Many thanks to Sam Karas for her excellent reporting in the February 6 article, “Years later, death certificates for Porvenir massacre victims still in limbo.” Evidently obtaining a Delayed Certificate of Death for a death occurring over 100 years ago and under the sad and brutal circumstances of the Porvenir massacre is virtually impossible under the VS-128 document requirements. Because of this, the descendants of the 15 men who were murdered in Presidio County do not have death certificates.
Rather than outright denying the death certificates or bouncing the issue back and forth between Presidio County and the Texas Department of State Health Services, why not seek assistance from our state representatives? (Looks to me that it’s going to “take an act of Congress.”) With this in mind I am asking that all who care about correcting this dilemma to contact our state legislators for help; surely they can get a bill passed or have an updated/revised Delayed Death Certificate created. Please contact state Representative Eddie Morales and state Senator Cesar Blanco.
The families of the 15 men who were murdered on January 28, 1918, deserve to have death certificates. This is the very least that can be done for them.
Dawn Shannon
Marfa
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Dear Editor,
Among his many early accomplishments, not enough praise has been given for President Trump ordering the release of records relating to John F. Kennedy’s 1963 assassination in Dallas. Without Kennedy, there would be no NASA in Houston, and people would still be talking about someday going to the moon — let alone going to Mars.
There are many people in Alpine, Marfa and Fort Davis talking about honoring President Kennedy by renaming the Jeff Davis Mountains and Fort Davis after him. The move would be part of the trend to honor assassinated presidents (like changing the name of that mountain in Alaska to Mount McKinley). Remember, 2 inches, and President Trump would have been killed. Besides having not kept Kennedy safe while in Texas, we kind of owe it to him.
There will be objections — just as people objected to Robert Kennedy Jr., bringing change to the Department of Health and Human Services, but President Trump overcame those doubters and added him to his cabinet. As John F. Kennedy said, “Conformity is the jailer of freedom.” This newspaper should show its support for freedom by supporting the name change.
Thank you
Franklin Wyse
Terlingua
