Thursday, May 26, 2011 The Eagle theeagle.

com A11
Region/Obituaries
Learning Center] concept to a
large degree after the Bright
Complex, Hawes said. Its
going to be gorgeous.
The Bright Football Com-
plex opened in 2003 and con-
sists of 125,000 square feet of
locker rooms and training
facilities.
Apart from aesthetics,
Hawes said, the planning com-
mittees wanted the learning
center to provide top-of-the-
line academic resources for s f s f
the cadets to remain on par
with our varsity athletes and
honor students.
If approved, construction
crews in June will tear down
Learning-Study Lounge D,
which was built in the late
60s, to erect a four-story a f a f
building. The Leadership
Learning Center will house
academic advisers offices as
well as multi-purpose comput-
er labs, meeting and training
rooms and a cadet lounge. It
will also feature wireless
Internet throughout.
On campus, that kind of
space is at a premium,
Hawes said.
Corps of Cadets Cmdr.
Patrick Reeves and about
nine cadets worked closely
with the committees to identi-
fy cadet issues with the Corps
dorms, which included bath-
room availability, exits, room
lighting and movable shelves.
Reeves said the cadets in-
volved with the committees
reflected the excitement of the
2,000-member Corps.
The feeling is complete,
intense, positive motivation,
he said. A lot of cadets would
say its been a long time com-
ing and it has.
Harrell Hall, built in 1938
and one of the original build-
ings on the quad, will receive
a full a f a f renovation if the item is
approved. Construction
crews will gut the inside of
the building and install a new
heating, ventilation and air-
conditioning system as well
as rewire the electrical sys-
tem. The rooms will get new
doors, walls, ceilings and win-
dows.
Lt. Col. Chris Emmerson
said the main reasons for hav-
ing the renovations finis s f s f hed
in an accelerated fashion is
recruiting and retention.
Students will come to the
Corps and stay if they have
more resources available, he
said.
Although some of the
Corps dorms do house civil-
ian students, Reeves said
renovating the dorms and
building the learning center
will boost the morale in the
Corps and increase its pres-
ence on campus for years to
come.
Thirty years from now,
well be able to come back and
revisit our stomping grounds
and know we had a hand in
doing these changes, Reeves
said. The new presidents
thing is, Its time for A&M.
Its also time for the Corps of
Cadets.
QUAD: Learning center would also be constructed
Continued from A9
Superintendent Eddie
Coulson, said she was motivat-
ed to speak to her peers
because of the remarkable
experiences shes had at the
university.
Ill talk about school and
the stereotypical nerdy stuff
Harvard students love, she
said laughing.
Her speech will also include
how shes been impacted by
her classmates and friends and
how each have encouraged her
to stand up for what she
believes. Coulson said what
she loved about the school was
how everyone worked to chal-
lenge one another and encour-
age honesty.
Coulson, who majored in
chemistry and minored in
English, said shes been prac-
ticing her speech nonstop to
whomever will listen ever
since finding out she was cho-
sen.
Its really important to me
to really get into whatever
stage of life Im in, she said. I
really loved being here. I met
some amazing people and real-
ly got to get involved....
Growing up, Coulson said,
she had planned on attending
the University of Texas, most-
ly to buck the trend of
becoming an Aggie. But a love
for the character Rory Gil-
more in the TV show Gilmore
Girls spiked her interest in
Harvard University.
I thought she was so hilari-
ous and wonderful and I want-
ed to be like her, she said. I
do like to study and I do really
like school and I gue I g I g ss thats
kind of a nerdy thing some-
what.
Coulson said the university
has been a challenge but that
she admires the amount of
responsibility that is given to
students. She said shes leav-
ing for New York City in
September, where she will
begin working for a consulting
firm.
But Thursday is about
embracing this milestone in
life. Coulson said her parents
and brother, Scott, would be in
attendance for the speech.
My whole family has really
been wonderfully supportive,
she said.
GRAD: Chose Harvard after watching Gilmore Girls
Continued from A9
dry years of the 1950s.
This [drought] will match
anything I saw in the 50s, he
said.
The Lubbock area between
Nov. 1 and Tuesday got just
1.17 inches of rain about
17 percent of the normal
6.70 inches for that span.
Meteorologists blame the
conditions on La Nia, a cool-
ing of the Pacific waters near
the equator. Its caused
extreme drought in Texas and
parts of Oklahoma, Louisiana
and New Mexico even as
much of the eastern half of
the nation endured wet, cold
weather.
The drought has dried up
cattle ponds and grass
crunches underfoot in many
fields.
Texas livestock producers
have seen the biggest losses
about $1.2 billion of the $1.5
billion total, which includes
increased feeding costs to pay
for hay, lost value of wheat
pasture grazing and the high
costs associated with hauling
water daily to meet animals
needs, Anderson said.
About 90 percent of Texas
beef cows are located in coun-
ties in severe to exceptional
drought.
For some farmers, the sea-
son is already lost, but theres
still time for e f e f those in some
regions. In the South Plains
region of West Texas around
Lubbock, for example, cotton
can be planted as late as
June.
Still, Anderson estimates
South Plains producers will
produce 2 million bales less of
dryland cotton grown in
fields that arent irrigated
than usual, resulting in a $1.2
billion loss.
Texas typically plants
about half the U.S.s cotton
acreage, so a large-scale fail-
ure could cause a price spike,
though that would depend on
crops elsewhere in the U.S.
and in other countries as well
as demand.
West Texas cotton producer
Rickey Bearden usually
plants dryland cotton on
about two-thirds of his 9,000
acres. Without rain, he said
most of that will be lost.
It doesnt look bright right
at the moment but I havent
given up yet, Bearden said.
Well have to have some help
from Mother Nature.
State climatologist John
Nielsen-Gammon said farm-
ers are running out of time. If
rains dont arrive soon, itll
be too hot for the crops to
recover, he said.
The drought also comes
when farmers already were
faced with increased costs for
fertilizer and diesel.
Some ranchers, faced with
no hay crop, have opted to
reduce the size of their herds
rather than pay up to $2 a day
per head to truck in feed.
East Texas cattle producer
Phil Sadler, whos ranched
for about 35 years, said he
could go out of business if it
remains dry.
At least well have to scale
down and do things a little dif- dif dif
ferently, the 64-year-old said.
If it doesnt rain it wouldnt
be life as usual. Things will
have to change.
Texas has a long history
with droughts, and since 1998,
they have cost Texas agricul-
ture $13.1 billion.
Anderson said the rest of
the spring will determine
how this year ranks in the
history of Texas droughts.
Its early, Anderson said.
The question is do we get
rain in the next four weeks to
salvage some of the plant-
ings.
DROUGHT: Rain has been scarce in many areas
Continued from A9
raise miniature horses, but
Bill and Becky Chandler will
be allowed to keep their small
herd at the monastery.
Last week, Sister Angela
acknowledged she was tired,
partly because she had trav-
eled to Brenham that day to
arrange for storage and mov-
ing to a temporary home.
But she is also weary of car-
ing for livestock. For 30
years, Ive enjo en en yed playing
with them, taking care of
them, studying genetics, plan-
ning out breeding programs,
talking with our customers
about them. Its been very
rewarding, said Sister
Angela, who was fascinated
by horses when she was a
child.
God will give you what
you asked for, but my appetite
for horses has been satiated.
The miniature-horse-rais-
ing business was the 1981
brainchild of Sister
Bernadette Muller, who had
an outgoing personality and
became known as the Cowboy
Nun. The breeding program
produced horses that would
sell for $500 to $5,000 and pro-
vide a good living for the
monastery. When Sister
Bernadette died in 1992,
Sister Angela took on man-
agement chores as business
was flourishing.
We didnt expect to be a
tourist stop, Sister Angela
said. Visitors are given maps
for self-guided tours. There
are picnic tables under the
trees. The gift s if if hop sells hand-
painted ceramics (now half
price) and altar breads. We
didnt have time for recruit-
ment, she said.
She is ready to focus on a
Poor Clare Nuns contempla-
tive, cloistered life o if if f prayer
and spiritual growth, wel-
come more nuns and use her
talents as an artist and
writer.
Art was my first love,
Sister Angela said. Now this
is a chance to get back to it.
A cookbook and childrens
books based on the lives of
saints are on her to-do list.
Sister Angela will still have
horses to visit. Some of her
favorites Pizazz, Leading
Lady and Honeysuckle are
part of her brothers herd.
What I wont miss is get-
ting out in 15- to 20-degree
weather, when its raining
and icy, and maybe have a
few sick horses thrown in to
boot. Or when you have the
flu or something. When you
have live animals, you have
to care for them no matter
how you feel or what the
weather is.
I wont miss that. I will
look forward to staying safely
indoors working on my com-
puter projects.
For people who are inter-
ested in owning a miniature
horse from the monastery, 11
are still available. The ani-
mals range from 2-year-old
colts ($500) to a 30.5-inch stal-
lion called Dun Deal ($2,500).
The price is negotiable for
Shadow, a 24-year-old retired
black stallion who was born
at the farm. Hes just a
sweetheart, Sister Angela
said.
And there are two elderly
mares that the nuns want to
keep together. Cherished
Delight and Princess, both 25,
bonded when they were 2-
year-olds. Sister Angela will
make a special deal to find the
ideal home for the pasture
mates, who would love extra
attention and brushing, she
said.
They have been together
all these years, she said.
They are happy together.
FARM: Nuns trying tokeep2elderly mares together
Continued from A9
By GUSTAVO RUIZ
Associated Press
MORELIA, Mexico Drug
cartel violence has prompted
as many as 500 frightened vil-
lagers to flee hamlets in the
western state of Michoacan
and take refuge at a shelter set
up at a local swimming park,
an official said Wednesday.
It is at least the second time
a large number of rural resi-
dents have been displaced by
recent drug violence in
Mexico. In November, about
400 people in the northern bor-
der town of Ciudad Mier took
refuge in the neighboring city
of Ciudad Aleman following
cartel gun battles. That shelter
has since been closed and most
have returned to their homes.
Michoacan state Civil
Defense Director Carlos
Mandujano said about 500 peo-
ple spent Tuesday night at the
primitive water park in the
town of Buenavista Tomatlan,
with most sleeping under open
thatched-roof structures.
Mandujano said state
authorities were providing
sleeping mats, blankets and
food for those in the shelter.
Residents told local authori-
ties that gunbattles between
rival drug cartel factions had
made it too dangerous for s f s f
them to stay in outlying ham-
lets.
The fighting is believed to
involve rival factions of the
Michoacan-based La Familia
drug cartel, some of whose
members now call themselves
The Knights Templar.
Mexico still has fewer people
displaced by violence than
countries like Colombia, ac-
cording to the Norway-based
Internal Displacement Mon-
itoring Centre, which tracks
such figures. It estimates
about 230,000 people in Mexico
have been driven from their
homes, ofte of of n to stay with rela-
tives or in the United States.
An estimated 3.6 million to
5.2 million people have been
displaced by decades of drug-
and guerrilla-war violence in
Colombia.
Buenavista police chief
Othoniel Montes Herrera said
he has neither the manpower
nor the armament to patrol
rural areas frequented by drug
gangs. Sending ill-armed offi-
cers out there would be cer-
tain death, and were not
thinking of putting our person-
nel at that risk.
Violence in Michoacan has
increased in the last few days.
On Tuesday, suspected cartel
gunmen opened fire on a
Mexican federal police heli-
copter, hitting two officers and
forcing the craft to land,
though officials insisted it had
not been shot down.
Federal police said the pilot
of the partially armored heli-
copter decided to land after
Tuesdays shooting to avoid
any accident. The Russian-
made Mi-17 touched down
about 3.5 miles from the shoot-
ing scene near Apatzingan, a
city that which is close to
Buenavista.
500Mexicanvillagers flee violence
ndled
with Care Car Car
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Deaths
Martha Kaye Williams
Martha Kaye Williams, 52,
of Conroe, passed away in
Lubbock on Tuesday, May
24, 2011 at Covenant Hospital.
Visitation will be from 6 to 8
p.m. Thursday, May 26, and a
funeral service will be held at
11 a.m. Friday, May 27, at First
Baptist Church of Conroe,
600 North Ave, Conroe,
Texas. Burial will be at 2
p.m. in Rest-Ever Memorial
Cemetery in Bryan. Funeral
arrangements are entrusted
to Hillier Funeral Home.
Father AnselmAnukam
Father Anselm Anukam,
61, of Rockdale, died May
22, 2011.Visitation will be
from 5 to 9 p.m. Friday May
27, with a Rosary at 7 p.m.
at the Rockdale KC Hall in
Rockdale. Mass will be held
at 10 a.m. Saturday May 28, in
the Rockdale KC Hall. Burial
in the Diocese of Ahiara,
Nigeria. Phillips & Luckey
Funeral Home, Rockdale.
LEMMER
Jere Stone Lemmer
November27, 1931May24, 2011
Jere Stone Lemmer, 79, of
Bryan,passedawayonTuesday,
May 24, 2011 in Madisonville.
Memorial services will be held
at 2 p.m. Thursday, May 26, at
the North Madison Church of
Christ with Dale Underwood
and Lyndal Privett ofciating.
Jere was born on November
27, 1931 in Ft. Worth to John
P. and Leota (Harris) Mercer.
Mrs. Lemmer lived most of her
life in Victoria and had lived in
Bryan for the past 7 years.
When she and her husband
were in good health, they
enjoyed traveling all over
the United States. Jere also
enjoyed bowling, needle work,
sewing but most of all, she
enjoyed spending time with
her family, her grandchildren
and great-grandchildren. She
attended First Baptist Church
in Bryan.
Jere was preceded in death
by her parents; rst husband,
A.C. Stone Jr. who died in 1973;
her second husband, William
J. Lemmer; brother, John P.
Mercer; and sister, Pauline
Kelly.
Her surviving family
includes, twodaughters, Karen
Stone Moes and husband,
Russell of Kalispell, Mont.,
Karlene Stone Underwood and
husband, Dale of Madisonville;
four grandchildren and three
great grandchildren.
In lieu of owers, memorials
be made to the Southern Care
Hospice, 3206 Longmire Dr.,
Ste. C, College Station, Texas
77845.
Arrangements have been
entrusted to Madisonville
Funeral Home.
Logon to www.
madisonvillefuneralhome.com
to sign the guestbook for Mrs.
Lemmer.
SERVICES
ARRINGTON,Peggy(Deeslie),12
p.m. at St. Stanislaus Catholic
Church in Anderson.
GARCIA, Lucas R., 11 a.m.
at Santa Teresas Catholic
Church.
JONES, GeraldBernard, 12 p.m.
at Mt. Olive Baptist Church.
Madisonville
Funeral Home
1511 E. Main Madisonville, TX 77864
A Walters Family Funeral Home
www.madisonvillefuneralhome.com