July 2025

GARDENER’S MAILBAG Dear Neil, The ground beneath my Japanese ligustrum is becoming completely covered with tiny green sprouts. I assume they come from the seeds.

Fort Stockton Pioneer.

“Judaising Jesus: Rational Jewish Approach to Christianity” written by Juan Marcus Benjamin Gutierrez, Yaren Publishing, 2019. Throughout most of history the relationship between Judaism and Christianity has been one of conflict.

Recently my wife asked me if I would trim our rose bushes. I found the clippers in the garage. She stacked those cuttings in two neat piles in our backyard and yes it was a hot day. We went back into the house to cool off and in about an hour or so I went back outside and those very once alive green branches were now old dried-up looking things. In just a short time! Those branches remind me of something in the Bible. The New Testament mentions that Jesus is the vine, and we are the branches and apart from Him we can do nothing, (John 15:5). If we have never confessed our sins to God and asked Him to forgive us and called upon Jesus Christ to be our personal Lord and Savior, we are separated, cut off from God, (Romans 3:23, 6:23). In one place the Bible says we are even enemies of God, (Romans 5:10, Philippians 3:18, Proverbs 8:36, John 7:7). The Bible tries to warn us or encourage us to accept and stay yielded to Jesus Christ. Many just want barely enough of God to make it to Heaven. A very dangerous position! God Loves us and wants us to be fully yielded to Him, to walk with Him daily, continually doing His will for us, (Luke 9:23, Romans 12:1). When we do that, we can bear much fruit, (John 15:1-11).

In Far West Texas, water has never been something we take for granted. For farmers, ranchers, and families from Fort Stockton to Presidio, water scarcity is nothing new; it’s a way of life.

Is work-life balance dead, and will you even find time to attend the funeral? During different phases of my five-decade working career, I have worked all three shifts, toiled every holiday, struggled with doubled production quotas, accepted 48 hours as a standard work week and missed countless family events. Still, today’s job applicants are facing unprecedented obstacles to squeezing in a little “me” time.

Gov. Greg Abbott said late last week that the statewide death toll from the catastrophic flooding in the Hill Country stands at 135, and the number of persons missing has dropped to three.

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On Friday, July 25, representatives from Austin Bat Refuge in Austin, Texas, will be onsite at McDonald Observatory in Fort Davis, Texas, to release a Big Freetail bat back into the wild. Named Hubble after the famous astronomer, he is thought to have accidentally hitched a ride from the Observatory to Austin in some astronomy gear. Big Freetail bats do not live in Central Texas but are a common sight in the Big Bend region, where the Observatory is located.

The Fort Stockton Chamber of Commerce Business Spotlight is on Mingo’s Burritos for June 2025. Mingo’s Burritos opened on September 1, 2010, and has been an active and supportive member of the Chamber since 2011. Voted “Best Breakfast in Town” for 2024, Mingo’s is open from 5 am to 1:30 pm, Monday through Saturday. It’s your go-to spot for burritos and more, especially for all those early risers!