Rio Grande Herald (Rio Grande City, Tex.), Vol. 93, No. 9, Ed. 1 Thursday, March 2, 2006 Page: 2 of 8
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The Rio Grande Her aid-Thursday, March 2, 2006, Page 2
Benavidez addresses STC
Summit on College Readiness
"Let today's Summit be an
opportunity to establish
initiatives that will assist us all
in improving College
Readiness", Manuel Benavidez
Jr. said in his opening remarks at
South Texas College's Summit
on College Readiness. The
summit, a part of STC's
Achieving the Dream initiative,
was held Feb. 22 at The Club at
Cimarron in Mission.
"Today the task of providing
them with true opportunities is a
responsibility that is placed on
each of us," said Benavidez,
who represents Starr County on
the STC Board of Trustees.
Benavidez, whose summit
topic was "Setting the Tone:
Working Together," told a
crowd of 150 educators,
government officials and
business leaders that a "genuine
dilemma" exists when it comes
to preparing high school
students for college.
STC held the day-long
meeting to discuss ways that
colleges can work with public
schools and business leaders to
prepare high school students for
college work.
"There is no denying that we
are facing a genuine dilemma
"'<ribt Trie) News to
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with our students not faring well
as we would like on college
entrance assessments,"
Benavidez said. "On one hand,
we realize we cannot simply
ignore the lapse, for the situation
will not disappear; while on the
other, we recognize that some of
our students are simply victims
of a system that has failed them.
It is through collaboration
between our high schools,
college and University that we
can develop a model plan to
alleviate the situation."
More than 75 percent of
Hidalgo and Starr County high
school graduates are not
academically prepared to go to
college, summit members were
told. Statistics gathered by STC
and the University of Texas-Pan
American show that 77 percent
of Hispanic students and 60
percent of Anglo students
statewide are not college
prepared.
Benavidez said the high
percentages "are not indicative
of the dedication and
commitment from our school
districts." He added that the
statistics don't reflect the
obstacles that the majority of
area students faced.
He cited a high adult and
parent illiteracy rate, a high
poverty rate and a mobile
immigrant population with
limited English speaking skills
as examples of those obstacles.
Dr. Raymund A. Paredes,
commissioner of the Texas
Higher Education Coordinating
Board, told the audience that
Texas must develop a college-
going culture.
"We know that the number
one obstacle, particularly for
poor families, to going to
college is lack of information
about financial aid," Paredes
said. "We also know that the
poorer a family is the more they
tend to estimate the cost of
going to college. There is an
inverse relationship between the
two."
Also speaking at the summit
was Beto D. Gonzalez, acting
assistant secretary for the U.S.
Department of Education's
Office of Vocational and Adult
Education."
Gonzalez said the federal
government is working to raise
student achievement in math and
science through testing and
accountability, providing grants
for targeted interventions, and
developing curricula based on
proven methods of instructions.
Summit participants spent the
afternoon working in discussion
groups to formulate actions that
need to be taken to help prepare
high school students for college.
Dr. Shirley A. Reed, STC
president, said the college was
committed to organizing a
consortium that will work
together to address the issues.
The University of Texas-Pan
American, public schools and
businesses will be a part of the
consortium. Rted said she plans
to first organize a steering
committee.
"We also want to pull
university and public school
math faculty together to review
the alignment of the math
curriculum," Reed added, since
math continues to be a major
obstacle in student success.
Reed said it was important that
math instructors in public
schools know what is expected
by college level math
instructors.
In addition, STC wants to
develop legislative strategies
that will bring public officials
into the mix.
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The IRS provides free
publications, forms and other tax
material and information to help
taxpayers meet their tax obliga-
tions. Free help is available on
the IRS website, by phone, at
local IRS offices and at other
community locations.
• IRS.gov You can access free
tax information at IRS.gov. At
1040 Central on the Individuals
page, you can obtain forms,
instructions and publications,
learn about IRS e-file, determine
your eligibility for the Earned
Income Tax Credit, read about
the latest tax changes and find
answers to Frequently Asked
Questions. You can also check
the status of your refund at
IRS.gov by clicking on Where's
My Refund, a service available
24 hours a day, seven days a
week.
• Telephone Call the IRS Tax
Help Line for Individuals, 1-
800-829-1040, to get answers to
your federal tax questions. To
order free forms, instructions
and publications call 1-800-829-
3676. To hear pre-recorded
messages covering various tax
topics or check on the status of
your refund, call 1-800-829-
4477. TTY/TDD users may call
1-800-829-4059 to ask tax
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Registered Representative 1
Tel. 956.487.4196
Fax 956.487.4104
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RGC aldermen
to hold regular
meeting
Thursday
The Rio Grande City Board of
Aldermen are scheduled to hold
their regular monthly meeting
on Thursday, March 2 at 6:00
p.m. in the Council Chambers
at City Hall, located at 101
South Washington Street.
Among the items to be
considered is "Consideration and
possible action to authorize staff
to solicit bids for construction
under Texas Capital Fund
Contract No. 723242, Sidewalk
Improvement Project."
Another agenda item calls for
"Consideration and possible
action to extend the submission
deadline for Request for
Qualifications for Bond
Counsel."
Another scheduled agenda item
is "Consideration and possible
action to adopt Resolution No.
2006-7 approving an Interlocal
Agreement between the City and
Texas A&M University-
Kingsville to aid compliance
with TCEQ Phase II Stormwater
Rules."
Another scheduled item is
"Consideration and possible
action to approve an Agreement
for Sale of Personal Property
between El Sauz Water Supply
Corporation and the City for the
pumping facility located at 1501
N. Fairground Road."
Services
questions or to order forms and
publications.
• Taxpayer Assistance Centers
When you believe your tax issue
cannot be handled online or by
phone, and you want face-to-
face assistance, you can find
help at a local Taxpayer Assis-
tance Center. Locations,
business hours and an overview
of services are at IRS.gov
• Other Community Resources
Free tax preparation is available
through the Volunteer Income
Tax Assistance and Tax Coun-
seling for the Elderly programs
in many communities. Volunteer
return preparation programs
provided through IRS and its
partners offer free help in
preparing tax returns for low- to
moderate-income taxpayers.
Call 1-800-829-1040 to find the
VITA or TCE site nearest you.
You may also call AARP— the
largest TCE participant — at 1 -
888-227-7669 (1-888-
AARPNOW) or access
www.aarp.org to find the nearest
Tax-Aide site.
For more information about
services provided by the IRS,
review Publication 910, IRS
Guide to Free Tax Services
available at IRS.gov or by
calling 1-800-829-3676.
Fair Petite Princess and runnersup
Eliza Briana Rodriguez, center, is the Starr County Youth Fair
Petite Princess for 2006. Runnersup in Sunday night's pageant
were Evelyn Zarate, first runnerup, and Bianca Garcia, second
runnerup.
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Bus. Ph: (956) 487-8886
Cell: (956) 789-6658
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Rio Grande City, TX 78582
Fair Teen Princess and runnersup
Gabriela Gonzalez, center, is the Starr County Youth Fair Teen
Princess for 2006. Runnersup in Sunday night's pageant were
Emily Zarate, first runnerup, and Melanie Marie Garza, second
runnerup.
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• •
• •
•
Fair Preteen Princess and runnersup
Lori Ann Martinez, center, is the Starr County Youth Fair Preteen
Princess for 2006. Runnersup in Sunday night's pageant were
Annika Caren Nunez, first runnerup, and Tanya Marie Rodriguez,
second runnerup.
Lions carry out eyeglass recycling
The Rio Grande City Lions
Club is asking the community
to support the Lions Recycle for
Sight project.
Used or unwanted eyeglasses
and sunglasses can be donated to
the Lions Club for recycling.
The collected eyeglasses arc sent
to a recycling center where they
are cleaned, categorized by
prescription and prepared for
distribution by Lions and other
groups to developing countries
where eyeglasses are often 0
unaflordable and inaccessible.
RGC Lions Club will be
collecting eyeglasses at this
year's Starr County Youth Fair.
RGC Lions Club will have a
collection box set up on March ^
3, 2006. Lions Club members
thank everyone for their support
of this project.
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Roberts, Kenneth. Rio Grande Herald (Rio Grande City, Tex.), Vol. 93, No. 9, Ed. 1 Thursday, March 2, 2006, newspaper, March 2, 2006; Edinburg, Texas. (https://texashistory.unt.edu/ark:/67531/metapth196002/m1/2/: accessed April 27, 2024), University of North Texas Libraries, The Portal to Texas History, https://texashistory.unt.edu; crediting Rio Grande City Public Library.