WTCC 2003 - West Texas County Courier

NEWSBRIEFS

Our mistake is loving things and usingpeople, when we should use things andlove people.

— Quips & Quotes

SERVING ANTHONY, VINTON, CANUTILLO, EAST MONTANA, HORIZON, SOCORRO, CLINT, FABENS, SAN ELIZARIO AND TORNILLO

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VOL. 30, No. 19 MAY 8, 2003

See BRIEFS, 0

EPCWA gets bondsThe El Paso County Water Authority(EPCWA) which serves the greater Hori-zon area, received approval for $45 mil-lion in tax bonds with 371 votes in favorand 301 against when voters went to thepolls on May 3. The EPCWA managementsaid that the district has issued all of itsbonds previously authorized by voters andthat future projects will have to be fundedeither by tax bonds approved by voters orby selling revenue bonds which do not re-quire voter approval but would require thedistrict to raise water and sewer rates torepay debts incurred to make replace-ments, additions and repairs to the watersystem infrastructure. “It is estimated thatthese funds (the requested $45 million)will be spent over the next 20 years to re-habilitate and improve the district’s waterand sewer system as part of a long-rangeplan to ensurae our community remainsstrong,” an EPCWA release said.

Anthony keeps FrancoAnthony Mayor Art Franco will retain histitle following the May 3 balloting in gen-eral elections. Franco maintained a healthymargin of 293 votes over challenger Ger-man Avila’s 121. Two seats on the Anthonytown council went uncontested: Luis“Lee” Vela in Place 1 and Jerry F. Hall inPlace 2.

Other elections• The Socorro ISD board of trustees willhost different faces following the May 3local elections. In District 1, Barbara PerezPena took 640 votes over incumbent IselaC. Rosales, 267; and Richard Del Hierro,187. In District 5, former City of Socorromayor Raymundo Rodriguez easily wonthe seat with 237 votes, over incumbentAlex Vidales, 156; Victor Perez, 112; andGeorge Fernandez, 102.• The Canutillo School Board electionssent the top three vote-getters from a fieldof six candidates back to public office.Sergio Coronado garnered the highest with492, followed by Yvonne Sapien Sanchezwith 384. Rafael Reyes will retain the thirdseat with 375 votes. Other candidates wereCarl Frietze wth 343; Frank Lerma with324 and Laure Searls with 304. GonzaloM. “Chalo” Garcia will serve out the un-expired term on the ballot, garnering 435votes over David Guzman Garcia, 246.• Fabens ISD had two places on the May3 ballot. In Place 1, Sylvia Gonzales won247 votes over Seferino “Sefa” Ramirez;215. In Place 2 Jose Porras was top votegetter with 257 over Jean M. Hill, 153;and David Corral Jr., 39.• Tornillo ISD will see Joseph Soria Jr. sit-ting in Place 7. He won 59 votes over chal-lenger Luis Renteria who took 13 votes.• The Anthony School District board

By Don Woodyard�Courier Staff Writer

By Arleen Beard�Special to the Courier

HORIZON CITY — Diane Whitty, a po-litical newcomer, became Horizon City’snew mayor following the May 3 election daythat concluded the 2003 local elections.

Whitty garnered 346 votes, 55 percent ofthose cast, over incumbent Patricia “Pat”Randleel, who posted 283.

Running on a platform of making HorizonCity financially stable, holding down taxes andkeeping the town user-friendly, the formerPortland, Oregon resident will lead the towncouncil after living here for the past five years.

Calling herself a “domestic engineer” forthe past 18 years, Whitty has three children,a daughter age 16, and two sons, ages 19and 23. Her former careers were commer-cial auto insurance agent, and employmentwith Corporate Freight Audit at CrownZellerbach.

“Horizon City is a great place for familiesto live,” Whitty said in announcing her can-didacy. “The sense of community here isunique in the El Paso area and we need tokeep it that way.”

Whitty also objected to rezoning commer-cial areas to high-density residential as a ma-jor part of her campaign, stating that with-out a sound commercial tax base HorizonCity will soon find itself a land-locked resi-dential community with a high tax burdento support city services.

“There have been major tax increases withlittle or no tangible benefits to the citizens,”Whitty said in appraising the last few yearsin Horizon City. “(Tax increases) and per-sonnel costs…are not consistent with thepresent economic situation.”

Other Horizon City elections saw formerHorizon alderman and longtime resident/com-munity activist Art Borst return to council inPlace 3 with 226 votes, defeating Ken Watterswho garnered 216 and Dean Hulsey, 176.

Alderman Place 5 went uncontested toRobert G. Reyes, a senior inspector with U.S.Customs, and Place 7 uncontested to busi-nessman Keenan Greseth.

Whitty, Reyes, Greseth and Borst cam-paigned on similar platforms and issued jointelection information.

Horizon City picksWhitty for mayor

SOCORRO — An agenda item during theregularly scheduled Socorro City council meet-ing on May 1 erupted into controversy betweenCity Council members, Mayor Irma Sanchezand community members.

City Representative Joe Ramirez made a mo-tion to appoint current city engineer Reyes Fierroas interim city manager pending the selectionand hiring of a permanent city manager.

Mayor Sanchez voiced opposition to theappointment because, she said, an interim isusually appointed for positions that have al-ready been held by someone and later vacated.

Since the city manager position is being

Socorro council appoints interimcity manager during stormy session

newly created, Mayor Sanchez indicated aninterim is not necessary. City RepresentativeJoseph “Chito” Bowling was also opposed tothe appointment and went on to say this ap-peared to be a “You scratch my back and I’llscratch your back” situation.

Bowling said he felt believed the positionwould more than likely be filled within a coupleof weeks and a need for an interim was unnec-essary. It would be a waste of taxpayer’s moneydue to having to increase Fierro’s salary whilehe served as interim, Bowling said.

City Representative Gary Gandara, however,took offense to Bowling’s statement.

The motion to appoint Reyes Fierro as citymanager on an interim basis was approved

FABENS — Diana Mendoza, a senior atFabens High School, took her skills as a writerto the state level this month after winning third

in regional competition.Over the past three

years she has competedin several events at bothdistrict and regionallevel but this was herfirst trip to state.

“This is the first timein the history of FabensHigh School that a stu-dent has competed injournalism at state,” saidPenny Jones, UIL coor-

dinator. “It has also been three years since oneof our students has gone to state.”

“Of all my students, Diana is the one Iwould choose to receive the honor of com-peting on the state level,” said Carol Silver,

Fabens student goesto state competitionfor writing skills

Diana Mendoza

See MENDOZA, Page 5

VINTON — The Village of Vinton mayor andcouncil are celebrating their good fortunes aftertwo major financial doors were opened recently.

Last week, with the help of Sen. EliotShapleigh, a pending lawsuit involving Val-ley By-Products, TCEQ and the Village wassettled. As a result, Vinton received a Supple-mental Environmental Project (SEP) amountof $23,437.

Additionally, with the help of CarlosColina-Vargas, the Village’s urban planner,Vinton was named this week as number oneon the list to receive funding under the SmallCities Community Development Block Grantand Supplemental Environmental Project.

The Village expects to receive $263,000 to be-gin laying lines for a municipal water system.

Mayor Tony Castro extended his thanks tohis entire council, especially Mayor Pro-TemJose Alarcon; Alderperson Dolores Diaz; andVillage Clerk Camille Castillo. “Without theirefforts these projects wouldn’t have gone assmooth,” he said.

Vinton’s effort pays offas grant is approvedfor water system

See SOCORRO, Page 7

CANUTILLO — Residents of Canutillowon’t have long to wait to see tangible resultsof the $12.3 million school bond election theyapproved overwhelmingly on April 12.

The bond money will be used in two areas,renovation of current facilities in the Canutilloschool district and enhancement of plans forthe new high school.

The four renovation projects, expected tobegin this summer, cover the upgrading andimprovement of current facilities. Theseprojects are allocated $5 million of the totalbond issue. The second is for enhancement andfine-tuning the design of the new high schooland includes features not included in the origi-nal bond issue concept. The balance of $7.3million goes into the enhancement area.

The reason Canutillo is able to move for-

Canutillo to see tangible results of bond election before longward expeditiously on the renovation projects,says District Public Relations Officer AlfredoVasquez, is that it will tap into current fundbalances and not have to wait several monthsfor the processing and sale of the school bonds.At its April 17 meeting, the board of trusteespassed a resolution authorizing the use of theseother funds.

The funds would be reimbursed, Vasquezpoints out, once the bonds have been put onthe market and sold.

The renovation projects are:• Roof repairs are scheduled on all six CISD

campuses. Half-a-million dollars is earmarkedfrom the bond issue to complete roof repairprojects.

• The district has allocated $85,000 each toChildress, Davenport, Damian and the middleschool for new playground equipment. Vasquezsays each campus, not central administration,will determine how their playground moneywill be used.

• Three 10-classroom wings, complete withrestrooms, will be added to Childress andDamian Elementary and Canutillo Middleschools. Total cost for the three new classroomwings is $2.4 million, approximately $825,000per wing. Vasquez says the new wings shouldbe finished in four to six months. Pointing outtheir age and condition, he adds, “We want toget out of the portable classroom business.”

• Electrical and mechanical upgrades will bemade to Canutillo Elementary, the middleschool and the present high school.

In previous school board meetings, trusteeshave been going over plans for the new highschool in detail with architect Sergio Martinez.The results are the enhancements over andabove the original design.

They include the addition of more class-rooms, making the auditorium and sports sta-dium larger and expanding the commons area.

See CANUTILLO, Page 5

WEST TEXAS COUNTY COURIER May 8, 2003

SERVING ANTHONY, VINTON, CANUTILLO, EAST MONTANA, HORIZON, SOCORRO, CLINT, FABENS, SAN ELIZARIO AND TORNILLO

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ADDRESS:15344 Werling CourtHorizon City, TX 79928

Phone: 852-3235Fax: 852-0123

E-mail: [email protected]

PublisherRick Shrum

Business ManagerFrancis D. Shrum

ContributorsDon WoodyardSteve EscajedaArleen Beard

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HomesteaderEst. 1973

One perspectiveBy Francis Shrum

Por la Gente By State Rep. Chente Quintanilla

They say birds of a feather flocktogether — therefore, a man is knownby his associations.

Like all proverbs it often holds truebut is not infallible. I’ve known somepretty fine people to suffer becauseof misplaced loyalties.

It is equally unfortunate that theirlack of foresight or their simple dedi-cation to undeserving friends candeprive them — and those aroundthem — of their valuable skills,strengths and potential.

With the recent election just pastwe take stock, as always, of the win-ners and the losers — sometimes withsurprise, other times nodding that wecould have predicted the outcomevery closely. Sometimes those we as-sumed would be a shoo-in to officeare left outside while the darkhorsetakes his seat at the head of the table.

You never know.Sometimes we say it was because

they didn’t get out there and go forit. Sometimes we are affirmed of ahunch that the avid underdog wouldtriumph simply on the basis of will— or on the basis of his supporters.

I don’t enjoy elections at all. I es-pecially didn’t like the last one herein Horizon City, I guess because itwas closer to home, closer to peopleI have known for many years, whoseservice and efforts, much of it self-less, I have admired. It involved dif-ferences in philosophies about thefuture of our community but worsethan that, it involved people whowere defending their own personalspace on a public stage.

Big mistake.I hate it when good folks wind up

on opposite sides of the fence. I hateit equally when bad apples spoil both

Birds ofa feather

barrels.People aren’t like birds. They don’t

always flock with those of like mind.More often than not the more appro-priate adage for humans is that op-posites attract — a good, solid per-son can be influenced by someone ofless integrity simply because they seein the other person a quality theythemselves lack: drive, ambition,ability to cut corners and to ignoreblack-and-white in favor of a muddyshade of gray when it suits their pur-pose.

People are not like birds in thatthey don’t always recognize dangerwhen it lurks in the nearby brush —or feeds off the same table. Birds arepretty canny about that. They’ll flyoff squawking at the first sign of dan-ger and ask questions later — if ever.

People, on the other hand, have avery difficult time recognizingwolves in sheep’s clothing, who pro-mote themselves as benefactors ofthe community whilst sucking thevery life out of it from under thecouncil table.

The problem is that there are fewabsolutes anymore. Good guys don’twear white hats and the bad guysdon’t either. We all sort of look alikethese days.

Equally true, the issues we facearen’t clear cut. On a local level ourgoals and battle cries are pretty ethe-real: education funding, water issuesand tax hikes don’t bring the popu-lace streaming to the ballot box be-cause most folks figure that govern-ment is going to do what governmentis going to do.

Political campaigns never come

More than 1,000 mournersshed a river of tears, as family,friends, and neighbors bid a sor-

rowful farewell to one American hero. Although he’s notthe only one who gave his life to free Iraqi citizens, hisdeath did strike close to home.

Ruben Estrella-Soto, who lived in Montana Vista (EastMontana) and was a recent graduate of Mountain ViewHigh School, was only eight days away from his 19thbirthday, when he was killed by enemy troops inNasiriyah. Estrella-Soto died along with eight othermembers of the 507th Maintenance Company — a groupthat deployed out of Fort Bliss, Texas.

Although he was born in Chihuahua, Mexico, ouryoung hero adopted the United States as his country-of-choice. He wasn’t born in America, but Estrella-Sotodidn’t waste too much time becoming a citizen of thisgreat nation. Estrella-Soto’s death is a reminder to me ofthe many sacrifices that immigrants from Mexico havemade to keeping our nation free. Well, here’s a patriotwho made no bones about his love for our beloved na-tion. Estella-Soto was only too glad, and too proud, toserve in the U.S. Army. His aunt, Leticia Soto, said thather nephew was very proud of his military service.

“When he came back from boot camp, he was veryhappy,” she said. “He was so proud of wearing his uni-form because all he ever wanted to be is a soldier.” Un-fortunately, Estrella-Soto never got the chance to con-

Death of young patriot shedslight on immigrant loyalty

tinue proving his love for our nation. However, he didmake us proud in the short, but eventful life, which helived. Again, let me reiterate that I am proud of everyone of our troops. We salute and celebrate those whosurvived, especially the POW’s who came home safely.Yet, there remains an ache in my heart for Estrella-Soto.So young, so vital, so heroic. God Bless you, my youngfriend, and God Bless each and every one of our troopswho are fighting, and who fought in Iraq. Thank you.

On another note…HB 2634, which I authored, relatesto interest-free loans from the Texas Water DevelopmentBoard for water districts in economically distressed areas.In 1989, the 71st Legislature created the EconomicallyDistressed Areas Program (EDAP) under the Texas WaterDevelopment Board (TWDB). These areas receive grantsand/or loans from the TWDB to provide water and waste-water services. EDAP counties are those with a per capitaincome that is 25 percent below the state average and un-employment at 25 percent above the state average for thelast three years, or that are next to an international border.HB 2634 amends Sec. 17.933, Water Code, to require thatwhen a water district receives a loan through the TWDB’sEDAP Program, the loans are received interest free.

I also sponsored SB 446, a bill that relates to theauthority of the rural foundation. The Rural Foundationwas created during the last Legislative session under SB

See CHENTE, Page 8

See POLITICS, Page 5

May 8, 2003 WEST TEXAS COUNTY COURIER

Reyes Reports By U.S. Rep. Silvestre Reyes

All acrossEl Paso,schools are inneed of moref u n d i n g .From Loma

Verde Elementary to Chapin Highand everyone in between, teachersand students have had to make morewith less as budgets continue to becut. As we head into Teacher Appre-ciation Week (May 4th-10th) andcelebrate National Teachers Day onMay 6th, let’s take a moment andfocus on education in our community.

A good education and a strongeconomy go hand in hand. Tostrengthen both in El Paso, I secureda $150,000 congressional appropria-tion for fiscal year 2003 and$250,000 from Governor Perry forthe El Paso Realworld SchoolsProject, which is based on the suc-cessful Fresno, California Center forAdvanced Research and Technology.This program is a win-win for ElPaso. The Realworld Schools Projectis a joint effort between high schools,post-secondary education institu-tions, and local businesses. It pro-

El Paso teachers make more with lessvides high school juniors and seniorswith opportunities to succeed infields such as biomedical research,engineering, and science, which inturn provides local employers withskilled, technologically savvy em-ployees.

I also requested $1.5 million forProject ARRIBA for fiscal year 2004.Project ARRIBA is a hugely success-ful program aimed at providing high-skill, high-wage job training. ProjectARRIBA provides critically neededtraining in health care, computers,and other fields that offer higher-paying jobs. Our community as awhole benefits from ProjectARRIBA, as graduates are fillingpositions in our local hospitals andbusinesses.

A number of our problems ironi-cally stem from the No Child LeftBehind Act, which Congress passedand the President signed into law twoyears ago. This Act set clear goals forfederal education programs and, iffully funded, provided the answersthat ailing schools across the coun-try needed. However, two years later,it appears that education is hardly

better off. President Bush is not fol-lowing through on the promises hemade in 2001, with the 2003 budgetfalling $7 billion short of the re-sources promised in the Act and the2004 budget falling more than $6 bil-lion short of the $18.6 billion calledfor by the Act. I want to make surethat no children are left behind in ElPaso and that’s why I support fullfunding of this bill.

Despite tightened budgets, though,El Paso’s educational community stillmanages to shine. We have a lot tocelebrate for Teacher AppreciationWeek and National Teachers Day.The U.S. Department of Educationrecently awarded Silva Health Mag-net School the National Blue RibbonAward. The National Blue Ribbonprogram recognizes schools that haveat least 40 percent of their studentsfrom disadvantaged backgrounds andthat have shown dramatically im-proved student performance; or thosethat score in the top 10 percent onstate assessment tests. Congratula-tions to Silva Health Magnet Schooland thanks to Principal JamesLamonica and all of Silva Health’s

teachers, staff, and especially the stu-dents for their hard work.

Congratulations also to AliciaStredic and Mary Henderson, whowere just recently named El Paso In-dependent School District 2003Teachers of the Year. Stredic, ofBurges High School, and Henderson,

EL PASO COUNTY — May isOlder Americans Month. So Ithought it would be a good time toreview the impact that Social Secu-rity has had on our nation’s seniorcitizens.

Today, almost 30 million peopleage 62 and older receive Social Se-curity retirement benefits everymonth. The average benefit is justunder $900 per month. Contrast thatto 1940, just a few years after theSocial Security Act passed, whenonly 112,000 people were collecting,on average, $22 per month in retire-ment benefits.

Another five million older Ameri-cans are paid more than $4 billionmonthly in widows’ or widowers’benefits today. Widowers’ benefitswere first paid in 1950.

Besides the raw numbers, the ef-fect of Social Security benefits on thelivelihoods of older Americans alsois interesting. The Social SecurityAdministration has compiled somestatistics showing the income of olderpeople in 1962 and compared that tothe income of today’s seniors.

For example, in 1962, 69 percentof older Americans received SocialSecurity benefits while only 9 per-cent had a private pension. Today, 90percent of seniors get Social Secu-rity and 29 percent receive a privatepension

Social Security benefits haveplayed a major role in boosting themedian income of older Americans.Even after adjusting for inflation, themedian income has risen 91 percentfor elderly married couples and 98percent for non-married older folks.In 1962, elderly married couples hada median income of $16,339. By2000, that median income level hadrisen to $31,118. For single seniors,

Social Security was onlymeant to be supplementalincome for elderly Americans

the median income almost doubledfrom $6,422 in 1962 to $12,715 to-day.

In the County of El Paso, Texas,87,816 beneficiaries received a totalof $56,335,000 in social security ben-efits during the month of March2003. Of those, 48,601 were retiredworkers who received $34,994,000in retirement benefits.

Despite the increases, an alarmingnumber of older people still rely ontheir Social Security benefits for theirtotal livelihood. For 20 percent of So-cial Security beneficiaries age 65 andolder, their Social Security check istheir only income. For two-thirds oftoday’s older Americans, Social Se-curity represents at least half of theirincome.

Of course, Social Security wasnever meant to be a person’s solesource of retirement income. If youare not yet receiving Social Securitybenefits, you should make plans nowto supplement those benefits withpensions, savings and other invest-ments. A good place to start review-ing your future retirement incomeneeds is your Social Security State-ment. You get one each year aboutthree months before your birthday. Itwill tell you what you can expect toget from Social Security. Then youcan make plans to supplement yourSocial Security benefits with pen-sions, savings, and other investments.______________________________________________________For more information visit your lo-cal social security office, seewww.socialsecurity.gov or call us at1-800-772-1213. If you have anyquestions that you would like to haveanswered, please mail them to theSocial Security Office, 11111 Gate-way West, Attn: Ray Vigil, El Paso,Texas 79935.

of Polk Elementary School, are shin-ing examples of the enthusiasm, cre-ativity and compassion El Paso’steachers pour into their classroomsevery day. El Paso is proud of themand all our teachers and knows that,despite budget cuts, they will notleave any child behind.

Social Security Q&A By Ray Vigil

Available online:

www.wtccourier.com


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Write stuffDear Editor:

The Town of Horizon City Streetand Road Committee would liketo thank the individuals, civicgroups and school children whohelped with the street cleanup inHorizon City on April 25, 26.Many bags of garbage were col-lected from curb areas and medi-ans of many of the major streets.

Also a “thank you” to TxDot fortheir cooperation in cleaning uptheir right-of-ways on HorizonBlvd. If you missed this opportu-nity to help and still would like toparticipate in keeping Horizon Cityclean, please feel free to speak withthe people at your Town Hall aboutwhich areas still need to be cleanedup.

Throughout the year we can alltake it upon ourselves to keep ourstreets clean.

Ronald E. BaerbockHorizon City Alderman Place 2

Chairman - Street and RoadCommittee

Dear Editor:I’m sure I speak for many citi-

zens of Horizon City with thesefew words regarding MayorPatricia Randleel. Mayor Randleelhas lived in Horizon City for over20 years, devoting much of hertime in activities dedicated to the

good of the community.At the time of incorporation, Au-

gust of 1988, she was a memberof the first Town Council and wasinstrumental in the difficult effortsin getting the town started. Shehelped program the Town’s “gen-eral Law” start up, she wrote anddesigned necessary ordinances,helped form a police departmentand even par-ticipated inthe purchaseof the presentTown Hall atvery little ex-pense to thelocal citi-zens.

H e rknowledgeof financeand untiringwork was a priceless asset duringthe difficult start up years. For im-mediate operating finances, sheassisted in obtaining utilities fran-chise fees.

In a word, her service to the townhas been commendable. I’m sureall concerned citizens thank her forsharing her knowledge and effortsin making Horizon City a betterplace to live and she will be longremembered for a job well done.

Desmond P. CorcoranFirst mayor of Horizon City

Pat Randleel

When chickens in El Paso Countygot sick with Exotic Newcastle Dis-ease (END) in early April, Texascommercial chicken, egg and turkeyproducers hundreds ofmiles away inEast Texas saw export markets shutdown nearly overnight.

Although this foreign bird virushas been confined — up to now —to only one small backyard flockwhich has been depopulated, at leasta dozen countries, including Mexico,either have banned the importationof Texas poultry, eggs or poultrymeat, or have placed stringent re-quirements on products. Even someU.S. states are requiring county-of-origin documentation to prove Texaspoultry and products didn’t comefrom the El Paso area.

“For the pet bird owner or back-yard producer, END infection in aflock is devastating, emotionally andfinancially. Although the U.S. De-partment of Agriculture (USDA) re-imburses owners for depopulatedflocks, companionship, breeding andgenetics are lost,” said Dr. MaxCoats, deputy director for animalhealth programs at the Texas AnimalHealth Commission (TAHC), thestate’s livestock and poultry healthregulatory agency. “For the commer-cial chicken, turkey or egg producer,END has financially devastating con-sequences, even when the disease

Poultry disease in El Paso Countyis penalizing Texas chicken industry

strikes hundreds of miles away. InTexas, END was detected in far WestTexas, but it impacted the commer-cial poultry industry, most of whichis congregated in East Texas,” ex-plained Dr. Travis Cigainero, veteri-narian for Pilgrim’s Pride Corpora-tion in Texas. “One case of END in astate, and the commercial poultry andegg industry loses many of its inter-national marketing opportunities un-til the state regains its disease-freestatus. In the meantime, we have tofind alternative marketing solutions,or reduce production in order to sur-vive and maintain jobs for employ-ees until export markets are re-opened. One infected flock puts theentire commercial poultry industry injeopardy, and it’s an industry thatpumps more than $2 billion into thestate’s economy.”

Since April 10, five Texas and NewMexico Counties have been understate or federal quarantines issued bythe Texas Animal Health Commis-sion (TAHC), New Mexico Live-stock Board and the U.S. Departmentof Agriculture (USDA), due to thedisease outbreak. Counties fromwhich birds can not move include ElPaso and Hudspeth Counties inTexas, and Otero, Luna and DonaAnna Counties in New Mexico. Theinfected flock in El Paso County —and neighboring small flocks that had‘dangerous contact’ or potential dis-ease exposure — were depopulatedin early April and paid for by theUSDA.

A team of veterinarians and animalhealth inspectors from the USDA,TAHC,and New Mexico LivestockBoard are working in the five-countyarea to take calls about sick birds andto test many of the backyard flocks.

The END Task Force is operatingfrom an incident command center setup at the El Paso County Fire De-partment at 11440 North Loop inSocorro.

Bird owners in the five quarantinedcounties may contact the task forceat 915-859-9446. For general ENDdisease information, or to report sickbirds in other parts of Texas, call theTAHC at 1-800-550-8242. In NewMexico, producers may call the NewMexico Livestock Board at 505-841-6161.

END doesn’t affect human health,or animals, other than birds. The dis-ease, however, is considered deadlyto all avian species, including chick-ens, turkeys, pet birds and ratites,such as ostriches. Two days to twoweeks after being exposed to the vi-rus, infected birds may gasp, cough,exhibit muscle tremors or completeparalysis, develop watery diarrhea, ordie suddenly, without signs of illness.

Dr. Cigainero reminded ownersthat the END virus can be carried onclothing, shoes or equipment and pre-cautions should be taken accordingly.

“When folks protect their own petbirds and backyard birds, they’re alsoprotecting the avian industry as awhole in Texas,” said Dr. Coats. “Thepet bird and backyard flock industryhas a very important niche in theTexas economy. Bird shows, poultryas 4H projects, pet birds as compan-ions, and exotic birds are an impor-tant part of our culture. The Texascommercial poultry industry also hasa major economic impact, as morethan 10,000 Texans rely on this in-dustry for jobs.”

Dr. Coats said that an END out-break is still being fought in South-ern California, which is also suffer-ing from international trade embar-goes. Earlier this year, the diseasealso was detected in backyard flocksin Nevada and Arizona which havebeen eradicated and these states areawaiting quarantine release.

“We do not have a date for quar-antine release in Texas, even thoughwe’ve found no additional infection,”said Dr. Coats. “We have to developscientific proof that we have lookedfor and tested all possible sources ofinfection before the USDA and ourtrading partners will consider ourstate to be free of the disease.”


ORGANIZATIONS• Cummins Diesel• KFOX• Little Diner• Sonic• Magnolia Coca Cola• Canutillo High SchoolNJROTC• Urban AssociatesINDIVIDUALS• Carlos Aceves• Jose Adame• Carlos Aguilar• Nora Aguilar• Omar Alarcon• Jaime J. Armendariz• Andres Arriola• Carmen & SonyaArroyos• Danny Arzaga• Jose Arzaga• Liz Ayala• Ruben & Cindee Ayon• Sunny Baker• Isidra Barron• Ida Cajigas• Nury, Greg & RobertCampbell• Sheila Campos• Marie Cantrell• Martha, Mariela & MarioCasas• Carmen Castañeda• Cyndi Castañeda• Rose Cereceres• Javier Chacon• Michelle Chavez• Clay Cherry• Greg Contreras• Jose Luis & EvangelinaCoronel• Rock D’Cruz

• Perry Duby• Evelyn Duran• Michael Escobar• Sara & Isabel Escobar• Eddie Esquivel• Pablo Estrada• Donna Farmer• Argelia Flores• Faviola Flores• Jaime Flores• Jose Flores• Maria Flores• Lizeth Fragoso• Cesar & Adriana Franco• Carl Fietze• Damian & StephanieFrietze• Jason & JethroGaglione• Adriana Galindo• Leticia & Abner Galindo• Jose Luis Garcia• Judy Garcia• Lourdes Garcia• Sam & Sandra Garcia• Sergio Garcia• Manny & Bertha Gauna• Petra Giron• Maria Gomez• Rosa Gomez• Ruben Gomez• Josie Gonzalez• Irma Granillo• Priscilla Gutierrez• Gloria Guerrero• Carmen Guzman• Carlos Hernandez• Felusa Hernandez• Hector Hernandez• Laura Holt• Chris Hoy• Isabel Huerta

• Lisa Isaacks• Imelda & Tiffy Islas• Crystal Jameson• David & Melanie Jones• Wesley & Diana Joosten• Kathy Kelly• Laura Lane• David Lemon• Abel Leyva• Adriana Loera• Laura Lopez• Robert, Ceci, Robbie,Jacki Lopez• Teresa Loya• Mary, Reese, RachelLuckie• Lily & ChristinaMaldonado• Gloria Marquez• Ulises Marquez• Kyann McMillie• Thomas Michael• Joe & Cecilia Montoya• Elizabeth Morales• AJ Moreno• Sylvia Nuñez• Maria Olivarez• Angel Pacheco• Diana Payan• Linda Perez• Stheysi Perez• Robert Piña• Veronica Propeck• Anne Quiñones• Rosalba Rama• Edgar Ramirez• Eustavia Ramirez• Karla Reding• Joe, Letty, ThomasRetana• Amanda Rios• Teresa Rios

• Hector & Leo Rivera• Ruben Rivera• Miguel & OraliaRobledo• Maggie & Meili Robles• Jamaira Rodriguez• Erika Rosales• Brenda Rubio• Isabel Ruiz• Soledad & RobertoRuiz• Maria Sanchez• Raymond Sanchez• Bertha Sapien• Courtney Schexnaydre• Bobbie Sherman• Miguel Sifuentes• Susan Smith• Veronica & VincentSolis• Eliana Solorzano• Juan Sotelo• Liliana Soto• Jesus Tarango• Nancy Tebay• Rachel, Jennifer,James Tellez• Miriam Terranes• Jonathan Trillo• Modelos AngelesValdivia• Judith Valle• Felicitas Varela• Sandra Vasquez• Diana Velasco• Maria Velasco• David Venegas• Emmett Villarreal• Priscilla Villegas• Cory Wallace• Dyana Zapata• Perla Zapata

¡Muchas Gracias de parte de Terry Jimenez,Julie Hoy, and Hector Giron!

Canutillo Elementary School Family Would LikeTo Thank All The Volunteers Who Helped With The

Playground Community Build Project…

FHS journalism teacher.Mendoza did not place in Austin

on May 2, competing against muchlarger schools since Fabens has beendesignated 4-A, but her participationqualifies her for the Texas Interscho-lastic League Foundation Scholar-ship program. An estimated $1.3 mil-lion will be awarded this year by the

TILF in an estimated 700 new andrenewed grants.

Diana has been co-editor of theschool newspaper for the past twoyears, is a member of Quill and Scroll,the International Honor Society forHigh School Journalists, NationalHonor Society, student council, MathClub, choir and Upward Bound.

“It seems that my competing atstate affected the whole school,”Diana said. “Everytime I walkeddown the hall or entered a classroomsomeone was congratulating me.”

MendozaFrom Page 1______________________

Also, there will be a geothermal heat-ing and cooling system.

“We are doing the dirt work now,”says Dr. John Kessinger, assistantsuperintendent for operations andplanning. More than 10,000 cubicyards of dirt have already beenmoved in preliminary site work.

The grading plan is being workedout, showing the elevations for dif-

ferent areas of the new high schoolcampus that is located adjacent to theNorthwest campus of El Paso Com-munity College. Kessinger says itwill be terraced on three levels, drop-ping 25 feet each time.

Basically, the first is the classroomand administration area that frontslargely on I-10. At the second levelis the football field and track area.Located on the third level are thebaseball and softball fields.

Kessinger says actual constructionof the high school will begin in thespring of 2004.

right out and say that a personshouldn’t be doing a particular thingbecause it is wrong. Instead the criti-cisms are couched in a wide spectrumof personal innuendo, hints, specu-lation and character assassination.

I would feel a little sorry for ElPaso’s new mayor Joe Wardy if hedidn’t look so stinking happy. Theonly thing I can do is wonder howlong his smile will be this wide andhonest and open, how long he willconsider himself a “mayor of thepeople in the neighborhoods” when

they start complaining, finding fault,crying foul and disappointment andcalling for his head on a platter.

And we all know that most of themwill, some sooner, some later, de-pending on who doesn’t get his wishlist fulfilled first.

As the first-timers take their placesin the halls of power I wish them theability to remember whatever ves-tiges of idealism may have motivatedthem to seek office in the beginning,and to recognize the wolf sitting inthe next seat — or the one who car-ried their briefcase into chambers.

I wish this, of course, providedthey aren’t a wolf themselves. If theyare, well, we have a whole new setof problems, don’t we?

PoliticsFrom Page 2______________________

CanutilloFrom Page 1______________________

UPPER VALLEY — CanutilloHigh School students enrolled in theSpecial Education DevelopmentalSkills Class were pre-sented lettermen jacketsfor their outstandingachievement and contin-ued progress throughoutthe 2002-2003 schoolyear. The special awardswere made during the re-cent Special EducationStudents RecognitionBanquet held at the GreatAmerican Steakhouse inVinton.

“The DevelopmentalSkills Class (DSC) is designed tohelp special needs students developfunctional living skills and give themthe opportunity to work towards jobindependence,” said Yvonne Rivera,DSC instructor and banquet coordi-nator.

Twelve DSC students receivedtheir lettermen jackets thanks to thegenerosity of Tom Benson, Azar NutCompany chief financial officer. “Mr.Benson and Azar Nut Company em-ployees Tammy Velasco and ElodiaMiramontes were instrumental infunding the CHS lettermen jackets.

They have been immense supportersof the DSC program,” said Rivera.

Through a partnership betweenCHS and Azar Nut Com-pany, these DSC studentsspent approximately sixhours a week attendingon-the-job training at thenorthwest companyplant. “The studentslearned how to performin a real workplace envi-ronment and were able tocomplete a variety of as-sembly line tasks such assorting and packingproducts,” said Rivera.

The Special Ed. Banquet was heldto honor the students and their fami-lies and to present Azar Nut Co. rep-resentatives with special recognitionplaques, said Rivera. Also, specialeducation assistants Rosa Ruiz andLetty Medina were presented specialrecognition plaques for their workwith the DSC students.

Attending the banquet wereCanutillo ISD SuperintendentCharles Hart, Assistant Superinten-dent Pam Padilla, Comptroller TonyReza, and Special Education Direc-tor Priscilla Caballero.

Canutillo High special educationstudents earn lettermen jacketsworking in real world environment

CLINT — Our Lady of the LakeUniversity in San Antonio,T e x a swill behelpingYv e t t eN a n c yLoya ’sc a r e e rdreamsbecomea real-ity. Theuniver-sity isrankedamongthe topHispanic Serving Institutionsand each year their selectiveCollege Assistance MigrantProgram (CAMP) awards 50students a first year scholar-ship. Thereafter, the universityassists them with various ap-plications for obtaining grantsfor the remaining three years.Yvette is a senior at Clint HighSchool and is the fourth stu-dent to be awarded a CAMPscholarship. Although highschool performance is part ofthe selective process, CAMPalso considers desire andcommitment to succeed inhigher education. Other stu-dents at Clint High who havebeen awarded this scholar-ship as of May 2001 are RosaMoya, Texas A&M atKingsville, Rene Herrera, St.Edward’sat Austin and GildaVictorino, UT at El Paso.

Clint Highsenior givenfirst-yearscholarship

Yvette Nancy LoyaYvonne Rivera

AUSTIN — A series of achievable,common sense proposals designed toincrease the state’s production anduse of sustainable energy while in-creasing revenue for local economiesand public schools was announced onEarth Day by Jerry Patterson, Com-missioner of the Texas General LandOffice.

Texas is a national leader in thestudy and development of sustain-able energy sources, Patterson said.This year alone, Texas will host sixnational conferences of sustainableenergy trade associations and busi-nesses.

“Sustainable energy sources suchas wind power represent a vast, un-tapped source of energy and revenuefor Texas,” said Patterson.

In 1995, the General Land Officehelped develop the state’s first andone of the nation’s largest commer-cial wind energy facilities. Built onstate lands on the Delaware Moun-tains in West Texas, the project gen-erates enough electricity to power2,000 to 2,500 homes and has con-tributed more than $600,000 in roy-alty payments to the state’s Perma-nent School Fund.

“Wind power projects benefit theenvironment and can provide a renew-able source of revenue for school chil-dren in Texas,” said Patterson. “Withsustainable energy, everybody wins.”

But projects such as the DelawareMountains wind farm are facinghurdles in getting their clean energyto the customers, Patterson said, add-ing there are not enough power linesin West Texas to move the electricitythey create to the state’s power grid.

This lack of transmission capabil-ity hampers the growth of new windfarms and prevents existing facilitiesfrom producing energy at maximum

Sustainable energy plan for Texas announcedcapacity. Patterson envisions his planwill help address these challenges, hesays.

Patterson also highlighted a seriesof conferences to be held in Texas thisyear hosted by sustainable energytrade association groups and busi-nesses from across the country.Among these meetings will be thenational meetings of the Wind En-ergy Association, the Solar EnergySociety and the National Associationof State Energy Officials. The Gen-eral Land Office’s Tenth Annual Bor-der Energy Forum will be held Oc-tober 23-24.The Patterson Plan for SustainableEnergy

• Creates an innovative State GreenPower Program: This new programallows cities, state agencies andschools to buy sustainable energycreated on state lands at competitiverates. Status: Will begin this year.

• Use wind mapping data to facili-tate commercial wind energy devel-opment on state lands:

The GLO is nearing the end of atwo-year effort to find state landswith maximum wind energy poten-tial. This is the data wind energy de-velopers need before locating facili-ties in Texas. Status: Will issue a bidfor a new commercial wind energyfacility on state lands this year

• Create incentives for constructionof new power transmission linesneeded for wind energy developmentin West Texas. Patterson will reduceor waive easement fees for compa-nies building transmission lines overstate lands and supports pending leg-islation to eliminate barriers to newconstruction. Status: Minor legisla-tive language change needed to ad-just easement fees has been filed andis on track to pass this session.


NOTICE TO PUBLIC OF NO SIGNIFICANTIMPACT ON THE ENVIROMENT AND NOTICE

TO REQUEST FOR RELEASE OF FUNDCounty of El Paso West Texas County Courier500 E. San Antonio St. Published:El Paso, TX 79901 May 8, 2003

To All Interested Agencies, Groups and Persons:Seventeen (17) days after this publication The Housing Assistance Council will request theU.S Department of Housing and Urban Development to release Federal Funds under theSelf-Help Home Ownership Opportunity Program.

PROJECT NAME: Organizacion Progresiva de San Elizario Self-Help Construction Program

PURPOSE: This project will provide FY 2002 funds for the construction andland acquisition of 5.5 acres of vacant land in San Elizario, TX. Theland will be used for the construction of (11) eleven single familythree bedroom houses targeting low-income families.

LOCATION: Census Tract No: 155.

EST. COST: $111,111.00 (for site acquisition) in Self-Help Home OwnershipOpportunity Program Funds.

FINDING OF NO SIGNIFICANT IMPACTIt has been determined that such request for release for funds will not constitute an actionsignificantly affecting the quality of the human environment and accordingly the Countyof El Paso Texas has decided not to prepare an Environmental Impact Statement under theNational Environmental Policy Act of 1969 (PL 91-190).

The reasons for the decision not to prepare such a statement are as follows:1. Negative impacts to the environment as a result of the project are not anticipated.2. Disturbances (noise and dust) will be of a temporary nature and should cease

upon completion of the project.3. The project will not affect or be affected by the 100 year flooded plain.4. No effect is expected to protected or endangered wildlife or vegetation.5. The project will not affect archaeological sites or historic structures.6. Negative demographic impacts to the community, including community

facilities and services, are not anticipated.

An Environmental Review Record for the proposed project has been made by OrganizacionProgresiva de San Elizario of San Elizario, Texas which documents the environmental re-view to the project and more fully sets forth the reasons why such a statement is not re-quired. The Environmental Review Record is on file at the Office of Organizacion Progresivade San Elizario, 1444 Main St. San Elizario, TX 79849, and is available for public examina-tion and copying upon request between the hours of 8:00 a.m. and 5:00 p.m., Mondaythrough Friday. An additional copy for review will be on file at the County of El Paso, 500E. San Antonio St. El Paso, TX 79901.

PUBLIC COMMENTS ON FINDINGAll interested agencies, groups and persons disagreeing with this decision are invited tosubmit written comments for consideration by The County of El Paso. Such written com-ments should be received at the address specified above on before. All such comments soreceived will be considered and the County of El Paso will not request the release of fundsor take any administrative action on the within projects prior to the date specified above.

RELEASE OF FUNDSThe County of El Paso will undertake the project described above with FY 2002 Self-HelpHome Ownership Opportunity Program (SHOP) funds from the U.S. Department ofHousing and Urban Development (HUD) under Title I of the Housing and CommunityDevelopment Act of 1974. The County of El Paso is certifying to HUD that the County ofEl Paso and County Judge Dolores Briones, in her official capacity as County Judge, con-sent to accept the jurisdiction of the federal courts if an action is brought to enforce respon-sibilities in relation to environmental reviews, decision making and action, and that theseresponsibilities have been satisfied. The legal effect of the certification is that upon its ap-proval, Organizacion Progresiva de San Elizairo may use the FY 2002 Self-HelpHomeownership Opportunity Program (SHOP) funds and HUD will have satisfied itsresponsibilities under the National Environmental Policy Act of 1969.

OBJECTIONS TO STATE RELEASE OF FUNDSHUD will accept an objection to its approval of the release of funds and acceptance of thecertification only if it is on one of the following basis: (a) that the certification was not infact executed by the chief executive officer of other officer of the applicant approved byHUD; or (b) decision, finding, or step applicable to the project in the environmental re-view process; (c) other specific grounds in HUD regulations at 24 CRF 58.75. Objectionsmust be prepared and submitted in accordance with the required procedure (24 CFR Part58), and may be addressed to HUD at 200 North High Street, Columbus, Ohio 43215.Objections received after fifteen (15) days from the date of request of funds stated above,will not be considered by HUD.

Dolores Briones,County Judge

View from here By Jim Munafo

All of the hubbub — impressive!Local officials teamed up with

state bigwigs from both Texas andNew Mexico. There was even sup-port by dictates from on-high — di-rectives from the USDA.

How touching that we would be sodeserving of notice by royalty. Mostassuredly, the integrity of somethingof significant value must have beenseverely threatened to elicit so muchattention. Surely an element essen-tial to our cultural heritage was inperil.

And so it was. That long-standing,august and regal pursuit of high-minded gentlemen — the glorioussporting tradition of cock-fighting.

So, that’s what it takes. That’s whatwill bring the vast, silent majority outinto the sunlight, protesting an injus-tice. That’s what makes our bloodboil.

“What do you mean we can’t trans-port our ‘killer chickens’ across stateand federal lines? How else can wethrow them down it those smoke-filled pits? How else can we watchand wager and cheer as one highly-skilled assassin goes about inflictingmortal wounds on an opponent untilit becomes a slaughter? Only then arewe free to strut around in our mantleof manhood!”

Or maybe I misjudge. Or maybeI’m too quick to judge. Or maybe I’vemissed the point altogether. Ormaybe it’s just about the money —maybe the passion and lust for bloodhas nothing to do with it at all.

How dare something as mundaneas a chicken disease named END(Exotic Newscastle Disease) invadeour environs and practically impov-erish the promoters of this “sport.”END is a very fitting acronym.

Just because the practitioners ofthis machismo-building fiascocaused the infectious problem to be-gin with, is that really a good reasonto punish them? Is that a valid rea-son for isolating their flocks and pay-ing them for any poultry that mustbe destroyed to stop the spread of thecontagious disease?

What a shame. How devastating.

Chicken feathers don’t tickle my fancyHow tragic.

Yes, it is a shame that this is whatit takes to move people to action, toawaken them from their lassitude, tomake them cry out in anger. Yet, thatis what it takes — interfere with theirsavage lust for bloodletting, for ex-treme violence. How tragic andshameful that the same voices, nowcrying “foul,” could not be raised,carrying a vastly different message.

“Stop the killing of young womenalong our border” ought to have beenthe banner message echoed from therooftops for several years.

Why has no one dared to even lookat the numbers? We have 200 deadchickens and almost instant protest.We have 300 dead women and onlya little hustle and bustle, and that onlyafter more than three years havepassed.

Nor do kidnapped and molestedinfants and young children seem asimportant as dead chickens. Is therenothing wrong with this scenario?

Where are our priorities? How candead poultry count more than humanlife? Is the hunger for bloody deathand violence so strong that this soci-ety sees such vile, violent acts againstpersons as somehow less important?

For whatever reason, we as a peoplehave steadily become more accus-tomed to violence and much more ac-cepting of it. And it may be that wehave reached a point in human exist-ence where there exists an innate de-sire to either mete out or receive un-civilized, barbaric treatment.

It may be that we here in El Pasodo so, in part, because of our prox-imity to an area where it is “enter-taining” to watch the slow bloodydeath and painful death of “El Toro.”

Please do not suppose that I believethat it’s just a “Tex-Mex” thing. It’snot. What it is, is a universal and an-tiquated attitude that equates manli-ness to a red-blooded, arrogant andpseudo-callous attitude.

Under the aegis of such an um-brella of acceptance, we must workhard and resolve to change that con-viction in others’ hearts — and withinour own.

WASHINGTON, DC — The Bush Administration has launchedEarthDay.gov, a Web site that provides Americans a comprehensive guideto environmental service opportunities and Earth Day events sponsored bythe federal government, including events hosted by USDA agencies. Thesite is the first interagency effort to create a comprehensive federal resourcefor citizens who want to participate in Earth Day and other year-round envi-ronmental activities. President Bush has asked all federal agencies to sup-port volunteer service this Earth Day. “In the three decades since the firstEarth Day celebration, our air is cleaner, our water is purer and our naturalresources are better protected. We have learned from our successes and areputting that experience to work at the federal, state and local governmentlevels. Additionally, all Americans can help protect our natural resources bybeing good stewards of our air, water and land,” said President Bush.

“A healthy environment leads to a healthy agriculture and forest system.There are many opportunities for the public to participate in programs to re-duce soil erosion, conserve water and improve the quality of our natural re-sources,” said Agriculture Secretary Ann M. Veneman. “This website providesuseful information about volunteering for a variety of programs sponsored bythe U.S. Department of Agriculture and other government agencies.”

Visitors can search the Web site by state and region to find communityservice opportunities and Earth Day events where they live. In addition toevents, it allows visitors to download classroom curricula and find addi-tional information about the environment. EarthDay.gov also allows visi-tors to directly access the large database of environmental service opportu-nities that are part of the USA Freedom Corps Volunteer Network. The USAFreedom Corps is President Bush’s initiative to engage Americans in vol-unteer service.

The Web site includes links to the USDA Natural Resources Conserva-tion Service Earth Team Volunteer Program and the NRCS Backyard Con-servation Program, as well as Forest Service Volunteer Programs.

Bush administration launches online environmental resource


Town of AnthonyPublic Notice

AMNESTY PROGRAM — THERE WILL BE NO ARRESTS

The Anthony Texas Municipal Court will sponsor an am-nesty program from May 9, to May 30, 2003, for citizenswho have been cited and have not appeared in Court, forTraffic, Criminal, City ordinances, County Animal Con-trol and Department of Public Safety violations. Also, ifdefendants have been placed on payment plans and havenot complied with the payment terms, there is the possibilitythat a Capias Warrant of Arrest has already been issuedand/or your driverís license has been suspended in theState of Texas, the State of New Mexico, or any other ofthe states that are in the Non-Resident Compact Agreement.

During the amnesty period, defendants that appear inCourt and/or make arrangements with the Court, willnot be arrested, charged with Failure to Appear, (a $200.00fine), and the $50.00 dollar arrest fee will be deferred, (a$250.00 saving). The Anthony Texas Municipal Courtencourages all defendants to take advantage of the am-nesty program. It is a good opportunity to resolve anypending matters with the State, to prevent being ar-rested and to save money.

After the amnesty period with out notice, there will bea warrant sweep conducted by the Anthony PoliceDepartment.

Aviso PublicoAMNISTIA — NO HABRA ARRESTOS

El Juzgado (Corte), Municipal de Anthony Texas pondraen efecto un programa de AMNISTIA de Mayo 9, 2003,a Mayo 30, 2003, para personas que hayan violado la leypor infracciones de trafico, infracciones criminales,infracciones del Departamento de Seguridad Publica,violaciones de las ordenansas de la ciudad de AnthonyTexas, y que no se hayan presentado al Juzgado paracompadecer como lo exije la ley.

Las personas que se presenten al Juzgado de Anthony,Texas, durante el periodo de amnistia a pagar sus multasy/o a resolver cualquier problema pendiente en esteJuzgado, no se les requerira pagar la multa por no habersepresentado durante el periodo especificado, (Failure toappear, una multa de $200.00), y/o costos de arresto,($50.00). Se ahorraran cuando menos $250.00.

El juzgado / corte municipal anima a los infractores atomar ventaja de este periodo de amnistia. Es una magnificaoportunidad para resolver cualquier problema pendiente conEl Estado de Texas, prevenir ser arrestado y ahorrar dinero.

Al terminarse el periodo de amnistia el Departamento dePolicia de Anthony Texas conducira una redada de infractores.

ANTHONY MUNICIPAL COURT401 OAK • ANTHONY, TEXAS 79821

915-886-3272WTCC: 05/08/03

three to one. City RepresentativesGandara, Gloria Rodriguez andRamirez voted in favor of the ap-pointment while Bowling votedagainst it. City Representative SamBrewster was not present at themeeting.

Community member LorenzaFraire spoke up on issue stating thatcity council was not in compliancebecause they were appointing a “pub-lic servant to a non-public servantposition.” She said this appointmentwas made without following the CityCharter and Ordinance 186, therebyno allowing the Civil Service Com-mission to be a part of this tempo-rary promotion.

Fraire went on to say she feels thequality of public service at all levelsof government must continue to im-prove to benefit the public throughefficient and effective utilization ofresources available. She feels Citycouncil is not letting the Civil Ser-vice Commission operate as itshould. Fraire said she wanted toknow who she needs to speak to inorder to get the matter cleared up.

Shortly after Fierro’s appointmentwas approved, Gandara and Fraire

engaged in an argument severeenough to cause Gandara to leave themeeting. He was followed by CityRepresentatives Rodriguez andRamirez.

Due to not having a quorum,Sanchez called a recess. During therecess, City Representative Bowlingalso left the meeting and did not re-turn. As soon as the meeting wascalled back to order, City Represen-tatives Gandara, Rodriguez andRamirez were the only council mem-bers left along with Mayor Sanchez.

The action item regarding whereto place new hires of staff in the cityhall building sparked some chucklesfrom two council members.

Mayor Sanchez asked Fierro tobegin looking for answers on whereto house new employees as one ofhis initial directives as city manager.

City Representative Ramirez sug-gested Fierro could be housed inMayor Sanchez’s office, at whichpoint Rodriguez and Gandara begansnickering at Ramirez’s suggestion.

Mayor Sanchez replied she had noproblem with sharing her office.

Two other items that causedlengthy discussion were resolutionsconsenting to the creation of twoMunicipal Utility Districts; DesertView and Rio Grande.

These two districts would createaffordable housing, but the expense

of supplying water to these areaswould be paid for by the current land-owners. The expense would then betransferred to the new homeownersin the municipal utility districts byway of a tax.

Initially, the resolution for consentto create the Desert View MunicipalUtility District was approved, butwhen further discussion occurred inrelation to the second municipal dis-trict, Council reversed the previousvote and tabled both resolutions tocreate the two municipal districts.

The current landowner did confirmthe double taxation, but said it ap-plied only to residents living withinthe two districts and went on to ex-plain that the homeowners would bemade aware of the double taxingprior to them buying a house.

Council decided to table the itemsanyway.

In other business, City Council ap-proved the purchase of “Keys to theCity” to be given to an internationalgroup that will be touring the City ofSocorro. Some of the representativestouring Socorro will be from areassuch as Chile, Bolivia and Uruguay.Mayor Sanchez said the keys are agood marketing tool and council ap-proved the item. In a related item,Council also approved the purchase of“City of Socorro” pins also due to be-ing a good marketing tool.

SocorroFrom Page 1______________________

EAST EL PASO COUNTY — Monica Morton is looking for a job as amiddle school social studies teacher. So is Christy Foote, a soon-to-begraduate of New Mexico State University. Ramon Aguilar wants to teachscience to high school or middle school students.

Their job searches became a bit easier following May 2, when theSocorro Independent School District staged its first-ever Teacher Job Fairin the Education Center Board Room.

The late afternoon event brought together applicants and administra-tors from all Socorro campuses. Lines of hopeful teachers stretched outeach of the board room’s four doors. “We are having an absolutely tre-mendous response,” said Director of Personnel Services Barry Edwards.“I would imagine we have a couple hundred people here, with a widerange of teaching skills from elementary to high school. All the specialtyareas we’re looking for — special education, mathematics — are here.We’re pleasantly surprised and excited to have them.”

Edwards’ colleague, Director of Personnel Services Dorothy Whitman,says the department hopes to hire at least 50 teachers from the job fair, add-ing that the size and quality of the crowd is good news. “They are also high-quality people that we’ve already seen at the U.T. El Paso job fair, and inNew Mexico. We told them to meet the principals directly, and they did.”

First SISD job fair called successAUSTIN — A new survey of Texas family physicians

foretells a frightening future for the state’s Medicaidpatients. The number of family physicians who partici-pate in the Medicaid program could drop by more than40 percent if the cuts to physician reimbursement calledfor in the Texas House of Representative’s version ofthe budget becomes a reality.

“There will be a mass exodus of physicians forced toleave the Medicaid program if reimbursements that alreadyare inadequate are cut further,” said Robert Hogue, M.D.,president of the Texas Academy of Family Physicians.

The budget recently passed by the House includes a fivepercent reduction in payments to physicians and otherhealth care providers. Based on economic analysis of thecost of delivering basic, quantifiable units of medical care,Medicaid fees fall woefully short of covering those costs.In fact, Medicaid currently pays only about 50 cents onthe dollar. The Texas Senate is currently considering a threepercent cut to provider reimbursement rates.

The survey, conducted by the Texas Academy of Fam-ily Physicians, shows that about 89 percent of the state’sfamily physicians currently participate in the Medicaidprogram. Of those, only 59 percent say they will participate inthe program if the proposed provider cuts go into effect.

“More and more patients will be stranded without ac-

Doctors threaten to drop Medicaid if cuts are approvedcess to health care and limited physician choice,” Hoguesaid. “As physicians are forced to drop out of the Med-icaid program, patients will receive care in the emer-gency room, ultimately shifting costs to the local tax baseand driving up the cost of health care to all Texans.”

The forecast becomes even grimmer for new Medic-aid patients. According to the survey, 8 out of 10 familyphysicians who participate in Medicaid currently acceptnew patients, but when the proposed provider cut is fac-tored in, that number drops to only 3 of 10.

The survey also found that 84 percent of family phy-sicians participating in the Medicaid program were hav-ing difficulty referring Medicaid patients to specialtyphysicians.

“Our survey clearly shows serious problems alreadyexist with the availability of specialty physicians par-ticipating in the Medicaid program. Any deteriorationin the specialty ranks will only exacerbate this bleak situ-ation,” Hogue said.__________________________________________________TAFP, Texas’ largest medical specialty organization, pro-motes and assures the maintenance of high-quality healthcare, has 31 local chapters and is a chapter of the Ameri-can Academy of Family Physicians. (Polling dates:April17-22, 2003)

SOCORRO — They are calledVolunteer Days and the mood hasbeen enthusiastic as more than 100interested people have showed up onoccasions in Marchand April to helppaint, pamper and preserve the an-cient structure that is the centerpieceof Socorro’s Historical District.

In a partnership project betweenCornerstones Community Partner-ships of Santa Fe, New Mexico, andthe Historic Missions Restorations,Inc. of El Paso, work is moving for-ward to replace and renew the SocorroMission with methods and materialsused in its original construction.

During the March 1 event, over270 adobes were made from calicheand sand, and more lime plasteringwas applied to the walls. There wassomething for everyone to do, fromclearing the irrigation ditches to sift-ing and screening materials to bemade into more adobes.

Organizers say the project is abouta month behind in reaching the tar-get completion date of August 2003due to inclement weather, holiday va-

cations and illness. Also of concernhas the been the discovery of separa-tion cracking at the front facade, anissue currently being addressed.

Landscaping projects are beingassisted by the La Purísima Restora-tion Committee.

The use of interns and teams ofvolunteer trainees from other areashave been beneficial to the project.Once crew members have completed1,000 hours of training with the pro-gram they can assume positions ofleadership with other trainees.

The assistance of personnel trainedprofessionally for such restorationprojects has also given impetus to theproject. The HMR began last fall toactively pursue the assistance of in-terns through the International Coun-cil on Monuments and Sites and NorthAmerican Community Service volun-teers, and a grant proposal has beensubmitted to the Tinker Foundation tobring four masters from CasasGrandes, Mexico, to assist with exte-rior lime plastering and brick copingat the parapets of the Mission.

Interns and trained volunteers havecome from Mexico, Canada, Ghana,South Africa, Australia, Vermont,Colorado and Georgia, making theproject a truly international event.

Meanwhile, the project has main-tained its home-town focus and par-ticipation. The La Purísima Restora-tion committee has requested that itsparishioners “adopt a church pew” bytaking it home, refurbishing and refin-ishing it, and bringing the new, im-proved version back for installation.

Organizers thanked the Sierrabrothers, Manny and Leo, who have“adopted” multiple benches, andBernardo Fresquez who, lacking anpickup to haul his, strapped it to thetop of his mini-van for transport.

“The project to preserve theSocorro Mission has proven thatvolunteerism is alive along the Mis-sion Trail,” one organizer said.

Those interested in participatingthe project may obtain further infor-mation at 858-4655 or stopping byin person at 328 South Nevarez Rd.in Socorro.

Socorro Mission preservation project moving right along


King Super Crossword

By Steve Escajeda�Special to the Courier

HOPE SPRINGSETERNALACROSS

1 “Outta here!” 6 Acted kittenish 11 Cul-de- _ 14 Select, with “for” 17 Porthos’ pal 19 She knew how toget a head 20 Blunder 21 Kind of cross 22 Start of a remarkby Florida Scott-Maxwell 26 Loser’s locale 27 Prepare to fly 28 Maria _ Trapp 29 Inflict 30 Daly of “JudgingAmy” 31 ’81 Albert Finneyfilm 35 Decorate 36 Tennis legend 39 Uproar 41 Knight fight 43 Stalls 46 Courtyards 47 Baseball’s “MasterMelvin” 48 “The Raven”monogram 51 Part 2 of remark 56 Dundee denial 57 Networks 58 Formerly knownas

59 _ as a beet 60 Drink like adachshund 62 Menu phrase 63 California resort 66 Let 68 Seance sound 70 Relaxes 73 ChanteuseLemper 74 Woodworking tool 77 “Eugene Onegin”character 78 Candidate’sbacker 80 AAA offering 83 Take by force 84 Prone 86 Bridal path? 88 _ -Locka, FL 90 Part 3 of remark 96 Be in debt 97 Seville shout 98 _ France 99 Did withoutdessert100 Put on102 Coercion104 Famed loch105 Daphnis’ darling107 Allure109 “Against All _” (’84film)112 Sign of spring113 “So there!”114 Nastase of tennis115 “Pshaw!”118 End of remark

125 Wonderment126 _ tai127 “Walker, TexasRanger” star128 Big name infashion129 _ judicata130 Matterhorn, e.g.131 Put down132 First Americansaint

DOWN 1 Without 2 Cut short 3 Sita’s spouse 4 Doctors’ org. 5 DaydreamerWalter 6 _ -jongg 7 “Evil Woman”group 8 “Holy cow!” 9 Funnyman Philips 10 Probe 11 John and Yoko’sson 12 Peacoat part 13 Packs 14 Different 15 Hymn of praise 16 Ottoman 18 Hockey’s Mikita 19 _ Lanka 23 Part of CEO 24 “Carmen”character 25 Horse’s gait

30 TV host John 31 Pianist Andre 32 King of Israel 33 Meat cut 34 Wittenberg wife 35 Car 36 Related 37 Rope material 38 Biblical book 40 Martin of “TheMajestic” 42 Aquatic mammal 44 Beer barrel 45 Nick one’s knee 48 Raison d’_ 49 Sailed through 50 Third degree? 52 “Lorenzo’s _” (’92film) 53 Oklahoma city 54 Poverty 55 Fall flower 61 Periscope part 63 He gives a hoot 64 Lively dance 65 Santa _, CA 67 He knew all theangles 69 _ Spumante 71 A bit of Bach 72 Curry components 74 Sailors 75 Present 76 Mete out theminestrone 79 Timber tree 81 Bakery buy 82 Duel-use items?

83 “Says _?” 85 Vows 86 TV’s “The Black _” 87 Ivy Leaguer 89 “No ifs, _, or buts” 91 Make too much of 92 “O patria mia”singer 93 Melancholy 94 Architect Saarinen 95 Bears’ lairs100 Heady quaffs101 Mrs. RichardWagner103 Go it alone105 Russell of“Gladiator”106 Takes on board108 Hotelier Helmsley110 Pons or Ponselle111 Exploits112 Out of range113 Cut a cuticle114 April initials115 Fedora fabric116 Facts, for short117 School founded in1440119 Guy’s counterpart120 Watch pocket121 Author Levin122 “_ Brown” (’97film)123 Quiche or pizza124 Shemp sib

Answer Page 11

For the second straight season San AntonioSpurs forward Tim Duncan claimed the NBA’sMost Valuable Player trophy.

And for the second straight season San An-tonio Spurs forward Tim Duncan winning theaward was a bit of a surprise.

Last year everyone had pretty much alreadygiven the trophy, and deservedly so, to NewJersey Nets point guard Jason Kidd. Last Sun-day it was fairly evident that Minnesota T-Wolves forward Kevin Garnett was the front-runner.

But in both instances, a case can be madefor Duncan’s trophies. Duncan can score, re-bound, defend, pass the ball and lead a teamby his example on and off the court.

I felt Garnett had earned the award this sea-son but I can live with the eventual choice. It’ssome of the other voting that I found hard toswallow.

Garnett did finish a close second toDuncan…that was good. Kobe Bryant finishedthird in the voting…that was bad.

The main criteria for the MVP award in-volves a determination of how valuable youare to your particular team. Kobe finished two

There’s no predicting how sports people will vote or behavespots ahead of teammate Shaquille O’Neal inthe balloting, who finished fifth.

How can Kobe finish ahead of Shaq when itis obviously clear that O’Neal is far more valu-able to the team?

Don’t get me wrong, Kobe can score but hecan also take the Lakers out of a game by go-ing one-on-one all night and taking 40 shots,many of them while teammates are open andwaving for the ball.

Here is an interesting fact.The Lakers finished the season with a 50-32

record this season. Not up to their usual stan-dards but enough to get them to where theywant to be…in the playoffs. But remember thatShaq missed the first 12 games of the seasonwith foot problems.

When Kobe was asked to step in and be themain man, the Lakers raced out to a dismal 3-9 record and found themselves firmly en-sconced in last place in the Pacific Division ofthe Western Conference.

After Shaq rejoined the team, the Lakers re-corded a 47-23 mark and are beginning to re-semble the same old Lakers.

Another shocker I noticed was the fact thatDallas Mavericks forward Dirk Nowitzkiplaced seventh in the voting while SacramentoKings forward Chris Webber finished 10th.

What the heck were these voters thinking

about? These two guys should have been at thetop of the list in contention for the award.

Nowitzki averaged 25 points per game and10 rebounds while Webber averaged 23 pointsand 10.5 rebounds. Both players led their re-spective teams to great seasons and each wantsthe ball when the game is on the line.

Another surprise was that Allan Iverson,the Philadelphia 76ers guard, was sixth.Sixth! Iverson’s numbers were way downthis season and there is no reason he shouldhave finished ahead of Nowitzski, Webber,New Jersey’s Jason Kidd (9th) and Dallas’Steve Nash (12th).

The MVP award may be an unofficial ba-rometer of how we rate the best player in theleague by, but at least it’s good to see Duncan,one of the most respected “gentlemen” in thegame of basketball, earn its highest individualaward.

Now if we could only have the voters toimprove their game.

Coaches gone wildWhat’s the deal with college coaches lately?

I’m ready for the first installment of the newvideo “Coaches Gone Wild.”

First, 47-year old Iowa State basketballcoach Larry Eustachy is caught on camera do-ing his best John Belushi in Animal House

imitation, drinking beer and fondling co-edsat an early morning frat party.

Then Alabama football coach Mike Pricetakes a trip to Florida and spends hundreds ofdollars at a topless bar and the next morning afemale charges $1,000 in room service toPrice’s room.

Wow, where were these guys when I waslooking for some partying buddies in myyounger days?

Trouble is, both coaches are married, evi-dently not happily, and have children.

What is going on? Do these high-profile menthink they are invisible? It’s one thing to bestupid but it’s quite another to think nobodywill notice.

Some guys never learn. When Price wasfired (he was hired just four months ago) hehad the gall to say that he thought the schoolpresident was using bad judgment. Usingbad judgment! I wonder how Price woulddescribe what he did — “a momentary lossof brainwave activity?”

Are coaches supposed to be flawless orsaints? Of course not. But how difficult is it tostay out of a topless bar or a room full of col-lege co-eds at 2:30 in the morning?

And these adults are supposed to mold ouryoung men for the future.

Sad.

EAST MONTANA — The East Montana Middle School track teamshad another great season. The boys eighth grade and the girls sev-enth grade teams captured district titles. Runner-up in the districtwas the girls eighth grade and the boys seventh grade at Fabens

during the district meet. The four teams combined came up with 18trophies total from six meets. The Rattlers were 135-members strongand were coached by J. Cooper, M. Chavez, K. Antwine, L. Montesand J. Marin.

East Montana runs away with district titles— Photo courtesy of J. Marin

115, at the Office of Rural and Com-munity Affairs. This non-profit Foun-dation can apply for and administergrants on behalf of rural communi-ties, hospitals, schools, health careproviders or even chambers of com-merce that no other entity would havethe resources to administer. Due to adrafting error, however, SB 115 onlyallows the Foundation to handlehealth care related grants. SB 446corrects this error. It simply clarifieslanguage so that the foundations mayapply for community and economicrural programs and makes simpletechnical changes.

That’s it for today. Rest assuredthat I am working very hard on yourbehalf at our Texas State Capitol. I’mhappy and proud to be your repre-sentative — Chente for la gente.

ChenteFrom Page 2______________________


Usual DeadlineOn or before May 31, (or 30 days after a notice of appraisedvalue was mailed to you, whichever is later).

Late protests are allowed if you miss the usual deadline for goodcause. Good cause is some reason beyond your control, like amedical emergency. The ARB decides whether you have goodcause.

Late protests are due the day before the Appraisal Review Boardapproves records for the year. Contact the Appraisal District formore information.

* The deadline is postponed to the next business day if it falls ona weekend or holiday.

Deadline* for Filing Protests with the ARBSpecial DeadlinesFor change of use (the Appraisal District informed you that you arelosing agricultural appraisal because you changed the use of yourland), the deadline is before the 30th day after the notice of thedetermination was mailed to you.

For ARB changes (the ARB has informed you of a change thatincreases your tax liability and the change didn’t result from a pro-test your filed), the deadline is before the 30th day after the noticeof the determination was mailed to you.

If you believe the Appraisal District or ARB should have sent you anotice and did not, you may file a protest until the day before taxesbecome delinquent (usually February 1). The ARB decides whetherit will hear your case based on evidence about whether a requirednotice was mailed to you.

The law gives property owners the right to protest actionsconcerning their property tax appraisals. You may follow theseappeal procedures if you have a concern about:

• the market or special appraised value placed on your property• the unequal appraisal of your property• the inclusion of your property on the appraisal roll• any exemptions that may apply to you• the qualification for an agricultural or timber appraisal• the taxable status of your property• the jurisdiction in which you are being taxed• the ownership of property• the change of use of land receiving special appraisal• any action taken by the Chief Appraiser, Appraisal District

or Appraisal Review Board (ARB).

Informal ReviewThe El Paso Central Appraisal District has a trained staff toassist you with your tax appraisal problems.In order to have an informal or ARB hearing you must file awritten protest before your deadline (see below for deadlines).If you receive a notice of appraised value, a protest form isattached to the bottom below the perforation. If you wish to pro-test, simply tear off this form, sign the back, and return it to theEl Paso Central Appraisal District.If you do not receive a notice of appraised value, you shouldsend a letter or postcard stating that you wish to protest yourproperty value. Be sure to include your name and address orproperty identification number.After your written protest is received, the Appraisal District willsend you a letter notifying you of the date and time of your infor-mal and ARB hearings.However, if you have a question about exemptions, proce-dures, or anything not related to a protest, you may call (915)780-2131. Your call will be logged, your question noted, andgiven to the appropriate department for a call back.

Review by the Appraisal Review BoardIf you can’t resolve your problem informally with the CentralAppraisal District (CAD) staff, you may have your case heard bythe Appraisal Review Board (ARB).The ARB is an independent board of citizens that reviews prob-lems with appraisals or other concerns aforementioned. It has

the power to order the CAD to make the necessary changes tosolve problems. If you file a written request for an ARB hearing(called a Notice of Protest) before the deadline, the ARB will setyour case for a hearing. You’ll receive written notice of the time,date and place of the hearing. If necessary, you may request ahearing on Saturday or Sunday, or in the evening. Prior to yourhearing, you may ask to review the evidence the CAD will use touphold their determination. The CAD may ask you for a copy ofthe evidence you plan to present. The hearing will be informal.You or a designated agent may appear in person or presentevidence, or you may send notarized evidence for the ARB toreview at your hearing. The CAD representative will presentevidence about your case. You may cross-examine the CADrepresentative. The ARB will make its decision based on theevidence presented. The CAD has the burden of establishingthe property’s value by a preponderance of the evidence pre-sented. You can get a copy of a protest form from the Ap-praisal District office at:

5801 Trowbridge Drive

Note: You shouldn’t try to contact ARB members outside of thehearing. The law requires ARB members to sign an affidavit say-ing that they haven’t talked about your case before the ARBhears it.

Review by the District CourtAfter it decides your case, the ARB must send you a copy of itsorder by certified mail. If you are not satisfied with the decision,you have the right to appeal to district court. If you choose to goto court, you must start the process by filing a petition within 45days of the date you receive the ARB’s order.

Tax PaymentIf you appeal and your case is pending, you must pay the lesserof the amount of taxes due on the portion of the taxable valuenot in dispute, or the amount of taxes due on the property underthe order from which the appeal is taken.

More InformationYou can get more information by contacting the El Paso CentralAppraisal District, 5801 Trowbridge Drive, El Paso, Texas 79925-3345, (915) 780-2131. You can also get a pamphlet describinghow to prepare a protest from the Appraisal District or from theState Comptroller’s Property Tax Division at P.O. Box 13528,Austin, Texas 78711-3528.

EL PASO CENTRAL APPRAISAL DISTRICTProperty Tax Protest and Appeal Procedures

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★Notice of Public HearingTown of Anthony, Texas

Project Completion and CloseoutTexas Community Development Project

#722002

The Town of Anthony will conduct a public hearing tosolicit the input and participation of all of its residents inits Texas Community Development Programproject.Please attend this meeting and voice your opinionconcerning the completion of a project which has pro-vided infrastructure in support of business investment,and which has been implemented with assistance fromthe Texas Capital Fund of the Texas Community Devel-opment Program.Discussion of the completed activitiesof the project, including location, general cost, and projectbenefits, and the town’s performance in implementing theproject.

DATE OF THE HEARING: Tuesday, May 13, 2003

LOCATION OF Town Council Room,THE HEARING: Town Hall in Anthony, Texas

TIME OF HEARING: 5:00 P.M.

The Town of Anthony has a Citizen Participation Planthat provides for and encourages citizen participation atall stages of the Community Development Program;copies are available by request. Persons unable to attendthese public hearings may submit their views regardingcompletion of the project at the Town Hall in Anthony,Texas.

Accommodations for handicapped persons will be avail-able; handicapped persons in need of special assistancefor attending the hearings are encouraged to contact theTown Clerk at (915) 886-3944.

El publico en general está invitado a asistir a estas audiencias.La presentación y discusión del Programa de Desarrollo de laComunidad del Estado de Texas se haran en español paraaque las personas que asi lo deseen.

Art Franco, Mayor Date Published:Town of Anthony, Texas 05/08/03

Fabens girlmakes historywith All-StateselectionFABENS — Paula Portillo, asenior at Fabens HighSchool, has been named tothe Texas Girls Coaches As-sociation 2002-2003 Basket-bal l Academic Al l StateTeam. Paula is the only Class4A student-athlete from thisarea honored with thisAward. She was also a Firstteam All-District 2-4A selec-tion as well as an AcademicAll-District selection. Paulaled Fabens to a third place tiein District 2-4A and is a Na-tional Honor Society memberat Fabens HS.

— Contributed by NoelCastaneda Paula Portillo

EAST EL PASO COUNTY —Alexander Ramos will represent hishome campus of Mountain ViewHigh School in East Montana for a

Mountain View runner will take his speed to Austin again on May 9second consecutive year by compet-ing at the state level in Austin on Fri-day, May 9.

Ramos, a senior this year, quali-

fied in the 3200 meters and 1600meters. He is one of only two stu-dent-athletes to represent RegionI which covers the entire Pan-handle and extends from El Pasoto Ft. Worth, according to CoachRaul Salas.

Qualifying in the 3200 meterswith a time of 9 minutes and 32second, Ramos clocked the thirdfastest time out of eight qualifiers;in the 1600 meters he ran a time offour minutes and 22 seconds, fifthfastest of eight state competitors.

Undefeated in the El Paso areain both these events for the pasttwo seasons, Ramos hopes to buildon his success at state competitionlast year when he placed second incross-country.

Ramos has represented Moun-tain View well in track and fieldbut hasn’t neglected his studies. Heis a member of the National Jun-ior Honor Society and is in the top10 percent of his class.

It will be the fourth consecutiveyear that MVHS has had a runneradvance to the state level, Salassaid.

To stop the rise in farm and com-mercial equipment theft, the DPSMotor Vehicle Theft Service is imple-menting the Texas Recovery andIdentification Program, or TRIP,which will give law enforcement aneffective tool for identifying stolenequipment and returning it to itsrightful owner.

Across the state, thieves are tak-ing farm and commercial equipment,worth hundreds of thousands of dol-lars, and then reselling it at a highprice. From 2000 to 2001, the num-ber of stolen pieces of farm equip-ment increased by 32.7 percent. Inthe same time period, there was alsoa slight rise in the numbers of stolencommercial equipment.

Less than 20 percent of this stolenequipment is recovered because own-ership is difficult to track.

TRIP will give law enforcementstatewide access to equipment andownership information so that offic-ers can quickly identify stolen propertyand return it to its rightful owners.

Farm and commercial equipmentowners can enter their equipment in-formation into the password-protected,

DPS-maintained database by visitinghttp://records.txdps.state.tx.us on theinternet. DPS will contact owners ona regular basis to verify ownership sta-tus of registered equipment and updatecontact information.

Equipment must meet the follow-ing criteria for eligibility in the TRIP:

• Grade — farm or commercialgrade.

• Style — Vehicles must have per-manent wheels or tracks. However,a trailer does not qualify for the pro-gram, unless it has some type ofequipment, such as an electric gen-erator or air compressor, permanentlymounted on it.

• PIN — Equipment must have amanufacturer property identificationnumber (PIN).

Anyone who owns equipment thatmeets the above listed criteria and isinterested in participating in the TRIPcan do so at no cost by entering theirinformation online at the above-men-tioned Web site. For anyone whodoes not have access to the Internet,they can pick up forms at dealers andrental companies of heavy equipmentand farm equipment.

DPS helps farmers, ranchers recover equipment


City of SocorroPUBLIC NOTICEA PUBLIC HEARING will be held at 6:00 p.m. onMay 27, 2003 during the Planning Commission meetingat City Hall, 124 S. Horizon Blvd., Socorro, Texas. Pur-pose of the public hearing is to receive public commentson the following proposed rezoning(s):

1) Lot 1, Block 1 Melton Place, 101 Melton Road,from R-1, Single Family Residential to C-2, Gen-eral Commercial by Edmundo Rubio, Jr.;

1) Lots 19 and 20, Block 5 Spanish Trail, 183Carreta Lane from R-1, Single Family Residentialto R-2, Medium Density Residential by Diane E.Dominguez Ramirez.

TERE RODRIGUEZInterim City Clerk

WTCC: 05/08/03

Digital

Technologies

♦ Custom Computers♦ Onsite Repair/Upgrade♦ On Call♦ Web Design♦ Contracts Available♦ Competitive Pricing

A Custom Services Company

Appointments by phone or e-mail.Monday - Friday 8AM - 5PM

Joseph E. Dion, Jr.(915) 478-4292

[email protected]

Town of Horizon CityPUBLIC NOTICEA PUBLIC HEARING will be held at 6:30 p.m. onTuesday, May 13, 2003 during the Regular CityCouncil Meeting at City Hall, 14999 Darrington Road,Horizon City, Texas. Purpose of the public hearing is toallow any interested persons to appear and testifyregarding the following proposed ordinance(s):

1) Proposed Ordinance No. 0106: rezoning a portionof the southern Section of 31, Block 78, Township 3,Lots 1, 2 and 3 from R-2, Single Family Residentialto C-1, General Commercial.

2) Proposed Amendment No. 001 to Zoning Or-dinance No. 0102, to amend Chapter 13 to create aPlanned Unit Development.

Those who are unable to attend may submit their viewsin writing to the City Clerk of Horizon City. Ordinancesare too extensive to print. Ordinances are always availablefor viewing or copying upon request from the City Clerkat the above address.

Sandra SierraCity Clerk

WTCC: 05/08/03

elections seated the top threevote-getters from a field of fivecandidates. Angel J. Cuellar won280 votes; Rick Villarreal, 205;and Monica Munoz, 154. Othercandidates were Ernestina Fierro,116 votes; and Alex Seanez, 113.Beatriz “Bea” Burciaga will serveout an unexpired term, garnering208 over candidate Becky Avilawho took 155 votes.• The Clint ISD and the SanElizario ISD did not hold elec-tions due to uncontested races, aswas the case with the Town ofClint.

In other news■ The Socorro Police Depart-ment will be conducting a War-rant Sweep during the last weekin May, but the first three weeksof this month will be consideredamnesty weeks for anyone whomight have an outstanding war-rant for whatever violation, suchas traffic citations and City Ordi-nance Violations. It is in thecitizen’s best interest to take careof any citations they may haveduring the first three weeks inMay.

■ American Cancer Society, inconjunction with Canutillo ISD,will hold the Second Annual Re-lay For Life Walk, Run or Stroll,beginning at 6:30 p.m., Friday,May 9, and continue through 8a.m., Saturday, May 10, atCanutillo High School EaglesStadium, 7311 Bosque Road. Theevent is designed to bring togethercommunity residents for a nightof exercise and entertainment, tocelebrate cancer survivors, me-morialize those who lost theirbattle with cancer, and supportfamilies and friends who are cur-rently battling with cancer. “Allfunds raised through this event

will be used to help provide edu-cation and patient services to fami-lies in the Canutillo area,” saidGabriela Marquez, Canutillo El-ementary School counselor andRelay For Life volunteer. Music,food and refreshments will beavailable. An awards ceremonywill be held at 8 a.m., Saturdaymorning. For more information,call 877-7614 or 544-4425.

■ The Mission Valley BusinessAlliance will meet on Tuesday, May13, 2003, from 7:00 p.m. to 9:00p.m. at the Sombras Del PasadoRestaurant in Socorro, Texas at10205 Socorro Road. The next ma-jor initiative for the alliance is toestablish an arts district to promotetourism and economic development.Special guests include Jack Ander-son, Texas Commission of the Arts,who has experience in Art’s and eco-nomic development with successfulprojects in the U.S., Mexico andBritish Columbia. For informationcall Raul Carrasco (915) 858-2015(LVMSG).

■ Many youngsters dream of trav-eling into space. The lucky stu-dents at Borrego Elementary inSan Elizario will get to live thatdream vicariously when their per-sonal signatures travel aboard aU.S. Space Shuttle mission withthe Signatures in Space program.Student Signatures in Space (S3)is a nationwide project associatedwith Space Day, which took placeon May 1 as the culminating eventof the Embrace Space educationalinitiative, intended to inspire futuregenerations to continue space ex-ploration and to encourage science,math, and technology education.More than 500 elementary andmiddle schools are participating inthe S3 project this year, andAlfonso Borrego Elementary wasone of the schools selected.

■ Toni Marie Ramirez has beenselected as the 2003-04 SocorroHigh School student body presi-

dent. Student body officers areDebie Lafuente, vice-president;Jaime Carrasco, secretary; andRosalie Lujan, treasurer. BrendaBagues, also of SHS, has beenawarded a $1,000 scholarshipfrom TEXTESOL.

■ Horizon’s award-winningScorpion All-Star cheerleaderswill host a fund-raising Skate Jamon May 26, Memorial Day atRollerking at 1579 Pellicano.During a four-hour session, 6 to10 p.m., tickets are being offeredat half-price — a $10 value foronly $5. For more information ona VIP Guest Pass call 852-4235or 858-1769.

■ The El Paso Mystery Troupeis holding registration and audi-tions for upcoming performancesof traditional murder mysteries,dinner mysteries and melodra-mas. People ages 16 to 90 are in-vited to participate in one-nightevents and multiple perfor-mances. Costumers, set buildersand promotional personnel alsoneeded for both in and out-of-town performances. Call 544-5992 for information.

■ May as National Melanoma/Skin Cancer Detection and Pre-vention Month and according tothe Skin Cancer Foundation thelifetime risk of an individual de-veloping melanoma will increaseto 1 in 50 by the year 2010. Edu-cation, prevention and early de-tection are the best weapons tofight this deadly disease. Detaileddescriptions of warning signs, aswell as guidelines for sun protec-tion, are available on the internetat www.galdermausa.com, spon-sored by Galderma Laboratorieswhich also offers a dermatologistsearch tool, news and articlesabout various skin conditions andlinks to other skin care and der-matology resources to keep youup-to-date and well-informedyear around.

BriefsFrom Page 1______________________

Bill Childress Elementary School,in Canutillo School District, was pre-sented recently with a Wal-MartGood Works grant to support theschool’s on-going campus beautifi-cation projects.

Ruben Garcia, manager of Wal-Mart on Mesa Street, visited theChildress ES campus last week topresent Principal Annette Brighamwith a check for $500 as part of theemployees’ efforts to get involvedwith their communities. In addition,store employees donated 25 plantsand two trees for the campus.

Employees participating in the pre-sentation were Emma Canales, GoodWorks committee coordinator, andKristi Moss, employee-volunteer.Receiving the donation on behalf ofthe school were Carroll De La O andher fifth grade students. De La O is

Wal-Mart representatives (in background,from left) Ruben Garcia, EmmaCanales, and Kristi Moss present check to Childress Elementary Schoolfifth grade students in Carroll De La O’s class.

Childress ES awarded grantBy Alfredo Vasquez�Special to the Courier

the school’s campus beautificationcoordinator. She has been involvedwith the beautification project sinceits inception five years ago.

“We are truly appreciative of the

support that we have received fromcommunity businesses like Wal-Mart. Their contributions have madeour campus a better place for studentsto learn and play,” said Brigham.

www.wtccourier.com


ComixOUT ON A LIMB By Gary Kopervas

AMBER WAVES By Dave T. Phipps

THE SPATS By Jeff Pickering

R.F.D. By Mike Marland

Classified Ads

By Don FloodYou’ve probably heard about

“speed-dating,” gatherings wheresingles meet for a series of seven-minute “dates.”

But you can guess the problem.Seven minutes? Please.That’s a lot to invest in a rela-

tionship that you know from theget-go is a dud.

Which brings us to the latestbreakthrough in American datingefficiency — the three-minute dat-ing service! (Absolutely true.)

Someday, though, people maylook back and recall a gentler time,when relationships were allowedto blossom, mature, and yes, some-times wither, at a more measuredseven-minute pace:

SHE: What is it?HE: Nothing.SHE: Look, we’ve been together

long enough for me to know whensomething’s wrong.

HE: It’s just that, uh, I thinkmaybe we should “cool” it for awhile.

SHE: Cool it? Forty-five secondsago you wanted a commitment.

ME: I know, it’s not you, it’s …SHE: Is there someone else?HE: Well, um, yes. You see, just

before we met, I was involved in along-term relationship.

SHE: How long?HE: Seven minutes.SHE: Wow.HE: I thought she was the “one.”SHE: What happened?HE: I don’t know. I gave her

some of the best minutes of my life.SHE: What about us? Don’t our

5 minutes and 38 seconds togethermean anything to you?

HE: Yes, of course, but she was… she was my Soul Mate.

SHE (through tears): Your soulmate?

HE: And I thought I was hers.When she was down — and believeme, there was a period of close to 2minutes when she was down all thetime — I was the one who picked

Remembering the way we were — brieflyher up. I was the one who … (soundof quiet, manly sobbing).

SHE: It’s OK.HE: I’m sorry, I just don’t know

if I’m ready to jump into anotherrelationship right now.

SHE: I can wait.HE: You say that now, but what

about a minute from now? Twominutes?

SHE: I can’t believe you’re readyto throw everything away. Sure,we’ve had some tough times, butwe’ve had good times too. Remem-ber how hard we laughed when Ispilled that drink on myself?

HE: Of course I remember!SHE: That was our two-minute

anniversary. Oh, those were theseconds!

HE: Yes — we were so youngand carefree then.

SHE: But that was then.HE: Maybe it can be that way

again.SHE: No, I don’t think so. I’m not

that frightened little girl you met 6minutes and 21 seconds ago …

HE: But …SHE: Let me finish. I’m older

now; I’ve changed. And you’re stillthe same old guy I met, oh, 6 min-utes and 33 seconds ago now. Be-sides, I don’t think you’ve forgot-ten her.

HE: Who?SHE: Your soul mate!HE: Her? She’s ancient history!

You’re my soul mate!SHE: I’m sorry, but I’ve moved

on.HE: That can’t be! I promise

you, you’ll be my soul mate for all…

DATING HOST: TIME!HE: What?DATING HOST: Time! Seven

minutes is up. Next date!(Moving on to next date.)HE: You’ll have to forgive me.

I’m very vulnerable right now. I justgot out of a long-term relationship.______________________________________________________(c) 2003 King Features Synd., Inc.

LEGALS

SOCORROINDEPENDENT

SCHOOLDISTRICT

Invitation toRespond:

Sealed bids/pro-posals/CPS to fur-nish the District withthe following prod-ucts and/or ser-vices accepted atthe following times:

ICS SYSTEMUPGRADE FOR

CLARKE/SIERRAVISTA SCHOOLS

CSP NO.199-0516-0370

FRIDAY,MAY 16, 2003,

9 A.M.

Copies of the bid-ding documentsmay be obtainedbeginning Friday,May 2, 2003 bycontacting theProject Engineer’soffice at:

Borunda &Associates, Inc.9900 Montana

Ave., Suite EEl Paso, Texas

79925Phone: 592-7611

Fax: 592-7622

A deposit of $100per set will be re-quired for each planset a contractorwishes to receive. Ifthe plans andspecifications arereturned in goodcondition, the de-posit will be re-funded.

A pre-bid confer-ence is scheduledto be held at 9 a.m.,Friday, May 09,2003, in the atSocorro ISD Op-erational Services,201 Tanton Rd., ElPaso, TX 79927. Atthis conference bid-ders will be affordedthe opportunity toask questions anddiscuss any aspectof this project. Al-though attendanceat the pre-bid con-ference is not man-datory, all biddersare responsible forthe information dis-cussed at the con-

ference, and arestrongly urged toattend. It is alsohighly recom-mended that all bid-ders visit and in-spect each worksite prior to submit-ting a bid.

Proposals will bereceived at theBusiness ServicesDept., 12300Eastlake Drive, un-til the specifiedtimes. Detailedspecifications areavailable from theabove office be-tween 8 a.m. and 4p.m. Mondaysthrough Fridays.WTCC-5/08/03________________________

BARGAINS

2002 Honda AccordDX, A/C, 5-speed,4-cylinder. 23,000miles. $14,000.505-546-4286.________________________

HELPWANTED

Attention

Students!SUMMER WORK$13.50 base-appt.

Scholarships/Internships

Conditions exist,FT/PT flex

Customer service/sales

779-1600www.workforstudents.com5/8-6/12________________________

RENTALS

TWO BEDROOMHOME FOR RENT:• Off Alameda inClint • Nicely re-modeled, quiet area• Call 598-1961 or383-1152.________________________

REAL ESTATE

Residential lot, cul-de-sac, 15311Woodhill, HorizonCity. Owner fi-nance. 633-6684.5/8/03________________________

SELF-HELP

Alcoholics Anony-mous Group Paso

Del Norte meets at8501 Kingsway inWestway, Monday-Saturday, 8 p.m.Call 886-4948 forinformation.

A l c o h ó l i c o sAnónimos GrupoPaso Del Nortesesiones lunes asabado, a 8-9 de latarde, 8501K i n g s w a y ,Westway. 886-4948para informacion.________________________

Persons who havea problem with al-cohol are offered afree source of helplocally. AlcoholicsAnonymous Group8 de Enero meetsat 15360 HorizonBlvd. in HorizonCity on Mondaysthrough Saturdaysat 8 p.m. Call 859-0484 for informa-tion.

Tiene problemascon el alcohol? Hayuna solucíon.V i s i t e m o s .A l c o h ó l i c o sAnónimos, Grupo 8de Enero, 15360

Horizon Blvd., Hori-zon City, sesioneslunes a sábado a 8de la tarde.Informacion: 859-0484.________________________

SERVICES

“WindshieldDing —

Gimme a Ring”JIFFYGLASSREPAIR

Windshield RepairSpecialists

By appt. at yourhome or office:

R.V. DickHarshberger

915-852-9082________________________

BERT’SAUTOMOTIVE

REPAIRDomestic and

Foreign852-3523

1558 Oxbow,Horizon City

________________________

HORIZON CITYPLUMBING852-1079

• Electric rooter ser-vice for sewers anddrains• Appliance installa-tion• Many otherplumbing servicesLicensed, bonded

and insured foryour protection.

________________________

EL PASO AREA — El Paso Sector agents of the Bu-reau of Customs and Border Protection seized 4,684 poundsof marijuana, valued in excess of $3.7 million, in four sepa-rate episodes that began Friday morning, May 2.

The first took place near Ft. Hancock when agentsstopped a Chevy Blazer driving in a notorious smug-gling area. Two Mexico nationals, ages 23 and 24, werearrested when agents saw burlap bundles in the rear pas-senger area. The net was 760 pounds of marijuana.

The second episode was near Santa Teresa on Fri-day night when agents saw a pickup cross the borderfrom Mexico into the U.S. The driver fled as agentsapproached, eventually getting the vehicle stuck inthe sand and fleeing on foot back across the border.Agents found over 1,000 pounds of marijauna in theabandoned vehicle.

The third event was on Saturday when agents foundfoot tracks entering the U.S. 12 miles north of the Ft.Hancock Port of Entry. After following the tracks formore than an hour they found 14 bundles of mari-juana stashed in the brush but were unable to locatethe suspects.

The fourth seizure was also made on Saturday whenagents near Tornillo responded to a notice of vehicle traf-fic near the Rio Grande. They found an abandoned ChevySuburban near the border service road — subsequentsearch revealed 1,700 pounds of marijuana inside.

Four busts net4,684 poundsof marijuana


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THURSDAY

Mostly sunny andbreezy.

84°▲ ▼

THUR. NIGHT

Clear and breezy.

FRIDAY

Sunshine andwindy.

86°▲ 54°▼

SATURDAY

Sunny and breezy.

84°▲ 56°▼

SUNDAY

Sunshine.

84°▲ 56°▼

MONDAY

Mostly sunny.

86°▲ 60°▼

TUESDAY

Mostly sunny.

88°▲ 56°▼

WEDNESDAY

Sunny.

86°▲ 56°▼

WEATHER AccuWeather .com

SEVEN-DAY FORECAST FOR EL PASO

TEXAS WEATHER TRAVELERS CITIESUV INDEX

REAL FEEL TEMP™

AGRICULTURE

Statistics for noon.

Thursday .......... 10 ..........Very HighFriday ................ 10 ..........Very HighSaturday ............ 10 ..........Very HighSunday .............. 10 ..........Very HighMonday .............. 10 ..........Very HighTuesday ............ 10 ..........Very HighWednesday ...... 10 ..........Very High

The higher the UV Index, the greaterthe need for eye and skin protection.

Albuquerque 73/47/pc 75/45/pc 71/46/s 75/49/s 77/51/sAtlanta 85/67/pc 85/67/pc 83/67/pc 83/65/pc 82/66/pcAtlantic City 74/54/t 66/50/c 70/50/c 67/49/c 70/56/pcAustin/San Antonio 92/70/pc 92/74/pc 92/71/pc 90/69/pc 89/66/pcBaltimore 77/54/t 72/52/c 72/52/c 75/54/c 77/58/cBoston 62/48/t 56/44/pc 56/46/c 60/48/c 63/53/cChicago 64/52/pc 68/50/c 72/52/c 74/49/pc 69/43/pcDallas/Ft. Worth 89/68/pc 90/70/s 86/68/pc 86/67/c 84/64/cDenver 66/38/pc 65/40/pc 59/37/pc 62/41/pc 64/34/cFlagstaff 58/30/pc 50/24/pc 57/27/pc 62/30/s 64/31/sHouston 90/75/pc 90/75/pc 90/72/pc 88/72/pc 87/67/pcKansas City 74/58/c 79/60/pc 74/57/pc 74/54/pc 71/46/pcLas Vegas 76/58/pc 70/52/pc 74/54/s 82/58/s 84/60/sMiami 89/77/s 89/77/s 89/77/s 89/76/s 88/74/sMinneapolis 64/46/pc 68/48/c 68/46/c 65/47/c 64/34/cNew Orleans 89/75/pc 88/75/pc 89/73/s 89/72/pc 88/70/sNew York City 71/54/t 63/50/c 60/52/c 64/52/c 69/61/cPhiladelphia 72/54/t 70/52/c 70/52/c 74/56/c 74/62/pcPhoenix 84/58/s 80/58/s 84/61/s 89/64/s 93/60/sPortland 59/44/sh 60/46/c 62/46/pc 67/48/pc 66/40/cSan Francisco 58/48/sh 62/48/pc 62/50/pc 64/50/pc 67/45/pcSeattle 58/44/pc 60/44/pc 62/46/pc 62/45/pc 61/39/cTucson 84/54/s 80/53/s 86/53/s 86/55/s 93/54/sWashington, DC 78/56/t 74/54/c 74/54/c 78/58/c 78/62/c

City Hi/Lo/W Hi/Lo/W Hi/Lo/W Hi/Lo/W Hi/Lo/WThur. Fri. Sat. Sun. Mon.

There will be 10-12 hours of sunshine Thursday, Friday and Saturday. It will be breezy to windy at times each day with areas of blow-ing dust, especially during the afternoon hours. Winds can gust past 30 mph on Friday. Sunny Sunday and Monday with less wind.No significant rainfall is expected over the next week. Weather (W): s -sunny, pc -partly cloudy, c-cloudy, sh -showers, t-thunderstorms,

r-rain, sf -snow flurries, sn -snow, i-ice.

Thursday .................................... 80°Friday .......................................... 77°Saturday ...................................... 74°Sunday ........................................ 74°Monday ........................................ 81°Tuesday ...................................... 81°Wednesday ................................ 85°

The exclusive AccuWeather composite of theeffects of temperature, wind, humidity, sunshine,precipitation, and elevation on the human body.

Shown is Thursday’sweather.Temperatures areThursday’s highs andThursday night’s lows.

All forecasts and maps provided by AccuWeather, Inc. ©2003

Anthony 84 58

Canutillo 85 59

Fabens 84 58

Clint 84 58

E. Montana 84 60

Socorro 83 59

Horizon 85 59

San Elizario 81 56

Tornillo 84 58

Vinton 85 59El Paso84/60

Santa Fe70/36

Albuquerque73/47

Alamogordo81/52

Las Cruces83/55

Deming80/52 Carlsbad

86/57

Amarillo81/49

Lubbock88/56

Alpine85/52

Odessa91/58

Lajitas92/55

Ruidoso71/48

Cloudcroft59/27

CiudadJuárez84/60

60°

Mexico

For Sanity’s Sake By Taprina Milburn

I like to think of myself as the kindof girl who can clean out the attic,strip wallpaper, pay bills, wash thedog and put up the groceries all be-fore 9 a.m. That gives me the rest ofthe day to do something productivewith my time.

My family knows that I rarely askfor help or manage to sit still (in real-ity, I mostly shuffle things — kids,newspapers, laundry baskets, toys —from one activity or room to the next).

You get the picture: I think I am

Vulnerablestrong. STRONG. I am invincible.INVINCIBLE. I amwoooooooooman.

Except that for a while I haven’tfelt so strong or invincible because Ihave a nagging pain in my back.

And this is where the problemcreeps in. What hurts more than abackache is that I’m having to rely onmy husband and kids to … ahem, dothings for me. Small things, I mightadd, and only when I say they can.

“You aren’t very good at letting

someone help you,” my daughterobserved one evening when I hadpromised to sit still and let my fam-ily take care of me. Queen for anevening. Can’t get any better thanthat.

But then the irritation set in. No,not the back pain. The shoes on thestairs everyone seemed to be steppingover. Oh, yes, and the paperworksomewhere only I knew where tolook. And while I was up, I didn’tthink it would hurt anything to loadthe dishes into the dishwasher. Be-fore I knew it I had my purse and junkdrawer neat and tidy.

“Would you all like me to bakecookies?” I asked my family.

“What are you doing? I thought

you were going to let us take care ofyou,” my husband said.

So I settled onto the couch and mykids massaged my back and my hus-band brought me an aspirin and adrink of water. They said they couldbake cookies on their own, and I re-sisted the temptation of being Mom-in-Charge. Although I think I diddrop a few hints about how I like aclean kitchen.

You know what happened? Theymanaged just fine without me flittingthrough the house rearranging things.The world didn’t end because cleandishes weren’t unloaded from thedishwasher before we went to bed,nor did the Earth stop spinning be-cause I didn’t finish paperwork.

For one evening I let someone elsebe the caretaker. No one died, thehouse didn’t catch on fire, and I felta lot of relief. I’ll add that the cook-ies were tasty. A girl could get usedto this kind of treatment.

Lately my family is seeing me inwhat I consider two very vulnerablepositions: 1) still, and 2) on the re-ceiving end of nurturance. And youknow what I’m learning? That itdoesn’t make a woman wimpy orhigh maintenance to let someone takecare of you now and then.

If I’d figured this out sooner Imight have saved myself some achesand pains.______________________________________________________(c) 2003 King Features Synd., Inc.

WTCC 2003 - West Texas County Courier

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Transcript of WTCC 2003 - West Texas County Courier