R E S O L U T I O N 1-1 WHEREAS, On February 4, 1999, the Texas House of 1-2 Representatives will join the proud residents of Jim Wells County 1-3 in paying tribute to one of our state's richest economic and 1-4 cultural centers; and 1-5 WHEREAS, Jim Wells County and its county seat, Alice, are set 1-6 deep in the heart of South Texas; the broad plains of rich soil 1-7 that make up the area's geography are a patchwork of grassland and 1-8 mesquite, post oak and live oak thickets, and cactus, and nearly 1-9 half of the county is rated as prime farmland; and 1-10 WHEREAS, Some of the earliest inhabitants of this region 1-11 included Native American tribes such as the Chaguanes and 1-12 Payuguans, who were drawn by the mild winters and abundant game; 1-13 their pottery and stone tools can still be found, and deer, 1-14 javelina, turkey, and quail still haunt the oak stands and creek 1-15 banks; and 1-16 WHEREAS, In 1746, Spanish colonel Jose de Escandon was 1-17 commissioned to explore and colonize the part of New Spain that 1-18 stretched from Tampico in the south to the San Antonio River in the 1-19 north, and this included the future Jim Wells County; his 1-20 colonists, soldiers, and vaqueros long ago initiated the settlement 1-21 and ranching traditions that still define the area, and today in 1-22 Alice there is a monument to this early Lone Star hero, the "Father 1-23 of South Texas"; and 1-24 WHEREAS, Through the tumultuous years of competing claims 2-1 between the Spanish and a young Republic of Texas, borders and 2-2 their allegiances swayed as easily as the plains grasses, but with 2-3 the Treaty of Guadalupe Hidalgo in 1848 the future of South Texas 2-4 and Jim Wells County was firmly and successfully shaped; and 2-5 WHEREAS, Fueled by the beef market, the economy of the county 2-6 boomed in the years after the Civil War and the population 2-7 increased as well; Alice was the busiest shipping point for cattle 2-8 in South Texas, and the citizens' growing influence spurred demands 2-9 for more centralized representation, resulting in the formal 2-10 organization of Jim Wells County in 1912; and 2-11 WHEREAS, Cattle are still a major force in the region's 2-12 economy, aided by cotton and sorghum, watermelons, grapefruit, and 2-13 oranges; the discovery of huge oil and natural gas reservoirs in 2-14 1931 begat tremendous growth, and Jim Wells County is one of the 2-15 all-time leaders in oil production among Texas counties; and 2-16 WHEREAS, Because of its strategic location on the primary 2-17 trade route between the United States and Mexico, the county has 2-18 become a major point of international trade; the 2-19 soon-to-be-completed U.S. Highway 281 Relief Route, a component of 2-20 the federal I-69 International Trade Corridor, and the planned 2-21 State Highway 44 Relief Route, designated in 1998 as one of 10 High 2-22 Priority Corridors by the Texas Department of Transportation, will 2-23 certainly reinforce the area's prominence; and 2-24 WHEREAS, Residents of Jim Wells County are equally committed 2-25 to quality of life issues, including education and health care, and 2-26 in mid-summer of 1999 two new health facilities will be opened: the 2-27 Alice Regional Hospital and the Christus Spohn Hospital-Alice; and 3-1 WHEREAS, The citizens of Jim Wells County have played an 3-2 important role in Texas' economic and cultural history, and their 3-3 many outstanding contributions to the Lone Star State are indeed 3-4 worthy of special legislative recognition; now, therefore, be it 3-5 RESOLVED, That the House of Representatives of the 76th Texas 3-6 Legislature hereby welcome the visiting delegates from Jim Wells 3-7 County and declare February 4, 1999, as Jim Wells County Day at the 3-8 State Capitol and that the members join with the many residents of 3-9 the area in paying tribute to one of the state's finest counties; 3-10 and, be it further 3-11 RESOLVED, That an official copy of this resolution be 3-12 prepared for prominent display in Jim Wells County as a 3-13 commemoration of this occasion and as an expression of high regard 3-14 by the Texas House of Representatives. Salinas Laney Glaze Moreno of El Paso Alexander Goodman Morrison Allen Goolsby Mowery Alvarado Gray Naishtat Averitt Green Najera Bailey Greenberg Nixon Berman Grusendorf Noriega Bonnen Gutierrez Oliveira Bosse Haggerty Olivo Brimer Hamric Palmer Brown of Kaufman Hardcastle Pickett Brown of Brazos Hartnett Pitts Burnam Hawley Puente Capelo Heflin Ramsay Carter Hilbert Rangel Chavez Hilderbran Reyna of Bexar Chisum Hill Reyna of Dallas Christian Hinojosa Ritter Clark Hochberg Sadler Coleman Hodge Salinas Cook Homer Seaman Corte Hope Shields Counts Howard Siebert Crabb Hunter Smith Craddick Hupp Smithee Crownover Isett Solis of Cameron Cuellar Janek Solis of Bexar Culberson Jones of Brazos Solomons Danburg Jones of Lubbock Staples Davis of Harris Jones of Dallas Swinford Davis of Dallas Junell Talton Delisi Keel Telford Denny Keffer Thompson Deshotel King of Parker Tillery Driver King of Uvalde Truitt Dukes Krusee Turner of Coleman Dunnam Kuempel Turner of Harris Dutton Lengefeld Uher Edwards Lewis of Tarrant Uresti Ehrhardt Lewis of Orange Van de Putte Eiland Longoria Walker Elkins Luna West Ellis McCall Williams Farabee McClendon Wilson Farrar McReynolds Wise Flores Madden Wohlgemuth Gallego Marchant Wolens Garcia Maxey Woolley George Merritt Yarbrough Giddings Moreno of Harris Zbranek _______________________________ Speaker of the House I certify that H.R. No. 87 was adopted by the House on February 4, 1999, by a non-record vote. _______________________________ Chief Clerk of the House