2A| WEDNESDAY, MAY 12, 2021| ABILENE REPORTER-NEWS El Fenix will reopen, still a family business

Greg Jaklewicz and cleaning are under way. An application for a liquor family business. But not much since college. Abilene Reporter-News license has been turned in. She said she is learning her mom’s recipes and USA TODAY NETWORK – TEXAS The couple have lived on Kaua‘i, where Luisa promises to keep favorite menu items in front of cus- worked for eight years with contracting and procure- tomers. El Fenix, the landmark Abilene Mexican restaurant, ment for Pacific Missile Range Facility. Before that, she “It will be hard to live up to my mother ... but we will reopen this summer. was employed at art galleries, she said. want to keep everything the way it was, the same reci- After 83 years in business, El Fenix closed Christ- For the past two years, she has been a stay-at-home pes,” she said, laughing. “We both are learning it all. mas Eve. However, owner Olivia Velez had hoped mom. The couple’s second child, a daughter named Ei- It’s brand new for the both of us. someone, perhaps in the family, would step up. ly Olivia, was born Dec. 23 - the day before El Fenix “But I have mom’s guidance.” Luisa Velez-McKamey did. closed. The reality of the restaurant closing pushed the And she just didn’t step in, she flew in. “We couldn’t be there for that,” Velez-McKamey couple toward a decision to trade the Hawaiian island After living for the past 14 years in Hawaii, she and said of the closing, which made her sad. for West Texas. her husband, Ranen, have moved to West Texas to re- Her husband, whom she met when she was attend- The move also provides an opportunity for the cou- vive the family business. ing college in the Arlington-Dallas area, has been in ple’s two children to spend more time with their grand- “Not me,” Olivia Velez said, laughing, when an- the aviation business. parents. Olivia Velez’s husband, Robert, has had recent nouncing the news. The couple together will operate El Fenix, Velez- health issues, so family time became more important. The plan is to reopen the restaurant at 3241 South McKamey said. She has some experience in that, “I am happy,” Olivia Velez said the day after Moth- First St. sometime this summer. Currently, remodeling growing up clearing and then waiting tables in the er’s Day of El Fenix rising again.

COVID-19: Taylor County adds 10 cases, 15 recoveries Tuesday

Laura Gutschke Jones, 3; Nolan, 3; Comanche, 2; Eastland, 2; Runnels, Abilene Reporter-News 2; Scurry, 2; Callahan, 1; Fisher, 1; Mitchell, 1; Shackel- USA TODAY NETWORK – TEXAS ford, 1; Stephens, 1; Coleman, 0; Haskell, 0; Kent, 0; Knox, 0; Stonewall, 0; Throckmorton, 0. The Abilene-Taylor County Public Health District on Select West Texas counties estimated active Tuesday reported 10 new cases of COVID-19 and 15 re- cases: Ector (Odessa), 313; Midland, 268; Randall coveries. (Canyon), 251; Potter (Amarillo), 201; Lubbock, 190; Six of the new cases were confirmed via polymerase Tom Green (San Angelo), 77; Wichita (Wichita Falls), Wildflower DOUG HODEL chain reaction tests. 59; Hale (Plainview), 7; Moore, 6. Active cases total 218 (123 PCR cases and 95 cases Sources: City of Abilene, Texas Department of State from antigen tests), the same as a week ago. A month Health Services (counts PCR cases only) ago, the number of active cases was 139. SELECT PRISONS (Tuesday update) ARN wildflower COVID-19 inpatients at the Abilene hospitals total 13, Daniel (Snyder): Staff cases – active, 1. Inmate which is three fewer than reported Monday. The average cases – active, 28, medical isolation, 28. contest submissions age of the patients is 60, and four live outside Taylor Havins (Brownwood): Staff cases – active, 0; In- County. mate cases – active, 0, medical isolation, 0. The percentage of COVID-19 inpatients in the Abilene Middleton (Abilene): Staff cases – active, 6; In- underway trauma service area was 2.13% Monday, compared to mate cases – active, 1, medical isolation, 1. 1.53% Sunday and 1.65% Saturday, according to the Tex- Robertson (Abilene): Staff cases – active, 7; In- The Reporter-News now is accepting entries for its as Department of State Health Services COVID-19 web- mate cases – active, 1, medical isolation, 1. annual wildflower contest, again honoring late pho- site. Sayle (Breckenridge): Staff cases – active, 0; In- tographer Doug Hodel, who died March 26, 2017. mate cases – active, 0, medical isolation, 0. Deadline to enter is 5 p.m. Friday. Coronavirus by the numbers Wallace (Colorado City): Staff cases – active, 0; We will show off the best of reader submissions in Inmate cases – active, 0, medical isolation, 0. our annual wildflower edition in print and online Abilene/Taylor County (updated Tuesday): Total Source: Texas Department of Criminal Justice CO- June 6. Categories are landscapes; detail (close-ups, positive PCR cases, 7,319; active PCR cases, 123; total VID-19 website. insects, raindrops, etc.); family or pets with flowers; antigen probable cases, 8,414; total active antigen cases, SCHOOLS, COLLEGES AND UNIVERSITIES color mixes; bluebonnets; and most creative (includ- 95; total PCR recoveries, 7,026; total antigen recoveries, Abilene ISD: Reported Monday two new staff ing digital special effects). 8,085; Total deaths, 404; Current hospitalizations at cases: one at Craig Middle and one at Martinez Ele- h To enter: Abilene facilities (as reported by city, which may vary mentary. Active cases total six (two students, four Email submissions to publishme@reporter- from Hendrick number depending on time of day), 13. staff). Since Aug. 17, the district has reported 1,143 news.com. Photos should be in JPEG format, at the Texas (updated Tuesday): Total cases, 2,490,481; cases (580 students, 563 staff). maximum resolution. Put “wildflower” in the subject New cases, 2,859; Active cases (estimated), 56,743; Wylie ISD: Reported Tuesday one active case, at line. Hospitalized, 2,508; Fatalities, 49,651; New fatalities, 57; West Elementary. Photographers may enter only one photograph per Total tests, 29,086,103; Recovered (estimated), Abilene Christian University: Reported Tuesday category. Include photographer’s name, daytime 2,773,699. three active cases, which is four fewer than Monday, phone number, category, and a brief description of Big Country estimated active cases (as tracked by and five people in quarantine due to possible expo- the location and the photographer who took the pho- the state): Howard, 33; Brown, 14; Coke, 9; Erath, 4; sure. The cumulative number of cases is 805. to.

TODAY IN HISTORY 1943: During World War II, Axis forces in North Africa mand (later the North American Aerospace Defense surrendered. The two-week Trident Conference, Command, or NORAD). Today is Wednesday, May 12, the 132nd day of 2021. headed by President Franklin D. Roosevelt and British 1970: The Senate voted unanimously to confirm Harry There are 233 days left in the year. Prime Minister Winston Churchill, opened in Washing- A. Blackmun as a Supreme Court justice. ton. On this date in: 1975: The White House announced the new Cambo- 1949: The Soviet Union lifted the Berlin Blockade, 1780: During the Revolutionary War, the besieged city dian government had seized an American merchant which the Western powers had succeeded in circum- of Charleston, South Carolina, surrendered to British ship, the Mayaguez, in international waters. (U.S. venting with their Berlin Airlift. forces. Marines gained control of the ship three days after its 1955: Manhattan’s last elevated rail line, the Third seizure, not knowing the 39 civilian members of the 1937: Britain’s King George VI was crowned at West- Avenue El, ceased operation. crew had already been released by Cambodia.) minster Abbey; his wife, Elizabeth, was crowned as queen consort. 1958: The United States and Canada signed an agree- 1997: Australian Susie Maroney became the first ment to create the North American Air Defense Com- woman to swim from Cuba to Florida.

LOCAL BIRTHDAYS DO! ABILENE TODAY How to submit your calendar items Joseph Clark Allison Medina WEDNESDAY, MAY 8 Amanda Hadaway Lyric Pittman Events must be open to the public. Send seven Kale Josselet James Holli Slater Get crafty days in advance to: Jeff Kahn Amy Towell A Diamond Dotz crafting activity for adults will begin Mail: P.O. Box 30, Abilene, TX 79604 Ruby LaRoque Sam Fouts, Sagerton at 10 a.m. in the basement of the Abilene Public Li- Phone: 676-6737 Sherry Maloney Katie Yarbrough, Mid- brary, 202 Cedar St. Materials will be provided. William "Bill" McKinney land Email: [email protected]. Put Fish fry “Calendar Item” in the subject line. To submit a birthday, email publishme@reporter- ASPERMONT — A fish fry fundraiser will be open from Visit www.reporternews.com to find more news.com at least two weeks in advance. Put “Birth- 11 a.m. to 1 p.m. at the Stonewall County Senior Citi- activities in Abilene and the Big Country. day” in the subject line. zens Center, 516 S. Washington St. Plates will be $10.

BIRTHDAYS

Composer Burt Bacharach is 93. Actor Millie Perkins 66. Drummer Eric Singer of Kiss is 63. Actor Ving (“Knots Landing”) is 85. Country singer Billy Swan is Rhames is 62. Guitarist Billy Duffy of The Cult is 60. 79. Actor Linda Dano (“Another World”) is 78. Singer Actor Emilio Estevez is 59. Actor April Grace (“Lost,” Steve Winwood is 73. Actor Lindsay Crouse is 73. “Joan of Arcadia”) is 59. Actor Vanessa Williams (“Soul Actor Bruce Boxleitner is 71. Singer Billy Squier is 71. Food,” “Melrose Place”) is 58. TV personality Carla Hall Free online Actor Gabriel Byrne is 71. Blues musician Guy Davis is (“The Chew”) is 57. Keyboardist Eddie Kilgallon (Rico- Zoom Events: 69. Country singer Kix Brooks of Brooks and Dunn is chet) is 56. Actor Stephen Baldwin is 55. Meetup.com/Eckankar-Abilene AB-GCI0643870-01

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