The Rio Grande Herald (Rio Grande City, Tex.), Vol. 80, No. 7, Ed. 1 Thursday, January 4, 1990 Page: 1 of 8
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11
Valley Mart
Inserts
Inside
THE RIO GRANDE HERALD
Published weekly in Rio Grande City, Texas, every Thursday by The RiOvCrande Publishing Co.
H.E.B.
Inserts
Inside
UttPS 466-200
Vol. 80, No. 7, Thursday, January 4, 1990
25 Cents
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The <• rolto in Rio Grande City was decorated with beautiful Christmas lighting
and decorations for the 1989 holiday season, just as in past years. The Grotto was
still lit up on the night on Jan. I, 1990.
Citizens State Bank Hit
By Armed Robbery
['he Roma Police Department is
continuing its search for suspccLs in
(he armed robbery ol the motor
bank ol Citizens State Bank in
Roma on Tuesday, Dec. 26.
Roma Police Chief Leonel
Romeo Alvarez indicated Tuesday
afternoon that no major leads have
developed since the lobbery took
place at approximately 1:30 p.m. at
the motor bank's drive through
window on Tuesday. Dec. 26.
Two Hispanic males in their late
twenties or early thirties are being
sought in connection with the
crime. The driver of the 1981 to
1985 light grey Oldsmobilc is
described as having short dark hair,
a round face, chubby build, and a
light complexion. At the time of
(he robbery, this subject was
wearing a baseball cap and dark
sunglasses.
Suspect Number Two is described
having dark shoulder length hair,
a mustache, a slim build and a
medium complexion. At the time
ol the robbery, this suspect was
wearing a cowboy hat and
sunglasses.
Alvarez indicated that an
undetermined amount ol money was
taken m the robbery. He said that
the bulk of the evidence indicates
that at least $10,000 was taken.
Alvarez said, "One of the men
had a gun. He gave the teller a piece
of paper thai had a (robbery) note
written in Spanish. He never
pointed H (the gun). The gun was
visible to the teller on the front seat
on the driver's side."
The vehicle was described by the
Roma Police Department as a 1981
to 1985 light grey Oldsmobile,
possibly a Toronado type vehicle
with dark tinted windows. The car
is described as shabby looking."
A S5000 reward is being offered
to anyone having information
leading to the arrest and conviction
of the suspects.
Anyone having information
about this episode should contact
Roma Chief of Police Leonel
Romeo Alvarez or Officers Jose H
Garcia or Francisco Garcia at the
Roma Police Department at
849-2231.
Also, persons with information
can contact the FBI office in
McAllen and ask lor agents Fred
Bennett or Leo Martinez
686-3761.
at
Preliminary Estimates Figured
For Freeze Losses
Very preliminary estimates Irom
the Farmers Home Administration
indicate that Starr County
agricultural interests suffered heavy
losses from the severe Arctic
outbreak just before Chrisunas.
Alonzo Perez ol the local FmllA,
noting that estimates ol damage are
very tentative at this time, gave the
following damage estimates lor
these crops.
Celery- 600 acres growing
throughout county at time ol freeze,
100 percent loss: Lettuce- 2200
res growing, 70 to 75 percent
Te Bcllpcppers, 150 acres
unharvested in Starr County, 100
percent loss.
Tomatoes- 100 acres unharvested,
100 percent loss; Cabbage, 150
a. res unharvested, 50 percent loss;
Cauliflower, 100 acres unharvested,
100 percent loss; Irrigated
Watermelons, 200 acres. 100
percent loss.
About onions, Perez said, I hat s
very hard to figure. The plants are
very small; we won't know the
extent of damage for some time."
He indicated that 2500 acres of
onions have been planted in Starr
County.
Perez said, Some harvesting of
cabbage will continue, as with
lettuce."
The FmllA official said that
ranchers may have suffered the
worst effects Irom the freeze. He
J.P. Perez Announces
Reelection Candidacy
Precinct Four Justice of the Peace
Hector "Ivo" Perez has announced
his candidacy for reelection to a
third term in the March 13, 1990
Democratic Primary.
Perez said, "I've made myself
available to the public and want to
continue to do the same type of job
the next four years.1'
He added, "My main goal for the
next four yars is to set up a
computer system in this office.
We're here to serve the taxpayers."
Perez indicated, "From 1986
through 1989, we've collected
$255,281.18, as of this date
(Friday, Dec. 29). This year alone,
we have collected almost
$100,000."
Perez said that 10,472 cases were
filed in his court from Jan. 1, 1986
through mid-day on Friday, Dec.
29, 1989. The yearly total of cases
is broken down as follows: 1986,
Hector "Ivo" Perez
1848 cases; 1987, 2415; 1988,
2236; 1989, 3974.
(See PEREZ, Page 5)
1989 Eventful Year
For Starr County
stressed, "The loss is 100 percent.
Grazing is virtually impossible
now. Cactus has even been
adversely affected. ..The cold froze
some of the cactus. I think this is a
lot worse for ranchers than the 1983
freeze, because ranchers had been
struggling due to the drought for
several years."
Perez noted, "The County Judge
has asked for Starr County to be
declared a disaster area due to the
freeze. The Governor has requested a.
disaster declaration from the U.S.
Department of Agriculture."
"We had already gotten a disaster
declaration lor 1989 due to the
drought. Any ranchcrs hurt by the
(See FREEZE, Page 6)
Meeting On
Freeze Damage
Friday In
%>
Weslaco
Federal and state officials from
the Farmers Home Administration,
Small Business Administration,
Federal Crop Insurance, and
Agricultural Stabilization and
Conservation Service will meet at
the Hobitzel Auditorium at the
Texas Agricultural Extension
Research Center in Weslaco at 1:30
p.m. Friday.
The purpose of the meeting is to
discuss the effects ol the recent
freeze on Valley agriculture.
All Starr County ranchers and
farmers concerned about the recent
freeze are invited and encouraged to
attend and ask any relevant
questions.
Anyone seeking further
information should contact County
Extension Agent Enrique Perez at
487-2306.
By KENNETH ROBERTS
Managing Editor
The just-completed year of 1989
proved to be an eventful and pivotal
one for Starr County and its
citizcns.
There were a number ol events
that affected the lives of Starr
County residents, but six stories
stand out as most important.
Among these arc the appointment
of one of Starr County's most
distinguished citizens to the
University of Texas Board of
Regents, an Arctic cold wave just
before Christmas that devastated
vegetable crops and caused serious
hardships for county residents, the
ultimately unsuccessful drive to
attract a state prison unit, a
continued and critical epidemic of
rabies, the appointment of a new
school superintendent for the Rio
Grande City C1SD, and
The year's top story was the
appointment of Dr Mario E.
Ramirez, to the University of Texas
Board ol Regents in February.
Governor Bill Clements
announced on Feb. 8 that he was
nominating Dr. Ramirez to serve
on the UT Board of Regents.
Ramirez was nominated to replace
Mario Yzaguirre of Brownsville,
whose term expired in the early part
of 1989.
In making the appointment. Gov.
Clements stated, "Mario Ramirez is
an outstanding appointee,
well-equipped to help respond to the
diverse challenges now lacing
higher education in Texas. His
working knowledge of education
and our state's health needs make
him uniquely qualified to address
quality within the system's
academic programs generally and
medical schools in particular."
After his nomination, Ramirez
told The Rio Grande Herald, "I'm
overwhelmed at this honor It is an
awesome responsibility. I think UT
is a world class university. This is
one ol the greatest honors of my
life. This is the highest position
and honor that one can attain in
higher education, with the vastness
of the UT System. 1 have always
been interested in education from
every standpoint."
Ramirez added, I intend to be a
regent for the whole state, but I
will maintain special interest in
this area." He indicated that he
would focus on the issues of
expanding recruitment of
minorities, upgrading the health
education provided by the U1
System, and bringing about the
merger between UT and Pan
American University.
Ramirez's appointment was
enthusiastically endorsed by State
Senator
Judith Zalfirini of Laredo.
On Thursday, Feb. 23, Ramirez
was unanimously confirmed by the
Texas Senate to serve on the UT
Board of Regents.
He was sworn in to the Board ol
Regents on Tuesday evening, Feb.
28 at the McAllen Country Club,
with the occasion being the UT
Exes annual banquet. The oath was
administered by Ramirez s son.
District Judge Mario E. Ramirez,
Jr., and by U.S District Judge
Ricardo Hinojosa.
On Tuesday. March 21, scores ol
Starr County citizens turned out to
the MultiPurpo.se Center in Rio
Grande City to attend a reception in
honor of Ramirez. The reception,
held under the auspices ol the Rio
Grande City C1SD, was the
highlight ol Dr Mario E Ramirez
Day in Starr County, which was
proclaimed by the County
Commissioners.
Ramirez is a former president ol
the Texas Medical Association and
a former member of the Texas
Higher Education Coordinating
Board He received the national
award "Family Doctor ol the Year
in 1978, presented by the American
Academy of Family Physicians.
In late 1985, Ramirez was
nominated by President Reagan to a
position on the Board ol Regents ol
the Uniformed Services University
ol the Health Sciences Ramirez
received commendations Iroin the
President and the Governor of
Texas, as well as from the Texas
Acadcmv Family Physicians, for
aiding refugees and victims of
Hurricane Beulah in 1967.
Ramirez was appointed Starr
County Judge in September 1969
and served in that position through
1978, winning two elections.
The year's second most important
story was the Arctic cold front that
roared into Starr County less than
four days before Christmas,
dropping low temperatures into the
mid-teens two consecutive
mornings.
The lull extent ol damage to
county vegetable crops had yet to
be determined at year's end. Local
producers expressed pessimism
about the celery crop, but expressed
h;;pe that younger lettuce and onion
plants might have survived the
freezing weather.
The supply of electricity
remained steady to residences
throughout the cold wave, with
only a lew isolated outages. The
longest outage. was for
approximately two and one-hall
hours in Garciasville on the
evening on Saturday, Dec. 23.
The bitter cold, which resulted in
low temperatures ranging from 14
to 18 degrees in Rio Grande City
on the mornings on Dec. 23-24,
resulted in numerous broken water
lines m both Rio Grande City and
Roma. Most of the problems had
been corrected three days later.
Early on the morning ol Dec 22,
the below freezing weather and light
rain caused streets to become coated
with ice. For a few hours that
morning, light snowfiakes fell
throughout much of the county, but
there was no significant
(See EVENTFUL, Page 2)
Amador Announces
Candidacy For J.P.
Guadalupe (Lupe) Amador, Jr., a
teacher and coach in the Rio Grande
City, La Casita-Garciasvillc and La
Grulla areas, has announced that he
is a candidate lor Justice of the
Peace ol Precinct 3 in the March 13
Democratic Primary.
Amador is a candidate lor the
position currently held by Dcwitt
Jones, Jr.
In his announcement, Amador
said, "1 have given this decision
substantial thought during the past
lew months and have discussed the
needs of the office with many
people
"1 have been encouraged by many
who leel that a change is needed.
People are ol the opinion that the
office ol Justice ol the Peace has
lost integrity that is essential in
providing constituents with fair,
impartial decisions, declared
Guadalupe Amador, Jr.
Amador.
Amador pointed to his nine years
(See AMADOR, Page ft)
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A new entrance to Fort Ringgold will soon become available for the use of
motorists needing to reach the various school district facilities. This new entrance is
expected to provide some relief from the heavy traffic congestion in the morning in
both Fort Ringgold and on U.S. Highway 83.
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Roberts, Kenneth. The Rio Grande Herald (Rio Grande City, Tex.), Vol. 80, No. 7, Ed. 1 Thursday, January 4, 1990, newspaper, January 4, 1990; Edinburg, Texas. (https://texashistory.unt.edu/ark:/67531/metapth195218/m1/1/: accessed April 26, 2024), University of North Texas Libraries, The Portal to Texas History, https://texashistory.unt.edu; crediting Rio Grande City Public Library.