Saturday's Internet Edition, May 17, 2008.
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| 3rd in El Paso area.... Van Horn’s Elite Eagles traveled to El Paso last Saturday to compete in the National Cheerleading Associations “Battle of the Sun City” Cheer/Dance Competition. All El Paso area teams competed, and the Elite Eagles captured 3rd Place in their Division. They are coached by Mario Villanueva, Missy Virdell, Elena Virdell, Jessica Ruiz and Lisa Cottrell. (Photo by Lisa Cottrell) |
- The local political arena is heating up as filing are gradually coming in for the various local elections to be held on May 10th.
According to Becky Brewster, who is handling the filings for all offices, here is how the filings are shaping up as of noon yesterday.
In the City Officer election for Mayor, incumbent Mayor Okey Lucas has drawn two challengers. They include Ben Flanagan and Nancy A. Martinez.
In the race for two full term City Aldermen seats, no one has filed.
In the School District Trustees election to fill two full term spots, John Clark, Robert L. Segura and Joe Carrasco have filed to run.
In the election for Culberson Hospital District directors, the only candidate to file so far is incumbent Cheryl Owen.
And, Brewster reported that no one has filed to run for the Culberson County Groundwater Conservation District director spots.
The filing deadline to signal a candidate’s intention to seek one of these offices is 5 p.m. on Monday, March 10th. To file, go by city hall at any time during normal business hours.
County is eligible for $332,452 in grant funding
Culberson County Judge Manuel Molinar reported this week that his office has been notified by the Texas Department of Transportation that the county is eligible for the final round of Border Colonia Access Program funding.
Molinar said that “we are eligible for up to $332,452 to be used for improving roads and road drainage within the county. We expect that this money will be used to pave 9th Street all the way to the Clark Field baseball park.”
According to the notification letter, the county will have to have its application submitted no later than March 31, 2008 with project selection set for May 29, 2008 in Austin.
Column One
By Dawn Simpson
I had the opportunity this week to visit with Lupe Santiago. What a strong and positive attitude this lady of faith has. Throughout the years she has struggled with cancer she has continued to rely on God’s grace and it encourages so many that she comes in contact with. She always blesses me when talking to her, when it should be the other way around.
I pass this along to Lupe, Buck Nix, Sandra Lujan, Sammie Huggins, and so many more in our community who have battled cancer and yet remain so positive. I have great admiration for all of them.
It cannot cripple love
It cannot shatter hope
It cannot corrode faith
It cannot destroy peace
It cannot kill friendships
It cannot suppress memories
It cannot silence courage
It cannot invade the soul
It cannot steal eternal life
It cannot conquer the Spirit
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Congratulations to our young cheer team for the 3rd place trophy they received at their competition this past weekend in El Paso. I think for their very first time to compete that is really great. We’ll have some awesome cheerleaders in years to come as these young girls advance in their skills. Keep up the good work!
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And congratulations to Patricia Golden. She is a new property owner in Van Horn. She has acquired one of the historical old buildings on Highway 90, next to Bowlero Archery. It used to be a bar, but Patricia has different plans for it and knowing her it will be something interesting and a draw to tourists.
In the short time that Patricia has been a member of our community, she has already made an impact with her forward and creative thinking. As a transplant from the Dallas area, she loves Van Horn and this whole West Texas area and brings some fresh new ideas. I can’t wait to see what she will be doing with her new (old) building.
That area is slowly taking on a new look. First Mike Barrendey opened his archery shop and Roadhouse Customs has gone in across the street with a new, clean look to that old building. Now if someone would acquire the building where Frank’s Grocery was and put something new in there, that block in our historical district would sure be an asset to our town, rather than the deteriorating vacant old buildings that have been there for awhile. Little by little our town is changing for the better and my thanks to those who have had the vision to help it along.
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The ‘Jane Smith’ that I referred to last week is no one. It was a fraudulent name put on the form requesting an ad to be run on the city’s cable channel. Normally, the form must be completed with a telephone number and an address. Of course this one did not have anything but a name, yet someone at City Hall, knowing it was a fake name, felt that it was okay to go ahead and run the ad, which requested people to come to City Council in support of city employees. Now there is certainly nothing wrong with that request. But why someone was ashamed to put their real name on it and especially why someone at City Hall felt it was okay to accept it with a fraudulent name and asked no questions is what I don’t understand. With that kind of dishonesty, is it any wonder that we have problems brewing between city management, city employees, and city council?
City Council is making some hard decisions and taking the tough steps to bring about better management within the city’s operations, something that I feel has been needed for quite some time. I know change is hard, but I think in this case it is necessary and I appreciate the council for taking the unpopular measures that they are taking. If you feel the same as I do, please let the councilmen know. It isn’t easy to be a public official when you are having to make these kind of decisions.
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Next week is a very important week to our school students. It’s TAKS time! I know this is an extremely stressful time for our kids, but also for teachers and parents. So I’m going to be adding you all to my prayer list. I know you’ll do the best you can and that’s all that is expected of you. Best of Luck!
Wednesday, March 5th is when students in 3rd through 11th grades (except 6th) will be taking Reading/Writing/ English Language Arts. Other subjects will be April 8th.
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Remedies
1. A mouse trap, placed on top of your alarm clock, will prevent you from rolling over and going back to sleep after you hit the snooze button.
2. If you have a bad cough, take a large dose of laxatives, then you will be afraid to cough.
3. Avoid cutting yourself while slicing vegetables by getting someone else to hold them while you chop away.
4. Avoid arguments with the Mrs. About lifting the toilet seat by simply using the sink.
5. For high blood pressure sufferers: simply cut yourself and bleed for a few minutes, thus reducing the pressure in your veins. Remember to use a timer.
6. Have a bad toothache? Smash you thumb with a hammer and you will forget about the toothache.
7. You only need two tools: WD-40 and Duct Tape. If it doesn’t move and should, use the WD-40. If it shouldn’t move and does, use the duct tape.
COMMUNITY CALENDAR
February 28th - The Van Horn Eagle baseball team will compete in the Crane Tournament in Crane today.
February 29th - The Van Horn Eagle baseball team continues play in the Crane Tournament today in Crane. The Van Horn Eagle boys and girls track teams compete in the Sanderson Relays today in Sanderson. The Van Horn Lady Eagle softball teams will play Tornillo here today beginning at 5 p.m.
March 1st - The Van Horn Junior High track teams will be competing in the Sanderson Track Meet today. The Van Horn Eagle baseball team continues play in the Crane Tournament today in Crane. The Van Horn Eagle JV baseball team will play a double header here at Clark Field today against Kermit Freshmen beginning at 1 p.m.
March 2nd - Attend the church of your choice.
March 3rd - Noting scheduled at press time.
March 4th - Members of the Van Horn Rotary Club are slated to meet today at noon at Chuy’s Restaurant. The Van Horn Lady Eagle softball teams will play Tornillo tonight in Tornillo beginning at 5 p.m. The Van Horn Eagle baseball teams begin district play tonight in Alpine at 7 p.m. The Van Horn City Council is scheduled to meet this evening at 7 p.m. at City Hall.
March 5th - Nothing scheduled at press time.