TEXAS PRESS ASSOCIATION BETTER NEWSPAPER CONTEST
AWARD WINNER 2014
www.bigbendnow.com Vol. 83 No. 10 June 4, 2015
Marfa, Presidio County, Texas
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News Notes
Marfa property values continue upward trend By SARAH M. VASQUEZ PRESIDIO COUNTY –The 2015 preliminary figures show property values continue to rise in Presidio County, especially in the City of Marfa. According to the preliminary values from the Presidio County Appraisal District (PCAD), Presidio County saw an overall 10 percent increase in real market value that states how much the property is worth. There was a larger increase of 21 percent on net taxable value, the value which determines how much the taxing entities – schools, hospital district, cities and county – will receive based on their current tax rate after exemptions. This number does not include non-profits and
government entities which don’t pay taxes. The total real market value, according to the 2015 preliminary property values, is $862,571,750 compared to the $782,516,400 certified in 2014. The county’s total appraised value, that includes property owned by nonprofits or government entities, and deductions from homestead exemptions, is $615,375,381, which is 46 percent more than last year’s certified $420,265,890 value. PCAD Chief Appraiser Cynthia Ramirez conducted the appraisals herself this year based on the schedules set by consultant Richard Petree, who conducted the countywide reappraisal last year. According to Petree, these schedules de-
(staff photo by SARAH M. VASQUEZ) Marfa residents Laura Boyd and Ari Luna received the first check of $1,000 from Porter’s Thriftway.
Displaced by the fire, residents begin to pick up the pieces
Porter’s gives $12,000 to those displaced by fire
By SARAH M. VASQUEZ MARFA - “It’s good to have this many people who care,” said Laura Boyd. It’s been a week since a fire engulfed the Marfa Villa Apartments, displacing 39 children and adults. The Marfa community quickly came together as they learned about the news and gathered clothes and other household items to donate to the families. “I’m still kind of in shock, but with everyone helping out, it’s been really awesome,” said Boyd, one of those displaced by the fire. According to Marfa Villa Apartments manager Linda Heitman, one family will relocate to the Alpine apartments and three of the 12 families have been relocated into the available three one-bedroom apartments in the east wing of Marfa Villa that was unaffected by the fire. Adalinda Hinojos and her adult blind daughter will move to Alpine. Claudia Sailler and her eightmonth-old son Luca; Minacheray “Mimi” Simpson and her two daughters; and Kari Nuñez and her two children, 2-year-old Briszis and 4-year-old Tayvian Valenzuela, were relocated to one-bedroom apartments. Sailler stayed with her parents the night of the fire and has received donations from friends and family to help replace what she lost. She was not able to save anything before the fire spread to her apartment. However, a Hotel Paisano employee purchased a queen-size mattress in very good condition for Sailler. Her dad’s co-worker donated a crib for her son and she found a “great” set of dishes at Marfa elementary, where Marfa ISD collected donations. Her friends also donated clothes and diapers. “I’m grateful everyone’s OK,” said Sailler. “I’m so grateful for the community. Everyone has been such a great help.” Jaime Quintana also received help from his family after losing his apartment. He was at work at Village Farms when he heard about the fire from his dad and rushed over when he could. The roof had already caved in on his upstairs apartment when he arrived. He said he lived with his dad, local barber Mateo Quintana, when he first moved to Marfa, so moving back with him wasn’t new. He plans to stay with him until he finds a new place. His son Vinney, who just finished the third grade, lost his video games and misses his toys. Quintana said his son is a big gamer and loved to play Minecraft and Call of Duty, but he’s trying to go day-by-day without the games. “I told him something this bad happens, there’s no way you can get up again, but I told him, you just gotta start all over,” said Quintana. “You gotta pick yourself up and start over. Be strong for your grandpa, your aunt and your family.” An issue for Boyd and her husband Ari Luna though is that they haven’t been able to return to their apartment to see if they can salvage some of their belongings. They said they think the families should be given the opportunity to see if anything is salvageable to “have some sort of closure.” Luna learned about the fire when he received a call from Marfa Villa manager Stacy Harrison, who told him his cat wouldn’t come out of the apartment because of all the commotion. Since the fire, everything Boyd, Luna and their two children have was donated or purchased with the monetary donations they received. They are currently staying in a small room with Rusty Fellows, who was working his first day as Marfa Villa’s maintenance worker the day of the fire, and Jerry Guevara, a maintenance worker at El Cosmico. “We’re ok and we’re comfortable,” said Luna. (Continued on page 2)
By SARAH M. VASQUEZ FAR WEST TEXAS - The Porter family of Andrews, who own and operate supermarkets in Marfa, Presidio, Alpine, Fort Davis, Van Horn, Crane, and Andrews, have donated $12,000 to the 12 families displaced by last week’s Marfa Villa Apartments fire. Each family will receive a $1,000 check that are being disbursed by the office of Presidio County Judge Cinderela Guevara. District Manager Trae Dutchover of Fort Davis made the announcement this week. He said there was no hesitation from the main office to make a donation to help the affected residents get back on their feet. “We hate to see people who are going through a hard time,” said Dutchover. “We wanted to show that we’re committed to the city and that we’re going to help people who need help.” Before the $12,000 donation, Porter’s Supermarket asked the families to submit a list of things they need, such as diapers and food, and they would provide.
Marfa citywide garage sale is Saturday MARFA – The Marfa Rotary Club announces its citywide garage sale on Saturday, June 6. Maps are free to the public and can be picked up Saturday morning, beginning at 8:30am at 903 W. San Antonio St. next door to Memo’s Café. All area communities are invited to come and take advantage of great bargains. More information: Mona Garcia, 432-729-4826 or Marjo Skiles, 432295-0097.
Pipeline opposition resolution fails at Alpine council meeting By KVLF Alpine radio ALPINE – Due to a substantial turnout for one particular agenda item, Alpine’s regular city council meeting was relocated to the civic center on Tuesday afternoon. Most of the attendees were there to show support for item 12 on the agenda, to discuss and consider opposing – by resolution – the construction of the Trans Pecos Pipeline and all activities that promote (Continued on page 2) La Frontera Publications Inc.
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termine the price of land by square foot based on the location, condition and construction of the property within the community. It is also based on the market value of the property at the moment. Ramirez appraised whatever they missed from last year’s reappraisal that included a mile and a half outside of Marfa, including the Antelope Hills area, airport hangers, the community of Shafter and some of the colonias such as Ruidosa and Candelaria. She hopes to start appraising Redford in the fall. Village Farms saw an increase with the new greenhouse that was built to replace the one damaged in a hailstorm in 2012. According to Real Estate Agents Valda
Livingston from Livingston Real Estate and Lauren Meader Fowlkes from Far West Texas Realty, the Marfa real estate market is pretty busy right now. Livingston said she’s been extremely busy with sales, which is very strong for this time of year. Real estate sales typically don’t pick up for her until May or June, but she said she’s been thankfully busy since February. What that means in terms of property values is that when people are buying real estate, all it takes is one person to purchase property higher than its current value to raise the value of other properties similar in location, condition and construction. For example, if a home (Continued on page 3)
(top photo by and courtesy of FRED MARTINEZ. staff photo by SARAH M. VASQUEZ, right) One of the more poignant and emotional moments in a Marfa High School commencement is when graduates honor their parents with hugs and flowers. In top photo, MHS class of 2015 graduate Jonathan Llanez hugs his mother, Cynthia, as his father, Rogelio, looks on. MHS class of 2015 graduate Brianna Vasquez honored Presidio County deputy sheriff Mitch Garcia, who retrieved her cap and gown from her family’s Marfa Villa Apartments home that was destroyed by fire last week, in right photo.
The Catch-22 of U.S. citizenship law
By SASHA von OLDERSHAUSEN PRESIDIO – Refujia Roman-Chavez can’t get out of the car. Due to a hip injury that requires an implant, she waits in the passenger seat with the door ajar, while her sister and niece stand outside to greet us. They wait in the parking lot on the Mexican side of the Presidio-Ojinaga international Port of Entry as Jeanne Morales, an immigration attorney who represents Roman-Chavez, and The Big Bend Sentinel/ The International cross the border stateside to meet them. This is the second time within the span of a month that they have made the trip with no success of crossing over into The United States. According to Chavez’s attorney, a customs agent refused to issue Chavez a “parole entry” – that is, the privilege of a one-time entry into the United States for a specific purpose. In Chavez’s case, the purpose of her trip was to file the paperwork proving she is, in fact, a natural-born American citizen. By refusing to grant Chavez parole, the customs agent might have denied Chavez her constitutional right to enter the country. Roman-Chavez’s claim to American citizenship is through her mother, a clause within U.S. Citizenship law known as derivative citizenship. According to the law, a person does not necessarily have to have been born on U.S. soil in order to qualify for citizenship. If a person had a parent who was born in the United States or its territories, or if one or both parents was a U.S. citi-
zen at the time of their birth, the person may be granted U.S. citizenship. This is the very same law that was cited by Arizona senator John McCain—who was born in the Panama Canal Zone while his father, a Navy officer, was based there—to prove his eligibility to run for president. And then again in 2013, Texas senator Ted Cruz’s citizenship was called to question when rumors that he would run for president emerged. Cruz, whose father was Cuban-born but attained American citizenship in 2005, and whose mother was an American citizen, spent the first four years of his life in Canada before moving to the Lone Star state. However, according to derivative citizenship laws, Cruz argued, he was a rightful U.S. citizen. Roman-Chavez has a strong case. Her two brothers, Auden and Angel Ramirez-Chavez, also retroactively acquired their citizenship through the same law. Auden began his quest to attain citizenship when he was 20 years old. Two years ago, he was finally granted citizenship. He is now 43 years old. “It was struggle all my life,” Auden told The Big Bend Sentinel/ The International. Since the U.S. government recognized her brothers as citizens through the same family lineage, it is unlikely that Ramon-Chavez would be denied the same right. But here’s the catch. A person who wants to appeal to derivative citizenship laws can only file an N-600
(staff photo by SASHA von OLDERSHAUSEN) Refujia Roman-Chavez says she is a U.S. citizen, but must live in Ojinaga, Chihuahua, Mexico while she makes her immigration case. form – the documentation required to make the claim – in the United States. And in order to acquire a United States passport to enter the country, you need proof that you are an American citizen. Filing for a tourist visa to enter the country presents a different problem. When a person files the forms for a visa, they must prove that it is not their (Continued on page 9)