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By MARK GLOVER
Marathon News Leader
ALPINE
– A fabric chard from what was once a pair of red panties flittered on an Ash
branch near the steps to the Espino Center at the Sul Ross campus Saturday.
At
the gurgling Lobo Fountain, skaters hung loose amongst themselves pierced and
tattooed, if only Henna.
High
above in the clouds a dog formed – the giant head puffy and white, stretching
slowly, waxing toward big eyebrows.
Then
the cigar – the dog smoked a No. 2 Monte Cristo. In the mezzanine the crowd
gathered. Books. Voices overheard.
“Not
war stories, veterinarian stories.” “It’s mostly non-fiction,” “Running hand
grenades in boxes of peaches…”
Is
Alpine getting weird?
No,
but Kinky Friedman was in town.
It’s
about literacy.
“It’s
about illiteracy,” the Kinkster corrected.
Way
out West Texas Book Fair – WOW – promoted by Alpine’s Rotary Club, brought in
the literary stars to raise funds for construction of Alpine’s new library.
“This
is going to be the queen of libraries in Brewster,” Kathy Bork, president of
the Alpine Public Library, said. “We want it to be Alpine’s living room.”
It
will triple the size of the present library. And if funds keep flowing, construction
of the one-story 9,000-square-foot facility will start in early 2009.
Meantime
back at WOW, the funds are flowing. The silent auction is kicking, drinks are
pouring and soon the Kinkster will be telling Jesus Christ jokes to a mixed
crowd of them that laugh and them that can’t.
Friedman
was big on education during his 2006 run for Texas governor.
He
supported raising tea-cher’s pay to attract the best talents, in an effort to
pull Texas out of the No. 1 dropout rate in the country.
Friedman,
who will decide after the 2008 election whether he will run for governor in
2010, is touring the state raising awareness for better education, political
corruption, alternative fuels and a number of other projects including his
Utopia Animal Rescue Farm – more than 10,000 dogs saved – and the delectability
of his new line of cigars: Kinky Friedman Cigars.
Earlier
Saturday, in a soft- carpeted lecture room, Drew Stuart moderated a
discussion with one of the many literary stars, Joe Nick Patowski, author of
the most recent biography of Willie Nelson.
According
to Joe Nick, the “bread and butter of the book” came from interviews of the
“low art people,” past denizens of the Fort Worth bar scene where Willie hung
out in the 1950s and 60s.
“Willie
was raised in the church but found salvation in the honky-tonks,” Joe Nick
said.
The
author suggested that Willie’s road to success was helped along by a
not-too-obvious ambitious streak coupled with Texas-sized salesmanship.
He
sold Kirby vacuum cleaners in his early days and encyclopedias door to door.
When
Joe Nick went to visit the millionaire guitar-player at his ranch recently,
Willie was promoting a device that converts dirty water to clean potable
water.
“He
was ready to go door to door in the third world and sell them,” Joe Nick
said.
Another
Willie connection at WOW came about through Mike Blakely, a singer, songwriter,
novelist and the event’s Friday night entertainment at Kokernot.
He
co-authored a novel with Willie Nelson, “A Tale Out of Luck,” that’s just
been published.
The
screenplay is already underway, likely starring Willie as the guitar-picking
police protagonist in post Civil War Texas.
“We
wrote the novel in four months,” Blakely said. “It took longer than that to
draw up the contract.”
Marathon
photographer James Evans presented his photographs of the Big Bend during
another WOW session on Saturday.
Evans
concluded with a passionate appeal to the audience to be wary of “encroachment,”
to “keep Big Bend small” and to “think in bigger terms than money.”
He
fights against La Entrada, the Border Wall and the re-opening of the La Linda
Bridge at the Rio Grande.
“We’re
a small group with no political clout,” he said, speaking about the relatively
obscure political representation this part of Texas has in Austin.
Political
activist Bobby Byrd and his wife Lee Merrill Byrd of Cinco Puntos Press in El
Paso presented their story as small publishers who specialize in border
literature, including children’s books.
“In a way we’re like movie producers. We
put up all the money, do all the intellectual work and sub everything out,”
Byrd said. “Publishing is like writing. It’s an act of self-discovery. You’re
always finding something new about yourself as you go through the process of
putting a book together.”
One
of their most recent books, “Ringside View of a Revolution,” is an account of
Poncho Villa’s revolutionary days in Mexico.
Meantime,
the Kinkster held court outside under the shade of the student union
building. He lit a KFC.
“Buggers
are good,” Kinky said.
He
described the manufacturing process of his cigars in terms unrepeatable in
this medium.
Jewford,
his partner and side-kick and instrumental in the process, leaned up against
a white pillar and said, “But never on Saturday.”
The
discussion quickly turned to politics.
“Had
45 percent of the voters voted it would have been a victory and more voters
would have meant a landslide,” the Kinkster said referring to the last Texas
governor’s race in which only 28 percent of voters turned out. Kinky placed a
solid third.
He
especially was concerned about the young vote and Barack Obama’s chances in
the presidential race.
“If
we could allow people to register on the day of voting, there’d be a bigger
turn out and a better chance,” Friedman said.
He
suggested this year’s presidential race was a hare and tortoise situation and
that the tortoise John McCain was going to win.
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“But
even if that does happen, it’ll be better than what we got – ten times better,”
he said.
“We’ve
got to get the Rednecks back in the Democratic Party and I’m the one to do
it,” he said.
He
blew out a little smoke.
“And
bring’em all together with the Ron Paulers and the Obamas.”
At
the banquet dinner, plates licked clean or half-empty among a dining group of
perhaps 150, the Kinkster reminded the crowd of his “slogan heavy” 2006
campaign, the Molly Ivins quip “Why the Hell Not?” and the Willie Nelson
take, “You can criticize him all you want, but quit circumcising him.”
And
had Kinky been the first Jewish governor of Texas, “I would’ve reduced the
speed limit from 55 to 54.95,” he said.
As
the evening grew late and the crowd dwindled, some huddled near the windows
and looked out beyond the Ash trees toward the glittering night sky.
The book booths were gone and the literary
stars were on their way.
Fryers
cook up $11K
MARATHON
– A single bottle of tequila sold for $2,000 last week as the annual Fish Fry
to benefit the Marathon Community Building reeled in more than $11,000, organizer
Ruben Ortega said.
“It
was an excellent turnout,” he told the News Leader.
Four
fryers provided massive amounts of the crispy delicacy, Ortega said.
Manning
the cookers were Ben Ramirez, Kim Vann, Clifford Maples, Mike and Elizabeth
Johnson, Jim and Lee Roberts and Bob Gresham.
Also
cookin’ up some fish were Pancho and Ray Ortega and Sam and Buddy Cavness.
There
were several desserts up for grabs to the highest bidder as well as the tequila.
The
lucky winner asked to remain unnamed.
Topping
the dessert list was a cake made by Chef Paul Peterson that brought $1,000 to
the cause.
Also
up for auction were one night and golf for two, donated by the resort in
Lajitas, an antique table and jewelry, among many other items.
While
the guys were busy outside, inside the ladies took care of business.
Ortega
thanked Rhonda Garlick and her girls Lauren and Capri, Cathy Carter, her
granddaughter Bryce Hinsley, Eileen Hogue, Terri Ortega, Marilyn Shakleford,
Kathy Gresham and Kathy Killingsworth.
Also
busy inside were Haley Coleman and others who helped out.
The proceeds from the Fish Fry go to
renovations of the Community Building.
The
building now has a new heating and air conditioning system and new restrooms.
Next
on the repair list are finishing the kitchen, a media room for meetings and
new doors compliant with the Americans with Disabilities Act.
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Ritzi
publishes papers
ALPINE
– Dr. Chris M. Ritzi, Sul Ross State University assistant professor of
biology, recently published a pair of articles.
Ritzi
wrote “Ectoparasites of Small Mammals in Western Iowa,” published in the
most recent issue of the Northeastern Naturalist.
It
is the first intensive survey of mammalian ectoparasites, such as mites and
ticks, to be done for that region.
This
work, in collaboration with Indiana State University, continues Ritzi’s quest
to better document the biodiversity of organisms through the careful study
and examination of the world of ectoparasites.
Ritzi
also wrote “Predicting Viola guadalupensis (Violaceae) Habitat in the
Guadalupe Mountains Using GIS: Evidence of a New Isolated Population,”
published in the Journal of the Botanical Research Institute of Texas.
The
paper discusses the use of a GIS model to find potential sites in which this
rare endemic species might be seeded and grown.
It
currently is only found at one location and the possibly of extinction is high.
Ground
testing the potential sites produced a second population of the rare violet.
This
evidence shows that this model was successful at finding suitable habitat and
lends hope for the future of this species.
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Endowment
to benefit
english,
music majors
ALPINE
– A new endowment will provide scholarships to English and music majors at
Sul Ross State University.
Marguerite
Scales Laughlin of Premont, a 1937 Sul Ross graduate, established the Mr. and
Mrs. Otis Scales and Mr. and Mrs. Shirley Scales Endowment and Scholarship
Fund.
Preference
will be given to full-time undergraduates majoring in English and/or music.
Entering
freshmen or transfer students with less than 12 semester credit hours must be
fully admitted to Sul Ross.
Continuing
students or transfer students with 12 or more semester credit hours must have
and overall grade point average and major grade point average of 2.5 or
higher.
The
University Scholarship Committee will make the awards.
Laughlin,
a retired teacher, established the endowment in honor of her parents, Mr. and
Mrs. Otis Scales, and her aunt and uncle, Mr. and Mrs. Shirley Scales.
The
Scales families owned and operated The Kandy Kitchen in Alpine for many
years.
Laughlin
had a long association with Sul Ross, attending first and second grade at the
Sul Ross State Teachers College Training School.
After
at attending classes in the Alpine Independent School District for several
years, she returned and graduated from “sub-college” – the high school
division of the college -- in 1933.
She
then enrolled at Sul Ross, majoring in English and music.
“Sul
Ross alumni and friends who remember The Kandy Kitchen are encouraged to contribute
to this endowment,” said Sul Ross President R. Vic Morgan. “We are grateful
to Mrs. Laughlin for her generosity in providing additional opportunities for
deserving students.”
There
now are 214 separate Sul Ross endowments with a value approaching $13
million.
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A
mid-August Saturday comes to an end - the boosters of the Alpine Library
closer to their goal: a place to read, a place to meet, the battle against
illiteracy a little more real.
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Football
on agenda
MARATHON
– The Marathon Mustangs, who played their last game with only five players
last year, will play football this season.
It
is six-man football and there are six on the Mustang roster, junior Cito
Hernandez, sophomores Colton Johnson and Jerek Lara and freshmen Omar Grano,
Edward Gonzales and Zach Gonzales, “with the possibility of one more,” said
Head Coach Gene Peña.
Peña
will be joined this year by two assistant coaches, Will Cazares and Richard
Madrid.
The
young team will play a JV schedule and are busy watching past films and
having two-a-days.
The
girls on the other hand are busy getting ready for their 2008-09 volleyball
season.
As
of press time, schedules were not available.
Teachers
and staff will return to work on August 18, students will begin classes on
August 25.
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Highway
90 upgrade seen
ALPINE
– US Highway 90, which becomes Avenue E and Holland Street through town, will
be upgraded through a federal “earmark,” US Rep. Ciro Rodriguez said this
week.
The
$5.4 million project will provide upgraded sidewalks to current ADA
standards, pavement structure repair and hot mix asphalt concrete application
from the east to the west city limits.
Funding
will be from the federal 2010 fiscal year, meaning work will be at least a
year away.
The hot-mix riding surface will be similar to surface on job on
US 67/90 east of Marfa.
“These
funds will be use to make major improvements for Highway 90 here in Alpine,”
Rodriguez said. “As we all know, US 90 is at the heart of the Big Bend
region.”
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Nelson publishes
poetry article
ALPINE – Contemporary Literary Criticism, the world’s leading
resource for information on modern literature, has selected an article by Sul
Ross State University faculty member Dr. Barney Nelson for inclusion in
Volume 251.
The article, “Dana Gioia is Wrong about Cowboy Poetry,” was
originally published in the Western American Literature journal in 2006.
Gioia, a poet, literary critic and director of the National
Endowment for the Arts since 2003, has brought extensive attention to cowboy
poetry through his own articles on the subject.
Nelson is an associate professor of English at Sul Ross.
Nelson’s article challenges some of Gioia's ideas and summarizes
their differences.
As a result of the original article and its republication in
CLC, Nelson has also been invited to contribute a chapter on cowboy poetry
for a new Blackwell Publishing Companion to the Literature and Culture of the
American West, scheduled for publication in 2010.
Blackwell Companions are advertised as “Extensive volumes that
provide new perspectives and positions on contexts and canonical and
post-canonical texts, orientating the beginning student in new fields of
study and providing the experienced undergraduate and new graduate with
current and new directions, as pioneered and developed by leading scholars in
the field.”
“Although I take Gioia to task a little bit, he has done a
wonderful service to rural Western America by providing his own pen in
support of the study of cowboy poetry," Nelson said. “He’s truly been a
leader in providing new directions for scholarship in literary criticism.”
The Blackwell edition will be edited by Nicolas Witschi, current
president of the Western Literature Association, and chair of the English
department at Western Michigan University.
Nelson has also
published “Every Educated Feller Ain’t a Plumb Greenhorn: Cowboy Poetry’s
Polyvocal Narrator,” in the journal Heritage of the Great Plains in 2000, and
edited a volume of cowboy poetry, “Here’s to the Vinegarroon!” published locally
by Bill Brooks as Territorial Printers in 1989.
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EMT
training offered
SANDERSON
– Paramedic Butch Maldonado will teach a class to become a certified EMT
Basic. Maldonado, who has been an EMT for several years, is the instructor
for Terrell County EMS.
He
hopes to begin classes in mid September and they will be on Saturdays.
The
classes run eight hours and there are 20 classes in the program, Maldonado
said.
Certification
will be nation- wide.
There
is no fee for the class but students will be expected to purchase books,
“which should run about $100,” Maldonado said.
Students
will also be required to obtain hours in the emergency room in Fort Stockton
as well as go on ambulance runs.
To
reserve books and become part of a career Maldonado said is highly in demand,
call him at 432/940-3664.
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Friends
of Marathon Public Library News
By ARLENE GRIFFIS
Library Friend
MARATHON
– Wednesday, Aug. 6, marked the end of the 2008 summer reading program for
the Marathon Public Library.
It
seems like just a few days ago that Carol Townsend and I were at the Texas
Library Association meeting in Dallas picking out books and planning for our
Texas Jubilee, which featured a western theme.
This
is the second year that I have been involved with the reading program and I
just have to say that our kids here in Marathon are among the best in the nation.
There
is such a spirit of camaraderie and “family” among the children.
We
have participants from three years old up through middle school, which makes
it quite a challenge to come up with activities, but the kids always come
through.
The
older ones help the younger ones, which is so heartwarming. I like to feel
that through this program, these young people are not only developing a
lifelong love of reading but are also learning people skills which will carry
them far in life.
The
children, their parents and the adult workers who helped with the program gathered
for a party at the Marathon Baptist Church Fellowship Hall for a lunch of hot
dogs, chips and special “wild west” cookies made by Ashley Stringer.
After
lunch, Carol presented the certificates and awards.
Each
child also took home a “goody” bag and got to pick out one book and another
prize of his own choosing.
This
year, an anonymous benefactor donated four beautiful new bicycles for
incentive prizes.
Each
child who read ten or more books became eligible to enter a drawing for the
bicycle of his or her choice.
Noah
Aguilar won the “big boy’s” bike, Sarah Arenas was the winner of the “big
girl’s” bike, Lawson Meiers won the smaller boy’s bike and Candace Aguilar
took home the smaller girl’s model.
In
an effort to involve a greater number of older students in the summer reading
program this year, a prize of $100 was offered to any boy or girl who read at
least ten books and wrote a short book report on each of them.
Three
students completed this task and received checks. They were Elizabeth Hernandez,
Capri Garlick and Bianca Cardoza. Congratulations to these three girls.
Boys,
you need to get on board next year. One young man who did read this summer
was Noah Aguilar who completed a grand total of 41 books.
Isaac
and Isaiah Briones were close on his heels with 30-something each.
When
these boys get to be high school age, we may run out of funds.
Two
of the books read this summer were “Baxter Barret Brown’s Bass Fiddle” and
“Baxter Barret Brown’s Cowboy Band” by Tim McKenzie, who is a writer and
musician from Shallowater.
Tim,
who was a featured author at the Way Out West Book Festival last weekend,
came a day early and was a surprise guest at the Thursday night program of
Marathon’s Vacation Bible School.
The
Friends of the Marathon Public Library purchased one of McKenzie’s books for
each of the 27 children present, most of whom were also participants in the
summer reading program.
“The
library could not have had such a successful summer program without the adult
volunteers who served so faithfully each week,” Carol said. “A huge thank you
goes to Jackie Boyd, Carol Henthorne, LaVerne Avery, Steve and Arlene
Griffis, Traci Joyner, Eula Mae Colmenero, Mary Baxter, and Luc Novovitch.
“We
also had a few parents who stayed from time to time when we needed a little
extra help,” she said. “Also, Hal Henthorne cooked hot dogs for the party and
Don Boyd provided homemade cookies for two of the programs,” Carol said. “A
special thanks also goes to Ruben and Coy Gonzales for supporting our program
by donating ice cream coupons to Johnny B’s.
“And
last but not least, we couldn’t even begin our program each summer without
the many, many generous monetary and in-kind donations from our library
supporters,” she said.
A
total of 35 youngsters participated in the 2008 summer reading program,
reading a whopping total of 411 books.
Happy
Reading!
Arlene
Griffis is president of Friends of the Marathon Public Library, which is a
branch of Alpine Public Library.
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