September 2025

Local health care providers in West Texas, including those serving communities like Fort Stockton, are set to benefit from a new initiative aimed at enhancing Alzheimer’s disease and related dementias (ADRD) care in rural areas.

The Pecos County Senior Citizens Center is hosting a Labor Day potluck lunch this Friday, September 5, at noon, inviting all members and anyone interested in joining to celebrate the recent holiday. The meal will feature beef brisket and hot corn, with attendees encouraged to bring a side dish or dessert to share.

Pull out your dancing shoes and get set for an evening of fun on Saturday, September 27, when the Rotary Club of Fort Stockton hosts its annual Cruise Party at the Pecos County Civic Center. This event raises the necessary funds for the Rotary’s charitable projects, such as the annual Christmas Toy Drive, repairs to the Lilah Smith House, help for Meals on Wheels and new furniture at the Se- nior Citizen’s Center. Tickets are only $60 a person and will include a beef tenderloin Cajunthemed dinner, an open bar with top shelf spirits, dancing to the music of DJ Duli Jase and a chance to win a $3,500 cruise of your choice. (Last year’s winner was Darla Cude.) The party will take place at the Pecos County Civic Center, and if you have too much fun, there will be a free Tipsy Taxi to get you home safely. The doors will open at 6:30 p.m. and the party starts at 7 p.m. going to midnight.

The Museum of the Big Bend is set to present its 39th Annual Trappings of Texas, the nation’s longest-running exhibit and sale dedicated to Western art and custom cowboy gear, with opening weekend events scheduled for Sept. 18-20.

Most TxDOT survey work includes establishing property boundaries, making maps and other above-ground tasks to prepare an area for design and construction. But last winter, a TxDOT survey team got to work underground in the Inner Space Cavern near Georgetown to create a detailed 3D model of the cavern.

The Borderlands Research Institute (BRI) at Sul Ross State University has released the schedule for its Fall 2025 Guided Hikes on Hancock Hill, a quarterly series led by subject-matter experts. These moderately strenuous, 1.8-mile hikes provide participants with an immersive blend of hands-on learning, regional insights, and striking views of the Big Bend landscape, continuing a long-standing community tradition.

Gov. Greg Abbott signed legislation redrawing Texas’ congressional map on Friday. A lawsuit challenging the redrawn districts as being racially discriminatory was filed even before the bill became law.

I attended a meeting with the Deputy Director of Gobbledygook — and his interpreter — to learn why government rules, regulations and guidance documents are so hard to read and understand. “When President Obama signed the Plain Writing Act of 2010,” I said, “federal agencies were required to use ‘clear government communication that the public can understand and use.’ Why are we still drowning in incomprehensible language?” “Your query presents a multifaceted conundrum,” said the bureaucrat, “that highlights the broader paradox of procedural continuity.” “Huh?” I said to his interpreter.

The Fort Stockton Panthers officially opened their 2025 football season last week, with the Varsity, Junior Varsity, and Freshman squads all taking the field against the San Angelo Lake View Chiefs. It was a week filled with lessons, grit, and flashes of promise across all levels of the program.

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