May 2024

Recently, Texas state Senator César J. Blanco hosted a State Resource Fair in Fort Stockton in an effort to bring essential state services to rural communities. Blanco’s goal was to bridge the gap between rural far West Texas and the state government.

YOUR GUIDE TO LOCAL PLACES TO GO AND THINGS TO DO Your guide to local places to go and things to do! If you have an event for our Do Something! listing, please e-mail litzy.rodriguez@fortstocktonpioneer. com APRIL 29- MAY 10 2024 Creative Youth Art Show.

John B. Poindexter was honored at a Houston event for his conservation contributions in West Texas. Poindexter is the owner of the acclaimed Cibolo Creek Ranch in Presidio County, south of Marfa. The Borderlands Research Institute (BRI) celebrated the third annual West Texas Conservationist of the Year award ceremony at the River Oaks Country Club on April 10, which was hosted by the Borderlands Research Foundation, the charitable arm of the Institute.

The 2024 Athletic Spring Fling will be held on May 7, at the Comanche Springs Pool, 5:30 – 8:00 p.m. Athletes get in free, and all others please purchase tickets from the Athletic Office for $5..

The West Texas Independent Cattlemen’s Association Chapter will be holding a meeting Tuesday, May 7at 5:30 p.m. The meeting location will be at the Pecos County Civic Center in Fort Stockton. The meeting is sponsored by Pecos County Feed & Supply, and the guest speaker will be Dr. Clay Burson with Purina Animal Nutrition LLC. Come join us and enjoy a delicious ribeye steak dinner. All producers are welcome! Please RSVP to the ICA State Office by Friday, May 3 at (512) 620-0162.

The Fort Stockton Public Library is a busy place these days. The facade is being painted, and inside is brighter than ever, with new LED lighting installed that has the library glowing.

The Boquillas Port of Entry within Big Bend National Park, providing access to the town of Boquillas, Coahuila, Mexico will change to the summer schedule beginning Sunday, April 28. Starting Friday, May 3, the crossing will be open four days a week, Fridays through Mondays.

Back in my grade school days you were told to clean the blackboards if you didn’t do your work or obey the teacher. Every time you did something wrong (breaking the rules) our teacher would write your name in the upper right-hand corner of the blackboard. Mine was usually up there for talking and I had to stay in at recess and clean the blackboards. Cleaning those blackboards is somewhat like sinning. Every time we break God’s rules or fail to obey Him it is recorded in books in Heaven (Revelation 20:12). The only way I could get the blackboards clean was with a special cleanser. Just as the only way we can get forgiveness from our sins (removed from the books in heaven) is by the blood of Jesus, (Matthew 26:28). Before we went to cleaning, she would review the events of the day and point out what we did wrong, and we had to acknowledge what we did. This is somewhat like what the Bible calls confession (acknowledging or admitting) of sin. In, (1John 1:710) it says that we must confess or admit to our specific sins before we can get forgiveness from them. It was so nice to see a clean, fresh blackboard with no names (especially mine) on it. How wonderful it will be when the books of heaven are opened, and they see a clean spotless page where our misdeeds had been recorded (Acts 10:43). See you in Church on Sunday. Brother J

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Water has always been the greatest hindrance to growth in West Texas. Even today limited water resources restrict our longterm planning and growth. This issue was especially true in the 19th Century when the primary mode of rapid transportation was the steam-driven locomotive. Without surface water, the only solution was to drill.