Friday's Internet Edition, July 04, 2008.
|
|
Sheriff in Austin.... Texas border sheriffs were personnally requested by the governor to be by his side as he presented the border security initiative portion during the state of the state address at the capital yesterday. Culberson County Sheriff Oscar Carrillo anticipates strong support from Texas legislators in passing the proposed $100 million to fund the project. Culberson and Hudspeth counties financial portion of the $100 million can be significant over the next two years. (Photo by Culberson County Sheriff’s office)
|
- The Big Bend Texas Mountain Travel Association will hold its annual membership meeting at 1:00 pm, Friday February 16, 2007 at the Espino Conference Center at Sul Ross State University in Alpine.
The BBTMTA (formerly Big Bend Area Travel Association) has for over 20 years published the definitive travel guide for the Big Bend area and Far West Texas. The 2007-2008 edition is hot off the presses, and the meeting will offer a chance for general review and comment. Other items on the agenda will include discussion on several issues critical to the regional travel and hospitality industry: how to attract more attention to the attractions and activities in our region, and what can be done on a regional cooperative basis to make up for the drastic reduction in highway enhancement funds by the state of Texas.
Association members include any person or entity advertising in the current Travel Guide, staff members of publicly funded organizations who sponsored community pages, and anyone who pays a $25 per person per year membership fee. Memberships will be offered at the door. Anyone who is involved in or affected by the travel and hospitality industry are encouraged to attend this meeting.
A variety of businesspeople, tourism promoters and economic development professionals are expected from around the region including not only the Brewster/Jeff Davis/Presidio tri-county area, but also Van Horn, Fort Stockton, Del Rio, El Paso, Odessa and points between.
There will be time during and after the meeting for meeting new folks and networking, and many are planning to socialize afterwards. To help planning, anyone who is thinking about attending is asked to contact Mike Davidson, BBTMTA president, via e-mail: mike@blueskybigbend.com or Brenda Wallace, director of Alpine Convention and Visitor’s Bureau at 432 837-2326.
Column One
By Dawn Simpson
Welcome to Van Horn Pierre and Kay Johnson. It was a pleasure to see their pretty new home, and see some of the arrow heads they have collected just recently in this area. I saw pictures of some of their collections they have in their Colorado home and they are really awesome.
Actually the Johnsons aren’t strangers here. They used to come each winter back in the mid-70s. Many of their friends from those times spent here are no longer here, including my parents, the Bunchs, Staubers, Martins and others. I’m so glad that their love of arrowhead hunting brought them back. I think they were beginning to wonder a few weeks ago if their choice of a winter home was the right one!
* * * * * *
My grandmother used to sing and hum an old hymn that went something like this - “Heavenly sunshine, heavenly sunshine. Flooding my soul with glory divine......”
I seem to be humming that myself a lot this week with this wonderful sun and warmer temperatures. Aren’t we spoiled. This is the kind of winter weather that I have grown to love about this area. I guess we need some of the bad to appreciate the good!
* * * * * *
Hats off to the cheering team at the boy’s basketball game Tuesday evening. Whoever encouraged those guys to do that, I appreciate it. It has to give them a lot of encouragement and extra drive to see, and hear, their friends cheering them on. And these guys all had their shirts on, unlike some guys from another town which we played last week. It’s things like that which sort of set our kids apart, or our coaches and teachers for having a higher standard.
Let’s keep up the school spirit - and let it carry over to other sports as well!
* * * * * *
We received a renewal from Laura Damaron this week with this note: “There are not many people in Van Horn now that I knew. But hello to any one who remembers me. Taking the paper and remembering is like having a foot in that county and one here in Erath County. Give the mountains around there a good look for me. I still miss them so much. May you have as much rain next year as you had this year.”
I knew I had seen the name Damaron in early issues of the Advocate so I tried to look back and find out more about that family. I didn’t have much time to spend on it, but I did find out from some of my good sources (Garla Morriss and Eurelene McVay) that Laura’s maiden name was Toolin. Her husband’s family, the Damarons, owned the local feed store and a grocery store. I don’t believe that Laura actually graduated here but it would probably have been in the late 40s. Let me know if this is correct, Laura.
* * * * * *
I recently read in the El Paso Times an article talking about all the expected growth there with the thousands of new troops and their families. The subject was whether or not El Paso would be prepared for the growth and the available water supply was mentioned. Of course they made reference to the fact that they had purchased water rights years ago from the West Texas area east of El Paso (meaning us!) That’s always a little unpleasant to think about - the fact that they could someday possibly be pumping our water out from under us to supply El Paso with extra water.
It’s good to know that Groundwater Districts were established to give at least some control to this possibility. John Jones is our local guy watching this. He was recently in a meeting in Austin of the Texas Alliance of Groundwater Districts for a pre-legislative conference. Speakers included members of the Senate and House Natural Resources Committee. Keep us informed, John. We don’t want our good water supply in any danger - not now or in the far future.
* * * * * *
I love my neat friends - who have neat friends - that keep those fun e-mails coming. Here’s a cute one called ‘Kids In Church’.
3-year-old Reese: “Our Father, Who does art in heaven, Harold is His name.”
A little boy was overheard praying: “Lord, if you can’t make me a better boy, don’t worry about it. I’m having a real good time like I am.”
After the christening of his baby brother in church, Jason sobbed all the way home in the back seat of the car. His father asked him three times what was wrong. Finally, the boy replied, “That preacher said he wanted us brought up in a Christian home, and I wanted to stay with you guys.”
One particular 4-yr-old prayed: “And forgive us our trash baskets, as we forgive those who put trash in our baskets.”
A Sunday School teacher asked her children as they were on the way to church service, “And why is it necessary to be quiet in church?” One bright little girl replied, “Because people are sleeping.”
A mother was preparing pancakes for her sons, Kevin 5, and Ryan 3. The boys began to argue over who would get the first pancake. Their mother saw the opportunity for a moral lesson. “If Jesus were sitting here, He would say, ‘Let my brother have the first pancake, I can wait.’ Kevin turned to his younger brother and said, “Ryan, you be Jesus!”
A wife invited some people to dinner. At the table, she turned to their 6-yr-old daughter and said, “Would you like to say the blessing?” “I wouldn’t know what to say,” the girl replied. “Just say what you hear Mommy say,” the wife answered. The daughter bowed her head and said, “Lord, why on earth did I invite all these people to dinner?”
A father was at the beach with his children when the 4-yr-old son ran up to him, grabbed his hand, and led him to the shore where a seagull lay dead in the sand. “Daddy, what happened to him?” the son asked. “He died and went to Heaven,” the Dad replied. The boy thought a moment and then said, “Did God throw him back down?”
COMMUNITY CALENDAR
February 8th - The Culberson County Historical Museum board of directors is slated to meet tonight at 6 p.m. at the Clark Hotel Museum. Members of the Van Horn Volunteer Fire Department are slated to meet this evening at 7 p.m. at the firehouse.
February 9th - The Van Horn Eagle boys basketball teams (varsity and JV) will play Reagan County in Big Lake today beginning at 4:30 p.m.
February 10th - Nothing scheduled at press time.
February 11th - Attend the church of your choice.
February 12th - Culberson County Commissioners are scheduled to meet today at 10 a.m. at the County Courthouse. The Lions Club of Van Horn is slated to meet tonight at 7 p.m. at the Sands Restaurant.
February 13th - The Van Horn Rotary Club is slated to meet today at noon at Chuy’s Restaurant. The Van Horn Eagles boys basketball teams (varsity and JV) are slated to play the Alpine Bucks here beginning at 4 p.m.
February 14th - Valentine’s Day. Nothing scheduled at press time.