Friday's Internet Edition, July 04, 2008.
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| U.S. Representative viaits.... U.S. Representative Ciro Rodriguez visited Van Horn Tuesday morning. He told a group of folks gathered at Papa’s Pantry that he was glad to be representing the people of Van Horn in Washington and if we need anything, do not hesitate to contact his staff. Rodriguez introduced his Washington staff, as well as his district staff. Before concluding the session, Rodriguez brought the folks gatherd up to date on what is going on in Washington and what he and others hope to accomplish. He departed Van Horn for other points in his district which is the largest Congressional district in the state. Rodriguez noted that he hoped to make every town in his district at least two times a year. |
- Van Horn, the Crossroads of the Texas Mountain Trail, will take center stage in the Texas Historical Commission’s travel brochure launch event on Thursday, February 22nd, from 5-7 pm at the Blue Quail Coffee Shop. The highlight of the event will be the unveiling of the Texas Mountain Trail travel brochure, at 6:30 pm. The public is invited.
Historic photographs of Van Horn made available by Clark Hotel Museum and produced by the Main Street Van Horn program will be on display. Participants will also be treated to the guitar and fiddle music of Bobby Jones and Brian Muise. Refreshments will be served.
Main Street Van Horn will host the event and chose the Blue Quail in order to highlight the new business as a proud success of the Main Street Van Horn program. Participating in the ceremony will be Van Horn Mayor Okey Lucas, Mayor Pro-Tem Rudy Hinojos, the Honorable Judge Manual Molinar of Culberson County, the Honorable Becky Dean-Walker of Hudspeth County, Terry Colley of the Texas Historical Commission and Jeff McCoy, President of the Texas Mountain Trail and Main Street Manager for Van Horn. Emcee for the event will be Beth Nobles, Regional Coordinator of the Texas Mountain Trail.
The new 25-page travel brochure is a benefit of participating in the Texas Historical Commission’s award-winning Texas Heritage Trails Program (THTP), a network of 10 independent non-profit organizations promoting preservation and tourism based scenic driving routes across the state. The Texas Mountain Trail is a regional program that serves Culberson, El Paso, Brewster, Jeff Davis, Hudspeth and Presidio counties, and is based in Van Horn.
The event is taking place as a partnership between Main Street Van Horn, the Town of Van Horn, Van Horn Convention and Visitor’s Bureau, Blue Quail Coffee Shop, Texas Mountain Trail and the Texas Historical Commission. Other launch events will take place in El Paso earlier in the day, and in Alpine, on February 23rd.
For additional information, contact the THC’s Community Heritage Development Division at 512/463-6092, or the Texas Mountain Trail at 432/284-0002, or visit www.texasmountaintrail.com. To request a brochure, call 866/276-6219.
Column One
By Dawn Simpson
We’ve lost one of the sweetest ladies I’ve ever known. Ramona McDonald had such a gentle, sweet spirit, even with the pain of arthritis which caused her hands and fingers to be twisted, making it hard for her to do even the simplest of tasks, like getting change from her wallet. As I would watch her doing that when she would come into the store, I would silently pray, “Lord, if I ever have to endure something like this, please make me like this sweet, giant of a lady.” Our sincere condolences to Clayton and family.
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I’m starting a new weekly feature this week called, “Can You Guess Who?”. I decided that there are a lot of people, our friends and neighbors, who we know - yet there’s a lot we don’t actually know about them. Hopefully this weekly feature will not only be fun, but will help us get better acquainted with those we ‘ rub elbows’ with here in our small town. I’ll give the information about them (nothing that will give it away too quickly) one week, and reveal the name of the person the next week. So look for it elsewhere in this issue. I hope you enjoy it each week - and we’ll get to know each other a little better.
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It’s easy to gripe and complain about things that we don’t think are done right by the city or county employees, yet we fail to give them credit when they do something we appreciate. So I’m going to try to do better about that.
Three times in the last couple of years I have had to ask the city’s animal control officer, Wally Abreo, for help with a problem, and have found him to be very responsive and helpful. I really appreciate that.
Of course the city can’t really solve the animal control problems that we have here. At best they can try to keep it from getting totally out of control. The reason is because it’s not really an animal control problem - it’s a human control problem. It’s humans that allow cats and dogs to go without being spayed or neutered and humans who refuse to obey the ordinance of keeping them confined to your yard. Until those things change the city can only do so much in controlling the problem.
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Here’s something you won’t hear from the news media or read in the big town newspapers........
Jack Tilley, a Sergeant Major of the Army, was with a group of people who recently were visiting wounded soldiers at Walter Reed Medical Center in Washington, DC.
He saw a Special Forces soldier who had lost his right hand and suffered severe wounds of his face and side of his body.
Sgt. Tilley wanted to honor him and show him respect without offending, but what can you say or do in such a situation that will encourage and uplift?
How do you shake the right hand of a soldier who has none?
He decided to act as though the hand was not missing and gripped the soldier’s wrist while speaking words of comfort and encouragement to him.
However, there was another man in the group who knew exactly what to do. This man reverently took the soldier’s stump of a hand in both of his hands, bowed at the bedside, and prayed for him.
When he finished the prayer he stood up, bent over the soldier, kissed him on the head, and told him that he loved him.
Sgt. Tilley was awed by the powerful expression of love for one of our wounded heroes he was witnessing and was moved to tears.
What kind of a man would do such a thing?
It was the wounded man’s Commander-In-Chief, George W. Bush, President of the United States.
This eyewitness account was told by Sergeant Major Jack Tilley at a Soldiers Breakfast at Red Stone Arsenal, AL, and recorded by Chaplain James Henderson, who was stationed there.
COMMUNNITY CALENDAR
February 22nd - Van Horn Eagle girls varsity softball team plays at Crane today beginning at 5 p.m. Members of the Van Horn Volunteer Fire Department are slated to meet this evening at 7 p.m. at the firehouse.
February 23rd - The Van Horn Eagles boys varsity baseball team will play the Van Horn Alumni here tonight beginning at 7 p.m.
February 24th - Nothing scheduled at press time.
February 25th - Attend the church of your choice.
February 26th - Members of the Lions Club of Van Horn are slated to meet this evenning at 7 p.m. at the Sands Restaurant.
February 27th - The Van Horn Rotary Club is slated to meet today at noon at Chuy’s Restaurant. The Van Horn Eagles girls varsity softball team plays Tornillo tonight at 5 p.m. in Tornillo. The Van Horn Eagle boys baseball team plays Fort Davis here tonight beginning at 5 p.m.
February 28th - Nothing scheduled at press time.