Saturday's Internet Edition, May 17, 2008.
Stories and headlines that impacted our community
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An Era Comes to a Close.......Culberson County Judge John Conoly presided over his final commissioners court meeting. Conoly was the second longest serving County Judge in Texas. He served for 32 years - and then handed over the gavel to newly elected County Judge Manuel Molinar. Commissioners accepted the resignation of Norma Hernandez as County Treasurer and appointed Susie Hinojos to fill her office.
Commish Try To Get County Roads Right........Commissioners spent a day-long session with Attorney Bob Bass, hired by the county to get the county road map accurate, making the best effort to determine the roads that had some history of maintenance by the county. Prostests were heard by various land owners. The process of getting an accurate county road map had begun.
Blue Origin’s Launch Was a Success........Blue Origin, the space launch company started by Amazon.com founder and CEO Jeff Bezos, reported on their web site of the successful launch of Goddard in November, 2006 from the launch facility 25 miles north of Van Horn.
Wintery Blast Hits Town......... Winter arrived in Van Horn in late January with a major snow storm that shut down roads and the Interstate, filled local motels, swamped the Convention Center and had 18-wheelers parked everywhere. Six to eight inches of snow fell and the temperature hovered around 25 degrees. The combination of cold temperatures and the snowfall resulted in massive congestion here, with the Interstate being closed at Fort Hancock, Fort Stockton and Pecos.
59th Stock Show sale nets $29,975..........The Livestock Show was dedicated to Buddy and Nati Davis of West Texas Food for their years of dedicated service to 4-H Club.
Trustees Open Up Athletic Positions.........Trustees of CCAISD made the surprising motion that all athletic department positions would be open for people to apply for or reapply.
City Clears Way For Hampton Inn Developers........City Council members cleared the final remaining hurdles so that the proposed Hampton Inn could start construction here.
UIL Students Bring “Sweepstakes” Home.........UIL competitors from VHHS brought home 14 medals, three 1st place team trophies and the overall Sweepstakes Trophy from McCamey.
Eagles Beat Alpine in ‘Must-Win’ Game.........A thriller of a basketball game against the Alpine Bucks and the Van Horn Eagles boys varsity ended good and sent the team into the playoff round.
Trustees Split Vote on High School Principal......... Superintendent Pemberton recommended that High School Principal Merle Dunn be terminated at the end of the school year . The vote was 2 in favor of the recommendation and 4 against.
Clinic Holds Open House.........Culberson Hospital’s Rural Health Clinic formally held an Open House to give the public an opportunity to see and tour their new facilities.
Calculator Team Takes 2 First Places........The Calculator Team took first places in two meets, Monahans and San Angelo.
Trails Brochure Unveiled Here.......Endless vistas, rich cultures and the spirit of the Old Wests - all can be found in the Texas Historical Commission’s (THC) latest travel guide, the Texas Mountain Trail Region, unveiled last Thursday here in Van Horn.
Van Horn Foundation a Reality At Last.........Van Horn Economic Development Corporation revealed that at long last the Van Horn Foundation had become a reality and was ready to accept tax deductible gifts that will eventually help fund worthy projects.
Local Cowboy Poet Honored at Cowboy Poetry Gathering........ Ray Fitzgerald was honored at the Cowboy Poetry Gathering when he received the “Heritage Award.”
Sales Tax Receipts Are Up In Van Horn...........Texas Comptroller Susan Combs announced sales tax revenue in February was up 7.0 percent compared to 2006. Van Horn’s increase to date was 18.14%.
Trustees Hire AD/Football Coach........Following the application review process of nearly 50 applications, trustees narrowed the field down to about 8 candidates and spent the weekend interviewing candidates. Trustees extended a contract to Jose Salinas to be our next Athletic Director/Head Football coach.
Water District Manager, Directors Testify........Representative Pete Gallego has introduced a bill in the Texas Legislature that would give voters in the county the option to put the eastern part of the county in the Underground Water Conservation District. A group of local officials were in Austin to testify and show support for the passage of the bill.
Means Is President Of Texas Cattle Raisers.........Jon Means, local rancher, was elected president of the Texas and Southwestern Cattle Raisers Association.
Commish OK County Road Findings........County Commissioners voted to approve the order finalizing the county road disputes and approved making the order a part of the official county road maps.
UIL Competitors Headed to Regional Meet.........Several students competing in District UIL meet in Crane qualified to advance on to the Regional UIL meet in Abilene.
Sculpture Arrives.........The commissioned sculpture for Van Horn’s new U.S. Border Patrol Station arrived to be placed in front of the building. The artist is a UTEP art student in El Paso.
Two Eagle Thinclads are Regional Bound.......B.J. Fuentes and Eleno Mendez earned Regional berth on the basis of their finishes in the 110 Meter High Hurdles, the 300 Meter Intermediate Hurdles and the 100 Meter Dash.
Educational Partnership Formed To Better Understand Space Frontier........An educational partnership has been formed between the Marian Blakemore Planetarium of Midland, and the Clark Hotel Historical Museum and the Van Horn Advocate.
City Oks Construction of Archway At School’s New Baseball Park.......City Council members approved the concept to build an archway entrance to the school district’s new baseball field on West 9th Street.
Sheriff Among Group Meeting With Washington Dignitaries........ Sheriff Oscar Carrillo was among other Southwestern Border Sheriff’s Coalition and the Texas Border Sheriff’s Coalition were in Washington, DC providing information to key federal government officials on border security crime issues.
Sports Banquet Honors Athletes........Myra Flores and B.J. Fuentes were named winners of the Tolbert Bell Award and the Wendy’s Heisman Award during Monday evenings Sports Banquet. Michael Davis and Bianca Hinojos were named Mr. and Miss Eagle winners.
Voters Speak in City, School Elections.......In the city alderman election, voters gave nod to Matthew Molinar, Nuny Morriss, and Dennis McBride. In the School District Trustee election, winners were Omar Ortega, Andrea Ramirez and Angie Gonzalez.
Station Dedicated........Van Horn’s new U.S. Border Patrol Station was officially dedicated. The new state-of-the-art facility was designed to meet the expected growth of the Border Patrol along the Texas-Mexico border.
Commissioners Told To “Tighten Your Belts”........County Commissioners got some news that most had been expecting - ‘tighten your belts’ as far as spending goes. Judge Molinar told commissioners that the county still has five months to go and spending is where we would normally be with just a couple of months left.
Commencement Will Honor 43 Graduates.........Heading up the Class of 2007 as ‘Top Five’ graduates were: Niray Bhakta, Carlos Velez, Jr., Myra Flores, Ana McBirnie, and Michael Davis.
Preliminary TAKS Scores Give Room For Optimism....... Superintendent Pemberton reported the district test passing scores Reading 79%, English Language Art 87%, Math 55%, Writing 89%, Social Studies 89% and Science 53%.
Buchhorn Honored On Retirement.........B.O. Buchhorn was honored on the occasion of his retirement from the school district. He had been teaching in the local district for 30 years and a total teaching time of 41 years.
Van Horn Photos Get Wide Internet Exposure........Selections from the Clark Hotel Historical Museum’s photograph collection will receive wider exposure on the internet due to a new cooperative agreement with the museum, the Texas Mountain Trail and Shorpy.com, “The 100-Year-Old Photo Blog, a popular online website for historical photographs, at www.shorpy.com/texasmountaintrail.
A Salute To Our Veterans............ Features in the June and July issues of the Van Horn Advocate featured salutes to our local World War II Veterans: Burt Brownfield, Antonio Lujan, Bill Moore, Clayton McDonald, Shearrel Vincent, T.C. Ortega, and Hock Haynes.
Tire Amnesty Set.........The city and county joined forces to offer a ‘Tire Amnesty Day’ collection event, offering an opportunity to get rid of old tires lying around homes and property. The event resulted in over 1,000 old tires being collected.
Project 7 Room Offers a Glimpse Of Visions For Van Horn......Van Horn’s Project 7 Room went from the talk stage to reality. The tiny, dirty, unfinished unoccupied room of the Clark Hotel was transformed into a vibrant, viable, visible room where the dreams and visions for our town could be viewed. It was a joint effort of Advent GX and Van Horn Economic Development.
City Council Gets Updated On Van Horn’s EDI.......AdventGX brought council members up to date of various facets of Van Horn’s Economic Development Initiative, and on efforts of AdventGX to secure funding for the VHEDC’s proposed apartment complex.
Trustees Talk Tax Hike, Learn Dunn’s Gone........Dr. Carr, of TASB, told board members that as a result of House Bill 1 passed by the state legislature, school districts are having to deal with declining student populations and thereby declining revenues. He explained how districts can levy an additional 4 cents without any action from voters, but to raise it up by 13 cents would take voter approval. Trustees opted to call another special meeting to formally act on calling for a proposed tax rate, even though no mention was even made of what the proposed budget is. At the same meeting they accepted the on-again, off-again resignation of high school principal Merle Dunn.
New Principal Ready To Face Challenges Here........Van Horn Junior High School’s new principal is John Fabela, who comes to Van Horn from the Pecos school district.
Hospital Introduces New Faces and New Services.........Hospital Administrator Ladelle Bates reported that a new Physicians Assistant, Rebecca DePalma, and a new Physical Therapist, Nicole Tatro, have joined the hospital’s staff.
Trustees Propose 13 Cent Tax Hike..........School district trustees voted to propose a 13 cent tax hike on taxpayers. The dissenting vote was trustee Lisa Cottrell, who voiced concern that it could pass because of a lot of dissatisfaction towards the school district.
Commissioners To Seek 8% Tax Hike To Fund Strapped Budget.......Commissioners looked at a proposed fiscal year budget with expenditures exceeded revenues without a tax increase. The budget they proposed called for a 7.99% tax hike to fund it.
Certified Taxable Values Show Marked Increase........Culberson County’s Chief Appraiser Sally Carrasco notified local taxing entities toward the end of July of their certified taxable values for the 2007 tax year. These taxable values showed a marked increase over last year, largely due to increases for oil and gas activity in the county, the Blue Origin space launch facility and the new Border Patrol facility.
City Learns That State Has Okay’d Highway 54 Work......... Texas Department of Transportation has, at long last, agreed to put in curbs, gutters and drive ways along State Highway 54 in Van Horn.
Blatant Disregard Demonstrated!....... In a motion contrary to the recommendation of the High School Site Base Committee and Superintendent Pemberton regarding the hiring of a high school principal, the school board hired Dolores Upchurch, “subject to funding and assignment.” The vote carried by a 3 to 2 margin, with trustees Lisa Cottrell and Andrea Ramirez casting dissenting votes. Upchurch was later named Dean of Students at Eagle Elementary and Mike Barrandey was named Principal at the high school.
EDC Will Proceed On Willis Building........Directors of Van Horn’s Economic Development Coproration to borrow some $40,000 to finish the renovation of the “Business Incubator” building formerly known as the Willis Building.
American Talc BuysMilwhite......American Talc Company became the official owner of the Milwhite assets. The facility will now be known as American Talc @ Wildhorse. The move makes American Talc the only player in the local talc mining operations.
Unemployment Rate In County Drops to 2.6%........According to a report issued by the Upper Rio Grande at Work, unemployment in Culberson County stood at 2.6%, the lowest for the six reporting counties in the region.
Hospital Experiences Rapid Growth..........Recruitment of a new physician and a new PA, construction of a new 4,000 sq. ft. medical clinic, purchase of a CT Scanner, replacement of all hospital beds, addition of physical therapy services, and replacement of the roof are but a few of the major accomplishments reported by Culberson Hospital in the last two years.
Homecoming King and Queen.........Crowned at Friday’s homecoming game were Josh Grado and Kimberly Tarango.
Commish OK Economic Development Plan.......County Commissioners said “Yes” to a proposed economic venture in Culberson County with the Texas Department of Agriculture and Royal Farms.
Trustees Approve Change Order.........CCAISD trustees approved a project change order for the on-going repair and renovation project. They approved the recommendation of the architect as the vest option under the circumstances, which included: Keeping Lupe Alvarado as the contractor; gave him a time extension to finish the project until February 11, 2008; and awarded him an additional $15,000 to finish the project.
Band Gets Division I..........The Van Horn Eagle Marching Band received a Div. I at the district marching contest and advanced to Area. Their “Phantom of the Opera” show was performed with flawless perfection in the Socorro Activities Complex.
Area Oil & Gas Report........ Reports from Paul Blankenburn, Blue Quail Oil & Gas Consulting & Leasing Service, continued reporting on the oil and gas exploration activity within Culberson County, as well as beginning in Hudspeth and counties to the south. This would seem to be good for the future of Van Horn, since this could be the ‘hub’ of activity, as companies begin building their gathering systems.
Voters Send Message.......Voters in the school district voted against the tax rollback question by an overwhelming margin of 161 to 82.
Trustees Accept Resignation, Begin Search For Interim......... School district trustees learned that Superintendent Anne Pemberton was resigning her position effective Dec. 21st instead of the end of her contract in June, due to family situations. They voted to commence a search for an interim superintendent while their efforts to find a new superintendent are on-going.
New Hampton Inn Underway...... Construction work is progressing at a rapid pace on Van Horn’s newest motel, being constructed just west of the Holiday Inn Express.
There’s a new face at the Hospital........ Dr. Brent Coleman has joined the staff at the hospital as a result of the departure of Dr. Paul Jackson.
City Will Proceed With Building Demolition Process.......City Council opted to proceed with the condemnation process for various buildings in town. After buildings have been inspected and required notices have been sent to property owners to fix up their properties, the city will decide whether to proceed or not.
Trustees Hire Interim Superintendent....... School board trustees hired Fred Liner, a retired school superintendent from El Paso, to be the interim superintendent. The board also met with representatives of TASB to narrow the field of interested applicants to become the permanent school district superintendent.
Commissioners To Sell Building to ACM, Nix Planned Parenthood Grant........County Commissioners agreed to sell building which the county has been leasing to Applied Chemical Magnesias. Commissioners nixed the county’s shared participation with Hudspeth County in a proposed $650,000 grant for a Planned Parenthood Clinic.
City to “get tough” on Loose Dogs.......City Council vows to maximize its effort to pick up loose or stray dogs and to look at hiring a full-time animal control officer in the next budget year.
Trustees Okay Looking For Better Investments For Funds........ Trustees of CCAISD authorized the interim superintendent and the district business manager to look for better investment opportunities for some district funds, as long as these investment opportunities comply with pertinent regulations concerning taxpayer/public funds.