November 2006 Issue

Maverick County Courthouse is a stop visitors should make time to see. Another fine example of the Texas Courthouse restoration program of the Texas Historical Commission, the striking old building on Main Street in the heart of Eagle Pass is both photogenic and a moving tribute to the history of this historic border community. Restored last year to the tune of $3.2 million, the courthouse is a symbol of the region’s growth with respect to its past.

Eagle Pass Parks & Recreation Director Stacie Talbert describes her hopes and aspirations for continuing development of the city’s open space for a growing population in need of healthful, outdoor use of leisure time. A major addition to her department’s responsibilities includes the spanking new International Center for Trade.

No story about Eagle Pass is as intriguing as that of the Kickapoo Indian Tribe situated just south of town. The Kickapoo legacy in these parts is about more than just casino gambling and charges of rampant corruption. Ray Bernal, the tribe’s chief administrator oversees both the casino operations and all other aspects of the 125-acre reservation. Bernal is working through a period of intense media scrutiny. And with the casino constantly on the front pages with the corruption trial ending last week, he wanted to steer our conversation away from the topic. That’s when he introduced Ruben Elizondo, Jr., 22, a rising star on the reservation. His title is “secretary,” he said, and he reported to a “supervisor.” With Bernal’s insistence, Ruben agreed to help LIVE! research a story on “agriculture.”

Maverick County Judge Jose “Pepe” Aranda sprang from the business world and a 20-year career with H-E-B Grocery Company, into the once-volatile politics of his borderland home town, Eagle Pass. As mayor, Aranda saw the city’s second international bridge to completion, and as county judge is working hand-in-glove with city officials to improve roads, waterworks and sanitation, all with an eye to flourishing growth now and in the future.

Judy Canales is the highly-credentialed contact “where the rubber meets the road” between the policy-making board of directors of the Maverick County Development Corporation and prospective business and manufacturing investors in Eagle Pass. Canales is working on a revolving loan fund to attract new investors in an infrastructure-upgraded industrial park.

Maverick Arms, manufacturer and distributor of nearly all Mossberg shotguns and rifles, began operations in Eagle Pass in 1989. The company will nearly double its capacity by year’s end, strengthening its position in the world firearms market. Maverick Arms is a “reverse maquila,” due to stringent firearms laws in Mexico, but reports to corporate headquarters for O.F. Mossberg & Sons, Inc. on the East Coast of the United States.

Eagle Pass may not be known as a tourist Mecca – yet – but there is at least one relaxing, off-the-beaten-track attraction if quiet solitude and a pastoral, tree-shaded oasis is what’s sought by travelers. Weyrich Farms Bed-and-Breakfast is a hospitable, family-owned and –operated retreat, hidden among groves of historic pecan trees planted by the family patriarch more than 100 years ago.

LIVE! puts the spotlight on Eagle Pass, Texas this month. When prospecting for business in Del Rio and elsewhere, almost universally, business leaders were telling us something is happening in Eagle Pass and they urged us to look into it. We went south to Eagle Pass and found that the town is growing and growing fast. Here is a snapshot of Eagle Pass and some of the people there who are making it happen. Stories are embargoed until the November 2006 print edition is delivered to 24,315 homes and businesses across eight Southwest Texas counties, from Eagle Pass to Del Rio and Sonora/Ozona; from Sanderson to Rocksprings/Brackettville and Leakey; and every place in between the week of November 13, 2006.