News

Fort Stockton Police, Pecos County Sheriff’s deputies and troopers from the Texas Department of Public Safety are investigating a shooting in the early-morning hours of Aug. 12 that left one man dead.

Texas District 29 Senator Cesar Blanco raised nearly $24,000 to provide backpacks for students in El Paso and Far West Texas. This year’s giveaways took place at North Loop Elementary School (Ysleta ISD), Robert R. Rojas Elementary School (Socorro ISD), Paul Moreno Elementary School (El Paso ISD), and Apache Elementary School (Fort Stockton ISD). In total, 2,326 free backpacks were given to students in Senate District 29.

After a wet spring, Mother Nature’s Water Well ran dry in Pecos County for much of July, and last weekend’s spotty rain showers did nothing to help the ongoing drought conditions. With that in mind, the Pecos County Commissioner’s Court on Monday morning ordered a ban on outdoor burning in all unincorporated areas of Pecos County effective immediately and lasting for 90 days through Nov. 9.

Lancium’s plans to build a 300-megawatt electric substation just outside Fort Stockton have hit a snag, but it’s through no fault of their own. The company already operates a 25-megawatt substation just southwest of town off the Pecos Highway, and a 300-megawatt substation is there, but the Electric Reliability Council of Texas (ERCOT) will not release the energy for a 300-megawatt station.

Your guide to local places to go and things to do! If you have an event for our Do Something! listing, please e-mail shawn. yorks@fortstocktonpioneer.

Pickleball is taking the country by storm and the Fort Stockton Independent School District is getting in on the action. The FSISD Board of Trustees on Aug. 2 voted to add a pickleball court to the Fort Stockton Intermediate School tennis courts in lieu of resurfacing the tennis courts. Pickleball is a combination of table tennis (ping-pong) and regular tennis.

A new grant received by the Pecos County Sheriff’s Office will provide deputies with a new layer of protection in the event of an active shooter situation. Bullet-proof shields will be provided to each deputy to keep in their unit, and one will also be located inside each school campus.

The Pecos County Memorial Hospital (PCMH) and Fort Stockton Independent School District (FSISD) are working together to make sure students have the opportunity to receive their required vaccinations before school starts on Monday, Aug. 14.

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.

CHILD CARE CENTERS CLOSING ACROSS STATE An unprecedented number of child care centers are expected to close across the state as pandemic relief funding ends, the Texas Standard reported. A survey conducted by the Texas Association for the Education of Young Children of about 1,600 child care programs indicated 44% were likely to close their doors without additional funding.