The Winkler County News (Kermit, Tex.), Vol. 24, No. 9, Ed. 1 Thursday, April 28, 1960 Page: 1 of 26
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YES
The Winkler County News
Published Twice Weekly—Head Daily
(Member Associated Press)
Weather
FAA Official Figures
Wink Airport
High Low Pr.
Monday, April 25 83 46
Tuesday, April 26 80 47 Tr.
Wednesday, April 27 86 55
Thursday, April 28
<7 &.m.)
64 53
Vol. 24—No. 9
Classified Ads on Page 4
Kermit, Winkler County, Tez:as
28 Pages in Four Sections
Thursday, April 28, 1960
in
the
71/1 artin
<^Srlanner
BY RAY MARTIN
Newest issue of Travelers In-
surance Company’s annual
book on highway accident data
has a three-picture cartoon that
is one of the most striking in-
dictments against the drunk
driver this corner has ever
seen.
In the top picture, a highly
inebriated man is staggering
up to the bar with his empty
glass. “Fill it up!’J he orders.
In the nex^.. picture, the same
inebriated man is in a filling
station and again says “Fill
it up!” Final picture shows a
coffin in the grave, and the
head grave digger is ordering,
“Fill it up!”
Perhaps this department is
extremely narrow-minded on
the subject of drunk driving,
but to me there is nothing
more dangerous in the world to-
^fday than a drunk driver. Check
the Sheriff’s and police record
and you’ll see how many of
these DWI charges land on the
v books. The police, the high-
way patrol and the sheriff’s
men do their best to catch
these insane individuals who
believe that liquor and gasoline
will mix, but there is only so
much that the officers can do.
If it’s a first offense, the vi-
olator can get by with a fine
of $50 and costs and three days
in jail.
In fact, the DWI, first offense,
cases are so commonplace that
most newspapers now fail even
to report them. Perhaps that
is a mistake the newspapers
make; maybe if Joe Bloe’s
name, even though he is a first
offender, should appear in the
paper, on TV and over the
radio stations it would tend to
keep Joe Bloe sober when he
drives.
Meantime, driving becomes
hazardous for even t, mos
skillful driver because he nev-
er knows when he is going to
meet one of these characters
whose brain is so foggy he
couldn’t operate a wheelbarrow
with safety. How there are not
more accidents caused by such
characters as the drunk driv-
^ er I’ll never know. Except for
1$ the Grace of God, there would
be thousands killed every year
by these brain-fogged individ-
uals.
This writer for several years
- was field editor for a large pub-
lication( and 50,000 miles of
travel a year was about the av-
erage. That job took him into
many states and over all kinds
of roads, and always there
was this constant fear that a
drunk driver would put an end
to his traveling.
There was the time in Iowa,
for instance, when a drunk driv-
er forced me into the ditch.
Two miles farther down the
road he collided with a truck;
result, two dead. I could have
been one of those killed, but
for the Grace of God.
And there was the time just
out of Chicago when the very
drunk driver crossed the cen-
ter median of a four-lane road
and missed my front fender
rtiby a matter of inches.
^ And there was the time six
\ miles out of Denver when I
f came upon a wreck that had
involved three automobiles, the
driver of one of them dead
drunk. Five were killed, one
■ of the living left with only one
(Continued on Page 2)
City Loses
Meter Case;
Appeal Due
A City ordinance, passed last
summer which would have re-
quired separate water meters
for each family unit, has been
set aside by District Judge G.
C. Olsen, following a two-day
hearing in District Court. He
declared that portion of the
ordinance “null and void.”
The City Council, meeting
Tuesday night, voted to appeal
the case to the Court of Civil
Appeals for the 8th Judicial
District, El Paso.
The suit had been brought
by Mrs. M. Rush, Mr. and Mrs.
G. H. Robinson, H. W. Schutten
and T. M. Moore, all of whom
Mayor, Council
Members Sworn
Into Office
Bert Stevens was re-sworn
as Kermit’s mayor Tuesday
night at City Council meeting.
Ira Barrett, re-elected Council-
man and L. L. Deaton, new
member, were also installed on
the Council.
R. C. Milstead was named
Corporation Court Recorder in
place of Mayor Stevens who de-
clined to serve again. Bernice
Wells was appointed Corpor-
ation Court Clerk. Joe Marlett
was named Mayor Pro-Tem.
Carr - Howard Construction
Company of Monahans was
awarded a contract for paving
repairs. The firm’s successful
bid was $13,170. Other bidders
were Cunningham and Cun-
ningham Construction Company
If .if' Odr^.sa, $16 105 and Parker
Construction Company of Odes-
sa, $14,080.
All bids were over the esti-
mated cost City Secretary J. C.
Hill told the Council. The Coun-
cil voted to pare down some
of the repair work in order to
stick by the budget. Estimated
repair costs had been about
$12,000.
are property owners in Kermit
and operate rental units, the
petition stated.
Named in the suit specifically
were the City of Kermit, Bert
L. Stevens, the Mayor, and
James C. Hill, City Secretary.
The ordinance, which has
been the subject of bitter de-
bate since its passage in July,
1959, would require separate
meters for “homes, residences,
trailer houses, etc.”
In their petition, the five
charged that “it is patent from
a reading of said ordinance
that the attempted regulation
of the use of the water and
sewerage facilities by the de-
fendants is discriminatory in
that the classification for rate
purposes ... is arbitrary and
unreasonable.”
In handing down his decision,
Judge Olsen voided only the
portion of the ordinance which
dealt with water meters. An-
other part of the ordinance, set-
tini%a graduated scale for sew-
ageynd garbage fees, was left
inta
Tht¥ property owners said in
their petition that by setting a
mininfim charge for each unit
results in a greater
charTl against plaintiffs for
sucl^ Water-sewerage service
than jS assessed against other
multiple-unit users.”
In their original petition the
plaintiffs had pointed out “such
as Sieve Stevens, owner of the
Skyway Motel; W. M. Walker,
ownei/ of El Rancho Motel; Dan
Holrrns, owner of the Keystone
Motel,,and Bert L. Stevens, the
defendant mayor herein, who
is owner of the Kermit Hotel
and reVeral adjoining apart-
ment M uses. ’ ’
It had added that “Stevens’
motels, hotels and apartment
houses . . . are classified for
water and sewer rate purposes
as single units, thereby result-
ing in only one minimum
charge being assessed against
each of the users
Attorney for the plaintiffs is
John R. Lee.
Engineer to Discuss
Standby Power Plants
City and County officials and
members of the Kermit Volun-
teer Fire Department will hear
an engineer for General Elec-
tric Co. discuss emergency
power generating plants follow-
ing a dutch dinner at the fire
station Friday night at 7 o’clock
it was announced Wednesday
by O. M. Work, president of the
firemen’s organization.
The engineer will discuss es-
pecially the type of emergency
installations that would be need-
ed for Kermit’s water pumping
equipment should a power fail-
ure result from a tornado or
from winter icing of lines.
There is also the more grim
possibility of power loss due to
bombing, Work pointed out.
The City has three pump sta-
tions in addition to its booster
pumps. The former type pump-
water from the wells into stor
age tanks at ground levels and
HAIL—NOT COTTON—These hail stones look
like fluffy white balls of cotton but the damage they
did Tuesday afternoon during a 40-minute storm far
exceeded anything cotton might do. Kermit was blasted
by the stones, ranging from pea to golf ball size, from
about 5 to 5:10 p.m. Neon signs and roofs suffered the
most damage around the city. (News Staff Photo)
the booster pumps lift the water
into the towers.
The fire officials pointed out
that a power failure during an
ice storm a few winters ago
resulted in practically a com-
plete shutdown of water service
in Kermit.
The engineer also will discuss
other types of emergency gen-
eration systems which could be
set up in case of extreme need
for such things as lighting of
downtown areas, for certain
sections of the City which might
be cut off in case of a partial
power failure, or for schools.
The engineer will study the
needs here and make recom-
mendations later after the situ-
ation is discussed thoroughly
at Friday night’s meeting.
Let's Vote Bonds
<S*clitorial
Fifty-seven blocks of new paving in the cities of
Kermit and Wink will cost the average 2-bedroom
home owner 50 cents a year for 10 years or a total
of only $5!
That’s the cost side of the ledger if the April 30
special bond election for $150,000 is approved.
Certainly few towns have ever been offered a bet-
ter bargain. Streets paved individually would cost the
home-owner many times this amount.
In addition to the towns’ street paving, the bonds,
if approved, will provide funds for topping several un-
finished outlying roads badly needed as an aid to the
county’s growing traffic problem. One of these is the
Cheyenne Draw road connecting with the Jal high-
way, long a problem needing solution. With adequate
paving here much truck traffic would be deferred, in-
cluding butane and propane trucks.
Many of the streets, both here and in Wink, are
in new areas and paving is needed to provide roads for
regions destined to grow. Other projects, needed just
as badly, are fill-in jobs—paving in regions (missed in
previous projects. These, too, are needed in order to
make the streets servicable. Traffic is inclined to miss
streets with skipped blocks, thereby throwing an un-
necessary load on paved parallel streets.
This means that no one area is to get all the mon-
ey. The one and two-block paving projects are scatter-
ed virtually all over both Kermit and Wink.
Not only will property along the routes to be
paved increase in value to the property owner, but
value of all property always is raised by paving. So,
all the county stands to gain by this modernization
road program.
It’s a case of the paving catching up with the rap-
id growth which the country has known.
Let’s stamp the ballot “YES” in next Saturday’s
special $150,000 bond election.
Interest Increases
In Bond Election
Hail, Rain Leave
Heavy Losses Here
With the election only three
days off, interest increased
Thursday in Winkler County’s
special $156,000 road and street
improvement bond election.
Winkler County citizens will go
to the polls Saturday to cast
their ballots for or against a
program which would add 57
blocks of new paving in Kermit
and Wink and several portions
pf county roads.
Voting is not expected to
be heavy in the special elec-
tion, although two previous
plections, the City and School
Board elections earlier this
spring, brought out a surpris-
ingly large vote, 1,049 casting
their ballots in the City Coun-
cil and Mayor’s races here. Ob-
servers said the same thing
might be true of Saturday’s
Special election, and absentee
voting, which got off to a slow
start, increased during the final
two days of the absentee voting
period Monday and Tuesday.
In fact, until Monday, no ab
sentee ballots had been cast,
but before the deadline Tues-
day night, 18 had been filed
with County Clerk Fred Adams.
Sponsors pointed out that in
addition to the Kermit and Wink
paving, several badly need-
ed paving gaps will be possible
if the bonds are approved.
In Precinct 3, for example,
2% miles of butane route and
the street north of Purple Sage
school will be paved if the
bonds are approved. In Pre-
cinct 1, a connecting link of
Cheyenne Draw from the Jal
highway to the paved road, con-
structed year, will be
paved.
In Wink area, one of the ma-
jor county roads to be rework-
ed will be the road from State
Highway 115 to the Airport,
Mentone Highway and the Coun-
try Club.
All these country roads are
heavily traveled and are in
need of improvement.
Most of the street-paving
projects in Kermit and Wink
will be one or two-block fill-
ins, areas skipped in previous
paving programs. By filling
in such gaps, sponsors of the
election pointed out, many more
streets will be made usable,
and in both Kermit and Wink,
some of the paving is to be
done in new residential areas.
Backers of the proposed street
and road improvement program
(Continued on Page 2)
Roofs,
Signs
Hard Hit
Kermit was still counting up
its losses Thursday from Tues-
day afternoon’s freak 40-minute
storm that dumped three-quar-
ters of an inch of rain and cov-
ered the ground an inch thick
with one-inch hail stones.
The storm was confined large-
ly to Kermit. Wink had no rain,
and the airport reported only a
trace. No hail was reported
south or west of town.
Biggest damage apparently
was to roofs and to neon signs.
One insurance man in Kermit
said the damage to the neon
tubing alone would run to $20,-
,000, and no estimate was pos-
sible on roof damage since it
will take several days to inspect
all the roofs reported dented by
the hail.
Apparently the greatest roof
damage from the hail was in
the south part of town. One
insurance man said he had five
calls before 9 o’clock Wednes-
day morning reporting damage.
He said he had not had time
to check, but apparently “the
composition slates were badly
cracked and warped.” The five
houses were in one block on
Hejupe Drive in the south part
of town.
Drive-in restaurant signs
were hard hit by the hail. One
drive-in owner said all the tub-
ing around his building was
broken “into little tiny bits.”
Signs at movie houses also
were shattered.
Trees and shrubbery took a
beating, and one owner of a
backyard orchard said “every
peach tree was stripped.” He
added that he had expected a
good peach crop this year from
eight trees.
Although the hail broke neon
signs, little damage was report-
ed from broken windows and
doors.
In the downtown area, signs
facing west were hardest hit,
but apparently the flat roofs of
business buildings were dam-
aged little by the stones. A
check of several insurance
firms Wednesday revealed that
no business building loses had
been reported, although the
hard rain resulted in what one
insurance man called “the
(Continued on Page 2)
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PILED UP HAIL—Hail stones piled up three or four inches deep at the Wink-
Mentone Highway intersection Tuesday afternoon after Kermit was covered with a se-
vere hail storm which dumped three-fourths of an inch of rain and an inch of hail
on the city. (News Staff Photo)
Two Injured
In Car Crash
Two Kermit men were still
in Winkler County Memorial
Hospital Wednesday after the
automobile in which they were
riding Monday night missed a
curve on Highway 18 four miles
north of town and rolled Over
three times.
In the hospital are Lonnie
Ray Sewell, 20, and Thurman
Abbott, 35. Hospital authorities
described their condition as
satisfactory. Sewell suffered
cuts and bruises, and Abbott
received a broken nose and a
broken collar bone. Both live
at 422 South Sycamore.
Highway Patrolmen E. C.
Locklear, who investigated the
accident, said the two were
traveling north and failed to
make a curve in the road.
Their car traveled 371 feet in
the bar ditch and then rolled
over three times in attempting
to return to the highway, Lock-
lear said.
Both men were thrown out.
The automobile, a 1955 Ford
coach, was listed as a total loss.
Jubilee Committee
Seeks More Sketches
Second appeal for an emblem
for the Winkler County Golden
Jubilee Aug. 29 to Sept. 5, was
sounded Wednesday as deadline
for submitting emblem sketch-
es drew near. The contest to
pick a drawing to be used in
all promotion and souvenir
pieces for the celebration closes
May 9, officials of the celebra-
tion pointed out.
To date, only some 10 entries
have been received. The organ-
ization officers pointed out that
the emblem drawings do not
have to be masterpieces of art.
The organization is looking for
ideas, and rough sketches which
can be made into finished prod-
ucts later will be considered in
picking the emblem to be used.
Two cash prizes are being of-
fered — $15 and $10 for first
and second places.
Those who have ideas to sub-
mit for the emblem should
send their entries to The Wink-
ler County News here or to the
Wink Bulletin in Wink.
Meantime, another form of
advertising was being added to
the pre-celebration promotion
material. Kermit’s 15 radio
“hams” will send reply cards
to those who hear their signals
which bear a printed message
about the celebration. The
ham radio operators here are
heard all over the world, and
acknowledgments will be sent
the usual card which will also
contain the message telling of
the Golden Jubilee celebration.
Other promotion materials
are to be printed within the
next few weeks, and a commit-
tee to distribute posters and
other forms of promotion will
go into action early in the sum-
men This committee is head-
ed by Mrs. Joe Gibson. Speak-
ers committee, headed by Rev.
Charles B. Brinkley, also will
start its work in early summer
when the members of the com-
mittee, all ministers, will visit
West Texas towns and appear
on programs to tell about the
celebration.
County Judge W. E. Cook,
who is General Chairman of the
celebration, says other phases
of the preliminary work are un-
der way. Historical material
for the evening spectacular
which is to be presented at
Walton Field four nights during
the celebration, is being pre-
pared and the script is expected
to be written soon.
Commissioners Study
Parking, Delay Action
Central Winkler County Gasser
Completed as Extension to Field
BY JAMES C. WATSON
News Oil Writer
Texaco, Inc., No. 10 S. M.
Halley is a new well in the
Emperor (Devonian gas) field
in Central Winkler County.
The producer extended the
field %-mile northeast. Oper-
ator finaled the well for a cal
culated, absolute open flow po-
tential of 39,000,000 cubic feet
of gas per day, through perfor-
ations from 9,252 to 9,324 feet.
Gas-liquid ratio was 106,300-1,
with gravity of the liquid at
59.6 degrees. Wellsite is 660
feet from north and 880 feet
from west lines of section 7,
block B-l.l, psl survey.
Gulf Oil Corporation will re-
enter an old 3,048-foot producer
in the Scarborough field, 10
miles northwest of Kermit, and
deepen from 3,300 feet.
It is No. 74 L. Daugherty,
2,310 feet from north and 990
feet from east lines of section
17, block 74, psl survey.
Orman Brothers Drilling Com-
pany of Odessa No. 13-A Hen-
drick is to be drilled three
miles northwest of Kermit in
the Kermit (Yates) field.
Location is 1,320 feet from
south and 2,310 feet from west
lines of section 14, block 26, psl
survey.
Phillips Petroleum Company
No. 1 Folia has been completed
in the Hendricks field.
On 24-hour potential test, the
well flowed 283 barrels of 31.8-
gravity oil, plus 19 per cent
water, through a 20-64-inch
choke and perforations from
2,979 and 3,037 feet.
Wellsite is 990 feet from south
and 550 feet from east lines of
section 16, block B-12, psl sur-
vey.
Texaco No. 37 Seth Campbell
is a new well in the Keystone
(Clear Fork) field.
This new well finaled for a
24-hour pumping potential of 61
barrels of 36.8-gravity oil, plus
37.2 per cent water, through
perforations from 5,186 to 5,213
feet.
Location is 660 feet from
north and 1,850 feet from west
lines of section 22, block B-3,
psl survey.
In the Scarborough pool, The
Redco Corporation completed
No. 2-A Scarborough for a daily
pumping potential of 19 barrels
of 38-gravity oil, through per-
forations from 2,880 to 2,982
feet after a 5,250-gallon acid
treatment.
Location is 330 feet from
north and east lines of section
2, block 77, psl survey.
Another Redco well in the
Scarborough field is No. 4 W.
F. Scarborough. It completed
for a daily pumping potential
of 17 barrels of 38-gravity oil,
through perforations from 2,926
to 2,951 feet after a 5,250-gallon
acid treatment.
Location is 330 feet from
south and 231 feet from west
lines of section 2, block 77, psl
survey.,
(Continued on Page 2)
Winkler County Commission-
ers have decided to defer any
action on a proposal made to
the Court last month to convert
a part of the south lawn of the
Courthouse into parking space.
This was announced follow-
ing an informal discussion of
the matter at the Commission-
ers’ Court Monday. Several
letters were read, written by
people who had expressed an
opinion on the proposal, and an
informal decision was made not
to take action at this time, but
to study the matter further.
The proposal to convert the
area into downtown parking
space had been made by the
Kermit Chamber of Commerce
Committee on Streets, Parking
and Traffic, headed by G. E.
Smead. The committee mem-
bers appeared before the Com-
missioners at their regular
meeting early this month to
,ask that the change be made.
The Commissioners at that
time decided to wait and see
what the public thought about
the proposal. Their decision to
delay action further is in line
with that policy, it was ex-
plained.
Those who favor the proposal
pointed out that the area
south of the courthouse could
provide parking space for down-
town shoppers, but opponents,
in their letters to the Commis-
sioners, claimed that such a
move is not necessary, and oth-
ers objected to eliminating the I
trees and lawn on the southj
side of the courthouse.
The Committee, headed by I
Smead, has several proposals!
besides the one asking for thel
courthouse parking area. The|
group would “secure, if pos-
sible, a comprehensively engi-|
neered plan of street lighting!
for both downtown and residen-l
tial districts,” of Kermit.
The Committee also has ini
its program of action making!
“An all-out effort to get at!
least four blocks of downtown!
alleys paved.”
They also would “encourage j
installation of traffic control
lights at busy downtown inter-]
sections.” Traffic lights es-:
pecially have been asked at tw<|
points on Austin, one at Cedaf
and East Austin and the othei
at West Austin and the Wir
Highway, a five-street corner.
Another troubled spot is be-l
ing eliminated, the dangerous
intersection of the Monahans
and Odessa highways on South
Poplar. A traffic light has|
been installed there.
Minor Fire Reported
A washing machine which I
shorted and, caught fire gave
Kermit Volunteer Fife Depart-
ment a run to 1037 South Pop-
lar Wednesday evening. The
blaze was extinguished before
the trucks arrived, firemen said. I
30 From Kermit Clubs to Attend
Lions District Meeting in Odessa
With 30 members attending,
including the District Governor,
Kermit’s two Lions Clubs will
be well represented at the Dis-
trict 2-T-3 convention of Lions
International in Odessa Friday
and Saturday. In addition,
wives of many of the members
are to attend and will partici-
pate in special programs plan-
ned for the women.
G. E. Thompson, superinten-
dent of Kermit schools, is dis-
trict governor. His term . will
conclude on July 9, and the
only candidate for the post is
Kenneth Stucke, Alpine. An-
other candidate withdrew on
his physician’s advice.
First business session is to
open at 1 o’clock Friday at the
Lincoln Hotel with Dr. J. T.
Clark, mayor of Odessa, giving
the welcome address.
At 3:30 a necrology service
is planned at the First Meth-
odist Church, conducted by
John S. Rasco, followed by a
reception honoring the Govern-
or’s cabinet and distinguished
guests at the Athletic Club.
At 7:30 a dinner and floor
show is planned at the Odessa
Country Club.
Saturday’s program will open
with a key members’ break-
fast, and second business ses-
sion is to start at 9 o’clock.
On the Saturday program are
Roy Carter, International Coun-
selor; Bill Cameron, and James
Lipham, all of Kermit.
A “model” luncheon is plan-
ned at 12:15 honoring the presi-
dent and secretaries by the Al-
pine Lions Club, and final busi-
ness session is to be held that
afternoon. Among those who
are to appear on forums will
be Rev. Charles Brinkley, tail-
twister for the Downtown Ker-
mit club.
The Governor’s banquet is to
(Continued on Page 2)
§iii........
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CRUSADER CALLER—One of the many homes
visited in last Tuesday night’s Cancer Crusade was the
Steve Baldwin home, 621 South Avenue D. Here Mrs.
Baldwin is visited by her neighbor, Mrs. Joe Heath,
one of the 300 house-to-house callers in Kermit and
Wink. (News Staff Photo)
__
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Martin, Ramon. The Winkler County News (Kermit, Tex.), Vol. 24, No. 9, Ed. 1 Thursday, April 28, 1960, newspaper, April 28, 1960; Kermit, Texas. (https://texashistory.unt.edu/ark:/67531/metapth886212/m1/1/: accessed June 21, 2024), University of North Texas Libraries, The Portal to Texas History, https://texashistory.unt.edu.; crediting Winkler County Library.