Rio Grande Herald (Rio Grande City, Tex.), Vol. 91, No. 5, Ed. 1 Thursday, January 29, 2004 Page: 3 of 6
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The Rio Grande Herald-Thursday, January 29, 2004, Page 3
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LETTER TO THE EDITOR
Study Club Supports Angel Tree Project
1 lie Horence J. Scott Study Club members each brought a gill for the Angel I ree Ministry tc a recent meeting
held in the home of ssa Peterson. The Angel Tree Ministry distributes Christmas gifts to children who have
one or more parents in prison. The items, for boys, girls, and babies, were presented to the Angel Tree Chair
Project for distribution by the Catholic Daughters of Immaculate Conception Church in cooperation with other
local churches. The Study Club is affiliated with the Texas Federation of Women's Clubs, a member ofGFWC.
Yolanda Morado served as co-hostess and program chair. Olga Gonzalez, president, presided during the
business meeting, during which plans were made for a reception honoring Lucinda Villarreal, TFWC
Outstanding Clubwoman/Volunteer. Members answered roll call with "When I Count My Blessings, This is
Number One/ Each one told the things that she is most thankful for. Family, friends, and health were
mentioned by most members. A Thanksgiving dinner was served by the hostesses. At the December meeting,
members brought a gift for a man or woman at Retama Manor Nursing Center. The meeting, held at Denny's,
was a surprise baby shower for member, Lori P. Perez. President Olga Gonzalez organized the event.
Dear Editor:
The terms elected official and
public servant do not always go
hand in hand. But every now and
then, every once in a while, they fit
perfectly.
Such was my reaction to a recent
The Monitor Newspaper article
entitled "Starr County to get
cheaper cable, high speed Internet
service" Dec. 29, 2003 which stated
that Starr County residents,
effective Jan. 1, 2004, will have the
option to purchase basic service
priced at $16.09 per month rather
than the more expensive basic
expanded service priced at $38.25
per month.
How this came to be is what
impressed me the most. Back in the
early summer, I had a phone
conversation with Rio Grande City
Alderman Ruben O. Villarreal
regarding a civic concern. He
informed me that he was working
on the issue of inconsistent Valley
cable rate plans. He said it should
interest me because the concern was
brought to light by a close relative.
Mr. Villarreal mentioned thai the
problem was that Starr County
cable consumers were not given the
option to purchase affordable cable
rate plans which directly impact
individuals or families who lived on
fixed incomes. He seemed focused
and determined I was very intrigued
by this situation, and he invited me
to call from time to time and
monitor whatever progress was
taking place.
Early on in September 2003, we
again spoke. Mr. Villarreal was
disturbed that his persistent efforts
were falling on deaf ears. However,
this quickly changed when Rosa
Benavidez with the Starr County
Industrial Foundation gave
Alderman Villarreal a key contact at
Time Warner Cable.
Over the next few months Mr.
Villarreal was upbeat and confident
that he had found the right
combination of people to help the
community. Our last conversation
came in the late fall. Alderman
Villarreal indicated that State
Representative Ryan Guillen had
laken up the cause and that both he
and Mr. Guillen would not rest
until the community received fair
cable rates. Further, it was stated
that Time Warner Cable seemed
willing if not anxious to help us
out. Mr. Villarreal concluded by
saying that he expected good results
in the near future.
By the term "near future", I
thought he meant a year or two. I
was surprised to read in your article
that basic service would be
available to Starr County residents
by January 2004. All I can say is
thanks!
Kudos to State Representative
Ryan Guillen, Rio Grande City
Alderman Ruben O. Villarreal and
Time Warner Cable for responding
to the concerns and needs of our
community. Also, I commend State
Representative Guillen and
Alderman Villarreal for taking the
title of "public servant" to heart and
giving a new meaning to the term
teamwork. WAY TO GO GUYS'
Sincerely,
Armando Reyna
Rio Grande City, Texas
Treatment available for patients
gradf-H from IRRA with tnore severe Alzheimer's
Charter Schools in Valley
Information Resource Referral
Assistance, Inc. Charter School
System held its 2004 Winter
Commencement Exercises at the
McAllen Convention Center on
Friday, Jan 16, 2004 at 7:30 p.m.
Some 138 students of the
system's six Texas Public Charter
Schools received their high school
diplomas from IRRA, Inc.'s
Superintendent and C.E.O . Agucda
Pena.
The students attended the
system's high schools in four deep
South Texas counties and the
following students earned
valedictorian honors at their
respective campuses:
STARR COUNTY: Children
of the Sun Charter High School;
Rio Grande City: Ms. Lorraine
De La Cru/.
CAMERON COUNTY:
Sentry Technology Preparatory
Charter High School in
Brownsville. Ms Cynthia Gamboa.
HIDALGO COUNTY: One-
Slop Multi-Service High Schools
in Edmburg, Mission and Weslaco;
Ldinburg: Ms Cassandra Yvonne
Keller; Mission: Ms Celene
Macias. Weslaco: Ms. Yolanda
Hernandez.
WILLACY COUNTY:
Children of the Sun Charter High
School; Raymondville: Cinthia
J. Barraza.
The colors were presented by The
Homero Salinas Boot Camp
Cadets. The Pledge of Allegiance
was led by IRRA.. Inc. Charter
School System Poster Child
Guadalupe Mores and Children of
the Sun Charter High School-Rio
.Grande City, and the National
Anthem was sung by Miss Ruth
More: of OSM Charter High
School, Mission. The benediction
was given by Dr. Anaclcto Cuellai,
Assistant Superintendent for Policy
Development and Evaluation,
I.R.R.A.. Inc.
The keynote speaker was Dr.
Victor Alvarado, Program
Coordinator, Department of
Educational Psychology The
University of Texas-Pan American.
The speaker's remarks offered
encouragement and wisdom to the
young graduates, many of whom
returned from having dropped out of
conventional high school to
successfully complete the state-
required course of study, and to pass
the state-required exit tests, earning
the high school diploma.
For more information, call
956/682-3436 from 8:30 a.m. to
5:30 p.m. Monday through Friday,
or visit the central office at 618
North McColl Road. McAllen.
Texas.
Many youths of the Rio Grande
Valley are at a disadvantage both
academically and socially, Many of
the youths in the Valley have a
difficult lime in the regular school
setting due to overcrowding, not
enough teachers. English is their
second language, and ihe need to
keep up with the rest of the class.
They are also faced with an increase
in drug and alcohol use, teen
pregnancy, dysfunctional family
environment, problems with the
legal system, no significant role
model, and high unemployment
rates in the Valley
With this in mind, IRRA Inc.
Charier School System developed
Saury, One Stop Multi-Service and
Children of the Sun Charter
Schools. The purpose of the
schools is to help the youths of the
Rio Grande Valley, including
• pecial education students, get the
assistance and the tools necessary to
succeed both academically and
socially.
The mission of IRRA Inc.
Charter School System is to
empower students lo become
competent, confident, productive,
and responsible young adults, who
will possess the competencies,
skills and attitudes to succeed in an
educational environment and in life
as a member of the workforce for
the 21st Century.
IRRA Inc. Charter School
. 1 lent takes a holistic approach in
pioviding services to the youths of
the Valley. The schools believe that
in order for the student to succeed,
the barriers in front of the student
need to be addressed and hopwiully
resolved. This is accomplished in
conjunction with local agencies and
organizations.
Great nations write their auto-
biography in three manu-
scripts—the book of their deeds,
the book of their words and the
book of their art.
—'John Ruskin
***
Patients in the moderate to severe
stages of Alzheimer's disease may
benefit from a new drug available in
pharmacies this month.
The drug memantine, approved
by the U.S. Food and Drug
Administration in October 2003,
has been shown to slow the
disease's decline, allowing patients
to perform some functions of daily
living longer. The Alzheimer's
Disease Center at Baylor College of
Medicine in Houston participated in
a clinical trial on the drug from
2001 to 2002.
"Memantine slows functional
loss, helping people retain their
functional abilities even when they
are in the severe stages of the
disease," said Dr. Rachelle Doody,
professor of neurology and director
of the Alzheimer's Disease Center
at BCM. "In some cases it may
delay the time until a patient enters
a nursing home, or requires more
hands on assistance from a
caregiver."
Memantine is the first in a class
of drugs that protects the brain's
nerve cells against excess amounts
of the chemical glutamate. which
overexcites one of the transmitter
systems in the brain. When the
transmitter system is overactivated,
it can lead to the death of brain
cells. The drug works on a different
system of the brain than current
drugs for Alzheimer's, called
cholinesterase inhibitors. Some
studies have shown that combining
both types of drugs may be an
effective treatment for Alzheimer's.
No drug stops the progression of
"c,ot y/lc) News to spread?'
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Alzheimer's disease.
When patients with Alzheimer's
reach the moderate stages of the
disease, they uniformly have
problems with the complex
activities in daily life, like
managing finances or using
telephones.
At the disease progresses to
severe stages, they may lose many
of the abilities that most people
learn in early childhood and need
help dressing, bathing, eating and
walking. Stress on the caregiver
increases substantially during this
stage, because the patient needs
more help to care for himself or
herself.
"Severe Alzheimer's disease takes
all different forms," Doody said. "I
can see a severe patient who needs
help with dressing, and could never
put together a proper meal, but still
likes to go out to dinner, enjoy
events with family and travel. So
severe disease doesn't mean the
patient is inactive, or unbeatable."
Until more new treatments for
severe Alzheimer's are approved,
early diagnosis is key.
"People need to know that
Alzheimer's disease can be
diagnosed, and that diagnosing it
early and treating it early makes a
difference," Doody said. "Many
patients are never diagnosed, or are
diagnosed too late because families
and physicians do not notice the
problems until it's very advanced."
There are nine basic cuts of beet: round, sirloin, short loin, rib,
chuck, fore shank, brisket, short plate and flank.
Tresticje Jfome Care Services, LLC
Now Seeking...
LVN QA Dept.
&
PHC/CBA CLERK
Outstanding employment opportunity now available with rap-
idly growing locally owned and operated primary home care
agency.
Applicants must possess the qualifications:
• Current LVN Licensure & Current CPR Certification
• HS Diploma or GED for clerical position
• Clean Background Check & Working History
• Bilingual Ability Preferred
• Excellent Communication Skills & be Detail Oriented
• One-two years experience in the PHC/CBA or Home
Health industry.
• Includes Salary History and Requirements
Come be part of an excellent organization and working envi-
ronment. Agency offers competitive wages and an excellent
employee benefits package. Applicants may inquire or apply
at:
3837 West Hwy. 83
Rio Grande City, TX 78582
Phone: 956-487-7551
Fax. 956-488-1479
Email: phcsllc@hotmail.com
EOE
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Roberts, Kenneth. Rio Grande Herald (Rio Grande City, Tex.), Vol. 91, No. 5, Ed. 1 Thursday, January 29, 2004, newspaper, January 29, 2004; Edinburg, Texas. (https://texashistory.unt.edu/ark:/67531/metapth196253/m1/3/: accessed July 18, 2024), University of North Texas Libraries, The Portal to Texas History, https://texashistory.unt.edu; crediting Rio Grande City Public Library.