News

With early voting for the Fort Stockton Mayoral Runoff Election beginning next week, the Fort Stockton City Council on May 22 approved the rate of pay for the officials who will be working at the election site. The Presiding Judge for the election will be Linda Blanco, Early Voting Ballot Board Judge will be Sandy Young, and the alternate for both will be Abbey Allen.

AUSTIN – The Texas Senate has passed House Bill 4256, a bill authored by Representative Andrew Murr (HD53) and sponsored by Senator César J. Blanco (SD29) to create a fund to plug abandoned water wells, also known as P-13 wells, in Pecos County.

FORT STOCKTON — Belding Farms, a pecan grower in Fort Stockton that is seeking to stop renewal of a groundwater permit to export water out of Pecos County, was denied its legal request to halt the process on Tuesday.

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It is important to note that an arrest should not be considered as evidence of guilt. The defendants are presumed innocent until proven guilty in a court of law.

The effects of the Oct. 10, 2022 hail storm that pummeled Fort Stockton are still visible today, including on each campus of the Fort Stockton Independent School District. The FSISD Board of Trustees on May 22 heard an update from King Adjusting on the state of those claims, and the news wasn’t good.

With the impending retirement of Pecos County Extension agent Karan Hefelfinger, the Texas A&M AgriLife Extension office is welcoming a new addition to the staff. The Pecos County Commissioner’s Court approved the hiring of Elaine Haby at its May 22 meeting.

Five days of testimony and 90 minutes of deliberation led to a not-guilty verdict in the trial of Justin Ferrell Woodward on May 9. Numerous law enforcement officers, private citizens, forensic scientists, and crime scene analysts testified in the trial.

AUSTIN – Six bills authored by Senator César J. Blanco of El Paso have received approval by both, the Texas Senate, and Texas House of Representatives, and await the Governor’s signature. This group of bills includes: · SB2261 which provides better hands-on training for Department of Family and Protective Services caseworkers. DFPS caseworkers are crucial in protecting children and families from abuse and neglect. By ensuring caseworkers have better hands-on training, they can better serve our most at-risk kids and families.

The Center for Land Stewardship and Stakeholder Engagement at Boaderlands Research Institute (BRI) at Sul Ross State University has streamlined its application process for cost share conservation programs. Cost share programs reimburse a percentage of the overall cost of qualified conservation practices to selected landowners.