Rio Grande Herald (Rio Grande City, Tex.), Vol. 86, No. 1, Ed. 1 Thursday, January 7, 1999 Page: 1 of 6
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WEEKLY tun,...
January 7, 1999
86th Year, No. 1
25 cents
Herald
A Newspaper Serving the People of South Texas
Other officials administered oath
Vera sworn in as new
Starr County Judge
Floy Vera was sworn in as the
new County Judge on Friday
morning, Jan. 1 in the 381st
Distnct Courtroom, and several
othci newly elected county officials
look the oath of office for the first
time.
Among other newly elected
officials sworn in at Friday's public
ceremony at 11 a.m. were County
* Court-At Law Judge J.M. "Chuy"
Alvarez and Precinct Two County
Commissioner Raul "Roy" Pena.
The courtroom was packed to
capacity with well-wishers and
interested observers.
After all the officials were
officially sworn in, 381st District
Court Judge John A. Pope 111, who
administered the oaths, encouraged
each official to make some
comments if they desired.
New County Judge Vera declared,
"I'd like to thank God, my wife,
my son, my daughtei, my parents,
and the rest of the family. 1 want to
thank all my friends and neighbors
who helped me during the.
campaign. I thank Judge Martinez
for his help during the transition."
Vera told everyone in the
audience to "feel comfortable and
confident that you can come into
the County Judge's office at any
lime."
New County Court-At Law Judge
J.M. "Chuy" Alvarez stressed, "I'm
very happy and proud of my family.
It's been a long road.
About the future, Alvarez
stressed, "There will be some
changes in the County Court-At
Law. I will implement ideas from
other counties for your benefit We
need to address the crime problem.
If I can't help address the crime
problem, then I should step down."
Alvarez concluded, "Tell us where
we're failing you. 1 plan to start a
new era today."
District Clerk Juan Erasmo
Saenz, who first took office in
1975, declared, "I thank my family.
1 thank all the elected officials who
were elected with me. I'll be there
for you all the time. We need all
need a budget to back up the many
ideas."
New Precinct Two
Commissioner Raul "Roy" Pena
stated, "I thank everyone who
contributed to my election in one
way or another. I thank my wife
Lucila and my children for their
support. I'd like to remember my
(late) parents, who served this
county as public servants for many
years. I will serve you to the best
of my ability for the progress and
betterment of the county."
County Clerk Omar Garza, sworn
in for another term to the office he
has held since early 1992,
emphasized, "I'm very appreciative
to everyone for their support over
the last seven years. We're Ihere to
serve you and help you."
County Treasurer David Porras,
just beginning his second term,
stressed, "It's hard to believe it's
been four years. I feel there were
some astonishing accomplishments
over the past four years, i thank
(See JUDGE, Page 2)
School board members carry
out vital educational functions
f lave you thanked a school board
member lately?
School board members exemplify
A citizui control and decision
making in education. They
voiunteei hundreds of hours and an
immeasurable amount of energy to
assure that our schools are
providing the best education
possible for the children of our
community. Citizens can lake the
opportunity to show appreciation to
i ward members dm ing School Board
Recognition Month in January.
It School board members are
citizens whose decisions affect our
children-—whai they learn, who will
teacti them, and wtiai kinu < t
facilities house their classrooms.
These are men and women elected
to establish the policies that
provide the framework for our
public schools. They represent you,
and they lake this responsibility
seriously by attending lengthy
meetings at conferences and
institutes where they broaden their
knowledge about education; and
during numerous conversations
about the schools.
'Ihe Rio Grande City CISD board
of trustees is one of 1047 such
IBC-Roma announces
expanded Saturday hours
^ International Bank ol Commerce-
Roma will be expanding their
Saturday drive-thru banking hhours
effective Saturday, Jan. 9, 1999
from 9 a.m. to 1 p.m. (previously
12 p.m.)
According to bank officials, die
new hours arc being implemented
to meet the needs of their growing
customer base. The lobby will
% continue to be open only to
individuals desiring to open an
account with the bank.
IBC-Roma is a member of
International Bancsharcs
Corporation, a $4.6 billion multi-
bank holding company
headquartered in Laredo, with
faciities in Roma, Rio Grande City,
Laredo, San Antonio, Houston,
McAllen, Zapata, Brownsville, and
throughout the Rio Grande Valley
and Ihe upper Gulf Coast.
boards across the state of Texas,
li.ese ooards enable us to have
local control of the public schools,
meaning that decisions on school
programming are made by local,
elected representatives who
understand the community's unique
problems, values, culture, and
circumstances.
With the advice and counsel of
the educational professionals they
hire, our school board has an
impact on virtually every aspect of
our schools. It's a huge
responsibility and one which should
not be taken lightly.
Too often we neglect to recognize
the dedication and hard work of
these men and women who
represent us as school trustees. The
staff and students of the school
district are asking all local citizens
to tell a school board member
"thanks for caring about our
children."
So hats off to the dedicated men
and women who make it possible
for local citizens to have a say
about education in our
communities. The public servants
of Rio Grande City CISD have
shown dedication and civic
responsibility to make local control
of public schools in the community
(See FUNCTIONS, Page 2)
New Precinct Two Commissioner sworn in
Raul "Roy" Pena, center, is pictured above taking the oath of office as the new Precinct Two County
Commissioner on Friday morning, Jan. 1. The ceremony look place in the381st District Courtroom, which was
filled to capacity. The oath wa administered by 381st District Court Judge John A. Pope III, standing in
background. Standing at Pena's right and holding the Bible used in the ceremony is his wife. (See related picture
on Page 3.)
***? *
Vera sworn in as new County Judge
Eloy Vera, center, is pictured above taking the oath of office as the new Starr County Judge on Friday morning,
Jan. 1 in the 381st District Courtroom, which was filled to capacity. Ihe oath was administered by 381st District
Court Judge John A. Pope 111, standing in background. Standing at Vera's right and holding the Bible used in the
ceremony is his wife.
RGCCISD will observe Board
Recognition Month in January
January is School Board
Recognition Month, with the
goal of building awareness of
the vital role an elected hoard
of education plays in our
society.
The Rio Grande City CISD
is joining other districts
throughout the state to
recognize the important
contributions trustees make in
their communities.
A social to honor the
RGCCISD trustees will take
place at the Multipurpose
Center on Tuesday, Jan. 12 at
6 p.m. All RGCCISD
campuses will join and
participate in the social.
Everyone in the community is
encouraged to be present for
the social.
"Texans benefit ever)' day
from the dedicated energies
and countless hours devoted
by a group of more than 7000
men and women across the
state. These public servants
are elected to serve by local
citizens and receive no
compensation for their tueless
efforts. These men and
women are the local school
board members of Texas,"
said Ramon Hinojosa,
RGCCISD Superintendent.
"These people unselfishly
contribute their time and
talents toward the
advancement of public
education," Mr. Hinojosa
said. "They represent a
continuing commitment to
local citizer, control and
decision making in
education."
The men and women
serving as RGCCISD trustees
and their years of service are
as follows: Basilio "Bacho"
Villarreal, Jr., three years,
Francisco "Paco" Zarate,
almost 21 years; Jose Luis
Garza, five years; Roberto
'Bobby" Gutierrez, two
years; Dr. Mario Jimenez, two
years; Dalinda Escobar,
almost one year; and Silvina
Hinojosa, almost one year.
Current plans call for special
recognition to be given to
Zarate, who has served on the
board since 1978.
Lions Care and Share food
drive termed successful
The Rio Grande City Lions Club
held its annual Christmas season
food drive recently.
The collection took place at the
local H-E-B where during the course
of the day over 1 (XXI pounds of food
was gathered. This project was a
Valicywide activity spearheaded by
District Governor Pat Smith of
Harlingen, who was guest speaker
at the local Lions' November
meeting.
Local Lions President Enrique-
Gonzalez and Lion Alberto Barrera.
club secretary, organized the Care
and Share activity locally by
scheduling the time and date of the
activity with H-E-B management.
In the past, all food collected was
later transported to a centralized area
for distribution.
This year, however, Lion
Gonzalez was able to negotiate that
the collection be presented to the
Starr County Food Pantry for the
needy of the Rio Grande City area.
Lion Gonzalez wishes to thank
all members who participated,
especially Lion Alberto Barrera,
Lion Manuel Villarreal, Lion
Heriberto Silva and his son,
Heriberto Adan Silva
"The generosity of the
community was overwhelming and
thanks to them, this project was a
complete success," said Lion
Gonzalez.
The club also wishes to thank the
H-E-B store and Store Director Mr.
Robert Palomin for their
cooperation in this effort.
Lions Club Care and Share Day successful
The Rio Grande City Lions Club recently collected food donations at H-E-B as part of its Christmas food drive
In just one day more than 1(XX) pounds of food was gathered. Pictured left to right are Heriberto Adan Silva, past
l.ion President Heriberto Silva and current Lion President Enrique Gonzalez
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Roberts, Kenneth. Rio Grande Herald (Rio Grande City, Tex.), Vol. 86, No. 1, Ed. 1 Thursday, January 7, 1999, newspaper, January 7, 1999; Edinburg, Texas. (https://texashistory.unt.edu/ark:/67531/metapth195686/m1/1/: accessed July 2, 2024), University of North Texas Libraries, The Portal to Texas History, https://texashistory.unt.edu; crediting Rio Grande City Public Library.