April 2021

Alpine High School track-and-field athlete Texas Sablatura goes over on the pole vault at the Area championships in Denver City on April 15. Avalanche photo by J.T.

Texas Agriculture Commissioner Sid Miller last week invited Texas farmers and ranchers to apply for the Texas Department of Agriculture’s Family Land Heritage program, which since 1974 has paid tribute to families who have kept their land in continuous agricultural production for at least 100 years.

You don’t usually think of root vegetables in the springtime, but we eat root vegetables nearly every day. Some examples of root vegetables are potatoes, yams, beets, turnips, carrots, onions, garlic, horseradish, radishes, and ginger, just to name a few.

Dear Neil: I saw your comment about training Nellie R. Stevens hollies to be more tree-like instead of using them as shrubs.

In a push to boost graduate studies, Sul Ross State University announced April 13 a $300,000 stipend to help aspiring students to pursue higher degrees. Laura Payne, dean of the College of Graduate Studies who oversees the new funding, said the money will underwrite salaries each semester for teaching assistants and research fellows so they will have the resources to enroll in graduate programs.

Early voting for the City of Alpine and Alpine ISD elections will continue through Tuesday, April 27. Through Tuesday, 48 had voted in the city races, and 22 in the AISD contests.

The Texas Well Owner Network is hosting a water well screening on Tuesday, May 4, in Alpine to give area residents the opportunity to have their well water screened. A meeting will follow on May 5 to explain the results.

Our Lady of Peace Catholic Church of Alpine Danza Guadalup members Ruth Macias, Eva Olivas, and Dayami Fernandez offer cheers and congratulations to Fr. Joe Raj during his birthday parade on April 17 outside the church. Many parishioners drove up to bring cards and gifts, and offer well wishes to the parish priest, who celebrated another year of life. Avalanche photo by Roxanne Hill

The Far West Texas Disaster Recovery Virtual Seminar will take place on Wednesday, April 28, from 8:30 a.m.-12:30 p.m. This seminar is unique in that six county extension agents in West Texas have come together to put this program on for ranchers, farmers, and stakeholders within the agriculture industry in West Texas.

With increased success in fire containment and no growth in fire acreage, firefighters at Big Bend National Park have changed the focus from fire suppression to rehabilitation of damaged areas. Where the fire burned hot and any control lines were created, the ground can become channels for erosion if left unrepaired when summer monsoons come.