Rio Grande Herald (Rio Grande City, Tex.), Vol. 32, No. 6, Ed. 1 Thursday, February 7, 1974 Page: 3 of 20
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4
I
THURSDAY, FEBRUARY 7,1974 THE RIO GRANDE HERALD PAGE 3
a word from the
County Judge Mario E. Ramirez
The time has come for me to arrive at a
decision regarding my political plans for the
future. I stated in 1969 that 1 had no
aspirations for power and no desires or in-
tentions of continuing in office for a prolonged
period of time. I state now, as I stated then,
that I do not owe political allegiance or
retribution to any one individual or to any one
group During the five years that 1 have
served as county judge I have tried to be fair
and impartial to all. I have tried to conduct
myself and the office of county judge in a way
that would reflect and restore respect and
dignity to our community in the eyes of our
people as well as on the eyes of our neighbors.
Before arriving at a decision 1 have tried to
ask myself whether I have been effective in
this position or not. I have wondered whether
it could have been possible to have done
more. 1 have wondered, too, whether I have
been able to serve the people of this com-
munity in my capacity as a physician during
these years. I can not aaswer to myself.
I have always stated that I was primarily
and foremost a doctor of medicine and that I
would not consider any other position if it
meant that I would have to forego or neglect
my practice. I now have an associate and
have every reason to believe that he will
remain with us permanently. We are both
working very long hours in our office and at
the hospital because the volume of patients is
very large. We are attempting to see all who
wish to see us, regardless of the hour. Our
records reflect that the work in the office and
in tiie hospital has been evenly divided bet-
ween the two of us notwithstanding the time
that 1 have had to devote to county matters,
etc We are looking actively for other
physicians to join our group
No one single individual in public service
should expect or claim credit for what is
accomplished in his community during his
term in office because it is impossible to
perform without the cooperation and
assistance of others in government and of the
townspeople in general. However, progress
should insomeways reflect the efforts and the
ability of the leaders.
In our county, the judge serves as head of
the Commissioner's Court and is in charge of
the county budget and county finances, he
also acts as Trial Judge in County Court. Up
to this year he also served as Juvenile Judge.
During the past five years 1 have not missed a
single Commissioner's Court meeting or a
scheduled court session i have tried to
become involved actively in governmental
organizations that affect our community and
I have tried to bring into our county programs
and projects which are beneficial During
most of my tenure in office I have served as
director for the Tricountv Community Action
Council, and as Vice-Chairman of the South
Texas Development Council (formerly the
South Texas Council of Governments). I have
been very active in organized medicine
because I feel that this gives me an op-
portunity to serve my profession and in-
directly it allows me to better serve my
patients and the community.
During the past five years
Our county has paid practically
all of the outstanding debts that
were pending. An accounting
firm was hired to help establish
a modern s>stem of
bookkeeping which could be
kept current Spending has been
reduced markedly. The mon-
thly commitments have been
met consecutively and it has not
been necessary to issue script
Taxes have not been raised and
our tax rate of $1.25
per $100 00 valuation persist, as
one of the lowest in the nation
The number of court cases
pending trial was reduced from
500+ in 1969 toan all time low of
+40 cases at the beginning of
1974. A total of $40,282.61 has
been collected in fines and court
charges during these past 4
cooperated wholeheartedly
with the office of the the Judge
and cases have been brought to
trial rapidly working under the
premise that justice delayed in
justice denied.
A county airport was con-
structed at a total cost of ap-
proximately $60,000.00 with the
county sharing with $17,000.00
cash. A house was built on the
airport site for a resident
manager using mainstream
employees.
The food commodity
distribution department was
reorganized and the building
repaired. Because of changes of
Federal regulations altering
qualifying requirements, the
number of persons being served
increased from 6,000 in 1970 to
9,000+ in 1973. All audits and
inspections performed by the
state government were com-
pletely satisfactory. Recently
an orderly transfer to a food
stamp program has been ac-
that the bridge can last until a
new one can be built. In 1971 an
electronic toll collecting and
monitoring system was in-
stalled at a cost of $12,426.99.
The total bridge revenue since
then is as follows: 1969-
$174,383.93; 170 $180,428,83;
197 1 -$182,478.13; 1972-
$203,459.68; and 1973-
$210,976.32. This represents
$36,592.39 more this past year
that the equipment was in-
stalled.
Avasolo Street was finally
resurfaced.
A county hospital which will
cost approximately two million
dollars and is now 30 per cent
complete will lie finished by late
fall of this year. It is anticipated
that it will be one of the most
modern and beautiful such
structures in the state This is
the only project in the nation to
have received 90 per cent
funding to date.
The county government has
Dr. Mario E. Ramirez
complished and the old com-
modity building has been
modernized to be used as a
county office complex
The band stand on Britton
Avenue which had been without
a roof for many years was
finally completed, and money
was requisitioned from the
federal government to assist
with a beautification project in
the area Two fountains, side
walks, etc have been built and
with the cooperation of local
citizens many benches have
been iastalled throughout. An
extensive planting program is
being undertaken immediately
by the Rio Grande City garden
ciub.
The Courthouse roof was
repaired, the interior painted
and carpeting and panelling
were installed in the two court
rooms For the first time since
its construction, the exterior of
the courthouse was sandblasted
and cleaned
The long standing dispute and
litigation between the City of
Roma and the County was
finally settled and the amount
due the city of Roma was paid
in full. The County's portion of
the bridge was sandblasted and
painted for the first time in ten
years and some needed repairs
were accomplished. A detailed
inspection was undertaken
recently by qualified expert
engineers and other needed
repairs will be made soon so
worked closely with the Soil
Conservation department and
projects which had been on the
"drawing board" for +10 years
finally became realities: (A)
The Olmitos Garcia Creek
Channel was built at a cost of
$323,188.88 -- 100 per cent
federally funded <B> The
Ramirez Watershed Project
was completed at a cost of
$82,299.96 with the county
sharing with $28,070.71. (It is
estimated that at least
$25.000 00 in damages were
prevented during Hurricane
Fern because of these
projects.) (C) The county has
deposited $6,000.00 for the
preparation of a major plan for
the Roma Watershed in Starr
County for flood prevention,
i D) An offer has been opened to
t>egin active planning for the
three and a half million dollar
projected flood control works at
the Los Olmos Creek area
The county has attempted to
cooperate closely with the
Texas Highway Department
and after several years of
planning Farm to Market
Road 2944 i San Isidro to
McCook), and Farm to Market
Road 2688 (El Sauz to La
Gloria i were finally completed.
All easements have now been
obtained and work should start
immediately on Farm to
Market Road 316 from Rio
Grande City to El Sauz.
Preliminary options has been
mapped regarding a possible
four lane highway between
Roma and the Hidalgo County
line and public hearings should
be held soon.
The office of the County Judge
worked actively and cooperated
fully with (A) The Rio Grande
Water District so that federal
funding could be made
available for the much needed
million dollar sewage
expansion project that is under
way. (B) The Rio Grande City
High School so that federal
funds could be made available
for the rebuilding of the high
school auditorium.
An application was submitted to
the Federal Government under
President Nixon's "Park
Legacy" program for the
acquisition of 173.54 acres of
land located adjacent to Falcon
Dam. The application was
approved and the deed for this
property has been received.
The county intends to use this
land for parks
An application was made to the
National Health Service Corps
for a dentist and this was ap-
proved Dr. David Woodburn
was assigned to our county and
the government and the county
working jointly procured office
space and furnished a modern
completely equipped dental
facility for him to work in
Construction on . the 64 low
rental houses allocated to the
county hy the Department of
Housing and Urban Develop-
ment is scheduled to begin
within a few weeks. The county
does not intend to subsidise the
purchase of land and it is hoped
that the houses can be built with
the money that is available.
Eventually these houses will
belong to the county.
Bids for a $150,000.00 Com-
munity Center which will in-
clude a library, meeting rooms,
facilities for adult education,
etc. to be built at the San Juan
Plaza area and a smaller
$50,000 00 center for La Grulla
will be published immediately.
A street repair and paving
program far Rio Grande and
other localities in the county
was recently adopted by the
Commissioners Court and the
bid submitted by Mission
Paving for the Rio Grande City
streets has been accepted by
the court Initially only a few
streets will be repaved and
repaired, but is it hoped that
eventually all streets will
receive the same treatment
During the past few weeks many of my
friends, and business and political leaders
have urged me to consider running again for
the office. Many who were against my can-
didacy during the last election have ex-
pressed confidence and have asked that I
seek the position again. My family is not in
favor, but have told me that I should do as I
feel is necessary As per usual they have
pledged their support and their patience. I
have therefore decided to seek re-election
ONE MORE TIME. 1 do not intend to cam-
paign actively because of limitations on time,
etc II elected, I shall continue to strive for
unity and 1 will work with the court and with
the community in an attempt to complete the
many projects that are underway, and I will
endeavor to plan and work for other projects
that should be undertaken.
Paid Political Advertisement by Or Mario E Ram.re*
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Trejo, Raul. Rio Grande Herald (Rio Grande City, Tex.), Vol. 32, No. 6, Ed. 1 Thursday, February 7, 1974, newspaper, February 7, 1974; Rio Grande City, Texas. (https://texashistory.unt.edu/ark:/67531/metapth194445/m1/3/: accessed April 30, 2024), University of North Texas Libraries, The Portal to Texas History, https://texashistory.unt.edu; crediting Rio Grande City Public Library.