News

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In the Thursday, Dec.15 edition of the Avalanche, the date listed to fill the position for the Brewster County Tourism department’s Administrative Assistant should state Jan. 30, not June 23..

For much of the 19th Century, except in time of war when the U.S. Army was purposely kept small, it was unusual for someone to be appointed to the officer corps that had not graduated from West Point. One such appointee was Arthur Tracey Lee, born in Northumberland, Pennsylvania on Jun. 26, 1814. Recommended for service by Simon Cameron, later to be Lincoln’s Secretary of War, Lee had studied art in Philadelphia. His artistic ability gives us the best images of the Davis Mountains and the pre-Civil War Fort Davis.

The wide-open spaces of West Texas lured a record 581,000 recreational visits to remote Big Bend in 2021. These numbers reflect a 25% increase since 2019, the last year the park was completely open, and a 49% increase since 2016. Once relatively unknown, the Big Bend area continues to see a significant increase in visitation, and the COVID-19 pandemic has resulted in even more visitors seeking out the qualities of this special place. “This is a significant milestone,” said Chief of Interpretation and Visitor Services Tom VandenBerg. “When Big Bend National Park was established in 1944, a mere 1,400 visitors arrived that first year, but park promoters dreamed of a day when the area would host half a million visitors. That dream has now become reality.”

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County VSO discusses veterans’ issues Brewster County Commissioners Court held its regularly scheduled meeting on Oct. 25, and county Veterans Affairs Officer Adam Daley, a 23-year U.S.

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