The Odessa American from Odessa, Texas • 10

10A ODESSA AMERICAN LOCALSTATE SATURDAY, JANUARY 20, 2007 The big one' held off Spooked by looming storm, wary shoppers crowd Odessa grocery stores JOSHUA SCHEIDEOL)ESSA AMERICAN Nate Renteria, 7, tries to stay dry Friday during afternoon showers as he runs across the crosswalk at Dowling Elementary. Shelter From Pape 1A weather turned radical, we'd have people showing up." As of Friday morning, Fiddler said 17 people were staying in partially completed rooms, sleeping on whatever they could find. "We have some of them sleeping on couches while we continue to build we're doing everything we can," he said. For Gene Taylor, 40, the clean restrooms, laundry facilities, TV and old couch doubling as a bed mean more than a warm place to stay. Taylor said he was living on the streets and alleyways before he decided to find help for his alcohol and drug addiction, coming to Big Blue House on Thursday.

"I came to get help," he said. The shelter operates on a clean and sober environment, taking residents to Alcoholics Anonymous meetings, helping them obtain proper identification and find work. Although more work is needed to finish the facility, Taylor offered thanks for open doors and the open arms of caring support staff. "It's better than staying on the streets they're doing what they can right now," he said. Fiddler said every day is an adventure at the house as more people show "If we have to put a mattress on the floor till we get more rooms built, we'll do it," he said.

"If they are interested in recovery, we won't turn them away." kets, she said. "Anything to help with the cold weather." Maxie said the store's traffic count Thursday was about 1,500 people above a normal Thursday, but said she could not give out a normal traffic count figure. Meanwhile, at the Wal-Mart Supercenter at 2450 Loop 338 in western Odessa, manager Wade Perry said that at the busiest point Thursday, about 7,500 customers were crowding the store. "We had all the registers open," he said. He said customers were patient despite the crowds and the tense situation with the storm approaching.

"We appreciate their patience," Perry noted. At Lowe's No. 35, 7528 University manager Kenneth Mangus said a large number of customers were buying "heaters, firelogs, water, milk all the staples." Referring to some news reports that the weather was keeping some grocery stores from getting food shipments, Mangus said, "We have not missed a truck since this cold spell started." Mangus did note the crowd at the store on Thursday was larger than normal, but said the Friday morning crowd was "about normal." ON THE NET: www.walmartstores.com BY BILL M0DISETT Odessa American Need more firelogs to ward off the chill of the winter storm freezing Odessa? Grocery stores in Odessa were restocking Friday, getting ready for more customers this weekend and at least one store was expecting a shipment of more firelogs. At the H-E-B store at 3801 E. 42nd which missed a shipment of food earlier in the week due to icy conditions that poured deep into Texas, a shipment of firelogs was expected to replenish that fuel source, manager Dave Sandel said.

Sandel said the store was extremely busy earlier in the week and sold out of both packaged firewood and artificial firelogs. "We were busy from early until late," he said. "It was as busy as I've ever seen it." All the other shipments to H-E-B have made it through, he noted. Other firewood sellers indicated they were sold out, too. And Odessans were buying staples at local groceries.

"Everybody was talking about getting in and getting back before the weather hit," Marleen Maxie, manager of Wal-Mart Supercenter at 4210 JBS Parkway, said. Customers were buying food, water, heaters and blan f.mr was no snow," he said, adding that he was relieved. Lopez recently started a new Mexican restaurant, BurriTaco Express at 207 E. University Blvd. "Starting a new business, I hope it doesn't get as bad as they've said it would," he said.

Morgan does expect nasty roadways, though. "We do have a good chance of wintry precipitation and definitely some problems with ice," he said. Morgan expected the moisture from Friday's rainfall to turn into ice overnight. "A big hats off to TxDOT for treating the roads" he said. "That offsets that a little bit." Glen Larum, Texas Department of Transportation public information officer, said TxDOT's been working hard to keep the roadways passable.

In fact, the Odessa district brought in extra road treatment materials in case the weather got too bad. "We had 25 tons of salt come from Hobbs to mix with our sand and gravel," he said. Larum also noted that the winter weather is affecting the rest of the country as well. "We normally get the salt in bags and use magnesium chloride to mix with it," he said. "The winter weather's so bad across the country, the demand is so bad, we had to get it in bulk instead of bags.

"But, we've been hauling it in all night so we in West Texas can be prepared in case we have to be," he said. Which is good for West Texas drivers, Morgan said. "West Texas motorists and ice don't have a good track record with each other," he said. ON THE NET: Check out road conditions at TxDOT's Web site: http:www.dot.state.tx.ustravel winterdriving.htm Snow appears to be out; ice still a problem BY DAVID J. LEE Odessa An icriciin A warm pocket level air kept "the big one" at bay Friday, at least for the Odessa-Midland area.

"The new data we received from a weather balloon that was sent up at noon at the airport does show that we're eroding, eating away at that warm air pocket slowly but surely," Greg Morgan, KOSA TV chief meteorologist, said. "It's just taking longer than anyone could anticipate." Throughout the week, both Morgan and the National Weather Service had been calling for heavy snowfall in the Permian Basin. That warm air pocket prevented it. "In regards to snow, it may be a late tonight, overnight tonight event," Morgan said Friday afternoon. "As a result of the late onset, though, we won't see the totals we originally anticipated." That news was not met well by some Odessans.

"We got gypped," Alejandro Ortiz, 17, said. "I totally didn't want to go to school today." Odessan Edson Lopez, on the other hand, took a different view. "I was surprised to wake up this morning and find there Suspect From Page 1A On Feb. 28, 1988, Jennings' body, riddled with bullets, was found burning on a mattress at 7517 Andrews Highway, Donaldson said. On April 25, 1988, a warrant was issued for Blackwell's arrest in connection with the homicide.

Donaldson, then a lieutenant with, the sheriff's office, remembers working the case, but he's not as familiar with it now as he once was. "We have a big file on the case," Donaldson said Friday. "I'm going to have to go back and read it again." Donaldson said his investigators are unsure on Blackwell's motive, but he said deputies learned in the investigation that Blackwell and Jennings were in Odessa on business. "We learned the men had trouble here or on the way down here," Donaldson said, adding that neither a weapon nor Jennings' vehicle had been recovered. But, the way Blackwell was captured still baffles sheriff's deputies.

Sgt. Gary Duesler said Blackwell had 48 other states he could have gone to, and why he chose Texas was a mystery. "I wouldn't be surprised if it ended up as an update on reruns of 'Unsolved Mysteries'," he said. "This could even end up on Jay Lena" ccPMgg-, cyjBj) mass i wasner uryer rair ti 4 Drawer Chest List Price $99.99 96-385-0 Latte Leather Sofa The oversized arms and extra, padded Junior Power Bed Osiy Includes bed end assembly, 3-drawer chest, desk, rail pack, trundle unit and. ladder.

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