Octobeer 3, 2008
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AUSTIN – Gov. Rick Perry has proposed continued funding for
border security, including $110 million in sustained border security funding
next year as well as $24 million to combat “transnational gang activity”
across the state. “Securing our international border is a federal responsibility,
one that Washington has yet to fulfill,” Perry said. “As a result, the Texas
Legislature took decisive action last session by providing the necessary
funding to secure our border. “I ask that they continue to support this critical effort to
protect our communities and combat the escalating threat of gangs in Texas,”
he said. Perry
accepted the Border Security Council’s report this week and asked the
legislature to support continued border security funding to protect our
state. Texas has taken unprecedented steps to secure its border with
Mexico and is facing a growing threat in transnational gangs, he said. The News Leader published a photo Aug. 29 of a system of
roads just inside Mexico leading to Rio Grande below Dryden. The roads were apparently built by drug and people smugglers in
an effort to make their illegal activity easier. “One of the most significant threats to our state’s security is
the rise of ruthless and powerful transnational gangs,” Perry said. “Working
with local law enforcement, we will bring unprecedented pressure to bear on
the leadership structures of these gangs and grind them down – one tip at a
time, one conspiracy conviction at a time, one gang at a time.” Perry said gangs like the Zetas, the Mexican Mafia, the Texas
Syndicate, Barrio Azteca and MS-13 are threatening Texas citizens and these
increasingly sophisticated organizations are expanding their influence across
the state, recruiting members in our schools, communities and prisons. He said his gang initiative builds on the “proven border
security strategy of working with local law enforcement and increasing
resources for surge operations, as well as providing resources for
investigations and prosecutions.” Terrell County Sheriff Clint McDonald said the Legislature
approved $110 million in the “last cycle” which went primarily to the Texas
Department of Public Safety. McDonald said the DPS funds are under the state Border Star
program and Terrell County receives reimbursement for mileage for the
Operation Linebacker, a federal program that provides law enforcement officers. “The
$24 million is for gangs and it is something they are adding,” McDonald said.
“We are hoping for the legislation to fund that. “The $110 million is just a recurrence of the $110 million in
the last session, the bulk of which went to the DPS.” The DPS funding went to the Joint Operations Information Centers
in each US Border Patrol sector. Terrell County is affiliated with the Marfa Sector and the JOIC
is under the direction of Ranger Dave Duncan of Fort Davis. ALPINE – Music, art and theatre will be featured at Sul Ross
State University’s first “Evening of
the Arts” starting at 6:30 p.m. tonight here. Dr. Michael Lippard and Dr. Justin Badgerow will perform a faculty
recital in Marshall Auditorium. Music of Mozart, Finzi and Muczynski will be
featured. Meanwhile, an art exhibition, “When the Day’s Work is Done…” by
Bill Davis will be shown at 7:30 p.m. in the Main Gallery of the Francois Fine Arts Building. Closing the evening will be the opening night performance of
Arthur Miller’s Broadway hit, “All My Sons,” at 8:15 p.m., in the Studio
Theatre. All “Evening of the Arts” events are free for Sul Ross students,
faculty and staff with ID. The music recital and art exhibit are free to the public. “All My Sons,” directed by Sul Ross Associate Professor of
Theatre Dona W. Roman, will run for two weekends, Oct. 3 to 5 and 10 to 12. ALPINE
– Sul Ross State University, where intercollegiate rodeo began, will host the
63rd annual National Intercollegiate Rodeo Association event this weekend. Competition
begins at 7 p.m. each evening in the SALE Arena. Slacks
will begin at 9 a.m. today and tomorrow, Oct. 3 and 4. There is no charge for
the slack. A
dance, featuring the music of the Kenny Terry Band, will be in the corral
adjacent to the SALE Arena following tonight’s performance. The
dance is sponsored by Campus Activities and the School of Agricultural and
Natural Resource Sciences. Joining
Sul Ross in the competition will be 17 Southwest Region university and
college teams. Four
Sul Ross State University coeds will compete for the 2008 Miss Rodeo Sul Ross
title. Coronation
will be at 7 p.m. tomorrow, Oct. 4, prior to the rodeo. Reigning
Queen is Sarah Ashley David of Kaufman. Candidates
include Alexandra Ashburner of Alpine, AZ, Amanda Renfro of North Richland
Hills, Kaydi Kubala of El Campo and Sally Schmidt of Carrizo Springs. Sul
Ross boasts nine national team championships, seven men’s and two women’s and
24 individual event titles. The
rodeo team won men’s championships in 1949, 1950, 1951, 1952, 1962, 1982 and
1983 and women’s crowns in 1962 and 1985. Only
Southeastern Oklahoma State University claims as many national team
championships, five men’s and four women’s. Harley
May, a member of the first three men’s championship teams, won eight national
collegiate titles, three world championships in steer wrestling on the
professional circuit and was inducted into the Pro Rodeo Hall of Fame in
1979. He
returned to coach the Sul Ross rodeo teams from 1994 to 1998. May
won the all-around men’s championships from 1949 to 51, bareback riding in 1949,
bull riding in 1949 and 50 and saddle bronc riding in 1950 and 51. Tex
Martin and Cody Lambert also won men’s all-around titles while Jo Gregory
Knox, Elisabeth Prude Longbotham and Donna Saul claimed all-around women’s
crowns. General
admission to this year’s event is $5. Children under 12 and Sul Ross faculty,
staff and students with ID will be admitted free. ALPINE
– Arthur Miller’s Tony Award-winning play “All My Sons” will be performed
tonight through Sunday, Oct. 3 to 5, and Oct. 10 to 12 at Sul Ross State
University. Performances
will begin at 8:15 p.m. Fridays and Saturdays and at
2 p.m. Sundays in the Studio Theatre in the Francois Fine Arts Building. “All My Sons” directed by Associate Professor of Theatre Dona W.
Roman, was Miller’s first Broadway hit. The play won Tony Awards for both the author and director, Elia
Kazan, in the first-ever Tony Awards ceremony in 1947 and ran for 328 performances
on Broadway. Miller’s famous drama, inspired by a true story, is set for a
revival this month on Broadway. The story is about two successful business partners who were
arrested after selling the government defective airplane parts during World
War II, resulting in the death of 21 pilots. Joe Keller, played by Thomas Lowery of Round Rock, was exonerated
but he and his wife Kate, played by Michelle Lynn Selk of Alpine, lost their
youngest son in the war. Their surviving son Chris, played by Jacob Cole McClurg of
Tulia, wants to marry Ann Deever, portrayed by Amber Bowman of Midland, the
daughter of Joe’s former partner who remains in prison and fiancée of their
dead son. When Ann visits the Kellers, lies are exposed and secrets are
revealed that could destroy all their lives. Tickets, as well as Sul Ross Theatre Season Passes, are now on
sale. Tickets are $6.50 for adults, $4.50 for seniors and students,
free to all Sul Ross students, faculty and staff with ID and half-price for Activity
Card Holders. “All My Sons” contains language not suitable for young children. |
Perry’s initiative calls for a multi-jurisdictional gang
strategy that includes expanding the sharing of vital gang information at all
levels of law enforcement across the state, centralizing gang intelligence, expanding
effective local law enforcement gang operations in identified “hot spots” and
increasing resources dedicated to multi-agency criminal enterprise
investigations targeting leadership of the most dangerous gangs. It
also includes seeking enabling legislation to arm law enforcement with
essential gang fighting tools and expanding gang prevention efforts. Perry’s request
for funding follows the Border Security Council’s report, which supports the
state’s successful border security strategy and recommends continued funding
for border operations. TERLINGUA
– One Lajitas ranch hand was killed and another injured in a one-vehicle accident
one mile west of here early Saturday and the victims lay in a dry creek bed
for six hours before they were discovered. The
Texas Department of Public Safety said Courtney Van Cleave, 22, was killed
and the driver, Jlee Boatright, 21, of San Angelo, was injured when the SUV
they were riding in went off State Highway 170 and flew airborne head-on into
an embankment. Both were wearing seat belts. A
passing walker spotted the wreckage at 7:30 a.m. Saturday. Justice of the
Peace Jim Burr of Terlingua pronounced Van Cleave dead at 9:02 a.m. Boatright
was airlifted by Care Star to Odessa Medical Center where she was reported in
stable condition Monday. for
male role in play ALPINE – The Sul Ross State University Theatre Department has
scheduled open auditions Monday, Oct. 6, for a male role in the upcoming
encore performance of “Casa de Muñeca,” Liz Castillo’s bilingual adaptation
of Henrik Ibsen’s “A Doll’s House.” Auditions are open to all Latino males, ages 20 to 40, bilingual
in Spanish and English is preferred. Auditions will include cold readings
from the script. Rehearsals will begin Tuesday, Oct. 7, and continue through the
show’s three performances on Oct. 24 to 26. Anyone interested in auditions should visit the Theatre office
in Room 203 in the Francois Fine Arts Building or call 432/837-8839. Senior
citizens scammed
ODESSA – The Better Business Bureau
is warning senior citizens to be aware of an emerging telephone scam that is
preying on grandparents nationwide. The BBB has recently
received reports about grandparents from California to New Hampshire who
thought they were aiding their grandchildren by providing money for an emergency
situation but were in fact giving thousands of dollars to Canadian con artists.
Generally, in the
scam, the grandparent receives a
distressed phone call from someone they believe is their grandchild. The supposed
grandchild typically explains that they are traveling in Canada and have been
arrested or involved in an auto accident and need the grandparent to wire
money to post bail or pay for damages—usually amounting to a few thousand
dollars. While many seniors
have reported the scam without falling prey to it, unfortunately, many others
have been victimized, the BBB said. One well-meaning
grandmother sent $15,000 to scammers, thinking she was helping a grandchild
who had been in an auto accident. “This scam is just
despicable because it preys on the emotions of seniors who want nothing more
than to ensure the safety of their grandchildren,” BBB spokesman Steve Cox
said. “The key to avoiding this scam is to remain calm despite the ‘emergency’
nature of the call and to verify the identity of the caller. “Too often, people are
allowing themselves to get caught up in the false sense of urgency and they
end up making emotional, instead of logical, decisions,” he said. Given the sudden pervasiveness
of the scam, several state attorneys general have issued warnings. In addition, the
Canadian Anti-Fraud Call Centre is reporting a significant increase in
complaints for this scam. In 2007, the Centre
received 128 complaints about this type of scam. Since the beginning of this
year, nearly 350 complaints have been filed and about half were filed in July
and August alone. Law enforcement
officials are not certain how perpetrators obtain phone numbers for so many
senior citizens across the US. However, it is
believed that scammers are most likely calling random numbers until they
happen to reach a senior citizen. The scammers’ basic
tactic is to pose as a grandchild and let the unsuspecting grandparent fill
in the blanks. For example, the scam
caller might say, “It’s me, your favorite grandchild,” to which the grandparent
will guess the name of the grandchild it sounds the most like and then the
call proceeds from there. To protect themselves
from this scam, and other scams that may use a distressed loved-one tactic,
BBB is advising seniors to confirm the status of the individual by calling
them directly or verifying the story with other family members before taking
any further action. BBB also advises that
any request to wire money through Western Union or MoneyGram should be seen
as a “red flag” and an immediate tip-off that the call may be part of a scam.
Funds sent via wire
transfer are hard to track once received by scammers and are usually not
recoverable by law enforcement or banking officials. For anyone victimized
by this type of distressed loved-one call, BBB recommends reporting the incident
immediately to local police departments and state attorney general offices. If there is a request
to wire money to Canada, the Canadian Anti-Fraud Call Centre has established
the PhoneBusters hotline and Web site to report such fraud. Reports can be filed
online through the PhoneBusters site at www.phonebusters.com
or by phone, toll free at, 888-495-8501. To schedule an
interview with a BBB spokesperson, contact Alison Preszler at 703-247-9376. For more information
from BBB on common scams and advice on avoiding consumer fraud, go to www.bbb.org.
BBB
is an unbiased non-profit organization that sets and upholds high standards
for fair and honest business behavior. Businesses
that earn BBB accreditation contractually agree and adhere to the
organization’s high standards of ethical business behavior. BBB
provides objective advice, free business BBB Reliability ReportsTM
and charity BBB Wise Giving ReportsTM and educational information
on topics affecting marketplace trust. To
further promote trust, BBB also offers complaint and dispute resolution
support for consumers and businesses when there is difference in viewpoints. The
first BBB was founded in 1912. Today, 125 BBBs serve communities across the
U.S. and Canada, evaluating and monitoring nearly 4 million local and
national businesses and charities. Visit www.bbb.org
for more information. Archaeology Fair to be next week ALPINE – The Center for Big Bend Studies and the Museum of the
Big Bend will sponsor an all-day, hands-on fair on Saturday, Oct. 11, to
highlight the why and how of what archaeologists do. Events will be from 10 a.m. to 7 p.m. on Avenue B at the sand volleyball
court across from the Museum of the Big Bend on the Sul Ross State University campus. Admission is free. Experts will conduct events for all ages to demonstrate how ancient
Native Americans used an atlatl to hunt game. Participants will be allowed to
throw the atlatl. There also will be a demonstration of how the ancients started
fires using a fire drill, or stick, and a split sotol stalk, used hot rocks
to boil water in baskets and gourds, baked on stone comals, made pottery,
found edible plants in the desert, made musical instruments and used a bull
roarer. |
It
also includes deterrence and prevention of crime, reporting requirements for
participating law enforcement agencies and continued auditing of grant
funds. The
council, created during 80th Legislative Session, was also charged with
advising the governor regarding the allocation of discretionary state
homeland security funds. SANDERSON
– Organizers of the 11th Annual Prickly Pear Pachanga next week said tickers
are selling fast and the public was encouraged to act quickly if they planned
to attend the 2008 fundraiser. Pachanga
is presented each year by the Sanderson Arts & Education Alliance to
commemorate Sanderson’s designation as the “Cactus Capital of Texas.’ The
dinner will be Saturday night, Oct. 11, at the St. James Hall. All funds
raised from the dinner, silent auction, photography and cactus crafts contest
will benefit arts and education programs for the citizens of Terrell County. Tickets
for the catered dinner are $20 per person and seating is limited to the first
150. Last
year tickets sold out, so the public is encouraged to buy their tickets
early. The evening
will be made more special during the silent auction and pre-dinner time
with live music by the popular Alpine violin and guitar duo
“Stillwater,” Marina Azar and Betty McGehee, who played for the Arts &
Education Alliance “Toe Tappin Tuesday” concert at the Bicentennial Park Pavilion
Sept. 23. New
for this year, the photography and cactus specimen contests will
be incorporated into the overall “Catus Crafts Contest” – arts and
crafts with a cactus theme that will encourage Terrell County citizens to
create and submit items which encourage and enhance the Cactus Capital them. “We’ve
upped the ante on our contest prize amounts this year,” A&EA President
Henry Beth Hogg said. “First place is $100, second place prize is $50 and
third place is $25.” She
said everyone is eager to see all the varieties and imaginative use of the entries
this year. “We
still encourage photography but also want to include other forms of art,
whether paintings, clothing items, crafts, sculpture, books, furniture, gift
items and even cooking – with as many being cactus-themed as possible,” Hogg
said. Another
popular and traditional contest is the Cacti Specimen contest where Terrell
County residents vie for the bragging rights to the best, biggest, and/or
brightest cacti and native plants from the region – whether the longest or
curliest sotol stalk, longest cow’s tongue prickly pear, prickly pear nopol
with the most tunas or fattest mammalaria. An
individual may create his own category even if the specimen is that
out-of-the-ordinary. Pachanga
organizers are also seeking equally imaginative silent auction items for the
night’s bidding – from home-made arts and crafts to products and services
from Sanderson and surrounding communities in Terrell County. Doors
will open at the St. James Hall at 7 p.m. for folks to peruse the silent
auction displayed on tables, with hors d’ oeuvres prior to the dinner at 8
p.m. Winning
bids and the contest winners will be announced immediately following the
dinner. Proceeds
from the silent auction benefit the Arts & Education Alliance, which
brings arts, entertainment and education programs and elements to the
citizens of Terrell County. Plans
are now being made for an expanded Pachanga for 2009 with a full slate of outdoor
and indoor activities over the three-day Columbus Day weekend, including
cacti tours, seminars, cooking with cacti, contests, games and entertainment
for children and adults. Silent Auction
items and contest entries should be dropped off at the Sunset Siesta
Motel between 10 a.m. and noon, Saturday, October 11 –the day of
Pachanga. Contact
Ruth Engledorf at 345-2850 for more information about the Pachanga dinner, to
purchase tickets and to drop off silent auction items. ALPINE – A
$921,575 grant from the US Department of Education will assist Sul Ross State
University in providing scholarships and increased access to science,
mathematics, technology and engineering degree opportunities to Hispanic and
other low-income students. Sul
Ross was one of a number of Hispanic-serving institutions awarded funding
under the College Cost Reduction Act Program. US
Sen. Kay Bailey Hutchison and US Rep. Ciro Rodriguez announced the awards. This
is the first year of an anticipated two-year award. Sul Ross anticipates an
additional $916,790 for the period Oct. 1, 2009 to Sept. 30, 2010. The
Sul Ross project, “Inspiring Achievement in STEM [Science, Technology, Engineering
and Mathematics],” seeks to increase help Hispanics and other low-income
students attain science, technology, engineering and mathematic degrees. The
project will provide scholarship funds through matching endowment funds for
low-income students and also expand the STEM higher education pipeline by
developing transfer and articulation agreements with two-year institutions,
including South Plains College, Levelland, and El Paso Community College. Funds
for up-to-date science, technology and mathematics laboratory equipment,
establishment of two STEM transfer centers, a “Career in STEM”
speaker/lecture series and providing faculty development are also included in
the award. “The
project addresses some key needs that will benefit present and future students,”
said Kendall Craig, director of the Sul Ross Title V Science Initiative. “This
funding will assist Sul Ross in fulfilling its mission of access and success
for area residents, particularly in the STEM fields,” he said. Nelson
contributes to new book ALPINE – Sul Ross State University Associate Professor of English
Dr. Barney Nelson has a chapter in a new book just out from the Modern
Language Association, “Teaching North American Environmental Literature.” Nelson’s chapter,
“Predators in Literature,” recaps development of a course she has been
offering. The course features various ways wolves, lions, bears and other
carnivores are represented in the books we read. Nelson’s specialty is ecocriticism, a rapidly growing new field
that looks at the way the natural world is represented in literature. Nelson has written extensively on animals in literature. “I feel quite honored to be included in a book published by the
MLA,” she said. “It is sort of the oversight organization of all university
English departments.” “Until I went off to graduate school, I always thought my
interest in domestic animals was sort of ‘rural hick,’” Nelson said. “But
that topic seems to be of interest to publishers and to readers who are far removed
from rural places.” The 500-page book is edited by Laird Christensen, Mark C. Long
and Fred Waage. It has been four years in development. Marathon
Library News By ARLENE GRIFFIS Library Friend MARATHON
– For the third week in a row, I am reviewing a book by Jon Krakauer. In
my column two weeks ago, I reviewed “Into The Wild” and last week “Into Thin
Air,” both by the same author. Although
Krakauer is better known for his accounts of extreme adventure, a category
under which both previously mentioned books fall, he departs somewhat from
his usual subject matter in “Under the Banner of Heaven: A Story of Violent
Faith.” In
this non-fiction work in which Krakauer delves into the shadowy world of
Mormon fundamentalism, he is still writing about extremes, only this time it
is the extreme of religious faith gone way past the “normal” indicator on the
control panel of life. Regardless
of what you know or how you feel about the Mormons, or Latter Day Saints as
they are also called, make no mistake. The
fundamentalist Mormon sects have about as much to do with the mainstream
Mormon Church as snake handlers in Arizona have to do with the Vatican in
Rome. Although
in the minds of some people, the Mormon Church is often associated with the
practice of polygamy, which not only allows but encourages men to have
multiple wives, in reality the practice was abandoned and renounced by the
mainstream Latter Day Saints in 1890.
Mormon
fundamentalists, however, believe that the renouncing of this practice was in
error and contrary to the will of God. As
a result, various fundamentalist sects have been formed, often within
cohesive and isolated communities in the western United States, western Canada
and northern Mexico. As
in Krakauer’s other books, his dedication to research and his attention to
detail have the effect of cramming the story with more history and factual
data than perhaps the reader desires. But
it is this alternation between and the history of Mormonism and the unfolding
of the fundamentalist sects of the present day that evokes a sense of
understanding of how a supposedly good idea can become twisted into something
so sinister and ultimately criminal. Dating
back to the days of Mormon forefathers Joseph Smith and Brigham Young, the
Church has upheld a belief in the supremacy of God’s law over the secular
laws imposed by a “corrupt “government.” This
faith in the divine revelation of the will of God, which put Joseph Smith and
the early Mormon Church at odds with earthly authorities, would later inspire
fundamentalists like Dan and Ron Lafferty to commit what they felt to be justified
murders. What
began as simply the practice of having multiple wives evolved into practices
which are nothing short of child abuse masked under the guise of religion. Older
men often take adolescent girls as wives, sometimes even those who are blood
relations to the men themselves. The
girls are sheltered from the outside world, being kept in a commune-type situation
where they spend their days working the land and basically just doing the
will of their respective husbands. They
also become virtual “baby factories” for the offspring of these men, bearing
their children when, in reality, they are still children themselves. In
some instances, the adolescent and teenage boys have been driven out of these
communities on trumped up charges of immoral conduct or delinquent behavior
so that the young women will be left to the “dirty old men” who are in positions
of power. Last
spring, state authorities barged in on a fundamentalist Mormon sect in El
Dorado after being tipped off that underage girls were being forced to have
sex with older men and bear their children.
A
wave of controversy ensued as the sect and its supporters claimed that all
sexual relations were consensual and that no abuse was occurring. Child
Protective Services received much criticism for separating children from
their parents. There
are always two sides to any controversy but, as any fan of the TV show “Law
and Order: SVU” can attest, the fact remains that there is no such thing as
consensual sex with a minor. Although
the El Dorado colony is not featured in Krakauer’s book, I mention it simply
because I know that people from our area will remember the events surrounding
its investigation and might, therefore, be more interested in reading more
about its origins and practices. I
will let the readers form their own opinions about the fundamentalist
Mormons, their religious beliefs and their personal lives but I will tell you
this much. No
one will be able to read “Under the Banner of Heaven” without being affected
by their story as told by Jon Krakauer. Happy
Reading. Arlene
Griffis is a volunteer at Marathon Public Library, which is a branch of
Alpine Public Library. |