The 3,000-acre facility on the western edge of Lubbock henceforth will be called Reese Center. The Air Force Base Conversion Agency will remain to clean up some environmental contamination left over from the military mission. Once that's done, the Lubbock-Reese Redevelopment Authority will market the facility to businesses. Only about 230 workers remained as of Tuesday instead of the 2,500 military and civilian personnel who worked there when the Base Closure and Realignment Commission doomed Reese in a 1995 vote. However, a strong national economy, good recent cotton crops and growth in other sectors have counterbalanced the base's gradual closure.
Officials hope to turn the tree-lined base into a viable commercial center west of town.
Copyright 1997 Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed. That is why we are seeing more money than ever being spent on school security. In some urban districts, security spending was about the same as on extracurricular activities.