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A look back at his glory days As we sit on the cusp of yet another Super Bowl, one Alpine local can lay claim to being a world-champion Super Bowl player in his own right. In 1958, an Alpine Fightin’ Buck named Robert “Bake” Turner graduated from Alpine High School and moved on to pursue higher education at Texas Tech College, now Texas Tech University, where he played college football, before being drafted by the NFL.

After a lengthy investigation, an arrest was made last Friday, July 5 by the Brewster County Sheriff’s Office in conjunction with numerous grass and brush fires that have plagued the area. David Matthew Neet, 44 of Alpine was taken into custody and charged with 20 counts of arson after investigations of the fires led to the discovery of incendiary devices at each of the locations.

The Alpine ISD Board of Trustees held their regularly scheduled meeting on Wednesday, April 17 at the AISD administration building. Trustees Jimmy Morris and Joe Portillo were absent.

The Alpine Emergency Services Board (AESB) held its final meeting of 2024 on Thursday, December 19, at 5:30 p.m. All board members were present except Aaron Rodriguez, who joined remotely due to illness.

Photo by Kara Gerbert .

BLACKBERRY CAKE INGREDIENTS: For the Cake: 2 cups all-purpose flour 1 1/2 teaspoons baking powder 1/2 teaspoon baking soda 1/2 teaspoon salt 1/2 cup unsalted butter, softened 1 cup granulated sugar 2 large eggs, at room temperature 1 teaspoon vanilla extract 1 cup buttermilk, at room temperature 1 1/2 cups fresh blackberries 22 drops of dark navy blue food coloring (As needed) For the Blackberry Buttercream Frosting: 1/2 cup unsalted butter, softened 3 cups powdered sugar, sifted 1/4 cup blackberry puree (made by blending fresh blackberries and straining out the seeds) 1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract Pinch of salt For Decoration (Optional): Fresh blackberries Lemon zest Mint leaves INSTRUCTIONS: Preheat the Oven: Preheat your oven to 350. Grease and flour two 9-inch round cake pans or line them with parchment paper.

St. Christopher’s — Hobbs, N.M.

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Dear Neil, My wife and I are having discussions about whether I should remove a native cedar tree from our landscape. She tests positive for allergies to cedar pollen, and this time of year, her miseries begin for a couple of months. She wants me to remove the tree, but we both think it’s very pretty if it weren’t for the pollen. Even its blueberries are attractive, and I notice the birds love them. My contention is that there are dozens of other cedars nearby and that even if I take our one tree out, she will still be hit with the pollen from other trees around us. Do you have any advice?

Flames completely engulf Judy’s Bread and Breakfast and Eva’s Salon as well as a portion of Vintage Antiques and Snazzy Things in this photo from Sunday’s devastating fire. Photo courtesy of Jennifer Pittinger .