January 2021

No love was lost in a heated battle on the court on Friday at the Special Event Center when the Fort Stockton boys basketball team squared off against Alpine. Tempers flared between fans, players, and coaches throughout in down-to-wire finish.

Fort Stockton’s Wallace Vazquez shows a heifer during the Pecos County Livestock Show on Friday, Jan. 8 at the Pecos County Coliseum in Fort Stockton. Vazquez won the BOPB Gilt Breed Champion over the three-day event that took place Jan. 7-9. Over 70 participants were rewarded for showing a variety of animals including rams, lambs, hogs, heifers, and Herefords. The event held its premium sale on Saturday, Jan. 9, which was open to the general public. The first two-days of the event was not open to the general public. Due to COVID-19, the show was unable to hold its food, photography, ag mechanics, pet or technology shows/competitions.

Three additional COVID-19 related deaths were reported in Pecos County on Tuesday, Jan. 12, moving the death total in the county to 26.

Congressman Tony Gonzales (TX-23) has signed on as an original cosponsor to H.R.218, the Saving America’s Energy Future Act. This legislation, which was introduced on Wednesday by Congressman August Pfluger (TX-11), prohibits the Biden administration from declaring a moratorium on issuing new oil and gas permits for drilling on federal lands.

Beginning this past week, Pecos County Memorial Hospital started a COVID-19 vaccine hotline for those wanting to get the Moderna vaccine who meet the Phase 1B criteria set out by the state of Texas. If you are age 65 or older, have medical conditions that put you at high risk and would like to be on a COVID-19 Vaccine Waiting List, please call Pecos County Memorial Hospital’s new COVID Vaccine Hot Line at 432-336-4293 and your name and contact number.

In 1977, Donna Saul made history by becoming the only person from Fort Stockton to qualify for the National Finals Rodeo - doing so in barrel racing by becoming one of the top 15 money-winners in the country in the event.

As 2021 gets underway, so too will the 87th Texas Legislative Session, and this one promises to be unlike any other in recent history. The coronavirus threat will loom large, dramatically changing both the topics considered by lawmakers and the process by which they do so.

Without grace, our public discourse will continue to suffer. “Grace;’ according to, Dictionary.com, has more than one meaning, but all of them are powerful.

The Rankin girls basketball team had an unblemished record at 14-0 and were ranked No. 5 in Class 1A according to the Texas Association of Basketball Coaches when they went up against the Lady Longhorns on Tuesday in Imperial.

The pandemic has brought with it many changes to our daily lives. One change is a reduction in traffic on the highways. This would seem like a positive change, but, surprisingly, the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) is reporting that our less traveled roads have given rise to more risky driving behaviors and a higher fatality rate per vehicle miles traveled. While many are limiting their driving to trips for necessities, many of the drivers that are not limiting their driving are more apt to take risks including speeding and not consistently wearing seat belts.