Rio Grande Herald (Rio Grande City, Tex.), Vol. 35, No. 40, Ed. 1 Thursday, July 20, 1978 Page: 1 of 8
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TEXAS PRESS
ASSOCIATION
RIO GRANDE
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The Largest Paid
Circulation Going
In Starr County
VOL XXXV
No. 40
July 20,1978
FIFTEEN CENTS
ill
Charges Dropped Against
Accused Illegal Alien Voters
NEW ROMA CAR WASH—The new Roma Kwik Kar
Wash opened in Roma on Saturday, July 1, with ribbon-
cutting ceremonies. It is owned by Rodolfo Cantu and
Humberto Garcia of Rio Grande City. The new
business has fori bays, three for cars and one for
trucks. There is ilso a four bay drying shed with
vacuum cleaners. Waxing and detergent services and
a wax tire cleaner are also available. Attending the
ceremony were, left to right, Rodrigo Palacio, Noe
Sanchez, Joe Gallegos, Romeo Lopez, Humberto
Garcia, Roma City Commissioner Gene Arce who cut
the ribbon, Walter Peel, Mrs. Rodolfo Cantu, Octavio
Gonzalez, Rodolfo Cantu and son, Nance E. Munoz,
and Ronaldo E. Guerra.
By RICK ARRIOLA
RGCHERALD
Thirteen Starr County
residents accused of voting
as illegal aliens in the last
county commissioners' run-
off election may have had
their civil rights violated.
Charges were filed in the
last election by Precinct
Four county commission
candidate Melecio Longoria
against his opponent, Ar-
noldo F. Gonzalez, after
Gonzalez won the election by
30 votes. Longoria alleged
that Gonzalez' total count of
votes was void because
many of the votes cast for
Gonzalez .vere "fraudulent,
illegal, improper, unlawful
and void for various reasons,
and that such votes caused
an untrue and false return of
the election returns. '
Monday afternoon, Starr
County presiding judge C.W.
Laughlin, 229th District
Court, ordered a dismissal
Property Tax Proposal
Could Affect Local Schools
Governor Dolph Briscoe
this week said he is very
interested in a proposal
which could effectively
reduce property taxes levied
bv Texas school districts.
'Hie proposal, as put forth
by Representatives Jim
Nugent of Kerrville and
Lynn Nabers of Brownwood
would dedicate one-fourth of
the revenue from the State's
I
£
&
general sales and use tax to
reduce school ad valorem
taxes throughout the state.
"The Legislature
currently is meeting in a
special session to consider
legislation and proposed
constitutional amendments
which would return a portion
of the current and projected
state surplus to the people of
Texas," Governor Briscoe
said. "1 am extremely in-
terested in any proposal
which could result in a
lowering of property taxes
and particularly those levied
by our Texas school
districts."
Nugent and Nabers have
expressed hope for a hearing
early this week on their
proposal.
Nugent and Nabers ex-
plained that to be eligible to
receive additional state
funds, under their proposal,
a school district must reduce
the ad valorem taxes it
levies for maintenance and
operation purposes by $200
for each $220 it will receive.
The maximum amount by
which a school district would
have to reduce its taxes
would be 50 percent. The
"new" state money, the two
House members said, would
be distributed to school
districts on a per Average
Daily Attendance (ADA)
basis with^the 1978 share
being $22(,"pei ADA.
"The existence of the
surplus in the State Treasury
and the projected surplus
has to mean that the State is
taking too much money from
the pockets of Texas tax-
payers. In our opinion it is
time to return part of that
money to the taxpayers and
we think our approach is
most equitable," Nugent and
Nabers said.
"New" State Funds mean
the amount of additional
State money to be received
by a school district in excess
of the amount the district
currently is raising through
ad valorem taxes for
maintenance and operation
purposes
Preliminary statistics
show the proposal would
have the following effect in
Starr County
after conferring with
I/jngona and his attorney in
chambers. Longoria an-
nounced through his at-
torney that he would accept
a nonsuit and dismiss his
cause of action because of
unsubstantiated allegations.
The 13 people, however,
were reportedly very upset
over the accusations and
may consider coun-
tercharges against
Longoria. A representative
from the Office of Civil
Rights was to have met with
these people to decide
whether the allegations
constituted a violation of
those rights.
According to one lawyer, it
was "highly irresponsible
for these people to allege
people are aliens when a
simple check could have
confirmed that they
weren't." According to the
source, some people "will go
to any ends to win a political
contest. It's high time this
type of harassment ceased in
Starr County."
All of the 13 accused were
investigated and certified as
legal residents and
registered voters of Starr
County. Longoria signed a
sworn petition under oath
stating that the charges
against the 13 voters were
true.
In his petition, Longoria
also charged that five of
Gonzalez's votes were null
because the voters were not
residents of Starr County;
charged that 35 voters were
not residents of the election
precinct where they voted;
charged that one voter was a
convicted felon; charged
that one voter had voted
twice; and charged that two
voters did not have a valid
voter's registration cer-
tificate.
The original tally by which
Gonzalez defeated Longoria.
747-717, was not changed
following the investigation.
Gonzalez and Longoria
needed the run-off after
receiving the most votes of
four candidates in the May
primaries.
Cano RGC Delegate At
Cancer Society Meeting
Manuel Cano of Rio
Grande City attended the
33rd annual meeting of the
American Cancer Society,
Texas Division held at the
Sharnrock-Hilton Hotel in
Houston, July 12-13.
Cano represented the
Starr County unit as a voting
delegate.
Dr. Gerlad L. Woolam of
Lubbock was elected
Presented of the Texas
Division at the meeting of
the Division Board of
Directors. Larry K. Fuller of
Borger was elected
Chairman of the Board.
Dr. Charles LeMaistre,
Chancellor of the University
of Texas System, was the
keynote speaker at
annual dinner. Dr
the
. Le-
Obituaries
School
District
Rio Grande City
San Isidro ISD
Roma ISD
ISD
Reduction in
Property Tax
45 £
7%
50 %
"New"
State Funds
$74,293
6,615
404,758
BRIDGE CONSTRUCTION—Construction of the new International Bridge con-
necting Roma on the United States side with Cd. Miguel Aleman in Mexico is well
underway. Cement support columns for the new bridge are pictured as work
progresses adjacent to the present bridge.
VICTOR! ANO OLIVAREZ
Vitc >riano Olivarez, 59,
was buried July 12 following
his death July 9 at McAllen
General Hospital.
Olivarez was buried at the
La Puerta Cemetery after
services at the San Pablo
Catholic Church. Ceballos
Funeral Home handled the
funeral arrangements.
He is survived by his wife,
Hortencia G. Olivarez of Rio
Grande City; two daughters,
Norma O. Villarreal of
Mission and Esmeralda O.
Olivarez of Rio Grande City;
one brother, two sisters,
nephews and grand-
children.
YOLANDA GONZALEZ
Sixteen-year-old Yolanda
Gonzalez of Escobares was
pronounced dead July 15 at
5:37 p.m. at McAllen
General Hospital following a
short illness.
Afternoon funeral services
were held Tuesday, July 17
at the Sacred Heart Church
with burial at the Escobares
Cemetery.
She is survived by her
father, Dona to Gonzalez and
her mother, Lydia M.
Gonzalez.
ISABEL VELA
Funeral services were
held Tuesday, July 18 for
Isabel Vela, 77. who died at
his Rio Grande City
residence early Saturday
morning^ July 15.
He was buried at the City
Cemetery following services
at the Immaculate Church
under the direction of
Ceballos Funeral Home.
He is survived by one
sister, Filomena Meierhoff
of Rio Grande City.
Maistre will become
President of M.D. Anderson
Hospital and Tumor In-
stitute in September
following the retirement of
Dr. R. Lee Clark. Dr. Clark
was also present at the
meeting and was recognized
for his 32 years of service at
M.D. Anderson.
Also elected as officers
were Jim C. Terrel, Jr.,
M.D., Stephenville,
President-Elect; Mrs. Alton
Zamzow, Three Rivers, Vice
Chairman of the Board;
Glen Soderstrom, Amarillo,
Treasurer; Mrs. Irene S.
Wischer, San Antonio.
Secretary.
Area Vice Presidents
elected were: Area I-T.
Paige Carruth, Ph.D.,
Canyon; Area II-Lynn
McCraw, Ed. D., Austin;
Area III-D.P. McClure,
Corpus Christi; Area IV-
Malcolm F. Sher, M.D.,
Houston; Area V-Jeff
Nickelson, Dallas; Area VI-
Galand Dummit, M.D., Fort
Worth.
According to Cano, the
annual meeting is held each
year to elect a new Board of
Directors and Officers; to
recognize outstanding
volunteer work around the
state and to formulate
program plans for the
coming year.
"The meetings were very
worthwhile, and it is cer-
tainly gratifying to see more
than 300 volunteers from all
over the state get together
for a common cause ." said
Mr. Cano
R. B. Caraway, Jr., M.D.
of Wharton received the
National Divisional Award
for his many years of service
to the Texas Division. Only
one such award is given
annually in each Division for
"distinguished volunteer
leadership".
Texas Division staff
members Gertrude linn and
Curt W. Reimann were
recognized for 30 years of
service to the .American
Cancer Society. Miss Linn
has served as Director of
Service Rehabilitation and
Medical Affairs but will
retire this vea." Mi.
Reimann is Executive Vice
President of the Texas
Division
The following volunteers
received recognition for
years of service to the
American Cancer Society
30-Year Awarders • Charles
F. Browne, M.D., Son--a:
Mrs. Stanlet K. Horwood,
Sterling City; Ross Foster,
Sterling City; Mrs. Ross
Foster, Sterling City; Mrs.
A. D. Nuhu, New Braunfels:
Miss Jeanette C. Altgelt.
New Braunfels; F M
Canseco, M.D , Laredo;
Mrs. John G. Kennedy. Jr.,
Sarita; Mrs. Earl Blondeau,
McAllen; Mrs Milton
Griner, Kerrville.
25-Year Awardees; Mario
E. Ramirez, M.D., Roma;
Mrs. Ashley Bunton Jr., Rio
Frio; Mrs. Ray Milam,
Greenville; Mrs. Jack P.
Foster, Overton, Herman W.
lay, Dallas; Mrs. Homer
Brown. San .Antonio.
Starr County Salaries
Roma-Los Saenz Receives
Tax Check For $2,508.59
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HOT SUMMER- But one water department crew member found it not so hot when
he took a "plunge" when working on a water line. Ahhhhh ..the cool, wet dip was not
bad at all!
State Comptroller Bob
Bullock Friday notified the
42,000 holders of alcoholic
beverage permits and
licenses that after August 29
GED Tests
Slated
Julia V. Decker, Chief
GED Examiner for the Rio
Grande City area , is an-
nouncing the GED test
schedule for July, 1978.
Test dates and times are
as follows;
Monday, July 24. 6 to 10
p.m.
Tuesday, July 25th. 6 to 10
p.m.
Wednesday, July 26th. 6 to
8 p.m.
The test site is the Title I
Building behind the Band
Hall. Room No. 7 will be
used.
Adults 18 or older and who
have been out of school one
calendar year can take the
tests.
For further information
contact Julia V. Decker or
PA. Gonzalez, ABE
Supervisor. Call 487-5591,
ext 68 during regular
working hours,
they will not need to file a
certificate of good standing
from his office with their
annual renewal application
However, he added, all
new applicants must con-
tinue to file the certificate of
good standing in order to
have their alcoholic beverage
permit or license issued.
In 1977, the Legislature
provided for the Comp-
troller's Office to issue the
certificates of good standing
to provide some muscle in
the collection of sales tax
from the retail sale of
alcoholic beverages.
"After enforcing this new
law for a year, we have
found that the overwhelming
majority of businesses in-
volved in the retail sale of
alcoholic beverages are good
taxpayers," Bullock said
The July allocation raises
to $216.3 million the total
received by the cities this
year to date This is a 13.4
percent increase over the
same period last year.
Net payment to Roms-I/Js
Saenz for this period was
$2,508.59, compared to
$3,874.23 for the period last
year. However, 1978
payments to the Starr
County city total $27,641.64, a
ten percent total over the
$24,976.35 to date in 1977.
River Claims
Drowning Victim
Funeral services for
Carlos Humberto Guzman.
25, of la Grulla were held
July 17 ;;t the Holy Kamih
Catholic "hurch
Guzni.in accidentalh
drowned in the Rio Grande-
River July 15. Justice of the
Peace Jose Venecia ruled
death by accidental
drowning
The Rio Grande City Fire
Department responded to
the call and dragged the
body from the river
Guzman was buried at the
La Grulla Cemetery. Sur-
vivors include his father,
Jesus Guzman and his
tyiother, Luisa S. Guzman.
Below is a list of some high
ranking officials and em-
ployees on the Starr County
payroll and their monthly
salaries as certified by Jose
G. Villarreal, Star County
auditor. The monthly figure
shown in each column is
base pay.
JUSTICE OF THE PEACE
Pet. 1
Arnoldo Gonzalez, JP, $775
Anabel C. Gomez,
secretary. $458.40
Pet. 2
Raul Pena, JP, $600
Pet. 3
Jose Venecia, JP. $450
Pet. 4
Arturo Clarke, JP, $450
Pet. 5
John W. Fisher, JP, $252
CONSTABLES
Pet. 1
Adolfo M. Ramirez,
constable, $750; Epifanio
Martinez, dep constable,
$480
Pet. 2
Cirilo Orta, constable,
$660; Luis Cavazos, dep
constable, $420
Pet. 3
Norberto Montalvo,
constable. $600: Sergio
Rosales, dep constable.
$420.
Pet. 4
Aldo Medina, constable,
$600: Ernesto I<opez, dep.
constable. $360
Pet. 5
Servando Gonzalez,
constable, $600; Isabel
Saenz, dep constable, $<60
DISTRICT CLERK 'S
OFFICE
Juan Erasnio Saenz dist.
clerk, $1,020 plus $150
monthly travel expenses;
Corina G. Gonzalez, chief
dep., $630. Guadalupe G.
Molina, clerk. $351.80
DISTRICT ATTORNEY'S
OFFICE
Francisco Cerda, DA,
$221; Ma. Guadalupe
Colunga, sec., $312; Gilberto
Guerra, chief invest.,
$606.67; Dora C. Guerra,
sec.. $260; Use F. Galvan,
invest., $433.33; Byron A.
Piper, invest,, $433.33; Linda
B. Fetty, sec., $260; Rodolfo
V. Gutierrez, ass't. DA,
$1,083.34.
DISTRICT COURT
Ricardo H Garcia, dist
judge, $100; Jose Gustavo
Guerra. ct. reporter, $584.17.
Anna M Ix)pez, coordinator.
$333; Ann H. Trevino, clerk,
$200; Fructoso H. Canales,
bailiff. $400; Federico Pilon,
ct. interp., $600
COUNTY ATTORNEY'S
OFFICE
Alex W Gabert, attorney,
$1,270 and $150 monthly
travel expenses Ana Maria
Ramirez, sec.-clerk. $570;
Jesus A. Solis. invest . $770.
COUNTY AUDITOR S
OFFICE
JoseG, Villarreal, auditor,
$1,020 and $150 monthly
travel expenses Joe B
Garza, asst. auditor, $480,
Juanita A Escamilla, clerk,
$510; Lilia G i>zuna, clerk,
$480.
COUNTY TREASURER
Jose I) Villarreal, co
treasurer, $1,020 plus $150
monthly travel expenses;
Noemi H. Guerra, chief dep ,
$642; Diana Ma Fscobar.
clerk $480 Pablo A Saenz,
service officer, $270.
HOME DEMO AND
CO. AGENT
t
David Sandefer. co agent,
$363 plus $125 monthly travel
expenses; Elva Y Scrivner,
home demo, $315.90 plus $150
monthly travel expenses.
Maria A Morad<, clerk,
$458.40; Alvaro Olivarez,
clerk, $458.40.
SUPERVISORS
Guadalupe Morado,
outreach worker, $480:
Tomas T Trevino. super-
visor. $540.
COUNTY CLERK
JoseS. Hinojosa, co. clerk,
$1,020 plus $150 monthly
travel expenses; Estela G.
Garza, dep.. $516; Sylvia G.
Villarreal, dep., $492;
Bertha B Barrera, dep,
$458.40; Margarita Lara,
clerk. $458 40: Udiana C
Corona, clerk, $458.40; Bias
Guerra, clerk, $458.40;
Gloria Vela, clerk. $458.40;
Leonel A. Pena Sr., elec-
trician, $450; Fernando
Salinas, juvenile ofticer,
$720; Dr Ramiro Narro, co
health officer, $240, Lydia O.
Torres, Texas Alcoholic
Beverage Co. secretary,
$58 40; Javier D Margo,
federal progftm co-
ordinator. $1,250 plus $150
monthly travel expenses; O.
F Guffey. fire chief, $250
travel expenses; Mary H
Gonzalez, elderly program
counselor, $600, David
Almaraz, asst. DA. $1,666.66
COUNTY JUDGE
Mario E. Ramirez, judge,
$1,020 plus $150 monthly
travel expenses; Ma. Ester
Gutierrez, sec . $510.
COUNTY
COMMISSIONERS
Pet. 1
Jose M. Alvarez, com-
missioner, $1,020 plus $150
(See SALARIES, Pag.^bi
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Silva, Marcelo. Rio Grande Herald (Rio Grande City, Tex.), Vol. 35, No. 40, Ed. 1 Thursday, July 20, 1978, newspaper, July 20, 1978; Rio Grande City, Texas. (https://texashistory.unt.edu/ark:/67531/metapth194674/m1/1/: accessed April 26, 2024), University of North Texas Libraries, The Portal to Texas History, https://texashistory.unt.edu; crediting Rio Grande City Public Library.