AUSTIN – The School Land Board voted unanimously Tuesday not to accept either of the two private conservation bids for the Christmas Mountains while taking no action on a management plan by Big Bend National Park.
As a result, the Permanent School Fund retains ownership
of the 9,269-acre tract of land northwest of the park and north of Study Butte.
Land Commissioner Jerry Patterson said the board was
not able to take action or discuss the Park Service plan because it was received too late to place on the agenda.
He said the
plan could be discussed at a future board meeting, pending further examination and clarification of the plan details.
“We needed to
resolve the issue of the two bidders that had money on the table,” he said. “With the question of private ownership resolved for now,
we can now more fully explore the option of public ownership. And there is a lot to consider.
“But there are some things we can do
in the meantime,” he said.
After the board meeting, Patterson outlined a series of immediate steps he will pursue to ensure better
public access no matter who owns the tract.
Patterson has directed his legal staff to create a permanent public easement between the
Christmas Mountains Ranch tract and Big Bend National Park.
The easement would allow public access in perpetuity across the mile-long
common border with the park.
It will improve public access immediately and does not require board action, Patterson said.
He said private
owners own 18 of the 19 miles of the property boundary.
To access the one mile shared with the National Park requires a rigorous four-hour
hike, he said.
“Right now, Texans can’t get to this property,” Patterson said. “I've made that four-hour hike and, believe me, the public deserves
additional ways to get to the property, regardless of whether the state or federal government owns the land.”
Patterson is also pledging to work with members of Congress for a federal designation and appropriation for the Christmas Mountains that will provide for the long-term maintenance of the property while allowing public hunting and compliance with state firearms laws.
Patterson has been ridiculed for insisting hunting be allowed on the property while NPS generally does not allow hunting.
He said many other federal agencies like the US Fish and Wildlife Service and US Forest Service allow and actually encourage hunting.
“Federal ownership and hunting in the Christmas Mountains are not mutually exclusive,” Patterson said. “It is possible to do both. We will explore all options at the federal level.”
In its management plan, the NPS did not directly preclude hunting but said the mountains “offer extremely limited opportunity due to lack of reliable water sources and limited numbers of desired game species.”
Access to the remote site, as noted by Patterson, also make hunting an unlikely opportunity for most, NPS said.
The land was a gift from the Richard King Mellon Foundation and the Conservation Fund and was accepted on behalf of the state by then-Land Commissioner Garry Mauro in 1991.
MARATHON – Maintenance at The Post pond was to begin this week.
“Bob Grisham and his machine will start working on Thursday,” County
Commissioner Rueben Ortega said. “The fish part might take five weeks.”
A plan to semi-drain the pond and restock it with fish and
plants requires a study by the Texas Parks and Wildlife to properly determine the species of plant life and fish varieties to be replenished.
“There’s some interesting weeds growing in there,” Ortega said.
Improvements on the Marathon Community Center continue.
“I took bids
for heating,” Ortega said. “There’s some parts on back order. We’ll probably have portable heating for this Friday’s fish fry.”
The
fish fry and dessert auction is scheduled for 6:30 p.m. today, Feb. 8, at the center. Proceeds will be donated toward improvements.
“When you see what we’ve done, you can reach deep in your pockets because you know where we’ve got to go,” Ortega said.
SANDERSON – The Marathon Lady Colts brought home the championship in the 10-A Junior High School District Tournament here Saturday.
The
boy’s team did not do as well and the Lady Colts lost to the team they beat for the championship two days later.
The lady Colts defeated
the Longhorns from Buena Vista 40-20 for the first game Saturday and then faced the Red Devils of Rankin for the title, which they
won in a nail bitter 36-34.
In the first game, Krystal Aguilar scored 18 points, followed by Serena Arenas with 14 points.
Julia Ramirez
put five more on the board while Libby Hernandez tacked on three and Micella Grano scored two for the Colts.
In the championship game
against Rankin, Krystal topped out again with 17 points, Serena and Micella both added eight to the tally, Julia hit the net for a
three pointer and Libby added two more for the title.
But the girls met with Rankin again on Monday, this time losing their last game
of the season 36-20.
Krystal held high score with eight points, Serena had seven points and Julia scored five.
Coach Gracie Galindo
said the girls “played very hard and never gave up.”
As for the boys in the tournament, they lost to the Red Devils of Rankin 37-15
and then also lost to the Eagles of Sanderson 32-28.
Against the Red Devils, Edward Gonzales had high score with eight points, followed
by Omar Grano with four and Christopher Stevens scored three points.
In the game against Sanderson, Edward and Omar both scored ten,
while Christopher had eight points to his credit.
In their last game against Rankin Monday, the boys were outscored 39-21.
Christopher
held high score with nine points, Edward and Omar scored four points apiece and Zach Gonzales and Cody Ward both added two points
to the final tally.
MARATHON – The Marathon Volunteer Fire Department received a $1,000 donation from the Paisano Ranch Tuesday.
Paisano Manager Brent
Charlesworth presented the check as an unencumbered gift to the department.
At its next meeting, the fire department is expected
to discuss whether or not to dedicate this money towards the purchase of a new brush truck that the department is in critical need
of.
To date the department has raised approximately $14,000 in cash and pledges for the truck and expects a grant of about $20,000
from the Texas Forest Service to go towards the pump and tank.
By R.M. GLOVER
MARATON – Iditarod veteran Karen Land and one of her sled dogs, Borage, will slide in to the Marathon Schools
Valentine Day.
Land is a writer, athlete and public speaker. She is touring Texas Schools this winter speaking on setting personal
goals and the preparation needed for harsh and rigorous challenges.
Land has finished the mid-winter 1,180-mile dog sled race from
Anchorage to Nome four times.
“At the 2002 Iditarod Rookies’ Meeting in Anchorage, Jeff King, a three-time Iditarod champion, offered
his advice to all of us aspiring marathon mushers,” she wrote in the Great Falls Tribune, April 15, 2004.
“‘Don’t put any pressure
on yourself but to just finish,’ he explained. ‘Take your time and enjoy your dogs and the awesome scenery.
“‘Because after your first
trip to Nome, you’ll never be satisfied. You’ll always want to do better. Racing will be in your blood.’
“And I listened to him,” Land
wrote. “My first Iditarod was nothing but a grand adventure with 16 of my best canine friends.
“Getting to the finish line with a
team of healthy, tail-wagging dogs was my only goal and we accomplished this in just under 14 days in 49th place,” she wrote.
In 1925,
diphtheria broke out in the town of Nome, Alaska.
Relay teams of dog sleds were set up to run the serum from Anchorage in the dead
of winter and it became a competitive event the next year.
Initially called “The Serum Run,” the name was later changed to the “Iditarod,”
named for a town that is considered the halfway point of the race.
MARATHON – The Marathon Independent School District’s annual Book Fair was this week at the elementary school.
It was designed to encourage
student’s to read more, both for fun and school.
The fair offers a wide selection of reading material each year.
Additional time during
the school day was set aside each day for students to drop by the Book Fair room and read.
Studies have shown that students who read
more do better in school.
MARATHON – Students in the Marathon High School economics class will get $100,000 to use in buying stocks – all for make believe,
of course.
The students in economics teacher Margaret Mathews’ class will compete against 28,000 others in the nation-wide Stock Market
Game.
Each high school team will be given a $100,000 credit and trade stocks and bonds under real-time simulation.
The action begins
Monday, Feb. 11.
The winning team will be determined by how much profit they make over 30 days.
Winners will receive a monetary prize
as well as a trip to Wall Street in New York City to ring the final bell at the New York Stock Exchange in April.
MARATHON – A popular stop for tourists passing through town has closed its doors for good.
Artesanias, owned and operated by Lesly
Mendez, has closed her place of business to pursue better job opportunities.
Mendez lived the American dream when she came here from
Honduras with her two young children, Jenny and Ashley, in 1995 and opened her own gift shop with imports from Mexico and other far
off places.
With the girls being older now, she has chosen to chase other dreams.
“I love the town and the people of Marathon,” she
said.
Mendez became an active member of the Marathon Chamber of Commerce while living in Sanderson.
Mendez told the News Leader she
is excited about this “new phase” in her life. “I love a challenge,” she said.
ALPINE – The Alpine Public Library will host a pajama party for children four to 10 years old tomorrow.
“A song, a rhyme, it’s pajama
story time,” Library Director Anitra Clausen said. “Don your pajamas, grab your teddy bear and your mom or dad and join us at the
Alpine Public Library on Saturday, February 9th, at 7 p.m. for an evening of fun.”
She said children will watch a puppet show, hear
some stories, sing a few songs, dance the “tooty-ta” and make a Valentine craft project.
“This program is free and will last
about an hour,” she said. “Be sure to wear your pajamas.”
The party will be hosted by the Alpine High School Anchor Club and sponsored
by the Kiwanis Club of Alpine.
For more information, call Clausen at 432/837-2621.
MARATHON – The Chamber of Commerce here hopes to qualify for grants as a recognized tax-exempt 501(C)(3) non-profit organization.
“We
will be able to apply for grants that are absolutely unavailable to us now,” Chamber President Neil Chavigny said.
Although the registration
process with the federal government is not yet finished, it should happen soon, he said.
The chamber meets at 12:30 p.m. the first
Monday of each month at the Oasis Restaurant.
TERLINGUA – The sometimes annual and astonishing Terlingua literary event Word Off will be at 8 p.m. tonight, Feb. 8, at the Starlight
Theater here.
Writers, actors and visual artists are invited to read and perform their work.
The event organizer Tom Gaffaney uses
novelist John Gardner’s words to provide the event parameters.
“There are no rules, only what works and there is only one sin: to bore
the audience,” he said.
For more information contact Gaffaney at 432/371 2687.
By DANIELLE GALLO
MARATHON – The Mary Baxter gallery here will host a yoga weekend from February 22 through
24.
The weekend will be led by Valentina Stojkovich, a certified yoga instructor from New York City.
Stojkovich moved to New York from
Zagreb, Croatia, in 1995, where she studied biochemistry engineering and was a modern jazz dancer and a dance educator for preschool
children.
In 1999, she continued her education in Santa Fe, NM, at the St. John’s College of Liberal Arts, for mathematics and philosophy.
She
completed her yoga certification at the Atamanda Yoga Center in New York City in 2002, after studying under Rima Miller of Santa Fe.
Stojkovich continues her studies in New York with Shri Dharma Mittra.
Her practice in New York includes many private students ranging
in age from four to 72.
She also provides yoga classes in corporate settings, leads retreats and seminars and provides weekly relaxation
and meditation classes in SoHo as a service to the community.
She is a co-founder of Trinity Consulting, Therapy and Yoga.
Her approach
to teaching is based on her experience with the practice of Classical Hatha/Raja Vinyasa tradition, Iyengar alignment and Meditation.
She
leads her students through Pranayama (breathing), Asanas (postures) and Dhyana (meditation).
The weekend will begin on Friday afternoon,
Feb. 24, and will combine eight yoga classes and five deep relaxation and meditation classes.
Novices and experienced practitioners
alike are welcome to attend.
The cost will be $150 per person for the inclusive schedule.
For more information or to register,
contact me by phone at 432/386-4284 or email to caveat5@hotmail.com.