The Winkler County News (Kermit, Tex.), Vol. 30, No. 7, Ed. 1 Friday, June 25, 1965 Page: 1 of 6
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109th District Court Jury Frees Man Accused of Slaying
Frazier Said
Insane Then
But Sane Now
BYLEESNEATH
Staff Writer
A 109th District Court Jury
Tuesday declared J. B. Frazier
of Comanche insane at the time •
^e allegedly shot and killed three
TCermit persons May 20, 1902*
Frazier had been free on $10,■
000 bond since the incident oc-
curred here. He was indicted
by the Winkler CoOnty Grand
Jury in June, 1962.
Frazier was charged with mur-
der with malice in connection
with the death of his wife, Carl
Lewis Conner, and Mrs. B. J.
Autrey. The triple-slaying took
place at the Autrey home on
North Cedar Street where his
wife was staying at the time of
the shooting.
Following a brief period of
deliberation, the jury returned
to declare that Frazier was In-
sane at the time of the shootings,
but that he is now sane.
Mrs. Frazier and Conner were
killed instantly when struck by a
number of bullets from a 25-
caliber pistol, but Mrs. Autrey,
who died a few hours later,
managed to whisper to officers
that Frazier was the man who
did the shooting*
A Frazier was arrested in Mid-
ffcd May 21 when he appeared at
a motel there booking for his
wife.” Midland officers report-
ed he passed out on the floor of
Ae motel office after making a
Statement.
When he was returned to Ker-
mit, the man w^s placed in Wink-
ler County Memorial Hospital
where a Kermit doctor report-
edly said he felt Frazier was
suffering from a brain tumor, a
brain hemorrhage or was in a
deep state of hysteria caused by
the shock of the shootings.
In a motion for a preliminary
hearing here Monday, Frazier's
attorneys, John R. Lee and Cal-
vin W. Wesch, said that Frazier
"did not have sufficient mental
capacity and was laboring under
such defect of reason from di-
sease of the mind” that he was
not aware at the time of the
shootings of the consequence of
his acts.
Furthermore, the motion [stat-
ed, there exists at this time a
question as to whether Frazier
has "sufflcieht mental capacity”
either to make a rational defense
for himself or to help his at-
torneys do so.
The motion was approved and a
jury fbr the sanity hearing was
selected early Tuesday, with the
actual hearing getting under way
sometime after noon.
In a sworn affidavit, the de-
fendant's father, Tom Bert Fra-
zier of Comanche, stated that his
son had suffered a brain con-
cussion in April before the shoot-
Igplng. The concussion, he said,
was the result of a blow on the
head from a large rock.
■J After the accident, the father
•continued, his son had frequent
^dizzy spells, headaches and was
incoherent in his speech.
The jury was informed that it
should decide if Frazier was in-
sane at the time of the shootings
and if he is insane at the pres-
ent time or both.
The Winkler County News
Second Class Postage paid at the Post Office in Kermit, Texas
(Member Associated Pfess)
5‘
PER COPY
Vol. 30—No. 7
Kermit, Winkler County, Texas
Friday, June 25, 1965
TOWN
HEARINGS ON THE BILL in-
troduced by Congressman Dick
White of El Paso concerning the
Guadalupe Peak area are schedul-
ed July 20.
Every resident of Kermit
should be interested in this piece
of legislation. If this park be-
comes a reality, the amount of
traffic moving through Kermit to
the area will increase tremend-
ously.
Increased traffic brings added
dollars to the economy and this
means a better life for every
resident of the city. Watch for
the hearings and then let your
Congressman and your Senators
know that you are interested.
Write them a personal note. It
will help.
nllftfiiifi
LONG THOUGHT OF as the
driest area in the United States,
the Southwest’s problem during
the last couple years have been
overshadowed by the water Woes
of the Northeast.
For example, in New York City
restaurants are prohibited from
serving a glass of water with a
meal unless the customer dis-
tinctly asks for it. And then the
water is served rather grudg-
ingly, we are told.
Writers for Eastern news-
papers have chronicled the prob-
lems of the Southwest, but as
yet, not a tremendous amount has
been written about the East’s
problems.
The reason might be that South-
City Council Defers
Selection Of Outfit
For Codifying Laws
GRAND OPENING — Lad Janes, manager of T. G. & Y., left, chats with Mayor G. L. (Jerry)
McGuire. McGuire officiated at ribbon-cutting ceremonies officially opening the new store in
Kermit (Staff Photo)
Guadalupe Hearing Data Set
WASHINGTON (Special)—Con-
gressman Richard C. (Dick)
westerns have had tp; contend White, 16th Congressional Dis-
with the problems for many trict of Texas, announced today
years; they haven’t had this ail- that July 20 has been set for
ment in the East. And the im-, hearings on his bill to creates
portance is that population and national park out of the Guada-
industry must go where there is lupe Peak area,
water. In a special call to The Sun,
Maybe the Kermit Chamber Congressman White explained
of Commerce ought to start run- that the House Committee on In-
ning some ads in The New York terior and Insular Affairs set the
Times reading something like date Tuesday morning,
this . . . " Thirsty? Just come Interior committee chairman
to Kermit. We have plenty of good Wayne Astinall of Colorado and
water.” Who knows, it might Ralph J. Rivers, Congressman
do some real good among those _ -
bone-dry New Yorkers.
from Alaska who is chairman of
the National Parks sub-com-
mittee which will* actually con-
duct the hearings, agreed to Rep.
White's request for the hearings.
Cong. White said he is now con-
tacting constituents throughout
the 16th District, Other interested
persons and is also preparing ills
own presentation.
"National Parks Director
George Hertzog has indicated in-
terest in the bill,” Congressman
White said, "and the Interior De-
partment has enthusiastically
recommended its passage. The
park also was recommended by
"President Johnson in his mes-
sage on natural beauty,'* White
added.
The area is located between
Kermit and El Paso and is a wild-
life refuge., Bugged mountains,
streams and wildlife abound. The
dand is presently owned by J. C.
Hunter of "Abilene. He has in-
dicated he would like to sell the
"land for this purpose.
Allowable Held
In a brief session Tuesday
night Kermit City Council took
decisive action on.all but one item
on the agenda.
They decided to defer the selec-
tion of an organization for codi-
fication of city ordinances after
local attorney R. G. (Bob)Guthrie
requested they delay makings de-
cision until he could examine
other proposals and possibly sub-
mit one of his own.
City Manager Jim Morgan ex-
plained that it would cost the
city $16 a year to add liability
insurance to cover that portion of
city owned land that will be util-
ized by the Junior Chamber of
Commerce for a community ball
park.
Burle Green motioned that the
city purchase the additional in-
surance. The motion was second-
ed by Fred Pearson and passed
without opposition.
City Attorney John R. Lee dis-
cussed two ordinances present-
ly in effect. After hearing Lee’s
discussion, the council on a mo-
tion by J. L. (Heavy) Slaughter
and seconded by John Kirby, au-
thorized Lee to draw up City
Ordinance 247 repealing Ordi-
nances 3 and 26, which dealt
with designation of an official
newspaper.
The council decided thatthe of-
ficial newspaper would be des-
ignated by resolution. On a mo-
tion by Green, seconded by Kir-
by, the council unanimously se-
lected The Kermit Daily Sun as
the official newspaper for the
city.
Council discussed a letter from
Mayor Hank Avery of Midland,
president of Texas Municipal
League. Avery included a copy
of Gov. John Connally's veto of
Senate Bill 55, which would have
denied the right of local citi-
zens to require inside-city resi-
dence of city employes
have been received about tele-
phone service. "It is not as good
as it was three months ago,”
said Mayor G. L. (Jerry) Mc-
Guire.
"I called Monahans the other
night and could have driven down
there in the time it took to make
my call,” added Green.
"Three of us were in a meet-
ing with the telephone company
two years ago and they prom*
ised us a lot of things. They
haven't done it,” Slaughter said.
Council directed Morgan to pre-
pare a letter to the telephone
company noting complaints about
service and include an invitation
to the local manager to meet with t
the council.
Morgan and Lee told the council
there was a cess pool in town
not connected with the city sewer
line. "It is a health hazard,”
Morgan said.
"We want to write a letter giv-
ing them 10 days to two weeks to
get tied on to our sewer line or
file on them in corporation
court,” Morgan said.
"And if they don't cover it up
perhaps pass an ordiannce de-
claring them a public nuisance,”
Lee added. *
The council authorized Morgan
to write the letter.
El Paso Gas Studying
Exploding Nuclear Device
EL PASO — underground nu-
clear explosions in low per-
meability natural gas fields, prin-
cipally in the Rocky Mountain
Daily Sun
Wins TPA.
Photo Award
Kermit Funeral
For 3 Killed
*!n Sanderson
Funeral services for three
members of a Sanderson family
who died as a result of Friday's
d&fiash flood were held at 9 a.m.
^Tuesday at St. Thomas' Catholic
Church in Kermit.
Burial was in Kermit Ceme-
try with Cooper Funeral Chapel
in charge of arrangements.
The dead are Francisco Mar-
tinez Lopez m, 32, and two
sons, Jimie, 7, and Thomas Cal-
zada Lopez, 9. The mother is
believed to be still missing.
Survivors Include the mother
and paternal grandmother, Mrs.
F. J. Lopez Jr., Kermit; the
father and paternal grandfather,
F. J. Lopez Jr., Sanderson; son
and brother, Xavier Calzada Lo-
pez, Sanderson; three brothers
and uncles, Julian, El Paiso,
Jose and Robert, both of Hobbs,
w M.; a half-brother and uncle,
»avid Martinez Lopez, Kermit;
a sister and aunt, Mrs. Antonio
Briones, Kermit; grandfather and
great-grandfather, Francisco Lo-
pez Sr., Sanderson.
In addition, the sons are sur-
vived by the maternal grand-
parents, Mr. and Mrs. L. G.
Calzada, Sanderson.
Three-Car Accideit
Injures One Here
A three-car accident at (he
intersection of Poplar and Waco
Streets Saturday afternoon sent
Mrs. Phyllis Sumpter, 400 North
Ash, to Winkler County Memorial
Hospital. Her condition was not
believed to be serious.
Also involved in the accident
were Mrs. Elizabeth Juanita
Neely, 131 North Main, and Rob-
ert Edwin (Bob) Leese, 417South
^nAsh.
CONGRESSMAN WHITE also
is looking into the reasons be-
hind the apparent mixup in the
start of a new summer labor
program. Kermit and many -
other Texas communities were
asked if students were willing
to sign up to work as summer
field hands replacing seasonal
workers who in the past had been
imported from Mexico.
While no groups were formed
in Kermit, other communities
(Odessa for one) did organize
teams and they received con-
tracts to send the boys to
Arizona.
Many of the youngsters changed
plans or gave up other job op-
portunities to try the new pro-
ject. But, when the time came
to leave, nothing happened. Now-
it turns 'out the program has
faltered and the boys aren’t going.
The entire program was con-
ceived and put into operation by
the government. Congressman
White can do some good by look-
ing into the reasons for the pro-
ject failing ... and even more
why the boys did not get the jobs
they had been given assurances
they would receive.
Manufacturer Cent
Considering
Kermit Site
AUSTIN (AP)—-The Railroad
Commission held the July al-
lowable today to 28.1 per cent
of potential, the same as in
June.
The production pattern sets
allowable for next month at 2,-
885,657 barrels per day.
The Kermit Daily Sun has won
a first place award in the
category Of excellence in news
pictures, it was announqed at
the Texas Press A ssociation C on-
vention Friday.
The category was for those
daily newspapers in the state
serving a community with a pop-
Morgan was authorized to draw ulation less than 15,000.
up a letter of appreciation from News photos published in the
the council to Gov. Connally which Daily Sun were compared with
would bear the signatures of all Photos printed in daily papers
council members. published in cities of compar-
Morgan told the council that able size throughout the state,
the fire insurance key rate for News of the award was phoned
Kermit is 24 cents per $100 in- from Dallas by General Manager
surance. He listed key rates of
comparable-sized cities and said
Kermit compares favorably.
It was brought out during the
meeting that several complaints
Dave Sclair, who is attending the
convention.
This is the first year that The
Daily Sun has entered the an-
nual competition.
area, may increase their total
gas production about seven times
the amounts now attainable, ac-
cording to a feasibility study
submitted to El Paso Natural
Gas Company, the U. S. Atomic
Energy^ Commission and the U. S.
Bureau of Mines.
The study was conducted by
staff personnel of the company,
the AEC’s San Francisco Opera-
tions Office, and the Bureau of
Mines. The AEC’s Lawrence Ra-
diation Laboratory, at Liver-
more, California, provided tech-
nical assistance.
The study team investigated
the use of nuclear explosives to
fracture "tight” gas-bearing for-
mations to improve recovery ahdl
production rates from natural'
gas fields. The study concluded
that this is feasible and recom-
mends that an experimental nu-
clear detonation, designed to be
contained underground, be con-
ducted by the AEC at a site
in the San Juan Basin of New
Mexico, about 55 air miles east
of Farmington. The company
stated today that it plans to sub-
mit to the Commission a pro-
posal for jointly conducting such
an experiment. If authorized, the
experiment would represent the
first govenment-industry use of
a nuclear explosive for Industrial
purposes anywhere in the world.
MILLIE GALLAS
. , . to beauty pageant
Millie Gallas
Enters McCamey
Beauty Pageant
Millie Gallas, 18, daughter of
GOT A NOTE the other day
from M. M. Donosky, one of
the owners of The Sun, who just
completed a European trip as a
Sun representative to an inter-
national newspaper conference in Mr. and Mrs. Albert Gailas of
Austria. Perry R. Bass Camp,. will rep-
Although we haven’t had a resent Kermit during the Castle
chance to talk with him in the Gap Days, the celebration of
last few days, his card had one McCamey's 40th birthday,
very interesting comment. He The high school senior will
said we (Americans) were fool- compete against other West Tex-
lsh. "There is a bigger boom as beauties in a beauty contest
going on in Europe than in Ameri- which highlights the three-day
ca,” he wrote. "They ought to festivities, June 24-26.
be sending us money from the She is a member of FA A, press
looks of things, not us shipping Club, ran in the top 10 for Miss
it to them.” Kermit, and is a thespian, Rain-
We're looking forward to his bow Girl and Candy Striper.
next visit to Kermit so we can ——--———■.....
pump him about some of his LOCIll EQQ16S
experiences and Observances. 9
They should be enlightening. Atteild C0ll¥eilf foil
Members of local Fraternal
Order of Eagles have returned
THE EL PASO TIMES came
up with an interesting typo-
graphical mistake the otter day. *r°m Houston, where they attend-
A wedding story was the cause e“ Eagles state convention at
of the trouble. It started off Shamrock-Hilton Hotel,
thusly: While the group was in Houston
"Wedding cows will be ex- tii®y saw a baseball game at the
changed by the couple.” Astrodome, between the Houston
Glad to see that other news- team and the Pittsburgh Pirates,
papers have the same problems Eagles meet each Tuesday at
that us small town publications ® P-m* a* Eagles Lodge on the
have. Wink Highway.
Attempts to establish .a heli-
copter manufacturing firm in
Kermit have now moved to the
point where handling of the proj-
ect has been handed over from a
Chamber of Commerce project
to a committee of Kermit busi-
ness and civic leaders.
A man representing the firm,
who has indicated an interest in
setting up the plant in Kermit,
was introduced to Kermit Down-
town Lions at their regular meet-
ing last week.
This was his second visit to
Kermit and he visited with busi-
nessmen who have shown interest
in the proposition and discussed
equitable arrangements for both
parties.
But, as one businessman
hastened to point out, Kermit is
not a lead-pipe cinch to get the
industry. There are two other
West Texas communities in the
running although Kermit was re-
ported to be at the top for con-
sideration.
The firm plans to manufacture
one-man helicopters. The unit has
been described as having two ver-
sions. One version, orientated to-
ward military operations, has a
strap-on unit, which would enable
an individual to "hop”. 10 to 20
allies.
The other is said to be more
of a commercial market version
with an attached unit which would
extend the range.
The project to get the business
to settle here has been handled
by the industrial committee of
the Chamber of Commerce, which
has been studying the proposal
since December 1964. It came up
when Chamber of Commerce
Manager Lindsey Rhodes saw in
the newsletter of West Texas
Chamber of Commerce that an
industrial prospect was interest-1
ed in a Texas site for establish-
ing a plant.
Although a number of com-
munities were believed to have
submitted applications, the com-
pany representative has nar-
rowed it down to the three pres-
ently being considered.
TEXAS CRUDE OIL PRODUCTION
Barrels Per Day
HO fgg 1.001-5,000
n Under 100 @5,001-10,000
fill 101-1,000 @10,001-25,000
Over 25,000
Texas Mid-Continent
Oil & Gas Association
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Sclair, Dave. The Winkler County News (Kermit, Tex.), Vol. 30, No. 7, Ed. 1 Friday, June 25, 1965, newspaper, June 25, 1965; Kermit, Texas. (https://texashistory.unt.edu/ark:/67531/metapth910276/m1/1/?q=%22%22~1&rotate=90: accessed July 8, 2024), University of North Texas Libraries, The Portal to Texas History, https://texashistory.unt.edu.; crediting Winkler County Library.