Features

Over 500,000 people flock to the Big Bend region annually in anticipation of spotting wildlife like mountain lion and black bear. These species are rarely seen across the rest of Texas, with minimal publicly available land or suitable habitat. Despite exceptional drought, both apex predators and hundreds of other species survive in the region thanks to the Rio Grande’s life-giving water.

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KIRBY WARNOCK The Pecos County Senior Citizens Center will host its Mother’s Day potluck this Friday, May 15 at 12:00 noon at the Large Community Hall. The meal will be catered with desserts provided by the Senior Center’s board members, so you don’t have to bring anything except yourself.

Students from the Midland College Class of 2026 celebrate their achievements during the commencement ceremony held on May 8 at the Al G. Langford Chaparral Center in Midland. These dual credit graduates from Fort Stockton and Buena Vista balanced high school and college coursework to earn 21 Associate of Arts degrees and numerous workforce certificates. The 2026 class included 16 associate degree earners from Fort Stockton High School and five from Buena Vista High School, all of whom gained a head start on their careers tuition-free through Midland College’s partnership with their school districts. Associate Degree Graduates The Associate of Arts in General Studies was awarded to Zoe Alvarez, Alyssa Bernal, Jocelynn Carrillo, Kaylin Corona, Lauren Dominguez, Vida Flores, Madalyn Gomez, Madison Hanson, Dylan Jones, Victoria Maldonado, Miliana Mandujano, Fabian Ramirez, Robert Rivas, Jaylen Salazar, Kate Salgado, Genova Sanchez, Jaslene Tijerina, Brayan Ulloa, Alonso Urias, Sarissa Valeriano, and Rylee Wiest. Additionally, Zachary Urias earned an Associate Degree in Criminal Justice, and Mireya Gomez earned a Bachelor of Applied Technology in Organizational Management.

On Thursday, May 7, the Fort Stockton community gathered at the Pecos County Civic Center to honor the graduating seniors during the Fort Stockton High School Annual Scholarship Banquet. The evening was a historic one for the community, marking a record-breaking year with 41 students applying for and receiving financial assistance to pursue higher education.

At the moment of the first drafting of this column our country, an avowedly Christian nation—steeped in “Judeo-Christian values” and legislated state by state to proclaim the sacred/essential nature of the moral/ religious mandates of the Bible’s summary of Torah as rendered in one particular English translation, stood at the brink of “annihilating a civilization” in order to prevent its capacity for threatening humanity.

I learned a lot about lawn and grass care while working in Bermuda grass research at the University of Arizona. One of the most important things is to start working or preparing for a beautiful yard in advance, waiting till the last minute will take a lot more effort, time and money and it will still not be as beautiful.

Dear Neil: I just noticed this bark damage in my otherwise healthy looking mature live oak. It seems like it happened almost overnight. I have woodpeckers and squirrels, but I have not seen much activity recently and certainly not anything that would cause this amount of damage. Do you have any idea of what this might be?

The Pecos County Memorial Hospital District Board of Directors will meet April 21 to consider several safety and infrastructure updates, including a new campus security program and a fire alarm system replacement. The meeting is scheduled for 5 p.m.

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