The Rio Grande Herald (Rio Grande City, Tex.), Vol. 39, No. 31, Ed. 1 Thursday, June 6, 1985 Page: 1 of 12
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New Court
Discussed,
Page 2
THE RIO OWN HERALD
Serving Starr County For Five Decades
Valley Mart
Specials,
Pages 6-7
mm
i ii i tiwm ym hi imnnr ram
VOL XXXIX
Published in Rio Grande City, Texas, Every Thursday, By The Rio Grande Publishing Co.
No. 31, Thursday June 6,1985
FIFTEEN CENTS
*
: v,
c±x.; *
*
Board Okays Teachers
For Career Ladder
Due to recent donations by First National Bank of Rio Grande City, the San Isidro
Independent School District was able to purchase several computers. Pictured above
from left to right are School Superintendent Iiamiro Hinojosa, First National Bank
President Roy Cantu. and San Isidro School Board President Omar Garza.
Three committees set up by the
Rio Grande City CISD board of
trustees have recently approved
133 teachers to receive $1500
bonuses as part of the "career-
ladder plan" mandated by state
law.
During the month of April, the
board of trustees debated whether
to apply the statewide criteria for
career ladder or stricter district
criteria. It was pointed out then
that the state had allocated $144,000
to the RGCCISD to pay $1500
bonuses to each qualifying teacher.
In their May 7 meeting, the
board voted to approve career
ladder criteria as presented. Super-
intendent Dr. A.E. Garcia said
then, "We have funds from the
state for 118. We're going to have
to find funds for the additional
people who are eligible," in noting
the board's decision to pay the 133
teachers eligible.
Three committees, comprised of
three administrators and two
Ju nior Golf
Program
Underway
The Rio Grande City Junior Golf
Association is beginning a series of
summer tournaments this week.
Both boys and girls ages 10 to 17
are eligible to participate in the
summer program. The entry fee
will be $2 per tournament, and the
deadline for registration is 12 p.m.
at the Fort Ringgold Pro Shop the
clay pr* r to a tournament
Rbque Kosaies wiii serve as
coach for the program. Practice
days will be Tuesdays and
Thursdays at 5 p.m. Golf clubs and
instructions will be furnished at no
charge.
There will be a total of nine
tournaments and a grand firale.
The first tournament is scheduled
for Monday, June 10 at the
Brownsville Country Club, with the
grand finale set for July 29 at the
Shary Golf Course in Mission Each
tournament will start at 8:30 a m.,
regardless of the location.
Those desiring further informa
tion are urged to call the Fort
Ringgold Pro Shop at 487-7904
Commissioners Discuss
Status Of Projects
Pageant
Planned
Plan;; are already underway for
the second annual Miss Fourth of
V' July pageant, to be sponsored this
time by the Rio Grande City
Chamber of Commerce
The beauty pageant will begin at
7 p.m. on Wednesday, July 3 at the
Auditorium The entry fee is $20.
and the deadline for entries is June
28 The contest is oper. to any
Valley girlc wishing to compete
There will be three divisions of
girls competing. Girls from ages
a siv to )<i will compete in th? Little
' Mis-- ii:vision Girls ages 11 to 14
will compete for Junior Miss; and
girls ages 15-18 arc eligible to be
crowned Miss Fourth of July.
Those desiring further informa-
tion are urged to contact Mandy
Gar/a or Julie Avila at 487-3024
Roma Rabies
CIi n ic Sa turday
A rabies clinic will be held
Saturday in Roma (run 9 a.m. to
noon at Fort Ringgold Trading Post
No. 2
Dogs and cats will be vaccinated,
and the fee is $*;.
By KENNKTH KOBKRTS
Monday's special meeting of the
County Commissioners was
highlighted by discussion of the
status of various projects funded
by state and federal grants.
Drawing the most discussion was
the status of the pavinp, project in
Rio Grande City, and how much
the county owes to main contractor
Palm Valley. Federal Program
Coordinator "Jake" Margo re-
quested authorization for the
county to write two-party checkes
to Palm Valley and its subcontrac
tors.
Margo said $303,000 plus of the
$326,000 plus contract has actually
been paved. The county, he said,
owes Palm Valley $77,681.20 for
work already done, and roughly
$23,000 for the work remaining.
Margo said that the bonding
company for Palm Valley, itself
going bankrupt, has been placed
udner receivership by the State
Insurance Board. The discussion
then turned to the list of creditors
that Palm Valley owes money to,
with all saying it was likely that a
few creditors had not actually done
work on this project.
One of the subcontractors with
claims. La Rosita Gravel Inc., was
a focal point of discussion Auditor
Jose Guadalupe Villarreal said,
"I'm not going to pay ($5,064) for
streets that did not pass inspec-
tion."
Villarreal added, "Let them go to
court The company, i ' my opinion,
has the right not to pay La Rosita
Let them settle that among
themselves."
Engineer Pablo Pena, Jr., said
that streets that did not pass
inspection had been left off the list
He added, "1 would recommend
that material suppliers, like
asphalt and caliche, be given top
priority."
Later in the meeting. County
Attorney Alex Gabert offered this
opinion, "I will never recommend
that Palm Valley be paid directly
without a payment bond. They arc
in breach of contract without a
bonding company. The court needs
to protect itself, or you'll find
yourself in the Ballenger situation
all overagian "
Gabert said that the county can
be sued by subcontractors when ,
payment bond is lacking on the
part of the main contractor.
After all this discussion, a motion
was passed authorizing the writing
of two-party checks, pending an
investigation by the auditor and
engineer to exclude questionable
claims and materials not actually
used in this project.
Margo noted that the county has
an opportunity to apply for a
Community Development Block
Grant amounting to $331,000 from
the Texas Department of Commu-
nity Affairs. He said the deadline
for applying is June 14.
Precinct One Commi; sioner
"Chema" Alvarez came out in
support of using such a grant for
paving. Commissioner Amando
Pena, absent from the meeting,
also supports paving, while Pre-
cinct Three and Four Commission-
ers Eloy Garza and Reynaldo
Alaniz want to build service
.centers with these funds.
A state official, Jaime Gutierrez,
said that TDCA guidelines are firm
in that such a grant must be
applied for only one putjme. After
calling tiie TDCA, he said the
agency would not be able to grant
Starr County a waiver on these
rules.
Margo said, "We're in a
PROJECTS. I'ufir 7)
teachers each, identified teachers
eligible for career ladder and made
the final decisions about which
teachers were eligible, based on
such criteria as college degree,
teaching experience, college hours
in subject area, and performance
evaluations.
RGCCISD Personnel Director
Gilberto Garcia said that all
teachers on ther committees were
selected by their fellow teachers
through nominations made by each
of the schools.
Garcia added, "The Level II
teacher is not necessarily better A
lot of people think it's merit pay,
but its not. Merit pay looks at
performance only. Career ladder
looks at performance, years of
experience, and hours above
bachelor's degree and certifica-
tion."
The personnel director said,
"Most teachers that did not make
Level II did not make it because of
years of experience, plus hours
above bachelor's and certification.
Career ladder is an annual process.
To maintain Level II status,
satisfactory performance is re-
quired."
All teachers who met the state
criteria were considered by the
Career Ladder Selection Commit-
tees for placement on Level II. For
entry to Level II, a teacher must
have at least performance exceed-
ing expectations during the preced-
ing year and satisfactory
performance the other year(s),
hold a level two endorsement and
must have:
(1) A B.A. or B S. degree, three
years of teaching experience, and
nine semester hours of higher
education course work or 135 hours
of advanced academic training or
an equivalent combination so that
one semester hour or higher
education course work is
equivalent to 15 hours of advanced
academic training; or
(2) An M.A or M.S. degree in the
subject taught and two years of
teaching experience.
To be considered for Career
Ladder Level II. a teacher must
also have (1) Past performance
evaluations for the 1983 1984 school
year that will require that there be
no more than two needs improve
ment ratings in the total evaluation
instrument.
(2) Nine semester hours/135
Inservice hours or more must be in
the area of teaching assignment,
pedagogy or classroom manage-
ment (Administrative courses or
other courses unrelated to the
direct improvement of teaching
skills will not be considered.
Committee I approved the
following high school teachers for
career ladder Juan Andrade, Ines
Carrera, Guadalupe Castaneda,
Renato Chavez, Araceli Conway,
Mary Doyno, Joseph Ellert,
Belinda Garza, Rosalinda Garza,
Alma Gonzalez, Andrea Gonzalez,
Graciela Gonzalez, Josefa Guerra,
Amelia Hickman, Hortencia Lopez.
Ninfa Lopez, Gloria Martinez,
Nelda Martinez, Arturo Mon-
temayor, Ella Montemayor, Sabas
Ozuna, Constancia Pena, Oralia
Pena, Santos Porras, Ricardo Re-
sendez, Carla Rex, Jesus Salinas,
Diane Shaffer, James Shaffer,
Gary Soderburg, Ernestina
Trevina, Rafael Trevino, Daniel
Vasquez, Noelia Vasquez, Hermina
Villarreal. Juan de Dios Villarreal,
Leonel Pena, Noelia Mendietta,
NarcisoCavazos
Committee I approved the
following teachers from Grulla
Elementary; Josefina Amador.
Maria A Bocanegra. Heralio
Flores, Idalia Gutierrez, Irma
Lozano, Agnes Potter, Aldonza
Ruelas, Rosa B Solis, Margarita
Trevino, Gregoria Villarreal, Israel
Ybarra, Carmen Bitela.
Committee II approved the fol-
(Srr LADDER. (>)
A multi-million dollar lawsuit
against three parties related to the
death of a seven-year-old boy in a
school bus accident in 1980 was
declared settled out of court in
229th District Court proceedings
Tuesday in Rio Grande City
Mr. and Mrs. Jesus Aguirre were
awarded $537,500 from three
parties: Central Power and Light,
$362,500, Carpenter Body Works,
an Indiana bus manufacturer,
$150,000, and Commercial Body
Works, a San Antonio based bus
distributor, $25,000.
Attorneys for both the defendants
and plaintiffs emphasized that the
three defendant parties were not
admitting any liability, fault or
Roma High Graduates
Awarded Scholarships
The recent Roma High School
graduation exercises were
highlighted by the awarding of 56
scholarships to 39 deserving stu-
dents
The criteria for the scholarships
were achievements in academic
areas, standardized examination
scores, leadership qualities,
athletic abilities, financial needs,
and selected fields of study
The scholarships awarded, the
students receiving scholarships,
and the person presenting the
scholarships are listed below
LEGISLATIVE AWARD
Alvaro Abrego. Awarded by RISD
Boy Killed In
Auto-Pedestrian Accident
O A 10-year old boy was killed
Thursday morning when he was hit
by a car while trying to cross U.S.
83 just east of Kio Grande City
Eduardo " F. d d i e " Gustavo
Gonzalez of Rio Grande City was
struck by a 1976 Chevrolet Monte
Carlo driven hy Juan Angel Pena
of 1-a Grulla According to the
Sheriff's Department, the boy was
standing on the south side of the
^ road, ran across the road, and was
™ struck by the vehicle
The bo, suffered multiple inju-
ries, includtrV' i skull fracture. The
accident occurred at 10:05 a m
Thursday, and Gonzalez was pro-
nounced dead at Starr County
Memorial Hospital at 10 :30 a
Sheriff Gene Falcon said that
road tests, using skid marks, that
were carried out by the Sheriff's
Department indicated that the
driver was driving within the speed
limit
The boy is survived by his
stepfather, Alfredo Reyes his
mother, Francisca Lerma, and his
father, Gustavo Gonzalez, all of Rio
Grande City
Superintendent Eleuterio Garza,
Jr.
AMERICAN ASSOCIATION OF
UNIVERSITY WOMEN—
Mercedes Salinas Awarded by
Mrs. Josephine A. Williams.
BETA ALPHA BETA Mayela
Cantu and Alicia Moreno Pena.
Awarded bv Mrs. Leticia P Garza
CAMP SCHOLARSHIP
CERTIFICATES San Juanita
Dominguez, Ana L Olivarez, Elisa
Garcia, Norma Molina, and
Yvonne Navarro Awarded by Juan
A Munoz
CITIZENS STATE RANK
Alvaro Abrego and Angelina
Galindo Awarded by Martin A
Canales, Jr
COD MINIMA X Mayela
Cantu and Oscar Garza, Jr
Awarded bv Gilberto Perez, Jr
COURT O M I 1978 CATHOLIC
DAUGHTERS OF AMERICA
Alvaro Abrego and Alma Alaniz
Awarded by Mrs Mary L Zent
graf
DISTRICTWIDE PARENTS AD
VISORY COMMITTEE Juan A
Garcia, Lorenzo Hinojosa, Olga N
Perez, and Lisa Ramirez Awarded
by Ricardo Esparza
FRANCISCO GOMEZ MEMORI-
AL SCHOLARSHIP Jaime
Garcia and Mercedes Salinas
Awarded by Mrs Norma G Fultz
HKADSTART PARENT ADVI
SORY COUNCIL— Angelina
Galindo. Awarded by Mrs.
Angelina Ramon.
J O VALI.E MEMORIAL
SCHOLARSHIP— Lucio Mejorado
Awarded by Vocational Agriculture
Instructor.
KAPPA DELTA PI- Elia
Elizondo and Omar I Saenz
Awarded bv Mrs. Lydia Saenz.
PAN AMERICAN ROUND TA-
BLE NELL K GUERRA-
Nereyda Garza. Awarded by Mrs.
Silvestre Gonzalez.
PENA RIVERVIEW
ENTERPRISES— Angelina
Galindo Awarded by Cleotilde R
Pena
ROMA A T P E CHAPTER-
Delia Saenz and Belia Vela.
Awarded by Mrs. Lydia Saenz
ROMA FACULTY CLUB- Luis
Jaime Gonzalez and Monique Vale
Awarded by Lauro L Gonzalez
ROMA FUTURE HOMEMAK-
ERS OF AMERICA- Leticia L
Perez Awarded by Mrs Olga G
Barrera
ROMA HIGH SCHOOL
ATHLETIC CLUB- Sandra
Alvarez and Alberto Salinas
Awarded bv Roberto I, Naranjo
ROMA HIGH SCHOOL SPANISH
CLUB. Alma Alaniz, Edward Hall,
and San Juanita DominRuez
Awarded bv Miss Eliza A Perez
ROMA HIGH SCHOOL STU
DENT COUNCIL- Sandra
(Nee t.R IIH I TES. I'llf/v 0)
wrongdoing in settling the case.
The Aguirres were also told that
none of their five surviving
children could file suit in this
matter in the future, that this
settlement would legally close the
case forever
Alejandro Aguirre, the son of Mr
and Mrs Jesus Aguirre, was a
passenger on a Rio Grande City
CISD sch<K)l bus thai pulled away
from Roque Guerra Jr Elementa
ry School on the afternoon of Jan
10, 1980. The boy was leaning out a
rear window of the bus when his
head was crushed against a utility
pole
The bus was stopped and loading
students while parked behind
another vehicle. The bus attempted
to pull out onto U.S. 83 by making a
sharp left turn, and as the rear
portion of the pus swung sharply
right, the child's head was crushed
between the bus and a utility pole.
He was pronounced dead at the
scene by Justice of the Peace
Arnoldo Gonzalez, Jr
Shortly after their son's death,
the Aguirres filed a $12 million
lawsuit against the RGCCISD that
was settled out of court in 1983 for
$75,000 Tuesday's settlement calls
upon the Aguirres to reimburse the
district the $75,000 out of the
$537,500 they were awarded in the
lawsuit of over over $20 million
that was filed in 1983
Under the terms of the settle
ment, $1500 will be paid to each of
the Aguirres' five surviving
children under court registry. The
five surviving children were plain-
tiffs in the case The $1500
allocated to each of the five
children will be spent for the
benefit of that child if withdrawn
from court registry
Both Mr and Mrs Aguirre said
that none of their other five
children had been on or anywhere
near the school bus on Jan. 10,
1980.
Attorney Gerald Beckman, who
represented the plaintiffs, told The
Rio Grande Herald that in 1980,
when the school district was sued,
"nobody felt there was another
cause of action " He said, that if
the case had gone before a jury
and the plaintiffs had won, "we
would have asked for $2 million in
actual damages," with up to $20
million possible when punitive
damages were considered.
After the Aguirres and attorneys
for the plaintiffs and defendants
declared themselves satisfied with
the settlement. District Judge
Ricardo Garcia promptly approved
the settlement
The Corpus Christi law firm of
Huerta and Beckman represented
the plaintiffs in the suit The
Corpus Christi law firm of Kleberg.
Dyer, Bedford and Weil repre-
sented CPL
DRUM MAJORS SELECTED— Pictured above are
Liza Trevino and Adan Rosa III, the 1985-1986 drum
majors for the Rio Grande City Battler Band. (See Page
for two related articles about the Battler Band.)
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Roberts, Kenneth. The Rio Grande Herald (Rio Grande City, Tex.), Vol. 39, No. 31, Ed. 1 Thursday, June 6, 1985, newspaper, June 6, 1985; Edinburg, Texas. (https://texashistory.unt.edu/ark:/67531/metapth194979/m1/1/: accessed April 30, 2024), University of North Texas Libraries, The Portal to Texas History, https://texashistory.unt.edu; crediting Rio Grande City Public Library.