiing," said Mike Mason, vice president of the Pecos Rifle
Club, which sponsors the annual event.
He said that the event consists of an approximately 5-mile
cross-country run punctuated with three firing ranges where competitors
had to test their skills against a variety of paper and steel targets.
The actual running time for each competitor is then modified either
up or down by his or her scores, he said.
Hannsz posted the best run time of 1:10:35 as well as the best
modified time of 58 minutes 35 seconds.
"Carry is the first competitor to ever break the one-hour mark,"
Mason said.
Last year's overall winner, Adrian Morely of Lovington, N.M., came
in second overall this year and first in the senior division. The
53-year-old welder was the second oldest competitor in the event.
Morely posted a modified time of 1:07:40.
First-time runner Dick Holland of Odessa placed second in the adult
division with a modified time of 1:11:23 and another newcomer, Gary
Burns of Arlington, took third in the Adult class with a score of
1:20:30.
Jimmy T. LaBaume of Alpine took second in the Senior class with a
time of 1:32:56 and also took home the Old Salt award for the oldest
competitor to finish the race. LaBaume is 59 years old.
Mason took third in the Senior class with a time of 1:48:30.
Joey Hernandez, a photographer from Lubbock, took home the award for
best overall marksmanship and Hannsz took home a second trophy for the
best run time.
"This is turning into a great event," Mason said. "This was our
second year to hold the race and participation was up as was the level
of competition. Next year's run will be better and we have already
gotten a number of calls from people who plan to attend next year."
Mason said that the club started out three years ago to create an
event that took advantage of the things the area has to offer and that
would draw a wide range of competitors to the area.
"What we have plenty of is land and that makes it a lot easier to
safely hold shooting events," he said.
"This year we drew competitors from as far away as Dallas and New
Mexico. While most of last year's competitors were primarily people who
are competitive shooters who like to run, this year we had more
competitors who are competitive runners who happen to shoot. We wanted
to create an event that appealed to both groups and it seems like we
have," Mason said.
He added that the club hopes to hold the event in September again
next year.
TAAS exit test schedules set for this month
PECOS, Mon., Sept. 29, 2003 -- The dates for the TAAS exit level test
have been set for later this month at Pecos High School.
The writing test will be on Tuesday, Oct. 21, the mathematics test
on Wednesday, Oct. 22, and the reading test on Thursday, Oct. 23 in
Room 2 at Pecos High School. Out-of-school examinees need to notify the
guidance and counseling department at Pecos High School.
Testing each day will begin at 8:15 a.m.
Weather
PECOS, Mon., Sept. 29, 2003 -- High Sun. 91. Low this morning 64.
Forecast for tonight: Partly cloudy. Lows 60 to 65. South winds 10 to
15 mph. Tues.: Partly cloudy. Highs near 90. SE winds near 10 mph.
Tues. night: Partly cloudy. Lows in the mid 50s to the lower 60s. East
winds 10 to 15 mph. Wed.: Partly cloudy. Highs in the mid 70s to the
lower 80s. East winds 10 to 15 mph. Wed. night: Partly cloudy. Lows in
the mid 50s to the lower 60s.
Obituaries
Don Max Loper, Balente Machuca and Fernando Orona
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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