325-670-5201 Abilene Reporter-News Abilene Reporter-News Abilene Reporter-News Abilene Reporter-News www.reporternews.com $1.00 36 PAGES SATURDAY, MAY 10, 2014 94/70 Mostly sunny 8D !"#$% '()* '")+ Download our app with the QR code. Quick Read Index NEW MCMURRY FOOTBALL COACH Lance Hinson, a former University of St. Mary coach, is taking over the War Hawks program. SPORTS, 1C STANDOFF ENDS IN ONE DEATH A man remains in jail on drug charges after a trafc stop by Cisco police results in a chase through Big Country communities and a standof with the driver near Dublin. Ofcers shot and killed the driver. LOCAL, 2A SOON YOULL CALL HER DOC Leila Rubio graduates from HSU on Saturday, and by the time shes 23, she may be known as Dr. Rubio. BIG COUNTRY, 4A TECH UPGRADES FOR YOUR MOM Stuck for a Mothers Day gift idea? Technology to the rescue. LIFE, 1B On reporternews.com YESTERDAYS POLL Which Texas team got the best rst- round pick for the NFL draft? A. Dallas Cowboys 10% B. Houston Texans 50% C. Both scored good picks 7% D. Neither made good picks 32% BUSINESS 9C COMICS 8B LOTTERY 2C NATION/WORLD 6D OBITUARIES 7D PUZZLES 10C SPORTS1C TELEVISION 2B Staf report Weeks of campaigning and as much as six-digit expenditures all wrap up Saturday as voters go to the polls for city and school elections. Polls will be open throughout the Big Country from 7 a.m. to 7 p.m. Topping the list of races is the may- oral contest in Abilene pitting 10-year incumbent Norm Archibald against two-term Abilene City Councilman Robert Briley. Combined, the candidates have raised more than $100,000 on the election and spent almost $95,000. Archibald is a vice president at Hen- drick Medical Cen- ter and Briley owns the Aarons franchise in Abilene and some in other Texas cities. Incumbent Place 3 Councilman Anthony Wil- liams is being challenged by Joseph Cochran. Wil- liams is the chief business services ofcer at Abilene Christian University. Cochran is a former businessman and Army veteran. Jay Hardaway, 31, is run- ning unopposed for the Place 4 post, currently held by Briley. Water issues top all the candidates list of what needs to be handled. Most also listed street improve- ments as a high priority. ABILENE SCHOOL BOARD In the Abilene Inde- pendent School District, there are three contest- ed races and one that is uncontested. Its election day in Big Country Bond votes, Abilene mayor race in spotlight See ELECTION, 10A By Sandhya Kambhampati Scripps National Desk When Laura Gillis looks at Lake Nasworthy, she sees a sea of brown, parched land. If we dont get rain soon, I fear San An- gelo is going to blow away and be a ghost town, she said, her voice trembling. H o p i n g each day for rain, Gillis prays. One day, God will pro- vide maybe hes trying to teach us something, she said. Im not giving up. Gillis is not alone. On the afternoon of April 12, more than a thousand people from 17 diferent churches intertwined hands in the city of San Angelo to pray for rain. Shirts donated to the event read, Ive been around the block a time or two with the Lord in downtown San Angelo, Texas. The group united with hopes that droplets would soon fall from the sky. But Gillis said praying once wont do the trick when the lakes are so dry. Her photography stu- dio depends heavily on the rain to keep the backgrounds lush and presentable for pictures. Sigh and dry: Grit tested by drought Texans pray for relief, focus on conservation See DROUGHT, 8A By Stephen Ohlemacher Associated Press WASHINGTON When it comes to baby names, blending in is out, and standing out is in. Noah and Sophia top the Social Security Ad- ministrations list of most popular American baby names for 2013, but they dont begin to approach the popularity of past gen- eration favorites like John and Mary. Noah sailed past Jacob to claim the top spot for boys, ending Jacobs 14- year reign. Sophia was No. 1 for the third straight year in the list released Friday. Noah was followed by Liam, Jacob, Mason and William. Sophia was fol- lowed by Emma, Olivia, Sophia, Noah are most common of uncommon names Daleyza and Jayceon make biggest leaps TOP BABY NAMES IN 2013 GIRLS 1. Sophia: 21,075 girls named 2. Emma: 20,788 3. Olivia: 18,256 4. Isabella: 17,490 5. Ava: 15,129 6. Mia: 13,066 7. Emily: 13,044 8. Abigail: 12,313 9. Madison: 10,529 10. Elizabeth: 9,345 11. Charlotte: 9,232 12. Avery: 9,121 13. Soa: 9,108 14. Chloe: 8,714 15. Ella: 8,370 16. Harper: 8,222 17. Amelia: 7,979 18. Aubrey: 7,927 19. Addison: 7,677 20. Evelyn: 7,616 BOYS 1. Noah: 18,090 boys named 2. Liam: 18,002 3. Jacob: 17,976 4. Mason: 17,591 5. William: 16,495 6. Ethan: 16,127 7. Michael: 15,366 8. Alexander: 14,771 9. Jayden: 14,656 10. Daniel: 14,140 11. Elijah: 13,626 12. Aiden: 13,527 13. James: 13,416 14. Benjamin: 13,373 15. Matthew: 13,226 16. Jackson: 12,488 17. Logan: 12,270 18. David: 12,226 19. Anthony: 12,164 20. Joseph: 12,095 Source: Social Security Administration See BABY NAMES, 10A INSIDE Where to vote in Taylor County. 10A By Brian McCormack Special to the Reporter-News Horse competitions, cowboy poetry and mu- sic and the Ranch Rodeo helped celebrate West Texas frontier roots as the Western Heritage Classic continued Friday. The celebrations runs through Sunday at the Tay- lor County Expo Center. The Western Heritage Classic plays an important role in keeping cowboy spirit alive, one organizer said. Its a great event, said Jay Evans, WHC commit- tee member and Chuck- wagon Cookof chairman. It preserves whats kind of a dying heritage. We work very hard to make this event as authentic as it can be. Its a great place to bring your family and have a good time. Authenticity is a high- light of the Ranch Rodeo. Most of the competi- tions are modeled after work that ranch hands regularly encounter while wrangling livestock. The Ranch Rodeo is what started this whole thing. Each one of the WESTERN HERITAGE CLASSIC PHOTOS BY NELLIE DONEVA/REPORTER-NEWS Bob Skinner (left) visits with Wayne Snider at his Waynes Wagon Works setup during the Western Heritage Classic on Friday at the Taylor County Expo Center. Cowboy spirit lives Celebration strives to be authentic NELLIE DONEVA/REPORTER-NEWS The lunch crowd listens to live music during the Classic. The celebration continues today and Sunday. See HERITAGE CLASSIC, 10A ELECTIONS 2014 E LECT ION S 2 0 1 4 INSIDE Governor candidates Abbott and Davis react with caution on climate report. 4A FOLLOW THE ELECTIONS Join us this evening at reporternews.com, Twitter, Facebook and our other social media outlets for Big Country election coverage, including the latest results, a live chat, stories and more. STATE OF GRACE See how Big Country athletes fared at 1A and 2A state track and eld meets in Austin. SPORTS, 1C F80l8 ll0l8$8lF N8l8 Nl 8ll0 l1 18l N0$1 ReEIect PoIiticaI Advertising Paid by NormArchibaId for Mayor Campaign, Marty Anderson, Treasurer, 602 Scott PIace, AbiIene, TX 79601 l8fl 0ll 80l8 #fll Z8. lll01l08 Nf 10
8A Saturday, May 10, 2014 ABI L E NE RE PORTE R- NE WS
FROM THE COVER Inuenced by her moth- er, who is 93 and lived through the Dust Bowl, she pours water from her bath and her washing machine directly into her outdoor studio to keep the trees alive. Gillis is hope- ful others will follow suit and conserve water when they can. She doesnt believe in global warming, but un- derstands that weather changes and perhaps the city is just going through a strange weather pattern. Its really sad. I just dont know where to go, she said. This is our life. We have property and a business here. I know that before it runs out, we will get rain. I have faith in that. FARMERS HOPE FOR CHANGE Retired Taylor County extension agent Gary Bomar, who owns a 600- acre ranch near Abilene, is one who is feeling the pain of the dry spell. If it doesnt rain, he said he may have to cut his cattle herd by 50 percent. Bottom line, I spend more money on feed and the possibility of income, he said. At 68 years old, Steve Young has seen some of the worst Texas droughts and weather, but he said its getting tougher and tougher to deal with the arid situations around Wichita Falls. For 17 years, Young has sold pecans, peaches and apples from his 104-acre farm, Youngs Orchard. Fifty acres are in full production. In total, the drought has damaged 2 percent of his trees, leaving limbs broken and some dead. He said the damage to the trees, many of which are around his age, is going to take 70-plus years to restore. That wait isnt feasible, he said, especially with the regular demand for his fruits and vegetables at the Wichita Falls Farm- ers Market. In January and Feb- ruary, Young plants the trees and said the roots wont dry out as long as they are put in the ground and watered as quickly as possible. Because of irri- gation wells, hes able to keep his fruits and vege- table plants thriving, but this isnt the case for many farmers. Young said hes seen people selling water in the area to make money. Each week, he buys three cases of 16-ounce water bottles and understands that his resources are precious. We dont want to be- come a desert because somebody else took all of our water. I believe that greed and gluttony, well, they would absolutely de- stroy our farms, whether it be for their own needs to go swimming or to sell it, he said. Young said hes frus- trated with the lack of consideration in Washing- ton among politicians for the emotions that people like himself have regard- ing this drought, which has taken a toll not just physically, but emotional- ly on those living through the situation. As for the future, Young said he will continue to pray and hopes that one day, rain will come. A DRY LAND Texas has some of the most extreme weather in the country. More rain falls in the eastern part of the state (a little less than 60 inches a year). That number slowly decreases moving west, with less than 10 inches in the far west near the borders of New Mexico and Mexico. Steve Lyons, meteorolo- gist in charge at the Na- tional Weather Service in San Angelo, which also serves Abilene, said Tex- as has a problem climate, built around the drought threat. According to the Texas Water Develop- ment Board, the hot and dry spring of summer 2011 caused most of the dryland crops in West Texas to fail and a record pumping of groundwater to irrigate crops on the High Plains. In San Angelo, around this time, theres usu- ally more than 5 inches of rain. This year, there has been less than an inch of rain. Similarly, in Dallas, around this time, theres usually more than 12 inch- es of rain. Now, there has been a little less than 4 inches of rain. Global warming is rap- idly changing Americans daily lives, according to the latest federal report on climate change. The report points out extreme weather such as storms, heat waves and droughts, which are expected to get stronger. Climate has and al- ways will change. Our understanding of how long-term changes, or those changes that occur over hundreds of years, is based on science, or the physics of how emissions from our cars, our ren- eries, cement production interact with the air, said Kathy A. Hibbard, one of the lead authors for the National Climate Assess- ment chapter on Energy, Water and Land Use. Its important to understand that weather events, or wondering if it is going to rain tomorrow or not is diferent from climate, which is the study of how long-term events, such as El Nio, impact tempera- ture, wind, and rainfall. Meteorologists predict a strong El Nio in 2014, which may mean greater rainfall in parts of Texas. El Nio is an area of warm ocean water temperatures that periodically devel- ops of the Pacic coast of South America. The National Oceanic and At- mospheric Administra- tion predicts persistent drought throughout the summer. Since 2005, most of the state has seen annual rainfall decits every year except for 2007. The year 2011 was especially dif- cult with drought condi- tions. BREAKING DOWN THE LATEST REPORT For Texas, the biggest concern is increased evaporation from the hot- ter summers, said Mark Shafer, associate state climatologist at Oklahoma Climate Survey and one of the authors on the Great Plains chapter of the cli- mate assessment. Summer 2011 was ab- solutely horrible, he said. By the end of the century, summer 2011 will be more like an average summer rather than an extreme. These types of extreme weather will impact en- ergy production. The biggest challenge is water distribution, which takes a lot of resources. But its not all doom and gloom, he said. If El Nio develops, that could come into play in the fall and potentially do a lot for Texas dry land. Theres technology, policy and economic changes climate is just a piece of this, he said about those who remain skeptical about the report. All of these places will nd a way to adapt. This is just a road map. The road map may not tell you where all the bumps are, but will tell when curves are coming. He urged people to be optimistic and be pre- pared. Instead of dwell- ing on the past, its best to focus on how to prepare for the next spell, he said. Locally, we can choose to conserve water know- ing that we will have more challenges down the road, he said. We can pretend its not hap- pening, but its still going to happen. But in the end, there are a lot of things you cant predict. PLANNING INSTEAD OF HOPING According to the Texas Commission on Envi- ronmental Quality, each retail public water sup- plier and wholesale pub- lic water supplier in the state of Texas is required to prepare and maintain a drought contingency plan and to report to the agency when mandatory stages of their plans are enacted. These plans aim to conserve water where it is needed most. For example, a water system may begin with asking residents to voluntarily reduce outside watering followed by mandatory limitations of watering only once a week or once every other week. Additionally, every ve years, the Texas Wa- ter Development Board publishes the state water plan to look at the states water supply for the next 50 years. The most recent plan points to conserv- ing 710 billion gallons per year and develop 2.9 trillion gallons per year of new water by 2060. In 2011, Austin used 53 bil- lion gallons. With growing popula- tion and demand for wa- ter, future droughts will be more challenging, ac- cording to the Texas Wa- ter Development Board. The board said people can help by supporting their water providers in the development of a re- silient portfolio of water supplies. Ofcials say people can start conserving water in several ways, including reusing water used for brushing teeth, washing clothes and dishes. People can also choose to opt for no lawn. Texans are no strang- ers to extreme weather, said Hibbard. The recent drought, ood and hurri- canes, even snow during the 1993 Thanksgiving football game are all a part of what makes that state so resilient. The more we understand our past and present, and clearly dene where we want to be in the future with an open mind, the better prepared we will be to make informed decisions. Since 2008, in coordi- nation with the city of San Angelo, Christy Youker, education director at the Upper Colorado River Authority, has worked on educating people about the drought. The city has a 13- month supply of water left. When your lakes are dry, itll make you move pretty fast, she said. The city is working on a plan to change the way water is conserved. Youker said the drought began the churning of the wheels in peoples minds, and that they, along with the city, need to step up to have a plan in place for ad- ditional resources. I think weve always learned its better to have a plan than just hope, she said. I think this requires mobilizing people to take better care and figure out how to share this re- source. Its a good com- munity builder. DROUGHT from 1A COURTESY PHOTOS More than 1,000 people gathered in April one Saturday afternoon in downtown San Angelo to pray for rain. Christy Youker, education director for the Upper Colorado River Authority, talks to students and adults in San Angelo about water conservation efforts. PHOTO COURTESY OF LAURA GILLIS The lake bed of Lake Nasworthy is parched. Close to the property is where Laura Gillis holds a day camp for special needs children.