Rio Grande Herald (Rio Grande City, Tex.), Vol. 21, No. 43, Ed. 1 Thursday, November 2, 1972 Page: 1 of 24

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RIO GRANDE
Serving over 5000 readers for over 50 years TPA Award Winning Newspaper
Ten Cents
Vol. XXXI No. 13 Thursday, MovoihImt 2. 1972
Rio (iruu<l<* ('.ity, IVxaw
Redistricting delayed until early March...
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SANTA AND HELPERS IN NOVEMBER ??? — Sure, Santa and his pretty helpers were
out looking over the situation in Rio Grande City before the big day arrives in Starr
County. Santa Claus, played here in our traditional 'Charro Santa Claus' by Noe Rodri-
guez is flanked by Miss Starr County Maria Elena Rodriguez, a Santa Helper Alicia
Olivarez, Miss Lions Club Billie Diaz and Runnerup Miss Starr County Luisa Garcia.
The five are pictured here for promotional pictures for the up-coming Starr County
Christmas Fiesta. The fiesta is scheduled for December 2-3-4. The fiesta is filled with
everything from the traditional rodeo to a children's pet show to a parade and of course
our beauty contest ... for Miss Starr County. (Herald photo by Raul Trejo)
Ringgold Junior
High to honor roll
All the yelling :tn< 1 shouting and teaching and harping has paid off
for Rio Grande City's Ringgold Junior High School.
The past principal of the sc hool R.r. Salinas lias received uor>!
that the school was award a National Certificate of h xceptional
Merit and that the school has been placed on the honor roll of the
National Safety Council.
The award comes after the school was traded and investigated
for safety in and around he school. Throughout the year students
at ttie junior high school are shown safety movies, held safety
assemblies and have conducted two-minute fire drills and have
also conducted other projects to pron >te snfetv around the school.
The accident rate thus was cut in half.
The award was for the 1071-72 school year when Salinas wis
principal, ialinas is presently an administrative assistant to the
office of Superintendent. Ism* el Pena is the present principal of
Ringgold Junior High School.
'■We are encouraged by the recognization for our efforts to build
a good soli! safety educational program " Salinas said.
Superintendent S.P, Cowan s.dd that his goal was to enroll ever>
school in the district to promote the safety program.
U.S. Dist. Judge Reynaldo Gar/a Friday refused to order the re-
districting of any Starr County voting precincts prior to the Nov.
7 general election.
Garza, however, ordered the Starr County Commissioners Court
to come up with a plan for redistricting the four precincts by March
2 in compliance with the one-man, one-vote doctrine.
"I don't want any gerrymandering," Garza said at a hearing where
the plaintiffs sought an "emergency" reapportionment of commis-
sioner Precincts 1 and 4.
"You're asking me in effect, to disenfranchise voters who have a
right to vote this year," Garza told plaintiff's attorney Harvey L.
Hardy of San Antonio.
Hardy sought an emergency reapportionment by shifting voting
Precincts 1 and 2 from commissioner Precinct 1, which has 42 per
cent of registered voters to commissioner Precinct 4, which has
about 8.5 per cent of the registered voters.
Hardy's contended that this shift would reduce substantially the
dilution of the vote in commissioner Precinct 1 in time for the No-
vember election. He said overall redistricting could lie worked
out on a more permanent basis after officials have an opportunity
to obtain census tracts to reapportion precincts on the basis of pop-
ulation count.
Carrera had proposed a plan that would place 2,357 voters in pre-
cinct one, 2,G3G in precinct two, 2,044 in precinct three and 2,299
in precinct four.
"Our basic position this morning is that there is unconstitution-
al malapportionment . . . and our point is that this unconstitutional
Situation will exist to a very aggravated degree," on Nov. 7 Hardy
argued.
Garza criticized the timing of the suit, brought against the com-
missioners court last month by Rafael Carrera and Ci lia Vela,
represented by Texas Rural Legal Aid, Inc., lias joined the suit.
"What I can't understand is why you people wait until the last
minute and push this oil us. Why didn't you do it two years ago."'
the Judge asked. Garza added, "If you had come to me six months
ago. I guarantee that I would have ordered redistricting."
He said, however, that the election already was in progress and
that temporary, emergency reapportionment would disrupt the elec-
tion process.
Garza said he would not understand why the commissioners court
had not acted to redistrict commissioner precincts before now.
County Atty. John L. Pope III told the court that a redistrict
committee is at work on the job of redrawing commissioner pre-
cinct lines.
Garza said the commissioners court has had about two years to
do the job, using 1970 census figures. The existing boundaries in
Starr County are 30 years old, the court was told.
hi his order, Garza directed county officials to keep the plaintiffs
advised of work on redistricting and to pay all expenses in obtaining
census figures.
He also directed the county to furnish plaintiffs with the proposed
redistricting plan by Feb. ir> and file the plan with the court by
March 2.
Garza said he would allow 10 days after the filing of the plan for
submission of objections. He said the new boundaries, once they
are agreed upon by the various parties, will liecome effective 00
days after court approval.
Two candidates are running for the Precinct 1 commissioner ixist
in the November election. They are Democrat Koque Guerra Jr.
and Republican Humberto Munoz. Incumbent Efrain Duran was de-
feated in the Democratric primary.
Precinct 4 does not elect a commissioner this year in Precinct 3,
which Hardy said is fairly equalized, having about 25 per cent of the
registered voters in the county, Democrat Hector Lozano has no
official opponent. A write-in campaign is reported in process on
behalf of the incumbent J.M. Longoria, who was defeated in the pri-
mary.
Emergency food funds
BV
Governor Preston Smith today
announced his approval of a
community action grant to Com-
munity Action Council of South
Texas, Rio Grande City, for $70,
714 in new federal funds for an
Emergency Food and Medical
Services program.
Funded under Title II of the
Economic Opportunity Act, the
grant is effective for 12 months
from Oct. 1, 1972, through Sept.
.10, 1973.
Objectives of the program
will be to provide education,
counseling and treatment to ap-
proximately 3,000 diabetics in
the three-county area of Jim
Hogg . Starr and Zapata coun-
ties, with special emphasis on
proper diabetic diets. Approxi-
mately 25 per cent of the entire
population in these three coun-
ties is affected by diabetes,
and in some of the communi-
ties it runs as high as 30 per
cent, with approximately 30per
cent of the senior citizens af-
fected by the disease.
The program will tie coordi-
nated with the Rio Grande C ity
Consolidated Independent
School District, that will pro-
vide a dietician, who i.^ herself
a diabetic, as a consultant, the
Texas A&M University Agricul-
tural Extension Service, which
will work through the expanded
Nutrition Program; Migrant
Health Projects, which will
See FUNDS Page 21
Hospital <?ains approval
Final federal approval has lieen announced for a $1.3 million
grant for the construction of a hospital in Starr County, according
to Sen. John Tower.
Tower said, "This grant, funded under the Hill-Burton Act, will
result in further improvement of the health care delivery system
in the Lower Rio Grande Valley."
The announcement came Wednesday from the Senator's office
after it was approved by the Department of Health, Education and
Welfare.
"It represents a further committment by the federal government
to improve health care service.' in this area of South Texas,"
Tower said.
"I have urged this type of action for some time and am pleased
by President Nixon's continuing recognition of the health cure prol>-
leins in South Texas and the necessary action that needs to tie taken
to provide a more coordinated and comprehensive delivery system,"
he said.