The Rio Grande Herald (Rio Grande City, Tex.), Vol. 39, No. 30, Ed. 1 Thursday, May 23, 1985 Page: 1 of 14
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The Texas Department of Com-
munity Affairs will be providing an
^economic development grant of
$500,000 to Starr County to
facilitate the development of the
infrastructure at an industrial
park.
Federal Program Coordinator
"Jake" Margo said the state
review committee met Friday and
ranked the top five of 15 applicants.
Starr County, he said, was ranked
second, behind the West Texas city
^of Spur. The cities of Mercedes and
Donna, ranked third and fourth,
will also be awarded grants, as will
the city of Brownwood Margo said,
"It's waiting for the governor to
put his signature to it."
Speculation was rife that Gov.
Mark White would be making a trip
to the Rio Grande Valley on
Thursday to make the official
announcement about the grants.
In February, the county, with the
assistance of the Industrial Foun
dation, applied for $500,000 in
economic development funds
allocated by the Governor's Office
through TDCA The county's hopes
of obtaining an Economic Devel-
opment Administration grant fell
through when President Reagan
froze EDA funds.
Margo said, "This might be the
catalyst that we've needed in Starr
County to get our economy going.
It'll undoubtedly have a positive
effect." Judge Bias Chapa, who
noted that he was present in Austin
when the state review committee
approved the application, said,
For Industrial Park
"I'm very pleased. I hope this will
be the beginning of solutions to our
unemployment problems."
Industrial Foundation president
Sam Vale said, "We're very
pleased. We still have a consider-
able amount of work ahead of us.
We have to put the financial
package together for the firm. It
(the grant) will be one of the
resources available to the com-
pany. Development of the industri-
al park infrastructure (paving,
utilities, etc.) is covered under the
grant."
Foundation executive director
Rene Montalvo said, " To me, it's
really good, because it was a major
hurdle as far as the entire project
was concerned... This shows the
county and the Foundation can
work together."
Montalvo added, "This project
could have been dead in February,
and we had to find an alternative
The county then submitted this
application with our
assistance . I'm really happy, con
sidering that wp had little time."
Montalvo added that "the people
from Texas Economic Develop-
ment Commission, TDCA and the
Governor's office are really inter-
ested in seeing Starr County
grow.'' He said that an effort is
being made by both agencies to
spur growth throughout Texas, but
Starr County is receiving special
attention due to high unemploy-
ment and lack of economic
diversity.
fW (.RAM. V)
Rio High
Students
Awarded,
Pgs. 2,3,6
THE RIO GRANDE HERALD
Serving Starr County For Five Decades
Graduates
Honored,
Pgs. 11-14
VOL XXXIX
Published in Rio Grande City, Texas, Every Thursday, By The Rio Grande Publishing Co.
No. 30, Thursday May 23,1985
FIFTEEN CENTS
> *
Jb *
Torrential Rains, High Winds
Batter Starr County
k I
II
\ J
Pictured above is
Veronica Sanchez,
% Alvarez.
Rio Grande City High valedictorian
left, and salutatorian Haul R.
B\ KENNETH ROBERTS
Starr County was rocked this
past week by two of nature's most
powerful elements, heavy rains and
high winds, but no lives were lost
and serious damage to crops and
property was not on a widespread
scale.
In a 24-hour period from mid-
afternoon last Tuesday to mid-
afternoon Wednesday, Rio Grande
City officially received 8.9 inches of
run. This torrential rainfall, con-
sidered by many the heaviest since
Hurricane.Beulah in 1967, touched
off flooding that left 45 Starr
County families in need of
Rio High Seniors
To Graduate Thursday
Seniors at Rio Grande City High
% School will have 12 years of study
and work rewarded in graduation
exercises at 8 p.m. tonight at
Rattler Stadium
Rio High principal Ruben Saenz
said that the commencement
exercises can be moved into the
Auditorium if inclement weather
occurs. If that happens, each
student will be limited to five
tickets. Saenz said that 1983 was
^the only year during his tenure as
"principal that inclement weather
was a factor in a graduation
exercise.
Saenz said that "our two top
ranking students are the main
speakers. This night belongs to the
students." Veronica Sanchez is the
valedictorian, having achieved an
overall grade average of 99.90 She
is the daughter of Mr. and Mrs.
Alonzo Sanchez.
^ Raul R Alvarez, the son of Mr
"and Mrs. Sabino Alvarez, Jr.. is the
salutatorian. He achieved an
overall grade average of 99.65.
Saenz commended this senior
class by saying. "I think this is a
very solid group of kids, as
evidenced by the number of Honor
Students (33). They have great
potential to do well in further
studies and in fields of work This
particular class has been an
^exceptionally well-behaved group
of youngsters."
The master of ceremonies will be
Serapio Benavidez, president of the
senior class
The graduation exercises were
the climax of the final week of
school Final exams began Mon-
day. and continued through Wed
nesdav, with school being dis-
missed at 2:30 pm
A highlight of the commence
®ment exercises will be the award
ing of scholarships to deserving
students by civic organizations and
other groups in Rio Grande City
Organizations like the National
Honor Society and Texas State
Teachers Association will also
award scholarships.
Saenz noted that this year's
senior class had to deal with the
changes caused by House Bill 72
He said, "We're very pleased with
the way they adjusted They
understood the reasoning for the
changes " The principal said it was
probably hardest for seniors to
adjust, having been used to certain
expectations and routines in pre-
vious years
Saenz said that the biggest
adjustments were in three areas:
the raising of the passing grade
from 60 to 70, the "no-pass, no-play
rule," and the limitation on
absences due to extracurricular
activities.
About this past year. Saenz said,
"We exposed the youngsters to
more instructional material than
ever before. The school day was
recaptured for instruction We
scored better this year than ever
before on the California Achieve-
ment Tests."
The schedule for the commence
ment exercises is set out below:
PROGRAM
Processional "Pomp and Circumstance"
R. G. C. High School Band
Master of Ceremonies Serapio Benavidez
Invocation Dolores Gomez
Presentation of Colors R. G. C. High School
Future Farmers of America
National Anthem G. C. High School Band
Pledge of Allegiance Serapio Benavidez
The Salutatory Address Raul Alvarez
Introduction of Platform Guests Mr. Ruben Saenz
Principal
Musical Selection R« G. C. High School Band
The Valedictory Address Veronica Sanchez
Certification of Graduates Dr. A. E. Garcia
Superintendent
Awarding of Diplomas Members of the
School Board of Trustees
Recognition of Parents Mr. Ruben Saenz
Principal
Recessional "Las Golondrinas"
Benediction Dolores Gomez
Alma Mater Graduates
Court Terminates Port
Architectural Contract
The Starr County Commission-
ers. at last Wednesday's continua-
I tion of their regular meeting, voted
to terminate their architectural
and engineering contract with a
Nebraska firm for work on the
Roma port facilities project
Hired in place of Consolidated
Engineers of Omaha. Nebraska,
was Danny Boultinhouse and As
sociates of McAllen Also, Pan-Tex
Corporation of Edinburg was hired
to oversee the $3 2 million of
construction under a "construc-
) t ion-management" contract
Federal Program Coordinator
"Jake'' Margo said Thursday,
"The county did not feel that a
firm located at that distance would
be able to provide proper
supervision They said they would
only come once a month."
Attorney Frank Randall Nye, Jr..
added. "It's an awful long way
from here to Omaha The distance
involved makes it very unwield\ to
deal with a firm It's a matter of
logistics It became apparent that
the bidding and construction
phases would require their pre
sence on the ground The county
felt it would be less costly to have
an architect from this area "
Margo said. "The main thing was
that they had not provided plans
and specs when we were ready to
go out on bids They had been
requested to be present at Wednes-
day's meeting, but refused to come
unless the county paid all their
expenses We thought this was
extremely unfair 1
Another sore point. Margo said,
was the fact that, under the
wording of the 1978 contract,
Consolidated was to pay for the
printing of just four sets of plans,
while the county was to pay for as
many as 50 to 60 sets of plans This
would have meant $5000 to $6000 in
printing costs for the county
Margo said at an April 23 Commis-
sioners' meeting. "We've never
(Srr I'OH T. /'(!*(• H)
assistance.
Local weather observer Frank
Anderson said, "I don't guess
we've had this heavy a rain since
Beulah in 1967. It's rained as hard,
but not as long." He said his rain
gauge recorded 2.5 inches in just
over an hour late Tuesday after-
noon when the first cloudburst hit.
The Elder P. Neie residence west
of Rio Grande City recorded 7.98
inches of rain in the 24-hour period.
Neie said that less than .1 of an
inch fell at his residence when the
first storm hit Tuesday afternoon.
Anderson said that the heaviest
rainfall probably occurred from 6
to 7 a m Wednesday morning, as
close to three inches fell in that
one-hour period
Early Saturday morning, severe
weather in the form of high winds
struck Starr County. Soil Con-
servation Service District Con-
servationist Silvestre Gonzalez said
that winds reached up to 75 miles
per hour "in the ranch country."
He said most of the county
received about l'/i inches of rain
from this storm. Anderson re-
corded 1.2 inches in his rain gauge.
A total of .87 of an inch fell at the
Neie residence.
Emergency Management
Coordinator Homero Salmon said,
"Quite a few trees were uprooted,"
including large Arizona ashes at
both the courthouse and San Juan
Plaza He said that winds were
about 45 miles per hour in Rio
Grande City iself.
Salmon told The Rio Grande
Herald on Friday that "we
estimate that we have about 45
families in need of assistance in
Starr County. About a dozen of
these families are from the Rio
area We called in (at mid-
morning Wednesday) Char Collard
of the American Red Cross. She's
best known as the Red Cross area
supervisor."
Salmon said that the area
hardest hit by flooding was the
housing project located west of Rio
Grande City. He said that five
families in that project are in need
of assistance. In those five homes,
he said, water was two-and one-
half to three feet deep
On Friday, Salmon, worried
about forecasts of more heavy rain,
said he was trying to obtain
sandbags at the housing project
area On Monday, he said that the
water had receded, but added,
"They still have that big lake (two
feet of water) in the recreation
area of the housing project."
Salmon said that about seven
families in the La Puerta area
three miles east of Rio Grande City-
need assistance. The area from La
Rosita to Los Villarreales was one
of the hardest hit, Salmon said
Tom Lent, owner of La Loma Rio
trailer park in La Rosita. said that
water accumulated in a number of
houses in the area. At the trailer
park, Lent said, "We had water
clear up to the building "
About nine families in La Grulla
suffered flood damage, with virtu
ally all damage concentrated in a
one-block area, Salmon said A
store in that area also sustained
flooding Salmon said that the La
Grulla area received close to five
inches of rain
Salmon observed. "The
engineering done on the El
Ogadero area streets (of Rio
Grande City) was satisfactory,
because the water there drained off
quickly." "Water was at least one
foot deep on most stieets in Rio
he added
Roma Police Chief Romeo
Alvarez said, "We had six or seven
inches in town We had problems
with Bravo Street, mainly Water
got a couple of feet deep A few
motorists got stranded No one was
evacuated." Alvarez said that "we
received a couple of calls about
water getting into houses," in the
Rancho Nuevo addition toward
Escobares.
Alvarez said that Roma did not
receive any rainfall last Tuesday-
He said that the heavy rains hit at
about 5 a.m. Wednesday, with over
two inches falling before daybreak
About conditions in Rio Grande
City, Chief Deputy J.C. Gomez
said, "Everything ran okay; no-
body was evacuated. Nobody called
and said they were stranded. It
wasn't necessary to close any
streets because the water quickly
began to recede The flow of traffic
continued at a slow but steady
pace."
Salmon said that reports he
received indicated that about four
inches fell in the El Sauz area,
( Scf H i / VS. I'ttfie H)
The Housing Project west of Rio Grande City was
probably hardest hit bv the flooding of last week. When
this picture was taken Monday afternoon, a big lake was
still standing in the recreation area.
San Isidro
Commencement Thursday
The graduation exercises for
seniors at San Isidro High School
are scheduled lot Thursdav night
at 7 p.m at the Auditorium
This year's senior class at San
Isidro High is comprised of 29
students The valedictorian is Celia
Dymphna Garza, the daughter of
Mrs Viola Garza and the late
Horacio Garza She achieved a
grade average of 97.6582 She plans
to attend the University of Texas at
Austin
Dora Lisa Lopez, the daughter of
Mr and Mrs Hildebrando Lopez, is
the salutatorian She achieved an
overall grade average of 96.8235
She plans to attend Pan American
University-
Commencement exercises are
also planned for eighth graders of
San Isidro Jr High. Nicolas
Ramos, Jr., is the eighth grade
valedictorian, having achieved a
grade point average of 97.00. He is
the son of Mr and Mrs Nicolas
Ramos of Santa Elena
Joseph Lopez is the eighth grade
salutatorian, having achieved an
overall average of 96 89 He is the
son of Mr. and Mrs Gregorio
Lopez of San Isidro
Dymphna Garza
Dora Lisa Lopez
Roma High
Commencement Friday
Commencement exercises for
graduating seniors at Roma High
school are scheduled for Friday at
7 pm at the high school gym-
nasium.
There are 163 candidates for
graduation in the 1985 senior class
Alvaro Abrego is the valedictorian.
having achieved an overall average
of 95 81 Alma D Alaniz is the
salutatorian, having achieved a
grade point average of 95.35.
A highlight of the evening will
take place when Principal Hum
berto Vasquez will present scholar-
ships to deserving students
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Roberts, Kenneth. The Rio Grande Herald (Rio Grande City, Tex.), Vol. 39, No. 30, Ed. 1 Thursday, May 23, 1985, newspaper, May 23, 1985; Edinburg, Texas. (https://texashistory.unt.edu/ark:/67531/metapth194977/m1/1/: accessed May 9, 2024), University of North Texas Libraries, The Portal to Texas History, https://texashistory.unt.edu; crediting Rio Grande City Public Library.