Posting mugshots of those arrested without context leads to snap judgements

Dear Editor, and the general populace so ready to pass judgement,

Please let me begin by saying that I would never defend animal cruelty, or its perpetrator, in any manner. It is an unconscionable act and one that absolutely should be met with legal (and karmic, in my opinion) consequences.

That said: in all matters—legal, social, and otherwise, especially ones that carry such heavy personal repercussions in such a small town—we must remember to practice patience, compassion, and due process before leaping to conclusions that have the capacity to create real harm to a family and their business.

Rene Cardona, as many of you know, is a kind, calm, and responsible man who is loyal to his friends, supportive of his community, and respectful to everyone who crosses his path. I have the pleasure of knowing him, and his family, personally, which is part of the reason this egregious event has lodged such a thorn in my proverbial side. Those of us who know him know with absolute certainty that he would never harm any creature, large or small. In fact: I once asked for his help in removing (from the world, if I’d had my way) a black widow from the underside of a chair outside Para Llevar, his and his family’s business. He gently ushered the spider and her egg sac into a plastic container and nestled her into a nearby prickly pear plant where she could thrive. Such is the compassion of this man.

However, my personal investment in the situation is not the point.

Firstly: the posting of a mugshot (any mugshot, this is not a qualm specific to this situation) by law officers on a social media site with little to no context is, at best, irresponsible. At worst it invites a community to take up its keyboard torches and pitchforks and set fire to an already sensitive situation. I can only speak for myself, but when I see CRUELTY TO NON LIVESTOCK ANIMAL I think of someone starving or beating their pet, staking a dog to a short chain in the hot desert sun, hoarding animals, force breeding in irresponsible conditions; not a blind, senior dog escaping its shaded outdoor enclosure and accidentally being hit by a passing car. I also fail to see how delaying a trip to a groomer for a curmudgeonly old dog falls into this category. Perhaps that’s just me.

Secondly: how many of us have had to slam on their brakes to avoid hitting a scruffy critter on San Antonio Street, happily jangling its tags across the highway on its morning jaunt? How many of us avoid walking their leashed dogs in quiet residential neighborhoods for fear of an encounter with an unleashed pet allowed to roam with no owner in sight? Again, maybe these events are specific to me, but it seems a bit of a double standard to place a local family man under arrest for “animal cruelty” while turning a blind eye not only to established leash laws but to all of the loose, unkempt pets who have been fortunate enough to avoid a traumatic vehicular death.

To be perfectly clear: I am absolutely not advocating for more undue arrests, nor am I blindly forgiving irresponsible pet ownership. I am simply wondering why such harsh penalties have been applied to this single instance of a regularly overlooked situation and why the Presidio County Sheriff’s Office continues to instigate public discord on social media.

I hope that those of us who have had the opportunity to understand the complexities of the situation, or who can choose grace over vitriol, will gather and continue to support the Cardona family through kind words, actions, and delicious pizza. I hope that Rene and his family are afforded the peace to grieve the loss of one beloved pet and the forced rehoming of the other.

Above all, I hope Mr. Cardona hires a kick-ass lawyer.

Thank you for your time.

Adeline Schowengerdt
Marfa

Editor’s note: In this case, the Marfa Police Department made the arrest and filed charges. As in all cases, he was jailed in the Presidio County Jail run by the Sheriff’s Department, which posts many of those arrested on its Facebook page.

Democrats highlight positions open for candidates

Hello everyone,

There are several local positions up for election in 2026—and if you or someone you know is thinking about running, filing opens November 8. Here are the positions that will be on the ballot:

Local Offices:

  • County Judge
  • County Commissioner, Precinct 2
  • County Commissioner, Precinct 4
  • Justice of the Peace, Precinct 1
  • Justice of the Peace, Precinct 2
  • County Treasurer
  • County Clerk

Party Office:

  • Democratic County Chair

If you’re interested or have questions, feel free to reach out to us on November 8 at presidiocountydemocratic.party. We’re happy to help connect you with the right information. Let’s get more great people on the ballot!

Presidio County Democratic Party

Turn the golf course into an art park for visiting A-listers

I have read all the BBS articles and letters of late on the subject of the potential closure of the golf course and some baseball field(s) due to budget constraints. I’d like to offer a potential solution to the problem. Why not turn the golf course and ball fields into (drum roll please)….permanent outdoor art expositions?

There are already some of those in and around Marfa, so why not two more? Think of it—just go find some unused concrete culvert sections and line them up between a couple of golf course fairways. Find some shiny aluminum box/table thingies and place them between fairways. You could get some old dining chairs and arrange them in a semi-circle around a tee box or a green. And get some old shipping containers and decorate them and arrange them artistically somewhere else around the course. I think there are a bunch available lying in a field east of town! And you could rename the golf course the “Whole in One” art park––now that’s literally literary art!

For the baseball fields, just put up a plywood sign next to the outfield scoreboard and stencil “SELL THE HOUSE SELL THE CAR SELL THE KIDS” on it and you’ve created a masterpiece art lovers will surely flock to and pay to see!  And label the concession stand “Gucci” and people from all over will come by just to take selfies in front of it!

The possibilities of doing something like this are endless! Maybe some of the local artists or the big name artists who part-time in Marfa could contribute some suitable new works or something outdoor suitable from their collections to help out the locals?  

Admission to and use of these art parks for sports would be free to locals, but out-of-towners would have to pay a respectable admission price to come and see these art installations. I bet in no time “art world A-listers” (a BBS term I’ve read) and their artist acolytes will be flying in to Marfa from NY, LA, Napa, etc., in their private jets in even greater numbers than now to see and be seen, all to the benefit of local golf and ball players!

I know, brilliant, right?! You’re welcome, Marfa!

Gordon Moller
Jeff Davis County

Trump’s leadership leads to peace in Gaza

Hillary Clinton, secretary of state during the Obama administration, has congratulated President Trump for ending the Gaza War, as has Condoleezza Rice, secretary of state during the George W. Bush administration.  Both stateswomen representing both parties appeared on a split screen together.  Both acknowledged the enormous obstacles that had to be overcome and the concomitant leadership it took for Trump to make it happen and bring peace to the region.

For the first time since Israel declared its independence 77 years ago, Arab leaders embodied the restraint of all anti-Israel terrorist organizations including the government of Iran and the HHH Group (Hamas, Hezbollah, Houthi) that Iran sponsored.

It was first noticed during the George H.W. Bush administration (1989-1993) and is still true today, that the Saudi government had invested in the education of the Royal Family to the extent that it appointed proportionately more PhDs to Saudi government positions than the White House appointed PhDs to positions in the U.S. government. For the Saudi citizen to earn a PhD, he or she must travel to other countries and experience other cultures.

It will be the least educated, least traveled Americans with the narrowest cultural and political views who march in the “No Kings” protest scheduled for October 18.  That demographic is most easily manipulated by politicians who seek power more than peace. 

For the sake of our nation and for your own, I ask those who plan to participate to get a new prescription for the lenses on your glasses, use them to see that your angst is of your own making and make peace with each other. In short, celebrate the very thing you protest against—life in a democratic republic or, shorter still—life itself. 

Rex Redden
Fort Davis

Deep gratitude from Chinati director

On behalf of The Chinati Foundation/La Fundación Chinati, I would like to extend my deepest gratitude to everyone who made the 38th Annual Chinati Weekend so memorable. As an artist-founded, artist-centered museum, we’re indebted to all the artists and everyone in the arts community who made Chinati Weekend 2025 possible. 

This year, we were proud to celebrate the opening of two exhibitions, Fred Sandback: Sculpture and Oscar Hagerman: Sillas de México, which will be on view through June 2026. Fred Sandback: Sculpture was made possible by the extraordinary support of Amy Baker Sandback, as well as David Gray, Amavong Panya, and Joshua Decter. We’re grateful to the Mexico City-based team at kurimanzutto, including Martha Reta, Claudia Janneth Barriga Gutierrez, Natalie Espinosa Selde, Manola Samaniego, Raúl Zorrilla, Monica Manzutto and José Kuri, for their help in bringing Sillas de México to Marfa. A special thank you to Alejandra de la Mora for her contributions, and Oscar’s son, Carlos Hagerman, for sharing his moving film El Patio de mi Casa, as well as Justin Almquist for his installation support.

I want to extend a heartfelt thanks to the artists who participated in Chinati’s weekend programs including: the Roscoe Mitchell Trio, with Roscoe, Vincent Davis, and Junius Paul, for their unforgettable performance; Jacqueline del Olmo and Primo Carrasco for lending their DJ talents on Friday and Saturday nights; and Artist in Residence Klara Lidén for sharing such inspired new work at the Locker Plant. Thank you to Jeanhee Yu, Dim Zayan, MarfaMUST, and all the local artists who welcomed visitors to your studios throughout the weekend. 

Thank you to our esteemed Board of Trustees: Douglas Baxter, Gabriel Catone, Lee Baumann Cohn, J. Patrick Collins, Chad Dayton, Miguel Fernandez, Mack Fowler, Franck Giraud, Sam Hamilton, George Kelly, Courtney J. Martin, Anthony Meier, Heather Pesanti, Noelle M. Reed, Annabelle Selldorf, Richard Shiff, José Noé Suro, and Steven Volpe. We’re also grateful to Siete Leguas Tequila, RG|NY, Aesop, Glazer’s Beer & Beverage, Gruet, and Ben E. Keith for their essential support. Thank you also to the City of Marfa, the Marfa Chamber of Commerce, and Texas Commission on the Arts for making this weekend’s programming possible. 

I also want to thank the incredible chefs for their delicious contributions: Chef Oscar Cortazar of La Pajara in Chihuahua, Chef Brian Espinoza, and Sawtooth. Thank you to Virginia Lebermann and the Capri, Monika Bernstein and her incredible team, INDUSTRIHAUS, Rob Crowley, Tim Crowley, Jesse Barnes, Faith Gay, and Cactus Liquors for your many contributions to the benefit dinner and beyond. 

Chinati is grateful for the ongoing support of the people of Marfa and Far West Texas. Thank you to Arturo Alferez, Elizabeth Brito, Mark Cash, Belinda Dominguez, Janet Enriguez, Susan Flusche, Nancy Francis, Naomi Francis, Melissa Firmin, Rachel Gomez, Veronica Gomez, Donel Hartnett, Duke Hartnett, Levi Hinojos, Griselda Hinojos, Alexandra Howard, Raymond Jaquez, Alex Marks, Eliseo Martinez, Manny Ontiveros, Linda Ojeda, Curtis Pittman, Sara Pittman, José Salgado, Daniel Santos, Vianney Santos, Julio Soto, Ricardo Velazquez, Sarah Vasquez. And thank you to Rainer Judd, Flavin Judd, Richard Griggs and the entire staff at Judd Foundation for their support of the weekend.

Chinati’s educational and public programming is supported with generous grants from the Carl B. & Florence E. King Foundation, Humanities Texas, Milton & Sally Avery Arts Fund, Prentice Farrar Brown and Alline Ford Foundation, Pulitzer Foundation, Rea Charitable Trust, Ruth Stanton Foundation, Start Small Foundation, Still Water Foundation, Texas Commission on the Arts, The Brown Foundation, The Cowles Charitable Trust, The Donald and Carole Chaiken Foundation, The George and Mary Josephine Hamman Foundation, The Permian Basin Area Foundation, The Sarofim Foundation, Union Pacific Foundation and Warren Skaaren Charitable Trust.

Supporting Judd’s vision for Chinati, along with the vision of the artists in our collection and the artists that join us annually, is a wonderful and rewarding experience and would not be possible without the contributions of our staff, who work hard all year to make this weekend happen. Many thanks to our exceptional visitor services staff, docents, and guards: Shea Carley, Kathie Compton, Al Davis, John Ehrke, Mo Eldridge, Katy Rose Elsasser, Kyp Hinojos, Alex Kamelhair, David Lanman, Kat Mckenna, Suzanne McLeod, Dillon Orr, Rory Parks, Janelly Pereira, Nick Terry, Prepney Torres, Chelsea Quinlan.

And thank you to the rest of my supportive and hard-working colleagues at Chinati, without whom this weekend would not be possible: Maritza Bautista, Julie Bernal, Michael Carnes, Sylvana Diaz, Rowdy Dugan, Micah Francis, Malinda Galindo, J.D. Garcia, Hannah Goldfarb, Regina Gutierrez, Sandra Hinojos, Christine Jackson, Haley Levin, Miguel Leyva, Rhonda Manley, Stephen Martin, Jen Rowles, Veronica Salinas, Ben Shurley, Rachel May Smith, Zade Williamson.

We look forward to welcoming you back in October of 2026, when we will mark 40 years of The Chinati Foundation/La Fundación Chinati.

With gratitude,
Caitlin Murray

The ‘coolest people’ helped spur the Homecoming festivities

To all who participated in the Homecoming Parade, pep rally, and game, thank you from the bottom of my heart!

A huge thanks especially to the Presidio Blue Devils band and Molly Ferguson, who brought extra spirit and fun on Thursday with their marching band. What a privilege to share such generous neighbors in Presidio County! Thank you also to Faith Gay and Cactus Liquors for the parade float and the donation of gorgeous homecoming bouquets for the court. And to Blair Park, David Bebee and family, to the library, the bank, MEF, Chinati, EMS, law enforcement, the fire department and all our parade participants. And oh my goodness, thank you to Mayor Manny Baeza for permitting us a last-minute street closure when I dropped the ball. 

Thank you to the community who came out to watch the festivities and support the students, to the families and alums who came from near and far to celebrate being a Shorthorn. Thank you to my colleagues at school, to emcee and awesome boss Linda Ojeda, superhero/Cricut expert Rachel Gomez, senior class sponsors Lizzy, Donel and Curtis, and most of all to my students, who are earth’s coolest people and best artists and for whom we would move mountains. I am still so tired from the frenzy of activity last week, but my heart is full!

Thank you!

Adele Powers
Marfa