LareDOS November 2013

Locally Owned

Be a yardstick of quality.

Some people aren’t used to an environment where excellence is expected.

– Steve Jobs A JOURNAL OF THE BORDERLANDS november 2013

Est. 1994

Vol. XVIII No. 11 64 PAGES

@lareDOSnews

LareDOS Newspaper

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publisher

María Eugenia Guerra

meg@laredosnews.com Editorial Assistant

Mariela Rodriguez Staff Writers

Mariela Rodriguez Juan Madero Sales

María Eugenia Guerra design@laredosnews.com

Circulation, Billing & Subscriptions meg@laredosnews.com Layout/design

Contributors Raul Casso

Randy Koch

Bebe Fenstermaker

Armando X. López

Sissy Fenstermaker Monica McGettrick Walters Neo Gutierrez

Salo Otero

Steve Harmon

José Quezada

Henri Kahn

Elizabeth Treviño

Sergio Puente vantagegraphics@yahoo.com

Write a Letter to the Editor meg@laredosnews.com

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Mariela Rodriguez/LareDOS

Elisa Ruiz/LareDOS

Vintage VWs on display at El Portico

Yoga lovers

Jaime Flores and Chito Hernandez are pictured at the St. Peter’s El Portico Festival on Saturday, November 9. The car show featured vintage autos.

Among organizers of the Casa Yoga Seeds of Change Yoga Festival were Alison Flores pictured with her husband Tony Flores on Saturday, November 9 at North Central Park.

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Mariela Rodriguez/LareDOS

Healthy Cooking Demo Laredo Medical Center executive chef Andrew Hughes gave a healthy cooking demonstration at the City of Laredo Health Department on Thursday, November 14. He provided attendees with healthy cooking tips for those with diabetes.

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Honoring men and women who have served Vietnam Veterans were recognized on Thursday, November 7 at the Laredo Civic Center at a ceremony held by County Court at Law Judge Alvino “Ben� Morales and Judge Jesus Garza.

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Laredo’s Elvis impersonator Luis Salazar the city’s own Elvis impersonator entertained attendees at the Northside Market at North Central Park on Saturday, November 2.

Folks gathered to listen some their favorite classic hits.

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Veteran and volunteers Elwynn Sherman, Marcos Barrera, Miguel Romo, Peter Ayala, Casey H. Adams are pictured with Gigi Ramos at the Veterans Serving The Need Veterans Day plate sale on Monday, November 11.

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Mariela Rodriguez/LareDOS

Mariela Rodriguez/LareDOS

VSTN Veterans Day Sale

FUMC rummage sale Dennis Kriewald and Hortencia Offerle coordinators of the First United Methodist Church annual Rummage Sale are pictured on Friday, November 8 at the Fellowship Hall.

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THE INDIAN IN THE ROAD

Remains of Native American female claimed by Mescalero Apache Tribe

By MARIA EUGENIA GUERRA LareDOS Publisher SAN YGNACIO - The remains of an American Indian woman, long entombed in the earth of a bluff above the Río Grande in San Ygnacio — and within what was more recently known as a “speed bump” on Treviño Street where it meets Washington Avenue — have been claimed by the Mescalero Apache Tribe of the Mescalero Reservation in New Mexico.

They will be reburied at the Zapata County Cemetery.

The remains, which rested under a cap of asphalt, a scant 10 cm of soil, and 25cm of road base (15 to 18 inches in total), were accidentally unearthed during wastewater pipeline excavations in 1991. Trenching with a backhoe resulted in the displacement and loss of most of the skull, the shoulder girdle, vertebrae, rib cage, and left arm of the skeleton.

James Warren of Archaeology Consultants, Inc. first identified the remains. A radiocarbon assay of a bone sample made in 1991 dated the skeleton at 560+/60 BP (before present.) The heavily damaged remains were reburied under Treviño Street where vehicular traffic for the next 21 years would continue to crush, fragment, and pulverize the skeleton.

Though several Zapata County administrations, judges, and commissioners have known of the remains and their precise location under the asphalt hump on Treviño Street, no effort was made in the two decades from 1991 to 2012 to accord those remains of a human life a dignified relocation from the well-traveled roadway.

On June 4, 2010, a paving crew from Reim Construction, tidying up

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the last details of a storm water runoff project, disturbed the asphalt over the burial and added an additional layer of asphalt, which the Texas Historical Commission (THC) called a “disturbance” and “an adverse effect” on the burial. The disturbance violated a stipulation in a 2008 Memorandum of Understanding between then-Zapata County Judge Rosalva Guerra and State Historic Preservation Officer F. Lawrence Oaks.

That pre-construction MOU had spelled out how the county would identify cultural resources and comply with the Antiquities Code of Texas in undertaking the construction of the stormwater drainage project in San Ygnacio, an area of many significant historic structures.

Reim’s new layer of asphalt on the 600 year-old Native American remains was also considered a desecration of a grave, a violation of the State Health and Safety Code.

The THC held Zapata County responsible for the disturbance, and Zapata County held contractor Reim

financially responsible for the exhumation and relocation of the remains.

Zapata County fled a petition for Removal of Remains in 2012 in the 49th District Court and a court order was issued to that effect.

The county contracted with UTSA’s Center for Archaeological Research (CAR), which under mandates of the Texas Antiquities Code and State Historic Preservation laws exhumed and

removed the remains from December 18 through 20, 2012. A CAR team with the Center’s director Steve Tomka as chief investigator and project archaeologist Cynthia Moore Muñoz conducted the exhumation.

Zapata County backhoe operator Abel Guerra scraped loose the asphalt over the grave, and the CAR team used shovels first, and then trowels, to work slowly and methodically to arrive at the disintegrated bits of sheet plastic that Warren had placed over the skeleton 21 years before.

The burial was pedestalled, plotted on a site map, sketched, photographed, recorded on a burial form, and its location recorded by GPS. According to the CAR summary, the remains consisted of “a partial cranial vault, the right arm, the sacrum, the pelvis, and both legs. The report reads, “The skeleton lay on its left side in a loosely flexed position and was oriented on a north-south axis. Its right arm was outstretched along the side of the body with the distal end of the lower arm near the pelvis….it appears the head was facing west toward the Río Grande.”

There were no grave offerings buried with the remains of the adult female.

Fulfilling its contractual obligations to Zapata County and complying with state historic guidelines, the CAR, in addition to applying for a THC permit and hand-excavating the burial, took the remains to UTSA for analysis at the CAR, completed Native American Grave Protection and Repatriation Act (NAGPRA) consultation, and completed the technical report summarizing procedures and findings. The CAR will also oversee the return of the remains for burial in Zapata. 

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News

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he city is partnering with the Laredo Police Department’s Blue Santa Program to provide the community with “Light the Way for Christmas Lighting Festival,” which is slated for December 4 from 4:30 p.m. to 8 p.m.

With the recent sale of the Laredo Civic Center to LISD, City officials have had to find a new home for the official City Christmas tree and have opted for North Central Park this year.

“We are very happy for the opportunity to do this here. This was a very good option because North Central Park was voted the most popular park in town,” said Council Member Charlie San Miguel, adding, “This started off as a “Light the Way Christmas” event, not a tree lighting ceremony, but next year whether we have the tree here or not, we will have this festival again.”

The festival will also act as a toy drive, so that attendees, participants, and vendors are asked to bring a toy or a $5 donation.

LPD officer Laura Montemayor said, “The recipients of the Blue Santa program come into our office and fill out a form to receive toys. We don’t turn anyone away,” she added, “Some of these kids when they pick up their toys from Blue Santa refuse to open them, because they know they won’t be getting anything else for Christmas.”

The event will commence with the

official City of Laredo Christmas tree lighting.

A portion of the display will be dedicated to all Laredo veterans and those currently serving who won’t make it back for Christmas this year.

Local bands and all school-affiliated groups — choirs, bands, dance and cheer groups — are welcome to participate and to sign up at www.cityoflaredo.com. All performers will be limited to five minutes.

Vendors who want to sell food or other goods are required to pay a $20 special events permit and must comply with the City of Laredo Health Department and Fire Department codes. No duplicate food products will be allowed, and signup is on a first come-first served basis. Interested vendors may sign up at the City of Laredo Parks and Leisure Department or call (956) 795-2350.

Community sponsors and media partners are needed with packages ranging from $2,500 to $500 including naming rights of the event, mention in advertising radio commercials, displays and banners at the event, and logos on the official posters. Funds will be used for lights to surround the trailhead facility and other structures at the front end of the park.

For more information, contact City of Laredo public information officer Xochitl Mora García at (956) 791-7461.

— LareDOS Staff

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City’s Light the Way festival set for North Central Park

Felicidades, Olga Olga López of Zapata is pictured on the occasion of her birthday with her son Hector López Jr.

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News

Candidate Wendy Davis greets supporters in voter registration and recruitment drive

By MARIELA RODRIGUEZ LareDOS Staff

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enator Wendy Davis (D-Ft. Worth) visited Webb County supporters for her 2014 gubernatorial bid at a voter registration and recruitment drive on Saturday, November 2 at Pano’s Bakery on McPherson.

Davis began her address by thanking Laredoans for making the most campaign phone calls of any other area in the state. The 78045 zip code area reached a goal of 48,000 phone calls within 48 days.

“What I want you to know about me as you invite others to become invested in the outcome of this election is that I am in this for all right reasons. I truly care about making Texas greater — one person at a time, valuing the voice of every single Texan,” said Davis.

She referred to her supporters as true champions in this race and expressed the importance of the values of everyday Texans being reflected in the policies that are adopted.

Davis discussed her family’s struggles with poverty, and her views on an affordable college education. “Young women and men today are asking the state to keep the promise that if they work hard to be whatever it is they dream of being, they’ll be assisted,” she said, adding, “That promise is no longer being kept because state leaders don’t think it is important. They don’t understand or care about individuals throughout the state who are trying to improve their lives.”

Health care was also one of Davis’ talking points. “My father spent three weeks in the hospital before passing away. I couldn’t help but think about all those in the state who don’t have the privilege of health care,” she said.

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individuals in Webb County, according to Davis.

“We need to come together, Republicans and Democrats alike, to do the work that Texas families want us to do.

They want the education system to get better. They want their children to be able to go to college and to afford the privilege of being there. They want to be a part of the Texas success story and want to be a part of a strong and vibrant economy. Those are things we all want,” she said.

Davis’ decision to run for governor gained momentum after her 11-hour filibuster on June 25 against stricter regulations on abortions, a stand that brought significant attention to issues surrounding reproductive health.

According to the website of the Texas Secretary of State, only 107,552 residents of Webb County’s population of 259,172 are registered to vote, and only 29,507 turned out to vote in the 2010 election.

With a population that is 95 percent Hispanic, Webb County could prove to be key for a victory for either Davis or Republican candidate Texas Attorney General Greg Abbot.

“I will work unbelievably hard to win this election. I represent a senate district that was drawn for a Republican to win. I’ve won it twice because I have worked very hard at building coalitions of people coming together around the values that we all care about,” said Davis, adding, “That is what we will be doing. I absolutely cannot do it alone. I firmly believe we will win this election because people all over Texas are hun-

gry for the type of leadership that will reflect the values that they and their families share — that we collectively share.”

The event was hosted by Battleground Texas, a group of volunteers committed to engaging Texans in the political process.

For more information on Davis’ campaign, visit the Wendy Davis For Governor Facebook page. 

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News

Laredo steps up to stop bullying

By MARIELA RODRIGUEZ LareDOS Staff

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he group People with Ideas of Love, Liberty, Acceptance, and Respect (PILLAR) hosted the Anti-“Boo”llying event on October 29 at Uni-Trade Stadium in commemoration of National Bullying Prevention Month. The event was free and open to all students from elementary to high school and their parents. The event’s goal is was to continue to raise awareness for the need to end and prevent bullying.

PILLAR founder, board member, and event coordinator Manuel Sánchez said, “We were very enthused by the turnout. We enlisted the help of local schools and community leaders and everyday citizens to come out and raise awareness against bullying — a problem that has reached epidemic proportions locally.”

Although suicide is a topic many shy away from, Sánchez said that within the last five years there have been 80 suicides in Laredo — 40 percent among individuals age 25 or younger.

“We have seen and heard on the news about people that have been so frustrated that they’ve taken their own lives. A handful of those were individuals who were being bullied either at home or at school,” he said.

Guest speakers at the event included professionals such at LISD Superintendent Dr. Marcus Nelson, who spoke of what he’s seen in his field in terms of bullying. Among the other speakers was Miss Pre-Teen Laredo Fabiola Chavez.

Sánchez said, “Fabiola talked about her experience being bullied out of one school district only to have it follow her to the next. Before the bullying would end once you moved to another campus, but now unfortunately cyberbullying enables it to follow you no matter where you go.”

According to Sánchez 250,000 kids in the U.S. get bullied every day, and locally between five to 10 referrals are submitted daily involving some type of bullying.

“Not long ago we had a young lady who was sitting in her vehicle cutting herself with a broken CD because she was being bullied at school and didn’t know who to turn to. She walked into our clinic with blood coming down her arm,” Sánchez said.

PILLAR not only works with the bullied but with the bullies themselves. “We want to break the cycle because more often than not the bullies are bullied themselves at home or school,” said Sánchez, adding, “They are just repeating learned behavior, and we want to erase those learned patterns here locally and get people to understand the seriousness of this epidemic.”

The event was intended to allow everyone to take a closer look at the different forms of bullying — physical, verbal, nonverbal, and cyber bullying. Students at the event were given a pledge to sign that they wouldn’t partake in bullying and would support those who have been. Sanchez pointed out that bullying that occurs in school interferes with a child’s learning and that could have long-term repercussions.

“Our goal at PILLAR is to provide family education and counseling services to people so they can combat bullying,” he added.

PILLAR is a non-profit organization comprised of professional counselors who help people of all ages that may experience emotional trauma due to bullying/victimization from others, have suicidal ideation, and seek supportive services. PILLAR’s services are free to all individuals.

For more information about PILLAR, call (956) 723-7457 or visit www.pillarstrong.org. 

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News Brief

News Brief

BAM sends troops a taste of home

AHEC conference targets border health issues

he Books-A-Million (BAM) holiday coffee drive for troops serving overseas is underway.

This is the third year the bookseller conducts the Coffee for the Troops initiative.

BAM customers have the opportunity to donate a coffee bag, with the option to write a personal message on a label, which will be adhered to the bag

before it’s shipped off to the soldiers.

“We hope Laredo and its surrounding communities will come together to get as many bags sent to service men and women who risk their lives daily,” said BAM assistant manger Jesse Hernandez.

For more information on the coffee drive, call (956) 728 – 8145 or visit the store at Mall del Norte.

— LareDOS Staff

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the educational resources to maintain quality care services for all residents in this part of the state. “We are pleased to work with the local health care institutions and the medical society in continuing this initiative that has proven to be a valuable resource for the health care providers, nursing students, and community members,” she said.

The 29th Annual Update in Medicine Conference was a collaborative effort between the Area Health Education Center of the Mid Rio Grande of Texas, Inc., the UT Health Science Center San Antonio School of Medicine and School of Nursing, and the Webb-Zapata-Jim Hogg Counties Medical Society. Over the years, numerous health care providers have been linked to educational resources via this annual event, which also offers continuing education credits to physicians, nurses, nutritionists, and social workers.

For additional information about the Area Health Education Center and its menu of programs, visit www.mrgbahec.org or call (956)712-0037.

— LareDOS Staff

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meg@laredosnews.com

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ver 200 health care providers participated in the twoday 29th Annual Update in Medicine Conference hosted by the Area Health Education Center (AHEC) on October 25 and 26 at the UT Health Science Center Regional Campus.

The program included keynote speakers with expertise and vast knowledge in research, including Dr. Ralph A. DeFronzo, an expert and renowned researcher in the area of diabetes at the UT Health Science Center at San Antonio, and Dr. Dong H. Kim, director of the Mischer Neuroscience Institute at Memorial Hermann Hospital in Houston.

Dr. DeFronzo’s topic was “Prevention of T2D: Can It Be Achieved?”, and Dr. Kim presented “Trigeminal Neuralgia and Hemifacial Spasm.”

Other program topics included mental health, cancer, medical ethics, pain management, eating disorders, immunization updates, and asthma.

According to AHEC executive director, Julie Bazan, the conference was aimed at practicing providers who seek

AHEC director Julie Bazan, Dr. Ralph DeFronzo, and Dr. Gladys Keene at the 29th Annual Update in Medicine Conference sponsored by AHEC, the UT Health Science Center School of Medicine and School of Nursing, and the Webb-Zapata-Jim Hogg Medical Society.

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Gloria Gonzalez/LareDOS Contributor

San Ygnacio birthday girl Ramona Botello of San Ygnacio celebrated her birthday with her daughter Lydia Chapa, granddaughter Maria Isabel, and great-granddaughter Lilia Marie Mendoza.

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Opinion

Republicans pay the price for the government shutdown ollowing the end of the government shutdown — which allowed the United States to avoid a default at the very last minute — voters revealed how that chapter in American history altered attitudes towards each political party. The early forecast for that change was that Republicans would be more negatively affected than Democrats.

The November 5 off-year election featured a few special elections for Congressional seats and a number of state and local elections of national interest, like the mayoral election in New York City and the gubernatorial election in Virginia.

In New York City, Democratic candidate Bill de Blasio was elected mayor over Republican Joe Lhota with the votes split 73% to 24%. De Blasio’s victory makes him the first Democrat to become New York’s mayor since 1993. This giant margin of victory is now one of the most one-sided races in the history of New York City’s mayoral election and the largest victory by a non-incumbent.

It also provides evidence that New Yorkers overwhelmingly want an alternative to the Republican Party. De Blasio replaces billionaire Republican-turned Independent Michael Bloomberg, who is currently finishing his third and final term in office.

The shutdown decisively helped the Democrat and hurt his Republican opponent. Pre-election voters in New York said that the shutdown made them more likely to vote for a Democrat, while only six percent W W W.L A R ED OSN E WS.COM

said it persuaded them to support a Republican candidate.

The traditionally conservative state of Virginia underwent a similar transformation. The Republican candidate, state attorney general Ken Cuccinelli, a Tea Party favorite, was defeated by Terry McAuliffe — a former Democratic National Committee chairman and legendary political fundraiser who has never held elective office. McAuliffe narrowly won the Virginia governor’s race, defeating Cuccinelli by piling up votes in parts of the state hit hard by the shutdown. These included large majorities in Virginia’s population centers, especially the Washington suburbs and Hampton Roads.

McAuliffe’s victory confirmed the current national attitude that the Republicans are paying a heavy price for pushing the country to the brink of financial ruin in their ultimately unsuccessful effort to defund Obamacare.

A Washington Post-ABC national poll clearly suggested that the budget confrontation in October severely tarnished the public’s image of the Republican Party and has exposed significant divisions between right-wing Tea Party supporters and moderate Republicans. The party’s image has sunk to an all-time low in recent surveys, with 32 percent of Americans saying they have a favorable opinion and 63 percent saying they have an unfavorable opinion towards Republicans. Eighty-percent of Americans said they disapproved of the shutdown, and almost 40 percent of Americans had a “strongly unfavorable” view of the Republican Party.

The right-wing Tea Party fared just as badly. Barely a quarter of the public has a favorable image of the movement, the lowest rating in the Washington Post-ABC poll. However, major Tea Party representatives like our own Texas Senator Ted Cruz, promise to continue their efforts for the undoing of Obamacare. Cruz’s committed supporters seem to remain loyal to him regardless of his strategy’s failure to accomplish anything. Cruz’s over-reaching efforts have severely tarnished personal relations between him and many of his fellow Republican senators.

When he returned to Texas af-

ter the end of the shutdown, Cruz was received like a hero by his fans.

Some have proposed that he run for president in 2016, which many in the media believe was the ultimate goal of his outspoken stance. However, a Cruz candidacy would carry the risk of starting a civil war within the Republican Party, and therefore strengthen the prospects of any Democratic candidate. Our red state may still be one of the backbones of the Republican party, but it is clear that the Republicans will have to work very hard to redeem themselves to the rest of the nation before the next election cycle. 

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By JUAN MADERO LareDOS Staff

St. Pat’s Life Teen students volunteer at STFB Many hands came in handy as the St. Patrick Catholic Church Life Teen students helped re-package rice into two-pound bags for distribution to the 30,000 families the South Texas Food Bank serves monthly. The project coordinator was Gwen Garza. Volunteers are always welcome at the STFB. LareDOS I N OV EM B ER 2013 I

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Opinion

News Brief

When religion clouds human reasoning

Laredo students finalists in Mariachi Vargas vocal competition

By DR. CARLOS VALLE JR. LareDOS Contributor

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aredo students Israel Alcala, Javier Esquivel, Samantha López, and Natalie Villareal are finalists in the nation’s largest and most competitive mariachi vocal competition that will take place in San Antonio as part of the 19th Annual Mariachi Vargas Extravaganza.

They will compete at the Lila Cockrell Theater on Saturday, December 7 at 9 a.m.

Esquivel and Villarreal are students at Macdonnell Elementary School. López is a Martin High School student, and Israel Alcala is a student at Laredo Community College.

Judges are members of the world›s preeminent Mariachi Vargas de Tecalitlán from Mexico City who will select one winner as the «Best Mariachi Vocalist in the U.S.» The winner will open for Mariachi Vargas at a December 7 performance at the Lila Cockrell Theater at 7:30 p.m.

Tickets for this year›s vocal competition may be purchased at the Lila Cockrell Theater on Saturday, December 7 for $10 starting at 8:30 a.m. One hundred percent of tickets sold at the door will go towards scholarships and prizes awarded to competition winners.

— LareDOS Staff

Maria Eugenia Guerra/LareDOS

hen City Council member Charlie San Miguel recently voted against a $49,000 health services grant, he did so because one sentence in the wording included accessibility to the “morning after” pill.

San Miguel stated that after deliberating the wording, his “conscious” (sic) would not allow him to vote in favor of said grant. He stated that, try as he could to keep his religion from affecting his vote, he was “against abortion” and could not accept the grant as worded.

Pursuing the issue, a source informed me that the medication mentioned in the grant was “Plan Two.” According to the Mayo Clinic web site, “Plan Two” is a contraceptive, which works by delaying ovulation, preventing fertilization of an ovum, or preventing implantation (nidation) of a fertilized ovum. It is not an abortifacient.

If our respected Council member

had done his research and not listened to his narrow-minded and singleissue cronies, he should have remembered that he was elected to serve his constituents and not to propound his faith.

Based on our Democratic and Republican form of government, our elected representatives are supposed to provide for the well-being of the greater proportion of our populace, regardless of their religious beliefs. His was a blatant example of personal spiritual belief clouding sound human reasoning.

Government and laws are for the preservation of human and civil rights and regulation of conduct.

One man should not be allowed to interfere with the liberty and well-being of another. No man should be allowed to impose his theology on another; neither should a minority, however small, be forced to give in to the opinions of a majority, however large.

We should be grateful that the rest of the City Council voted to accept the grant as originally worded, for the better good. 

Festival features vintage autos Armando and Cissy López are pictured at El Portico Festival with Mando Gonzalez and his restored 1950 Mercury. The festival was held at St. Peter’s Plaza on November 9.

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News

By SALO OTERO STFB Marketing Director

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outh Texas Food Bank (STFB) partners were honored recently with a recognition dinner at the Laredo Job Corps.

Job Corps culinary students prepared the meal under the direction of instructor Pablo Camarillo.

The honorees included members of the Webb County Sheriff’s Department, Head Start Program, Webb County Community Centers, Laredo Job Corps, Bethany House, the Laredo Housing Authority, Justice of the Peace Judge Oscar Liendo, and Municipal Court Judge Rosie Cuellar Castillo.

Job Corps culinary arts students prepare meals for five Kids Café sites — two at the Laredo Boys and Girls Clubs and community centers at El Cenizo, Rio Bravo, and Larga Vista.

Bethany House prepares 200 meals daily for six Laredo Housing sites at Meadow Acres, Ana Lozano, Russell Terrace, Guadalupe, South Laredo, and Carlos Richter.

South Texas Food Bank executive director Alfonso Casso and Kids Café director Dr. Jesse J. Olivarez lauded all for their contribution. “The South Texas Food Bank mission of feeding the hungry is huge and extremely important,” Casso said. “We can not do it alone. Partnerships are the key.”

At a recent STFB board meeting, Casso discussed the need for a Kids Café in west Laredo in the area of the Northwest Boys and Girls Club.

Sites mentioned were the Northwest Boys and Girls Club, the Lily Perez Recreation Center and Farias Elementary School. Casso noted, “It’s not just about feeding children but also keeping them off the street and out of trouble.”

A Kids Café costs $15,000 per year to operate. Corporate sponsorships are available at $25,000 and then $15,000 per year. Among the sponsors have been Big Red of Laredo, Shell Oil Co., and the Arturo N. Benavides Family.

The South Texas Food Bank is located at 1907 Freight at Riverside. Donors are encouraged to call (956) 726-3120 or go to www.southtexasfoodbank.org. Donations are tax deductible.

Childhood hunger in Texas ranks among the nation’s worst at 22 percent. In the STFB service area, childhood hunger is 40-plus percent, almost twice the state’s average. The Kids Café program addresses the serious problem with a hot after school meal.

The STFB has 18 Kids Cafes, including 14 in Laredo-Webb County area. The other four are in Zapata, San Ygnacio, Eagle Pass, and Carrizo Springs.

Kids Cafes are feeding more than 1,500 children daily in the Laredo area. 

Courtesy Photo

STFB hosts partner appreciation dinner

STFB Food Bank volunteers Killam Oil Company employees and members of Primera Inglesia Bautista gave a hand on October 26 with re-bagging rice for distribution to STFB clients.

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News

UISD bond secures new construction, campus renovations, technology updates

By MARIELA RODRIGUEZ LareDOS Staff

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nlike its 2007 bond issue, the November 5, 2013 election proved favorable for United Independent School District (UISD) — with 66 percent of Webb County registered voters in favor of the $408,712,549 package that will address the district’s enrollment growth.

As of September 19, UISD’s peak enrollment was at 43,658 over the 41 campuses, of which the district is at overcapacity in 28 of those campuses, according to UISD executive director of support services Mike Garza Currently, 326 of UISD’s classrooms are portable structures, which Garza said leaves students exposed to the elements in the upcoming cold months.

The $400 million bond will go toward the district’s construction of new schools, technological updates, and additional district-wide renovations.

Plans for construction include five new elementary schools costing $17,433,884 each; three middle schools each at $22,453,499; and four ninth grade campuses at $38,903, 918 each.

Garza said, “All of these are new schools for the exception of two, which will be replacement schools, but physically they will be brand new campuses.”

The two campuses that will be restructured are Salinas and Clark Elementary, at a cost of $13,886,589 each.

“We have additional district renovations at $14 million each and

building additions of $15 million.

The bulk of the building additions will be for Alexander High School, which will be getting a new band hall, career and technology wing, and a new ROTC center,” said Garza.

Trautmann Elementary will receive an additional wing and some improvements around the campus.

Arndt Elementary is scheduled for an additional wing allotting for 16 more classrooms, and Clark Middle will get an expansion to their band hall.

About $22 million will go toward technology upgrades district wide, including wireless network, network infrastructure, instructional video distribution system, and instructional interactive technology upgrades.

Garza said, “All these items are paid over a 20 to 30 year period. It is almost like a mortgage. The board was very frugal in making decisions based on expenditures from the bond.”

Taxpayers can expect to see changes on their yearly taxes in 2015.

“The average household in UISD is valued at about $137,500. That average taxpayer will not see an effect until 2015. You don’t sell all $400 million at once. We sell $100 million our first year and start our construction program. It will take about a four-year period to get the full amount. However, as you ask for the money, it impacts the taxpayer,” said Garza, adding, “On an average taxpayer or homeowner that impact will be $2.55 per month.

The next year that would increase to about $5 per month, and at the peak, if our construction program is robust, at the end of the four years (in

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2018) they could potentially see an increase of $11 per month — worst case scenario.”

Garza added, “In all years that we have had bond elections and they have been successful, we’ve never reached the max. In 2003, the voters approved a $132 million bond election, and we asked for a $.16 increase. When the voter goes and votes, they are giving us the authorization to tax up to or give us the amount of money we need, and then we have to tax whatever it takes to pay that debt. It is by law that we cannot tax more than that amount.

This year we only need $.06 to cover that debt, so not only did it not reach the max, but now it is down 65 percent of the max.”

Expansions to the district could improve the local economy. Garza said, “You build a school, and then what happens all around the school?

You have homes being constructed, you have commercial facilities, and that brings in more value to the school district that in turn drive down the tax rate,” he added, “That

happens with any development. It is very common.”

Garza said that unlike the 2007 bond election, this time around district employees were well versed in all matters concerning the bond.

“It was important that our entire UISD staff be educated about the bond and that they felt compelled to voice their opinion one way or another. Another key was that, in my opinion, we did a very good job of educating the public. What hurt us in 2007 was that there was not enough information — the misinformation overshadowed the right information,” he said.

Garza said that had the bond not passed, the district would have resorted to year-round schooling, split-shift schooling, or buying more portable buildings.

“This is a really good investment for our community. Aside from the fact that it pertains to education, there will be significant residual impact on our local economy,” said Garza, who is also a member of the Laredo City Council. 

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News

News

Mares to run for County Treasurer

Joe Valdez Jr. announces for Commissioner Pct. 4

By MARIA EUGENIA GUERRA LareDOS Contributor

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ynthia Mares, director of the Webb County Administrative Services Department and president of the Laredo Junior College board of trustees, has announced her candidacy for County Treasurer, running in a field crowded with the incumbent Delia Perales, Mayor Raul Salinas, Jaime A. Velasquez, and Jaime A. Montes.

“The trajectory of my emCynthia Mares ployment history speaks for itself. I am qualified, experienced, and educated. Handling public money judiciously, being fiscally responsible, and being accountable to those who pay our salaries — I’ve done that as a Webb County public servant for the last 14 years. I understand budgets, grants, deadlines, payroll and benefits, compliance, and the timely filing of reports and tax documents,” Mares said, noting that she has a proven record for restructuring departments and making them more efficient.

“My business philosophy is to work hard, but to work effectively. That’s what makes a department flourish. I’d like to apply what I know to the Webb County Treasurer’s office and restore taxpayer confidence in how the office operates. The County Treasurer is another set of eyes, a watchdog, of public money, someone who makes prudent choices for which investment pool to W W W.L A R ED OSN E WS.COM

place grant and other funds,” the candidate said.

“My civic philosophy is to get involved, to invest your efforts into things that make our community a better place. That has certainly been my goal as a trustee for LCC as we expanded with the campus in the south and undertook the master plan to restore and build on the Ft. Macintosh campus. The most important part of those brick and mortar projects is that they have allowed us to grow the curriculum to keep in step with what a community college needs to offer its students,” she said.

Mares has served as an LCC trustee since 1992 and became board president in 2010.

She is the only woman to have served as Chairman of the Board of the Laredo Chamber of Commerce (1998).

A graduate of Texas A&I University-Laredo, she holds a BA in business with a minor in accounting and an MBA from Laredo State University.

Her resumé includes the directorship of the Adult Basic Education Program at Laredo Junior College (LJC), where she was also an instructor in math and accounting. She also served as the director of the school’s Vocational Technology Program. She was at the helm of Communities in Schools for two years and worked in the family Continued on page 34

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By MARIA EUGENIA GUERRA LareDOS Publisher

F

ormer Laredo City Council member José Valdez Jr. has announced his candidacy for Webb County Commissioner Pct. 4. He will face incumbent Jaime Canales and Hector Liendo Jr. in the November primary.

“The people of Pct. 4 have told me they want change. They want leadership and they want responsiveness to the issues they bring up. They want a commissioner who returns calls. Those things count a lot,” Valdez said.

“I didn’t just get here,” he said, adding, “I am a seasoned leader.”

Valdez served on the Laredo City Council from 2000 to 2006 and again from 2008 to 2010. He has also served on the City’s Metropolitan Planning Organization. He waged an unsuccessful bid for mayor in 2006.

He continued, “I am a man of my word. I don’t have a lot of money, but I have my word and my good name. A leader stands up for what he believes and he votes his heart and what his constituents tell him is a priority. I am not an opportunist, and I am not a typical politician out for himself,” Valdez said.

He said he is running a grassroots campaign that promises accessibility, responsiveness, and accountability.

“Your first year in office is a honeymoon. The second year your constituents are asking, ‘What have you got?’

That’s what they continue to ask the current commissioner,” he said.

“If I’m elected, you’ll see leadership from Day 1. You won’t see me casting a vote based on what that vote might cost me or what I might gain from it. You’ll see the same informed, prudent leadership I offered in City Council when I voted against the United Water privatization of the City water utility and against

the construction of the arena,” he said.

Regarding the issue of insurance for former employees, Valdez said the Commissioners Court had years to find a resolution. “What is happening now is reactive, and it’s not fair. Where’s the planning for something like this? Where’s the leadership? You can’t tell them from one day to the next that their insurance will balloon to something like this. If it affects one person adversely, that is too many,” he said.

“My commitment as a Webb County commissioner is to work hands-on and to make informed decisions. I wouldn’t have two fulltime jobs. I wouldn’t juggle the time it takes to be a commissioner. I have the passion to get things done — no personal agendas. I’ve lived in Pct. 4 for 20 years. The concerns of my neighbors are also my concerns — Mines Road traffic congestion, a dedicated non-commercial lane, another artery to connect to IH35, safety, and representation that looks after my tax dollars,” Valdez said.

“As a commissioner, I’d also like to work on projects within the city, like helping downtown become sustainable.

There is need and opportunity there. We need to look at noise abatement — quiet zones — for the railroad; maybe move people and turn those properties into green spaces, or insulate homes against noise. Let’s look inwardly into the community to define need. Huge or small, everyone’s situation is important, and you have to help them,” he said.

“I’m ready for this race,” Valdez said, “and people of Pct. 4 are ready for change.”

He and his wife Elizabeth, a Spanish teacher at Alexander High School, have two children — Alyssa, 18, a freshman at Texas A&M University in College Station; and Krissy, 12, a seventh grader at United Middle School.

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Feature

Driscoll: live your life before you blog about it

By MARIELA RODRIGUEZ LareDOS Staff

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n auto-didactic crafter, mother of two, and blogger at Critters and Crayons, Patricia Driscoll has, since her arrival in late 2010, been determined to dispel the myth that there is nothing to do in Laredo.

Driscoll, born at a military installation in Landstül, Germany, is of both American and Korean descent.

“I had a very nomadic life. I moved back and forward from Korea and the U.S. for about five to ten years, depending on my father’s orders,” she said.

Driscoll speaks a bit of German, Korean, and Spanish — although she noted that her Spanish is mostly academic, which has given rise to some comical exchanges in everyday conversations. “I minored in Spanish, but I think a great course that universities should offer would be one showcasing the differences in word meanings across Latin American cultures and border cities.”

She earned a BA in political science and international studies from the Military College at Norwich University, and an MA in leadership and management as well as an MBA from Webster University. Driscoll also studied Korean language and culture at the Sogang University in Seoul, Korea.

She served as a military intelligence officer for the U.S. Army for about 10 years, and worked as a law enforcement analyst for about three years before getting married in June 2000. It was her husband’s line of work that brought Driscoll to Laredo.

“When we moved here, I decided to become a stay-at-home mother, although I really dislike that term because I don’t know of any moms that just stay home,” she said.

Her son and daughter have served as the inspiration for her blog — which cur-

Patricia Driscoll rently has 1,818 followers on Facebook and others on Pinterest and Twitter — and her quest to find family fun-filled activities in the city.

“Like a lot of people that come here, I had this very negative perception of what to expect. It didn’t help that in the course of my work that I did a lot of research on what was happening across the border.

That can give you a skewed perception of what to expect,” Driscoll said, adding, “When I got here from El Paso, I was very happy to see that it was greener than a desert climate. I lived for years near gray mountains. There is a beauty to the desert landscape, but I won’t forget how our two-year-old daughter asked us what the green stuff was. We literally explained that it was grass.”

With the help of a friend, Driscoll set off on a journey to do everything they could find to do in Laredo.

“We wanted to try anything and everything, and then if we didn’t like it we could say that Laredo really had nothing to do,” she said, adding, “We went to two or three activities a day for about six months. We went to every Krispy Kreme doughnut decorating or craft activity we could find and found there was a lot to do.”

Driscoll was as a columnist for Laredo

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Family Time Magazine, which is no longer in circulation. Her column offered a place to talk about the activities she uncovered, and on a whim, she decided to start the blog.

“The magazine editor, Claudia Perez Rivas, took a chance on me and allowed me to explore creative writing, even though my background is more technical. I came up with the column name Critters And Crayons because that seemed to be what our days were filled with,” she said, adding, “I always tried keeping up with what events were coming up. I found some things had different operating hours. If the Planetarium was closed one day, but the Imaginarium was open, this was a great opportunity for a family outing. These are things you have to manage on your calendar, and the blog was a place to put all that.”

Driscoll attributes her readership and support from people who initially followed the blog for the activities and are proactively interested in maximizing their time in Laredo.

“My blog is like my brain — eclectic.

There are a lot of people that are not from Laredo but follow for the fun and messy crafts. Others follow for the origami activities, or product promotions. I do promotional work via social media and the blog, but I won’t promote anything that I wouldn’t test or use myself,” she said.

Many followers are simply attracted to Driscoll’s display of authentic parenthood. “I get readers who tell me ‘I like that you show me your laundry pile.’

Dude, that’s life. I have to show why it is I haven’t gotten around to updating the Community Round-Up,” she said, adding, “There are just a lot of different topics that appeal to one or all. You have to be happy that anybody cares enough to give you feedback, a ‘Like,’ or a follow.

All you can do is be thankful. If you start obsessing over social media metrics, it becomes forced and you lose your readership.”

There is a small business component to Critters and Crayons. Driscoll said, “I do social media consultation. There are some people that follow to literally learn to use and leverage social media. Then there are writers that follow because they like humor. And I follow many blogs and writers for the same reasons.”

She runs the Laredo Bloggers Forum.

People interested in social media, blogging, or website development come together once month to bounce ideas off one another. “It is very informal. One thing I tell people when they start — no one can be a social media expert for long. Terms of use change. Regulations change. Algorithms change. But learning, collaborating and sharing with others with an interest in how it works is a great way to keep pace. When people ask about starting a blog or a new social media platform, I tell them what my sister, Angie Goff (a news anchor, blogger, and social media personality in D.C.) told me the day I published my first post in April 2011. I say, ‘Only blog when you feel like it.’ The other thing I tell new bloggers is that blogging can be and become a lot of work. It is important to remember that many bloggers invest quite a bit of time in building their blogs and platforms for sometimes years. It doesn’t all need to get done immediately. You have to live your life before you can blog about it,” said Driscoll.

In terms of a parenting philosophy, Driscoll is a big believer in encouraging discovery through learning. “We really wanted to take it down a rabbit hole with my kids whenever they showed an interest in something until they no longer have an interest. You can see that in the blog a year ago my son was obsessed with superheroes and now its crocodilians. We are opportunity learners — whenever the opportunity presents itself we just jump on it. For the way we funcContinued on page 49

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Feature

By MARIA EUGENIA GUERRA LareDOS Publisher

I

Continued on page 47

Coffee posse in San Ygnacio Pepe Ramirez is pictured at morning coffee at Juanis Mar Y Tierra in San Ygnacio. Seated is Adrian Martinez, a member of the San Ygnacio cafeteros.

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participated as a vendor in the November El Centro de Laredo Farmers Market. Since its inception as one of the most enriching quality of life changes I’ve experienced in my hometown, I have taken photos of vendors and their wares and enjoyed the purchase of fresh produce, nopalitos, and hand-crafted, homemade goods.

Beyond that, I have enjoyed the sense of community the market inspires, the ambiance of that thirdSaturday bazaar that springs up in the shade of the old trees of Jarvis Plaza.

As well, I’ve enjoyed getting to know the hard-working people who brought it to life and continue to ensure its sustainability — the board of Laredo Main Street, those who staff the market, and the vendors themselves, the crafters, the home gardeners, the growers, the cooks and bakers.

The Farmers Market is not a pulga selling cheap manufactured

Chinese goods. It’s a source of local and Texas-grown produce and citrus, some of it organic, none of it genetically modified. The market is a member of the Texas Department of Agriculture’s Go Texan program that, according to the TDA, “promotes products, culture, and communities that call Texas Home.”

Where but at the Farmers Market would you find trays of organic wheat grass and sunflower and alfalfa sprouts or a natural limonada flavored with prickly pear tuna?

It’s a place to experience the idea and the work that went into the fragrant bar of handmade soap you are about to purchase, and the place to meet the crafter.

As a new vendor, it was an enriching experience to see the inner workings of the market, to see the early morning hustle to set up tents, tables, and electrical power.

Jarvis Plaza — a place of history and memory for those of us who as children experienced downtown as the thriving center of commerce of this community — is the perfect set-

Gloria Gonzalez/LareDOS Contributor

Farmers Market — one-of-a-kind venue

Day of the dead celebration Carlos Romo is pictured face painting at the Sigma Lambda Beta’s Día de Los Muertos celebration at Texas A&M International University on Thursday, October 31. The celebration consisted of altars honoring the dead with traditional flowers, painted skulls, and pan de muerto.

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Melanie Bravo, Kevin Jimenez, Brenda Jimenez, Cristina Jimenez, Eddie Rodriguez, and Antonio Rodriguez were dressed up in their costumes on October 30 at the Harvest Fest at Haynes Recreation Center.

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MarĂ­a Eugenia Guerra/LareDOS

Mariela Rodriguez/LareDOS

Trick or Treat

Nopalito pink lemonade CaffĂŠ Dolce and company were serving up some yummy thirst quenchers at the November Farmers Market in Jarvis Plaza.

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Feature

Camp Had It, a piece of heaven that filled our hearts with memories of our father

By MARY HALL WYERS LareDOS Contributor

M

y father Horace Hall held that anyone unfortunate enough to be born north of the Frio River was a damned Yankee and was not to be trusted. He said that God’s country was that sweet parcel of land bordered by the Frio to the north, the Río Grande to the south and west, and the Edward’s Escarpment to the east.

It was there that Camp Had It, far more than a hunting lease, was nestled. It was Shangri-La, 2,000 acres of pure heaven, a home on the range for a handful of men and their kids.

It was where the big bucks rutted when the weather turned cold, grey, and drizzly, and where venison was plentiful throughout deer season.

The land was rich with game, and the harvested quarry was always consumed.

Dad was a great cook and would fry up the venison for the hunters’ breakfast. If you took Polo Ruiz the meat, he would make tamales and chorizo. Dad would also make sauerbraten with the lomos, which he marinated in vinegar at Had It. My mother would not let him do this at home because of the mal olor.

Had It was where the dove flew over and the stinky, repugnant javelina roamed wild. It was where the

quail bobbed with their young, and in years blessed with rain, a muchdesired double hatch might occur to the delight of the hunters. It was here the roadrunners ran and the rattlesnakes got run over crossing the road — a suggested fate for lawyers in the group.

The rattlesnakes brought into camp as kill were well over six-feet in length, and we fought over the rattle. I learned that grilled rattlesnake really does taste like chicken.

Thankfully, no one ever got bitten.

The camp was where the members went, as the name implies, when they had had it, where a man could be a man and not be nagged at or pestered, where a man could

drop his ashes on the floor and face no consequence. It was a retreat far from the stifling city, a place for laughter and card games — the winner was often accused of cheating and momentarily greatly resented.

At Had It, the men could drink with impunity and swap big lies.

It was a place where one respected all matters having to do with hunting, fishing, and cussing. It was decidedly not decorated, but it was where old castoff furniture and Formica top tables went to retire. It was not adulterated with frills, ribbons, or bows. It was where an old fashioned black and white console Continued on page 42

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The Camp Had It regulars included Harry Sames, Bill Coble, Frank Mims, Harold Goodwin, Pat Knight, Porter Garner, Horace Hall, Fred Galo,

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Feature

Commentary

John F. Kennedy’s peace: “the kind that makes life on earth worth living”

The first step in the JFK cover-up

By MARIA EUGENIA GUERRA LareDOS Publisher

I

n the commencement address President John F. Kennedy delivered to the graduating class of the American University in Washington, D.C. in June of the same year he was assassinated, he outlined a blueprint for world peace and America’s role in it.

His eloquent mandate came to fruition as the Partial Nuclear Test Ban Treaty signed in Moscow on August 5, 1963 by the governments of the United Kingdom, the Soviet Union, and the United States. The Senate ratified the treaty on September 24, 1963 and it was signed into law by the president on October 7, 1963, going into effect on October 10, 1963, 43 days before his assassination.

K e n n e d y ’s words at that June 10 commencement address, now remembered as one of his most important speeches, surely reeked of anathema to the raw goods suppliers and manufacturers for the American military industrial complex: “What kind of peace do I mean and what kind of a peace do we seek? Not a Pax Americana enforced on the world by American weapons of war. Not the peace of the grave or the security of the slave. I am talking about genuine peace, the kind

of peace that makes life on earth worth living, and the kind that enables men and nations to grow, and to hope, and build a better life for their children — not merely peace for Americans but peace for all men and women, not merely peace in our time but peace in all time.”

The 1962 Cuban Missle Crisis, which the Joint Chiefs of Staff would rather have answered with the abomination of annihilation by nuclear weapons, was testimony to President Kennedy’s finessed skills of dialogue, negotiation, and compromise. It was also likely but one of several defining moments in which those vested in the proliferation of weapons, the business of war, and the manufacture of Napalm decided the only good Kennedy was a dead one.

At the moment on November 22, 1963, that the president’s head was blown apart in a volley of violence that we would later know did not come from one shooter, one gun, I sat in the second-story Spanish class of Srita. Ramirez at Martin High School. The stunning news came into our room via the P.A. system, flattening us all with dry-mouthed fear and the incomprehensible magnitude of what we were trying to understand had happened to our

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By JACOB G. HORNBERGER LareDOS Contributor

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saw the new movie Parkland, which depicts events surrounding the assassination of President Kennedy. I was particularly interested in how the movie depicted a certain scene at Parkland Hospital, a scene that I believe was likely the very first step in a cover-up in the assassination.

After President Kennedy was declared dead by physicians at Parkland, he was placed into a casket, which a team of Secret Service agents then began removing with the intent of taking it to Love Field, where President Johnson was waiting for it to take it back to Washington.

There was one big problem, however. Texas law required an autopsy of the body to be conducted by an official medical examiner. Therefore, the Dallas medical examiner, Dr. Earl Rose, informed the Secret Service team of Texas law and advised them that the body wasn’t going anywhere until the autopsy was conducted.

The Secret Service team informed Rose that he was not going to conduct an autopsy and that they were going to take the body out of the hospital. Rose stood in the way and made it clear that he did not intend to permit the body to be removed from the hospital without the autopsy having been conducted.

At that point, the Secret Service agents opened their suit jackets and brandished their guns. Amidst a tremendous amount of screaming, yelling, and cussing, the Secret Service team began shoving people as they forced their way out of the hos-

pital with the casket.

The casket was then rushed to Love Field, where people on Air Force One, the plane that LBJ was now traveling on, had removed seats in the back of the plane to make room for the casket.

After Air Force One landed at Andrews Air Force Base, Kennedy’s body was taken to Bethesda Naval Hospital, where the U.S. military conducted an autopsy.

For 50 years, government officials have inculcated in the American people that what happened during that particular episode at Parkland Hospital was perfectly normal.

The message has always been: Don’t think too much about it. Don’t question it. What happened there is as normal as anything else in people’s daily lives.

But the reality is that it’s not normal and never was. In fact, the episode is about as far from normal as an event can be. It is highly unusual. It is bizarre. It is also, in my opinion, very likely the very first step in a cover-up in the assassination of John Kennedy.

Ask yourself: How many times in your lifetime have you seen federal agents threaten to kill peaceful and law-abiding people, especially other law-enforcement personnel?

When federal agents brandish guns, there can be no mistaking the message they intend to convey: “Do as I say or I’m going to pull out this gun and use it against you.”

At Parkland, no one in that hospital, including Dr. Rose, was breaking any law. On the contrary, they were enforcing the law. Yet Secret Service agents were threatening to Continued on page 36

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Day of assassination remembered

I was reading The Great Gatsby in my 7th grade classroom. The book was hidden inside my math notebook and I’d gotten to the part where Tom Buchanan, on his way home, begins to cry after having seen Myrtle’s mangled body. Then I heard real sobs, gasps, and screams amidst a chorus of “The president’s been shot!”

“They’ve shot President Kennedy!” I dog-eared the page, closed my notebook, and watched in silence the nation’s tragedy. Later that night, I finished the book. Gatsby, too! Shot and killed!

Nancy Herschap, Laredo Community College - English Instructor I was in first grade, nearing the end of my first week at a new school because we had recently moved. Since my father and grandparents were Republicans and I didn’t understand anything about politics, I thought they might be happy with the news but I soon learned otherwise. Oddly, my salient memory of the day was a relief that we were released from school early.

Keith Bowden, Laredo Community College - English Instructor It was early afternoon when I headed to the grocery store from the Mene Grande (Gulf) oil camp in Cabimas, Venezuela, where my husband, Art Ochoa, and I lived with our four children. I stopped my car at a speed bump to greet our neighbor, Phil Ackert. Phil leaned out his car window and said, “Well, you crazy Texans have done it again.”

I laughed. Phil was a Pennsylvanian who was always teasing Texans. “Now what?”

“You have killed the President.”

I wasn’t sure whether to believe him or not. But the news was soon confirmed.

President Kennedy, with his wife, Jacqueline Kennedy, had visited Venezuela in December of 1961 to promote his Alliance for Progress, with its promise of more aid for Latin America. He was also trying to counter the influence of Fidel Castro in the Caribbean; Castro had assumed power in 1959 and communism was a serious threat throughout the area. The Kennedy visit had been immensely popular, however, and the whole country seemed glued to TV as the sad events of the next week unfolded.

We saw it all — the Dallas motorcade, the killing of Lee Harvey Oswald, Kennedy’s funeral cortege — but with a 24-hour delay. The black-and-white TV film footage had to be processed and then flown to Venezuela. No cable feeds or Internet in 1963.

Because we spoke Spanish, the next several days brought an unexpected surprise. The parish priests and other Venezuelan friends came to call at our house to express their condolences. They were genuinely sorrowful and felt the need to express their sadness to some American citizens. For us, it was a reminder that, officially or not, we all represent our country — especially when we are beyond its borders.

Sara Puig Laas I was between classes at Martin High School when I heard the President had been assassinated. You could see the dazed look of my fellow students. It seemed like a bad dream.Needless to say the rest of the day there was hardly any studying, since most of the sudent body was in shock. It was a day I will never forget.

Carlos Villarreal, City Manager I was a high school junior on that fateful day. We were watching a movie reel on WW II at St. Joseph Academy, when our history teacher, Brother Robert Nolan (“Gentlemen, I’m from the Bronx, not from New York”) walked into the classroom and turned off the projector. I cannot forget him taking off his “Clark Kent” glasses, looking at us, and saying....”Gentlemen, the President has been shot. You may go home.” I walked home seven blocks to 318, Park Street, Colonia Guadalupe Federal Housing Project, and saw my mother crying in front of our 19-inch black and white television set, watching Walter Cronkite relating what had happened in Dallas. It still makes my skin crawl to remember my Mom’s sobbing that day. Estuvo cabroncisimo.

Carlos Valle “They’ve shot President Kennedy,” were the first words I heard at about 12:40 p.m. as I emerged from the San Antonio College library when a clerk told me the unbelievable. What flashed through my mind were two images: first, the assassinated President Abraham Lincoln on April 12, 1865, in his seat in the Presidential box of Ford’s Theater in Washington, D.C.; but I thought, we don’t kill our Presidents; the second was the vibrant, living President Kennedy and First Lady Jacqueline Kennedy whom I had seen the day before in downtown San Antonio.

I had stood yesterday at the corner of St. Mary’s Street and Houston Street with a huge, friendly crowd cheering as they rode with Governor and Mrs. John Connally in that famous bubbletop limousine.

I went to the Student Union Building where everyone was talking about the shooting and trying to watch the one small television screen, but no one was sure if the President was alive or dead. There were dreadful reports of shots to the head and of a Catholic priest arriving at Parkland Hospital to give President Kennedy the last rites of his Roman Catholic faith.

Several of us students went to listen to the news reports on a car radio. I heard Chet Huntley of NBC News confirm the President’s death.

Dennis Kriewald

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News

Fact vs. Myth: examining the JFK assassination through forensics

By MARIELA RODRIGUEZ LareDOS Staff

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resident John F. Kennedy said, “The great enemy of truth is very often not the lie — deliberate, contrived, and dishonest — but the myth, persistent, persuasive, and unrealistic.” To date the JFK assassination is one of America’s greatest tragedies. In the wake of its 50th anniversary, forensics continue to debunk the prevailing myths surrounding JFK’s death.

Retired crime scene investigator, law enforcement instructor, and author Sherry Fiester presented her findings at the Laredo Community College 20132014 Distinguished Speaker Series on November 13 at the Guadalupe and Lilia Martinez Fine Arts Center theater.

Fiester, the author of Enemy of the Truth: Myths, Forensics, and the Kennedy Assassination, said, “Things that people once believed were facts now we know are myths. The idea that forensic science is reshaping justice and giving us a better understanding of what is the truth, is remarkable.”

Fiester discussed her analysis of some vital components of the assassination — such as target movement, skull fracturing patterns, blood splatter patterns, lead deposits, and bone beveling — to dispel the myth that the fatal shot came from the Grassy Knoll; that the blood in the Abraham Zapruder home movie is faked; that there were two simultaneous shots; that the single bullet theory is correct; and many more.

In her book, Fiester compiles various studies as well as the results from crime scene reconstructions conducted by professionals over the years. She pointed out the disparities between the official autopsy report and the Warren Commission Report.

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“The autopsy report said that the bullet entered at right in the back of the head and exited in the right front temple. The House Committee disagreed and moved that wound four inches up and said that it exited at a different point that pointed back to the floor and window where Oswald was located,” she said.

According to Fiester, it is important to first identify where the wound is located and then determine the trajectory —what happens to the bullet once it leaves the weapon and travels through the air — to be able to consider all the angles from where the shooter could have been at the time.

“In the Zapruder film, if you take one frame at a time you’ll see that in one point Kennedy’s head is in one position and in the next (1/18th of a second later) it moves forward about two-anda-half inches,” she said adding, “For a long time people said there were two shots. The problem is the physical evidence does not support two shots.”

Fiester explained that the forward movement according to a 2008 study

by Bernard Carter on wound ballistics concluded that targets move into the direction of force before they move away. “If someone is shot in the front they move forward before they move back, and if you apply that to the Kennedy assassination it supports a front shot.”

In 2011, this was further confirmed when Robert Cullen, using high speed photography with a camera that recorded 10,000 frames per second, proved that targets do in fact move into the force before they move back.

Looking at skull fracture patterns, Fiester pointed out that when someone is shot in the head, different fractures are created. They begin at the point of entry and travel and continue

to spread. Then, following those fractures is the transfer of kinetic energy that pushes into those fractures.

“You can count the direction in which the bullet was traveling by looking at the fractures of the person that was shot. A diagram of Kennedy’s xray shows that the fractures begin at the front of the head and move toward the back,” said Fiester.

The timing in which the blood splatter patterns were created, the shape, the time it dissipated are all consistent with studies of today which speaks to the authenticity of the Zapruder film — which some believed to be altered or faked.

“Brain matter and blood immediately covered the officers behind the limousine as well as the windshield of the secret service agent riding behind Kennedy. That is forward spatter, which moves forward with the direction of force and comes out of an exit wound,” she said, adding, “Although we don’t see a lot of the back spatter because it moves a lot faster than the 18 per-second frames of the film, that mist was confirmed by eye witnesses.

The patterns and how that blood and tissues were composited confirm a shot from the front.”

The lead deposit patterns that from the entry wound begin to spread out and move toward the opposite end, also confirm that the initial shot came from the front of the head, according to Fiester.

Bone beveling — which occurs when a bullet penetrates the skull bone — leaves a small hole on the side from which it entered, and a larger dishedout crater on the side that it exits — can no longer be solely relied on to determine the entry of a bullet wound, she stressed.

“When you have objects striking

the bone it shards and fragments the bone on the inside and those fragments break away. In 2010, it was determined that the more kinetic energy is transferred, the greater ability there is to have a pseudo beveling. So we are going to say beveling is not a good way to determine an entry point. The forensic community really thought we could rely on that solely,” she continued.

“For the exception of beveling, we can determine that directionality is from the front. If we locate where Kennedy was — establishing his head was at a 25-degree tilt— and where Zapruder was standing — 90 degrees from Kennedy — using a cone trajectory of a 35-degree angle we can determine that the car was pointing toward the south end of the underpass and into a small parking lot and that Kennedy was looking at his shooter,” Fiester said, adding, “Everyone believed that the shooter was standing on the Grassy Knoll, which in fact is located outside of the cone of possible trajectory,” Fiester said.

Fiester filtered long-held beliefs in the Kennedy assassination by examining assassination evidence with contemporary research and established forensic investigative techniques, including the mechanics of head wound ballistics, utilization of high-speed photography, fracture sequencing studies of human skulls, beveling in relation to projectile directionality, blood spatter pattern analysis, target movement in gunshot injuries, and trajectory analysis for the fatal head shot The JFK assassination is the most studied murder investigation of the 21st century, but it remains plagued by questions and unproven theories. Despite how enduring a claim may be, historical and scientific evidence determines reality from myth. 

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News

La Posada’s efficient white glove service — wedding receptions made memorable

By MARIA EUGENIA GUERRA LareDOS Publisher

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aredo brides-to-be and their wedding planners, if they have one, can avail themselves of one-stop shopping with La Posada Hotel’s exclusive, thoughtful, white glove service. The historic hotel offers three ballrooms for receptions — the San Agustín, the Phillip V, and the Tesoro Club. The beautifully landscaped West Patio Garden is also available.

With about 300 weddings of all sizes and motifs behind her, La Posada’s director of catering Sally Castillo, can construct everything from the most elaborate and long-planned of celebrations to those that come up more spontaneously.

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“We can work with any budget and most requests,” Castillo said.

“In the best of all scenarios we would have a year to plan,” she continued.

“That gives the bride the time to finesse every detail of her big event.”

Castillo said the process begins with establishing a relationship with the bride and/or her mother. “They need to have the confidence in us to call us day or night with details they want to include or change,” she said.

“Once the decision is made on the ballroom, we move to establishing a menu and setting up a tasting with our executive chef. From there we make selections and choose vendors for flowers, linens, the wedding cake, entertainment, and the photographer or videog-

rapher. We can arrange it all, or the bride can pick and choose which of our services she wants,” she continued.

“Every wedding is unique. Every bride has a different vision of what she wants. Some see to every detail, and some don’t. In most instances, the mother of the bride has a lot to do with how things will turn out,” Castillo said.

She added that La Posada offers packages that includes the rehearsal dinner, the reception, and a brunch the morning after the wedding.

Castillo and her 12 staff members have earned a reputation for making their orchestrations seem effortless and transparent.

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Sally Castillo

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Holiday Gift Guide

For those who take holiday gift giving seriously and want to give something that has meaning and sentiment, LareDOS recommends a look at un-ordinary, one-of-a-kind locally hand-crafted gifts. El Centro de Laredo’s Farmers Market is a great place to start, and so are the monthly bazaars at the French Quarter and Caffé Dolce.

Sunshine-N-Lavender Price Range $7.50 — $50 Farmers Market (956) 744-7643

Knotty Origami Price Range $25-$60 Visit www.knottyorigami.com Celtic knot necklaces and fine paper crafts are available for purchase. These handcrafted pieces are available in different colors and styles with unique accessory pieces added. Live boldly through the knots!

Beautifully packaged (many in cobalt blue bottles) lavender bath and body products, pet care products, and food products are available for gifts and for self-pampering.

Lavender is also used as a culinary herb, a cleaning and sanitizing agent, a healing herb for headaches, cuts, eczema, as a bug repellent, or aromatherapy. These products are made with the highest quality natural ingredients and offered by Maritza and Luis Lozano.

Enrique Peña Custom Knives Price Range $700 -$2,000 ep3757@yahoo.com (956) 771-7749

Knick Knack Studio & Shop Price Range $5-$33 1708 Victoria (956) 255-0230 Olivia Cotton’s one-of-a-kind bookmarks (tailored after her own artworks), handcrafted snake and crocodile skin bags, and jewelry are available at this hipster chic shop. Reusable bags with unique illustrations and art prints from local artists are among the eclectic items to select from.

From accessories that accompany any outfit to those for your home, this creative shop and studio has many pleasing offerings.

La India Price Range $3-$26 1520 Marcella Ave. (956) 723-3772 For the cooking aficionados La India has a wide variety of spices and herbs to accompany any traditional Mexican dish. Customers can hand pick items to fill their gift baskets or select one that is already packaged. Cannisters are available for a very reasonable price to be filled with a spice or herb of your choice, too. Small and large spice racks are also in stock. Their famous handcrafted chocolate bars, intended to be melted down to make hot chocolate, are a great, nostalgic stocking stuffer and a big hit for children and adults alike.

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You can view Enrique Peña’s exquisitely hand-made pocketknives at www.epenacustomknives.com. Though his sales market is chiefly outside of Laredo, he does offer his high quality, high value traditional pocketknives locally. They are 100% hand-crafted, the handles of bone and other natural materials, and the blades of high quality knife steel. He makes two or three knives a week and will customize a knife to a customer’s specifications. Peña’s knives come in a padded leather zipper pouch.

Vella Naturale Skincare Price Range $5-$10 Farmers Market (956) 740-2829 Blanca Davila’s all natural skincare products are locally handcrafted products made from organic and wild crafted ingredients. Some of her products include the Luxe Blend Body Butter and mineral lip glosses. The most popular products in stock are the Natural Herbal Soap bars and the facial skincare creams. Give your friends the look of a radiant glow.

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Feature

Evan Smith on The Texas Tribune: a media revolution-evolution

By ELIZABETH TREVIñO LareDOS Contributor

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van Smith, founder, CEO, and editor-in-chief of the online Texas Tribune and former president and editor-in-chief of Texas Monthly, addressed attendees of the 2013 A. R. Sanchez Sr. Distinguished Lecture Series at Texas A&M International University on November 14.

His lecture, titled “Evolution and Revolution: Politics and the Media in 2013,” focused on statewide policy issues and the pressing need for citizen involvement in the new technologic era. A journalist invested in keeping apace of all news Texas, Smith’s vast knowledge of Texas politicians and legislation were clearly evident as he answered questions at an informal meeting with TAMIU students before and after his lecture.

He spoke of a time when media outlets and journalists had healthy competition, and how new media inventions have allowed subpar “journalists” who can attend events armed with cell phone cameras and hidden agendas to infiltrate the field. Smith, along with a group of friends observed a dramatic turn in the manner of news consumption, particularly with millennials, and they came up with the idea of a nonpartisan, nonprofit news organization to address pressing concerns.

According to Smith, The Tribune focuses on “Serious issues like public and higher education, immigration, health care, transportation, criminal justice, energy, the environment. Things that affect every single Texan. If you live in a big city, or a small town. [Whether you] have

a newspaper in your community or not.”

The Tribune’s news team consists of 46 full-time employees, of which 23 are reporters. Tribune journalists comprise half of the Capitol press corps in Austin. He said his organization vows to remain transparent and unbiased to provide a public service to all Texans who want news they can use. “What people in the state need is not to be told what to think. They need to be told to think.

They need to be given good, reliable information that they can use to be thoughtful, productive, and engaged citizens,” he said.

Smith noted Texas’ abysmal voter turnout at 51st, behind all other 49 states and Washington, D.C. Those lamentable voter participation numbers rally up a measly 36% of eligible voters. With participation at abominably low levels, one of the Tribune’s main goals is to boost levels of participation and civil engagement, which he said are crucial for a functioning democracy to prosper.

Smith described this dire problem of statewide political apathy as a “chronic” problem in the Lone Star State’s history. He said that the denigration of public servants who uplift our community — like teachers, policemen, and firemen — as corrupt and lazy perpetuates the notion that government workers are not to be respected.

He said that the lack of trust in the government is not the only factor contributing to political indifference amongst new generations.

Smith also outlined the lack of competitive elections in the state due to Gerrymandering as a turn-off for voters who do not think their

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votes will make a substantial difference. The need for elected officials who are actually representative of the state’s largely growing minority population is a factor as well, he said.

Smith noted that the upcoming gubernatorial election is a great place to start taking action and paying attention. Traditional and online media, he said, are doors to infinite knowledge waiting to be absorbed.

Media innovations in the dissemination of news, like social media, he said, give regular folks unfiltered access to elected officials and representatives. This direct interaction with constituents informs those

officials of the needs of those they represent.

The Texas Tribune is one of many news outlets with the mantra of informing communities from an impartial standpoint. Their site features a directory with vital information on all elected state officials and a “find your congressman” section.

The publication’s overall purpose is to get Texans to participate and incentivize them to make their voices be heard through their involvement and interest in current affairs. As Smith stated, “educating people is a public service.”

For more Texas news, visit texastribune.org 

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News

WCWBA sponsors MHS mock trial team

By MARIELA RODRIGUEZ LareDOS Staff

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he Webb County Women’s Bar Association (WCWBA) is fulfilling its mission of motivating the youth of Laredo to take an interest in the law profession by once again sponsoring the Martin High School mock trial team.

The WCWBA began sponsoring the team in the 2011-2012 school year. To date, Martin is the only local high school to participate in the statewide competition, which was

established in 1979 by the Dallas Bar Association.

“Martin’s principal Guillermo Pro gave us his enthusiastic support, and that year, two of our kids received the ‘best advocate’ award at the regional competition in Edinburg,” said WCWBA president Fabiola Flores, an attorney with Texas Rio Grande Legal Aid. With the nomination and support from attorney David García and the, MHS teacher and sponsor of the mock trial team, Maricela Ayala, recently received the national Champion of the 7th Amendment

award from the Texas Chapters of American Board of Trial Advocates.

Besides doing their part to inspire youth who have their sights on a legal career, the WCWBA is gearing up for its annual Whine and Chisme event, which serves as a holiday gathering as well as a fundraiser that benefits a local charity.

“It all started when, then active president Diana Song-Quiroga got the idea to raffle tickets for three handbags, generously donated from her sister’s company Melie Bianco.

It was such a great success, we’ve asked her sister to donate every year since,” said Flores.

This year the women’s bar chose the Barbara A. Kazen Center for Hope as their beneficiary.

“We had our last gathering at Gallery 201, and several of us walked over to Bethany House late that cold December night. Beatriz Saldaña was our tour guide, since

we’d invited her to talk to us about the Center for Hope project,” Flores, said, adding, “We saw mothers and children bundled in sleeping bags in the courtyard and we all decided we wanted to help Bethany with this important project.”

Other officers of the WCWBA are vice president Amanda Austin, secretary Mallory Biblo, treasurer Karla Valdez, president-elect Estella Rodriguez, and immediate past president Suntrease Williams-Maynard. The organization has 77 active members.

Founding members who established the organization in January 2001 were Kristina K. Laurel Hale, Adriana Benavides Maddox, Madeline Lopez Escoto, Gracie Rodriguez, Sylivia M. Ornelas, Rosaura Tijerina, Christina M. Perez, Marisela Rangel, Myrna Montemayor, Elisamar Soto, and Madeline L. Tejada 

Can’t find a hard copy?

Mariela Rodriguez/LareDOS

Go to www.laredosnews.com

Fabiola Flores of the Laredo Women’s Bar Association is pictured coaching the Martin High School mock trial team, which will represent Laredo in the statewide competition.

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Santa María Journal

The silence here is my faithful companion;

I hold the lamp to cast light on my own reckonings

By María Eugenia guerra

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has shaped my heart since childhood and more recently over the decades that the ranch has been in my care.

This ranch was a vessel of sorrow for my grandmother, a very young widow with seven children to feed. It was here she poured the full measure of her loss and found her many strengths. This has been a place for taking stock and building character, a place where the family history flies its colors in stories that flutter like many-colored ribbons in the rarified light of memory.

Like those who came before me to work at the physical labor of fences, construction, or repairs on this ranch, I’ve, too, experienced the long, quiet contemplations and self-examination that engender forgiveness — that of self and

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o very much of my life is invested in this cachito of land. I understand this when I stand at the gate and take in the smell of the monte at day’s end. I comprehend in that instant how much about me has always depended on the redolence of that collective exhalation of the brushland.

And that is so every bit as much for the silence and the familiar sounds that accompany my time out here — the clank of the padlock and chain on the steel of the gate, the moan of the gate creaking open in the plangent key of welcome.

On the vast quietude of the hour in which the day gently tenders itself to twilight, that smell and those sounds register in recognition of how this land

Families honor their loved ones Irene Ortiz, Vietnam veteran Rafael Ramos Jr., Diana Benavides, and Saul, Daniela, and Cassandra Gonzalez showed their support to local veterans at a special ceremony on Thursday, November 7 at the Laredo Civic Center.

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others.

As it was to my grandmother, the silence here is my faithful companion. I’ve never displaced that comfort with the blare of a radio, too much company, or the empty chatter of visitors three sheets to the wind.

How fortunate I am to share with my grandchildren the place I discovered and shared with my own grandmother.

To hear Emily and Amandita detail the wonder and beauty of this place — turtles, blue dragonflies, baby calves, the fragrance of chaparro prieto on the air — I am happy to be awash in their exuberance.

Their care and affection for our horses, their glee at gathering eggs from the henhouse, their excitement to be here — the very things my sister Sandra and I experienced here as children — often move me to tears, but then again, in this, a twilight of tender reasonings, it takes little to make me weep.

Alone and deep in the brush — working or walking — my introspections sometimes run along the prickly edge of discomfort. Could I have been a better daughter, a better mother, a better part-

ner? Could I have listened more patiently when my parents were older and needed to give voice to their fears and the unease of things that weighed against them?

These are contemplations perhaps better answered by others, but for now — with redemption a central and recurring theme in my life — I hold the lamp that throws light on these reckonings.

I like to think I’ve aced guelita-hood.

That has certainly been my intent. I’ve given my granddaughters a love of books and words and the pleasure of drawing with pencil colors, and in return they have renewed my sense of kindness, fairness, and compassion. Perhaps they will have an affinity for story telling, and perhaps one day they will commit a memory of me to paper.

I write every day along two trajectories — short stories and recollections of things that oftentimes please me, and in the converse, for the newspaper I write of public servants or elected officials who have lost their way at the taxpayer’s expense.

It is the tender things, however, that know me by my name and call me to tell their telling. 

 Continued FROM page 19 accounting business, Mares and Associates, before becoming IBC’s corporate marketing director, a position she held from 1992 to 1999.

She was appointed director of the Webb County Community Action Agency in 1999, a position she held until 2005 when she accepted the directorship of the County’s Risk Management Department. During Mares’ eight-year tenure, the department has undergone a name change in 2009 to Administrative Services and a reorganization into five divisions — workers comp, employee benefits, risk management, human resources,

and civil service. She manages a staff of 12.

Mares said that her parents, Marcelino Mares and the late María Angelina Diaz, have been role models for a work ethic that has carried her through her professional career. “It comes down to doing what is right and being fair,” she said.

“I humbly ask the voters of Webb County to consider me — by virtue of my education and my work experience — the most qualified person running for this position and to trust me with their vote,” Mares said.

To contact the Cynthia Mares campaign, call (956) 236-8488. 

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kill them if they obstructed their removal of the body from Parkland.

Why is an autopsy important?

The medical examiner makes a close examination of the entire body, locates entry wounds, inserts probes or rods to determine the direction of the shots, searches for bullets and bullet fragments within the body, and has x-rays and photographs done, especially for those parts of the body that have received wounds.

Ordinarily, a person can arrive at the precise cause of death as a result of an autopsy.

Now, ask yourself: Why would that team of Secret Service agents be so adamant about removing Kennedy’s body from the hospital and preventing Rose from conducting an autopsy, as Texas law required?

These were fairly low-level agents.

Would we ordinarily expect a team of low-level agents to decide among themselves to violate state law, brandish guns, threaten to kill innocent people, and do whatever is necessary to get the body out of the hospital and prevent an autopsy?”

Of course not. That’s the last thing we would expect. We would expect the exact opposite — full cooperation with the local authorities and doing what it necessary to keep the criminal investigation on track.

So, what would have motivated that team of Secret Service agents to engage in that sort of highly unusual and abnormal behavior?

There can be only one reasonable answer: They were ordered to. Nothing else makes sense. Someone had to have told them: “Get that body out of the hospital at any cost. Under no circumstances are you to permit an autopsy. Use deadly force if necessary. Just do what is necessary to get it out of there.”

Who could have issued such an order? It could have come from only one person: the new president, Lyndon Johnson. The reason that that is likely is that Johnson had made it

clear that he was not going to leave Dallas without Jacqueline Kennedy, and he knew that Jacqueline Kennedy wasn’t going to leave Dallas without the president’s body.

Therefore, it makes sense that he would have been the one to have issued the order, either directly or through an intermediary. After all, how likely is it that someone on Johnson’s staff would have issued such an order on his own initiative?

Not very likely at all, given that most people are not going to order federal personnel to violate the law and threaten to kill innocent people.

What would have been Johnson’s motive in issuing such an order?

One possibility is that he was simply being chivalrous, as in he just didn’t think it would be right to abandon Mrs. Kennedy in Texas and return to Washington without her.

But one problem with that theory is the deep animosity that had long existed between the Kennedys and Johnson, one that didn’t lend tend toward chivalry. Another problem is that Johnson didn’t show much chivalry when he took over Air Force One instead of simply returning to Washington on Air Force Two, which was a duplicate of Air Force One. When Mrs. Kennedy returned to the plane and entered her bedroom, imagine her surprise to find Lyndon Johnson lying on her bed. How chivalrous is it to take over the bedroom of the woman who had just been First Lady and who had just lost her husband?

Finally, when the plane arrived at Andrew Air Force Base, Johnson’s chivalry seems to have dissipated, as he immediately headed to the White House instead of remaining with Mrs. Kennedy and comforting her during the military autopsy at Bethesda.

Another possibility, one that in my opinion is much more likely, is that Johnson ordered that team of Secret Service agents to do what was necessary to prevent an autopsy and to bring the body to his waiting plane was in order to deliver the

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body into the hands of the U.S. military, with the intent of having them performing a false autopsy, one that would hide evidence of shots having been fired from the front.

Keep in mind that immediately after the president was declared dead, there was a press conference at Parkland at which two of the treating physicians, Dr. Malcolm Perry and Dr. Kemp Clark, stated that the wound in the front of Kennedy’s neck was an entry wound, which would mean that the shot had come from the front. Moreover, the Parkland doctors and nurses and others said that Kennedy had a large exit hole in the back of his head, indicating that another shot had come from

the front.

As detailed by Douglas Horne in his five-volume book Inside the Assassination Records Review Board, the Bethesda autopsy, which found that all shots had come from the rear, was filled with anomalies and highly unusual occurrences. For 50 years, the defenders of the Warren Report have ascribed all that to incompetence and negligence on the part of the military autopsy physicians. Another possibility is that a cover-up of a crime is inevitably going to have anomalies and unusual aspects to it, as unusual as what the Secret Service did to remove Kennedy’s body from Parkland Hospital 50 years ago. 

Can’t find a hard copy?

Go to www.laredosnews.com

Maria Eugenia Guerra/LareDOS

Continued on page 24

At Mares campaign kickoff Marcelino Mares is pictured with Deborah and Aristeo Canales at the campaign kickoff event for Cynthia Mares, a candidate for Webb County Treasurer. They are pictured at Roli’s on November 19.

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SOL Masquerade honorees The Streets of Laredo Masquerade Ball honorees were Cindy Liendo and Frank Rotnofsky. The recipients are pictured at La Posada Hotel San Agustin Ballroom on Saturday, October 26.

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Feature

News

Is modern technology destroying our environment?

Rotary District Governor Maxie Hauser visits Gateway Rotary Club

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BY JosÉ Luis Quezada Jr. LareDOS Contributor

n the last issue of LareDOS, I wrote a story that advocated the advancement of technological understanding and how technology should be used to its full potential by those who don’t know how to use it.

One reader, my brother, thought otherwise. We live in a developed world that makes our daily activities more convenient and streamlined, but the cost can be dangerous.

Tomás Alexander Quezada, graduate from Binghamton University with a degree in environmental science and biology, argued that people have become too dependent on technology, which in turn is creating a greater dependence on more scarce and finite resources.

Industrial technology relies on outsourcing assembly and manufacturing overseas in work conditions that are considered unfit for any human being.

Apple, Inc. uses Chinese manufacturer Foxconn to assemble most of their consumer products, but there have been many reports that claim workers are surrounded by such poor work conditions, that they have provoked disgruntled, depressed employees to riot and commit suicide.

There have also been claims of underage children as young as 14 (the legal age to work is 16 in China) are being put to work, but the company has claimed that they were a part of an internship program. There are also many safety problems that put employees at risk.

Workers put in long overtime hours, usually seven days a week, for low pay and are forced to live in small, crowded dorm rooms. These are the people putting together our iPads and iPods.

Big companies like Apple are be-

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ing pushed to bring their assembling factories to the United States to help bring jobs into our suffering economy.

They’ve sampled this with the introduction of their new Mac Pro, which is assembled in the USA, but is it enough?

The savings that big companies make by sending most of the work overseas for cheap and quick mass production are putting the lives of the workers in danger. “New technologies make the lives of the people who have access to them faster and convenient, but these same technologies endanger the lives of people who don’t have access to them,” Tomás Quezada said.

While developed countries are modernizing, poorer parts of the world pay the price. Pollution and waste are hindering fragile ecosystems and polluting the water supplies of third world countries. While there are many people coming up with many solutions to these kinds of problems, Quezada thinks, “A more likely solution would involve us depending less on industrial technology. With a lower demand for toxic batteries we could possibly stop destroying the land of starving people and maybe then they can use that land to grow their own food.” Current methods seem to be hurting more than helping.

Throughout history, mankind has always found new, modern ways to make our tasks faster and easier, but it is easily forgotten that our resources are finite and will eventually run out.

That is not to say that we should not progress, but rather that we should use our tools as a smart advantage and not sacrifice the lives or resources of one part of the world to satisfy another.

The point made by Quezada is one that has been ignored for too long, and the apathy of the consumer may be slowly putting the environment in jeopardy. 

By JULIE TIJERINA LareDOS Contributor

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he Laredo Gateway Rotary Club welcomed District 5930 Governor Maxie Hauser to its meeting on November 4.

Rotarians learned of the great strides club members have made in the communities in which they invest time and service and the importance of reaching out to others in the community.

Hauser asked Rotarians to engage others. “It takes a few people to join together to make a great impact in the community. Rotary is here. It is a sense of spirit, as well as an organization,” she said.

She also asked all local Rotarians to wear their pins and to let the community know what Rotary is. “Rotary is not an exclusive organization,” she said, stressing that it is an organization open to individuals who want to help make a difference in their communities.

As the world’s largest service organization, Rotary has more than a million members. Laredo Gateway Rotary is one of five Rotary clubs in the city.

Blasita Lopez, director of the Laredo Convention and Visitors Bureau presented Hauser with a welcome gift on her first trip to Laredo as District Governor.

Hauser met with Gateway Rotary’s board of directors and leadership prior to the meeting, addressing the types of service projects the group has engaged in and continues to support.

Gateway Rotary’s projects include local scholarships; the Four-Way Test Speech Contest; youth programs including Early Act, Interact, Rotaract,

Rotary Youth Leadership Awards, Rotary Youth Exchange program, and Group Study Exchange; and Back-toSchool backpack and school supplies donations for Larga Vista’s library students. Gateway Rotary also offers service based grants for many deserving organizations that serve or have expertise in a particular area. Working with partners, the organization helps even small projects achieve a greater impact and can help established projects become more effective and sustainable.

Since its beginning in 1987, Gateway Rotarians have donated over $25,000 to the Larga Vista Library, playground equipment to domestic violence shelter Casa de Misericordia, Kid’s Café program, South Texas Food Bank and the Colonia Food Bank program, Imaginarium of South Texas, Keep Laredo Beautiful, Children’s Advocacy Center, Catholic Social Services, Center for the Arts, and Mercy Ministries’ community focused programs.

The club has supported international projects such as Nuevo Laredo Inoculation program, Casa Padre Lozano orphanage, and Casa Hogar Elim.

The 2012 – 2013 Gateway Rotary grant recipients were the Ruthe B. Cowl Rehabilitation Center, PILLAR, the Rio Grande International Study Center, and Eduplates.

Gateway Rotary’s annual fundraising events include the upcoming Paul Harris dinner scheduled for January 2014. Anyone interested in becoming a member of Gateway Rotary can contact president Raj Gandhi at (956) 7122679 or at rgandhi@copyc.com. The club meets every Monday at noon at the Embassy Suites. 

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Continued FROM page 23 TV was donated when TV went color. No cable, just rabbit ears. No telephone to disturb the space. It’s where our fathers taught us how to drive and shoot, unencumbered by the law and maternal supervision.

And though it was a man’s world, it was also a place kids could be kids. The older siblings policed the younger ones. Kids were tolerated except during hunting season, unless they were there to hunt themselves. Off season they were welcome, provided they did not bother the men who were engaged in more important matters.

Had It is where we learned how to bait a hook with worms and fish for bass. It was a place for stargazing and arrowhead hunting, a place for ghost stories and fireflies. One learned the hard way to avoid the cactus and prickly pear and the advantage of wearing boots. It was a place of terrible heat in the summer and winter’s bone chilling cold that made your breath frosty.

We learned that tank, rut, and blind had more than one connotation, and we learned the meaning of side-by-side and over-and-under.

The place took your breath away when the land became awash with the color of the purple sage after a rain, the yellow bottlebrush, prickly pear in bloom, the tender bright green leaves of the mesquites emerging in the spring, and later the maroon red tuna of the prickly pear.

On a clear day from the high point of the Colorado Pasture, we could see the rise of the Edwards Plateau to the east, the faint outlines of the Sierra Madre Occidental to the south in Mexico, Laredo to the west, and nothing but bluer than blue, bigger than big sky all above and beyond. We could see the weather coming and the black

thunderclouds of a Blue Norther approaching, stampeding toward us like a herd of buffalo on the horizon.

No one was spared the experience of getting stuck in the muck and the long walk back to the house.

Four-wheel drive was indispensable on such occasions. There were no cell phones back then.

Had It had little appeal for the women, who were welcome provided they brought food. For the most part the place was too uncouth for them, but this, of course, didn’t apply to girls. Girls never spent the night. That was a privilege for men and boys only. “I don’t want you to be around the behavior that goes on there at night. It’s not seemly for girls to be exposed to such beastly male chicanery,” said our mother.

We complained bitterly about how unfair life was for girls. We wanted to spend the night there and eat the breakfast feast and enjoy the men laughing and ribbing each other.

In the days before political correctness, Had It was a bastion of male dominion, existing unfettered in the realm of the open range of God’s Court. The Camp regulars were businessmen and professionals, veterans of foreign wars. The pride among them was an NFL referee.

They were a band of brothers, kindred spirits who were boisterous, irreverent, and sardonic.

They loved their children, trusting that God would care for them while they enjoyed each other’s company, and He did.

Camp Had It is where we said good-bye to our father, knowing that his spirit had lingered there, held by the love he’d had for that for the place and his companions — all gone now but for the memories, among the happiest in the hearts of their kids. 

www.laredosnews.com 4 2 I LareDOS I N O V E M B E R 2 013

News

Disabled Navy veteran caring for ill mother, widow of Air Force veteran, loses home in Sheriff’s auction

By MARIA EUGENIA GUERRA LareDOS Contributor

U

.S. Navy veteran Luxandra Vela Comer, 59, lost her home in a Sheriff’s auction for allegedly failing to pay 2011 property taxes on her residence at 803 Plymouth.

Vela Comer was sued by Laredo Community College on August 13, 2012 for $692 in delinquent taxes for tax year 2011. The service of process she received from LCC stated that neither the City of Laredo, Webb County, or United ISD were parties to the suit.

She promptly paid LCC, unaware — because she did not receive notice — that the City of Laredo, Webb County, or United ISD intervened in the suit to seek about $6,000 in delinquent taxes for 2011.

The taxing entities obtained a judgment against her on January 24, 2013 for $7,600.

Vela Comer, who is disabled and confined to a wheelchair, was not notified of a trial setting, and as a result did not appear.

The home she shares with her incapacitated 93-year-old bedridden mother, Ofelia Vela, was posted for sale on February 7, 2013, auctioned for non-payment of taxes, and sold to Arnoldo Ortega.

Vela Comer knew she had lost her home only after it had been sold.

According to her attorney, George Altgelt, the only service of process that had been issued was

by LCC, which stated that the other entities were not parties to the suit.

“She was not made aware of claims against her by the tax entities, and was not notified that interventions had been filed against her, or that the delinquent tax suit was still pending after payments to LCC. She wasn’t notified of a trial date, that a judgment had been entered against her, that her property would go up for sale, or that her home had been sold at less than a third of its $195,000 appraised value,” said Altgelt, who for those reasons seeks to void the Sheriff’s deed of sale for lack of service.

“It is adding insult to injury that a woman who served her country, a woman who is herself now disabled and caring for her seriously ill mother — the surviving widow of a decorated World War II veteran — would have to face these circumstances,” he said.

Altgelt further stated, that “it is a shame that our City, County, and School District elected officials say they support veterans and respect the law, but in the same breath allow their private law firms to violate the tax code and rules of civil procedure in order to illegally take veterans’ property away.”

He added, “The horrible irony of this case is that she had already paid all but $1,190.00 dollars worth of taxes and her home was already paid for. The Court did not even appoint the required attorney ad-litem to make sure that Ms. Vela Comer’s due process rights were respected.

This is a case of what can go wrong when elected officials don’t care, lawyers take shortcuts, and judges rubber stamp orders.” 

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News

Habitat’s Re-Store, a donation-driven thrift venue vested in turning sales income into no-mortgage homes

By MARIA EUGENIA GUERRA LareDOS Publisher

T

he generosity of Laredoans and Laredo businesses fills the steel shelving and bays of the Habitat for Humanity ReStore at 4703 Warehouse Lane in northwest Laredo. The store — which offers used furniture, a vast array of desks and filing cabinets, appliances, boxed name brand deadbolt locksets, light fixtures, plumbing and electrical supplies, and framed art — is adjacent to the offices of the non-profit that has built (how many) no-interest mortgage homes to qualified low income buyers.

“This is a thrift store,” said ReStore manager Alfredo Castillo. “There are many in Laredo, but proceeds from everything we sell go toward the building of one more Habitat for Humanity home in Laredo,” he said.

Since opening in October 2012 in the 10,000 square-foot warehouse do-

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nated to Habitat for Humanity by the Lamar Bruni Vergara Foundation, the ReStore has sold enough merchandise to cover most of the $65,000 cost of one new Habitat home. “We’re shooting for annual sales that will cover the cost of two or three homes, eventually maybe five homes,” he added.

Castillo — a skilled grant writer who managed the South Texas Food Bank for 13 years as it became the well-organized non-profit entity that now offers food assistance in seven counties — authored the capacity building grant from Habitat International to establish the store and operate it for three years until it becomes sustainable.

“I am one of two fulltime employees. We also have two part time staffers. We all drive a truck, pick up merchandise, deliver, unload, stock shelves, sell, and sweep,” he said.

“The ReStore occupies a unique shopping niche. The do-it-yourselfer or the economy repairman can find

half a sheet of plywood here or a piece of sheetrock rather than the whole.

We keep a lot out of the landfill when construction left-overs find a use. We have a free pile for some odds and ends. The thrift store bargain hunter looking for knick knacks and shabby chique won’t be disappointed,” Castillo continued.

“Individuals who are building their own home can find new boxed or crated merchandise like tile, toilets, tubs, and plumbing and light fixtures on sale at 30 to 40 percent of the retail price,” he said, adding, “You could furnish a suite of offices with the desks and filing cabinets in here. When the Texas Department of Health and Human Services shut down satellite offices in South Texas, they made sure non-profits ended up with office equipment. If you needed booths for a restaurant or for your home, we were given many of them when a major chain remodeled its dining rooms.”

According to Castillo, the ReStore does not have a typical shopper.

“Some who shop in big box stores come here anyway to find unique additions to their homes, but most importantly we are offering home and building supplies at very affordable prices to those who come here out of necessity. The beauty of it all is that donated goods help individuals in need, and that ultimately all sales benefit the building of another Habitat home.”

He lauded the generosity of Laredoans, locally owned businesses like Clark Hardware and 3-G Electric, and the donations of large retailers like Home Depot and Lowe’s. He said that Habitat for Humanity’s presence in Laredo, and its mission, make the ReStore a good option for donations.

The ReStore is one of 220 in the country.

To donate merchandise to the ReStore and to arrange for a pickup, call Castillo at (956) 724-3227. 

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News

Voters approve LISD re-fi and construction bonds

By MARIELA RODRIGUEZ LareDOS Staff

T

he Laredo Independent School District’s two bond propositions on the November 5 ballot — one for $47 million and the other for $77 million — both passed with 73 percent voter approval.

“We are very excited about our voters making an overwhelming decision, but like with any large bond referendum, now the work begins — to make sure we implement $125 million in a way that the public deserves,” said LISD Superintendent Dr. Marcus Nelson.

Nelson’s philosophy on the spending of public monies is threefold — being transparent, being on time with projects, and being under budget.

“I believe that it is not our money, and for that reason you can’t spend willy nilly. Those of us that work in public schools, because most of our budgets come from taxpayers, we really have an obligation to be ethical, transparent, and to really try to squeeze as many resources as we can out of every dollar,” he said, adding “We have to take the monies that we get at the state and federal level and use that in a way that directly impacts our students.”

Unlike UISD’s 150-member bond committee approach, LISD’s capital improvement plan goes back to 2011 when Nelson approached each school to find out what their needs were.

“We surveyed all schools district wide for two years. That allows us to have this ground-up approach where the users were mainly impacted by the needs assessment we completed.

I feel like that served as a good ba-

sis for us to develop our $125 million dollar proposal,” said Nelson, adding, “The proposal doesn’t include everything, but we thought if taxpayers can give us this now and we can implement it in a short period of time, it will show that we are being good stewards.”

Nelson feels that the success of the bond can be attributed to the district’s display of responsibility with projects such as the Shirley Field and Zachary Softball Field projects that were on time and under budget.

“The Early College High School was on time and on budget, so that builds confidence that we’re not just feeding sub-contractors and architects and just racking up frivolous fees,” he said.

The $77 million from the bond referendum will be used for the reconstruction of Zachary Elementary, completion on the final phase of renovations for Lamar Middle, and renovations on the newly acquired Civic Center.

“The Civic center is a priority,” Nelson said. “We are going to install new seating in the theatre and retrofit the meeting rooms to make them what the kids deserve,” he said.

About $5 million of the bond money will be applied to streamlining campus safety, security, and technology.

“Safety and security are not just topics we’ve discussed with the board. We’ve been discussing it since I walked in here in 2009. We are right here on the border we have a lot of challenges with immigration and politics, which force us to think about our security,” Nelson said.

A buzzer system, one campus entry, and the implementation of a key-

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less access entry will be implemented district wide. “Right now we have a lot of ways people try to get into the building, but without your ID card you wont be able to get into any buildings,” he said, adding “At a lot of our schools right now it is almost impossible to just have one entrance.

But with the passage of this last bond we will implement this system.”

Nelson said, “Security was already a priority before this bond. We are looking at adding more police officers at the elementary schools.”

Other projects will include tennis courts at Martin High School, an early childhood wing at Sanchez-Ochoa, and canopies and other playground equipment at several campuses.

The proposition for $47 million will be used solely to refinance the previous bond.

“We are a large district and have a lot of kids that are economically disadvantaged, so we qualify for a refinance of our old debt from 2006. This means we’ll pay our debt earlier and save about $4 million,” he said.

Taxpayers, with the exception of those 65 and older, will experience a slight increase in their taxes — about $10 a month or $130 a year.

Nelson said, “We have to ask ourselves — are the 25,000 kids in the barrio worth $130 a year? For me, the answer is absolutely yes. You spend $10 going to the movies in a month. I would be willing to put that toward a kid’s future.”

The superintendent said he does not take credit for the success of the passage of the two bonds. “It was our board that did a lot of door knocking.

The team I worked was with the executive directors and our director of communications Veronica Castillon.

She served as our quarterback, calling the plays, as this was the third bond she was successfully a part of,” he said.

This school year marked Nelson’s fifth year at the helm of LISD. His vision remains to create schools that really allow kids to prepare to accomplish everything they want to do in life.

“We are all here to serve the children, and I think that the public understands that we are not out here trying to promote ourselves. We are just trying to be good stewards of taxpayer dollars and making a plan for 2020 in a way that our kids deserve,” he said.

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Commentary

(Poet, writer, and attorney Armando López read this at the opening of El Portico Festival on Saturday, November 9, 2013.)

By ARMANDO X. LOPEZ LareDOS Contributor

O

n this glorious sunny day, in this most historic of neighborhoods, there is no escaping that this is the birthplace of the Laredo Arts scene.

Majestic buildings, stately mansions, regal school houses, flanked by solemn temples of worship, testament to a pocket of Laredo’s diversity.

Northern culture rolled in on the iron horse, fueled by trade and commerce sometimes with the mistaken notion that only good flows from the north to meet a barren southern palette.

And so in the eyes of many, this neighborhood is frozen in their psyche as St. Peter’s Neighborhood.

But like anything in Laredo, the masses are everywhere, and what you might call the Heights, or Montrose or yes, St. Peter’s Neighborhood, has long been baptized with a Laredo barrio moniker — the fourth precinct, El Cuatro, a voting remind-

er, with attached boundaries, and a rich lore, and its own seemingly silent history.

And while today you are standing in a square, or a plaza or on quaint portico, let it me be known, to my razita, you are sitting en El Cuatro in a galeria.

This is El Cuatro of artists — El Chaca, Los Ramirez, Los Esquivel, portrait painters with a camera.

Este es el canton de El Marcos Gonzalez, who carries this barrio’s name to his Austin production company.

El Cuatro of painters and Azios, Valdez y otros. Home to la profesora de espanol, Crisitina Cabello, en la Universidad de Tejas.

El Cuatro of musicians, Poncho Sanchez, rumbero de la raza. Home of the now departing VMT, where the arts flourished once gain.

El Cuatro, home to chavalones, Urbahn Elementary, architecture, LareDOS, Holding, Las Escuelas, Caffé Dolce, where culture flourishes daily.

El Cuatro, gente, some leaving some arriving, This is the history of Laredo, This is the history of what came to Laredo, This is the history of what leaves Laredo.

This is Laredo.

El Cuatro, bedrock de la cultura de Laredo. 

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Continued FROM page 29

“Weddings, receptions, and family events are a vital aspect of the hotel’s services. In addition to Sally’s team, much of our staff goes into support mode to ensure the event is what the bride or the family want it to be,” said Enrique Lobo, La Posada’s marketing director. “We make the courtyard available for the bridal couple’s official engagement and bridal photos. As part of the package we also offer them a complimentary suite on the wedding day,” he said, adding that the hotel’s chefs can handle any special menu requests — Kosher and vegan included.

La Posada’s Summer 2014 wedding package includes a two-course meal for 120 guests in the San Agustín Ballroom, ivory linens, one keg of domestic beer, a frozen Margarita machine, bar tender and cash bar, and free self-parking.

Castillo said that La Posada’s 50-year reputation for service has

brought about repeat business for family events. “For some it has become a tradition. We had a couple who celebrated their wedding reception here and then the quinceañeras of their daughters. They celebrated the renewal of their vows here and also the marriages of their daughters. I think that speaks to what we try to do for everyone who chooses La Posada for their significant events,” she said.

“We set up the reception tables, linens, lighting, and centerpieces several days in advance, not the day of the event. That way the bride can walk through and feel at ease about being ready,” she continued.

Beneath Castillo’s calm bearing of efficiency and aplomb, there is a person who has staged wrestling and Twilight-themed weddings, and has also survived the wrath of the occasional Bridezilla.

“We handle it all,” she said.

(Sally Castillo can be reached at (956) 722-1701, Ext. 8708 or (956) 753-4403.) 

Courtesy Photo

El Cuatro, bedrock de la cultura



La Posada Hotel’s catering staff pictured left to right, standing, are José Ortega, Adolfo Martinez, Delfina Bautista, Chef Juan Ramos, Ignacio Sepulveda, Victor Sierra, and Raul Padilla. Seated are Christian Guillermo, Sally Castillo, Roxann Gonzalez.

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Commentary

The grateful generations

By JOSÉ ANTONIO LÓPEZ LareDOS Contributor

S

peaking in honor of the 50 th Anniversary of MLK’s “I Have a Dream” speech, U.S. Rep. Joaquín Castro described himself and other sons and daughters as “the grateful generation” indebted to King’s groundbreaking civil rights struggle.

Since then, many Mexican-descent Texans have been able to realize their dream of self-fulfillment.

In my view, there are three distinct grateful generations.

The first group is composed of U.S. Rep. Castro’s parents and their contemporaries. Their lives improved considerably when as a result of their blood, sweat, and tears, LBJ signed the 1964 Civil Rights Act. Given that some of them were attending college/university at the time, they had enrolled in the face of gross bigotry. In consolation, minority students who were still under-graduates in 1964 had a front-row seat from to witness the dramatic removal of actual and symbolic signs of hideous discrimination on and off campus.

Using only their dreams for a better life, minority students helped level the playing field. LBJ was a key player! As a young teacher of poor Mexican-descent children in Cotulla, he learned first-hand the meaning of Freedom from Want, one of the four international freedoms. He believed, as FDR, that the U.S. poor must have food, shelter, and education, and as president, he enacted the War on Poverty.

Soon, Mexican-descent citizens realized they, too, were allowed a slice of the American Pie. Completing their studies, they graduated, and slowly climbed the ladder of

success to reach the higher-paying levels of the labor force. Some married and raised children. This cadre of minority graduates had one special reason to celebrate their good fortune. Many were the first in their families to get a college degree. Hence, they dearly valued this particular human right. Post-high school education, once out-of-reach for most minority-descent citizens in Texas and the Southwest, was not only a reality, but an expectation.

They became automatic educational role models to their children, and as a result, the second grateful generation was born. Because this group had witnessed their parents’ David and Goliath battle for equality, college/university became part of their life plan.

Today, U.S. Rep. Castro and his peers have proven this simple cause-and-effect logic. Marching for equal rights was no longer necessary, since the 1964 Civil Rights Act had paved a firm pathway toward their Dream. Living in a world where only hard work and education mattered, the sky was truly the standard to measure one’s ability.

So, the second grateful generation likewise inspired a third generation of children to value a good education.

These are the grandchildren of 1960s activists. Some in this group are still currently in high school and college, while others have recently graduated and joined the work force. Raised in an environment generally free of outward prejudice, they assume their children will also enjoy the human rights fruits planted by their grandparents. Sadly, if conservatives have their way, fulfillment of their children’s dream may turn into a nightmare.

Regrettably, students who rely

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on loans to pursue higher education are being told by conservative leaders that college/university education is not for everyone. Shamefully, many conservative politicians took advantage of low-interest loans to get their education and that of their children. Others relied on FHA-type loans to buy their homes, while others receive farm and ranch subsidies and tax abatements. So, now they’re saying that post-high school education is a privilege, not a human rights issue? Don’t let them get away with their hypocrisy.

Almost daily, conservatives threaten to eliminate or reduce college loans for students who need the help; and raise the interest rates of those who already have loans.

Worse, their goal is to privatize the entire education system. If they’re successful, only the affluent will be able to send their children to college, just as it was in the 1950s.

Alarmingly, today’s citizens of all backgrounds may not realize that in these times of increasing poverty/ hunger, the liberals provide, while the conservatives withhold.

For the first time in 50 years, realizing the dream of college/university education may be in peril. That’s the reason that Mexican-descent young people must energize to keep the dream alive. Remember, life was very unpleasant when your grandparents and great-grandparents were your age. With amazing grace and courage, they transformed the system. While the equal rights society we have today is not perfect, it

is much better than the one existing before 1964.

One last reminder: As a group, Mexican-descent Texans still lag behind in most key progress indicators. Most are still needy and uninsured, but — con el favor de dios — that is soon to change with the Affordable Care Act. We can win LBJ’s War on Poverty in a generation or two, but we must make a commitment to change things, just like the 1960s generation. Education is the key! Consider this: A young citizen out of a poor barrio armed with a college degree that she/he got with low interest tuition loans is a bargain. They will repay the loan with interest and contribute ten times more to their community. The greatest, richest country in the world can ask no more of its lower-income Mexicandescent community.

Finally, students who depend on college loans and are concerned about the goings-on in the budget debate must not be intimidated.

Find out where your elected representatives stand on the issue and vote accordingly. Never forget your grandparents’ sacrifice to ensure that you and your children could also dream of a better future. Continue with your studies and ensure your children stay in school. Help deny conservatives their goal to dismantle the 1964 Civil Rights Act. Paraphrasing the words of George Santayana, remember that those who forget the past are condemned to relive it. 

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By dr. neo gutierrez

Dr. Neo Gutierrez is a Ph.D. in Dance and Fine Arts, Meritorious Award in Laredo Fine Arts recipient 2009 from Webb Co. Heritage Foundation, Laredo Sr. Int’l 2008, Laredo MHS Tiger Legend 2002, and Sr. Int’l de Beverly Hills, 1997.

Contact neodance@aol.com.

A

lthough I have never been to China, I travel there vicariously through notes from exLaredoans German Guajardo, now of Cape Coral, Florida and Jim Whitworth, now of Corpus Christi.

The country is the world’s third largest in area, behind only Russia and Canada. It is the world’s largest country in population, home to about one fifth of all humanity. The country covers more than a fifth of the Asian continent. Most Chinese live in densely populated areas in the east, while the west has less than 10 percent of the population. Due to over-population, the country passed a brutal one-child policy in 1971, forcing many women to enforced abortion.

German Guajardo wrote of his travels to China last month: “We visited 12 of their major cities and three farms, including a rice paddy. The traffic was amazing. People there weave in and out of lanes and cut each other off. The worst are the drivers of motor scooters, of which there are many. Traffic lights are only suggestions and pedestrians have no rights. Yet, I did not see any road rage and only saw one minor accident.

“The government signed a treaty with Great Britain to not make any changes to the Hong Kong free enterprise system until 2046. It will be interesting to see what changes are made, but I may not be around to see it. Shanghai is more modern and sophisticated than New York, being much newer. Based on what I saw, I believe their economy will surpass ours in the next ten years. Chinese do not waste anything, eat anything, and they are hard workers. They do

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Notes from La La Land

Sojourns through China not fear death. While visiting a farm, an old lady was proud to show us her future coffin in the living room. She explained that when she feels she is about to die, she will climb into the coffin and go to sleep.

“Most of the farm workers are older folk, as the young leave to go work in the large cities. We saw massive apartment buildings and crowds everywhere we went. Since 1949, all land in China is owned by the government, though houses and buildings can pass on to the older son. The daughters must find a good man to marry in order to have their own house. I could write a lot more but do not want to bore you. It was an interesting and eye-opening experience, but I am done eating Chinese food for the next year, at least.”

German was born in Laredo in 1940, graduated from St. Joseph’s Academy, and majored in accounting at UT. He left Laredo in 1962, worked for the government and in the private sector, and retired in 2000. He was the finance manager for the Arlington, Virginia, Catholic Diocese for five years. He moved to Florida, where he lives with his wife Tamara who is from Puerto Rico.

They travel frequently throughout the world, their credo, “We want to see earth before we see Heaven.”

Jim Whitworth has also visited China on several occasions.

He writes, “We went to China the first time in May 1999 on an escorted tour that included Beijing and the Great Wall, Xian and the terra cotta warriors, a cruise on the Yangtze and Three Gorges, Guilin in the south, Shanghai, Canton, and Hong Kong.

We were in China when the USA bombed their Belgrade embassy. The tour company kept us away from the

resulting demonstrations.

“We were able to see much of China as it was while on the verge of becoming a modern industrial nation.

“We passed thru Beijing again in 2003 en route to Mongolia and Siberia. At that time we witnessed the wholesale destruction of the old as China rushed to put on a new face for the 2006 Olympics.

“This past September we traveled there to visit out daughter, who is living in China and teaching English. She lives in Keqiao in the delta area near Shanghai. On that trip I was awed by what the Chinese have accomplished in just a decade or so. They have built a new country complete with bullet trains, new expressways, and new housing. I contrast the Chinese accomplishments with our own failure to improve our infrastructure over the same period of time. We need a new power grid

if we are to become energy independent, for example. We are lacking in public transportation, as another example. “Rather than build the things our country needs, we have opted to waste our resources invading small countries.

“As an example of how China is smarter than we are, look at how they bring crude oil from the mideast thru shipping lanes that we keep safe with our naval fleets that are paid for with money that we borrow from China.”

Jim is a 1959 graduate of Martin High. He worked as a CPA until semi-retirement in 1999. Jim served a term on the UISD Board of Trustees in Laredo, including one year as board president. He has a 36-foot sailboat that he enjoys with his wife Sylvia.

And now, it’s time for, as Norma Adamo says —TAN TAN! 

 Continued FROM page 21 ting for the market.

I sold succulents I have raised from cuttings and dish gardens, and in the course of a few hours I ran into and visited with many whom I haven’t seen in a while.

There is no parking dilemma — it is ample and free in El Metro’s facility across the street.

If you didn’t stuff your face at the market on Ninfa’s quesadillas de nopal, there are excellent restaurants in the

vicinity — two nearby, Rocha’s El Catan in the historic Hamilton Hotel and Las Kekas just down the street; and one within walking distance, Caffé Dolce, a market participant. Or the Z Grill at La Posada Hotel, a vital supporter of the Farmers Market and the economic sustainability of downtown.

City policy makers who worked to help establish the downtown El Centro de Laredo Farmers Market deserve recognition for bringing this good idea to life. 

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LareDOS I N OV E M B E R 2 0 1 3 I 4 7

Maverick Ranch Notes

By bebe & sissy fenstermaker

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esterday I heard a presentation on the status of the nomination of the San Antonio Missions as a World Heritage (WH) Site. According to the website www.missionsofsanantonio.org/index.html , WH Sites are “extremely exceptional” cultural and/or natural places which must be nominated by their nations and approved by the World Heritage Committee.

According to the presentation, the missions nomination has moved up a level (even thought the U.S. is in arrears in dues to UNESCO, which oversees the WH sites) after a visit of a WH committee member from Spain. After first seeing the Alamo, Mission Concepción, and Mission San José, she was blasé about the nomination, not having seen what she felt warranted World Heritage status. But when shown Missions Espada and San Juan Capistrano, still-functioning Espada Aqueduct and Espada Dam, the acequias and the fields they serve, she was amazed. That, she said — the water works, farms, and their missions — was WH quality because it presented a complete picture. She suggested that after this the locals start touting the area’s historic richness from south to north rather than north to south.

What a wake-up bell for tourism in San Antonio. All this time they’ve promoted it the other way. The lower missions, the dam, and aqueduct are way down on the Southside and their appearances are quite humble compared to the bigger showier missions. Most San Antonians don’t value acequias over the big missions displayed on the tourist brochures.

But it was the missions and the wa-

The ladies made it happen ter works, why they were created, and how they served the people — not to mention their simple beauty — which pulled together the long overdue recognition.

This was good to hear, and I began to feel a presence of some very far-sighted ladies who had ensured these treasures’ existence. From early 1900 on they stood up and pushed for the preservation of all the missions, the acequias, the aqueduct, the dam, and all Spanish and Mexican architecture in and around San Antonio.

Many of them were artists who had painted and photographed the beautiful parts of old San Antonio for years, so they knew what they were talking about. They had studied San Antonio’s history. They got recognition for and then oversaw restoration of Espada Aqueduct and of the Spanish Governor’s Palace.

One of them convinced the mayor to get NYA funds to restore La Villita.

One stopped the City Water Department from destroying the General Martin Perfecto de Cos house.

They fought to keep a portion of San José Mission’s complex from being lopped off by a proposed highway. At their own cost they restored the barrel-vaulted granary at San José. Creatively explaining to the San Antonio City Council and businessmen why they should not pave over the San Antonio River, they then took the councilmen in boats on the river. They told them of the tourist numbers and tourist dollars the river brought to San Antonio coffers. As long as they lived, they took every visitor they could reach to see the beautiful parts of old San Antonio. They put San Antonio on the tourism map.

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All along the way the ladies endured ridicule, rudeness, and scoff by the bucketful. They loved San Antonio’s heritage, knew it mattered and kept that foremost in mind through rough times. Best of all, they never took ‘no’ for an answer.

When a presenter stated that research shows WH Site designation will mean billions more tourist dollars and jobs for San Antonio, I reflected that the city has a big debt outstanding. And boom! Those ladies came into view — just as busy

as ever: Rena Maverick Green, Emily Edwards, Sybil Browne, Agnes Virginia Temple, Eleanor Onderdonk, Mrs. Schasse, Mrs. Rote, Floy Edwards Fontaine, Mrs. Drought, Esther Carvajal, Elizabeth Graham, Mrs. Berreta, Mrs. Negley, Mrs. Van Horn, Miss Ellis, Wanda Ford, Mary V. Green, and Rowena Green Fenstermaker.

Ladies, I remember so many of you and heard about all of you.

Thank you — you knew what you were doing! 

www.laredosnews.com

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By salo Otero Salo Otero is the director of marketing for the South Texas Food Bank. He can be reached at sotero@ southexasfoodbank.org or by calling 956-726-3120.

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Ross and Friends play Dec. 3 for STFB fundraiser mission fee is worth 80 meals to be served to STFB clients. The admission ticket is also eligible for that night’s raffle.

Tickets are available at the door or by calling 324-2432.

Laredoan Ross Swisher and his group have entertained at similar STFB events at Hal’s over the last four years.

“The STFB is one of our favorite charities. We applaud them for the work they do in getting food to those in need. We are glad to help in this very important mission,” said Swisher.

Ross and Friends had its genesis in a high school group Swisher started in 1969. The band plays music from the 1950s to the present. Swisher sings and plays guitar. Other band members are Carlos Longoria on bass; Rick Rios on drums, Ramiro López on keyboard; and vocalist T.J. Ruiz. Art Treviño

Courtesy Photo

aredo’s popular musical group Ross N Friends will perform at Hal’s Landing on Tuesday Dec. 3 from 7 p.m. to 11 in a fundraiser for the South Texas Food Bank (STFB) mission to feed the hungry.

The bi-annual event is sponsored

by Hal’s owners Tom and Marianne Lamont at the well-known restaurant and bar next to the Laredo Energy Arena.

The admission cover charge of $10 per person goes to the STFB, which distributes supplemental food to 30,000-plus families per month, including 7,000-plus elderly, 7,000-plus children and, 500 veterans and their widows.

Because of the STFB’s affiliation with the national organization Feeding America and state group, Texas Food Bank Network, every dollar donated is converted into eight meals. That means the $10 ad-

South Texas Food Bank

Members of Ross and Friends, from left to right are Ramiro López, Ross Swisher, TJ Ruiz, Rick Rios, and Carlos Longoria. Art Treviño is the sound and lighting director.

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is the band’s master technician.

“The Lamont Family has been one of the strongest advocates in our mission,” said Cindy Liendo, South Texas Food Bank chief development



Continued FROM page 20

tion, that has really helped us,” she continued.

Driscoll’s lightheartedness stems from her ability to find humor in everyday occurrences and still see the bigger picture. “The questions of a child are probably my greatest source of knowledge and laughter. It is amazing how they make you experts in things you never thought about,” she said, adding, “They make you see things you got too busy to see. It is easy to forget to be fascinated by the little things or to laugh.

You don’t have to be a parent to know that children have the ability to make you see with fresh eyes. It may sound disgustingly optimistic and Pollyannaish, but it is the truth,” she said.

Currently the blogger is working on a quirky, humorous book about moving to Laredo.

“The target audience will be people coming here. It will provide them with a little knowledge, so they can know what to expect in terms of culture and customs. The language is a really fun and interesting thing to explore as a newcomer. There is a lot of potential to really mess it up — like knowing that mariachis means tacos, not just musicians. When I speak to friends and readers, there are so many stories of co-workers going to get mariachis while the newcomer sits in the backseat wondering where in the world they will put their instruments since they are shoulder to shoulder. My goal is to make it something that will make you smile and serve as a resource as well,” she said.

officer. STFB board president Annie Dodier added, “The Lamonts have been in our corner for a few years now, and we graciously thank them.”  Driscoll would like to be known as a humor writer. She said, “I want people to laugh and make people see that life is funny. Funny stuff happens to everyone and you can’t help it.”

Through her blog she has broadcast that Laredo’s greatest fallacy is that there is nothing to do here. “It took some work at first to confirm that is a myth,” she said. “But, I find that we can’t get to everything that is offered anymore. We have to choose how to spend our time out and about. Laredo is not like a massive, sprawling city. You do have to pay attention to what’s happening so you don’t miss a great family opportunity. For instance, one of our favorite new events to attend is the City of Laredo Parks And Recreation Movies at the Park. It’s like going to the drive-in as a kid. Only instead of eating popcorn in the car, there is a gentleman passing the hay bale you’re sitting on selling paletas!”

The entrepreneur is also keeping busy with the launch of her company Knotty Origami — which features Celtic knotting and fine paper crafts. You can find her at the North Side Market at North Central Park on the first Saturday of each month, and she is working on getting another website up for the new venture.

She said, “We live in an amazing learning-accessible environment. All you have to do is have the energy and initiative to do and learn anything.

And you can’t be afraid of making mistakes. The best learning comes from the mistakes. Those are also another great source of laughter.” 

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Commentary

A reality of fragments: the negation of totality

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raditional Philosophy, going as far back as ancient Greece and up and through more recent German idealism, has always assumed the task of totally explaining the universe (imagine that!). In order to accomplish a total explanation, the great philosophers developed systems by which to account for everything. So as to reinforce this scheme, traditional philosophy also maintains that any philosophy lacking such a unifying system is doomed to failure with its elements scattered loosely about in a meaningless, arbitrary array.

Plato and Aristotle both had such a system. Plato referred to unifying concepts as “forms;” to Aristotle, they were “primary substances.” To the German idealists, such as Kant and Hegel, the unifying concepts were “essences” or “classifications,” within a “timeless schema.” For them, these aspects of reality transcended time in a state of existence independent of the material world. And, according to the Greeks at least, these forms or primary substances, are what allow us to recognize or identify objects. The particular differences between objects, as for example, the differences between a green apple and a red apple, were discounted as accidental, and subject to time. Such “secondary qualities” were thought not to last (as a quality of an object) as long as the primary substances, and, therefore, had less to do with the identification of an object.

On the surface, this follows. The form of an object lasts longer than does, for example, its color. Over time, colors fade. After the colors have gone, however, one may still recognize an object because it still has its form. The form lasts longer. Continuing with the example of red and green apples, the

Greeks and the Germans would have said, Forget the colors, and the fact that one of them is sweet while the other one tart, the only reason you recognize them at all is because they are both “informed” by the timeless concept of “apple.”

But then they went too far. They considered this concept of apple, the “appleness of apples,” to be the totality of appleness (appleness?? What the hell is that?). For them, the conceptual reality was/is the total reality. And, according to them, it is by virtue of that totality that one may recognize or identify individual objects since the transcendent concept of each object lends formal expression to raw, formless matter. The real world, then, is a conceptual world that all objects abide by in lending expression to matter, and it is by virtue of that conceptual reality that objects may be known to us and recognized for what we know them to be.

How imposing — an imposition that serves only to derail the inquiry on its quest for truth.

It is the differences in detail between similar objects that tell the truth about reality. And, the truth they tell denies the ideal existence forms, primary substances, essences, classifications, timeless schema, and transcendental totalities. In making an objective conclusion based on a conceptual reality thought to be the totality, one risks or is in danger of losing sight of the particulars, or dismissing them as non-important. When this happens, philosophy stops and dogma takes over. Not unlike theological systems that claim to explain everything about creation, a philosophical system becomes legislative in nature, dictating that one’s understanding of reality fit within imposed classifications. As soon as one allows for this in forming an understanding of reality, one becomes intellectually imprisoned

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by the system and free, philosophical thought is no more.

Contrary to what the Greeks and the Germans thought, there can be no totality where individual particulars contradict totality as being total. A red apple cannot represent any totality because it does not include the particulars of the green apple. In effect, the particulars of a green apple negate, or provide a counter-example, to the supposed totality of the red apple, even as a concept.

With the unifying concept thus cancelled out, one is left only with the particulars, that is, the individual differences between similar objects as the only aspects of reality that manage to filter through to our conscious minds. These accidental differences serve to secularize matter, freeing us from the constraints of

the conceptual, transcendent systems of yesterday. By shrugging off those antique shackles of thought, we are left free to focus our thinking on the individual differences between similar objects to see what they tell us about reality — not from the outside in, but from the inside out. As we focus on the particulars, and ponder what they tell us about reality, we may also consider the irony: the particulars or individual differences — these fragments of reality —become the totality.

(Raul Casso earned a degree in philosophy from Southern Methodist University.

His work has been published in Philosophy Now, a British newsstand magazine that is the most widely read philosophy periodical in the English language, with publication and circulation in Great Britain, USA, Canada, and Australia). 

Courtesy Photo

By RAUL CASSO LareDOS Contributor

LULAC hosts writing contest for UISD and LISD LULAC Council, District 14 hosted their annual essay writing contest open to all high school seniors from United and Laredo Independent School Districts and St. Augustine High School. United ISD Counselors (left to right) Emma J. Rodriguez, Anita Ayala, Joanna Garcia-Peña, Christina Uribe Flores, Estella Y. Martinez, Diana Hurtado, Rosa Ramos, and Julio Anguiano are pictured with (center) Ana Maria Hernandez, Lulac Council, District 14 essay contest director.

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Serving Sentences

By randy koch

Evolution

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n a hot July afternoon in 1968, when cornfields and telephone poles marked the edge of the known world, a stranger’s knuckles thumped the screen door of our farm house, and his voice helloed from outside.

Mom, wiping her hands on a white dishtowel, walked around the table and past the sink, with Darla, the oldest of my four siblings, right behind her. In the dining room my brother Ken and I jumped up, bounded over our tractors and Lincoln Logs scattered across the linoleum, and galloped through the kitchen and into the porch. Mom stood at the door, the screen between her and the caller. She wore blue pedal pushers and a white sleeveless blouse, her calves mapped with varicose veins, her tan shoulders freckled from hanging out laundry and hoeing the garden. A few brown permed curls, limp and wilted, lay matted against the back of her neck.

Outside, a man in a white shirt, a thin necktie, and dark rumpled slacks gripped the handle of the black satchel hanging heavily from his clean, fleshy fingers. “No family,” he said patting the case against his leg, “should be without this wonderful educational tool.” His eyes shifted warily to Rex, our collie-mutt cross barking and pacing under the clotheslines, then back to Mom behind the screen and beyond her to Darla, Ken, and me.

I stood next to Ken. We wore second-hand T-shirts and jeans with iron-on patches on the knees.

I pushed my brown-framed glasses up my nose with one finger and peered around Mom at the man. He stood on the narrow cracked sidewalk that led past the pump house

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behind him and ended by the yard light pole. There gravel stretched past the brooder house to the front of the old barn, its paint vaguely red and one quadrant of the window near the sagging door missing a pane of glass.

With her right foot, Mom nudged a black rubber boot onto the muddied pages of the Sleepy Eye Herald Dispatch sprawled open on the floor in the corner. A half dozen pairs of overshoes lay in a heap against the wall. The faint smell of manure hung in the stagnant air, partly from the boots, mostly from the cow yard.

The man wiped his brow. “Can I bother you for a glass of water, ma’am?”

She unhooked the door, led him and us inside, filled a glass from the tap, and set it on the edge of the sink.

In the kitchen doorway, he bent down, opened his case, and pulled out a maroon, hardcover volume of the World Book Encyclopedia. As he stood up, he glanced at the water glass and drawled, “Thank ya kindly.” He held the spine of the opened book against his chest and watched us as he touched a fingertip to his tongue. Then, with the pages facing us, he fanned through them until he came to maps that unfolded like colorful wings veined with highways and rivers, shaded by mountain ranges, blued with lakes and oceans.

He held it open, swiveled it from Mom to Darla beside her drying silverware in a towel and down at Ken and me, my eyes wide.

Again he put fingertip to tongue.

He flurried more pages before stopping at a human skeleton. Slowly he turned a transparent overlay

across the bones, then another, system after full-color system — nervous, circulatory, digestive, muscular — each visible behind the next as he built a human being before our eyes. “You cannot afford not to have this in your home.” He flashed a practiced smile.

Mom leaned over the dishpan on the Formica table, dipped a canning jar in the steaming water, twisted a dishrag in its mouth.

He wiped his brow with the back of a hand. His black sample case stood on the kitchen floor next to his scuffed oxfords, his fingers fleshy and nails filed, tie crooked against his white shirt. He raised the glass and drank slowly.

She watched him over the top of her glasses but did not speak, did not shoo him or us away.

He turned the pages again, this

time to an ape crouched at the end of a line of progressively taller, unbending primates, their lower jaws receding, the last one upright, armed with a briefcase, wearing suit and tie, striding resolutely off the edge of the page.

Outside, Rex stopped barking and scratched at the door.

I looked at Mom, then up at the salesman’s transparent smile, the spine of the open encyclopedia against his tie.

There in the old farmhouse — where we stood on the kitchen’s battered linoleum, where the world I knew extended barely thirty miles east and only blizzards and thunderheads rose out of the vast mystery of South Dakota to the west — there, the wonder of books and an evolving new world suddenly opened before me. 

Mariela Rodriguez/LareDOS

Randy Koch earned his MFA at the University of Wyoming and teaches writing at Bloomsburg University of Pennsylvania.

Vets recognized for their service Miguel Romo, Guadalupe Romo Adela Garay, Rogelio Garay, and Benjamin M. Hernandez were among attendees of the veterans’ ceremony on Thursday, November 7 at the Laredo Civic Center. 25 local Vietnam vets were honored for their efforts in a ceremony that began with a select few being honored in County Court Chambers.

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By Henri Kahn Contact Henri D. Kahn with your insurance questions at (956) 725-3936, or by fax at (956) 791-0627, or by email at hkahn@ kahnins.com

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Seguro Que Si

The high cost of health care — why and how to make it available to all

nsurance companies are a for-profit business like grocery stores, department stores, physicians, attorneys, Southwest airlines, taco stands, homebuilders, etc.

A business earns money by selling a product or service for more money than what it costs to produce or provide the service. Everybody knows that.

You sell a bicycle for $80.00, and it costs you $60.00 to make, so you earn a profit of $20.00.

Bear with me, because I have a point to make.

The most popular reasons for the high cost of getting cured in the USA are: physicians and surgeons feel they deserve to charge high fees for their service, because of the many years of education and sacrifice required to be an MD; Pharmaceutical companies attribute the high cost of medicines to expensive, intensive research required to develop drugs that cure and/or alleviate physical and mental problems; Hospitals provide a variety of services that require highly paid technicians, nurses, physicians, and diagnostic electronic services provided in a practical confined area; and Attorneys earn money when they litigate malpractice lawsuits on behalf of patients.

So it is easy to understand that every business or person who sells a product or service has to be paid to survive economically.

The system works quite well, especially in our successful capitalistic system of “to the producers go the highest rewards.”

AKA, “Them that do, get; them that don’t do, don’t get!

Accusing insurance companies of chicanery when calculating the payment of claims is patently not the truth.

Claims are paid in accordance with

clearly stated and defined terminology in insurance policies.

Pre-existing conditions are not covered! WHY? As an analogy, would you pay full market price for a home that you know has faulty plumbing, exposed electrical wiring, a cracked foundation, and a leaky roof?

No, because it is a losing proposition.

Insurance companies, for-profit businesses, cannot issue a policy to a person who has diabetes or heart disease or kidney stone problems or cancer on the same premium basis as a person who is healthy. Doing so is a losing proposition.

Insurance companies are not social services organizations supported by a government agency or charitable donations.

However, many self-serving Congressional representatives and senators, along with nationally syndicated newspaper journalists and TV commentators, continually accuse insurance companies of cheating the public by refusing to insure pre-existing conditions.

The way to provide insurance that will cover pre-existing conditions and insure all legal residents of the USA is simple.

First, keep the grossly inefficient and wasteful Washington bureaucracy out of the insurance business.

Keep the same system we have, because it has proven to be best in the world.

People from all over the world travel to this country to get the best and most efficient healthcare.

Change the insurance companies’ limitation of benefits for pre-existing conditions and set a standard monetary benefit for pre-existing conditions which, if exceeded, will be paid by taxes imposed on the entire population of the USA. Appoint one year rotating cost con-

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tainment committees comprised of physicians, nurses, hospital administrators, pharmaceutical and medical technology execs, and any other type of medical service professionals to different areas of our country. These committees will set the guidelines for money spent on healthcare for all residents of the USA. Elected officials from any branch of city, county, state, or federal government will be banned from the committees.

In March 2013 I completed 50 years working in the insurance industry, from being a door-knocking, street-walking debit agent to insurance company vice president to insurance agency owner.

Believe me, an insurance company is an honest, trustworthy, ethical business that sells a valuable, useful service at a

fair price for the benefits provided.

Healthcare costs are high in our country because the best is always expensive.

Let’s face it, a high cost-driving factor in the USA is that we are spoiled and demand faster than fast, cost be damned, top quality, immediate healthcare.

No other country in the world has or offers what we have for healthcare.

[Prologue] We are now stuck for three more years with a President who is rabid socialist, lacks the qualities of leadership, and is pitifully indecisive.

He talks the talk, but lacks the ability to walk the walk!

Let’s pray that he is not successful in grinding us into a second rate country! 

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LAPS

Avoid holiday dangers to your pets

By RICHARD RENNEr LAPS Board Secretary

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he house was beautifully decorated for the upcoming holidays as the family drove away to attend a party the grandmother was holding that evening. When they returned to their home, they found a huge mess.

The Christmas tree was down with glass from the broken ornaments glistening on the floor. The packages under the tree were scattered and torn apart. Burglars? Vandals?

No, the culprits, a black cocker spaniel and a small brown terrier mix happily greeted the dismayed and shocked family.

The cocker amid scattered fruit dropped a half eaten chocolate covered macadamia nut to the floor. The mess and destruction that greeted the family had only just begun. The next day both dogs were listless and had no appetite. When the dogs were examined by their veterinarian, the terrier had burns in its mouth. Both dogs vomited chocolates and had diarrhea.

The holiday that the family had been anticipating was tinged by the deaths of the two beloved pets. The dangers to pets from the holidays had claimed two more victims.

The above scenario is true. Human food, decorations, and electrical cords can be quite dangerous to our pets. The seeds of apples, pears, and the seeds inside the pits of peaches, apricots, and cherries contain a chemical that when exposed to the acids of the stomach release a cyanide-like compound. Sugar free candies, grapes, raisins, onions and garlic can cause damage to a dog’s kidneys. Bones given as a treat to

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your pet can cause choking. Poultry (chicken, turkey, goose) bones are likely to splinter when chewed by a pet. The splinters have been known to pierce the stomach of dogs leading to a very painful death.

Electrical cords at any time should be protected from pets. Dogs and cats are often attracted to the blinking lights of a Christmas tree, leading to chewing or tugging that can topple the tree, cause a short, or electrocute the pet.

Poinsettia and mistletoe used as decorations in the home are also toxic to pets. Other houseplants such as dumb cane (Dieffenbachia) contain chemicals that can interfere with swallowing in pets as well as people.

How can you prevent problems for your pets? The best way is to never leave your pets unattended.

If they are in your house while you are gone, they can cause all sorts of damage.

A crate or kennel would be best to keep your pet and your property safe. Crate training your pets from the first would be ideal. If you don’t have a crate but do have a secure kennel, dog run, or fence, you may be able to put your pet outdoors while you are gone or can’t keep the pet away from dangers while you are busy.

Remember, the best gift you can give your dog or cat is a visit to the veterinarian for immunizations, microchip for identification, and a spay or neuter operation to keep your pet healthy. Microchips, ID tags, and vouchers for spay or neuter expenses are available from the LAPS No-Kill Animal Shelter at 2500 Gonzalez Street.

LAPS wishes you and your pets a happy and safe holiday. 

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Laredo Community College

LCC spring registration now underway

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he nights are getting longer and the days are getting colder, which means that Laredo Community College is gearing up for the Spring 2014 semester.

Registration for the spring semester is now underway, and new or returning students must be advised before registering.

Students who have already been advised can log on to www.laredo.edu and click on the PASPort icon. Then click the tab for Additional Resources to view the class schedule.

Students are encouraged to register early for the best choice of classes and class times.

Applicants new to LCC can apply online by visiting www.laredo.com/ apply.

First-time students and general studies majors can get advised at the Student Success Center at the Fort McIntosh Campus in Memorial Hall, room 107, or at the South Campus in the William N. “Billy” Hall Jr. Student Center, room 116.

Students can schedule an appointment with an advisor by contacting the LCC Student Success Center at the Fort McIntosh Campus at 721-5135 or at the South Campus at 794-4135. Walk-ins are welcome, but appointments take priority.

Both locations are open for advising Monday through Thursday from 8 a.m. to 6 p.m., and Friday from 8 to 11 a.m. Students also can get advised on Saturdays from 10 a.m. to 3 p.m. at Memorial Hall, room 125, at the Fort McIntosh Campus only.

Those with a declared major can visit or call their instructional departments to make an appointment for advising. Those who cannot make it to either campus can request to be advised by e-mail by visiting www.laredo.

edu/e-advising.

While LCC will be closed for Thanksgiving beginning Monday, Nov. 25, registration will continue through PASPort for those students who have already been advised.

Students, faculty and staff will observe the holiday break from Monday through Sunday, Dec. 1. No classes will be held and campus offices will be closed, with the exception of the Campus Police Department at both campuses.

Saturday Services at the Fort McIntosh Campus will not be available on Saturday, Nov. 30; they will resume on Saturday, Dec. 7 from 10 a.m. to 3 p.m. at Memorial Hall, room 125, at the Fort McIntosh Campus.

LCC will reopen on Monday, Dec. 2.

Deadline for payment of all tuition and fees is Thursday, Dec. 19 in person by 6 p.m. or online through PASPort by 11 p.m. Payment is due in full unless the student has enrolled in an installment plan through the Bursar’s Office.

The first day of the Spring 2014 semester is Monday, Jan. 13.

For information on registration, students should call the LCC Enrollment and Registration Services Center at 721-5109 (Fort McIntosh) or 794-4110 (South).

LCC showcases free, self-paced English instruction lab Individuals interested in learning English as a second language now have an opportunity to do so for free, thanks to the efforts of LCC’s Economic Development Center.

The Business and Industry Workplace Literacy Center is open to the community free of charge and is equipped with resources to help adults build their English language skills.

Located at the De La Garza Building, room 106, at the Fort McIntosh

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Campus, the center provides access to instructional programs, such as IBM Reading Companion and Sed de Saber Leapfrog units, that allow self-paced English instruction throughout the week.

“The only requirement needed to have access to the center is a determination from users to improve their English language skills,” LCC Economic Development Center Director Janet Miller said. “It doesn’t matter whether users are LCC students or not, the community is welcomed to use the lab during available hours free of charge.”

The center was financed by a grant from the Small Business Administration.

The lab is open to the community Mondays and Wednesdays from 9 a.m. to 12 p.m., Tuesdays from 2 to 5 p.m., and Thursdays from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m.

Users must sign in at the Economic Development Center office at the De La Garza Building, room 105, before using the facility.

“The lab is perfect for people who are unable to attend English classes or who simply want to improve their language skills at their own time,” Miller said. “We hope to see the community take advantage of this great opportunity.”

For more information about the Business & Industry Workplace Literacy Center, call the LCC Economic Development Center at 721-5110. 

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The Mystery Customer BY THE mystery Customer

were not disappointed with the service. The waitress was friendly and attentive, and got everyone’s orders correct. The evening’s live entertainment was also a delight.

Texas Roadhouse 5722 San Bernardo Ave Since the unfortunate closure of the Outback Steakhouse at this location, the Texas Roadhouse is inarguably one of the best places in town to grab a steak. The New York Strip offered a nice balance of tenderness and leanness with a lot of flavor. The service was excellent and their lunchtime special is unbeatable.

Fuddrucker’s 711 W Hillside Rd

Surprisingly, this establishment best known for its hamburgers offers a wide variety of fresh salads. The MC is partial to the Napa Valley salad, which offers roasted chicken over romaine, bleu cheese, apples, dried cranberries, and almonds. The only downfall of the establishment is its popularity, as there tends to be a full house every weekend and consequently service lags.

The Border Foundry 7718 McPherson Road Lots of light and thoughtful design went into creating a pleasant ambiance for this restaurant.

The MC ordered an incredible beet salad and the Cuban sandwich

and was disappointed by neither the food or the top notch service, which despite the noon hour was quick.

Gil’s Nursery 3005 Meadow There are several things the MC likes about Gil’s. The first is Gil (the elder), so full of knowledge about plants. He’s often in high demand with other customers, but it’s worth the wait. The second is the quirky selection of succulents you won’t find elsewhere in town, and the third is that it is not a hike to get to the back of the place. You also won’t find half-dead plants among the living. Great service all the way to your car. 

Courtesy Photo

Mariela Rodriguez/LareDOS

Videomatic 5112 McPherson Rd #105 The MC acquired a membership to Videomatic a few months ago and since has looked nowhere else to meet all her rental needs. The selection by far surpasses that of any Redbox. With a wide variety of the latest releases to an extensive collection of classic films, this shop has a lot to offer. Excellent customer service is a guarantee along with great rates.

Salsa’s Restaurant and Sushi Bar 7718 McPherson Rd #102 The sushi was excellently prepared and served in a timely manner. The MC and party of three

Videomatic, Gil’s Nursery excel at good customer service

Halloween fun Members of the Revolutionary Arts and Cultural Empowerment (RACE) club Manuel Juarez Jr., Rene Bernardni, and Priscilla Perez are pictured on October 31 at LCC South’s Billy Hall Student Center. The RACE club participated in the college’s annual club fair.

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Go Green on The Max fundraiser The Rio Grande International Study Center board members and participants are pictured at the Fourth Annual Go Green on the Greens golf tournament on Saturday, November 9 at The Max Municipal Golf Course. The tournament was a fundraiser for the non-profit environmental organization.

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Face painting, pumpkin carving and decorating, costume contests, and a screening of Monsters University, were among the activities at the Haynes Recreation Center Harvest Fest on Wednesday, October 30. The City of Laredo Parks and Leisure Services Department and District II Council Member Esteban Rangel sponsored the event.

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Mariela Rodriguez/LareDOS

Mariela Rodriguez/LareDOS

Jack-O-Lantern Fun

Observing Mexican American tradition Sigma Lambda Beta fraternity brothers hosted the Second Annual DĂ­a de Los Muertos celebration on Thursday, October 31 at the Texas A&M International University Student Center rotunda. The fraternity hosts the event as part of its cultural awareness activities.

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Continued FROM page 24

president. Assassinations took place by coup or bloody ouster in some banana republic, not on American soil.

We were told to leave school and we went in silence to parents who were visibly shaken and who wept.

Conspiracy theories abounded, but when you are young and that innocent you believe your government is benevolent and all caring, above reproach and never possibly a player in the murder of one of its own sons.

Thus I thought for many years, until the well-preserved and ofttold one-shot/lone gunman version of the President’s death frayed as a lie lasting, I think, as long as American innocence did.

Many of us were young idealists when John F. Kennedy was murdered, but his death left an enduring impact.

It was one of my first inklings about the nature of unfettered power, and it began to erode over decades at what I believed about my own government. The escalated war in Vietnam, the blatant disparities of racism and poverty, other assassinations — Martin Luther King, Malcom X., Robert Kennedy — served to widen the ideological chasm between the credo of my father (chairman of the draft board) — “My country right or wrong” — and my fledgling perceptions of what I believed American justice was and should be.

The shootings at Kent State; my own jump into the fray to protest the war in Vietnam and face time with with Billy clubs and tear gas on the Capitol grounds in Austin (grown men in uniforms striking down children exercising their First Amendment rights); what I studied, what I was reading; the music I listened to — these were all part of my education and what formed my political conscience and this journalist’s heart.

Fifty years of conspiracy theories have unraveled the official version of the murder of President John F. Kennedy.

I’m not one who trades conspiracy theories in casual conversation, and it is not a banner I’ve waved for decades, but I do read and examine what seems plausible, and most recently I read a book by Peter Janney, the son of Wistar Janney, a senior CIA career official. The book, Mary’s Mosaic, is ostensibly about the broad daylight murder/assassination of the D.C. artist and activist Mary Pinchot Meyer, known to have been a paramour of President Kennedy for the last two years of his life.

It is much more, however.

It is an eye-opening narrative of the actions of the patrician Ivy League rogues who ran the CIA in the sixties — upper-cut men who wore well the appurtenances of good breeding, education, and family devotion, but who meticulously orchestrated murders, snuff-outs, stolen documents, the destruction of evidence, and the outcomes of homicide investigations.

Janney was a friend to the children of other upper echelon CIA officials, including the children of Mary and Cord Meyer. Cord Meyer was the CIA’s director of plans. Janney’s remembrances of his childhood among Washington’s political elite lends the story a chilling insider authenticity — not that he put any of this together as a child, but that he spent a good part of his adult life collecting and examining the lives of those around him and the circumstances of the murder of Mary Meyer.

Meyer was known to have kept a diary and to have been vocal in challenging the findings of the Warren Commission and the actions of the U.S. government to cover up the murder of the president.

According to Janney, Mary Pinchot Meyer’s death was ordered by James Jesus Angleton, chief of the CIA’s counterintelligence staff, a

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man on the same Georgetown cocktail circuit as Mary and Cord Meyer, godfather to some of the Meyer children.

In the telling of Meyer’s death, Janney offers disturbing portraits of those who staffed the top ranks of the CIA at the time. It was Angleton who knew of Meyer’s death before it was news, and it was Angleton who entered her home to retrieve her diary before anyone else could come across it.

There is much depth to Janney’s telling of the players in the murder of Mary Meyer and in the larger story of the Kennedy assassination.

Ray Crump, an African-American laborer who happened to be in the park near the towpath where Meyer was murdered, was conveniently apprehended, indicted, and put to trial in a tidy package of stacked justice. Crump’s brilliant attorney, civil rights activist Dovey Roundtree, however, prevailed to free him in 1965.

Janney outs Washington Post editor Ben Bradlee, Mary Meyer’s brother-in-law, as a perjurer in Crump’s trial.

A psychologist, Janney lays out an intricately layered story that explains that CIA junta’s callousness for life, their paranoia, alcoholism, lack of social skills, and dysfunction — all so expertly defined in the context of how those things affected decisions they made within the agency.

Some have discounted Janney’s account as too bizarre to be true, and some have discounted it as the salacious story of a murdered socialite thought to be President Kennedy’s serious love interest.

I say if you are trying to put together the historic, tragic events of November 22, 1963, Mary’s Mosaic: The CIA Conspiracy to Murder John F. Kennedy, Mary Pinchot Meyer, and Their Vision for World Peace is one of the most important books you can read. 

Mariela Rodriguez/LareDOS

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Observing World Diabetes Day City of Laredo Health Department staff Nora Martinez, Erika Juarez, and Paco Rangel are pictured on Thursday, November 14 at the department’s World Diabetes Day in conjunction with their Healthy Living/Viviendo Mejor program.

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Movie Review

Reboot of the horror classic Carrie proves pointless

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he 1976 horror classic Carrie, adapted from the Stephen King novel, was the latest victim of the film industry’s efforts at a reboot or reimagining. Director of the recent-

ly released adaptation, Kimberly Pierce, who for the exception of a few added scenes basically reshot Brian De Palma’s version with a new cast and more modern look to it, left fans of the original pondering — so what was the point?

Carrie is the story of a complete social outcast among her high school peers, who has harnessed a special gift of telekinesis, and is eventually pushed to the edge with a “harmless” prank (now considered a crime) at her senior prom.

Carrie White’s (Cholë Grace Moretz) coming of age is portrayed in the memorable bathroom scene where unbeknownst to her she gets her period, freaks out, and has pads and tampons thrown at her by the other girls — which proved a bit unrealistic for this period (no pun intended).

Yes Carrie was home schooled for most of her life and completely sheltered by her deeply religious mother Margaret White (Julianne Moore), but given the propensity of technology use (even within schools) it’s hard to believe she was that sheltered (although the film didn’t specify a time frame, YouTube came up, so come on).

While Moore delivered an exceptionally creepy and downright disturbing performance of a woman completely deluded by a sense of religious righteousness, Moretz’s per-

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formance fell a bit short from Sissy Spacek’s in the original. Spacek was more believable as a defenseless teen than Moretz (who just three years ago was kicking ass in Kick-Ass, but this is just me typecasting).

I will hand it to Pierce for putting the focus on Carrie and allowing for more character development than De Palma’s film which did not portray all important events solely from Carrie’s perspective.

The cinematography was a bit bland except within the White residence, which was successfully unsettling for audiences — especially in Carrie’s “prayer room” (which just made me wonder where the heck was Child Protective Services).

The special effects in the film’s defining moment, the prom scene, did not disappoint and Moretz pulled that scene off remarkably well, but the excitement ended there.

Be as it may that the Texas Chainsaw Massacre 3D and Rob Zombie’s Halloween reboots were total flops; I have to give credit to the directors for trying something different. Despite the decent casting choices of Moretz and Moore, and while Pierce didn’t massacre the film, she failed to do much to thrill or terrify. Director Pierce shouldn’t feel too bad — there was a lot to live up to. Hollywood needs to come to grips with the fact that some classics need to remain just that. 

Mariela Rodriguez/LareDOS

By MARIELA RODRIGUEZ LareDOS Staff

Debut of Laredo Northside Market While parents scoped out vendors at the Northside Market, children were treated to fun and games with a clown on Saturday, November 2 at North Central Park.

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Book Review

Larsson’s The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo enthralling

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By MARIELA RODRIGUEZ LareDOS Staff

am by no means the go-to person for the latest fads and trends, as I tend to like something before it becomes popular or long after the hype has died down. Although, I’ve owned the book The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo for some time, I never made it a point until recently to sit down and read it.

A New York Times bestseller with millions of copies sold in 50 countries, Stieg Larsson’s Millennium Trilogy is by far one of the best crime novels I have read in quite some time. The trilogy begins by following investigative journalist and co-owner of the monthly publication Millennium Mikael Blomkvist.

Blomkvist is in the midst of losing a libel case against industrialist Hans Erik Wennerstrom. While his credibility is severely damaged, Blomkvist’s reputation precedes him. He is hired

by Henrik Vanger to investigate the disappearance of his great-niece Harriet 40 years prior.

Blomkvist’s investigation into the powerful Vanger clan’s dark past soon leads to the realization that Harriet’s disappearance is linked to series of gruesome murders. He enlists the help from an unlikely source — a young punk hacker — Lisbeth Salander who originally conducted a background check on Blomkvist for Vanger.

With their respective skill sets, which prove invaluable to solving not only the disappearance of Harriet but also a long stream of serial killings throughout Sweden, the two form an excellent partnership along the likes of Sherlock Holmes and John Watson.

Larrson’s Salander is unique, creative, dynamic. At 4’11”, this 90-pound

woman proves to be an astonishing and unlikely heroine. Widely misunderstood and judged for her punk tattooed appearance, Salander is remarkably quick-witted and strong, overcoming many obstacles including brutal rape.

The first installment of the trilogy, The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo, leads you through twists and turns from sexy to pure disgust. There were instances as I read some of Larsson’s descriptions that made me sick to my stomach— and yet I couldn’t put the book down.

Larsson explores the universal topic of the exploitation of women and wards of the state (those incapable of caring for themselves and in need of guardianship) while his Salander is portrayed as a fighter who will regain control over her life at all cost.

I watched the films immediately after finishing the book. Neither the Swedish nor American adaptation fully did the book justice. There is too much intrigue and action packed into 600 pages to make it into a two-hour film. I found the casting of Salander — Roomi Rapace — in the Swedish film and of Blomkvist’s casting — Daniel Craig — in the American adaptation spot on in portraying these characters.

It was all the details bound in this action packed book that led me to love it far more than the films.

Once you read this book you will instantly be hooked and run out to purchase The Girl Who Played With Fire and The Girl who Kicked the Hornet’s Nest. Larrson’s untimely passing has deprived the world of readers of high powered thrillers of several other books he planned for the series. However, those who read these for the first time will find themselves completely enthralled with Lisbeth Salander. 

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