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Newspaper and Travel Guide
for Pecos Country of West Texas
Friday, May 4, 2007 May
Stockton trio, priest killed in I-10 crash
Three members of a Fort Stockton family, including a 5-year-old girl, were killed along with a priest from California, in a head-on collision Wednesday morning on Interstate 10 near the Reeves-Pecos County line.
Aide Barrera, 49, Bianca Villa, 29, and 5-year-old Bionsey Villa, all of Fort Stockton, were killed in the accident, which occurred at 8:50 a.m. on I-10, 14 miles east of Saragosa. Also killed was Francis Xavier Fernandes, 45, a priest from Upland, Calif., who was the driver of the vehicle that struck the car the three women were in, according to the report filed by Department of Public Safety trooper Greg Reyero of Balmorhea.
He said the women were in a 2003 Mazda M6-I, driven by Bianca Villa, which was westbound on I-10 and had just completed passing in 1997 Freightliner truck-trailer, driven by Jerry B. Davilla of San Antonio. Fernandes was driving a 2006 Chevrolet SUV that Reyero said drifted off the eastbound lanes of I-10, across the center median and into the westbound lanes of the highway, striking the Mazda head-on.
The Mazda was then hit by the Freightliner truck trailer, while the Chevrolet continued across the highway and into the north side barrow ditch, where it overturned once, ejecting Fernandes before bursting into flames.
Fernandes, Bianca Villa and Aide Barrera were all pronounced dead at the scene by Reeves County Precinct 3 Justice of the Peace Rosendo Carrasco and their bodies were taken to Pecos Funeral Home. Bionsey Villa was taken by ambulance to Reeves County Hospital, where she was pronounced dead by Carrasco at 10:22 a.m. Her body was transported to Memorial Funeral Home in Fort Stockton.
Both women in the Mazda, along with Davilla and a passenger in his truck, identified as Kevin McCabe, 40, of Tow, were wearing their seat belts, and neither of the men in the Freightliner were injured in the accident. Reyero said it was unknown if Fernandes was wearing a seat belt when the accident occurred.
“We’ll wait for the autopsy, but it looks as though he died during impact or when he was ejected,” Reyero said. Fernandes was partially burned by the fire following the crash.
The trooper said while a bottle of alcohol was found at the scene, it was not believed to have been a factor in the accident. “There was a bottle of alcohol that was found, but it was sealed,” Reyero said.
While there was severe weather reported in the area on Wednesday, the trooper said conditions were dry and clear at the time of the accident.
Barrera was the wife, and Bianca and Bionsey Villa the daughter and granddaughter of a retired Texas Department of Transportation worker out of the TxDOT office in Fort Stockton, according to Glen Larum, TxDOT public information director for the Odessa District.
DPS troopers Daniel Leyva of Pecos, Beau Martinez and Rene Ramirez of Fort Stockton and Reeves County Sheriff’s Deputy Manuel Jimenez assisted Reyero in the investigation of the accident.
Building addition’s subtraction surprises owner
The building that for many years housed a landmark Pecos restaurant is partially down, but not out, according to its current owner, who is hoping to start a new business at the site in the near future.
Russ Leflow purchased the former Ben’s Spanish Inn as part of a tax sale three years ago. Ben’s for many years was Pecos’ best-known restaurant, famous for its chili rellenos. Ben’s closed in the early 1990s, and the building has been unoccupied for all but a few years since then.
That allowed parts of the building to deteriorate, including an addition added on to the east side of the building that served as a large reception area. The side walls began slowly separating from the main building several years ago, and that’s the section that local residents found partially gone this week, with bricks and cinder block lying around the side of the building on West Third Street.
“I don’t know what happened,” said Leflow, who was at Pecos City Hall Thursday morning to discuss the situation with city sanitation and streets director Martin Arreguy. “It was becoming a hazard, so my plan was to take the roof off, but the contractor I had to do that pulled it all down, which is probably just as well.
“Now my main objective is to clean it up and keep it safe,” he said, while adding he had to go out and get another group of workers for the second part of the job.
“The contractor didn’t show up to clean it up, so I hired some people to clean it up through the Workforce Network,” Leflow said. He also said the main portion of the former restaurant remains structurally sound, though in need of some repairs.
“The roof is bad, like a lot of other buildings in town, but the main part of the building is sound. Now it’s just cleaning and repairing,” he said.
At the time he bought the building, Leflow told local officials he planned to open a business on the site, and he said that’s still is final objective.
“My plan for the building is to get is secured and then start a saddle shop in there, making new saddles,” Leflow said. He added that he probably wouldn’t need all of the building for his business.
“It might be good for a small café for breakfast or coffee in there, but not a big restaurant,” he said.
City, county avoid worst of big storms
Severe thunderstorms skirted the Pecos area on Wednesday, leaving the city with only a little rain. But the same line of storms that formed just to the north of town were blamed for flooding in the Midland-Odessa area and in Eddy and Lea counties in New Mexico, while a second line of storms resulted in the second tornado warning in four days being issued for the Toyahvale area of southern Reeves County.
Flash flooding was reported south of Carlsbad, N.M. and in Artesia from storms that formed in northern Reeves, Culberson and Loving counties shortly before sunrise, while storms that formed just to the north of Pecos after sunrise moved east, through Wink and Kermit and into the Midland-Odessa area. Pecos received .03 inch of rain from those storms, shortly after 9 a.m., but was spared the brunt of the rain, which dumped almost two inches of rain at the Winkler County Airport and nearly three inches of rain at Schlemeyer Field on the north side of Odessa.
The National Weather Service’s main reporting station at Midland International Airport reported 1.50 inches of rain fell on Wednesday.
The tornado warning for southern Reeves County was from a second line of storms that passed through the area Wednesday evening. A tornado warning was first issued for southeastern Culberson County, near Kent on Interstate 10, just prior to 6 p.m. That storm moved into Jeff Davis County and then briefly into southwestern Reeves County, before the tornado warning was cancelled just after 7 p.m.
No tornado was spotted from Wednesday’s storm. Weather spotters on Sunday did report a tornado touching down in the Toyahvale area from a storm that had earlier spawned two twisters southwest of Fort Davis in Jeff Davis County.
The second line of storms produced only a trace of rain in Pecos Wednesday evening. But earlier in the day those storms were blamed for three tornadoes near El Paso and in South Central New Mexico and for hail that fell in the El Paso area.
Corey Pieper, a meteorologist with the National Weather Service in El Paso, Texas, said tornadoes are rare for the desert area.
"Usually a lot of the more significant tornadoes occur along the dry line that manages to push into eastern New Mexico or West Texas," he said.
The first tornado was reported just before 2 p.m. CDT about 10 miles southeast of the White Sands missile range and the second was spotted less than 30 minutes later north of Fort Bliss in El Paso County, Texas.
Storm spotters saw a third tornado 20 miles northeast of White Sands just before 3 p.m. CDT
The tornadoes appeared to be low-grade tornadoes, "but without any damage, it's difficult for us to evaluate wind speeds," Pieper said.
The region also saw wind, rain and some flash flooding Wednesday, according to the National Weather Service. Up to 2 inches of rain fell in parts of El Paso County in a short period and some areas of Otero County had between 1 and 2 inches of rain.
Two deaths were reported from the storms as they moved east through Texas, and flooding also occurred in the Dallas-Fort Worth and San Antonio areas.
A 28-year-old Central Texas woman was struck by lightning Wednesday evening after a boating trip with her family at Tradinghouse Creek Reservoir, about 15 miles east of Waco, said Lt. Janet Smith of the McLennan County Sheriff's Office.
Her husband had docked the boat and the woman was walking to the parking lot when the lightning struck, Smith said. The woman, whose name was withheld pending notification of relatives, was pronounced dead at a Waco hospital.
Earlier Wednesday, a woman died when her car became submerged in southwest Bexar County.
Bexar County officials were rescuing people from another car underwater at the same crossing when they noticed a second vehicle and found the woman's body inside. Medical examiners identified the victim as Lytle resident Gloria Ann Gibson, 57, the San Antonio Express-News reported.
PEDC seeking to speed up start of motel project
Pecos Economic Development Corp. board members are considering advancing a $160,000 loan to install utilities on the proposed site of two new motels near Reeves County Hospital, in an effort to avoid having their construction be put on hold.
During their meeting on Monday at the TransPecos Bank building, PEDC President Mike Burkholder said the plan to construct a Hampton Inn, along with a second motel and other businesses on the site located along the Interstate 20 north access road (Raul Florez Boulevard) is being delayed due to the lack of utilities in the area.
Dr. Arbind Ghandi, who along with his brother Henry plan to build a Hampton Inn on the interstate, similar to one that opened in Fort Stockton. The city is seeking a Texas Capital Fund grant to help fund installation of those services at the site, where the Ghandis also are looking at building a second motel and a restaurant.
However, City Council members were told in March that the application to the Texas Department of Agriculture for the TCF grant would have to be put off until June, because the city had to seek formal permission from the Texas Department of Transportation to change the regulations on vehicle access to the site from the I-20 service road.
The access problem at the site has been mostly solved, but PEDC board members were told the delays could lead the Ghandis to move on to other hotel projects, and return to Pecos at a later date.
“It’s going to take $160,000 to run the electricity over there,” Burkholder told the PEDC board. “They can’t start construction without water and electricity.”
“The best hopeful date I can get from the city (on receiving the grant) is September or October,” he said. “If we wait until then, they’re going to move on to Alpine.”
Burkholder said that while the city would have to do the water and sewer work, the PEDC could advance the city the $160,000 needed to put in the electric lines, and the money so construction could start by July. The PEDC funds could be returned once the city receives the TCF grant.
PEDC board president Joe Keese noted that without a reimbursement by the city, “It would take a pretty good while, if we had to pay it out of our budget.” But he added that development of the site would increase both the city’s sales tax collections, along with the property valuations and the hotel-motel bed tax collections.
“The city can pay for it out of the grant money, or pay for it out of the increase in the budget,” he said. “But that assumes the hotel comes out of the ground. If not, we’re broke.”
“I’ll see what I can do about it,” said board member Gerald Tellez, who is the city council’s representative on the PEDC board. He suggested Burkholder put together some sort of presentation to the council for their next meeting, on May 10.
The motel project is one of several both the city and the PEDC are hoping to encourage on land along the major highways through town. In connection with that, board member Jimmy Dutchover said the PEDC should again seek to have the city turn over land in key locations in town to the corporation, in order to make it easier for the corporation to make deals with private businesses seeking to locate in Pecos.
Burkholder said getting new construction of businesses and homes started is key to any revival of Pecos, and that the lack of infrastructure in certain areas hampers efforts to get those projects going.
“There are other big things coming that I’m not at liberty to mention, but we don’t have what it takes right now,” Burkholder said. “We don’t have the infrastructure, we don’t have the labor, we don’t have the housing. The city’s broke, and can’t pave its streets.”
He and Keese cited the city’s loss of a new business to Monahans recently, due to the lack of available buildings or land that were in suitable condition or in locations with existing infrastructure.
“They came here first. They wanted to come to Pecos, but we didn’t have any options for them. We had no buildings, and couldn’t find land, and we lost those 25 jobs,” he said.
“Those were $50,000 to $75,000 jobs, and there are more out there like that trying to come. If you drive around Andrews you can see that,” Keese said. “We’re probably the only EDC that’s not in charge of its industrial park, and we’re going to lose out every time to Monahans and Fort Stockton.”
“Like I told Edgardo (Madrid, city public works director) today; I put a pencil to it, and every time we delay we lose sales tax income, motel tax income and hopefully venue tax income,” Burkholder said. “That money is going to go a long way to paying for the infrastructure.”
Town Hall meeting set to discuss 4B conversion plan
The Town of Pecos City will hold a Town Hall meeting on Monday evening to discuss the proposed conversion of the Pecos Economic Development Corp, from a Section 4A to a Section 4B economic development corporation, a measure that is on the May 12 city election ballot.
The meeting will be held at 6 p.m. on Monday at the Pecos Community Center, 508 S. Oak St. Town of Pecos City Main Street coordinator Tom Rivera said representatives from State Comptroller Susan Combs’ office, and from the Texas Historical Commission would be on hand to discuss the differences between the two types of economic development corporations, in terms of how sales tax money directed towards economic development can be used.
One-sixth of the city’s 1 1/2-cent sales tax goes to the PEDC for its operations. In 2006, that came to just over $165,000. A change from a 4A to a 4B system wouldn’t alter the percentage of funds going for economic development, but would alter the way it’s used, which has drawn support among city officials and opposition from the current PEDC board.
During a meeting last year Robert Johnson, Economic Development Specialist for the Texas Historical Commission’s Main Street Program, said that the current 4A economic development corporation rules Pecos operates under in geared more for attracting industrial business, while the 4B corporations are geared more towards small businesses and tourism.
“A 4B corporation addresses conditions of sidewalks and roads in historic districts,” Johnson told the council. “Tourism is the second leading industry in Texas.”
He said restoration of buildings within historic districts for business and housing usage can also be done with 4B funds. “A 4A is more for manufacturing and development,” Johnson said. “Funds from a 4B can be used for quality of life issues.”
“You can do industrial projects with a 4B, but you also can do quality of life issues,” he said. “It makes sense to take into consideration what our retail sales are doing.”
PEDC board members say they already are underfunded in efforts to lure new businesses to Pecos, and diverting funds to fixing up sidewalks and roads would put the city at an even bigger disadvantage against other Permian Basin cities. Board president Joe Keese on Monday urged voters to vote ‘no’ on the 4B conversion.
Other differences between the two types of boards include the number of members on the EDC boards, and the appointments to a 4B board versus the current 4A board appointment system for the Pecos Economic Development Corp. The city would have increased control of the total number of appointments to the new PEDC board if the 4B proposition is approved on May 12.
Economic development board OKs boost in retention funds
Pecos Economic Development Corp. members agreed to a $50,000 increase in the corporation’s funding for retention and expansion of existing businesses within Pecos, while members urged voters to oppose the proposition to change the PEDC’s charter that is on the May 12 Town of Pecos City election ballot.
Board members voted to increase the business retention/expansion fund from $80,000, to $130,000, after an earlier increase of $50,000 was committed to existing projects.
PEDC president Mike Burkholder said just over $10,000 went to Anchor Drilling Fluids, which just opened its warehouse in Pecos last month, while another $30,000 was used to install concrete magazine bunkers to do explosives testing at the Texas Research and Training Center, the former Smithers Transportation Testing Center.
Funds for that came to the PEDC through a grant through Applied Research Associates, which is running the facility along with the Texas Transportation Institute. The PEDC was given $50,000, with $20,000 left over for remediation, “But those magazines are never coming out of the ground,” PEDC board chairman Joe Keese said.
The remaining $20,000 from that grant will go towards removal of fiberglass fuel tanks at the test track. Total cost of that is put at $27,000, Burkholder said, barring any contamination problems.”
Of the latest $50,000 increase, Burkholder received approval to give $30,000 of that to TransPecos Foods, due to a recent expansion at the onion processing facility. The total is the maximum allowed under a plan that allows the PEDC to offer companies $2,000 per job on a three-year forgivable loan to pay for expansion costs. If the jobs remain in place for the three-year time period, the company does not have to pay back the money.
“They put in a new line and have hired over 100 people in the last 12 months,” he said of TransPecos Foods’ expansion. “I’ve agreed to advance them $30,000 on a three-year forgivable note. That’s the same deal I had with Anchor Drilling Fluids, except that Anchor put only 12 to work.”
Burkholder said the $2,000 per job offer in for companies creating jobs at above minimum wage levels. While TransPecos Foods does have some lower paying jobs, he told the board, “Because the number is so big, I didn’t go back and ask how many are subsistence (minimum or low-wage) jobs, but with the number, I’m sure they added some of the higher-wage jobs.”
Keese abstained on the $30,000 payment to TransPecos Foods, because of his employment with TransPecos Banks. Both are owned by San Antonio businessman Patrick Kennedy.
The PEDC board also agreed to a two-year extension of the tax abatement at the test track, after Keese told the board that TTI has had problems attracting companies to facility in its first year of operations. TTI was supposed to begin payments this September.
Keese said the track is seeking a government contract with the Department of Homeland Security, and that the two-year delay in payments will allow them to see if the proposal deals will work out. “By then, they will either have a deal or not have a deal,” he said.
The board put of election of new officers pending the decision by voters on May 12 on the 4B economic development proposal. The change would allow funds directed towards the PEDC to be directed towards “quality of life” issues such as historic building restorations and street repairs to boost tourism. Board members said redirection of economic development funds could leave the PEDC without money to recruit new businesses.
Acker, Reynolds drop dueling complaints
Two elected officials opted not to go through with their petitions and move past their differences, after counter charges were filed as a result of the scandal involving the West Texas State School in Pyote.
The complaints, filed by Ward County Attorney Kevin Acker and 143rd District Attorney Randy Reynolds, were dropped last Friday, following a preliminary hearing in 143rd District Court in Monahans.
Reynolds filed a counter petition on April 9 seeking the removal from office of Ward County Attorney Kevin Acker, after Acker announced the previous week that he would seek Reynolds’ ouster as DA over his failure to adequately prosecute suspects in the West Texas State School sex abuse investigation.
Reynolds said cases like this go before the judge and then the judges make a decision on whether it should formally be presented. However, he added that before it even went before visiting judge Weldon Kirk of Sweetwater, the partners had gotten together and come to an agreement.
“Mr. Acker’s contacted my attorney and at his request, suggested that perhaps all matters should be dismissed and that the voters should decide in an upcoming election,” said Reynolds.
Reynolds said that he had agreed and dismissed his petition.
“I don’t want anything to affect the criminal trials and once that’s concluded that all these matters be concluded as well,” said Reynolds.
Reynolds was represented in the case by Monahans attorney Hal Upchurch, a former 143rd District Attorney who lost his bid to reclaim that position from Reynolds in 2004. Upchurch said his name had been included by Acker on his list of witnesses against Reynolds, but he had not discussed the case with Acker and did not plan to testify in favor of Reynolds’ removal.
The dismissal came as the TYC fired a former supervisor who had declined to take action on one of two administrators charged with abusing students at the Pyote facility.
Lydia Barnard, a former director of juvenile corrections who was demoted to parole supervisor in January, was told about her firing by letter, TYC spokesman Jim Hurley said.
Barnard was let go for choosing not to fire Ray E. Brookins, a former West Texas State School administrator who was repeatedly accused of wrongdoing at the jail in Pyote, Hurley said.
Brookins, a former assistant superintendent at Pyote, pleaded not guilty along with John Paul Hernandez to charges of sexually abusing teenage inmates at the jail. Hurley said Barnard didn't take "appropriate corrective actions" after being told several times that Brookins was meeting with youths alone. She also knew he had been caught looking at pornographic Web sites on a work computer, according to a newspaper report.
Agency officials also accused Barnard of giving family members unauthorized access to one of her state-issued computers.
Reynolds came under criticism from state officials and from area Texas Rangers for not taking action in the case, after he was first informed of the accusations against Brookins and Hernandez in early 2005. The case was turned over to prosecutors from the Texas Attorney General’s office earlier this year, and the two men were indicted by a Ward County grand jury on April 10.
On Wednesday, a special investigator appointed by Gov. Rick Perry again criticized Reynolds, while issuing a report saying the state's juvenile prison system suffered from a "fundamental lack of accountability" requiring a sweeping overhaul to ensure the health and safety of children placed in the agency.
Jay Kimbrough, the conservator appointed in March to oversee an investigation into allegations of physical and sexual abuse at Texas Youth Commission facilities, told state officials in a 35-page report that agency officials were "unwilling or incapable of taking action to address these issues."
The report said the "chief culprit" behind TYC problems was the agency's structure, which left too much power concentrated in the hands of officials at 22 outlying facilities.
Kimbrough, a former Perry aide, recommended 56 ways to restore the agency's credibility, saying many of his recommendations have been implemented since the scandal broke in February. Among the recommendations given highest priority by Kimbrough were proposals to strengthen background checks for TYC staff, release juveniles jailed for misdemeanors, and creation of a panel to consider modifying the juvenile sentencing process.
Brookins and Hernandez resigned their positions at the WTSS in 2005, but were not indicted for two years. Kimbrough blamed the delay on indictments on the Pyote abuse charges on Reynolds, saying he failed to "fulfill his legal and moral duty."
Reynolds has said that he does not plan to resign over the problems that have erupted during the investigation at the WTSS, on which indictments against two former Texas Youth Commission administrators were returned.
Commishes approve $80,000 jail roof repairs
A bid for the renovation of the roof for the Reeves County Sheriff’s Department was approved during a special meeting of the Reeves County Commissioners Court held Wednesday morning.
Architect Lorraine Dailey, with Dailey, Gondeck and Rabke, was on hand for the meeting to talk to the group about the different proposals.
“We had four proposals come in and we looked at all of them and compared them,” said Dailey.
Dailey said that they had asked for a base bid and an addendum bid. “The addendum bid is because we don’t know how much moisture is inside the existing roof, which means that part of the roof, will have to be completely redone,” she said.
The two lowest bidders were Alpha Applicators of Dallas and Brazos of Texas City. Commissioners went with Dailey’s recommendation and awarded the bid to Alpha Company out of Dallas in the amount of $80,500 and hold off on the alternate bid.
“After all four of the bidders looked at the roof, they all thought it would only be about 10 or 15 percent that would need to go down to sub-strip,” said Dailey.
Another condition that Dailey put on the bids was a time limit, in order to meet state jail standards.
“That’s something else we talked about, was how long would it take, because I know you are under a time limit,” said Dailey.
The jail was not in compliance during the last inspection by the Texas Jail Commission because of the roof problems and that was something Reeves County Judge Sam Contreras wanted to work on quickly.
The jail failed inspection in February, by the Texas Jail Commission and other small infractions were found at that time.
Reeves County Sheriff Andy Gomez said that they had already taken care of the minor items that they pointed and now they would take care of the roofing problem.
Dailey told the group that she recommended awarding the base bid and not the alternate bid at this time.
Commissioners had discussed the funding and a method of installing a new roof at the county jail to meet state jail inspection standards, during an April meeting.
“I think you should just award the base bid and then find out to what extent the roof will have to be completely re-done and negotiate that later,” said Dailey. “At the time that we find out the extent of the moisture content, if he wants to much, you can terminate the contract,” she said.
Commissioners on Wednesday also approved the purchase of two passenger vans to be used by the Reeves County Detention Center to transport inmates.
Transportation Director for the facility Lee Serrano told the group that with two good new vans, it would help the transportation department tremendously.
Contreras said that they definitely need to have good vehicles, because the facility provides a good service to the Bureau of Prisons.
“You’re department brings in revenue to the county, so have to make sure we provide an excellent service,” said Contreras.
The group received only one bid, from local dealership, Colt Chevrolet.
County Auditor Lynn Owens said that they had ample money in the budget for two or three new vans.
Serrano told the group that they would be receiving new inmates. “We’ve got two buses coming in from Oklahoma which will bring in 80 inmates, some to RI/II and most to R-III,” said Serrano. “We’ll be busy all year.”
“Is the one we purchased from the school still running?” asked Contreras.
“Yes, it is, we’ve had a few problems with it, but nothing major, just a belt here or there or something minor,” said Serrano. “We also had cages built in it,” he said.
He said that the use of the bus has already paid for the repairs done to it.
“We’ve just been putting so much in to it,” said Serrano. “In the last two weeks we’ve been really busy,” he said.
“How many staff do you have?” asked Contreras.
Serrano said that there are nine staff members in transportation.
“They all have their CDL Driver’s license, except for one and she’s working on it,” said Serrano. “Which really helps, because they all take turns driving,” he said.
“Do you think you are adequately staffed, or should another employee be added?” asked Contreras.
“We didn’t have enough staff at the beginning of the year, but now we’re doing okay and are bringing in someone on board,” said Serrano.
He said that if they do see a problem, they contact San Antonio and re-work the schedule.
“We had a little conflict this week, with the two airlifts back to back and one on Friday,” he said. “On Friday, they are going to overnight and then continue on to Waco, so they don’t drive too much.”
Serrano said that his two lieutenants are already on overtime right now, with 150 hours a week each.
“I’ve got a very qualified officer coming in and that will alleviate the pressure. I’ll give some of the lieutenants some time off, because I plan to make her a lieutenant as well,” he said.
Serrano said that they try to split the trips so that the drivers can rest.
“The time is divided so they do okay,” he said.
“I would like to recommend that we hire at least one more officer,” said Contreras.
Ward jury awards rig worker $6.5 million
A Ward County jury on Monday awarded a former oilfield worker $6.5 million in damages, stemming from an accident in which he was injured on New Year’s Eve of 2003.
George Coley was awarded $1.58 million in compensatory damages and an additional $4.92 million in punitive damages in his lawsuit against Big Dog Drilling, Inc., and Endeavor Energy. Coley was working on rig operated by Big Dog Drilling in Ward County on Dec. 31, 2003 when an 800-pound casing pipe fell and crushed his left elbow.
Coley was represented by attorneys John Gibson and Christopher Carver of Gibson, Carver LLP in Lubbock, and Judson Waltman of the Lanier Law Firm of Houston. They argued that Big Dog Drilling was told of problems with the pipe, but told workers to continue anyway. The lawyers also said trial evidence showed the rig’s safety supervisor had not read the company’s safety manual, and that the company attempted to resume drilling operations before caring for Coley’s injuries.
“The jury’s verdict sends a clear message that workers’ safety comes first,” said Carver.
He added that part of the jury award would be donated to Ward County charities, but said they expect the $6.5 million in total damages to be lowered, due to state law caps on punitive damages.
Midland-based Big Dog Drilling was represented at the trial by Robert (Bob) Craig of Craig, Terrill, Hale & Grantham LLP of Lubbock.
Students receive awards during reception
Several students in the Pecos-Barstow-Toyah ISD and Balmorhea ISD received ribbons and trophies for their artistic efforts during the 20th Annual Student Art Festival held at the West of the Pecos Museum.
Awards were handed out during a reception and awards ceremony held Thursday, April 26, at the museum, to students in the first through sixth grades.
First grade students placing in the event included: first place, Christian Herrera; second place, Rebecca Rodriguez; third place, Daniel Madrid and Honorable Mentions, Emily Pizarro, Chanel Navarete and Matthew Carrasco.
Second winners were: first place, Tessa Perryman; second place, Marifey Munoz; third place, Isabella Millan; Honorable Mentions: Christian Thetford, Chloe Dominguez and C.J. Portillo.
In the third grade, Kristen Valeriano placed first; second place, Kristopher Quintana; third place, Isaiah Mendoza; Honorable Mentions: Danielle Hernandez, Nathan Martinez and Nydia Natividad.
Fourth grade winners: first place, Tanya Tarin; second place, Gabriella Cano; third place, Miranda Alvarez; Honorable Mentions: Myra Maldonado, Amber Burleson and Sadie Gent.
In the fifth grade, Zachary Gomez placed first; second place, Rubi Gonzales; third place, Mercede Lujan; Honorable Mentions: Cielo Ornelas, Alejandro Valeriano and Koko Darpolar.
Sixth graders: first place, Lilli Pena; second place, Marissa Elizondo; third place, Aixa Garcia; Honorable Mentions: Christian Tarin, Harlee Lozano and Tara Lopez.
Best of Show in the first through third grade Division went to Kristen Valeriano and Best of Show in the fourth through sixth grade Division was Lilli Pena.
The 2007 Theme for the arts program was “My Favorite Cartoon” and 150 Pecos and Balmorhea students participated in the annual event.
The exhibit of the art the students turned in will be up until May 10 at the West of the Pecos Museum.
Pecos Enterprise
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