Rio Grande Herald (Rio Grande City, Tex.), Vol. 95, No. 12, Ed. 1 Thursday, March 20, 2008 Page: 1 of 6
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THURSDAY
WEEKLY
EDITION
March 20, 2008
95th YEAR No. 12
W215
IIOAG HOOK BINDERY
127 RAIL ROAD
SPRINGPORT.MI 49204
/ONI' 6
Rio Grande
HERALD
A Newspaper Serving the People of South Texas
South Dakota native found dead west of La Gloria
Summer heat comes early to county
Starr County and the Rio Grande Valley received an early dose of searing summer heat on Friday,
Saturday and Sunday, March 14-16. This temperature reading of 102 degrees at Texas State Bank-Rio
Grande City took place between 2 and 3 p.m. on Friday. KRGV-Channel Five indicated that high
temperatures of 104 were recorded Friday in Starr County. Temperatures on Saturday again soared
past 100 degrees, and readings on Sunday reached the mid-90's. The heat and windy conditions
aggravated the already serious lire danger.
STCplanning to host
Horticulture Seminar Series
The Biology Club at South
Fexas College in conjunction
with the Rio Grande Valley
Horticnltur? S.- and the
Weslaco Beautiful Committee
will present a Horticulture
Seminar Series to run
Wednesdays April 9. 16 and 30.
Professionals in the field will
pdiscuss developments in bio
technology that affect the way
North Americans consume food
and energy.
Presentations begin at 6 p.m.
at specified locations.
Admission is free and open to
he public.
Biology Club members are
trying to raise public awareness
of the importance of bio fuels,
safety, recycling, and the
April 1 deadline
to apply for
STC graduation
You have taken your courses,
turned in your papers and passed
all your exams, but wait! You
have just one last deadline to
make April I is the deadline to
'appl\ for graduation from South
Texas College.
If you are an S I'C student
and have fulfilled the
requirements to graduate w ith a
certificate or associate's degree.
j|you must till out an application
for graduation b\ April I to
ensure that your name appears in
the graduation program.
Applications will be accepted
through April 18. but those
names received after April I will
not appear in the graduation
program
South Texas College \\ ill
hold its annual graduation
ceremonies on Saturday. Ma\
10. 2008 at Dodge Arena in
Hidalgo. I X
For more information call
872-8 3 11 or visit
ww w.southtexascollege.edu
consumption of organic fruits
and vegetables, said Debbie
Villalon, STC biology instructor
and ciuii adviser.
Fhe April 9 series focuses on
the importance of water
conservation. Featured speaker
is Dr. Jorge Da Silva, whose
expertise is in sugarcane
molecular biology and genetic
breeding. Also presenting are
Dr. Shad Nelson of Texas A&M
University Kingsville
(TAMUK) and Dr. Juan Anciso
of the Texas Agrilife Research
& Fxtension Weslaco.
Presentations will be held in
lecture hall GI91 at the South
Texas College Mid-Valley
Campus, 400 N. Border Ave. in
Weslaco.
The series continues on April
16 with Dr. Juan Anciso, who
will discuss food safety and the
continuing issue of food
production Dr. Eliezer Louzada
of the TAMUK- Citrus Center in
Weslaco and Dr. William
Kuvlesky, assistant dean,
College of Agriculture at
TAMU, will discuss education
and research opportunities in
agriculture. Presentations will be
held in lecture hall G191 at the
South Texas College Mid-
Valley Campus.
"Fhe April 30 seminar will be
at the Weslaco Chamber of
Commerce. Jennifer Owen,
natural resource specialist of
Estero Llano Grande State Park,
will discuss the world birding
centers wildlife habitat program.
Jim Booker, park naturalist of
Estero Llano Grande State Park,
will present on gardening for
wildlife in the Lower Rio
Grande Valley. He will offer
(See SEMINAR, Page 6)
Commissioner Alvarez
re-elected by 6-1 margin
in the Democratic primary
election on Tuesday, March 4,
Precinct One Commissioner
Jaime Alvarez was re-elected to
a second term by an
overwhelming margin of over 6-
1
Alvarez received 2379 votes,
or 85.65 percent, to 230 votes,
or 8.30 percent, for Emilio R.
Alvarez. Rosalinda Moreno
Ursua garnered 162 votes, or
5.85 percent.
Alvarez was appointed to the
Precinct One Commissioner
position in March 2001. He was
nominated to a full four-year
term in March 2004 and won
election without opposition in
November 2004.
In the Precinct Six Constable
race, incumbent Santiago
"Chago" Zarate won re-election
as he received 1052 votes, or
70.18 percent, to 447 votes, or
29.82 percent, for challenger
Heraclio "Laco" Flores.
In the Precinct 10 Democratic
Chair race, challenger Jeremy
Victor Barba received 571 votes,
or 50.85 percent, to 552 votes,
or 49.15 percent, for incumbent
Dave "Chachi" Jones
In the presidential primary.
Hillary C'inton overwhelmingly
carried Starr County with 7360
votes, or 82.53 percent, to 1454
votes, or 16.32 percent, for
Barack Obama.
In the District 21 State Senate
race, incumbent Judith Zaffirini
carried Starr County by over a
6-1 margin on her way to
winning re-election to the
position she has held since 1987.
She received 5889 votes, or
86.85 percent, to 892 votes, or
13.15 percent, for challenger
Rene Barrientos.
Aim High
Hit your target audience.
Call now for Great Rates
on Front Page Advertising.
956-487-2819
Kio Grande
HERALD
s
A 55-year-old man believed to
be a South Dakota native was
fci nd dead just west of La
Gloria Sunday morning, with
authorities expressing the
opinion that his death resulted
from stab wounds.
Sheriff's Department
Lieutenant Larry Fuentes
indicated that the victim has
been identified as Larry Lee
Erickson, who was carrying a
South Dakota driver's license.
Fuentes stated, "Family
members say he was traveling.
Apparently, he didn't have a
residence in this area."
The lieutenant declared, "The
body was found at about 8 a.m.
Sunday adjacent to FM 1017
about one mile west of FM
755...A passerby found him at
roughly 8 a.m. Sunday (March
16)."
"Preliminary indications are
that he had several stab wounds
to the abdomen, elbows and
wrists," explained Fuentes.
"...Right now we believe it was
a homicide. A knife was found
at that location."
Erickson had been driving a
maroon 1992 Chevrolet
Suburban, indicated Fuentes.
Fuentes commented. "The
time of death was probably 8
p.m. to 10 p.m. the night
before...We think he was killed
at that same location."
About the motive for the
apparent homicide, Fuentes
stated, "Right now we haven't
seen any indication of a
robbery."
Fhe lieutenant concluded,
"We've been trying to piece
together where he had been the
past few days. We have no idea
where he had been recently."
Anyone with information
about this episode is strongly
encouraged to contact the
Sheriff's Department at 487-
5571. All information will be
kept confidential
RGC aldermen vote to select
new consulting engineer
At their regular monthly
meeting on Thursday evening.
March 6, the Rio Grande City
Board of Aldermen approved
negotiations with a new
consulting engineer that will be
expected to deal with projects
and matters outside of the
planned new water and
wastewater plants.
City Administrator Juan
Zuniga declared, "The contract
with AlphaAmerican
Engineering has expired. I'm
recommending Rio Delta
Engineering; their principal
engineer is Gilbert Guerra. I'm
asking for authorization to
negotiate a contract; a contract
would come back before you
(for possible approval)."
Mayor Pro Tern Ruben O.
Villarreal commented, "I would
like to keep AlphaAmerican for
at least another 30 days to make
the transition smooth, and take
care of remaining matters."
Zuniga explained, "He (the
AlphaAmerican engineer) has
been authorized to work on the
Heritage Park project and the
ORCA Phase One water line
project."
The aldermen then proceeded
to select Rio Delta Engineering
as the new engineer and
authorized staff to negotiate a
contract for Consulting Engineer
services.
At the start of the meeting,
Zuniga briefly discussed the
Financial Report He stated,
"The tax collections late last
year were a little bit slower than
the previous year due to the
change in collection agencies.
We did receive a large check a
few days ago."
Zuniga added, "The increases
in sales tax collections have
been a lot less than the previous
year. People are spending less
due tojhe high price of gasoline
and the higher price of
foodstuffs. I've asked
department heads to be
conservative in their spending."
Alter some discussion, the
aldermen voted to adopt the
Municipal Emergency
Management Plan as
recommended. Fire Chief
Ricardo Reyes indicated,
"There's an amendment to the
plan from last year."
Reyes explained, "The original
plan was sent back to us in
November by the Governor's
Division of Emergency
Management due to some
deficiencies, but those
deficiencies have been
corrected. The plan stayed the
same except L- the corrections."
Zuniga emphasized. "I
commend Chief Reyes for
staying on top of this plan,
including additional training.
We gained some experience
with the flooding in July."
Mayor Kevin Hiles declared.
"There are two additional levels
we will need to reach in order to
deal with other potential
disasters."
The aldermen voted to adopt
Resolution No. 2008-3
authorizing participation in the
Local Border Security Grant
Program through the Office of
the Governor, Division of
Emergenc) Management.
Assistant Police Chief Noe
Castillo pointed out, "Eighty
percent of the grant will be
funded ahead of time. This will
help fund overtime for
dispatchers for six months."
The aldermen approved a
recent action by the EDC Board
of Directors to select an
(See ENGINEER, Page t>)
I
Grulla Stars enjoy meeting Cowboys cheerleaders
The Grulla Elementary Stars Cheerleading team recentK had the experien. e of a lifetime. On Januars
3, 2008. the team traveled to Irving. Texas, the home of the Dallas Cowboys. During their visit the
Grulla cheerleading team got to train with America's Sweethearts: The Dallas Cowboys Cheerleaders
It was an exciting fun filled weekend where they took pictures and were given autographs to uphold
those memories. On behalf of our cheerleading team we would like to thank the parents, our school,
and the community of La Grulla for being so supportive. It is through this support that our students can
participate and take advantage of opportunities like this that w ill enable them expand their educational
canvas.
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Call
956-487-2819
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Roberts, Kenneth. Rio Grande Herald (Rio Grande City, Tex.), Vol. 95, No. 12, Ed. 1 Thursday, March 20, 2008, newspaper, March 20, 2008; Edinburg, Texas. (https://texashistory.unt.edu/ark:/67531/metapth196109/m1/1/?rotate=90: accessed March 29, 2024), University of North Texas Libraries, The Portal to Texas History, https://texashistory.unt.edu; crediting Rio Grande City Public Library.