The Rio Grande Herald (Rio Grande City, Tex.), No. 34, Ed. 1 Thursday, June 18, 1987 Page: 1 of 10
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Ramirez Ford
Specials,
Pg.3
THE RIO GRANDE L.
Serving Starr County Fo
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Published in Rio Grande City, Texas, Every Thursday By The Rio Grande Publishing Co.
NO. 34 THURSDAY, JUNE 18,1987
FIFTEEN CENTS
Hwy83 Expansion Planned To BetterSafety
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By KENNETH ROBERTS
Managing Editor
(Editor's Note: This is the first
installment of at least a two-part
series by The Rio Grande Herald
on the long-awaited modernization
and expansion of U.S. 83 east of Rio
Grande City. This week's articles
will focus on the safety factor that
has been so instrumental in spur-
ring the expansion).
Starr County officials have
advocated the expansion of U.S. 83
(«
A celebration was held Friday at Ramirez I'ord in Rio
Grande City observing the 25th anniversary of the
association between the local Ford dealership and the
l ord Motor Credit Company. Pictured above fiom left to
right are Dr. Mario E. Ramirez, Foid Motor Credit
Company branch manager Joe White of Harlingen, and
Roel Ramirez, president and co-owner of Ramirez Ford
Sales.
Awarded By Ford Motor Credit Co.
east of Rio Grande City for more
than a decade, with increased
safety for motorists usually being
stressed as the main reason for the
project.
All parties contacted by The Rio
Grande Herald expressed their
conviction that the widening of U.S.
83 will make that roadway much
safer, but stress that the driver is
the ultimate key to maximizing
highway safety.
The expansion is finally on the
verge of getting underway this fall,
with the widening of U.S. 83 from
the entrance to Fort Ringgold to
just east of the Motor Inn to a
four-lane roadway with a continu-
ous left-turn lane.
State Highway Department Dis-
trict Engineer G.G. Garcia of
Pharr says that this stretch of
road, when completed, will be
similar to 10th Street in McAllen.
The latter stages of construction
will involve widening of 8;J into a
four-lane roadway all the way to
the railroad tracks. From the top
of the hill, the highway will become
a four-lane divided highway, sepa-
rated by a median, all the way to
the Hidalgo County Line.
Precinct Three County Commis-
sioner Eloy Garza offered this
endorsement of the Project, "I've
been looking forward to that
project It's needed badkly for
safety and economic reasons. It's a
very hazardous road. Traffic is
very heavy, especially in the
afternoon from 3:30 to 7 p.m., and
early in the morning."
Garza concluded, "It's been
needed for a long time. I think they
are very adequate plans (for
modernization)."
All law enforcement officers
whom The Rio Grande Herald
interviewed said they strongly
favor the widening of the U.S.
highway, because rbey consider the
present two-lr.ie roadway too
congested and hazardous.
Department of Public Safety
trooper Raymond Munsell said,
"This has been a long time
overdue. We've been needing this
Ramirez Ford Celebrafes
25th Anniversary
On Friday, Ramirez Ford Sales
of Rio Grande City marked 25
consecutive years of financing its
cars and trucks through Ford
Motor Credit Company
Roel Ramirez, Ramirez Ford
President, accepted an award from
Ford Credit at the anniversary
ceremony on Friday He received a
plaque in the form of a etter from
Ford Motor Credit Company Exec-
utive Vice-President R L
Fenstemacher
Dr. Mario Ramirez accepted a
25-year appreciation award for "25
years of loyal business relationship
Trial Date Set For
Union Water Case
A district court trial date of June
26 has been set in the case of a
lawsuit by a 19-year-old Pan
Am> rican University student from
Rio Grande City, who is disputing
the outcome of the Union Water
Supply board election in February
in which he was disqualified as a
possible board member.
District Judge Joe Evins, head of
the 5th Administrative Judicial
District, has named 275th District
Court Judge Hector Villarreal of
Edinburg to hear the suit, titled
"the State of Texas on relation of
Leonel Lopez vs. (board member)
Dewitt Jones. The case will be
heard in the 229th District Court on
Friday, June 26 in Rio Grande City.
At a preliminary hearing on
Thursday, District Judge Villarreal
assigned attorney David Garza to
serve as a special prosecutor for
the state in pressing Calixto
Villa rreal's case.
As a write-in candidate in the
Feb. 10 election, Calixto Villarreal
received 41 votes, good for a
second-place finish in a race for
three board positions. Dewitt Jones
received a total of 26 votes.
But Union Water Supply Presi-
dent Manuel Guerra insisted that
Villarreal had been disqualified
earlier as a candidate because he
did not qualify as a meter owner
under the bylaws.
Representing Jones at Thurs-
day's hearing was local attorney
(See WATER. Page I)
for a long, long time...It's a real
dangerous road. From Rio Grande
City to Sullivan City, it's all bad. I
can't tell you any portion that's
worse."
Munsell added, "Normally, your
most serious accidents happen
from dusk until 5 a m From 9 p.m.
on is high DWI time It's getting to
the point that from 3 p.m. to 9 p.m.
on Sunday afternoons is a heavy
traffic time. I'd say there has been
a significant increase in traffic on
U.S. 83 in the past five years."
Munsell stressed, "We need the
new highway terribly. It will
relieve the congestion. It's gotten
to the point where it's bump-
er-to-bumper at peak traffic times.
It's usually between here and
Garciasville, the second cutoff,
where the traffic is heaviest."
Statistics compiled for a Texas
Department of Highways public
hearing on the project in August
1933 indicate that a total of 10
fatalities occurred on U.S. 83 east
of Rio Grande City in the years
1975-1980. The fatalities are broken
down as follows on a yearly basis:
1975,1; 1976,2; 1977, 2; 1980, 5.
The accidents during that six-
year period resulting in injury
totaled 53 and are broken down as
follows: 1975, 6; 1976, 13, 1977. 7;
1978,8; 1979,9; 1980, 10.
A total of 168 accidents resulted
in property damage, categorized as
follows by year: 1975, 30; 1976, 31;
1977, 28; 1978, 27; 1979, 26; 1980, 26.
Munsell concluded, "The plans
sound grea' The construction will
help substantially It won't stop
ir the financing and leasing of Ford
products."
n presenting the 25-year Dealer
A«Td to Roel Ramirez, Ford
Crec ' Harlingen Branch Manager
Joe 1 White said that the memento
represented Ford Credit's recogni-
tion and appreciation of the rela-
tionship that has existed between
the two organizations during the
last quarter century.
"We have always respected
Ramirez Ford's service to the
community and are proud to have
been associated with Mr Ramirez
and his employees, both personally
and professionally," said Mr.
White. "We anticipate many more
years of working together."
Ford Credit's Harlingen Branch
office at 1916 East Harrison serves
Ford and Lincoln-Mercury dealers
in the Rio Grande Valley market
area.
A wholly-owned subsidiary of
Ford Motor Company, Ford Credit
has more than 250 branch offices-
including sales financing, commer-
cial, industrial and real estate
financing and consumer loan
|S«t FORI). Page IO|
accidents, but it will slow things
down a bit. It will be giving people
more room to move around."
Huge Traffic Volume
Highway Department Resident
Engineer Frederic Pacheco, based
in Pharr, provided The Herald with
the following figures concerning
the average daily traffic volumes
for 1986 on the three stretches of
U.S. 83 to the Hidalgo County line.
The Average Daily Traffic figure
for 1986 on U.S. 83 in Rio from the
Fort Ringgold Entrance to the
Motor Inn was 13,000 vehicles per
day, the ADT for the next stretch
of highway to the railropd crossing
was 9000 vehicles, and the ADT for
U.S. 83 from the high hill above the
railroad tracks to Suilivan City was
6000 vehicles.
According to the Highway De-
partment study presented in 1983,
the following a\ rage daily traffic
(ADT) figures prevailed in 1981:
Hidalgo County Line to FM 1430 at
Kelsay, (14 miles), 5350 vehicles;
FM 1430 at Kelsay to FM 755 (Pete
Diaz Avenue), 7900 vehicles; Pete
Diaz Avenue to Fort Ringgold
entrance, 11,500 vehicles
The following average daily
traffic figures are projected for the
year 2000: Hidalgo County Line to
FM 1430 at Kelsay (14 miles),
11,667 vehicles; FM 1430 at Kelsay
to Pete Diaz Avenue, 17,050
vehicles; and Pete Diaz Avenue to
the Fort Ringgold Entrance, 23,700
vehicles.
The two stretches of U.S. 83 from
FM 1430 at Kelsay to Fort Ringgold
rf
*w
By KENNETH ROBERTS'
County officials are seeking fed-
eral disaster assistance in the wake
of two weeks of rains that devas-
tated at least two-thirds of this
year's cantaloupe, honeydew, and
watermelon crops.
County Judge J.M Martinez, Jr.,
warns that the adversity visited on
county vegetable farmers could
idle over 5000 workers and cause
additional economic hardship for
the county.
The county commissioners, at an
emergency meeting Friday, voted
to apply for federal disaster
assistance after being told that the
extent of damage to the melon
crops could be as high as 75
percent.
The heavy thunderstorm Sunday
afternoon that dumped general
Starr Lawmen
To Play
Zapata Lawmen
The team of Starr County law
enforcement officers will play the
Zapata County law enforcement
team in a basketball game this
Friday at 7:30 p.m. at the Rio
Grande City High School gym
The purpose of the game is to
raise funds for the Starr County
Crime Prevention Unit.
In the earlier Starr-Zapata game
in Zapata, the Zapata team won a
hard-fought, two-point victory in a
tough game in which neither team
was able to pull out to more than a
six-point advantage.
Tickets are $1 at the door, and
can be purchased from deputies
ra ns of 1 to 3 inches in souther#
Starr County put the finishing
touches on the damage to the
melon crops.
Alfonso Perez, Starr County
executive director of the USDA's
Agricultural Conservation and
Stabilization Service, commented,
"It is a disaster. Melons were late
maturing due to the (March)
freeze. Non-agricultural businesses
will undoubtedly be hurt We're
going to feel the pinch in the
business community of Starr Coun-
ty. This is going to have a very
adverse economic effect."
Perez is the chairman of a
four-member County Disaster
Committee set up by Judge
Martinez to coordinate assessment
of crop damages and the applica-
tion for federal assistance through
the state's Division of Emergency
Management.
The other three members of the
committee are County Extension
Agent Enrique Perez, SCS District
Conservationist Silvestre Gonzalez,
and Farmers Home Administration
county supervisor Alonzo Perez.
Alfonso Perez said that losses for
cantaloupes, honeydews and wa-
termelons can tentatively be pro-
jected at 65 percent for each of
these three crops.
On Monday afternoon, Beto
Garcia of Starr Produce Inc. told
The Rio Grande Herald that
"We're going to have to close the
packing-plant operations today. We
were going to keep trying, but now
there is no hope."
Garcia lamented, "This is our
28th season We've never seen a
season where it rained every day
for 10 days. We've had big rains
before, but it quit quickly."
Starr Jail Certified
For 6th Straight Year
On Wednesday, June 10, the Starr
County Jail was certified by the
Texas Commission on Jail Stan
dards for the sixth consecutive
year
At that time, Inspector Maurice
Wood of the Commission conducted
his annual inspection of the jail
Wood declared that the Starr
County Jail was fully in compliance
with Commission rules and regula
tions
Chief Deputy J.C Gomez com-
mented, "This year was a lot
easier because of the new jail, but
a lot of work was put in by Chief
Jailer Rey Guerra and the staff
Gomez said that as of Monday
morning, there were 53 federal and
19 local prisoners in the Detention
Center He indicated that the bulk
of the federal inmates come from
the Bureau of Prisons system, and
serve an average sentence of four
to six months
On Tuesday, Gomez told The
Herald, "In the seven months since
we opened the jail, there's been
1170 local prisoners " He added
that as of Tuesday morning, there
were 59 federal inmates
The chief deputy added, ' As time
goes by, the jail has been prog
ressing, as far as federal prisoners
(population) is concerned " He
concluded with hopes that when the
new federal district court in
McAllen under District Judge
Ricardo Hinojosa gets in full gear,
the jail population could increase
further
Cardiology services will soon be
provided at Starr County Memorial
Hospital as the Heart Clinic of
McAllen will see patients with
heart problems every Wednesday
afternoon.
Dr. Hugo Blake said, "We're
going to see patients in Rio Grande
City every Wednesday We're going
to provide services they don't
(now) have. We have already
acquired equipment that will be
leased to the hospital."
Blake indicated, "For the first
time, Rio residents will be able to
take a stress test locally without
leaving town, and undergo an echo
cardiogram, a sonar scan of the
heart."
Blake added, "This machine
sends sound waves in the heart; an
image is created by sound waves
that bounce off the body. From
this, clinical decisions can be
made "
The Heart Clinic, said Blake, "is
a group of board-certified
cardiologists that has been serving
the Valley for five years now "
Starr Memorial Hospital Ad-
ministrator Thalia Munoz said she
welcomes the new cardiology serv-
ices, adding that "I consider it a
major breakthrough It will be a
good service to the community."
She said that she has been told that
the Heart Clinic will start its
services at Starr Memorial in early
July.
Chief of Medical Staff Dr Mario
E Ramirez said, "I think it will
increase our abilities to prognose
better It (heart disease) is cer-
tainly a major problem (in the
county). Heart disease goes hand
in hand with diabetes Heredity and
way of life are predisposing
factors "
Ramirez added, "Any doctor can
come and use the equipment. If we
can expand our capabilities, it will
be an asset Freedom of choice of
physicians will not be com-
promised He will lease it on a
yearly basis If another doctor
wants to use it, that will be okay ."
Dr Blake notes that the stress
test "is a test in which we ask the
patients to exercise on a treadmill,
while blood pressure and heart rate
and EKG (electro-cardiogram) are
monitored By doing this, you can
tell when someone has coronary
heart disease."
Blake said, "By going to Rio
Grande City, I think we're going to
be able to provide easy, accessible
care to the patient, in conjunction
with his family physician."
Blake added, "We will be able to
provide every kind of
cardiovascular test available,
except for cardiac catheterization,
which will be done in McAllen, and
open-heart surgeries, which obvi-
ously will be done in McAllen "
Blake commented, "Half a mil-
lion people in the United States die
every year of heart disease
Coronary heart disease is very
prevalent in this area Thirty five
percent of the patients suffering
heart attacks die before they reach
CARDIAC.. Page 10)
are projected to be at an F level of
service by the year 2000 if no
improvements are made.
The Highway Department defines
an F level of service as one "in
which congestion is so severe that
traffic is brought to a permanent
standstill. Level of Service C is
considered to be the acceptable
LOS in most cases. With LOS C,
traffic is moderate to heavy, but it
moves well with little or no
congestion."
Level of Service A is defined as a
situation "in which traffic is light
and moves freely at the speed
limit."
The Highway Department broke
down the remaining 14 miles of
U.S. 83 to the Hidalgo County Line
into the following Levels of Serv-
ice: Hidalgo County Line to FM
2360 (Alto Bonito), LOS C; FM 2360
to Garciasville (FM 1430). LOS D;
Garciasville to FM 1430 at Kelsay.
LOS E.
In short average daily traffic
figures are projected to increase
between two and three times from
1981 until the turn of the century.
District Engineer G G. Garcia
noted that to figure the average
daily traffic, "you take the total
amount of traffic for the year,
divide by 365, and get the daily
average. During some peak
periods, traffic can reach twice
that average "
Garcia said, "The highest ob-
jective is to provide the safest
facility we can. We cannot do
anything about the person behind
{See SAFETY. Page 10)
Cardiac Unit To Open At Hospital
Garcia said. Out of 1158 acres oi
honeydews, 1460 acres of can
taloupes, 266 acres of watermelons,
we (Starr Produce) lost 70 percent
of cantaloupes and honeydews and
65 percent of watermelons and bell
peppers."
Garcia stressed, "Last year, in
our peak production week, we were
hiring 1600 people at a payroll of
$300,000 a week in May 1986 This
year, we hired 1400 people at a
payroll of just over $200,000. but
they were only working two to
three hours, instead of the usual
eight hours "
County Extension Agent Enrique
Perez told The Rio Grande Herald
on Tuesday afternoon, "Some
farms barely harvested one-third of
their melon crops. Some did
complete their harvest, maybe
harvesting 60 percent, depending
on the stage of the harvest "
Perez added, "We've had 13
inches of rainfall that left all
irrigated farmland saturated to a
point that the melon crop was
damaged "
The Extension Agent recalled
rains in May 1985 that totaled
between 7 and 9 inches in 24 hours
in some areas of Starr County He
said, "The '85 rain wasn't compa-
rable to this This rain kept coming
and coming It's been cloudy and
cool, and rained on and off since
March."
Alfonso Perez contended that it is
too early to tell what the loss will
be to the cotton crop, but tentative
projections are 10 perccnt. He
concluded that it is also too early to
determine the extent of damage to
the peppers, which he sa;d are still
being harvested
Perez said that losses are
minimal or non-existent for the
sorghum and corn crops.
He added, "These figures are
preliminary We did have a lot of
rain at the wrong tiqie for the
vegetable farmers, i, the ran
chers are overjoyed They want
more. Your grain and cotton people
have not been hurt as bad,
especially dryland."
He said, "The cantaloupe crop
was looking good The bell popper
market was exceptionally
good You have a lot of water
melons planted in the highlands
Overall, you might have a little bit
less damage for watermelons "
On Monday mr.ning, Judge
Martinez indicated that a telegram
requesting disaster assistance
would be sent that day to the
Governor, in care of the Division of
Emergency Management of the
Department of Public Safety-
Federal Program Coordinator
Javier Margo indicated Monday
that the debacle may have worse
effects than the 1983 Christmas
freeze
Margo said that some of the
|*ee DISASTER, Page 71
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Roberts, Kenneth. The Rio Grande Herald (Rio Grande City, Tex.), No. 34, Ed. 1 Thursday, June 18, 1987, newspaper, June 18, 1987; Edinburg, Texas. (https://texashistory.unt.edu/ark:/67531/metapth195085/m1/1/: accessed April 27, 2024), University of North Texas Libraries, The Portal to Texas History, https://texashistory.unt.edu; crediting Rio Grande City Public Library.