The Rio Grande Herald (Rio Grande City, Tex.), Vol. 40, No. 33, Ed. 1 Thursday, June 12, 1986 Page: 3 of 12
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KIO GRANDE HKRAI.D KIO GRANDK CITV, TEXAS THl KSDAV. Jl NK 12. 1986 PACE 3
Board Approves Bleacher, Classroom Bids
By KENNETH ROBERTS
The Rio Grande City CISD board
of trustees, in their regular meet-
o ing Tuesday night, approved bids
for construction of five classrooms
and also bleacher improvements.
The following low bids, out of
three, were approved for these
classroom construction projects:
Roque Guerra Elementary, De La
Cruz Construction, 1 classroom,
$40,785; La Union Elementary, De
La Cruz Construction, $63,514;
Grulla Jr. High, Rainbow Con-
struction, two rooms, $68,300.
( W In the midst of the discussion on
this matter, trustee Eloy R. Garcia
questioned, "I thought we were
handling Roque Guerra locally,"
and complained that Royal Con-
struction cf McAllen, approved to
undertake several other classroom
construction projects, has not hired
local citizens as called for under
the contract. Garcia lamented, "He
said he'd look for people locally."
Trustee Dr "Tony" Falcon
suggested, "They can always come
to the school personnel office," to
hire local workers. The motion
approved by the board on these
bids was made by Dr. Roberto
Gonzalez, and seconded by Falcon.
Superintendent Dr. A.E. Garcia
contended that the construction
"should get us to the 22-1 rati(o."
Board president Rafael Carrera
worried that "we can't get an
extension" from the state.
The board also okayed bids to
replace the home side of Rattler
stadium with all-aluminum seating.
The low bid of Ed Cummings and
Associates was the one accepted
for $17,150, over Southern Bleach-
ers' bid of $20,700.
Business Manager Romeo Lopez
noted, "The bids are materials,
labor and a combination. They will
remove the wood themselves and
install the new aluminum."
Bids also were presented for the
visitor's seating at Rattjer
Stadium. Lopez recommended that
the base bid of Wilson Construction
be accepted for over $139,000, and
also that Alamo Iron Works' bid of
$2"/,524 be accepted for galvanized
steel, and that the bid of Ed
Cummings, amounting to $48,500
for aluminum supplies, be okayed.
The total package came to
$215,572, less than a package
offered by Palmer Construction
Company. When it was advocated
that accepting Palmer would mean
a $40,000 saving, structural engi-
neer Juan A. Saldana of Harlingen
said this figure was not reflective
of real savings.
When Falcon asked, "Are there
any safety issues in this bid?",
Saldana responded, "I think safety
iactors are the same."
Lopez told the trustees, "On a bid
of $215,000, there is a betterment
fund of $10,000. If there's no change
order, the $10,000 we will not utilize
we will get back."
Saldana expressed the belief that
Wilson Construction is a good
contractor. Falcon lauded their
"quality of work," but complained
that "they failed to keep their word
about hiring local people," for the
high school expansion last year
Lopez suggested that Board At-
torney Glenn Ramey work on a
contract. Eloy Garcia complained
that "we're getting a Cadillac
package." Lopez conceded, "It's
gone beyond what we've antici-
pated, $180,000." Ab " N. Gonzalez,
Jr., moved, secondeu oy Carrera,
that the bid of Wilson, along with
Alamo Iron Works and Southern
Bleachers be okayed.
Chief Appraiser Heberto Barrera
told the trustees that a very early
estimate of valuations for 1986 is in
the neighborhood of $293 million,
compared to $272 million last year.
He emphasized, "This is just
estimated values."
Discussion of the Curriculum
Report, given by Assistant Superin
tendent Efrain Garcia, was
lengthy. In particular, he talked
about the TEAMS test results for
first, third, fifth, seventh, ninth,
and 11th and 12th graders. He
added, "The test measures specific
objectives, and is not measured
against a national percentile."
The test covered three areas:
reading, writing, and mathematics
Garcia noted that "TEAMS is a
new test (from TABS), at a
particular grade level. The stan-
dards were set where 30 percent
would fail (statewide)." Filfty
percent actually did fail throughout
the state.
Consternation was expressed by
the trustees about the failure of all
but 36 percent of district students
to exhibit mastery, compared to 50
percent statewide. The superin-
tevrdent insisted that "this was a
completely new test, much
harder."
Carrera complained that the
problem was in dire need of
correction, but worried, "It seems
like implementation of these pro-
grams has gone kaput. We need
results, not recommendations."
Abel Gonzalez expressed his
agreement with Carrura.
Garcia replied, "We'll get
together with the principals and
work on objectives. They've sprung
a new and harder test on us."
Carrera worried that "if this
happens next year, we'll have a lot
of retentions in the 12th grade."
Garcia responded, "That's why we
have a summer program.''
Efrain Garcia said a lot of the
problem is that "a lot of the
students are limited English profi-
ciency " Third graders LEP in
Math showed only 21 percent
mastery, while non-LEP mastered
at a rate of 67 percent In the third
grade districtwide, 99 students, or
22 percent, passed all three tests,
while 166, or 38 percent, failed all
three tests.
Garcia contended, "Writing is
the area we are weakest in Most
LEP students are not getting
adequate English in vocabulary
instruction By writing, a student
also learns how to read.''
Garcia urged that the sugges-
tions of principals "that we should
group by ability levels," be given
serious consideration. He discussed
criteria for gifted and talented
students, which under national
criteria is expected to average
three to five percent. He noted that
these students will be funded only
in grades K 5 for the following
three years.
Ringgold Elementary Principal
Charles Christesson commented,
"Our teachers are very, very
concerned. We intend to be right
behind them." He expressed con-
fidence that results would be
considerably better next time
Ringgold Jr. High Principal
Walter N Watson noted, 'This was
our first experience with TEAMS,
in the seventh grade We now have
some goals", to provide guidance.
After all this discussion, Jaime
Ramirez moved, seconded by Dr
Gonzalez, that the Curriculum
Report and recommendations be
accepted.
At the start of the meeting, the
superintendent advised the trustees
that the base bid of ACR Engi
neering for energy conservation
work was going up $13,200, due to
the fact of ACR being advised
"that a bypass system would not
work They need to go with the
alternate " Dr Gonzalez moved
and "Paco" Zarate seconded, that
this be approved. Eloy Garcia
abstained on the motion.
The board agreed that the
contract with Victoria Air Condi-
tioning Co be approved for
$345,200 Ramey advised that "the
company was approved (earlier),
but not the contract."
Lopez told Eloy Garcia, "He
started working on getting some
materials," not on the project
itself Ramey contended, "He took
his chances starting without a
contract."
Commissioners Discuss Variety Of Issues
The County Commissioners dis-
cussed a number of issues at
Monday's regular monthly meet-
\W ing, ihe first subsequent to Satur-
day's runoff election.
The commissioners began the
meeting with discussion of claims.
Auditor Jose Guaaalupe Villarreal
said that $37,300 needs to be paid
out of revenue sharing immediate-
ly, and this, he indicated, is no
problem since over $81,000 is
available.
But only $13,000 is available in
/ ) the general fund, with over $91,000
^ in payments recommended. The
auditor suggested that the re-
mainder of the revenue sharing
funds be transferred to general,
and added that more money will
soon be available in the treasury.
But Precinct Two Commissioner
Amando Pena sharply insisted that
he wanted to know how much
money would soon be transferred
from the Tax Collector's Office to
the Treasurer's Office. He in-
dicated he wanted Tax Assessor
Maria Ofelia Saenz to appear
personally before the court.
A dispute arose about payment of
the county's water bills. Villarreal
told Pena, "You (the commission-
ers) never have put enough money
in the budget to pay those
bills...Even this year, you don't
have enough money for utilities."
Judge Bias Chapa recalled that
^ the matter was settled for $13,000
some time ago. Precinct One
Commissioner "Chema" Alvarez
suggested that the meters at the
cemetery be closed, and that he
reopen them and pay the bills out
of his budget.
Villarreal stated, "I was not
about to make payments for water
not used for the cemetery. They
(ranchers) were loading water to
feed cattle."
W After all this discussion, claims
were approved as presented, with
necessary transfers to be made
from revenue sharing to general.
Mrs. Saenz, the Tax Assessor,
informed the court that roughly
$56,(XX) in delinquent taxes and auto
licenses would be deposited into the
treasury in the near future
Toward the end of the meeting,
Federal Program Coordinator
Javier Margo told the court,
"We're going to be opening bids at
10 a.m. Friday for the rebidding of
the rural paving. No action will be
required then...We need for the
first rural paving project to be
terminated officially this month."
Engineer Pablo Pena said, "The
only thing lacking is 1.7 miles of
paving in Salineno One-quarter of
that is already done. Commissioner
Garza still has a few streets to do."
James Dalley, of Otto, Smith,
and Baker came before the court to
ask for renewal of that firm's
policy with the county for providing
health insurance for employees and
their families. He said that the
"renewal quotation will be in next
week. We pay claims out of the
trust account, according to the
plan."
Dalley added, "We charge 4
percent off each claim. We can't
pay claims if there is no money in
the account." Precinct Three
Commissioner Eloy Garza insisted,
"They were trying to refuse claims
that some of my employees
brought in." Dalley responded.
"I'm the agent. I wish you would
have contacted me.''
Villarreal stated, "It is an
unusual thing; we have had heavy
claims lately. I asked that they be
patient over one month." Dalley
said, "We get our 4 percent only if
there are paid claims." The matter
will be brought Qp to the comrais-'
sioners' attention again, probably
next month
Precinct Four Commissioner
Reynaldo Alaniz indicated that he
had discussed with CPL manager
Substantial Rain
Falls On County
The RIO GRANDE
HKRAI.D. Rio Grande
City, Texas Owned by the
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Editor
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Advertising And
Business Director
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Mailing Address: The Rio
Grande Herald, P.O. Box
452, Rio Grande City,
Texas 78582. Telephone
(512) 487-2819.
Heavy thunderstorms rolled
through Starr County early Monday
morning, dropping up to five inches
of rain in some areas in only a few
hours.
Soil Conservation Service District
Conservationist said, "We got
about 2>2 inches on the west side of
Rio Grand City. As you go west, it
was less and less. As you went
east, the rain picked up At our
office, it was 3.3 inches."
Gonzalez added, "It was 4'2
inches in Garciasville, and just
barely over 5 inches in La Grulla.
These rains didn't go too far north
of the highway."
The conservationist contended
that "the majority of the ranchland
missed out on this big rain, but the
ranchland is looking real good, as
are dryland crops. Ranchers should
rest pastures to allow some growth
next fall and summer. If we get
additional rains this month, we'll
make some good growth for the
fall."
The Elder P. Neie residence
several miles west of Rio Grande
City recorded 2.44 inches of rain
Neie commented, "I see no signs of
high water It was just a good rain
that lasted several hours."
Local weather observer Frank
Anderson indicated, "We got
exactly 3 inches."
Farmer Kenny Anderson noted
that "we got 4 to 412 inches around
La Grulla. Down near the Starr
Produce shed, they got close to 6
inches...It will do pretty good for
the grain and the cotton. We're
having to pump water out of some
fields."
Late Sunday evening, the storm
begin to build, with spectacular
lightning strikes spotlighting the
sky. Gonzalez indicated that the
storm formed in the Falcon
Heights area, where four inches
fell. After that, he said, "It went
into Mexico and swung through the
area here."
About I1* inches fell near San
Isidro, with 1 inch falling near La
Gloria, and only .3 falling near El
Sauz. The Roma area recorded
approximately 1 inch of rain
Gonzalez added, "The rains did
soak in by morning. Evidently the
rain lasted about two to three
hours beginning at 1:30 or 2 a m
It was a very steady, torrential
rain."
Milton Menking the need for a
blinking red light and large stop
sign at Avasolo and Ringgold
Streets, where he noted many
accidents had taken place He said
that the court's approval was
necessary, and such approval was
quickly granted.
Tne matter of adopting a resolu
tion urging the Legislature to
require Mexican drivers to possess
liability insurance came up for
consideration. Margo noted that
both the local Chamber and Rotary
Club had approved the resolution.
Alaniz commented. "Some of
those people cannot afford the
insurance. I'm not opposing it, but
it's going to hurt the economy."
Alvarez contended, "The Chamber
and Rotary approved it. If we go to
Mexico, we have to be insured."
The motion supporting the resolu
tion then passed without dissent.
Several subdivisions and plats
came before the court for approval.
All were tabled for later discussion
About one subdivision in Precinct
One, Commissioner Alvarez con-
tended, "It took two years for
another subdivision to put in a
six-inch caliche base They can
afford to put in a caliche base."
Right-of-Way Officer O A Garza
told the court, "Mr (Heriberto)
Silva has to prepare some ease-
ments for U.S. 83 drainage. The
Highway Department is on our
back Most likely, we'll get the
piece of land donated (by Starr
Produce) "
At the end of the meeting.
Alvarez told the court, "We are
going to start at the new dumpsite
this week For this week, the old
dump will be open, but it will be
closed forever Friday "
OLD FASHIONED
HAMBURGERS
Large Patties 100% meat (homemade)
French Fries, Free Medium Drink
For Only
$2.75
Package Deal Daily
2pm-10pm
Call in vour orders
487-4343
EL COMAL RESTAURANT
East Hwy 83, Rio Grande City, Tx
/
HOfVIERO SALMON
A sincere heartfelt,
thank-you to all *3631
voters who supported my
candidacy for County Trea-
surer in the run-off election
this past Saturday.
Pol Adv Paid for bv Homero Salmon. P " Box 20, Kio Grande Cit> Texas 78.S82
FATHER'S DAY SPECIALS
E&R CONSTRUCTION
5 Mi. East of RGC 487-5691
GOMEZ HOME CENTER
1000 E. HWY. 83 487-7665
7%" Black & Decker Elect.
Saw
$48.75
Jig Saw
$31.49
1/4 inch drill Black & Decker
$29.25
3/8 inch drill Black & Decker
$34.54
L« 6a
. _ ■ Stt.f PUt,
yO rl ""
Father's Day Sale
Dress Slacks
Special Group $12.90
all others30% off
Western Pants
:to% off
All Shoes
by Florsheim
25% off
All Colognes
50% off
Dress Shirts
entire stock
30% off
Long Sleeve Pullover
and pant set $49.90
(seperate-each reg. $40.00 sale $25.90)
Western Koots
All exotics $199.90
calfskins $99 90
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Roberts, Kenneth. The Rio Grande Herald (Rio Grande City, Tex.), Vol. 40, No. 33, Ed. 1 Thursday, June 12, 1986, newspaper, June 12, 1986; Edinburg, Texas. (https://texashistory.unt.edu/ark:/67531/metapth195032/m1/3/: accessed July 17, 2024), University of North Texas Libraries, The Portal to Texas History, https://texashistory.unt.edu; crediting Rio Grande City Public Library.