Seminole Sentinel (Seminole, Tex.), Vol. 95, No. 55, Ed. 1 Wednesday, April 21, 2004 Page: 1 of 12
twelve pages : ill. ; page 23 x 15 in. Digitized from 35 mm. microfilm.View a full description of this newspaper.
Extracted Text
The following text was automatically extracted from the image on this page using optical character recognition software:
J
I,,, f 11 I u I
| Web Site: http://www.seminolesentinel.com
Volume 95, Number 055
Kmail:sentinel w erosswind.net
_ SISD Board Approves
- Construction, Renovations
Sentinel Photo Dusiin Wright
REPEAT CHAMPIONS
Pictured with the District 3-AAA Girls Track and Field trophy in hand, the Seminole Maiden varsity and junior
varsity track and field team pose for the camera at the district meet Saturday afternoon in Snyder. The Maidens
repeated as the district champions with a team total 147 points and finished ahead of district foe Snyder, who
finshed the meet with a team total 139. See story inside this issue.
SMH May Election Cancelled
By Dustin Wright
In their regular session meet-
ing Monday night, the Seminole
Independent School Board of
Trustees approved of plans for the
renovation of the Seminole Junior
High science labs, as well as a $1.6
million dollar construction and
renovation project at F.J Young
Elementary. '
JH SCIENCE LABS
After a discussion with archi-
tect Joe Grimes of Grimes and As-
sociates of Lubbock, board mem-
bers voted in a 7-0 decision to
approve of a bid from JC Roberts
Construction for $194,776 for the
science lab renovations, and a bid
of $11. 378 to Z&Z for the science
rooms asbestos abatement.
The new science labs will con
sist of five student work stations,
which ^/ill allow five students to
work comfortably, according to
Grimes, as well as a classroom
setting away from the lab area and
additional storage spaces
FJ YOUNG PROJECT
Trustees also approved the
consideration of .constructing a
7,500 square ffoUcafeteria facil-
ity. as well as a renovation to the
current cafeteria at the campus in
a 7-0 decision in Monday night's
meeting.
The new cafeteria plans will
all >w for 348 students to be seated
at one time, according to Grimes,
and will be made of a concrete
bri :k and face brick material.
Plans also will allow for ad-
ditional dry storage space, a larger
walk in refrigerator and freezer
and office space than in the cur-
rent cafeteria.
The blueprints also show that
the new facility will allow a better
flow system for the kids entering
and leaving the projected two
lunch lines and returning dirty
lunch trays to the scullery.
As for the renovation part
of the project, which calls for the
renovation of the current cafeteria
into office space for campus per-
sonnel such as the principal, coun-
selor. school nurse, PE1MS clerk
and a new teacher s workroom.
Estimated cost for the project,
which will bid out db one complete
project, will cost an estimated
$1.6 million dollars, according to
Grimes.
RESIGNATIONS, HIR-
INGS
After an executive session
discussion, board members re
convened in open session and
accepted nine resignations and
approved the hiring of three em
ployees. subject to assignment
Of the resignations approved
by the board were Pat Winters,
Roy Winters, Allan Bryson. Stacy
Layton. Judy Shibley. Freda
Blackmon. Brenda Evins, Rebecca
Hamilton and Mollv Ward.
Hired on by SISD, but subject
See School ...Page 2
SHS UIL Students
Headed to Odessa
Seminole High School will be well-represented Friday and Sat
urday at the Region I-3A Literary and Academic Meet at Odessa Col-
lege.
Qualifiers include. David Funk. Susie Neufeld, Jason Strickland
and Bill Terry, mathematics; Kellen Carl. Jeremy Rogers. Jason Strick-
land and Bill Terry, science; David Funk, Susie Neufeld. Amanda Riojas
and Bill Terry, number sense; Lori Flores. David Funk, Susie L.oeppky
and Susie Neufeld, calculator applications: and Bethany Evins. Chris
Freyburger, Susie Loeppky and Susie Neufeld. literary criticism.
Other qualifiers include, Salvador Garcia, Chris Freyburger and
Bonnie Peters, poetry interpretation; Skylar Ffinds and Courtney
Spruit! prose interpretation: Kelly Massey, informative speaking
Amanda Riojas, news writing; Taylor Jameson, persuasive speaking;
Bianca Diaz, spelling and vocabulary; Amanda Riojas. editorial writing;
and Bianca Diaz and Amanda Riojas, headline writing. Alternates are,
Hannah Upton. Lincoln-Douglas Debate; Bill Terry, computer science.
Bianca Diaz, editorial writing; and Austin Walden, social studies. Teams
See UIL ...Page 2
The Seminole Hospital Board
cancelled the scheduled May
board election and heard various
reports during its regular meeting
Monday in the board room of
Seminole Memorial Hospital
Election Cancelled
State law says that if all can-
didate positions have been filed
for and there is no opposition for
those positions, an election may
be cancelled.
The four incumbents, Sandra
Ward in District 1: John Golmon
in District 2; Monnie Collett in Dis-
trict 3; and Mark Beaty in District
4, were the only candidates to file.'
Reports
During the financial report,
hospital CEO Steve Beck told
board members that during the
month of March deductions from
revenue were unfavorable to bud-
get, as were expenses. Volume,
Ruiz Given Ten Years in
Attempted Capital Murder Case
A 22-year-old Hobbs man pleaded guilty to two counts of at-
tempted capital murder in 106th District Court in Seminole Thursday
in connection with an incident December 1 in Gaines County.
Brock Ruiz was sentenced to 10 years in prison and a $1,000 fine
on each count by District Judge Carter T. Schildknecht, with the two
sentences to run concurrently.
Ruiz was charged with firing shots at two Texas Department of
Public Safety officers during a high-speed chase on December 1 that
began in Hobbs and ended five miles west of Seminole, when Ruiz was
taken into custody
According to a story in Friday's / iobbs News-Sun. Ruiz was facing
life in prison on each of the charges, but by pleading guilty, as part of a
plea agreement, he received the two 10-year sentences.
A third count of evading arrest was dismissed.
while short of a year ago, gener-
ated overall revenue just favorable
to the budget.
Because of some shortfalls
experienced by the hospital this
year, caused by many different
factors. Beck told the board he "has
heard complaints about the con-
struction projects at the hospital.
Some people are wondering, he
said, if the hospital is experienc-
ing a loss, why is the construction
going on.
Concerning the current proj-
ects, room renovation and the
construction of an addition to the
physical therapy department, he
said that the renovation projects
have been planned for several
years and needed funds were set
aside for that project. The physical
therapy addition, he said, is being
paid through a private donation
On the subject of construc-
tion. Beck said that six patient
rooms currently out of service
should be ready for occupancy
by next week at the latest and the
physical therapy addition is "com-
See Hospital ...Page 2
REGIONAL QUALIFIERS
Pictured are Seminole qualifiers for the Region I-3A Literary and Academic Meet, which will take place at
Odessa College this Friday and Saturday. Not pictured are members of the One-Act Play, which also qualified
and will perform Friday at 9:30 a.m. in the Deaderick Hall Auditorium on the college campus.
Paper nInk............ Their Middle Name
By Lynn Brisendine
Intelligence is their middle name.
But after an incident in Portales,
New Mexico last week, one wonders.
The Central Intelligence Agency
(CIA) made the news, several times, in
spite of, and to spite, themselves
The CIA is an agency which is
chartered to protect us. Some folks call
them "spooks" because much of what
they do is a spying game. And we all
must hope that this group of intelligence
officers are smart.
Still, after so many things have
come to light over the last few months
the idea of them being "smart” becomes
less apparent. We depend upon this
bunch to uncover plots against us. We
hope they can find weapons stashes and
dig out terrorists cells. All of which they
haven't had much success with of late. At
least we haven’t been told of their wins
as much as we have been made aware of
their losses.
Last week's slippage of intelligence
had nothing to do with outside interven-
tionists. They didn't find an al Quaida
cell in New Mexico. They didn't uncover
a.plot to blow up Tuccumcari mountain.
They didn't awe us with their finesse.
They did something really stupid.
So stupid its, well...spooky
The CIA agreed to allow one
of their officers to present lectures at
Eastern New Mexico University (ENMU).
The University promoted the series of
lectures with posters plastered over the
campus and a press release delivered to
newspapers in the area produced by the
university's public relations department.
Every thing went swell, until some-
one in the CIA called the Portales News-
Tribune and demanded they quash the
coverage. They told the newspaper they
didn't want them to publish the com-
ing lecturer's name, even though it had
already been "published" via placards in
the open across the area. (Not to men-
tion that even in Eastern New Mexico
some other venues of communication
are available. Gosh, I am told that a lot of
folks in that town have cell phones and
some are even capable of working the
internet).
The CIA authority said it was
"absurd" to think that a newspaper would
publish this material.
"Absurd is a good word. It's absurd
to think that the CIA is an agency which
is supposed to be a part of us. And being
a part of us means this group should
observe some basic tenets we all are sup-
pose to share in this great nation
Freedoms are those tenets and
freedom of the press is one of the chief
articles of our independence. You
would think an agency charged with the
responsibility to protect our rights would
observe and promote those rights.
Smarts are important when we
consider government agencies and some
recent reports are pointing out areas
where smarts aren t an accurate observa-
tion.
We are running into a wall in Iraq
which is changing into a maze with every
day that passes. Some have compared
this new mess with an old mess. Viet-
nam. And we all know that our govern-
mental smarts didn't serve us well during
that old nightmare
The comparisons are not accurate.
The knowledge that saw us bogged
down in a steamy jungle seems to have
given us little experience as we are now
sinking into a sandy desert pit. While the
jungle was filled with an enemy observ-
ing a different and noxious political
system, our new foe offers even more
fanatic observers of a religion totally alien
to most of us.
The new implications and troubles
are beyond my comprehension to even
consider, much less come up with a
workable plan of action. Thankfully, 1 am
not responsible for thinking our way out
of this newest mess. But recent headlines
and new- book deals coming our way by
the bushel load, declares to us that no
one seems to be much smarter than the
r.est of us. And that too is. well...spooky.
' Some of our "leaders" are pushing
the Patriot Act. It has some merit. It has
some problems. It offers a few needed
corrections in our system It has some
onerous language which lays heavy
against some of our cherished, and al-
ready much fought for, freedoms.
We citizens had better keep a
weather eye on this newest package of
alterations. We might outsmart ourselves
•by tightening up the standard fare in our
nation to such an extent that we lose too
much trying to gain too little
Smarts are what we need. The CIA
hasn't found bin Laden It hasn t found
WMD. It failed to see the clues leading
to our nation’s worst day. But it has the
effrontery to try and hinder the rights of a
small town newspaper.
Somehow, 1 was hoping this intel-
ligence group would actually have some
intelligence. But it seems that that is a
wavering commodity in our nation these
days.
Now comes politics into the deal
My prayer continues that we take some
time to drop the partisan drivel long
enough to gain some smarts.
Until our "leaders," of both per-
suasions, get their acts together and
find a workable plan we must pray for
our troops. They are continuing to pay
the price for a lot of stupidity going on
around us
Seminole
Wednesday
Sentinel
75c
12 Pages, 5 Inserts
Seminole (Gaines Counly), Texas 79360 ©2004 \Vc(l 1168(1*1 V, .April 21,2004
Upcoming Pages
Here’s what’s next.
Search Inside
This issue can be searched. Note: Results may vary based on the legibility of text within the document.
Tools / Downloads
Get a copy of this page or view the extracted text.
Citing and Sharing
Basic information for referencing this web page. We also provide extended guidance on usage rights, references, copying or embedding.
Reference the current page of this Newspaper.
Seminole Sentinel (Seminole, Tex.), Vol. 95, No. 55, Ed. 1 Wednesday, April 21, 2004, newspaper, April 21, 2004; Seminole, Texas. (https://texashistory.unt.edu/ark:/67531/metapth825079/m1/1/: accessed July 17, 2024), University of North Texas Libraries, The Portal to Texas History, https://texashistory.unt.edu.; crediting Gaines County Library.