The Winkler County News (Kermit, Tex.), Vol. 23, No. 56, Ed. 1 Monday, October 12, 1959 Page: 1 of 10
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WUM!
CITY-WIDE
! i i ] | |H! • i'! I i: i: i!
DAYS
Mon., Tues, October 12,13
Chest Drive Opens
Your Community Chest Drive
opens today. How well it suc-
ceeds will depend on you. Give
your share, at least one day’s
pay.
Vol. 23—No. 56
The Winkler County News
Weather
Classified Ads on Page 4
Published Twice Weekly—Head Daily
(Member Associated Press)
Kermit, Winkler County, Texas
Thursday, Oct. 8....
High
........ 73
Low
55
Friday, Oct. 9..........
........ 80
50
Saturday, Oct. 10....
........ 94
60
Sunday, Oct. 11........
........ 75
57
Monday, Oct. 12
(7 a.m.) ................
........ 62
56
10 Pages in Two Sections
Monday, October 12, 1959
in
the
71/1 artin
cSVlannet
BY RAY MARTIN
Give a newsman half a
chance and he will talk about
his favorite subject: News-
papers. The “half-a-chance” in
this case is National Newspaper
Week which starts next Thurs-
day.
The old fellow (I know he was
old because he was nearly
40) who was managing editor
hailed from Pittsburgh and had
come up the hard way from
boy to editor in 20 years.
I was fresh out of college;
therefore I knew a lot about
everything, including how news-
paper stories should be written.
Actually, I knew considerably
more about newspapers than he
did for I had studied about
them in textbooks for four
years. Unfortunately, this old
fellow of nearly 40 years hadn’t
read any textbooks; all he had
for a guide to the trend of re-
porting was what he gathered
from reading 10 to 15 different
newspapers each day.
“You,” he said, “will start
with the routine funerals. Those
are the ones that have five
items: When the deceased was
born, when he died, how long
he lived here, who are the sur-
vivors and when the funeral is
going to be. ”
Now that is not exactly the
sort of news reporting that a
college-trained journalist could
get his teeth into. Oh, well,
humor the old man and do what
you can with such trivial
stories!
An hour later I laid the copy
on his desk — six stories of the
“routine” type. He picked
them up and read them, then
ranched for his black pencil.
Iwalked back and sat down at
my desk. A couple of minutes
later he laid my beautifully-
typed copy on my desk; it was
marked all over with his
black pencil.
“Do them over,” he said,
“according to the changes I
have made.” And then he add-
ed: “Maybe I had better point
out some of the things that are
wrong: A person ‘dies’ — he
doesn’t ‘pass away’ or ‘pass
on.’ The word ‘very’ is an oral
word and cannot be used in
newspapers at all. The word
‘people’ is the same as the
word ‘crowd,’ so can’t be used
with a number in front of it;
say ‘persons’ instead.”
And there was quite a lot
more. The “routine” funeral
nfli|ces barely made the first
edition, due to the fact that
each of the six funerals was
re-written four times — one of
them six times. When I final-
ly turned them in, he said,
“Well, I’ll just have to slug
them ‘Deaths.’ It’s too late to
write separate heads on each
story.”
And thus ended my first day
in this great game of the Fourth
Estate — six or seven hours
spent in writing “routine” fu-
nerals. That old man was smart-
er than I had thought he was
and without college training,
too! Remarkable!
All of this is mentioned sim-
ply to point out that putting a
newspaper together is not a
hit^r-miss job. It is a per-
feqftn job, and if it isn’t done
well then the readers will do
their reading in some other
journal.
I’m proud of the little part
I’ve had in this great profes-
sion. Many people are a bit
confused by what “freedom of
the press” means. They think
it means freedom to get into
all the ball games without a
ticket, freedom to barge into
the police headquarters with an
I-am-the-press, make-room-for-
me attitude. They think it
means shoving one’s way into
the crowd and taking a picture
with a power-of-the-press ego.
They think it means eating free
dinners, seeing free concerts,
breaking the speed limit to get
to a hot story — such things as
that.
Actually nothing could be
farther from the truth. This
week’s newspaper week will
point out what “freedom of the
(Continued on page 5)
mm
ife
■I_
mm
■ V it
\ ■
illlilM
PLAN COMMUNITY CHEST DRIVE—Leaders
of Girl Scouting and Boy Scouting are vitally inter-
ested in the Community Chest drive. Both organ-
izations are major participants in the drive. Dr. Paul
H. Hollinshead, chairman of Boy Scout Sandhills
District, Buffalo Trail Council, and Mrs. P. L. Efi-
lers, chairman of Kermit Girl Scout Neighborhood
Association, are busy completing plans which include
all adult Scouting leaders. Their work is to contact
persons whose names were not included in kits pre-
pared for members of the Board of Directors. (News
Staff Photo)
Dank Deposits
Are $7 Million
Kermit’s two banks have
total deposits of $7,044,348.83,
it was revealed Saturday after
a call for condition of national
and state banks had been
issued.
Kermit State Bank showed
deposits of $6,443,227.19, while
Kermit’s new First National
Bank reported $601,121.64 on
deposit. - Loans totaled $3,-
318,433.08 for Kermit State
and $95,386.15 for the First
National.
Kermit QB Club
Shows SMU Film
S.M.U. Football Highlights of
1958, a 45-minute film, will be
shown at the Kermit Quarter-
back Club meeting tonight at
the High School Cafeteria, ac-
cording to Coach Joe Ethridge.
Open to the public, the meet-
ing will start at 8 p.m. Coach
Ethridge stressed the fact that
anyone interested in this film
may attend the meeting; it is
not necessary to be a member
of the Club.
The Quarterback Club is still
interested in new members,
however, and the fee to join
has been reduced this year to
only $2.00.
Coffee and doughnuts will be
served to all attending and
guests will have the opportunity
to ask questions about the Ker-
mit-Littlefield game.
Congressman
To Air Views
In Talk Here
Congressman J. T. Ruther-
ford, Odessa, will bring his
office” to Kermit
Monday, Oct. 19, as part of a
district - wide swing through
West Texas to discuss con-
gressional matters with his
Winkler County constituents.
If his caravan can arrive in
time, Rutherford will speak to
Kermit High School pupils Mon-
day afternoon, and then will
park his office on wheels on the
north side of the courthouse to
visit with his friends here.
That evening, he will speak
at a public meeting in Commun-
ity Center. Rutherford is ex-
pected to discuss the recent-
ly-adjourned congress and his
stand on vital issues which will
face congress when it re-con-
venes next January. Ruther-
ford will spend the night in
Kermit, resuming the tour of
his 19-county district on Oct. 20.
You Are The Jury
Winkler County’s Community Chest campaign to
raise $21,000 opens today. It begins quietly, sans the
usual elaborate kick-off breakfast, followed by the
rush for choice prospect cards and ending with a
mountain of dirty dishes left behind, as well as hun-
dreds of names of might-be members no one bothered
to take.
There will not be one egg cracked, not one slice
of bgead will be toasted, and not one cup of coffee
will be poured as lure for avowed workers. There are
no majors, no captains, no teams ... no flunkies.
No one has beat the bushes for “advance big
gifts.”
Despite the crew-cut given operations, the drive
opens in all seriousness. Even most ardent backers of
Community Chest quickly agree this drive goes over
. . . “or else”. “Or else” is a quick swish of the fore-
finger under the chin.
Community Chest, long-dreamed of by many as
the ideal solution to increasing contribution cam-
paigns, came into being in Winkler County several
years ago. Early drives went over slick as a whistle.
Everybody was enthusiastic.
Those of recent years have lost momentum. Last
year’s finally fizzled out, only about 60 per cent com-
plete.
This year’s simplified plan for campaigning
places the fate of Community Chest squarely in the
hands of residents of Winkler County. Their verdict
will be heard within the next two weeks.
Beginning ripple in Community Chest pond will
be when the 21 members of the board of directors
gather up their selected prospect kits this morning.
All each has to do is deliver the kits to pre-selected
business management. One board member may not
make much of a ripple, but 21 little ripples can make
a mighty big one.
Assisting in this beginning will be adult leaders
of Boy Scouts and Girl Scouts. Their chore will be to
gather up prospect cards which have not been dis-
tributed by board members.
Starting, and final effect, of the second ripple will
then be up to Business Management. If Management
plays his cards right, asking each employe to donate
one day’s pay, a large portion of the goal will be
reached.
Then, if Management comes in for his share of
big gifts donations . . . Winkler County’s Community
Chest drive will be a success.
Grid Tickets
Go On Sale
Reserved seat tickets for the
Kermit-Littlefield game will go
on sale today at the rock ticket
booth at 5 p.m.
Price is $1.25, and there will
be no general admission adult
tickets, according to Harold
Miller, school business man-
ager.
Kermit Growth Seen
In Water Meter Gain
Total number of water cus-
tomers in the City of Kermit
continued to inch upward last
month, report of James C. Hill,
City Secretary to the City Coun-
cil last Thursday shows. This
indicates a further increase in
the city’s population.
Total number of water cus-
tomers in September was 3,422,
a gain of nine over the previous
month, and a gain of 269 over
a year ago for the same date.
August, it was pointed out, is
always the peak month for wa-
ter use. Total gallonage me-
tered during September was
72,746,000 gallons as compared
‘Many More’ Tickets Given
As Traffic Drive Continues
Police Monday moved into
the second week of their traf-
fic violations crackdown, their
pockets bulging with fresh tick-
et books ready to be used on
speeders and stop-sign jumpers.
The drive, launched by Ker-
mit’s new chief, W. A. (Bill)
Pence, has received the back-
ing of the Winkler County
Grand Jury and other groups,
the latest to back the drive
Driver Faces
Assault Charge
Charges of aggravated assault
with a motor vehicle have been
filed in county court against
Jerry M. Eddy, 22, 415 South
Olive, whose automobile was
involved in a collision north of
Kermit Oct. 3. Highway Pa-
trolmen E. C. Locklear and Tom-
my Brown say he was the driv-
er of an automobile which col-
lided with one driven by Joseph
Lee Braimer, 1315% West San
Antonio, who suffered a broken
left arm in the crash. Eddy
was free on $1,000 bond.
Riding with Eddy was Leo
King, 18, and Judy Horton, 17,
427 South Cedar. Passengers
in Braimer’s car were Johnny
O. Bryant, 27, Willie B. Bryant,
1316 West San Antonio, and Ed-
dy Joe Tatum, 18, of the same
address.
being the Kermit School Board.
That group adopted a resolu-
tion at its meeting last week,
praising officials for the crack-
down and endorsing the cam-
paign.
Meantime, Chief Pence said
that “many more” tickets are
being given for violations now
than before the campaign start-
ed, and “we are going to keep
right on giving tickets for traf-
fic violations,” he added.
He again pointed to Kermit’s
not-too-rosy traffic picture
which caused a property dam-
age during the past nine months
of $54,142.51, not to mention
sending 55 persons to the hos-
pital. “We believe,” he ex-
plained, “this situation can be
improved greatly, and the en-
dorsement we have received
from the people indicates they,
too, think traffic violators
should not go unpunished. With
an increased traffic load, which
will be further increased when
.the new cutoff to El Paso is
completed, our problem is con-
stantly growing, and unless the
traffic violations are eliminated,
I’m afraid our loss during the
coming months will be even
higher than in the past.”
He said most violations are
for failing to yield the right-of-
way and for running red lights.
“Many,” he said, “are ignor-
ing the law regarding emerg-
ency vehicles. The law says
that all vehicles must pull to
the right side of the street and
stop when an emergency vehi-
cle is sighted. Many fail to do
this, thus endangering lives.”
He said he greatly appreci-
ates the co-operation which the
public has given in the cam-
paign. “Without the help of
the citizens of Kermit, our cam-
paign would not be successful,
(Continued on Page 5)
Board Members
Attend Meeting
Kermit Public Schools were
to be well represented at the
annual convention of the Texas
Association of School Boards
meeting in Austin this weekend.
All seven members of the Ker-
piit board planned to attend,
Jieaded by E. H. Glass, the
president, and a member of the
Executive Committee of the
state association.
Accompanying the members
to Austin was Superintendent
Tommy Thompson, who was to
attend the meeting of the Texas
Association of School Admin-
istrators meeting at the same
time.
Kermit Schools have been ac-
tive in both organizations and
are always well represented at
both the board convention and
the administrators’ gathering.
with 81,037,000 for August, the
peak month.
Five years ago, Kermit had
only 2,535 users of water, or
nearly 1,000 less than at pres-
ent.
At the Thursday council meet-
ing, it was agreed to reinstate
Garland Odom as City Engi-
neer, and at the same time they
approved an estimate by Odom
for $240 for engineering serv-
ices last month.
The Council approved a move
to authorize the City Engineer
to proceed with a program to
estimate costs of extending wa-
ter and sewer service immedr
ately- for “incorporation into a
warrant program.” He also
was authorized to proceed with
plans for water and sewer ex-
tensions to Cross Place, Second
Filing.
The group approved a tax ad-
justment for Paul Madison who
had asked that the valuation
of property be lowered from
$2,000 to $1,000. The Council
was told Madison had agreed
to pay all delinquencies if the
adjustment were approved.
The Council approved pay-
ment of half the amount set
in a note for $14,169.54 by Par-
son and Moore for water and
sewer extension to Kermit
Heights. Half the amount will
be due immediately and the
balance within 10 days, the
Council ruled.
The Council moved that a pe-
tition for rehearing be filed in
the Court of Civil Appeals in
El Paso in the case of Larry
Spruill vs. The City of Kermit.
The case, which involves a sign
Spruill erected on South Poplar,
resulted in the court affirming
the judgment of District Court
rendered in favor of Spruill.
Police to Name 2
Sergeants, Captain
Pancake Supper
Tickets Offered
Members of the Kermit Eve-
ning Lions Club are due to visit
downtown businesses early this
week to offer tickets for their
pancake supper to be served
Thursday evening in Communi-
ty Center, President Clifford
Casey has announced.
Tickets for the dinner, to be
served from 5:30 to 7:30 p.m.
will sell for 75 cents for adults,
50 cents for children. Funds
will be used to aid the club’s
welfare program.
Council
Approves
New Plan
Kermit will name two police
sergeants and a captain, the
captain to serve as Assistant
Police Chief, it was decided at
Thursday night’s meeting of the
City Council.
The request to name officers
for these assignments had been
made by Kermit’s new Police
Chief, W. A. (Bill) Pence as a
means of designating authority
for the patrol shifts. He ex-
plained that such a move was
necessary in order that the de-
partment’s patrol units can
function properly.
“In the past,” he explained,
“no one officer has been in
charge and it has made it dif-
ficult to fix responsibility for
the various shifts. When some
officer had to be off duty, there
was no one except the chief to
designate relief officers or to
arrange other time schedules.
Under the new plan, the ser-
geants will be responsible for
manning their particular shifts.
The chief added: “I am cer-
tain that under this arrange-
ment we will improve the effi-
ciency of the entire department,
resulting in a more smoothly-
functioning police force all
around.”
The request to name an As-
sistant Chief was made for the
same reason. “We need to
have a man who can speak for
the entire department when the
Chief is called out of town,”
Pence told the Council. “If
we have an Assistant Chief,
then he can serve in that ca-
pacity.”
Frequently, Pence explained,
it is necessary for the Chief
to be out of town on official
business. Often, too, he must
appear in court as a witness.
This leaves the department
without an official head. Under {and
the new plan, the Assistant
Chief will have authority to act
for the Chief when necessary.
Pence explained that he plans
to attend a 30-day school for
police officers soon, and will
have to be out of town. The
Acting Chief will serve in his
capacity during that period.
“And there will be other times,”
he explained, “when it will be
necessary for me to attend of-
ficial meetings and police gath-
erings. The new Assistant Chief
will greatly improve police ef-
ficiency under such circum-
stances.”
Chief Pence said he had not
decided who will be named to
the three posts authorized by
the Council, but probably will
be ready to name the two ser-
geants and the captain by the
last of this week.
Mat
H ' "
i -
LEATHA FAYE DAVIS AND CAROLYN SHAFFER
. . . Message to young drivers
Jackets Seek No. 5;
To Invade Littlefield
It will be a battle of the un-
beatens Friday night when
the Kermit Yellow Jackets in-
vade the stronghold of the Lit-
tlefield Wildcats. Both teams
post glossy records of four wins
no setbacks. Kermit has
allowed only 12 points to be
scored against them, all of
which were scored at Walton
Field.
Littlefield has allowed 20
points against them, * posting
Kermit High School will be
dismissed at 1:30 p.m., Fri-
day to allow students to at-
tend the Littlefield football
game. All other schools will
dismiss at 3 p.m. Band and
Pep Squad buses will leave
at 1:40 p.m. The regular bus
runs will not be made Friday
afternoon.
wins over Brownfield, Plain-
view, Olton. and Clovis, N. M.
Don Williams, former line
coach for Andrews, is the Wild-
cat mentor, and is very famil-
iar with the Yellow Jacket
sting.
Kermit has met Littlefield
three times. The first encounter
being a 31-6 victory for the
Jackets in 1951. In 1954 the
Wildcats defeated Kermit 20-6
and last year at Kermit’s home-
coming, the Jackets won 28-16.
Currently, Littlefield is rest-
ing in first place in district
1-AAA, although once-beaten
Levelland is favored to take
that championship.
Similarly, Kermit is setting
the pace in district 2-AAA with
both Andrews and Monahans
prepared to give the Jackets
some argument.
Statewise, Littlefield is rated
14th in AAA rankings with Ker-
mit 20th so the winner of Fri-
day night’s game will receive
serious state-wide attention.
School Chief
Visits Odessa
School Superintendent Tom-
my Thompson made a first-
hand inspection of one of the
Permian Basin’s finest ne
high schools last week, the Per-
mian High School at Odessa.
The Kermit School chief is
one of four persons who com-
pose the district inspection
committee for the Southern As-
sociation of Secondary Schools
and Colleges. Thompson is
chairman of the group for this
district which extends from Big
Spring to El Paso. Other mem-
bers are Ray Whitley, Pecos;
Brady Nix, Crane, and' Floyd
Parsons, Big Sping.
Council Meeting
Set lor Tonight
October meeting of the Dis-
trict Boy Scout council is sched-
uled for 7:30 tonight in the Boy
Scout Hut.
All committee chairmen,
Scoutmasters and others inter-
ested are invited to attend.
Broken Back
'Cries Loud
For Safety
“Drive carefully , . . When it
rains, slow down. . . Obey your
parents. . . Stay on good
roads.”
These safety suggestions
come from one who knows what
she is talking about. She is
speaking from experience—sad
experience.
From her hospital bed in
Winkler County Memorial Hos-
pital, Leatha Faye Davis, 19,
said, “Tell the kids to drive
carefully. Please tell them, for
me, that they had better stay
off slick, oily roads when it
rains.”. .
She is recovering from a
broken back,- suffered a week
ago when the ear she was driv-^
ing on a county road flipped
over three times, and came to
rest finally against a sand dune.
Fortunately none of the four
young people riding in the car
was killed. She was the only
one seriously injured. “But just
think how much more serious
it could have been,” she adds.
“I don’t know how we got
out of it alive.” The car is a
total loss.
It started out as a little pleas-
ure trip, “just driving around.”
The four young people turned
north off highway 115, six miles
northeast of Kermit. The road
is narrow, black and slick when
it rains. Besides all that, it is
hilly. Leatha Faye topped one
of those hills, lost control of
the car and the crash resulted.
She says she was not driving
fast, “but when it rains you
have to be extra careful* es-
pecially on an oil-slick road.
Next thing I knew it happened
—just like that. Now I’m in the
hospital with a broken back.”
With Leatha Faye were Caro-
lyn Shaffer, and Lemuel Lee
and Jearld Wayne Hall, all of
Kermit.
Carolyn escaped with cuts and
bruises. She drops into Leatha
Faye’s room each day for a
visit. And the warning Leatha
Faye gives to young drivers is
backed by Carolyn.
There’s a final suggestion
from Leatha Faye: “When your
parents tell you to drive slow-
ly and carefully, obey them.
They know more than you do,
so do what they say and maybe
you won’t ever have to lie flat
of your back in a hospital like
I’m doing.”
T
THEIR JOB INCREASES—Crackdown of traffic violations by the Kermit
Police force has stepped up the job of all concerned, including the radio dispatch-
ers at Headquarters. Here are the four who do the microphone work, Bernice
Wells, Juanice Wilkinson, Scotty Mclver and Orval Gentry. (News Staff Photo),
i
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Reference the current page of this Newspaper.
Martin, Ray. The Winkler County News (Kermit, Tex.), Vol. 23, No. 56, Ed. 1 Monday, October 12, 1959, newspaper, October 12, 1959; Kermit, Texas. (https://texashistory.unt.edu/ark:/67531/metapth886149/m1/1/: accessed July 18, 2024), University of North Texas Libraries, The Portal to Texas History, https://texashistory.unt.edu; crediting Winkler County Library.