Thursday's Internet Edition, September 09, 2010.
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| Lending a helpinig hand.... CCVb staffer Patricia Golden (left) and Museum volunteer Ellen Lipsey were photographed this week at the Clark Hotel Historical Museum. The pair were helping keep the Museum open while Curator Robert Stuckey is away on vacation. Thanks for your contribution to the Museum! |
- Van Horn City Council members met Tuesday evening and dropped a couple of bombshells.
Following a behind-closed-doors executive session to discuss personnel matters, council reconvened in open session and surprised everyone in attendance.
First, council noted that Becky Brewster was in breach of the retirement contract that she had with the city. Specifically, some needed reports on the Rural West Texas Boys and Girls Clubs have not been produced.
Additionally, the audit report for the 2007-2008 city fiscal year is also not prepared. Both of these were conditions of the retirement agreement the city had with Brewster.
Accordingly, council unanimously terminated her contract with the city effective immediately.
Then, council members turned their attention to the Van Horn Economic Development Corporation (EDC) and in particular EDC executive director Jeff McCoy’s status.
Council members unanimously voted to terminate McCoy as the EDC executive director and moved him to a newly created position as city grant writer.
In this position, McCoy will report to City Administrator Fran Malafronte who will direct his day to day activities. Additionally, he was placed on 6 months probation, which means that his performance will be reviewed in 6 months.
And, McCoy will not receive any other perks which the EDC had been paying him, such as travel allowance and cell phone.
The Main Street advisory board and McCoy’s work with the group remains unchanged.
Esteban Urias and Roland Gomez, of TechMojo, appeared before council to explain that in order for them to fully mitigate the city’s web site, a final bill apparently must be paid to AdventGX.
AdventGX has been dragging their feet on the transition claiming the bills were unpaid. The only hammer they had over the city was control of the web site.
Reluctantly, council members voted to pay AdventGX the remaining $1018 they claim is owed to them. In so doing, council hopes to rid itself of anything to do with AdventGX. The TechMojo representatives noted that this should enable them too completely mitigate the web site and e-mail activities by month’s end.
Other matters which council members considered and the actions taken are as follows:
* Approved payment of bills amounting to $91,365.
* Heard Director of Municipal Services Israel Borrego talk about repair work needed at the city’s utility barn. He has spoken with Moises Badillo, who is recommending removal of the top roof and reroofing the second roof. Badillo will prepare an estimate so that the work can be started.
* Council members, noting significant equipment losses as a result of the June 23, 2009 prolonged power outage, voted to submit a letter to El Paso Electric to see if they will pay, and if not to file a claim with the city’s insurance carrier.
* Council members agreed to appoint the mayor and a councilman to meet with County Judge Molinar and one of his commissioners to see if they can work out some sort of assistance program. The county has asked the city to see what it can do about the excessive water bills at the cemetery.
* Council members voted unanimously to enter into an agreement with State Rubber and Environmental Solutions to remove tires from the city. It was discussed to charge $2 per tire for tires picked up but no action on that was taken.
Council members acknowledged that local guys dealing in tires collect the money to dispose of them but they don’t want to pay the money for the disposal.
* Council members discussed the feasibility of bringing the communities elderly and invalids to the Convention Center during times that the power fails. The CCVB would then be lit by generators until the power comes back on.
It was suggested that El Paso Electric might pay for the generators however that did not seem a likely option.
What did seem to be a viable option was for the city to purchase a 25KW or a 35KW generator and have it ready. The cost will be looked at through some sort of emergency management grant since the cost is between $20,000 and $40,000.
* Council members approved renewal of the city’s employee health insurance through the Texas Municipal League.
* Council approved the Delinquent Tax Report for 2009 as prepared and submitted by the Culberson County Appraisal District, noting they stood at approximately $46,0000.
And, council approved Certification of the 2009 Tax Roll as presented by the Appraisal District. The city’s taxable value is approximately $58,700,000.
* And, before they concluded the session, council members approved an advertising expense of $1,200 for the September 2009 issue of Texas Highways which will feature the West Texas Mountain Region.
Paisano Baptist Encampment to Celebrate its 89th Consecutive Year
By Kelly Herzog,Paisano Baptist Encampment
Paisano Baptist Encampment will hold its 89th consecutive General Encampment, beginning Sunday evening, July 26, and continuing through noon lunch on Friday, July 31. Morning worship will be at 11:00 am daily, with the evening service nightly at 8:00 pm. Choir Practice starts at 7:00 pm. Supper is served in the dining shed at 6:00 pm. Everyone is welcome. Wednesday afternoon at 1:30 pm, the Encampment will dedicate the recently completed Jim and Anice Frost House of Prayer.
Preaching will be Duane Brooks and Dennis Wiles. This will be Dr. Brooks and his family’s first visit as he alternates preaching duties. He pastors Tallowood Baptist Church in Houston, serves on the Board of Regents of Baylor University, and teaches as the Adjunct Professor of Preaching at Houston Baptist University. He and wife, Melanie, have two sons, Graham and Chase.
Dr. Wiles will be back for his third year. His preaching style has been both humorous and inspiring. He is the Senior Pastor of First Baptist Church in Arlington. He and his wife, Cindy, have two children, Hannah and Josiah. Cindy will lead the missions focus from 8:45-9:00 each morning.
Todd Still returns as the Bible study leader. Dr. Still, a Pauline specialist, teaches courses in the New Testament and Greek at Truett Seminary at Baylor. This will be the third year at camp for this outstanding and memorable teacher.
Joining Paisano for his first year leading music is Jim Cleaveland, Minister of Worship and Media at First Baptist Church of El Paso. Rev. Cleaveland and his wife, Leanne, have two grown children, Ryan and Lindy.
Between services, several activities are available throughout the day that exercise the body and spirit, and create deep friendships that last for generations. The Encampment encourages family togetherness and spiritual renewal.
Paisano Baptist Encampment is located in Paisano Pass, between Alpine and Marfa, in far West Texas. For more information, please visit the website at www.paisanoencampment.org.
Extension Service to host crop and water update session
The Texas AgriLife Extension Service here in Van Horn will be hosting a Crop and Water Update and Field Tour on Monday, July 27th.
The event will kick off at the Culberson County Courthouse at 5 p.m. and is slated to last until somewhere around 8 p.m. Attendees will receive up to 3 CEUs for attendance.
Crop production and water quality issues will be discussed with local producers and landowners. Crop topics will include updates for alfalfa and small grains as well as a discussion of the pros and cons of possible biofuel crops for our area.
Producers are encouraged to bring copies of their water quality and soil test reports to the session.
Speakers for this session include Calvin Trostle, an agronomist out of the Lubbock office, and Gary Bryant, a water resource specialist out of the Fort Stockton office.
If you have any questions concerning this program, please contact the local AgriLife Extension Agent, Lainie Koch, at (432) 283-8440.