The Winkler County News (Kermit, Tex.), Vol. 24, No. 37, Ed. 1 Monday, September 11, 1961 Page: 1 of 12
This newspaper is part of the collection entitled: Winkler County Area Newspapers and was provided to The Portal to Texas History by the Winkler County Library.
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The Winkler County News
Weather
Published Twice Weekly—Head Daily
(Member Associated Press)
H
L
Pr.
Thursday, Sept. 7
....94
66
Friday, Sept. 8 ...
.....93
70
Saturday, Sept. 9
....91
66
tr.
Sunday, Sept. 10 .
......92
67
Monday, Sept. 11
(7 a. m.) .........
.....75
65
Vol. 24—No. 37
Classified Ads on Page 4
Kermit, Winkler County, Texas
12 Pages in Two Sections
Monday, September 11,1961
2 Killed in Gas Well Blast, 3 Still Missing
K-Jackets, Hobbs Eagles
Rattle to 7-7 Tie Friday
A patient Hobbs /N. M.)
eleven waited over 40 minutes
Friday for Dame Fortune’s
smile, then made the most of a
Kermit fumble to *snatch a 7-0
victory from the Yellow Jack-
ets’ waiting hands.
With less than six minutes re-
maining, Eagle End Terry Wil-
liams pounced, on a Kermit
fumble on the Yellow Jacket 28
and six plays later Hobbs had a
7-7 tie written on the score-
board. That’s the way it ended,
although Kermit battled back to
the Hobbs 33 before finally giv-
ing up the ghost. Kermit’s
Tommy Wilson attempted a
desperate field goal from the
33, but his kick fell short, bounc-
ing harmlessly around the five.
Bob Hicks, Hobbs’ pile-driv-
ing fullbck, punched over
from the one for the Eagle
score and then ran for the extra
point (under New Mexico rules,
the point-after is worth but one
point, regardless of how it is
made), thus averting what min-
utes before had seemed certain
Kermit victory.
An estimated crowd of 4,000
jammed the Hobbs stadium to
FLYING POINT—Joe Burnett (31) flies over teammate Marty Mayer (22)
^ and past Eagle defender W. H. Allison (66) in scoring Kermit’s extra point in the
second quarter. Jackets and Hobbs played to a 7-7 deadlock at Hobbs Friday night.
(News Staff Photo)
•Water Pumping
In City Shows
Slight Decrease
Water pumping during August
slipped below July’s record high
for the year, but still remained
well over the 100 million gallon
level.
Jerry-Haynes, city water su
perintendent, in a report to
Kermit City Council, showed
water pumping during August
amor, itch to 116,483,000 gallons,
a decrease of 10,000,000 gallons
from the previous month.
The report showed 92,347,000
gallons were metered duringi
the month. During July, 94,-
^296,000 gallons were metered.
The. monthly report also re-
vealed the number of both wa-
ter: and sewer customers rose
to a new record high for the
city during the period. At the
Court Order Halts
Engineer’s Hearing
A temporary restraining or-
der Friday halted a scheduled
hearing by the State Board of
Registration for 'Professional
Engineers of a mis-conduct
charge lodged against aft Aus-
tin engineer by Kermit city of-
ficials.
The hearing, against Homer
Trimble of Austin was stopped
when the Board was served a
temporary restraining order
signed by District Judge C. V.
Milburn of Odessa for the 109th
Judicial District Court at Ker-
mit.
Thompson Is
Drive Chairman
G. E. (Tommy) Thompson
has been named gen'eral com-
munity campaign chairman for
chairman.
end of August, 3,763 water cus-jthe upcoming Boy Scout drive,
tomers were listed, compared [ according to John Fanning, dis-
with 3,751 during the previous!frict Scout Executive, and Rev.
month. The report showed 2,4611Charles B. Brinkley, district
sewer ' customers, an increase
of seven from July.
. A year ago, there were 3,065
water customers and 2,401 sew-
er customers. Receipts for Aug-
ust amounted to $25,347 for wa-
ter, $5,305.15 for sewer and
$3,938.70 for garbage. The total
of $34,590.70 actually was an in-
crease of slightly more than
$100 over July.
One new well and another
deepened and cleaned well were
put into full service during the
month, increasing the daily
pumping potential of the city’s
water system by a considerable
amount, Haynes said.
Sept,
as to
order
The order set Friday,
15 for a special hearing
whether the restraining
should be dissolved or made in-
to a temporary injunction
against the Board. The hearing,
before District Judge G. C. Ol-
sen, will be at 10:30 a.m.
Trimble is presently under in-
dictment by the Winkler County
Grand Jury on charges of at-
tempted bribery of a city of-
ficial. The alleged incident
came to light earlier this year
and was reported by City May-
or Bert L. Stevens and Council-
man Joe Marlett.
In Trimble’s petition for the
temporary restraining order,
which Judge Milburn signed
Thursday, he claimed he could
not testify before the Board
without revealing his entire de-
fense against the criminal
charges pending against him in
District Court at Kermit.
Stevens and Marlett and
Odessa ' consulting engineer
Kenneth E. Esmond flew to
The drive, scheduled in the f st!n Fm°™nS
’ hearing. Stevens said the Board
community for Oct. 17, will be
the first one for the Scout or-
ganization by itself in a num-
ber of years. It had been a part
of the now-disbanded Communi-
ty Chest.
Other camoaign officials in-
clude Fred W. Pearson, gener-
al solicitations chairman: Bill
Cameron, business division
chairman; J. C. Hill, prospects
committee chairman; Mrs.
Clmton Ferrell, arrangements
committee chairman; and John
Gammill, audit committee
chairman.
barely opened the hearing and
had turned down a request to
postpone further action when
the restraining order was
served.
The Austin engineer was rep-
resented at the hearing by Mon-
ahans Attorney Robert Ziesen
heim. In addition to the sched-
uled hearing on the restraining
order, Judge Milburn also or-
dered Trimble to post a $500
bond payable to the Board of
Registration before he issued
the order.
watch the hard-fought contest
in near-perfect weather.
The Yellow Jackets, out-
weighed 20 pounds per man in
the line and by a 6-pound mar
gin in the backfield, scored
first with 1:50 remaining in the
first half.
Kermit Quarterback Donnie
Bates carried over from the one
on a quarterback sneak and
then handed to Fullback Joe
STATISTICS
First Downs
Yds. Rushing
Yds. Passing
Passes
Fumbles Lost
Penalties & Yds.
Punts & Avg.
Intercepted By
Burnett for the extra point.
Larry Burrows, who sparkled
for Kermit on defense, set up
the Jacket touchdown, recover-
ing a fumbled „ punt on the
Eagle 10.
From there, Halfback Marty
Mayer carried to-the five; Full-,
back Robert Roark added four
and then Bates bulled over for
the score.
The Jackets had twice before
seen scoring opportunities slip
away within the shadow of the
goalposts. Early in the second
period, Kermit drove to the
Eagle two before losing the ball
on downs.
Ronald Dean recovered a
fumbled punt on the Hobbs 27
midway in the first stanza and
Kermit advanced to the Eagle
nine before a fumble by Half-
back Bob Knox stalled the
drive. Jame§ Bridges recover-
ed for Hobbs.
Hobbs, too, had its share of
disappointments in the gruel-
ling defensive struggle.
The Eagles, aided by Quar-
terback . Bob Dasher’s electrify-
ing 32-yard pass to Don Wil-
lingham on the game’s first
play from scrimmage, stunned
Kermit into giving up 64 yards
before the Jackets finally re-
covered to hold the Eagles on
downs at the Kermit eight.
Hobbs set up its only other
real scoring threat, which
proved to be the turning point
in the game, with a • 28-yard
quick-kick midway in the final
period. Apparently, the un-
expected maneuver rattled the
Jackets, for Kermit fumbled on
its first play from scrimmage,
and Williams recovered to set
up Hobbs’ touchdown. The
Eagle score came with 3:30 re
maining in the game.
Immediately after the en-
suing kickoff, Dosher intercept
ed a Bates pass and returned it
to the Kermit 45, but penalties
killed off the Hobbs threat be
fore the Eagles could start roll-
ing.
Dosher, who passed for 81
yards and ran four times for
12 yards, spearheaded the
Eagle attack, but it was Hicks’
hard-driving thrusts that sus-
stained Hobbs’ touchdown
march. Hicks led all rushers
for the evening, gaining a total
of 50 yards in 15 carries. Half-
back Raymond Stubblefield
picked up 43 for the Eagles in
14 carries.
Knox, though hampered by a
shoulder injury, paced the Ker-
mit ground attack, carrying
nine times for 39 yards. Full-
back James Shipman picked up
31 in six tries for the game’s
top average, slightly more than
five yards per carry. Bates car-
ried 10 times for 34 yards and
added 54 through the airways,
completing four of 15 aerials.
Burrows, Alton Cox and Dean
sparkled in the Yellow Jacket
defensive line. Burrows re-
covered one fumble while Cox
and Dean each recovered two.
Bill Styron, Shipman, Mayer
and Dalton Arnold were stand
outs in the, Kermit secondary.
INSPECTING VEHICLE—Highway Patrolman E. C. Locklear is pictured as
he peers into the wrecked cab of an explosives-laden truck which rolled east of Ker*
mit last Thursday, killing the driver, Ted Lavoy Hope, 26, of Lamesa. (News Staff
Explosives Truck Overturns East of Kermit
Kermit Man Injured
In First Explosion
BY DAVE SCLAIR
A huge army of hastily summoned oil field workers,
headed by a world-famous oil well fire fighter, continued
its fight Sunday against a rampant Mobil Oil Company
well which exploded and caught fire Saturday noon, im-
mediately claiming the lives of at least two men, and prob-
ably three others.
The scene of the disaster is a few miles from the town
of Coyanosa, where more than 70 men, representing half
a dozen communities and companies, were working on
the well.
Three Kermit men on the
scene at the time of the ex-
plosion escaped without serious
harm. One, V. C. Pierce, an
employe of Halliburton Oil Well
Cementing Company, was hos-
pitalized, but his condition is
not considered serious.
The other two were Lewis
Peek, also employed by Halli-
burton, and Jim Bates, a truck
driver for Permian Mud Ser-
vice.
Killed in the explosion were
Pat York, 35, of Fort Stockton,
and Hubert Whitfield, 43, of
Monahans. Three others work-
ing on the derrick at’the tinn
of the blast are unaccounted
for and presumed dead. Their
identities had not been reveal-
ed Sunday night.
Taking over the direction of
Trucker Is Killed Saturday
A 26-year-old Lamesa man
was killed Thursday when the
explosives-laden truck which he
was operating went out of con-
trol east of Kermit and rolled
threei times.
Killed in the 7:30 p.m. acci-
dent was Ted Lavoy Hope.
According to Texas Highway
Patrolman E. C. Locklear of
Kermit, who investigated the
accident, the truck left Texas
Highway 115, went into a bar
ditch, turning over at least
three times and finally came to
rest 400 feet from the point
where it left the road.
The body was thrown from
the cab of the truck, probably
on the first roll, according to
Locklear. It landed in sand,
49 feet from the spot where the
truck finally came to rest.
Stick dynamite and 50-pound
sacks of ammonium nitrate
were scattered over a wide
Kermit Football
Fans Witness
Auto Accident
Four Lufkin residents were
injured near Hobbs, N. M., Fri-
day night in a truck-car mis-
hap. The accident occurred as
numerous Kermit residents
were driving to Hobbs for a
football game.
Injured in the accident were
A. A. Wilkerson and his wife,
Ethel May, and their 3-year-old
daughter, Martha Gay. A broth-
er of Wilkerson, also traveling
in their 1946 Ford pickup truck,
was also injured.
Acording to Robert McGrant
of the Hobbs News-Sun, officials
said the accident occurred when
a car operated by P. W.- Sea-
wright of Hobbs struck the rear
of the Wilkerson pickup truck
at 6:59 p.m. Both vehicles were
traveling south. The truck was
a total loss and the car had
$800 in damage.
The accident occured on
New Mexico Highway 18, nine
miles south of Hobbs. A num-
ber of Kermit residents passing
by on their way to the Kermit-
Hobbs football game, reported
the accident to Lea County law
officials.
area along the side of the high-
way.
Locklear said the fatality is
the first in the County since a
Kermit man was killed in a
one-car mishap in June, 1960.
That accident ocurred at the
intersection of the Wink and
Mentone highways.
“It appears to me the driver
went straight into the bar
ditch,”- Locklear said. He re-
ported there were no skid
marks on the highway or any
other indication leading to any
other conclusion.
After the truck went off the
highway it traveled in a straight
line for 324 feet. “At that point,’
the patrolman said, “either the
driver attempted to turn the
truck back onto the road or the
wheels sinking into the sand
caused the truck to spin side-
wise. Either way, it put the
truck into a side roll.”
Locklear said the truck roll-
ed 76 feet and the victim was
probably thrown through the
air for a distance of about 100
feet. He was thrown over a
Grand Jury Will
Be Impaneled
A panel of Grand Jurors for
the September term of 109th
Judicial District Court was
scheduled to be impaneled Mon-
day morning (today) as activity
in the court at Winkler County
got under way.
District Attorney Dan Sullivan
of Andrews said he has at least
14 cases to be presented to the
Grand Jury for their investi-
gation. Indietments will prob-
ably be returned by the Jury
to Judge G. C. Olsen some time
Wednesday, officials reported.
Judge Olsen has scheduled all
dicorce cases ready to be heard
for first action on the court
calendar. Non-jury civil cases
will be heard next and finally,
civil cases with juries are
scheduled.
A docket call for criminal-
cases will be held in the District
Court Monday morning, Sept.
18. Criminal actions will begin
the following day.
A panel of prospective petit
jurors for duty during the in-
itial week of district court has
been ordered to report to the
courtroom Tuesday at 9:30 a.m.,
three-strand barbed-wire fence.
The truck had made a deliv-
ery at Carlsbad, N. M., and
was enroute to Lamesa, officials
said. He is survived by his wife
and three young children. The
body was taken from Hixson
Funeral Chapel and sent to La-
mesa for funeral services.
Locklear, who was assisted
in the investigation by Winkler
County Deputies Johnny Stout
and Hobart White and Kermit
Police Officer C. A. McCabe,
said an employe of the C. W.
Wright Construction Company
of Kermit removed the explos-
ives from the scene.
City Council Is Asked
To Annex New Tract
A petition requesting annex-
ation of a tract of land southeast
of the present city limits into
the city was approved Tuesday
night by the Kermit City Coun-
cil during a regular Council
meeting at City Hall.
The tract, which is located
south of Bert Street in the
Brown and Altman Addition, is
approximately seven acres, ac-
cording to officials. There will
be 28 house lots in the area.
The petition requesting the
annexation was presented to
the Council by Robert Scogin,
representing Clyde Barton,
trustee for the landowner.
At some later date, Council-
men ■ will consider passage of
an ordinance annexing the ter-
ritory into the city limits. Under
the present governmental setup
of the city, areas can be annex-
ed into the incorporated city
area only through the petition
of property owners.
Scogin reported the area will
be developed into another res-
idential section, opening up a
number of new lots for building
in the city.
“We have attempted to speed
up the opening of this area,”
Barton said, “because there are
a number of persons wanting to
move houses from oil field
camps into the city and cannot
find a lot.” He said the area
will be open to all types of
residential construction.
A hearing on the City of Ker-
mit budget was scheduled for
Sept. 26. Councilmen will dis-
cuss all aspects of the budget
during the meeting, which
will get under way at 8 p.m.
A recommendation by con-
sulting engineer Kenneth Es-
mond of Odessa for employing
a full-time supervisor for proj-
ects under way in the city was
cussion.
The engineer, head of the
Odessa concern which has de-
signed the city’s improvement
program, said he feels the full-
time man is needed during the
present stage of the inverted
crown street construction and
other projects now under way.
The firm spokesman said his
company, under the terms of
their contract with the city, will
provide periodic inspection and
will be on hand at all times
when the major work is being
done. “However,” Esmond told
Councilmen, “I feel a full-time
man, on the job here for about
30 days, will help insure a per
(Continued on Page Six)
fire-fighting operations late Sat-
urday evening was a represen-
tative of the Red Adair Com-
pany of Houston, wild well con-
trol workers.
Adair himself, son-in-law of
the nearly legendary fire fight-
er, Myron Kinley, was sched-
uled to arrive at the scene
sometime Sunday.
(Photos on Page Eight)
Also listed among the injured
was Dean McCullough of
Hobbs, N. M., a former Kermit
resident and Permian Mud em-
ploye. Another former Kermit
resident, L. A. Davis, now liv-
ing in Hobbs, was in charge of
rescue and emergency oper-
ations at the scene until the
Adair crew took over.
The tragedy has been termed
the worst ever to occur in the
West Texas oil fields. Cause of
the blast, which occurred at
Mobil’s Sibling No. 1, was un-
determined. “The only men
who could possibly really ex-
plain what happened,” said
R. L. (Bob) Parker, owner of
the Parker Drilling Company,
contractor for the well,” are
the ones who were killed.”
Parker, who flew to the scene
from Tulsa, Okla., as soon as
he learned of the blast, esti-
mated loss to his equipment
will run in the neighborhood of
$500,000. The drilling company
official said the fire may con-
tinue to burn for days. Fire-
men from area communities
were withdrawn from the scene
when it became apparent their
efforts were in vain.
A crew had been pumping
mud into the well to prevent a
blowout at the time of the ex-
plosion, Parker reported. Test-
ing had also been under way to
determine the pressure of the
gas which had been struck. The
well was slated to bottom at
18,000 feet and was down about
half the distance.
Witnesses to the explosion
said the blast occurred with a
temendous underground roar
and fire leaped from the mouth
of the well, sending flames tow-
ering over the top of the rig
and showering the area
with burning debris.
The twisted, red-hot derrick
toppled to the ground moments
after the flames burst from the
hole, throwing workers from
one area to another, toppling a
doghouse and turning the once
(Continued on Page Seven)
PD Vehicles Travel
10,497 Miles Here
Three Kermit Police Depart-
ment patrol vehicles logged a
total of 10,497 miles during
August, according to informa-
tion contained in a monthly re-
port of the department to the
Kermit City Council.
Kermit Police Chief W. A.
(Bill) Pence reported the mile-
age was an increase of more
than 2,000 miles over the previ-
ous month.
The department report also
showed 881 contacts were made
with residents of Kermit and
others during the month, an in-
crease over July’s 659 total.
Taking the biggest hike dur-
ing the month was the number
of dogs handled by the City Hu-
mane Officer, B. H. Martin.
The officer reported 114 dogs
|vere handled during the de-
approved after considerable dis- partment’s renewed enforce-
ment of the city’s dog ordi-
nance. During July, 86 animals
were handled by the officer.
Officers issued 53 ticket dur-
ing the period, including 21 for
speeding. The number of speed-
ing citations issued increased
during August by seven, the re-
port showed.
Only 10 accidents were in-
vestigated within the city dur-
ing the month, and of the total,
only once was a, wrecker re-
quired.
Pence reported there was a
marked increase in petty thefts.
“We had 32 petty thefts report-
ed to the department during
August,” he said. “That is
double the previous month’s
figure. I caution homeowners
to lock their houses when they
leave and also not to leave val-
uables or packages in their un-
attended cars.”
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Williams, Nev H. The Winkler County News (Kermit, Tex.), Vol. 24, No. 37, Ed. 1 Monday, September 11, 1961, newspaper, September 11, 1961; Kermit, Texas. (https://texashistory.unt.edu/ark:/67531/metapth905253/m1/1/?q=%22Business%2C+Economics+and+Finance+-+Communications+-+Newspapers%22: accessed July 10, 2024), University of North Texas Libraries, The Portal to Texas History, https://texashistory.unt.edu; crediting Winkler County Library.