Rio Grande Herald (Rio Grande City, Tex.), Vol. 84, No. 6, Ed. 1 Thursday, February 6, 1997 Page: 1 of 8
eight pages : ill. ; page 22 x 14 in. Digitized from 35 mm. microfilm.View a full description of this newspaper.
Extracted Text
The following text was automatically extracted from the image on this page using optical character recognition software:
(7
(
215
Hoag Book Bindery
127 Rail Rd
Springport, MI 49204
(Zone 6 )
..eekly in Rio Grande City, Texas every Thursday by The Rio Grande Publishing Co.
USPS 466-200
VOL. 84, NO. 6 THURSDAY, FEBRUARY 6, 1997
25 cents
m
♦ *** *
*,U;
> r«- .A
#3 V;f -I
rife
* Tejeda succumbs
after long illness
0mm
>*■ IP"® '
: -'mtf
The City of Rio Grande City and the office of Precinct Four County Commissioner
Abel N. Gonzalez, Jr., are currently working together to clean up and improve the
appearance of the Fort Ringgold Park. City workers are pictured above conducting
cleanup operations recently. The project involves installing improved lighting and
working to prepare the baseball fields for the upcoming Little League season.
City, County carry out joint
effort to clean up park
The City of Rio Grande City and
the Precinct Four County
Commissioner arc currently
working together on a major effort
to clean up the Fort Ringgold Park
and provide improved lighting and
security for the facility.
City Administrator Jose
Escamilla noted that a major
cleanup effort was earned out on
Jan. 20-21 by the City's Public
Works Department and employees
of Precinct Four Commissioner
Abel N. Gonzalez, Jr.
Escamilla said, "We're trying to
pool our resources. The main focus
is to get the park ready by March
for Little League and other
activities...We're going to help
prepare the baseball diamonds for
the season."
Escamilla emphasized, "We want
to set up surveillance cameras in
the park. This has been successful
in other areas. There's been too
much graffiti ind too much damage
to public property. The problem
has got to stop...We're going to try
to work with the county to install
additional lighting."
He indicated, "We're hoping to
clear some scrub brush on the west
end (of the park) for another small
practice field or a small soccer
Held."
Escamilla emphasized,
"Commissioner Gonzalez is
extremely supportive of the
project...Border-Pacific Railroad is
working to help the effort."
Precinct Four Commissioner
Abel N. Gonzalez, Jr., said, "Our
people and the city are working
together very well in this cleanup
effort...Together, the city and the
county have installed the lighting
for all the fields...We hope to do
more things to beautify the paik."
Gonzalez emphasized, "The field
lighting is ready. We're planning to
replace the lighting elsewhere in the
park and add more lighting in the
park to improve safety I think
surveillance cameras would
definitely help...We plan to add
more fencing barriers to offer more
protection for playground
equipment"
The commissioner noted, "We'r;
working at leveling the fields.
We're bringing in the red dirt that's
needed for the infields...The fields
will be in very good shape for the
Little League season."
Gonzalez commented, "The field
definitely looks a lot better...When
the weather warms up, the park will
look a lot better."
RG(1 to host Odyssey of
Mind competition on Feb. 8
Odyssey of the Mind is coming!
More than 800 students, 200
coaches and perhaps hundreds of
parents and spectators will be on
hand Feb. 8 at Fort Ringgold when
the Rio Grande City school district
hosts the Odyssey of the Mind
Sub-Regional Competition for the
first time ever.
Gifted & Talented Coordinator
Edna Gonzalez has supervised
putting the large event on in Rio
Grande City.
She said it has taken a great
effort by many people to make it
happen.
"Being that it is the first time,
I'm very excited, the administrators
are very excited because we feel
like this is a great experience for
our kids, for our school and our
community," Gonzalez said.
"I feel like the kids will benefit
from competing in their own
district and that will give them the
confidence to go on to the regional
and state (meets) and, hopefully,
world competition. I feel it is
great."
The Rio Grande City school
district's teams have dominated the
regional competition the past two
year. Seven teams from Rio have
qualified for the state meet during
that time.
Competition for the nine-hour,
all-day event begins at 8 a.m. on
that Saturday, Feb. 8 and continues
until the fabulous and well-attended
awards ceremony caps the day at
about 4:30 p.m.
Odyssey of the Mind is an event
Uiat stresses quick-thinking, acting,
dancing and overall inventiveness
and innovation.
Gonzalez said OM is an event
worth coming out to see.
"Oh, yes," she said. "I've
already gotten calls from citizens,
parents in the community,
teachers. I've gotten a lot of
cooperation and calls, people
asking for help and that they would
like to see our teams compete.
"They also wanted to see how
other teams compete and what they
have to offer as far as the long-term
problems."
The entire project has taken more
than two months to complete,
Gonzalez said, noting that many
Rio school district officials have
helped.
"Dr. Richard Irizarry has been
very instrumental," said Gonzalez,
referring to the district assistant
superintendent for curriculum and
instruction.
"The department heads, like Mr.
Arcadio Salinas from maintenance,
Mr. Dutch Piper from security and
Mr. Forsting from ROTC and, of
course, the two principals at the
high school and middle school: Mr.
(Mike) Villarreal and Mr. Alfredo
Garcia at the middle school, who
have cooperated as far as providing
rooms for us.
"(Food Service Director) Mrs.
Edna Ramon, of course. She has
(See ODYSSEY, Page 8)
FBLA students to provide
free income tax assistance
The Rio Grande City High
School chapter of the Future
Business Leaders of America
(FBLA) is providing volunteer
income tax assistance to the Starr
Community free of charge.
This is the second year that
FBLA provides this free service in
association with the Internal
Revenue Service (IRS) Volunteer
Income Tax Assistance Service
(VITA).
This year the FBLA will offer
electronic income tax filing
assistance at no cost to the
customer.
Tax returns will be prepared on a
computer, allowing for accuracy
checks that improve the quality of
preparation.
A copy of the tax return being
U.S. Congressman Frank Tejeda
of San Antonio, who represented
the 28th Congressional District for
slightly longer than two terms, died
late Thursday after battling a
cancerous brain tumor for more
than one year.
The 51-year-old congressman died
late Thursday night at his San
Antonio home. An Associated
Press article printed in Saturday's
McAllen Monitor indicated that the
cause of death was pneumonia, a
complication that came about from
the cancer treatments.
Tejeda was buried with full
military honors Monday at Fort
Sam Houston in San Antonio. A
military plane transported a
congressional delegation to San
Antonio to attend the services.
After his death, Tejeda was
commended by numerous
colleagues who served with him in
Congress and in the Texas
Legislature. He also was praised by
President Clinton, Texas Governor
George Bush and Lieutenant
Governor Bob Bullock.
Prior to being elected to
Congress in 1992, Tejeda served in
the Texas Senate for five years and
in the Texas House of
Representatives for 10 years.
During his career in Congress and
Series of rabies
clinics scheduled
A series of rabies clinics will be
carried out throughout Starr County
in the upcoming three weeks.
Veterinarian Dr. Roberto S.
Margo emphasizes that it is
important for all pet owners to keep
the vaccination of their pets up to
date on an annual basis, especially
since there have been more than
110 confirmed cases of rabies in the
county since September 1988.
Margo stresses that even through
there were only two confirmed cases
in 1996, the rabies problem is still
present in remote areas and remains
very dangerous.
The following clinics are
scheduled in the coming week:
WEDNESDAY, FEB. 5- La
Puerta, KCTM Radio Station, 5 to
6 p.m.
THURSDAY, FEB. 6- Las
Lomas, Mcndoza Grocery, 5 to 6
p.m.
TUESDAY, FEB. 11- Los
Saenz, front of Catholic Church, 5
to 6 p.m.
THURSDAY, FEB. 13- San
Isidro, Mini-Gym, 5 to 6 p.m.
On Saturday, Feb. 15 from 9
a.m. to 1 p.m., a free clinic will be
held in the "El Quiosco" area in
front of Texas State Bank in Rio
Grande City.
in the Texas Legislature, Tejeda
earned a reputation as one of the
primary advocates for military
veterans in Texas.
According to Tht Monitor, a
spokesman for the Texas Secretary
of State's Office indicated that the
governor would wait a week or so
before calling a special election to
fill Tejeda's seat, which would
mean that the special election
would probably take place in
March.
Tejeda, who served four years
duty with the Marine Corps, was
awarded the Bronze Star for courage
and leadership in the face of enemy
fire during the Vietnam War. He
was wounded in action and received
the Purple Heart.
Tejeda was one of the youngest
sergeants in Marine Corps history
before entering the Officers
Candidate School, where he earned a
distinguished record. He became a
captain in the U.S. Marine Corps
Reserve.
Starr County Judge J.M.
Martinez, Jr., told The Rio Grande
Herald Monday afternoon, "It's
really sad. He was quite a man. I
respected him very much for his
honesty and for his rise from very
humble beginnings. He was a
dedicated, conscientious type of
individual who faithfully served this
district."
Romeo Lopez, Vice President of
Texas State Bank-Rio Grande City
and Vice President of the Rio
Grande City Chamber of
Commerce, commented to The
Herald, "It is very unfortunate that
some of our outstanding
Mexican-American leaders are called
(See TEJEDA, Page 8)
Three perish in mishap
in Garceno area
Two adults and one child lost
their lives in a two-vehicle accident
on U.S. Highway 83 in the
Garceno area on Tuesday afternoon,
Jan. 28.
Filemeno Martinez Ruiz, 41;
Maria Martin, 22; and Gabriel
Martin, 6, all residents of Roma,
were fatally injured when the 1997
Ford pickup in which they were
traveling collided with a 1996
International Truck Tractor with a
1994 Great Dane Van attached. A
DPS trooper indicated that the
tractor vehicle was an 18-wheeler.
According to an article in the Jan.
30 McAllen Monitor, the mishap
occurred at approximately 2:30
p.m. on Jan. 28. The Ford pickup
driven by Ruiz was traveling
eastbound on U.S. 83 in the outside
lane and the tractor vehicle was
moving westbound in the outside
lane.
The mishap took place on U.S.
Highway 83 at Garceno Bridge, just
west of the intersection with FM
Road 649.
Ruiz and Gabriel Martin were
pronounced dead at the scene by
Justice of the Peace Jaime Alvarez.
Maria f« lartin was pronounced dead
at _ ^arr County Memorial Hospital
at 5:22 p.m., slightly less than
three hours after the mishap.
The DPS trooper indicated that
Filemeno Ruiz was ejected from the
(See MISHAP, Page 8)
RGCHS Fall Banquet
scheduled Friday night
The Rio Grande City High
School Fall Athletic Banquet will
be held this Friday night at 7 p.m.
at the Multipurpose Center to
honor athletes who competed in
football and other fall sports.
The banquet will be carried out
under the auspices of the Rio
Grande City Quarterback Club.
Athletes that competed in football,
volleyball, and boys and boys and
girls cross country will be honored
at the banquet. The Rio Grande
City High School cheerleaders will
also be honored.
Among the featured speakers will
be Oscar Ozuna, a former Rattler
football player who is now playing
at Texas A & M
Universny-Kingsville, and Alex
Medina, a former Brownsville
Hanna football player who is now
competing for Texas
A&M-Kingsville.
Another featured speaker will be
Donna Benton, a graduate of the
University of Texas at Austin and a
former member of the Lady
Longhoms volleyball team.
All athletes who competed in
football and other fall sports will be
recognized at the banquet.
All-District honorees in these
sports will be recognized and
presented special awards.
Anyone needing additional
information about the banquet is
encouraged to contact Head Football
Coach John Lerma at 716-6885.
transmitted will be printed for the
customer's records, said Ms.
Carlota Garza, FBLA adviser and
business teacher.
Customers can have direct
deposit of their tax refunds within
two weeks or a paper check in three
weeks.
The Rio Grande City High
School FBLA looks forward to
serving Starr County citizens with
this service project, Ms. Garza
added
"I believe it is very important
that our students be taught to
volunteer their time and efforts to
the community," she said.
"Number one, because 1 think
that they will become more
productive citizens and they will be
(See STUDENTS, Page 8)
Rio Grande City High School juniors Anna Martinez (left) and Kathleen Garcia are
ready to provide free electronic filing of income tax forms for the Starr County
community. The Future Business Leaders of America members will join about 18
other students in providing this scrvicc after receiving Volunteer Income Tax
Assistance Service training for Um IRtL (RGCCISD photo)
Upcoming Pages
Here’s what’s next.
Search Inside
This issue can be searched. Note: Results may vary based on the legibility of text within the document.
Tools / Downloads
Get a copy of this page or view the extracted text.
Citing and Sharing
Basic information for referencing this web page. We also provide extended guidance on usage rights, references, copying or embedding.
Reference the current page of this Newspaper.
Roberts, Kenneth. Rio Grande Herald (Rio Grande City, Tex.), Vol. 84, No. 6, Ed. 1 Thursday, February 6, 1997, newspaper, February 6, 1997; (https://texashistory.unt.edu/ark:/67531/metapth195586/m1/1/: accessed April 28, 2024), University of North Texas Libraries, The Portal to Texas History, https://texashistory.unt.edu; crediting Rio Grande City Public Library.