Saturday's Internet Edition, May 17, 2008.
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| Barn goes up in flames.... Van Horn Volunteer firemen and sheriff’s deputies responded to this blaze off South Highway 90 Sunday afternoon. Property owner Eddie Brooks assisted in fighting the 2 1/2 hour fire before it was extinguished. However, not before the barn was a total loss. High winds helped to fan the flames and the cause of the fire has not been determined and is under investigation. Sheriff Carrillo reminds citizens of the recently adopted no burning ban by County Commissioners due to the severe drought conditions and the advent of the spring windy season. (Sheriff’s Office Photo) |
- There was only one locally contested race which voters were called on to decide in Tuesdays Democratic Party Primary Election.
That race was for County Commissioner, Precinct 3. In that contest, incumbent commissioner John Jones faced a challenge from Lyndon McDonald. When all the votes were counted late Tuesday evening, it was apparent that voters had opted for Lyndon McDonald over Jones. The vote tally saw McDonald defeat Jones by a 159 to 108 vote count.
McDonald has no Republican challenger and therefore will take office on January 1, 2009.
In the race for U.S. Representative, District 23, incumbent Ciro Rodriguez, who was unopposed, won easily both here and district wide.
In the race for State Representative, District 74, incumbent Pete Gallego, also unopposed, carried here and district wide.
And, in the contest for Justice, 8th Court of Appeals, Place 3, Unexpired Term, Guadalupe “Lupe” Rivera bested David Guaderrama both locally and in the district.
There were several other races which will have an impact here but were not decided strictly by voters in the county.
In the race for 394th District Judge, which serves Culberson County, incumbent Kenneth DeHart, of Alpine, faced a stiff challenge from Antonio Rodriguez of Presidio.
Local voters opted for Rodriguez by a 275 to 234 vote margin. He carried neighboring Hudspeth County with an 82 vote margin. District wide, the race was decided late in the day on Wednesday after a large number of early voes was counted in Presidio County. DeHart, who carried Brewster County by a wide margin, was the victor by a nearly 800 vote margin.
The other local race with implications here was for District Attorney, 34th Judicial District. That contest pitted incumbent Jaime Esparza against challenger Theresa Caballero. Locally, voters went for Caballero by a margin of 202 to 188. However, district wide, Esparza won handily.
In the presidential race, locally, voters gave the nod to Hillary Clinton over Barack Obama. The margin was 312 to 175. Statewide, Clinton got the nod by some nearly 99,000 votes over Obama.
Other local contests, with no challengers, the incumbents were all returned to office as follows:
County Attorney: Steve Mitchell;
County Sheriff: Oscar Carrillo;
County Tax Assessor/Collector: Amalia “Molly” Hernandez;
County Treasurer, Unexpired Term: Susie Hinojos;
County Commissioner, Precinct 1: Cornelio “Naniz” Garibay;
Constable, Precinct 1: Rudy Balcazar; and
Constable, Precinct 3: John Kuhlman.
More candidates are getting into local races
The filing deadline to announce one’s candidacy in any of the 4 local elections, to be held on May 10th, is Monday, March 10th at 5 p.m.
Several more candidates have signaled their intentions to seek office this week.
In the City Officer election for mayor, three candidates are in the race. The three include incumbent Okey Lucas, and challengers Ben Flanagan and Nancy A. Martinez.
In the City Officer election for two fullterm city aldermen, incumbent Emilio Yglecias has signaled his intention to run again. He is being challenged by former city alderman Domingo G. Corrales.
In the School District trustee election for two fullterm seats on the board, there are three candidates to date. The three include John Clark, Robert L. Segura and Joe Carrasco.
In the Hospital District Director election, incumbent Cheryl Owen has announced her intention to seek reelection.
And, in the Culberson County Groundwater District director election, incumbents Kyle C. Brookshier and Edwin Easley have signaled their intention to seek reelection.
As mentioned above, the deadline to file to run for office is Monday, March 10th at 5 p.m.