Rio Grande Herald (Rio Grande City, Tex.), Vol. 35, No. 7, Ed. 1 Thursday, December 2, 1976 Page: 1 of 14
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RIO GRANDE
'The Largest Paid
Circulation Going
In Starr County"
VOL XXXV
No. 7
Thursday, December 2,1976
Ten Cents
ft
NEW BANK OPENS IN RI<
V.
j «MO GBANDI Cif* HIOM SCHOOL
MEXICAN CLAUS ... The Mexican Santa Claus visited the
office of the Rio Grande Herald Monday afternoon and per-
sonally invited everyone to attend the Annual Chamber of
Commerce Christinas Festival. This will be the 9th vear the
Mexican Santa Claus will highlight the festival. On hand to meet
Santa were I,aura Lopez, Genie Lopez, Minnie Rodriguez and
Mike Lopez III.
Senor Santa's Arrival To
Begin X-Mas Festival
The 1976 Starr County
Christmas Festival will begin
this Friday night, December 3,
with the traditional appearance
of Starr County's own Mexican
Santa Claus in front of the Rio
Grande City High School Gym
at 6:30 p.m.
This will be followed by the
Miss Starr County Pageant,
sponsored by the lion's Club,
during which Miss Starr County
will be selected to reign during
the fiesta and the forthcoming
year. The pageant will begin at
7:00 p.m.
A carnival sponsored by the
FFA will be going on behind the
Starr Plaza shopping center
beginning at 9:00 p.m.
Saturday morning's
festivities will begin with the
Bridge Ceremony at the Starr-
Camargo bridge at Rio Grande
City .scheduled for 9:15.
The Western Parade will
begin at 9:30 a.m., and the
Grand Christmas Festival
Parade, sponsored by the Rio
Grande City Jaycees, will begin
at 10:00 a.m. and proceed down
Second Street from the cour-
thouse to Fort Ringgold.
Parade Marshall John A. Pope,
Jr. will lead the parade, with its
Bicentennial theme of "200
Years Ago."
Following the parade,
everyone is welcome at the Arts
and Crafts Diaplay, Bazaar and
Jamaica at the Quiosco in front
of the bank on Main Street and
Britton Avenue. The Rio
Grande City Volunteer Fire
Department will sponsor its
annual Firemen's Barbecue,
with beef barbecue plates
served beginning at 12:00 noon.
At the Quioso, or Bandstand,
the center of activities for the
annual Fiesta in Starr County,
bingo will begin at 1:00 p.m. on
Saturday. This event will be
sponsored by the Damas
Catolicas.
A girl scout program is
scheduled for 4:00 there, and
the Bio Grande High School
Band Concert may be heard at
6:00 p.m. Music during the day
and into the evening will be
sponsored by the Sound Box for
the public's enjoyment and
dancing in the streets for those
who wish.
'Die FFA will again sponsor
the carnival during the day and
evening.
Sunday, December 5, will
feature activities including a
historical tour sponsored by the
Rio Grande City Historical
Society.
The Children's Pet Show, with
winners announced by Santa
and Miss Starr County, will be
at 12 noon. Children and pets
will register from 11 to 12 to vie
for the titles of "Best Girl and
Pet," "Best Boy and Pet," and
"Most Unusual of the Show "
The Starr County Young
Farmers will sponsor a rodeo at
I>a Sagunada Ranch 10 miles
north of Rio Grande City on FM
755 at 1:30 p.m. on Sunday af-
ternoon. The public is invited
and urged to attend any and all
of the Starr County Christmas
Festival.
Sw ine Flu Vaccine
Available To Children
Rio Is 3A Band
At Pigskin
The Rio Grande City High
School marching band, directed
by Alfredo Cortinas, was the
only 3A Band to receive ratings
of "1" all the way across the
board at the 34th annual Pigskin
Music Jubilee held Tuesday
night at Barbee Field in
Weslaco after being postponed
from Saturday because of the
weather.
The Rio Grande City Band
was one of two triple A schools
receiving a first division rating
at the close of the colorful 1
Region 15 University In-
Bieentennial
Finale
Planned
A Bicentennial Finale for the
city of Roma will be sponsored
by the Catholic Daughters of
America and the Confraternity
of the Holy Rosary on
December 11 and 12 from 6 to 10
p.m.
The public is invited to at-
tend. Games, food, a program,
and fireworks by the riverbank
will highlight the evening,
followed by a midnight Mass.
Entertainment for the Grand
Finale will be provided by the
Roma High School Band, the
Roma Junior High School Band,
and the Roma High School
Choir.
terscholastic league marching
band contest. Brownsville Pace
was the other first division band
with Mercedes, Raymondville,
Donna, and Edcouch-Elsa
getting second division.
San Isidro, the only Class A
band competing, received a
second division rating.
The 2-A ratings were La Joya,
first division; Zapata and
Pharr-San Juan Alamo fresh-
man band, second division; and
Rio Hondo, third division.
First division awards went to
4-A schools McAllen, Harlingen,
Weslaco, Hanna Brownsville,
Edinburg, San Benito, and
Pharr-San Juan-Alamo. Second
division ratings went to Mission
and Brownsville Porter.
Larry Jones, director of
bands for the Weslaco schools,
was contest chairman. Judges
for the annual U1L event were
Dan Gibbs of Monahans,
Richard Gibby of Uvalde, and
Doug Wiehe of Freeport.
The usual grand finale
featuring all the participating
bands in marching formation
and massed playing was
eliminated from the program
after the event was
rescheduled.
Concert and sight reading
UIL events for the Valley bands
will be held March 31-April 1 for
junior highs and April 26-28 for
high schools.
Swine Flu immunization is
now available for children ages
3 and older in Starr County,
announced Cecilia Gutierrez,
R.N., Nurse Coordinator and
Training Coordinator for the
Starr County Influenza Im-
munization Program. Children
will receive the split
monovalent vaccine.
Public clinics are scheduled
for this week in Starr County for
all healthy persons aged three
and older. Immunizations will
be administered from the staff
of the Starr County Health
Department immunization
program at the Mobil Clinic at
Starr Plaza Shopping Center
this Thursday from 10 to 3; and
Friday at the clinic from 9 to 4.
People in the Roma area may
receive their free inoculations
at the high school auditorium in
Roma on Monday, December 6,
from 10 a.m. until 3:00 p.m.
Mrs. Gutierrez added that
swine flu immunizations in the
state and valley are lower than
was projected for this time, and
that Starr County is the lowest
in the valley. She says this is
possibly due to the fact that the
clinic is so isolated, so "We are
going out to the people."
State health officials attribute
lagging interest in the swine flu
immunization program to the
fact that no cases of the flu have
been yet reported. They add,
however, that Texans who are
waiting to get their shots until a
reported swine flu outbreak,
may be waiting until it is too
late.
Many people feel that in the
absence of a so-called threat,
there may not be any. But if
there is an outbreak of the flu,
within 24 to 48 hours it's going to
be widespread, and that's too
late, because it takes at least a
month to build up an adequate
immunity from this vaccine,
stressed the health officials.
Former Residents
Pass Away
Robert L. Thornton, 38,
passed away early this week.
He is the son of Mr. and Mrs.
Russell Thornton, formerly of
Rio Grande City.
Thornton, who served in the
Air Force, is also survived by
his wife and five children, two
brothers, and a sister.
His father was a sergeant
stationed in Fort Ringgold who
married the former MatU
Valadez.
The family may be reached at
303 Locust Drive in Phoenix-
ville, Pa., 19460. Their phone
number is 1-215-933-5386
Mrs. Minnie M. Dub an died
on Monday, November 29, at
I
The waiting is over for the
people of Starr County. The
county once again has a bank,
but it is no longer the First State
Bank Trust Company of Rio
Grande City. The county's only
bank is now the First National
Bank of Rio Grande City
located in the quarters formerly
occupied by the First State
Bank.
Fredrick Erck, major
stockholder in six other banks
in the state of Texas, bought the
bank last Friday in Dallas for
$800,000. Six other groups also
made bids for the Starr County
Bank, and three of these bid-
ding parties were from the
Valley, according to Erck.
In an interview on Monday
morning, the first and a very
busy day of operation for the
new bank, Erck stated that
stocks had been set aside in a
trustee account to sell to the
local people. He added, "We
plan to share the bank with the
local people."
Fred Erck, age 36, lives in
Alice, Texas, with his wife and
two sons, ages 13 and 11. He
owns and has his headquarters
at the Bank of South Texas
there.
Erck stated that he was very
pleased with the potential for
the bank in Rio Grande City.
"We really need to work to
make a good bank, and we
intend to do just that. We have a
new charter and a new start."
All is not new at the bank,
however. There are many
4:25 p.m. in Retama Manor
Nursing Center in McAllen.
Mrs. Dugan, who was 97 on
August 16, was the wife of the
late Robert Dugan of Rio
Grande City
Services will be held on
Friday, December 3, at 10:00
a.m. in the chapel of Sanchez
Funeral Home in Rio Grande
City with the Reverend D. R.
Russell officiating. Interment
will follow at City Cemetery.
Mrs Dugan is survived by
two sisters, Mary Hutchinson
and Bertha Bauer, both of
Memphis, and two nieces,
Virginia Dudson and Josephine
Majers, all of Memphis
STDC
To
Meet
familiar people at work there.
"We want to retain as many of
the First State Bank's em-
ployees as we can, and most of
them are here today," stated
Erck, who added, "The fewer
changes you make with people,
the better off you are."
Initial officers of the new
National Bank, chartered early
Monday morning by Acting
Comptroller of the Currency,
Robert Bloom, are Erck,
President; Ray Ramirez, Vice-
President; and Directors N.O.
Adams, Jr., F.B. Lloyd, Jr.,
James L. Eikein, Ramirez, and
Erck, Chairman, all of Alice.
The new owner and president
says local directors will be
added to the board.
FDIC Attorney Bob Gree
stated that "FDIC has nothuu
to do with the hiring done
assuming banks, such as the
First National Bank of
Grande City."
Representatives of FDH
which is in receivership of tl>-
First State Bank and Trust hav<-
set up offices in the basement uf
the bank buildmg on the corner
of Britton and Main Streets t>
liquidate the former banks
loans, which the new bank has
the opportunity to purchase
within 60 days. The Federal
Deposit Insurance Corpora'!
said it will advance some $9.5
million to facilitate the
as;
de!
uliion
bank s
deposits
National
City, are
C in the
s of the
e been
sank, and
mer bank
' he First
mtinue to
;-nk and
ks drawn
funds on
ed to get
deposit
National
La! of $1.5
i
"M
';al
The Board ot uireciuis
Meeting of the South Texas
Development Council is
scheduled for this Friday
morning, December 3, at the
City Council Room in Roma
City Hall.
Roll call will be by J. G. Rath-
mell, secretary - treasurer; and
H. T. Martinez, Chairman, will
read the minutes, correspon-
dence, and staff reports.
Also on the agenda are a
report of the government ap-
plication review committee by
Angel R. Laureal, GARC
Chairman; ratification of ex-
penses incurred during the
period October 1, 1976 -
November 30, 1976 by the
V i c e-C h a i r m a n ; and
ratification of retention of at-
torney to review UMTA con-
tracts and provide other legal
services by the chairman.
Other items slated are
authorization for board
members and staff to attend the
eleventh annual conference on
intergovernmental relations
and regional planning on
December 5-7 at the El Paso
Civic Center in El Paso and the
representation required on
board of directors as outlined
by charges to section 701 of the
public works and economic
development act of 1967, as
amended, both by Amando
Garza Jr., Executive Director.
Also to be discussed are
advertising procedures for the
selection of vacant post
positions in out of town
newspapers by the chairman;
and naming of equal em-
ployment officer and approval
of the economic development
program for 1976-78 both by the
Director of Regional Planning,
Juan Vargas.
Armando Castillo, director of
physical planning, will lead a
discussion of community
development block grant ap-
plications, and Pioquinto
Mendoza Jr., Criminal Justice
Coordinator, will present a
resolution authorizing sub-
mission of the regional
rehabilitative project.
Concluding discussions will
be on membership assessments
by the secretary - treasurer;
personnel by the Executive
Director and selection of
meeting site and adjournment
by the Chairman.
HEADING NEW BANK - Fred Erck, Presidentyan the left. Beu! ■
Ray Ramirez, Vice-President, of the newly chartered First Nat!
City are shown during the newly chartered bank's first day if bus
29. The new bank occupies the quarters of the now defunct Firs'
which was ordered closed on November 22 by the State Banking
the bank which started after an announcement that the bank >■:
10 from the Federal Depositors Insurance Corporation.
;r. and
irande
Gonzalez Heads Rattler list
The Rattlers' Enrique
Gonzalez was named to the first
16-3A All-District offensive and
defensive teams. Only four
players in the district received
the double honor. Also selected
as to two-way all-conference
star performers were Donna's
Keith Sanders and Melvin
Terveen and Fal's Roy
Regalado.
Also named to the offensive
football team was Hernan
Garza, 175 pound senior who
was named first string running
back along with Gonzalez, a
senior weighing 170 pounds.
Rio Grande City players on
the All-District defensive first
string were Arturo Alvirde on
the down line position; David
Sanchez at linebacker; and
Gonzalez in the defensive bac k-
field. Alvirde is a senior. 195
lbs.; and Sanchez is a junior
weighing 185 pounds.
There were 22 players named
to the first team offensive unit,
including 13 backs, and all
seven teams in the district were
represented by at least two first
team honorees. The first team
defensive unit was made up of
14 selections.
The District 16 AAA coaches
also voted 29 players to the
second all-conference tean:
and 52 other Valley AAA
gridders received honorable
mention.
Second team offensive
players from Rio Grande Cit>
Honor;
Grandi
is. 185 pound
and David
offensive
n from Ric
Quarterback
iound junior;
an. a senior
iunds; and
;t, 165 pound
Domingo
iund senior,
it; defensive
•'.ere Down
Perez, 180
\ vjt? 1 (j<irc ia,
onors; Line-
Molina, 160
and Willie
more and
Plane Mis
O "1
r'- ■>>
I.
o
A twin-engine aircraft with
five men on board-three from
Fdinburg-has been reported
missing somewhere between
the U.S. border and Tampico,
Mexico.
The plane, belonging to the
U.S. Screwworm Eradication
Program in Mission, left
Mission about 9 a.m. Tuesday to
disperse sterilized flies over a
section of northern Mexico and
was to land in Tampico at about
1 p.m.
Aboard the plane were l>ee F.
Raybourn of Edinburg, James
F. Hoyler of Mission, Raul
Farias of Mission, Lupe Puente
of Edinburg, and Urbano
Garcia of Edinburg Raybourn
was the pilot in command while
Hoyler was the co-pilot. The
other three men were insect
dispersers.
Officials have not given up
hope of finding the five
alive and safe. Severai po<s
landing sites have no lint'
communication and the f •
men crew may be at one of
these landing sites, ific ihIs'
said. Ground crews havt hot-
dispersed to the known ites
Officials also sa> ..[her
landing sites which can be
reached by telephone h .,
indicated the missing plane h,
not landed there
Efforts to radio the men wet >
initiated when the plane fail* '
to reach Tampico, but all at-
tempts failed
Immediately after the plane
was pronounced missing, all
available airplanes from the
Mission area flew to the area
where the plane may have
possibly landed But those
planes had to return to the l.'.S
becaase of the bad weather
The pilots reoorted /.et
f 1'
-dir
nnel
CHC
me back
the Air
■rvice to
said a
radiction
said that
t insect
in the
re three
: en was
am per-
Mexican
ONLY
CMRISTMAS !
<• \
- f?
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Solis, Tony. Rio Grande Herald (Rio Grande City, Tex.), Vol. 35, No. 7, Ed. 1 Thursday, December 2, 1976, newspaper, December 2, 1976; Rio Grande City, Texas. (https://texashistory.unt.edu/ark:/67531/metapth194588/m1/1/: accessed May 4, 2024), University of North Texas Libraries, The Portal to Texas History, https://texashistory.unt.edu; crediting Rio Grande City Public Library.