News

Window Trail closed at national park

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Effective immediately, the Window Trail in the Chisos Basin in Big Bend National Park is closed to public use until further notice. This emergency closure is due to significantly increased bear activity in the narrow trail corridor, and the safety of both the bears and the public is paramount. Both the upper and lower Window Trail trailheads are closed, and signs have been posted.

black bear

TxDOT: Damaged stoplight in Fort Stockton to be replaced on July 15

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Traffic operations crew from the Texas Department of Transportation plan to place a new stoplight pole at the Intersection of Dickinson Boulevard and Main Street on Friday, July 15.

“We do have a pole in the district that we can use to replace the one that got knocked down. We are preparing that pole today in the Odessa yard,” Gene Powell, TxDOT Odessa District Public information Officer said.

The intersection is scheduled to have signals operating normally by Friday afternoon.

A stoplight was downed by a semi hauling an oversize load on July 13 at the intersection of Dickinson and Main Street. Photos by Nathan Heuer

Help available to pay utility bills

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The Texas Department of Housing and Community Affairs recently launched Texas Utility Help to help eligible low-income Texas homeowners and renters pay their utility bills. The statewide program works to distribute funding from the federal Low Income Home Energy Assistance Program and federal Low Income Household Water Assistance Program.
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Capital Highlights: TEA releases STAAR results

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The Texas Education Agency has released the 2022 State of Texas Assessments of Academic Readiness Results for grades 3-8, which showed across-the-board improvements in all grades and subjects, with especially significant gains in reading. “The investments that the state is making in reading academies and accelerated instruction are clearly paying dividends for our students, and the results are a testament to the hard work of teachers across our state,” Texas Education Commissioner Mike Morath said.
Texas Capitol

Ballistic film purchase approved

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All student-attended Fort Stockton ISD campuses will have an added layer of safety by the time the 2022-2023 school year starts. Ballistic film will be installed at the Apache, Alamo, intermediate, middle school, and high school campuses within the next four weeks.
The Fort Stockton Intermediate School will receive important protection from potential intruders/threats via ballistic film as numerous classrooms have windows facing the front of the campus on Second Street. Photo by Nathan Heuer

Texas Water Trade unveils aquifer protection fund

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Texas Water Trade, a nonprofit organization established to enable the use of voluntary water transactions to benefit people and nature, has unveiled its first Aquifer Protection Fund to allow landowners to conserve their groundwater without losing ownership of it.
Comanche Springs fascinates many during the few months it fills the canal in Rooney Park and the Comanche Creek every year. Pictured is a group of attendees at the first ever SpringsFest event that was organized by Texas Water Trade on March 12 of this year. Photo by Nathan Heuer

BRI hosts international exchange

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The Borderlands Research Institute, housed at Sul Ross State University, hosted students from the Autonomous University of Chihuahua, a Mexican public university located in Chihuahua City, Chihuahua, Mexico. Students from the Animal Science and Ecology programs at UACH learned about BRI research projects along with other regional conservation initiatives.

Students visited with conservation agencies throughout the Big Bend, including the ranches of the Dixon Water Foundation in Marfa, to see the results of restoration projects.

Cosmetology innovative courses set for 2022-2023 school year

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The Fort Stockton ISD cosmetology program will receive a reboot this upcoming school year after receiving $150,000 from fund balance by way of approval from the school board earlier last month.

The school district approved mandatory courses, per TEA, to continue to move forward with the program during their meeting on June 30.

The following are the five courses that were approved:

Cosmetology
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