Updated at 4:24 PM CDT Sunday, October 12, 2025
Fort Concho National Historic Landmark to Celebrate Barracks, Mess Hall Recreation Projects
Fort Concho National Historic Landmark will celebrate the completion of the newly reconstructed Barracks and Mess Halls 3 and 4 with a public opening from 5 to 6:30 p.m. Thursday, October 16, 2025.
Guests may park across the street at 630 S. Oakes St., and shuttle cart service will be available to bring attendees to the dedication site. In case of poor weather, the event will take place inside Barracks 4.
These two new buildings will serve as the future home of the Fort Concho Library and Archives and the Noelke Library. The project began with a generous donation from the Noelke-Wilhelm Fund, administered by the San Angelo Area Foundation. It was later supplemented with a large anonymous donation and an additional grant from the San Angelo Health Foundation. Funding for furnishings and equipment came from the Fort Concho Foundation, the Eva Camunez Tucker Foundation and many individual donors over the last four years through the San Angelo Gives program.
The vision for this reconstruction began with a long-term loan of first-edition books and research materials from the Noelke Foundation through Dr. Walter Noelke, longtime professor of history at Angelo State University. Working with then-Fort Concho Museum Board President Barbara Hesse, the reconstruction project brought back two 1870s barracks and their adjacent mess halls, lost to history since the early 1900s.
Noted preservation architect Killis Almond of San Antonio designed the project, conducting extensive research to ensure the buildings reappeared as close to their original condition as possible.
Clearview Construction of San Angelo built the new facilities. The San Angelo Area Foundation provided ongoing support while managing the project. For the first time in nearly a century, all six fort barracks now stand on their original locations, anchoring the north side of the historic site.
Odessa Police Arrest Suspect After Allegations of Separate Indecent Assaults at Odessa Park
Odessa Police have arrested a man for sexual assault after he allegedly committed indecent assault on two women at an Odessa park.
Police said Daraiviyahn Debouse has been charged with two counts of indecent assault.
According to investigators, officers responded to Memorial Gardens Park, at the area of E. 42nd St., around 8:52 p.m. on Oct. 9 after receiving a report of an indecent assault.
An 18-year-old woman told officers she was walking in the park when a man began whistling at her.
Moments later, she said the same man touched her inappropriately.
Shortly after, a 37-year-old woman reported a similar encounter with the same suspect.
The second victim told officers she was walking in the park with her child when the man stepped in front of her and touched her inappropriately. The suspect then grabbed her by the shoulders, and she believed he was attempting to drag her into nearby bushes.
She was able to push him away and run to the parking lot.
Abilene Christian University to Receive Fuel for Research Reactor
The U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) has announced a plan to provide high-assay low-enriched uranium (HALEU) to Abilene Christian University and its partner, Natura Resources, for their cutting-edge nuclear research. This crucial fuel allocation will support the university’s Nuclear Energy eXperimental Testing (NEXT) Lab in the development of a next-generation molten salt reactor.
ACU’s research reactor will be the first deployment of the Natura MSR-1 – a 1-megawatt thermal molten salt reactor system. Access to HALEU is essential for advancing the design and testing phases of this pioneering project.
Because HALEU is not yet commercially available from domestic suppliers, the DOE established a process for nuclear developers to request the material. ACU is one of just three new entities selected to receive an allocation, following an initial round of awards to five companies earlier this year. The DOE is expected to finalize the contracting process and potentially deliver HALEU to recipients later this year.
This announcement follows another significant milestone as the DOE recently named Natura Resources as one of only 11 projects nationwide to participate in the new Nuclear Reactor Pilot Program. This federal initiative is designed to fast-track the development and deployment of advanced nuclear reactors by 2026.
These recent federal announcements propel ACU’s NEXT Lab into the national spotlight, solidifying the university’s position as a key contributor to U.S. nuclear energy innovation. The ACU research reactor project is the only university-led reactor project in the country with a construction permit from the Nuclear Regulatory Commission. It also marks the first time a liquid salt-fueled reactor has been licensed by the Nuclear Regulatory Commission.
The project has also received significant support at the state level, as the 89th Texas legislature’s recently approved budget directed $120 million to benefit the NEXT Lab and Natura partnership, in conjunction with Texas Tech University and the Texas Produced Water Consortium.