Rio Grande Herald (Rio Grande City, Tex.), Vol. 83, No. 9, Ed. 1 Thursday, February 29, 1996 Page: 1 of 10
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RAND?;
Published weekly in Rio Grande City, Texas every Thursday by The Rio Grande Publishing Co.
USPS 466-200
VOL. 83, NO. 09 THURSDAY, FEBRUARY 29, 1996
25 cents
*9.
Amanda Narro, center, was crowned the 1996 Starr County Fair Queen at the
annual pageant held Sunday night at the Fairgrounds in Rio Grande City. Standing
at the left are Audra Yolene Gonzalez, fourth runnerup; and Emily Garcia, first
runnerup. Standing on the right are Merlita Ariany Gonzalez, second runnerup; and
Priscilla Ann Requenez, third runnerup. (See other photos inside).
Amanda Narro crowned
Starr County Fair Queen
Amanda Narro was crowncd the
1996 County Fair Queen at Sunday
night's pageant at the Fairgrounds
in Rio Grande City.
In the three other divisions, ihe
following girls were crowned as
princesses: PETITE FAIR
PRINCESS (kinder through second
grade)- Anissa L. Falcon;
PRETEEN PRINCESS (third
through fifth grade)- Nicole Rae
Smedley; TEEN PRINCESS (sixth
through eighth grade)- Joelda
Alvarez.
A total of 77 girls competed in
the pageant's four divisions this
1 year.
Amanda Narro, the new County
Fair Queen, is the daughter of Mr.
and Mrs. Buck Narro of Rio Grande
City.
The other top five finishers in the
Queen Contest were; First
Runnerup- Emily Garcia; Second
Runnerup- Merlila Ariany
Gonzalez; Third Runnerup- Priscilla
Ann Requenez; Fourth Runncrup-
Audra Yolene Gonzalez.
The Teen Princess is Joelda
Alvarez, daughter of Mr. and Mrs.
Tony Alvarez of Rio Grande City.
The other top Five finishers in the
Teen Princess Division were; First
Runnerup- Shantelle Colvin;
Second Runnerup- Margot
Villarreal; Third Runnerup- Loretta
Lee Clarke; Fourth Runnerup-
Maria Liana Pena.
Crowned as Preteen Princess was
Nicole Rae Smedley, daughter of
Mr. and Mrs. John Smedley.
The other top five finishers in the
Preteen Division were: First
Runnerup- Dawn Renee Ferrer;
Second Runnerup- Rose Marie
Rodriguez; Third Runnerup-
Clarissa Celeste Alvarado; Fourth
Runnerup- Erica Chavez.
Crowned as Petite Fair Princess
was Aniss'i L. Falcon, daughter of
Mr. and Mrs. David Falcon.
The other top five finishers in the
Petite Division were: First
Runnerup- Luisabell Annette
Garcia; Second Runnerup- Stacey
Garcia; Third Runnerup- Tiffany
Smedley; Fourth Runnerup- Jackie
Requenez.
Other girls competing in ii
Queen Division were Kennie
Alaniz, Melissa Yvette Cantu,
Annete Morales, Naomi Rodriguez,
Louella Guerra, Liliana Garcia,
Melissa Yvonne Hernandez,
Clarissa B. Gonzalez, Dania
Cadena, Maribel Barrera, Belinda
Acevedo, Roxanna Lopez, Gabriela
Garza and Karen Gail Ramos.
(See CROWNED, Page 7)
Decision about chairman t(
be left to election official
John A. Pope III, the 381st
District Court Judge, ruled Friday
after a hearing of almost three hours
that the question of whether the
Starr County Democratic Chairman
can enter the early voting polling
place as a poll watcher will be left
to the decision of the Elections
Administrator.
Judge Pope ruled that Chairman
Jose Maria Alvarez, Jr., cannot be
present in the polling place as a
bystander, but the Elections
Administrator Crisanta Gonzalez
can choose to honor his credentials
as a poll watcher if she deems that
appropriate The same ruling
applies to early voting official
Lamberto Solis.
Judge Pope said, "I find that on
Feb. 21, there was a violation of
the Code, in that the qualified
person should be in charge. I think
it was a comedy of errors. I think
the injunction should continue
against Mr. Alvarez and Mr. Solis
being there as bystanders. If she
honors his (Alvarez's) credentials as
a poll watcher, she can do that and
they're entitled to be in there."
Plaintiff J.D. Martinez, a
candidate for Tax
Gutierrez candidate
for RGC alderman
Ricardo Gutierrez, lifelong
resident of Rio Grande City and a
local businessman, has announced
his candidacy for the office of
Alderman Place Three of Rio
Grande City in the upcom.ng
elections of May 4, 1996.
Gutierrez, who was born and
raised in Rio Grande City, attended
the public schools in the Rio
Grande City School District and he
graduated from Rio Grande City
High School in 1965.
Gutierrez, who graduated from
Texas A&I University in 1969,
offers his unique administrative
experience which stems from
serving on local, county and state
level boards and committee
appointments to operating Gutierrez
Oil Company.
Gutierrez says the "Growth,
Commerce and Quality" of life will
1 be the main themes of his candidacy
for Alderman.
"I feel that my years in Starr
Ricardo Gutierrez
County gives me a unique
perspective on the need of our
community," Gutierrez commented.
Gutierrez feels that the
incorporation of Rio Grande City is
(See GUTIERREZ, Page 7)
Corporation talks status
of high school project
By KENNETH ROBERTS
Members of the Rio Grande City
Public Facilities Coiporation,
along with individuals involved in
the planning, design, financing and
pending construction of the new
high school, discussed the
mammoth project in detail at a
meeting Monday evening at the
Multipurpose Center.
It was indicated that the entire
project would amount to
$28,599,228.47 including principle
and interest over a 10-year period.
Principle is projected to total
$17,660,000 and interest over a
10-year period is projected to
amount to $10,939,228.47.
Late in the meeting, board
member Basilio "Bacho" Villarreal,
Jr., asked if "the plane has taken
off" as far as the project is
concerned. A financing
representative replied affirmatively,
saying thai the project could not be
stopped or drastically modified.
At the beginning of the meeting,
Jaime Ramirez moved that Juan
Cantu be named the new president
of the corporation. The motion
failed 4-3 in a show of hands vote,
with Villarreal, Francisco "Paco"
Zarate, Jose Luis Gar/.a and Dr.
Roberto Gonzalez voting no.
Zarate then moved that Garza be
named corporation president, Cantu
vice-president and Villarreal
secretary. The motion was approved
5-2 in a show of hands vote, with
Ramirez and Arnulfo Garcia voting
no.
Architect Jose Lopez of Lopez &
Lopez Architects gave a status
report on the project. He noted,
"Utilities and some on-site work
has started. We're in the process of
receiving bids through C.F. Jordan
and Landmark. It's going on
schedule."
Villarreal asked Lopez, "What's
your fee for this project, in
percentage and money?" Lopez
•.esponded, "I think it's around seven
percent. The amount is $950,000."
Villarreal asked, "What will this
project cost per square foot?"
A representative of C.F. Jordan
said, "The main building is
175,000 square feet, or $48 per
square foot. The gym is $62 per
square foot and the other two areas
tire at $58 per square foot. Overall,
it's about $54-$55 per square foou"
Lopez said, "Right now, we're
building a middle school for Roma
which is at $64 lo $65 per square
foot. A PS J A school project we're
working on has a slightly higher
rate than that"
Bond counsel Curt Ashmos said,
"His (Lopez's) fee is based on the
construction value. The par value of
the bonds is $17,660,000. The
bonds were sold at an original issue
discount. The original issue
discount is attractive to some
buyers because capital gains tax
doesn't have to be paid. You're
paying the coupon rate, not the
yield rate."
Ashmos said that the project
received a Triple B minus rating,
which he said "is at the low end of
investment grade scale'. The net
interest cost of 6.83 percent is
fixed."
Ashmos continued, "The total
project cost is roughly
$14,793,000. Ten percent of the
$17,538,000 is sitting in a reserve
fund. It's your money, but it's there
to help with any problems. It's
there for the bondholder's security.
When you go sell the bonds,
investors want an outline. The $1.7
million is earning six percent
interest, the maximum possible
under federal tax law."
Zarate asked Lopez, "For this
project, you arc not under contract
with the school district?" Ashmos
said, "First Southwest of Dallas and
Stephens helped with the sale of the
bonds. Texas State Bank is the
trustee. They funnel out the money
on a draw schedule, or based on
how much work is completed The
public facilities corporation was
started to issue bonds, construct the
project, and lease the facility to the
school district."
Ashmos added, "The school
district pays to the trustee, who
makes payment to investors.
Landmark is the coordinator who
entered into a design-build contract.
C.F. Jordan is the general
contractor who hires the series of
sub-contractors."
He continued, "They (Jordan)
guarantee the project will be built
for $13.6 million. If it's higher
than that, they will eat it. If it's
less, it will come back to the
public facilities corporation. Title
is vested in the public facilities
corporation. The corporation has
given a mortgage to the trustee on
(See PROJECT, Page 8)
Kika will lead Fair Parade
Saturday as Marshal
Assessor-Collector, told The Rio
Grande Herald on Tuesday, "It was a
partial victory. The ruling was not
all I had hoped for. I'm happy it
was established that he (Alvarez) is
not running the election. It (the
situation) is somewhat teiicr, but
it's not the best it could be...The
judge was accurate in his ruling."
Alvarez's attorney, J.M. "Chuy"
Alvarez, said, "Definitely, I felt the
ruling was favorable. They were
asking the judge to exclude him
completely. I felt the decision was
well thought out. He granted the
injunction saying they couldn't be
there as bystanders, but it was up to
the Administrator to decide the
other issues."
Alvarez said, "They were arguing
that Mr. Solis and Mr. Alvarez
were not qualified to be there as
officials, or as poll watchers. They
contended they were bystanders.
Their second theory was that Mr.
Alvarez was a public official and
not qualified to be the:3 because of
that. We found a case that a
Democratic Chairman is not a
public official under the Texas
Election Code."
Alvarez continued, "The judge
ruled that it was up to the
determination of the Election
Administrator. It's her
determination whether Mr. Solis
should be there as a presiding judge
and her determination as to whether
particular poll watchers arc
eligible." He contended, "I feel the
motion was all politics."
The hearing arose out of issues
that arose on Wednesday morning,
Feb. 21. Soon afterward, Martinez
filed a request for a temporary
restraining order, which was granted
for the very short term. Friday's
(See ELECTION, Page 7)
Kika de la Gar/a, a Rio Grande
Valley native and long-time
supporter of South Texans in
Washington, D. C.. will lead the
1996 Starr County Fair Parade as
Parade Marshall this Saturday. He
will be accompanied by his wife,
Lucille.
E (Kika) de la Garza, is
completing his final term as
congressman from the Fifteenth
District of Texas. Rep. de la Gar/.a
first won election to the U. S
House of Representatives in 1964
and was sworn in as a member of
the 89th Congress in January,
1965. His South Texas
constituents have reelected him by
wide margins ever since
A member of the Agriculture
Committee since 1965, Rep. de la
Garza became a subcommittee
chairman in 1967 and served as the
committee's chairman from 1981
through 1994. He was the first
Hispanic American to head up a
standing committee of the House of
Representatives.
As the ranking Democratic
member of the Agriculture
Committee and as a congressman
from South Texas, Rep. de la Garza
is an outspoken advocate for U. S.
agriculture and the diverse
agricultural interests of his district.
He has fought foi Federal
legislation to provide adequate price
and income protection for farmers,
expand agricultural exports,
encourage new uses for agricultural
crops, foster rural economic
development, protect natural
resources, promote food safety,
assure the availability of safe and
effective pesticides and provide
affordable credit for agricultural
producers.
Throughout his career, he has
worked for government policies that
will foster better living and
economic conditions for all
Americans. Rep. de la Garza is an
advocate for improved human
nutrition, particularly for low-
income Americans, and he has been
successful in steering Federal funds
to help provide water and sewer
services to residents of Texas's
impoverished colonias.
A strong supporter of civil
rights safeguards for minorities.
Rep de la Garza has fought for
improved access to health care for
ihe elderly, veterans, and low-
Vncome individuals, as well a.s
better educational opportunities for
all Americans. He has also
supported programs to improve the
nation's infrastructure and maintain
strong, cost-effective national
defense.
(See PARADE, Page 7)
&
KIKA TO SERVE AS PARADE MARSHALL—Kika de la Garza will serve as Parade
Marshall of the 1W6 Starr County Fair Parade, to be held this Saturday, March 2,
at 10:00 a.m. on Main Street in Rio Grande City. Kika. well known as a friend to
young and old alike, is pictured with Starr County 4-Hers who travelled to
Washington, I). C. this summer.
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Roberts, Kenneth. Rio Grande Herald (Rio Grande City, Tex.), Vol. 83, No. 9, Ed. 1 Thursday, February 29, 1996, newspaper, February 29, 1996; (https://texashistory.unt.edu/ark:/67531/metapth195537/m1/1/?rotate=90: accessed July 16, 2024), University of North Texas Libraries, The Portal to Texas History, https://texashistory.unt.edu; crediting Rio Grande City Public Library.