Levelland and Hockley County News-Press (Levelland, Tex.), Vol. 22, No. 59, Ed. 1 Sunday, October 22, 2000 Page: 1 of 38
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Rainy weather delays
cotton crop harvest ,
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• • •
The local cotton harvest has
topped 40,000 bales, but rainy
weather this week • and the
probability of more this weekend - is
putting the brake cn stripping
operations.
With nine gins reporting, the
bale count reached 42,487 on
Friday
But the gm was about to run out
of modules, Mrs. Welch said.
United Cotton Growers had
produced 12,047 bales for the
season as of 7 am Friday
Howevetf the Arnett plant was
out of cotton while the one in
Whitharral still had modules, said
Ruth Villegas
business Friday Production there
has reached about 1,200 bales, *4 1
Long “S” Gin employes^]
continued to work Friday after vW 1
found a few modules,” said gin
manager Prentice Fred
To date, Long “S” has produced «
4,734 bales of cotton.
The off-and-on wet weather has
ivuui v ut^go*. me uu-aiiu-un wci weaincr tios
A bale tally was not available By the end of die work week, not yet hurt the cotton crop much,
from die Loclcettville Gin. overall production at Citizens Co-op said Chris Edens, county extension
Most gms were still in operation Gin had reached 3,398 bales. ---*
The gin was down to six
modules Friday afternoon
Ropes Farmers Co-op had
“close to 40" modules in its yard
Friday, reported employee Leeanne
Ortiz
Thus far, the gin has processed
about 7,100 bales of cotton, she
said.
The bale count at Buster’s Gin
tallied 8,233 on Friday, said Linda
Taylor.
— -----------____ Like other gins, Buster’s was
Pettit Co-op Gin had processed about to run out of fiber, Mrs.
a total of 4,025 bales as of Friday, Taylor said.
Friday but many of them were an the
verge of running out of cotton
modules.
“We’re on it now,” said Center
Point Gin manager Neil Atchison. “I
think we’ve enough to go” into
Saturday.
Some growers in the area pulled
cotton Thursday and a few of them
hit the fields Friday, Atchison said.
The gin. which has yet to go on
a two-shift schedule, had 1,750
bales to its credit by Friday, he said
agent
“As far as really hurting the
cotton, 1 don’t think it’s hurt that
much. I don’t think we re seeing any
disease or actual deterioration of
fiber,” Edens said. “If the rain
continues, we might have a problem
1 wouldn't push the panic button
right now.”
But soggy fields are making it
difficult for producers to resume
stripping operations, Edens said.
A number of local growers
defoliated their fields in recent
weeks. They were banking on
getting those fields harvested as
FOGGY MORNING MISHAP — Twenty-year-old Jonathan Ponder of Lubbock was uninjured after he ran his
Chevrolet Lumina up on this flatbed trailer Friday morning on Texas 114 at Alamo Road The South Plains College
said he had not slept much and apparently failed to stop in tune The driver of the vehicle in front of him. Grafton
Lewis of Levelland, was not hurt. Lewis was eastbound and was waiting for the light to change when the accident
occurred Heavy fog had moved into the area earlier (Staff Photo)
Coalition members look
at needs of rural residents
FRIENDLY CRITTER — Four-year-old Brooke Durham was among the scores of kids who gave feed to goats
like the one Wednesday during the 4-H Petting Zoo at the Hockley County Fairgrounds. Goats, mules, horses dogs
and chickens were same of the animals available for viewing and petting by local school children. The event was
a curriculum enrichment project sponsored by die Texas Agricultural Extension Service (Staff Photo)
Frenchman making friends
in ride across United States
Migrant farm workers need
better access to social services and
affordable housing, social service
employees learned Thursday
More than 70 social service
professionals from the region heard
updates on migrant workers and
\ anous programs during a
conference of the Rural South Plains
Coalition in Levelland.
Esmeralda Torres. an
imolvement specialist with the
Texas Migrant Council, said a
special committee formed last
January has identified three areas of
need for migrant/seasonal' farm'
workers
Affordable housing topped the
list.
Many of the workers and their
families live in substandard housing
and hotels while they are harvesting
crops in Texas, Torres said
“We found a lot are in tents and
cars until they find something,"’ she
said "There is a need out there,
we're witnessing it.”
Public assistance is available to
migrant families, but it is not always
easy to access because of the
language barrier and the hours they
work, Torres said.
Transportation was the last
major area of concern
Most migrant families come
from South Texas and they usually
travel in units of 10-20 people, she
said
"They do contribute to the
economy greatly,” Torres said.
"They're bringing fruits and
vegetables to our tables, and we’re
not meeting them half way . ”
Torres said her agency has been
awarded money to serve the children
of seasonal farm workers
She said other issues identified
by the committee included better
medical care, job training and
English as a Second Language
Many children are by
themselves in the summer while
their parents are hoeing cotton and
harvesting vegetables, she said
Torres said she once saw a
young boy pick up a piece of dirty
bread from the ground and eat it.
The bread could have had pesticides
“There are a lot of dangers out
there in the hot sun,” she said. “We
intend to ignore it Children between
6 and 12 have no place to go in the
summer.”
Torres said the committee will
contmue to gather information on
migrant families
“There's a lot of work to be
done We hope to do a lot more to
address these needs.” she said.
"Together we can make a difference
for these families.”
Social service agencies don’t
Eocal j oblessrate
falls in September
The unemployment rate in
Hockley County slipped further last
month, falling to its lowest point this
year
The rate, which had been 4
percent in August, declined to 3 9
percent in September
According to the Texas
Workforce Commission, the local
work force was 9.857 people in
September
Of that number, 9,469 people
were employ ed while 388 were out
of work
The local jobless rate compared
favorably with neighboring counties
Unemployment in Cochran Cou
nty tallied 7.3 percent last month,
while it was 6.3 percent in Lamb
County and 4 7 percent in Terry
County
Lubbock had the fewest people
out of work with a jobless rate of
2.5 percent
In a report released Thursday,
the TWC noted that the
unemployment rate in Texas last
month remained unchanged at 4.3
percent
TWC Chair Rath said that more
than 214.000 Texans were added to
the number employed since
September 1999
Nonagricultural jobs grew by
an estimated 27,000 in September,
with widespread general industry
growth
The construction industry added
1,800 jobs in September, said
Commissioner Representing Labor
T O Mahoney
“That represents an annual
growth rate of 5 percent - the largest
of any major industry in Texas,”
O'Mahonev said
See JOBLESS Page 2
Thierry Posty is a man with a
mission
Posty is also curious about
people, places and the natural
phenomena that he encounters in his
travels.
He has met few strangers - and
made many friends - in his trip
across the United States.
After stopping off briefly in
Levelland Wednesday, the world
traveler mounted his paint horse
“Native Roller” and headed south
on U S. 385 with his pack horse
“Blaze” in the rear
Flagged down near the airport,
the 43-year-old Frenchman
dismounted and politely answered
questions about himself for 15
minutes.
His mission, Posty said, is to
promote better relations between the i
United States and Cuba
But he also enjoys traveling and
meeting people
*7 love horses, 1 love to travel,
I love to meet people,” Posty said “I
love friendship.”
the sojourner has met numerous
people and seen all sorts of country
in mdre than 20 yean
the native of Dole, France was
in his early 20’s when he took a year
off to travel across Europe on
horseback
Other trips followed
Posty, who has his own business
and works as a psychologist/psycho
therapist, leaned about _ the
aborigines during a trip across
Austndia He also spent several
months in Mongolia.
He was 30 when he rode across
Canada and into Alaska, traveling as
far north as Prudhoe Bay during the
5,000-mile trip.
Posty began his current journey
three months ago in Waterton
Glacier International Peace Park, at
die border of the United States and
Canada.
His girlfriend met him early in
die trip, accompanying him for three
weeks an a mountain bike. She will
meet him again a second time,
possibly in Mexico.
Posty has experienced s fair
share of adventures along the way.
He had to get another horse,
“Blaze,” after one of his paints
developed leg problems. He bought
that animal and “Native Roller”in
Montana, paying $5,000 for them.
Ha encountered forest fires and
oppressive heat while traveling
through Montana and Yellowstone
National Park.
“I went to Yellowstone and I
was just galloping from fire,” he
•Sid “I hoe ore now - fire and
Snakes.”
Posty asked about the
prevalence of rattlesnakes in the
terrain ahead of him. He said he
would be traveling through Lamesa
and Big Spring on his way to the
Mexican border.
The Frenchman said he
averages 25-30 miles a day with his
horses. He has a tent, a sleeping bag
and a small stove for cooking.
“I have everything, but
sometimes when I stop people to ask
them to buy some hay. some grain. I
stay with them,” he said. “They
offer me a bed or a bam.”
Posty said he occasionally eats
in restaurants, but prefers to do his
own cooking, usually preparing nee
and vegetables
Asked how he has been treated
by Americans, he said, “Nice
people ”
Traveling in Texas has been
much easier than it was in the Rocky
Mountains, where he followed roads
that zigged and zagged across the
mountainous terrain.
“Of course I
roads,” he sad.
Because when 1 follow the roads, the
ditches oe very wide. It's very
nice.
Posty sad he has been
impressed with the rdatively clean
roads in the Lone Star state
“There’s something about
Texas I can nty," he said. “It’s vary
nice because there is not too much
broken glass an the road. That’s the
ON THE ROAD - Thierry Posty paused to have his photograpn taxon weanesaay on me ouiskuxs oi ixvenana
The 43-yea-old psychologist, who is from France, is traveling north-to-south across the United States His ultimate
destination is Cuba. Posty has traveled extensively in the world on horseback and loves meeting people He is
promoting better relations between the United States and Cuba on this trip (Staff Photo)
v
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Rigg, John. Levelland and Hockley County News-Press (Levelland, Tex.), Vol. 22, No. 59, Ed. 1 Sunday, October 22, 2000, newspaper, October 22, 2000; Levelland, Texas. (https://texashistory.unt.edu/ark:/67531/metapth1168953/m1/1/: accessed June 30, 2024), University of North Texas Libraries, The Portal to Texas History, https://texashistory.unt.edu.; crediting South Plains College.