The Rio Grande Herald (Rio Grande City, Tex.), No. 16, Ed. 1 Thursday, February 25, 1988 Page: 1 of 10
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Published in Rio Grande City, Texas, Every Thursday By The Rio Grande Publishing Co.
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NO. 16 THURSDAY, FEBRUARY 25,1988
FIFTEEN CENTS
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INFORMATION OR EMERGENCY
GIGI GUTIERREZ 466 2555
CELIA VILLARREAL 467 2301
I
./ lesigns As
raiser
The Starr County Food Pantry held ribboncutting ceremonies for Its new temporary
location. Cutting the ribbon are Celia Villarreal, fourth from left, and Gigi Gutierrez,
fourth from right.
Starr County Chief Appraiser
Ricardo Diaz submitted his .esig-
nation, effective immediately, to
the Appraisal District Board of
Directors at a special meeting last
Wednesday night.
After an executive session that
lasted approximately 35 to 40
minutes, the board reopened the
meeting. Director Hector Salinas
then noted that Diaz had submitted
a letter submitting his resignation
as Chief Appraiser effective Feb
17.
Board member Eloy Garza
moved and Abel N. Gonzalez, Jr.,
seconded that the resignation be
accepted. The motion passed, but
Raul Villarreal of San Isidro
dissented, saying, "I'm opposed for
the reason that I've only been here
• month and a half. I'm concerned
that we may be in violation of
policy."
The letter of resignation sub-
mitted by Diaz, and dated Feb. 15,
Pantry Now In Temporary Building
Pantry Cuts Ribbon; Plans For Future
By KENNETH ROBERTS
Managing Editor
The Starr County Food Pantry
held ribboncutting ceremonies
Friday for its new temporary
location, but is currently busy
carrying out planning for long
range objectives, including a new
permanent location.
Friday's ribboncutting was held
at the Pantry's temporary .ocation,
at the old Starr County Courthouse
on Water Street. Gigi Gutierrez of
the Pantry praised Commissioner
"Chema" Alvarez for his vital role
in helping the Pantry find a new
temporary location.
Gutierrez told The Rio Grande
Herald, "We moved here in the
first week of February. I went
before the Commissioners' Court
and told them we needed a new
building I went up and down Main
Street and Second Street trying to
obtain use of these abandoned
buildings. No one would offer a
building for free, or for minimal
rent."
Gutierrez added, "This is tempo-
rary. We are trying for a grant. We
want our own building. We need
more space. I'm asking for a
3000-square foot building, because
that's what we need."
She said, "We want to have the
Pantry, the Salvation Army, the
Muscular Dystrophy effort working
out of the same building Also, we
want to start basic English and
G.E D, classes in the morning.
We've even had requests for basic
Spanish classes."
In the temporary location, the
Pantry has 1000 square feet of
space available, compared to 3000
square feet in their former building
located on East Main Street.
Gutierrez said, "Some students
from A&I will be coming down to
remodel the Hinojosa Building,
which is a historical site. These
ladies (volunteers with the Pantry)
worked hard and well to clean that
building. We stayed in the old
building until the last day of
January."
Most importantly, said Gutierrez,
"We made an application to the
federal government for two VISTA
volunteers We've been accepted.
The two volunteers will be going to
Austin for training in late March."
About the VISTA volunteers,
Gutierrez said, "The project has
been approved. We got the call
from Sen. Gramm's office The two
CORRECTION
The Rio Grande Herald wishes to
make a correction in reference to
the story in the Feb. 18 issue about
the Union Water Supply board
meeting.
The Herald regrets the error that
was made in last week's article,
which stated that Garcia currently
holds a leadership position in the
Credit Union.
Javier Garcia, first chosen by the
Union Water board to fill a board
vacancy at the Feb. 16 monthly
meeting, told The Herald that he is
not a current member of the Stan-
County Teachers Federal Credit
Union. He indicated he is a past
member of the Credit Union's^
supervisory committee.
employees who will work through
the VISTA program will receive a
minimum living allowance less
than minimum wage. They will be
going to Austin for training in late
March."
The following individuals from
Starr County submitted letters of
support for the Pantry to Jerry
Thompson, who supervises the
VISTA program at the state level:
Roger H. Williams, Starr Pro-
duce Shed Manager; Roland
Ouellette, pastor of First Baptist
Church of Rio Grande City;
Edward Brown, supervisor of the
food stamp program in Rio Grande
City; Francisco G. Zarate, execu-
tive director of the Community
Action Council of South Texas;
Rene Montalvo, executive director
of the Starr County Industrial
Foundation; and County Judge
J.M. Martinez, Jr.
Gutierrez indicated, "We're ap-
plying to the Meadows and Kenedy
Foundations for grants. If a grant
romes through and we are pro-
vided land, we can go with this full
blast."
She commented, "Hopefully, in
early April, we'll start with the
Pantry full-time each weekday...At
this time, we're running from 8:30
a.m. to 12:30p.m. on weekdays."
Gutierrez emphasized, "If we are
open full-time, we can serve more
people, move more clothes, and
provide for greater communication
to the community."
About the future, Gutierrez
wonders, "If we could have our
own land, we hopewe could can
our own fruits and vegetables
l-H'ers, Boy and Girl Scouts,
church youths, and any interested
persons could be invited to help
with the canning."
Gutierrez continued, "What if we
decided to get some chickens? That
way, we could have fresh eggs. One
thing we hardly have is meat
products Why not even have a
greenhouse?"
She noted that the Starr County
Food Pantry is one of 25 satellite
Food Pantries under the Rio
Grande Valley Food Pantry.
Gutierrez pointed out that "there
were five warehouses in the state
of Texas in 1986, with each
warehouse supplying 25 pantries.
There are nine warehouses now,
with each warehouse supplying 30
pantries. Each warehouse gets six
to eight deliveries a month."
Gutierrez concluded, "As more
warehouses and new pantries open
up, each pantry, including ours,
will be encouraged to look for other
sources of food."
She noted, "We (the Starr County
Pantry) received $36,000 (in food)
from H.E.B. last year...The four
Valley counties are being taken
care of, courtesy of H.E.B. and the
Food Pantry."
Gutierrez said that "$39,600 in
food came from H.E.B. in January
to the Rio Grande Valley Food
(See PANTRY, Page 4|
reads as follows:
"Pursuant to the vote of the
board in executive session on Feb.
4, 1988 that it is the board's
pleasure that I no longer serve as
Chief Appraiser for Starr County
Central Appraisal District, I here-
by tender my resignation.
"This resignation is effective as
of Feb. 17, 1988, on the condition
that I am paid under the terms
agreed by the board at that
meeting, that is, two months
salary, plus all accrued vacation
leave and compensatory time. I
have as of this date accrued 120
hours of annual leave at $16.53 per
hour for a total of $1983 60. I have
accrued compensatory time for the
hours worked overtime on the
re-appraisal in the amount of 219
hours at $16.53 an hour for a total
of $3620 07. Two months salary for
severance pay is $5733.00. Total due
on termination is $11,336.67
"I would appreciate payment on
or before the effective date of my
resignation so that I can begin the
process of finding a new position
and relocating my family.
"Thank you for the opportunity
to serve Starr County."
Chairman Hector Salinas told
The Rio Grande Herald after the
meeting, "We paid him two months
severance pay, accrued leave, and
comp time that he had ac-
cumulated, as certified by the
Appraiser-Supervisor."
Jose Rodriguez, business manag-
er of the San Isidro ISD, expressed
his dissatisfaction about the set-
tlement terms to The Herald on
Friday. He said, "The policy says
there will be no payment for comp
time."
Rodriguez further contended that
severance pay was not called for if
there was a voluntary resignation
or termination.
But Salinas commented, "He had
worked that during the reapprais-
al; we had to pay him We told
them (the appraisers) they could
work Saturdays or in the evenings
if they wanted to to speed up the
reappraisal. Comp time was to be
paid for that rather than
overtime."
Salinas added, "Accrued leave
was something he had coming. The
(See DIAZ, Page 6)
Registration Cutoff
Date Has Passed
The Tax Assessor-Collector's of-
fice wishes to inform Starr County
voters that the cutoff date for
voting in the March 8 primary
ended at midnight, Feb. 7.
However, all persons who regis-
tered to vote beginning Feb. 8
through midnight on March 13 will
be eligible to vote in the runoff
primary of the party of their
choice.
Section 13.143, V.C.T.A., applies
to the registration of a person for
any election for which they are
qualified to vote.
Roma Gladiators
Prepare For Playoffs
i>
11
i.
■ f
H
TS
Jrublic
* I o Observe
hools Week
The Rio Grande City CISD will
be among 1100 public school
systems in the state which will be
observing Texas Public Schools
Week from March7-ll.
"Although parents and the public
are invited to visit our schools
throughout the school year, we
extend a special invitation during
Texas Public Schools Week to join
in a powerful partnership that will
make a difference for the future of
our state," Dr. A.E. Garcia,
Superintendent, said.
"The youngsters who entered
kindergarten in September will be
the graduates of the year 2000. But
last year, 86,000 Texas students
dropped out of school. That's 86,000
dropouts who lost their options in
life. That's 86,000 dropouts whose
survival will cost you - and your
children - billions of dollars in
welfare, in unemployment and in
crime," Garcia said.
"More and more, we are coming
to realize that the key to the
economic well being of Texas is our
education system. Texas needs
useful, educated citizens to meet
the challenge of the future. We
want everyone to join the
partnership with the schools. The
task is too important for the
schools to tackle alone; we need
the support of parents, businesses,
and all citizens to insure a brighter
future," Garcia said.
All classrooms in the Rio Grande
City CISD, elementary through
high school, will host open house
during this week, and the commu-
nity is invited to see first-hand how
the school system operates, accord-
ing to Garcia.
Special activities for Wednesday,
March 9 are being held at Ringgold
Elementary, Grulla Elementary,
Grulla Jr. High School and Rio
Grande City High School.
On Thursday, March 10, Ringgold
Intermediate, La Union Elementa-
ry, Ringgold Jr. High School, North
Grammar and Roque Guerra, Jr.,
Elementary Schools will be hosting
open house.
The time for the open house for
each school is as follows:
WEDNESDAY, MARCH 9,1988:
Ringgold Elementary: 3:30 p.m.-
5 p.m.
Grulla Elementary: 6 p.m.- 8
p.m.
Grulla Jr. High: 6 p.m.-8 p.m.
Rio Grande City High School: fi
p.m.-8p.m.
THURSDAY, MARCH 10,1988:
Ringgold Intermediate: 8:30
a.m.-3:40 p.m.
Ringgold Jr. High: 8:30 a.m.- 5
p.m.
La Union Elementary: 2:45 p.m.-
5 p.m.
North Grammar Elementary:
2:45p.m.-5p.m.
Roque Guerra Elementary: 2:45
p.m.-5p.m.
GOP Roma Voting
Place Changed
Starr County Republican Party
Chairman Esther Gonzalez in-
dicates that the voting place in
Roma for the March 8 Republican
primary has been changed
The voting place will now be the
residence of Roberto Vela, adja-
cent to the Vela Texaco Service
Station.
The Roma Gladiators, who
finished their 1988 district schedule
with an undisputed championship
and a perfect record, will play
Calallen, the second place District
15-4A team, at 7:30 p.m. Friday in
Falfurrias.
In a playoff game Tuesday night
for the runnerup playoff spot from
District 15-4A, Calallen defeated
Rockport-Fulton 71-51. Calallen
achieved a 10-6 district record this
year
Last Tuesday night at home, the
Gladiators defeated the La Joya
Coyotes 60-50. The Coyotes led 13-1.2
after one period, but Roma pulled
out to a 29-24 halftime advantage
and the Gladiators led 45-33 after
three quarters.
Roma Coach Jesus "Chuy"
Guerra, Jr., commented, "We were
a little sluggish in this ball game,
but, overall, we played well enough
to come out on top."
Guerra added, "We came out
with a little more intensity at the
start of the second half. We had it
(the lead) up to 18 points in the
fourth quarter When we got to
running a little bit, that got us up
to our 18-point lead. We opened it
up a little in the third quarter."
The closest the Coyotes could
come in the second half was the
10-point margin at the end of the
game.
The Gladiators hit 38 percent of
their shots from the field, and were
16 of 21 from the free throw line.
The Coyotes were 10 of 16 from the
charity stripe.
Omar Canales hit both of the
Gladiator three-point baskets.
The Roma scoring went as
follows: Leonel Perez, 21; Manuel
Alvarez, 14; Omar Canales, 12;
Isaac Garza, 6; Bobby Garcia, 2;
Noel Ramirez, 2. Omar Perales
paced the Coyotes with 16 points
and Manuel Garcia added 10.
On Friday night, the Gladiators
pulled away in the fourth quarter
to win a 65-57 victory over the Los
Fresnos Falcons at home. The
victory enabled Roma to finish
their 1988 district campaign with a
perfect 12-0 record.
The Gladiators led 33-29 at
halftime, but the Falcons twice cut
(See GLADIATORS, Page 81
Youth Fair Pageant
Sunday Night
Eduina Gonzalez, the daughter of
Mr. and Mrs. Raul Gonzalez of Rio
Grande City, will turn over her title
as Fair Queen on Sunday, Feb. 28.
The pageant will start at 6 p.m.
at the Rio Grande City High School
Auditorium The admission fee will
be $2 for adults, and $1 for
students.
Contestants will compete, and
winners will be crowned, in four
categories: County Fair Queen,
high school; Teen Princess, sixth
through eighth grade; Preteen
Princess, third through fifth grade,
Petite Fair Princess, kindergarten
through second grade
The following Princesses
crowned in last year's fair will turr
over their crowns this Sunday:
Teen Princess, Marcella Montalvo
Preteen Princess, Maritza Mon
talvo; Petite Princess, Karen Gail
Ramos.
(See Queen, Princess Pictures, Page 5)
Rehearsal for the pageant will be
held on Thursday, Feb. 25 at 6 p.m.
under the direction of Herbie
Villarreal, pageant coordinator,
and former pageant queens.
Some 60 young ladies will be
featured bidding for the titles ol
County Fair Princesses and Queen
All these contestants will also be
featured at the County Fair Parade
on Saturday, March 5.
Head local CPL serviceman Tomas Garcia, left, was honored by Che company with
a retirement dinner Friday night. Presenting a plaque of appreciation to him is Jose
Arturo "Red" Gonzalez of CPL. (See Page 2 for related story).
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Roberts, Kenneth. The Rio Grande Herald (Rio Grande City, Tex.), No. 16, Ed. 1 Thursday, February 25, 1988, newspaper, February 25, 1988; Edinburg, Texas. (https://texashistory.unt.edu/ark:/67531/metapth195121/m1/1/: accessed May 1, 2024), University of North Texas Libraries, The Portal to Texas History, https://texashistory.unt.edu; crediting Rio Grande City Public Library.