KRTS 93.5 FM Marfa Public Radio

The energy boom in the Permian Basin of Texas and New Mexico is driving one of the nation’s fastest growing regional economies.

But growth is tied to the price of oil and some prominent energy analysts suggest the price of crude will fall in 2014.

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This weekend, performers from around the country will descend on Midland, Texas. Are they musicians? No. Dancers? No. Singers No? These are people known as tellers. Saturday is the annual Midland Storytelling Festival.

For West Texas Public Radio, Tom Michael speaks with Sue Roseberry in Midland. She describes the art of the story and spins a yarn of her own that you just have to hear. The Midland Storytelling Festival is being held Saturday December 14 at 10 AM and 7 PM at First United Methodist Church.

Austin-based theatre company Paper Chairs spun a tale involving the darker side of human emotions last Saturday at the Lost Horse Saloon. The company was on tour and had been performing their Murder Ballad Murder Mystery musical in bars across Texas. Marfa Public Radio’s K. Yoland spoke with the company at the Lost Horse Saloon.

Here are the names for the upcoming Presidio County Ballot:

County Judge

• Paul Hunt
• Cinderella Guevara

County Tresurer

• Katie Sanchez
• Frances Garcia

Hit the jump for the rest of the Ballot

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On Saturday evening, the Presidio County Courthouse in Marfa was lit up for the Christmas season.  The spectacular halo of Christmas lights draping the courthouse was the result of a community wide effort organized by Junie Villareal, Daniel Browning and Rob Crowley.

Presidio County Commissioner Jim White III credits the trio with working hard to give the Marfa community such a wonderful expression of the Christmas spirit.

You might have noticed collection boxes in various Marfa businesses and institutions; it was small donations left by the citizens of Marfa in those collection boxes that paid for the courthouse that is now adorned in Christmas light.  The courthouses in Fort Davis and Alpine are also now draped in Christmas lights.

For the next two weeks, the Nature Conservancy is hosting its 14th annual cut-your-own Christmas Tree Hunt at their Davis Mountains Preserve property. For KRTS News, Rachel Lindley visited last year and filed this report.

The Davis Mountains Preserve is  open this Saturday and next Saturday for Christmas tree hunters. Participants must check in at the McIvor Conservation Center, 25 miles northwest of Fort Davis on Highway 118. Only high clearance vehicles are allowed, and preserve visitors must bring their own handsaws, rope, and gloves.

Christmas is a time of traditions. Tinsel and family ornaments are being put on trees. Bright decorative lights, nativities, and Santa’s reindeer are appearing on front lawns. Even the cold weekend weekend creates the Winter Wonderland feeling for the holiday season. For the first time and perhaps marking a new tradition, Alpine is featuring local talents for a variety Christmas show.

KRTS was given the opportunity to get a sneak peek of the concert earlier this week. For KRTS News, Natalie Pattillo reports from Alpine.

Alpine’s Christmas Variety Show will be held this Saturday at 5:30 pm at the Alpine ISD auditorium. The show is free to the public but all are encouraged to bring an unwrapped toy donation for the Brewster County Sheriffs’ Office Brown Santa Toy Drive.

Never miss a city council meeting? Always finding interesting stories in the Big Bend? Go to a lot of community events or concerts? If you’re interested in sharing your knowledge and experience with Marfa Public Radio listeners, become one of our volunteer Community Correspondents.

We’re looking for engaged citizens from across the Big Bend. A Community Correspondent assists Marfa Public Radio with news gathering and producing stories from the community you live in.
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