District judge rules against Redford landowner in suit over failed flood infrastructure
MARFA — On Tuesday, District Judge Roy Ferguson ruled in a lawsuit brought against the county by a Redford landowner whose property was devastated by the failure of flood mitigation infrastructure near her home.
The plaintiff –– Barbara Baskin –– alleged in her original complaint that a pattern of neglect, discrimination and shoddy engineering on behalf of the county led to the catastrophic breach of a retention pond designed to keep floodwater at bay. Baskin felt that the county’s Road and Bridge director, Ruben Carrasco, had personally sabotaged the project in retaliation for her repeated insistence that the county repair the pond.
Baskin’s complaint did not seek a specific amount of money and left that to be determined by the court, instead stressing that “only luck and quick thinking prevented Ms. Baskin … from being swept away and dying or sustaining severe injuries.”
Ferguson’s ruling did not include any details or rationale beyond granting the county’s plea to the court that as a public entity it had immunity from most lawsuits.
Sentencing date set for Alpine fentanyl smuggler
ALPINE — Three tri-county individuals have pleaded guilty to possession of fentanyl and methamphetamine with intent to distribute and will be sentenced in federal court in Alpine next month.
Willie Ben Lara III, also known as Sapo, will be sentenced on September 19, and Emily Rachael Medley and Michael Angel Espinosa will be sentenced on September 20 by U.S. District Judge David Counts.
The three were arrested on March 5 in Sierra Blanca when a deputy stopped their car and a subsequent search found 10.9 grams of fentanyl pills, 2.6 grams of fentanyl powder, and 3.5 grams of fentanyl in rock form, according to court records. Federal agents interviewed the three, who admitted to traveling to New Mexico to buy the drugs before returning to Alpine to sell them.
Lara’s brother — Ismael “I.J.” Vega, 23 — died of a fentanyl overdose while taking drugs with his mother, who also overdosed, on February 15 at their home in Alpine, but the mother lived, according to sources close to the family and a toxicology report that showed fentanyl as the cause of death.
Paving truck bursts into flames in Alpine
ALPINE — A paving truck burst into flames last Thursday afternoon sending a black cloud of smoke billowing above Highway 90 and FM 1703 in Alpine.
Area officials said they were called to the scene around 5:30 p.m. to find the truck engulfed in flames. The Big Bend Sentinel sent a reporter to the scene, but police would not let them anywhere near the fire. The Alpine Police Department posted additional details on the fire on Facebook Friday: “The driver later stated he had pulled over to the side of the road due to a high heat alarm alerting him. When exiting the truck, he discovered flames emitting from the rear which quickly spread. Fire was extinguished but not before the vehicle was a complete loss. Fortunately, there were no injuries. Please avoid the area if possible while cleanup efforts continue.
Colorful dots with tails streaking the skies Thursday likely weren’t meteors
TRI-COUNTY — Visitors at the Marfa Lights Viewing area on Highway 90 got a treat Thursday night, but not from seeing the mysterious bouncing globes that so many flock to try and see east of Marfa.
“I first noticed in the northwest sky….it looked like there was a dot in the sky with a trail leading to another dot and they both started moving across the sky and it started breaking up,” said Michael Alberts of Houston, who was visiting Marfa. He determined fairly quickly that it must be a meteor — or more than one — shattering through the earth’s atmosphere.
According to Stephen Hummel, Dark Skies Initiative coordinator at the McDonald Observatory in Fort Davis, that’s not what it was. The observatory’s Star Party participants also saw it, and the brilliant slow-moving objects lasted far too long to be meteors. “It likely was a satellite or some kind of space debris,” he said.
Alberts’ friend, Marco Roberts of Houston, said that what started as dots turned into a light show of fire and colors. “Once it started breaking apart it got more and more spectacular,” he said. “It went the entire horizon. We never saw it fall. There were about half a dozen people there. People were quite amazed and in awe.”
“This wasn’t like a shooting star,” Alberts added. “It lasted almost a minute. I’ve never seen anything like this in my life.” Alberts took a video of the light show and shared it with The Big Bend Sentinel.
So, for now, the consensus from experts is that a satellite re-entered the atmosphere and burned up to create the light show for people all across West Texas. But, Texas is currently in an optimal viewing area for Perseid meteor showers, which began on July 17 and will peak on August 11 and 12 before ending on August 24. The best time to watch the Perseid meteor shower is in the pre-dawn hours.
Federal government seeks $20 million from Ojinaga cartel boss
ALPINE — On Monday, the United States made a motion in a case against Ojinaga cartel boss Sergio Menchaca Pizarro requesting a substantial payout. In late June, Menchaca pleaded guilty to criminal conspiracy charges brought against him by the federal government under the “Kingpin statute,” used to prosecute high-profile drug traffickers.
Counsel for the U.S.A. seeks $20,237,557.80 in forfeiture –– a figure calculated from Menchaca’s projected profit from his criminal enterprise.
Twelve of Menchaca’s alleged accomplices were also indicted by a grand jury in June. Ernesto Yutziel Zubia Saenz and Ulisis Omar Islas-Macias have been named in court documents; the identities of the other 10 remain sealed.
Texas Woman Rural Grant winners include Presidio, Alpine women
DENTON ― The Center for Women Entrepreneurs (CWE), a program of the Jane Nelson Institute for Women’s Leadership at Texas Woman’s University, has announced 10 grant winners of the Texas Woman Rural Grant. The grant program, in its second year, supports women in rural areas by providing $5,000 grants to expand their businesses.
Included this year are Manuela Avila who runs the Pink Flamingo shaved ice shop trailer in Presidio and Laura Shaw with the Terlingua Oasis Project, which sells body care products under the brand Terlingua Rain.
Awardees are using grant funds for an array of purposes, including purchases of a feed conveyor, a shaved ice machine, a freezer, product manufacturing, acquiring raw materials, and other business-related activities that align with the program objectives. Investments are poised to significantly enhance the operational capacity and growth potential of their businesses.
“Women entrepreneurs in rural areas don’t receive the same level of support as those in larger cities. This grant program aims to bridge that gap by providing essential resources, training, and guidance,” said Tracy Irby, director of the CWE. “ We are proud to support this year’s recipients and excited to see their businesses thrive and make a positive impact in their communities.”