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Weekly Newspaper and Travel Guide
for Pecos Country of West Texas
Thursday, July 1, 2004
Summer reading program set during July, August
Reeves County Library, 505 S. Park St., is sponsoring a “Summer Reading Program,” for the months of July and August.
Story Hour will be held from 11 a.m. until 1 p.m., each Tuesday. Everyone is asked to come and bring a sack lunch.
Individuals are asked to come and sign up and whatever the person reads should be registered at the library.
At the end of the summer, a Pizza Party will be held and awards handed out.
The library is also observing new hours, Monday through Friday, 10 a.m. until 6 p.m.
For more information, contact the library at 445-5340.
Baca celebrates first birthday
Tyger Evan Baca celebrated his first birthday with a party held in his honor on June 20 at the Pecos Swimming Pool.
His birthday was June 22.
He was joined by many friends and family.
Tyger received many gifts including lots of clothes and toys.
He is the son of Vanessa and Michael Baca.
Watoto Children’s Choir sets second performance
The Watoto Children’s Choir from Africa is returning to Pecos later this month to give a new concert for the local community.
The new Watoto group coming to Pecos on July 16 is composed of children ages six through 12, accompanied by about seven adult sponsors. Watoto will present its “Concert of Hope” at 7 p.m. at First United Methodist Church, Third and Elm streets.
The concert is free and open to the public. A love offering will be taken.
A Watoto choir performed at First United Methodist Church in 2002, and more than 200 people from the Pecos area attended.
“The community response was fantastic,” said Terri Spence, lay director for the Methodist church in Pecos. “The performance itself is so uplifting and upbeat. To see these children and their energy level makes you feel alive and energetic.”
The concert is a mixture of contemporary gospel and traditional African rhythm and dance. The young performers are orphans from Kampala in Uganda, Africa.
“Watoto” means “The Children.” Watoto Child Care Ministries, which oversees the children’s choirs, was established to provide spiritual, educational, and emotional care for parentless children.
The performers in Watoto’s children’s choirs are among the 880,000 children in Uganda who have had the tragic and life-altering experience of losing one or both of their parents to the AIDS virus or to war. As members of the choir, the children share their unique experiences and newfound joy and hope.
“It is heart-wrenching to think of where these children have come from,” said Spence. “But when you see what they have accomplished and where they area headed, it is wonderful,” she said.
“I guarantee if you come to this concert, you will leave feeling blessed,” said Spence.
Former students pay tribute to Workman
Students spanning four decades gathered recently, in Denton, to help celebrate the retirement of Jerry Workman Sr.
The party was organized by former Pecos High School students Gary Lewis (PHS Class of 1980 of Dallas), David Whitehurst (PHS class of 1982 of Richardson) and Lindley Workman (PHS class of 1997 of Denton).
Friends and former students traveled from all over Texas and as far as Louisville, Colo., to visit with Mr. Workman, share their favorite stories and wish Workman well in retiring after 39 years of teaching Chemistry and tutoring UIL science teams.
Jerry Workman came to Pecos High School from east Teas in 1965 and taught a variety of science classes including Biology and Chemistry. Workman spent the last four years teaching Chemistry for Andrews High School.
After eating dinner and catching up, students from each decade were invited to speak, and one former student from each decade presented Mr. Workman with a small gift of appreciation for years of teaching, mentoring, and sharing his life with students. Presented included gift certificates to Barnes & Noble Booksellers and Bass Pro Shops Outdoor World, as well as a cash gift, and a beautiful crystal statue inscribed, “Jerry S. Workman Sr. Commemorating 39 years of distinguished teaching. 1965-2004. Former Students and Friends. June 2004.”
Former student and member of the PHS UIL science team, John Moore, spoke on behalf of the 1980s. Moore spoke about the contributions Mr. Workman made to his life as a teacher, mentor, coach and second father, saying, “In my mind, you’ve always been a doctor,” before presenting Workman with the doctoral hood earned after completing a Ph.D in Molecular Biology from UT Dallas.
When asked about his motivation for dedicating his life to teaching, Mr. Workman explained that his own father, Luck Workman, died during Jerry’s high school years and that a high school agriculture teacher took him under his wing and enabled him to go to college.
“Everything I’ve ever done, I did in an effort to pay back that man for what he did for me,” said Workman.
Pecos Enterprise
York M. "Smokey" Briggs, Publisher
324 S. Cedar St., Pecos, TX 79772
Phone 432-445-5475, FAX 432-445-4321
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 2003-04 by Pecos Enterprise
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