Sunday's Internet Edition, July 20, 2008.
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| Passiing the gavel.... Outgoing Rotary President Anne Pemberton presents the gavel of leadership to incoming President Matt Fink during the Club’s meeting Tuesday. |
- Culberson County commissioners, in their meeting Monday morning, spent most of the time talking about the Senior Citizen Nutrition Center and it’s budget. They additionally spent time talking technology funds and appropriate expenses from that fund.
For several months, commissioners, in particular Commissioner Corrales, have been concerned about Nutrition Center expenses. The expenses seem to always be more than the budget allows for.
In an attempt to solve the dilemma, Nutrition Center manager Tencha Sanchez was present to answer questions. She explained that the County gets money from the Area Agency on Aging to reimburse them for approved meals served.
Sanchez noted that the sum amounts to approximately $189,000 per year, however the reimbursement does not always come within the counties budget year. Hence, there always seems to be a shortfall in the budget.
Sanchez also noted that the Center provides meals to more people than the state reimburses and that if commissioners what her to stop feeding these people she’ll tell them so. Commissioners opted not to do that.
In the end, commissioners asked Sanchez to closely scrutinize expenses and to insure that when people use the Center, they pay the prescribed rental fees.
Justice of the Peace, Precinct 1, Oscar Espinoza also appeared before commissioners to present some documentation regarding how the technology funds collected by his office and other Justices of the Peace can be used.
Espinoza then asked commissioners to put $5,000 in a continuing education budget line item so that his staffers may attend some training. Commissioners told Espinoza that they would consider the matter.
Espinoza also requested those funds be utilized to pay fro his telephone system upgrades. County treasurer Susie Hinojos told the court that she had checked with someone regarding this proposed expenditure and was told it was not a use for the funds.
County Judge Manuel Molinar told Espinoza, “The way I read it, it does meet the requirements and we’ll check it out for you.”
In the end, however, commissioners took no action on either of these requests.
With regard to other agenda items considered by commissioners, the following actions were taken:
* They approved a lease agreement with the State for offices leased by the state from the county. These include the Adult Protective Service, Child Protective Service, State Health Clinic, and Department of Human Services offices. The county gets $30,000 a year for these leases.
* Table action on payment of dues
for the counties membership in the U.S./Mexico Border Counties for the counties membership in the U.S./Mexico Border Counties Coalition. The coalition helps initiate federal funding to help the county with indigent cases. Commissioners asked Judge Molinar to see if the county derives enough benefit to justify the $1,029 dues.
* Commissioners asked county staffers to prepare their preliminary budget requests for the next fiscal year by July 20th. A budget work session was tentatively planned for August 2nd at 10 a.m.
* Commissioners tabled action regarding cemetery lots until they could receive legal advise from Attorney Steve Mitchell who was not at the meeting.
* Commissioners voted to compile a listing of obsolete and surplus county equipment so that it could be auctioned off.
* They approved budget amendments as needed.
* And, after approving the submitted monthly reports, they approved bills and salaries amounting to $224,198.88. Of that sum, $113,204.45 was for salaries and $110, 994.43 was for monthly bills. It was noted that the general fund had about $590,000 in it with 3 months to go in the counties budget year.
Column One
By Dawn Simpson
Did you get by the Project 7 Room on Saturday? It you didn’t, much of it can be seen through those pretty windows in the room adjoining the museum. Perhaps it will be open a few more times to the public for viewing, and reading, of the architect’s drawings and concept information. I’m sure arrangements can be made with Economic Development Director, Jeff McCoy, for clubs, organizations, etc. to have private viewings.
It’s certainly a start to a prettier and more positive and prosperous town and – “Where there is no vision, the people perish.” Yes, there are a few in this town who have caught this vision. They realize, however that there has to be more than just the vision, and they are working to find the means and a plan for us to go forward. And these few need the support and encouragement of others in our town. Won’t you be one of those who catches the vision and let those who a working toward this concept that you are behind them?
I do want to say one more thing though, and I hope it won’t come across as negative. Without the enforcement of the town’s ordinances, all these other great plans still would not give our town the desired effect. We would still have an unclean and unattractive town. So encourage our city councilmen and other city officials that we want something different than the excuses we have heard.
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I was looking through back issues of the Advocate this week and found the following that I found rather interesting. It was from the July 16, 1959 issue.
Local Area Misses Mexican Blacklisting
Culberson County escaped the wide-spread “blacklisting” in West Texas counties by the Mexican Consulate.
Twenty Texas cities and towns were placed on a blacklist by the Mexican Foreign Office for alleged discrimination against persons of Mexican nationality. The blacklisting means contracts for Mexican Bracero laborers cannot be made.
Pecos was listed, but it was later announced that the ban had been lifted on that city. Others cities in this area were Alpine, Lubbock, Marfa, and Monahans.
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Now all you women know that we are smarter than men! Here’s proof!….
She spent the first day packing her belongings into boxes, crates and suitcases.
On the second day, she had the movers come and collect her things. On the third day, she sat down for the last time at their beautiful dining room table by candlelight, put on some soft background music, and feasted on a pound of shrimp, a jar of caviar, and a bottle of spring water.
When she had finished, she went into each and every room and deposited a few half-eaten shrimp shells dipped in caviar into the hollow of the curtain rods. She then cleaned up the kitchen and left. When the husband returned with his new girlfriend, all was bliss for the first few days. Then slowly, the house began to smell.
They tried everything; cleaning, mopping and airing the place out. Vents were checked for dead rodents and carpets were steam cleaned, mopping and airing the place out. Air freshners were hung everywhere. Exterminators were brought in to set off gas canisters, during which they had to move out for a few days and in the end they even paid to replace the expensive wool carpeting. Nothing worked.
People stopped coming over to visit. Repairmen refused to work in the house. The maid quit. Finally, they could not take the stench any longer and decided to move. A month later, even though they had cut their price in half, they could not find a buyer for their stinky house. Word got out and eventually even the local realtors refused to return their calls. Finally, they had to borrow a huge sum of money from the bank to purchase a new place.
The ex-wife called the man and asked how things were going. He told her the saga of the rotting house. She listened politely and said that she missed her old home terribly and would be willing to reduce her divorce settlement in exchange for getting the house back.
Knowing his ex-wife had no idea how bad the smell was, he agreed on a price that was about 1/10th of what the house had been worth, but only if she were to sign the papers that very day. She agreed and within the hour his lawyers delivered the paperwork.
A week later the man and his girlfriend stood smiling as they watched the moving company pack everything to take to their new home……And to spite the ex-wife, they even took the curtain rods!
COMMUNITY CALENDAR
July 12th - Directors of the Clark Hotel Historical Museum are slated to meet this evening at 6 p.m. at the Clark Hotel Historical Museum. Members of the Van Horn Volunteer Fire Department are slated to meet this evening at 7 p.m. at the firehouse.
July 13th - Nothing scheduled at press time.
July 14th - Nothing scheduled at press time.
July 15th - Attend the church of your choice.
July 16th - Trustees of the Culberson County-Allamoore I.S.D. are slated to meet this evening at 6 p.m. at the District Administration Building.
July 17th - Art Classes at Aliviane today at 10 a.m. and 1 p.m. Members of the Van Horn Rotary Club are scheduled to meet today at noon at Chuy’s. The Van Horn City Council is slated to meet this evening at City Hall at 7 p.m.
July 18th - Nothing scheduled at press time.