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Saturday's Internet Edition, 11:15 AM, July 31, 2010.
Town gets check for $325,401
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The Texas Department of Rural Affairs (TDRA) presented Mayor Okey Lucas and City Adminstrator Fran Malafronte with an oversized, ceremonial check in the amont of $325,401 Monday afternoon. The check recognized the community for securing a grant from the agency’s Texas Community Development Block Grant program. The check was presented by Tom Entsminger of TDRA. “We are very pleased to award this grant to Van Horn,” said Charles Stone, executive director of TDRA. “Community development projects such as this help Texans in rural communities improve their quality of life significantly.” The town will utilize these funds to drill a new
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INSIDE NEWS STORIES
Aero Alternative Energy talks again
Darlene Elder, president of Aero Alternative Energy Industries, appeared before city council members Tuesday evening to provide more hype for her planned renewable energy project in the county. Elder told
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A new face on Van Horn's 2nd oldest motel built in 1915
Looking at the Taylor Motel now you would never believe it was the second motel built in Van Horn, in 1915! That’s because it was purchased in 2003 by Jose
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"We need to work together, not against each other"
Trustees of Culberson County-Allamoore Independent School District met last Thursday evening and the session was literally a tester for everybody. It seemed that as trustees considered nearly every agenda item,
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Commissioners hear more from Aero Alternative Energy Industries president abour wind project
Culberson County Commissioners met Monday morning and heard, once more, from Darlene Elder of Aero Alternative Energy Industries LLC. Elder asked county commissioners to prepare a letter granting her firm
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Council gets update on HOME grant
Van Horn city council members met Tuesday evening and learned that the city’s HOME grant is progressing. In fact, City Administrator Fran Malafronte told council that the grant administrator is
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Van Horn Mayor Okey Lucas (L), City Administrator Fran Malafronte, and Texas Department of Rural Affairs representative Tom Entsminger at Monday ceremonial check presentation.
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Intern finishes tour at local hospital
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Medical intern Jason Tilley photographed during his internship here.
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By Larry D Simpson
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Culberson Hospital has been training a young military intern for the past month. Jason Tilley’s internship here began in early July and ends this week.
Jason is a fourth year medical student at Lake Erie College of Osteopathic Medicine in Erie, Pennsylvania. Upon completion of this final year, Jason will be a Doctor of Osteopathy and he will be promoted to the rank of Captain in the U.S. Army.
For, you see, the U.S. Army is paying for his training and in return, he’ll give the Army six years of service.
Upon completion of this final year, he will go into a 3-year residency program, which he hopes will be at Trippler Army Hospital in Oahu, Hawaii.
In this fourth year of medical training, Jason has been on a rotation spending about 30-days at any number of military and civilian hospitals. Among them have been the hospital at Ft. Lewis, Washington, William Beaumont Hospital at Ft. Bliss in El Paso, and a hospital in Pittsburg, Pennsylvania in addition to our hospital.
Upon completion here in Van Horn, he will be heading back to Erie, Pennsylvania to work at another hospital.
During his time in Van Horn, Jason worked under the mentorship of Dr. John Thomas and Dr. Albert Friday. He commented, “This time in Van Horn has been a great learning experience for me. I’ve had very little exposure to rural medicine or emergency room and I’ve gotten both here.”
By the way, Jason will be getting married on September 4th in El Paso.
Column One
By Dawn Simpson
It is beginning to look like we may be in for a better-than-average year for rainfall. Through the month of June when everything was burning up, I wouldn’t have imagined that. However, the 2 ½ inches we received in the past week brought our total for the year so far up to 9.16 inches. That is about average for us, and we still have several months of the year when we usually get some rain. Some places, like Wildhorse Valley have had even more than we have in town.
On a drive to El Paso on Monday I could see that the dry brown land had turned green and it was so pretty. It always amazes me that just a few inches of rain can turn a parched land into a blanket of green in just a short time. God’s creation is pretty awesome!
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When looking through Rosa Lee Wylie’s History of Van Horn last week on the first motels and hotels here in Van Horn it pricked my interest to read more and here are some more ‘firsts’ from our town’s early history. Some folks are not convinced that all the information in her book is factually, but it is the only history book of Van Horn that we have, and for the most part I think gives a pretty complete history up to the early 1970s.
Last week I listed the motels that had been built since the writing of the book and I left out one – the Holiday Inn Express. The Holiday Inn was mentioned in the book, but that is what is now the Ramada Inn.
Here are a few of those ‘firsts’:
The first Barber shop was owned by A.K. Platt. He used a homemade chair, made by Bill Rogers and Ben Wylie. Somewhere around 1905, he sold the shop to Gedro Lucero. It was located next to the museum in part of the building where Dollar General was. It later became the Naron Grocery Store.
The first Blacksmith Shop was in a building between the Clark Hotel and the Jackson Hotel and was owned by John Cox, Bill Rogers and the Lowden Brothers. That was before the Jackson Hotel was built. It was later bought by Ben and Will Wylie. The Wylies made furniture, truck beds, or most anything you wanted. The Dad was famous for his spurs and bits.
The Van Horn State Bank was organized in 1909. The first directors were J.F. Provine, J.D. McGregor, L.W. Watts, W.T. Wimberly, and Vernon Sutphen. Another bank that was in the process of being organized in 1908-09 was the Citizens Bank, but before it was completed it was bought by the Van Horn State Bank.
The cafes have been quite numerous during the growth of the town. Before they were opened, if people wanted a good home cooked meal, they would go to the home of W.A. King, B.F. Wylie or Mrs. Lizzie Beach’s Boarding House. Mrs. Beach opened her place in 1909.
The first cars in Van horn were around 1909. Ben Wylie owned the first Ford, a 1913 model.
In 1881, the first person to die in Van Horn was a Beach baby. Mr. Beach owned land west of town, so he gave a plat of ground to be used as a cemetery, and his baby was buried there. Another baby of the Johnson family was the second, and the first man was Mr. Goynes, who was killed by his brother-in-law in a squabble over a watering place.
The first Church organized in Van Horn was the Presbyterian, by Dr. Fincher. Their building was built in 1901. That building is where Primera Iglecia is now. The first wedding in the church was that of Jim Bean and Miss Clara Malone in January 1914.
The first newspaper in Van Horn was a hand written paper, called the Coterie Herald. The girls of the town wrote the news and sold the paper for a quarter, then the young folk took the money received and ordered ice to be shipped in by train. Then they would make ice cream and have a social hour.
The first school in Van Horn was in 1887 and was located where the Presbyterian Church now stands. Mrs. C.M. Cox was the teacher and she had seven pupils. Van horn had its first football in 1932 and most of the boys had never seen the game played.
COMMUNITY CALENDAR
Schedule of Events and Activities
July 29th - Trustees of Culberson County-Allamoore ISD are scheduled to meet this evening at 6 p.m. at the District Administration Building.
July 30th - Nothing scheduled at press time.
July 31st - Nothing scheduled at press time.
August 1st - Attend the church of your choice today.
August 2nd - Van Horn Eagle football players commence two-a-day practices this morning at the Eagle Practice Field.
August 3rd - The Van Horn Rotary Club will meet today at noon at Chuy’s Restaurant. Members of the Van Horn City Council are slated to meet this evening at 7 p.m. at City Hall.
August 4th - Nothing scheduled at press time.
August 5th - Members of the Van Horn Volunteer Fire Department are scheduled to meet this evening at the Firehouse at 7 p.m.
August 6th - Nothing scheduled at press time.
August 7th - Nothing scheduled at press time.
August 8th - Attend the church of your choice today.
August 9th - Culberson County Commissioners are slated to meet this morning at 10 a.m. at the County Courthouse. Members of the Van Horn Lions Club are scheduled to meet tonight at 7 p.m.
August 10th - The Van Horn Rotary Club will meet today at noon at Chuy’s Restaurant.
August 11th - Nothing scheduled at press time.
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This is an on-line publication of
The Van Horn Advocate
P.O. Box 8
Van Horn, Tx 79855
432/283-2003
432/283-7334 (fax)
For comments or questions, email
The Van Horn Advocate.
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