Opinion

Dear Editor, It’s that time of year again. It’s Water Carnival season.

There was a time of joyful people who came and went from both sides. They crossed the Rio as they pleased, no longer, now the Rio cries. The crossings are like jungles, with danger, deceit, and lies. People suffer, and many times die. Much sadness, so the Rio cries. The want for Yanqui Dollars will be mostly the reasons why. They live for “It” and die for “It”. The almighty “It” is why the Rio cries. Many live in anger and frustration. Evil players profit as days go by. Others couldn’t care less about it. How much longer must the Rio cry? Since January of 2021, many millions of illegal migrants crossed open U.S. borders. With them came a flood of illegal drugs. Thousands of Americans die each year from these drugs, and many U.S. Politicians don’t seem to care. There was a time when outlaws threatened Americans, like Cartels do now, who made the mistake of crossing the Rio Grande to attack New Mexico. Thousands of U.S. Troops were sent to Mexico which put an end to it. So why isn’t this much worse state of affairs not being handled in the same way? Very much like the Mexican Federales, the U.S. Federal Government can also be seen as pathetically corrupt.

Dear Alpine Cowboys fans, players, staff, and volunteers, My great-grandfather donated Kokernot field to AISD back in the day and AISD leases it to Sul Ross and Sul Ross subleases the field for three-and-a-half months to the Alpine Cowboys. We have always paid a small fee in addition to inkind improvements and maintenance since we became a 501c3 Non-Profit in 2011. Last season we were asked to put up $10,000 so that the warning track and infield could be restored, and we complied. Knowing the struggle it was to raise this money, in addition to our operating costs and contributions, we made it clear that the Cowboys would not be able to fulfill this obligation in 2024. AISD Superintendent and the Sul Ross President finally presented us with a contract on April 8 asking for the same $10,000 lease fee and have not been willing to negotiate down to our offer of $5,000 which includes full maintenance of Kokernot Field. “Deferred Maintenance”, they call it. Unfortunately, we had to go up on all sponsorships and gate fees and season tickets and will now no longer be able to provide free admission to any AISD student or staff nor Sul Ross staff or student (which we have been providing for nearly 13 years). For the future of Alpine Cowboys baseball please show support this year in any way you can and let these two institutions know why we are important to the community and Kokernot Field. Our entire board has volunteered and poured our souls into this organization and Kokernot Field.