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By
ANNA La FLEUR
Production
Manager
SANDERSON – A
team of graduate hydrology students and their professor from the University
of Texas at Austin met with survivors of the 1965 flood here last week.
They came to
prepare information that could be used to update flood plain maps and,
perhaps, give homeowners a break on their flood insurance premiums.
Dr. David R.
Maidment, director at the Center for Research in Water Resources at UT,
brought the students to Sanderson to start work on the remapping.
Rachel
Chisolm, Laura Hurd, Marcelo Somos Valenzuela and Cody Hudson listened to the
stories of several survivors before discussing their roles in the process.
Hurd said she
will cover the terrain aspects of the project.
She does the digital
elevation models from the Natural Resources Conservation Service and makes
sure the maps are accurate so the other members of the group can calculate
accurately their aspects.
Chisolm and
Hudson described how they are in charge of the spread of water.
The pair works
with the hydrolic modeling that shows what happens when water reaches
Sanderson, the extent of flooding and determines the flow rate to show how
high the water will reach.
There were
maps displayed on the conference table from another Texas region to show how
each step is calculated and a flood map of Sanderson from after the flood.
Valenzuela
said he will try to reproduce flow from 1965 to see how much water came here
then. This will help him calculate the rainfall.
Part of
Sanderson southeast of Pine and Second is within the published “100-year
flood plain.”
After the
disastrous flood of 1965, the US Soil Conservation Service built 11 retention
dams and an improved channel in Sanderson Canyon upstream from Sanderson.
District
Conservationist Darrel Seidel of Sanderson said the dams resulted in the 100
year flood plain being entirely within the banks of the creek.
But the
Federal Emergency Management Agency never updated the maps and homeowners
have been forced to pay higher rates for flood insurance ever since.
Property
owners in the affected area have had to pay for flood insurance based on
being in the 100-year flood plain when, perhaps they no longer are.
“I am sure
that to complete the task will require a considerable amount more effort
later and it will require a formal submission of the resulting maps and
studies to FEMA,” Maidment said.
Scott Edelman
of AECom of Greensboro, NC, cautioned that even if the maps are redone, some
property may still be within the flood plain.
“I wouldn’t
want to get people’s hopes up because it could mean there’s not much of a
change in their premium,” he said. “Even if their property were removed from
the 100-yer flood plain, there is nothing to say they get a 500-year or a
1,000- year flood. And something could have happened to change the hydraulics
and there would not be much of a change.”
Edelman also
said there’s no guarantee that if a 100-year flood happens, another couldn’t
happen the very next day.
The 100-year
designation is just a likelihood that a flood of that magnitude would happen
that often. It is not a guarantee.
“It looks very
promising,” Edelman said. “The FEMA Region is very reasonable about updating
maps quickly.”
He said a
professional engineering firm could charge $25,000 to $35,000 for this type
of study.
“But first we
should let the students get some numbers out,” he said. “David Maidment is
known around the country for his work. It would be hard to find a better
person to do the study.”
FEMA spokesman
Suzie Webb told the News Leader that the agency considers such items as risk,
population growth, development, insurance claims and other data.
She was told,
the main concern in Terrell county is not the damage from floods because
there has been no significant flood damage since 1965. The principal concern
is the cost of flood insurance to properties now outside the new flood plain
boundaries.
Maidment said
he plans for his team to “see the local area for ourselves and meet the
appropriate local people” on his trip to Sanderson.
“You should
understand that having the flood control dams makes defining the floodplain
map more complicated than if the dams were not there because the effect of
the dams on capturing and holding flood waters has to be accounted for,” he
said. “This is a standard hydraulic procedure but it will still take a
significant amount of work.”
He said it may
also require additional terrain mapping through an aircraft-based Light
Detection and Ranging program to develop “very accurate land surface
elevation data.”
Maidment said
floodplain mapping reports with the National Academy of Sciences has
impressed on him that an important determinant of an accurate flood water
elevation is an accurate land surface elevation.
“If we get the
support from FEMA, we’ll get the job done,” he said. “This is your university
trying to help you.”
‘Nopalito’
aims for fall open
SANDERSON –
The first “Nopalito” community-wide market may begin sometime next fall, the
Chamber of Commerce learned Tuesday.
Anna La Fleur,
who is spearheading the effort, said there was talk about starting on
Mother’s Day weekend in May but there is too much to be done to get started
that early.
She envisions
an arts and crafts market throughout town with the main activity on Oak
Street, also known as Highway 90 and “Main Street.”
“We have made
a few changes,” she said. “We were talking about a one-day event. But now we
may go to a three-day weekend.
“That way,
people could stay around for the weekend, using our motels and restaurants,”
La Fleur said. “We could make a huge deal out of it.”
She got
interested in having a marketplace in Sanderson by seeing what other
communities had done, including Wimberley in the Hill Country where she had
lived.
“It would be a
way to cause people to stop and see our town, not just drive through on their
way to somewhere else,” she said.
In other
action, the Chamber discussed advertising in tourist magazines including The
Big Bend Travel Guide, which was to be delivered this week.
The two-year
book is the most-widely read guide to activities in the Big Bend Region.
Terry “Tex”
Toler said Sanderson is not represented in the book except for a cooperative
ad with participating businesses.
He said Guide
Publisher Mercer Black did include some “editorial” comment on Sanderson “as
a favor to us.”
He said the
county receives the hotel and motel tax, which is supposed to be used to put
“heads in beds.”
Many
communities pass those tax proceeds directly through to the Chamber to use in
promoting the town.
Toler also
suggested a slogan.
Marathon
boasts it is the “gateway” to the Big Bend and one book suggested Sanderson
was the “back door.”
Toler referred
the publisher to a map showing the location of Sanderson and suggested that
it is the “top of the bend.”
The Chamber
honored Sign and Brochure Chairman Bill Smith for his design of several books
and the web page.
Secretary Lea
Hawn presented comments she had gotten from potential members.
“Love your web
page,” one response said. “Keep up the professionalism.”
Smith said the first box of 250 “Walking and
Driving Trail” books is almost gone and there is one box left from the
initial order.
He said he has
noticed some small changes that need to be made before the next printing.
He also
presented ideas for several other brochures and the Chamber agreed to buy
1,000 updated copies of the single-sheet ”rack card” that has been displayed
in visitor centers, hotels and restaurants in the area.
The Chamber
also discussed the upcoming Big Bend Open Road Race next month and, in
particular, its sponsorship of the reception at Bicentennial Park on
Thursday, April 22.
Sanderson High
School Band Director Eric Cooksey agreed to look for a band to play for the
annual Fourth of July street dance this year.
He said having
a disc jockey play between band stints was very popular last year and kept a
large crowd on hand well into the evening.
The disc
jockey can also play music genres the band does not offer to please more
people.
“No band can
please everybody,” he said.
The Fourth of
July celebration is one of the big “red letter days” on the Terrell County
calendar.
School
move-in day nears
SANDERSON –
The name is up, furniture is being moved in and moving day is approaching for
the new Sanderson High School classrooms being built to the south of the
existing junior high school building.
Board
President Ada Lee Robbins said after the “construction meeting” Tuesday the
move-in date was “very close but we haven’t picked an exact date.”
But she said
shop teacher Jon Tom Lowrance would start moving into his new vocational
building this week.
Pouring of the
floor on the new field house started this week as work under a $14 million
bond issue approved in May, 2007, moved into high gear.
The existing
high school building, built in the 1930s, was not part of the improvements in
the program because of the cost to bring it up to requirements for classrooms.
It will be
used for future office space and possible classroom expansion if required at
a future date.
The bond work
also includes improvements to the existing junior high and elementary
buildings and a rework of the gymnasiums.
At its monthly
meeting Monday, the School Board agreed to look at bids for telephone service
throughout the district on April 5.
Technology
Director David Carrasco told the board new technology will allow the district
to eliminate some phone lines by using computer networks to route phone
calls.
He also said
Big Bend Telephone is upgrading its Internet service to provide much greater
speed.
“We have two
T-1 lines, which download at 1.5 megabytes per second, or three megabytes for
the two,” he said. “The new fiber optic system downloads at 100 MPS and it’s
cheaper than T-1 lines.”
The Board also
authorized Superintendent Gary Hamilton to negotiate a lease on the Frankie
Cash Administration Building to Cactus Health Services, Inc., to be used as a
dental clinic.
Cactus
Executive Director Teresa Smith told the News Leader the service is
“credentialing” candidates and an announcement should be made “in the next
few weeks.”
Cactus has
been trying for several years to include a dental service.
The Cash
building, named for the longtime school secretary, has been used primarily
for storage in recent years after the superintendent’s office was moved to
the high school building in a cost-saving measure.
In other
action Monday, the board contracts for all 22 teachers in the district.
Road
Race four weeks away
FORT STOCKTON
– The 13th Annual Big Bend Open Road Race from here to Sanderson and back is
four weeks away, on Saturday, April 24.
“We sold out
in three weeks,” Race Coordinator Kenda Furman said Monday. “There are 160
drivers and 30 on the waiting list. We have had a few cancelations.”
One iconic
racer is gone this year. Bud Powers of Alpine drove his 1970 Chevrolet El
Camino for the last time last year. He died in October.
Son Mike
Powers will drive the car this year with the number 89 on it. His sister
Linda Murray will hold the stopwatch in the right seat.
Bud Powers’
number every year was his age so last year, the car was number 88. The number
89 will be retired and no longer available for a driver.
Bud Powers’
granddaughter Lee Ann Powers will again drive her 2001 Chevrolet Camaro with
co-pilot Nikki Ankenman at her side.
Furman said
three drivers have logged in so far in the unlimited class. Charlie Friend of
Alamogordo, NM, will drive his 1965 Chevrolet Corvair.
He drove the
car down and back at an average speed of 166.722 miles per hour last year. It
is the same model Ralph Nader wrote about in “Unsafe at Any Speed.”
John Tiemann
of Austin and navigator Cathy Cody of Georgetown will drive a 1969 Ford GT40
and Tom Whalen of Frisco will drive his 2002 Corvette.
In the
unlimited class, drivers compete for the highest speed overall. In all other
categories, they are rated at how close they can come to the posted speed for
that class.
Going too fast
earns as many demerits as going too slow and there is a “tech” speed above or
below which will get the driver disqualified.
Other
unlimited class drivers from past races had not shown up at press time.
Dave Carpenter
is recovering from a stroke. Joel Hannig, who entered a 1962 Dodge Polara in
recent races, and Mike and Marsha Borders, who hold the record speed at
172.586 miles per hour set in 2007, were not on the initial list.
Furman said
the Borders are rebuilding their business, MKM Productions in Las Vegas, NV.
But she said
some West Coast drivers are ”new kids on the block,” having been encouraged
to enter the BBORR because of the Borders’ business.
Three Canadian
entrants will make this an international event, she said.
The activities
will begin in Sanderson on Wednesday, April 21, with registration, technical
inspections, “rookie” school and practice laps on US Highway 90 from to the
roadside park ten miles west and back.
The events
will continue Thursday, capped by the welcome party by the Chamber of
Commerce at 5 p.m. in the Bicentennial Park Pavilion.
Last year,
more than 400 people ate, drank and visited at the reception.
There will be
no charge for food and drink at the reception but a donation jar will allow
people to contribute to a Sanderson cause.
Last year, the
road race contributed to the Boy and Girl Scouts. This year, the donations
will benefit the Terrell County Food Pantry, which needs $4,500 for a
commercial refrigerator to keep perishables fresh.
Earlier that
day, some of the drivers, complete with their cars, will visit Sanderson
Elementary School. School children will also have a chance to color in
coloring books for their heroes.
The Sanderson
American Legion Post also will offer the full-menu breakfast it normally
provides every Saturday on Wednesday and Thursday of that week as well.
Friday, the
events move to Fort Stockton including a car show at Zero Stone Park and a
parade along Dickinson Street.
On race day,
April 24, racers start leaving at 8 a.m. from US Highway 285 and Mockingbird
Lane in Fort Stockton and drive south for 59 miles to a spot next to Downie
Arena in Sanderson.
Drivers gather
for lunch and to show off their machines at the Courthouse Square.
That
afternoon, they race back to Fort Stockton.
The day ends
with the annual awards banquet at the Pecos County Civic Center at 7:30 p.m.
Saturday.
Furman said
volunteers are still needed for all activities, including “gate guards” along
both practice runs and Saturday’s race.
“That’s the
only way to actually see the race as it happens,” she said.
“Gate guards”
stand at all entrances to the highway to assure no one wonders into the path
of a speeding car.
Volunteers in
Sanderson should contact Sanderson Volunteer Coordinator Dale Carruthers at
432/345-3331.
Carruthers
said Sanderson T- shirts will be available in Sanderson only Wednesday and
Thursday, April 21 and 22.
Band
will compete at Wink
SANDERSON –
The Sanderson Eagle Band will go to Wink for the Fifth Annual Wink Band
Festival next week in spite of a loss of several musicians because of grades.
Wink Band
Director Brad Roberts told Sanderson Band Director Eric Cooksey that 24 bands
would be involved in the competition Wednesday, March 31.
Cooksey told
the School Board Monday that five of his students are unable to participate
because of the state’s “no pass, no play” rule, having failed at least one
course in the last grading period.
“When you lose
five out of 20, that’s 25 percent,” he said. “When you have that, you feel
it.”
At one point,
Cooksey said he had 28 students in band but that had dwindled because some
students moved away, others had schedule conflicts and other reasons.
Some had to
drop out of band to take “dual credit” college courses.
He said a few
of the students who failed a course were only “three to five points” off the
mark.
“It’s a
time-management problem for some of them,” he said.
But Cooksey
said he plans to take two groups to Wink Wednesday, a grouping of sixth and
seventh graders and the full band of seventh graders to juniors. There are no
seniors in the band program.
Cooksey said
he was disappointed in losing so many to grades but he was not giving up.
“Once we win,
people will want to get on the band wagon,” he said. “Maybe we could offer a
trip or something.”
School Board
President Ada Lee Robbins said band trips have helped spur interest in the
program in the past and it may be time to start thinking about a trip,
perhaps for next year.
Cooksey said a
trip has to be in connection with a competition or instructional clinic but
he said it could also include a fun day at an amusement park or something.
Robbins
praised Cooksey for the progress the band has made since he became band
director 18 months ago.
“People tell
me that every time they hear the band perform, it’s an improvement,” she
said.
“I have some
good students and they are working hard,” Cooksey said.
Robbins said
the band is “doing a fantastic job. People in town are very impressed.
Cooksey said
he hopes to have another band concert sometime in May, similar to the
highly-successful concert in December.
SJHS
to host first tennis tourney
SANDERSON –
About four schools are expected for the first home tourney for Sanderson
Junior High School on the school’s new tennis courts, starting at 9 a.m.
Saturday.
It comes
during a busy period with track, golf and tennis teams spreading out across
West Texas.
It started
last night, March 25, with the junior high track team at Grandfalls, followed
by the high school track team today, March 26.
Also today,
the high school academic UIL team will travel to Fort Davis to compete.
The boys golf
team will travel to Rankin Monday, March 29, with the girls to play the next
day there.
The junior
high tennis team will play a doubles match in Grandfalls.
The District
Junior High track meet will be in Imperial April 1 while the high school team
travels to Water Valley.
And some 11 to
12 schools are expected to compete in the Sanderson High School tennis
tournament here April 9 and 10.
Other than
that, our students don’t have a thing to do.
Security
pacts signed
MEXICO CITY —
Two arrangements between the United States and Mexico to bolster aviation and
border security have been signed.
US Department
of Homeland Security Secretary Janet Napolitano and Mexican Interior
Secretary Fernando Francisco Gómez Mont signed the two pacts here this week
at the Mérida US-Mexico High Level Consultative Group meeting.
The agreements
further expand ongoing cooperative efforts to crack down on violent drug
cartels and combat terrorism while facilitating the secure and efficient flow
of legitimate travel and trade.
“Our close
relationship with the Mexican government continues to grow stronger as we
work together to find new ways to crack down on violent drug cartels and
combat terrorism,” Napolitano said. “The arrangements signed today further
increase the capabilities of the United States and Mexico to protect both
sides of the border from transnational criminals and terrorists that threaten
the safety of both of our nations.”
The first
arrangement formally establishes the Joint Security Program for Travelers,
which enhances information sharing and best practices between the United
States and Mexico regarding the identification of potential terrorists or
other dangerous criminals traveling by air through Mexico City International
Airport and builds a foundation for future JSP expansion to additional
Mexican airports, bolstering both nations’ abilities to thwart acts of
terrorism and protect against travel document fraud.
The second
arrangement, signed with both Secretary Gómez-Mont and Secretary of Public
Safety Genaro García Luna, will enable DHS to electronically share some
criminal history information with Mexican law enforcement about Mexican
nationals who are being repatriated from the United States and who have been
convicted of certain felonies in the US, providing the seamless transmission
of vital security information in order to ensure the safety and security of
citizens of both countries.
Napolitano
traveled here last month at Gómez Mont’s invitation to meet with officials
from Argentina, Brazil, Canada, Chile, the Dominican Republic, Mexico, Panama
and the International Civil Aviation Organization to discuss ways to bolster
global aviation security measures and standards.
The meeting
resulted in a joint declaration on a way to strengthen the international
civil aviation system through enhanced information collection and sharing,
cooperation on technological development and modernized aviation security
standards.
A
one-man ‘wagon’ train
By
ANNA La FLEUR
Production
Manager
SANDERSON —
Jeff Alexander of Madison, WI, stayed in Sanderson for a week recently on his
walk to Roswell, NM, pulling a wagon. Yes, walk.
Alexander
started pulling his Radio Flyer “Little Red Wagon” across the country on
Sept. 2, 2009.
He was a
vendor and volunteer at the Madison Street Pulse, a newspaper for and about
the homeless.
The newspaper
was started by some college students to bring awareness of the plight
homeless people face.
“This is more
of a spiritual venture more than anything,” he said. “I am at peace with the
world and can think more clearly when I walk.
“I conjured up
this project with one simple idea in mind, to walk and pull a little red
Radio Flyer wagon with what little I could carry while ‘living off what fat
of the land remains,’ that and ideals too grandiose and complicated to
express properly here,” Alexander said.
“While the
ideals still propel me on to discover some deep-seated need that I cannot yet
explain, I’ve come to learn so far on this journey,” he said.
“‘Why?’ is not
a question but an opportunity for any individual to interpret the answer as
they may,” he said.
“I’ve
constantly been asked ‘Why?’ on this journey,” he said. “I’ve replied a
zillion reasons, standing there, wagon in tow, out in the middle of a
nowhere.
“Now, I can
honestly say, ‘I don’t know.’ Something just tells me to do this,” Alexander
said. “If there is a cause, it is what has come up on its own during my
experiences on the first leg of the journey.
“It’s the
population expan-sion of our entire race and its overall effect on every
aspect of our lives,” he said.
After visiting
the “little green men” in Roswell, Alexander said he plans to return to
Sanderson.
To track the
journey, go to LRWT.wordpress.com and read his blog. You can even donate
money to help him on his way.
Cross
country on skates
SANDERSON –
Seeing bicyclists passing through town happens so often, people frequently
don’t even seem to notice. But it’s not every day you see cross-country
rollerbladers.
A pair calling
themselves “In Motion for a Million” rolled through town Friday morning on
their in-line skates.
Both from New
York City, co-founders Steven Feigenbaum and Dan Bowen are crossing the
country from St. Augustine, FL. to California to raise money for causes they
believe in.
Following the pair
is manager and driver Phil Repaci, who is driving a tour bus painted with the
slogan, “show me the money,”
The
organization raises money for the Huntington’s Disease Society and the
Lymphoma Society.
They hope to
raise $1 million for their cause and say they will accept donations as small
as $1 at a time, if necessary.
Kind of like
the old joke that says you won $1 million – to be paid at $1 per year for a
million years.
To donate
money or find the organization, go to Facebook and type in “In Motion for a
Million.”
Poet
laureate slated at SRSU
ALPINE – The
Sul Ross State University Department of Languages and Literature and The Sage
will host a poetry reading by 2010 Texas Poet Laureate Karla K. Morton from
2:15 to 3:15 p.m. Friday, April 8, in room 302 of the Morelock Academic
Building. It is free and open to the
public.
Morton has
been described as “one of the most adventurous voices” in American poetry,
mixing poetry, prose and story-telling with a distinctly western flair.
As Texas poet
laureate, Morton has focused on expanding the appreciation of poetry as an
art form to young scholars, visiting high schools and universities,
especially in small communities, across the state.
Her intent is
to increase awareness of the written word as an important tool of
communicating life’s joys and challenges while also gathering experiences in
the diverse landscapes of Texas for a collection of poems written along the
tour and based on the towns and people she encounters during her year as poet
laureate.
Morton’s
latest book, “Redefining Beauty,” published by Dos Gatos Press, is a poetry
collection she wrote during her own diagnosis, treatment and survival of
breast cancer.
“I am so
honored to serve as an ambassador of poetry,” Morton said. “On this tour, I
look forward to inspiring the dreams of others, connecting with students
through poetry and art and giving hope and encouragement along the way with
‘Redefining Beauty.’”
Morton is the
first woman named as Texas state poet laureate in more than 15 years.
Described as a
“celebrated poet” in the bill presented to the Texas State Legislature, she
has been widely published in literary journals and serves as a board member
of the Greater Denton Arts Council and a founding member and officer of the
Denton Poets' Assembly, part of the Poetry Society of Texas.
She loves to
promote poetry and has read her work across Texas, performing at such venues
as schools, universities, bookstores and festivals.
Morton is also
author of the book/CD titled “Wee Cowrin' Timorous Beastie,” a North Texas
Book Festival Awards Finalist and several upcoming books, including “Becoming
Superman, Names We've Never Known” and a collection of her works as part of
the Poet Laureate series by the Texas Christian University Press to be
published this year.
She has a
journalism degree from Texas A&M University and is currently featured on
a nationally-aired episode of “The Art of Living Gallery” for her promotion
of poetry as a healing tool for the soul.
Morton’s poems
have appeared in New Texas, the professional literary journal published by Sul
Ross State University and edited by Dr. Laura Payne Butler.
Market
update told
By
ANNA La FLEUR
Production
Manager
SANDERSON —
The “Nopalito Market” is getting closer to fruition with the beginning of a
webpage and a local vendor list in progress.
Donna Muñiz
has agreed to contact the Texas Department of Transportation to determine how
we can get Oak Street cleaned and spruced up for the event.
The first
community-wide market will probably be in the fall of this year. We decided a
Mother’s Day weekend would be nice but it just does not give us enough time
to do it right.
We are looking
into musical entertainment for the market along Main Street, aka Oak Street,
which will be the center of attention.
At the next
meeting, we will revisit vendor fees, portable potties, vendor space sizes,
website inclusions and where to set up the live entertainment.
This is a work
in progress. Feel free to contact me with questions and suggestions at anna.tcnl@yahoo.com
or call me at 432/345-2676.
Burglar,
aliens ‘busted’
SANDERSON — A
16-year-old Sanderson youth was sentenced to ten days in juvenile detention
last week for a burglary here.
Terrell County
Sheriff’s deputies arrested the youth after he broke into a home and stole a
computer.
The name was
not released because he is a juvenile and protected under the state juvenile
code.
Meanwhile
three illegal aliens were apprehended and charged with theft and criminal
trespass last week.
All three pled
guilty and were turned over to the US Border Patrol.
Don’t
draw on my cow
SANDERSON – In
Texas, it is illegal to write graffiti on someone’s cow.
That was one
of the interesting facts uncovered by the second grade class under teacher
Irma Mendoza, which has finished a Texas Unit.
“It was a lot
of fun and most interesting,” Mendoza said.
The students
researched facts about the state and also learned that the Dr Pepper soft
drink was invented in Waco in 1885.
The world's
largest parking lot is at the Dallas/Fort Worth International Airport.
Two Presidents
were born in Texas, Dwight D. Eisenhower and Lyndon B. Johnson.
The State
Dinosaur is the Pleurocoelus.
The first
rodeo was held in Pecos on July 4, 1883.
The world's
longest fishing pier is in Port Lavaca.
Almost 100,000
sightseers visit Langtry each year.
Who said
school is dull?
‘Green’
grants offered
IRVING —
Grants to help Texans conserve energy have been offered again by First Choice
Power here.
“Texas
nonprofits constantly pitch in a helping hand to those in need and First
Choice Power wants to chip in to give back through $2,000 energy-efficiency
grants,” an FPC news release said. “Organizations that need to replace their
old inefficient heating/cooling equipment or lighting can apply for a Reduce
Your Use™ Grant to become more green.”
An
organization does not have to have a 501 (c)(3) tax-exempt status to apply,
FPC said.
To determine
eligibility, see www.FirstChoicePower.com/reduce for insight, specific
guidelines and what makes the cut.
“The Reduce
Your Use Grants were created so that nonprofits didn’t need to worry about
paying to make themselves more energy-efficient,” the company said. “Instead,
funds can be used toward what the organization has aligned for the year so
being green won’t cut into an annual budget.”
The grants
were established to encourage nonprofits to create a “green” environment in
their community and FCP will provide $50,000 in the grants.
“Since we are
a nonprofit, every little bit we can do to lower our electricity cost helps,”
said Dale Pillow, executive director of the Adult Reading Center, which has
received FCP funding.
With 3.8
million people in Texas without a high school diploma, the Adult Learning
Center was formed to provide free instruction to adults with limited English
literacy skills.
“Empowering
nonprofits to achieve goals of being more green is something that First
Choice Power can rally behind,” FCP President Brian Hayduk said.
“Organizations that give effortlessly back to the community are partners we
naturally gravitate to.
“Nonprofits
and chambers of commerce are the building blocks of a community, and we are
proud to support them,” he said.
Applications
must be submitted online by 5 p.m. April 15. Only one application per
nonprofit is accepted each year.
Recount
confirms election
ALPINE –
County Democratic Chairman Dale Christophersen said this week a recount
requested by Brewster County Judge candidate Avinash Rangra failed to change
the outcome of the Brewster County race on March 2.
“There were no
changes in number or direction of votes from those canvassed earlier,” he
said in a letter to Rangra. “Therefore no further canvass will take place.”
Rangra asked
for the recount after losing to incumbent County Judge Val Beard 1,078 to 723
in the March 2 Democratic Primary.
There was no
opposition in the November General Election, though independents and write-in
candidates can still file.
Christophersen
said the recount was of only the votes cast in that race using the Direct
Recording Electronic equipment. Rangra requested a manual recount of the
electronic votes.
Flood
changed many lives
By
ANNA La FLEUR
Production
Manager
SANDERSON — At
about five minutes after 7 a.m. on June 11, 1965, some Sanderson residents
were just starting to get out of bed.
Edelmira
Calzada looked outside to see water everywhere.
“I was home with
our two daughters and son and Tony, my husband, was at the Wool House where
he worked at the time,” Calzada said. “I looked outside, at the time we had a
lot of chickens but they were all gone. Nothing was left of them, you know,
and all I could see was water, water everywhere.”
All around
town people were running and yelling. There was so much confusion.
“Jesus Marquez
died in the flood that day but when I looked out of my house [earlier], he
came running past yelling that he had to save his wife,” Calzada said.
She said
people were trying to help family members and find them.
Jolly Harkins
used a ham radio to call for help.
“Everyone was
on rooftops yelling - it was like the end of the world,” Calzada said. “A
lady lost her daughter and grandchildren in the flood waters and when I was
trying to get her to sit down she kept saying she had to cook because they
were coming over to eat.
“She was in
shock, you know, and everyone was going crazy then because there was so much
death and so many were missing,” she said.
The water was
inside many of the homes and carried mud and debris with it.
“I got on
horseback in the creek and looked for people to pull out of the water,”
Charles Stegall said. “There were bodies everywhere and children sticking out
of the debris with no clothes on because the water rushed so fast it
literally ripped their clothes off. It was terrible.”
Stegall now
serves as county commissioner from Precinct 3.
There were
people in canoes pulling people out of the water.
“People were
trying to tell County Judge [R.S.] Wilkinson about the water but he wouldn’t
listen,” Stegall said. “He insisted it wasn’t that bad and wouldn’t get his
family out of their house. He ended up on top of his house with his family –
on top of his house.”
There were reports
that Wilkinson was on the roof of the courthouse and when folks saw the empty
rooftop in news stories, it was assumed Wilkinson had died.
“It was 32
days of work trying to get things back,” Stegall said. “Mohair was everywhere
from the Wool House and caskets - they were floating up out of the ground.”
There were
doctors, Red Cross, Salvation Army and the US Army at the elementary school
and people were told to get there for aid.
Everyone who
survived the flood got vaccinations.
“A helicopter
landed there and my mother went with them to check out the surrounding
ranches,” Mary Nell Hinkle said. She
let the doctors who came to town stay at her house on Kerr Street.
“Jolly Harkins
used my CB radio to call for help,” Hinkle said.
By 1965, the
town was no longer segregated as it had been for many years.
Hispanic and
Anglo families helped each other and neighbors helped look for those who were
lost or misplaced.
People who
wouldn’t have normally spoken to each other invited people into their homes
to comfort and feed them.
“We met the
Lopez family at the corner and we all went driving towards Dryden,” Frances
Corbett said. “When we got to the first bridge, the water was already going
over the top of it.”
There was no
time to think about what to do.
“I just sped
up and drove over the bridge,” she said. “We made it to Dryden and stayed
with friends.
“The next
morning, they said they were going to Sanderson to help out because there was
a flood there,” Corbett said. “We went back, too, and when we got almost back
we couldn’t get here because of the water.”
She said her
husband Thomas worked for the railroad and there were railroad men helping
people get across the bridge.
“They helped
us get back across and when we did, we lost everything,” Corbett said.
“Everything was lost. We had a nice new home and it was ruined.”
She said
Thomas told her they were staying at the house and were going to clean it
out. She said she did not want to keep the house but they were still paying
on it.
But her
husband said he wanted to rebuild it.
“I was invited
to a friend’s house for their daughter’s birthday party not long after that
flood,” Frances Corbett said. “The girl had a beautiful chocolate cake. I
told her I couldn’t eat it because it reminded me of the mud that came out of
my house.”
Mike Sanchez
was four years old at the time and remembers he was home with his mother,
Amelia, and brothers, George who was 14, 12-year-old Juan, Sonny who was
eight, Richard was only six and the youngest of the brothers was two-year-old
Rey.
Mike’s father
Raul was a construction worker in Monahans. When he heard the news of the
flood, he rushed to get home.
He was in Fort
Stockton when he heard that a mother and six boys had been taken by the
flood.
“All the way
home, he thought his family was gone,” Mike Sanchez said. “He was so scared
he lost them. When he arrived home, he learned that it was in fact the
Johnson family that suffered that tragedy.”
Before his
father arrived home, Mike’s uncles came by one at a time to tell his mom to
get out of the house.
“My uncle, Joe
Fuentes, came by and tried to tell us to get out,” Sanchez said.
A short time
later the water began to come into the house.
“My mother was
panicked trying to figure out how to get us out because she didn’t know how
high the water would get,” he said. “It was too late, though, because by then
a propane tank had lodged against the door.”
People came to
the house and got the family out.
“Bruce Babb
carried me across the bridge and I lost my shoe but they wouldn’t go back for
it,” Sanchez said.
The family
arrived at the home of Paul Galvan nearby.
“I have looked
at the house next to us and it is made of brick,” Sanchez said. “I know that
house separated the water which is why our house wasn’t taken by the flood
and why I am still here.
“If it was
made of anything but brick we would have been washed away,” he said.
Conference
to eye rock art
DEL RIO – The
2010 American Rock Art Research Association annual conference this weekend
will feature Dr. Carolyn E. Boyd and
Dr. Marvin Rowe presenting a paper entitled “Over and Under: A Re-Examination of Red Linear Rock Art.”
Red linear
style rock art is characterized by animated, small, fine-lined figures of
animals and humans. It is one of
three recognized styles of prehistoric rock art in the Lower Pecos
Canyonlands, Pecos River, red linear and red monochrome.
Based on
subject content and two experimental radiocarbon dates, red linear is
believed to have been produced during the Late Archaic around 1,280 years
ago.
This would
place production of these pictographs after the Pecos River style, which
dates from 4,200 to 2,750 years ago but prior to the red monochrome dating
from 650 to 1,350 years ago.
During recent
rock art recording efforts, multiple examples of Pecos River style rock art
superimposing red linear style pictographs have been documented.
The
superimposition of “older” Pecos River style images over “younger” red linear
images highlights the need for further dating research and a re-examination
of the stylistic classifications of prehistoric rock art in the region, the
center for Studying the Human Use of Materials, Land and Art said.
SHUMLA
Executive Director Dr. Boyd and members of her research staff including Angel
Johnson, Charles Koenig, Ben Dwyer, Sandra Wier and Nathan Martinez will also
present a paper on the Lower Pecos Rock Art Recording and Preservation
Project.
The Lower Pecos
Canyonlands of southwest Texas and northern Mexico houses some of the most
complex and compositionally intricate prehistoric rock art in the world,
SHUMLA said.
“Because of
the uniqueness and incomparable richness of this cultural legacy, it is
imperative to create a permanent visual and textual archive for future
generations, while also promoting preservation of this resource through
education,” the organization said in announcing the symposium.
“SHUMLA’s
Lower Pecos Rock Art Recording and Preservation Project is meeting this need
through documentation of rock art sites, creating a digital rock art
database, establishing a multi-disciplinary research program, formation of a
stewards program and continuation of hands-on education programs,” SHUMLA
said.
SHUMLA
research intern Charles Koenig also will present a paper on the atlatl, one
of the most widespread yet highly variable, pictographic elements in
4,000-year-old Pecos River style rock art.
More than 25
percent of the 300 figures documented to date through SHUMLA’s rock art
recording project wield the ancient weapon.
There have
been six distinct atlatl types identified within PRS rock art.
Koenig’s paper
will include preliminary findings on the geographical distribution of atlatl
types, archaeological examples of atlatls found in the region and
ethnographic data to determine the ritual use and symbolic meaning of atlatls
beyond implementation as a hunting tool.
For more
information about the ARARA Annual Conference see www.arara.org
‘Fiesta’
to benefit life relay
ALPINE –
“Fiesta Primavera,” a wide array of multicultural music and dance from 4 to
8:30 p.m. tomorrow here will benefit the Relay for Life.
Admission to
the fiesta at the Kokernot Lodge Amphitheatre is by donation with all
proceeds going to the program.
Performers
include Los Pinche Gringos, Lobos del Desierto, SHILO, the Ladies Full Moon
Drumming Group, Terra Peters, Kelly Gillespie and Debra Romero, along with
dancers Aloha O Hawaii, Dance Tahiti Contemporary Tahitian Ballet Co. and
Romina Uruena-Shizzi from the Marfa Dance Company.
The event is
produced by Kareva Mulholland and sponsored by the American Cancer Society
Big Bend Unit Relay for Life.
Other sponsors
are the Hampton Inn, Best Western Alpine Classic Inn, the Ramada Inn of
Alpine, the Oak Tree Inn, Rachael Waller Photography and Sul Ross State
University.
A meet and
greet event with a cash bar will be tonight at the Holland Hotel in downtown
Alpine.
Students’
sleep’ with C.J.
By
JASON HENNINGTON
Sul
Ross News Writer
ALPINE – Sul
Ross State University students got a chance to sleep with C.J. Johnson during
the hypnotist’s performance here last week.
Johnson, whose
performance was presented by Sully Productions, mixed a bit of comedy to
hypnotize both the crowd and students who volunteered on stage.
The show began
with Johnson answering frequently-asked questions about being hypnotized.
“Will I do
anything against my will or moral beliefs?” and “Can anybody be hypnotized?”
some have asked.
“No, you will
not do anything against your will or something that you don’t believe in,”
Johnson said.
“Everyone can
be hypnotized except three types of people,” he said. “Someone who is drunk,
someone who is stupid – meaning a person with a clinical IQ of 70 and can’t
hold their attention long enough – and finally the ‘smart’ annoying, guy.”
Before
inviting students on stage, Johnson gave a hypnotic demonstration that
involved the audience.
Spectators
were instructed to squeeze their hands together while relaxing their minds.
When told to pull them apart, their hands seemed stuck together.
After the
demonstration, Johnson asked students to join him on stage to be hypnotized.
“Every hour of
hypnosis is like four hours of sleep,” Johnson said. “You should not expect
to black out. It’s a somewhat relaxing state. You will know what’s going on.
You just won’t care.”
Twelve
students took the stage. After relaxing their breathing and falling into a
deep sleep, students were instructed to think they were in the hottest part
of Death Valley and then sent to the coldest street in Alaska.
“I can already
tell who is going to be good, who will need a little extra attention and who
will be superstars,” Johnson said after the first set of instructions.
Students who
needed extra attention were sent back to their seats.
The remaining
students were then sent through a number of personalities and identities,
including everything from being a vacuum to being a piece of bacon in a
frying pan.
Students then
became glamorous actresses and macho actors auditioning for the role of a
lifetime in a movie.
Students who
were familiar with the musical “Grease” were hypnotized in to thinking they
were Danny Zuko and performed “Greased Lightning” for the audience.
The male
students engaged in a body contest and the females on stage judged.
Next the
students showed unconditional love to their shoes, thinking they were cute
puppies.
While loving
their shoes, they began to think they were infected with thousands of
fleas.
Johnson then
put the students back in a deep sleep and moved each of their shoes to the
middle of the stage.
He instructed
them to put their shoes back on but the shoe weighed 1,000 pounds each.
Three students
helped one another to lift up one shoe before it got too heavy and dropped it
to the ground.
After
“finger-shooting” each of the students back to sleep, Johnson dropped small
pieces of paper on the floor.
He told his
subjects that they were $100 bills and to pick them up when he turned his
back.
After noticing
that most of the money had been picked up, Johnson said the money was
extremely hot and students needed to get rid of it immediately.
Next students
were put to sleep by a hypnotized student with creative ways of knocking
students out before putting herself to sleep.
While students
slept, Johnson picked one student to become the famous Crocodile Hunter Steve
Irwin.
“When I count
from five to one you will become Steve Irwin the crocodile hunter and attack
the crocodile in front of us and answer any questions we have about it,”
Johnson instructed, while placing an alligator float on the stage.
Another
student was instructed to become a kung fu master and to attack the alligator
when prompted.
“When I say ‘I
thought it was going to attack us,’ you become a kung fu master and attack
the alligator,” Johnson said.
“Attack only
the alligator, my friends in South Carolina for that one,” Johnson said in
regards to a student attacking another student during a show at another
university show.
Later, the
hypnotized students were instructed to think they were contestants on “So You
Think You Can Dance” and went through a number of different types of dances
including ballet, the Mexican hat dance, belly dancing, the twist, the hula
and disco.
All but one student
was put to sleep by finger guns by the other students. The last student
standing engaged in a showdown with Johnson.
“Take your
best shot,” Johnson said before shooting the student down with his finger.
Johnson then
instructed the student to become Michael Jackson and the remaining students
to be huge fans that would not attack Michael Jackson.
“It’s still
close to Mike’s death so you will be nothing but awesome,” Johnson
instructed.
The show
continued with hypnotized students flipping through channels on television
watching the funniest, saddest and scariest shows they had ever seen.
Next students
thought they saw naked people in the crowd and then thought they were naked
themselves.
Male students
became Chippendale dancers before being a boy band known as the Butt Beat
Boys who play music on their backsides.
The show ended
with Johnson asking hypnotized students how long they had been on stage and
they all thought they had just taken the stage.
“You’ve been
up here an hour and two minutes,” Johnson told students.
The students
were told they could return to the crowd but two were given instructions to
be Wylie Coyote and Road Runner and when they heard the phrase “goodnight”
they began to run around the room.
“I have a cool
job,” Johnson said. “I hope you guys had a good time.
“Goodnight.”
Baseball
signup Sunday
SANDERSON – If
it’s spring, it must be time for baseball. The Sanderson Youth Baseball
League signup will be from 2 to 4 p.m. Sunday, March 28 at the baseball field
next to the Legion Hall.
Cost for this
season will be $15 per child.
T-Ball is
offered for children ages 4 to 8. Little League is for ages 9 to 12.
Forms will be
sent home from school today, March 26, and more will be available at the
sign-up.
Coaches and
Volunteers also are needed. Those interested are requested to sign up.
For questions,
call David Carrasco at 432/345-2180.
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