Seminole Sentinel (Seminole, Tex.), Vol. 103, No. 72, Ed. 1 Sunday, June 17, 2012 Page: 1 of 13
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Seminole Sentinel
The News Leader of Seminole and Gaines County Since 1907 ”
14 Pages, 2 Section, 2 Inserts Sunday, June 17,2012 Volume 103, Issue No. 072 75 $
«Happy
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1 Day ^
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CITE Project
Near Hobbs
See Page 3 A
“Story Hour” at the Gaines
County Library branch in Semi-
nole is presen ted every Wednesday
morning at 10 a.m., in the library’s
Storytime Room. Children who
are three-years-old and older, and
their parents or caregivers, are
welcome to come hear stories, sing
songs, and make a take-home craft
that corresponds with the weekly
theme. Other learning activities
are being planned for this time
as well.
Gaines County Library is pleased
to offer a new program called
“Cuddle Me Time” designed
specifi cally for babies and toddl ers
which will be offered weekly, ev-
ery Monday morning at 10 a.m.
Parents or caregivers are encour-
aged to bring their newborn to 24-
month old babies to this program,
jy j Through early literacy enhanced
stoiytimes, the library can help
parents support their child’s early
literacy development.
Gaines County Library is located
at 704 Hobbs Hwy. Hours of op-
eration are Monday, Wednesday,
Thursday and Friday from 9 a.m. to
6 p.m., and Tuesday from 9 a.m. to
8 p.m. Formore information please
call (432) 758-4007.
Local Weather
94/66
Sat
6/16
Intervals of clouds and sunshine.
€ :
in..'
Sun
6/17
. y'
96/68
Mostly sunny. Highs in the mid 90s
and lows in the upper 60s.
Mon
6/18
99/67
y
Mostly sunny. Highs in the upper
90s and lows in the upper 60s.
Tue
6/19
98/66
Windy with plenty of sun. Highs in
the upper 90s and lows in the mid
60s.
Wed
6/20
95/66
Windy with sunshine. Highs in the
mid 90s and lows in the mid 60s.
©2009 American Profile Hometown Content
Service
T-A
MEMBER
2012
TEXAS PRESS
ASSOCIATION
0 94922 59294 1
Published in Seminole
(Gaines County), Texas, 79360
©2012
Dunes Sagebrush Lizard Not
Listed as Endangered Species
SANTA FE, N.M. - The Dunes
Sagebrush Lizard will not be listed
as an endangered spedes.
The U.S. Fish and Wild-
life Service dedded Wednesday
against federal protection for the liz-
ard, which exists in four counties of
southeastern New Mexico and four
others in West Texas.
U.S. Interior Secretary offidals,
the federal government's position is
that voluntary conservation agree-
ments to save the reptile are work-
ing well.
“This is a great example of
how states and landowners are
taking early, landscape-level action
to proted a creature and its habitat
Photo Provided
DUNES SAGEBRUSH LIZARD
The U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service decided Wednesday against federal protection forthe lizard, which exists in four counties of southeastern
New Mexico and four others in West Texas including Gaines County.
before it requires the protection of
the Endangered Spedes Act,” Sec-
retary of the Interior Ken Salazar
said in a statement. “The voluntary
conservation efforts of Texas and
New Mexico, oil and gas operators,
private landowners and other stake-
holders show that we don’t have to
choose between energy develop-
ment and the protection our land
and wildlife — we can do both. ”
Through these measures, pri-
vate landowners and businesses
are setting aside land and money to
protect the dunes sagebrush lizard's
habitat, which overlaps with oil drill-
ing in the Permian Basin.
The lizard needs wind-blown
dunes with a shmb called shinnery
oak to survive.
U.S. Rep. Steve Pearce, R-
N.M., was perhaps the fiercest op-
ponent of listing the lizard as en-
dangered. He hailed the Obama
administrations ruling as a belated
but correct decision.
"For over a year, New Mexi-
cans have fought against the un-
necessary listing of the lizard,"
Pearce said in a statement. "They
have demanded that the lizard not
be listed without accurate science
or at the expense of jobs for hard-
working people. Finally, Washing-
ton listened..."
Mark Salvo of WildEarth
Guardians said the ruling was
wrong.
"There is no species more de-
serving of federal protection than
the dunes sagebrush lizard. Existing
conservation measures, particularly
in Texas, are so weak that I fear the
species may become extirpated I
parts of its remaining range," Salvo
said today.
In December 2010, the ser-
vice proposed listing the lizard un-
der the act and has since reviewed
scientific information provided by
the Bureau of Land Management
and Texas A&M University to bet-
ter locate known lizard locales.
The Endangered Species Act
requires the decision to list an ani-
mal be based on the best available
science.
Fish and Wildlife Service Di-
rector Dan Ashe praised the efforts
of state governments to cooperate
with federal authorities to establish
protection plans for the lizard that
paved the way for Wednesday’s
decision.
The Candidate Conservation
Agreements entered into by Texas
and New Mexico aim to protect
the lizard’s habitat without crippling
ranching and oil and gas opera-
tions.
“These ongoing efforts will jyj
See LIZARD, Page 5A
____ __ K
SISD Bond Projects Going Strong +
By Dustin Wright
Sentinel Managing Editor
Tons of steal has been seen
growing out of a cement pad base
at the ate of a new second and third
grade campus for the Seminole
Independent School District campus
over the past several weeks near the
City’s center.
On the western edge of town,
a similar sight of construction can be
seen taking place on the northwest-
ern portion of the Seminole High
School campus, which is undergoing
an addition/renovation project of it’s
own, as both projects - associated
with SISD’s $110 million Districtwide
Campus Improvement Bond scope
- continue forward.
"In general, both projects have
been progressing very well, ’’ said
R. J. Lopez, an architect with the firm
of Parkhill, Smith and Cooper, Inc.
in an update on SISD’s construction
projects with school board members
on Monday evening.
Originally budgeted as a
$15.15 million project by bond
committee officials during the
course of the bond’s planning pro-
cess in 2007, the Seminole Primaiy
School construction budget line
now features a $17.32 budget, ac-
cording to recent figures produced
by SISD officials. Ofthattotal, $1.17
million of the budget increase is due
to "bond adjustments" according to
an accounting line item on a copy
of a budget summary obtained by
the Sentinel.
A proposed campus design
for the new Primary school features
12 third grade and 12 second grade
class rooms, ranging in size from
881 to 892 sq ft in size, two lull size
gymnasiums (6,089 sq ft and 7,434
sq ft in size), a 2,538 sq ft library, a
3,185 sq ft dining room, as well as
various administrative office suites,
technology and reading education
labs, as well as an 1,188 sq foot
music room and 1,194 sq foot art
room which would be shared along
with fourth and fifth grade students
from the Seminole Elementary
school campus.
The campus design also fea-
tures two designated parent drop-
off/pick-up zones, situated off of
S.W. Ave. D and S.W. 4th streets
respectively, as well as security fea-
tures such as time-locked doors.
Along with the construction of
the Primaiy school campus, crews
associated with the project are also
conducted a remodel of the current
Seminole Elementary school cam-
pus cafeteria, which will be merged
with the Primary school campus
upon it’s completion.
Although no construction
completion date for the Seminole
Primary campus was stated in
Monday’s meeting, Lopez stated
the completion of the Elementary
School cafeteria renovation would
be finished before the start of the
2012-2013 school year.
See BOND, Page 5A
Sentinel Photo/Dustin Wright Sentinel Photo/Dustin Wright
IRON WORK COMING TOGETHER
Construction crews associated with MW Builders work on steel Construction crews associated with MW Builders work on the
re-enforcement for cement columns which will help support a new constiuction of a new Seminole Primary school campus, the future
fine arts facility at the Seminole High School campus on Tuesday home of SISD's second and third grade students, Tuesday afternoon
afternoon. The SHS fine arts expansion/addition projecttothe cam- at the construction site in the 400 block of S.W. Ave. D. The 190,000-
pus, which will include a900 seat theatre, as well as newfacility's for plus sq ft facility has undergone a mass transformation over the
the campus' fine arts departments and new classroom additions to past several weeks, with the addition of steel support beams and
the building, located in the 2100 block of Hobbs Hwy. framing for the campus.
City Water Customers to See Increase
By Dustin Wright
Sentinel Managing Editor
City of Seminole water cus-
tomers will begin seeing a recently
passed water rate schedule take
effect in the municipality’s July bill-
ing process, according to City of
Seminole officials.
On May 29th, members of
the Seminole City Council unani-
mously approved of a motion to
increase local water rates as a way
to encourage local residents to "pro-
mote conservation" practices due
to drought conditions experienced
in the 2011 calender year and it’s
lingering effects.
In the 2011 calender year, the
City of Seminole used an estimated
733.9 million gallons of water, aver-
aging to just over 2 million gallons
per day.
Between the months of May
and August 2011, however, City
water users consumed 361.8 million
gallons of water, or roughly 3 million
gallons of water daily.
Seminole City Administrator,
Tommy Phillips, said on Monday
that personnel with the City of Semi-
nole hasn’t received any complaints
of the rate increase, but anticipates
some light grumbling during the next
billing cycle.
"Anytime you have a change
in rates, especially when the rates go
up, you will hear some complaints,"
said Phillips. "And, I anticipate we
will hear some complaints when the
new rate schedule comes into effect
for the July billing."
According to figures produced
by Seminole City officials recently,
the newly approved "conservation
rates" would see local residents pay
$9 per 1,000 gallons base rate for
the first 6,000 gallons, which is up
from the City's current rate of $8.50
per 1,000 gallons for the first 4,000
gallons.
The proposal quotes a $3 per
1,000 gallon rate, atop the base
rate, for customers who use be-
tween 7,000 and 50,000 gallons of
water.
Rates would increase, accord-
ing to the proposal, to $4 per 1,000
gallons once customers who use
See WATER, Page5A
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Wright, Dustin. Seminole Sentinel (Seminole, Tex.), Vol. 103, No. 72, Ed. 1 Sunday, June 17, 2012, newspaper, June 17, 2012; Seminole, Texas. (https://texashistory.unt.edu/ark:/67531/metapth786759/m1/1/?rotate=270: accessed April 25, 2024), University of North Texas Libraries, The Portal to Texas History, https://texashistory.unt.edu; crediting Gaines County Library.