A fire has broken out at the SAFE Recycling Center at 702 Warehouse Road. Police received the call at 5:13 p.m. and the San Angelo Fire Department respondend quickly, having th blaze mostly under control by 5:20 p.m. 

Reporter Lauren Lopez is on scene and the story will be updated as information becomes available. 

Update 5:36 p.m.

According to the Director of SAFE Recycling, a pile of old televisions are under the blaze.

Update 5:38 p.m.

The fire appears to have been extinguished. 

Update 5:44 p.m.

It doesn't appear that anything aside from the burning televisions has been damaged by the blaze. 

Update 5:57 p.m.

Lloyd Paschal, Director of SAFE Recycling, said she saw the smoke and then heard an explosion. Immediately thereafter, she dialed 911. All the gates were locked and Paschal was the only one on the property when the fire broke out. The center had just closed down for the day when she saw the smoke.

Paschal said approximately 25 televisions were caught in the blaze. The TVs were leftover from a recycling drive from November, which are picked up twice a year and transported to Fort Worth.  

Fire Investigator Thomas Truett said the cause of the fire is still under investigation.

Update 6:27 p.m.

The TVs from SAFE Recycling Center are usually picked up twice a year and then transported to ECS recycling firm in Dallas/Fort Worth. The current TVs at the center are leftovers from the November 16th Texas Recycles Day. Two loads had already been transported, but the remaining appliances were planned to be stored at the Christians in Action warehouse. Paschal said she was most concerned about the fire spreading to the nearby San Angelo Early Childhood Center on Julian Street, but the San Angelo Fire Department responded quickly and had the fire under control within minutes. 

The unseasonably warm weather was a boon for competitors at this year’s San Angelo Shoot Out, a junior claybird shooting event held at the San Angelo Claybird Association in conjunction with the Stock Show & Rodeo.

Participation at the event doubled since the inaugural Shoot Out last year, with 160 entrants shooting in two divisions. The tournament attracted kids from Needville, Guy, Midland, Dripping Springs, Wichita Falls, College Station, Mansfield, Gonzales, Schertz, Spring Branch, Bandera, Burleson, Brock, Florence and Killeen, who went up against the area kids contesting for a share of $13,000 of prize money split between the top 10 in each division.

The program calls for shooting 50 trap birds and 50 sporting clays, and organizers hoped to be done with the regular match by 5 p.m. with shoot-offs afterward to break any ties.

Garvin Addisen was pleased with his performance. “I did OK,” he said. “I shot pretty good and now I’m thinking about getting some lunch.”

Outside the clubhouse the shotguns were cracking all over as the youths tried their skill against orange clay targets flying by at high speeds, and the smell of lunch was in the air as a crew manning the grill was busy serving up hamburgers to hungry folks between shooting events.

John Fairbanks came down from Mansfield for the event with 11 kids from the Johnson County 4-H group, including his son and daughter. “They are starting off strong,” he said. “The wind isn’t helping, but they are doing well…we travel all over the state; we were at San Antonio last week and next week we will be in Houston for the Stock Show and Rodeo, but I think it’s great that San Angelo got this event going.”

Fairbanks is a Master Class shooter who competes in events nationwide.

Troy Tolifson came from Midland with his son Nick for the shoot-out. “We go to most of the shooting events,” he said. “They do a great job here; it’s very organized and well run.”

The San Angelo Claybird Association is located 10 miles west of town on U.S. Highway 67 just past the Middle Concho Bridge.

Results:

Senior Division: Taylor Dennett, 95; Charles Lemons, 93; Adam McBee, 92; John Moerke, 91; Casey Lee, 91; Devan Bauer, 89; Gregory Kubacak, 89; Sierra Stokes, 89; Colton DeCock, 89; Mary Cogdell, 89

Junior Division: Jett Thompson, 93; Zeth Smith, 91; Cody Hada, 85; Jacob Psutka, 84; Ryan Hensley, 83; Reagan Brown, 83; Tyler Trenkelbach, 82; Reece Dusek, 81; Wyatt Lewis, 81; Megan Jacob, 81

Children, parents, cousins, grandparents and everyone in between lined the streets of downtown San Angelo Saturday morning, all eager to see the floats and horses in the annual Rodeo Parade.

Countless floats from various businesses and local organizations rolled down the streets, the bang of drums and tunes of various local marching bands carrying the beat.

“This is probably the best one (parade),” says Mia West, an annual attendee of the rodeo parade. “There’s more entrants and better floats.” West and her family are faithful attendees of the rodeo events each year, and she herself enjoys the mutton bustin’ the most on the fairgrounds.

Ann West, President of Friends of Fairmount, added, “I think [the parade] is good for the community, because maybe the people that don’t go out to the rodeo or the fairgrounds, they get a chance [to participate]. A lot of the old folks—you’ll see every age group imaginable out here and they come out. They might not want to go to the fairgrounds, but they always come out for the parade, so it’s awesome.”

Ann West’s husband is the former president of the rodeo and her children have been working with the rodeo committee for years.  “We’ve just been involved with it for about 24 years now,” she said.

Like many rodeo patrons, West says her favorite part is the performances, but she also enjoys seeing the exhibitors. “You learn something new at all of them. The amount of work and preparation that it takes—it takes a year to put this thing on. They start right now preparing for next year, so a lot of work goes into it. They really take a lot of pride in it. It’s good for our city.”

Another parade attendee, Melinda Torrez, says she brings her family to the parade every year and is a big fan of the event and the related activities. Her favorite part, she says, is the exhibitors, but the parade is also high on the list. “Just watching all the kids in the parade and the bands playing [brings me back every year],” she says, adding that it’s fun for the kids.

Frank and Josie Flores stood with their family in front of the Wells Fargo building on Irving Street. Frank Flores says he’s been attending the parade since roughly 1969, the year he was born. “[I come out] just to bring the kids so they could see everything and enjoy it. It gives us a chance to all come out here and have fun,” he said.

Flores’ wife Josie chimed in, “[The parade] just completes it," she said.

The Flores family are also die-hard rodeo fans. "I like the clowns," Frank Flores said as his wife Josie laughed, "they're just funny." Josie added in, "I like anything that involves racing horses."

The 82nd Annual Stock Show and Rodeo will continue through March 2 at the San Angelo fairgrounds. Schedules of performances and events may be found under our events tab.

More pictures from the parade can be found here. 

Two students at the West Texas Boys Ranch tell Ed Blackburn what the Ranch has done for them. Then, Whitney Shorb, spokesman for the Ranch tells more about how the Ranch operates.

Meet Parks Tucker, Ag Teacher from Lake View High School in San Angelo, who is one of the many volunteers who operate the Ag Mechanics contest at the San Angelo Stock Show and Rodeo 2014. Ed Blackburn finds out what the Ag Mechanics Show is all about. 

While rodeo goers enjoyed the sights of barrel racing and mutton busting, Sunday fairgrounds visitors supported local children at Children's Miracle Network (CMN) Day at the rodeo.

Lindy Stone of CMN said, “It’s a great way that we get to honor our Miracle Kids.”

After the day’s mutton busting the 2013 group of Miracle Kids had the chance to ride around the arena in the back of a pick-up truck and wave to the audience in the stands.

“We do a bucket pass. About 70 volunteers with red buckets spread throughout the arena and pass these buckets around. If people wish, they can help donate money to Children’s Miracle Network,” Stone said.

The money collected for CMN at the rodeo directly benefits children’s programs at Shannon Medical Center in San Angelo.

Stone said,“Everything that is on our Children’s Miracle Network wish list is used to enhance the care for all the kids we help at Shannon--whether that is equipment or training personnel to make sure they have the top-notch skills to care for the kids.”

Chelby Caston, a former Miracle Kid, said she continues to support CMN because she doesn’t want others to have to go through what she did.

Caston remembers being at school when she was only 6-years-old and having a hard time breathing. When the school sent her to the doctor, Caston found out she had a collapsing lung. Caston was put in the hospital for two weeks while she struggled through a severe case of pneumonia.

“They did everything they could before I had to go,” she said. She was then sent to Cooks Children’s Hospital in Fort Worth for further care.

“I really don’t want anyone else to have to do that because it is really hard. My dad was working, my sister was a little baby and I was barely able to see her because she was staying down here,” Caston, who is now 12-years-old, said of the three weeks she spent at Cook’s.

Caston’s father, Harold Caston, said his family continues to stay involved with CMN after many years in order to help others, as well as for the sake of his own children.

“When she was sick in the hospital we had to go to Cook, but when we came back, some of the things they had bought we could have used and may have not had to gone to Cook.” he said. When we saw that, we thought...we would like to help other kids out and help raise money to buy the stuff so that they don’t have to be in the position we were in.”

Harold Caston said of his two daughters, “They are still young. At any time they could go back to the hospital, and if there is something that they don’t have, we might have to go off again. So any little bit that we can help to raise money to buy those things, then that is where we are going to be.”

For more information on how you can contribute to the Children’s Miracle Network visit cmnsanangelo.org.

Bull riding makes for some of the most exciting moments of any rodeo. The competitions, which sprang from daring cowboys impressing their friends out on the ranch, have grown to a multi-million dollar industry that draws spectators around the world. But it’s not just the cowboys the spectators come to see.

Lyndal Hurst is a widely-renowned trainer of bucking bulls and one the stock contractors for the 2014 San Angelo Stock Show & Rodeo. He brought some of his most ornery, four-legged stars to town for the bull riders to pit their skills against.

Hurst Rodeo Bulls owns animals with names like Black Ice, One Eyed Jack, Chicken Lips, Fat Jimmy, Boomerang, Road Dawg and The Judge who regularly thrill thousands of spectators with their awesome performances.

Hurst has been in the business for 27 years and runs his operation from a ranch at Slayton, near Lubbock, where he has about 70 bulls.

“I brought 11 bulls with me, and they will go twice this weekend and then I’ll bring another set down for next weekend, Hurst said.

“Some of ‘em are [pretty mean.] We have some that have been in the National Finals Rodeo,” he explained.  “Got It was a third place bull in the National Finals and Palace Station John Doe was in the 10th round of the National Finals, in fact Cooper Davis wanted on him, and [Davis] has the John Doe bull a week from Sunday.”

From a distance it can be hard to appreciate the enormity of these creatures, but when you are three feet away from them, the power of their musculature is apparent with every step they take. 

“They’ll average about 16 [hundred] to 1,700 pounds; some will be 2,000 pounds and some might be 13 [hundred] to 1,400 for the younger bulls,” Hurst said.

Hurst explained that great care goes into training, as well as maintaining the animals’ health. “These bulls get taken care of better than my family pretty much…they eat before I do,” he said, only half joking.

The stock contractors trim the bull’s horns to improve safety for the riders, “It’s in the rule book, [the horns] have to be tipped to the size of a 50-cent piece, Hurst said.

“It’s a pretty big business,” he explained. “There are lots of competitions that these bulls go to as 2-, 3- and 4-year-olds, in fact I’ve got some at Lufkin this weekend I was trying to watch on the internet earlier, some 2-year-olds that compete with a mechanical dummy on them.”

The dummy Hurst is referring to is a simulated human used to determine if the young bulls have the qualities likely to produce the kind of excitement demanded by rodeo crowds. These competitions can earn more than $100,000 for the bull’s owners.

The stock contractors earn top dollar for the bloodlines they control with breeding programs as well as earnings from bringing bulls to the rodeos. Hurst uses his keen sense for bovine genetics to turn out some of the best bulls on the rodeo circuit today, as evidenced by their multiple appearances at the NFR.

“I breed all of my own bulls,” Hurst explained. ”It’s just like breeding race horses or show cattle; they are five or six generation deep, the cows I have are five or six generations deep and they are all DNA registered and the blood lines are proven.”

Hurst described what he looks for in a bull. “You want to see lots of kick and spin, lots of height off the ground in the front end, but the main thing is that they buck,” he said.

Hurst’s business keeps him busy year round. “I’m somewhere just about every weekend, 50 weeks out of the year,” he said.

Ed Blackburn interviews Lynn Donaho who is in charge of the Santa Fe Trail Ride. Now in its 11th year. Today, there are at least 100 people on the trail ride. Donaho said the first year, the trail ride attracted six people. Learn all about the origins and the future of the Santa Fe Trail Ride.

There is a war heating up on Lake Nasworthy between the established cruise boat operator, Concho Cruises, and the upstart steamboat tour boat, The Concho River Queen. The Fort Sumter of the war was the regularly scheduled San Angelo City Council Meeting held last Tuesday.

The steamboat isn’t even in the water here yet, and Concho Cruises already wants to sink it.

At issue is that the start-up steamboat company desires to lease land from the city to operate near the boat docks at the city’s Mary E. Lee Park, behind the Nature Center at Lake Nasworthy. And that’s near where Concho Cruises launches its dinner cruises, paddleboats and other attractions.

The proprietor of Concho Cruises, Captain Danny Nickell, told the council that he doesn’t welcome the competition. Nickell said he didn’t like the name, “Concho River Queen Cruises,” that the upstart chose, either.  

“We worked night and day to build it, and more or less he’s coming in running off our name and taking our clientele and everything else. And it’s more of a hobby to him,” Nickell said as he fired the first volley of the war.

“This is what we feed our family [with] and et cetera. I mean this is our life, Nickell said.

“The second issue is that there’s no way two 14-foot boats are going to go up and down the Concho River,” he said, explaining that there is not enough room to pass one another. “But look. I’m not trying to steal the guy’s dreams or whatever. The only thing we request is a different location and a different name. “

Nickell described what he believes will be overcrowding if the city enters a lease agreement with the Concho Queen steamboat. Concho Cruises has a large presence in the same general area.

As Concho Cruises fired the opening shots, The Concho River Queen wasn’t there to witness them. Mack Fox, the start-up’s owner, had scheduled his presentation for 1 p.m. Council agreed to move this agenda item to an earlier time after Nickell said that he couldn’t stay until 1 p.m.

Carl White, the city’s Parks and Recreation Director, ran through the Queen’s PowerPoint slides quickly. For the city budget, the amount of money is very small. The Queen will pay $500 per year for a lease for the first year of operation. The fee increases $250 per year through year five when the annual payment to the city is proposed to be just $1,500.

What Fox and his Queen were seeking was council approval for the city attorney to draw up the lease agreement.

After lunch, Mr. Fox made an abbreviated presentation. “What I am proposing is to bring a truly unique vessel to Lake Nasworthy. A one-of-a-kind vessel [that will] showcase the lake’s origins, its history, the history of the Concho River. Also [it will] focus on the ecological uniqueness of Lake Nasworthy…” Fox said, describing the benefits of his venture to the City.

Mayor Dwain Morrison interrupted. “We’re going to be out of here by one o’clock and we have a couple more items to talk about,” he said. Fox rushed through his slides.

Fox was seeking a 50-foot section of the lakefront that is 70 feet deep to place a floating dock for the steamboat. His requested location is next to Concho Cruises. “I see my business having a very small footprint out there,” he said.

“When it’s all said and done, what I am proposing is a one-of-a-kind boat ride, on our lake, that is unlike anything in this area,” Fox concluded.

Mr. Fox then faced the firing squad from a council that was influenced by Nickell’s discussion. They peppered him with questions.

Councilman Rodney Fleming stated that he was in favor of the lease. But he had three issues. The first was how will the Queen and Concho Cruises pass one another on the Concho River?

 “When his boat is out, I’ll know his route and can avoid it. Otherwise, the Texas Parks and Recreation has right-of-way rules for the operation of party barges or vessels…” Fox answered.

Fleming said that the second issue was the name Fox chose for the business. “I would like for you to come up with another name,” Fleming said.

Fox agreed to the terms.  “I have some other names going through my head,” he said.

Last, Fleming wanted the lease to be for the Site B, farthest away from Concho Cruises.

Fleming made a motion to direct the city attorney to draw up a lease provided that the name of the upstart doesn’t include the word “Concho” and that the site of the dock is “Site B,” behind the Nature Center and the most distance away from Concho Cruises.

Councilman Winkie Wardlaw seconded it.

Then Councilwoman Charlotte Farmer expressed her objections. They were that Fox had no experience running a boat for hire and that there was “just too much congestion” around the proposed location.

“I’m all for your idea, but I am concerned about the congestion and the location. And I am opposed to the name. I’d rather see [a name] connected with Nasworthy or a person that was famous from out at the base … I’m going to vote against it for those reasons,” Farmer said. (Eds. Note: It’s an Air Force Base. There are no famous Air Force boat captains).

Fox said in an interview afterwards that the State of Texas Parks and Recreation Department licenses boat captains on Texas waterways. He intends to be fully licensed and insured as a boat for hire.

Councilman Don Vardeman was next. “Have you taken into consideration the lake levels?” Vardeman asked.

Fox answered, “Yes sir.”

Vardeman: “I don’t want to throw cold water on you in any shape, form, or fashion. But I’d hate to see you invest a lot of money in this and with our lake [water level] without rain is continually falling. Have you thought about that?”

Fox: “It only draws 30 inches of water, so as long as we’ve got that much we can float her,” Fox said. “If there comes a time when lake levels are too low and we have to close up shop, I am aware of that financially.”

Vardeman asked how the proposed dock location for the Queen fit into the previous council’s $300,000 Gateway study for development at the lake. Assistant City Manager Michael Dane said that the area is designated for commercial development and a developer could come in, and either force the dock to be moved, or not. If not, it could be a benefit to the Queen.

After Dane’s explanation, Vardeman cited his concerns that Fox will lose money, either due to low lake levels or a large developer forcing the Queen’s docks to move, as his reasons for voting against the lease.

Fox said, “When I looked at a city lease option, I wanted to be where the Gateway study would place commercial development.” Citing problems with other sites near residential areas with congestion, he told the council he desired the commercial setting as defined by the Gateway study.

After the meeting, Fox reiterated his desire for being in a commercial area. He said that more parking and other commercial attractions, like motels and resorts, would be beneficial to his business plan of attracting impromptu passengers for short excursions. That is, he wanted the most visible site.

When the discussion was complete, everyone seemed to have changed their mind, including Farmer and Vardeman. The council voted 6-1 to instruct city staff to draw up a lease agreement with the conditions that Fox change the name of his company to not include the word “Concho” and to lease the proposed site in Mary E. Lee Park that was furthest away from the Concho Cruises location.

Councilman Wardlaw voted no.

For Fox, he considered the council’s action a small victory in his quest to bring the steamboat tours to San Angelo. “If we stay on course, the best case is June and the worst case is July for a grand opening,” Fox said after the meeting.

Nickell said that he has never met Fox and is disappointed that Fox hasn't reached out to him. "To me, that just shows a lack of respect," he said.

The next battle will be when city council votes to approve the lease.

Spend time with the rangers fishing in our stocked Javelina Draw Pond. Learn the basics of safe fishing.

Join our rangers for a Bird tour of the State Park. There are over 300 species of birds and the rangers will provide education and help point out the different species.

Several San Angelo drivers chose to endanger their own and the lives of others Sunday, taking to the wheel under the influence of alcohol. Of 26 inmates jailed on Sunday, six were arrested for DWIs. Border Patrol holds were also high, accounting for 7 inmates in the TGCJ.

Sunday also saw three inmates jailed for theft, two for assualt, one for possession and one for public intoxication. There were 28 inmates released on Sunday.

A hike into the park to the grave of Dave Macey which was located inside the state park lands that pre-dates the known inhabitation of this area by an anglo saxon.

A 10-year-old boy talks about showing his sheep at the 2014 San Angelo Stock Show and Rodeo with Ed Blackburn.

San Angelo Police are investigating an assault. But the scene appears to have a car accident as well. Details are coming shortly.

Update 5:24 p.m.

At N. Chabourne and Houston-Harte, a chase through San Angelo between at least two vehicles ended. According to SAPD spokeswoman Tracy Gonzalez, the incident started at 2:28 p.m. with a call to 911 about the black 2002 Hyundai Sonata driving recklessly. Black car collided with another vehicle (see photos), and police are looking for the other driver.

Witnesses on the scene said that a passenger of one of the vehicles in what they describe as a two-vehicle chase was "filling the car up with bullet holes." Spent bullet shells are all over the street at the scene.

We have video of an eyewitness on the scene that we are processing in conjunction with KIDY-Fox (Ch. 10 and 110 HD).

Update 7:01 p.m.

This video was provided by KIDY-Fox TV News of two eyewitnesses. This is the lead story on the KIDY (ch. 10 and ch. 110 HD) tonight at 9 p.m. with Rick Tomlin.

Update 8:00 p.m.

San Angelo Police Department has responded:

"Today, at approximately 2:28 p.m., San Angelo Public Safety Communications began to receive multiple 911 calls regarding a reckless driver that was headed south on Chadbourne near the public transit facility.  Shortly after, dispatch received calls regarding a traffic crash at the area of N. Chadbourne and 5th Street. 

"Police responded to the area and located a black 2002 Hyundai Sonata disabled on the southwest portion of the intersection of N. Chadbourne and 5th, facing westbound in the eastbound lane.  The car had impact damage across the front of the vehicle.  The vehicle’s occupants, a 30-year-old male and a 31-year-old female, were injured from of the crash.  San Angelo Fire Department personnel were called to the scene to assess their injuries.  The man and woman were treated at the scene and released.  A secondary vehicle and additional victims to the crash were not located at the location.

"While at the scene, officers located shell casings from an unknown weapon near the vehicle.  At this time, police are investigating if the shell casings are related to the crash incident.  Detectives with the Criminal Investigations Division and the Crime Scene Investigations Section were also called to the scene to assist. 

"During the course of the field investigation, investigators learned that the initial crash occurred in the 1100 block of N. Oakes Street between the Hyundai and a green Dodge Durango.  After the collision, the Hyundai left the scene and struck a signpost in the unit block of W. 5th, causing it to spin before coming to a stop in the eastbound lane.  The Durango was later located abandoned in the 1100 block of N. Oakes Street.  The driver of the Durango has not been identified, and at the time of this release, no victims have come forward.

"Police have questioned several witnesses at multiple locations, however; it is unclear which driver was at fault.     

"This is an ongoing investigation and more information will be released when it becomes available. 

"North and southbound traffic on Chadbourne was diverted for several hours during the investigation.

Update 8:20 p.m.

KIDY-FOX ch. 10 and 110 HD will have a full report at 9 p.m. Monday, Feb. 24, 2014.

7:00 pm Supervolcanoes   8:00 pm Two Small Pieces of Glass at the Planetarium, Global Immersion Center 2333 Vanderventer.

Caldo. With four locations to serve you.

Theft was the most popular crime Monday according to the Tom Green County bookings report, accounting for four of 29 arrests. Pot and other drug possession, assault and DWIs followed suit with three arrests apiece. 

An additional two inmates were arrested on public intoxication charges, while 36 inmates were released on Monday.