The Valley Times-December 20, 2017

VOL. I, NO. 21

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WEDNESDAY, DECEMBER 20, 2017

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McAllen Starts Work On Major Drainage Program With Public Hearings

By Davis Rankin McAllen residents had a chance this week to hear and ask questions about a proposed new fee to pay for drainage improvements around town. The fee could be as little as $1 a month for residences and $75 a month for commercial property.

The fee would show up on monthly utility bills as a separate line item.

The City of McAllen Engineering staff hosted two public meetings, one held Monday night at the Lark Community Center on the city’s north side and the second one on Tuesday night at the Palmview Community Center on the city’s south side.

City Engineer Yvette Barrera and her staff outlined the details of the proposed drainage fee, how the fee would be calculated as well as outlining the projects for which the fee would be used.

According to information from the city, the fee would be used to construct drainage improvement projects, including installing new structures, widening ditches, creating storm water detention facilities for areas which the city commission has identified as a priority in McAllen’s master drainage plan.

According to the city engineer, the money generated by the new fee would be combined with other revenue, including grants, to pay for drainage.

The city’s master drainage plan includes 56 different elements for an estimated total of $46,773,237.

The plans for funding to come from bonds, ax increment reinvestment zone (TIRZ) funds, capital improvement plan (CIP), Community Development Block Grant program

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Wednesday, December 20, 2017

OPINION

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Democrats Have A Pattern Of Bungling Immigration Issues

By ESTHER J. CEPEDA CHICAGO -- In the past week, journalist inboxes across the country have been flooded with memos, reports and fact sheets screaming for Democrats to move quickly on passing a Dream Act before Congress’ Christmas break. The urgency is to protect the nearly 1,000 “Dreamers” each day who will lose

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their protection from deportation beginning next March as a result of President Trump repealing the Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals (DACA) program.

There have been citations of the many polls showing that great majorities of Americans (86 percent, according to a Washington Post/ABC News poll in September) and even majorities of Republicans prefer allowing Dreamers to stay in the U.S. And there have been emotional pleas for mercy, spotlighting heart-wrenching stories of fractured families. For example, Osman Enriquez, a former DACA recipient, was put in detention and separated from his fiance and infant after a routine traffic stop. Enriquez had missed a deadline to renew his deportation protections after his DACA forms were delayed in a U.S. Postal Service processing center. He was awaiting the new paperwork to reapply, but it didn’t come fast enough -- and he was taken into custody.

Lastly, there have been appeals based on neutral economic facts.

Notably, a commentary published by the Migration Policy Institute (MPI) lends its support to the issue: Since the 690,000 DACA enrollees make up only about 1 percent of America’s 74.2 million millennials, they don’t represent a competitive threat to native-born young people as they search for jobs.

Additionally, MPI says that the different skill sets of DACA participants and other millennials reduce the possibility that anyone will take someone else’s job. “DACA participants were less likely than all other millennials, regardless of their race/ethnicity, to work in education, health, and social services. At the same time, black and U.S.-born Hispanic millennials were more likely to work in retail trade than DACA recipients (19 percent versus 14 percent),” the report said.

That’s all fine and good, but the fact

that the immigrant advocacy PR effort is ratcheted up to 11 indicates the level of anxiety and fear surrounding Democrats’ ability to actually make something happen in the realm of immigration.

In fact, the most astute observation I’ve seen on the matter came courtesy of Mark Krikorian, the executive director of the Center for Immigration Studies, a restrictionist-leaning think tank that the far left has labeled a “hate group:” “If the DACA amnesty is so popular, why are the Dems afraid to follow thru on their threats to shut govt over it?”

Krikorian tweeted. “Don’t they think the public would support them?”

Ouch! Krikorian’s comment was in response to a Politico story about Democrats backing off from threats to shut down the government.

“Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer and House Minority Leader Nancy Pelosi ... [have] subtly shifted their rhetoric in recent days and aren’t insisting that deportation relief be paired with a government funding bill this year ... [ensuring that Democrats] won’t get blamed for a possible shutdown and won’t upend Senate talks on a bipartisan deal combining relief for Dreamers with border security,” Politico reported.

Even the editorial board of the left-leaning Sacramento Bee -- the cap-

ital paper of the state with the most Hispanics and immigrants -- said that threatening a shutdown in the name of winning relief for Dreamers was a losing strategy.

Even though agreeing that legislation to help Dreamers was a noble act, the board made a fair point: “There’s also the question of whether such a tactic would play into Republicans’ hands. Trump has made no secret of his disdain for government in general, relentlessly downsizing it and refusing to fill many open positions. Who is to say he will even care if government offices remain empty for days on end?”

It seems difficult to imagine Trump not using a massive and painful shutdown to rally his base, and why would the Democrats chance it when they know that Hispanics aren’t going to vote Republican anytime in the near future and are, therefore, captive (if unenthusiastic, at this point) voters?

The bottom line is that immigrant advocacy groups have every reason to believe that suffering is on the way.

After all, history has shown, time and again, that Democrats can bungle immigration issues without any real electoral consequences. Why should anyone expect this year to be different?

Esther Cepeda’s email address is estherjcepeda@washpost.com. (c) 2017, Washington Post Writers Group.

Wednesday, December 20, 2017

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New State Laws Help More Military Veterans With Disabilities, Surviving Spouses of First Responders For veterans, getting support from legislators has always been a critical issue. While Texas has made a number of legislative changes to help veterans, new laws now coming into force will provide some more property tax relief for veterans.

Now that 2017 property taxes are coming due, military veterans and the surviving spouses of first responders who were killed or fatally injured in the line of duty should know that there are new laws in place that can help many of them reduce the bills on their primary residence.

“Home ownership is a vital part of the American Dream,” said State Rep. Terry Canales. “This year, I successfully authored House Bill 217, which provides property tax relief for certain veterans who have a disability, and I voted to place two other measures that protect homeowners on the November 2017 statewide constitutional amendments election ballot, where they were subsequently approved by voters – House Joint Resolution 21 and Senate Joint Resolution 1.”

Canales was the author of HB 217 while Sen. Juan “Chuy” Hinojosa, D-McAllen, sponsored Canales’ bill in the Texas Senate. The bill provides veterans who are disabled, in the instances they were not protected under now-former Texas laws, the ability to defer collection of property taxes or the abatement of a foreclosure/sale of their home due to delinquent property taxes; Proposition 1 (House Joint Resolution 21) fixes a shortcoming in current law that unfairly resulted in increasing the financial burden on a veteran with a partial disability who

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Corner paid some amount of the cost of a donated home; and Proposition 6 (Senate Joint Resolution 1) allows a surviving spouse of a first responder who is killed or fatally injured in the line of duty to receive an exemption from ad valorem taxation from all or part of the market value on the surviving spouse’s residence homestead, as long as the surviving spouse has not remarried since the death of the first responder.

According to the Texas Comptroller of Public Accounts, Texas offers a variety of partial or total (absolute) exemptions from appraised property values used to determine local property taxes. A partial exemption removes a percentage or a fixed dollar amount of a property’s value from taxation. A total (absolute) exemption excludes the entire property from taxation. Taxing units are mandated by the state to offer certain (mandatory) exemptions and have the option to decide locally on whether or not to offer others (local option).

Prior to the Texas Legislature’s passage of Canales’ HB 217, veterans with a disability were not allowed to defer (delay) collection of a property tax if they did not qualify as fully-disabled under the Texas Tax Code.

While all of these changes are meant to help veterans and first responders, they need to be careful about how and when to file for any exemptions they might qualify for.

Immediate resources are the local appraisal district, the county tax assessor-collector’s office and their local state representative or state senator.

Texas To Receive $135M For Children’s Health Insurance Program Through February

By Marissa Evans, The Texas Tribune The Trump administration is guaranteeing Texas $135 million to continue helping more than 450,000 uninsured children and pregnant women if Congress doesn’t renew authorization for the Children’s Health Insurance Program (CHIP).

Charles Smith, executive commissioner for the Texas Health and Human Services Commission, sent a letter to Gov. Greg Abbott on Friday of last week stating that the federal Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services is giving the state funding to continue the program through February.

“Given this assurance, we do not intend to initiate steps to terminate CHIP this month,” Smith said. “I am confident that the state will receive sufficient federal funding to continue the program through February 2018.”

The letter comes after more than two months of fear among families who rely on the program that children in Texas and beyond would lose their health insurance benefits for checkups and treatments. The program expired Sept. 30 after Congress failed to renew funding.

Texas Health and Human Services Commission officials submitted a request with the federal government on Nov. 16 for an extra $90 million to support CHIP in the state until February.

U.S. Sen. John Cornyn, R-Texas, tweeted last week that “Congress will pass a long term CHIP bill next week.”

Under CHIP, the uninsured rate among children across the country has dropped from 15 percent in 1997 to 5 percent in 2015. The program also offers prenatal care to about 36,000 pregnant women in Texas. About 394,000 Texan children ineligible for Medicaid are covered under CHIP, and another 249,000 Texan children on Medicaid benefit from CHIP’s 92 percent matching rate. Together, Medicaid and CHIP cover about 45 percent of all children in the state.

Republican Texas House Speaker Joe Straus said in a statement that “the children who benefit from this program should never have been put in a position where they might lose care.”

“The written assurances from the administration will provide some shortterm certainty for the program, and that’s important,” Straus said. “But the need for Congress to act quickly has not diminished, and I hope Congress will reauthorize the program soon in order to provide the longer-term certainty that working families in Texas need.”

Anne Dunkelberg, associate director at the Center for Public Policy Priorities, a liberal-leaning policy organization, said the guaranteed funding “just buys us 30 days.” If Congress doesn’t renew the program before January, it will be bad news for many families.

“They don’t have to send out sad letters to parents that their kids won’t have health insurance before Christmas, that’s the good news,” Dunkelberg said.

Disclosure: The Center for Public Policy Priorities has been a financial supporter of The Texas Tribune.

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Wednesday, December 20, 2017

Tobacco Prevention & Control Coalition Plans Event-Packed 2018 As 2017 comes to an end, the Tobacco Prevention & Control Coalition is taking the opportunity to reflect on a successful year and plans to discuss the upcoming calendar year.

There are several big events coming in 2018, namely the return of the Texas SayWhat!

Youth Action Summit, coming back to McAllen for the fourth consecutive year. The Coalition is also celebrating the passage of a comprehensive smoke-free ordinance in McAllen, bringing the total Hidalgo County city count to 17, with over 560,000 residents, workers, and visitors protected from toxic secondhand smoke.

Due to the Christmas holiday, the Coalition will move its monthly meeting to today, Wednesday, December 20th at the Behavioral Health Solutions conference room at 5510 N. Cage Blvd., Suite N, Pharr,

TX 78577.

All members of the community are invited to attend to learn about the coalition and its collaborative partners and how advocating for tobacco preventative initiatives is an important topic in our community. Tobacco use creates many burdens such as social and financial hardships, and the coalition seeks to mobilize members of the community to raise awareness and educate the public on the damaging effects of tobacco. The monthly coalition meetings are held on the last Wednesday of every month from 12pm to 1pm, with lunch provided. For the December meeting, lunch will be potluck with turkey provided by the Coalition and sides provided by members. Please contact volunteer specialist Yolanda Guzman for a current sign-up sheet.

McAllen Starts Work On Major Drainage Program With Public Hearings Continue -- PG 4 (CDBG), the drainage utility fee, and other grant funds. The drainage utility fee is expected to generate approximately $11,211,000 and address funding for 11 elements of the master drainage plan. The projects have already been ranked in terms in terms of priority.

According to Barrera, the fee will be based on an Equivalent Residential Unit, which is the average impervious cover (like cement) for single-family residential lots in the city of McAllen. The department considered the size of homes, as well as their patios, driveways and porches to develop this E.R.U. One E.R.U. is equivalent to 2,700 square feet of impervious cover. Based on this formula, the proposed fee will be $1.50 per month. While some homes

will be less – the proposed minimum to be charged will be $1 a month – the maximum includes a proposed charge of $75 per month for commercial property.

Impervious cover, such as asphalt and cement, means rainwater runs off of it as opposed to soaking into open ground and runoff creates a need for drainage.

Information that staffers gathered at the meetings will be given to city commissioners who will consider adopting an ordinance putting the fee into effect at their Monday, January 8, 2018, meeting.

For more information, residents can contact the City of McAllen Engineering Department at 681-1160. Residents can access more details on the plan at: www.mcallen.net/departments/engineering/drainage-utility.

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San Juan Resident Named RGV Menudo Queen By Juanita’s Foods Some people think South Texas is the menudo capital of the world. Josefina Salinas thinks she just might have the recipe to prove it, and she’s one step closer to doing that.

She was recently selected as the Rio Grande Valley winner of Juanita’s Foods’ “Vive la Tradición Homemade Menudo Contest” and has advanced to the Grand Finale in January 2018.

PSJA’s Child Nutrition Head Baker, Salinas was named the RGV Menudo Queen and received a $1,000 prize. Salinas will next compete at the grand finale in Houston in January.

The winner at the Houston showdown will be crowned the King/Queen of Menudo in January, during National Menudo Month.

Hosted by Wilmington, CAbased Juanita’s Foods, the Vive la Tradición Homemade Menudo Contest seeks to crown the king or queen of homemade menudo in California and Texas. The contest included six regional menudo cook-offs in California (Fresno, Los Angeles and San Bernardino) and Texas (Houston, McAllen and San Antonio).

Finalists from the regional events will advance to the Grand Finale in January 2018.

The contest was launched in September with the help of Mexico’s beloved celebrity mother-daughter duo, legendary star Angélica María and actress and comedian Angélica Vale. The two joined Juanita’s Foods and The International Culinary Schools at The Art Institutes to launch Vive la Tradición to highlight the importance of preserving Mexican culinary traditions from generation to generation and draw attention to delicious menudo, the traditional

Josefina Salinas, left, poses with the $1,000 check she received for winning the Juanita’s Foods “Vive la Tradition” Homemade Menudo RGV Contest. She now moves on to the national competition next month in Houston next month.

soup made with beef tripe and hominy popular at Mexican family gatherings.

“The beauty of culinary traditions is that food has a quality to transport you back to your childhood, to the things you enjoyed as a kid,” said Angélica María. “As Latinos, food has a very special place in our lives and in our family reunions. And being always busy with work and travel like we do, we love products like Juanita’s ready-to-eat menudo and others, which make it easy to enjoy our favorite food without spending a lot of time in the kitchen!” added actress and mother of two, Angélica Vale.

“Carrying on traditions is deeply embedded in the history of our company and our family,” said Aaron De La Torre, CEO of Juanita’s, maker of the #1 selling menudo in the U.S. “We decided to

launch the campaign Vive la Tradición as a way to honor the Mexican tradition of authentic homemade menudo and because we believe that working with the next wave of culinary masters is important to ensure Mexican traditions continue to be passed on to future generations.”

Juanita’s is a third generation family-owned and operated business based in Wilmington, California. Founded in 1946 by George de la Torre Sr. and his nephew, the company carries on a strong family tradition and business legacy by producing authentic homestyle Mexican foods. Juanita’s products include flavorful soups, sauces and stews made with the best quality ingredients and delivered ready to eat so families can spend less time in the kitchen and more time enjoying their favorite foods with their loved ones.

Wednesday, December 20, 2017

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Annual IMAS Guild Christmas Tree Forest Opens

The International Museum of Art & Science Guild announced the opening of its much anticipated annual Christmas Tree Forest. The popular regional contest features entrants from all around the Rio Grande Valley who display their unique craftsmanship to compete for monetary prizes. This year’s theme is “Christmas in the Great Outdoors,” celebrating the natural wonders around us including plants, animals and other environmental marvels.

Participants also highlighted exciting outdoor activities and our wonderful national and state park systems. The Christmas Tree Forest offers a special opportunity for members of the community to increase public awareness about their organization while having some holiday fun.

Gracie Cobo, IMAS Guild President, said, the contest is “a long-standing tradition of the Museum since the mid-70s.”

First Vice-President Nellie Rivera added, “This contest is a holiday tradition” in the Valley. Since its introduction, the number of contest participants has more than doubled. There is no charge to enter.

The competition features five categories: Kindergarten-2nd; 3rd-5th; 6th-8th; 9th12th; and Families/Organizations. Three

The Christmas Tree Forest will be on display until January 4, 2018 at the International Museum of Art & Science

winners were selected from each category. First place receives $150, Second $100 and Third $75.

Kindergarten-2nd: 1st Place – Primary Colors Under the Sea by Edinburg Seventh Day Adventist Church Discovery Club 2nd Place – Birdwatching by Vanguard Academy Rembrandt Elementary 3rd Place – South Texas Butterfly Garden by Easterseals RGV 3rd- 5th Grade:

City, McAllen Development Corporation Receive ‘AAA’ Bond Rating From S&P Ratings based on strength of debt service and economic outlook The City of McAllen and the McAllen Development Corporation recently went before S&P Global Ratings for review on its upcoming bond series and received a rating of ‘AAA,’ viewing “the outlook for this rating as stable.” The bond, set for $5.135 million, was for the construction and development of parking garages for La Plaza Mall.

“This rating reflects not only the strength of our retail economy here in McAllen, but also, the impact it has and will continue to have throughout the Rio Grande Valley,” said City of McAllen Mayor Jim Darling.

“This demonstrates that this area of South Texas is stable and prosperous.”

According to the rationale provided by the financial rating agency, “S&P Global Ratings assigned its ‘AAA’ rating and stable outlook to the McAllen Economic Develop

Cor., Texas’ series 2017A sales tax revenue bonds and affirmed its ‘AAA’ rating, with a stable outlook, on the corporation’s parity sales tax debt.”

Additionally, S&P Global Ratings affirmed the McAllen Local Government Finance Corp.’s ‘AA+’ rating, with a stable outlook, for the 2017 contract revenue bonds series.

The letter further stated: “The city of McAllen’s role as a regional economic center in the Rio Grande Valley, resulting in very strong per capita retails sales,” was also a factor in determining their ‘AAA’ rating.

The stable outlook reflects S&P Global Ratings’ opinion that it will not likely change the ratings over the two-year outlook period.

City Manager Roel “Roy” Rodriguez, P.E., was extremely pleased with the bond ratings, stating that the rating was also indicative of the fiscally responsible and conservative approach that the City of McAllen has maintained in managing the city’s finances and investments.

1st Place – Girl Scouts Camp by Girl Scouts Troop 479 2nd Place – Family Christmas Camp-Out

by JF Kennedy Elementary Student Council 3rd Place – Fishing by Women Together 6th-8th Grade: 1st Place – Animals by Lincoln Middle School 2nd Place – A Bug-tacular Christmas by Vanguard Academy Rembrandt Secondary 3rd Place - Soaring High, Swimming

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Low by Stillman Middle School (BISD) 9th-12th Grade: 1st Place – Outside in the Garden by National Art Honor Society J. Economedes High School 2nd Place – Rainforest by Rowe High School Art Club 3rd Place – Bicycles and Butterflies by McAllen Memorial High School Art Club Families/Organizations: 1st Place – Starry, Starry Night by The Christmas Family 2nd Place – Scenic Wetlands by City of Edinburg Library and Cultural Arts 3rd Place – Celebration of National Parks by the Nelson Family The 21 artificial six-foot trees will be on display until January 4, 2018 at the International Museum of Art & Science.

An awards reception was held at the International Museum of Art & Science on Sunday, December 3 from 2-4 p.m. The Christmas Tree Forest is included in the price of General Admission and is free for IMAS Members.

The International Museum of Art & Science (IMAS) is located at the intersection of Bicentennial Way and Nolana Avenue at 1900 W. Nolana in McAllen, Texas.

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Wednesday, December 20, 2017

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IMAGINE

TYING YOUR SHOES

PSJA’s nursing program graduates are Luis Silos, Alexia Marez, Liesel Aranda, Itati Perez, Iris Garcia, Guadalupe Mendoza, Abigail Villarreal and Guadalupe Salinas.

PSJA ISD Recognized For Innovative Nursing Program

Pharr-San Juan-Alamo ISD (PSJA) was one of 12 school districts to receive state recognition in a special edition of the Texas School Business Magazine. The PSJA Nursing Career Pathway Program was one of 12 programs recognized as part of the 11th Annual “Bragging Rights” issue published this month.

Each year, Texas School Business publishes and distributes an annual Bragging Rights issue honoring 12 deserving school districts for their innovative programs.

First approved by the Texas Board of Nursing in 2015, PSJA’s Nursing Career Pathway Program is the first in the nation to address the growing need for registered nurses by providing a an Associate Degree in nursing to qualified high school students free of charge.

The rigorous program was created through a partnership with South Texas College, PSJA, Doctors Hospital at Renaissance (DHR) and the Region One Education Service Center. To be accepted into the program, students had to meet STC’s school of nursing standards, demonstrate academic success and pass the Health Education Systems Incorporated (HESI) entrance exam.

Eight PSJA ISD seniors became the first in the nation to graduate with their Associate Degree in Nursing (ADN) while in high school in May 2017.

This is the third time a PSJA ISD program is selected for the “Bragging Rights” issue. The first was the PSJA College, Career & Technology Academy in 2008 and the PSJA Dual Language Enrichment Program in 2009.

“We are honored to be highlighted

by Texas School Business Magazine,” said PSJA Superintendent of Schools Dr. Daniel King. “The PSJA Nursing Career Pathway Program, prepared these students with the necessary skills to continue their education and enter the workforce in a high-demand job at a young age.”

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Wednesday, December 20, 2017

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McAllen ISD Focusing On Customer Service

Customer service. It isn’t just for businesses anymore.

One of our points of focus in McAllen ISD this year has been on improving our customer service.

If you look at our system, we are one of the biggest businesses in town. We have a $280 million budget. We’re very big on human capital and, most importantly, we educate the community’s children. So, from a business standpoint, we have to make sure that we’re doing a good job in serving our students, our parents and our community so that we can attract students, keep the best and the brightest teachers and continue to be a driving force in this competitive arena that we now call education.

This is especially true where we are in a friendly competition with surrounding school districts, whether it is in public schools, private schools or charter schools.

We looked at some companies that are known for their excellent customer service. Feedback from staff, students and parents led to some common names that came up repeatedly. These included Southwest Airlines, Chick-Fil-A and H-E-B. We also looked at Harley Davidson in terms of how they brand their product.

We took all of those perspectives, along with our research, to come up with our own standards for customer service and that’s what we’re training our people on right now. As we move forward, we become better at these five standards and they are standardized across the district.

The standards begin with the five domains of emotional intelligence. This includes Self-Awareness, Self-Regulation, Motivation, Empathy and Social Skills. You must have all five to produce world-class customer service but one of the most important here is empathy. This is being able to put yourself into the shoes of others and relate to how they feel and understand their perspective.

Each day, parents put their

J.A. Gonzalez, Ed.D., is the Superintendent of Schools for McAllen ISD

most precious resource into our hands – their children. We must always be mindful that this is not only a responsibility but a privilege.

Next is Courtesy and Respect followed by Greeting and Communication. There is also a step called Go the Extra Mile. Companies with great customer service are willing to do whatever it takes to keep customers happy. It is something that we hold close to heart as well.

The fifth area is the Environment. This refers to maintaining a clean and efficient work area.

This is conducive toward presenting a polished, professional look to visitors to our schools and offices.

When you look at it, students are also customers. We want to make sure we provide a quality educational experience for them.

We also know parents make choices on where they are going to send their children to school.

Our own staff members are also customers in a sense. They make decisions on where they want to work so we have to work hard to retain our best teachers and staff members.

It means we have an internal public and an external public that we are serving. We look at it from all perspectives; this includes parents, students, community members and staff. In short, it is everyone who has contact with our schools.

We want to provide an enjoyable, world-class experience and the method is driven by the five standards in our plan.

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South Texas College Higher Education Center At La Joya Officially Opens An educated workforce only makes for a stronger community.

South Texas College, together with the La Joya Independent School District held a ribbon cutting ceremony on Friday morning celebrating the expansion of the South Texas College Higher Education Center located at La Joya.

In attendance at the ribbon cutting were STC Board of Trustees Graciela Farias, Paul Rodriguez, Gary Gurwitz, STC President Dr. Shirley A. Reed, La Joya Superintendent of Schools Dr. Alda T. Benavides, as well as various staff and faculty from the college.

“I have always said the better educated the workforce, the stronger the community,” said Trustee Farias, who represents La Joya on the college board.

“We are all about opening up as many opportunities as we can for our students, but it’s not enough just to have the facilities. We need to make sure students take advantage of these opportunities.

“This happens through the work we do at STC and the work that is done here in La Joya by counselors and staff,” Farias said.

The expansion in La Joya comes as a result of the bond issuance passed by voters in 2013. STC contributed $1.6 million and LJISD contributed $400,000 towards the project that will provide state-of-the-art classrooms for STEM programs and welding workforce training.

New facilities include upgraded science labs, lecture classrooms and computer labs that will support STEM programs.

An outdoor welding lab also includes 45 stations for students in order to provide workforce preparation for careers in welding.

“We want La Joya and all of

STC President Dr. Shirley Reed addresses the attendees at the Ribbon Cutting for the South Texas College Higher Education Center located at La Joya.

western Hidalgo to know that South Texas College has established a higher education center,” said STC President Reed. “We are here for the community. We just completed the renovation of classrooms, computer labs, stateof-the-art labs for STEM, and we constructed a welding lab that will accommodate students seeking to learn state-of-the-art welding techniques.

“It’s a great option for students who may not want to go to college or a university but who may just be finishing high school and want to go to work right away,” Dr. Reed said. “This is another option for them, and not only for high school students but a large number of adults who may not have another chance to get workforce training.”

The teaching facility in La Joya is a significant alternative for local residents who can now earn these associate degrees closer to their hometown, and without traveling to one of STC’s traditional campuses. More than 40 courses are offered at the Higher Education Center at La Joya in order to fit students’ busy schedules. Students are able to enroll in a defined block of courses to

provide course scheduling predictability.

The HEC also offers courses that lead to certificates in business administration, information technology and human resources. Developmental courses and popular science, technology, engineering and math (STEM) courses are also offered onsite.

“Today is a wonderful day for La Joya ISD,” said Superintendent Dr. Benavides. “Through our partnership with STC we are able to enhance the opportunities we provide for students, and that’s really what this is all about.

“Because STC was able to include us in the bond and make sure that we used those funds to enhance our labs for our kids, we know that our students are going to be benefitting from this for years to come,” Benavides said.

Students can register for these and other programs at https://campuses.southtexascollege.edu/lajoya/ or at any South Texas College location. A complete list of upcoming classes is available at https://southtexascollege.edu/academics/ courses/.

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Wednesday, December 20, 2017

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MCISD Elementary Students Showcase B-ball Skills At High School, UTRGV Games

If you attend a Mission High School or Veterans Memorial High School home basketball game this season, be sure to stay seated for a new halftime treat. Elementary students will be showcasing their basketball skills as a part of a new program called Mission Ballers.

Over 300 elementary students are participating in the Mission Ballers program.

P.E. Coordinator, Martina Carrillo has been working with principals, coaches, and administration for months to get the program up and running. Through Mission Ballers, Carrillo hopes to encourage an early interest in basketball by working with the younger students on ball handling skills, along with improving their agility and general fitness.

There are a total of 7 Mission Ballers groups that are made up representatives from each Mission Consolidated Independent School District (CISD) elementary school. Each school is grouped with a nearby campus for a team of 10-30 students, each. The team members will perform at halftime of the high school basketball games.

District officials have also partnered

with the UTRGV Basketball program and the RGV Vipers to perform at some of their halftimes during February and March.

The east schools groups are: Alton Elementary School and Salinas Elementary School; Castro Elementary School and Bryan Elementary School; Mims Elementary School and Midkiff Elementary School. The west side groups are: Cavazos Elementary School and Cantu Elementary School; Escobar/Rios Elementary School and Waitz Elementary School; Marcell Elementary School and O’Grady Elementary School; Pearson Elementary School and Leal Elementary School.

The Pharr-San Juan-Alamo and La Joya school districts will serve as the focus of a new University of Texas Rio Grande Valley federal research project on childhood obesity. University researchers will be working with the two school districts to teach students and their families about the importance of adopting healthy eating and exercise habits to combat obesity.

The UTRGV Department of Health and Human Performance in the College of Health Affairs received a three-year, $1.4 million grant from the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services’ Office of Minority Health to research childhood obesity. Faculty members in the department who are involved in the grant are: Dr. Roberto Treviño, adjunct professor; Dr. Zasha Romero, assistant professor; Dr. Lin Wang, associate dean, undergraduate programs and student success, and associate professor; and Maria Trinidad, lecturer II. UTRGV faculty and students will work with the school districts to study childhood obesity among pre-kindergarten to kindergarten students. The grant in-

volves providing curriculum and other support to about 50 elementary schools in those districts.

University students and faculty will work with students, educators, food service staff, parent liaisons and parents to promote healthy lifestyles, and will collect data on the schools to track the program’s progress.

“It’s been the norm that health, physical fitness and nutrition have not been deemed as important as other subjects, but without healthy students, how can they succeed in other areas,” said Romero, who teaches in the Department of Health and Human Performance. “We want to catch them early, we want to plant these seeds early, we want to follow up with these students. And we know that at the end of this three-year period, we’re going to have healthier students, which in turn, will benefit the community.”

UTRGV also will offer a summer program for school-age children where UTRGV students will teach them about fitness and nutrition, Romero said.

The faculty members chose to focus

Mission CISD elementary students practice their basketball skills, which they are putting on display at high school and UTRGV basketball games.

Federal Grant Funds Childhood Obesity Research their research on preschool children because studies have shown that rapid fat cell growth can occur in children of that age group if they do not adopt regular healthy habits, such as eating healthy foods and exercising, Romero said.

“If you don’t start targeting children at that age, they develop a trigger that increases the number of fat cells growth at that early age,” he said. “We want start teaching them young to maintain a healthy lifestyle so it becomes the norm for them.”

UTRGV launched a month-long pilot program last spring at PSJA and a weeklong program at the La Joya school district, Romero said, and he and fellow faculty received positive feedback from parents.

“A lot of the parents would come back and say, ‘My child is coming home and teaching me things I didn’t know about health that I can implement in my house.’ That’s fantastic,” he said.

The long-term goal is to implement this program throughout the Rio Grande Valley, Romero said.

Dr. Michael Lehker, dean of the Col-

lege of Health Affairs, said the grant furthers the college’s efforts to improve the Valley’s quality of life through education, research and community outreach.

“By working with educators and families, our faculty and students are building the relationships necessary to combat obesity and illnesses, such as diabetes and heart disease, that are associated with obesity, and improve the overall health and well-being of the Rio Grande Valley,” Lehker said.

Wednesday, December 20, 2017

WWW.RGVTIMES.COM

Pharr Hires New Chamber President Rebecca Isabel Arizmendi, president of the Greater Pharr Chamber of commerce.

After four months on the job, Rebecca Arizmendi is still working to rebuild the Pharr Chamber of Commerce while also launching a number of programs to help local businesses and residents.

A former staff member for U. S. Congressman Vicente Gonzalez, Arizmendi was hired by as President of the Pharr Chamber in July of this year.

“I’m really, really excited about this position,” Arizmendi explained. “I see Pharr growing and expanding, and I wanted to be a part of that.”

The McAllen native earned her Bachelor’s degree in Psychology from The University of Houston and later a Masters in Public Administration from The University of Texas Rio Grande Valley.

Born and raised in McAllen, Arizmendi began working for Hidalgo County, as a court clerk and later assistant court coordinator for one of the Justice of the Peace offices while taking local university courses. When her significant other entered law school in Houston, she took the plunge and moved to Houston. There she entered the University of Houston and eventually earned her degree in psychology.

A year after graduating from U of H, Arizmendi moved back to South Texas and took a job with the City of Brownsville in as an innovation and resource analyst where she worked on the methods, procedures and policies within the city and tried to improve or figure out ways to do away or make them better. She also worked updating the city’s salary structure with comparisons to other cities of similar size and structure.

“It hadn’t been updated since 2001. It turned out to be a success, and the city increased its base salaries,” Arizmendi said. “It was very rewarding to complete that project in December 2016.”

After working in Brownsville, she took a temporary assignment with Congressman Vicente Gonzalez. By that time, she had already earned a masters in public administration from The University of Texas Rio Grande Valley.

When she saw the opening in Pharr,

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she applied.

“I had worked in government for over ten years, and I had always had an interest in the kind of work that chambers did, so I wanted to see if I could do this.

I applied and eventually got the job,” the new chamber president said. “I wanted to help the community and help local businesses and industry. I felt that being part of Pharr was going to be an exciting thing. Their growth is increasing rapidly.

It’s probably the best decision I’ve made.

It’s been working really great.”

Housed at the Pharr Economic Development Corporation offices, the new chamber is still in the development phase.

“Right now, our goal is to re-establish the Chamber. I’m trying to do everything that a chamber needs to do: trying to get the word out, meeting with ambassadors, fundraising events, lunch and learn events and events for Winter Texans. We really want to assist the local Pharr business community to connect with their customers here in Pharr.”

“We’re still in the initial stages of re-establishing the chamber. We really want to recruit local business owners and their staff to join our Ambassadors group and to be at our events. We encourage them to join as soon as possible.”

For information on the Chamber, visit the PEDC offices at EDC, 1215 S. Cage, Blvd. in Pharr or contact Rebecca at (956) 402-4332 or at Rebecca.arizmendi@pharr-tx.gov.

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