Rio Grande Herald (Rio Grande City, Tex.), Vol. 92, No. 1, Ed. 1 Thursday, January 6, 2005 Page: 1 of 6
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THURSDAY
WEEKLY
EDITION
January 6, 2005
92nd YEAR No. 1
#215
I lOACi B(X)K BINDERY
127 RAIL ROAD
SPRINGPORT, MI 49204
ZONE 6
Rio Grande
HERALD
A Newspaper Serving the People of South Texas
Starr native supervises canine training in Iraq
Rio Motor Co. vehicles submerged in snow
These three vehicles on display at Rio Motor Co. in Rio Grande C its received a heavy dousing of snow Imm
the onee-in-a-lif'etime snowfall on Christmas Eve and early Christmas morning. The immediate Rio Grande
City area received its first measurable snowfall since January 1967 Snowfall amounts in Starr County
generally ranged from one to three inches. The bright sunshine had already caused significant melting ot the
white powder to begin by mid-morning Christmas Day.
RGC High JROTC to march
on streets of Washington, D.C.
The Rio Grande City High School
JROTC l2thCa\alry is scheduled to
participate in the National Cherry
Blossom festival Parade in Wash-
ington D.C. on Saturday. April 9.
2005. Each Spring Washington D.C.
has a celebration in commemoration
of Japan's 1912 gilt ol cherry trees
to the United States. The tiees were
planted around the Tidal Basin near
(he Jefferson Memorial and the fes-
tival is scheduled to coincide with the
first bloom of the cherry trees. This
two week long event brings in more
tourists than any another annual event
in the city. The National Cherry
Blossom Festival features daily in-
ternational cultural performances,
sporting events, arts crafts dem-
onstrations and other special events.
The festival will he held March 27-
April 11 and showcases highly an-
ticipated events such as the National
Cherry Blossom Festival Parade and
the Sakura Matsuri Japanese Street
Festival on Saturday. April 3. The
festival celebrates the 92nd Anniver-
sary of the gift of the cherry blossom
trees and the enduring friendship be-
tween the citizens of the United
States and Japan. This is the first year
that the 12th Cavalry participates in
this event that draws over 100,000
spectators from around the world.
" The cadets are extremely excited
because it is a whole new experience
for them. It will give them the op-
portunity to participate in a national
level parade. They will also get to
visit an extremely historical area such
as Washington. D.C.," says Master
Sergeant Marco Pena.
According to Sgt. Pena the students
will have to do some research before
the trip to familiarize themselves with
The National Cherry Blossom Parade
and the historical sites in the D.C.
area. They will have to prepare re-
ports to share with other classmates
to incorporate the educational com-
ponent into this endeavor.
" It is important not only to repre-
sent our community and our school
district hut also to tie in education
into this trip, says Sgt. Pena
The 12th Cavalry battalion has
been practicing to prepare for this
grand event. They recently lead the
Parade of Oranges in Mission. Texas
in January 2004 and participated in
the Battle ol the Flowers Parade in
San Antonio, Texas in April 200-1.
Each ol these events drew in a crowd
ol over 100,000 spectators. This in
itsell gave the 12th Cavair; the op-
portunity to practice in front of thou-
sands of spectators to prepare them
for upcoming national event.
(See STREETS, Page 6)
Grand jury makes early
finding of justified force
The Starr County 229th District
Court grand jury recently made a
preliminary determination that the
use of deadly force by officers of the
La Joya Police Department and the
Starr County Sheriff's Department
had been justified in a Nov 25
incident in which an alleged
gunman fleeing from a La Joya
traffic stop was killed.
District Attorney Heriberto Silva
told The Rio Grande Herald, "The
grand jury met Tuesday, Dec. 7 on
the La Joya incident and determined
(preliminarily) that the use of force
had been justified. They found that
the gunman had opened the driver's
door and fired at the L.a Joya police
officer."
The prosecutor stated, "The
investigation is continuing by the
grand jury and the D.A.'s Office, as
well as by law enforcement
agencies involved in the incident.
Autopsy results on the alleged
gunman are pending, as well as
ballistics tests "
Silva concluded that the grand
jury's preliminary findings are that
"the La Joya officer returned fire
once and struck the gunman once
Starr County Sheriffs Department
deputies fired two shots and struck
the gunman twice.'
Late in the evening of Nos 25.
2004, or Thanksgiving Day, Jose
Isaac Alvarez. 28, of Zapata was
fatally shot within a private
property area jusi north of U.S.
Highway 83 East in Rio Grande
City. The exchange of gunfire came
less than 50 minutes after Alvarez
fled from a traffic stop in La Joya,
initiating a high speed pursuit.
Alvarez, who was driving a Ford
F-150 pickup, drove at speeds as
high as 110 to 115 miles per hour
during the pursuil. according to a
spokesperson for the La Joya Police
Department.
Amone the agencies involved in
the pursuit were the Starr County
Sheriff's Department, the La Joya
Police Department, DPS. the Rio
Grande City Police Department, the
U.S. Border Patrol, and the
Sullivan City Police Department.
Alvarez was believed lo have
been smuggling undocumented
immigrants at the time of the
incident. His brother and five
undocumented aliens comprised 'he
six passengers in the truck.
(See FINDING, Page 6)
RGCPD carries out
Christmas toy drive
The Rio Giande City Police
Department carried out an extensive
toy drive shortly before Christmas
2004 to provide cheer and
enjoyment to hundreds of local
children in need
Assistant Police Chief Eli
Gonzalez indicated that the toy drive
was carried out on Wednesday, Dec.
22. He explained. "Toys were
distributed to most of the kids in
the Los Garcias Housing Project,
the Nixon Housing Project, the
residential area at the intersection ol
Gonzalez and Gomez Streets. Los
Trevinos, and Tierra Linda
Subdivision."
"I'd say over 1000 toys were
distributed, with most children
By KENNETH ROBERTS
A Starr County native carried out
the essential, difficult and dangerous
task of supervising canine training
and handling for detection of
explosives in Iraq for almost one
year beginning in February 2004.
Adrian Cortez explained to The
Rio Grande Flerald on Monday. Jan.
3, "I was deployed to Iraq in
February 2004.1 oversaw all canine
training for VLK Triple Canopy,
which involved most of the
country. Our work involved
personal protection or Coalition
Protection Administrators (CPA)
work."
Cortez noted, "I went intt
Afghanistan in late 2002 I was in
Afghanistan for six months...In late
2002, I was contacted by a private
corporation, DynCorp. who
contracts with the military and the
U.S. government. They needed a
canine handler and trainer in
Afghanistan."
"My job (in Afghanistan) was to
evaluate all of the teams on the
ground at the time to determine it
the explosive detection undertaking
was Mill proficient in iheir duties.''
he added. "Tin.- particular team was
based at the presidential palace and
compound in Kabul, Afghanistan."
Cortez, a La Grulla native, has
many years of experience in
training dogs for security purposes.
In the late I990's, he served for
three years as president of the
National Detector Dogs
Association, which had more than
7000 members in 36 states a1 that
time.
Cortez stated, "In September
2003, I was contacted about the
need for this kind of work (canine
handling and training) in Iraq. In
January 2004, I was contacted again
and the duties as trainer were spelled
out specifically."
"Our work involved searching all
vehicles and persons coming into
the administrators' compounds," he
explained. "This included the Green
Zone in Baghdad, northern Iraq, and
southern Iraq. Our work was needed
everywhere there was a compound.
We worked very closely with the
military."
Cortez emphasized, "We searched
every vehicle; we looked for any
sign of explosives We secured the
premises before any vehicle was
allowed to enter."
Cortez commented, "We didn't
have any explosions in our
compounds and that remains true to
this day I definitely feel that our
efforts have saved many lives in
Iraq."
He pointed out, "We worked
closely with local guardsmen in
Iraq. I felt our training of Iraqi
guardsmen in canine handling and
training was very successful...The
law enforcement training of Iraqis
in canine handling has been very
successful...They were ready and
willing to learn; many are fearful
because of past oppression and
current terrorism."
Cortez explained. "I taught
introduction to explosive detection,
aerial search, vehicle search and
canine maintenance (taking care of
the dogs)."
(See CANINE, Page 6)
Firefighters' efforts bring huge
grass fire under control
A sudden and massive grass fire
in the western section of Rio
Grande City in the early evening
hours of Wednesday. Dec. 28 was
brought under control by the
determined efforts of firefighters
from five fi re fighting entities.
The fire, which started at
approximately 5:30 p.m. in a large
grassy and brushy area north of
West Canales Brothers (Third
Street), threatened nearby homes for
a few anxious moments. The new
Community Action Council of
South Texas Youth Plex building
in the far northwest part of the
grassy area was also considered to
be at risk for a short time
By 7:30 p.m., the fire was
basically under control. The blaze
had been almost completely
extinguished by 9:30 p.m.
As of Friday afternoon, the cause
of the blaze had not been
determined. On Thursday. Rio
Grande City Assistant Police Chief
Eli Gonzalez termed the
circumstances of the fire
"suspicious."
Gonzalez stated, "At
approximately 5:35 p.m.. we (the
RGC Police Department) responded
to a brushy area just north of
Canales Street in reference to a
major grass fire. The RGC Fire
Department, the U.S. Fish and
Wildlife Service, the La Rosita Fire
Department, the San Isidro Fire
Department and the La Casita Fire
Department helped in the
firefighting effort."
"The fire started in the bend area
of Canales Street, near where
Canales and Columbus Streets
meet " explained Gonzalez. "It took
about three and one-half hours to
completely extinguish ihe blaze."
The Assistant Chief stressed. "No
residences were damaged. We
notified residents of Houston.
Lincoln and Columbus Streets to
be on high alert and ready to
evacuate...It looked for a while like
some residences might be in
danger...An ambulance from Starr
County Memorial Hospital was
dispatched to I he scene as a
precautionary measure."
Fire Department Arson
Investigator Desi Olivarez noted,
"A few nearby homes could have
been in trouble had firefighters not
been there quickly. Flying embers
could have started another spot
fire...Embers can fly hundreds of
feet...The extra firefighters and their
resources kept the fire from getting
(See EFFORTS, Page 6)
RGC school board
lighting way for children
Governor Rick Perry has pro-
claimed January as School Board
Recognition Month and Rio Grande
City CISD is joining other districts
across the state to gratefully acknow l-
edge their commitment to our com-
munities and schools.
"Texans benefit every day from the
dedicated energies and countless
hours devoted by a group of more
than 7.000 men and woman across
the state. These public servants are
elected to serve by local citizens and
receive no compensation for their
tireless efforts. These men and
women are the local school board
members of Texas," said Roel A.
Gonzalez (RGCCISD Superinten-
dent ).
"These people unselfishly contrib-
ute their time and talents toward the
advancement of public education,"
said Gonzalez. "They represent a
continuing commitment to local citi-
zen control and decision making in
education. Even though we are mak-
ing a special effort during January to
show appreciation to our school
board members, we recognize their
contributions reflect a year-round
commitment on their part." Gonzalez
said.
"We proudly salute these education
advocates as the\ provide leadership
for student achievement, academic
programs, district funding, and
school facilities Their service en-
sures that decisions about local pub-
lic schools are made by those most
(See CHILDREN, Page 6)
getting one toy each." emphasized
Gonzalez. "A few children got two
toys. These toys were high quality
toys, including such toys as stuffed
animals, basketballs, footballs,
puzzles, games, and miniature toys
of cartoon characters"
Gonzalez stressed. "The objective
of this operation was to help out
the children that are less fortunate "
The Assistant Chief noted that
"the toys were donated by the U S
Marine Corps in Harlingen."
Gonzalez, concluded. "We're
looking forward to doing similar
projects ai future Christmases I
thank the U S Marines and others
that participated in this project and
helped make it a success "
- V,V 3
£
It
RGCPD toy drive brings Christmas cheer
The Rio Grande City Police Department carried out a large Christmas toy drive on Dec 22 that resulted in
the distribution ol more than 1000 toys being distributed to local children. Among the areas where the toys
were distributed were the Los Garcias Housing Project and the Nixon Housing Project. The toys were donated
by the U.S Marine Corps in Harlingen
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Roberts, Kenneth. Rio Grande Herald (Rio Grande City, Tex.), Vol. 92, No. 1, Ed. 1 Thursday, January 6, 2005, newspaper, January 6, 2005; (https://texashistory.unt.edu/ark:/67531/metapth196302/m1/1/: accessed March 28, 2024), University of North Texas Libraries, The Portal to Texas History, https://texashistory.unt.edu; crediting Rio Grande City Public Library.