News

The Pecos County commissioners court held a special meeting on Monday, June 3 to take action on five agenda items. During this meeting the court approved the request from Pct.

Two tornados touched down around Sanderson on Sunday evening, but only one of them ripped through town, destroying multiple homes and businesses in its path. Citizens of the small town, population of about 740, received a tornado warning that afternoon but were told that it was expected to remain outside of populated areas.

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Last week, the Fort Stockton independent school district held its regularly scheduled meeting on Wednesday, May 29 at 6 p.m. During this meeting two members of the board, Flo Garcia and Ursula Sanchez, performed the statement of office and were administered the oath of office.

Long-time Midland College Professor Anita Shellenberger is retiring after 30 years of service to the college, Williams Regional Technical Training Center, and the citizens of Pecos County. The faculty and staff of the WRTTC held a lunch to honor Anita on Monday at the WRTTC. Anita recalled how when the Midland College Regional Technical Training Center was being built, she told her children she would be teaching there one day, in 1995 that became a reality. In that time frame, she taught computer technology classes (now referred to as Information Technology), sometimes as many as 11 courses in a semester to meet the needs of students seeking that knowledge. Now faculty are limited to only five courses a semester. Over her tenure at the WRTTC, she has built an Office Systems program that is now referred to in the community as “Anita’s Classes”. Former students regularly contact Anita for answers to questions, of which she gladly shares her knowledge.

The downtown Alpine business district has not seen such devastation from fire since 1911 when a fire broke out and destroyed the entire downtown area. But just like everyone who lives here today, those folks were resilient, coming together to rebuild their livelihood.

Sul Ross State University is pleased to introduce Sully Shelf, an innovative new partnership with Follett Access to reduce the cost of textbooks and course materials for students starting with the Fall 2024 semester.

Monday, May 31 we will honor those men and women who gave their lives while serving our country. So many died during the American Civil War in their memory flowers or wreaths were placed on the graves of loved ones and later to any soldier that had given their life while serving. May 30, 1886 was designated as the day to honor them but in 1971 the day was changed to the last Monday of May. We will celebrate it nationally by the placing of a wreath on the grave of the Unknown Soldier in Arlington National Cemetery in Washington DC. Small flags or red flowers can be placed on the graves or by the wearing of a red poppy to honor them. I hope we never forget the price they paid for the freedoms we enjoy.

Editor’s note: It is important to note that an arrest should not be considered evidence of guilt, all defendants are innocent until proven guilty in a court of law. The following list is provided by the Pecos County Sheriff’s Department.

Incumbent Tony Gonzales, U.S. House, District 23 has again prevailed over republican challenger Brandon Herrara. In a spirited highly advertised run-off election, Gonzales garnered a 15,023 (50.07%) to Herreras’ 14,616 (49.3%), according to the Associated Press with 98.99% of the votes totaled. Locally, 514 Pecos County residents voted to keep Gonzales (263 votes) to Herreras’ (254 votes). All votes are unofficial until canvased.