Dear editor,
Regarding the deployment of military troops here in the Big Bend, I feel it should be a mandatory requirement for each soldier to watch the documentary The Ballad of Esequiel Hernandez; I also strongly urge each and every citizen of the region to watch this as well. I personally do not see any crisis here that the Border Patrol has not been able to handle, and I live 100 feet from the Rio Grande, safer than in any major city or town.
The Border Patrol agents I have spoken with are all highly competent and trained for their specific duties. Sending out military troops to the border is akin to hiring a plumber to do your electrical work — it’s a serious misallocation of resources, and we’re paying for it.
If the Border Patrol needs assistance, I feel it should be in the form of more agents and modernizing their equipment. I hope this saga wraps up quickly without incident. History has not shown this to be a wise decision.
Charlie Angell
Redford
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Let us begin with the basic premise that the reporting on the struggles of the White Family in The Big Bend Sentinel has been extremely fair, and the reporters should be commended on remaining unbiased throughout this unfortunate saga. It is a hard story to tell.
Now, also let us also be clear though that this interfamily quarreling did not begin with the first filing of a lawsuit. The legal filings are simply the dissatisfaction of certain members of the White family boiling over into the public discourse. I spent many a month in my teenage years and early twenties as an employee of the ranch and two decades after as a guest of the family. I have unfortunately personally witnessed the interfamily disputes over the last 25 years, at one time a friend to all parties involved.
Beau and Mac White both left Brite Ranch on their own accord around 20 years ago for reasons which are their own. They both pursued their own careers outside of ranching, be it breeding Jack Russell terriers like Beau or welding like Mac, but also to support the careers of their wives. Many marriages make decisions not dissimilar to those. After leaving their residences on the ranch, they would come back periodically to assist in major ranch events like round up or join the family events such as Bloys Campmeeting or the West Texas Socials, and of course, the occasional family birthday party, wedding, or funeral.
After a few years of moving off the ranch, the participation in ranch activities became less and less and eventually nonexistent. All the while, they were very proud to claim their family heritage and boast of the beauty that exists amongst Capote Peak which belongs in part to them. Beau and his wife were more than happy to tell stories of Brite from the old days when they were at dinner parties in Austin amongst folks employed at the Capitol and within state agencies, but at the same time not returning to assist in the workings of the ranch. They still however accepted their payments from the profits of the ranch. They are of course named heirs in both of the trusts created from the Brite Ranch and thus is their birthright.
Neither Beau and his wife nor Mac and his wife had any children. As a result, and because of the design and intent of the trusts, with their passing would end their lineal ties to Brite. One can only speculate that these circumstances were motivating factors in their decision to want something more from the ranch now. Afterall, since they don’t have any children to receive an inheritance, maybe there is an argument that they deserve something while they remain alive. This is when the quarreling began.
Once it became apparent that there was not intention to deviate from the trusts, is when this story begins to take a turn that if Taylor Sheridan had written it into an episode of “Yellowstone” it would be scoffed at as a bridge too far to believe. Beau and Mac proposed to their siblings that they intended to consider adoption which would effectively dilute the inheritance of the remaindermen. That is to say that nieces and nephews would receive less land and share it with a family that was not their own. When their proposals with regards to their inheritance were not agreed to is when this epic takes a turn into left field. Why would two brothers randomly adopt the same 60-plus-year-old man whom they hardly knew who was the former secretary of state of Texas with intimate connections with the former governor of Texas, Rick Perry? The rational question is, “Did they do so for love or for leverage?”
At that point, the lawsuits began to fly, ranging from siblings to remaindermen to Texas Christian University whose divinity school, Brite Divinity School, is partially endowed by the trusts. Why file lawsuits that could potentially hurt multiple generations of the family legacy?
Recent court rulings have overturned much of the turmoil, with Jim White being restored as trustee, but many more court proceedings are to follow before the entire matter is settled. The trusts state that an individual trying to break it up can be permanently removed. One might suggest that since the latest rulings have not been in their favor, Beau and Mac should be grateful that, despite their transgressions against their siblings, nieces and nephews, nobody is calling for such an action.
The only winners have been the lawyers and the legal fees that they have accumulated in the hundreds of thousands of dollars and maybe the readers of this fine periodical that got to learn that regardless of station, all families have drama. The solution to the ordeal is simple: return to the intent of the original trusts and live again as a family as they had before the lawsuits began. There are no “bad people” in this sad saga, only those that felt slighted at different times and reacted out of aggression as humans do. It is the hope of all parties involved that their better sensibilities would take hold and over time forgiveness will reign and heal the rifts over time.
Seth Alford
League City, Texas
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At what point does this paper actually start reporting facts rather than regurgitating gossip? This latest “article” about the White feud is filled with one-sided slander, and I, for one, am tired of reading it.
The Big Bend Sentinel is supposed to be a news source for the community — where we read about the school lunch menu, city council updates, local fundraisers, and sure, court hearing summaries attended by reporters. It’s not meant to be a gossip tabloid tearing the people of that community down.
Families on both sides of this dispute are under immense stress. If one side vents to a curious reporter, that doesn’t automatically make their statements true or virtuous. Same if the other side chooses to keep their thoughts out of the paper, it doesn’t make them villains or worthy of scorn.
Everyone knows that Mac White is a pillar of this community — someone we call when we need a helping hand. He’s loud because he can’t hear well. He is at the Spirit Co because he and his wife Julie are often out in the community supporting the local businesses and welcoming visitors to our beautiful town.
Trying to make these people look bad for clicks and paper sales is downright shameful. We deserve a better paper than that.
Marielle La Rue
Marfa
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Dear Editor,
The obsessive, salivating coverage of the White family drama around the Brite Ranch needs to stop. I’m very aware of the historical significance of the Brite Ranch. However, its fate bears no relevance whatsoever to the life of the average reader of this paper. The Sentinel has presented to all and sundry every bit of dirty laundry it can dredge from a private family’s sordid infighting. I was under the impression that we had a local newspaper that operated from a place of integrity. Instead, we appear to have a gossip rag. With every new “story” that appears, it becomes more and more obvious that The Sentinel has become a mouthpiece for someone in the family who wishes to influence the legal proceedings through popular opinion. It’s pathetic to see our local paper feed upon this and regurgitate it for voyeuristic consumption. Have some class, Big Bend Sentinel.
Douglas Matus
Marfa
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Editor’s note: The Big Bend Sentinel’s reporting on the Brite Ranch legal proceedings relies solely on public court records or statements made under oath in court. These are arguments of attorneys or sworn statements to the courts or others recounting events in court records.
We are following the Brite Ranch legal proceedings and believe it is of importance to our readers for a few reasons. First, we are a region surrounded by ranches –– the outcome of this case may set legal precedent which could affect other area ranches. Second, the case is stressing our county’s court resources and likely will put a significant strain on our court clerks, jurors and judge if the case goes to a new trial — Presidio County residents have a right to know what is happening in their courts, which our local taxpayers fund., Third, the Brite Ranch is one of the most historically significant ranches in the Big Bend region.
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Are you better off?
Recently, I’m finding it difficult to understand how the administration in Washington is making life better for the majority of Americans.
Will replacing our air traffic guidance system with Starlink make air travel any safer? We have seen how Starlink has been shut down in other parts of the world on a whim.
When tariffs kick in and the price of food, appliances, cars, gas and electricity goes up, will that help you and your family?
With layoffs at NOAA and the lack of a warning of impending bad weather, will you and your family be safer?
With the reduction of FEMA and the clean up from natural disasters such as fires, floods, hurricanes and tornadoes relegated to individual states where these events occur, will you and your family be better served?
If the U.S. Postal Service is privatized, will that help you and your family? We have already experienced the erratic service to remote locations by private companies when it affects their bottom line.
We are having our own struggle in Texas with our government wanting to siphon tax dollars to help rich people pay for private education for their children. How is that helping you and your family with the Department of Education shut down?
Are you and your family better off as our national parks are shut down because personnel have been fired? The lack of tourist dollars in the Big Bend area will be felt in all three Big Bend counties.
Will you and your family be better off as Medicaid and Medicare dollars dry up and our regional hospital could close for lack of funding?
Is it helping you and your family for our nation to be voting with Russia, China and North Korea against Ukraine at the United Nations?
Is it helping you and your family for the governments of the free world to be excluding us from meetings because they can no longer trust us with classified information?
I question how these changes are making the vast majority of Americans safer, healthier or happier.
L.P. Martin
Jeff Davis County Democrat
