Rio Grande Herald (Rio Grande City, Tex.), Vol. 86, No. 4, Ed. 1 Thursday, January 28, 1999 Page: 1 of 8
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WEEKLY EDITION
January 28,1999
86th Year, No. 4
25 cents
Herald
A Newspaper Serving the People of South Texas
Trustees talk TAAS, vote
to hire law firm on school
BY KENNETH ROBERTS
At their regular monthly meeting
a on Wednesday night, Jan. 20, the
Rio Grande City CISD board of
trustees voted to hire an Edinburg
law firm to evaluate all aspccts of
the design and construction of the
new high school and also discussed
TAAS exit-level testing results in
October.
The trustees voted to retain
! dinburg attorney Ramon Garcia to
b -imi the process of evaluating the
£ high school construction process
that eliminated with the opening of
the facility in the fall of 1 >97.
On Thursday, Superimendent
Ramon Hinojosa told lhe Rio
Grande Herald "We will look into
whether there was fault for the high
hool design, and also whether the
facility was overpriced for what was
0, lly produced...It arises out of
the fl<.-oding episode."
Concerns about the new school
reached a peak on Sept. 22 when
rain water from a massive
thunderstorm surged through
exhaust vents into several
restrooms and then proceeded to
flow into several hallways that
-- >! roup,iily 60 percent of the
complex. Water measured up to two
® in some locations.
Board President Basil 10 "Bacho"
Villarreal, Jr. later declared, 'We're
hiring someone to look over the
project in its entirety, to be sure
that we have quality construction
and that everything was done in the
right way."
Villarreal added, "Right now, it's
exploratory. They will be searching
to see if there are any problems that
merit litigation. We want the
project to be looked at in its
entirety, including die architectural
aspect and the financial aspect."
He emphasized, "This will not
involve any cost to the district. The
bottom line is that we want to
make sure the school is safe."
Hinojosa stated, "We're bringing
down some architectural engineers
to make sure die building is sound.
Basically, Landmark (the
construction management firm)
hasn't sent a letter spelling out
what they're going to do."
The superintendent added,
"Among other things, there are
cracks in the wall with the gym."
TAAS Exit-Level testing results
for grades 10, 11 and 12 at the high
school were discussed in some
detail.
Leticia Villarreal, Director for
Guidance and Testing, indicated tlmt
after October's testing 70 seniors
"are lacking at least one test,
compared to 92 last year. Forty five
need only one test, while 11 need to
pass all three."
Villarreal indicated that 61
seniors were tested in Reading, with
28 passing for a mastery rate of 46
percent. Seventy two seniors took
the Math test and 25 passed for a
mastery rate of 35 percent. Nineteen
of 45 seniors, or 42 percent,
rnasteied the Writing test.
The mastery rates for seniors
tested in October 1997 were as
folows: Writing, 47 percent;
Reading, 19 percent; Math, 53
percent.
Eighty three 11th graders were
tested in Reading in October 1998,
with 38 passing for a mastery rate
of 46 percent. This was a big
increase from last year's passing
rate of 24 percent.
One hundred and twenty diree
juniors were tested in Math, w:t a
mastery rate of 26 percent compared
to 22 percent the year before. The
mastery rate for the Writing test
was 34 percent, compared to 29
percent the previous year.
Twenty four percent of juniors
tested passed all three tests,
compared to 18 percent in October
1997.
Among 10th graders, the mastery
rates were as follows: WRITING
(See TRUSTEES, Page 6)
Spirit Award Banquet to begin
Catholic Schools Week celebration
W Brighter I uturc"
the 1999 thcine lor Catholic
Schools Week, which is set for
January 31 lebruary 6. Sister
Helen Rotticr, CStf, principal of
Immaculate Conception School,
announced that the faculty,
tudenis, and staff are all eagerly
preparing for the special week.
This year's Spirit Award
Banquet for the Diocese of
W Brown ;> ille will be held on Frid ly,
January 29, as a kickoff to the
weeklong celebration. The second
annual event honors one employee
and one volunteer from each of the
Catholic schools in the Diocese.
This year's honorees from
Immaculate Conception School are
Raymond Pefia and Jerri Shuford.
as the 1999 Employee .Spirit Award
recipient at l.C.S.
Mr. Pefia's major responsibility
is maintenance, but lie does so
much more. He is the first one at
school every morning and is often
the last to leave, as he is in charge
of the aftei school program, caring
for the children until the last one is
picked up. He welcomes everyone
™ with a smile and an energetic hello.
One coworker stated, "He is an
incredible worker and tends to
inspirc me every time I see him.
He truly sees the beauty of God in
everyone He is thankful and full
of life!"
Born in Aransas Pass, he
married a Starr County girl, the
former Yolanda Alvarez, and moved
to Rio Grande City where they
have made a home for their two
daughters, Betsy and Gina, arid a
granddaughter, Anissa Ann.
(RGC High student
awarded All-State Hand
honors, See Page 2)
Their younger daughter is a
fourth grader at l.C.S., so Mr Pefia
is also active as a volunteer parent
in all P.T.O. activities and school
functions. This year he even served
as Santa Claus to the delight of all
the little ones.
One nominator wrote, "This
man sacrifices a lot from his
private life to always help the
school in any way possible. He is
always there for the kids. He
deserves to be acknowledged for all
the good things he docs." Another
wrote, "Mr. Pefia is always there
lor anyone that needs any kind of
help. He is always willing to help
any staff member or parent or
student, even if it's after school
hours or work hours, even on
weekends He never knows how to
say no to anyone."
Mrs. Jerri Shuford, who is
serving her second term as vice-
president of the very active Parent
Teacher Organization at Immaculate
Conception School, has received
the honor of being chosen as the
1999 Volunteer Spirit Award
recipient.
Jerri and her husband, Bill, a
busy farmer in Starr County, have
one son, Neil, who is a seventh
grader at l.C.S. "Jerri, a non-
catholic parent, has done volunteer
work for and at the school ever
since her son was in his first years
of school," writes a nominator,
who adds, "She continues to give
of herself without counting the
cost."
The teachers agree that she is
always very helpful to the class
that her son is in, but much more
than that, she is very involved with
all the activities of the school. She
(See SPIRIT, Page 6)
Spirit Award Winners to be Honored
The 1999 Spirit Award honorees from Immaculate Conception School arc Raymond Pefia and Jerri Shuford
(i < nli i). They are shown being congratulated by the pastor, Father Amador Garza, and the principal, Sister
Helen Rotticr, CSJ. The banquet for the Diocese of Brownsville will be held on Friday, January 29, as a
kickoff to tin wi eklong celebration of Catholic Schools Week.
Zarate, other RGC trustees honored
Francisco "Paco", vice president of the Rio Grande City CISD board of trustees, was given special recognition
for his 21 years of trustee service at Wednesday night's Board Recognition Social held as part of Texas School
Board Recognition Mondi. The other six trustees were also honored and are pictured to Zarate's right as
follows: Roberto Gutierrez, Dalinda Escobar, Basilio D. Villarreal, Jr., Dr Mario Jimenez and Jose Luis
Garza. (RGCCISD photo: publicinfol0@yafioo.com)
Zarate, other trustees honored
at hoard recognition social
H) KENNETH ROB IR IS
Francisco "Paco" Zarate, w ho has
served as a school board member for
over two decades, and the six other
members of the Rio Grande City
CISD board of trustees were
honored by the school district and
community at a special social late
Wednesday afternoon, Jan. 20.
At the Board Members
Recognition Social held at the
Multipurpose Center as part of
Texas School Board Recognition
Month, Rio Grande City Mayor
Baldemar Garza read a special
proclamation.
Garza commented, "1 publicly
thank the board members and
everyone in the school district who
helped us with our Sesquicentennial
celebration. The fort (Ringgold) is
the leading jewel in the
community."
Garza told Zarate, "I thank you
for the intensity you have
maintained diroughout the years in
the effort to serve our children. I
thank all board members for what
they do for our community and our
children."
R.C. Salinas recognized Dalinda
Escobar and Silvina Hinojosa, the
first women to serve as RGCCISD
trustees in more than two decades.
Superintendent Ramon Hinojosa
noted that Grulla Middle School had
held a special appreciation
ceremony earlier that day to honor
the board members.
Salinas praised Zarate by noting
that he ha> heen working with
social programs in Soudi Texas for
more than 30 years." He praised
Zatate for his support of social
programs and odier humanitarian
causes as well as his commitment
to boosting the educational quality
lor RGCCISD students over many
years.
Salinas also praised Zarate's
devotion to his family
Zarate told the large audience, "I
thank you for the honor. I've seen
many changes over the 21 years. I
ihink all of us have been able to
give you a school that is second to
none, lhe quality of our students is
excellent"
Zarate stressed diat a deep sense
of duty has been the guiding force
that has propelled him in his
devotion to his family, in bis
service as a school trustee, and in
his effort to further social
programs.
A special plaque was presented by
Superintendent Ramon Hinojosa to
(See ZARATE, Page 6)
Customs makes marijuana
seizure at Roma port
U.S. Customs inspectors seized
just over 100 pounds of marijuana
on Thursday, Jan. 21 at the Roma
Port of Entry from a New Rochelle,
New York man
Elias Rojas, 36, a U.S. citizen
and resident of 178 Washington
Ave., New Rochelle, New York,
was arraigned Friday before a U.S.
Magistrate in McAllen on federal
drug charges. U.S. Customs Office
of Investigation Spccial Agents
arrested Rojas after Customs
Inspectors found the marijuana
concealed in his vehicle.
While conducting Operation
"Robin Hood" inspections,
Customs i i -pectors selected a 1996
Pontiac Trans Am driven by Rojas
for further examination. "Robin
Hood" is an enforcement initiative
that focuses on northbound
passenger traffic.
An intensive inspection by the
Inspectors and canine "Laika"
resulted in the discovery of 100.5
pounds of marijuana hidden in a
metal compartment inside the
gasoline tank of the vehicle. The
marijuana was found in one solid
block.
A high-tech tool known as the
fiber-optic scope was utilized by
U.S. Customs Inspectors to
identify the foreign object inside the
gasoline tank.
U.S. Customs inspectors seized
(See CUSTOMS, Page 6)
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Montalvo & Perez Grand Opening
Montalvo & Perez. Attorneys at 1 aw, held their Grand Opening/Open House on Wednesday. December
16. 19^8 Rio Grande City Chamber of Commerce President Billy Canalcs expressed his pleasure at the
opening of the new business during the Ribbon Cutting Ceremony, which was conducted by the chamber.
Alderman 1 ,auro 1 ope/, conveyed his congratulations on behalf of the city The law office of Montalvo &
Perez wishes to thank everyone lot then attendance and their support Pictured are, I r. Miss Rio Grande
City 1998 Anastasia Rodriguez Rene and Norma Montalvo and family. Mi. Canales. fori and Xavier
Perez, and well-wishers
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Roberts, Kenneth. Rio Grande Herald (Rio Grande City, Tex.), Vol. 86, No. 4, Ed. 1 Thursday, January 28, 1999, newspaper, January 28, 1999; Edinburg, Texas. (https://texashistory.unt.edu/ark:/67531/metapth195689/m1/1/: accessed April 24, 2024), University of North Texas Libraries, The Portal to Texas History, https://texashistory.unt.edu; crediting Rio Grande City Public Library.