January 29, 2010

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Fair sets record - again


 

 

By ANNA La FLEUR

News Leader Writer

SANDERSON – In spite of tough economic times in the country, the 31st Annual Terrell County Fair set another record Saturday, taking in $18,719, compared to last year’s $17,000, which was up from $14,000 the year before.

The fair is every January, rain or shine, and this year, it was the former for most of the morning. But a light rain failed to dampen the spirit of the participants, who showed more than 100 animals and 139 arts and crafts, food and other items.

Brandee Stegall showed the Grand Champion for her junior goat. She also was awarded Grand Champion in the junior beef cattle category. She received two first place ribbons and a second place ribbon for her goats.

Brandee took first place in the Dutch rabbit category and first for her mini-satin rabbit. She won second place for her New Zealand breed of rabbit.

Sarah Sivils showed the Reserve Champion junior goat. She also took first in junior lambs, third place and fifth in junior goats. And she won fifth place in the mare class of the junior horses division.

Sarah was Grand Champion in the rabbit category, first place for her Californian breed of rabbit, second for her Dutch breed, second for her mini- satin.

Kailey Dominguez was awarded Grand Champion for her junior lamb that placed first in the third class. Kailey also placed first in the fourth class of the junior goats.

Hunter Truesdell placed third in the second class of the junior lambs and second and third in the second class of that category.

Hunter was also awarded third place in the second and fourth categories of the junior goats.

Joseph Carrasco placed second in the second class of junior goats and first place in the black Polish breed of rabbits.

Elijah Carrasco was awarded third in the first class of the junior goats division.

Abby Carrasco was second in that category and third in the mini-satin breed of rabbits and the junior meat pen rabbits.

Hanna Swanson showed the Reserve Champion in junior lambs and won first and second places for the second class of junior lambs.

She was third in the junior horse gelding class and second in the mare class. Hanna took fourth and second places in the third class of junior goats and fourth in the first class.

In the Junior Horses category, Grand Champion went to Wyatt Mills. He was first in mare class of horses and first in the fourth class of lambs. Wyatt also received fourth place in the fourth class of junior goats.

Shyanne Mills took Reserve Champion in the junior horses category and first in the gelding class. She took second and third in the fourth class of junior lambs.

In the pee wee goats division, Noel Carrasco won first place and second place went to Brooklin Zuniga.

Brooklin also received first place in the pee wee rabbits. Mark La Fleur took home second place.

The other participants in the pee wee goats category were Analise Galvan Rubio, Kylie Dominguez, Gabby Aguilar, Isaiah Aguilar, Landry Lowrance and Dakota Mills.

Pee wee rabbit participants were Landry Lowrance, Katy Jahn, Analise Galvan Rubio, Noel Carrasco and Gabby Aguilar.

Reserve Champion junior beef cattle went to Tyler Forest, who placed second in that category and junior chicken breeding.

In the junior swine category, Luke Carroll won Grand Champion for his first place porker in the second class of the junior swine category.

Luke was awarded second place for his junior meat rabbit meat pen and first and second places for his Thrianta breed of rabbit.

Sister Lauryn achieved Reserve Champion for her junior swine class two pig and for her rabbits and second place in that division.

Lauryn also received first place for her New Zealand breed of rabbit, first place for her junior rabbit meat pen and first for her white rex breed of rabbit.

In the junior chicken breeding category, Tyler was Reserve Champion. He had first and second in the junior meat pen breeding in chickens.

Eliza Odgers took first place for her Lion Head rabbit, second in chicken junior breeding, second for her Californian breed of rabbit and third place in junior beef cattle category.

Pistol Babb was second in junior horse gelding class and fourth in the mare class. Pistol was a participant in the pee wee goat category but did not place.

Fourth place went to Mikayla Baker in the gelding class of junior horses.

Cameron Baker took third in the mare class of junior horses.

Dryden Baker was awarded third place for his class two junior swine and was the only one to show a class one pig

Doodle Odgers was Grand Champion for his chickens, first in junior chicken breeding and fourth place in junior beef cattle.

Jacob Helmers was awarded third and fourth in the chickens junior meat pen category.

Elijiah Carrasco was awarded second for his black Polish rabbit and fourth in mini-satin.

Grace Jahn placed third for her Dutch breed of rabbit.

The 2010 Terrell county arts and crafts fair was held the day before at the fair hall.

Stephanie Odgers won first place in the arts and crafts divisions for her wire windmill in the hobby craft division.

Monique La Croix won for her purple and cream Afghan in the needlework and clothing category.

In the food division Tammy Truesdell was won first for her tomatillo sauce.

Zee Gilbreath was awarded for her cactus oil painting in the fine arts, hobby craft and arts divisions.

In the industrial arts division, Blakeney Chriesman and Roy Shoemaker were awarded for their picnic table.

The people’s choice award went to Angelina Hopkins for her wooden rocking motorcycle.

Sanderson Tire Center provided a $100 prize to the winner.

Other entries included artwork by the elementary, junior and senior high students, Clover Bud and 4-H food and 4-H educational projects.

Lea Hawn, arts and crafts chair, said this year was the best since the fair moved to the Fair Hall in 2002.

School art work from the elementary school students took five first place ribbons, four second place ribbons and four third place ribbons.

The junior and senior students received four first place, three second place and three third place ribbons for their art work.

There were 60 first place awards, 24 for second and 18 were given third place awards.

“The judges were excellent and I am glad more first place ribbons were given this year,” Hawn said.

‘Tour’ book back on track

SANDERSON – The much-promised “Walking and Driving Tour” of Sanderson attractions was back on track this week after being stalled by a printer problem.

The Chamber of Commerce approved the book last fall and it was to have been produced immediately thereafter.

However, an in-house printer problem arose and the project stalled.

The Chamber Tuesday agreed to contract with Got Print of Burbank, CA, for $842.04 for 500 copies of the book to be delivered to Sanderson plus “not to exceed” $20 for a proof.

The 12-page color book will feature 49 sites visitors can visit and a map on the inside that shows the location of each.

They are repeated on a smaller brochure but without pictures.

Featured sites include the new Cactus Capital Hiking Trail and Bicentennial Park, both Cedar Grove and Santa Rita Cemeteries, eight churches, the old Wool House and stock pens, the Rock Tourist Camp and many others.

Visitors can pick the spots of most interest to each.

“This is going to be a valuable tool,” Chamber President Jim Street said. “For too long, people have had trouble answering when asked what there is to do in town. With this, the merchant can hand the book to a visitor and tell him to have a great time.”

Meanwhile, visitors can now get a PDF version on the entire book on the chamber’s website, www.sandersonchamberofcommerce.info.

There was no immediate word on when the books will be delivered but brochure chairman Bill Smith said he has gotten “quick turnaround” on other projects, often within days.

He recommended Got Print from a list of nine bidders. It was not the lowest but he said he could not vouch some of the lower bidders.

In other action, Street was re-elected president in the annual election of officers. Randy Feille is the new vice president and Lea Hawn was re-elected secretary-treasurer.

Feille and Kim Rapp were named to the Business of the Month Committee and Smith was named chairman of the Sign/Brochure Committee.

It was decided to let the business committee get caught up with earlier awards. Several businesses were named last fall but certificates were held up because of the printer problem.

And the chamber agreed to again sponsor the Sanderson Welcome Reception on the Thursday evening during the annual Big Bend Open Road Race.

The event will be April 21 to 24 with the race between here and Fort Stockton on Saturday, April 24.

Trans-border park seen

By MARK GLOVER

Contributing Editor

BIG BEND - Linking private and public lands on both sides of the Rio Bravo/Rio Grande to create an international park at the big bend of our border with Mexico has vexed politicians for 75 years.

But last summer, those efforts got new life when US Department of the Interior Secretary Ken Salazar and his Mexican counterpart Juan Elvira discussed the project during the North American Leaders Summit in Guadalajara.

Although no agreement was reached, a letter of intent was signed to pursue the matter and perhaps negate President Franklin D. Roosevelt’s angst depicted in a letter he wrote to Mexican President Manual Ávila Camacho in 1944.

"I do not believe that this undertaking in the Big Bend [the establishment of Big Bend National Park] will be complete until the entire park area in this region on both sides of the Rio Grande forms one great international park," Roosevelt wrote.   

In today’s arena of cartel wars, drug smuggling and a closed border, the international park idea seems improbable but Salazar’s determination may make a difference.

“The deciding factor may be whether Secretary Salazar wants to take a personal interest in the negotiations,” said Big Bend National Park Superintendent Bill Wellman.

Salazar, who grew up in the San Luis Valley, the headwaters of the Rio Grande in southern Colorado, knows the river and the desert.

He was raised in an adobe home without electricity or plumbing and his family relied on the high, dry terrain for food.

Salazar mentions his love for the desert in almost all of his speeches.

And he’s not alone in support of the international park. US Rep. Ciro Rodriguez energized the act by initiating House Resolution 695 last year that calls for discussions on the international park at high levels.

“Congressman Rodriguez is actively pursuing a way to make this unique park a reality,” his press secretary Rebeca Chapa said.

In the post 9-11 age of increased US border security, the Department of Homeland Security headed by Secretary Janet Napolitano will be a significant factor in the negotiations.

“In principle, they [DHS] don’t have a problem with it,” Wellman said. “We have to come up with a reasonable proposal that works.”

“Secretary Salazar is reaching out to Secretary Napolitano to push this plan forward,” Courtney Lyons-Garcia, executive director of the Friends of the Big Bend, said last week after returning from a trip from Washington, DC, where she met with members of the National Park Service, the Department of Homeland Security and the Department of Interior on the matter.

“They’re looking to get a practical plan moving forward, get it on the table, a plan that is sustainable over the next 10 to 15 years that not only encompasses an international park but also works as a conservation effort to control invasive species, protect native species and to work out flood control,” Lyons-Garcia said.

Should the International Park with Mexico succeed, it would be the second such arrangement the US has with another country.

Waterton Glacier International Peace Park lies on the border with Canada, straddling the state of Montana and the province of Alberta.

“The big difference there is that on both sides of the border the land is government owned,” Wellman said. “In Mexico we’re dealing with both government and private landowners.”

To facilitate nearly three million contiguous acres of public access, three areas, privately owned but federally protected parcels, are part of the Mexican side of the international park plan.

Sierra del Carmen, owned by CEMEX – one of the world’s largest cement producers – Cañon de Santa Elena and the Maderas del Carmen.

The big bend reach of the Rio Bravo was recently acquired by the Mexican government.

“The way we manage and the way they manage protected lands is quite different,” Wellman said.

On the US side of the proposed international park, the Big Bend National Park, the Wild and Scenic River reach of the Rio Grande, the Texas-owned 103,000-acre Black Gap Wildlife Management Area and the near-by but not contiguous 314,000- acre Big Bend Ranch State Park may all be part of the plan.

Boquillas, across from Big Bend National Park’s Rio Grande Village, is likely to be the access point to the Mexican side of the park.

Prior to 9-11, before the border with Mexico was closed, Boquillas served as an unofficial international aside for visitors to the Big Bend National Park.

“If they’re going to allow tour access, Mexico will have to provide some infrastructure, probably at Boquillas,” Lyons-Garcia said.

Amid almost daily headlines of drug-smuggling, murder and corruption charges, the border region could use some good news.

“Both countries would like to have a success,” Wellman said.

Winning HOBY essay

By WILLIAM ROBERTS

HOBY Ambassador

SANDERSON – There are two distinct types of leaders in a small community, those who lead by speech and those who lead by example.

Being a leader is not about being popular or the rewards but is about achieving a goal that makes the community better as a whole.

A leader must be able to persuade others to follow him or her whether through words or actions.

One challenge of being a leader is getting people to do the right thing when it is not necessarily the easy thing.

Sometimes leading by example is better than leading through speech.

William Roberts is this year’s Hugh O’Brian Youth Leadership ambassador.

He obtained the honor with this essay, printed with permission of his mother, Katie Roberts.

William is the son of Katie and Travis Roberts.

He is a sophomore at Sanderson High School.

 

Purchase contract upheld

by jury in District Court

SANDERSON – A jury in 63rd District Court here agreed with plaintiff Wayne Sutton of Dryden this week that a contract with Lamon and Christina Sivils, also of Dryden, was still valid and should be honored.

Sutton brought the suit before District Court Judge Henry Fernandez over the purchase of some lots Sutton had sought to buy from Sivils in Dryden.

Sutton paid $500 earnest money and placed $16,291.63 in escrow to secure the purchase.

At issue was a “grazing lease” on the land, which testimony showed was surprise to both parties.

Sutton filed a “Buyers Objection Letter” on Oct. 14, 2008, saying he was “simply not interested in the property with that lease in effect.”

It took some time to release the grazing lease because one attorney represented several companies and it took some time to get the “right” person to release it.

Therefore, it took longer than the 15 days allotted in the signed contract for the “objection” to be corrected.

The original date of “closure” was to be Oct. 17, 2008, or seven days after the objection was fixed. Closing documents dated Dec. 12, 2008, remain unsigned.

The Sivils said they did not sign the closing papers because they believed the contract was null and void but testimony showed it was not because of a clause in the contract.

The contract did not state “time is of the essence,” therefore the document was binding.

After a day-and-a-half of hearing testimony and poring over documents, the 12 peers were sent off to deliberate and they returned a few hours later.

“I have no complaints,” defense attorney Jack Stern of Del Rio told the News Leader.

Woosley new EMS secretary

SANDERSON – Kristine Woosley of Sanderson is the new office manager of the Emergency Operation Center here.

Woosley has a Masters degree in business administration focused on healthcare.

“I love to work in healthcare,” she said.

Woosley went to Midland for more training for her job last week.

“It was really training for my job specifics,” she said. “I was trained for the national standard for local, state and federal requirements of the Emergency Medical Service and patient records.

“This is where everyone will report to in the event of a national emergency in the future,” she said. “It is called NIMS, which stands for National Incident Management System.”

At this time, the building which formerly served as the Sanderson Border Patrol station is just an empty building with offices not yet ready to use. It is a work in progress for now.

Woosley said she has the work experience to do the job, having worked closely with doctors and nurses in the healthcare system and personal training in health care.

“I love healthcare and always wanted a job like this and wanted EMS training,” Woosley said.

Woosley also works with the Sul Ross GEARUP program at Sul Ross State University.

GEARUP, for Gaining Early Awareness and Readiness for Undergraduate Programs, is funded by a grant.

She works with the kids starting in seventh grade and follows them through high school to prepare them for college.

Woosley is a tutor/mentor that helps kids with math, chemistry and a variety of other things they might need help with, she said.

Artists host reception

ALPINE – A collection of handmade books and journals by Sul Ross State University artists Erin Smith of Sanderson, Angelique Benton of El Paso and Lazaro Castilla, Karen Chavez, Petei Guth, Robbie McDaniel  and Carol Fairlie, all of Alpine, are on exhibit through today, Jan. 29.

There will be a closing reception from 5 to 7 p.m. this evening in the Main Gallery of the Francois Fine Arts Building. There is no admission and the public is invited.

The show is comprised of hand-made books created in the ART 4301 “Handmade Book and Journal” class.

The term “Art Book” refers to all types of handcrafted books and text is often optional.

The class explored a variety of different art techniques and media, some new techniques and some traditional.

Students learned traditional binding methods and hardcover techniques as well as “fun book,” flutter books, accordion books, concept books, collaborative books and a “Retablo style” art box.

Smith chairs planning body

MIDLAND – Terrell County Judge Leo Smith was elected chairman of the board for 2010 at the Annual General Membership Meeting of the Permian Basin Regional Planning Commission.

“Judge Smith brings a plethora of experience and expertise to the commission’s board after having served as vice chair in 2009 and secretary/treasurer in 2008,” Executive Director Terri Moore said. “He is an outstanding representative of the rural areas of our 17-county Permian Basin region as well as representing a county bordering Mexico. 

“He is an asset to Sanderson and has been the lead in successfully obtaining state and federal grant awards for Terrell County exceeding $5 million,” Moore said.

She said Smith’s accomplishments include being a member of the 63rd/83rd Judicial District Regional Probation Department board, vice president and president of the Permian Basin Housing Finance Corporation, member of the Pecos Valley RC&D Council, director of the Big Bend Open Road Race, Terrell County judge since 2003, Terrell County Probate Court and Terrell County Constitutional Court judge since 2003.

He also is a board member of the Terrell County Appraisal District and chairman of the Rural Business Enterprise Grant Program. 

Smith currently serves as a member of the Permian Basin Regional Planning Commission’s Solid Waste Advisory Committee, Executive Committee, Finance Committee, serves as vice-chair of the Domestic Preparedness Advisory Committee and as the commission’s state and national representative.

“Other Officers to the Permian Basin Regional Planning Commission’s board of directors for 2010 are the Honorable Ovidio Martinez, mayor, City of Seagraves, as vice-chairman, and the Honorable Mark Barr, Howard County judge, as secretary/treasurer,” Moore said.  “Both Mayor Martinez and Judge Barr make huge contributions to this agency and this region as well. 

“I am proud to be working for such a distinguished group,” she said.

Three pot busts net half million

MARFA – US Border Patrol agents seized more than $500,000 worth of marijuana in three different seizures Monday, one in Terrell County and two in Presidio County.

Sanderson agents found footprints of about eight people in an area east of Sanderson Monday afternoon.

About thirty minutes later, agents came upon three men and then later found four more.

After several foot chases, agents were able to arrest five men, all from Mexico and in the country illegally, and seize 423 pounds of pot.

Earlier Monday, agents working in Presidio County found footprints of a group of people walking north.

The agents followed the prints for about four hours before they encountered a group of four men. Two of the men tried to escape and one successfully avoided arrest.

The other three were all Mexican citizens and were in the US illegally. Two of the three were juveniles.

A short distance from where the three were found, agents discovered backpacks containing more than 185 pounds of weed.

Marfa Station agents manning the Highway 67 checkpoint south of Marfa found 93 pounds of marijuana hidden in the wheels of an SUV Monday evening.

The vehicle was being driven by a woman from Kansas and was occupied by three other women and a two-year-old girl, all US citizens living in Kansas.

In total, 712 pounds of marijuana was seized with an estimated street value of $562,080.

The Drug Enforcement Administration and Immigration and Customs Enforcement are continuing investigations into the three incidents.

Cactus Chat

Venables come calling

By ANNA La FLEUR

News Leader Writer

SANDERSON – Tami Carrasco’s sister Cherie Venable visited Sanderson over the weekend to see the County Fair and visit with family.

Venable brought her parents Jane & Kenneth Venable. The trio stayed in town until Sunday evening to see the peewee football game.

Cherie is a teacher in Big Lake.

Ed Layton & Marcia Kneeland have arrived here for a few months, visiting their other home in Sanderson.

The couple drove an RV here and arrived in time to enjoy the festivities of the fair.

Sanderson had a quick visit from Kallie York of Eldorado, who judged the steers, horses, goats, pigs and lambs.

Border Patrol agent Caleb Smith had a weeklong visit from his mother Wendy Smith.

Wendy is from Skamania, WA, on the Columbia River close to Portland, OR. She flew into Phoenix on Jan. 17 where Caleb picked her up.

The pair went to see the Grand Canyon covered in snow. They also went to see Billie the Kid’s grave site in Fort Sumter, NM. Then, the two went to see the Alien Museum at Roswell.

Wendy left for Skamania on Monday.

Ditch bids opened

SANDERSON – Three contractors turned in “apparent low bids” on drainage ditch work under a $936,000 “Border Colonias” grant from the Texas Department of Transportation Tuesday.

The three were the only bidders on three different provisions.

Highland Concrete of Alpine offered 826 yards of concrete and 760 yards of ready-mix concrete at $150.50 per yard, or a total of $238,693.

Albert and Sheri Thorn offered 174 yards of “Goldwire” sand at $18,250 and 143 rolls of wire mesh for $21,450.

And Dryden Stone said it could provide 56,816 square feet of stone for $147,721.60.

The bids will be reviewed by engineer Landgraf Crutcher Associates of Odessa and TxDOT before they can be awarded.

The award is expected at the next regular Commissioners Court meeting at 9 a.m. Monday, Feb. 8.

The county has agreed to match the TxDOT grant with $1 million in county funds to provide drainage ditches throughout Sanderson.

The work to be accomplished under the new phase will be along Mansfield, Richard and Kerr Streets.

 Work is under way on Pine and Hackberry Streets.

New ‘Guide’ nears publication

MARFA - The next printing of the Big Bend & Texas Mountains Travel Guide is being readied for production here.

For 25 years, the guide has been the primary free travel directory for the greater Big Bend region from Del Rio to El Paso, from Midland/Odessa to the National Park. It covers 16 communities, two national parks and 14 state parks.

“This is a high-quality, full-color magazine, chocked full of beautiful photography and informative content,” Publisher Mercer Black said. “The 2010 edition features, almost exclusively, the work of David Leggett, a talented photographer who has for years endeavored to capture the grandeur of West Texas skies and landscapes.”

She said his works are at http://www.photography.com).

Black said the new guide will be “perfect bound” like a book as opposed to the traditional saddle stitch with pages stapled together.

“Perfect binding dramatically increases the shelf life of a magazine, making it more of a souvenir book than a brochure,"”she said.

The 2010 guide’s 100,000 copies will be distributed at more than 100 locations, including all area chambers of commerce and convention & visitors bureaus, all 12 Texas Department of Transportation Travel Information Centers, the El Paso International Airport, Texas State Capitol Building, State Fair of Texas, San Antonio CVB and more than 60 regional convenience stores, grocery stores, gas stations, restaurants, hotels and retail establishments.

Black said the book also includes “several text directories and suggested interest-specific itineraries” including lodging, dining, shopping and services, outdoor recreation and adventure, cycling, birding, RV and camping and art, museums & galleries.

The 2009 edition of the guide was the largest in the guide's history, with 84 pages and more than 200 advertisers.

The 2010 edition is scheduled to hit the streets on March 5 in time for Spring Break travelers, making this “the absolute last chance to purchase advertising,” Black said.

Those interested should contact publisher Mercer Black of Marfa Publishing immediately via email to bigbendtravel@gmail.com or by phone to 512/739-4465.

‘Resource’ meeting next week

SANDERSON – The US Department of Agriculture’s Natural Resources Conservation Service and the Rio Grande-Pecos River  County Soil and Water Conservation District will host a Local Work Group meeting at 1 p.m. Friday, Feb. 2, in the SWCD office at 823 West Oak here.

The meeting is designed to receive input from a broad range of local agencies, organizations, businesses and individuals that have an interest in natural resource conditions and needs in Terrell County.

Input at the session will allow the Local Work Group to make recommendations on resource concerns to be addressed for county-based funding.

The recommendations will be used in implementing the Environmental Quality Incentives Program and other conservation programs offered by NRCS.

The 2008 Farm Bill stipulates that conservation programs must continue to be locally led. 

Through stake holder meetings, the public is given an opportunity to help local conservation leaders set program priorities. 

These meetings are open to the public. For more information, call the USDA Service Center office at 432/345-2595.

Service center locations and program information can be found on the Texas NRCS Web site at www.tx.nrcs.usda.gov.

Museum fundraiser completed

ALPINE – Eight years and $4,463,791.40 later, the Museum of the Big Bend’s three-phase renewal campaign is officially complete.

Recent gifts by the Rice Foundation of Fowlerton and the Semmes Foundation of San Antonio pushed the third phase – the education component – over its goal of $180,000.

“This marks a satisfying completion to a campaign that began in 2002,” said Museum Director Larry Francell. “Leighton and Jim Donnell of the Rice Foundation and Thomas Semmes [of the Semmes Foundation] have been generous supporters throughout the entire campaign.”

Francell traced the progress of the three-phase effort.

“Thanks to the efforts of Rep. Pete P. Gallego, state funding provided seed money for the capital campaign, which included renovation of our present facility, a Texas Centennial building,” Francell said.

A $1.3 million gift from Emmett and Miriam McCoy of San Marcos anchored the capital campaign, which totaled more than $3.3 million and was finished in 2005. Phase two, the exhibits campaign, raised more than $973,000.

“Through the use of local resources and area craftsmen, we were able to complete this phase under the anticipated cost of $1.1 million,” Francell said.

“Our education phase, developing a children’s program, has been beneficial to both Sul Ross and the greater community,” he said. “The program enables children not only to get acquainted with history and art, but to become familiar with the Museum of the Big Bend and Sul Ross State University as well. In addition, teachers for the various activities are selected from the university’s student body.”

Lady Eagles down Mustangs

By ANNA La FLEUR

News Leader Writer

SANDERSON – The varsity girls beat the Marathon Lady Mustangs here 43-26 Tuesday night.

Blakeney Chriesman had top score of 18 points for the Eagles. Noemi Nuñez scored eight points, Vicky Busch had seven points, Sarah Sivils scored five points, Amber Bon had three points and Lizette Ramirez earned two points for the team.

The Junior Varsity girls were not as fortunate when they lost to Fort Stockton 38 to 8 Monday.

Julianna Larrinaga scored the most with four points for the Eagles. Ashley Hagelgans and Angelina Hopkins scored two points each.

Meanwhile, the varsity boys lost to Balmorhea 45 to 59.

Top scorer in that game was Travis Roberts with 19 points. Cordell Lawson had ten points and L. A. Galvan scored five points.

Tim Hopkins and William Roberts both scored four points each and Darren Seidel scored three points.

Also Monday night, Coach Luis Martinez and his junior high boys lost to Rankin 28 to 36.

Jalen Chriesman scored top points with 19. Daniel Luevano had four points and Luis Garza made three points. Jesse Roberts and Mason Blackmon each scored one point.

The Junior High girls also lost to the Red Devils, 27-9.

Cassie Woosley was top scorer with five points. Abby Carrasco and Kayla Fuéntez each had two points.

The Varsity Girls play tonight at Grandfalls. Tipoff at 6:30 p.m.

Double death probed

ALPINE – Brewster County this week was investigating a possible murder-suicide on a ranch 54 miles south of here last week.

Sheriff Ronny Dodson said deputies were called to the rural residence Thursday evening after someone called and said he was “fixing to shoot himself.”

The first deputy arrived moments later and found one white female “shot multiple times in the back of the head,” Dodson said.

Deputies searched the property and found a white male in the garage shot once in the head.

The victims were identified as Diana Key, 50, and Billy Key, 59.

The bodies were sent to El Paso for an autopsy. Dodson said there has been no ruling in the deaths.