SANDERSON – Terrell County “will be” under a burn ban next week.
County Judge Leo Smith said this week the agenda for Commissioners
Court Monday will include a countywide burn ban to go into effect immediately.
Brewster County has been under a 90-day partial burn
ban, due to expire Feb. 25 unless it is renewed.
Emergency Coordinator Tom Santry said people are “allowed to burn trash in barrels
with top or screen.
“There is a procedure for waivers,” he said. “But they have to go through a process.”
He said he looks at the humidity,
forecast for winds and the like before deciding on a waiver.
“We do it every year,” he said.
Smith said Terrell County will have a ban
one way or the other.
“I think it will pass but if, for any reason it does not, I will order an emergency burn ban,” he said. “As county
judge, I have that authority.”
Smith said a lack of rain plus plenty of fuel from rains last summer have created a “very dangerous”
fire condition in the county.
He said with all the dry grass in the county, it would not take much to set off a large grass fire “that
will go all the way to Odessa if we’re not prepared.”
As these words were being written, firemen around Hobbs, NM, were battling a
3,000-acre grass fire reportedly visible from space.
There have been numerous other grass fires in the area.
Smith said Terrell County is only one of three counties in the area
that is not already under a burn ban of some sort.
The county experienced a fairly rainy spring and summer but a very dry fall and
winter so far.
The rains and warm weather caused a lot of grasses to grow, which then they dried out, leaving plenty of fuel for grass
fires.
Terrell county issued a burn ban two years ago that resulted in no fireworks for the July 4, 2006, celebration.
Fireworks returned
last year after the ban was lifted.
Smith said he caught “a lot of heat,” no pun intended, over his last burn ban but he said the present
fire danger requires action.
Two years ago, the county banned all outdoor burning but came back a month later and exempted welding torches and fires in barbecue
pits.
Smith said the exemptions would be included in the new burn ban for 2008.
ALPINE – Barring a write-in or late independent campaign, Brewster County Commissioner Ruben Ortega of Marathon appears headed for
re-election without an opponent this year.
Filing deadline was last week and results were released by Election Administrator Jerri
Jones and Republican Chairman Hal Craig.
Incumbent Republican Precinct 1 Commissioner Asa “Cookie” Stone faces opposition from Democrat
John R. “Bill” Robertson in the fall but both are unopposed in the March 4 primary.
Incumbent Republican Constable Henry Ogletree will
face Democrat Cornelio Vega in November but both are unopposed in March.
The only contest in March 4 Democratic primary will be between
incumbent Tax Assessor Collector Betty Jo Rooney and challenger Megan Elizabeth Antrim.
Running unopposed will be Sheriff Ronny D.
Dodson, County Attorney Steve Houston and Constables Charles Jenkins and Ruben Y. Gonzalez.
Democratic County Chairman Dale B. Christophersen
and precinct chairs Mark Battista, Mary Bell Lockhart, Joyce Wright and Bill Bourbon are also unopposed.
“We will hold the drawing
for Democratic Primary ballot order (presidential, senate, US representative, state legislators and judges, district attorney, as
well as Brewster County) at 4:30 [p.m.] on Friday, January 11 in the Commissioners’ Courtroom, Brewster County Courthouse,” Christophersen
said in an e-mail to candidates.
A listing of all candidates district and statewide will be in News Leader stories as the primary election
date nears.
MARATHON – Food shortages are being felt at the food bank here, Carol Henthorne told the Chamber of Commerce Monday.
“There’s a nation-wide
food shortage right now,” she said. “Marathon gets most of its food from other outreach programs and we’re not getting as much as
we need. A lot of people depend on it.”
The Methodist Church in Marathon has been available to collect food it is not always attended
during the day.
“We need to develop an informal food pantry,” Jean Hardy said. “It’s an ever-present need.
“We are happy to receive
non-refrigerated food donations at the book store,” he said. “This is people-to-people help. We’re not asking the government for food.
There’s no red tape.”
A food drive is planned for the future. For more information contact. Carol Henthorne or Rosalinda Crase.
In other
chamber news, Lauren Goldwire presented a new look for the chamber’s website.
Also, a motion was approved to change the evening meeting
to the lunch hour at the Oasis the first Monday of every month from 12:30 to 1:30 p.m.
Elections for officers will be on the
agenda in March.
By R.M. GLOVER
MARATHON – On the Matrix Ranch side of Hwy 90 just a few miles east of here, a 2008 Harley Davidson Fatboy
angles on it side stand, rider-less.
Men hover close-by, flat black equipment spread around. The open cargo door of a van parked on
the shoulder catches a gust of wind and slams.
“The chrome is flat,” Madison Ford, the photographer, says. He rises up from his camera.
“Where’s the sun?” he asks. “Dammit, That’s why we’re here.”
A giant purple-gray cloud blocks the winter afternoon sun. His assistant,
Kevin Netz holds up a light meter.
“I got a negative three.”
For the past two years, Harley-Davidson has sent film crews to the Big
Bend Region to capture the beauty of our landscape and to seduce the American spirit with the big rumbling iconic motorcycles.
Two
film crews worked the region this week, each responsible for 20 photographs. We joined one of them.
Mid-Lo Studio of Detroit and VSA
Partners of Chicago have sent their film crew down here to produce photographs for the latest Harley Davidson accessories catalog.
“The
custom tank, fenders and extra chrome will set you back five G,” Erik Eul, another assistant, says. “Go down in a cloud of glory if
you wreck that beast.”
A gust rustles up Styrofoam in the grass and our dull shadows get longer. Dylan plays on the radio and a unit
train with pale green freight cars rumbles by.
“Pretty good station. No stops,” Jason McKean of VSA Partners says.
Kevin kicks at the
asphalt. Eric offers a cup of coffee and Jason has picked up a baseball bat and is popping rocks into the desert.
Deputy Sean Roach
slows another car on the highway. The giant cloud does not move.
On a table set up on the shoulder, black and white snapshots are laid
out with numbers hand-written on each.
“We move the bike around to get the best look then take Polaroid test shots with a 2x2 Hasselblad
[camera.] When it’s close we shoot it with the big one.”
Jason points to the tripod mounted Swiss made Sinac 4x5 camera.
“We’re not
digital, although 98 percent of the industry is,” he says. “We’re holding on to film. We like it.”
A smile breaks out on his teddy-bear
face.
“They convert it at the post-production lab but loose some of the essence,” he says.
“Bel-Air job,” Kevin says. The crew looks
at each other and laughs.
“Bel-Air works in the lab,” he says. “Says he fixes stuff for us.”
Madison holds out a test shot. “You see
anything wrong with this?”
He shakes his head. “I give it to them perfect.”
Deputy Roach now stands at the barbed wire scanning the
desert with a gunstock- mounted monocular.
Hunters in a white pickup crawl off-road then vanish behind a hill.
“Lets get the lights
going,” Madison says.
Eric sets up the 2000-watt lights each powered by its own Honda generator.
“Give me a green screen,” Madison
says. Kevin kneels behind the big camera.
“Go a little more front,” Madison instructs Eric with the light. “Lee me see if I can fix
that . . . OK – good, stop there. That’s better.”
Jason leans over to me. “It’s hard to fake natural light. In these conditions we
have to use a lot of artificial for fill, to get definition.”
“We’re outside the bracket,” Madison says, peering at the LCD display
on the camera. He shakes his head. Getting the exposure within the light meter brackets allows the possibility of the perfect photograph.
“It’s
like waiting for paint to dry sometimes,” Jason says gesturing toward the cloud.
Harley Davidson publishes the 50-page accessories
catalog once a year.
In it, you can buy anything from fish fin exhaust pipes to black and orange leather-handled knives. It’s all
part of the rugged individual look.
“We got something coming to life here,” Madison calls out.
The sun has dipped below the giant cloud,
radiating just minutes above the horizon.
The crew hustles to position.
“Good, good, good” Madison says, the camera clicking. “I got brackets.”
Relatada por
SUSANA C. FUÉNTEZ
especial al News Leader
MARATÓN – Tal vez esta versión de “la Llorona” es algo diferente de la que algunos
de ustedes han oído, aún lleva el mismo tema.
Todos nosotros que hemos vivido en Maratón crecimos oyendo muchas leyendas bonitas
y al mismo tiempo espantuosas.
Casi todas estas ricas leyendes vienen de más alla de Mexico, y, afortunadamente, como todos
somos desendientes de padres, abuelos, tíos, etc., mexicanos, pues, nos las pasaron a nosotros y nosotros se las pasamos a nuestros
hijos, nietos, y así va nuestra cultura, rica de leyendas y dichos mexicanos favoritos.
Aunque mi mamá y mi papá, se hicieron ciudadanos
naturalizados de los Estados Unidos, por medio de cursos de correspondencia que tomaron de la Universidad de Tejas, ellos nunca
olvidaron su pueblo y su cultura rica de leyendas y dichos de Monterrey, México.
Guardaban estas leyenditas y dichos muy cerca de sus
corazones y no las contaban así a mí, y a mis hermanos: había una mujer que no tenía esposo, (la razón que no tenía esposo ha sido
un tema de ¡mucha especulación por algunas decadas!) pero tenía tres hijos chicos.
Sin embargo, ella comenzó una relacion con un tal
por cual hombre soltero, muy simpatico, y se enamoró de él locamente.
Siguió la relación durante un tiempo, y ella (¡no él!)
insistió matrimonio Poco hombre que era, la rechazó.
¿Por qué? Pues, parece que él tenía un problemita con los niños de
ella. No eran de él, así que no los quería para nada.
Casi se quizo volver loca al oír ésto, porque lo queria locamente,
pero ¿que hacer que los niños?
En un momento horrible, decidió llevarlos a un lago, o río, que se encontraba cerca del pueblo,
y allí los aventó entre el agua y allí fue donde esos niñitos inocentes pasaran sus últimos minutos de sus vidas.
Al realizar
lo que había hecho, angustiada, la madre se tiró al lago, para rescatar a sus hijitos, pero era muy tarde, se los había llevado la corriente y nunca los encontró.
Sus cuerpecitos nunca fueron encontrados. La madre, al oír a sus hijitos llorar, realizó
su hecho tan horrible.
Angustiada y llena de mordimiento, se tiró al lago y se hundió ella misma.
Otros dicen que murió,
que se volvió loca, y hasta la fecha, donde se encuentra un lago, o un río, etc., se puede oír un llanto espantuoso de una madre que
llora por sus niños muertos.
Otra versión dice que su espiritu (o espanto) se mira en muchos lagos y vuela por arriba del agua
(¡Sí, también dicen algunos ancianos que han oído el llanto y han visto el espanto en nuestro parque, Peña!)
Mi mamá ha veces
nos asustaba . . . “si no se portan bien ¡va a venir la llorona!” (Hay veces que trabajaba.)
Ojalá que esta “leyendita” les
halla traído una poca de alegría en sus vidas personales.
(¡Hasta la otra leyenda!)
TERLINGUA – The 77th Annual Terlingua Preservation Foundation Home Tour is scheduled for Sunday, Jan. 27.
The focus of the tours has been to showcase homes that are of energy-efficient alternative construction.
Robert and Liz Hill have lived in the Terlingua area six months annually for many years.
Although they originally planned to build of straw bale, conditions changed and their home was constructed of stucco-covered frame.
Recent Terlingua dwellers are Jimmy and Barbara Taylor who have long been involved with the CASI Chili Cook-off.
Jimmy Taylor is a builder and has employed many ideas and features into their home, located a few miles from Terlingua Ghost Town.
The home of Jim Ezell and his large shop are included. Taylor also created this structure in a very small space.
Jim has been the chief official for CASI and has fallen in love with the Big Bend.
The most unique structure on the tour is a Pacific “yurt,” the home of Ceil Drucker and Bob Sutherland.
It was built by a local river guide several years ago and is in the same design as the original Himalayan yurts but of space-age material.
Many desert plants surround the home and the deck with hot tub.
Other homes are being added, which may include a straw bale home that is under construction.
The home is built into a clay hill and is protected by rock walls.
Another probability is an off- grid home with unusual methods of trapping and moving the hot desert air.
The tours will begin at 12 noon and 3 p.m. at the porch at Terlingua Ghost Town. Tickets are $20.
The Terlingua Preservation Foundation is a 501(C)(3) tax-exempt organization and all proceeds go toward furthering the mission of education on the culture of the Terlingua Mining District.
Reservations may be made by calling La Posada Milagro at 432/371-3044.
Transportation will be donated by Desert Sports, Far Flung Outdoor Center and Big Bend River Tours, although some may be asked to caravan in personal vehicles.
By R.M. GLOVER
MNL Editor
ALPINE – For the most part, wintertime Big Bend resident Ronald Ericsson looks like your everyday Joe.
He
wears blue jeans and cowboy boots and can spin tales ‘til the cows come home.
But this family man who holds a Ph.D. in genetics from
the University of Kentucky is not your average rancher.
He is a scientist, entrepreneur and author of more than 70 publications and
books in the field of male reproduction.
He sat down for an interview with me last week in the mountains of Brewster County near Mount
Ord.
Glover: Dr. Ericsson, you were the first person to separate the X and Y chromosome in human sperm. How do you do that?
Ericsson:
There is a differential ability of X and Y sperm to swim downward in a test tube.
The head of X-bearing sperm is larger and the tail
longer. This allows the Y sperm to swim faster in a viscous albumin medium and reach the bottom of the tube quicker.
This fraction
of sperm is then isolated and used for artificial insemination.
The chances for the selected sex improve from around 50 percent to
78 to 85 percent. In our labs the entire process is completed in three to four hours.
Glover: You hold ten patents in the field of
semen analysis, sex selection, male contraception and rodent sterilization and have been studying sperm for 47 years? Why sperm?
Ericsson: Population.
Glover: Today, your Gametrics Ltd Sperm Centers are on five continents.
In three of the five, parents prefer males. In
America the preference is female.
Ericsson: Yes, women are generally the ones that decide to have artificial insemination and in America
today, mothers see daughters having a bright future.
Glover: You’ve had 13 Sperm Centers closed worldwide including China, Turkey,
Hong Kong and India. Why?
Ericsson; In the case of India, solicitors fitted with portable ultra-sound instruments provided door-to-door
sex scanning services for the pregnant. They also provided quick abortions.
My process fell victim to the laws designed to stop these
questionable practices.
In fact, our technology would have increased the preferred sex wanted by parents reducing number of abortions.
Glover: Your son Dr. Scott Ericsson teaches statistics and genetics at Sul Ross State University and is a co-inventor on some of the
patents with you.
What’s the probability of both father and son being scientists with Ph.D.s in the same field and both being left-handed?
Ericsson:
Scott calculated the odds to be 13 in ten million.
Glover: You live here in the border country of west Texas in the wintertime but
your main residence is your ranch in Wyoming where the Marlboro commercials are shot.
What’s the main difference between ranching
in west Texas and ranching in Wyoming?
Ericsson: We spend all summer putting up hay.
Glover: Your grandson and my stepdaughter are both
juniors at Alpine High. What makes a good school?
Ericsson: I can tell you what makes a bad school: when no competition exists to improve
the public school system.
They say, ‘No kid left behind.’ Well, what about those who are ahead?
They’re ignored in a system that doesn’t
teach for knowledge or how to reason but teaches primarily to pass tests.
When I look at resumes for my companies and see the 4.0
grad from Harvard, I think ‘test taker’ and throw it away.
I want those who are willing to take risks, the ones that sit in the back
of the class and ask why.
Encourage creativity – that’s what makes a good school.
And failure? Schools don’t recognize the power of
failure – schools are programmed to prevent failure – if one does not try then one cannot fail.
Growing up on a ranch in South Dakota,
my Swedish father encouraged the work ethic of my five siblings and I.
When I tried something and failed he would suggest I try doing
it again, differently. But he would never put us down for failure.
And fail we did. But we never quit. There’s no backup in the wild.
Glover: The wild provides a sex ratio of slightly over 50 percent males at birth.
With the higher mortality rate for males, there
seems to be a mechanism to produce more males at conception.
How does nature get so smart?
Ericsson: Evolution. Species evolve to survive
to sexual maturity and then reproduce to perpetuate their genes.
Glover: All that from the carbon atom?
Ericsson: Don’t forget hydrogen
and oxygen.
Glover: What about global warming?
Ericsson: The question is whether it is variation in the planet’s long-term processes
or the effect of humans. But there is no control group to compare it with and therefore no valid answer.
There’s a positive side to
global warning that nobody talks about, like increased crop production.
Glover: It took you seven and a half years to re-register your
rodenticide product EPIBLOC ® with the Environmental Protection Agency. Why so long?
Ericsson: Have you ever attempted to deal with
a federal regulatory agency in Washington DC?
Glover: The product works like a chemical vasectomy. Is there any secondary poisoning?
Ericsson:
No, EPIBLOC is a sterilant only for rats and there is no secondary poisoning.
Glover: Your home-use medical device to test male fertility sells
for about $30 in Europe, Australia and New Zealand. Why isn’t it available here?
Ericsson: We need a US company willing to market it
before going through the regulatory process.
The arduous task of going through a regulatory process to register a pesticide, a new
pharmaceutical product or a medical device is time consuming and costly.
Small companies have the creativity but large established
companies have the organization and financial wherewithal to obtain registration.
Glover: Today in this country, more than 20 percent
of our manufactured goods are made overseas.
Most of your manufacturing is done in Europe. What do you think of import penetration?
Ericsson:
The USA is going through an economic adjustment. Isolation never works.
Glover: You mentioned your granddaughter was told that she
had your personality and wasn’t sure if that was a compliment.
Ericsson: Take no prisoners. I developed and marketed three products,
a lot for one lifetime, sex selection, male fertility tests and a rat sterilization product.
You can’t be Mr. Milquetoast and do that. I’m
pleased she has this ‘get out of the way I can do it,’ personality.
Glover: One more question Dr Ericsson. What was it like being interviewed
by Oprah?
Ericsson: I liked her, as I did most of the other celebrities that interviewed me over the years.
My 15 minutes of fame is going on 35 years.
By AUDREY GALINDO and CAPRI GARLILCK
The Paper Brigade
MARATHON – The Lady Mustangs played their first district game at home Friday
against the Rankin Devils and 17 to 72.
Coach Gracie Galindo said there were a lot of mistakes.
“We’ve been working on these mistakes
and still need to work on them if we want to improve our performance on the court,” she said.
The girls played a very tough team.
Memi Lara had four points, one offensive rebound, three defensive rebounds and two steals.
Crystal Ybarra played well defensively with
two defensive rebounds and two steals.
Celestine Garcia had one point, four defensive rebounds and three steals.
Victoria Zimmerman
had two points, Prissy Hernandez had two points and four steals, Kristina Martinez had two defensive rebounds and Marisol Aguilar
had eight points, two offensive rebounds, three defensive rebounds and three steals.
In the first half, the Lady Mustangs were behind
only by 16 points but the second half found the ladies in foul trouble.
Needless to say, they finished the game with four girls
on the court.
Their next game will be here against the Lady Eagles from Sanderson at 6:30.
The Lady Colts of Marathon
Junior High, will also see some playing time.
Coach Gene Peña and his high school boys also saw some action for the first time Friday.
The team is made up of senior Devin Kolesar, two juniors, Marshall Duncan and Adam Gonzales, sophomore Cito Hernandez and freshman
Jerek Lara.
The boys lost but played a very good game.
ALPINE – The Alpine Public Library is calling out to children ages up to 10 years old to don their PJs and join them for an evening
of fun.
“Grab mom or dad and your favorite teddy bear and come to the library” at 7 p.m. tomorrow said new director, Anitra Clausen.
The
PJ-clad youngsters will watch a puppet show, hear a few stories, sing a song or two and even dance the “Tooty-Ta.”
They will also do
a winter craft project. The one-hour program is free of charge.
“Be sure and wear your pajamas,” Clausen said.
Check
out the Library at www.alpinepubliclibrary.org.
MARATHON – The Marathon Baptist Church is constructing a playground for the kids.
Pastor T.J. Joyner, along with wife Traci and other
volunteers, are working hard and plan to be done by February.
Some of the volunteers include Jay Garcia, Steve and Arlene Griffis and
Bill Shakleford.
The fenced-in area, surrounded with pea gravel, will include a tower with rock climbing, a slide and a couple of swings.
ALPINE – Entries for the 4-H and FFA Food and Crafts Fair at the Alpine Civic Center will be accepted until 10 a.m. today.
Judging
will begin promptly at 10 a.m. All entries must be made from scratch.
Food categories include cakes, pie, cookies and bread. Food
items requiring refrigeration are not eligible.
Craft categories include clothing, handicrafts and all 4-H sewing projects made in
the 2007 4-H year.
For questions, call Evans Kott, family and consumer sciences agent at the Texas AgriLife Extension Service Office
at 432/837-6207.
AUSTIN – The Texas Health and Human Services Commission has recently partnered with local government and community groups throughout
Texas to improve the 2-1-1 website, which now provides parents a link to child care and educational services.
State Sen. Carlos I.
Uresti announced that the website, at www.211texas.org, allows parents to access information about licensed and registered child care,
pre-kindergarten and after-school programs and education services for children with special needs.
Information is also available
for those with greater needs such as food, shelter and medical care as well as links to thousands of other local services.
Recently,
a newer search feature has been added to the website, which draws information from the Texas Education Agency, the Texas Workforce
Commission, the Texas Head Start Collaboration Project and Texas Department of Family and Protective Services — expanding to include
regularly updated information on all of the children’s services offered in public schools.
Search results can be sorted by zip
code, by city or by county.
In addition, parents who need financial help can also request information about assistance for childcare
services through the website.
Parents without internet access can call 2-1-1 to speak with an individual who can provide the
same information available on the website.
ALPINE – A free workshop, “Starting a Successful eBay Business,” will be offered Wednesday, Jan. 16, by the Big Bend Region Minority
Small Business Development Center.
The workshop will be from 2:30 to 4:30 p.m. at the Centennial School Building here.
The eBay corporate
mission statement said its mission is “to provide a global trading platform where practically anyone can trade practically anything.”
Today, the site has more than 150 million registered users worldwide who trade goods and services in more than 50,000 categories.
Participants
will learn what it takes to establish themselves on eBay and other auction sites through smart buying and selling practices – basic
information to begin making a profit from home.
Pre-registration is required and space is limited. To pre-register or for additional
information, call 432/837-8813.
SIERRA BLANCA – Two Arkansas men are in custody after their 18-wheeler was stopped at the Border Patrol checkpoint on Interstate 10
about midnight Wednesday.
The trailer contained 61 boxes containing 1,890 pounds of marijuana with a street value of $1,512,000. The
men, the drugs and the truck were turned over to the Drug Enforcement Administration.
ALPINE – A basic newswriting course featuring hands-on training in a newsroom setting will be offered during spring semester at Sul
Ross State University.
Journalism 2301: News Writing will introduce students to the basic tenets of news, sports and feature writing
in a writing laboratory.
Steve Lang, director of News and Publications at Sul Ross and a veteran journalist, will teach the three-credit
course.
Class sessions will be from 3:30 top 4:45 p.m. Tuesdays and Thursdays in ACR Room 203.
The class is open to enrolled students
as well as interested community members.
The first class meets Thursday, Jan. 17.
“Much of the class time will be devoted to writing
stories from information gathered and interviews conducted as assignments between class sessions,” Lang said.
As part of the curriculum,
students will cover Sul Ross and Alpine community athletic events, governmental meetings and special functions as well as conduct
interviews with local residents and visiting artists, lecturers and dignitaries.
Interested students may register on-line or at the
Sul Ross Registrar’s office in Room 202 of the Briscoe Administration Building.