Rio Grande Herald (Rio Grande City, Tex.), Vol. 34, No. 12, Ed. 1 Thursday, January 8, 1976 Page: 1 of 12
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THE LARGEST PAID CIRCULATION GOING IN STARR COUNTY
RIO GRANDE
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TPA Award Winning Newspaper
Ten Cents
Vol. XXXIV
No.12
Thursday, January 8,1976
Rio Grande City, Texas
Is The Birdman For Real
Or Is It A Practical Joke?
By RENE RODRIGUEZ
Herald Managing Editor
News releases from the
Lower Rio Grande Valley,
particularly San Benito, report
sightings of a giant bird seen
gliding through the air near and
in that Resaca City and strange
as it may seem, more and more
unusual sightings concerning
our feathered friends have been
the subject of many con-
versations in Starr County.
Believe it or not, several
people in and around Rio
Grande City have said a Bir-
dman ( ?) has been roaming
and frightening people from
Roma to Grulla and points in
between. Sightings have
allegedly taken place in open
fields, taverns and even at the
Starr Plaza Shopping Center,
the pride of Starr County.
Identities of persons present
when the Birdman (?) made his
appearances have not been
disclosed. Who or what is this
phenomenon which has left a
tinge of mystery in the air?
Did Sesame Street's Big Bird
quit the show and decide to
come to Starr County?
Perhaps it is nothing more
than a practical joke started
when a couple of over-
imaginative artists got their
heads together and drew up a
picture of something which
appeared to be a feathered
fiend and a story to go along
with it. At least that is what one
person in-the-know tells me.
This well-informed source says
that two well-known practical
jokers, known to be working in
the courthouse, drew sketches
and then allowed them to cir-
culate among the more gullible
Rio citizenry.
Over active imaginations did
the rest. Bits and pieces were
added to the original rumor
which at one time had the
Birdman (?) under the Starr
County Sheriff's Department
custody.
Dr. Mario Efrain Ramirez,
Starr County Judge, was
elected to the Board of Direc-
tors of Valley Federal Savings
to fill the unexpired term of the
late Mr. A. F. Vannoy.
Dr. Ramirez is a member of
Texas Medical Association and
the American Medical
Association. He was appointed
to the Committee on Govern-
ment Health Programs and
Chairman of the special
committee on Health Cart of
the Poor. He is also a member
of Phi Beta Pi Medical
Fraternity, and served in the
Air Force from 1955 to 1957,
stationed in Japan with the rank
of Captain.
Dr. Ramirez attended
Elementary and High School in
Roma and Rio Grande City,
received his BA degree from
the University of Texas in 1945
and his M.D. degree from the
University of Tennessee College
of Medicine in 1948. After
serving his internship and
residency at Shreveport
Charity Hospital, Dr. Ramirez
began practice in Roma in 1950
where, except for two years in
the service, he remained until
January 1975. At that time he
moved to Rio Grande City and
opened Family Practice Clinic
in partnership with Dr. Roberto
Gonzalez.
In 1958 Dr. Ramirez opened a
15 bed hospital in Roma and
later enlarged it and included
surgical facilities. He also
helped build the new Starr
County Memorial Hospital and
was appointed Chief of Medical
Staff when it opened in
February 1975.
Dr. Ramirez was appointed
Starr County Judge in 1969 and
elected to office by majority in
every precinct in 1970. He was
re-elected in 1974. He has
served on the Governor's
Committee on Mental Mental
Retardation and the Governor's
Committee on Tuberculosis.
In 1949 Dr. Ramirez married
the former Sarah B. Ay cock,
Senior Student Nurse at
Shreveport. They have five
children; Mario Jr., 25, an
attorney, Patricia Anne, 24,
Norman Michael, 19, Jaime
Eduardo, 18, and Roberto Luis,
14.
Dr. Ramirez is listed in Who's
Who in the South and South-
west; Who's Who in America;
Director of Medical Specialists;
listed in Men of Achievement in
Texas in 1973; Men of
Achievement International,
1975. He is also active in the
Roma and Rio Grande City
Chambers of Commerce,
I>eones Club of Cd. Miguel
Aleman, Mexico, Knights of
Columbus, Alhambra and
Rotary.
Starr Coun ty Judge •
Named To Hoard \
Sheriff Rey Alvarez, when
asked if he had been notified of
the half-man, half-bird
roaming Starr County,
smilingly said he had heard a
few stories but that he had not
caught the feathered foe yet.
This Birdman (?), if caught,
could be charged with van-
dalism as he is rumored to have
ransacked a tavern north of
Rio. Or, if it is a man wearing a
costume, he could be jailed for
impersonating (if that is the
right term) a bird.
Perhaps it would be best if
this feathered phenomenon was
not brought to light because if it
is we would have to turn to other
dull subjects in our con-
versations.
In the meantime I will be
attempting to set up an in-
terview with Mr. Birdman (?)
or his creators. Hollywood
should pay a handsome price
for a Birdman (?) in Starr
County script.
Phone Excise
Tax Reduced
The excise tax on telephone
bills will be reduced 1 per cent -
from 7 to 6 per cent - beginning
January 1, 1976, as a result of
the fourth step of a 10 year
reduction, according to Jean G.
Ryon, Public Information
Director for General
Telephone.
The tax elimination was
enacted as part of the Excise,
Estate and Gift Tax Adjustment
Act of 1970 calling for suc-
cessive 1 per cent reductions in
the excise tax on telephone bills
on the first of each year, until
the the tax expires on
December 31, 1981.
General Telephone customers
paid an estimated $2.1 million
less in Federal Excise Taxes on
telephone bills during 1975
because of the 1 per cent
reduction in the tax beginning
January 1, 1975.
Based on the 1975 excise tax
of 7 per cent, General
Telephone will have collected
an estimated $15 million from
customers by the end of 1975.
The excise tax on telephone
bills was first imposed by
Congress during World War I as
a "temporary" measure.
Although repealed
briefly after the war, the tax
was reinstated during the
depression and has continued
ever since at varying rates as
high as 15 per cent on local
service and 25 per cent on long
distance calls. From 1954 until
1971, it stood at 10 per cent.
■i '
vi I * -*
■ I H
WK. s>
FOUR BIG BUCKS - Four big bucks bit the dust on Sunday,
January 4, when brothers Jesus and Jose Maria Alvarez Jr. hunted
on the Alvarez Ranch at San Roman. Jesus, left, bagged a seven
pointer from 175 yards and a four pointer from about fifty yards
with a .243. Chema, right, brought down a six pointer and an eight
pointer, each at about 150 yards, with his .243. Chema's sons, Jorge
Manuel, front, and Jose Maria Alvarez III, were proud of their
Dad.
ESAA Public Hearing
Set F or Tuesday
The Rio Grande City Con-
solidated Independent School
District will have a public
meeting at the Multi-purpose
Center on Tuesday, January 13,
1976 at 7:30 p.m. The Ix>cal
School District is formulating a
proposal to seek funds under the
Emergency School Aid Act.
Tentative plans focus on sup-
plementary instructional -(en-
deavors in the area^ of
language arts and mathematics
at the Rio Grande City High
School.
In compliance with
regulations, an Advisory
Committee has been selected
and this committee will serve in
an advisory capacity in the
formulation, implementation,
and the evaluation of the
proposed project. The school
administration urges all
citizens to offer suggestions and
recommendations related to the
Aliens Should
Report Addresses
Joe F. Staley of the San
Antonio Immigration and
Naturalization Service has
again reminded all aliens to
report their addresses during
January.
Cards with which to make the
reports are available at Post
Offices and offices of the Im-
migration and Naturalization
Service throughout the country.
The reports must be submitted
in person to one of those offices.
Parents or guardians are
required to submit reports for
alien children under 14 years of
age.
Staley urges all aliens to
report before the end of
January, as willful failure to do
so may lead to serious
penalties.
submittal of the proposed ap-
plication.
The advisory committee is
composed of the following: Mr.
Arturo Montemajor Mr.
Johnny Olivarez, Mr. Robert
Peterson, Mrs. Nancy La
Grange, Mrs. Hernan Garza
Jr., Mrs. Elisena De Leon, Mr.
Charles Christesson, Mr.
Charles La Giange, Mrs.
Sharon A. Cummings, Mr.
Rafael Trevino, Miss Cynthia
Drumont and Mr. Roberto L.
Villarreal.
Rio Man Shot
To Death
A 31-year-old Rio Grande City
man has been jailed in con-
nection with the shooting death
of Servando I^ra, 22, also of Rio
Grande City.
John Arthur Biegaski of 801
N. San Zeferino was arraigned
Saturday morning before
Justice of the Peace Arturo
Clarke, charged with murder,
and placed under a $50,000
bond. He was placed in the
Starr County Jail after failing to
post bond.
I«ira, who resided at 1110 E.
Hidalgo, was shot while riding
in the back seat of Biegaski's
car. The shooting took place
Saturday, Jan. 3 at ap-
proximately 2 a.m. while the
victim, the alleged gunman and
another unidentified person
were riding in the car.
Making the arrest were
members of the Starr County
Sheriff's Department with
assistance from Robert
Mumford and S.A. Robles of the
Texas Department of Public
Safety.
I,ara was shot once in the
head but an autopsy and other
tests were ordered done on his
remains.
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Rodriguez, Rene. Rio Grande Herald (Rio Grande City, Tex.), Vol. 34, No. 12, Ed. 1 Thursday, January 8, 1976, newspaper, January 8, 1976; Rio Grande City, Texas. (https://texashistory.unt.edu/ark:/67531/metapth194541/m1/1/: accessed April 25, 2024), University of North Texas Libraries, The Portal to Texas History, https://texashistory.unt.edu; crediting Rio Grande City Public Library.