The Winkler County News (Kermit, Tex.), Vol. 28, No. 78, Ed. 1 Friday, April 3, 1964 Page: 1 of 7
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Vol. 28 -—No* 78 Kermit, Winkler County, Texas Friday, April 3, 1964
Permits for Remodeling,
New Construction Issued
A new residence and a dozen
remodeling and addition projects
were posted on City of Kermit
building records during March.
Value of construction started dur-
ing the period totaled $33,975.
Oasis Builders was issued a
permit for the new residence. It
is to be located at 1028 East
San Antonio Street, constructed
of brick veneer. Value is
$16,000.
B. C. Crump of 218 South
Spruce Street obtained a permit
for adding a room and closet to
a house. Value was listed as
$250.
G. D. Schutten was issued a
permit to remodel a residence
at 210 South Avenue D. Value
was listed as $500.
A carport addition was listed
on a permit to J. H. Munn at
726 South Martin Street. Cost
was listed as $125.
Barry Don Tisdale, 126 Jack-
son Street, obtained a permit to
add a bath and storage room val-
ued at $500 to his residence.
Ideal Investment Corporation
obtained a permit for addition of
a den and bedroom to a resi-
dence at 712 South Avenue B.
Project was valued at $4,200.
Boles Builders Supply is con-
tractor.
Alex Crabtree, 441 North Ave-
nue D, obtained a permit to add
a patio and storage room to his
residence. Value of the project
was listed as $1,000.
Jose Contrarez, 120 North
Spruce, obtained a permit to en-
close a porch. Value of the proj-
ect was listed as $150.
T. L. Shattuck, 417 Sherwood
Avenue, listed a $150 carport
addition to his residence.
Frank Harris was issued a
permit for a $3,000 residence re-
modeling project at 1029 Wash-
ington Street. Sandhills Con-
struction Company is contractor.
Edna Westbrook, 812 South
Avenue D, obtained a permit for
a $1,000 remodeling project.
Oasis Builders is contractor.
W. M. Walker obtained a per-
mit for a $1,100 addition at the
office of El Rancho Motel, High-
ways 18 and 302 intersection.
Foreman Coffee
Saturday Evening
U. S. Representative Ed Fore-
fpman of Odessa will visit in Ker-
mit Saturday evening, according
to an announcement from offi-
W clals of the Winkler County Re-
publican Party.
Foreman will visit with Wink-
ler County residents at the meet-
ing room of First National Bank
from 5-6 p.m. Coffee will be
served.
Spokesmen for the party said
the Saturday coffee will be Fore-
man’s only stop in the county dur-
ing the trip. He will also stop
at a number of other West Texas
communities while on the trip.
Joe Germuiller is the contract-
or.
A1 Robinson, 123 North Pine
Street, obtained a permit to de-
molish and remove a building
at 123 North Pine Street. Les-
lie Morris is contractor on the
$6,000 project.
Total value of building starts
in Kermit for the year is
$108,090.
In 1963 the value of first-
quarter construction stood at
$220,900. An addition to the First
Methodist Church added $108,000
to the 1963 total._
Residents
Get Word
From Alaska
Word from Alaska has been
slow in coming to Kermit resi-
dents who are anxious to hear
from relatives living near the
center of destruction from the
earthquake Friday.
However, several messages
telling that relatives were un-
harmed have been received here,
according to reports.
Included were reports to Mr.
and Mrs. Harry Sindorf of 630
North Ash Street, who received
word from John Sindorf; Mrs.
Dan Casbeer of 1150 South Pop-
lar Street; Mrs. Ella Holcomb
of 310 South Pine Street; Mrs.
John Martin of 748 North Oak
Street; and Mrs. Leo Echard of
Kermit Trailer Park.
Still waiting for messages are
Mrs. Edwin C. Brenner of 208
West Bryan Street andMrs. Lynn
Akin of 216 South Oak Street.
Telpehone operators have in-
formed relatives originating
messages in Kermit the lines
are tied up and only government-
al priority calls are being ac-
cepted.
John Sindorf, brother of Harry
Sindorf of Kermit, sent a mes-
sage to the Kermit relatives
through a ham radio operator
in the northwest, who relayed
the message by telegram to Ker-
mit.
Mrs. Casbeer also reportedly
heard from relatives via tele-
gram.
Mrs. Brenner, whose husband
and a son are working at a
gold mine in a remote area some
30 miles from Valdez, Alaska,
has been trying unsuccessfully
to get a message through.
An Alaskan bush pilot left the
two at the mine a week ago,
along with food and supplies for
a month. He was to return for
them in about three weeks, and
no other means of communication
was available to the men.
Mrs. Echard said Tuesday
morning that she was successful
in placing a telephone call to
Anchorage to a sister.
SPRING IS HERE — Pretty Meredith Lancaster, daughter of Mr. and Mrs. Jonathan Lan-
caster poses beside plum blossoms. Fruit trees throughout the city have blossomed out in
recent weeks, showing definitely that spring is here. (Staff Photo)
Kermit Woman’s Family Wink School
Safe After Long Hike
“Safe and sound. Dad.”
This was the text of a message that relieved Mrs. Edwin
Brenner of 208 West Bryan Street at midnight Tuesday.
She had waited since Friday for word from her husband
and son, John, at a gold mine between Valdez and Whittier,
Alaska.
The message was relayed from Whittier to a ham radio
operator in Kent, Wash. Mrs. Brenner later talked with
operator by telephone.
Election Draws
23 Absentees
WINK — The race for tw
seats on the Wink Independer
School District Board of Edi
cation drew 23 absentee votes
officials in the Wink superinter
dent’s office reported.
Four men, including the ir
cumbents, are asking election t
the school board posts.
“Apparently my husband and son walked from the mine
to Whittier, about 30 miles, to get the message to Kermit. In
the rugged country around the mine, 15 miles in 24 hours is
about all a traveler can walk,” Mrs. Brenner said.
Absentee voting for the April
4 election ended Tuesday, three
full days before the election. Ab-
sentee voting period is set by
state law.
She later telephoned to tell military officials conducting a
rescue operation that her husband had reached safety.
Helicopters had been unable to land near the mine because
of unfavorable weather. The search was started after Congress-
man Ed Foreman originated a call to inform officials in Alaska
of the predicament in which the men were caught.
The Wink election, which will
see incumbent board members
Sam D. Brown and Arthur M.
Kelly Jr. opposed by Douglas
N. Bounds and Henry A. Jones,
will be held in the school cafe-
teria. Voting time is 8 a.m. to
7 p.m.
BY DAVE SCLAIR
Amid a bitter argument and a
walkout by one member of the
City Council, a proposal to con-
struct a new 1,000,000 gallon
ground water storage reservoir
was approved.
The action came Tuesday night
during a special meeting.
Following a heated exchange
between Councilman C. O. Jones
and several Others on the Council,
Jones declared he would not take
a part in what he felt was the
“railroading” of the project and
he immediately left the Council
chamber.
However, a few moments later
he walked back in to pick up
some papers and, as the Mayor
announced the results of the vot-
ing, he spoke up and said he was
also voting against the measure.
The proposal carried 3-2. Vot-
ing for the plan to construct
the new reservoir were Council-
men Earl Adams, Frank Horn
and L. L. Deaton. Joining Jones
in voting against the motion was
Councilman J. L. Slaughter.
The arguments erupted im-
mediately after Wade Howell,
consulting engineer with the Ken-
neth E. Esmond and Associates
firm, finished explaining the proj-
ect to Jones. The Councilman
was absent from the previous
meeting at which Howell also gave
a full description of the proposal.
Immediately after Howell com-
pleted his report Jones asked
If there was a water emergency.
The engineer explained that if
there was to be a bad fire or a
breakdown in equipment during
the peak pumping periods it would
become an emergency.
Jones then charged that some
members of the Council were
trying “to railroad something
through because there is an elec-
tion coming up.”
The special meeting was called
a week ago after Howell first
presented the report and recom-
mended that the city undertake
the construction of the reservoir.
However, after Slaughter asked
for more time to study the pro-
posal the special meeting was
slated for Tuesday.
Mayor G. L. (Jerry) McGuire
pointed out during the discussion
the matter had been discussed
several times before and City
Manager Howard Willingham said
the matter had been brought to
the Council four times since last
April.
Mayor McGuire said he felt
that Councilmen had been elected
to serve the city and they could
not postpone matters just be-
cause an election was coming up.
In making the motion to con-
struct the reservoir, Council-
man Horn said he felt the recom-
mendations of City Water Super-
intendent Jerry Haynes and
the engineers provided him with
the information he needed. Deaton
seconded the motion.
Councilman Slaughter then
brought up the question of whether
or not a water reservoir could
be constructed in Walton Park,
the proposed site for the struc-
ture.
City Attorney John R. Lee,
after briefly studying a copy of
the park dedication papers which
Slaughter presented, said it was
his opinion that the area could
be used for the location of a
reservoir. Councilman Horn
pointed out one water reservoir
was already situated in the park.
In his report and that of a
water hydrologist employed by
the city, Howell explained that
the city’s water wells are ade-
quate to supply the amount of
water demanded by city residents
at all times.
He also pointed out that the
strata from which the city draws
its water is sufficient to handle
all demands.
However, the problem, as How-
ell explained it, was in storing
the water in the slack periods
to be used during peak demand
times. He said additional wells
could be drilled by that in his
opinion and that of the water en-
gineer the most economical
method of taking care of the water
problem was to construct the
reservoir. Cost of the proposed
reservoir is about $67,000, he
said.
Haynes also asked Councilmen
to consider replacing some of the
pumping equipment located in the
Walton station.
Operators Schedule
Wildcats for County
Three wildcat wells and six lineq of section la, mock A,
field wells were staked in Wink- g&MMB&A survey. It is sched-
ler County last week. uled to g0 9 500 feett
Shell Oil Company’s No. 112 Richardson Oils, Inc. staked
AaS be? sl4ated41af two ventures in the Keystone
an 8,300-foot Pennsylvanian wild- (Colby) field,
cat, 660 feet from south and
2,050 feet from east lines of Richardson’s No. 5-A Shell-
section 56, block A, G&MMB&A Llano, a 3,300-foot hole, is lo-
survey. cated 1,650 feet from south and
Phillips Petroleum Company 2,310 feet from east lines of
has also staked a wildcat, No. section 1, block 77, PSL survey.
1-M University Lands. A Dela- mha 10 a
6 600 tfeet ^ocation^is16'1 9*82 Llan° is scheduled'’for 3,*300 feet.’
fee? frcm so„?h id 180 feet * ? S 7*
» ’.. ana 2,310 feet from east lines
froin east lines of section 40, of section 1 block 77 pgL
block 21, University Lands sur- * ’
wow-/ liineoery, a water sup-
ply well, is located 2,135 feet
from south and 2,035 feet from
east lines of section 2, block
C-23, PSL survey. It will be
drilled 560 feet.
Skelly Oil Company No. 202
vey.
vey.
The third county wildcat has Sun Oil Company has staked
been slated by Standard Oil Com- No. 14 S. M. Halley in the Hal -
pany of Texas. A Pennsylvanian ley (Yates) field. A 3,400-foot
detrital (OWDD) prospector, the hole, it is situated 1,799 feet
No. 7-A-l, Sealy-Smith Founda- from south and 850 feet from
tion is staked 630 feet from east lines of section 24, block
south and 660 feet from west B-12, PSL survey.
S. M. Halley will be a water
injection well in the Emperor
(Yates) field. Located 1,320 feet
from south and 25 feet from
west lines of section 13, block
B-12, PSL survey, it will be
drilled to 3,050 feet.
The Scarborough (Seven-Riv-
ers) field drew a 3,400-foot well
to be drilled by Pip Petroleum
Corporation. The well, No, 1-A
Edwards, is located 330 feet from
northwest and 782 feet from west
lines of section 6, block C-23,
PSL survey.
PLANE WRECKAGE — The burned-out shell qf a private plane Is examined occurred as the plane was preparing to land on the Jim Wheat ranch in Loving
by two Loving County residents. The pilot of the plane, Thomas E. Norcross County. Norcross and Mrs. Wheat were brother and sister. The plane struck
and his wife, of Long Beach, Calif., were killed in the crash. Three other pas- the broken utility pole shown in background. (Staff Photo by Leland Boyd)
sengers in the airplane escaped with only minor injuries. The crash
Mentone Plane Crash
Kills 2, Injures 3
BY LELAND BOYD
MENTONE—An airplane crash
six miles south of Mentone took
the lives of two persons and in-
jured three others Thursday aft-
ernoon at 5 o’clock.
Dead are Mr. and Mrs. Thdm-
as Elton Norcross of Long Beach,
Calif. Norcross was killed in the
crash of his Comanche 250 air-
plane and his wife died four and
a half hours later in Winkler
County Memorial Hospital.
Three others injured in the
crash are Dee Ann Norcross,
117; Mrs. Aline De Noyer and
Mark De Noyer, 7, Cyprus,
Calif. All are confined to the
hospital.
The three survivors were in
satisfactory condition and were
expected to be released from the
hospital Friday. Miss Norcross
suffered a broken finger and
Mrs. De Noyer had a broken
toe. The young Norcross suf-
fered multiple bruises.
The plane in which the five
persons were passengers hit a
power line during an attempted
landing and nosed into a caliche
roadway near the ranch home of
Jim Wheat south of Mentone, on
the Jim Wheat-Bob Morehead
Ranch.
The party in the plane was
flying to the ranch from Cali-
fornia to visit during the Easter
weekend. Mrs. Wheat is a sister
of Norcross and Mrs. De Noyer.
Another Norcross child, Tom-
my, has been living at the ranch
with the Wheats.
The aircraft broke two utility
line poles and tangled one of
the wires as it crashed.
Wheat and Morehead, assisted
by two ranch hands, arrived at
the scene minutes after the crash
and removed the passengers.
Norcross was trapped in the
plane.
Morehead said the plane* s
engine was thrust into the pilot’s
compartment and pinned Nor-
cross’s foot. As the rescuers
pried on the plane with crow-
bars, it caught fire.
In a final desperation effort,
Norcross, thought to have been
killed instantly by the impact,
was removed from the plane as
the flames began to spread.
A veteran pilot, Norcross had
landed at the ranch on several
occasions, according to More-
head. Winds, gusting to 20 mph,
were thought to have caused the
plane to hit the wire.
Norcross, 48, was a building
contractor. Funeral arrange-
ments for the victims of the
crash are pending at Hixson Fu-
neral Chapel.
Only the wing-tips, a section
of the fuselage and charred por-
tions of the frame remained of
the burned airplane after the fire
burned itself out hours after
the crash.
Survivors of Norcross include
two sons, Thomas A. Norcross
and Winfield Allen Norcross; two
daughters, Dee Ann Norcross
of Long Beach, and Sylvia Anita
Norcross of San Angelo; his moth-
er, Mrs. Thalia Brown of Odes-
sa; three sisters, Mrs. James
Wheat of Mentone, Mrs. Jana Dee
Citron of Sherman Oaks, Calif.,
and Mrs. Aline De Noyer of
Cyprus, Calif.; a brother, Lendsa
T. Norcross of Santa Barbara,
Calif.
Mrs. Norcross is also sur-
vived by a brother, Arthur Har-
rison of San Pedro, Calif., in
addition to her two sons and two
daughters._
Judge Testifies
During Austin
Hearing on Road
AUSTIN (Special) — Winkler
County Judge W. E. Cook Wed-
nesday morning told members of
the Texas Highway Commission
that incorporating a Winkler
County road into the farm-to-
market system would be a benefit
to the traveling public.
Winkler County Commission-
ers Court last week adopted a
resolution asking the state to
take over the county road con-
necting Highways 115 and 302.
It runs immediately adjacent to
the recently refurbished Winkler
County Airport.
Judge Cook, who made the trip
along with several other Wink-
ler County residents, said the
only question asked by a Com-
mission member pertained to the
condition of the road. Cook said
he told the Commission the road
is in good shape and the request
for the state to take it over as
part of its system was not being-
made because it created any bur-
den upon the county.
Also making the trip were
County Commissioner LeonNutt,
Don Nugent, representative ofthe
Kermit Chamber of Commerce.
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Sclair, Dave. The Winkler County News (Kermit, Tex.), Vol. 28, No. 78, Ed. 1 Friday, April 3, 1964, newspaper, April 3, 1964; Kermit, Texas. (https://texashistory.unt.edu/ark:/67531/metapth809907/m1/1/: accessed July 18, 2024), University of North Texas Libraries, The Portal to Texas History, https://texashistory.unt.edu.; crediting Winkler County Library.