Rio Grande Herald (Rio Grande City, Tex.), Vol. 92, No. 4, Ed. 1 Thursday, January 27, 2005 Page: 1 of 6
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THURSDAY
WEEKLY
EDITION
January 27, 2005
92nd YEAR No. 4
#215
hoag book bindery
127 railroad
sprjngport, mi 49204
zone 6
Rio Grande
HERALD
A Newspaper Serving the People of South Texas
\ 1 *«
Clarke to be honored with Spirit Award
Alicia A. Clarke of Rio Grande City has been named as the 2005 honoree who will receive the Spirit Award
from the Diocese of Brownsville. She will be presented the award at the awards banquet on Friday, Jan. 28
She is being honored for her many years of service to Immaculate Conception School.
Y • Alicia A. Clarke to receive
Diocesan Spirit Award
Alicia A. Clarke has been
selected as the 2005 honoree to
receive the Spirit Award by the
Diocese of Brownsville. The
awards banquet is set for Friday,
January 28.
Father Amador Garza stated,
"Her total dedication to Immaculate
Conception School is the reason for
b<*r selec''"" She has been on our
school council as an ex-officio
member appointed by the pastor for
the past fifteen years. She has
served faithfully as a Eucharistic
Minister for our parish and has
been in the leadership of the
Catholic Daughters for the past 37
years. Her gospel witness is an
inspiration to many of us."
An educator for tifty-three
years, one of the schools Mrs.
Clarke taught at is immaculate
Conception School, serving the
Special Education students there.
She has continued her service to the
school by serving as Community
Liaison on the Immaculate
Conception School Council.
Active in Immaculate Conception
Church, she serves as a Ministry
Member. Principal Ruby T. Urbina
states that it is always a pleasure to
work with Mrs. Clarke. "Her
dedication to Catholic education is
very evident."
Alicia Arredondo Clarke was
born at the King Ranch in Kleberg
County, Texas. She was the
daughter of Don Joaquin
Arredondo and Maria Del Refugio
Villarreal. The family resided at
the King Ranch for many years.
She attended the elementary school
at King Ranch, then graduated from
Henrietta M. King High School in
1916. After graduating from high
school, she attended Texas A&l
University in Kingsville, where she
graduated with a Bachelor of
Science in Education and later
received her Masters Degree in
Education.
After graduation, Mr. Arnulfo
Martinez, superintendent of County
Schools in Starr County, recruited
her. She began teaching in 1952 at
Grulla Independent School District,
which later became a part of tne
Rio Grande City Consolidated
Independent School District. She
taught in Grulla for nine years and
then transferred to Rio Grande City
Consolidated Independent School
District.
When the Rio Grande City
CIS!) started the Special Education
Program, Superintendent Rodolfo
de la Garza approached her to
become the first administrator of
this program. At this time, the
program served only mentally
retarded students. She was
Commissioners talk revenue
drop at Detention Center
At their special meeting on
Tuesday morning, Jan. 18, the
County Commissioners discussed
the continuing decline in Detention
Center revenues that is being caused
by a persistent drop in the number
of federal inmates.
The commissioners were told that
December 2004 Detention Center
revenues amounted to SI 15,889.37.
The most recent inmate totals were
114 federal inmates and 126 local
inmates.
County Judge Eloy Vera
lamented, "Brownsville just got
STC alumni to
meet Thursday,
Jan. 27
The South Texas College
Alumni Association will meet from
5:30 to 6:30 p.m. on Thursday, Jan.
27, 2005 at the STC Pecan
Campus, 3201 W. Pecan Blvd..
McAllen, in the Building H Student
Lounge All SIC graduates
'(formerlySouth Texas Community
'College) are invited to attend.
For more information or special
accommodations, please contact
Barbara Mayo at 683-2503.
KXJ or so federal inmates. They had
been closed for a while. Having up
to 50 empty beds is really putting a
dent in our budget."
"I'm not in favor of releasing any
inmates." insisted Precinct Three
Commissioner Eloy Garza. "We're
not dealing with any day care kids."
Vera suggested, "Hopefully, we
can have a workshop with the
Sheriff's Department in the next
few weeks."
In an unrelated matter,
Federal/State Programs Coordinator
Elisa Beas explained, "We're still
lacking $229,000 in our allocation
(under the Border Colonia Access
Program). We're asking Mr.
Amadeo Saenz (of Texas
Department of Transportation) for
an explanation."
Beas added, "As 1 understand it,
it's based on the $200,000 per mile
rule. We're working with Austin to
try to get the rest of the $229,000
back to Starr County."
The commissioners approved a
resolution authorizing the
submission of an application to the
Governor's Office, Criminal Justice
Division Assistance Fund Victims
of Crime Act Fund
A representative of the District
Attorney's Office explained that ti:c
amount of the grant would be
$44,214, with a cash match of
$9130 from the county. The
county's cash match would come
from the District Attorney's Office
Forfeiture Fund.
The commissioners received
several comments from residents of
the Sammy Martinez Subdivision.
One resident declared, "We have a
project going on to make water
lines standard with the state. We!
have approval from the (Texas)
Water Development Board."
Another resident said, "The
Attorney General's Office is
proposed to be the owner of the
subdivision."
County Attorney Victor Canales
indicated, "There is some question
about ownership. We need an
Attorney's General's opinion or
some kind of documentation to
protect the county's interests." A
third subdivision resident declared,
"We're not asking for approval of
the plat."
Judge Vera explained, "We can't
take any action on your request
because it's posted as a request for
audience item. We congratulate
these citizens for their efforts. As I
understand it, you don't need our
approval to lay the water lines."
Proposed water, wastewater
plans discussed at hearing
promoted as Program Director until
her retirement in 1989. As a retired
teacher, she continues to work for
the district in the Special Education
Program. She now teaches half a
day, teaching children with severe
handicapped conditions.
She is married to Arturo D.
Clarke, a member of the pioneer
Claike family, which ha:> tcsideti in
Rio Grande City since the I840's.
She is the mother of two children,
John Andrew Clarke, a Chief
Engineer for the Diamond
Shamrock, now Valero Refinery, in
Three Rivers, Texas, and a
daughter, Edna Nina Clarke, a
Computer Analyst who resides in
Conroe, Texas and is employed by
a large company in Houston. She is
also a grandmother of four
children, two boys and two girls, all
very active in their school.
Mrs. Clarke stated her surprise
about the selection for the Spirit
Award honor. She was called away
from the council's regular (iiceiirg,
which she very consistently
attends, and after she left, the
members took the opportunity tc
make the selection. "My children
both attended here, and it is such an
honor to be recognized by
Immaculate Conception School and
(See CLARKE, Page 6)
By KENNETH ROBERTS
Ongoing plans by the City of
Rio Grande City to carry out
extensive modernization of the
community's water and wastewater
systems were discussed in detail at a
public hearing at City Hall Monday
night.
The purpose of the public hearing
was to inform the public and
receive public comments about the
planned overall project, for which
expenses are tentatively projected at
just over $50 million.
Several city officials emphasized
that many details remain to be
worked out, especially regarding
funding. Several officials indicated
that every effort will be made to
keep rates as reasonable as possible.
These officials predicted that a rate
increase is high I. likely at some
point in the distant future unless
100 percent grant funding is
obtained.
Officials declared that the
mammoth project is expected to be
implemented in phases over a 20-
year period.
City Administrator Leonardo
Olivares later explained to The
Rio Grande Herald. "The plans
are to build an entirely new water
treatment plant and expanding the
existing wastewater treatment
plant."
Rio Grande City Mayor Kevin
Hiles led off the hearing by telling
residents, "Your feedback is very
important. Mr Javier Torres of
B.E.C.C. (Border Environmental
Cooperation Commission) is on
hand, as is the chairman of the
B.E.C.C. Steering Committee."
Olivares indicated, "We're here to
get comments to B.E.C.C. and for
them to get comments to the
several funding agencies at the
federal and state levels. The
B.E.C.C. Steering Committee has
held about five meetings over the
past six months." He noted the role
of the RGC Project Technical
Committee, which includes
representatives of El Sauz Water
Supply, El Tanque Water Supply
and Rio Water Supply.
Olivares presented population
projections based on U.S. Census
figures. These figures, which
Olivares evaluated as
"conservative", indicate that
population in the areas served by
the RGC Public Utility Department
and the three water supply
corporations is projected to increase
from 14,653 in 2000 to 30,825 in
2025.
The administrator explained that
Rio Public Service, the first
distribution system, was established
in the 1930's. The Starr County
WCID was established in the
I960's and converted to a
Municipal Utility District and
renamed Starr County WCID No. 2
later in that same decade. El Tanque
Water Supply, Rio Water Supply
and El Sauz Water Supply were
established in the I970's. The City
of Rio Grande City assumed
ownership of Starr County WCID
No. 2 in 1998.
Olivares indicated that the current
maximum capacity in the water
treatment plant is 3.56 million
gallons per day. Tne maximum
usage figure is 3.29 million gallons
per day. Total storage capacity is
5.9 million gallons.
Olivares indicated that among
three key problems are "the city's
(See HE/vRING, Page 6)
CACST seats new
board members
By Anastasia Rodriguez, Public
Information Officer
The Board of Directors for the
Community Action Council of
South I exas (CACST) met in Rio
Grande City on Jan 20, 2005, at
the Head Start Resource Center to
kick off a new year.
Order of business included
training on "Securing Our
Homeland" by Adrian Ozuna.
Fatherhood Transition Coordinator,
and reports on client satisfaction
surveys by Sister Rosalia Fink,
Planner/Quality Improvement
Coordinator, tlnancial positions of
agency programs by David Flores.
f inancial Controller, and outcomes
for the Head Start National
Reporting System by Diana
Gomez, Director of Education.
The Board also approved the
establishment of a collection fund
for Asian Tsunami Relief proposed
by Francisco G. Zarate, Executive
Director, and CACST will be
accepting. donations from
employees to raise money for the
United Nations International
Children's Education Fund
(UNICEF).
One major item on the agenda
was the reorganization of the Board
for the new term of office. Leaving
their offices were Adrian Clarke -
(See MEMBERS, Page 6)
Orfelinda Menchaca named RGCCISD
Gifted & Talented Teacher of Year
The Rio Grande City CISD Gifted
and Talented Teacher of the Year,
Orfelinda Menchaca, was recently
named at the annual GT Parents
Night held on November ,i0. 2004.
Currently she is a Gifted and Talented
teacher at North Grammar Elemen-
ts; y where she is also a UIL Coach
for Oral Reading, Art Smart, and
Spelling.
Menchaca was born and reared in
Roma and graduated in the top ten
percentile of her class. The day after
•graduation she was off to start her
collegiate career at Texas A & 1 Uni-
versity in Kingsville, Texas. In three
years she obtained her Bachelor of
Science degree in Elementary Edu-
cation.
Menchaca returned to her home-
town where she accepted a position
as a fifth grade teacher. Shortly after
she married Juan M. Menchaca and
moved to Kingsville, Texas. She con-
tinued her education and in August
of 1976 she earned her Masters De-
gree in Bilingual Bicultura! Educa-
tion. She taught in Banquete Jr. High
School for four years and then re-
turned to the Roma-Rio Grande City
area.
In 1985, her husband accepted a
position with the U.S.D.A. that took
them all the way to Puerto Rico. It
wasn't until 1987 that Menchaca
started teaching at North Grammar
Elementary where she has been
teaching the last eighteen years.
Menchaca has accumulated a total of
29 years in the educational field. In
her years at North Grammar Elemen-
tary she has served in different ca-
pacities. She is an educator for a di-
versity of children, mentor for her
colleagues Teacher Leader, aftef-
school tutor. GT teacher, and UIL
Coach. She has also assisted in Cur-
riculum Writing, and making Bench-
mark Assessments.
"All children should be educated
to their fullest potential and guided
to develop innovative products and
performances that are advanced in re-
lation to students of similar age. ex-
perience. or environment. We must
challenge all students to work at their
(See TEACHER, Page 6)
Menchaca honored as GT Teacher of Year 4
The Rio Grande City CISD Gifted and Talented Teacher of the Year was announced at the annual Gifted and ^ \
Talented program held on Nov. 30, 2(X)4. Orfelinda Menchaca from North Grammar Elementary was selected '*■*•[•
as the GT Teacher of the Yeat One representative from each of the campuses was nominated and Menchaca '' .
was chosen from the group of nominees. Pictured are Orfelinda Menchaca (GT Teacher of the Year), and Edna
Gonzalez (RGCCISD Gifted and Tafrnted Director) (RGCCISD photo) •
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Roberts, Kenneth. Rio Grande Herald (Rio Grande City, Tex.), Vol. 92, No. 4, Ed. 1 Thursday, January 27, 2005, newspaper, January 27, 2005; (https://texashistory.unt.edu/ark:/67531/metapth196305/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.