Rio Grande Herald (Rio Grande City, Tex.), Vol. 96, No. 32, Ed. 1 Thursday, August 13, 2009 Page: 1 of 6
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THURSDAY
WEEKLY
EDITION
August 13, 2009
96th YEAR No. 32
Rio Grande
11 rr ai r>
A Newspaper Serving the People of South Texas
Huge blaze scorches 100 acres near 2 subdivisions
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Fire stopped short of western RGC homes
The charred residue from the massive brush fire in western Rio Grande C it\ on I rida\.
Aug. 7 is pictured above. The blaze caused damage to the back porch of one home alter
coming close to a number of homes in the Live Oak and Stonegate subdivisions. I he fire
burned approximately 100 acres and was not brought fulls under control for at least seven
hours. The danger of grass fires remains very high during the ongoing extreme heat wave
and drought.
Operation Lone Star prepares
LVN students for life on jobs
South Texas College's
Licensed Vocational Nurses
(LVN) students had the rare
chance to be a part of the
largest humanitarian effort in
the United States - Operation
Lone Star. They worked
alongside doctors, nurses
and military staff from
places as distant as Chile and
Czechoslovakia to bring free
healthcare serves to severely
underserved populations in
the Valley.
The students volunteered
two weeks of their summers
to the joint project.
"As soon as our instructors
told us of the grand
opportunity, I jumped on the
idea and signed up as
volunteer," said Kristen
Cattlemen's
Trail Ride
set for Aug. 15
The South Texas
Cattlemen's Trail Ride is
scheduled for Saturday, Aug.
15 at 5:30 p.m. in the Rio
Grande City area.
All proceeds will go to
Driscoll Children's Hospital.
The fee is $15 per adult and
$10 per child.
The Trail Ride will start at
R.Y. Livestock Sales, Inc.
in Rio Grande City and cover
approximately seven to eight
miles. Participants should
get ready to experience a
beautiful evening sunset
view through the rolling
hills of Rio Grande City.
Anyone wishing to join on
a hay ride ts welcome; the
fee is $10 per person.
A Coggins Test is required
and all kicking horses must
have a ribbon.
There will be a meal for
all trail riders and evening
entertainment is available.
Overmghters are welcome at
R.Y.
The event is fun for a great
cause. Anyone seeking more
information should call 956-
534-4911 or 956-534-0284
Estes, STC LVN student.
"It's a heartwarming feeling
to be able to use our
classroom knowledge to help
those in need."
Royal blue scrubs, a
signature of STC's LVN
students, were visible all
throughout the Pharr San
Juan Alamo (PSJA) High
School Campus. Some
students were signing people
in, others guided patients to
designated areas.
"The student nurses are a
great asset to Operation
Lone Star." said Major Gene
Mikeska, epidemiologist and
executive officer for Ol.S in
Pharr. "Just yesierdas we
had an award ceremony to
recognize those students
who prevented a serious
health threat by recognizing
and pointing out the problem
in its early stages."
It is the 11th consecutive
year that OLS has provided
medical and dental services
to thousands of residents
along nine of the Valley's
border counties. Individuals
are seen by doctors and/or
dentists and are given
information and referrals of
state benefits and local
services that can also be of
help to them
The needs of the people
RGCCISD News Release
The Rio Grande Citv (MSI)
prepares for the New
Teacher Orientation that will
kick off the 2009-2010
school year.
The "Fiesta", which is this
year's theme, is slated for
Thursday, August 13. 2009
at the Multipurpose Center
at 7:30 a m It begins with a
breakfast and is followed by
a short program School
A large fire burned
approximately 100 acres ot
brushland in the western
section of Rio Grande City
near two subdivisions in the
late afternoon and evening of
Friday, Aug. 7, but i i.,ny
firefighters at the scene
managed to stop the blaze
and limit structural damage
to the back porch of one
home.
Rio Grande City I ire
Chief Ricardo Reyes declared
on Monday, "It took roughly
seven hours to get the fire
fully under control...The fire
got very close to roughly 10
homes. One home had
significant damage to its
back porch. It was the homes
in Live Oak Subdivision and
Stonegate Subdivision that
were threatened."
Reyes noted. "Ambulances
were on standbye in case we
had to evacuate the nearby
rehab and nursing home -
the Rio Grande City Nursing
and Rehabilitation Center."
He indicated, "The tire
broke out at approximately
5:30 p.m. (Friday). Roughly
100 acres were burned . We
responded i' itially with
three units a tanker, a
brush truck and one engine."
The lire escalated to the
point that 13 other tire
departments in Starr County
and ihe Valley arrived at the
scene to provide assistance.
"The site of the fire was by
the Live Oak Subdivision in
western Rio Grande City,
just past the Water
Department building,"
declared the chief. "...The
initial fire broke out about
80 to 100 yards or roughly a
quarter-mile north of
Highway 83."
Reyes commented, "Right
now we don't have any idea
how I he fire got started. At
this point, we don't suspect
arson."
Reyes stated, "The fire was
under control by 11 p.m. or
12 a.m.. but there are still
hot spots in the mam area of
the fire, the pit area, which
we're still having to watch
carefully (as of Monday
afternoon, Aug. 10). There
were a lot of materials being
dumped there and that's
apparently where the fire
started."
' Ve stopped the initial fire
at certain points, but the fire
had spread to multiple
locations," explained the
chief. "We had trouble
getting access to the main
area of the fire, but
bulldozers were used to gain
access...We used some army
trucks from neighboring
jurisdictions to attack the
fire."
Reyes continued, "After it
broke out, the fire spread in a
northwest direction...I'd say
the winds were blowing from
the southeast at 15 to 20
miles per hour. The fire was
spreading quickly due to the
high winds. The smoke made
it difficult for surrounding
residents and firefighters."
(See SCORCHES, Page 6)
Aldermen OK annexation
plan, 3 days extended hours
who show up to take
advantage of 01 S range
from immunizations, to
sports physicals, to blood
pressure screening, to
diabetes screening, to
hearing vision exams, or
dental fillings and
extractions.
"Mv son is about to start a
new school y ear and needed
a sports physical
examination." said Josie
Briseno "I read about the
free services that Operation
Lone Star was offering
through a fiver and decided
to bring my son here today."
F.ach year the number of
individuals serviced keeps
increasing And the
operation not only helps
keep Valley residents
healthy, but provides state
and local officials the
opportunity to train for a
public health emergency.
"The first hand experience
the students are gaining out
of Operation I,one Star will
enable them to deal with
health demands in the future,
such as the recent IIIN I
pandemic," said State
Senator Eddie Lucio Jr.
I he classroom teachings
and real life situation
(See PREPARES, Page 6)
l?> KENNETH ROBERTS
At their first regular
monthly meeting on
Wednesday evening, Aug. 5,
the Rio Grande City Board of
Aldermen approved extended
hours for the sale of
alcoholic beverages for three
days Thursday, Friday ami
Saturday
The agenda item read as
follows: "Final reading and
adoption of Ordinance No.
2009-2 resising Article IV.
Section 6-404 Extended
Hours Sale of Alcoholic
Beverages."
City Administrator Juan
Zuniga indicated, "This is
the second and final reading
related to non-restaurant
establishments It would
allow them to stay open till
1:30 a.m. on Thursday.
Friday and Saturday. They
would be required to have a
(certified) security officer
during the extended hours."
Mayor Ruben O Villarreal
commented, "We need to
allow businesses flexibility
to operate Security and
safety are important, so the
use ot a certified peace officer
will be required."
Zuniga indicated that the
action could be rescinded at
some point in the future if
the city is dissatisfied with
the results.
The aldermen approved
Resolution No. 2009-6
enacting a Municipal
Annexation Plan on three
tracts of land. Zuniga
indicated that one tract was
385.66 acres behind the
Public Utility Department
building, another tract is
312.13 acres stretching 2 1/2
miles east of the city limits
along U S S3, and another
tract is 325.49 acres
stretching 2 1/2 miles to the
w est of the city limits to the
intersection of U.S. 83 and
Alvarez Road.
Zuniga noted that the two
latter tracts cover the
roadway of U.S. 83. plus
500 feet on each side of the
highway.
Zuniga said, "The
intersection on Alvarez Road
will be inside city limits to
facilitate emergency
response These properties
cannot be inside city limits
until three years from the
anniversary of this action,
which would be Aug. 5.
2012. After that, an
ordinance will need to be
adopted."
Alderman Ruben D. Saenz
moved, seconded by
Alderman Arcadio Salinas III
that the annexation plan be
approved and the motion
passed without dissent.
City Secretary Holly
Guerrero later explained to
The Rio Grande Herald. "For
the annexation to come
about, the city will need to
provide fire and police
service (in those areas) with
a response time as good or
better than it has been. We
will have to fully pay for
any services we provide and
provide adequate equipment
(See EXTENDED, Page 6)
RGCCISD to host New
Teacher Orientation
administrators and Board
Members will be on site to
welcome new teachers to the
district
Other school district
personnel will also be on site
to provide information on
payroll, insurance, local
scholarship fund, etc. A
historical tour is also
scheduled for all new
members to the district that
will be conducted In Mr
R.C Salinas
STC LVN students help Lone Star effort
Josie Briseno is pleased to know her son (Jiram Briseno) is healthy and ready to start
playing sports this upcoming school year, with the help of David Padilla M.D. and STC
LVN student kirsten 1 stes SIC LVN students worked alongside doctors, nurses and
military staff from distant states and even nations to bring healthcare services to
underserved populations throughout the Valley I he students contributed two weeks of their
summers to the joint undertaking.
Weekly Money Saving tip #74
Hit the library. Don't look at a
library as just a place to get old books
Look at it as a free place to do ali sorts of things
I've used it to learn a foreign language meet people
use the Internet anonymously, check out movies
and CDs, grab local free newspapers
and keep.yp on community-events
Best of ail, it dogMtaost a dime
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Roberts, Kenneth. Rio Grande Herald (Rio Grande City, Tex.), Vol. 96, No. 32, Ed. 1 Thursday, August 13, 2009, newspaper, August 13, 2009; Edinburg, Texas. (https://texashistory.unt.edu/ark:/67531/metapth196372/m1/1/: accessed April 25, 2024), University of North Texas Libraries, The Portal to Texas History, https://texashistory.unt.edu; crediting Rio Grande City Public Library.