No jurors yet in Skelton capital murder trial
Odessa prosecutors and defense lawyers continued jury selection for John C. Skelton's capital murder case as potential juror Blaine Pokorny said he has no aversion to capital punishment. Skelton is charged with killing Joe Lee Neal in 1982 by wiring a dynamite bomb to a pickup engine.
MENTIONED IN THIS ARTICLE
Blaine Pokorny
Joe Lee Neal
Pokorny
John C. Skelton
Skelton
Neal
Linda Walden
Ector County
Mike Holmes
Texas
Walden
Husky Steam Cleaners
Odessa
Cliff Hardwick
Hardwick
1611St
R.L. McKim
Enrollment Down as Odessa Area School Population Drops
About 1,300 fewer students than last fall left Ector County schools as summer vacation started. District officials link the dip to local economic changes, expect enrollment to rebound next year, and have scaled bond plans and staff cuts accordingly.
MENTIONED IN THIS ARTICLE
Ector County
Odessa
Edward Downing
Downing
Ector County Independent School District
Bill Walker
Walker
Windfall profits ruling meets oilmen's expectations
Odessa area oilmen reacted calmly to the Supreme Court ruling upholding the windfall profits tax. Eddie Durrett of Odessa Viking Energy Corp said he was in the field when the decision came and remained disappointed but unsurprised. Ed Thompson of the Permian Basin Petroleum Association called the tax an excise, not a profits levy, and vowed to keep fighting. The decision sends no new burden, as the tax has already been collected, but comes during a cyclical oil downturn. The court ruled unanimously to overturn a Wyoming federal judge's 1982 ruling that the tax was unconstitutional for lack of uniform application.
MENTIONED IN THIS ARTICLE
Permian Basin
U.S. Supreme Court
Eddie Durrett
Durrett
Odessa Viking Energy Corp
High Court
Ed Thompson
Permian Basin Petroleum Association
Supreme Court
Thompson
Ing
Wyoming
Green Thumb Trials in West Texas Gardens
A gardener recalls repeated, futile attempts to grow tomatoes in hot West Texas. Despite seed purchases, tomato spikes, cages, watering, and expert advice, blooms failed to set fruit, yielding only a couple of small specimens. The cycle repeated yearly, ending with surrender and a fruitless mulberry tree as a lone success.
MENTIONED IN THIS ARTICLE
Texas
Mulberry Trees and Bermuda Grass Defy Harsh Conditions
A reader chronicles garden trials in Odessa with mulberry trees thriving under sporadic watering and a failed effort to establish a lawn. Despite spraying and reseeding bermuda grass, only weeds and prairie grass flourished until unexpected rain revived a lone Bermuda patch sprouting from a sidewalk crack.
MENTIONED IN THIS ARTICLE
Odessa
Bermuda
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Melvin Arnold
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Brodnax
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