Rio Grande Herald (Rio Grande City, Tex.), Vol. 35, No. 68, Ed. 1 Thursday, February 1, 1979 Page: 1 of 10
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"The Largest Paid
Circulation Going
In Starr County"
VOL. XXXV
RIO GRANDE
*N)
No. 68
February 1,1979
FIFTH* CEHT5
StV
Starr
Trek
BY MARCELO SILVA
EDITOR
Governor Clements For
Bracero' Type Program
The first Texas Governor
in a century made his first
public address since taking
office Saturday before the
Rio Grande Valley Mexican-
American Chamber of
Commerce in Harlingen.
It was the first annual
installation of officers for the
newly formed Valley group.
There are seven member
chambers of commerce.
Governor William P.
Clements had just returned
from a visit with Mexican
President Lopez Portillo and
reported on this to the Valley
group.
The Governor began his
speech by saying he
k "Lest we forget..."
A recent article in a hard-core pornographic
magazine caused quite a stir in Rio Grande City
and Starr County-hopefully not for a few days.
I believe 1 say the coascience of the community
that what the article did was to awaken us from a
long sleep, that we should keep the momentum
going and not succumb to the lethargic apathy of
restful slumber.
We are, in fact, behind the times.
It is written in GUI that Rio Grande City is the
meanest town in Texas and that people should not
^ visit here (Feb. issue). It is quite a verbal slap.
Perhaps we should say, "Thanks, we needed
that."
Do the bad things of our community in fact
outweigh the good?
We do have some good in the community. We
are friendly, without a doubt. We have good game
and rock hunting. Farming is good, so is cattle
grazing, and oil, and we have a lot of history.
These are God given resources which we really
can't take too much credit for.
On the other hand, let's mention some of the
^ things we need to work on.
We need to rid ourselves as much as possible of
the perennial spoils system politics that plagues
our community. We all know how the "New
Party" has controlled the county for the past 31
years, largely contributing to the stagnation of the
area economy.
We need more job'i A large percentage of the
population of Starr County are migrant farm
workers. The balance, for the most part works for
the county, the schools, federal programs, state
programs, or as law enforcement agencies have
^ said, are drug smugglers. And what kind of
economy is this-state and federal aid can be cut at
any time, and the smuggling must stop.
We do not have adequate housing. Newcomers
to the area find it hard to find a home, either to
purchase or rent.
Adequate recreation is lacking. There are no
clean, decent, safe, and sanitary parks adequate
to meet the community's needs.
Police protection is definitely not up to par. A
poorly budgeted Sheriff's Department, with un-
derpaid personnel and malfunctioning squad cars
} is definitely not adequate for the needs of the
community. Just this past week this department
did not respond at all to a burglary alarm in Rio
Grande City, and took 45 minutes to respond to a
call about eight blocks from the courthouse.
Although we are rich in history, we do not have a
museum. We do not have a public library either.
Our streets are in bad shape.
The City of Grulla, incorporated in the middle
sixties, still has no sewage service.
But things are definitely looking up. We have
seen some enthusiasm lately, mainly as a result of
£ the OUI article. We need to resolve, right now,
that we will all work together that no such article
will ever again sting us. I>et us shape up our
community.
Citizen's State Bank
Elects New Officers
SB*
Governor Clements Is Serenaded By Mariaehi
Gronp Sponsore d By I) iaz Enterprises, Inc.
Delegation Probes
Funding Sources
At the annual
Stockholder's Meeting of
Citizens State Bank, Roma,
Texas, held on January 11,
1979, Elliott B. Bottom,
Chairman of the Board,
announced the election of
Dr. Ignacio Mijares of
Monterrey, Mexico as Ad-
visory Director and also the
Promotion of Martin A.
Canales, Jr., to Assistant
Cashier.
Dr. Mijares is a graduate
of the University of Mexico
medical school having
specialized in Opthalmology.
He did post-graduate work in
New Orleans Charity
Hospital, is a Fellow of the
American College of
j)'urgeons, and is a member
of the Mexican, Spanish and
Pan American Societies of
Opthalmology.
He is a former professor of
medicine at the University of
Nuevo I^on and presently is
on the faculty of medicine at
the University of Monterrey
medical school. He is a
former president of the
Monterrey Rotary Club and
fhstrict Governor of Rotary
International
Dr. Mijares is active in
business circles in Mexico
being a member of the board
of directors of the corporate
complex Bimbo del Norte,
S.A. and of the famous Hotel
Ancira in Monterrey.
The directors and stock-
holders of Citizens State
JUink of Roma said they felt
\ery fortunate that Dr.
Mijares accepted this
position as an advisory
director as he will definitely
help the growth of this
financial institution.
Promoted to Assistant
Cashier was Martin A.
Canales, Jr. Canales has
been serving as loan officer
for the bank since its
establishment May 15,
1978.
Canales is a native of Starr
County, Texas, and a
graduate of Roma High
School, he attended Business
College in San Antonio,
Texas. He was previously
employed by the City of
Roma for twelve years as
head of the Finance
Department. He is married
to the former Sylvia Guerra
and they have three
children, Martin 111 Omar
and Lamar Canales.
An eight man delegation
from Starr County is in
Austin at presstime probing
funding sources for area
projects.
The itinerary included
visits to the Texas Railroad
Commission; a legislative
committee; the Economic
Development Ad-
ministration; the Texas
Library Commission, and a
session with Lauro Cruz,
aide to Governor William
Clements.
Making the trip were
Manuel Cano, Roy Cantu,
l,auro L. Ixjpez, Dr. Bruno
Trevino, Joel Guerrero,
Starr County Judge Bias
Chapa, and Starr County
Commissioners Arnoldu
Gonzalez and Jose Maria
Alvarez Sr.
The group was to call on
the Texas Railroad Com-
mission to present facts on
the railroad to Rio Grande
City, which as been
designated for aban-
donment. The group seeks to
keep the railroad open.
They were to go before a
legislative committee
concerning a foreign trade
sub-zone for Rio Grande
City. A bill has been in-
troduced by Senator Traeger
to that effect, the sub-zone
being out of the McAllen
trade zone.
The delegation was to visit
the E.D.A. concerning
monies and goals of the Starr
County Industrial Foun-
dation.
The group was also to see
personnel at the Texas
Library Commission seeking
assistance and advice
regarding the creation of a
Starr County public library.
The group was to meet
with Cruz, aide to the
Governor, concerning any
other funding sources
possibly available.
C Of C Elects Officers
Marco A. Garza of the Rio
Grande Department Store
stepped down as president of
the Rio Grande City
Chamber of Commerce and
Rodolfo "Roy" Cantu,
executive vice-president of
the First National Bank,
took over Monday.
Other officers elected
Monday are: Basilio
Villarreal, Grande Butane,
vice-president; R.C. Salinas,
Ringgold Junior High School
principal, secretary; Carlos
Araiza, Valley Mart C.P.A.,
treasurer; and Tissa
Peterson and Marcelo Silva
of the Rio Grande Herald,
reporters.
Directors for the Chamber
of Commerce are: Rolando
Salinas, LFD; Ramiro
Guerra, Edelstein's; Jose de
I/eon, H.E.B.; and Marco A.
Garza, Rio Grande Dept.
Store.
Rio-Roma
Playoffs
Friday
The Rio Rattlers and the
Homa Gladiators will face
each other in playoffs Friday
to determine the champs of
the first half of District 16-
AAA basketball play
The game will be at 7:30
p.m. Friday, Feb. 2. at the
gymnasium of the Edinburg
High School.
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COOKIES, COOKIES AND MORE COOKIES-The
cookies arrived on a messy Monday afternoon, and
they arrived in abundance! Carton after carton of the
seven different varieties of Girl Scout Cookies were
unloaded from a moving van into the home of Estela
Saenz, service team director in Rio Grande City.
Members of local Girl Scout and Brownie troops will
begin selling the cookies this Friday afternoon,
February 2. Shown watching wide-eyed as the cookies
are unloaded are Cecilia Saenz, Claudia Saenz, and
Patricia Garcia Proceeds will go to foster girl
scouting
recognized the importance
of the Valley for the
economy of Texas.
The culture of the area is a
fundamental and important
part of the essence of Texas,
he said. He said this is so not
only from a historical
standpoint, but also from an
economical standpoint
He remembered about his
days in the Lower Rio
Grande Valley during the
depression, when he worked
in the oil fields, adding that
the area has certainly
changed since then.
Clements subsequently
bought two used drilling rigs
and his business grew to be
one of the worlds largest
drilling contracting firms.
"You have a great future
ahead of you," he told the
group, "and I will help you
realize that future."
The Governor said there
are three departments with
which the Valley has to work
closely in order to secure its
future-Mexico, Austin, and
Washington, D.C.
He added that good
communication, coopera-
tion, and very close coor-
dination with those three
departments are basic
points to follow.
He said that on his visit
with Mexican President
Lopez Portillo, four subject
areas were discussed-
energy, undocumented
workers, drug traffic, and
the "tortilla curtain."
Concerning the energy
issue, Clements said Mexico
has over three times more
oil reserves than the whole
United States, and that
Texas oil reserves are going
down He said a gas field
larger than any in the U.S.
has just been discovered
near Monterrey.
"It is absurd for us not to
work a reasonable
agreement with Mexico, so
we can use some of this
reserve in Texas," the
Governor said.
Ricardo Hinojosa,
McAllen attorney who is
formerly from Rio Grande
City, accompanied the
Governor on his visit with
the Mexican President.
Clements said he informed
Lopez Portillo that ap-
proximately 3 million un-
documented Mexicaas work
in Texas. "Portillo was
astounded and is con-
cerned," Clements said.
A bracero program like
that of the fifties might be
looked into, Clements said
they agreed.
Clements said the
humanitarian side of his
issue is of great concern. He
said Texas needs the
Mexicans for labor, industry
and service, but
documentation is needed for
discipline and legality.
He said it was his wish that
these workers should be here
on a documented basis, to
get fair wages, and legal
rights, and to live under
proper conditions and
treatment.
"It is wrong to have these
people as human beings in
Texas as illegal aliens-they
have no recourse under the
law and are therefore
mistreated," Clements said.
They are discriminated
against as far as wages are
concerned because they are
illegal," he added.
The Governor said they
agreed to work to curve the
drug traffic. It has already
declined in the past 18
months, the Governor said.
Concerning the proposed
"Tortilla Curtain", a wire
fence in the El Paso area to
curve the illegal alien flow
into the U.S., Clements said
both he and Portillo are
against it.
The Governor said he will
pursue the issue of reducing
taxes. Also, he said he wants
education to get back to the
basics of reading, writing,
and arithmetic, and
discipline in the classroom.
"We have to forget who
voted for who and think what
is best for our country," he
concluded.
Local representatives to
the event included Pete Diaz
Jr., and his wife. Diaz En-
terprises, Inc., was one of
the sponsors for the event.
Also attending were Mr.
and Mrs. Marco A. Garza,
Mr. and Mrs. Jose A.
Hinojosa, Starr County
Judge Bias Chapa and his
wife. Manuel Cano, and Mr.
and Mrs. Ernesto Vela
Customs Inspector
Geared
Suspended U.S. Customs
Inspector Thelma Meyers
Torres of Rio Grande City
has been found innocent of a
charge that she falsified
customs documents.
The decision was handed
down by a federal court jury
in Brownsville Thursday,
Jan. 26, 1979, before U.S.
District Judge Owen D. Cox.
The officer had been
charged with two counts of
falsely filling out customs
Softball
League
Meets
In March of 1977, the Rio
Grande City Softball League
was established. This
organization was created for
the sole purpose of providing
a recreational activity in
which the whole community
could participate.
During the first year, 16
teams (8 men's and 8
women's teams) were
organized to form the Rio
Grande City Softball
league. These teams were
sponsored by local mer-
chants throughout the
community. After fierce
competition during the
course of the season trophies
were awarded to the 1st, 2nd,
and 3rd place winners.
In 1978 the league was
reorganized and again the
league was very successful.
The response by the com-
munity and local merchants
was overwhelming and are
to be commended for their
fine support and efforts for
making the Rio Grande City
Softball league a successful
event, said Jose A.
Guerrero, president.
This year once again, the
league is presently
reorganizing to make the Rio
Grande City Softball League
a yearly event. A meeting
will be held on February 1,
1979 at 7:30 p.m. in the San
Juan Plaza Center to elect
officers and officially kick-
off the 1979 Softball season
"Everyone is urged to
attend this important
meeting and help us make
this activity a successful
one," Guerrero said
forms claiming that she had
seized marijuana in the
automobiles of Rio Grande
City resident Ricardo
Rodriguez Corona, a student
at Texas State Technical
Institute iTSTI), and
Mexican federal official
Cecilio Carlos Martinez
Calderon of Diaz Ordaz She
also was charged with
vio'ating Corona's civil
rights.
Defense Attorney Eduardo
Rodriguez of Brownsville
contended that Mrs. Torres
was being prosecuted
because she had become "a
thorn in the side of drug
smugglers."
Judge Cox dismissed a
second count of falsifying
documents and the civil
rights violation charge
before the one count went to
the jury.
It took the jury ap-
proximately fifteen minutes
to return a verdict of
acquittal.
Mrs. Torres had initially
been named in a ten count
indictment. She was found
innocent of seven of the
charges at a June 1978 trial
in Brownsville The charges
stemmed from a June 1977
incident when she had
allegedly planted mariiuana
seeds in vehicles crossinF
the U.S.-Mexico border in
Rio Grande City.
Reinstatement proceed-
proceedings will be held
ings will be held within the
next two weeks with the U.S.
Customs Service, Mrs.
Torres said.
INTERIM FOUNDATION DIRECTOR-Dr Bruno
Trevino has been named interim Starr County In-
dustrial Foundation executive director while a perma-
nent qualified individual willing to settle in Stan-
County is hired Dr. Trevino is presently the executive
director of the Starr County Housing Authority, on a
part-time basis. He has been a board member and
chairman of the executive committee of the Industrial
since 1976.
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Silva, Marcelo. Rio Grande Herald (Rio Grande City, Tex.), Vol. 35, No. 68, Ed. 1 Thursday, February 1, 1979, newspaper, February 1, 1979; Rio Grande City, Texas. (https://texashistory.unt.edu/ark:/67531/metapth194699/m1/1/: accessed April 18, 2024), University of North Texas Libraries, The Portal to Texas History, https://texashistory.unt.edu; crediting Rio Grande City Public Library.