September 2023

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A hearty thank you I would like to extend a belated, but hearty thank you to those who sent birthday wishes to my father, Donald Snook, on his 100th birthday in March. He enjoyed all the cards from friends he knew and from kind people he had never met.

HEAD OVER MEALS One thing I am always a sucker for is rich and decadent comfort food. There is nothing better for a foodie than to partake in a dish that instantly brings you joy in the first bite.

A group of West Texas community stakeholders met with U. S. Congressman Tony Gonzales last Thursday to discuss issues that are unique to the Big Bend area. Many issues were discussed, but some of the most important were energy matters, area infrastructure, federal grant funding for education, and health care.

Classes began Monday, August 28 at Sul Ross, and along with new students for the fall semester also came new faculty. The university welcomed 12 new faculty members to the Alpine campus, including two in the Department of Anthropology, two in the Kinesiology department, three in the Department of Education, one in the Visual and Performing Arts department, one in Business Administration, and two in the Nursing department, with one of them also a part of the Department of Agriculture.

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Many students may be college bound after graduation, while others hope to pursue other avenues, such as trade schools. Alpine ISD, in an effort to support these options has two days each week where teachers wear jeans and a college shirt as a show of support for higher education.

After six years of hard work, a habitat enhancement project is finally coming to fruition. The 22,000-acre Decie Ranch, located between Alpine and Marathon, is the beneficiary of a collaboration between the owners of the ranch, the Borderlands Research Institute (BRI), the Natural Resource Conservation Service (NRCS), U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service (USFWS), National Fish and Wildlife Foundation (NFWF), and Texas Parks and Wildlife (TPWD).

The Brewster County commissioner’s court held its regularly scheduled meeting on Tuesday, September 12. During this meeting’s announcements portion, county commissioner Pct. 3, Ruben Ortega, shared with the court about the upcoming cabrito cookoff benefit for the Marathon Volunteer Fire Department which will be held at the Post starting Friday night and continuing through Saturday.